: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.Action stations. The ECB is primed to launch stimulus measures today
:00:22. > :00:27.amid slumping growth and looming deflation. Plus, South Africa in a
:00:28. > :00:30.hole and still digging. Union bosses push for wider industrial action, as
:00:31. > :00:39.mining strikes push the country towards recession.
:00:40. > :00:54.Welcome to World Business Report, I'm Sally Bundock. Also, we will
:00:55. > :00:57.show you how markets are trading ahead of the key decision in
:00:58. > :00:59.Frankfurt today. All eyes are on the German financial capital Frankfurt,
:01:00. > :01:02.as businesses and markets around the world await the next move from the
:01:03. > :01:05.European Central Bank. It's widely expected to announce measures to
:01:06. > :01:11.boost the flagging economy across the 18 countries that use the
:01:12. > :01:15.`` use the euro. Here's the situation. Economic growth across
:01:16. > :01:17.the Eurozone slumped to just 0.2% between January and March, according
:01:18. > :01:20.to official figures out on Wednesday. It's only thanks to
:01:21. > :01:23.Germany that there was any growth at all. Many of its neighbours saw
:01:24. > :01:26.their economies stagnate or shrink. Then there are the fears of
:01:27. > :01:29.deflation. Prices in May were just half a per cent higher than a year
:01:30. > :01:36.ago, according to last month's inflation data. The ECB targets
:01:37. > :01:45.inflation of around 2%. It describes anything below 1% as the danger
:01:46. > :01:47.zone. What might the ECB do? Well, it's pretty much certain, say
:01:48. > :01:51.economists, that it will cut its benchmark interest rate, the amount
:01:52. > :01:58.banks pay to borrow money, from its already record low of 0.25%. The ECB
:01:59. > :02:03.could also introduce a negative deposit rate, effectively charging
:02:04. > :02:07.banks for holding onto their money. It's a way of leaning on them to
:02:08. > :02:10.lend it out. It's unlikely to join the Bank of England and US Federal
:02:11. > :02:19.Reserve in launching QE, printing money to buy up assets. Experts
:02:20. > :02:22.think it may keep that one in reserve. Nigel Cassidy reports now
:02:23. > :02:35.from Ireland, where businesses are hoping for action from the ECB.
:02:36. > :02:38.Selling more sweets to keep the business level. That's how this
:02:39. > :02:41.60`year`old confectionery wholesaler is coping in a place where they are
:02:42. > :02:45.in survival mode. Prices are falling. People might be more
:02:46. > :02:51.confident but they are repaying debt, not spending. When the squeeze
:02:52. > :02:55.is on, people have to box clever. These suites aren't selling well but
:02:56. > :03:01.these, which retail for 10 cents each, are selling much better.
:03:02. > :03:03.Ireland is out of its bailout but achieving consistent consumer
:03:04. > :03:09.spending is going to take a lot longer. It's not just spending, it
:03:10. > :03:13.is lending, or the lack of it. This boss says the ECB needs to wake up
:03:14. > :03:19.banks, once all too willing to offer loans. As the European bank has been
:03:20. > :03:24.dropping, the interest `` dropping interest rates, that a plus. More
:03:25. > :03:29.important is ensuring the banks pass on the benefits of those decreases
:03:30. > :03:33.to the likes of businesses, so that they can get access to funding at a
:03:34. > :03:36.reasonable rate and make the investments which will increase
:03:37. > :03:43.employment and develop the country further. I think anybody still in
:03:44. > :03:46.business today in Ireland is very successful because they have
:03:47. > :03:51.probably had the hardest five years they have ever had to go through. If
:03:52. > :03:54.you are still here and employing people and your business is still
:03:55. > :03:59.going and you are paying your bills, I think you need to be
:04:00. > :04:05.congratulated. This adviser says there's no shortage of new business
:04:06. > :04:08.ideas, only funding. The big issue is our banks are reducing their
:04:09. > :04:12.balance sheets at an enormous rate. It's quite difficult to reduce your
:04:13. > :04:15.balance sheet and be asking them to lend at the same time. They have
:04:16. > :04:20.become so risk averse, they are finding it difficult to actually
:04:21. > :04:25.lend. Many businesses or many bank managers have actually lost the
:04:26. > :04:31.ability to assess risk. The European Central Bank might move financial
:04:32. > :04:35.markets with its bank leading changes but altering behaviour on
:04:36. > :04:40.the ground is more difficult. A country that still bears the scars
:04:41. > :04:43.of those early years of euro membership and rather reckless
:04:44. > :04:45.borrowing and lending. Jan Randolph is Director of
:04:46. > :04:56.Sovereign Risk at IHS Global Insight.
:04:57. > :04:56.today? I think everyone is, both conventional, in the form of a lower
:04:57. > :05:02.cut in the base rate, park money overnight with the bank.
:05:03. > :05:17.And the range of measures, there effective do you think they will be?
