:00:00. > :00:00.presence in Scotland will boost votes for independence. The race is
:00:00. > :00:00.tied with a week to go before the vote. Those are the latest headlines
:00:07. > :00:08.from BBC World News. Now for the latest financial news with Sally
:00:09. > :00:22.Bundock, and World Business Report. How Minecraft became a goldmine.
:00:23. > :00:26.Microsoft's in talks to pay two billion dollars for the tiny firm
:00:27. > :00:29.behind the blockbuster game. China's still open for business,
:00:30. > :00:31.says Premier Li Keqiang at the World Economic Forum, despite rising
:00:32. > :00:40.concerns foreign firms are being unfairly targeted.
:00:41. > :00:46.Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. Also in the
:00:47. > :00:49.programme, a week until Scotland decides and big business makes
:00:50. > :00:58.contingency plans in case it's Yes to independence.
:00:59. > :01:00.We start with this ` if you have children over about six you'll
:01:01. > :01:07.probably recognise it. It's Minecraft, a game that's sparked a
:01:08. > :01:11.global internet craze. It involves building a sort of
:01:12. > :01:13.Lego while avoiding monsters. It looks very simple with basic blocky
:01:14. > :01:18.graphics instead of super`realistic animation. But it's about to make
:01:19. > :01:24.its inventor incredibly rich. software giant Microsoft is in talks
:01:25. > :01:40.to buy the company profits of around 115 million
:01:41. > :01:53.dollars last year. All great news Markus Persson, known as "Notch",
:01:54. > :01:55.usually seen wearing a black hat. The Swedish programmer has been
:01:56. > :02:00.outspoken in his criticism of big corporate technology firms. If the
:02:01. > :02:05.deal goes through though he stands become the latest tech billionaire.
:02:06. > :02:08.According to Bloomberg his stake in the company plus earnings so far
:02:09. > :02:19.would give him a net worth of 1.5 billion dollars. From New York,
:02:20. > :02:23.Michelle Fleury reports. Minecraft is a hugely popular game
:02:24. > :02:29.that makes lots of money for its owner. If a deal does go through
:02:30. > :02:36.with Microsoft, it would guarantee the availability of the game across
:02:37. > :02:43.their family of devices. Minecraft is a lot like virtual Lego but the
:02:44. > :02:48.money it makes is very real. The company reported profits of $126
:02:49. > :02:54.million last year. Players explore and build in a world of blocks that
:02:55. > :02:59.can be endlessly crafted and destroyed. The owner charges users a
:03:00. > :03:02.modest one`time fee to buy its software. Microsoft has not shown
:03:03. > :03:09.interest in buying a videogame company in the past, so why now?
:03:10. > :03:13.Part of the answer may lie in its popularity. When Moe Jang first
:03:14. > :03:26.released the game, it was downloaded more than 400,000 times in the first
:03:27. > :03:31.24 hours `` Mojang. The new chief executive of Microsoft has
:03:32. > :03:36.emphasized gaming and the cloud and while it is not clear how this would
:03:37. > :03:50.fit into that strategy, it would fit right into Microsoft's platforms.
:03:51. > :03:53.It promises to be a tense week ahead on UK markets as Scotland prepares
:03:54. > :03:56.to vote on whether to declare independence next Thursday. A poll
:03:57. > :03:59.at the weekend showing the Yes vote ahead for the first time send the
:04:00. > :04:04.pound plunging. It is becoming harder to predict what the
:04:05. > :04:07.referendum will be. Tensions have risen further in the business world
:04:08. > :04:10.overnight as it emerged that Royal Bank of Scotland is preparing to
:04:11. > :04:13.move its headquarters to London in the event of a Yes vote. Chris
:04:14. > :04:19.Beachamp is from IG Index and joins me from their trading floor in the
:04:20. > :04:27.City of London. This latest news about RBS and also
:04:28. > :04:33.Lloyds, it is just adding to the tension in the market about what
:04:34. > :04:37.will happen next week. It is exactly the kind of thing that markets don't
:04:38. > :04:43.want to hear. Even if we were expecting to hear it. We hate
:04:44. > :04:50.uncertainty and we are not quite sure what will happen in the event
:04:51. > :04:57.of a Yes boat. `` vote. Many companies are making preparations in
:04:58. > :05:02.case they decide to go that way. From the point of view of these
:05:03. > :05:07.companies and in the case of RBS, big banks, they have had to say
:05:08. > :05:10.something to cause they have been getting inquiries from customers and
:05:11. > :05:17.investors wanting to know what their plan will be if next week is a
:05:18. > :05:22.positive. Yes and you can't blame an individual investor or shareholder
