0:00:00 > 0:00:04identifying a festival marking the changes between seasons.
0:00:04 > 0:00:06Plenty more on the BBC News website.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08That's all from me for now.
0:00:08 > 0:00:09Stay with BBC News.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14And the top story here in the UK:
0:00:14 > 0:00:16The leader of Ukip, Henry Bolton, has rejected calls
0:00:17 > 0:00:19to step down because of the row about racist texts sent
0:00:20 > 0:00:22by his ex-girlfriend.
0:00:22 > 0:00:2512 senior figures have resigned from the party's front bench.
0:00:25 > 0:00:26Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:36 > 0:00:43In his first trade move against Asia, Donald Trump slabs tariffs on
0:00:43 > 0:00:47solar panels and washing machines and the Indian Prime Minister
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Narendra Modi will join the world's political and business elite at
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Davos in Switzerland this week, but what does he want out of this
0:00:55 > 0:01:08gathering? Good morning, Asia, hello, world, but I -- glad you
0:01:08 > 0:01:13could join us. He's talked about it for a while but as part of his
0:01:13 > 0:01:18America first trade policy US President Donald Trump has approved
0:01:18 > 0:01:21tariffs on imported solar cells and large household washing machines.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26The move is expected to impact Chinese and South Korean
0:01:26 > 0:01:30manufacturers and is widely seen as the first trade move against Asia.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34For more I'm joined by my colleague and business reporter Timothy
0:01:34 > 0:01:39McDonald. Tim, this is a tough new trade policy from the Trump
0:01:39 > 0:01:43administration. In a way it's not exactly a new
0:01:43 > 0:01:48policy, they are existing policies, but he's taking a tougher line.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Carrots have been imposed by administrations of both stripes,
0:01:50 > 0:01:59Balmer slapped tariffs on Chinese tires in 2009 -- tariffs -- Obama.
0:01:59 > 0:02:08Campaigned on this. In October last year he put tariffs on Bombardier, a
0:02:08 > 0:02:13Canadian era space company -- he campaigned on this. We might expect
0:02:13 > 0:02:15more of this as the Trump administration progresses --
0:02:15 > 0:02:22aerospace company. It is Samsung and LG who are the two affected
0:02:22 > 0:02:30manufacturers from Korea. Whirlpool, a US manufacturer, has been pushing
0:02:30 > 0:02:34the barrel on this one, saying they have lowered prices to such an
0:02:34 > 0:02:38extent that they simply can't compete and really this amounts to
0:02:38 > 0:02:42an unfair trade practice. Of course it will be the US consumer paying it
0:02:42 > 0:02:52because tariffs just end up in the pricetag and LG and Samsung say they
0:02:52 > 0:02:59are starting manufacturing in the US and this is counter-productive.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03Solar panels, why is that such a major issue for Americans?It is a
0:03:03 > 0:03:06big issue because of China, they have really pursued solar
0:03:06 > 0:03:11aggressively and there's a big problem with appellation over there
0:03:11 > 0:03:17and they want to do something about it. -- air pollution. In the process
0:03:17 > 0:03:22of kickstarting the solar industry, it has to be said it has worked,
0:03:22 > 0:03:28it's gone to 6% to 70% of the global industry in a decade, they have
0:03:28 > 0:03:33managed to push our US manufacturers.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36There's great concern among US manufacturers.The bottom line is
0:03:36 > 0:03:40the US manufacturers have to make prices more competitive to compete
0:03:40 > 0:03:45with the Chinese and South Koreans. Thanks for that update, my colleague
0:03:45 > 0:03:47and business reporter Timothy McDonald.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50The President's move comes as thousands of government and business
0:03:50 > 0:03:55leaders gather in the small Swiss town of Davos for the World Economic
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Forum. President Trump is making an appearance for the first in almost
0:03:59 > 0:04:04two decades where a sitting US president will attend the event.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09Sally Bundock explains. It is a gathering of the global
0:04:09 > 0:04:15elite in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos, encouraging globalisation,
0:04:15 > 0:04:25trade and integration. 3000 delegates are going from more
0:04:25 > 0:04:29than 100 countries, including leaders from politics, business and
0:04:29 > 0:04:34even royalty. India's Narendra Modi, Britain's Theresa May and Donald
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Trump of the US all making an appearance.
