:00:01. > :00:11.latest headlines from BBC News. Now, the latest financial news with
:00:11. > :00:20.
:00:20. > :00:23.Alice Baxter and World Business Resource wealth, but human poverty?
:00:23. > :00:29.A report warns Africa it's in danger of wasting the opportunities
:00:29. > :00:33.offered by the commodity boom. Tough times for the tour operators
:00:33. > :00:43.as holiday makers do it themselves online. But, Europe's biggest
:00:43. > :00:55.
:00:55. > :00:59.travel firm is fighting back. How low can the Japanese yen go as the
:00:59. > :01:02.US dollar rises to the highest level in four years. In Africa,
:01:02. > :01:05.over 1,000 and political leaders are gathered in Cape Town for the
:01:05. > :01:08.World Economic Forum. They are being warned this morning that the
:01:08. > :01:12.continent is in danger of wasting the opportunity offered by its
:01:12. > :01:18.natural resources. Last year, African countries saw some of the
:01:19. > :01:23.fastest economic growth in the world. The fastest was Sierra Leone
:01:23. > :01:29.with growth of 20%. Niger at 11%. Cote d'Ivoire and Angola both grew
:01:29. > :01:35.at over 8% last year. All of those were faster rates of growth than
:01:35. > :01:39.China in 2012. What was driving this growth? Booming demand for
:01:39. > :01:42.resources, oil, gas, coal and minerals. But, according to the
:01:42. > :01:44.report by the Africa Progress Panel, this economic growth is often
:01:44. > :01:49.failing to benefit the wider society and lift people out of
:01:49. > :01:55.poverty. The report will make uncomfortable reading for many of
:01:55. > :01:57.the delegates at the Cape Town forum today. It points out that
:01:57. > :01:59.many of Africa's resource-rich nations are seeing rising
:01:59. > :02:09.inequality and rank among the world's worst for things like
:02:09. > :02:18.
:02:18. > :02:22.infant mortality, access to education and life expectancy. Our
:02:23. > :02:28.correspondent is in Cape Town and she spoke to Kofi Annan and he said
:02:28. > :02:34.that Africa is not getting a fair deal. We're not getting their fair
:02:34. > :02:44.share of the resources. We are not getting the revenue we reserve and
:02:44. > :02:44.
:02:44. > :02:54.deserve. It's because of corruption, the transfer price, tax evasion and
:02:54. > :02:56.
:02:56. > :03:05.also activities that are depriving us of our revenue. African
:03:05. > :03:10.governments need to improve. They need to insist upon the value added
:03:10. > :03:16.for the Roar commodities. They should insist upon local content,
:03:16. > :03:26.local companies need to be involved. They should manage it so it creates
:03:26. > :03:32.more employment. Africa cannot do this alone. Tax-evasion, secret
:03:32. > :03:38.bank accounts, it's a problem for the hall world. Also for Europe. We
:03:38. > :03:44.all need to rectify that. The G7 will meet next month. We need
:03:44. > :03:49.multilateral solutions to these problems. We due respect, these are
:03:49. > :03:55.not new ideas. What is it about the report that will create a new
:03:55. > :04:00.consciousness? It's important in the report because we will tell
:04:00. > :04:09.African leaders and Africans such as you and I am the society that
:04:09. > :04:14.they should put transparency at the centre of the issue. We also
:04:14. > :04:22.challenge the leaders abroad, the G8, the G20, to team up and step up
:04:22. > :04:29.to insure her that we will block any loopholes that allow these
:04:29. > :04:39.things to continue. You may be shocked to know that in Africa, we
:04:39. > :04:49.lose as much money through these loopholes, twice as much money as
:04:49. > :04:49.
:04:49. > :04:55.it gets from development and from the donors. One can be done?
