:00:06. > :00:16.Now for the latest financial news, it is time the World Business
:00:16. > :00:21.
:00:21. > :00:26.Hello and welcome. Here are the headlines: Fuel prices hit a record
:00:26. > :00:28.highs in the UK as global oil prices continued to rise.
:00:28. > :00:35.Controversial new plans to give small business an alternative to
:00:35. > :00:45.the banks for funding. The world's second largest bank puts the
:00:45. > :00:50.
:00:50. > :00:54.spotlight on bad loans as it reports its earnings.
:00:54. > :00:57.Average fuel prices hit a record high in the UK last week. Across
:00:57. > :01:02.the Atlantic President Obama is facing mounting criticism over
:01:02. > :01:07.sharp rises in the cost of gasoline. The main reason for higher prices
:01:07. > :01:09.at the pump is the rising cost of crude oil on the global markets.
:01:09. > :01:16.Analysts say the number of countries warding crude oil is
:01:16. > :01:22.contributing. China is thought to be adding half a million barrels a
:01:22. > :01:32.day to its stockpiles. The train comes as tensions with around seems
:01:32. > :01:33.
:01:33. > :01:36.to be easing. A US aircraft carrier patrols in a
:01:36. > :01:39.continuing show of strength. The aim is to counteract the Iranian
:01:39. > :01:44.threat to stop vital oil supplies being delivered through these
:01:44. > :01:50.waters. With such a display of military hardware, the prospects
:01:50. > :01:57.for any kind of display are stopped. Why do oil prices continued to go
:01:57. > :02:01.skywards? As petrol prices soar, the answer seems to be that
:02:01. > :02:07.countries around the world are hoarding oil. Emerging countries
:02:07. > :02:13.like South Africa, India and Thailand are busy stockpiling. So
:02:13. > :02:17.too is China, the world's second biggest consumer of oil. China may
:02:17. > :02:24.be stockpiling some of its own domestic production. It may be
:02:24. > :02:28.storing half a million barrels a day. It all adds to pressure on
:02:28. > :02:32.prices. The Chinese believe that this is a major strategic on
:02:32. > :02:40.ability that they have to field. They are concerned about at the
:02:40. > :02:44.supply shock. Stockpiling is once again going to increase the premium
:02:44. > :02:48.for oil. Last week Britain and the US confirmed they are still in
:02:48. > :02:52.talks to release some of their stockpiles to try and drive prices
:02:52. > :02:59.down. With continuing demand from Asia, many analysts think any
:02:59. > :03:03.effect on prices will be extremely short lived.
:03:03. > :03:08.Staying with fuel. Here in the UK, the Government is taking action to
:03:08. > :03:12.prevent potential shortages at the pump. It has announced his training
:03:12. > :03:20.soldiers to replace your tankard drivers who are threatening to go
:03:20. > :03:24.on strike. -- fuel tankers. The Government is reported to be on
:03:24. > :03:30.the verge of selling of the Royal Mail. The battle and parcel
:03:30. > :03:37.delivery business could raise more than $6 billion. Any sale would
:03:37. > :03:44.rely on the relaxing of prizes and the marked increase in efficiency.
:03:44. > :03:48.Royal Mail products come solely from its post office network.
:03:48. > :03:53.Ireland's premier is due to meet his Chinese counterpart in Beijing.
:03:53. > :04:03.Figures released last week show island's economy slipping back into
:04:03. > :04:04.
:04:04. > :04:10.Ireland's government hopes to recover much needed investors from
:04:10. > :04:15.the world's second-biggest economy. Fiat is to close two of its plants
:04:15. > :04:22.this week due to a month of strikes by its drivers. It will lay off
:04:22. > :04:27.drivers temporarily. Of close another facility later this week. -
:04:27. > :04:34.- it will close. The drivers are protesting acres government
:04:34. > :04:37.measures which have raised the or prices. There are claims that some
:04:37. > :04:41.staff had been subjected to intimidation.
