:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news, live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:25.As European growth stalls, major aged `` major ageing trading
:00:26. > :00:32.partners start to feel the fallout. And darts are usually found in
:00:33. > :00:40.western pubs but the sport is now found in Asia. Thanks are joining
:00:41. > :00:45.us. Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan are all due to release fresh
:00:46. > :00:48.economic growth data later today but as we await those numbers there are
:00:49. > :00:52.rising concerns among investors that the world economy could we headed
:00:53. > :00:58.for a major slowdown, following week growth numbers from Japan and the
:00:59. > :01:02.eurozone this week. But global stocks seem to be shrugging off the
:01:03. > :01:07.bad news and continue their upward journey. On Wall Street, the Dow
:01:08. > :01:16.Jones and SMP index ended higher following some strong corporate
:01:17. > :01:20.earnings. In Europe, markets gained, although learning the European
:01:21. > :01:23.markets ground to a halt. What's causing this discrepancy between
:01:24. > :01:26.poor numbers and rising stock markets? Earlier I posted this
:01:27. > :01:30.question to the chief economist at the bank of Singapore. One of the
:01:31. > :01:34.things that's been supporting markets is that the weak growth
:01:35. > :01:38.increases the chances that this very loose monetary policy that we are
:01:39. > :01:42.seeing will extend into the future. Yesterday, career cut interest rates
:01:43. > :01:45.and it is very loose monetary conditions and low interest rates
:01:46. > :01:48.that have been supporting the demand for risk assets and the stock
:01:49. > :01:53.market. But you don't have loose market policies for the likes of New
:01:54. > :01:56.Zealand, Indonesia, India and the Philippines just raised the cost of
:01:57. > :02:02.rolling recently. The Philippines did, as did Malaysia last month. ``
:02:03. > :02:07.borrowing recently. But in Australia and New Zealand, the X based ``
:02:08. > :02:11.expectations of interest rates going up have faded. Australia is even
:02:12. > :02:15.talking about reductions. These factors are supporting the stock
:02:16. > :02:21.markets. This could also hampered corporate earnings going forward.
:02:22. > :02:24.From the mindset of many investors, they seem to be managing
:02:25. > :02:27.expectations and lowering forecasts. The recession will be
:02:28. > :02:32.good for nobody, if you start to get a proper decline in growth. I don't
:02:33. > :02:35.think we are talking about that. All but earnings out of America have
:02:36. > :02:39.been relatively strong. The news out of Japan has been quite good in
:02:40. > :02:47.recent weeks. `` corporate earnings out of America. We aren't worried
:02:48. > :02:50.about inflation and interest rates going up but it isn't so weak that
:02:51. > :02:55.we are worried about falling profits. People are getting poor
:02:56. > :02:58.return on their cash, looking for investment opportunities and finding
:02:59. > :03:03.some value in the stock market. We have some key economic numbers
:03:04. > :03:06.coming out of Asia. The countries that rely on China for growth. The
:03:07. > :03:12.numbers coming out from the mainland has been rather mixed. What are you
:03:13. > :03:15.expecting from here? I think the fears about the mainland are what
:03:16. > :03:18.might happen as the credit bubble unravels, rather than the current
:03:19. > :03:24.situation. Growth in China in the second quarter, the numbers come out
:03:25. > :03:28.today, were good because they had stability of measures to support it.
:03:29. > :03:32.It looks as if the Taiwan numbers will be close to 4%, Malaysia and
:03:33. > :03:36.little bit above 5%, Hong Kong perhaps just shy of 3%. So it
:03:37. > :03:40.doesn't look like they are struggling now. The fear is what
:03:41. > :03:46.happens if China slows down hard over the next year. In places like
:03:47. > :03:52.Taiwan will be very badly affected. In other news, Australia's
:03:53. > :04:00.third`largest bank, Australia and New Zealand banking group, ANZ, is
:04:01. > :04:03.on track to post six`year profits. They saw nine`month cash profits
:04:04. > :04:10.rising by 8% to about $5 billion and said it was set to reach its
:04:11. > :04:14.full`year financial forecasts, after it cut costs, Lowood debts and saw
:04:15. > :04:26.stronger growth in Asia. `` lowered. Club Med may be taken over
:04:27. > :04:31.after a long legal battle. The stock regulator approved a rival bid made
:04:32. > :04:38.by an Italian businessman. He offered to pay 790 million new rose
:04:39. > :04:42.for the holiday chain, which was 32% higher than another bid. Whether you
:04:43. > :04:45.use them for sending e`mails, playing games, taking pictures,
:04:46. > :04:50.smartphones are big this is in many parts of the world. But at the
:04:51. > :04:55.moment India has the second`highest number of mobile phone subscribers
:04:56. > :05:00.in the world, about 930 million. The latest figures show only one in
:05:01. > :05:04.eight of them have smartphones. But that's changing.
