0:00:00 > 0:00:01to stop a vote.
0:00:01 > 0:00:02That's certainly got people talking.
0:00:02 > 0:00:04That's all from me for now.
0:00:04 > 0:00:05Stay with BBC News.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13And the top story here in the UK:
0:00:13 > 0:00:16More than a million NHS staff in England are being offered pay
0:00:16 > 0:00:18increases of at least 6.5% over three years.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21The deal, if approved, would cost the Treasury more
0:00:21 > 0:00:22than £4 billion.
0:00:22 > 0:00:23Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40Mark Zuckerberg breaks his silence. He says Facebook made mistakes over
0:00:40 > 0:00:47the handling of users' data, and he's reportedly open to testifying
0:00:47 > 0:00:52in front of US Congress. No surprises from America's Central
0:00:52 > 0:00:58Bank, new Chair Jerome Tel delivers its first spike of this year and he
0:00:58 > 0:01:04has signalled there may be a few more to come.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09Good morning, welcome to Asia Business Report, live from Singapore
0:01:09 > 0:01:13with me, Mariko Oi. We've all been waiting to hear from
0:01:13 > 0:01:19the boss of Facebook and finally we have. Mark Zuckerberg admitted that
0:01:19 > 0:01:24the company made mistakes over how its users' data was handled. Of
0:01:24 > 0:01:29course, earlier this week, as we reported, it was revealed private
0:01:29 > 0:01:35information of Facebook users, some 50 million of us, was misused by
0:01:35 > 0:01:37political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica. In a statement Mr
0:01:37 > 0:01:39Zuckerberg said:
0:01:44 > 0:01:50I started Facebook...
0:01:52 > 0:01:57That was the statement he posted on his personal Facebook page and he's
0:01:57 > 0:02:02giving an interview with CNN, in which he apologised for the breach
0:02:02 > 0:02:08of trust. He said Facebook should not have trusted the data firm at
0:02:08 > 0:02:13the centre of this row, Cambridge Analytica, when it said it would
0:02:13 > 0:02:19delete Facebook data it held, and Mr Zuckerberg has been under mounting
0:02:19 > 0:02:23pressure from politicians around the world to testify how it happened and
0:02:23 > 0:02:26he said in an interview he is open to testifying in front of the US
0:02:26 > 0:02:32Congress. That British firm is under mounting pressure to provide answers
0:02:32 > 0:02:37as well. The British Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament she had
0:02:37 > 0:02:40backed an investigation into the company.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43What we have seen in Cambridge Analytica are the allegations that
0:02:43 > 0:02:47are clearly very concerning, it's absolutely right that they should be
0:02:47 > 0:02:51properly investigated, it is right the information commissioner is
0:02:51 > 0:02:56doing exactly that because people need to have confidence in how their
0:02:56 > 0:03:01personal data is being used and I would expect Cambridge Analytica,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05Facebook and organisations involved to comply fully with the
0:03:05 > 0:03:09investigation taking place. It's not just the US and Europe
0:03:09 > 0:03:16that's reacting to this data crisis, India has taken down the local
0:03:16 > 0:03:19website of Cambridge Analytica following the allegations the
0:03:19 > 0:03:23company misused personal data. Let's bring in our India Business Report
0:03:23 > 0:03:29from Mumbai. Samir, tell us the details of this Indian subsidiary of
0:03:29 > 0:03:35Cambridge Analytica? Well, Cambridge Analytica has a
0:03:35 > 0:03:41tie-up with a local company called SLC, which claims on its website it
0:03:41 > 0:03:45has partnered with Cambridge Analytica and they have been working
0:03:45 > 0:03:50together over the last few years. It also listed a few election campaigns
0:03:50 > 0:03:57it was part of, which includes the party of the current government in
0:03:57 > 0:04:01power, and the main opposition party, the Congress. In fact, on
0:04:01 > 0:04:08Tuesday we saw both parties alleging that both parties had used the
0:04:08 > 0:04:14services of this particular company during the elections in 2010, 2014
0:04:14 > 0:04:18and subsequently another state election. Yes, but what's happened
0:04:18 > 0:04:22interestingly is the website was taken down last night and now that
0:04:22 > 0:04:28page is not available. Clearly this has become a hot issue. We also
0:04:28 > 0:04:33saw... A hot political issue... We saw the IT commission of India
0:04:33 > 0:04:37coming out yesterday with a press conference, warning Facebook if
0:04:37 > 0:04:41there's any data breach in India during the upcoming elections they
0:04:41 > 0:04:45will take strict action. India is now the largest market for Facebook
0:04:45 > 0:04:49with the largest number of users and Facebook has become a very essential
0:04:49 > 0:04:54part when it comes to social media. Samir, in Mumbai, thanks for the
0:04:54 > 0:04:59update, very interesting how globally Cambridge Analytica has
0:04:59 > 0:05:03reached. Today was decision day for this man,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07the new chair of the US Federal Reserve, which of course is the
0:05:07 > 0:05:11world's most important central bank and he delivered what was widely
0:05:11 > 0:05:16expected. Jerome Powell announced his first interest rate rise, an
0:05:16 > 0:05:25increase of 0.24% to 1.75% from 1.5%. Let's look at the market
0:05:25 > 0:05:28reaction. Wall Street shares have ended the day slightly lower after a
0:05:28 > 0:05:37volatile session. Asia has opened today, Japan has reopened after a
0:05:37 > 0:05:41public holiday, we are seeing some rise there. In the currency markets,