:04:41. > :04:45.Small firms around there are finding it tough to raise money to
:04:45. > :04:48.grow their business. One report out today suggests banks will cut back
:04:48. > :04:53.lending by $1 trillion this year and that makes alternative sources
:04:53. > :05:01.of funding all the more important. In the US President Obama is set to
:05:01. > :05:07.sign a new law. The Act would allow private firms to raise money from
:05:07. > :05:12.large numbers of shareholders or crowd saucing.
:05:12. > :05:17.This man has worked for some big names. From IBM to gold and sax. He
:05:17. > :05:20.now hopes his small business will be a big name in consumer
:05:20. > :05:27.electronics. He says that could happen if the US government allows
:05:27. > :05:32.start-ups to tap lots of small investors. By letting everyone in
:05:32. > :05:36.the public sector make them eligible to contribute to ideas
:05:36. > :05:45.that they believe in, you are opening up things to a wider pool
:05:45. > :05:50.of talent. Currently, companies in the US with more than 500 investors
:05:50. > :05:55.are forced to go public and open their books up to US regulators.
:05:55. > :05:59.But this new legislation will change that. It will allow small
:05:59. > :06:04.businesses and start-ups to have many more investors and for them to
:06:04. > :06:09.cut back on red paper. Given that small businesses create many new
:06:09. > :06:14.jobs in America and that credit is still hard to get these days, it is
:06:14. > :06:19.perhaps no surprise that President Obama's administration is backing
:06:19. > :06:24.the Bill. Critics say the law could be disastrous. It loosens investor
:06:24. > :06:30.protection as they had been around for decades. It is a bad day for
:06:30. > :06:37.the retail investor. They are going to get silly tape -- solicitations
:06:37. > :06:41.online from companies. It is a peach tree dish of fraud. As I say,
:06:41. > :06:46.the only jobs that are going to benefit from this are fraudsters,
:06:46. > :06:50.Scholes, Wall Street analysts. What's more, and those regulations
:06:50. > :06:54.were at the heart of America's recent financial crisis. With
:06:54. > :07:04.widespread support from lawmakers, small businesses will probably soon
:07:04. > :07:05.
:07:05. > :07:09.be able to use crowd funding for There are more signs of a slowdown
:07:09. > :07:19.in China. The world's second largest bank has reported a sharp
:07:19. > :07:20.
:07:21. > :07:25.rise in bad loans. What is going on with his bank? It has posted a 25%
:07:25. > :07:35.growth in its net profit in 2011, but it is warning that bad loans
:07:35. > :07:35.
:07:35. > :07:45.are rising. It is the world's second largest bank by market
:07:45. > :07:46.
:07:46. > :07:51.capitalisation. Its profits did pretty well. It was up $27 billion
:07:51. > :08:01.in the year to 31st December. A big concern for it and other banks in
:08:01. > :08:11.China are these possible rises in loan defaults. The bank said it is
:08:11. > :08:14.
:08:14. > :08:20.-- its non-performing loans rose by It is driven by the increased risks
:08:20. > :08:25.by investments and the housing bubble. These are some of the
:08:25. > :08:32.challenges that have been cited by the bank. All this would go to
:08:32. > :08:40.explain why its shares are actually falling today. Tell us about Qantas
:08:40. > :08:45.and China Eastern of launching a new Hong Kong-based budget airline.
:08:45. > :08:50.The airline will be called Jetstar Hong Kong. It will be the first
:08:50. > :08:54.low-cost airline based in Hong Kong. Jetstar already runs a budget
:08:54. > :08:57.airline services in other parts of Asia. It is all part of a strategy
:08:57. > :09:00.by Qantas to revive its international business after it
:09:00. > :09:06.said it would close some international routes and cut almost
:09:06. > :09:11.500 jobs. The new airline will start operation in 2013. It is
:09:11. > :09:17.going to have a fleet of around three Airbus A three 20s, which it
:09:17. > :09:23.plans to increase to 18 by 2015. The two companies would be equal
:09:23. > :09:26.partners in the joint venture, which would have capital. China
:09:26. > :09:32.Eastern Airlines is China's second largest airline in terms of
:09:32. > :09:36.passengers. Let's show you the markets and how
:09:36. > :09:40.they started the trading week. A bit of a mixed picture emerging.