31/08/2011

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:00:01. > :00:11.parliament building. Those are the headlines.

:00:11. > :00:14.

:00:14. > :00:20.Now, it is time for World Business Report.

:00:20. > :00:27.The headlines: Stricken car maker Saab's owner posts its latest

:00:27. > :00:33.results. Can they avoid being driven to bankruptcy? Do you -- the

:00:33. > :00:38.eurozone reports its latest inflation figures.

:00:38. > :00:48.Japan's factory output expands less than expected due to the strong

:00:48. > :00:48.

:00:48. > :00:52.currency and slowing overseas demand.

:00:52. > :01:01.It is difficult to make money when your production lines are turned

:01:01. > :01:07.off and gathering cobwebs, in your suppliers halt delivery and you are

:01:07. > :01:11.threatened with bankruptcy. These are the issues that face Saab.

:01:12. > :01:16.Effectively, the carmaker has run out of money, leaving its staff,

:01:16. > :01:26.parts makers and the taxman are all unpaid. Management is set to be

:01:26. > :01:32.optimistic about securing a new money but time is running out.

:01:32. > :01:39.Swedish Automobile cannot make higher earnings while Saab does not

:01:39. > :01:43.make vehicles. The last time this production line was busy was last

:01:43. > :01:48.spring. For the third month running, staff at getting paid late. This is

:01:48. > :01:54.not the future Swedish automobile had in mind when it bought Saab

:01:54. > :01:58.from General Motors one year ago. Saab still employs 3,500 workers in

:01:58. > :02:02.Sweden and 1,100 distributors around the world depends on the

:02:02. > :02:06.company for their business. The situation is now critical. Trade

:02:06. > :02:11.unions say that if Saab does not pay its workers this week, they

:02:11. > :02:16.could go to court to apply to have the company wound up.

:02:16. > :02:21.It does not even own the buildings or the land that it operates from.

:02:21. > :02:25.It has sold off various parts of the company to different investors.

:02:25. > :02:29.If this latest threat goes ahead, they will be running out of things

:02:29. > :02:34.to sell off to make it through this crisis.

:02:34. > :02:39.To restart production at Saab, Swedish Automobile has sold stakes

:02:39. > :02:44.in the company to Chinese manufacturers. In return, those

:02:44. > :02:49.companies can sell and make Saab cars in China. But the deal has not

:02:49. > :02:54.yet been ratified. If they were going to be the white light, it

:02:54. > :02:58.would have happened by now. The Chinese many factories have in the

:02:58. > :03:03.past been very intelligent in getting the best deal, often by

:03:03. > :03:08.drawing the process out. It is possible that they are waiting to

:03:08. > :03:15.pick up Saab at the best price. opinion of the industry is that the

:03:15. > :03:22.Chinese companies will step in to rescue Saab. But in the future,

:03:22. > :03:28.Saab may be a brand made and bought almost exclusively in China.

:03:28. > :03:33.After two interest rate rises, a slowdown in GDP growth and an

:03:33. > :03:37.unemployment right -- rate just under 10%, is the eurozone

:03:37. > :03:41.inflation starting to look less frightening? The latest figures are

:03:41. > :03:47.to be published later this morning. The Consumer Price Index is

:03:48. > :03:53.forecast to remain unchanged. But the chief of the central bank has

:03:53. > :03:57.revealed that the ECB will reassess inflation's risks at a meeting next

:03:57. > :04:07.week, leading to speculation there could be a long pause before the

:04:07. > :04:09.

:04:09. > :04:16.next interest rate rise. Thank you for joining us.

:04:16. > :04:24.Did the ECB get sidetracked in some way by the inflation risk? It was

:04:24. > :04:29.not a core problem of the eurozone but as we know, the ECB has a very

:04:29. > :04:36.large collection with German banks. They had very strong inflation. If

:04:36. > :04:40.you look at the previous rate hikes from the ECB, such as in 2008, that

:04:40. > :04:44.was because of inflation. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve and the Bank of

:04:44. > :04:52.England were cut in interest rates. It was only later that be ECB

:04:52. > :05:00.decided to join in. High inflation and a heady prices have led to them

:05:00. > :05:06.hiking rates. The inflation rate is still above

:05:06. > :05:13.target. There could possibly be another interest rate rise, then?

:05:13. > :05:17.Potentially, but in the meantime, ECB does not actually look at the

:05:17. > :05:23.inflation rate. They look forward as well to see what inflation might

:05:23. > :05:29.do over the next few months and quarters. If it turns out that

:05:29. > :05:35.growth has got cooler over the last few months, the ECB might decide

:05:35. > :05:41.that it would be more intelligent to hold off on interest rate rises.

:05:41. > :05:48.The rate is 1.5%. He's that good news throughout the US and?

:05:48. > :05:53.would be. The ECB will stay on hold for an extended period of time. I

:05:53. > :06:00.do not think it is the cost of credit that is the problem for the

:06:00. > :06:07.economy at the moment. Instead, it is a loss of confidence in the

:06:07. > :06:17.ability of policy makers to deal with the eurozone crisis. The ECB

:06:17. > :06:22.

:06:22. > :06:25.is staying on hold and is trying to shore up confidence. Thank you.

:06:25. > :06:31.Japan's recovery from the earthquake and tsunami could be

:06:31. > :06:36.running out of steam. Industrial production data from July showed a

:06:36. > :06:41.month-on-month gain of just 0.6%. That is less than half of what

:06:41. > :06:46.economists were forecasting and well below the 3.8% gain in June.

:06:46. > :06:52.It also follows we go than-expected retail and unemployment numbers

:06:52. > :06:59.earlier this week. -- weaker than expected. How much of this is a

:06:59. > :07:04.result of the strong currency? is indeed one of the main reasons.