:05:05. > :05:13.There's no shortage of places, when it comes to buying a smartphone in
:05:14. > :05:17.India, with over 20 brands to choose from in the market. Of course all of
:05:18. > :05:20.them are trying to push the performance by improving
:05:21. > :05:26.reliability, speed and function. But many of them offer smartphones at
:05:27. > :05:31.less than $100, so it is the price that is fuelling demand in a big
:05:32. > :05:34.way. The huge sales growth and population means more and more
:05:35. > :05:41.companies are launching products here. China `based `` the Chinese
:05:42. > :05:45.`based company recently sold hundreds of handsets to an online
:05:46. > :05:48.website within seconds. Partly helped by low prices, these new
:05:49. > :05:52.trends are eating into the market share of most of the
:05:53. > :05:56.well`established players. These include both local brands and global
:05:57. > :06:04.giants, like Samsung, Nokia and big roller. The Indian market is a big
:06:05. > :06:09.market. `` Motorola. It has many different uses, who speak different
:06:10. > :06:12.languages, different age groups, different consumer preferences. To
:06:13. > :06:18.succeed in India, any player has to be able to offer a different range
:06:19. > :06:21.of handset models. A small number of models won't work in a market like
:06:22. > :06:29.India, simply because they're such a variety of demand. And it's not just
:06:30. > :06:34.about the handsets. The boss of one of India's largest retailers says
:06:35. > :06:43.the rise of fast mobile into that access will also boost sales.
:06:44. > :06:48.Countries were waiting for 4G to happen. Once it happens, internet
:06:49. > :06:55.will be available to anybody and everybody across the country. So,
:06:56. > :06:59.more want internet on their smartphone and better connectivity.
:07:00. > :07:03.Then the business will just grow. The intense competition means barely
:07:04. > :07:07.one week goes by without the launch of another smartphone. And because
:07:08. > :07:16.it is often accompanied by a hefty discount, the eventual winner could
:07:17. > :07:20.be the Indian consumer. Have you ever played darts? It's now
:07:21. > :07:25.considered a global sport and in Asia on with an expanding fan. That
:07:26. > :07:30.means a growing business. So. So much so that the first ever World
:07:31. > :07:37.Series darts competition to be played in this region kicks off in
:07:38. > :07:42.Singapore tonight. `` so much so. This is probably how you think about
:07:43. > :07:48.darts, a pub, appear in one hand and a dart in the other. `` a beer. Not
:07:49. > :07:53.commonly called a sport and we don't usually describe the players at ASP
:07:54. > :07:59.`` as athletes but big game. This is a very serious business. Meet this
:08:00. > :08:08.five`time world champion. A Dutchman, better known as Barney.
:08:09. > :08:16.And fellow competitor, Peter, and Simon Whitlock, the beard to be
:08:17. > :08:19.feared. They are top layers, all in Singapore this weekend to show
:08:20. > :08:27.locals how darts is done. We want to promote the sport more and more, so
:08:28. > :08:31.more countries get involved, or companies will sponsor their best
:08:32. > :08:39.players. At the end, there's more money. More players, big bucks? Of
:08:40. > :08:44.course. But already there is big money in darts. Over the next two
:08:45. > :08:47.days players will be vying to win $100,000 and, for the promoters,
:08:48. > :08:53.they hoped the first ever World Series event in this region will
:08:54. > :08:57.eventually bring in big returns. We have no interest in being one might
:08:58. > :09:05.wonder. We will come back to Singapore and look at other areas in
:09:06. > :09:14.Asia. But this game isn't quite the same as the one embraced by Asian
:09:15. > :09:17.players. This is soft darts. A high`tech version, complete with
:09:18. > :09:21.flashing lights and sound effects. The ends of the darts are plastic
:09:22. > :09:25.points. Instead of doing the numbers in your head, the electronic board
:09:26. > :09:33.calculates the school. Do you get addicted? Yes. Quite. Like? Because
:09:34. > :09:39.when you hit the target you want, you feel good. It's been popular in
:09:40. > :09:43.Japan for years and it is now sweeping across the region. Every
:09:44. > :09:50.one of these machines and on average $800 every month. And at about $1
:09:51. > :09:55.every game, the numbers are literally growing by the day. This
:09:56. > :09:58.place at tracks up to 200 new players are weak. Whether it's a
:09:59. > :10:03.soft or steel keep dart that takes your fancy, there's no denying more
:10:04. > :10:12.people are adopting the game. And where there's popularity, players
:10:13. > :10:15.and makers are hopeful that will continue.
:10:16. > :10:19.A quick look at Asian stocks. Regional share prices are currently
:10:20. > :10:23.rallying in early Friday trade, following some strong corporate
:10:24. > :10:27.earnings and conciliatory comments from Russia to help is concerned
:10:28. > :10:31.about the escalation of the crisis in Ukraine. `` help is concerned.
:10:32. > :10:43.Goodbye for now. The main stories: Iraq's Thai
:10:44. > :10:49.minister Nouri al`Maliki has agreed to step down. President Obama says
:10:50. > :10:51.American air strikes have freed most of the people trapped by militants
:10:52. > :10:52.in the north of the