:00:08. > :00:16.For the latest financial news, it is a bold business report. -- World
:00:16. > :00:19.Business Report. Welcome. The headlines: Looking for
:00:19. > :00:25.solutions to the debt crisis. Europe will consider plans from
:00:25. > :00:29.France and Germany for closer economic co-operation.
:00:29. > :00:37.The Swiss government meets today to work out how to deal with the
:00:37. > :00:47.threatening way high Swiss franc. - - higher.
:00:47. > :00:53.Manchester United considers an Asian share sale.
:00:53. > :00:57.No plans for a bond backed by the whole of Europe. But France and
:00:57. > :01:01.Germany did call for a new economic government for eurozone countries
:01:01. > :01:05.to be led by the political leaders of those countries. They advocated
:01:05. > :01:10.a tax on financial transactions to raise more revenue. The plans will
:01:10. > :01:14.be detailed in a letter to the president of the European Union
:01:14. > :01:19.today and sent to other members for consideration. Spain has already
:01:19. > :01:25.voiced its approval. The German Chancellor said there was no quick
:01:25. > :01:30.fix solution to the crisis. TRANSLATION: I do not think Europe
:01:30. > :01:39.is at the point of needing its last resort. And I do not think that we
:01:39. > :01:44.can solve these problems quickly. We are proposing a means of winning
:01:44. > :01:54.back trust step by step. I do not think eurobond will help us in this.
:01:54. > :01:58.Is this another fudged statement? No increase in the sides of the
:01:58. > :02:02.bail-out fund? What do you think the market will think? They will
:02:02. > :02:06.probably think this is another missed opportunity. France and
:02:06. > :02:13.Germany have said that the core companies -- countries are not
:02:13. > :02:19.willing to open the covers any more. Improved fiscal discipline which is
:02:19. > :02:24.only part of the puzzle, economic growth is another part, these by
:02:24. > :02:32.not addressed at all in the meeting. If Sarkozy and Merkel want to draw
:02:32. > :02:36.a line in the crisis, they need to address the size and say that there
:02:37. > :02:40.would be moves towards a eurobond. We have had released by dish growth
:02:40. > :02:47.numbers coming out from Germany which used to be the powerhouse of
:02:47. > :02:55.Europe. And also, if they are not growing, these countries are able
:02:55. > :02:59.to pay back their debt quickly. Not quite such an -- not a big problem
:03:00. > :03:03.for Germany, but is it not time to act now? This is partly why France
:03:03. > :03:08.and Germany have not addressed the eurobond. It would be impossible
:03:08. > :03:13.for them to sell the idea to their electorate on the same day they
:03:13. > :03:23.have announced stagnating growth. We have seen some of the reaction
:03:23. > :03:26.
:03:26. > :03:29.in Europe yesterday and in Asia reaction. Not that favourable.
:03:29. > :03:35.Would the greater size of that European bail-out fund do more to
:03:35. > :03:40.reassure them? The ECB is stepping into Spanish bonds in great numbers.
:03:40. > :03:46.Eventually it will stop. That is probably when their reports are
:03:46. > :03:54.approved in October. At that point the E S F at will step in to buy a
:03:54. > :04:00.bond. This will have to be increased in size. Is this the
:04:00. > :04:05.right time to raise taxes on banking transactions? I do not
:04:05. > :04:11.think so. It has been mooted before by France. If it was legislated, it
:04:11. > :04:14.would be almost impossible to implement it. Thank you.
