:00:00. > :00:00.a truce was called on Tuesday. Those are the latest headlines from
:00:00. > :00:00.BBC World News. Now for the latest financial news with World Business
:00:00. > :00:18.Report. OPEC faces a dilemma as the boom in
:00:19. > :00:24.US shale hits the oil cartels' revenues.
:00:25. > :00:26.Stuck in second gear - that's the prognosis of the Australian
:00:27. > :00:38.government as new figures show lacklustre economic growth there.
:00:39. > :00:43.Welcome to World Business Report I'm Sally Bundock. In a minute, we'll
:00:44. > :00:51.have a report about western retailers launching in India.
:00:52. > :00:55.Not so long ago, the big worry was that the world would run out of oil
:00:56. > :00:59.and gas, but the development of hydraulic fracking means those fears
:01:00. > :01:05.have evaporated. America is producing more oil that it imports
:01:06. > :01:09.and gas prices have fallen. This is seriously denting OPEC countries'
:01:10. > :01:12.export earnings. For many years, the cartel of leading Gulf producers -
:01:13. > :01:15.led by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Venezuela, who meet later today,
:01:16. > :01:22.were able to manipulate prices through their grip on supply. But
:01:23. > :01:25.now life has changed and many forecasts suggest that, in Europe,
:01:26. > :01:28.the price of Brent crude may soon fall below $100 a barrel. Here's our
:01:29. > :01:42.Europe business correspondent, Nigel Cassidy. For 50 years, OPEC held
:01:43. > :01:47.sway over oil prices, securing the steady income for its members.
:01:48. > :01:56.Today, 12% of production fetches file. All prices are lower. Thanks
:01:57. > :02:03.to America's fracking revolution. For the first time since the '90s,
:02:04. > :02:06.America is producing more crude than it is important. It could one day
:02:07. > :02:13.overtake Saudi Arabia. They might the -- the biggest threat of OPEC
:02:14. > :02:17.might come from within. Iran might produce more barrels a day within
:02:18. > :02:23.months. Demand is harder to predict. The US oil monopoly is being broken
:02:24. > :02:31.as cheaper shale gas finds its way into trade and truck engines. This
:02:32. > :02:36.energy specialist says it is putting pressure on OPEC. The factors
:02:37. > :02:41.driving this decline, the potential increase in oil in the US. There
:02:42. > :02:47.might be the largest oil exporter in the world in three years. There is
:02:48. > :02:54.the possibility of increased or the production in Iran. Iran is affected
:02:55. > :03:01.by sanctions. The level has dropped. Its field is old and tired. They
:03:02. > :03:08.cannot refurbish. If the price is down, opaque as a group needs to
:03:09. > :03:14.reduce output to tighten the market. If one member of the group is dead
:03:15. > :03:19.set on raising its output levels, it becomes difficult for the group to
:03:20. > :03:25.act together. Brazil is the latest non- OPEC producer. The cartel has
:03:26. > :03:31.much to discuss. One comfort might be that while lower oil prices are
:03:32. > :03:43.forecast, recent history suggests they might not last.
:03:44. > :03:46.Disappointing figures out a few hours ago for the Australian
:03:47. > :03:53.economy. It grew only a modest 0.6% in the September quarter. Analysts
:03:54. > :03:55.expected the economy to grow 0.8%. Gross domestic product rose 2.3%
:03:56. > :03:58.compared to the third quarter of 2012, still ahead of much of the
:03:59. > :04:12.rich world but substandard for Australia. Our correspondent has
:04:13. > :04:16.more. It was known as the wonder from Down
:04:17. > :04:19.Under. That's because Australia was the only country in the G20 to avoid
:04:20. > :04:22.recession following the recent financial crisis. But now its
:04:23. > :04:27.economy seems to be stuck in a rut. Rico Hizon is in Singapore.
