29/03/2012 World Business Report

Pope Benedict. Those are the latest headlines. Now

for the latest financial A warm welcome. You are with World

Business Report. The headlines: Spain on a strike in protest at

plans for new measures to make it easier and cheaper for companies to

sack staff. The first earnings report from the new boss of the

firm that makes the Blackberry. I am Rico Hizon. Building BRICs.

The countries meet in a Delhi to build the idea of a development

Good to have you with us. Spain goes on strike today in protest at

planned Labour reforms which make it easier for companies to hire and

fire staff. A strong turnout is expected in the unions and there is

more action to come. The plans come as part of the Spanish government's

plans to cut its deficit. Spain's biggest market. Thousands

work here. Unemployment is this country's biggest problem. That is

why the government has reformed the labour laws to make easier and

cheaper for companies to hire and fire people. The cost of firing

people was 45 days for one here of work. A maximum of 48 months. That

means you have to pay so much. Spain, one in four people are

looking for a job cannot find one. That figure changes to one in two

for those under 25. This mother of two is looking and has not had

regular work in six years. She says the labour reforms will only make

it easier for companies to get rid of workers and does not help create

jobs. One of the few companies in Spain that is hiring a new people

is this one, a small technology start-up. One of its bosses says

new laws are not needed to create jobs. When you need to hire

somebody because you have work to do, not because the laws are less

restrictive. In this working-class suburb there are signs of

discontent as Spain goes on strike. Getting people back to work will be

key for the popularity of the relatively new government. It is

vital for the health of the country's economy, which is now in

a negative growth. Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India,

China and South Africa are meeting in a Delhi today and discussing the

idea of a development bank which, like the World Bank, could help the

BRICs. It could also help to bring their stock exchanges closer. Nice

to see you Rico Hizon. Tell us about this development bank idea.

It is a big idea. Getting there Stock Exchange us together to have

a development bank that would rival the World Bank. Officials say these

initiatives would take time as they need to sort out details. Basically,

it holds a new level of ambition for the block, which brings

together half of the world's people that makes up 25% of world GDP.

This would allow the countries to pool resources for infrastructure

improvements and it could be used in the long summer for a vehicle

for lending during financial periods of crisis. China has a huge

pile of resources and is the most powerful member of the group.

However, all of the different countries have different priorities.

People say they need to get back together. Let's talk about China.

It is pursuing matters to internationalise its currency?

is right. By extending its currency loans to other members of this

group. The China Development Bank has signed an agreement on loans to

its counterparts in the block. They say this is a further step that

will help internationalise the currency and it makes perfect sense

for China, according to analysts. They want to make it a reserve

currency. The currency could become a very strong a currency going

forward if Beijing undertakes economic reforms. Thank you. Always

nice to see you. Let's talk about the price of oil.

It has dropped for the first time in four days in New York. Western

nations are considering releasing extra oil reserves one of the world

market in order to push and the cost. Figures show a larger than

expected increase in the infantry. Last week saw the biggest rise in

stocks of oil in the US sends 2010 and analysts think that trend could

return. This has been happening for quite some time. If you look at

2010, it expanded at 3 million barrels a day, which is the second

strongest rating in 30 years. Since 2010 we have seen a deceleration.

There is not enough supply. A court in the US has started a hearing

over whether Dominique Strauss-Kahn should face a civil lawsuit after

criminal cases were dropped last year. They were brought by the New

York hotel made,. The Swedish fashion firm H&M

released its profits today. In the US, the final growth figures

for the final quarter have been released. The well has increased at

an annual rate of 3%, and not at 2.5% as originally estimated --

wealth. The maker of the Blackberry is

expected to announce more weak results today. It is bad news for

the new chief executive, who was charged with turning the business

around. The company is struggling with falling sales. We report on

how the new man at the helm is going to get the firm back on track.

Research in Motion is still profitable but the outlook for the

business seems grim. There are still many Blackberry users

worldwide but in the US it is losing its share. The popularity of

the Blackberry 7 app is waning. is losing the edge it once had in

the market place. It is a challenging state to be end, the

mobile phone market. Blackberry is losing a vital customers into

iPhone and Android handsets and will face new competition from

Windows. The company has issued a string of profit warnings. Its new

products failed to catch on. Now everything rests on the new

Blackberry tenor software but that does not out until the autumn. The

new chief executive who took over in its January has to do something

dramatic but he is yet to outline his plan.

The share prices have dropped in a stone. In the last year it has lost

75% of its value. Investors are fleeing the Blackberry maker, which

is finding it difficult to keep up with rivals.

The markets today are sliding again. For two days in a row we have seen