:00:08. > :00:14.will be a separate state. Now for the latest international
:00:14. > :00:23.business news. It is time for World Business Report.
:00:23. > :00:27.Welcome. The headlines: Allen Stanford faces the rest of his life
:00:27. > :00:37.in jail after being found guilty in swindling and asters added billions
:00:37. > :00:39.
:00:39. > :00:49.of dollars. -- investors. The tablet market is set to raise
:00:49. > :00:56.
:00:56. > :01:01.again when Apple is to introduce a The lawyer for the one-time
:01:01. > :01:04.billionaire Allen Stanford who was convicted of a $7 billion fraud
:01:04. > :01:10.last night says he expects to appeal the verdict. The man who
:01:10. > :01:16.wants bankrolled a $20 million us cricket tournaments faces the rest
:01:16. > :01:25.of his life in prison. He was found guilty of defrauding up to 30,000
:01:25. > :01:29.people from 100 different countries. Allen Stanford, one-time
:01:29. > :01:38.billionaire with high-powered connections in the US, UK and
:01:38. > :01:46.Antigua, now revealed as a fraudster. He created I financial
:01:46. > :01:53.scam over the -- over 20 years. He funnelled the money through a
:01:53. > :02:01.secret Swiss bank accounts to fund his own lavish lifestyle.
:02:01. > :02:07.appears to have paid off the regulators. It was just the
:02:07. > :02:17.constant of spinning of money. 30,000 investors lost money through
:02:17. > :02:19.
:02:19. > :02:24.the scheme. He has been in JLC ins 2009. -- being in jail since. The
:02:24. > :02:30.key to his convection is due to his long-time aide who turned into a
:02:30. > :02:37.star witness for the US government. His conviction is the latest in a
:02:37. > :02:43.series of high-profile fraud prosecutions in America. It looks
:02:43. > :02:51.highly unlikely that investors will get any of their money back. His
:02:51. > :03:01.lawyers say they will appeal the conviction.
:03:01. > :03:05.
:03:05. > :03:11.We are following the events in the US. It sounds like Mitt Romney has
:03:11. > :03:15.been narrowly won at the very important state of Ohio. This was
:03:15. > :03:19.closely contested with Rick Santorum. Eight looks like Mitt
:03:19. > :03:27.Romney has won at the state which is the key state to win during
:03:27. > :03:33.today's events. It is one of the largest and reflects the American
:03:33. > :03:42.voters in four. It is a wide range of people being represented in the
:03:42. > :03:50.state of Ohio. Mitt Romney has narrowly won that state. More later.
:03:50. > :04:00.Australia's economy has expanded at half the pace experts had expected.
:04:00. > :04:01.
:04:01. > :04:05.Fourth-quarter GDP rose 0.4% from the previous three months. I
:04:05. > :04:09.enjoyed by a senior economists. Why is Australia struggling? There is a
:04:09. > :04:14.mining boom going on. That means the Australian dollar has been very
:04:14. > :04:18.strong and that interest rates are very high. Those sectors of the
:04:18. > :04:25.economy which are exposed to the Australian dollar, like the tourism
:04:25. > :04:35.and education sectors, are suffering. Interest rates sectors
:04:35. > :04:39.as well. That is the main reason. Parts of the economy which is not
:04:39. > :04:44.directly exposed to mining is going through a tough time. Is this a
:04:44. > :04:49.trend we should be concerned about? We think of Australia as the one
:04:49. > :04:56.economy back did not go into recession when the rest of us did.