0:04:38 > 0:04:46He's a president who is championed America first, challenging the very
0:04:46 > 0:04:49concept of free trade and globalisation -- who has. A powerful
0:04:49 > 0:04:54audience for him who have paid top dollar to attend. Business leaders
0:04:54 > 0:04:59including the likes of Chinese entrepreneur Jack Facebook's Sam
0:04:59 > 0:05:07Bird and IBM's Ginny Roma Teague to name just a few. It's not just about
0:05:07 > 0:05:16dealmaking, gender equality is a big theme this year. Only 21% of Davos
0:05:16 > 0:05:20delegates are women. There are high profile campaigns under way not just
0:05:20 > 0:05:24to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace but also to bring an end
0:05:24 > 0:05:29to unfair pay. Davos is often criticised as being a talking shop
0:05:29 > 0:05:33for the world's elite, so the big question is, can it bring about any
0:05:33 > 0:05:38lasting change? As Sally mentioned in that report
0:05:38 > 0:05:43from Asia, the highest profile attendee is Narendra Modi, the
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Indian Prime Minister, it's his first time at the elite gathering
0:05:46 > 0:05:51and the first visit by an Indian leader in more than two decades. For
0:05:51 > 0:05:56more on what India will look to get out of this summit I am joined from
0:05:56 > 0:06:01them by by our business reporter. What is Mr Modi expected to say in
0:06:01 > 0:06:08this World Economic Forum? Well, Rico, before leaving yesterday
0:06:08 > 0:06:12on Monday, Prime Minister and the renderer Modi said he wanted to
0:06:12 > 0:06:17share his vision to the international community for India's
0:06:17 > 0:06:22position, India's ability to do things in the future. He's pitching
0:06:22 > 0:06:29for India to be an engine of global growth and he is going to be
0:06:29 > 0:06:32explaining his reforms back home. He will do that in a number of ways
0:06:32 > 0:06:38apart from addressing the opening session. He will meet members of the
0:06:38 > 0:06:42international business council and he is also meeting a lot of Indian
0:06:42 > 0:06:47CEOs and he's hosting a dinner for global CEOs. It's not just his
0:06:47 > 0:06:52economics he will be pitching for, he is taking soft power with him.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56His delegation will offer yoga on the ski slopes, it's the latest
0:06:56 > 0:07:02high-profile attempt by India to showcase its traditions back home.
0:07:02 > 0:07:07That's what I'm looking forward to, yoga on the ski slopes!
0:07:07 > 0:07:10He's the first Indian leader in 20 years to attend the World Economic
0:07:10 > 0:07:17Forum, why so?The last Prime Minister to attend was in 1997.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Since then the Indian economy has doubled, it's now the seventh
0:07:21 > 0:07:26largest economy in the world and this is all part of Modi's election
0:07:26 > 0:07:32campaign and his mandate as Prime Minister. He has really prioritised
0:07:32 > 0:07:36international trips, he wants to pitch India has a global player, a
0:07:36 > 0:07:42place to do business, a place open to do business so he wants to
0:07:42 > 0:07:45attract foreign investment and he is using this summit in particular to
0:07:45 > 0:07:48do that. Thanks for updating us and looking
0:07:48 > 0:07:52forward to Narendra Modi's speech. Prospects for the global economy are
0:07:52 > 0:07:56looking brighter according to the IMF, it has upgraded its forecast
0:07:56 > 0:08:03for the global economy for this year to 3.9% thanks to strong
0:08:03 > 0:08:09performances in Europe and Asia. Tax reforms in the US are expected to
0:08:09 > 0:08:12stimulate economic activity, especially business investment but
0:08:12 > 0:08:17the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, warns many will not benefit
0:08:17 > 0:08:20from this growth. There are still too many people who
0:08:20 > 0:08:26are left out of that recovery and acceleration of growth. In fact,
0:08:26 > 0:08:31about one fifth of emerging and developing countries, one fifth of
0:08:31 > 0:08:38emerging and developing countries, saw their per capita income decline
0:08:38 > 0:08:41in 2017. Christine Lagarde from the
0:08:41 > 0:08:44International Monetary Fund. The US government shutdown is over at least
0:08:44 > 0:08:49for now. Shares surging on the news Wall Street's main indices hitting
0:08:49 > 0:08:55record closing highs, the Dow up by 0.5% and the NASDAQ gaining 72. The
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Senate has struck an agreement to keep the government funded until the
0:08:58 > 0:09:04eighth of February. I asked our business reporter in New York Samira
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Hussain if there was an impact on the economy.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11It was such a short time period, meaning the cost to the economy in
0:09:11 > 0:09:19the US will be negligible. Lots of US agencies had funding to allow
0:09:19 > 0:09:25them to extend days of work by at least a week. The real impact would
0:09:25 > 0:09:28have been minimal, especially if you compare it to the last shutdown we
0:09:28 > 0:09:33saw in the US in 2013, it lasted a bit longer and there were many more
0:09:33 > 0:09:37federal employees that were furloughed and that have a greater
0:09:37 > 0:09:43impact on the overall GDP. It was estimated 0.3% of an impact to the
0:09:43 > 0:09:47economic impact was made.Is there any guarantee we won't be in the
0:09:47 > 0:09:51same situation in a few weeks? That's the big question.
0:09:51 > 0:09:56They are now funding until February the eighth but what we need to see
0:09:56 > 0:10:00now is some sort of immigration reform. There's been a promise made
0:10:00 > 0:10:06by the Republicans to the Democrats that say the issue will be resolved
0:10:06 > 0:10:10but it will be a tough slog. Staying with the US and Netflix
0:10:10 > 0:10:13shares surged overnight after delivering strong results for the
0:10:13 > 0:10:18last three months of last year. Profitability up but what pleased
0:10:18 > 0:10:22investors was solid subscriber numbers. Be added over 8 million in
0:10:22 > 0:10:28that quarter, more than Wall Street expected and came after the release
0:10:28 > 0:10:31of acclaimed shows like Stranger Things and the Crown -- they added.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36Their market capitalisation has now crossed 100 billion US dollars.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41A quick look at the markets and Asia is being boosted after those record
0:10:41 > 0:10:48closes on Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei is up by 180 points, the Hang
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Seng 212 and the ordinary is, 107. Thank you so much for