:00:00. > :00:00.the latest headlines from BBC World News.
:00:00. > :00:15.Now for the latest financial news with Alice.
:00:16. > :00:20.Strong quarters from Apple and Facebook cheer investors. So has
:00:21. > :00:25.confidence returned to the tech sector? Plus ` Formula One chief
:00:26. > :00:28.Bernie Ecclestone faces a German court on bribery charges ` if
:00:29. > :00:37.convicted the billionaire faces up to ten years in jail.
:00:38. > :00:45.Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Alice Baxter.
:00:46. > :00:47.In a moment ` one year on from the Raynor Plaza disaster ` what's
:00:48. > :00:52.really changed in Bangladesh's textile trade?
:00:53. > :00:55.Shares of technology companies have been punished over the past month or
:00:56. > :01:05.so amid fears that the "tech bubble" may be bursting. We have certainly
:01:06. > :01:08.been talking about it a lot here. In other words ` that their growth
:01:09. > :01:11.simply can't justify their huge stock market valuations. Well `
:01:12. > :01:14.there's been relief on Wall Street with strong results after the
:01:15. > :01:17.closing bell from two of the biggest names in the business. First
:01:18. > :01:20.Facebook ` it proved it's still growing strongly, with revenues of
:01:21. > :01:28.2.5 billion dollars in the three months to March ` up 72 % on the
:01:29. > :01:33.same time last year. Then came the news from Apple. It made a massive
:01:34. > :01:36.45.6 billion dollars in revenue over the same period ` the best
:01:37. > :01:44.non`holiday quarter ever ` thanks to booming iPhone sales in China. Apple
:01:45. > :01:49.also says it's splitting its shares seven ways to make them more
:01:50. > :01:55.affordable to small investors. So an Apple share will be around 70
:01:56. > :02:02.dollars instead of 500. And it's returning another 30 billion dollars
:02:03. > :02:11.to investors. All this is aimed at keeping shareholders on side. From
:02:12. > :02:16.New York ` here's Samira Hussain. Two American tech giants that are
:02:17. > :02:20.painting very different pictures. Facebook has delivered earnings that
:02:21. > :02:25.investors really like. It was a huge quarter for Facebook. They spent
:02:26. > :02:31.more than $20 billion buying the messaging app, What's App and the
:02:32. > :02:36.virtually reality firm. Signs that Facebook is expanding its horizons.
:02:37. > :02:41.But they also surpassed 1 billion monthly users on mobiles. Since 59%
:02:42. > :02:48.of their advertising revenue came from mobiles, more users mean more
:02:49. > :02:54.and money. The revenue is up by more than 70% and the revenue from
:02:55. > :03:01.advertising is up by more than 80%. But the story is as juicy for Apple.
:03:02. > :03:06.The company that championed a listening of byproducts has not been
:03:07. > :03:14.able to deliver anything new that eye`catching. The pressure continues
:03:15. > :03:17.to mount on the CEO, Tim Cook. Apple is taking steps to play the
:03:18. > :03:24.investors by sharing more of the $150 billion it has in cash. As it
:03:25. > :03:29.is as consumers, saying that new products are coming soon, .
:03:30. > :03:32.Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone goes on trial in Munich later this
:03:33. > :03:42.Thursday on bribery charges that could lead to a prison term of up to
:03:43. > :03:45.ten years if he is convicted. The trial could spell the end of the
:03:46. > :03:50.83`year`old Ecclestone's career running F1, which he turned into a
:03:51. > :03:55.billion dollar business. He says he intends to 'vigorously defend the
:03:56. > :03:59.case'. Let's talk to the BBC's correspondent in Berlin ` Stephen
:04:00. > :04:06.Evans. Talk us through the charges against
:04:07. > :04:11.Bernie Ecclestone. Bribery is the main charge and it is a complicated
:04:12. > :04:16.case, it goes back to when a Bavarian bank owned a stake. 47% of
:04:17. > :04:21.Formula 1 which it wanted to sell. Bernie Ecclestone, it is alleged,
:04:22. > :04:25.wanted that fail to go to a particular company with which he had
:04:26. > :04:30.a connection. He wanted to remain in charge of Formula 1 and he thought,
:04:31. > :04:36.so the allegation is, if the sale went to this company, he would stay
:04:37. > :04:41.in the top job. A payment of $44 million was made to a banker in that
:04:42. > :04:47.Bavarian bank. No dispute that money was paid, is to be about whether it
:04:48. > :04:52.was legally paid or whether it a corrupt payment. The competition for
:04:53. > :04:57.Bernie Ecclestone is that the banker has already been found guilty of
:04:58. > :05:03.corruption and is currently in jail. The banker will testify in court
:05:04. > :05:08.against the Nicholson. But it Ecclestone vehemently denies he is
:05:09. > :05:15.innocent `` Bernie Ecclestone, he says there is no wrongdoing and the
:05:16. > :05:23.payment was legitimate. That will play out over the next eight weeks
:05:24. > :05:26.once a week in this court in Munich. It is a complicated case for all of
:05:27. > :05:31.those reasons. Talk us through the process. Will Bernie Ecclestone be
:05:32. > :05:38.asked to appear in court himself? He has already appeared for this judge
:05:39. > :05:43.before, hasn't he? It is the same judge who tried the recipient of the
:05:44. > :05:47.money. He will appear, he said he wants to clear his name. He will be
:05:48. > :05:55.the evidence, he has no choice about it. There is a deal, obviously
:05:56. > :05:59.Germany and Britain are in the EU, same judicial system in lots of
:06:00. > :06:04.ways. He have to appear but he has that anywhere, I want to appear. I
:06:05. > :06:07.will be there, I will put the case. We will have to wait and see what
:06:08. > :06:09.comes out of the courtroom. Thank you.
