:00:00. > :00:00.the latest headlines from BBC News. Now for the latest financial news,
:00:00. > :00:19.with Alice Baxter and World Business Report.
:00:20. > :00:25.More signs that Abenomics may work. The Japanese economy may be edging
:00:26. > :00:30.out of deflation after 15 years in the doldrums.
:00:31. > :00:34.And one of the big issues in 2014 - food. Feeding the world over the
:00:35. > :00:36.next 30 years or so will require investments of $83 billion a year,
:00:37. > :00:50.according to the United Nations. Welcome to World Business Report,
:00:51. > :00:56.I'm Alice Baxter. In a minute we'll also look at what will be the hot
:00:57. > :00:59.gadgets in the tech world in 2014. But first, Japanese consumer prices
:01:00. > :01:05.rose last month, showing that the country's economy continues to
:01:06. > :01:08.recover. Government data show that consumer prices excluding food rose
:01:09. > :01:19.1.2% in November compared to the same month last year. It is the
:01:20. > :01:23.largest gain since November, 2008. A sign that Japan may finally break 15
:01:24. > :01:28.years of deflation. Industrial output increased 0.1%, the third
:01:29. > :01:31.straight month of a rise. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.0%,
:01:32. > :01:39.while jobs available rose but by less than the month before. Rupert
:01:40. > :01:53.Wingfield-Hayes is in our Tokyo bureau. It looks like things are on
:01:54. > :01:57.the up? I think those figures you just mentioned will be taken by the
:01:58. > :02:02.government as a sign that their policies are starting to work. The
:02:03. > :02:06.Japanese government has been pumping huge amounts of money into the
:02:07. > :02:10.economy, both by printing money and by putting money into infrastructure
:02:11. > :02:15.projects for the past year or so, in the hope of generating inflation in
:02:16. > :02:19.the economy and certainly these figures seem to show that inflation
:02:20. > :02:25.is coming through. However, I think we have to be cautious about the
:02:26. > :02:30.1.2% because a lot of it comes from the huge rise in the cost of
:02:31. > :02:34.importing fuel. Energy prices in Japan have gone up more than eight
:02:35. > :02:40.cent this year and that's really one of the big contributing factor is to
:02:41. > :02:46.inflation -- 8%. The real inflation in the economy is only about 0.6%.
:02:47. > :02:54.Still up but not as marked as the headline says. -- not as much. Do
:02:55. > :02:58.you think this date I will encourage the government to continue with this
:02:59. > :03:05.economic problem off Abenomics? -- data. I think there's no doubt that
:03:06. > :03:15.they will keep going out this for at least the next year. They might be
:03:16. > :03:19.talking about ending quantitative easing but there's no talk of bat in
:03:20. > :03:25.Japan. They will keep minting money in 2014, just like they were this
:03:26. > :03:28.year. That's probably going to push the value of the currency down
:03:29. > :03:33.further, which will be good for exporters. There are some big bombs
:03:34. > :03:40.coming. In April, there will be a big rise in tax. -- bumps coming.
:03:41. > :03:52.Attacks rise from eight cent to 10% in 2015. -- a tax rise. There will
:03:53. > :03:54.therefore be a slowdown in consumer spending, which could hurt the
:03:55. > :03:58.economy. Thanks. One industry that's set to grow over
:03:59. > :04:01.the year ahead is food. 2014 will see investors pouring more cash than
:04:02. > :04:04.ever before into agriculture and food processing. Every penny is
:04:05. > :04:07.needed. The United Nations food and agriculture organisation says
:04:08. > :04:15.feeding the world over the next 30 years or so will require investments
:04:16. > :04:22.of $83 billion a year. Compared to say bonds or currencies, agriculture
:04:23. > :04:24.can offer attractive returns. But there's now recognition that just
:04:25. > :04:30.industrialising production by creating vast mechanised farms is
:04:31. > :04:33.only part of the answer. Investors are being pressed to think more
:04:34. > :04:41.about sustainability and the 70% of world food still produced on family
:04:42. > :04:42.farms or smallholdings. Our Europe business correspondent has this
:04:43. > :04:53.report. For this farmer, it's the season to
:04:54. > :05:06.finish clearing his fields and planned for next year. We all have
:05:07. > :05:09.to eat but at the moment investors seem to think the global food market
:05:10. > :05:11.will offer better returns than the financial market. But even the large
:05:12. > :05:16.agricultural companies are under pressure to help people to farm more
:05:17. > :05:19.sustainably. With investment in technology and techniques, produces
:05:20. > :05:29.emerging markets can rapidly raising yields and sales. -- producing. It
:05:30. > :05:35.only makes sense if the investor is making the investment because he is
:05:36. > :05:41.going to own money. The question is, can you make money and also help the
:05:42. > :05:47.people? Yes, you can. One small project sparks another. In
:05:48. > :05:53.Indonesia, we financed a company which was producing noodles and
:05:54. > :06:00.flour. That introduced competition in the market, where, at one point,
:06:01. > :06:07.up to 90% of the noodle market was controlled by one company. This is a
:06:08. > :06:13.senior UN food specialist. She said governments have to do their bit. It
:06:14. > :06:16.doesn't make sense if we produce a lot in one place but there's no
:06:17. > :06:21.storage, no infrastructure, to transport it from one place to
:06:22. > :06:27.another. In the end, all stakeholders need to work together.
