:00:17. > :00:21.win his third term in power. Now it is time for World Business Report.
:00:21. > :00:27.A nervous reaction from the markets as Greece readies a new Coalition
:00:27. > :00:37.government. Shopping to the rescue. Can Europe expect a boost from
:00:37. > :00:38.
:00:38. > :00:42.consumers? A potential merger of Japan's
:00:42. > :00:52.largest stock exchange has could materialise by the second quarter
:00:52. > :00:52.
:00:53. > :00:58.of 2012. -- stock exchanges. There has been a cautious reaction
:00:58. > :01:02.on financial markets to the news of a new Greek Coalition government.
:01:02. > :01:06.The Prime Minister agreed to step down to allow the creation of a
:01:06. > :01:10.national unity government. Their priority will be to push through
:01:10. > :01:14.the bail out deal agreed with European leaders. France and
:01:14. > :01:21.Germany had threatened to cut off funding to Greece if it backed away
:01:21. > :01:25.from that deal. Greek politicians were racing to reach a deal before
:01:25. > :01:29.a meeting of European finance ministers on Monday. Italy is the
:01:29. > :01:37.other potential problem. On Tuesday Prime Minister Berlusconi faces a
:01:37. > :01:42.crucial test when the Parliament votes on public finances. Our
:01:42. > :01:46.correspondent is in Athens. I mentioned that the markets have
:01:46. > :01:52.given a cautious reaction to the latest developments from Greece.
:01:52. > :01:57.What is your take on it? They have stepped back from the brink in
:01:57. > :02:02.Athens. They have agreed to agree, but they have not yet agreed, if
:02:02. > :02:06.you see what training. We know there will be a new Coalition
:02:06. > :02:12.government which will last until the middle of February, but we do
:02:12. > :02:20.not know who will be the new Prime Minister. There is a name out there.
:02:20. > :02:30.The man he is to run the Central Bank. That is not confirmed. -- the
:02:30. > :02:31.
:02:31. > :02:36.man who used to run. Both of the main parties have backed the key
:02:37. > :02:41.European euros and bail-out deal that George Papandreou originally
:02:41. > :02:47.wanted to put to a referendum. With both of the major parties backing
:02:47. > :02:51.it that should be enough to unlock the latest tranche of aid from the
:02:51. > :02:59.eurozone and the IMF. It is desperately needed to stop Greece
:02:59. > :03:03.going bankrupt. Sorry to interrupt. It does not really change anything
:03:03. > :03:11.for the people of Greece because they have to face more painful
:03:11. > :03:16.austerity. There also has to be a lot of reform, which is slightly
:03:16. > :03:23.different from austerity. Part of the problem in Greece over the last
:03:23. > :03:29.year is that they have had the austerity but not enough reform.
:03:29. > :03:33.Although it is painful, reform leads to benefits in the long-term.
:03:33. > :03:40.They have to step on the reform pedal as well as maintaining the
:03:40. > :03:49.austerity. What about this week for Italy? Ab two week for Silvio
:03:50. > :03:58.Berlusconi. At the G20 summit at last week in Cannes he had a
:03:58. > :04:02.humiliating time. He had to agree to monitoring by the IMF. The
:04:02. > :04:09.Finance Minister was asked whether he backed Silvio Berlusconi and he
:04:09. > :04:17.pointedly refused to say that he did. And there are rumours in Rome
:04:17. > :04:21.that there are up to 50 MPs willing to desert the government. I am not
:04:21. > :04:27.sure what will happen on Tuesday. That is not take a clear a no
:04:27. > :04:31.confidence vote. That will happen later in the week. They think they
:04:31. > :04:35.have the numbers to bring him down but they are double-counting
:04:35. > :04:40.because Berlusconi does have an ability to pull rabbits out of the
:04:40. > :04:47.hat at the last minute. We must leave it, but many thanks indeed
:04:47. > :04:53.for your thoughts on Italy and Greece. Europe's debt crisis is a
:04:53. > :05:03.fast-moving story. If you want to keep up, please go to our website.
