:00:00. > :00:00.Rickie Fowler. Those are the latest headlines from BBC News. Now for the
:00:00. > :00:17.latest financial news with Sally Bundock and World Business Report.
:00:18. > :00:20.Increasing the pressure on Putin ` we look at the tougher sanctions
:00:21. > :00:29.that could be imposed on Russia as European leaders meet this week.
:00:30. > :00:32.Preparing to do business with Iran, as talks for a nuclear deal make
:00:33. > :00:43.tangible progress, companies in the Middle East get ready to take
:00:44. > :00:48.advantage. Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. Also in
:00:49. > :00:52.the programme: We hear how the company Malaysian Airlines is set to
:00:53. > :00:58.weather this latest tragedy. But first: Increasing the pressure on
:00:59. > :01:01.Putin. The leaders of Britain, France and Germany are preparing to
:01:02. > :01:03.impose tougher sanctions on Russia. As international shock and anger
:01:04. > :01:06.intensifies over the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17,
:01:07. > :01:09.so western leaders are calling for Russia to play its part in allowing
:01:10. > :01:12.accident investigators to have full access to the crash site in Eastern
:01:13. > :01:15.Ukraine. Tomorrow the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council will
:01:16. > :01:30.meet to discuss what measures should be taken. With me now is Nina Schick
:01:31. > :01:35.of Open Europe. There is a lot of pressure on the EU to impose more
:01:36. > :01:39.sanctions on Russia, particularly from the United States, what action
:01:40. > :01:43.do you think the EU might take? Well they could move very quickly on
:01:44. > :01:47.this, because now this has become an international incident. A lot of
:01:48. > :01:50.European citizens have died. So far what the EU has done is take
:01:51. > :01:56.targeted sanctions on 72 individuals, these are, dance, and
:01:57. > :02:02.asset freezes, on companies operating out of Premier `` visa
:02:03. > :02:08.bans. They could take more sanctions on companies close to Britain's
:02:09. > :02:14.inner circle, and also that have a massive impact on the economy ``
:02:15. > :02:18.President Putin's inner circle. The EU will also have to find agreement
:02:19. > :02:23.within the 28 member states, and that has not always been easy, which
:02:24. > :02:26.is why the EU has always been a step high in the US when it it comes to
:02:27. > :02:31.sanctions. Let's talk about that difficulty. For some EU member
:02:32. > :02:36.states like Germany, it isn't so easy to impose tougher sanctions.
:02:37. > :02:39.Will obviously Germany has always traditionally played as a bridge and
:02:40. > :02:43.mediating role between East and West. And the German public has been
:02:44. > :02:46.tremendously opposed to taking further sanctions on Russia. Now
:02:47. > :02:51.this might change things. I was reading in the German papers this
:02:52. > :02:54.morning, you know, saying this is a game changer. Germany does have
:02:55. > :02:58.strong economic links with Russia. However, in the last few weeks the
:02:59. > :03:02.German position has significantly toughened. They have banned exports
:03:03. > :03:05.of any weapons to Russia from Germany already. And I think we will
:03:06. > :03:10.hear what the fact had been established, some strong language
:03:11. > :03:13.from Germany as well. If we were looking at more full`blown
:03:14. > :03:18.sanctions, in the energy sector for example, how would that play out?
