0:00:00 > 0:00:02Ministers have ordered a fast-track investigation into its directors.
0:00:02 > 0:00:15Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21US banking giants taking major financial hits from President
0:00:21 > 0:00:37Trump's new tax reform programme. And Australia's pokie problem tops
0:00:37 > 0:00:40the list of the largest gambling losses in the world. Good morning,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Asia. Hello, world. It's a Wednesday. Welcome to another
0:00:42 > 0:00:46edition of Asia Business Report. I'm Rico Hizon. We start off with the US
0:00:46 > 0:00:52burning season. Some of America's biggest banks are putting this week.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57Likely announce large one-time charges in the fourth quarter. That
0:00:57 > 0:01:03will surely erode their profitability. That is a result of
0:01:03 > 0:01:08President Trump's tax overhaul at the end of last year. I am joined by
0:01:08 > 0:01:13Marika Oi. Last week JP Morgan showed better than normal earnings,
0:01:13 > 0:01:20but are taking a hit.It is a similar story with City, also
0:01:20 > 0:01:24reporting overnight. If you are wondering, wasn't the tax reform of
0:01:24 > 0:01:29President Trump supposedly good for big corporations like these banks?
0:01:29 > 0:01:47It is, but only in the long-term. For example, City, the
0:01:47 > 0:01:51fourth-biggest US bank, it expects the tax rate to fall 25% from last
0:01:51 > 0:01:55year's 30. That will be good in the future. But it has a one-time charge
0:01:55 > 0:01:59of $22 billion. It meant it lost $18 billion, to be exact. This is the
0:01:59 > 0:02:06first loss since 2009. Besides the major tax charge, they topped
0:02:06 > 0:02:12expectations. The CEO said tax reform could be the boost the US
0:02:12 > 0:02:18economy needs. We will hear from Goldman Sachs later today followed
0:02:18 > 0:02:24by Morgan Stanley on Thursday, likely a similar story. Big one-off
0:02:24 > 0:02:29charges, but better profitability in the future.A full week ahead of
0:02:29 > 0:02:41earnings. Thank you for updating us, Marika Oi. The country with the
0:02:41 > 0:03:02biggest gambling losses in the world is Australia to be according to the
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Economist Magazine, it is down to pokies, electronic gambling
0:03:05 > 0:03:08machines. They have the most in the world.We think of the Melbourne
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Cup, which stops the country. We think of the sharemarket. And we
0:03:12 > 0:03:20think of 200 of these slot machines, pokies as they are known, for those
0:03:20 > 0:03:23who play them they are harmless. They have flashing lights and
0:03:23 > 0:03:26enticing sounds. Winning has nothing to do with skill. They are computers
0:03:26 > 0:03:32that randomly make money. But speaker campaigners in Australia,
0:03:32 > 0:03:39they believe these pokies, poker machines, are having a pernicious
0:03:39 > 0:03:44effect on Australian society. They believe they have similar elements
0:03:44 > 0:03:50to cocaine. They believe gambling problems and these machines are
0:03:50 > 0:03:53responsible for about 400 Australians taking their own lives
0:03:53 > 0:03:58each year.It is indeed an addiction. Australians lose more per
0:03:58 > 0:04:03person gambling than any other country. Rounding out the top three
0:04:03 > 0:04:09are Singapore and Ireland. In Singapore they are strict with
0:04:09 > 0:04:13gambling laws because locals have to pay their way into the casino. Does
0:04:13 > 0:04:31Australia have these regulation is? I could take you down the road from
0:04:31 > 0:04:35where I am sat here to many, many small venues, bars and clubs, in the
0:04:35 > 0:04:38city, that are everywhere. And they are common everywhere except Western
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Australia, where they are restricted to casinos. It is worth pointing out
0:04:42 > 0:04:45the gambling industry says it takes corporate and social
0:04:45 > 0:04:50responsibilities seriously. If we go into one of those gambling venues
0:04:50 > 0:04:54there would be signs telling us to gamble responsibly. There would be
0:04:54 > 0:04:58helplines for people with problems. On line wagering industry is here in
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Australia are setting up a register where people who believe they have a
0:05:02 > 0:05:08problem can join. -- industries. . They are essentially excluding
0:05:08 > 0:05:12themselves from gambling services. They say they are taking social
0:05:12 > 0:05:15responsibilities seriously. On the other hand, campaigners believe the
0:05:15 > 0:05:23problem, especially of pokies, in Australia, is getting out of hand.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26India's Supreme Court will resume hearings challenging the biometric