:05:03. > :05:03.
:05:03. > :05:07.There is a section devoted to the world economy. Europe would be
:05:07. > :05:13.helped out of this debt crisis by a stronger economic growth, but one
:05:13. > :05:16.part of that growth, retail sales, has been sluggish. We will get the
:05:16. > :05:21.latest figures for the 20 said any you countries including Britain
:05:21. > :05:26.later. Retailers across Europe are hoping sales will pick up over
:05:26. > :05:32.Christmas. Our correspondent reports. Happy Christmas, please
:05:32. > :05:37.give us your money. Most retailers are relying on the next six weeks
:05:37. > :05:45.trading to bring in one third of their annual profits. This was
:05:45. > :05:52.founded in Denmark and is in 12 countries. It is an upmarket
:05:52. > :06:01.bargain store. Its secret is a mix of the everyday and the unusual and
:06:01. > :06:07.clear pricing in round numbers. can find similar elsewhere but at a
:06:07. > :06:13.much higher price.. People like the experience. It is fun. Customers
:06:13. > :06:20.need to know where they are when a walking tour shop. Some stores
:06:20. > :06:26.which are struggling are those where it is not clear what they are
:06:26. > :06:31.about. Retail sales that taking up in France and Germany. That is not
:06:31. > :06:36.enough to compensate for the fall off elsewhere in Europe. Nowhere
:06:36. > :06:42.more so than in Spain and Italy, where they are worried about
:06:42. > :06:48.austerity. They are and the buying essentials. Other surveys contain
:06:48. > :06:53.some seasonal cheer, suggesting that squeezed Europeans may spend
:06:53. > :06:56.more if they see exactly what they want. Says stores are working
:06:56. > :07:03.overtime to tempt customers before they spend their cash online. BBC
:07:03. > :07:09.News. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the world's third biggest share
:07:09. > :07:19.market. And it may be getting bigger. It may buy the Osaka Stock
:07:19. > :07:25.Exchange. How serious is this and when might it happen? According to
:07:25. > :07:34.the Nikkei newspaper, which is Japan's largest publication, the
:07:34. > :07:41.potential merger could take place by the second quarter of 2012. Both
:07:41. > :07:47.forces are in the final stages of combining. That could reduce
:07:47. > :07:54.technology costs. The Tokyo Stock Exchange would neither confirm nor
:07:54. > :07:59.deny these media reports. One scenario is that the Unlisted Tokyo
:07:59. > :08:05.courts would have a stage in the smaller but listed was up a
:08:05. > :08:15.Exchange. -- have a stake in the smaller but listed at Osaka
:08:15. > :08:18.
:08:18. > :08:24.exchange. Due to mergers, they remain competitive. The two
:08:24. > :08:30.exchanges have complementary strengths. The Tokyo exchange
:08:30. > :08:40.controls 90% of cash. The Osaka exchange controls futures. The
:08:40. > :08:40.
:08:40. > :08:48.share price is up by 7%. Thank you. BP's plan to sell its business in
:08:48. > :08:53.Argentina has fallen apart. The buyer has withdrawn its offer to
:08:53. > :08:58.buy a BP's staking Pan-American energy. BP has been selling off
:08:58. > :09:06.assets to pay for the damage caused by the oil spill in the Gulf of
:09:06. > :09:10.Mexico. So far it has raised only half its target of $45 billion.
:09:10. > :09:18.Spending cuts and tax increases worth $11 billion will be announced
:09:18. > :09:22.on Saturday. The moves are aimed at preserving France's credit rating.
:09:22. > :09:27.Germans will receive tax breaks worth more than $8 billion over the
:09:27. > :09:31.next two years. Chancellor Angela Merkel said the measure was a
:09:31. > :09:38.reward for the burden of helping out Europe during the debt crisis.
:09:38. > :09:42.The tax cuts are designed to help lower and middle income citizens.