:00:20. > :00:25.member of staff. Welcome to the programme. The
:00:25. > :00:30.headlines: Who copied whom? Apple and Samsung are back in court as a
:00:30. > :00:40.US judge rules on their multi- billion-dollar patent battle. Asian
:00:40. > :00:46.stock markets are at optimistic high levels as US politicians
:00:46. > :00:56.struggle to make a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. The European
:00:56. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:09.Central Bank set to cut its growth forecast for the eurozone.
:01:09. > :01:15.Today, a US judge will give have ruling in the patent battle over
:01:16. > :01:25.the design of smartphones and tablets. Last month, a jury decided
:01:25. > :01:32.that Samsung had travelled Features -- copied features of Apple's
:01:32. > :01:41.iPhone and iPad devices. Apple wants an injunction banning the
:01:41. > :01:49.sale of Samsung devices in the US. After the US jury's verdict last
:01:49. > :01:54.August, the legal team from Samsung left court frustrated. We are
:01:54. > :01:58.disappointed. Now, solicitors from both sides are headed back for the
:01:58. > :02:03.judge's ruling. What is all the fuss about? Think about the
:02:03. > :02:07.features you use every day on your smartphone, such as pinching the
:02:08. > :02:12.screen to make images and text bigger and smaller. Apple says its
:02:12. > :02:17.inventor this technology and Samsung copied it. The jury in
:02:17. > :02:25.greed and ordered Samsung to pay more than $1 billion. -- the jury
:02:25. > :02:30.agreed to. Samsung is not going to give up its share of the market
:02:30. > :02:34.without a fight. They are pushing for a retrial. It would appear that
:02:34. > :02:38.the main point behind their appeal effort is that one member of the
:02:38. > :02:45.jury had at one time filed a lawsuit based on patterns law. They
:02:45. > :02:50.will argue that this person was an illegitimate member of the jury.
:02:50. > :02:57.More than one year ago, Steve Jobs declared war on other companies he
:02:57. > :03:05.felt had copied Apple's technology. Many say this battle is all about
:03:05. > :03:11.Google. All of this is more to do with Apple and Google than it is to
:03:11. > :03:15.do with Samsung. This is a proxy war. Google makes no money off
:03:15. > :03:23.Android but Apple can go after the manufacturers who make handsets
:03:23. > :03:26.that use Android. This is a secret, three-dimensional chess game.
:03:26. > :03:34.sea is a game in which the consumer may be the loser if the result is
:03:34. > :03:38.less choice or higher prices -- this is a game.
:03:38. > :03:41.Asian markets have been on the rise for the sixth day in a row on
:03:41. > :03:49.optimism that US politicians can do a deal to avert the so-called
:03:49. > :03:58.fiscal cliff. At the same time, the hero is sinking on concerns the
:03:58. > :04:03.eurozone debt crisis is about to get work -- the euro is sinking on
:04:03. > :04:06.concerns that the situation in the eurozone will get worse.
:04:07. > :04:16.Asian markets hope that a fiscal deal with the Republicans may be
:04:17. > :04:18.
:04:18. > :04:25.possible in about one week. Markets have been anxious about plunging
:04:25. > :04:30.the US economy into recession as a result of failing to reach a deal.
:04:30. > :04:34.This would affect Asian economies, who are still reliant on the US as
:04:34. > :04:41.an export market for their cars, machinery, consumer electronics and
:04:41. > :04:51.garments. With the hope of the crisis been
:04:51. > :04:54.
:04:55. > :04:59.averted, Haitian shares are rising to record highs. -- Asian shares.
:04:59. > :05:06.Despite this positive atmosphere, investors are not aggressively
:05:06. > :05:11.buying back into the market. Greece is in a selective default and
:05:11. > :05:21.investors are waiting for word from the European Central Bank later in
:05:21. > :05:27.the day. Under all, there is still a lot of
:05:27. > :05:32.uncertainty in the market. -- in general.
:05:32. > :05:36.Thank you. The European Central Bank is
:05:36. > :05:41.expected to slash its outlook for the eurozone economy this year and
:05:41. > :05:47.next year at its monthly meeting today. Few analysts expect the Bank
:05:47. > :05:57.to cut borrowing costs this time, but many see a rate cut as very
:05:57. > :05:59.
:05:59. > :06:04.likely early next year. Thank you for joining us. I don't suppose you
:06:04. > :06:08.are surprised to hear that the growth forecast will be cut. Not at
:06:08. > :06:15.all. Frankly, anybody who has been paying attention this year,
:06:15. > :06:19.watching the disasters we have just managed to avoid would fail to
:06:19. > :06:26.recognise that slowing growth would be an issue. There is also the
:06:26. > :06:30.perception that the European Central Bank has been too slow to
:06:30. > :06:39.move. There is the sense they have been behind and that has impacted
:06:39. > :06:43.growth as well. They will probably talk about flat growth in 2013.
:06:43. > :06:52.They are setting us up for a rate cut early in the new year. Frankly,
:06:52. > :06:59.they should do it now. Why wait? are at 0.75 %. What else can they
:06:59. > :07:08.do? What impact would that have? Just encouraging people not to
:07:08. > :07:15.leave money at the bank at all. There Aap other places in
:07:15. > :07:20.continental Europe... Anything to encourage the money to go elsewhere.
:07:20. > :07:30.There may be some technical shifts as well. That is what we need, to
:07:30. > :07:30.
:07:30. > :07:34.see something that stops people leave the money at the bank.
:07:34. > :07:41.Thank you. And today, we will soon receive the half-yearly results
:07:41. > :07:44.from the UK luxury goods company, Mulberry. In October, it issued its
:07:45. > :07:51.second profits warning in over one year.
:07:51. > :07:58.For the past four years, Mulberry has done well, becoming a global
:07:58. > :08:03.super brand name. Its profits soared along with its share price
:08:03. > :08:08.as it cash in on luxury goods buying in East Asia. But in October,
:08:08. > :08:15.Mulberry issued a profit warning. The share price plunged by 25%
:08:15. > :08:20.within a single day. Mulberry still had 40% growth in
:08:20. > :08:26.international sales and that is absolutely amazing for a retailer.
:08:26. > :08:31.However, the market cannot keep growing so strongly continually and
:08:31. > :08:37.there will be a period of adjustment as shareholders get used
:08:37. > :08:41.to these slightly lower growth rates. Mulberry has a strategy for
:08:41. > :08:46.reviving its revenue growth. It plans to open more stores where it
:08:46. > :08:50.will sell its goods at full price rather than discounting them in
:08:50. > :08:55.outlet shopping malls. Because it still relies on much of its sales
:08:55. > :09:02.in Britain -- because it still relies on Britain for much of its
:09:02. > :09:11.sales, it will expand into France and Asia. T and Asia. Tlways a
:09:11. > :09:16.question about medium size British brand names as to whether other
:09:16. > :09:20.cultures or nationalities will really understand, whereas with the
:09:20. > :09:25.large American, French and Italian brand names, it is very obvious
:09:25. > :09:30.what they stand for. The past year has shown that the most luxurious
:09:30. > :09:35.of luxury brand names still thrive in austere times, while lower-
:09:35. > :09:41.priced competitors suffer. Mulberry's gamble is to take on
:09:41. > :09:45.these giants in the shopping malls of East Asia, beating its goods