:00:14. > :00:19.headlines from BBC World News. Now Hello and welcome to World Business
:00:19. > :00:29.Report. Stock markets worldwide see heavy losses as investors fear
:00:29. > :00:33.
:00:33. > :00:40.political deadlock in Washington will derail the US economy. Share
:00:40. > :00:46.prices are tumbling after the current rate to the US. Mrs worries
:00:46. > :00:49.about the so-called fiscal cliff. Plus, the battle to save the euro
:00:50. > :00:59.continues. A narrow yes vote in Athens gives breathing space to the
:00:59. > :01:02.European Central Bank as it holds its monthly policy meeting. As
:01:02. > :01:05.President Obama moves back into the White House for his second term,
:01:05. > :01:11.fears of budget deadlock between the president and Republican-
:01:11. > :01:15.controlled Congress take centre stage on financial markets. In Asia
:01:15. > :01:18.we are seeing heavy losses on share markets today as concerns mount
:01:18. > :01:25.that $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases in the US -
:01:25. > :01:28.otherwise known as the fiscal cliff - are due to kick in on 1st January.
:01:29. > :01:32.There are widespread predictions they could top the US back into
:01:32. > :01:38.recession unless a deal is struck in Washington beforehand to change
:01:38. > :01:41.the economic deadlines. On Wall Street some 300 points was wiped
:01:41. > :01:51.off the Dow Jones Industrial average in the biggest sell-off in
:01:51. > :01:55.
:01:55. > :02:03.a year - seeing all the main indices in the US down around 2.5%.
:02:03. > :02:09.It is still going downwards in Asia? That is right. Asian investor
:02:09. > :02:16.is a big specked by this latest development. A rating agency is
:02:16. > :02:24.threatening to downgrade the US credit rating if a solution is not
:02:24. > :02:28.settled. They said the US government triple-A rating would be
:02:28. > :02:35.at risk if Congress and the President did not forge an
:02:35. > :02:43.agreement immediately. Also not helping sentiment either the
:02:44. > :02:48.European economy further deterioration. In China, a once in
:02:48. > :02:55.a leadership change is not having much of an impact. Nothing concrete
:02:55. > :02:58.on the Chinese economy. The focus is on the latest inflation and
:02:59. > :03:04.industrial production data which will be coming out of the mainland
:03:04. > :03:09.tomorrow. These developments have underpinned the safe-haven dollar
:03:09. > :03:15.and the yen as well as US Treasuries. Equities have been sold
:03:15. > :03:21.down from South Korea to Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. In the oil
:03:21. > :03:30.markets, prices had rebounded after falling $4 overnight amid concerns
:03:30. > :03:35.for fuel and European slowdown. They raised the persistent worry of
:03:35. > :03:41.a slowdown in the global economy and that is what is hurting it
:03:41. > :03:44.Asian markets today. As you've been hearing, late last night Greece's
:03:44. > :03:48.parliament narrowly approved a new austerity package needed to unlock
:03:48. > :03:54.the next tranche of EU IMF bailout money - already some 5 months
:03:54. > :03:57.overdue. Without the 30 billion euro cash injection - Prime
:03:57. > :04:03.Minister Antonis Samaras warned the country will run out of money on
:04:03. > :04:06.November 16th. There have been violent protests in Athens but
:04:06. > :04:16.there is likely to be relief in Frankfurt this morning where the
:04:16. > :04:23.
:04:23. > :04:29.European Central Bank holds its monthly meeting. It is difficult.
:04:29. > :04:36.In Greece, there is social unrest and yet relief that a European
:04:36. > :04:46.central bank that there is this an break free? Absolutely. The deal
:04:46. > :04:50.
:04:50. > :04:59.forged last night and on the Greece's books balanced till 2013.
:04:59. > :05:04.Having enough room to get through. That should reassure the third that
:05:04. > :05:12.things increase should make it through. The European Central Bank
:05:12. > :05:22.are remaining in a white coat. They did say they were available to help
:05:22. > :05:22.
:05:22. > :05:31.but as yet, Spain has not asked for help. Spain is probably going to
:05:32. > :05:41.borrow all it needs this year, it has already issued 95% of what it
:05:41. > :05:44.needs. Things are quite stable for Spain at the moment. The question
:05:44. > :05:54.is that in 2013 when Spain has to borrow large amounts an investor
:05:54. > :05:58.
