:00:00. > :00:13.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:14. > :00:22.Investors cheered the results of the first round of voting in the French
:00:23. > :00:26.elections. And Singapore is aiming to be the first smart nation ever.
:00:27. > :00:33.But is it learning fast enough to keep up with the competition?
:00:34. > :00:44.Good morning, Asia and hello, world. This is Monday and thank you for
:00:45. > :00:48.joining us. We start off with the French elections and voters have
:00:49. > :00:53.indeed spoken. From 11 presidential candidates, the pro- European
:00:54. > :00:58.candidate Emmanual Macron will be facing far right Marine Le Pen in a
:00:59. > :01:01.run-off election on May seven. The winner will lead the second largest
:01:02. > :01:05.economy in Europe and one of the seven largest in the world. Let's
:01:06. > :01:09.have a look at the currency board and the euro jumps to a five-month
:01:10. > :01:16.high against the US dollar following the election result. A relief rally
:01:17. > :01:21.for the euro. There were worries that if Marine Le Pen won the
:01:22. > :01:24.presidency outright that would spur funds to leave the European Union.
:01:25. > :01:33.That sense of relief in the stock market as well. The Japanese stock
:01:34. > :01:37.exchange jumped 14% and, earlier, I spoke with David who offered this
:01:38. > :01:43.analysis. We should not break out the champagne just yet. I think what
:01:44. > :01:47.we need to do is have a look at what is likely going to happen. For now
:01:48. > :01:52.it looks pretty much like there will be a run-off between Marine Le Pen
:01:53. > :01:59.who is the far right candidate and Emmanuel Macron, the centrist
:02:00. > :02:02.candidate. The polls are saying, and we should not read too much into
:02:03. > :02:07.them giving their track record of late, it looks much as though Macron
:02:08. > :02:11.will win the French presidential election. That is what everybody is
:02:12. > :02:17.expecting on May seven because he got over 23% of the vote in the
:02:18. > :02:22.first round. But what if we have the worst case scenario and Marine Le
:02:23. > :02:26.Pen will be winning the French elections and becomes the new leader
:02:27. > :02:32.of France? What impact will this have on the euro and stock markets?
:02:33. > :02:38.The euro was stronger at the moment and, quite rightly, it predicts we
:02:39. > :02:42.will likely have a centrist candidate win the presidential
:02:43. > :02:46.election. Unfortunately, whoever wins the French election... I'm not
:02:47. > :02:50.a politician, I do not have that much interest in how politics
:02:51. > :02:56.affects things. But if you look at France... It is in a mess. The
:02:57. > :03:01.economy is only growing at 1%. There is a 10% unemployment rate and the
:03:02. > :03:06.debt versus GDP is approaching one years economic output of France. A
:03:07. > :03:09.dire economic situation but a lot of analysts are saying that if Marine
:03:10. > :03:15.Le Pen becomes the leader of France then we could see parity with the US
:03:16. > :03:18.dollar. We certainly could see that because the market hates
:03:19. > :03:27.uncertainty. If Marine Le Pen were to win there would be a great deal
:03:28. > :03:31.of uncertainty. And I say again, France has economic problems call.
:03:32. > :03:36.So does the eurozone. They have the ministers meeting later on, it may
:03:37. > :03:40.need to talk about a lot of things. Not just Brexit but, certainly, they
:03:41. > :03:44.will probably now need to talk about a French exit as well and how they
:03:45. > :03:46.will solve problems within the eurozone.
:03:47. > :03:53.Here is a look ahead at what else is coming up over the next few days.
:03:54. > :04:00.Due to report its earnings, this Wednesday. That is Twitter. Sony
:04:01. > :04:07.will follow on Friday and as mentioned earlier, the 27 remaining
:04:08. > :04:11.EU members are scheduled to meet on Saturday to go over a negotiation
:04:12. > :04:16.outline guiding them through two yous of Brexit talks. In other
:04:17. > :04:20.news:, the Japan-based is reportedly looking at writing down as much as
:04:21. > :04:25.$3.7 billion for the year ending the first of March. That will be on
:04:26. > :04:33.goodwill from its acquisition of an Australian logistics union. Japan
:04:34. > :04:39.Post is a conglomerate was businesses and postal delivery as
:04:40. > :04:42.well as banking and insurance. Response from American Airlines. The
:04:43. > :04:47.airline service suspended an employee after a clash over a baby
:04:48. > :04:51.stroller in San Francisco. A passenger who uploaded video of the
:04:52. > :04:55.aftermath of the incidence of their mother had been struck with the pram
:04:56. > :04:59.as it was forcibly removed by the employee. American airlines has
:05:00. > :05:03.issued an apology to the passenger and her family. This follows another
:05:04. > :05:08.high-profile clash on a plane two weeks ago when a passenger was
:05:09. > :05:10.violently removed from an overbooked flight.
