:00:07. > :00:17.A those are the headlines. For the latest financial news, it is time
:00:17. > :00:19.
:00:19. > :00:23.for World Business Report. Welcome. Slowly but surely. Figures
:00:23. > :00:29.out later will confirm the US economy is showing signs of
:00:29. > :00:33.recovery. But the eurozone crisis poses a risk.
:00:33. > :00:39.Those concerns over Europe's debt crisis are affecting markets in
:00:39. > :00:43.Asia. Russia's state of the Union. Dmitry
:00:43. > :00:52.Medvedev gives his final address later amid disappointment about a
:00:52. > :00:55.lack of economic reform in the country.
:00:55. > :01:00.Despite growing evidence that Europe is slipping back into
:01:00. > :01:06.recession, all the signs are the world's biggest economy, the US, is
:01:07. > :01:11.recovering. Final figures out later are expected to confirm GDP growth
:01:11. > :01:16.in the three months to September at 2%. Some positive signs for the 4th
:01:16. > :01:20.quarter. Stronger Christmas shopping, a slight upturn in the
:01:20. > :01:28.housing market are some reasons. But there are still challenges at
:01:28. > :01:32.home and abroad. The US economy is picking up speed, but it is slow
:01:32. > :01:40.going. At this high end car service, bookings are up in at this season
:01:40. > :01:46.of holiday parties. But it is still looking uncertain. We are just
:01:46. > :01:53.getting to the end of high season. It has been a good season, not an
:01:53. > :01:57.amazing season. We are up about 10% from this time last year. It is
:01:57. > :02:02.just that we do not know what is going to happen in January and
:02:02. > :02:06.February. The US economy has been improving steadily, if slowly, over
:02:06. > :02:12.the past year, thanks in part to small businesses like this one.
:02:12. > :02:17.There are still plenty of obstacles that could get in the way of a
:02:17. > :02:25.recovery in 2012. Europe's debt crisis could mean the eurozone
:02:25. > :02:35.recession or a credit crunch and here at home, it could be a jump in
:02:35. > :02:36.
:02:36. > :02:44.taxes. This is a concern for this man's clients. The President has
:02:44. > :02:48.put forward a whole lot of proposals. He has to act on them.
:02:48. > :02:55.This man is more positive, focusing on the success of many businesses
:02:55. > :02:57.in the last year, and predictions of even stronger growth in 2012.
:02:58. > :03:02.Privately-held companies make up the vast majority of economic
:03:02. > :03:12.activity in the US. There is about 27 million privately-held companies.
:03:12. > :03:13.
:03:13. > :03:19.Over the past year, they have grown between five and 7%. They drive a
:03:19. > :03:28.lot of economic impetus and they are growing. But the US needs to
:03:28. > :03:32.keep the momentum going. They need to stay on the road to recovery.
:03:32. > :03:36.More concerned on the markets over the eurozone debt crisis after the
:03:36. > :03:41.ECB lent record amounts to the region's banks on Wednesday. Let's
:03:41. > :03:48.get everything from an Asian perspective. How are the markets
:03:48. > :03:52.today? Not so good this Thursday. All
:03:52. > :03:56.markets are down, which means they are ending the rally that we saw
:03:56. > :04:01.over the last few days. One of concern that everybody has is what
:04:02. > :04:07.is happening in Europe. We saw lenders seeking to borrow more cash
:04:07. > :04:11.than what was expected from the ECB. That is affecting the currency
:04:11. > :04:16.market. The Euro is weakening as well as all of the Asian currencies
:04:17. > :04:21.against the US dollar, which is still seen to be a safe haven. But
:04:22. > :04:25.in the equity market, one market has been hit hard. That is in China.
:04:25. > :04:31.The Shanghai Stock Exchange is trading at the lowest level in two
:04:31. > :04:37.matches. That is also because banks there are seeming to keep cash
:04:37. > :04:41.instead of lending to companies. Analysts say that demand for cash
:04:41. > :04:46.will rise ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, which could
:04:46. > :04:49.potentially mean a credit crunch. That is why the Shanghai shock --
:04:49. > :04:53.Shanghai Stock Exchange has been hit.
