:00:00. > :00:00.That story is currently trending on the BBC website.
:00:00. > :00:08.That's all from me now. Stay with BBC World News.
:00:09. > :00:13.Police have revealed that the serial child killer, Robert Black,
:00:14. > :00:17.was about to be charged with the murder of another young girl.
:00:18. > :00:20.Devon and Cornwall Police say they were planning to charge him over
:00:21. > :00:23.the disappearance of Genette Tate, who was 13 when she disappeared
:00:24. > :00:38.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:39. > :00:45.Asian stock markets are falling after Wall Street posts its first
:00:46. > :00:56.day -- worst day since September. Indonesia's economy slows. Well its
:00:57. > :01:02.central bank provide another boost? Good morning. Glad you could join us
:01:03. > :01:08.for this Thursday edition of Asia Business Report. Another sell-off
:01:09. > :01:13.for the regional markets in early Thursday trading. This is because of
:01:14. > :01:24.a major downturn on Wall Street overnight. Japan is down sharply, by
:01:25. > :01:34.640 points. Australia is down by about 2%, more than 90 points. That
:01:35. > :01:37.is after the NASDAQ index ended down nearly 3.5% and the Dow Jones
:01:38. > :01:43.industrial average lost more than 2%, meaning US equities are now in
:01:44. > :01:49.correction mode. All prices are down again with international benchmark
:01:50. > :01:56.Brent crude falling below $30, and currently it is at $29.94 per barrel
:01:57. > :02:02.in Asian trade. Last week, it was above $30. The Chinese markets and
:02:03. > :02:10.the stock market have opened for trading. We can go live to our
:02:11. > :02:16.correspondent. It looks like the indexes are all in the red. Yes,
:02:17. > :02:22.that's correct. A real reversal from yesterday. That was relatively
:02:23. > :02:28.optimistic because of better-than-expected trade data.
:02:29. > :02:35.China for the month of December, finished 1% higher, but it now looks
:02:36. > :02:41.like those games will be lost on the back of what we saw overnight in
:02:42. > :02:50.America -- gains. That is because of those losses in the oil prices.
:02:51. > :02:54.There was a report in the US from the energy Administration talking
:02:55. > :02:57.about oversupply in the energy market, and that is again adding to
:02:58. > :03:03.fears about the future economic growth and whether there is such low
:03:04. > :03:09.demand for oil and what that means in terms of growth going forward. We
:03:10. > :03:15.have been having those worries in Hong Kong and China for quite some
:03:16. > :03:20.time, and it looks like those worries are being reflected in the
:03:21. > :03:24.energy and oil prices. Just an update on what is transparent in the
:03:25. > :03:32.China markets, the Shanghai is down by more than 3%, and the Shenzhen
:03:33. > :03:37.low by 1.7%. What is currently the sentiment among economists after the
:03:38. > :03:42.better-than-expected trade numbers in December in China? Can this be
:03:43. > :03:46.sustained in January and the following months? I think
:03:47. > :03:53.yesterday's numbers really surprised. There was a feeling there
:03:54. > :03:56.was a bit of a reprieve from what seemed like an avalanche of bad
:03:57. > :04:03.news. Certainly this morning the central bank of China said its
:04:04. > :04:06.reference rate for the currency at 6.56%, and it has been at that rate
:04:07. > :04:12.for several sessions. Chinese officials are trying to boost the
:04:13. > :04:18.currency, not letting it slide further. I think we will of a sense
:04:19. > :04:29.of how the economy in China is doing next week, when the GDP figures come
:04:30. > :04:36.out. Thank you. Adding to all of this negative mood, you also have
:04:37. > :04:40.poor data out of Japan. It's called machinery orders falling more than
:04:41. > :04:45.14% in November from the previous month, which was much bigger than
:04:46. > :04:50.forecast. The data is regarded as an indicator of Japan's Abdul spending
:04:51. > :04:56.in the next 6-9 months, and the latest numbers show sentiment
:04:57. > :05:09.remains fragile -- capitals learning. Up to 600 jobs will be cut
:05:10. > :05:20.in Europe. About 14% of this workforce will be lost. A camera
:05:21. > :05:25.maker is also cutting jobs, letting go of 1500 employees, or about 7% of
:05:26. > :05:32.its headcount after a sharp slowdown in holiday sales GoPro also want its
:05:33. > :05:39.next quarter numbers will be lower-than-expected. Shares fell. Al
:05:40. > :05:43.Jazeera is pulling the plug on its cable television network in America.