:07:04. > :07:09.The other factor is a slowdown of overseas demand from Europe and the

:07:10. > :07:14.US, both impacted from economic uncertainties. The Japanese yen has

:07:14. > :07:18.been very strong this year, appreciating more than 6% against

:07:18. > :07:26.the US dollar and that adds to the urgency of the new Prime Minister

:07:26. > :07:33.to put in measures to reverse the appreciation process. Recent moves

:07:34. > :07:40.from currency intervention to aid exporters and transparency measures

:07:40. > :07:44.have only had a very short-term impact on the yen. It has advanced

:07:44. > :07:49.to a post-war high against the greenback and has threatened the

:07:50. > :07:55.livelihoods of exporters. They are now revising their earnings numbers.

:07:55. > :08:04.Production was still positive, however. That includes the likes of

:08:04. > :08:09.transportation equipment and general machinery.

:08:10. > :08:17.A judge in New York has overruled objections to a bankruptcy plan,

:08:17. > :08:24.paving the way for the bank's creditors to receive compensation.

:08:25. > :08:28.They will be awarded 20 on average for every dollar they say they are

:08:28. > :08:33.owed. Leman Brothers collapse just under three years ago after making

:08:33. > :08:37.bad bets in the sub Prime mortgage markets. Brazil's central bank is

:08:37. > :08:42.set to leave the cost of borrowing on hold after five consecutive

:08:42. > :08:49.interest rate rises. It comes one day after a run of bad news. The

:08:49. > :08:56.country's biggest airline scaled back its plans. And the steelmaking

:08:56. > :09:02.industry has put its forecasts up by 8%.

:09:02. > :09:10.Land Rover has relief to -- released the first images of its

:09:10. > :09:14.flagship model. Production of the new vehicle is scheduled for 2015.

:09:14. > :09:22.Eight redesign is necessary because the current model will reach the

:09:22. > :09:30.EU's rules on engine emissions. Elsewhere, two of France's biggest

:09:30. > :09:36.names report their first half earnings. Onrnings. Ona tricky

:09:36. > :09:42.period and is expected to be down 30% at just $82 million. The

:09:42. > :09:46.vending is having an easier time at its earnings have almost doubled.

:09:46. > :09:56.The Italian government begins its auction of its 4th generation

:09:56. > :10:08.

:10:08. > :10:11.mobile frequencies. At least three Format out of five disabled people

:10:11. > :10:15.in the UK are worried that reductions in their benefits could

:10:15. > :10:19.force them to cut back on essentials like food and transport.

:10:19. > :10:23.A charity questioned more than 2,000 people about government plans

:10:23. > :10:28.to replace Disability living Allowance with a new benefit from

:10:28. > :10:34.2013. From tending the garden to holding

:10:34. > :10:38.down a job, this man is proof that using a wheelchair does not stop

:10:38. > :10:42.you from being independent. Some of that is down to willpower but his

:10:42. > :10:46.living allowance is also important. It pays for carers and a specially

:10:46. > :10:53.adapted vehicle. The government's plans to overhaul the benefit has

:10:53. > :10:59.left him worried. I would possibly lose my mobility vehicle and my job.

:10:59. > :11:02.That is not what the government wants to do, the government wants

:11:02. > :11:06.as many people as possible in employment. A recent demonstrations

:11:06. > :11:11.like this one shows that others are just as concerned. The government

:11:11. > :11:15.wants to replace the allowance with a new benefit, the personal

:11:15. > :11:20.independence payment, saving �2 billion per year in the process.

:11:20. > :11:23.Ministers say the new system will be rigorous but there, with more

:11:23. > :11:28.assessments of recipients insuring that help goes to where it is

:11:28. > :11:31.needed. A survey out today says that does not reassure some

:11:31. > :11:34.disabled people. More than three- quarters of those questioned

:11:34. > :11:39.thought they were being treated unfairly and the majority feared

:11:39. > :11:45.that benefit cuts would reduce their independence, or making food,

:11:45. > :11:48.bills and transport unaffordable. The switch to personal payments

:11:48. > :11:52.will not happen for two years and the Department for Work and

:11:52. > :11:57.Pensions says it is too soon to judge who will be affected. But for

:11:57. > :12:07.some people, that means continued uncertainty. The reform touch is

:12:07. > :12:18.

:12:18. > :12:23.not just on their finances but also Coming up: Breakfast with all the

:12:23. > :12:28.day's news, business and sport. The headlines: More details have

:12:28. > :12:31.emerged of future UN involvement in Libya. It looks like the UN will

:12:31. > :12:35.help in setting up a police force in the country and they also

:12:36. > :12:41.provide assistance in organise the elections. Ban Ki-Moon wants the UN

:12:41. > :12:47.to respond as quickly as possible to any such requests.

:12:47. > :12:51.I cannot overstate the urgency of this moment. Time is of the essence.

:12:51. > :12:55.The people of Libya are looking to the international community for

:12:55. > :13:01.help. The transitional government will be outlining specific requests

:13:01. > :13:06.in the coming days. Amnesty International says that

:13:06. > :13:10.nearly 90 people - ten of them children - have died in detention

:13:10. > :13:17.in Syria over the last five months following anti-government protests

:13:17. > :13:21.against President al-Assad. The remnants of Tropical Storm

:13:21. > :13:25.Irene are still causing havoc in the north-east of the United States.

:13:25. > :13:30.It is the smaller communities being hit the hardest. Torrential rain

:13:30. > :13:34.has caused severe flooding in several states.

:13:34. > :13:39.Police in Chechnya say at least seven people have been killed in a