:00:02. > :00:12.latest headlines from BBC News. Now for the latest financial news with
:00:12. > :00:19.
:00:19. > :00:23.Sally Bundock and World Business The clock is ticking in Egypt, with
:00:23. > :00:31.pressure mounting from all sides to solve the political crisis. We look
:00:31. > :00:35.at the economic problems fuelling the unrest. On the back of poor
:00:35. > :00:44.China data - does Australia need to prepare for an end to the
:00:44. > :00:48.commodities boom? Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock.
:00:48. > :00:53.Also in the programme, the next part in our series on the impact of
:00:53. > :00:55.the changing values of currencies - we focus on the Indian rupee. As
:00:55. > :00:58.you've been hearing the crisis in Egypt is deteriorating rapidly
:00:58. > :01:04.after the country's President and his opponents were given an
:01:04. > :01:09.ultimatum by the army. They told politicians to end the political
:01:09. > :01:12.crisis within 48 hours or they will intervene. The statement was met
:01:13. > :01:18.with cheers from tens of thousands of people who took to the streets
:01:18. > :01:21.calling for President Morsi, who was only elected last year, to go.
:01:21. > :01:23.A critical part of the problem is Morsi's failure to resolve the
:01:23. > :01:27.country's worsening economic situation, sending it into freefall
:01:27. > :01:35.Since the 2011 revolution the Egyptian economy has gone from bad
:01:35. > :01:43.to worse. Unemployment is up, so is the budget deficit, the Egyptian
:01:43. > :01:46.pound has lost much of its value. And a shortage of fuel leads to
:01:46. > :01:49.long queues of traffic that can now be found outside almost every
:01:49. > :01:59.petrol station. Our economics reporter Andrew Walker has more
:01:59. > :02:01.
:02:01. > :02:07.detail. Some of the driving forces behind the upheaval were economic.
:02:07. > :02:13.Two years on from the fall of ex President Mubarak, and a year after
:02:13. > :02:21.the election of Mahmut Morsi, the economy is still a serious problem.
:02:21. > :02:27.Fuel is in short a pro -- supply and food is expensive. TRANSLATION:
:02:27. > :02:33.Today it costs four or �5. It is not becoming better. Prices are
:02:33. > :02:42.becoming more expensive. Since the unrest, Egypt has seen it Thoresen
:02:42. > :02:45.and foreign investment fall sharply. -- tourism. Negotiations for loans
:02:45. > :02:51.from the International Monetary Fund have failed to produce an
:02:51. > :02:57.agreement. The government has been reluctant to agree to reforms which
:02:57. > :03:07.will be unpopular. In the meantime, it has had financial support from
:03:07. > :03:10.cutter and favourable terms from the Libyan oil. -- Qatar. With me
:03:10. > :03:20.is Mahmoud Youssef, a former oil trader and former owner of Mira Oil
:03:20. > :03:21.
:03:21. > :03:24.which closed down six years ago. What is your take on the economy?
:03:24. > :03:29.The Muslim Brotherhood of government - it continues, for
:03:29. > :03:33.another year, there will be no economy. The country has suffered
:03:33. > :03:39.in a year more than it could ever imagine. The economy is based on a
:03:39. > :03:46.number of factors - tourism is one of them. It accounts for 20% of
:03:46. > :03:55.their GDP. We have about 10 million people relying on to reason. They
:03:55. > :04:05.have successfully destroyed. -- to reason. You mean specific parts?--
:04:05. > :04:06.
:04:06. > :04:13.tourism. People forget that Egypt is a country of culture and history.
:04:13. > :04:20.The Pyramids and Sphinx, cruising the Nile are the dreams of people.
:04:20. > :04:26.People are not working. Many would argue that after 30 years of a
:04:26. > :04:31.dictatorship, essentially, only one year after a democratic revolution
:04:31. > :04:36.- it is a very short time. You cannot expect to have the economic
:04:36. > :04:40.strategy in place. True. We expect the government to come with some
:04:40. > :04:46.vision. But they only have one vision and that is to form an
:04:46. > :04:53.Islamic country that follows their own version of Islam. I am a Muslim,
:04:53. > :04:58.they have no vision. How can you develop anything. Clearly, the army
:04:58. > :05:03.is trying to take control and forced politicians to sort things
:05:03. > :05:09.out but the political mess is a mess. There is not really an
:05:09. > :05:14.alternative? Are off course there is. The army is not trying to take
:05:14. > :05:20.a political role. They are trying to defend the people. The people
:05:20. > :05:25.loved the Army. We do not have an army... What I mean by the question
:05:25. > :05:35.is that in terms of a viable alternative to President Morsi - is
:05:35. > :05:36.