0:05:26 > 0:05:32identification system called Aha. It started out to help people get
0:05:32 > 0:05:41welfare benefits and food subsidies. But now it is mandatory, and links
0:05:41 > 0:05:47to phone numbers and bank accounts. We will cross to Mumbai. Thank you
0:05:47 > 0:05:52for joining us. They are calling the hearings today the biggest test of
0:05:52 > 0:06:00the system yet. Why is that?Well, it is the world's largest unique
0:06:00 > 0:06:08digital identity scheme. India has more than a billion people in it,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12and more than that are already registered. Lots of those people are
0:06:12 > 0:06:18poor and get food subsidies. It is thought around a quarter of those
0:06:18 > 0:06:21food subsidies are stolen because of the distribution system being so
0:06:21 > 0:06:25inefficient. That is the argument of the government. They say they have
0:06:25 > 0:06:31saved hundreds of lives of dollars since it came in because it links
0:06:31 > 0:06:36people with subsidies they are entitled to. -- hundreds of
0:06:36 > 0:06:40billions. The Supreme Court will challenge the validity of it. Many
0:06:40 > 0:06:48people say it challenges the rights to privacy, a fundamental
0:06:48 > 0:06:54constitutional rights in India. They are also challenging the way
0:06:54 > 0:06:59biometric data is collected and the use of it by government agencies.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04There are pros and cons, but when will The Supreme Court make a
0:07:04 > 0:07:10decision? If it is scrapped, what will happen next?Well, The Supreme
0:07:10 > 0:07:15Court is only resuming hearings today. There have been a lot of
0:07:15 > 0:07:21protests. There are many concerns around digital privacy and
0:07:21 > 0:07:28surveillance, as I mentioned. And also around privacy. So, the problem
0:07:28 > 0:07:33is that it is being used and is being linked to many bank accounts
0:07:33 > 0:07:37and phone numbers, but people are saying it is voluntary, why should
0:07:37 > 0:07:41we have to do it if it is not required?Thank you so much for
0:07:41 > 0:07:48updating us. Joining us from Mumbai. McDonald's. They say all packaging
0:07:48 > 0:07:55worldwide will come from sustainable sources and sources by 2025. They
0:07:55 > 0:07:59want all items like bags and cuts to come from recycled or renewable
0:07:59 > 0:08:06materials. So, what is behind this new green goal for McDonald's?
0:08:06 > 0:08:12Samira Hussain explains.There are a few reasons. Wine, there is pressure
0:08:12 > 0:08:19from customers who have always said this is something they want. --
0:08:19 > 0:08:23one,. Given the turbulent for McDonald's in the past few years,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27revamping their menus to get more people to come through their stores,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31to try and adhere to what the customers really want, I mean, that
0:08:31 > 0:08:36is part of it. The other part, I would say, is the industry is
0:08:36 > 0:08:39changing. If you look at the new fast food restaurants coming onto
0:08:39 > 0:08:44the market, many of them used sustainable items when it comes to
0:08:44 > 0:08:49cutlery and when it comes to their packaging. They make an effort to do
0:08:49 > 0:08:53a lot of recycling. And so there is that pressure within the restaurant
0:08:53 > 0:08:57industry for McDonald's to do this. If you look at North America and
0:08:57 > 0:09:02Europe, for example, facilities already exist to try and create
0:09:02 > 0:09:07sustainable utensils and packaging, but in other parts of the country,
0:09:07 > 0:09:13or rather, other part of the world, that will be a lot more difficult.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17McDonald's response to that is they will invest in countries that do not
0:09:17 > 0:09:22have that already for infrastructure. They want to put
0:09:22 > 0:09:35personal investment in this as well. Leslie is selling their
0:09:35 > 0:09:39confectionary business to Ferero for $3 billion. The maker of Nutella
0:09:39 > 0:09:44become the largest chocolate company. Nestle put the chocolate
0:09:44 > 0:09:48business up for sale last year and says it wants to focus more on
0:09:48 > 0:09:54products like bottled water and baby food for future growth. The markets.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58Asian stocks are negative after Wall Street pulled back at the close
0:09:58 > 0:10:07after the decline in oil and metal stocks. The Hang Seng Index has just
0:10:07 > 0:10:19opened, down from record highs, lower by about 80 points. Well, in
0:10:19 > 0:10:25the US currency, it strengthened overnight, gaining against the euro
0:10:25 > 0:10:31and the Japanese yen. Thank you so much for investing your