:00:00. > :00:00.Many people have had to be rescued from their homes in Cumbria
:00:00. > :00:07.and Lancashire, while hospitals have had to cancel operations and
:00:08. > :00:17.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news, live from Singapore.
:00:18. > :00:23.A new warning about emerging markets and how they will cope with the rise
:00:24. > :00:28.in interest rates in the US. A bitter pill or a promising cure. We
:00:29. > :00:40.look at how online pharmacies are shaking up the industry in India.
:00:41. > :00:45.Welcome to the programme. Emerging markets will be at risk from an
:00:46. > :00:50.eventual interest rate rise in the US. That is the warning from the
:00:51. > :00:54.bank of International settlements, which says that 2016 could be a bad
:00:55. > :00:58.year for those markets, even worse than two years ago when the US
:00:59. > :01:01.Federal Reserve said it would stop dumping money into the economy. With
:01:02. > :01:06.new data last Friday showing more data -- more jobs were created than
:01:07. > :01:10.expected in the US, many believe the federal reserve will raise interest
:01:11. > :01:14.rates when it meets on December 16. We can take a look at those
:01:15. > :01:19.markets. They rallied in the US, increasing 2% on the close on
:01:20. > :01:26.Friday. And Asian markets are also making strong gains. The Hong Kong
:01:27. > :01:33.market is about to open but we have already seen gains in Tokyo and
:01:34. > :01:38.Australia, although that is now retreating from what we saw earlier.
:01:39. > :01:42.From Sydney, we can speak to Michael McCarthy.
:01:43. > :01:50.We are seeing this very positive start for Asian markets with these
:01:51. > :01:55.rallies, but will these markets be as audience if and when the Federal
:01:56. > :02:00.Reserve do eventually raise interest rates? The job numbers that we saw
:02:01. > :02:05.on Friday are pointing clearly to an increase. The buying that was done
:02:06. > :02:09.on Friday night and is occurring in the Asia-Pacific region is in full
:02:10. > :02:13.knowledge that it is almost certain US rates will rise on December 16,
:02:14. > :02:18.and while volatility in the markets is likely to continue, it is quite
:02:19. > :02:23.clear that at this stage at least investors are taking on the positive
:02:24. > :02:28.news, the increase in jobs and the revision upwards of the October
:02:29. > :02:33.data. That means the economy in the US is not only recovering but the
:02:34. > :02:37.pace of recovery is increasing and that is good for the global economy
:02:38. > :02:42.and for companies in general. It is not likely to be a single day
:02:43. > :02:46.phenomenon. You said that much of the anticipation of a rate rise in
:02:47. > :02:51.the US has already been factored in but we saw this report saying that
:02:52. > :02:56.emerging markets will be quite badly hit once those rates start heading
:02:57. > :03:01.up. Is this something that we should be worried about? The idea that
:03:02. > :03:06.rising US interest rates could attract global investment flows that
:03:07. > :03:11.the US is not new or controversial but because it is not new, we have
:03:12. > :03:15.already seen a lot of potential adjustments to a higher US interest
:03:16. > :03:20.rate market being made. That weakness that we have seen across,
:03:21. > :03:25.emerging markets this year is a direct reflection of investors
:03:26. > :03:29.adjusting to that ahead of the fact. Markets look to price the future,
:03:30. > :03:33.not what is happening today. The world is very different from 2011
:03:34. > :03:38.and 2012 and the situation of economies like Russia, Brazil and
:03:39. > :03:42.China are very different, so I would be very careful about any analysis
:03:43. > :03:48.that makes a blanket call for countries like that. Last week, we
:03:49. > :03:53.saw OPEC decided to continue with their output and that keeps oil
:03:54. > :03:57.prices low. We are seeing some impact in Australian markets with
:03:58. > :04:04.energy stocks. How will this affect the global economy and commodity
:04:05. > :04:14.remind economies like Australia? --, did his reliance. -- commodity
:04:15. > :04:20.reliant. Oil prices affect many economies in this region but the
:04:21. > :04:27.clear issue is that OPEC is broken and the Saudis, the biggest
:04:28. > :04:32.producers, are pushing that. If they can find a way for it to come back
:04:33. > :04:38.together, we could see Titan is returning to the oil market. --
:04:39. > :04:44.things return to normal in the oil market.
:04:45. > :04:49.A Chinese bank is trying to list on the stock exchange again this year
:04:50. > :04:59.for the second time... Regulators in Europe are extending
:05:00. > :05:04.trade protections aimed at helping European solar power manufactures
:05:05. > :05:09.compete against cheaper products from China. The protections had been
:05:10. > :05:13.in place for two years and were due to expire on Monday.
