:00:12. > :00:22.one was hurt. Now for the latest business news. Hello and welcome to
:00:22. > :00:25.
:00:25. > :00:35.World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. The headlines: the
:00:35. > :00:41.
:00:41. > :00:46.European Commission plan to cut eurozone borrowing costs. One
:00:46. > :00:52.eurobond to roll them all, issued by the European Central Bank and
:00:52. > :00:58.backed by Germany's credit rating. It sounds like a fantastic idea for
:00:58. > :01:04.the 17 countries of the eurozone, especially Greece, Italy and Spain,
:01:04. > :01:09.facing punishing borrowing costs. They could be able to borrow
:01:09. > :01:12.against Germany's credibility at lower rates. There would be even
:01:12. > :01:15.less reason for spendthrift governments to live within their
:01:15. > :01:25.means and Germany would be left to pick up the bill. Our correspondent
:01:25. > :01:26.
:01:26. > :01:31.reports. 17 countries sharing the currency that raising loans through
:01:31. > :01:35.their own central banks. It would spread the credit risk between the
:01:35. > :01:40.financially strong and those countries struggling to stay afloat.
:01:40. > :01:47.Britain may have a large deficit but lenders Truss the Bank of
:01:47. > :01:57.England. It can borrow money for just over 2%. The European Central
:01:57. > :02:04.
:02:04. > :02:14.Bank can also issue bonds. It is clear that any type of eurobonds
:02:14. > :02:17.
:02:17. > :02:22.would have to go in parallel with a substantially reinforced... as an
:02:22. > :02:28.essential counterpart. The whole idea is dead and the water if he
:02:28. > :02:34.cannot persuade the Germans to lest their objections. So far they will
:02:34. > :02:42.not be made liable for the other country's overspending. There has
:02:42. > :02:52.already been acceptance by Angela Merkel that eurobonds could be a
:02:52. > :02:59.
:02:59. > :03:05.solution. She has not rule them out completely. The question is, can
:03:05. > :03:11.the market see them in the medium term of 18 months to two years.
:03:11. > :03:16.That would inspire some confidence. Financial markets would probably by
:03:16. > :03:19.eurobonds, but so far Germany does not buy the idea. The treaty
:03:19. > :03:26.changes that would be needed to introduce them are considerable.
:03:26. > :03:33.BBC News. The year's only hope of escaping is to earn enough money to
:03:33. > :03:36.pay off the international creditors. The region's economy has ground to
:03:36. > :03:42.a halt and many eurozone nations are already on the verge of
:03:42. > :03:47.recession. Later today a gauge of economic health is expected to show
:03:47. > :03:53.that their economic sector is headed for a period of shrinking
:03:53. > :03:59.wealth or recession. Sony Kapoor, Managing Director of Re-Define,
:03:59. > :04:03.joins us from our studio in Brussels. Are you expecting this
:04:03. > :04:09.purchasing managers' index number to show that we are heading for
:04:09. > :04:14.recession in the eurozone? If you look at the numbers from China
:04:14. > :04:19.yesterday. They are also looking down in that the numbers are worse
:04:19. > :04:29.than expected. If China is in that situation the very best we can hope
:04:29. > :04:31.
:04:31. > :04:35.for is a fall which looks me down, rather than completely catastrophic.
:04:35. > :04:42.We are probably not quite in recession, but we are falling into
:04:42. > :04:48.wet. The new chief of the European Central Bank said it was a key bit
:04:48. > :04:56.of data. Do you feel that for him and the ECB this is an assertion
:04:56. > :05:05.that they have to cut rates? problem is that cutting rates will
:05:05. > :05:11.not be much help. They are already at. 25% and even if you cut them
:05:11. > :05:16.right down to zero it will have very little effect on the economies
:05:16. > :05:23.of the telly and Spain, where it is most needed. Because nobody in
:05:23. > :05:30.Italy and Spain is able to borrow at anywhere near the ECB rate. They
:05:30. > :05:36.can only borrow at 6% of 7%. The mechanism is completely broken and
:05:36. > :05:44.that is why the ECB needs to buy government bonds and support a
:05:44. > :05:49.target for Italy and Spain. Thank you for giving us your take. We
:05:49. > :05:54.will make sure you hear what the numbers are and what they mean for
:05:54. > :06:00.the eurozone economies as soon as we get them. A controversial tax
:06:00. > :06:04.that has helped to oust a prime minister. Australia today passed a
:06:04. > :06:09.levy on the mining industry. The law still needs to be rubber-
:06:09. > :06:13.stamped by the Senate but it is expected to be law next year. Our
:06:13. > :06:19.correspondent reports. This is an unprecedented tax for an
:06:19. > :06:25.unprecedented mining there. 30 companies will have to pay the tax,
:06:25. > :06:31.where their profits exceed $70 million per year. BHP Billiton last
:06:31. > :06:36.year made more than $20 billion in profits. The Labour Government had
:06:36. > :06:45.dug deep that the mining Bonanza had to be shared while Australians.
:06:45. > :06:52.-- had argued that. The lower house passed the bill by only two votes.
:06:52. > :06:55.The money raised, $20 billion by 2015, will help small businesses,
:06:55. > :07:00.increase pensions and pay for infrastructure projects around
:07:00. > :07:06.Australia. The mining company said it would put investment under
:07:07. > :07:16.threat. Companies say that could be diverted to South Africa or South
:07:17. > :07:17.
:07:17. > :07:22.America. When Chinese demand for Australian iron ore is expected the
:07:22. > :07:27.many millions of tons, the government says those warnings are
:07:27. > :07:33.unfounded. From July of next year there will be a mining tax in
:07:33. > :07:41.Australia. One more global affect of the rise of China. BBC News,
:07:41. > :07:48.Sydney. The US truck maker Merck is to pay just under $1 billion to
:07:48. > :07:53.settle laws relating to its arthritis drug Vioxx. It withdrew
:07:53. > :08:00.the trochee amid concerns it could cause heart attacks. Criminal and
:08:00. > :08:05.civil charges followed, claiming Merck had misled the FTA. Korean
:08:05. > :08:10.pop music, nicknamed K-pop, is increasingly popular in Japan and
:08:10. > :08:19.other parts of Asia. Now the industry hopes to make inroads into
:08:19. > :08:23.the lucrative US pop charts. One of the Companies lists on the stock
:08:23. > :08:33.market today as it seeks to raise extra funding for its overseas
:08:33. > :08:39.operations. Our correspondent reports. How much are they worth? A
:08:39. > :08:44.perennial question in Korea, asked in different ways by everyone -
:08:44. > :08:50.consumers, managers and artists. Now it is a question one of the
:08:50. > :08:56.biggest names in K-pop is asking that the stock market. YG
:08:56. > :09:00.Entertainment is the home of many successful Korean grouorean grou
:09:00. > :09:08.brought in 40 million US dollars last year and this week it is
:09:08. > :09:13.offering 5 million shares on Korea's stock market index. Two
:09:13. > :09:22.other giants of the Entertainment are those already listed. A sign of
:09:22. > :09:28.what some say his K-pop's growing international appeal. The managing
:09:28. > :09:33.director wants to spread his company's success overseas. Is the
:09:33. > :09:39.key is cheap in South Korea, particularly when brought online.
:09:39. > :09:45.K-pop is an expensive product. Despite filling stadiums, its stars