23/11/2011 World Business Report

one was hurt. Now for the latest business news. Hello and welcome to

World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. The headlines: the

European Commission plan to cut eurozone borrowing costs. One

eurobond to roll them all, issued by the European Central Bank and

backed by Germany's credit rating. It sounds like a fantastic idea for

the 17 countries of the eurozone, especially Greece, Italy and Spain,

facing punishing borrowing costs. They could be able to borrow

against Germany's credibility at lower rates. There would be even

less reason for spendthrift governments to live within their

means and Germany would be left to pick up the bill. Our correspondent

reports. 17 countries sharing the currency that raising loans through

their own central banks. It would spread the credit risk between the

financially strong and those countries struggling to stay afloat.

Britain may have a large deficit but lenders Truss the Bank of

England. It can borrow money for just over 2%. The European Central

Bank can also issue bonds. It is clear that any type of eurobonds

would have to go in parallel with a substantially reinforced... as an

essential counterpart. The whole idea is dead and the water if he

cannot persuade the Germans to lest their objections. So far they will

not be made liable for the other country's overspending. There has

already been acceptance by Angela Merkel that eurobonds could be a

solution. She has not rule them out completely. The question is, can

the market see them in the medium term of 18 months to two years.

That would inspire some confidence. Financial markets would probably by

eurobonds, but so far Germany does not buy the idea. The treaty

changes that would be needed to introduce them are considerable.

BBC News. The year's only hope of escaping is to earn enough money to

pay off the international creditors. The region's economy has ground to

a halt and many eurozone nations are already on the verge of

recession. Later today a gauge of economic health is expected to show

that their economic sector is headed for a period of shrinking

wealth or recession. Sony Kapoor, Managing Director of Re-Define,

joins us from our studio in Brussels. Are you expecting this

purchasing managers' index number to show that we are heading for

recession in the eurozone? If you look at the numbers from China

yesterday. They are also looking down in that the numbers are worse

than expected. If China is in that situation the very best we can hope

for is a fall which looks me down, rather than completely catastrophic.

We are probably not quite in recession, but we are falling into

wet. The new chief of the European Central Bank said it was a key bit

of data. Do you feel that for him and the ECB this is an assertion

that they have to cut rates? problem is that cutting rates will

not be much help. They are already at. 25% and even if you cut them

right down to zero it will have very little effect on the economies

of the telly and Spain, where it is most needed. Because nobody in

Italy and Spain is able to borrow at anywhere near the ECB rate. They

can only borrow at 6% of 7%. The mechanism is completely broken and

that is why the ECB needs to buy government bonds and support a

target for Italy and Spain. Thank you for giving us your take. We

will make sure you hear what the numbers are and what they mean for

the eurozone economies as soon as we get them. A controversial tax

that has helped to oust a prime minister. Australia today passed a

levy on the mining industry. The law still needs to be rubber-

stamped by the Senate but it is expected to be law next year. Our

correspondent reports. This is an unprecedented tax for an

unprecedented mining there. 30 companies will have to pay the tax,

where their profits exceed $70 million per year. BHP Billiton last

year made more than $20 billion in profits. The Labour Government had

dug deep that the mining Bonanza had to be shared while Australians.

-- had argued that. The lower house passed the bill by only two votes.

The money raised, $20 billion by 2015, will help small businesses,

increase pensions and pay for infrastructure projects around

Australia. The mining company said it would put investment under

threat. Companies say that could be diverted to South Africa or South

America. When Chinese demand for Australian iron ore is expected the

many millions of tons, the government says those warnings are

unfounded. From July of next year there will be a mining tax in

Australia. One more global affect of the rise of China. BBC News,

Sydney. The US truck maker Merck is to pay just under $1 billion to

settle laws relating to its arthritis drug Vioxx. It withdrew

the trochee amid concerns it could cause heart attacks. Criminal and

civil charges followed, claiming Merck had misled the FTA. Korean

pop music, nicknamed K-pop, is increasingly popular in Japan and

other parts of Asia. Now the industry hopes to make inroads into

the lucrative US pop charts. One of the Companies lists on the stock

market today as it seeks to raise extra funding for its overseas

operations. Our correspondent reports. How much are they worth? A

perennial question in Korea, asked in different ways by everyone -

consumers, managers and artists. Now it is a question one of the

biggest names in K-pop is asking that the stock market. YG

Entertainment is the home of many successful Korean grouorean grou

brought in 40 million US dollars last year and this week it is

offering 5 million shares on Korea's stock market index. Two

other giants of the Entertainment are those already listed. A sign of

what some say his K-pop's growing international appeal. The managing

director wants to spread his company's success overseas. Is the

key is cheap in South Korea, particularly when brought online.

K-pop is an expensive product. Despite filling stadiums, its stars