:00:00. > :00:00.open in the Scottish city of Glasgow later today. The event, held every
:00:00. > :00:00.four years, brings together athletes from seventy`one nations and
:00:00. > :00:07.territories, almost all once part of the British Empire. Those are the
:00:08. > :00:10.latest headlines from BBC News. Now for the latest financial news with
:00:11. > :00:17.Sally Bundock and World Business Report.
:00:18. > :00:20.Mixed results for America's tech giants. Apple reports bumper
:00:21. > :00:29.profits, but Microsoft fails to impress as its hurt by the Nokia
:00:30. > :00:32.acquisition. Clearing its name: GlaxoSmithKline prepares to unveil
:00:33. > :00:34.its latest earnings, we look at how the company plans to rebuild its
:00:35. > :00:45.reputation following a bribery scandal in China.
:00:46. > :00:50.Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. Also in the
:00:51. > :00:57.programme, we take a look at how job vacancies in the Asia Pacific region
:00:58. > :01:02.are surging. We will find out why. But first... Another bumper quarter
:01:03. > :01:11.` Apple has reported a 12 % gain in profits on this time last year. The
:01:12. > :01:14.company raked in seven. Eight billion dollars in the three months
:01:15. > :01:17.to the end of June. Profits were driven higher by strong iPhone sales
:01:18. > :01:24.with 35 million being sold in the quarter, up 13%. Despite the high
:01:25. > :01:26.price tag, iPhone sales in the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India,
:01:27. > :01:29.South Africa, and China were particularly strong up a staggering
:01:30. > :01:32.48%. By contrast, numbers from Microsoft weren't so pretty. In a
:01:33. > :01:34.moment we'll take a closer look at Microsoft's struggle, but first,
:01:35. > :01:48.Michelle Fleury explores how Apple hopes to stay on top.
:01:49. > :01:52.In a now familiar sight, Long lines formed outside the Apple store when
:01:53. > :02:06.the iPhone five first went on sale. In Hong Kong, customer were greeted
:02:07. > :02:15.with cheers. It is increasingly important for Apple's Bottom Line.
:02:16. > :02:22.Sales in China have been climbing despite the phone's hefty price
:02:23. > :02:26.tag. All of it is in the developing world where it could easily mean a
:02:27. > :02:32.third of GDP per capita but people are still willing to pay it due to
:02:33. > :02:38.the status issues surrounding owning an iPhone. Not so hot is the tablet
:02:39. > :02:42.computer. Most of us are carrying around computers with the screens
:02:43. > :02:52.and we are using them to carry out functions now performed by the iPad.
:02:53. > :02:59.The iPhone is not powerful enough to rival these. They have teamed up
:03:00. > :03:05.with old rival IBM as its tablet is squeezed from both sides. The fact
:03:06. > :03:09.that there has not been a major rethink on the iPad is beginning to
:03:10. > :03:15.hurt them a little bit and I think they probably need to do something
:03:16. > :03:20.cool or it. Overall profits are up and get the earnings of Apple remind
:03:21. > :03:27.us that, given a our reliance on these products, there is increased
:03:28. > :03:37.pressure for the next product to be a hit. While profits rose for Apple,
:03:38. > :03:40.it was a different story for another US tech giant. Microsoft has
:03:41. > :03:43.reported a 7% fall in profit for the last quarter as its new Nokia
:03:44. > :03:45.acquisition hurt the company's bottom line. Microsoft said its
:03:46. > :03:49.Nokia division, which it acquired in April and is earmarked for 12,500
:03:50. > :03:53.job cuts, lost $692 million for the three months ending June. These
:03:54. > :03:55.Nokia numbers underscore the challenges facing new Chief
:03:56. > :03:58.executive, Satya Nadella, as they seek to halt the decline of the
:03:59. > :04:06.Nokia handset business and turn it into an asset that can aid
:04:07. > :04:09.Microsoft's mobile efforts. But it wasn't all bad news ` cloud and
:04:10. > :04:11.enterprise software performed well, with revenues doubling for the
:04:12. > :04:21.Web`based versions of Office and Microsoft's Azure cloud`based
:04:22. > :04:32.service. That is the latest on those two
:04:33. > :04:33.companies. In a few hour's time the pharmaceuticals giant,
:04:34. > :04:36.GlaxoSmithkline will open its books and unveil its second quarter
:04:37. > :04:39.results. And it's been a tough quarter for the company since news
:04:40. > :04:42.broke of the bribery scandal that has seen senior executives in China
:04:43. > :04:46.arrested. As a result the company's share price has been on the move `
:04:47. > :04:49.currently GSK shares are 8% lower than this time last year. So what
:04:50. > :04:56.can we expect from the company later today, and are more arrests expected
:04:57. > :04:59.in China? With me...now is Dr Stephen Godwin,
:05:00. > :05:00.Senior Researcher Director at the Planning Shop International, an
:05:01. > :05:10.independent healthcare research agency. Good morning. It has been a
:05:11. > :05:13.very trying time for GlaxoSmithKline in the headlines for all the wrong
