:00:00. > :00:00.Gaza. Those are the latest headlines. Now it is time for the
:00:00. > :00:25.latest financial news. European farmers warned thousands of
:00:26. > :00:34.tons of surplus pigmeat will be pushed on to world markets, causing
:00:35. > :00:39.prices to slump. As the US and Asia push up prices, all eyes will be on
:00:40. > :00:44.Asia where it reveals a second`quarter results.
:00:45. > :00:52.Hello and a very warm welcome. Also in the programme, we look at New
:00:53. > :00:59.Zealand's economy ahead of the elections. First of all, let's start
:01:00. > :01:04.with pig farmers, who say they will suffer from the ban on pigmeat
:01:05. > :01:09.exports to Russia. It was imposed by the Kremlin in response to Western
:01:10. > :01:13.sanctions. Thousands of tons of surplus meat will be pushed onto the
:01:14. > :01:22.world market, which farmers fear could lead to a slump in arises.
:01:23. > :01:31.New life at this farm in Staffordshire. One of a chain owned
:01:32. > :01:38.by middle pig producers. Every week, it breeds and sells 1200 pigs. The
:01:39. > :01:43.problem for the chief executive is that the piglets are entering an
:01:44. > :01:49.overcrowded market. Pig farmers in Canada and Brazil who have been
:01:50. > :01:53.locked out of Russia will be trying to sell 150,000 tons of spear meet
:01:54. > :01:58.on to other markets. Europe is one of the key markets. We cannot
:01:59. > :02:04.quickly switch of the supplied to ease the capacity that is coming in.
:02:05. > :02:11.There will be an effect on price. People will buy it but pay less for
:02:12. > :02:20.it. If you have 5% supply into the market, this has a devastating
:02:21. > :02:25.effect. This is the second blow that European pig farmers have taken from
:02:26. > :02:33.Russia recently. 18 months ago, Russia banned the impact of European
:02:34. > :02:38.produced meat on health grounds. `` import. That led to a fall in
:02:39. > :02:45.prices. Since Christmas, the price that pig farmers get for produce has
:02:46. > :02:49.fallen by one quarter. It has now fallen for that. Farmers want
:02:50. > :02:54.stability in prices. If they do not get it, they stopped producing.
:02:55. > :03:00.Then, prices rocket. Seeing prices go up and down is not in the
:03:01. > :03:06.interest of consumers. A more long`term, stable market is what we
:03:07. > :03:14.need. We need stable trading relationships. The recent import ban
:03:15. > :03:18.was meant as a symbolic replied to Western sanctions on them. It has
:03:19. > :03:27.become the number one worry for the industry in Europe.
:03:28. > :03:35.Prudential releases second`quarter results in 60 minutes. All eyes will
:03:36. > :03:41.be on Asian subsidiaries per analysts at the Chief Executive
:03:42. > :03:46.Seymour 's future growth. The company has 30 million customers
:03:47. > :03:51.across 12 Asian markets. It is a top three provider of life insurers in
:03:52. > :03:58.the Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and
:03:59. > :04:17.Vietnam. The Chief Executive has a call of 15% annual growth in the
:04:18. > :04:20.region but is that really realistic? I joined by a senior analyst for
:04:21. > :04:26.Insurers Credit Sites. It has done well. Since the new CEO came in
:04:27. > :04:34.2010, he changed the focus. It is a success story. No doubt about that.
:04:35. > :04:44.In 2010, the CEO wanted to acquire it in Asia. He was probably one of
:04:45. > :04:55.the analysts who mentioned that. He has done much amend this job. That
:04:56. > :05:02.is exceptional. You do not see that trend with many European companies.
:05:03. > :05:09.What are the risks of ploughing ahead in the way in Asia? There is a
:05:10. > :05:21.huge amount of potential. There must be some risks involved as well. They
:05:22. > :05:25.are as strong GDP growth. You could argue that things would change if
:05:26. > :05:32.the rate was changed. It would reduce the consumption of these
:05:33. > :05:46.products. We do not have any fact records. There is a risk. Prudential
:05:47. > :05:52.reports its earnings in sterling. There will be adjustments over time.
:05:53. > :05:58.So, in countries like the Philippines, where the economy
:05:59. > :06:05.sinks, it is not a priority. What about the United States? That is 50%
:06:06. > :06:12.of its revenue at the moment. That is a big market. The focus never
:06:13. > :06:25.days is on Asia for growth. Also, on the US. They are as a core economy.
:06:26. > :06:38.It will benefit from a change in the credit rating. You need to be their
:06:39. > :06:42.two enjoy the strong demand. `` there to.
:06:43. > :06:50.Earnings will come out later this morning. It will happen when trading
:06:51. > :06:56.ends. Let's go to Singapore. They are focused on New Zealand. They are
:06:57. > :07:03.entering campaign period. Voters have got to decide what to do. There
:07:04. > :07:08.are close on the horizon. Record he's on is in Singapore. Good
:07:09. > :07:13.morning. If you look at the economy, there
:07:14. > :07:19.are risks and rewards. Currently, if you take a look at it overall, it
:07:20. > :07:25.has been strong. The numbers reveal that GDP and gross domestic product
:07:26. > :07:31.has expanded by 1% every quarter. It has expanded by 3.3% in the March
:07:32. > :07:36.quarter, compared to levels years ago. If you look at the data, it is
:07:37. > :07:41.one of the highest in the developed world. With elections taking place
:07:42. > :07:48.next month, in September, the National party led by John Key wants
:07:49. > :07:51.a three`year term. It is highlighting this achievement. It
:07:52. > :07:56.comes on the back of the fastest economic growth that the country has
:07:57. > :08:02.seen in seven years. The budget is projected to be in surplus for the
:08:03. > :08:09.first time in seven years. With the reward, there are risks that must be
:08:10. > :08:15.addressed, including rising interest rates and falling prices. Borrowing
:08:16. > :08:20.costs stand at 3.25%. It is expected to keep rising to try to stave off
:08:21. > :08:27.inflation, due to strong economic growth. There are plunging prices
:08:28. > :08:32.which may squeeze incomes and curb spending. Economic growth may slow
:08:33. > :08:39.down moving forward. This is the risk. The opposition Labour Party is
:08:40. > :08:43.looking for loopholes in the agenda. This is one of them. They are
:08:44. > :08:50.pushing for a rate that is raising the minimum wage.
:08:51. > :08:57.In other stories making headlines, it has been reported that the
:08:58. > :09:00.international pharmaceutical client GlaxoSmithKline is facing new
:09:01. > :09:09.allegations of bribery. This is about Syrian distributors who tried
:09:10. > :09:13.to increase sales in the country. Writers says there have been
:09:14. > :09:20.anonymous e`mails sent between top managers. It follows allegations and
:09:21. > :09:24.Syria into corruption and bribery claims in China. GlaxoSmithKline
:09:25. > :09:30.says it will investigate the claims. The Mexican president has put into
:09:31. > :09:35.effect a new set of regulations that will allow foreign companies to
:09:36. > :09:39.drill for oil and gas and produce electricity. He said the new energy
:09:40. > :09:45.log will attract millions of dollars needed to boost declining oil
:09:46. > :09:50.output. Financial markets are again very
:09:51. > :09:54.robust today. Hong Kong is down slightly. This follows a good
:09:55. > :09:58.session on Wall Street. The continued work going on between the
:09:59. > :10:03.Ukraine and Russia is seemingly due to better relations which have
:10:04. > :10:05.improved the market. That is all for now. Goodbye.