:00:03. > :00:08.Orthodox Church. In February an all-female punk group burst into a
:00:08. > :00:18.cathedral to perform a song criticising the Church's close ties
:00:18. > :00:19.
:00:19. > :00:23.with the Kremlin. Now it is time for World Business Report. You are
:00:23. > :00:27.with World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. Nicolas Sarkozy has
:00:27. > :00:32.just two weeks to persuade French voters the economy is safe in his
:00:32. > :00:40.hands. Argentine ministers hold high-level talks with the world's
:00:40. > :00:50.biggest oil companies as the row with Repsol escalates. $3.7 billion
:00:50. > :00:53.
:00:53. > :00:57.debt write off for Burma and development aid for Japan. French
:00:57. > :01:02.voters have just two weeks to decide who they trust most to turn
:01:02. > :01:08.around France's ailing economy. Front runner Francois Hollande is
:01:08. > :01:13.proposing change - a 75% tax on the rich and policies to create jobs.
:01:13. > :01:17.One in ten French people are out of work. Nicolas Sarkozy says he will
:01:17. > :01:24.rein in spending and balance the budget for the first time in 30
:01:24. > :01:33.years. It granted a second term, he promises a strong France and a
:01:33. > :01:43.dynamic economy. Francois Hollande is that -- in the lead at the
:01:43. > :01:46.
:01:46. > :01:52.moment. You can see the votes on the extreme are virtually equal at
:01:52. > :01:56.the moment. The issue with Francois Hollande, although Sarkozy is not
:01:56. > :02:06.generally popular, Francois Hollande is seen as Dahl and his
:02:06. > :02:08.
:02:08. > :02:13.policies are untested and untried. -- seen as dull. France has lost
:02:13. > :02:20.its AAA credit rating, growth is seen as anaemic and it has a debt
:02:20. > :02:26.end deficit situation that is difficult to get out off. -- and
:02:26. > :02:32.deficit. He does not have a great amount of experience when it comes
:02:32. > :02:37.to finance and the economy. Given what has happened in France with
:02:37. > :02:42.politics over the years, very few socialists do. Equally, Nicolas
:02:42. > :02:47.Sarkozy does not have a great deal of credibility was at having been
:02:47. > :02:52.in power, he is now saying he is going to change. It is very typical
:02:53. > :03:02.French politics. Nicolas Sarkozy now has to get the right wing votes
:03:03. > :03:04.
:03:04. > :03:10.of Marine Le Pen. They will be stepping away from the connection
:03:10. > :03:15.with Chancellor Angela Merkel and calling for a strong France. For
:03:15. > :03:20.most of his term, it has been about protecting French banks, rescuing
:03:20. > :03:24.the financial system, working with Europe - it has been a term
:03:24. > :03:30.dominated by that. And not being able to make any fundamental
:03:30. > :03:37.process. France is a very proud nation. Where are the strengths in
:03:37. > :03:45.terms of its own internal culture and its standing in the world? He
:03:45. > :03:51.has been seen as a leader that is focused on himself and his wife and
:03:51. > :03:55.not France. Both of them have said they will introduce a tax on
:03:55. > :04:01.financial transactions in France, hoping that will go beyond France
:04:01. > :04:08.and across the EU. This is another form of income. Whoever wins needs
:04:08. > :04:18.more cash. Will it be a real winner for France? No. It will push more
:04:18. > :04:21.
:04:21. > :04:27.financial-services elsewhere. We will talk some more about friends
:04:27. > :04:30.when we look at the headlines later. Executives from Exxon and Sheron
:04:30. > :04:35.are meeting Argentina's Planning Minister today for high-level talks
:04:35. > :04:40.on their investments in the country. This follows last week's decision
:04:40. > :04:43.to appropriate Repsol's stake in National oil producer YPF. The
:04:43. > :04:51.issue will also top the agenda for foreign ministers meeting in
:04:51. > :05:01.Luxembourg on Friday. On the streets of Buenos Aires, there
:05:01. > :05:10.