:03:19. > :03:22.Some countries in the Baltic states are almost 100% reliant on energy
:03:23. > :03:29.coming from Russia. Another thing the EU could do before resorting to
:03:30. > :03:32.fall on energy sanctions is to try and squeeze Russian companies out of
:03:33. > :03:37.capital markets. They could also target European exports to Russia,
:03:38. > :03:41.which Russia is dependent on. Things like machinery, medicine, these are
:03:42. > :03:45.things that Russia would be able to source easily from other places. If
:03:46. > :03:49.it came to full`blown energy sanctions, the EU is still 30%
:03:50. > :03:54.dependent on Russia for its energy imports. And it doesn't have the
:03:55. > :03:57.infrastructure in place to be able to source liquefied natural gas, it
:03:58. > :04:02.doesn't have the ports in place to be able to source that. However,
:04:03. > :04:06.they are working very hard to diversify their energy supply, away
:04:07. > :04:11.from Russia, and indeed that is one of the priorities for the new
:04:12. > :04:14.commission. We appreciate your analysis from Open Europe, very
:04:15. > :04:19.interesting. We will keep you across any developments in terms of what EU
:04:20. > :04:22.leaders decide, on BBC World News. So that's how leaders in the West
:04:23. > :04:25.are reacting to this tragedy. But how about the bosses of Malaysian
:04:26. > :04:28.Airlines? It's hard enough for an airline to rebound from one
:04:29. > :04:31.disaster, let alone two within the space of a few months. Last week
:04:32. > :04:34.shares in the company plummeted. Joining me now is Rico Hizon from
:04:35. > :04:38.our Asia business hub in Singapore. So Rico, does it look like Malaysian
:04:39. > :04:44.Airlines will be able to bounce back from this second disaster? Not just
:04:45. > :04:50.for the company, but for Asians in general, this is such an awful
:04:51. > :04:54.tragedy. Again, hitting the specific company but also for people thinking
:04:55. > :04:59.about travelling, for loved ones who have lost people, it is extremely
:05:00. > :05:06.difficult, isn't it? Absolutely. It really is. Very sad, what has
:05:07. > :05:10.happened to Malaysia Airlines, and when you speak with analysts here
:05:11. > :05:15.and with many Asians, they start to fear about travelling in the
:05:16. > :05:20.region. Especially given what happened to Malaysia Airlines. It is
:05:21. > :05:24.hard enough for an airline to rebound from one disaster, let alone
:05:25. > :05:30.to within the space of a few months. And even before the disappearance of
:05:31. > :05:34.MH370, Malaysia Airlines was already struggling `` let alone and two. Is
:05:35. > :05:38.there any hope that the carrier can rebound after such a rough year?
:05:39. > :05:46.Earlier I spoke with an aviation analyst who says the firm now has
:05:47. > :05:53.three options. Firstly, they can continue as is. They can pour money
:05:54. > :05:57.into the airline. But I don't think that is a viable long`term option. I
:05:58. > :06:04.think they can look at doing something similar to Japan airlines
:06:05. > :06:10.and could put it into bankruptcy. Thirdly, they could look at
:06:11. > :06:16.potentially privatising the airline. I also asked whether this recent
:06:17. > :06:23.incident could impact other Asian carriers, and regional travel? I
:06:24. > :06:26.think it will, without a doubt. Already long`distance travel has
:06:27. > :06:31.been challenged since the Asian financial crisis. Lack of safety
:06:32. > :06:36.should be the number one concern for all airlines, creating problems for
:06:37. > :06:41.consumers looking to travel those distances. After sharp falls on
:06:42. > :06:45.Friday of 11%, Malaysia airlines stock has slipped another 2.5%
:06:46. > :06:52.today. The share price is down about 40% on the year. Thank you very
:06:53. > :06:54.much. Diplomats have agreed a four`month extension to the deadline
:06:55. > :06:57.for an agreement between Iran and world powers on its controversial
:06:58. > :06:59.nuclear programme. Discussions have been taking place for months now,
:07:00. > :07:02.and on Saturday ended following tangible progress on some issues
:07:03. > :07:05.according to America's Secretary of State John Kerry. The US says it
:07:06. > :07:08.will unblock $2.8 billion in frozen Iranian funds, in return for Iran
:07:09. > :07:11.continuing to convert its enriched uranium into fuel. The new deadline
:07:12. > :07:14.is November 24th. The talks have aimed to persuade Iran to limit its
