:00:21. > :00:28.Now it is time for World Business Here are the headlines: The ECB of
:00:28. > :00:32.us emergency cash two banks had super low interest rates.
:00:32. > :00:38.Asian stocks are at seven-month highs and its regional emerging
:00:38. > :00:42.currencies are heading for a second month of gains.
:00:42. > :00:52.We'll find out just how strong the US economy really is when 4th
:00:52. > :00:55.
:00:55. > :00:59.quarter results are released later In a few hours, we will be finding
:00:59. > :01:03.out how much the European Central Bank has given to banks in its
:01:03. > :01:07.latest round of emergency refinancing. Last December it
:01:07. > :01:13.handed out nearly 500 billion euros to banks to avert a credit crunch.
:01:13. > :01:15.How much will they ask for this time?
:01:15. > :01:25.Last December as Europeans shop for Christmas, the Continent's
:01:25. > :01:28.
:01:28. > :01:35.financial sector verged on collapse. The ECB land banks a total of 489
:01:35. > :01:39.billion euros at 1% annual interest. A timely gift. The ECB's emergency
:01:39. > :01:46.injection of cash has already done a lot to bolster Europe's any make
:01:46. > :01:52.of financial system. Major banks have recently issued billions of
:01:52. > :01:56.euros worth of new bonds and these had been bought up readily on the
:01:56. > :02:01.international financial markets. So how much more emergency cash does
:02:01. > :02:05.the ECB needs to inject this time around? Up until last week,
:02:05. > :02:09.financial markets thought the banks would bid for a further one
:02:09. > :02:14.trillion euros, but now it is thought they would only borrow half
:02:15. > :02:18.that much. Many banks are afraid of seeming desperate. If you see
:02:18. > :02:22.funding needs in the future, then the take up will certainly be there.
:02:22. > :02:32.On the other hand, the implications for the sector will be interpreted
:02:32. > :02:35.
:02:35. > :02:41.A lot of banks have put their new cash into government bonds,
:02:41. > :02:47.including Spanish banks. This has reduced yields, reducing the costs
:02:47. > :02:51.of serving government debts. Could this be the answer to the eurozone
:02:51. > :02:56.debt crisis? What they are supportive opera for dead, what
:02:56. > :03:01.they are really doing is shifting debt risk not from the periphery to
:03:01. > :03:06.the core, but from peripheral governments to peripheral banks.
:03:06. > :03:11.But for us is a temporary solution, rather than a permanent one.
:03:11. > :03:16.ECB wants to keep these options to a minimum. They are nervous banks
:03:16. > :03:22.will become too reliant on the artificially cheap loans.
:03:22. > :03:26.I am joined by the senior adviser at HSBC global banking and markets.
:03:26. > :03:30.The market in December, when his first auction took place, but very
:03:30. > :03:38.excited about this, it gave a massive boost to share markets. Is
:03:38. > :03:42.it the same at this time? It has already anticipated to be the same.
:03:42. > :03:46.I do not think the effect will be quite as much. I think the whole
:03:46. > :03:52.process has just added some stability to the European banking
:03:52. > :04:01.market and that has made everybody much happier. The fact that we will
:04:01. > :04:06.not now have a situation where companies go bust. It has added
:04:06. > :04:11.liquidity to Europe. Last time, more than half of the uptake of the
:04:11. > :04:15.funds was by Spanish and Italian banks. Do think it will be a
:04:15. > :04:19.similar story this time? I think so. They are the ones who really needed
:04:19. > :04:24.and they are the ones we really think should be there. It is
:04:24. > :04:31.keeping those Italian and Spanish yields down. It is making sure that
:04:31. > :04:36.they have enough money. Briefly, how critical has this been in the
:04:36. > :04:40.eurozone debt crisis story, in terms of keeping us all one-track?
:04:40. > :04:45.I think it has made a huge difference. It does not mean the
:04:45. > :04:55.banks will not have to be leverage, but they have three years to do it.
:04:55. > :04:55.
