:00:00. > :00:00.Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News. Now for the latest
:00:00. > :00:16.financial news in World Business Report.
:00:17. > :00:21.The threat of economic sanctions - the US and Europe weigh the options
:00:22. > :00:28.in a bid to isolate Russia and de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine.
:00:29. > :00:30.The final frontier as investors and governments eye the potential of the
:00:31. > :00:40.Arctic region environmentalists prepare for a battle.
:00:41. > :00:45.Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. Also in the
:00:46. > :00:49.programme: Singapore's topped the list as the most expensive city in
:00:50. > :00:56.the world. We'll talk to our team there to find out why. But first: As
:00:57. > :00:58.you've been hearing, tensions continue to rise across the globe
:00:59. > :01:03.over Russia's military actions in Ukraine. As the world rushes to find
:01:04. > :01:06.a diplomatic solution, powers in the West are weighing up what economic
:01:07. > :01:09.action they can take that could force Russia out of Crimea. So what
:01:10. > :01:13.options do the Europeans and Americans have?
:01:14. > :01:15.The UK Prime Minister, David Cameron says economic and financial
:01:16. > :01:22.sanctions will ensure Russia pays significant costs for these
:01:23. > :01:24.aggressive actions. Details are currently scarce but the measures
:01:25. > :01:26.would include financial sanctions and blocking visas for Russian
:01:27. > :01:30.businesspeople wanting to visit the EU. The US Secretary of State, John
:01:31. > :01:40.Kerry, has said they could also freeze assets and ban visas. And all
:01:41. > :01:50.trade talks and planning meetings for investment conferences have been
:01:51. > :01:55.suspended. So how could these measures impact Russia's economy?
:01:56. > :01:58.And with the rouble already at a record low, and Russian shares in
:01:59. > :02:00.free fall, how much longer will the Russian people support their
:02:01. > :02:04.leader's military actions? With me now is Joshua Raymond, Chief Market
:02:05. > :02:11.Strategist at city Index. Good morning. There is a split in the
:02:12. > :02:15.Russian press this morning. Some say that it is good for the economy. The
:02:16. > :02:21.weaker currency will help manufacturers. Oil prices are going
:02:22. > :02:25.up. Others say that Black Monday it has impacted the Russian economy
:02:26. > :02:31.badly. The Russian stock market fell between ten and 14%. If you are
:02:32. > :02:39.investing in Russian stocks, that is a problem. -- 10% and 14%. Russia
:02:40. > :02:44.has a natural hedge against these potential volatility is and concerns
:02:45. > :02:51.because gas prices have risen. Gas will be delivered in the next month
:02:52. > :02:56.have had prices raised by 10%. Russia controls most pipelines to
:02:57. > :03:01.Europe, most of which go through Ukraine. The low currency means that
:03:02. > :03:07.currencies will be in demand -- exports will be in demand. That is a
:03:08. > :03:11.hedge to this uncertainty. You could argue that on one side of it, it
:03:12. > :03:17.goes towards Russian strengths as opposed to witnesses. President
:03:18. > :03:21.Putin got the backing for military action in Ukraine. To what extent is
:03:22. > :03:24.he concerned about the rhetoric coming from the West about economic
:03:25. > :03:32.sanctions. But it put pressure on him? My opinion is that he isn't
:03:33. > :03:37.getting much pressure. We have been through this before although on a
:03:38. > :03:41.smaller scale in Georgia we had a similar situation where Russia moved
:03:42. > :03:47.to protect their pipelines. The one thing I would say that Russia tend
:03:48. > :03:54.to be aggressive early on and Europe and the West and the G-7 tend to
:03:55. > :03:57.talk up significant hostilities in terms of moves they could make and
:03:58. > :04:02.we have already started to see that layout. Whether Vladimir Putin is
:04:03. > :04:10.aptly shaking his boots right now, I doubt that. Russia holds the cards.
:04:11. > :04:13.They have their troops in Premier already protecting the Black Sea and
:04:14. > :04:15.the fleet and are protecting their assets and pipelines. The Russian
:04:16. > :04:21.Parliament is booked -- backing him as well. Troops are not only in
:04:22. > :04:26.Crimea but ready to go into Ukraine if needed. What impact will this
:04:27. > :04:31.have if this were to escalate and worsen and therefore sanctions were
:04:32. > :04:36.to be applied on London and the City? Russia is a big part of
:04:37. > :04:40.London, isn't it? To commit sanctions could hurt London. London
:04:41. > :04:44.being the hub of the UK economy, the UK more than other countries if you
:04:45. > :04:47.look at where Russian assets are, they buy properties here and their
:04:48. > :04:52.cash is in Western banks including some in London. If you look at what
:04:53. > :04:56.economic sanctions would be doing in terms of freezing Russian assets, it
:04:57. > :04:59.could hurt London more than people expect.
:05:00. > :05:03.We appreciate your perspective. We are keeping you up-to-date on this
:05:04. > :05:07.story day by day as it progresses. Let's look at Singapore. Singapore
:05:08. > :05:10.has topped the list of 131 cities globally to become the world's most
:05:11. > :05:12.expensive city to live in according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
:05:13. > :05:16.The city's strong currency combined with the high cost of running a car
:05:17. > :05:19.and soaring utility bills are seen as some of the reasons why. It's
:05:20. > :05:25.also the most expensive place in the world to buy clothes. So Singapore
:05:26. > :05:28.tops the list. Then in second place there is Paris.
:05:29. > :05:34.Followed by Oslo, then Zurich and in fifth place is Sydney, Australia.
