:00:13. > :00:22.Now for the latest financial news with Sally Bundock and World
:00:22. > :00:29.Three of the world's most powerful central banks meet to talk stimulus.
:00:29. > :00:33.Sportswear brand Adidas is tightening its grip on where and
:00:33. > :00:42.how it sells its goods - but will this boost future earnings? We find
:00:42. > :00:46.Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. Also in the
:00:46. > :00:50.programme: The markets in Japan have hit a significant milestone.
:00:50. > :00:53.We'll go live to our team in Singapore for the latest.
:00:53. > :00:56.Markets across the globe continue to rally with the Dow Jones
:00:56. > :00:59.Industrial Average in the US setting a fresh record again last
:00:59. > :01:05.night, in anticipation the world's largest economies will be boosted
:01:05. > :01:09.by central bank action. Well, today we've got three of them meeting.
:01:09. > :01:12.The Bank of Japan has just gathered and, later today, the European
:01:12. > :01:22.Central Bank and Bank of England meet to decide on stimulus measures.
:01:22. > :01:26.
:01:26. > :01:33.We now speak to Christian Schulz, a Japan has made its decision. At the
:01:33. > :01:38.banks will keep rates near record lows. What else are they up to?
:01:38. > :01:48.is about printing money, injecting more liquidity into the markets.
:01:48. > :01:50.
:01:50. > :01:58.The Japanese are expected to do that. The Bank of England might be
:01:58. > :02:02.edging closer to expand in ordering something else. The ECB, some
:02:02. > :02:07.people expect they can react to the Italian elections by doing
:02:07. > :02:12.something to support the economy. The markets are looking at this
:02:12. > :02:16.action as a reason to be cheerful. In the US as well. Comments from
:02:16. > :02:23.the Federal Reserve said they would be more and more to help the US
:02:23. > :02:28.economy. Do you think the market of overplaying this? Is this really
:02:28. > :02:38.hopping the major economies in the world? It seems to be hoping asset
:02:38. > :02:39.
:02:39. > :02:44.prices.-Holdings. It is a boost to But you are right. It is not like
:02:44. > :02:51.the economies that print the most money are doing the best that the
:02:51. > :02:55.moment. The UK is in the flatlining part. There is no relationship
:02:55. > :03:00.between the economy to inventor and his central bank printing money.
:03:00. > :03:04.But the central bank pushes down interest rates. That means bonds
:03:04. > :03:10.are less interesting. Equity becomes more interesting. That is
:03:10. > :03:15.why people switch from one day into the other. How long can central
:03:15. > :03:19.banks do this for? In Japan, they are saying the new nominee that is
:03:19. > :03:24.yet to be said in properly, he has been implying that they will do all
:03:24. > :03:28.they can for as long as they can to help the Japanese economy get out
:03:28. > :03:36.of deflation. In the US, they are committed actual unemployment
:03:36. > :03:42.figures change. How long will this happen for? As long as inflation
:03:42. > :03:49.stays under control. It used to mean the 2% target. Now it is
:03:49. > :03:53.slightly higher. Central banks can do things to support employment,
:03:53. > :04:01.growth. In Japan, that even have deflation. They have some room
:04:01. > :04:10.inflation is low. In US as well. Inflation is not getting out of
:04:10. > :04:14.control. Rates are very low. There is some room for stimulus. The
:04:14. > :04:23.Federal Reserve said they do not see themselves increasing rates for
:04:23. > :04:30.instance. Thank you. He is up very early for us. His colleague will be
:04:30. > :04:33.here soon and he -- the lights will work.
:04:33. > :04:35.Well, it's been a week of significant milestones for
:04:36. > :04:45.financial markets with the Nikkei in Japan making the headlines
:04:45. > :04:50.earlier today. Mariko Oi is at our Asia Business hub in Singapore.
:04:50. > :04:56.It is the middle of the day when you are. Tell us more about Japan.
:04:56. > :05:01.It is back to where it was before the financial crisis. Yes. The
:05:01. > :05:06.Nikkei has been rallying for six days in a row this Thursday. At one
:05:06. > :05:13.point earlier today, it surpassed the 12,000. That is not the level
:05:13. > :05:18.we have seen almost 4.5 years. It means Japan's index has recovered
:05:18. > :05:23.to the levels before the crisis shook the world back in 2008.