:05:36. > :05:41.there one? Egypt is a country that has a 90 million people. We have
:05:42. > :05:50.Nobel prizewinners. We have professors at M high tea. We have a
:05:50. > :05:57.leading economist. -- MIT. They need to be selected it properly.
:05:57. > :06:04.People who serve the country not serve a sect. We're here to serve a
:06:04. > :06:09.population - a whole nation. There are people there. We have 300,000
:06:09. > :06:14.graduates per year. There is a lot to discuss but we do not have time
:06:14. > :06:22.now. Thank you for your time. It is interesting to get your perspective.
:06:22. > :06:29.It is a story that is developing all the time. The value of the
:06:30. > :06:32.currency in your pocket affects your way of life. We look at the
:06:32. > :06:42.changing values of currencies and the impact on the people who use
:06:42. > :06:49.them. We are examining the Indian currency. Last week, it hit an all-
:06:49. > :06:56.time low versus the US dollar. Even in packs importers and all of the
:06:56. > :06:59.country's prospect. Is it the worse still to calm? This man is an
:06:59. > :07:06.importer of goods in Mumbai. He imports from many countries and
:07:06. > :07:15.sells them in the domestic market. The rupee's tumble has hit his
:07:15. > :07:23.business hard. The Indian currency has crossed the 60 rupees to the
:07:23. > :07:28.dollar mark and he believes it will get worse. TRANSLATION: It is
:07:28. > :07:33.expected that the dollar could even get to 65. I have stopped all new
:07:33. > :07:37.imports and consignments until such a time that there is some stability.
:07:37. > :07:40.We must keep our business running but we are running at a loss. If
:07:40. > :07:47.the business progresses and the dollar does not stabilise, it is
:07:47. > :07:49.very difficult for us to survive as this stint goes on. Manufacturers
:07:49. > :07:55.and other businesses that rely on imported components and materials
:07:55. > :07:58.are also feeling the pinch of the slide of the rupee. These include
:07:58. > :08:04.automobile manufacturers here in India right through to those who
:08:04. > :08:10.supply the fuel they run. They are also adding to the country's import
:08:10. > :08:18.bill which is widening India's account deficit. Some industries
:08:18. > :08:21.could also benefit. India is often called the pharmacy to the world
:08:21. > :08:27.and its pharmaceutical industry is a major exporter. The weakening of
:08:27. > :08:30.the rupee could help the sector. IT companies could also gain a
:08:30. > :08:36.competitive advantage. Experts say that a falling rupee is more bad
:08:36. > :08:41.than good news for India. In the context of India, there are
:08:41. > :08:49.peculiarities. One is that a large part of our exports have a very
:08:49. > :08:52.high import component. Petroleum exports, textile exports - they all
:08:52. > :08:59.have large import components. In that sense, the depreciation does
:08:59. > :09:02.not help those industries so much. There is a worry that the sliding
:09:02. > :09:07.rupee may reverse positive trends such as inflation which has been
:09:07. > :09:11.easing the last few months could rise. India's fiscal deficit could
:09:11. > :09:21.also take a hit and cast a dark shadow on a country trying to move
:09:21. > :09:29.
:09:29. > :09:32.on from slowing growth last year. Markets in Asia are mixed. Some are
:09:32. > :09:42.doing well at have news from the US and Europe as far as manufacturing
:09:42. > :09:45.
:09:45. > :09:51.goes. The weakness in China we saw and we talk of it now. China's
:09:51. > :09:55.weakening economic data has dented excitement over the more positive
:09:55. > :10:00.manufacturing activities in the US and the UK. They are causing
:10:00. > :10:08.uncertainty. We have gained in currencies and commodities. Japan
:10:08. > :10:18.and Korea are resilient. Australia is about to keep interest rates at
:10:18. > :10:20.
:10:20. > :10:24.the lowest level at 2.75 %. In precious metals, and gold is
:10:24. > :10:30.climbing for a third day after slumping 23% in the previous
:10:30. > :10:34.quarter which was its worst worse in 45 years. When we speak to
:10:34. > :10:40.analysts and traders, they say volatility in the market will