:05:35. > :05:40.Let's get more on this story from a person living in the most expensive
:05:41. > :05:45.city. Leisha Chi joins me now from Singapore.
:05:46. > :05:54.I am concerned that we have a whole team of people in Singapore. Tell us
:05:55. > :05:58.how you are coping. Why is it so expensive? I've lived here for over
:05:59. > :06:03.a decade and four years and years, it has become a lot more expensive.
:06:04. > :06:08.It might be time to look at that salary negotiation once again. As
:06:09. > :06:13.you mentioned, it has to do with the rising transport utility and costs
:06:14. > :06:18.in retail. Understanding the central district district. If I went to a
:06:19. > :06:24.bar or restaurant down and get a small bottle of wine, it would be
:06:25. > :06:27.$25. A pint of beer is $14 and that is higher than you would get in
:06:28. > :06:32.another capital such as London or New York. A lot of this has to do
:06:33. > :06:37.with the currency fluctuations. The Singaporean dollar has gained 14%
:06:38. > :06:40.invaluable past decade as well as a steady rise in inflation in this
:06:41. > :06:46.country. That has made everything more expensive. Singapore is the
:06:47. > :06:49.third most expensive country in which to pay for water and
:06:50. > :06:56.electricity because this island has no natural resources and have to
:06:57. > :07:00.import it all, Sally. The worrying the most expensive city but which
:07:01. > :07:07.were the cheapest? According to the survey, some of the cheaper cities
:07:08. > :07:11.are in Asia. You have New Delhi and Mumbai topping the list of cheapest
:07:12. > :07:15.cities and this has a lot to do with the income equality that we get on
:07:16. > :07:18.the subcontinent. With millions of people living under the poverty
:07:19. > :07:23.line, you need a range of goods and services to cater to families. Other
:07:24. > :07:29.cheap cities include Nepal as well as Damascus in Syria which is all
:07:30. > :07:32.the value of the Syrian pound fall dramatically due to instability
:07:33. > :07:36.that. Thank you for that.
:07:37. > :07:40.There's no doubting the final frontier when it comes to the global
:07:41. > :07:43.search for new natural resources or new sea routes. It's the Arctic. The
:07:44. > :07:52.very idea of exploiting it horrifies environmentalists. But oil, mining,
:07:53. > :07:55.and shipping companies are already dipping their toes into the frozen
:07:56. > :07:58.waters. This morning in London, the business and geopolitical future of
:07:59. > :08:01.the region will be debated at an Arctic summit lasting two days. With
:08:02. > :08:02.hundreds of billions of dollars at stake, business, governments,
:08:03. > :08:07.environmentalists, and Arctic residents have to navigate some
:08:08. > :08:15.choppy waters. Nigel Cassidy sets the scene as the summit begins.
:08:16. > :08:22.It is the not quite frozen Arctic, the world 's high zero. Nowhere on
:08:23. > :08:29.the planet is warming any faster. This is the retreating sea ice, in
:08:30. > :08:34.this case over Greenland. It is a silent call to shipping. Led by
:08:35. > :08:38.Russian icebreakers, this German vessel is part of the first Western
:08:39. > :08:42.Fleet to navigate the new north-east passage from Asia to Europe. It cuts
:08:43. > :08:49.the previous journey time by at least ten days although little more
:08:50. > :08:52.than 70 ships per year are so far using the route. It is what lies
:08:53. > :09:00.beneath that is contracting investors. -- attracting. Few doubt
:09:01. > :09:05.that the resources are vast. The Arctic apparently accounts for 13%
:09:06. > :09:11.of the world's undiscovered oil, 30% of the undiscovered natural gas and
:09:12. > :09:16.20% of the liquid is of natural gas. Hydrocarbon relied Russia has been
:09:17. > :09:22.the biggest initial investor in these fragile and inhospitable
:09:23. > :09:27.fields. Recent events have tempered the initial Arctic Russia. Shell has
:09:28. > :09:35.pulled back from the Alaskan operations after sinking $5 billion
:09:36. > :09:41.there. BP's raised new questions. Deepwater horizon tragedy in Mexico
:09:42. > :09:45.-- the Gulf of Mexico had a big influence on the way countries like
:09:46. > :09:51.the US and Canada and Greenland thought about regulating the Arctic.
:09:52. > :09:56.That has really led to the imposition of March heavier
:09:57. > :09:59.requirements, conditions on oil companies operating there. They need
:10:00. > :10:04.to demonstrate that they can clean up an oil spill which is not an easy
:10:05. > :10:09.task. It is not just oil companies acting in the Arctic which faced the
:10:10. > :10:13.right of environmentalists. Economic development of the entire region is
:10:14. > :10:16.fraught with risks as this latest summit in London brings together
:10:17. > :10:20.many of those with very different ideas as to what constitutes
:10:21. > :10:26.sustainable development in the high North.
:10:27. > :10:30.A quick look at the markets before I say goodbye. In Australia, the bank
:10:31. > :10:36.of Australia kept interest rates at 2.5%. You can see the market in Asia
:10:37. > :10:40.are bouncing back after significant falls yesterday out of fear of what
:10:41. > :10:43.is going on in Ukraine. The close in the US as you can see, shares
:10:44. > :10:45.falling there because of worries about the situation. I'll see you
:10:46. > :11:01.soon. Part-time child-care now costs more
:11:02. > :11:05.than the average mortgage according to a new report. The research by the
:11:06. > :11:07.Family and Childcare Trust shows that childcare costs across Britain
:11:08. > :11:09.continue to rise faster than inflation, though prices in England
:11:10. > :11:11.have fallen slightly over the