:00:00. > :00:00.third child are in hospital. Now we will go to single port and
:00:00. > :00:17.get all the latest business news. `` Singapore.
:00:18. > :00:28.After a Wall Street suffered its steepest falls in months, Asia's
:00:29. > :00:32.market stumble. New Jersey shows manufacturing surgeon to its highest
:00:33. > :00:36.level in more than two yours. `` data.
:00:37. > :00:41.Thank you for joining us for this edition of Asia Business Report.
:00:42. > :00:46.Asian stock markets are retreating in mid`morning trade. US equities
:00:47. > :00:54.had their worst trading days since April. It follows Argentina's
:00:55. > :01:02.default for a second time. Stocks are down. There is concern that the
:01:03. > :01:11.Federal reserve could raise the cost of borrowing sooner than expected.
:01:12. > :01:15.From the New York Stock Exchange. Investor nerves were clearly
:01:16. > :01:21.frazzled on Thursday. There are a host of reasons. There is the
:01:22. > :01:24.situation in Ukraine. We heard from companies like BP talking about the
:01:25. > :01:30.impact it is starting to have on their business. There is that
:01:31. > :01:35.default in Argentina. Closer to home, there was a report on wage
:01:36. > :01:40.inflation. This raised the prospect that perhaps America's central bank
:01:41. > :01:43.would shift its focus from battling the weak labour market to fighting
:01:44. > :01:50.inflation. That could mean higher interest rates. As Alan Greenspan
:01:51. > :01:54.noted, the stock market has been rising for some time. Perhaps it was
:01:55. > :02:02.due for a significant correction. Investors will be wondering if that
:02:03. > :02:08.has now begun. Some good news for investors. New
:02:09. > :02:15.data from China reveals manufacturing surging to the highest
:02:16. > :02:21.level in more than two years. Factory activity quickened to a 27
:02:22. > :02:24.month high in July. The economy is regaining momentum after a burst of
:02:25. > :02:38.government stimulus that initiatives. Consumers are also
:02:39. > :02:44.spending. China's so`called stimulus continues
:02:45. > :02:50.apace. Banks lending, the government is spending and so far it seems to
:02:51. > :02:56.be working. An uptick in second`quarter GDP, for example, and
:02:57. > :03:02.manufacturing data suggesting that they have put the gloom of the year
:03:03. > :03:05.behind them. The only thing that matters, at least for the
:03:06. > :03:10.government, is if people feel richer in their pockets. So how does the
:03:11. > :03:15.man in the street, or in this case the market, feel about things? It is
:03:16. > :03:25.much easier to make money nowadays, the shopper says. I do not know the
:03:26. > :03:32.precise figures, but year`on`year, people are spending more, this
:03:33. > :03:40.splitter agrees. `` butcher. Those comments will be music to the ears
:03:41. > :03:43.of china's policy planners. They are trying to move away from growth
:03:44. > :03:50.based on infrastructure spending. The problem is, the current stimulus
:03:51. > :03:56.fits that category exactly. It is big banking, big, sent the
:03:57. > :04:11.government. ``, as and big government. The balancing challenge
:04:12. > :04:18.for China remains as tough as ever. We can now speak to an expert of
:04:19. > :04:26.consumer goods for the region and asked him what is driving activity
:04:27. > :04:33.in the region. There is more a personal credit card debt. How big a
:04:34. > :04:37.worry is that? It is not a big worry. The banks are watching it
:04:38. > :04:43.carefully. They have been watching personal debt. What other growth
:04:44. > :04:49.drivers are there for the Chinese economy, apart from the
:04:50. > :04:53.economy. Manufacturing is very strong. A lot of products are coming
:04:54. > :04:58.in, being manufactured and exported. For domestic spending, the key point
:04:59. > :05:04.would be the increasing focus on digital spending. Online traffic.
:05:05. > :05:14.Consumer goods companies are trying to balance online, physical storage
:05:15. > :05:26.with online. We are seeing the likes of online websites doing very well.