:04:14. > :04:18.Swiss government ministers made later today to discuss the
:04:18. > :04:23.continued strength of the franc. Switzerland's currency has risen
:04:24. > :04:29.around 25% against the euro in the last 18 months, posing a major
:04:29. > :04:35.threat to Swiss products, over half of which are sold abroad. It could
:04:35. > :04:39.push the country into recession. In recent weeks, the Swiss franc
:04:39. > :04:44.has risen to undreamt-of levels, reaching near parity with the euro
:04:44. > :04:47.at the start of this month. Intervention by the Swiss National
:04:47. > :04:54.Bank, cutting interest rates and increasing liquidity, has stemmed
:04:54. > :05:02.the rise but only modestly. The franc is now hovering at just over
:05:02. > :05:09.110 to the euro. A long way from the 130 which worries Swiss
:05:09. > :05:13.manufacturers. Switzerland is a small open economy. A small -- a
:05:13. > :05:21.larger amount of goods and services are being exported. Competitiveness
:05:21. > :05:24.is important for such an economy. This is a worry some situation. The
:05:24. > :05:28.Swiss National Bank did make a correct move, showing there are
:05:28. > :05:33.limits to how far the Swiss franc can go. Some economists are warning
:05:34. > :05:37.of a recession if the franc stays so high. A rise in unemployment is
:05:37. > :05:41.predicted this autumn as companies lay off staff in an attempt to
:05:41. > :05:46.reduce operating costs. This was government is meeting today to
:05:46. > :05:51.discuss the franc but no-one is sure what options are on the table.
:05:51. > :05:55.More extreme suggestion, pegging the franc to the euro. This would
:05:55. > :06:01.be politically divisive in Switzerland, which remains firmly
:06:01. > :06:04.outside the European Union. Tough choices lie ahead for this small
:06:04. > :06:13.country who's -- whose traditionally strong economy is
:06:13. > :06:19.looking increasingly fragile amid the last crisis of the eurozone.
:06:19. > :06:27.The BBC has learnt that the owners of Manchester United have
:06:27. > :06:34.considered a share sale in Singapore. Is this because Asia is
:06:34. > :06:38.a great growth area or for Manchester United? Absolutely. Not
:06:38. > :06:42.only Singapore but the rest of the region is a key growth area for
:06:42. > :06:47.Manchester United. The team has fan clubs across the region from
:06:47. > :06:51.Thailand, Singapore and South Korea. Reports say the club plans to raise
:06:51. > :06:57.about 1 billion US dollars through an initial public offering here in
:06:57. > :07:00.the city state before year's end. Earlier I spoke with a sports
:07:01. > :07:07.consultant who stressed it but this move means commercially --
:07:07. > :07:10.commercially for the football club. They wanted to tap into what they
:07:10. > :07:15.know as their massive audience base over here. They did research some
:07:15. > :07:20.years ago that established that they have about 300 million fans.
:07:20. > :07:24.Two-thirds of those are in Asia. There is an enormous population
:07:24. > :07:29.base in Asia that they have not to tap into yet. Financially, this
:07:29. > :07:34.will make sense from a point of believing that debt burden. They
:07:34. > :07:39.will open the doors to fans by creating a foothold in Asia. They
:07:39. > :07:42.will also open up channels two new sponsors. They have had a
:07:42. > :07:47.management operations here prospecting for commercial partners
:07:47. > :07:52.for the club but I see this as a more aggressive move to make an
:07:52. > :07:57.even bolder presence in Asia. Manchester United officials have
:07:57. > :08:02.declined to comment on this potential share sale. According to
:08:02. > :08:12.Forbes magazine, it has wrecked the club as the second most valuable
:08:12. > :08:14.
:08:14. > :08:19.sports brand, only second to the New York Yankees. -- ranked. The
:08:19. > :08:24.move by the football club to have an initial offering is one of a
:08:25. > :08:28.number of refinancing options the club's American owners are
:08:28. > :08:32.examining according to reports. They say if the glazier family
:08:32. > :08:40.pushes through, it will only consider selling a minority stake,
:08:40. > :08:44.perhaps no more than 25%. Thank you. Sony is cutting the
:08:44. > :08:51.price of its PlayStation 3 game console by $50 to boost demand for
:08:51. > :08:56.the now ageing console. It will cost $249, down from 299. The price
:08:56. > :08:59.cut follows a similar move from rival Nintendo. The PlayStation 3
:08:59. > :09:03.has been on the market for five years now and a new model will be
:09:03. > :09:07.launched later this year. Shares in computer company Dell
:09:07. > :09:13.have fallen in after I was trading after the firm cut its sales
:09:13. > :09:19.forecast for this year. It says technology spending has weakened.