:07:15. > :07:16.nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. While the
:07:17. > :07:18.negotiators talk, companies have been busy re`building business
:07:19. > :07:23.relations with their Iranian counterparts, hoping that a deal
:07:24. > :07:27.will be done. Mark Lobel reports from Dubai, on the firms hoping that
:07:28. > :07:48.an opening up of trade with Iran is sooner rather than later. At this
:07:49. > :07:56.registration in Dubai `` at this freight station in Dubai's port,
:07:57. > :07:59.imports have been halted to placate American clients. Recently companies
:08:00. > :08:04.from across the world have signalled a change in direction by setting up
:08:05. > :08:08.potential investment fund sharing presentations, and initiating ties
:08:09. > :08:12.with this is in Iran. That has led this shipping group's vice president
:08:13. > :08:17.to believe that companies in the US may be left behind if sanctions are
:08:18. > :08:22.lifted. A view he is slowly waking up to. I would say there are a lot
:08:23. > :08:24.of regional offices here sending information back to the Americans,
:08:25. > :08:30.doing market research and studies, winding out what the runny and
:08:31. > :08:34.market needs. Investors are already focused on Iran's you'd oil
:08:35. > :08:38.reserves, and the many undeveloped statements of the economy in a
:08:39. > :08:41.country of almost 18 million people. Many large international
:08:42. > :08:46.companies are now exploring the possibility of doing business in
:08:47. > :08:49.Iran. Mostly at arms length. But many smaller ones from around the
:08:50. > :08:53.world have already made the trip to Tehran, and have been welcomed with
:08:54. > :08:58.open arms by representatives from the uranium chamber of commerce. I
:08:59. > :09:02.visited the Metro, which has an engineer I was very interested in.
:09:03. > :09:05.This structural engineer visited Tehran a few weeks ago with other
:09:06. > :09:12.French as men and women from Dubai. They met with representatives from
:09:13. > :09:17.small and medium`size companies. Several of them have come back from
:09:18. > :09:22.to me, and we are now negotiating agreements with them. They are
:09:23. > :09:31.expecting for me to bring obviously new technology, new design. But one
:09:32. > :09:34.senior risk advertiser who just visited Tehran said that even if
:09:35. > :09:38.sanctions go, companies need to abide by human rights and terrorism
:09:39. > :09:42.sanctions. You have to be very cognisant, because of the stifling
:09:43. > :09:46.bureaucracy, of the corruption risk. There is a Labour risk in that there
:09:47. > :09:51.is not an awful lot of talent and Iran, in Iran at the moment. Despite
:09:52. > :09:54.the risks. Companies across the world are now jockeying for
:09:55. > :09:59.position. Some analysts predict Iran could become the world's largest
:10:00. > :10:07.emerging market if it economic isolation ends. In other news: A US
:10:08. > :10:11.court has ordered the country's second largest cigarette company to
:10:12. > :10:14.pay $23.6 billion to the wife of a smoker who died of lung cancer in
:10:15. > :10:17.1996. During a four`week trial, lawyers argued that RJ Reynolds was
:10:18. > :10:20.negligent in informing consumers of the dangers of consuming tobacco.
:10:21. > :10:24.Emerging and frontier market countries have borrowed a record of
:10:25. > :10:26.nearly $70 billion in the first half of this year, even as central
:10:27. > :10:32.bankers warn that debt market euphoria could be storing up trouble
:10:33. > :10:35.for the future. After 97 years of family ownership, a majority stake
:10:36. > :10:37.in Forbes Media has been sold to a Hong Kong`based group of
:10:38. > :10:39.international investors called Whale Media Investments. Forbes Media,
:10:40. > :10:50.which includes Forbes magazine, was sold to Integrated Whale Media
:10:51. > :10:55.Investments for an undisclosed sum. That's the latest business news. I
:10:56. > :11:10.will see you soon to look through the papers. We will take a look at
:11:11. > :11:13.the papers, but first: The government will today set out how
:11:14. > :11:16.new pension reforms, announced in the Budget in March, will actually
:11:17. > :11:19.work. Under the new rules, retirees will be able to cash in their
:11:20. > :11:23.pension funds and spend the money as they please. And they will have the
:11:24. > :11:25.right to free and impartial advice to help them. Here is our business
:11:26. > :11:26.correspondent, Theo