:00:02. > :00:06.being broken and wants to send more international monitors.
:00:06. > :00:14.Those are the headlines from BBC World News. It is time for the
:00:14. > :00:22.financial news with World Business Report.
:00:22. > :00:26.Welcome to World Business Report. The IMF tries to raise $400 billion
:00:26. > :00:30.to boost its firepower against Europe's debt crisis.
:00:30. > :00:37.At when the going gets tough, the tough get networking. The boss of
:00:37. > :00:44.LinkedIn tells us why economic uncertainty has get them growing.
:00:44. > :00:49.-- has kept them. The International Monetary Fund has received pledges
:00:50. > :00:58.of an extra $320 billion, effectively doubling its firepower,
:00:58. > :01:01.in a bid to stave off marketeers -- market attacks. Some of the a
:01:01. > :01:06.organisations of the members have been keen to boost the reserves.
:01:06. > :01:11.But the US has rests -- has refused. The funding issue is likely to be a
:01:11. > :01:19.key talking point at this weekend's meeting of G20 members in
:01:19. > :01:25.Washington. The IMF's boss wants another $400 billion, and she
:01:25. > :01:29.nearly has it, thanks to pledges from European countries and Japan.
:01:29. > :01:33.As part of the outcome of this meeting, we expect our foul at --
:01:33. > :01:41.our firepower to be significantly increased. The extra money would
:01:41. > :01:46.double the size of the fund and swell the IMF's coffers. The crisis
:01:46. > :01:53.risks reset -- resurfacing again as the borrowing costs of Italy and
:01:53. > :01:58.Spain Klein. At this very moment the IMF can deploy a little bit
:01:58. > :02:06.less than $400 billion. This is really a fraction of the overall
:02:06. > :02:13.funding needed should the crisis free escalator. But while European
:02:13. > :02:20.nations have pledged money, the US, the IMF's biggest contributor, has
:02:20. > :02:24.confused -- has refused. Europe is a relatively rich Continent. It has
:02:24. > :02:29.the financial resources to manage this problem. It is going to play
:02:29. > :02:34.the dominant financial role. We wanted to see them put a more
:02:34. > :02:39.forceful commitment behind that basic reality. And the emerging
:02:39. > :02:43.nations only seemed keen to contribute if it increases their
:02:43. > :02:48.say within the multinational club. That is despite warnings that the
:02:48. > :02:54.eurozone crisis remains the key threat to the health of the economy.
:02:54. > :02:59.Getting more money out of the IMF's 188 members is a key issue for this
:02:59. > :03:06.weekend's meeting. The message is that the debt crisis is not over
:03:06. > :03:10.and that there are many challenges facing the global economy.
:03:10. > :03:14.As you have been hearing it is the final day of campaigning in France
:03:14. > :03:18.ahead of the presidential election. 10 candidates are standing in the
:03:18. > :03:23.first round but according to the polls it is the Socialist
:03:23. > :03:27.challenger to President Sarkozy who will triumph. The outcome is one
:03:27. > :03:32.that has some in the financial markets nervous. Gabriele Parussini
:03:32. > :03:38.joins us now. He is the economics reporter for the Wall Street
:03:38. > :03:43.Journal. Why is it the financial markets are so nervous about the
:03:43. > :03:49.idea of Francois Hollande winning? Financial markets are not nervous
:03:49. > :03:53.as such, I think they're keeping an eye on France because after a few
:03:53. > :04:02.months of calm the eurozone -- the eurozone debt crisis is reigniting
:04:02. > :04:06.again. Any election will be closely watched and scrutinised. But there
:04:06. > :04:10.are differences between the candidates, and it seems that
:04:10. > :04:17.Francois Hollande would like to reverse some of the reform measures
:04:17. > :04:25.that Nicolas Sarkozy brought in regarding employment. What Francois
:04:25. > :04:31.Hollande is saying is basically, the reform he wants to recall his
:04:31. > :04:35.marginal. Both candidates in France are running on a platform that is
:04:35. > :04:42.not an austerity platform as happens in the UK or Spain. It is a
:04:42. > :04:48.very fiscally responsible plan. Nicolas Sarkozy implemented a
:04:48. > :04:56.pension reform to cut the retirement age to 62. Francois:
:04:56. > :05:06.Wants to reduce that for a fraction of the people. -- Francois Hollande.