:05:11. > :05:17.Do you save for a rainy day? That is a big question to ask yourself and
:05:18. > :05:22.what do you say but all? This question was put to over 8000
:05:23. > :05:25.consumers across the region. Described as the emerging affluent,
:05:26. > :05:31.these are consumers who are earning enough to save, and many of them an
:05:32. > :05:34.engine of economic growth. The study found that 67% of consumers across
:05:35. > :05:42.Asia saved towards the top priority every month. And property is among
:05:43. > :05:48.one of the top things that they save fork with in the region planning to
:05:49. > :05:52.purchase a home. Children's education also ranked high with 18%
:05:53. > :05:55.on average saving towards that goal. But there were surprising
:05:56. > :06:04.revelations as well. The survey was done to standard Charter and they
:06:05. > :06:08.tell us more about it. There are big savers, two thirds of saving
:06:09. > :06:12.regularly. They are aiming for big dreams. It is about the house,
:06:13. > :06:16.children's education and then long-term for retirement. The way
:06:17. > :06:21.they are investing is quite conservative. What is so surprising
:06:22. > :06:27.about the study is the millennial, those people aged between 25 and 34.
:06:28. > :06:33.Country to popular belief, they are actually saving. Can you tell us
:06:34. > :06:36.about the findings? They are saving. These are often professionals with
:06:37. > :06:41.good jobs and they are saving predominantly to purchase their
:06:42. > :06:44.first property or, if they have children, thinking about the
:06:45. > :06:48.education of their children that they are also digitally savvy. One
:06:49. > :06:51.of the interesting things from the study is that those who are
:06:52. > :07:00.digitally savvy are saving a% more. We would expect, as they get older,
:07:01. > :07:07.but that proportion will increase. Smart cities is the concept widely
:07:08. > :07:11.known these days, may using technology to make lives simpler and
:07:12. > :07:15.more efficient. But Singapore is aiming to be the world's first smart
:07:16. > :07:23.nation. So what does that actually entail? Our correspondent went to
:07:24. > :07:28.take a look. You now what it's like. You wait for the bus on your way to
:07:29. > :07:35.work and if you are anything like me you are probably late. So enter this
:07:36. > :07:39.initiative. Part of the government's plans to introduce technology to
:07:40. > :07:43.every aspect of daily life. I have installed these interactive bus maps
:07:44. > :07:48.in some bus stations across the island. That way you can plan your
:07:49. > :07:52.journey and if you are looking to save time you can also check on bus
:07:53. > :08:05.times and when the next bus that you want is expected to arrive. At
:08:06. > :08:08.Ground Zero of the network system I was shown how data is collected
:08:09. > :08:12.about where the buses are and how long it takes to get to their
:08:13. > :08:16.stocks. With this information we know where the buses are a different
:08:17. > :08:21.points of the day so can put in measures to alleviate and dissipate
:08:22. > :08:28.crowds at points across the island. This will ensure that the transport
:08:29. > :08:32.system works more smoothly. Singapore also uses technology does
:08:33. > :08:35.that translate lives. At this control centre, offices pick up
:08:36. > :08:40.distress calls from the public alerting them to emergencies like
:08:41. > :08:47.heart attacks. And app was developed to connect critically ill citizens
:08:48. > :08:52.to other citizens. This app help this woman say the man's life. He
:08:53. > :09:00.was as being for air. His lips were blue. Immediately I performed chest
:09:01. > :09:04.compression is on him while waiting for the arrival of the ambulance.
:09:05. > :09:08.The plan is for the smart nation initiative to be rolled out across
:09:09. > :09:11.all sectors- make healthcare, homes and offices. The government
:09:12. > :09:15.acknowledges it is not moving fast enough. If we do not get this right,
:09:16. > :09:23.jobs are at stake. Wages are at stake. And any government that does
:09:24. > :09:33.not prepare its people for the future and offer the potential for
:09:34. > :09:37.good jobs will be in trouble. Because of its small size, Singapore
:09:38. > :09:40.has always tried to stay ahead of the curve to survive. Smart nation
:09:41. > :09:43.is a part of the future strategy. But it needs to speed up to achieve
:09:44. > :09:52.its ambitions. But have a look now the market
:09:53. > :09:55.before we go. Japan and Australia react positively to the real result
:09:56. > :10:10.of the French general election. The Japanese market up by two at 1.3%.
:10:11. > :10:14.US markets reacted to Macron taking first place in the presidential
:10:15. > :10:17.elections. Sport Today is coming up next.