:05:23. > :05:27.for asking these questions. They are trying to reassure people that there
:05:28. > :05:32.will be a continuity of business and that their money will be safe. The
:05:33. > :05:38.question is not just a capital flight but also people worrying that
:05:39. > :05:41.the negotiations between an independent Scotland and the rest of
:05:42. > :05:46.the UK would lead to major disruption in the currency and so
:05:47. > :05:50.the best thing to do, they feel, is to play it safe and move their money
:05:51. > :05:56.southwards. When we talk about relocation, it is not about
:05:57. > :06:04.thousands of staff or buildings but it is about legal entities, isn't
:06:05. > :06:07.it? Is it not as big a deal as it sounds? It is about jobs and the
:06:08. > :06:14.elements that go with it, the tax revenue and so forth. The businesses
:06:15. > :06:18.have been saying that they would do the sensible thing and safeguard
:06:19. > :06:22.their businesses as much as possible but this does raise questions as to
:06:23. > :06:28.how they will maintain the fiscal responsibility in the event of a Yes
:06:29. > :06:44.vote. They have yet to be answered fully and to the satisfaction of
:06:45. > :06:47.many big companies. Thank you. To the Chinese port city of Tianjin
:06:48. > :06:50.now where the country's Premier Li Keqiang has been addressing the
:06:51. > :06:52.World Economic Forum. Premier Li has been reassuring global business
:06:53. > :06:56.leaders that the country's economy is in good shape despite fears of a
:06:57. > :06:58.sharp slowdown. He's also been addressing concerns the country's
:06:59. > :07:00.authorities have been unfairly targeting foreign companies over
:07:01. > :07:01.corruption after a spate of high profile investigations into
:07:02. > :07:17.multinationals including GlaxoSmithkline. The BBC's Ali Moore
:07:18. > :07:20.is there for us. But first, I will talk through some of those issues is
:07:21. > :07:25.Duncan Innes`Kerr of the Economist Intelligence Unit. Be missed recent
:07:26. > :07:32.economic news is telling us a different story from what the
:07:33. > :07:40.Tranmere is indicating `` from what Premier Li Keqiang is indicating.
:07:41. > :07:43.Yes, we're seeing a lot of weakness on the investment side of the
:07:44. > :07:47.economy at the moment and that is reflecting the fact that China is
:07:48. > :07:57.recovering from a credit of old in recent years and as they try to rein
:07:58. > :08:09.back in it is having a big effect on the real estate sector `` bubble. ``
:08:10. > :08:13.rein it back in. Some of the companies may have been put off I
:08:14. > :08:27.recent allegations against companies like GlaxoSmithKline and Microsoft
:08:28. > :08:31.`` by. As you said, China is the main source of economic growth in
:08:32. > :08:35.the world at the moment even at the slower pace it is going at the
:08:36. > :08:39.moment and although companies would like to consider other markets, they
:08:40. > :08:42.still need to be in China and so they are looking for the government
:08:43. > :08:47.to step up and improve the environment rather than relocating.
:08:48. > :08:52.Is the improvement taking place? When there was the change of
:08:53. > :08:59.leadership that happens on a very rare basis, many promises were made
:09:00. > :09:03.and many promises of reform, are we seeing evidence of that? We are
:09:04. > :09:09.seeing impact on the ground but the changes have yet to come through.
:09:10. > :09:14.The companies are feeling the force of regulatory attention and it is
:09:15. > :09:20.worth stressing that Chinese companies are also facing the same
:09:21. > :09:31.issues. It is not just foreign companies that are facing pressure.
:09:32. > :09:34.Thank you. In other news... Ana Botin has been
:09:35. > :09:38.named as the new head of Banco Santander following the death of her
:09:39. > :09:40.father Emilio, who suffered a heart attack aged 79. Ms Botin had been
:09:41. > :09:43.running the UK division of Santander, which is now the
:09:44. > :09:46.eurozone's biggest lender. Her appointment makes her one of the top
:09:47. > :09:48.three women in global finance, says the BBC's business editor, along
:09:49. > :10:02.with Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen and IMF boss Christine
:10:03. > :10:06.Lagarde full. Here are the financial markets. There is a lot of concern
:10:07. > :10:11.about what is happening as far as the federal US reserve is
:10:12. > :10:18.concerned. It is being talked about a lot on markets and affecting
:10:19. > :10:20.trade. A good close, look at the pound sterling there, you can see
:10:21. > :10:50.how it is trading at the moment. Figures from the Crown Prosecution
:10:51. > :10:55.Service show that a number of people were prosecuted for harassment