:00:20. > :00:27.This is BBC News. A summary of the news: Still no resolution in the US
:00:27. > :00:30.debt problem. A boat was due on Thursday night that the Republican
:00:30. > :00:38.leadership could not persuade enough of their members to back
:00:38. > :00:46.their plan. AE Libyan rebel military commander has been shot
:00:46. > :00:50.dead, Abdel Fattah Younes were shot dead by a gang while travelling to
:00:51. > :00:56.appear before a military committee. French officials will announce the
:00:56. > :01:01.exact causes of the crash of a checked in the Atlantic. Memorials
:01:01. > :01:07.to take place today in Oslo one week after the bombing and
:01:07. > :01:14.shootings which killed 76 people. Police will question the only
:01:14. > :01:24.suspect Anders Behring Breivik for a second time. Now it is time for
:01:24. > :01:29.
:01:29. > :01:35.World Business Report. Could the DEC stand-off begin to weigh on the
:01:35. > :01:40.world's largest economy? Markets await second quarter growth the
:01:40. > :01:50.gaze amid fears that the recovery is losing steam.
:01:50. > :01:51.
:01:51. > :01:56.Markets are nervous over America's debt crisis.
:01:56. > :02:06.International airlines look for their next merger partner. Business
:02:06. > :02:09.
:02:09. > :02:16.the US Congress over the debt ceiling has been delayed again.
:02:16. > :02:21.With no end in sight, fears are raised about the long-term impact.
:02:21. > :02:26.GDP figures are expected to show that the US is struggling with Paul
:02:26. > :02:36.Gray's and default will make the future even more uncertain. -- poor
:02:36. > :02:37.
:02:37. > :02:41.growth. Our correspondent reports. Sales are up 25%, but the debt
:02:41. > :02:49.issue in Washington has left the owner at a loss about what to do
:02:49. > :02:56.next. Our bankers are scarce to give projections for next year. I
:02:56. > :03:00.say: I don't know. I do not know what will happen for some if
:03:00. > :03:06.America's credit rating is downgraded, interest payments will
:03:06. > :03:14.go arm, making loans to companies like these more expensive. It means
:03:14. > :03:20.tough choices. They tell me how hard it is to pay their bills. We
:03:20. > :03:26.find it difficult to give people the races they deserve. Even before
:03:26. > :03:31.the row over the debt ceiling, recovery was already faltering.
:03:31. > :03:38.significant slowdown in the jobs engine of the US, the service
:03:39. > :03:43.sector. That tells you there is something Bega going on than and
:03:43. > :03:49.little bit of worry over their debt or the Japanese earthquake. It is a
:03:49. > :03:55.cyclical slowdown which will persist until the end of the year.
:03:55. > :04:01.American consumers account for 70% of all economic activity. They are
:04:01. > :04:06.struggling and growth is slowing. There is concern that be. Issue in
:04:06. > :04:12.Washington could make a bad situation even worse. BBC News.
:04:12. > :04:17.Market nerves over the debt crisis they have continued in Asia.
:04:17. > :04:23.Worrying comments about the broader economy from some technology giants.
:04:23. > :04:32.We crossed to Rico Hizon in New York. People on the edge of their
:04:32. > :04:39.seats. Yes, or Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Sydney. Markets are very
:04:39. > :04:45.jittery. No resolution insight on the US debt ceiling. Doubt that a
:04:46. > :04:51.deal will be done by next Tuesday to it avert a ratings downgrade. A
:04:51. > :04:57.serious crisis in America or Europe would heat Asian markets just as
:04:57. > :05:06.hard as during the sub-prime crisis three years ago. The region remains
:05:06. > :05:14.deeply reliant on the US and Europe not only for exports but capital
:05:14. > :05:20.inflows. The yen is that a four- month high vs the US dollar. The
:05:20. > :05:26.Singapore dollar is at record highs and this does not help the costs of
:05:26. > :05:33.Asia's technology giants who rely on export receipts from the USA and
:05:33. > :05:43.Europe. Sony, Panasonic, Nintendo, reported weak numbers and are
:05:43. > :05:47.forecasting a tough road ahead due to reduced consumer demands. There
:05:47. > :05:57.is still a lot of uncertainty in the markets and the Asian economies
:05:57. > :06:00.
:06:00. > :06:09.going forward. British Airways and Iberia are expected to be in a
:06:09. > :06:17.bullish mood. Passenger numbers have risen. First class numbers are
:06:17. > :06:23.up 25% after the resolution of the dispute with cabin crew. It has a
:06:23. > :06:29.list of 12 other airlines it will consider buying. I am joined by a
:06:29. > :06:35.representative from an airline consultancy. An endorsement of the
:06:35. > :06:38.strategy focusing on business passengers. Yes, it is certainly
:06:38. > :06:48.the long-haul business passengers bringing through the stronger
:06:48. > :06:48.