:05:23. > :05:28.Japan's stock markets have been rallying significantly, basically
:05:28. > :05:36.since the middle of November, when the election was called. It is up
:05:36. > :05:40.40% since than because of the new prime minister. He is a very vocal
:05:40. > :05:45.advocate over a limited monetary easing, printing more money. --
:05:45. > :05:51.Unlimited. That is great news for companies that export their
:05:51. > :06:00.products. It means he produced a more competitive abroad. As you
:06:00. > :06:07.were talking about earlier, the new government is supporting monetary
:06:07. > :06:10.easing. That is partly why the Japanese Nikkei continues to rally.
:06:10. > :06:15.Thank you. Last year was a gift for sportswear
:06:15. > :06:21.makers. Euro 2012 and the Olympics inspired millions to splash out on
:06:21. > :06:29.a new tracksuit or pair of trainers. So how was it for Adidas, the
:06:29. > :06:34.second-largest sports brand in the world? They release full-year
:06:34. > :06:37.results in a few hours time. It's thought it will have boosted profit
:06:37. > :06:40.margins by almost 10%. To drive them up further, Adidas is
:06:40. > :06:50.tightening its grip on how its products are sold. Jeremy Howell
:06:50. > :06:57.reports. Adidas son $116 million into
:06:57. > :07:02.sponsoring last year's summer of sport. -- sunk. It sponsored the
:07:02. > :07:08.winner, Spain. The reward at was a 15% hike in sales. Towards the end
:07:08. > :07:18.of the year, revenue slackened, thanks to problems in the sporting
:07:18. > :07:21.
:07:21. > :07:28.arena. Prix Bloc, a subsidiary of Adidas, lost the contract, worth
:07:28. > :07:32.about $100 million a year. -- report. It also had problems with
:07:32. > :07:36.its National Hockey League deal because of the Lockhart of National
:07:36. > :07:41.Hockey League players. Those games have not been happening. -- look
:07:41. > :07:46.out. A Adidas has been held back by trouble in China. Sportswear firms
:07:46. > :07:50.have been flooding the market with goods, collapsing prices.
:07:50. > :07:54.biggest issue in China was that local brands saw the same
:07:54. > :07:57.opportunity as Nike and Adidas. This thought they could build up as
:07:57. > :08:02.big as a business as these companies. They underestimated
:08:02. > :08:06.demand and flooded the market on the sporting apparel side. These
:08:06. > :08:12.were being discounted. Nike and Adidas were being brought up in
:08:12. > :08:20.that as well. Adidas tried to tighten up its products. Every
:08:20. > :08:25.retailer in UK could cut suppliers -- supplies unless they buy $40,000
:08:26. > :08:30.worth of its products next year. Adidas is opening up more and more
:08:30. > :08:35.of its own-brand stores across the board. That is so it can sell
:08:35. > :08:39.products at full price. This is proving much more profitable.
:08:39. > :08:49.Adidas hopes they can continue to do that, despite the downturn in
:08:49. > :08:50.
:08:50. > :08:53.consumer spending on continent like We have some good news for Boeing.
:08:53. > :08:56.The National Transportation Safety Board in the US says it will
:08:56. > :09:00.release what it calls its interim factual report into a battery fire
:09:00. > :09:03.later today. But what Boeing is really waiting for is the FAA to
:09:03. > :09:07.sign off test flights. That is expected within the next few days.
:09:07. > :09:09.The battery fires seven weeks ago have grounded the entire fleet of
:09:09. > :09:12.787 Dreamliner jets. Media giant Time Warner has
:09:12. > :09:15.announced plans to spin off its Time Inc magazine unit into an
:09:15. > :09:18.independent, publicly traded company by the end of the year.
:09:18. > :09:21.Time Inc is the company behind publications including Time, Sports
:09:21. > :09:24.Illustrated, Fortune and People. Last month, Time Warner reported a
:09:24. > :09:34.rise in profits but said revenues at Time Magazine had fallen 7%,
:09:34. > :09:40.