:05:18. > :05:20.As we heard, the issue of banks lending is a key problem? It has
:05:21. > :05:24.been a problem for several years. Banks are blocking the transition
:05:25. > :05:26.from lower rates down through to the real economy, to people like you and
:05:27. > :05:33.me and companies, mainly because they are cleaning up their own
:05:34. > :05:36.balance sheets, sorting out bad loans, and also raising capital. It
:05:37. > :05:42.is difficult for that to work for the rest of us. How can that be
:05:43. > :05:47.fixed? It's interesting, the deposit rate... It will have a psychological
:05:48. > :05:50.impact. It sounds dramatic but the impact will be less in an attempt to
:05:51. > :05:56.ward off low inflation. We might see a weaker euro but that will be
:05:57. > :06:01.priced in. Banks might use the cheaper funding to invest overseas.
:06:02. > :06:07.The thing to watch out for is additional measures to circumvent
:06:08. > :06:11.the banks. Funding for lending. For example, the ECB might provide cheap
:06:12. > :06:14.credit to banks as long as they provide that to the real economy.
:06:15. > :06:19.That is the sort of thing to look out for. For those watching this
:06:20. > :06:24.morning in Europe thinking today is a big day, they might do something,
:06:25. > :06:30.Powell will it affect us? What impact will it have? Very little, I
:06:31. > :06:35.think. `` howl will it affect us? The thing to look out for are any
:06:36. > :06:41.unconventional measures. Things like funding for lending schemes. Thank
:06:42. > :06:45.you very much. As soon as we get the announcement from the ECB and the
:06:46. > :06:49.Bank of England, we will update you. What we need to tell you about South
:06:50. > :06:52.Africa. Mining output has seen its biggest slump since 1967, amid a
:06:53. > :06:55.five month strike that has crippled the platinum industry. The battle
:06:56. > :07:02.over pay in South Africa's mines is already threatening to push the
:07:03. > :07:04.country into recession. Now the Association of Mineworkers and
:07:05. > :07:11.Construction Union, AMCU, is asking a court for permission to widen its
:07:12. > :07:17.strike action to the gold industry. From Johannesburg, Lerato Mbele
:07:18. > :07:23.reports. This court in Johannesburg is where
:07:24. > :07:27.the application to strike on the gold mines will be decided. In March
:07:28. > :07:31.this year, they petitioned the courts to allow it to strike on the
:07:32. > :07:37.gold mines but the judgement was delayed until early June based on
:07:38. > :07:44.two reasons. Then needing more time to prepare for the strike and the
:07:45. > :07:49.second being the union encouraged by the mining companies. It has led
:07:50. > :07:54.major industrial action on the mines here. At the strike has been
:07:55. > :07:57.characterised by violence and intimidation and it is for this
:07:58. > :08:01.reason that the gold mining companies are insisting on ticketing
:08:02. > :08:09.rules. The cost of the strike has seen workers lose more than $700
:08:10. > :08:12.million in wages. `` picketing. The platinum mining companies have lost
:08:13. > :08:15.more than $2 billion in revenues. This is one of many industrial
:08:16. > :08:20.actions and court actions that AMCU has been involved in. Just this
:08:21. > :08:25.week, the court dismissed a petition by AMCU to stop the platinum miners
:08:26. > :08:33.from negotiating directly with workers. So, if the court rules
:08:34. > :08:38.against AMCU, it will be a second blow for the union. But if the court
:08:39. > :08:42.rules in favour of AMCU's bright strike on the gold sector, it will
:08:43. > :08:48.have a significant bearing on South Africa's mining economy, which is
:08:49. > :08:52.already suffering. `` right to strike.
:08:53. > :08:55.In other news, General Motors will release the findings later of its
:08:56. > :08:58.investigation into a recall of 2.6 million cars earlier this year.
:08:59. > :09:00.Specifically, why it took the company so long to act over an
:09:01. > :09:03.ignition switch fault in cars including the Chevy Cobalt, which
:09:04. > :09:09.engineers at the firm knew about more than a decade ago. GM admits it
:09:10. > :09:14.caused at least 13 deaths but lawyers suing the auto giant claim
:09:15. > :09:16.the death toll is at least 60. Revenues in the UK's football
:09:17. > :09:21.Premier League hit a record ?3.2 billion this season. That's
:09:22. > :09:24.according to an annual review of football finance by consultants
:09:25. > :09:28.Deloitte. The growth is the biggest in the big five leagues which also
:09:29. > :09:32.includes Germany, France, Italy and Spain and has been driven by new
:09:33. > :09:45.broadcast deals. However, three quarters of those earnings were
:09:46. > :09:49.spent on player wages. Let's have a look at the markets to
:09:50. > :09:54.have a sense of how things are going. The clients right across the
:09:55. > :09:59.board. These markets are treading very cautiously ahead of the
:10:00. > :10:09.decision from the ECB. `` declines. See you soon.
:10:10. > :10:14.A group of people who suffered birth defects because their pregnant
:10:15. > :10:16.mothers were given the drug thalidomide are taking fresh legal
:10:17. > :10:22.action against its manufacturer and distributor. Eight victims are
:10:23. > :10:28.seeking compensation, more than 50 years after their mums took the
:10:29. > :10:29.anti`morning sickness tablets. Our Legal Affairs Correspondent