:06:48. > :06:52.results. They are exposed to growth markets, notably Latin America. We
:06:52. > :07:01.are seeing a divide in what is happening to traffic. Long-haul
:07:01. > :07:04.business traffic is growing. Short- haul is declining. We heard from a
:07:04. > :07:10.share that some corporates are expressing concerns about the
:07:11. > :07:12.economic outlook. Is there a disconnect between demand for
:07:12. > :07:17.business-class seats and what is happening to the underlying
:07:17. > :07:27.economy? Up to this point it has been in line with the global
:07:27. > :07:34.economy. The concern about the US could have caused a change. While
:07:34. > :07:38.the long haul demand is strong in business price it would be a double
:07:38. > :07:44.whammy if it fell away as well. They are looking around to see what
:07:44. > :07:51.else they might buy. They have talked about waiving of chequebooks
:07:51. > :07:57.by i AG. That will not happen in the short-term. As a holding group
:07:57. > :08:02.they are meant to be there to absorb new airlines into the group,
:08:02. > :08:10.but they do not want worse just for the sake of growth. The strategy is
:08:10. > :08:15.to grow in key markets - Asia, Latin America. Strengthening the
:08:15. > :08:20.position of British Airways home market at Heathrow. Why are these
:08:20. > :08:25.mergers are essential to pick up momentum? It is a trained we have
:08:26. > :08:32.seen the industry goes through in recent years. In the past we have
:08:32. > :08:39.seen airlines led by governments. There needs to be a greater focus
:08:39. > :08:45.on cost. They have a threadbare margin. To deal with challenging
:08:45. > :08:51.fuel prices you need to be a more efficient operator. Less capacity
:08:51. > :08:57.where competition cannot be sustained.
:08:57. > :09:01.Also this Friday the scandal surrounding News Corporation may
:09:01. > :09:08.overshadow results from BSkyB. Barry expected to have made
:09:08. > :09:14.operating profits of one. $6 billion to June. James Murdoch was
:09:14. > :09:20.confirmed as chairman of the company. News Corporation, which
:09:20. > :09:24.owns 39% of BSkyB, was forced to drop its takeover bid amid the
:09:25. > :09:29.spreading scandal over phone hacking at News of the World. South
:09:29. > :09:36.African mine workers are due to meet gold producers on Friday for
:09:36. > :09:41.wage talks in a bid to end a strike which could cost $25 million a day.
:09:41. > :09:47.100,000 workers stopped work on Thursday demanding wage rises of
:09:47. > :09:52.14% against offers of 7% amid record prices for gold bullion. The
:09:52. > :09:58.growth figures from the US will provide an enormous focus for
:09:58. > :10:02.markets during Friday's trade. The markets are very nervous about the
:10:03. > :10:12.US debt at stand-off at the moment. Debt markets are looking calm at
:10:13. > :10:16.
:10:16. > :10:21.the moment. We are seeing nervousness on Wall Street. The
:10:21. > :10:27.tone is also set by worries about the US economy and the outlook for
:10:27. > :10:35.the third quarter, looking weaker than one would have hoped. Growth
:10:35. > :10:42.figures out later are expected at 1.8%, rather than the to dissent
:10:42. > :10:47.which is needed to fuel job growth. That will be a concern, given that
:10:47. > :10:55.jobs are needed to propel the economy forward. The European
:10:55. > :11:01.markets. The FTSE is up. Disappointing growth figures for
:11:01. > :11:05.the UK economy which raised questions as to whether the impetus
:11:05. > :11:15.provided by the government will be enough to propel the economy
:11:15. > :11:20.
:11:20. > :11:27.forward for the remainder of 2011. Zara Payne, whose daughter was
:11:28. > :11:33.murdered in revenues ago, has been told she may have been targeted by
:11:33. > :11:38.the private investigated at the centre of the phone hacking scandal.
:11:38. > :11:43.News International says it is taking the matter very seriously.
:11:43. > :11:46.Some NHS trusts in England are delaying operations in the hope
:11:46. > :11:51.that patients will disappear from waiting lists either by opting for
:11:52. > :11:57.private treatment or dying. Some managers are setting minimum
:11:58. > :12:02.waiting times of 15 weeks to save money. Our correspondent reports.
:12:02. > :12:08.Group that is a well-known maximum waiting time for routine NHS
:12:08. > :12:14.operations in England. Some primary care trusts are also imposing
:12:14. > :12:18.minimum waiting times, 15 weeks being one example. Since 2008
:12:18. > :12:24.patients needing routine treatment could choose between being treated
:12:24. > :12:30.by the NHS or going to an approved private health centre, with the PTC
:12:30. > :12:35.footing the bill. Some trusts add any trying to save money by
:12:35. > :12:41.imposing time delays in the hope that patients will remove
:12:41. > :12:48.themselves from the waiting lists either by dying of paying for their
:12:48. > :12:53.own treatment. Apart from extending the suffering the panel says that
:12:53. > :12:57.delaying operations may be false economy if the patient is left
:12:57. > :13:02.needing more extensive and expensive care. The panel stop
:13:02. > :13:06.short of banning minimum waiting times outright but said trusts
:13:06. > :13:15.should only use them if their finances are in a critical
:13:15. > :13:24.condition. BBC News. Coming up at 6am, Breakfast. All the day's use,
:13:24. > :13:30.business and sport. The headlines: The political
:13:30. > :13:34.wrangling over the US debt crisis is continuing. A key vote was
:13:34. > :13:38.postponed when it became clear that the Republican leadership could not
:13:38. > :13:43.persuade enough of their supporters to back a plan for a short-term
:13:43. > :13:47.solution. If agreement is not reached by next Tuesday the US
:13:47. > :13:54.government could run out of cash. Our correspondent explains why the
:13:54. > :14:04.issue has become so difficult. You have to look at what happened at
:14:04. > :14:12.
:14:12. > :14:19.the mid-term elections last November. A lot of the people
:14:19. > :14:24.elected on that at Fern were conservative, part of the Tea Party.
:14:24. > :14:30.A Libyan rebel military commander has been shot dead. Abdel Fattah
:14:30. > :14:36.Younes was Colonel Gaddafi's Interior Minister until the
:14:36. > :14:41.uprising in said grief. Air crash investigators will reveal exactly
:14:42. > :14:46.why an Air France plane crashed into the Atlantic two years ago.
:14:46. > :14:50.Findings are based on analysis of information from the recently