:00:00. > :00:00.say sorry on previous occasions. Now on BBC News, all the latest business
:00:00. > :00:18.news live from Singapore. Bank of America is hit with a near
:00:19. > :00:25.$17 billion fine by US authorities for misleading customers.
:00:26. > :00:26.Australia's trade minister is forced to reassure the country's biggest
:00:27. > :00:39.trading partner. Welcome to Asia Business Report. It
:00:40. > :00:45.is the highest fine a single company has ever agreed to with regulators.
:00:46. > :00:48.The Bank of America is paying US authorities close to $17 billion to
:00:49. > :00:52.settle claims that it and its affiliates misled investors by
:00:53. > :00:56.pretending risky mortgage securities were safe. The settlement will cut
:00:57. > :01:04.its third`quarter profits by more than $5 billion. More from New York.
:01:05. > :01:08.Bad mortgage investments devastated the US housing market and sparked a
:01:09. > :01:11.depression the economy is only now just shaking off. Now another bank
:01:12. > :01:14.has been punished for those investments with a huge fine. Bank
:01:15. > :01:17.of America is paying $17 billion, substantially more than rivals JP
:01:18. > :01:25.Morgan and Citigroup paid to settle a similar matter. In a statement,
:01:26. > :01:30.the bank's chief executive Brian Moynihan, said the deal was in the
:01:31. > :01:33.best interests of its shareholders. This settlement brings a measure of
:01:34. > :01:39.closure to the bank which has been dogged by legal problems ever since
:01:40. > :01:42.the start of financial crisis. A large portion of the penalty will go
:01:43. > :01:45.towards modifying the mortgages of borrowers who owe more than their
:01:46. > :01:49.homes are worth, the rest will go to the authorities. US Attorney General
:01:50. > :01:56.Eric Holder emphasised the severity of the punishment. This constitutes
:01:57. > :01:59.the largest civil settlement with a single entity in history, addressing
:02:00. > :02:06.conduct uncovered in more than a dozen cases and investigations. I
:02:07. > :02:09.want to be very clear, the size and scope of this multibillion dollar
:02:10. > :02:13.agreement goes far beyond the cost of doing business. This outcome does
:02:14. > :02:20.not preclude any criminal charges against the bank or its employees.
:02:21. > :02:30.The penalty exceeds Bank of America's entire profits last year.
:02:31. > :02:33.But many still think such fines are not enough of a punishment for the
:02:34. > :02:41.people and companies that did such damage to the global economy.
:02:42. > :02:46.In other news, clothing giant Gap says it plans to open 40 stores in
:02:47. > :02:49.India next year. The announcement came after the company unveiled
:02:50. > :02:56.second`quarter results, which showed net sales increasing by 3% to under
:02:57. > :03:00.just $4 billion. The move into India from where it has sourced products
:03:01. > :03:04.for many years is part of the company's strategy to expand
:03:05. > :03:11.operations in Asia, including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
:03:12. > :03:18.To go `` Toyota has cut its prices in China, reducing it in certain
:03:19. > :03:22.models by an average of 26%. The price cuts follow a $200 million
:03:23. > :03:25.fine issued by China against 12 Japanese companies over price
:03:26. > :03:31.manipulation. The mainland government is in the middle of
:03:32. > :03:35.conducting investigations in the country's automotive sector.
:03:36. > :03:38.Australia's biggest trading partner is China.
:03:39. > :03:41.So when a Member of Parliament goes on national television and describes
:03:42. > :03:46.the Chinese as mongrels who shoot their own people, it has the makings
:03:47. > :03:54.of a major trade dispute. Clive Palmer, who also happens to be on a
:03:55. > :04:00.V`Australia's richest men, has left the Australian government trying to
:04:01. > :04:09.limit the damage. `` one of Australia's.
:04:10. > :04:12.It is distinctly un` `` on helpful. It was a statement yesterday
:04:13. > :04:15.afternoon where the Chinese government officially said that they
:04:16. > :04:19.do not think it in any way reflects the views of the government or the
:04:20. > :04:26.community in Australia. That's a welcome sign. But, nevertheless,
:04:27. > :04:33.comments by someone in his position to say these things, is
:04:34. > :04:39.extraordinarily unhelpful. It can be misinterpreted and can colour the
:04:40. > :04:43.attitude of people we are negotiating with. Within ten years,
:04:44. > :04:48.trying to bring the negotiation to this stage. For a free`trade
:04:49. > :04:55.agreement within two countries? Yes. Ten years, our biggest trading
:04:56. > :05:01.partner. It would... In the end, hundreds of thousands of jobs could
:05:02. > :05:08.be at `` created with a free trade agreement. These things are very
:05:09. > :05:10.important and he has done potential damage to the prosperity and the
:05:11. > :05:15.prospects of millions of Australians. Do you think Clive
:05:16. > :05:22.Palmer's words might be able to be measured in terms of dollars lost?
:05:23. > :05:27.I'm hopeful that we will be able to walk through this and go beyond it
:05:28. > :05:32.and the Chinese won't hold it against us. But, you know, we
:05:33. > :05:36.shouldn't be in this position in the first place. We shouldn't have to be
:05:37. > :05:41.wondering whether it's going to have the material and permanent impact.