:05:14. > :05:22.reasons. It is the kind of story that we all... Well, any company
:05:23. > :05:29.does not want to get. Rivalry and corruption. What can we expect from
:05:30. > :05:32.them today? It is a bit of a distraction. It has nothing to do
:05:33. > :05:39.with the main business and I think that the strong pound will hit them
:05:40. > :05:43.as everyone has been saying. The issue with the strong pound, there
:05:44. > :05:49.have been a lot of movement in the drugs industry over the last
:05:50. > :05:55.quarter. AstraZeneca is fighting off Pfizer and other companies are being
:05:56. > :06:03.bought up. With lots of SmithKline, what is it thinking in terms of
:06:04. > :06:11.strategy `` GlaxoSmithKline? I think they did a clever and innovative
:06:12. > :06:18.deal. They picked up some vaccines from another company and I think
:06:19. > :06:23.they are now looking to the future for a strong performance. In terms
:06:24. > :06:35.of the area it is going to focus on, I know cancer and curing that is
:06:36. > :06:38.very much on its radar? The relationship with cancer at this
:06:39. > :06:43.particular moment in time is not really in the right area of stop
:06:44. > :06:52.that may be the reason for its recent deal. The philosopher's stone
:06:53. > :06:57.is finding the cure for cancer or something that turns it into a more
:06:58. > :07:02.manageable condition. I think everyone is looking at the new ideas
:07:03. > :07:09.that came up from the big meeting a few months ago where new results
:07:10. > :07:12.were revealed and short`term control of cancer and new technologies with
:07:13. > :07:17.a great deal of interest were exhibited. I'm sure they're looking
:07:18. > :07:22.at that in the longer term. Very briefly mentioned China at the
:07:23. > :07:29.sidebar that many people may think only of that when they think of GSK.
:07:30. > :07:36.I think from a strategic point of view, GSK sees that as an old
:07:37. > :07:39.issue. It keeps coming back to trouble them from a legal or
:07:40. > :07:45.financial point of view but from the business point of view, it is
:07:46. > :07:58.probably a sidebar. Thank you and appreciate your analysis. We will
:07:59. > :08:02.get the updates in a few hours. If you are considering a move to
:08:03. > :08:05.Singapore for a banking job, you're not alone. But, you might be in the
:08:06. > :08:08.minority if you're planning to move to Sydney. A study on professional
:08:09. > :08:11.job opportunities in financial services shows vacancies across the
:08:12. > :08:14.Asia Pacific region are up 5% from last year, indicating a growing war
:08:15. > :08:16.for talent. There's a risk that Australia might lose out with 68% of
:08:17. > :08:19.those surveyed considering an opportunity overseas. While in
:08:20. > :08:22.Japan, the labour market seems to be reacting to efforts to stimulate the
:08:23. > :08:29.economy. More businesses are hiring as they look to expand their overall
:08:30. > :08:32.headcount that this time last year. Let's get more on this. Joining me
:08:33. > :08:40.now is Rico Hizon from our Asia business hub in Singapore. It sounds
:08:41. > :08:51.like you're in the place to be. . Straight. In my own backyard in
:08:52. > :09:00.Singapore `` that is right. Costs here are high, Singapore is one of
:09:01. > :09:05.the most expensive in the world. `` expensive cities. Available regional
:09:06. > :09:07.jobs are up 5% from last year which indicates growing competition for
:09:08. > :09:13.talent and I spoke earlier with Andrew Evans from a recruitment firm
:09:14. > :09:16.which carried out the survey and he said that they were looking for a
:09:17. > :09:23.mix of young and middle`aged talent. Is opportunity for both. I
:09:24. > :09:29.think the way our clients operate these days which is in financial and
:09:30. > :09:32.nonfinancial services, the variety of roles that they have and the way
:09:33. > :09:35.in which they have and the way in which they're looking for talent to
:09:36. > :09:42.move around and be taken advantage of, that is illustrated by the rise
:09:43. > :09:51.in contracting market which is nonpermanent recruitment. That is in
:09:52. > :09:53.Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney. It indicates that it is not long`term
:09:54. > :09:57.goals that are in the majority at the moment. The survey also says
:09:58. > :10:02.that people are testing the market but not aggressively, they're
:10:03. > :10:07.looking around looking for better pay and benefits and banks have been
:10:08. > :10:14.good at moving staff from their headquarters in Europe to Asia.
:10:15. > :10:18.Thank you very much. Let's look at the Asian markets. A very good day
:10:19. > :10:29.today apart from Japan which has just fallen. The majority of
:10:30. > :10:34.companies have been either hitting expectations or beating them lately
:10:35. > :10:39.and that has been boosting markets. They're ignoring the geopolitical
:10:40. > :10:48.situations in the Middle East and Ukraine. The S is a few points off
:10:49. > :10:50.a record high. I will see you again