:00:06. > :00:12.These are the day's top of business stories. While engineers head back
:00:12. > :00:16.into Libya, but which companies are in the strongest position?
:00:16. > :00:24.Is pure padding back into recession? Data on Tuesday
:00:24. > :00:34.Scheduled us some clues. -- Europe. The price of gold soars above
:00:34. > :00:40.
:00:40. > :00:46.$1,900 per round. The first time Libya's oil fields could be open
:00:46. > :00:49.for business again soon. Oil executives are wondering which
:00:49. > :00:53.firms and donations will be favoured by any new administration.
:00:53. > :00:58.China has been defending its corner, saying its investments have
:00:58. > :01:01.benefited both countries. On Monday, an official at the rubble oil firm
:01:01. > :01:05.said that Russian and Chinese oil firms may lose out, after failing
:01:05. > :01:09.to support the rebellion. Our correspondent has more.
:01:09. > :01:14.One of the chief ways Libya raised money under Colonel Gaddafi was to
:01:14. > :01:17.sell for foreign firms licences to scour its deserts for oil and gas.
:01:17. > :01:27.The companies which promise to end over the bigger share of its
:01:27. > :01:27.
:01:27. > :01:31.revenues won the bid. Companies produce the most oil from Libya.
:01:31. > :01:37.Russian companies also bought themselves footholds in the country.
:01:37. > :01:40.During the recent civil war, but the rebels and the Gaddafi family
:01:40. > :01:47.promise to favour companies that supported their side. France and
:01:47. > :01:53.Italy backed the rebels, Russia and China are posted. It would put
:01:53. > :02:02.countries like Italy high up the ranks. Other European and American
:02:02. > :02:06.countries as well. That is relative to those such as Russia and China,
:02:06. > :02:10.whose governments have continued to speak out against NATO action and
:02:10. > :02:17.action against Gaddafi. question is, what Western oil firms
:02:17. > :02:19.be able to hold a post Gaddafi regime to its wartime promises? Why
:02:19. > :02:24.shouldn't the Government do what it has done in the past and sell
:02:24. > :02:29.exploration blocks to the highest bidder? It is more in there just to
:02:29. > :02:34.see get the highest bidder. In a lot of ways, their exhortations to
:02:35. > :02:39.the NATO forces with the promise of oil which this has worked. From the
:02:39. > :02:43.standpoint, there is no bill need to carry through on that promise.
:02:43. > :02:47.Before giving away more licences, Libya first has to restore its
:02:47. > :02:51.existing oilfields to their pre-war production levels. Nobody knows how
:02:51. > :03:00.long that will take. It could be years before Western governments
:03:00. > :03:04.can try and call in favours from the side they backed.
:03:04. > :03:07.Not only are our -- are our European countries burdened with
:03:07. > :03:12.debt, there are now signs of economic slowdown. Lisson Grove
:03:12. > :03:17.though to has been poor. A key economic report is due out this
:03:17. > :03:27.morning. It is a good early indication of how private business
:03:27. > :03:33.
:03:33. > :03:37.is daring. It reports across a range of industries. Expectations
:03:37. > :03:41.are that it is not going to be a good number. Without going into
:03:41. > :03:44.specifics, do you go along with that? I think the odds of the
:03:44. > :03:51.recession had increased. This is mostly because of the lack of
:03:51. > :03:59.political leadership we have seen. There is a chance that we are just
:03:59. > :04:06.going through a soft patch. That is a result of the impact of the
:04:06. > :04:13.tsunami, political crisis and the uncertainty that a lot of decision
:04:13. > :04:17.makers are facing. It is not going to be a true reading of what is
:04:17. > :04:23.actually happening, because it is not looking at what is happening at
:04:23. > :04:30.the moment. His retrospective. is why what really matters the
:04:30. > :04:39.stock tickers like me is what the next number will go bust. We are at
:04:39. > :04:46.a crossroads into the outcome. There is still hope that the new
:04:46. > :04:50.normal, in developed markets, sharing more equally growth around
:04:50. > :04:54.the world, that a slowdown in the developed markets might help
:04:54. > :04:59.develop the emerging markets. Inflationary pressure might fall.