0:05:41 > 0:05:46we're seeing the dollar seeing the biggest one-day loss in two months
0:05:46 > 0:05:51against a basket of currencies. When announcing the hike, the new Fed
0:05:51 > 0:05:55chair sounded very optimistic about the state of the US economy.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Indeed the economic outlook has strengthened in recent months,
0:05:58 > 0:06:04several factors are supporting the outlook, fiscal policy has become
0:06:04 > 0:06:07more stimulative, ongoing job gains are boosting incomes and confidence.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12Foreign growth is on a good trajectory and overall financial
0:06:12 > 0:06:14conditions remain accommodative. As our business reporter in
0:06:14 > 0:06:20Washington explained, the members don't all share the optimism.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24The thread seemed quite divided about how well the US economy is
0:06:24 > 0:06:29doing. -- said. Everyone looks at the things called the Dot Chart,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33sorry to use the jargon, it gives you a sense of what the committee
0:06:33 > 0:06:37are thinking about the US economy and rate increases in the future.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Eight thought there should be three rate increases this year, seven
0:06:41 > 0:06:47thought there should be four. It is a mixed bag about what the Fed will
0:06:47 > 0:06:52do in the coming months. Either way the US economic situation has been
0:06:52 > 0:06:56improving, which suggests the Fed has legal room Dashwood ballroom in
0:06:56 > 0:07:02terms of the timing of the interest rate increases -- wiggle room.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Donald Trump has announced further tariffs on China and import tariffs
0:07:05 > 0:07:09on steel and aluminium have been making headlines, did he say
0:07:09 > 0:07:12anything about the administration's trade policy?
0:07:12 > 0:07:16It was quite interesting. Obviously I was sitting in the press
0:07:16 > 0:07:20conference and every reporter once the Fed chair to say something,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23anything newsworthy, it was interesting Mr Powell was quite
0:07:23 > 0:07:28sitting, he said the Fed doesn't do trade policy. Many members of the
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Federal Reserve board, we're hearing from members of the business
0:07:32 > 0:07:36community, that they were worried about a trade war and that has made
0:07:36 > 0:07:39the Fed reconsider the possibility these tariffs might have some sort
0:07:39 > 0:07:43of impact on the US economy. So far they haven't changed their outlook
0:07:43 > 0:07:50for US economic growth. We will bring you all the latest
0:07:50 > 0:07:54ones Donald Trump announces further tariffs against China.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59What part of your work day do you dread the most? I'm pretty sure the
0:07:59 > 0:08:03answer would be meetings for many of us, and in the modern office, often
0:08:03 > 0:08:07we are trying to collaborate with people who are not even in the same
0:08:07 > 0:08:13room. What are the new-age solutions to get over that problem? As part of
0:08:13 > 0:08:18our Future of Work series, Yogita Limaye reports from New York.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23Meetings are hard whoever you are. They can be boring and sometimes go
0:08:23 > 0:08:31on for too long. But the they are necessary too. They were the most
0:08:31 > 0:08:36important decisions are taken. In an office like ours the meetings are
0:08:36 > 0:08:40pretty easy because we all sit across from each other, but some
0:08:40 > 0:08:45estimates suggest 45 and 50% of the American workforce could be revoked
0:08:45 > 0:08:50by 2020 -- 45 and 50%. So what good meetings of the future look like?
0:08:50 > 0:08:55Some companies are turning to robots. This is a Segway like device
0:08:55 > 0:09:00with an iPad as a face.Double Robotics, Silicon Valley start-up,
0:09:00 > 0:09:08says they have sold these two 4000 customers. But could this be made to
0:09:08 > 0:09:20feel even more real? I look silly nodding and Finnair but this is how
0:09:20 > 0:09:24hologram technology works, it makes you feel like you're in the same
0:09:24 > 0:09:29place as someone who isn't there. -- at thin air. It is hard to set up
0:09:29 > 0:09:33and is still in its early days. Our clients are lots of corporate
0:09:33 > 0:09:41fortune 500 clients using it for and we are trying to build in the
0:09:41 > 0:09:48conference rooms for telprescence. But for now most small companies are
0:09:48 > 0:09:52using different forms of video conferencing to meet their needs.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56This firm's pounder says the ability to have remote workers is critical
0:09:56 > 0:10:01to their growth.If you're not able to say, hey, you can't move to a new
0:10:01 > 0:10:05location or grow a new business in a different geography we wouldn't be
0:10:05 > 0:10:09able to hire the right people we need to hire to grow the business.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13While technology that allows people to be face to face is key, what's
0:10:13 > 0:10:17most important is that work gets done and so companies like this one
0:10:17 > 0:10:21are also on the lookout for innovation that makes meetings more
0:10:21 > 0:10:25efficient. Yogita Limaye, BBC News, New York.
0:10:25 > 0:10:33Before we go I wanted to mention about the China's -- China's
0:10:33 > 0:10:41Facebook, we were monitoring their share prices, Facebook has been
0:10:41 > 0:10:46having problems with share prices but ten saying prices are doing well
0:10:46 > 0:10:49in Hong Kong. -- ten saying.