:00:04. > :00:14.and radar. Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News.
:00:14. > :00:23.
:00:23. > :00:26.Now for the latest financial news The UK's finance minister George
:00:26. > :00:32.Osborne will present his Autumn Statement later today. A mini-
:00:32. > :00:38.budget will show whether on our he is meeting the borrowing
:00:38. > :00:43.requirement. HSBC has sold his in -- its entire
:00:43. > :00:52.stake in a Chinese company to Thailand's we just mad for more
:00:52. > :00:57.than 9 billion US dollars. -- for more then at $9 billion US.
:00:57. > :01:06.The Irish government says they will keep their election promises when
:01:06. > :01:16.introduced new austerity. -- inducing.
:01:16. > :01:17.
:01:17. > :01:21.They UK's finance minister delivers his autumn statement today. This is
:01:21. > :01:25.one of two major statements at the Treasury will have to give
:01:25. > :01:35.Parliament every year. It has grown in importance during the difficult
:01:35. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :01:41.The big news for Britain is that the UK economy is cutting its coat
:01:41. > :01:47.according to its cloth, hampered by debt and struggling to deliver
:01:47. > :01:52.growth. George Osborne has two self-imposed target one comes to
:01:52. > :01:59.cutting the UK's crop -- borrowing. Target one, eliminating structural
:01:59. > :02:09.dead. Tiger does back, reducing total government debt. -- tidied up
:02:09. > :02:11.
:02:11. > :02:21.Like any country, the way to cut debt is eager to bring in more tax
:02:21. > :02:27.
:02:27. > :02:31.revenue or cut spending. -- Peter. Speaking at the weekend, George
:02:31. > :02:36.Osborne admits it has been harder than he imagined it to reach his
:02:36. > :02:44.target. The big fiscal promise I made was that the made sure Britain
:02:44. > :02:49.would pay its way through the world. We are seen as an incredible place.
:02:49. > :02:59.The worry is when missing targets are beginning to raise concerns
:02:59. > :03:07.
:03:07. > :03:13.about the UK's credit worthiness. What has caused asked to slowdown
:03:13. > :03:17.is Europe and the Chancellor cannot do much about that. He could have
:03:17. > :03:24.cut spending more, raised taxes more but it would have killed the
:03:24. > :03:27.economy but that his hands are tied. It is difficult to criticise him.
:03:27. > :03:32.Men need only the Chancellor will announce an extension on the
:03:32. > :03:42.current austerity programme for another year. -- many believed the
:03:42. > :03:43.
:03:43. > :03:51.It is not just budget in the UK, it is also our rent. The Irish
:03:51. > :03:59.government will deliver their six hard-hitting Budget. A long list of
:03:59. > :04:04.spending cuts it would be announced to make spending is worth 3.2
:04:04. > :04:14.billion euros. Two years ago, are under and had to be proud about. --
:04:14. > :04:18.
:04:18. > :04:23.Island. -- RN and had to be bailed How significant of these budget
:04:24. > :04:29.cuts going to be? The budget cuts are just the latest in a long
:04:29. > :04:35.sequence. It is true 0.5 billion today. We already had at 24 billion
:04:35. > :04:41.of adjustments over the last five majors. It is an long and difficult
:04:42. > :04:47.path in terms of getting the budget back towards balance. It is partly
:04:47. > :04:51.weak. And getting the right balance between reducing government
:04:51. > :04:57.deficits and making sure the economy does not entirely collapse
:04:57. > :05:02.is a very difficult task of finance ministers, not just here but around
:05:02. > :05:06.the world. The expectation is it would be another tough Budget. It
:05:06. > :05:11.will hit elements that pensions, child benefits. It will inflict
:05:11. > :05:15.pain across the economy. The hope is it will be balanced with
:05:15. > :05:19.measures that will sustain growth. In those circumstances, the hope is
:05:19. > :05:25.the Irish economy will begin to grow. We have seen a little growth
:05:25. > :05:29.over the last year. There are signs the economy is stabilising. The
:05:29. > :05:37.important thing is to cure or rather than cure the patient.
:05:37. > :05:42.the difficult problems you have faced, it has had the possibility
:05:42. > :05:47.of growing its way out of its difficulties. In the US, they
:05:47. > :05:57.discussed inflating do way out. Durham and has taken the part of
:05:57. > :06:00.austerity. Is it working? -- RN. will be the story and to decide on
:06:00. > :06:10.this in a couple of years. The reality is the financial markets
:06:10. > :06:11.
:06:11. > :06:16.have given up on us. We had no alternatives. We are seeing the
:06:16. > :06:23.remarkable flexibility of the Irish economy, or whether it is political
:06:23. > :06:27.-- particular difficulty continues. We are going through a long process.
:06:27. > :06:37.intend intended to be aged really tough
:06:37. > :06:44.
:06:44. > :06:52.Budget. -- sixth. -- eight. It also needs the European partners to step
:06:52. > :06:55.out and back promises made in the last summit last year. It is
:06:55. > :07:03.critical if the economy is to return to buoyant growth in the
:07:03. > :07:13.next three years. It in Asia, HSBC has sold his
:07:13. > :07:14.
:07:14. > :07:19.insurance arm for nearly $9.5 billion. We are in Singapore. Who
:07:19. > :07:29.is the barrier? Fat is a lot of money.
:07:29. > :07:32.
:07:32. > :07:39.It is a lot of money. They have sold its entire 50.57 % stake to
:07:39. > :07:45.Thailand's conglomerate. It is controlled by Thailand's richest
:07:45. > :07:50.man. It is one of the world's largest insurance companies. They
:07:50. > :07:56.said it is acquisition would expand the footprint of the tycoon who's
:07:56. > :08:06.interest in food and agriculture. He is one of south-east Asia's
:08:06. > :08:08.
:08:08. > :08:17.richest man with the net worth of more than $7 billion US. And let's
:08:17. > :08:24.say the bank -- the shareholding of the ban could be worth more than
:08:24. > :08:31.$10 billion US for the British branch. It is part of a broader
:08:31. > :08:35.restructuring initiative designed to boost profitability. There was
:08:35. > :08:39.controversy after the New York Times said relatives of the former
:08:39. > :08:44.premier of China gained listings by buying the stock at a discount.
:08:44. > :08:49.Those claims had been denied and legal action was threatened.
:08:49. > :08:57.Thank you. Some other Some other
:08:57. > :09:04.Australia's economy grew 0.5%. According to the Australian Bureau
:09:04. > :09:07.of Statistics. That was in line with expectations. The key mining
:09:07. > :09:12.industry has been apparent are despite the economic slowdown in
:09:12. > :09:22.China. The central bank cut a key interest rate by 3% in and appear
:09:22. > :09:34.
:09:34. > :09:37.to spur growth. Now for a look at Yesterday we and the do with the
:09:37. > :09:41.European markets, we hope there will be gains coming through. A