:04:59. > :05:03.One of the pressures that have shown falling can be airbrushed out.
:05:03. > :05:07.There appears to be a view amongst some analysts that when this does
:05:07. > :05:13.come through, we might see greater weakness in the manufacturing
:05:13. > :05:17.sectors, with perhaps the service sector picking up some of the slack.
:05:17. > :05:24.It does seem a bit unsustainable against that wider sovereign debt
:05:24. > :05:33.crisis. The industrial sector is divided and segmented. Some of it
:05:33. > :05:37.is going to do well based on income from emerging markets. I think it
:05:37. > :05:43.is not as clear-cut as service bursars industrial. It is stocked
:05:44. > :05:48.by stock MPs by piste. That probably explains some of the
:05:48. > :05:53.uncertainty we have seen in the corporate sector. We will leave it
:05:53. > :05:57.there for the moment. Let's take a look at another area
:05:58. > :06:04.which has gathered a fair amount of interest. Cold. More specifically,
:06:04. > :06:08.the price of gold. The nettle now stands above $1,900 an ounce.
:06:08. > :06:16.Investors are hoping it could be a good store of value in a turbulent
:06:16. > :06:23.time for other financial assets. We go to Asia now. His gold managing
:06:23. > :06:30.to made -- called on to those gains at all? It is. It is holding above
:06:31. > :06:38.the $1,900 level. At this stage, it is on course for its biggest
:06:38. > :06:44.monthly rise in almost 30 years. The catalyst for the safe haven
:06:44. > :06:49.metals are a number one, persistent worries about global economic
:06:49. > :06:52.growth and fear of a worsening eurozone crisis. Analysts said that
:06:52. > :06:56.the demand for gold was being driven by speculation that the US
:06:56. > :07:03.Federal Reserve may announce new stimulus measures in a bid to boost
:07:03. > :07:06.the flagging economy. Traders say it is not just on Saturday, but
:07:06. > :07:11.also a real demand, particularly from the Asian economic giants,
:07:11. > :07:17.China and India, and a strong appetite for the precious metal. It
:07:17. > :07:23.is a knock on the Gold that is trading highly, also sold as well.
:07:23. > :07:27.Its strongest since early May. Puttnam is at a three-year high. --
:07:27. > :07:34.platinum. Most of the precious metals are moving higher. A good
:07:34. > :07:39.news for precious metals. What about Foster's, is that good news
:07:39. > :07:44.no-one is cheering about their full-year profits. They are down
:07:44. > :07:49.nearly 9% for the full year. That is amid falling Australian beer
:07:49. > :07:53.sales. Beer sales are down and meet the economic uncertainty as severe
:07:53. > :07:58.weather conditions, including a cyclone and major flooding in the
:07:58. > :08:01.country's North East. The bra says that the decline is slowing and the
:08:01. > :08:04.police a pick-up in consumer confidence and a return to normal
:08:05. > :08:09.weather conditions should return the sector to fight to moderate
:08:09. > :08:14.growth. Due to these falling numbers, more cost-cutting measures
:08:14. > :08:18.have been announced, including potential job cuts. These come in -
:08:18. > :08:26.- comes amid a background that fosters rejected a $10 billion cash
:08:26. > :08:30.takeover bid from another brawl. In other news, charges of sexual
:08:30. > :08:35.assault against Dominique Strauss- Kahn are to be dropped. Prosecutors
:08:35. > :08:41.say the testimony of the accuser is not convincing enough to present to
:08:41. > :08:44.a jury. They asked a judge to dismiss all the charges. The case
:08:45. > :08:50.forced Mr Strauss-Kahn to resign as the head of the IMF and wrecked his
:08:50. > :08:57.chances of becoming a challenger in Francis presidential elections.