:04:55. > :05:05.It has bought the brunt -- brought the bond yields down. It was not
:05:05. > :05:05.
:05:05. > :05:10.sustainable earlier, but the Let's have a look at the Asian
:05:10. > :05:13.markets, which are doing very well. They are powered higher by the
:05:13. > :05:21.strongest close to the US stocks since before the 2008 financial
:05:21. > :05:26.crisis. There is a whole bunch of reasons why, is that they?
:05:26. > :05:30.Absolutely. Traders are currently smiling because of the Good
:05:30. > :05:34.fortunes for the regional forces. It is scaling up numbers not seen
:05:34. > :05:38.for more than seven months. Investors are being inspired by a
:05:38. > :05:44.number of factors. Wall Street is at its higher since February are of
:05:44. > :05:52.last year. A fresh cash injection by the ECB as well. Japan is the
:05:52. > :06:02.solid performer, the Nikkei raising more than 1%. The index is on track
:06:02. > :06:08.
:06:08. > :06:14.Other markets in the Regent are trying to keep up with Japan. Bench
:06:14. > :06:19.marks in South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
:06:19. > :06:24.and Indonesia are all moving up. Most Asian economies are headed by
:06:24. > :06:33.a second month of gains. It is fuelled by major capital inflows
:06:33. > :06:37.into the region. It is a good day One of the other reasons why these
:06:37. > :06:42.markets did so well was a better than expected rise in US consumer
:06:42. > :06:46.confidence. It has given the market a boost and today we get US growth
:06:46. > :06:51.figures for the 4th quarter, which should show growth of 2.8%. Our
:06:51. > :06:56.correspondent has more. The health of the hotel industry
:06:56. > :07:02.can say a lot about an economy. When times are tough, one of the
:07:02. > :07:04.first things people card is a travel budget. What can the
:07:05. > :07:11.performance of the Intercontinental Hotel Group tell us about the
:07:11. > :07:15.economy in America? Let's go need the boss to find out. Can you talk
:07:15. > :07:23.to me a bit about occupancy rates at the moment in the hotels? Give
:07:23. > :07:27.us a sense of how things are going. In the US, we are only 2% or 3%
:07:27. > :07:32.below the record peak. Every month since March of last year, we have
:07:32. > :07:37.seen record demand. The demand is there. Rates have been growing
:07:37. > :07:40.because occupancy has been growing. Another, perhaps more accurate,
:07:40. > :07:46.measure that people like to look at is how much money you make per
:07:46. > :07:56.Bruen. Talk to me a bit about how that looks right now? In 2011, we
:07:56. > :07:59.
:07:59. > :08:02.saw in the US a 7% rise. We also saw double-digit rise in Asia. You
:08:02. > :08:10.get recession fatigue. You cannot sit in your office for ever and not
:08:10. > :08:16.go and visit customers. I think we saw that activity just grew. Given
:08:16. > :08:20.the difficulties we have seen in the global economy and also a
:08:20. > :08:23.fairly recent recovery in the US, why did you decide to launch his
:08:23. > :08:30.new brand? Do you hope it will bring new customers to your
:08:30. > :08:35.company? Very much so. The essence of this brand is targeting the new
:08:35. > :08:39.trend in the economy. We estimate about 17 million travellers want
:08:40. > :08:46.this. A lot of those are not targeted by our existing brands,
:08:46. > :08:54.which are target of themselves. We see this as taking business from
:08:54. > :09:04.hell competitors. A UN optimist with it comes to the prospects of
:09:04. > :09:04.
:09:04. > :09:07.2012? I am not an Economist. I am reasonably optimistic about the US
:09:07. > :09:13.economy in the long-term. It is a very reactive place and people are
:09:13. > :09:23.generally optimists. You need confidence to make investment
:09:23. > :09:25.
:09:25. > :09:31.I just want to mention Greece Before I Say Goodbye. It has
:09:31. > :09:36.approved bid a new austerity measures, slashing minimum wage and