:06:10. > :06:12.A year ago today Bangladesh witnessed its worst ever industrial
:06:13. > :06:15.disaster when a garment factory complex ` known as Raynor Plaza `
:06:16. > :06:20.collapsed killing more than 1100 people. It severely damaged the
:06:21. > :06:22.image of Bangladesh's clothing industry, which exported more than
:06:23. > :06:28.twenty`two billion dollars of clothes last year. The BBC's
:06:29. > :06:30.Anbarasan Ethirajan who extensively reported during the disaster looks
:06:31. > :06:42.at what has changed since then. This woman was lucky enough to
:06:43. > :06:45.survive the disaster. She was among hundreds of women working inside the
:06:46. > :06:51.complex when it came crashing down last year. Trapped under the rubble,
:06:52. > :06:59.she was rescued two days after the disaster. Her mangled legs had to be
:07:00. > :07:06.amputated. TRANSLATION: I am borrowing money to survive. My
:07:07. > :07:15.husband is taking care of me and he has no time to go to work. Who will
:07:16. > :07:20.look after me and do the housework? One year later, I am still waiting
:07:21. > :07:22.for my full compensation. That is because Western brands and retailers
:07:23. > :07:25.have so far contributed only $15 million to a $40 million fund to
:07:26. > :07:33.compensate victims and their families. Money has only just
:07:34. > :07:42.started trickling down and it is likely to take months to reach the
:07:43. > :07:47.victims. Thousands were saved from the rubble. It was a Bangladesh's
:07:48. > :07:58.worst ever industrial disaster. More than 1100 people were killed. The
:07:59. > :08:07.disaster was a major wake`up call for the clothing sector. A series of
:08:08. > :08:10.measures have been taken in the last year. The minimum monthly wage for
:08:11. > :08:14.workers has been increased from $38 per month to $68. Western retailers
:08:15. > :08:16.have also set up a fund to help improve safety standards in the
:08:17. > :08:19.clothing industry in Bangladesh. Around 200 new safety inspectors
:08:20. > :08:26.will be appointed to try and prevent another major collapse or fire in
:08:27. > :08:32.the factories. For others who escaped, they are back at work in
:08:33. > :08:39.new jobs. Safer factories but life has not been easy. TRANSLATION: I do
:08:40. > :08:52.not want to work any more. I get flashbacks about those horrible
:08:53. > :08:57.days. I cannot sleep properly as I have nightmares. I don't have any
:08:58. > :09:01.option as we are poor. My father and brother are no more. We have to work
:09:02. > :09:04.to pay our bills. Learning the lessons from the disaster is crucial
:09:05. > :09:06.to the economy. The clothing sector represent nearly 80% of exports but
:09:07. > :09:10.while Western retailers say they want safety to improve, they have
:09:11. > :09:17.not been shy to warn they will go elsewhere if cost is rise to high.
:09:18. > :09:22.`` too high. In other news. General Electric is
:09:23. > :09:27.in talks to buy French engineering giant Alstom for 13 billion dollars
:09:28. > :09:30.` according to Bloomberg news. The report claims a deal could be
:09:31. > :09:33.announced as early as next week. Alstom ` whose products include wind
:09:34. > :09:37.turbines and trains ` has been hit by a drop in orders from power
:09:38. > :09:43.companies amid a fall in electricity prices ` and announced 1300 job cuts
:09:44. > :09:51.last year. A spokeswoman for the company described the report as
:09:52. > :09:56."totally unfounded rumours". If you want to get in touch with me, I am
:09:57. > :10:14.on Twitter. I would love to hear from you.
:10:15. > :10:15.Many thanks to Alice. The number of older people needing