:04:53. > :04:59.The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will make his last state-
:04:59. > :05:02.of-the-nation address later today. Over the weekend he warned Russia's
:05:03. > :05:08.political system has exhausted itself and need for modernisation.
:05:08. > :05:12.He is expected to spell out detailed in his address. For many
:05:12. > :05:15.investors this underlines how resistant to change the country has
:05:15. > :05:20.turned out to be. Corruption is widespread and the gap between rich
:05:20. > :05:30.and poor is wider than ever. The economy is too dependent on oil and
:05:30. > :05:30.
:05:30. > :05:36.gas. Thank you for joining us. Looking at Russia and the way it is
:05:36. > :05:42.today for, how the foreign investors view the country? Russia
:05:42. > :05:47.has an image problem with investors. Corruption, red tape, uncertainty,
:05:47. > :05:54.bad political stability are still concerns that foreign investors
:05:54. > :05:59.have. The President will try to address some of these concerns in
:05:59. > :06:03.his speech today. How much importance is given to foreign
:06:03. > :06:09.investment in Russia? Government highlights the
:06:10. > :06:16.importance, but at the same time, judging by their actions, it seems
:06:16. > :06:24.they are also struggling. On the one hand they have revenues coming
:06:24. > :06:29.from the energy sector. In some ways there is not that much
:06:29. > :06:34.pressure on the government to bring in investors. Demand for oil and
:06:34. > :06:42.gas from Europe is not going to stay strong forever. What kind of
:06:42. > :06:50.other options, or how his Russia diversifying its economic plan?
:06:50. > :06:53.Modernisation, emphasis on the IT sector, emphasis on innovative
:06:53. > :06:58.sectors will all dominate the agenda in the coming years. But we
:06:58. > :07:04.will have to wait to see how they implement these projects. I think
:07:04. > :07:08.in the long run, Russia will try to basically invest in sectors that
:07:08. > :07:15.are not based on natural resources. But this will take a wider
:07:15. > :07:20.political agenda to root out the corruption. The key is to
:07:20. > :07:26.strengthen the judicial system. We have to see how Vladimir Putin and
:07:26. > :07:29.Dmitry Medvedev will deal with the problem. How much of an impact do
:07:29. > :07:36.you think the polarisation of wealth is having on Russian
:07:36. > :07:39.society? I need to draw your attention to the results of the
:07:39. > :07:49.last parliamentary elections. It was not the Liberal parties that
:07:49. > :07:50.
:07:50. > :07:55.won the vote, the people who were disappointed with the ruling party.
:07:55. > :08:03.These were the communists. The main message from these parties was the
:08:03. > :08:09.message of anti-corruption and the pledge to deal with this new class
:08:09. > :08:14.of people. This means that people are very sensitive to the fact that
:08:14. > :08:18.the world from the energy resources is not trickling down. This is a
:08:18. > :08:27.serious issue. Plenty of things to think about. Thank you very much
:08:27. > :08:33.indeed. Italy's parliament is set to give
:08:33. > :08:38.approval to a package of its -- of austerity measures. Protest erupted
:08:38. > :08:43.in the Senate on Wednesday as the Prime Minister asked for a vote of
:08:43. > :08:49.confidence over the plan which includes tax increases. Figures on
:08:49. > :08:52.Wednesday showed Italy's economy contracted in the three months to
:08:52. > :09:00.September. Borrowing costs have been rising over concerns it will
:09:00. > :09:04.not be able to manage its debt. Belgian is set to be paralysed on
:09:04. > :09:10.Thursday by a national public sector strike over pension reform.
:09:11. > :09:14.Its three main labour unions started a walkout at nine o'clock
:09:14. > :09:19.on Wednesday involving workers in public transport, hospitals,
:09:19. > :09:25.schools and government believes. Belgium's new government is trying
:09:25. > :09:28.to raise the effective retirement age.
:09:28. > :09:31.The European Commission has given temporary approval starting today
:09:31. > :09:38.for the Belgian, French and Luxembourg governments to give loan
:09:38. > :09:44.guarantee to struggling back Dexia. The commission says the guarantees