:05:44. > :05:49.Less than three years after its high profile launch. The company, owned
:05:50. > :05:52.by the Qatari government, had been struggling to attract revenue in the
:05:53. > :05:58.highly competitive US market. It will stop operations at the end of
:05:59. > :06:02.April. Indonesia's Central bank meets later today for the first time
:06:03. > :06:07.this year, and it is a close call as to whether I will cut interest rates
:06:08. > :06:10.to help stimulate the economy. Both is at a six-year low and the
:06:11. > :06:15.government is facing some tough challenges in attracting foreign
:06:16. > :06:24.investment -- growth. What is the sentiment on the ground in English
:06:25. > :06:26.and it? -- in Indonesia? Our correspondent believes measures
:06:27. > :06:31.taken by the government have boosted consumer confidence. The government
:06:32. > :06:36.has been proactive in introducing a number of growth oriented regulation
:06:37. > :06:42.packages that hint at the kind of reforms that are needed to get
:06:43. > :06:45.investment going. That is buoyed investor confidence. Consumers are
:06:46. > :06:53.still wary. We all read and hear the semis. Consumers have a right and
:06:54. > :06:59.reason to be nervous. -- the same news. Especially about the collapse
:07:00. > :07:05.of the commodity markets and exports, as well as political issues
:07:06. > :07:09.at times they can be worrying. It is a vibrant democracy, but that can
:07:10. > :07:15.take its toll on consumer sentiment. Given these factors, do you think it
:07:16. > :07:18.is time once again for the International central bank to cut
:07:19. > :07:25.the cost of borrowing? As you said in the lead up, it is a close call.
:07:26. > :07:29.If it is indicated well on the banks take it up and pass it down the
:07:30. > :07:33.line, it could have some impetus as part of a push towards growth. There
:07:34. > :07:38.is some concern among anchors ASBO to yesterday that private bankers
:07:39. > :07:47.may not even pass the lower rate among. -- among bankers I spoke to
:07:48. > :07:51.yesterday. It could be a problem for the rupiah, although some think that
:07:52. > :07:56.is already factored into the markets. We don't want the rupiah to
:07:57. > :08:02.go to 40,000 again as a result of a rate cut. Now to India, the second
:08:03. > :08:06.largest market for mobile phones, and with a growing number of people
:08:07. > :08:10.using smart phones to connect to the Internet, businesses are keen to
:08:11. > :08:13.develop ways for them to use their handsets to pay for things. Our
:08:14. > :08:29.correspondent reports from Mumbai. get around India's busiest city.
:08:30. > :08:34.This man has been driving one for 25 years. Sometimes getting paid is not
:08:35. > :08:41.as easy as it sounds. Especially if the passenger does not have change.
:08:42. > :08:44.Now some of his customers the mugger choose to fumble around for notes
:08:45. > :08:49.and coins, instead paying using their mobile phones, transferring
:08:50. > :08:54.money electronically. He says that has made life easier for him.
:08:55. > :08:56.TRANSLATION: I used to have difficulty hitting change,
:08:57. > :09:01.especially when customers of the notes. This would lead to an
:09:02. > :09:05.argument often as many travellers will bring I am lying so I can keep
:09:06. > :09:08.the change. But now some people transferred money from their mobile
:09:09. > :09:13.phone and that is a big relief. The bike has about a quarter of a
:09:14. > :09:18.million rickshaws, but only 10,000 except order payment. The number of
:09:19. > :09:25.transactions are expected to go up as more drivers adopt the technology
:09:26. > :09:32.-- Mumbai. It is one way phones are becoming wallets. 200 million people
:09:33. > :09:36.are thought to have signed up to one of the many phones offering the
:09:37. > :09:41.system, and while most only use them to pay for girls, movie tickets and
:09:42. > :09:48.taxi rides, using them instead of cash or bank card is becoming more
:09:49. > :09:53.common -- pay for bills. Companies from other set is like banking and
:09:54. > :09:59.telecoms are seeing the potential, wanting rival versions. They hope to
:10:00. > :10:02.make money by taking a cut from retailers, but despite the
:10:03. > :10:06.possibilities, this firm knows its success hinges on how reliable
:10:07. > :10:15.India's Internet and phone network is. The difficulty is connectivity.
:10:16. > :10:24.Most of the time, it is a two G network. I think we will go through
:10:25. > :10:29.another wave of mobile payments. For many, a move from cash something to
:10:30. > :10:32.do, not least because more than half of the population still does not use
:10:33. > :10:38.anchor counts, relying on old-fashioned money -- bank
:10:39. > :10:41.accounts. As that changes on with things getting smarter and cheaper,
:10:42. > :10:50.there still may be scope to cash in on the trend. The Asian stock
:10:51. > :10:54.markets are in negative territory. Think you for being with us. Goodbye
:10:55. > :11:07.for now. You are watching BBC News. The
:11:08. > :11:10.headlines: Millions in America and around the world are hoping to win
:11:11. > :11:16.the biggest jackpot in lottery history. $1.5 billion. Hong Kong
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