:00:00. > :00:00.British Gas is to increase electricity prices by 12.5% from
:00:00. > :00:00.The move - which will affect more than three customers -
:00:00. > :00:11.has led to calls for a cap on energy costs. Now on BBC News
:00:12. > :00:16.- all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:17. > :00:32.Apple reports sweet earnings due to better than expect that sales of
:00:33. > :00:39.iPhones and iPods. And it splits in two to form a new currency --
:00:40. > :00:45.Bitcoin. We start with Apple, which has reported a juicy set of
:00:46. > :00:51.earnings. Its shares are rising to record highs. It is best known for
:00:52. > :00:57.its iPhones and computers, and they have reported a 7% rise in revenue
:00:58. > :01:03.to just over $45 billion. Profits from Apple watch, Apple TV and other
:01:04. > :01:09.products jumped more than 20% compared to last year. But revenue
:01:10. > :01:16.from China fell for the fifth straight quarter. We go to our North
:01:17. > :01:23.America technology reporter. He talked us through the results. It
:01:24. > :01:27.was kind of in line with what they were hoping for. There are some big
:01:28. > :01:31.wins, particularly for the iPad. That is a product that has
:01:32. > :01:35.essentially been declining for just over the last three years. This
:01:36. > :01:42.quarter, it showed some growth. I think that can be attributed to the
:01:43. > :01:48.new iPad Brough, the software that runs on the iPad and other iPhones.
:01:49. > :01:55.Apple also pleased with the performance of their services
:01:56. > :02:06.departments -- iPad pro. Things like their services, the App Store and so
:02:07. > :02:11.on. The service is part of a bull alone could be made a fortune 500
:02:12. > :02:18.company. Apple is keen, although they could rely on the success of
:02:19. > :02:23.the iPhone, they are keen to grow the development of their services.
:02:24. > :02:27.Services adding to profits for a pool, where else are they looking
:02:28. > :02:32.for growth, particularly here in Asia? They have not been performing
:02:33. > :02:38.too well in China? Yes, they have been struggling in China. They are
:02:39. > :02:42.in a trough with China, with a suggestion that they will come out
:02:43. > :02:51.that trough and improve things. They are also looking to expand in India.
:02:52. > :02:54.They want a certain tax breaks to incentivise the manufacturing class
:02:55. > :03:00.in India. There is a huge potential for selling smart phones. Perhaps
:03:01. > :03:03.building smart phones in the country could be an answer. However, the
:03:04. > :03:10.Indian government has had meetings with Apple, and they have suggested
:03:11. > :03:14.that if they offer those tax breaks, they should be offering them to
:03:15. > :03:23.anyone else who wants to make devices in India. Another market
:03:24. > :03:29.that Apple is looking to build in. Bitcoin developers have agreed to
:03:30. > :03:33.create a new type of currency after not being able to agree on software
:03:34. > :03:39.changes. They are not regulated, but can be used to pay for a variety of
:03:40. > :03:46.services online and in real shops. While its value has been volatile,
:03:47. > :03:58.they have seen virtual currency rise to nearly $3000. Why change course
:03:59. > :04:06.now? What can you tell us? Bitcoin is now splitcoin. It comes down to
:04:07. > :04:11.an argument over something called block chain technology, and how it
:04:12. > :04:17.can carry more information as more people use crypto currencies. It
:04:18. > :04:22.affects the speeds of transactions. For example, Bitcoin can handle six
:04:23. > :04:32.transactions per second, compared to a payment system like Visa, which
:04:33. > :04:37.can handle 1600. They want to increase the speed, but they have
:04:38. > :04:44.been squabbling over how to do that. One group of developers have created
:04:45. > :04:48.a new, second version of Bitcoin, which they are calling Bitcoin Cash.
:04:49. > :04:54.It does not have a huge amount of support yet, but it is expected to
:04:55. > :05:01.create some volatility in prices. That is because the original Bitcoin
:05:02. > :05:09.is trading at nearly $3000. The new Bitcoin, it costs only around $200.
:05:10. > :05:12.Fascinating analysis. Thank you. Earlier, I spoke to a Bitcoin
:05:13. > :05:18.investor and asked him what investors can expect. It all depends
:05:19. > :05:26.on what happens in three months from now. It has been promised by the
:05:27. > :05:35.main Bitcoin development community, they are the second part of a
:05:36. > :05:45.solution which are increasing the speed. They have had different
:05:46. > :05:53.consensus in the past, so it will be interesting to see how it affects
:05:54. > :05:56.Bitcoin Cash. We saw the prices escalate some 50% yesterday, but
:05:57. > :06:02.then it fell again. What happens now with the values of these currencies?
:06:03. > :06:11.They will be traded separately, as a lot of other coins. It will all
:06:12. > :06:20.depend on how much the market is leading them. Currently, it is
:06:21. > :06:25.roughly 10% of the value of Bitcoin, which is still about $10 billion.
:06:26. > :06:31.Existing currency side by side, could this cause chaos in trading?
:06:32. > :06:37.It depends... No, I would say no. Traders deal with these situations
:06:38. > :06:42.many times. They are used to it. It is not a critical usage on the
:06:43. > :06:47.ground. Online, there will be merchants and a processor who will
:06:48. > :06:53.be able to deal with this situation. They have been dealing with
:06:54. > :06:59.different crypto currencies before, it is nothing new. Who stands to
:07:00. > :07:03.gain? URA Bitcoin investor, but who is going to gain and who is going to
:07:04. > :07:09.suffer? I don't think anyone will suffer. Everyone for now, who had
:07:10. > :07:17.held onto Bitcoin until yesterday, they now have two crypto currencies.
:07:18. > :07:22.They can decide whether they want to keep them or whether they want to
:07:23. > :07:30.sell them, whether they believe in the new currency more. So, all of us
:07:31. > :07:40.can start focusing on what the market is indicating and which
:07:41. > :07:43.directions we want to go in. India's central bank is meeting later today
:07:44. > :07:47.to decide on interest rates, the biggest question is whether there
:07:48. > :07:53.will be a part in how low inflation is at the moment. It fell to 1.5% in
:07:54. > :07:59.June, the lowest in five years. That is well below the central bank's
:08:00. > :08:06.target of 4%. Rates have been steady at 6.25% for the last four meetings.
:08:07. > :08:14.More needs to be done to stop women from feeling the pressure to wear
:08:15. > :08:20.these shoes. This is according to the most thorough scientific study
:08:21. > :08:23.into these shoes. They examined the physical damage that wearing high
:08:24. > :09:39.heels can cause. Let's take a look. Oh dear, I might have to switch to
:09:40. > :09:46.flat shoes. And time to take a look at where the Asian markets are
:09:47. > :09:53.trading. We saw it down as much as 3%, which has renewed worries of
:09:54. > :09:59.oversupply. They have kept up the pace of production despite promising
:10:00. > :10:13.to cut output next year. And a quick look at the equity markets that have
:10:14. > :10:18.just opened here in Asia. The nikkei has opened higher, thanks to Wall
:10:19. > :10:21.Street. This is due to strong corporate earnings. Apple had some
:10:22. > :10:28.very strong results, that is bolstering confidence in the global
:10:29. > :10:29.economy. And that's it for this edition of Asia Business Report.
:10:30. > :10:37.Thank you for watching. Venezuela is facing
:10:38. > :10:41.international condemnation after the arrest of two
:10:42. > :10:48.opposition leaders.