:00:03. > :00:12.Positive news from China's manufacturing sector and interest
:00:13. > :00:17.
:00:17. > :00:23.rates in Australia on the move. It is time for World Business Report.
:00:23. > :00:30.The headlines: China's manufacturing sector expands for
:00:30. > :00:33.the fifth month in a row, easing concerns of a sharp slowdown.
:00:33. > :00:43.Australia's Reserve Bank is set to announce another possible cut in
:00:43. > :00:46.
:00:46. > :00:50.interest rates. The factory of the world, China, is
:00:51. > :00:57.seen steady growth again. Its manufacturing sector expanded
:00:57. > :01:04.slightly to its highest reading in a year. Can we put behind us fears
:01:04. > :01:10.of a sharp slowdown in China? We will speak to power representative
:01:10. > :01:17.in Beijing. Tell us about the indication, because it is going up
:01:17. > :01:25.but not as much as some economists hoped for. This index indicates the
:01:25. > :01:30.level of economic activity taking place in an economy. The figures
:01:30. > :01:36.suggest activity has increased slightly bin China. It has done so
:01:36. > :01:43.for the last five months. It suggests that the Chinese economy
:01:43. > :01:48.is not doing too badly. The figures, as indicate, are slightly below
:01:48. > :01:53.what some market analysts expected. They are still quite good. The
:01:53. > :02:00.economy is expected to slow down this year because the rest of the
:02:00. > :02:05.world is having trouble and are buying fewer goods from China. The
:02:05. > :02:15.figure indicates it is not going too badly, it will not badly affect
:02:15. > :02:24.
:02:24. > :02:28.the Chinese economy. The government has got two problems - inflation
:02:28. > :02:33.which leaves it to restrict activity in the economy. They
:02:33. > :02:38.appear to have that under control. Their main concern now is not to
:02:38. > :02:43.hamper growth too much. They have been releasing credit, the
:02:43. > :02:48.encouraging firms to expand economic activity. The figures
:02:48. > :02:51.suggest that will continue. They do not want growth to slow down too
:02:52. > :03:00.much. They don't want companies going out of business, laying off
:03:00. > :03:08.people. They recognise the economy might slow down. They don't want it
:03:08. > :03:12.to be too sharp a slowdown. Often when we have news about China's
:03:12. > :03:17.economy there is a quick reaction but there have been market closures
:03:17. > :03:25.because of May Day. Little reaction on the markets, perhaps, but
:03:25. > :03:31.analysts have been speaking about it. The figures suggest that things
:03:31. > :03:37.are OK with the Chinese economy but some of the longer term problems,
:03:37. > :03:44.problems about growth have not been fully sold. Good news but still we
:03:44. > :03:48.have got to wait to see what is to come.
:03:48. > :03:55.Some use of we have heard in the last few moments from the central
:03:55. > :04:00.bank in Australia. It has announced it has cut interest rates by 0.5%
:04:00. > :04:05.to 3.75 %. That is the third cut in the cost of borrowing in seven
:04:05. > :04:10.months. It has been prompted by worsening economic data in
:04:10. > :04:20.Australia. We will get immediate reaction now from our correspondent
:04:20. > :04:25.
:04:25. > :04:31.in Sydney. This is a bigger Cup than expected? It is. -- bigger cut.
:04:32. > :04:38.The cash rate is down by 0.5%. We have not seen such a sizable
:04:38. > :04:43.reduction since 2001. A very bold statement. The Reserve Bank has
:04:43. > :04:47.been under pressure to ease the cost of borrowing. These show that
:04:47. > :04:56.house prices in Australia fell last month and the manufacturing sector
:04:56. > :05:00.continues to shrink. The Reserve Bank is taking this bold approach.
:05:00. > :05:07.It has quite an impact when they do this, doesn't it? Quite a few
:05:07. > :05:11.Australians who have got mortgages are on variable deals? Yes. This
:05:11. > :05:16.0.5% reduction will be good news for about one-third of Australians
:05:16. > :05:22.who are paying a mortgage. Another one-third are in their own homes
:05:22. > :05:24.out right and another one-third are renters. For a sizable chunk of the
:05:25. > :05:31.Australian population with a mortgage, this is very good news
:05:31. > :05:37.indeed. The bank has been weighing up various economic indicators. Its
:05:37. > :05:43.job is to guide the Australian economy. There has been weak
:05:43. > :05:49.domestic GDP growth. It is worried about the non mining sector,
:05:49. > :05:55.principally manufacturing and tourism. Inflation is that 1.6%,
:05:55. > :05:59.that is outside of the Bank's target range of between 2-3 %. That
:05:59. > :06:07.is why we have had this surprise cut in interest rates in Australia
:06:07. > :06:14.today. Thank you very much. The Reserve Bank of Australia
:06:14. > :06:24.cutting interest rates by 0.5%. Two years on from the disastrous
:06:24. > :06:25.