:05:58. > :06:03.for workers will pick up again -- investor focus. That is when it
:06:03. > :06:09.will pick up again and Spain will have to make a decision. For the
:06:09. > :06:13.remainder of this year, and we do not have long, Spain is a cat but
:06:14. > :06:23.in 2013, in Germany they have elections. Pressure on Angela
:06:24. > :06:24.
:06:24. > :06:29.Merkel. We had these fiscal cliff in the US. We also so data that
:06:29. > :06:33.suggested the eurozone economy, Germany particular, is weakening as
:06:33. > :06:38.we move into the final quarter of the year. Even the assumptions
:06:38. > :06:45.underpinning the fiscal projections that we're seeing bought 2012 and
:06:45. > :06:52.13, they might be a little weaker and borrowing costs might increase
:06:53. > :06:56.further. Thank you for your thoughts. China is in the process
:06:56. > :07:00.of choosing its leaders for the next decade as the Communist
:07:00. > :07:04.Party's 18th National Congress gets under way in Beijing. The congress
:07:04. > :07:09.will run for a week, after which Hu Jintao is expected to be replaced
:07:09. > :07:15.as leader by Xi Jinping. China's decade long economic boom now faces
:07:15. > :07:24.a variety of headwinds. As Nigel Cassidy reports - the new
:07:24. > :07:28.leadership will have to re-think the country's economic strategy.
:07:28. > :07:34.Made in China may still be on the labels but that is changing. Expat
:07:34. > :07:36.had slumped, pays a rising faster than productivity and returns are
:07:36. > :07:43.not sufficient to meet the aspirations of an educated
:07:43. > :07:49.population hungry for higher wages and better working conditions. I am
:07:49. > :07:58.not at all satisfied. Entrepreneurs like me work a lot. Prices are
:07:58. > :08:02.going up. Some Chinese companies are losing money. They can be given
:08:02. > :08:08.credit and the latest technology by what the government cannot do is
:08:08. > :08:12.innovate and produce products and services that people want to buy.
:08:12. > :08:17.By going global can China find new markets, a better return for some
:08:17. > :08:23.of its three trillion dollar cash resort and the management skills it
:08:24. > :08:29.may lack at home. Acquisitions of utilities like ports in Greece, a
:08:29. > :08:34.remand 13,000 overseas investments worth more than 420 billion US
:08:34. > :08:40.dollars. Like China buying 10% of London's Heathrow Airport. We need
:08:40. > :08:46.to understand the situation. The labour relations in the host
:08:46. > :08:50.country. The as a buying spree may accelerate under the new leaders.
:08:50. > :08:55.These are very high-margin market. There will be keen to break into
:08:55. > :09:00.them. In addition, you have a lot of talent in the West, a lot of
:09:00. > :09:04.experience in building companies and brand names. It think a lot of
:09:04. > :09:08.these Chinese firms are looking to move on to the international stage
:09:08. > :09:16.and they the acquisition of foreign companies as a good way of bringing
:09:16. > :09:24.in the skills and experience they need. At trick like these mirror
:09:24. > :09:30.the economic miracle. Now they are reeling from demand. Bike
:09:30. > :09:37.enterprises in countries with slower growth -- buying enterprises
:09:37. > :09:40.in slower countries may be the answer. Germany's number two bank
:09:40. > :09:43.Commerzbank is set to reveal a shake-up involving major cuts when
:09:43. > :09:47.it announces third quarter results later. On Wednesday it was reported
:09:47. > :09:50.in the German press that the bank plans to slash up to 6,000 jobs, or
:09:50. > :09:53.10%, of its workforce. Commerzbank, which received an 18 billion euro
:09:53. > :09:57.bailout after the financial crisis, has been battered by the weak
:09:57. > :10:00.eurozone economy and write-offs of Greek debt. Spain sells a new 20
:10:00. > :10:04.year bond later today in a key test of investors' long term confidence
:10:04. > :10:07.in the country. Madrid has so far resisted pressure to seek a
:10:07. > :10:10.financial bailout. At the G20 meeting in Mexico over the weekend,
:10:10. > :10:13.Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told reporters the country is well
:10:13. > :10:16.financed for this year. India's Kingfisher Airlines says it lost
:10:16. > :10:19.almost 140 million dollars in the three months to September after a
:10:19. > :10:22.steep decline in revenues. The debt-ridden airline has been