22/11/2013 World Business Report

have been protesting against pension and pay cuts. Time for World

Business Report. Reward for success, or shameful

access? We will look at the growing debate over executive pay as

Switzerland prepares to put it to the vote. Plus, 16000 and counting.

A new record close puts the Dow Jones on track for its best year in

a decade. A fascinating and exciting snapshot of all the latest in the

world of business and money. Also in the programme, PlayStation for all

XBox One? `` PlayStation four, or XBox One. What should top bosses get

paid? It is a major source of debate all around the world, but in

Switzerland they are putting it to the vote. A referendum on Sunday

that will ask the Swiss people whether corporate bosses should have

their pay capped to 12 times that of their lowest paid workers.

There you go, our rules on executive pay fairer for society, or just bad

for business? Handcrafted goods. Kitchens and

furniture. A small business, but its products are sold on four

continents. The company director earns just 1.3 times what his staff

learn. He will be voting yes to the new law. TRANSLATION: We have to

concentrate on creating good products, that is our strength, not

exorbitant salaries. I am part of the Swiss tradition of social

responsibility. It is a long way from the multimillion dollar

salaries of the big banks. It was voted in March to cut executive pay.

It will affect every business in Switzerland. Small businesses like

this are scattered across Switzerland, in fact these are the

true backburner of the Swiss economy.

This company makes electric bicycles. Perfect for those steep

Swiss mountain roads. People here worry that government`controlled

salary restrictions could turn a successful business into one that is

going downhill. No huge payback is here, either. Management are no more

than five times the salary of the lowest paid. `` earned. But there is

opposition to the law. It is viewed as potentially costly government

interference. We have a one /5 rule. We prefer to invest our money and

our staff to create business, to create new products, new markets,

and the new sales. Not into the accounting department, et cetera.

Two companies, two opposing views. Whichever way this vote goes, the

really high earners in Switzerland are being warned: stop being so

greedy. Let's turn our attention to Wall

Street, where there was a lot of excitement on Thursday. He reached

the number that got everybody so worked up. That was the close on the

Dow Jones industrial average, the first time it has ever closed above

16,000. It is up 22% this year, and if it holds on these levels, or

certainly to the levels to the end of this year, it will be the best

annual performance for the Dow Jones in a decade. To put that in

perspective, look at this number. It is up 220% from the low in its post`

crisis blew in 2009. Did the excitement in Wall Street go over to

Asia? Great to see you, the big question continues to be for the

markets, will the US Central Bank start pulling back? That is the big

question isn't it? How many times can we actually ask this question.

You are not wrong, every little bit of information, and investors are

constantly looking for clues. We all want the Fed to do something, so we

can stop trying to read the tea leaves. That 16,000 level on the Dow

Jones had a lot to do with the latest numbers on the economy out of

the US, including some pretty encouraging news on the job market.

Applications for unemployment benefits dropped to their lowest

level since them. Investors worried about tapering were balanced out, as

they felt more comfortable with where the US economy and the market

is going. In terms of where I am, here in Asia, the Nikkei scaled a

six`month high in Japan, and once again it was a currency story. The

weak yen drove up exports. Other markets in the region are higher,

but they have been a lot more subdued than Tokyo and Wall Street.

In Japan, where are `` while we are all thinking about tapering, the

bank of Japan has given its blessing to the lower yen, saying it is not

too weak. Speak to you very soon. Let's have a look. These are the

scenes in London just a few hours ago, and of course it is the latest

Microsoft Xbox. The XBox One went on sale at midnight around the world,

and I was covering this yesterday. It sets up a massive battle with

Sony's rival games console. It is the battle for the living

room, with two technology giants going head`to`head with the latest

videogame consoles. Last night sought Microsoft's XBox One go on

sale, with Sony's PlayStation four going on sale next week. The motion

sensor and camera have to be purchased separately. The XBox One

has the same processor, the same RAM, and a higher retail price. But

it's motion sensor and camera are bundled with it. I didn't think

there will be one winner. I think there will be two winners, maybe

even three. Nintendo can't be written off. Opinion on which is the

better console is very divided. I've always been a PS four fan. I have

always had a PlayStation. Sony launched the PlayStation in America

last Friday, and sold over 2 million units in four hours. That is a

record. We will keep across that

competition. Let me touch on this before ago, a jury in silicon valley

has ordered Samsung to pay 290 million dollars for copying elements

of the iPhone and iPad. This is just an ongoing battle between the two

rivals. This is in addition to the 500 million the Korean company owes

Apple as a result of the initial verdict. Samsung is expected to

appeal. The lawyers are making a lot of money, aren't they? I will be

back shortly with Daniela, to take a look at some of the newspapers from

around the world. You may think that your head is

something that is completely individual, but a team of that

artists are try to work out what is normal when it comes to the cranium.

They hope