:05:27. > :05:32.Exactly. It is interesting. The business model has expanded in terms
:05:33. > :05:40.of services being provided. But also it will help partners. It is not
:05:41. > :05:51.just a market for selling. It is also helping offenders. `` vendors.
:05:52. > :05:55.The World Trade Organisation has failed to reach a breakthrough on a
:05:56. > :06:00.global costings deal being drawn up in Bali last December. It would have
:06:01. > :06:04.streamlined global customs procedures and should have been
:06:05. > :06:07.finalised by Thursday. It was blocked over a number of lifts,
:06:08. > :06:16.including India's demand for concessions on the stock having a
:06:17. > :06:25.food. The British drinks maker of spirits concluding Johnnie Walker
:06:26. > :06:29.and Smirnoff said sales tapered off. Wickes Potts concluded China
:06:30. > :06:38.and South East Asia. Volume fell by more than 20%.
:06:39. > :06:43.Tesla is to team up with Panasonic to build a large`scale battery
:06:44. > :06:49.manufacturing facility in the United States. It will create 6500 jobs and
:06:50. > :07:00.will produce components for electric cars. It is expected to help reduce
:07:01. > :07:04.the battery costs by 30%. Indonesia's economy has been one of
:07:05. > :07:08.the fastest`growing in Asia. The country is expected to have one of
:07:09. > :07:15.the region's is the increases in billionaires over the next decade.
:07:16. > :07:23.That has led to industries serving the new megarich.
:07:24. > :07:29.Spinning to the beat of a luxurious tune. This is a charity gala,
:07:30. > :07:38.organised by some of Indonesia's richest wives and girlfriends. It is
:07:39. > :07:43.a ladies club where the megarich socialise, spend money and show
:07:44. > :07:50.off. To enter one of these clubs, there is a monthly fee. It can be
:07:51. > :07:54.extravagant. Starting from $1 million every month. `` 1 million.
:07:55. > :08:06.Going to 1 million every month. $10,000? Yes. The business depends
:08:07. > :08:12.on the indulgences of the set. I can meet new people and they can
:08:13. > :08:16.introduce me to their friends. This is her studio, where she buys, sells
:08:17. > :08:29.and the Reds luxury handbags to wealthy Indonesian women. They can
:08:30. > :08:44.spend $20,000 `50,000 US dollars. `` $50,000. For many in Indonesia, life
:08:45. > :08:52.runs on a different track. I am in one of hundreds of slums peppered
:08:53. > :08:56.across Jakarta. This woman lives here with her seven children and her
:08:57. > :09:01.husband. They read this tiny shack out for about $45 per month and
:09:02. > :09:09.every day it is a struggle to make ends meet. This shack is home to her
:09:10. > :09:14.entire family. Just one luxury handbag could pay a rental two
:09:15. > :09:18.years. She has seen the fancy cars and houses just a few hundred metres
:09:19. > :09:25.away. They might as well be on a different planet. Reality is filled
:09:26. > :09:30.with feeding seven mouths. TRANSLATION: Sometimes my husband
:09:31. > :09:37.cannot find work. We have to eat every day. When he does not bring
:09:38. > :09:44.him any money, it is very tough. Her story is not unique. 66% of
:09:45. > :09:51.Indonesia's population lives on $2 per day. The ranks of Indonesia's
:09:52. > :09:57.billionaires may be growing, but so is the gap between the rich and the
:09:58. > :10:10.poor. You can find out more on our online
:10:11. > :10:15.special report. Before we go, a quick look at the markets. Wall
:10:16. > :10:26.Street had their worst trading day since April. There has been concern
:10:27. > :10:32.that the Federal reserve could raise interest rates sooner rather than
:10:33. > :10:40.later. Thank you for investing your time with us. Goodbye for now.
:10:41. > :10:46.You are watching BBC News. Here are the headlines: Israel and Hamas have
:10:47. > :10:53.agreed on a 72 hour humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. They are due to
:10:54. > :10:57.meet in Cairo for talks on ending the conflict. A series of gas
:10:58. > :11:00.explosions have torn through the streets of a Taiwanese city. Killing
:11:01. > :11:01.at least 22