:00:00. > :00:15.latest financial news with Maryam Moshiri and World Business Report.
:00:16. > :00:20.Tough times for millions of Indians as the country battles its weakest
:00:21. > :00:24.growth in a decade. We have a special report. Plus ` Ukraine's
:00:25. > :00:26.currency slumps to an all`time low as the IMF says it's ready to step
:00:27. > :00:37.in. Welcome to World Business Report.
:00:38. > :00:40.I'm Maryam Moshiri. In a moment ` China's currency has had its biggest
:00:41. > :00:45.fall against the Dollar on record. We'll be finding out what's going
:00:46. > :00:48.on. We start this Friday in India `
:00:49. > :00:51.where there's likely to be more pressure on Prime Minister Manmohan
:00:52. > :00:54.Singh over the state of the economy. Official figures are expected to
:00:55. > :00:57.show growth is still languishing at its weakest level in around a
:00:58. > :01:01.decade. In the last three months of 2013 India's GDP probably grew at an
:01:02. > :01:06.annual rate of 4.9 per cent, according to economists polled by
:01:07. > :01:09.Reuters. If confirmed, that would be barely up on the previous quarter `
:01:10. > :01:15.and around half the rate achieved in recent years. That's taking its toll
:01:16. > :01:17.on many ordinary people, as Yogita Limaye reports from the Indian state
:01:18. > :01:34.of Haryana. It is not bright enough to light up
:01:35. > :01:42.this small room and more darkness may lie ahead for this couple. This
:01:43. > :01:49.man recently lost his job in a car parts factory. His wife is pregnant
:01:50. > :01:55.due to give birth soon. But she has had to get a job to keep them going
:01:56. > :02:01.at least for a while. Every morning, he makes his way to factories in the
:02:02. > :02:07.area hoping to find some work. TRANSLATION: Whichever company I go
:02:08. > :02:11.to, they say that there is a slow down and there is less production.
:02:12. > :02:14.They're not hiring any workers write`down. I have been looking for
:02:15. > :02:20.two or three months for a job that get the same everywhere. He is not
:02:21. > :02:24.alone. Manufacturing is considered the big job generated here. That has
:02:25. > :02:30.been slowing for the past three months with many others bearing the
:02:31. > :02:38.brunt as well. More than half of the country 's 1.2 billion people are
:02:39. > :02:42.under the age of 25. There have not yet been large`scale job cuts but a
:02:43. > :02:46.drop in employment creation is still a big worry. While manufacturing has
:02:47. > :02:50.had a rough ride over the past year, it has been quite a different story
:02:51. > :02:56.in farms like these across India. The Havers has been good this season
:02:57. > :03:04.and that has prevented the economy from a steep slide. This farmer
:03:05. > :03:08.grows wheat and mustered in his fields. Good rainfall over the past
:03:09. > :03:14.season has helped farmers like him, he says. The production of wheat in
:03:15. > :03:21.particular has increased substantially and that has put some
:03:22. > :03:25.money in their hands. TRANSLATION: During the season last year we had
:03:26. > :03:30.good celebrations. We could afford to spend some money. My son bought a
:03:31. > :03:33.car. But this is all thanks to the weather gods. Who knows how long it
:03:34. > :03:45.will last and what it would be like Visio? `` this year. The country
:03:46. > :03:49.cannot afford to take comfort from the 4.9% growth rate. Strong action
:03:50. > :03:53.from the government, making it easier to business, is what industry
:03:54. > :03:57.is calling for. Elections are due soon and many are hoping that if a
:03:58. > :04:02.stable government comes to power growth could turn a corner. Until
:04:03. > :04:12.then, things here in India are unlikely to pick up pace.
:04:13. > :04:16.To Ukraine now, where the International Monetary Fund say they
:04:17. > :04:18.will send a team in the coming days to assess the economic situation.
:04:19. > :04:22.Ukraine's finance ministry has warned it needs 35 billion dollars
:04:23. > :04:24.over the next two years to avoid defaulting on its debt. The
:04:25. > :04:28.political crisis has sent Ukraine's currency ` the hryvnia ` plunging.
:04:29. > :04:32.On Thursday it sank another five and a half per cent, falling to 10.7 to
:04:33. > :04:35.the US Dollar. That's the weakest since it was introduced back in
:04:36. > :04:38.1996. There could be tougher times ahead for Ukrainians too ` as any
:04:39. > :04:44.help from the IMF is likely to mean tough austerity measures. With me is
:04:45. > :04:53.Tim Ash, head of emerging markets research at Standard Bank.