:09:19. > :09:24.Deal also recorded net income of about $890 million.
:09:24. > :09:33.From the White House -- the White House has hit back at controversial
:09:33. > :09:36.comments made by a Republican presidential candidate. He said it
:09:36. > :09:46.would be treasonous if the US Federal Reserve chairman printed
:09:46. > :10:02.
:10:02. > :10:06.more cash. A spokesman accused him For more news from the UK: Some of
:10:06. > :10:13.Britain's most vulnerable members are being restored thanks to a new
:10:13. > :10:21.project. Researchers are hand picking native species of which
:10:21. > :10:24.will be reintroduced to meadows in the hope of new growth.
:10:24. > :10:28.Researchers collect wild flower seed that a nature reserve in
:10:28. > :10:35.Sussex. They want to multiply seats they gather here and to learn more
:10:35. > :10:41.about species in this rare meadow habitat. We are collecting species
:10:41. > :10:46.which are not easily picked up in a machine harvest. Things that are
:10:46. > :10:50.ripe early in the season all late in the season. Things that
:10:50. > :10:56.commercial seed growers have problems germinating. We can pick
:10:56. > :11:00.this up and do research work on them. The project is part of the
:11:00. > :11:03.Millennium seed Bank with a storm 96% of the UK's native plant
:11:03. > :11:09.species. They want to use their expertise to build up wildflower
:11:09. > :11:13.seed stocks. In part, that will happen in production beds like
:11:13. > :11:18.these and together with commercial growers who can block the seats up,
:11:18. > :11:23.the UK native seed hob will help conservation groups, landowners and
:11:23. > :11:28.farmers to restore habitat. The focus will first be on the land
:11:28. > :11:33.meadows, but the attention will move to other habitats, including
:11:33. > :11:37.grasslands and woodlands. The amount of pocket money children
:11:37. > :11:42.are receiving has gone up. Despite feeling the pinch, parents are
:11:42. > :11:52.giving an average of six pound 25 a week to their loved ones. An extra
:11:52. > :11:52.
:11:52. > :11:58.36p per week. Don't spend it all at once.
:11:58. > :12:01.Coming up, Breakfast. The day's news, business and sport and the
:12:01. > :12:10.way shops are being designed and ways to encourage people to buy
:12:10. > :12:13.things. This is BBC World news. The
:12:13. > :12:17.headlines: France and Germany have called for more political
:12:18. > :12:22.integration in the eurozone to tackle the debt crisis in Europe.
:12:22. > :12:25.The proposals put forward by Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel
:12:25. > :12:29.have done little to reassure investors.
:12:29. > :12:31.Rupert Murdoch's son James may be recalled by the British
:12:31. > :12:35.parliamentary committee investigating the phone hacking
:12:35. > :12:39.scandal. News of the World's former royal editor claimed that hacking
:12:39. > :12:44.was regularly discussed at editorial meetings.
:12:44. > :12:51.Government forces in Syria have reportedly opened fire on a port
:12:51. > :12:53.city for a fourth day. The wind has again expressed concern over the
:12:53. > :12:58.crisis of 5,000 Palestinian refugees in the city.
:12:58. > :13:02.Forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi continued to battle the Buick --
:13:02. > :13:12.Libyan rebels for control of Zawiya west of Tripoli. They have cut
:13:12. > :13:16.
:13:16. > :13:22.Two years ago represents gathered at the site of a former Nazi
:13:22. > :13:26.concentration camp north of Prague. They declared among other things to
:13:26. > :13:36.speed up the return of private property seized from the Jews
:13:36. > :13:37.
:13:37. > :13:42.during the holocaust and never returned. This is the habidatiery