28/04/2014 World Business Report

Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News. Now for the latest

financial news in World Business Report.

President Obama leaves Malaysia to fly to the last leg of his week`long

tour of Asia where demonstrators rallied against his push for a free

trade deal. We bring you up to date.

2014 marks 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and, with it, the

collapse of communism. We take a look at how the countries behind the

Iron Curtain have changed, starting in Germany.

Welcome to World Business Report. In a minute, we'll be looking at the

Brazil economy which is looking unfit ahead of the World Cup. First:

Security and economic ties will dominate President Obama's visit to

the Philippines, his final stop on a week`long tour of four Asian

countries. He's due into Manila in about an hour, flying in from

Malaysia where demonstrators rallied against his push for a free trade

deal, the Trans`Pacific Partnership, which includes 12 nations around the

Pacific Rim. It looks like an uphill battle to get Malaysia to sign up,

after worries it'll lead to higher prices for food and medicines.

Jennifer Pak is in Kuala Lumpur to bring us up to date what happened in

the Malyasian leg of the tour. How would you assess his success

rate in Malaysia? President Obama and the Prime Minister has said that

the visit is nothing short of historic. He is the first US

president to come to this country in 48 years. In that time, China has

become the biggest trading partner of Malaysia. The US wants to get

involved and increase its economic ties. We saw in the case of the

missing airliner that the US and Malaysia are close but economically,

it is not up there. The US has dropped to the fourth largest

trading partner for Malaysia. The ten nations in South East Asia are

one of the fourth largest trading partners of the US in terms of

exporters. It is an important strategic partner. Mr Obama didn't

quite get the commitment required or the controversial deal you were

talking about, The Trans`Pacific Partnership. This is a free`trade

deal which is controversial locally there are ethnic Malay groups

concerned that there privileges over other races will be reduced under

the deal. We do not know a lot of details about this. A legion

officials have been quite guarded about what they will and will not

reveal, what they are actually discussing. It has been difficult to

assess the impact. A lot of people here are concerned about the prices

of commodities will go up if it is signed with the US. President Obama

has assured that the US is not bullying Malaysia to sign a deal.

Malaysia has said that it will attempt to work out some of the

sensitivities that local people have. Still a long way to go. Not

the commitment required that a good step forward. The partnership has

been hailed, moving forward into the new era. Described as a start but

still an uphill struggle to get all of the nation to sign up to the TPP

pact. This year sees the 25th anniversary

of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism. In the

first of a series of reports, Tanya Beckett looks at how the countries

behind the Iron Curtain have changed. We're starting in Germany,

the most visibly divided. East Germany benefited from trillions of

euros of investment from the west but some are critical of the

reunification process. A momentous night in Berlin, 25

years ago. There was jubilation as Germans from East and West were

reunited for the first time in nearly three decades. On November

nine in 1989, Germans celebrated here at the Brandenburg gate in

Berlin. The wall which had divided them for nearly 30 years was coming

down. As they call at the brick with hammers and chisels, what was

perhaps harder to grasp was that the road ahead would bring more

difficult challenges. `` tore at the brick. What followed was an

absorption of the economy of the east by that of the West. You could

not imagine that there would be no wall in Berlin but it happened. This

German financial minister was a key figure. I don't know how many

mistakes we made but the biggest mistake would have been to not have

acted. He economy was not competitive. They were not

competitive. This is one of the few remaining parts of the Berlin Wall.

These two were at school in the east. They described how the

aftermath was felt in their communities. The industry collapsed

in a short time. More than 2 million people lost work. There was hardly

any industry left in east Germany. People had to move to West Germany

and begin from scratch. They felt all the time that they were

second`class citizens. There was a mistake that people said that you

had your attempt and your socialist ideas but you obviously failed.

Now, you have to begin all over again. No part of German society,

including the student in Berlin, would wish for a return of the wall.

Many a fact `` except that it could take another generation to close the

gap which it created. `` accept the fact.

With little over a month until kick`off, the spotlight is very much

on Brazil right now. The country won the right to host the World Cup

during a period of huge economic growth but since then, that growth

has been spluttering. Economists expect the economy to grow just 2%

this year, compared with more than 7% in 2010. And one of the biggest

issues the country's facing at the moment is rising prices ` inflation

remains stubbornly high at around 6%. Katy Watson now reports.

It is market today in south polo. People here are doing their weekly

shop, the cost of each keeps rising. `` Sao Paulo. Inflation is a

sensitive problem here. The hike in bus prices sparked widespread

protests around the country. With presidential elections coming up

later this year, inflation is a real focal point, something that will not

go away during the World Cup. The critics are more vocal. This

Facebook page which highlights high prices has more than 2000 followers.

Some of them are celebrating today at a picnic. They say that there is

more work to be done, especially ahead of the World Cup. The memory

of hyperinflation in the 1980s and 1990s still feels recent. During the

worst of times, prices rose more than 2000% per year. People need not

worry about the past repeating itself according to this man. He

should know. He was finance minister during those times. Everytime

inflation rises, it gets crazy. People manifested their opinion in

the opinion polls and production drops. The President is forced to

act to support the central bank in order to cut expenses in order to

avoid runaway inflation. It would mean electoral defeat. Back at the

market, the sellers are trying to convince shoppers that their food is

cheap. People are finding it harder and harder to believe.

In other news: Germany's Siemens says it wants to talk to the maker

of TGV high`speed trains Alstom about strategic opportunities

raising the prospect of a takeover tussle for the firm. It follows

reports that General Electric also wants to buy the company.

The British Government is facing a rebellion over the controversial

multi`billion dollar HS2 high`speed rail link when politicians vote

later today. The HS2 link will run between London, the Midlands and the

North of England and is expected to cost over $71 billion. Those

opposing want a cheaper and more environmentally sympathetic route.

Looking at the market now. For the most part, Asian shares wavered. An

uninspiring performance on Wall Street and its increasing tension in

Ukraine. Thank you for that. We will get to

the papers in a moment. But first: The BBC has learned that the police

are reviewing evidence to see if there's enough to justify a criminal

investigation into allegations of a cover`up of child abuse linked to

the late Liberal MP, Sir Cyril Smith. Our political correspondent,

Victoria Young,