05/12/2012 World Business Report

and radar. Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News.

Now for the latest financial news The UK's finance minister George

Osborne will present his Autumn Statement later today. A mini-

budget will show whether on our he is meeting the borrowing

requirement. HSBC has sold his in -- its entire

stake in a Chinese company to Thailand's we just mad for more

than 9 billion US dollars. -- for more then at $9 billion US.

The Irish government says they will keep their election promises when

introduced new austerity. -- inducing.

They UK's finance minister delivers his autumn statement today. This is

one of two major statements at the Treasury will have to give

Parliament every year. It has grown in importance during the difficult

The big news for Britain is that the UK economy is cutting its coat

according to its cloth, hampered by debt and struggling to deliver

growth. George Osborne has two self-imposed target one comes to

cutting the UK's crop -- borrowing. Target one, eliminating structural

dead. Tiger does back, reducing total government debt. -- tidied up

Like any country, the way to cut debt is eager to bring in more tax

revenue or cut spending. -- Peter. Speaking at the weekend, George

Osborne admits it has been harder than he imagined it to reach his

target. The big fiscal promise I made was that the made sure Britain

would pay its way through the world. We are seen as an incredible place.

The worry is when missing targets are beginning to raise concerns

about the UK's credit worthiness. What has caused asked to slowdown

is Europe and the Chancellor cannot do much about that. He could have

cut spending more, raised taxes more but it would have killed the

economy but that his hands are tied. It is difficult to criticise him.

Men need only the Chancellor will announce an extension on the

current austerity programme for another year. -- many believed the

It is not just budget in the UK, it is also our rent. The Irish

government will deliver their six hard-hitting Budget. A long list of

spending cuts it would be announced to make spending is worth 3.2

billion euros. Two years ago, are under and had to be proud about. --

Island. -- RN and had to be bailed How significant of these budget

cuts going to be? The budget cuts are just the latest in a long

sequence. It is true 0.5 billion today. We already had at 24 billion

of adjustments over the last five majors. It is an long and difficult

path in terms of getting the budget back towards balance. It is partly

weak. And getting the right balance between reducing government

deficits and making sure the economy does not entirely collapse

is a very difficult task of finance ministers, not just here but around

the world. The expectation is it would be another tough Budget. It

will hit elements that pensions, child benefits. It will inflict

pain across the economy. The hope is it will be balanced with

measures that will sustain growth. In those circumstances, the hope is

the Irish economy will begin to grow. We have seen a little growth

over the last year. There are signs the economy is stabilising. The

important thing is to cure or rather than cure the patient.

the difficult problems you have faced, it has had the possibility

of growing its way out of its difficulties. In the US, they

discussed inflating do way out. Durham and has taken the part of

austerity. Is it working? -- RN. will be the story and to decide on

this in a couple of years. The reality is the financial markets

have given up on us. We had no alternatives. We are seeing the

remarkable flexibility of the Irish economy, or whether it is political

-- particular difficulty continues. We are going through a long process.

intend intended to be aged really tough

Budget. -- sixth. -- eight. It also needs the European partners to step

out and back promises made in the last summit last year. It is

critical if the economy is to return to buoyant growth in the

next three years. It in Asia, HSBC has sold his

insurance arm for nearly $9.5 billion. We are in Singapore. Who

is the barrier? Fat is a lot of money.

It is a lot of money. They have sold its entire 50.57 % stake to

Thailand's conglomerate. It is controlled by Thailand's richest

man. It is one of the world's largest insurance companies. They

said it is acquisition would expand the footprint of the tycoon who's

interest in food and agriculture. He is one of south-east Asia's

richest man with the net worth of more than $7 billion US. And let's

say the bank -- the shareholding of the ban could be worth more than

$10 billion US for the British branch. It is part of a broader

restructuring initiative designed to boost profitability. There was

controversy after the New York Times said relatives of the former

premier of China gained listings by buying the stock at a discount.

Those claims had been denied and legal action was threatened.

Thank you. Some other Some other

Australia's economy grew 0.5%. According to the Australian Bureau

of Statistics. That was in line with expectations. The key mining

industry has been apparent are despite the economic slowdown in

China. The central bank cut a key interest rate by 3% in and appear

to spur growth. Now for a look at Yesterday we and the do with the

European markets, we hope there will be gains coming through. A