:04:56. > :05:00.It is going through a tough patch now? The overall economy has
:05:00. > :05:05.underperformed for the last four years. There are reasons for that
:05:05. > :05:10.including flooding, the international financial crisis but
:05:10. > :05:14.there is also a structural change going on. If you assume peak mining
:05:14. > :05:16.boom is going to continue due to the Chinese economic strength, the
:05:16. > :05:21.strong Australian dollar is something Australian businesses
:05:21. > :05:25.will have to get used to. It is proving to be quite difficult for
:05:25. > :05:30.many. Australians are saving much more than they used to. They are
:05:30. > :05:34.less inclined to spend. These other things that are going on which
:05:34. > :05:39.mitigate against the strength of the economy. How do you ever come
:05:39. > :05:44.back? The fact the Australians are saving more is a good thing for
:05:44. > :05:48.their own personal financial help. Especially when they get older. The
:05:48. > :05:52.Australian economy it warned their people out there spending in the
:05:52. > :05:57.shops. You cut interest rates. The Reserve Bank has cut interest rates
:05:57. > :06:03.twice. We think they will cut it again. We will get few years on the
:06:03. > :06:07.unemployment rate tomorrow which we think is accelerating modestly. In
:06:07. > :06:11.the short-term, there is scope for monetary policy to play a part in
:06:11. > :06:14.helping the Australian economy along. There is a longer term issue
:06:14. > :06:23.in the structure. Governments will have to address it in the next
:06:23. > :06:30.couple of years. Thank you. Let's look at other parts of Asia.
:06:30. > :06:40.The slowdown is being felt elsewhere. What is happening in
:06:40. > :06:46.Malaysia? It has slowed down in his export
:06:46. > :06:50.figures by 0.4%. It is lower than broadcasted. Some of these could be
:06:50. > :06:55.attributed to the seasonal factors such as the Chinese New Year. There
:06:55. > :07:00.are other factors at work. For instance, the slowdown in Europe.
:07:00. > :07:05.Technology exports have been hit. And exports to China and Singapore
:07:05. > :07:13.were also weak. One bright spot was palm oil. Malaysia is the second
:07:13. > :07:18.largest producer of palm oil. Its prices have spike. Prices rose 7.5%
:07:18. > :07:26.from one year ago. Still with China announcing lower growth target for
:07:26. > :07:29.the year, this may have an impact. Brazil and Shelia have announced a
:07:29. > :07:35.slowdown in growth and this could infect other economies in the
:07:35. > :07:39.region as well. -- Brazil and Australia.
:07:39. > :07:43.Let's talk about Apple. They are trying to keep their age in the
:07:43. > :07:47.tablet market. There is an expectation they will outsell
:07:47. > :07:57.traditional desktop computers. They are expected to launch a new
:07:57. > :07:57.
:07:57. > :08:04.version of the iPad today in sun Francisco. -- sun Francisco.
:08:04. > :08:10.An old fashioned bakery using new technology. Along with a latte and
:08:10. > :08:18.an iPad to sign with your finger. Its tablet computer has replaced
:08:18. > :08:21.the traditional register in this bakery. There are many benefits.
:08:21. > :08:28.All of our systems are Apple. It is connected to the iPad and it makes
:08:28. > :08:34.it easier. We are able to export our reports directly into Excel. It
:08:34. > :08:40.says as time. We do not need a book-keeper. Imagine if tabards we
:08:40. > :08:45.used in businesses up and down the street. That is a world Apple were
:08:45. > :08:50.like to see in the future. It is why the company's bust has a lot
:08:50. > :08:54.riding on the launch of the iPad three. Candi tablet computer
:08:55. > :09:02.overtake the PC market? This technology blogger says that day is
:09:02. > :09:07.not as far off as you may expect. For most people, the Tablet end up
:09:07. > :09:13.serving most of their needs. They are actually cheaper than expensive
:09:14. > :09:22.PCs. The prediction is some time around at the fall of 2013, tablets
:09:22. > :09:31.or past PC sales. Businesses are helping to drive at -- Drive tablet
:09:31. > :09:35.sales. We see more and more about communication customers beginning
:09:35. > :09:41.to use tablets in place of or in addition to personal computers in
:09:41. > :09:45.the workplace. We see small businesses and even of Fortune 500
:09:45. > :09:52.enterprises which are making the tablet and everyday business tour.