:00:03. > :00:13.Godfather of world music. A those are the latest headlines.
:00:13. > :00:14.
:00:14. > :00:19.Now, for the latest financial news, with World Business Report.
:00:19. > :00:23.Hello, and welcome. You are with World Business Report. The
:00:23. > :00:26.headlines: Billions more dollars could be deployed today as the
:00:26. > :00:32.United States Federal Reserve continues its efforts to boost
:00:32. > :00:38.growth. What downturn? Success continues for Zara, and its owners,
:00:38. > :00:44.despite Europe's depression. Singapore Airlines off loads its
:00:44. > :00:54.49% stake in Virgin Atlantic to America's second biggest carrier,
:00:54. > :00:56.
:00:56. > :01:00.for $360 million. Good to have you with us. Since the
:01:00. > :01:03.financial crisis hit in 2008, the US Federal Reserve has spent
:01:03. > :01:09.trillions of dollars propping up the American economy, and despite
:01:09. > :01:12.that spending unemployment remains stubbornly high, at 7.7%. When
:01:12. > :01:17.officials wrap up that latest policy meeting today, they are
:01:17. > :01:22.expected to approve another round of bond buying. They will pump
:01:22. > :01:27.billions more into the US economy and keep interest rates low.
:01:27. > :01:32.When America's Central Bank talks about freeing up money in the
:01:32. > :01:36.economy, this is where the impact is felt. This community bank in New
:01:36. > :01:41.Jersey to lend money to small businesses and homeowners. When
:01:41. > :01:46.interest rates are low, it means more can borrow. That has given a
:01:46. > :01:50.real boost to the local economy. People were scared of the economy,
:01:50. > :01:54.scared of the fact that growth was not substantial. Now they are
:01:54. > :01:57.starting to see that there are opportunities in the market place.
:01:57. > :02:01.Money is relatively cheap, and they want to go out and make investments
:02:01. > :02:06.in the economy, knowing that the US economy is going to continue to
:02:06. > :02:09.grow in the future. I believe that the Federal Reserve's low interest
:02:10. > :02:16.rate stance has done all the things that they wanted it to do. One of
:02:16. > :02:18.those things was reviving an ailing housing market. Local property it
:02:18. > :02:26.developer Peter saw his business grind to a halt during the
:02:26. > :02:30.recession. But with a low interest rates and easier lending, every
:02:30. > :02:37.dollar counts, so if I cannot find a property for a good price, I
:02:37. > :02:41.cannot buy it. If I cannot get a low interest rate loan to develop
:02:41. > :02:45.his property, I cannot do it. What is completely on our side is that
:02:45. > :02:50.the mortgage rates are at the bottom right now. But there is
:02:50. > :02:55.light at the end of the tunnel. While prospects are brighter, that
:02:55. > :02:59.confidence rests on what the Federal Reserve does next.
:02:59. > :03:03.Operation Twist is planned to swap short-term debt for long-term debt,
:03:04. > :03:08.to keep interest rates low. It runs out at the end of the year. It is
:03:08. > :03:12.already committed to more quantity of easing. That should keep rates
:03:12. > :03:17.low off for longer, but many have questioned its effectiveness, and
:03:17. > :03:21.its impact on inflation. The Federal Reserve's policy of keeping
:03:21. > :03:25.interest rates low has helped to kick-start the economy, and means
:03:25. > :03:32.that many Americans, like those here in Ingall would Cliffs, are
:03:32. > :03:36.feeling better off. But that could be short lived. At the end of the
:03:37. > :03:41.year, a package of tax cuts and spending rises comes into force,
:03:41. > :03:45.and that has the power to plunge America back into recession. That
:03:45. > :03:49.is something the Federal Reserve cannot control.