:04:54. > :04:56.You have been looking at this story. The fact is that the IMF will want
:04:57. > :04:59.something back. What will stir at you have been looking at this story.
:05:00. > :05:04.The fact is that the IMF will want something back. What will stir it in
:05:05. > :05:07.lookalike in the needs to do some clear`cut things. Fiscal
:05:08. > :05:13.consolidation, cutting spending, raising revenues, to close the
:05:14. > :05:17.budget deficit. Energy sector reform is very important. The budget
:05:18. > :05:22.deficit, much of it, is because Ukraine has very high energy
:05:23. > :05:26.subsidies. The price that houses pay is about a fifth of the import
:05:27. > :05:30.price. Energy prices have to rise. It is important for getting rid of
:05:31. > :05:35.corruption. Other parts of the programme are likely to be
:05:36. > :05:38.exchange`rate liberalisation. We have already seen that, the currency
:05:39. > :05:44.is already becoming more competitive. There is also banking
:05:45. > :05:46.sector reform needed. The weaker exchange rate will create a hole in
:05:47. > :05:54.the banking sector which will need to be filled. What do you think this
:05:55. > :05:59.will mean in terms of political influence? It is different when
:06:00. > :06:06.Russia is offering money and the IMF is offering money. Ukraine is in the
:06:07. > :06:12.problem that it is on the economic front because it is not then run
:06:13. > :06:17.well for the past two decades. This is not free money. The IMF want
:06:18. > :06:23.meaningful and serious reforms. I mention these reforms earlier. It is
:06:24. > :06:26.also things like cleaning up the business environment, getting that
:06:27. > :06:31.of corruption, making Ukraine are good and interesting place for
:06:32. > :06:36.foreign investment. That will be a long and hard road, especially if we
:06:37. > :06:41.look at the currency and how it has been devalued. People are moving
:06:42. > :06:46.away from it as quickly as they can. It is a terrible situation at the
:06:47. > :06:52.moment. The financial and banking systems at the point of collapse.
:06:53. > :06:56.The IMF will initially tried to figure out what is going on. They
:06:57. > :06:59.will send a negotiating mission a couple of weeks after that to figure
:07:00. > :07:11.out the size of the programme on the specifics. Thank you very much.
:07:12. > :07:26.China's currency has also seen its biggest weekly fall, down almost a
:07:27. > :07:30.percentage point. `` daily fall. Let's talk to our correspondent. If
:07:31. > :07:34.you think about the Chinese currency, it is one of the most
:07:35. > :07:38.argued about when it comes to global trade. If you remember the
:07:39. > :07:47.accusations of the US, that's China keeps its currency artificially low
:07:48. > :07:53.to give exports and advantage. But the currency has actually been
:07:54. > :08:01.appreciating against the US dollar. Until now. It has dropped by about
:08:02. > :08:05.0.8% to a ten month low. That does not sound very much but you have to
:08:06. > :08:10.remember that the Chinese government limits how much the currency can
:08:11. > :08:15.move. That trading band is just 1% of either side of the day the
:08:16. > :08:23.reference rate. It could be heading for the biggest ever weekly loss.
:08:24. > :08:26.But will not go until later today. This fuel speculation that the
:08:27. > :08:34.central bank of China will double that trading band by the end of
:08:35. > :08:39.June. That makes sense when you realise that China wants to promote
:08:40. > :08:52.its currency for use in finance. That also helps to discourage
:08:53. > :08:54.speculators. Thank you very much. In other news, International
:08:55. > :08:57.Airlines Group ` formed from the merger between British Airways and
:08:58. > :09:00.Iberia ` reports annual results later this Friday. The group is
:09:01. > :09:03.expected to have bounced back after a torrid year of losses at the
:09:04. > :09:06.Spanish airline. Iberia has recently struck deals with cabin crew and
:09:07. > :09:09.pilots over new labour conditions designed to help it compete with low
:09:10. > :09:13.cost rivals and end a history of strikes.
:09:14. > :09:16.Talks are due to resume between the world's top three platinum producers
:09:17. > :09:21.and South Africa's striking AMCU union this Friday. The strike over
:09:22. > :09:25.pay is now in its fifth week and has taken out more than 40 per cent of
:09:26. > :09:28.global supply of the precious metal. Union bosses want basic wages more
:09:29. > :09:39.than doubled ` the mining firms are offering up to nine per cent. A
:09:40. > :10:14.brief look at the Asian markets. Some more news today. An independent
:10:15. > :10:15.assessment