:04:28. > :04:31.Basically, it was a mediocre performance for the Australian
:04:32. > :04:37.economy from July to September. We have to basic fact is. The demand
:04:38. > :04:45.was a disappointment. Consumers chose to save rather than spend. It
:04:46. > :04:50.expanded, as you mentioned, by 0.6% with many sectors of the economy
:04:51. > :04:54.showing little or no growth at all. But on the flipside, we have the
:04:55. > :05:00.solid contribution from international trade and a record low
:05:01. > :05:06.borrowing cost at 2.5%. It helps cushion the slowdown. When you speak
:05:07. > :05:10.to economists, they say if it was not for the fact is, the GDP could
:05:11. > :05:18.have contracted in the third quarter. Despite the numbers,
:05:19. > :05:23.investors reacted positively. The local dollar depreciated versus the
:05:24. > :05:26.greenback. The stock market bucked the downward trend in the region,
:05:27. > :05:32.double back into it positive territory. There is speculation that
:05:33. > :05:44.the Central Bank could cut interest rates once again. The Reserve Bank
:05:45. > :05:52.has revised forecasts next year. In 2015, mining investment will fall
:05:53. > :05:59.off at a faster than expected pace. Despite the Adelaide Crows of 2.3%,
:06:00. > :06:13.short of expectation, -- analysed results. It is higher than that of
:06:14. > :06:15.the US, UK and Canada. The Indian government's Foreign
:06:16. > :06:18.Investment Promotion Board has approved a plan by Swedish fashion
:06:19. > :06:21.chain Hennes and Mauritz to invest $115 million dollars in India. H
:06:22. > :06:24.is the second Swedish retailer after furniture company IKEA to get
:06:25. > :06:28.approval from India to start retail operations. Both companies plan to
:06:29. > :06:31.open single-brand stores, through which they would sell their own
:06:32. > :06:34.brand of goods. Shilpa Kannan has more from Delhi on the Western
:06:35. > :06:44.retailers preparing to launch in India. H is the latest of global
:06:45. > :06:50.retailers have announced their plans to open in the market. The Swedish
:06:51. > :06:53.fashion house will open 50 stores across the country, hoping to tap
:06:54. > :07:00.into the country's middle class willing to buy. India will have a $5
:07:01. > :07:03.billion retail market and opening up to global change has been a
:07:04. > :07:09.cornerstone of the government's recent reform drive, and at changing
:07:10. > :07:16.the investment climate, at a time when India is facing a patch. There
:07:17. > :07:21.is slow growth and high inflation. Western firms like H have been
:07:22. > :07:33.keen to enter imaging markets like India to boost the growth further.
:07:34. > :07:35.India is the new priority market. India is a very important market for
:07:36. > :07:43.us internationally. We have been having good performance coming out
:07:44. > :07:48.of the stores in India. Going forward, we intend to establish a
:07:49. > :07:51.leadership position in India. We will do that the expanding
:07:52. > :07:58.aggressively across the cities in India. The painted at 80 stores by
:07:59. > :08:04.2016. This would make it the largest number of stores anywhere outside of
:08:05. > :08:13.the UK, internationally. The report that UK's Topshop, cup and others
:08:14. > :08:27.will identify partners and announce plans. -- Gap. India gave approval
:08:28. > :08:32.to IKEA, which will "5 stores for spending 1.9 $5 billion a making it
:08:33. > :08:38.the biggest largest investor in the sector. Many in the industry are
:08:39. > :08:44.anticipating changes for single brand retailers like IKEA and H
:08:45. > :08:48.Like dealing with India's bureaucracy or the complicated tax
:08:49. > :08:52.system or finding the right retail space as the country lacks high
:08:53. > :08:58.street. That is unlikely to put off foreign investors. They hope that
:08:59. > :09:08.with the growing population, it will mean an increased demand for
:09:09. > :09:11.product. A US judge has ruled that the
:09:12. > :09:14.heavily indebted city of Detroit is eligible for bankruptcy. The ruling
:09:15. > :09:18.clears the way for the city to come up with a plan to shed $18 billion
:09:19. > :09:21.in debt. Analysts say pensions may be very hard hit and the famous
:09:22. > :09:26.Detroit Institute of Arts may see its collection sold.
:09:27. > :09:29.Sales of bicycles outstripped car sales in almost every country in the
:09:30. > :09:31.European Union last year, as transport habits adapted to hard
:09:32. > :09:34.times. Figures from both industries' official associations show the
:09:35. > :09:36.comparative popularity of two wheels went well beyond the traditional
:09:37. > :09:39.cycling capitals of northern Europe - Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Italians
:09:40. > :10:34.bought 1.6 million bikes in 2012, against 1.4 million cars.
:10:35. > :10:39.The Attorney General is publishing advice from today to make social
:10:40. > :10:40.media users in the UK aware that they can