:03:49. > :03:53.And it is that meeting that is dominating markets. We will look at
:03:53. > :03:58.the numbers later. But these, as you are aware, are buried lean
:03:58. > :04:03.times for many European retailers. With unemployment high in Europe to,
:04:04. > :04:07.and the future looking uncertain, many shoppers are staying home. But
:04:08. > :04:12.one retailer continues to thrive. That is Inditex, the Spanish owner
:04:12. > :04:16.of the tsar and other brands. Its profits were up by one-third in
:04:16. > :04:22.September, and its latest results, released in a few hours, should be
:04:22. > :04:25.very strong as well. Sea and you look unveiled on the
:04:25. > :04:29.catwalk of any ready-to-wear fashion show in London, Paris or
:04:29. > :04:35.New York, and the chances are that ten days later, it will be here, in
:04:35. > :04:40.the windows of a Tsarist off. Not only are its designers and cutters
:04:40. > :04:44.quick off the mark when it comes to the latest fashions, but Zara or
:04:44. > :04:48.change has the stock in its stores almost once a fortnight. This
:04:48. > :04:53.attempts fashion lovers to pop in regularly to see what is new. That
:04:53. > :04:58.is the appeal of fast fashion. But it takes a lot of organisation to
:04:58. > :05:02.Porlock. Zara is Meek -- is unique in still controlling a significant
:05:02. > :05:06.production of its control in house. It can respond to what happens on
:05:06. > :05:10.the shopfloor. On the other hand, managers are trained to actually
:05:10. > :05:14.feed back what is working and what is not working. It is an immense
:05:14. > :05:17.feedback loop that goes back to production, and there is a lot of
:05:18. > :05:24.flexibility to respond to what happens on the shop floor. Zara is
:05:24. > :05:27.the largest in the stable of brands owned by Spanish Fern Inditex. It
:05:27. > :05:35.has 5,700 stores worldwide, and is pushing even further into China,
:05:35. > :05:39.Latin America and India. Sales have increased by 7%, showing that
:05:39. > :05:43.Inditex is still managing to grow its business in recession-hit
:05:43. > :05:47.European markets like its homeland, Spain. Obviously unemployment is
:05:47. > :05:51.high, especially in Spain, but there is still a large number of
:05:51. > :05:56.people working and spending money. Has our is able to succeed where
:05:56. > :06:00.others cannot, because of the weight it reacts to sales and
:06:00. > :06:06.problems in the high street. -- Zara is able to succeed. It can get
:06:06. > :06:09.stuck in very quickly. Inditex's chief executive says that to run
:06:09. > :06:13.his last fashion operation, he keeps five fingers on the customers
:06:13. > :06:17.and another five on the factories. But with ever more customers to
:06:17. > :06:23.cater for, and ever more clothes to bridges, will the boss had enough
:06:24. > :06:27.fingers to go around? After weeks of speculation,
:06:27. > :06:36.Singapore Airlines has sold its stake in Virgin Atlantic. As
:06:36. > :06:43.expected, and the buyer is the US- based Delta Airlines. So, the deal
:06:43. > :06:48.is done at last? It is a done deal, and Singapore's
:06:48. > :06:55.flag-carrier offloaded its entire 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic to
:06:55. > :07:00.America's second biggest airline. Dolled up will be paying $360
:07:00. > :07:05.million in cash for the entire state. -- Delta Airlines will be
:07:05. > :07:11.pain. The deal may not be a great one for Singapore Airlines, because
:07:11. > :07:16.it paid about $970 million in 1999 to buy from Sir Richard Branson,
:07:16. > :07:22.and if you did the mathematics, that is over $600 million in lost
:07:22. > :07:27.from its initial investment. But the struggling carrier needs the
:07:27. > :07:31.cash infusion, after first-half net profit fell by 30% from last year.
:07:31. > :07:35.The outlook was looking quite bleak for Singapore Airlines, as the
:07:35. > :07:40.eurozone debt crisis continues to impact global business confidence.
:07:40. > :07:44.For its part, Singapore Airlines says it is selling its stake duty
:07:44. > :07:49.increased competition in the Asian market. As for Delta Airlines, it
:07:49. > :07:52.took advantage of the opportunity to expanded transatlantic network.
:07:52. > :07:56.Virgin and Delta Airlines both said the deal would allow them to
:07:56. > :08:00.overcome slot constraints and offer more flights from Heathrow Airport.
:08:00. > :08:04.But it is not a done deal, because it still requires regulatory
:08:04. > :08:09.approval from both the US and the European Union. If it is smooth
:08:09. > :08:13.sailing, it is expected to be approved by the end of next year.
:08:13. > :08:17.We will squeeze in some other business stories for you. Microsoft
:08:18. > :08:21.is increasing the output of its Surface tablet computer, and says
:08:21. > :08:26.it will sell the device in more stores. Since the law to end-
:08:26. > :08:29.October, it has so far sold a Surface on mind and to rid its own
:08:29. > :08:34.stores, but from today, the US chain store Staples will start
:08:34. > :08:38.selling them as well. Other stores will be added in the coming months.
:08:38. > :08:43.A oil ministers from OPEC meeting DNA today. Usually they squabble
:08:43. > :08:48.over oil production targets, but today they are also discussing who
:08:48. > :08:50.will be the grid's next Secretary General. OPEC is struggling to
:08:50. > :08:55.agree on a replacement for Libyan Abdullah al-Badri, who has been in
:08:55. > :08:59.the job for five years now. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran are all
:08:59. > :09:01.pushing Darren candidates. We will be getting the latest
:09:01. > :09:05.reading on the British labour market in the next few hours. The
:09:05. > :09:10.number claiming unemployment benefits is expected to have risen
:09:10. > :09:14.by 7,000 in November, adding to the rise of 10,000 in October. The
:09:14. > :09:18.unemployment rate is expected to have remained at 7.8% between
:09:18. > :09:24.August and October. The markets in Asia are having a
:09:24. > :09:27.good session again today. This is actually leading to the longest run
:09:27. > :09:32.of winning streaks for Asian markets in its three years. It is
:09:32. > :09:36.quite something. Japanese factory orders and machinery orders