:05:42. > :05:46.Australia is a robust democracy. We are. But he is a senior Member of
:05:47. > :05:49.Parliament and on a V`Australia's wealthiest men. He stood for
:05:50. > :05:54.Parliament, saying people should trust him to look after their
:05:55. > :05:57.interests. This in no way, in my view, looks after the interests of
:05:58. > :06:04.the Australian people. It's an attempt to look after his own
:06:05. > :06:06.business interests. After the last transpacific partnership
:06:07. > :06:12.negotiations in Singapore, which Australia plays a key role in, you
:06:13. > :06:15.were confident that the talks on a TPP could be completed by the end of
:06:16. > :06:20.this year. That's no longer possible it? I don't think so, to be honest.
:06:21. > :06:25.I think the best opportunity will be in the first half of next year. We
:06:26. > :06:29.are not far away, if there is the political will. I think we could hit
:06:30. > :06:34.close to concluding by the end of this year. But the first six months
:06:35. > :06:39.of next year provides the best political opportunity that we are
:06:40. > :06:43.likely to see in the US, to get the support of Congress. How high do you
:06:44. > :06:52.rate the chances of the TPP not going ahead? Think we are close to
:06:53. > :06:58.85%`90% there. It's just the politics. I think it is on the side
:06:59. > :07:05.of being passed next year. Greater than 50%, I think. You wouldn't go
:07:06. > :07:10.higher than that? I do know how much greater. That's the trade minister
:07:11. > :07:16.from Australia, speaking to the BBC. Argentina's plan to exit its debt
:07:17. > :07:19.default has been ruled illegal. The South American nation wanted
:07:20. > :07:25.investors holding defaulted on is to swap them for new locally issued
:07:26. > :07:29.debt. The judge in New York said the plan was Lawless. Argentina had been
:07:30. > :07:34.trying to get around an earlier court ruling, banning it from paying
:07:35. > :07:37.interest to investors with accepted we structured bonds. Russia has
:07:38. > :07:41.announced on schedule takes on McDonald's restaurants across the
:07:42. > :07:45.country as part of an investigation into food standards. The move comes
:07:46. > :07:50.after Russia's top watchdog temporarily shut down four of the
:07:51. > :07:53.fast food restaurant in Moscow. This comes amid rising tensions and
:07:54. > :08:00.sanctions between Russia and the West, over the Ukraine crisis.
:08:01. > :08:03.As Asia becomes more urbanised, food security is a looming problem.
:08:04. > :08:07.Agricultural land is dwindling as people move to the cities. There
:08:08. > :08:10.will be less food for people to eat, which is why experts have gathered
:08:11. > :08:14.in Singapore to discuss their concerns. Earlier I spoke with the
:08:15. > :08:20.director`general of the international rice research
:08:21. > :08:24.institute. I asked about Asia's rising urbanisation and its impact
:08:25. > :08:30.on agriculture. There's no question that the urban sprawl is associative
:08:31. > :08:34.with taking away the best plants for rice production in the region. ``
:08:35. > :08:39.associated with. We will have to make up the shortfalls. Howdy do
:08:40. > :08:44.that? What needs to be done to improve rice production? There are
:08:45. > :08:50.areas where yields aren't where they could be. Some adjustments of
:08:51. > :08:54.practices and, more importantly, the development of varieties that can
:08:55. > :08:57.tolerate certain stresses like droughts and floods, can convert
:08:58. > :09:01.these loans into highly productive areas. Is the government operating
:09:02. > :09:08.in terms of creating policy to ensure security? That something that
:09:09. > :09:14.is quite important. We don't have proper in investment in
:09:15. > :09:20.infrastructure, we don't have proper investment in trained personnel,
:09:21. > :09:24.rural infrastructure, so that the lands can produce up to their
:09:25. > :09:30.capacity. We could face shortages. And then we could see the rising
:09:31. > :09:34.price of rice. How concerned are you about this? I think we will see
:09:35. > :09:42.general upward pressures on rice prices. It's up to us to make sure
:09:43. > :09:48.that, as economies grow, and demands shifts, that we are able to meet
:09:49. > :09:54.those demands. Vietnam and Thailand are key rice exporter is here the
:09:55. > :09:57.region. China is huge. But they are starting to be important now. How
:09:58. > :10:07.big of an issue is this? The question is, around food Security in
:10:08. > :10:14.China, if China is food insecure, the world is. So the imports we are
:10:15. > :10:17.starting to see in China is an indicated that supply chains will
:10:18. > :10:22.have to respond, meaning other kind `` countries will have to step up
:10:23. > :10:24.their production. We don't want the Chinese government computing with
:10:25. > :10:29.other Asian companies for food supplies.
:10:30. > :10:33.With that, we end this edition of Asia Business Report. Thanks for
:10:34. > :10:43.investing your time with us. Goodbye for now.
:10:44. > :10:48.The United States says the group calling itself the Islamic State
:10:49. > :10:53.presents a long`term threat, greater than any other so far. He says they
:10:54. > :10:54.must be defeated in Syria as well as