:06:28. > :06:33.But its agricultural investors who may also need to change their
:06:34. > :06:37.mindset. A lot of demand is being created. Where there is an
:06:38. > :06:41.opportunity for local producers to start reducing for domestic
:06:42. > :06:44.consumption. There is a misunderstanding that Africa will be
:06:45. > :06:48.the platform for export. There is an opportunity for imports and for
:06:49. > :06:53.satisfying the growing needs of those domestic markets. Maybe it's
:06:54. > :06:59.no wonder that investors are shifting some of their focus from
:07:00. > :07:00.huge agricultural businesses to be 70% of food still produced on family
:07:01. > :07:06.farms. New games consoles, smartphones and
:07:07. > :07:09.watches. The past year has seen no let-up in the pace of technological
:07:10. > :07:15.development, as companies vie to sell us new gadgets we never knew we
:07:16. > :07:19.needed. Our technology correspondent looks at some of the best and the
:07:20. > :07:33.worst of 2013 and what we can look forward to in the year ahead.
:07:34. > :07:37.It's a technology that has really begun to capture the popular
:07:38. > :07:42.imagination this year. 3D printing, when you can take a blueprint and
:07:43. > :07:46.print anything. Where better than a shop that sells 3D-printed is to
:07:47. > :08:03.talk about what's hot and what's not. -- 3D printers. Off we go.
:08:04. > :08:13.Wearable tech. We have some fitness bands. Then the autographer. What's
:08:14. > :08:18.exciting about wearable technology? It adapts to our lives. It fits in
:08:19. > :08:28.with how we want to live our lives. Sometimes it may look crazy. Greasy?
:08:29. > :08:37.What's crazy about this? -- crazy? It's really good! In the gaming
:08:38. > :08:40.world, we have two new consoles. If I can stop you playing for one
:08:41. > :08:45.moment, which of these will win? It interesting. They both offer very
:08:46. > :08:54.different perceptions. One is all about games, Sony, whereas Xbox is
:08:55. > :08:58.an entertainment hub for the lounge. White it's been another year where
:08:59. > :09:04.we have seen the rise of the mobile device -- it's been. This is the
:09:05. > :09:11.year that Android finally got its act together. I'm particularly
:09:12. > :09:14.interested in Tesco making tech. This is cheap, affordable and you
:09:15. > :09:22.can buy it when you buy your vegetables. It's been a year of
:09:23. > :09:27.about phablets. They don't stand in either category. Samsung Galaxy told
:09:28. > :09:35.10 million this year. Tony and others are coming in. -- Sony.
:09:36. > :09:41.What's the most exciting and what is being the biggest dud? I think
:09:42. > :09:46.wearable technology. My pebble smarwatch is brilliant. It had
:09:47. > :09:59.something to my life. The biggest dud. 3D TV has finally left. Do you
:10:00. > :10:03.take this seriously? I think it's very early to become the main
:10:04. > :10:07.consumer of things. You won't see this in Tesco any time soon. Still,
:10:08. > :10:17.they are getting cheaper and can do more. Who knows? Maybe 3D printers
:10:18. > :10:24.will be the hot new gadget of 2013. Who knows? I'm looking forward to
:10:25. > :10:33.see what 2014 brings in that market. That's all for now.
:10:34. > :10:38.It seems like a very long time ago now but last year's hot summer
:10:39. > :10:43.provided a much needed boost for the UK's wildlife, according to the
:10:44. > :10:46.National Trust. Even though last winter seemed to go on forever, a
:10:47. > :10:51.hot July and August helped turn around the fortunes of many plants
:10:52. > :10:54.and animals. Ben Geoghegan reports.