:08:57. > :09:04.-- friends's. The CEO of Goldman Sachs has hired a high-profile
:09:05. > :09:08.lawyer. The CEO has not been charged with anything as it
:09:08. > :09:14.investigations continue into the firm's actions in the run-up to the
:09:14. > :09:21.financial crisis. Boeing could be close to winning a
:09:21. > :09:24.large order. Directors will vote on whether to order more jets. It will
:09:24. > :09:29.be a welcome move for the company, which recently lost his exquisite
:09:29. > :09:39.contract to supply American Airlines. All this has updated
:09:39. > :09:49.
:09:49. > :09:54.For some more news from the UK: The Government has just ended a
:09:54. > :09:58.consultation on gambling laws, which may have implications for
:09:58. > :10:01.seaside arcade orders. They are set to make sweeping changes to
:10:01. > :10:06.gambling laws, to make sure that the country's offers do not miss
:10:06. > :10:12.out from revenue. Our correspondent has more.
:10:12. > :10:17.Sea, sand and occasionally even son. Right along the coast, traditional
:10:17. > :10:20.resorts have been offering the same attractions for decades. However at
:10:20. > :10:24.the other end of the promenade, there are signs that this resort
:10:24. > :10:28.has seen better days. It is all about the weather. If we do not
:10:28. > :10:31.have the weather, people do not visit us. The summer months are
:10:31. > :10:36.when businesses make money. This man keeps his amusement arcades
:10:36. > :10:42.open all year round. That is becoming more and more difficult.
:10:42. > :10:50.The overheads and running costs means we will go back to seasonal.
:10:50. > :10:54.When we go back to seasonal, people will ask why to come to the coast?
:10:54. > :10:59.The owners of amusement arcade say Government proposals to change how
:10:59. > :11:09.they attacks could make it much tougher for them. Under the plans,
:11:09. > :11:15.taxes will be placed by a machine taxes. Arcade owners say that would
:11:15. > :11:18.lead to them paying out more to the Government. The impact would mean
:11:18. > :11:22.more arcades closed. We have had 200 closed over the last three
:11:22. > :11:28.years. There will be more. Some of us are on the edge. They are
:11:28. > :11:33.members need help, not a new taxation system. The Government is
:11:33. > :11:36.still deciding whether to go ahead with the plans. If they accept it,
:11:37. > :11:40.there will be winners and losers. A Treasury spokesperson said they
:11:40. > :11:50.believed a machine against duty will be fairer than the current
:11:50. > :11:50.
:11:50. > :11:55.system, has tax will be directly linked to machine profits.
:11:55. > :12:00.The headlines: Colonel Gaddafi's son has told the BBC that forces
:12:00. > :12:04.loyal to his father are winning the battle for Tripoli. He appeared on
:12:04. > :12:08.the streets to cite the International Criminal Court saying
:12:08. > :12:12.he had been arrested. A reporter is in the Hague, and she says it has
:12:12. > :12:21.been a setback for the court. issued the arrest warrants in June,
:12:21. > :12:24.after gathering witnesses the statements. Now it appears, the
:12:24. > :12:29.longer they evade capture, the harder it will be to get them to
:12:29. > :12:34.the ICC. As fighting continues in and around the capital, President
:12:34. > :12:38.Obama has praised the Libyan people for what he calls, their
:12:38. > :12:44.extraordinary sacrifice. He also called for a peaceful, inclusive
:12:44. > :12:48.and just transition of power. The UN has accused the Syrian
:12:49. > :12:53.government of operating a shoot-to- kill policy against anti-government
:12:53. > :13:00.protesters. The country's security forces are reported to have shot
:13:00. > :13:07.dead a number of people. Prosecutors had asked a judge to
:13:07. > :13:11.drop a sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. They told a