:00:00. > :00:00.noticeably, Lawrence of Arabia. Those are the latest headlines. Now
:00:00. > :00:20.it is time for World Business Report.
:00:21. > :00:28.On the up. Confidence hit a six-year high among Japanese firms won on
:00:29. > :00:31.year from Shinzo Abe's overhaul of economic policy. The long road
:00:32. > :00:35.ahead. Ireland's prime minister promises jobs and an end to tough
:00:36. > :00:46.budget as the country regains control over its finances.
:00:47. > :00:51.A very warm welcome. You are with World Business Report. Also in the
:00:52. > :00:56.programme: We focus on our growing reliance on coal. First of all, a
:00:57. > :01:00.year ago, Shinzo Abe returned as Prime Minister in Japan. His bold
:01:01. > :01:05.economic policies were central to his appeal. One year on, so-called
:01:06. > :01:08.Abenomics has the stamp of approval from Burns, business confidence has
:01:09. > :01:14.hit a six-year high in the last three months of the year. His three
:01:15. > :01:18.pronged approach, his three arrows, had shown early signs of success.
:01:19. > :01:24.The first has been to effectively print more money. The flood of cash
:01:25. > :01:28.helping to weaken the Japanese yen and make their goods cheaper
:01:29. > :01:32.overseas. A massive government investment plan is also helping to
:01:33. > :01:38.keep business is busy and get people spending. It is the third Arrow,
:01:39. > :01:41.overhauling the entire structure of the world's third biggest economy,
:01:42. > :01:47.that may prove to be the biggest challenge.
:01:48. > :01:57.We have been to Tokyo's fishmarket to explore further.
:01:58. > :02:03.Selling to the highest bidder is one of the pure forms of market forces
:02:04. > :02:07.in play, injecting more competition -- more competition into the economy
:02:08. > :02:25.is primarily -- precisely what the Prime Minister wants. 20 years on
:02:26. > :02:29.since the bursting of the housing bubble, the Japanese economy has
:02:30. > :02:33.been stagnant for well over two decades. But the big question is
:02:34. > :02:40.why? Banks are now back on their feet. It is low productivity. In
:02:41. > :02:46.other words, not enough businesses such as these, which are doing a
:02:47. > :02:52.brisk trade. That is ultimately the goal of Abenomics. Can they turn
:02:53. > :02:53.around a stagnant economy with an ageing population and make it
:02:54. > :03:18.vibrant again? This Souci chef has been working for
:03:19. > :03:23.over 40 years and does not expect to retire any time soon. We've not just
:03:24. > :03:27.an ageing but a shrinking population, he has a tough task in
:03:28. > :03:34.terms are reviving growth, but that is the main essence of structural
:03:35. > :03:39.reforms. Can they use their existing people much more productively and
:03:40. > :03:44.that does require firms to invest more and to raise wages. How to do
:03:45. > :03:52.that in a short period of time is ultimately the challenge.
:03:53. > :03:57.There is a lot more from her on our website. Another economy hoping for
:03:58. > :04:02.a reversal of fortunes is Ireland. Today it regains control over its
:04:03. > :04:06.finances after three years of tough conditions imposed by international
:04:07. > :04:11.lenders. Did spending cuts and hefty tax rises have made life tough for
:04:12. > :04:16.ordinary Irish people, wanting a new exodus to Australia and the United
:04:17. > :04:22.States. Late Sunday, and Kenny made a rare televised appeal, promising
:04:23. > :04:26.to create jobs and prosperity. By increasing total employment to over
:04:27. > :04:29.2 million people by 2020, we can replace all of the jobs that were
:04:30. > :04:33.lost during the crisis with new jobs. Offering many of those who
:04:34. > :04:41.have left Ireland at the choice to return home. Creating more jobs will
:04:42. > :04:46.improve our public finances and help to bring the era of tough budget to
:04:47. > :04:50.an end. EasyJet is back in the dock this week. It is accused of
:04:51. > :04:54.discriminating against wheelchair users in two separate cases. French
:04:55. > :04:59.courts will hear legal challenges from passengers who were barred from
:05:00. > :05:03.flying unoccupied. One of the women had been flying to Portugal to
:05:04. > :05:09.attend her son's funeral. Last year they were fined 70,000 euros for
:05:10. > :05:14.refusing to fly three other wheelchair users in France.
:05:15. > :05:18.Better news for one famous wheelchair user. Wolfgang Schauble
:05:19. > :05:25.is to stay on as Germany's Finance Minister. After four years in
:05:26. > :05:30.office, his name stands for euro stability. Although popular in
:05:31. > :05:36.Germany, he is viewed less favourably in Greece and Portugal,
:05:37. > :05:41.due to his tough line on bailouts for interactive eurozone countries.
:05:42. > :05:46.A former top executive at UBS is due to appear in court to answer charges
:05:47. > :05:50.that he helped rich Americans hide billions of dollars from the tax
:05:51. > :05:53.man. He was finally extradited from Italy
:05:54. > :06:00.last month following five years of legal battles. He had been the head
:06:01. > :06:05.of the US subsidiary specialising in wealth management and denies any
:06:06. > :06:09.wrongdoing. Hopes that a three-month blockade on Libyan oil ports was
:06:10. > :06:13.coming to an end were dashed on Sunday.
