:00:00. > :00:00.BBC World News. Now for the latest financial news,
:00:00. > :00:16.and World Business Report. Let's go over to Sally.
:00:17. > :00:25.A new perspective on the smartphone, or just a gimmick? Amazon bets on 3D
:00:26. > :00:28.as it takes on the giants of the handset market.
:00:29. > :00:30.Plus, a new record close on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve
:00:31. > :00:49.reassures investors that the US recovery is on track.
:00:50. > :00:53.Welcome to World Business Report. Also in the programme, London's
:00:54. > :00:58.future as a training hub for the Chinese currency, we hear from one
:00:59. > :01:02.of China's top bankers. But first, it is dominating online retailing,
:01:03. > :01:05.its Kindle device has made inroads into the world of tablets, but can
:01:06. > :01:08.Amazon really take on Apple and Samsung in the fiercely competitive
:01:09. > :01:11.smartphone market? On Wednesday at an event in Seattle the company
:01:12. > :01:16.unveiled the handset it hopes will do just that. It's called the Fire
:01:17. > :01:26.Phone ` the most striking difference about it is a 3D display that works
:01:27. > :01:31.by detecting your head movements. Will it shake up the market? From
:01:32. > :01:37.Seattle, Richard Taylor sends this report.
:01:38. > :01:40.Disrupting again, the Amazon founder had promised us something a bit
:01:41. > :01:47.different, and, within minutes, he delivered. I hope that you guys have
:01:48. > :01:53.as much fun using this phone as we had building it. Here it is, the new
:01:54. > :01:57.Amazon Firephone, it looks like a standard smart phone with a decent
:01:58. > :02:02.back camera, 13 megapixels, and what is more interesting is the forefront
:02:03. > :02:05.cameras here. They are infrared, meaning the phone can track my
:02:06. > :02:10.facial movements and my eyes. As a result, the handset adjusts my view
:02:11. > :02:16.of the screen to give an impressive 3`D effect which Amazon is calling
:02:17. > :02:19."dynamic perspective" . Application developers can use at a number of
:02:20. > :02:25.ways, for example, when browsing on a map to reveal information or when
:02:26. > :02:33.shopping on the Amazon store `` use it in a number of ways. It has also
:02:34. > :02:38.created firefly, which recognises 100 million objects, or products,
:02:39. > :02:43.because it can provide a seamless way for users to link to the
:02:44. > :02:51.retailer itself. It will stand out, it is very different. It can be seen
:02:52. > :02:54.as innovative or a gimmick. There were other features like the May Day
:02:55. > :02:59.live help feature, but the aim is to ensure that Amazon is growing empire
:03:00. > :03:04.is front and centre of our everyday interactions. The goal is to provide
:03:05. > :03:12.great products, first and foremost, and we think that using these
:03:13. > :03:16.phones, our customers can enjoy the music and services we offer. It is
:03:17. > :03:20.bringing a unique perspective to the smart phone market, but it is an
:03:21. > :03:24.arena where other established technology players have fallen. Only
:03:25. > :03:29.two, Apple and Samsung, make real money. The boss spoke of the
:03:30. > :03:31.challenges of developing the Firephone over several years. You
:03:32. > :03:40.cannot help feeling that his greatest challenge lies ahead
:03:41. > :03:44.still. What do you think? Send us in your thoughts on Twitter.
:03:45. > :03:51.We are having a conversation about it at the moment. Now, let's talk
:03:52. > :03:54.about Wall Street. Traders have been celebrating yet another record day
:03:55. > :03:57.for the stock market. The S 500 index closed at
:03:58. > :04:03.1,956.98, beating its record set on June ninth to set a new all time
:04:04. > :04:06.closing high. A wider index of global markets, the
:04:07. > :04:09.MSCI, also closed at a record high.This might seem a strange
:04:10. > :04:16.reaction given the Federal Reserve cut the stimulus money it pumps into
:04:17. > :04:24.the economy again. It also cut US growth forecasts for this year. But
:04:25. > :04:30.in her comments, Fed chief Janet Yellen seemed to be in no rush to
:04:31. > :04:34.raise interest rates. She was pretty upbeat. Let's see how the comments
:04:35. > :04:41.are going down in Asia. Rico Hizon is in our Singapore studio.