:06:25. > :06:30.oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP is announcing its latest figures.
:06:30. > :06:34.It sold assets to pay for the crisis and margins have been
:06:34. > :06:42.squeezed. It is promising investors it will refocus on expanding
:06:42. > :06:49.production this year. BP is on the road to recovery, two
:06:49. > :06:55.years after being plunged into crisis. It turned a $5 billion in
:06:56. > :07:01.2010 in to wait $24 billion profit last year. It has reinstated its
:07:01. > :07:11.dividend and gained record amounts of exploration site. In March it
:07:11. > :07:13.
:07:13. > :07:17.agreed to a 7.8 billion dollar deal. This will assist those affected by
:07:17. > :07:27.the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Looking at how much further along
:07:27. > :07:27.
:07:27. > :07:35.they are with the payment to third parties, in particular how the --
:07:35. > :07:42.one company and a joint venture. While the oil and gas production is
:07:42. > :07:47.below pre-crisis level it is poised to make up ground. BP has not only
:07:48. > :07:56.resumed deep drilling in the Gulf of Mexico a of Mexico acured more than
:07:56. > :08:06.50 new drilling licences in nine countries. It has benefited from
:08:06. > :08:07.
:08:07. > :08:14.the higher oil price. This is the key to their plans for the future,
:08:14. > :08:20.especially when it comes to settle in this litigation issues. BP is
:08:20. > :08:30.testing its shareholders' loyalty. Without a manager Project on the
:08:30. > :08:34.
:08:34. > :08:39.horizon, the share price continues to trial rivals.
:08:39. > :08:48.Avon is calling today with its numbers highly scrutinised. It has
:08:48. > :08:52.been battling poor sales and is the target of a rival. Plenty there for
:08:52. > :08:58.the new chief executive to get your teeth into. This will the company's
:08:58. > :09:08.first set of results with her at the home. What can she do to turn
:09:08. > :09:08.
:09:08. > :09:18.the company around? In the 1950s, a Evonne perfected
:09:18. > :09:19.
:09:19. > :09:26.the art of women selling beauty products to other women. -- Avon.
:09:26. > :09:31.It is not that different today. This is one of the many part-time
:09:31. > :09:41.sales reps in the United States. She fits the work around domestic
:09:41. > :09:42.
:09:42. > :09:50.commitments. I do not neglect my family and I am happy. I am doing
:09:50. > :09:54.this kind giving full time to my children. She lives and works from
:09:55. > :10:01.this brand new housing complex about one hour's drive from New
:10:02. > :10:06.York. Most of her business she gets by banging on doors but is also
:10:06. > :10:12.experimenting with the internet and Facebook. The brand is having
:10:12. > :10:18.trouble staying relevant. The list of woes is long. They have lost out
:10:18. > :10:24.to competitors who are more nimble with social media and the internet.
:10:24. > :10:28.The company is accused of breaking US anti- bribery laws overseas. The
:10:28. > :10:35.share price is half the level of eight years ago. Analysts still
:10:35. > :10:38.believe there is a business that can work. As women abroad start to
:10:38. > :10:44.work and have more disposable income, one of the things they want
:10:44. > :10:47.to spend money on his themselves. There is a lot of growth
:10:48. > :10:51.opportunity still and they have to get themselves back on track
:10:51. > :10:57.operationally. I am hoping the new management can turn the ship around,
:10:57. > :11:04.so to speak. The company has just appointed a new chief executive. It
:11:04. > :11:14.has rebuffed a takeover bid from a small rival. The turnaround is
:11:14. > :11:19.
:11:19. > :11:29.still very much a work-in-progress. I would like to see him being made
:11:29. > :11:29.
:11:30. > :11:35.A number of markets are closed due to May Day. Australia cut interest