:05:06. > :05:10.
:05:10. > :05:16.What about the reaction to what the responsibility in the eurozone? --
:05:16. > :05:22.towards be. Francois Hollande said he wanted the ECB to have a more
:05:22. > :05:26.active role in France. President Sarkozy joined him. He has been
:05:26. > :05:33.repeating that the ECB needs to do more for economic growth and more
:05:33. > :05:41.to stabilise the markets. He went as far to say it as the euro is
:05:41. > :05:50.overvalued. Right now they are both looking to Frankfurt for some help
:05:50. > :05:55.to kick-start economic growth again in France. Thank you.
:05:55. > :06:04.Shares of business social network LinkedIn has had its ups and downs.
:06:04. > :06:10.But they are now trading at $100 a share. That is in contrast to some
:06:10. > :06:16.of the other companies that have come to be website. Groupon has
:06:16. > :06:21.lost half its value for example. LinkedIn's boss has been speaking
:06:22. > :06:27.to the BBC. He said the company is in a strong position. We have
:06:27. > :06:32.reached critical mass. As a result it is challenging for other
:06:32. > :06:38.platforms to compete on a global basis. We see from time to time the
:06:38. > :06:42.regional player. But increasingly the world is networked. We are part
:06:42. > :06:49.of an interdependent global economy. That global scale Sirs the members
:06:49. > :06:54.well. In the headlines recently, Facebook paid $1 billion for
:06:54. > :07:00.another company. Is that leading to concerns, that valuation at getting
:07:00. > :07:06.too high? You are seeing companies with sustainable value propositions,
:07:06. > :07:12.sustainable competitive advantages. They have fast growing top lines
:07:12. > :07:18.and in certain cases significant margins and profitability. And they
:07:18. > :07:22.have an eye towards the long-term vision. Where the public offering
:07:22. > :07:26.is merely that stepping stone to realising the full potential.
:07:26. > :07:30.the US seeing a very slow recovery and the debt crisis in Europe, is
:07:30. > :07:36.there a sense from a company like yours that Asia really is the place
:07:36. > :07:40.for growth? One of the things we saw after the financial crisis in
:07:40. > :07:44.the 4th quarter of 2008 was that people were turning to LinkedIn
:07:44. > :07:49.increasingly for help. There were leveraging their network. When
:07:49. > :07:54.things became increasingly uncertain people were relying on
:07:54. > :07:59.their connections to create economic opportunities. And it
:07:59. > :08:05.wasn't people out of work. It was people already in jobs. Quite a lot
:08:05. > :08:09.of companies we were preparing for the worst. What we saw was not only
:08:09. > :08:13.members turning towards LinkedIn for help, but customers were as
:08:13. > :08:19.well. Their purse strings became smaller as budgets grew tighter.
:08:19. > :08:24.They were looking for a measurable returns. Regardless of the macro-
:08:24. > :08:31.economic direction, we have been able to grow. The fact Asia is
:08:31. > :08:36.growing faster than some other regions of the world is certainly a
:08:36. > :08:42.positive, and over time we will see how it revolves. Would you say that
:08:42. > :08:47.you are recession-proof? I would not say that necessarily, but we
:08:47. > :08:51.have certainly seen in times off economic uncertainty that the
:08:51. > :08:57.platform has continued to grow. We love being in a position where we
:08:57. > :09:04.can help our members when they are most anxious. That was the boss of
:09:04. > :09:08.LinkedIn. More than a survivor of the financial setbacks. Let's have
:09:08. > :09:17.a look at the business headlines elsewhere. Microsoft's shares have
:09:17. > :09:20.been on the rise in after hours trading. It is facing tough
:09:20. > :09:25.competition from the growth of tablet computers and devices using
:09:25. > :09:31.Android. But it is hitting back with Windows 8.
:09:31. > :09:39.McDonald's releases its figures before the US Open. It made -- is
:09:39. > :09:43.made is. Markets according to brokers. -- it may disappoint
:09:43. > :09:48.markets. We will also hear from General
:09:48. > :09:52.Electric. They expect a boost to first quarter results.