:04:42. > :04:47.Good to see you. I am assuming Asia is following suit? Absolutely, yes
:04:48. > :04:52.indeed. A lot of optimism here in the regional markets, from Japan,
:04:53. > :04:58.Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, two pieces of good news. For Asian
:04:59. > :05:05.investors. There was a positive assessment of the economy, low
:05:06. > :05:11.interest rates in the long`term. Asian central banks will likely keep
:05:12. > :05:15.them cost of money low, that will prop up the economy without high
:05:16. > :05:22.interest rates from the US. And in improving American economy, which
:05:23. > :05:26.trend. That would help the export trend. That would help the export
:05:27. > :05:33.driven economies, like China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, the
:05:34. > :05:39.Philippines. Consumers here by cars, electronic gadgets, garments,
:05:40. > :05:49.and food from Asia. It is positive for Asian traders `` buy. Thank you
:05:50. > :05:52.very much. From today China will start allowing
:05:53. > :05:56.its currency, the Yuan or renminbi, to be traded directly with the
:05:57. > :05:59.British pound for the first time. In the past, British and Chinese firms
:06:00. > :06:01.doing business with each other had to change their money into US
:06:02. > :06:05.dollars first. China Construction Bank will set up a clearing bank for
:06:06. > :06:10.renminbi, known as RMB, transactions here in London, the first outside
:06:11. > :06:16.Asia. Our Business Editor Kamal Ahmed spoke to its Chairman, Wang
:06:17. > :06:19.Hongzhang. He started by asking him about
:06:20. > :06:29.London's importance as a currency trading centre.
:06:30. > :06:40.TRANSLATION: London is a important financial centre, looking at its
:06:41. > :06:43.history, the internationalisation of many currencies started there. What
:06:44. > :06:46.does it tell us about the liberalisation of China and the
:06:47. > :06:51.approach to the Western world? The buildup of London as a centre of R
:06:52. > :06:58.and B is an inevitable step, China is the second largest economy in the
:06:59. > :07:01.world `` RMB. It has boosted the cross`border settlement of RMB.
:07:02. > :07:05.Could China construction bank look at investing in infrastructure in
:07:06. > :07:11.the UK, like high speed two, or nuclear power? We are actively
:07:12. > :07:22.following any opportunities abroad with rapidly economic growth between
:07:23. > :07:26.China and the UK. And we recommend to our clients the best ways to
:07:27. > :07:30.establish operations in the UK. We spare no effort in providing
:07:31. > :07:37.financing to facilitate enterprises in the UK and China. Chinese banks
:07:38. > :07:41.are very big, well capitalised, do you think banks established here
:07:42. > :07:47.have anything to worry about? The development of China's banks in the
:07:48. > :07:52.West? I don't think this worry is well grounded. During my visits to
:07:53. > :07:57.the UK, I spoke to many chairmen and CEOs of British banks. None
:07:58. > :08:02.expressed worries or concerns about CCB surpassing them in the local
:08:03. > :08:05.market. It is a big bank in China, but the proportion of overseas
:08:06. > :08:10.operations is quite low. We have a five`year plan for those operations
:08:11. > :08:13.and we plan to establish a network abroad by 2015, and we aim to have
:08:14. > :08:19.the local economies we have set up in. How important is it to Chinese
:08:20. > :08:25.investment in the UK that Britain remains a member of the European
:08:26. > :08:29.Union? I am no expert on this, it has not been my focus. You are going
:08:30. > :08:34.to have a referendum, so the people will have the final say, we are
:08:35. > :08:36.living in an age of globalisation, and the relationships between
:08:37. > :08:41.countries have been closer and closer, whether the UK is in the EU
:08:42. > :08:49.or not, that will do no home to trade and economic ties. `` harm. If
:08:50. > :08:52.the UK stays in the EU or not, it will not have any impact on
:08:53. > :08:57.relations between the UK and China economically.
:08:58. > :09:00.In other news: The boss of General Electric will unveil an improved
:09:01. > :09:03.offer for part of French engineering giant Alstom later today, according
:09:04. > :09:06.to several reports. GE is trying to buy Alstom's power business in a
:09:07. > :09:09.near`17 billion dollar deal, but is facing rival bids by Siemens of
:09:10. > :09:23.Germany and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Alstom's board is due to
:09:24. > :09:29.announce its decision by Monday. The chief executive of Sony Kazuo
:09:30. > :09:33.Hirai, says he's not thinking of splitting off or floating company's
:09:34. > :09:35.entertainment business. He was responding to a question at the
:09:36. > :09:38.company's annual shareholder meeting. Sony rejected a proposal
:09:39. > :09:42.last year by a hedge fund investor to split the company. Mr Hirai did
:09:43. > :09:45.admit that Sony had been too slow to react to tough conditions for its
:09:46. > :09:48.electronics division ` which he has failed to make profitable despite
:09:49. > :09:54.pledging to do so when he took over two years ago.
:09:55. > :10:01.Time for the markets. They are all heading higher. Except in South
:10:02. > :10:09.Korea, down slightly by 0.1%. A record high for the S 500.
:10:10. > :10:15.Oil prices remain sensitive to what is happening in Iraq. And remaining
:10:16. > :10:30.runners nine`month highs. See you soon. `` at those nine`month highs.
:10:31. > :10:34.Health News for you now. The Prime Minister is set to announce more
:10:35. > :10:38.investment in dementia research today. But it comes as the
:10:39. > :10:40.specially`appointed World Dementia Envoy described the disease as a
:10:41. > :10:44.'ticking bomb' and that progress with research has been 'achingly
:10:45. > :10:45.slow'. Dr Dennis Gillings says the pledge made by G8