:00:07. > :00:17.given a month to toe the line. Now it is time for World Business
:00:17. > :00:23.
:00:23. > :00:31.Report. The headlines: Another acting in the Greek tragedy. The
:00:31. > :00:37.government tries to reach a deal with private bondholders that could
:00:37. > :00:45.shave at $125 billion from its debt. Nicolas Sarkozy meets to discuss
:00:45. > :00:48.job creation and growth. Samsung Electronics denies reports
:00:48. > :00:58.it is interested in taking over Research In Motion, the makers of
:00:58. > :00:59.
:00:59. > :01:05.the BlackBerry. Or critical talks between the Greek government and
:01:05. > :01:09.its private lenders resume today as they tried to hammer out a deal on
:01:09. > :01:19.writing off 50% of their debt. The Prime Minister has warned that
:01:19. > :01:21.
:01:21. > :01:29.if an agreement is not reached, the country could default in March. Our
:01:29. > :01:39.correspondent joins us from Athens. You hope will these talks will end
:01:39. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:52.in a deal today? I hope they will end in agreement, given the down
:01:52. > :01:55.
:01:55. > :02:03.side of a non agreement. I hope that people will reach a conclusion.
:02:03. > :02:13.What is the worst case scenario? There are a couple of different
:02:13. > :02:14.
:02:14. > :02:20.possible outcomes. Given that a lot of these bonds are region under
:02:20. > :02:27.Greek law, they can change the law. They can add a clause that forces
:02:27. > :02:34.everyone to accept the changes or they can change them in any other
:02:34. > :02:38.way that makes sense. That is one possible outcome. The impact would
:02:38. > :02:48.be that it would trigger the market and that would take us to a
:02:48. > :02:48.
:02:48. > :02:53.different level. The worst possible outcome is where Greece says, we
:02:53. > :03:00.cannot pay and defaults on its debts. That will have a lot of
:03:00. > :03:08.replications. For those private bondholders the other possibilities
:03:08. > :03:15.are a lot worse than an agreement, even if it is a low interest rate
:03:15. > :03:25.on their long-term investment? believe so. And I think that is why
:03:25. > :03:26.
:03:26. > :03:36.you see Germany and the IMF applying a bit of pressure. Thank
:03:36. > :03:41.you for joining us live from Athens. Later today, French President
:03:41. > :03:46.Nicolas Sarkozy meets unions to discuss employment and
:03:46. > :03:53.competitiveness. He wants to look at Labour reforms to reinvigorate
:03:53. > :03:55.the French economy rather than another austerity plan. He hopes to
:03:55. > :04:01.pass a bill before facing an election in April. Our
:04:01. > :04:08.correspondent reports. The first President to lose the country's
:04:08. > :04:13.precious AAA rating. It has been a dark week for Nicolas Sarkozy. But
:04:13. > :04:19.today the French President, still not officially a candidate, will
:04:19. > :04:25.fight to restore the image of France and his own image in the
:04:25. > :04:31.eyes of the French voters. TRANSLATION: It is a challenge and
:04:31. > :04:36.we must face it. We must resist and fight, show courage and cold-
:04:36. > :04:42.blooded best. You do not respond to a crisis of this size by letting
:04:42. > :04:46.yourself get carried away or creating an ordeal. Today the
:04:46. > :04:52.President will meet with employers and union leaders to talk jobs and
:04:52. > :04:57.growth. The focus in cutting employment charges to make small
:04:57. > :05:02.and medium businesses more competitive. The hourly cost of
:05:02. > :05:11.labour in France has swung since the year 2000 from being 8% cheaper
:05:11. > :05:15.than in Germany to being 10% more expensive. The government is
:05:15. > :05:25.offering several solutions. A comprehensive plan to retrain the
:05:25. > :05:26.
:05:26. > :05:32.unemployed. Legislation to increase value added tax is in the process.
:05:32. > :05:38.-- in the pipeline. The sudden rush underlines the growing concern
:05:38. > :05:48.about unemployment. Poles suggested is the single largest concern of
:05:48. > :05:50.
:05:50. > :05:54.voters. -- polls suggest. Any reforms put forward by the
:05:54. > :05:59.government can barely be in manifesto form with only one month
:05:59. > :06:06.of this Parliament left around. But the President is pushing hard for
:06:07. > :06:15.change. BBC News. Samsung is making the headlines again. The latest
:06:15. > :06:20.from Singapore. Tell us about the speculation that Samsung was trying
:06:20. > :06:25.to buy BlackBerry. Apparently they are saying they are not interested.
:06:25. > :06:30.On it has been confirmed they are not interested in taking over
:06:30. > :06:34.Research In Motion. A Samsung spokesman said they had
:06:34. > :06:44.not been approached for takeover and did not in any way consider
:06:44. > :06:50.acquiring the company. The rumours started when a website cited
:06:50. > :06:58.unspecified sources saying that they Chief Executive was meeting
:06:58. > :07:05.with unspecified sources. I know which caused share prices to
:07:05. > :07:13.go all over the place, back from a. The latest twist in the legal
:07:13. > :07:18.battle between Samsung an Apple - what is happening? It continues.
:07:19. > :07:26.Apple has filed another suit in Germany seeking a sales ban of
:07:26. > :07:35.Samsung smartphones, including galaxy. This adds to the legal
:07:35. > :07:45.conflict between the two firms. Apple accused Samsung of copying
:07:45. > :07:47.
:07:47. > :07:53.its products. The action was filed in Dusseldorf. Both companies have
:07:53. > :08:00.filed patents suits against each other with Samsung failing to win a
:08:00. > :08:06.battle on the iPhone for his in Italy and France. Thank you.
:08:06. > :08:10.Goldman Sachs or publishing their fourth-quarter earnings today. The
:08:10. > :08:17.lower investment banking and trading fees resulted in a drop in
:08:17. > :08:23.profit. Our correspondent reports. The party is over. Since the
:08:23. > :08:27.financial crisis Goldman Sachs has become a symbol of excess, taking a
:08:27. > :08:33.beating from lawmakers and investors. Its profits have also
:08:33. > :08:38.taken a hit, suffering a rare third quarter loss last October. The
:08:38. > :08:47.final months of this year are not expected to be much brighter.
:08:47. > :08:52.Market volatility sparked by the European debt crisis has eroded the
:08:52. > :08:55.capability of Goldman Sachs to make money. On a more people are scared
:08:55. > :09:01.to make deals, the less profitability there is in that
:09:01. > :09:06.business. Since the financial crisis the firm
:09:07. > :09:13.has been going through a transition period. Where will future growth
:09:13. > :09:19.come from? Macquarie capital believe that is one of the biggest
:09:19. > :09:24.challenges facing Goldman's management. Companies like Goldman
:09:25. > :09:34.Sachs will be required to keep more capital and be subject in any
:09:35. > :09:37.
:09:37. > :09:41.activity restrictions. They do not exactly advertise, but these are
:09:41. > :09:48.the headquarters of Goldman Sachs, one of the world's top investment