:00:00. > :00:17.stargazers and astronomical sight. Now we have World Business Report.
:00:18. > :00:23.The rising tide of corporate spying. Europe wants more protection
:00:24. > :00:28.for companies and their trade secrets. Plus, happy holidays.
:00:29. > :00:34.Investors give thanks as the towel and S 500 hit yet another high.
:00:35. > :00:47.And NASDAQ has its best close in 13 years. Welcome to World Business
:00:48. > :00:51.Report. Also in the programme, how cash`strapped French workers are
:00:52. > :00:56.skipping the restaurant lunch in favour of fast food. First of all,
:00:57. > :01:02.industrial espionage is on the rise. That is the warning from the
:01:03. > :01:05.European Commission it will be giving today as it imposes new rules
:01:06. > :01:08.to help companies protect their trade secrets. Today's
:01:09. > :01:14.knowledge`based economy makes companies increasingly vulnerable to
:01:15. > :01:21.cyber snooping by rivals. The laws vary hugely across EU member states,
:01:22. > :01:26.and some have none at all. According to research, quoted by Brussels,
:01:27. > :01:31.last year 18% of companies reported a theft of confidential information.
:01:32. > :01:36.This year that has gone up to 25%. I am joined by the managing director
:01:37. > :01:44.of an international think tank, to talk to the issues. Tell us what you
:01:45. > :01:49.believe Brussels will propose today. More than anything else, I think
:01:50. > :01:57.this is going to be about imposing minimum standard and putting all the
:01:58. > :02:03.European companies on an even keel. While some countries have explicit
:02:04. > :02:08.legislation project protecting trade secrets `` protecting trade secrets,
:02:09. > :02:13.many don't even have normal contract law. It is generally believed that
:02:14. > :02:19.the US and Japan have tighter protection standards on commercial
:02:20. > :02:25.snooping or theft of trade secrets, etc, and EU does. I think both in
:02:26. > :02:31.the context of the trade negotiation with the US, as well as a general
:02:32. > :02:35.perceived threat that commercial spying and theft of commercial
:02:36. > :02:41.secrets is becoming worse, the EU is putting forward this protection
:02:42. > :02:47.which is going to put it on the same level now as Japan and the US. How
:02:48. > :02:51.you think this process will take? Because, you know, when Europe tries
:02:52. > :02:57.to come up with a proposal to cross the region, it takes notoriously a
:02:58. > :03:04.long time, doesn't it? Yes and no. But this, I think, is one of those
:03:05. > :03:09.small pieces of sensible legislation which the EU does relatively well.
:03:10. > :03:13.And it is hard to see any one country coming out in opposition
:03:14. > :03:19.against this, so I think it should be relatively smooth sailing,
:03:20. > :03:25.particularly because the negotiations also give it additional
:03:26. > :03:28.time limitations. I think this is really not a controversial piece of
:03:29. > :03:33.legislation, so perhaps by next year, we should have it on the
:03:34. > :03:41.statute books of countries. To what extent you think this move will
:03:42. > :03:49.eliminate cyber snooping and the theft of company secrets? I think
:03:50. > :03:59.that this is not a particularly effective will walk against cyber
:04:00. > :04:06.snooping `` bulwark, because when it is happening you don't even know
:04:07. > :04:15.often. A company in China could hack into your company and steal secrets
:04:16. > :04:19.and you wouldn't know. This could be more effective with outsourcing, or
:04:20. > :04:26.having relationships with other companies, like software algorithms
:04:27. > :04:33.or formula you may have. So, this is going to offer a lot of protection
:04:34. > :04:37.and some redress to, let's say, small and medium enterprises, plus
:04:38. > :04:43.companies in the service sector and others that don't quite get covered
:04:44. > :04:48.by bigger protection. I think this will offer limited protection
:04:49. > :04:52.against cyber snooping, that is a whole different discussion. It will,
:04:53. > :05:00.however, if cyber snooping is detected, of a court based civil
:05:01. > :05:08.remedies. Thank you very much your thoughts. As and when we get the
:05:09. > :05:14.details from Brussels on their proposals, we will update you. As
:05:15. > :05:19.you can see, there are some serious celebrations going on behind me.