:05:14. > :05:19.As the world works towards a binding framework for emissions reductions
:05:20. > :05:25.in Paris, climate change is having an impact not just on the
:05:26. > :05:28.environment but also on trade. Melting ice in the Arctic offers the
:05:29. > :05:32.potential for new shipping routes. At a climate change exhibition in
:05:33. > :05:37.Singapore, I asked the Norwegian ambassador about the outlook.
:05:38. > :05:43.Global climate change is happening twice as fast in the Arctic as
:05:44. > :05:49.otherwise globally. The ice is melting. It also gives opportunity
:05:50. > :05:54.like new shipping routes and a new north-eastern shipping route and
:05:55. > :06:02.north-west shipping route. In the long-term perspective, these will be
:06:03. > :06:07.near impossible routes for ships globally. In the short-term
:06:08. > :06:12.perspective, I don't think there will be any kind of competition to
:06:13. > :06:18.the present shipping routes, to the Suez Canal. But it will also open up
:06:19. > :06:23.for Asian countries to become more involved. Surely be opening up of
:06:24. > :06:28.the Arctic shipping routes will impact this part of the world,
:06:29. > :06:33.particularly countries like Singapore, which is a huge shipping
:06:34. > :06:38.hub. The Straits of Malacca and the Suez Canal as well. Is this a
:06:39. > :06:44.threat? On the opposite side. We see this as a very long-term
:06:45. > :06:50.development. There are different ice conditions on both of the shipping
:06:51. > :06:56.routes, the north-east and north-west, so we do not think this
:06:57. > :07:00.is an issue for the next 20 years. And what about the concerns over the
:07:01. > :07:05.environment as well as displacing many of the communities in the
:07:06. > :07:12.region? For most of the Arctic people, shipping, oil and gas
:07:13. > :07:19.production and other kinds of economic entity would be positive.
:07:20. > :07:24.-- activity. It would create jobs and it would create engagement. We
:07:25. > :07:28.would look at the increased engagement from Asian countries as
:07:29. > :07:35.very positive, not as a threat to the Arctic.
:07:36. > :07:39.A BBC investigation earlier this year found how easy it is to
:07:40. > :07:44.purchase prescription drugs over the counter in India. It is an industry
:07:45. > :07:49.that is under pressure as online only pharmacies are drawing more and
:07:50. > :07:57.more customers away from traditional shops.
:07:58. > :08:06.A one-day strike at 850,000 of India's pharmacies. The demand is a
:08:07. > :08:16.ban on websites selling medicines online. TRANSLATION: Online firms
:08:17. > :08:19.can buy medicines in bulk directly from large pharmaceutical companies
:08:20. > :08:24.at huge discounts. We cannot match those prices. The bigger issue is
:08:25. > :08:30.that India does not have a law to regulate online sales yet. This is
:08:31. > :08:33.one start-up sending medicines online. It does not stop any drugs
:08:34. > :08:38.itself, linking up with pharmacies to fulfil orders. It says more price
:08:39. > :08:47.transparency means the consumer wins, with no risk to safety. In my
:08:48. > :08:50.company, we have 35 pharmacists who check the prescription and eight
:08:51. > :08:53.senior pharmacist who validated before we go to the third party,
:08:54. > :08:57.which is the chemist. And the chemist has his own pharmacist which
:08:58. > :09:01.again looks at the prescription before dispensing it. The local
:09:02. > :09:05.neighbourhood chemist is something most Indians have grown up with and
:09:06. > :09:10.you really have to go far to find one. But you can see the appeal of
:09:11. > :09:14.the new services. It is quite easy to buy medicine online. Go to the
:09:15. > :09:20.website, it global prescription and once it is approved, pay for it.
:09:21. > :09:25.That is especially appealing if you are sick. With over-the-counter
:09:26. > :09:29.drugs on the High Street worth $12 billion per year, it is no wonder
:09:30. > :09:32.that online and offline businesses are fighting over it. We went to
:09:33. > :09:39.more than half a dozen pharmacies in Delhi... Problems in India's
:09:40. > :09:42.pharmacy sector were highlighted by the panorama programme earlier this
:09:43. > :09:44.year, which found it was easy to buy prescription drugs, including
:09:45. > :09:51.antibiotics, without having a prescription. The government is now
:09:52. > :09:58.exploring how to better regulate the sale of medicines and whether
:09:59. > :10:00.pharmacies need to face up to the modern reality of e-commerce is
:10:01. > :10:05.something regulators are also bound to look at.
:10:06. > :10:12.And a quick look at the markets before we go to stop we are starting
:10:13. > :10:18.to see those gains as Asian markets take their choose from the strong
:10:19. > :10:24.closure on Wall Street on Friday, which was down to the
:10:25. > :10:27.better-than-expected US jobs report. In Australia, energy stocks are
:10:28. > :10:32.being sold off after OPEC maintained its output. That is it for now.
:10:33. > :10:34.Thank you for