06/11/2012 World Business Report

government and Nato targets in Afghanistan. Now for the latest

Hello and a warm welcome. You're with World Business Report. I'm

Sally Bundock. The headlines: Making an impact. Whoever wins the

election business wants a President that can tackle pressing economic

problems. Transport shutdown in another round of austerity. I Rico

Hizon in Singapore, Japan's Suzuki will shut down its car business in

the US and file for bankruptcy, blaming the strong yen and weak

demand for small cars. -- I in Rico Hizon. -- I'm Rico Hizon. Good to

have you with us. By this time tomorrow we should have a good idea

of who will be President of the United States for the next four

years. It's been one of the closest election races in recent history,

while that's generated interest in the election, for business and

investors it is a source of concern. The US has pressing financial and

economic problems and the business world wants clarity on how they

On Wall Street today there is just one question... Who will run

America and its ailing economy for the next four years? The answer

could be just hours away. Yet while Americans go to the polls business

is already looking beyond the election. For months firms have put

off investing and delayed hiring new staff. They're waiting for

clarity on what their next leader will bring. Top of the to-do list

is tackling the fiscal Cliff, the tide rises and spending cuts could

push America back into recession. The unemployment rate is and seven

point nine% as well so jobs is a concern. Republicans accuse

President Obama of stifling growth through tougher regulations. --

rate is at 7.9 %. With so much on the to-do list, where should the

new President's start? Traders and say the priority is restoring

confidence in the economy. -- new Presidents. Once we have clarity we

will see investment. In the US theatre we have seen strengthening

in the housing market, stronger user demand overall. For consumers

higher optimism than we have seen since the financial crisis. But for

businesses like this green energy firm they are less worried about

who takes the top job, and more worried about the ability to push

through tough decisions. I assume the Senate will be deadlocked for

the next four years. Neither of them will get much done. I am not

expecting a lot of help. Here on Wall Street it appears the markets

have already factored in a victory for President Obama. But none the

less the real impact will come from Congress. Unless there's a

significant change in the make-up of the House of the Senate, the new

President's powers will be limited, and so as Americans vote for their

next President businesses hoping they deliver one with the power to

get things done. Now let's go to news of disruption and protest in

Athens. The main unions have started a 40 eggs hour strike. It

means public transport will be shut down, including taxis and ferries.

-- a 48 hour strike. There could be issues with health care and shops

are going to remain closed. Unions say the latest austerity measures

are destructive to society and they impoverish their members. To put

this in perspective I'm joined by an economist at the stockbrokers

meant partners. Tomorrow this vote is key, they need to get it through

to get the next bunch of aid from international lenders. Will they

get it? It is critical they do and it's very important that the

European elites, who are pushing this plan as part of the current

bargaining to keep the eurozone system moving, get your anonymity

from the Greeks. But Greek politicians understand that they

are now effectively in control of this situation. If Greece was to

break down that could be the straw that breaks the current consensus

that is keeping this rally in the European markets going. So that's

why Greek politicians are playing this very difficult game. That said

we do thing tomorrow they probably will vote in favour. One of the

major parties has already said that they will simply step aside Antonov

folk, that makes it slightly easier. -- aside and not to vote. They will

be defections -- and not vote. They will then have to discuss the

restructuring of their dead and more financial aid in the future.

It doesn't mean the story will be finished. -- or their debts. At

some point over the next few months we will see more debate about what

more does Greece need. -- or their debt -- their debt. The debt

situation is getting worse and they will need more money some time soon.

In terms of restructuring the debt, will that be agreed upon? For the

lenders, it is another bitter pill to swallow. It is very difficult.

After the restructuring they had at the start of this year the only

people to be restructured who are left are the sovereign bodies

themselves, the IMF, but particularly the ECB. If that

happened that a negative signal to send two German voters, which is

one of the critical things. They will do anything to avoid any kind

of move that might be seen as Europe taking losses, encase it

sends the wrong political message. It is all part of the same game,

nothing has changed. Bill, thank you for joining us. Of course we

will keep a close eye on how the day progresses there, today and

tomorrow, a 48 hour strike, no doubt it will have a big impact in

Greece. Now yesterday we were talking to you about Toyota, today

it is Suzuki, they are shutting down their US business, which is

losing money and has big debts. We can go to Rico Hizon in Singapore.

Tell us more about Suzuki. It is indeed a big disappointment. You

Japane Japanese manufacturers, closing

down its car business and filing for bankruptcy in the US. The

culprit... The strong yen against the US dollar and weak demand for

its small cars in the American market. Let's look at the numbers.

They only sold about 26,000 vehicles in America last year and

that is just a fraction compared to its Japanese rivals, Toyota, Nissan

and Honda. But Suzuki is not totally finished in America and is

not totally turning its back, it will continue selling motorcycles,

all-terrain vehicles and marine products such as outboard motors,

and officials say they will read director their resources where the

prospects for profitability are much higher. The Japanese firm has

focused their attention on emerging markets, like India, where they are

the biggest auto maker. Thank you for joining us. Other Business News

and Apple might be changing the computer chips it uses in their

personal computers and laptops. At the moment they use Intel

processors but according to Bloomberg it is looking to switch

to the chip technology they use in iPhones and iPads. They could also

run PCs, but any move is still years away. Apple's share of the

market for tablets fell to 50 % in the third quarter compared to 60 %

last year. According to a report apple shifted 14 million devices

during the July to September quarter. -- Apple. Samsung's market

share more than doubled. A News Corporation report says they will

release their figures today. They have confirmed their plans to

separate their to publicly traded companies. -- two. Markets today,

very nervous ahead of the US election. And what's unfolding in

Greece. One of the big stories that came as a surprise to some, in

Australia the central bank kept the cost of borrowing on hold, boosting

the Aussie dollar, it went up to a three-week high, this is the US