:05:20. > :05:22.This was the scene on Wall Street yesterday as it closed for the
:05:23. > :05:26.Thanksgiving holiday. Not just at the prospect of a long weekend full
:05:27. > :05:29.of eating, drinking and shopping, but there was a lot of celebration
:05:30. > :05:33.because the stock market rally seems to be going from strength to
:05:34. > :05:40.strength. The Dow Jones industrial average, and the S 500 both closed
:05:41. > :05:46.at record highs. The NASDAQ had its best close for 15 years, closing at
:05:47. > :05:53.4000. That is the first time since the peak of the technology boom back
:05:54. > :05:59.in 2000. Sharanjit Leyl is there to find out how it is going in Asia.
:06:00. > :06:03.Similar scenes in Asia? Similar scenes, not the Thanksgiving
:06:04. > :06:10.turkey, though, I should add. Similar on the market, certainly.
:06:11. > :06:15.Asian shares higher, with Japan's Nikkei near a six`month high.
:06:16. > :06:27.Positive US economic data is helping to lift sentiment. Also the stronger
:06:28. > :06:33.US dollar against the Japanese yen. Consumer sentiment was better.
:06:34. > :06:38.Business investment in Australia unexpectedly climbed last quarter,
:06:39. > :06:42.and China's industrial profits grew 15% in October. All of that is
:06:43. > :06:47.helping boost sentiment. I also mentioned the strong dollar, which
:06:48. > :06:53.went past 102 yen for the first time in six months. That essentially
:06:54. > :07:08.means there will be currency related gains when profits come home to the
:07:09. > :07:10.US. The bank of Japan has essentially committed to keep its
:07:11. > :07:15.loose monetary policy to boost growth, which is a contrast, to some
:07:16. > :07:23.extent, to the Fed, which is beginning to move to wait turned on
:07:24. > :07:28.its policy. We will pull them more about that story when we review
:07:29. > :07:32.today's papers. Let's move on, because French firms and families
:07:33. > :07:35.are paying an extra $32 billion of tax this year, nearly half of
:07:36. > :07:41.everything they produce will be handed over to the government. It is
:07:42. > :07:46.part of a promise made by President Francois Hollande to bring down
:07:47. > :07:51.debt. The high taxes are taking their toll on French life,
:07:52. > :07:57.continuing our series that looks at the squeeze on the money in your
:07:58. > :08:01.pocket. We look at why local fast food is replacing restaurant food.
:08:02. > :08:06.No country has a greater affinity with food and France, but last year
:08:07. > :08:12.54% of total restaurant turnover in this country went to sandwich and
:08:13. > :08:14.fast food shops. It is the first time convenience food has
:08:15. > :08:21.outstripped the business of the traditional grocery. People are very
:08:22. > :08:26.scared of the future, we don't know where we are going, so I can feel
:08:27. > :08:30.that. They are very careful about money. On the back of that, fast
:08:31. > :08:38.food sales have increased 74% in ten years. When I first started working
:08:39. > :08:41.here about eight years ago, the street was full of small boutiques
:08:42. > :08:48.and bistros, today the restaurants are sandwich between fast food
:08:49. > :08:51.shops. It effects the new realities of the modern working lunch, or
:08:52. > :08:55.perhaps concerns over purchasing power. The amount of disposable
:08:56. > :09:01.income in the average Frenchman's rocket. This man is a typical French
:09:02. > :09:05.businessmen. Most days he takes 20 minutes for his lunch, and normally
:09:06. > :09:12.he eats at his desk. But it is not all about the money. I think people
:09:13. > :09:16.are more stressed about their work, they don't want to lose their job.
:09:17. > :09:20.If you want to keep your job you need to work more to choose that you
:09:21. > :09:26.are the right person `` prove that you are the right person to be in
:09:27. > :09:34.the job. The French are also worried about taxes, with total income tax
:09:35. > :09:44.bill in 2009 being 240 million euros, this year it is more like 70
:09:45. > :10:02.billion. They offer quite good food, but not that good. In that case,
:10:03. > :10:06.French people do not encounter... The food is still extremely good,
:10:07. > :10:15.but foremost, the two`hour lunch is an rare event. These days it is more
:10:16. > :10:35.often the bargain they get. `` baguette.
:10:36. > :10:36.In July, a disabled man living in Bristol was wrongly identified as a