:06:14. > :06:18.Strikes in protest s by local tribesman have slashed or your
:06:19. > :06:22.exports from 1 million barrels per day to only 110,000. The eastern
:06:23. > :06:28.autonomy group is calling for a share in oil sales and an
:06:29. > :06:30.investigation into corruption. From oil to coal.
:06:31. > :06:37.Later today the International energy agency looks set to say that coal is
:06:38. > :06:40.crucial for meeting future energy needs around the world. Pressure to
:06:41. > :06:45.reduce carbon emissions due to climate change has done nothing to
:06:46. > :06:51.stop the rise in demand for the fuel, increased investment in
:06:52. > :06:54.renewables forces of energy, such as wind and solar, have boosted
:06:55. > :07:01.capacity, but remain too expensive to bridge the gap between supply and
:07:02. > :07:03.demand. At this mining Nottinghamshire, workers change
:07:04. > :07:07.shifts at one of UK Coal's two working deep mines.
:07:08. > :07:13.In Britain the industry is much smaller than it was in the 70s and
:07:14. > :07:19.80s, that as a whole, coal is a growing source of where people get
:07:20. > :07:24.their power. It is not only gaining in importance for fast moving
:07:25. > :07:27.economies such as India and China, it is also increasingly so for
:07:28. > :07:32.Europe and the United Kingdom as well. The International energy
:07:33. > :07:38.agency says that between 1990 and now, coal use has powered -- has
:07:39. > :07:43.almost doubled. Although it has slowed in the last couple of years,
:07:44. > :07:47.it is still project did to remain the world's main source of power
:07:48. > :07:53.even as renewables grow quickly. The thing about goal, it is still in the
:07:54. > :07:57.energy mix. It is cheap. It is one of the key feels that is not
:07:58. > :08:04.subsidised. If you look at China and all around the world, coal is the
:08:05. > :08:09.essence. If you look closer to home, people operating -- people operating
:08:10. > :08:13.under the same EU legislation are not only burning coal, they are
:08:14. > :08:17.building new plants. Not all people are happy about the increased focus.
:08:18. > :08:20.Greenpeace believes the technology already exists that we can go much
:08:21. > :08:27.further in cutting carbon pollution levels. We are seeing staggering
:08:28. > :08:31.amounts of investment going into clean energy technologies already,
:08:32. > :08:34.the scale could be that much greater if the government started to take
:08:35. > :08:40.steps to close down the dirty options, such as coal burning, and
:08:41. > :08:43.give real levels of support, long-term certainty, to clean energy
:08:44. > :08:46.investors. Increased demand for coal is likely to remain a sensitive
:08:47. > :08:50.topic. Workers jobs and keeping electricity
:08:51. > :08:54.prices low ruler in is on continued growth and demand in the middle.
:08:55. > :09:00.Those worried about climate change will continue to seek ways to make
:09:01. > :09:13.energy generation cleaner. We have got some bad news for
:09:14. > :09:17.Qantas. What is going on? You have the flag carrier being burdened with
:09:18. > :09:20.some major issues, apart from facing record losses and rising
:09:21. > :09:25.competition, it partner Emirates says it has no plans in making any
:09:26. > :09:30.new investment in the beleaguered carrier. You have the president of
:09:31. > :09:32.Emirates are saying that he is carefully watching developments, but
:09:33. > :09:39.ruled out throwing any financial lifeline. Qantas is also crying foul
:09:40. > :09:42.over an unfettered playing field. The airline has complained about
:09:43. > :09:46.virgin Australia and its major shareholders, 80 had, Singapore
:09:47. > :09:50.airlines, and Air New Zealand, that they provide them with access to
:09:51. > :09:54.foreign funding, therefore creating this unfair playing field. You also
:09:55. > :09:58.have Prime Minister Tony Abbott coming to the big Jock, supporting
:09:59. > :10:06.calls from Qantas for a level playing field. -- to the picture.
:10:07. > :10:12.But so far it is being restricted by the so-called Qantas sale act, which
:10:13. > :10:20.limits foreign ownership by 49%. It has to keep the majority of its
:10:21. > :10:25.operations in Australia. Before I go, let's show you the
:10:26. > :10:28.markets. A couple of issues on the minds of investors, not least the
:10:29. > :10:33.Federal Reserve will start its two-day policy meeting tomorrow.
:10:34. > :10:38.They will be at lots of speculation this week on the markets about what
:10:39. > :10:43.they are likely to do. Japan is down despite the news about business
:10:44. > :10:45.confidence. A survey out from HSBC showing that Chinese manufacturing
:10:46. > :10:50.in November dropped to a three-month low. It may change. But for now it
:10:51. > :11:07.is seen as a negative. Doctors surgeries in England were
:11:08. > :11:12.this week learn how they can apply for funding to open 12 hours a day,
:11:13. > :11:14.seven days a week. They have