:04:55. > :05:04.Presently, we have seen good development. The US government has
:05:04. > :05:10.passed an act which obliges companies to report to the project
:05:10. > :05:18.level any payments over $100,000. The European Union came up with
:05:19. > :05:23.similar legislation. The figures must be made public. I will
:05:23. > :05:28.challenge the African governments to be equally transparent, telling
:05:28. > :05:32.their people what agreements they have signed, with all those
:05:32. > :05:37.companies, how much money they expect and how much money they have
:05:37. > :05:44.received and how they will use the money. Transparency is a powerful
:05:44. > :05:48.tool. To Asia now, where the US dollar has risen above 100 Japanese
:05:48. > :05:58.Yen for the first time in more than four years. Sharanjit Leyl is in
:05:58. > :05:58.
:05:58. > :06:06.our Singapore bureau. What more do you have on this? It's interesting.
:06:06. > :06:16.It's the first time since April 2009. The yen has strengthened a
:06:16. > :06:17.
:06:17. > :06:21.its boosted the Nikkei to a five- year high. It has also showed
:06:21. > :06:26.strong data from the US with applications for unemployment
:06:26. > :06:33.insurance falling to the lowest level in more than five years. That
:06:33. > :06:38.says that the data due is hoped for a sustainable recovery in the US,
:06:38. > :06:48.investors will start to put assets such as the yen ahead of the US
:06:48. > :06:54.dollar. The yen has dit 25% from the dollar since November. Japan
:06:54. > :06:59.has engaged upon an aggressive strategy. That has boosted profits
:06:59. > :07:04.for Japanese exporters triggering a huge rally on the Japanese stock
:07:04. > :07:09.market. Japanese policy makers have taken many measures to look to
:07:09. > :07:16.revive the sluggish economy. Part of those images is injecting
:07:16. > :07:23.liquidity into that market meaning a weakening yen. A large variety of
:07:23. > :07:25.factors there. Let's hope the reforms take hold. In a few hours'
:07:25. > :07:29.time, TUI Travel, Europe's biggest tour operator, will release results
:07:29. > :07:31.for the winter season. TUI, which owns travel companies like Thomson
:07:31. > :07:37.and First Choice Holidays, is expected to announce smaller losses
:07:37. > :07:40.for what's traditionally a lean time of the year. Analysts predict
:07:40. > :07:45.that summer bookings will help TUI to a full-year profit of half a
:07:45. > :07:55.billion dollars plus. But, it's not all blue skies, as Jeremy Howell
:07:55. > :07:58.
:07:58. > :08:04.reports. With more people organising holidays and hotels
:08:04. > :08:08.online, traditional holiday packaging has responded in two ways.
:08:09. > :08:14.Thomas Court slashed the prices to try to stay in the game but has
:08:14. > :08:19.huge losses. On the other hand, they have concentrated on offering
:08:19. > :08:23.customers holiday experiences they find hard to organise themselves.
:08:23. > :08:29.Profits have mounted and it has raced into the lead position in the
:08:29. > :08:33.industry. If products that they sell, those are different to others.
:08:34. > :08:43.They have differentiated products. You can only buy these from this
:08:44. > :08:44.
:08:44. > :08:51.company. Online. They have invested in the product. You can only buy
:08:51. > :08:59.these products from t y. How much demand remains in Europe for these
:08:59. > :09:06.exclusive holidays? In the winter, bookings in Britain were flatlining.
:09:06. > :09:11.Those in France were no less than 30% lower. The group manager looks
:09:11. > :09:15.forward with consternation to what this summer may bring. It is a
:09:15. > :09:21.downturn with the late bookings in springtime, that will transform the
:09:21. > :09:27.financial outlook for the whole year. Some of the indications from
:09:27. > :09:31.France irate worry. In Germany, consumer confidence is weakening.
:09:31. > :09:39.Hope is that neither factors developed to such an extent that it
:09:40. > :09:45.makes a problem with the season. Tough economic conditions forced to
:09:45. > :09:50.operators to think hard about what they can offer. Thomas Cook, they
:09:50. > :09:55.say it's planning to go beyond the beach into more profitable areas
:09:55. > :10:00.such as eco-tourism and adventure. With a variety of packages designed
:10:00. > :10:10.now to change the shape of the industry entirely from what it was
:10:10. > :10:16.