:05:10. > :05:12.seems to be widespread support for reclaiming YPF. There is still no
:05:12. > :05:18.indication of what sort of compensation shareholders may
:05:18. > :05:21.receive. The European Union has already condemned Argentina's
:05:21. > :05:26.action but the question is whether foreign ministers' meeting today
:05:27. > :05:32.can really do anything further. Trade sanctions are already being
:05:32. > :05:37.ruled out in favour of diplomatic pressure and possible legal action.
:05:37. > :05:43.Simply because Argentina or, for that matter, any country should
:05:43. > :05:49.ever take a knee-jerk action does not mean, logically, that the EU
:05:49. > :05:55.should respond with a knee-jerk reaction. We work in a measured way.
:05:55. > :05:58.We work through the rule of law and through legal frameworks. Using its
:05:58. > :06:02.own legal framework, Argentina is already threatening to sue
:06:02. > :06:06.companies of -- involved in oil exploration around the Falkland
:06:06. > :06:15.Islands. The risk is international investors may now boycott Argentine
:06:15. > :06:19.altogether. If we look at shale gas deposits that Argentina has, the
:06:19. > :06:23.government would be keen to open these for investment. The question
:06:23. > :06:31.is, "Who would be willing to go to Argentina after what happened with
:06:31. > :06:36.YPF?" Spanish companies are the biggest investors in Argentina but
:06:36. > :06:42.experts believe neither they nor European diplomats will easily get
:06:42. > :06:47.through to politicians in Buenos Aires. There is good news for
:06:47. > :06:55.hundreds of Burmese firms and Burma's government. For more on
:06:55. > :07:00.that, Sharanjit -- Sharanjit Leyl is in Singapore. More sanctions are
:07:00. > :07:05.likely to be lifted? We are waiting for that because the European Union
:07:05. > :07:09.is expected to announce the lifting of some sanctions later today
:07:09. > :07:15.according to diplomatic sources. Along with having several other
:07:15. > :07:19.sanctions lifted from the US and elsewhere, Japan has also forgiven
:07:19. > :07:22.Burma $3.7 billion worth of debt. The Japanese have also agreed to
:07:22. > :07:28.resume development aid to the country. All this comes following
:07:28. > :07:33.talks in Tokyo between the country's leaders. They agreed to
:07:33. > :07:38.plan a special economic zone near Rangoon, which will help a lot of
:07:38. > :07:42.Burmese businesses. Burma has begun a lot of economic reforms in the
:07:42. > :07:48.past year after the civilian-led government ended 50 years of
:07:48. > :07:57.military rule. Burma is a country rich in natural resources but its
:07:57. > :08:01.people remain fairly poor. This could give Japanese firms something
:08:01. > :08:11.of a head start in winning business, seen as one of Asia's Last Frontier
:08:11. > :08:16.markets. The Burmese President introduced a whole number of
:08:16. > :08:23.reforms since coming into power. We are awaiting this announcement from
:08:23. > :08:27.the EU on a lifting of sanctions later today. The Dutch Prime
:08:27. > :08:31.Minister will hold crisis talks with the cabinet after a right-wing
:08:31. > :08:38.party rejected plans to raise VAT, cut spending and freeze civil
:08:38. > :08:45.servant pay. Mark Rutte are warned he may have to call -- Mark Rutte
:08:45. > :08:53.to warn he may have to call snap elections to win the mandate needed
:08:53. > :09:00.to push through the budget cuts. An Icelandic court delivered its
:09:00. > :09:07.verdict in the trial of the former Prime Minister. He faces up to two
:09:07. > :09:13.years in jail if found guilty. The market is digest the news from
:09:13. > :09:17.China today - HSBC's manufacturing surveys showing further
:09:17. > :09:23.contractions for the 6th month in a row. More official surveys from
:09:23. > :09:28.China show that manufacturing has expanded just slightly. This is one
:09:28. > :09:34.survey, not the complete picture, but it is influential. That
:09:34. > :09:41.dampened sentiment today. These markets were stronger in Asia today.