:00:00. > :00:00.Rob Ford dropped out of the race for re`election as mayor of the Canadian
:00:00. > :00:00.city after he was admitted to hospital with abdominal pain. Those
:00:00. > :00:11.are the latest headlines from BBC News.
:00:12. > :00:22.Now for the latest financial news with Sally Bundock and World
:00:23. > :00:25.Business Report. It is Alibaba fever, as the Chinese
:00:26. > :00:28.internet giant gears up for the biggest ever stock market flotation.
:00:29. > :00:37.Plus, a new record close for the Dow and the dollar surges, as the Fed
:00:38. > :00:41.reassures on interest rates. Welcome to World Business Report.
:00:42. > :00:44.I'm Sally Bundock. Also in the programme: The two Asian
:00:45. > :00:53.economic giants, China and India, talk business.
:00:54. > :01:06.We start with what could be the biggest stock market flotation of
:01:07. > :01:09.all time. Chinese internet company Alibaba is expected to complete its
:01:10. > :01:12.sale of shares to big investors this Thursday before trading opens to the
:01:13. > :01:14.general public on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. Alibaba's
:01:15. > :01:17.original and main business is a website that connects Chinese
:01:18. > :01:21.exporters with the rest of the world. Buyers type in what they are
:01:22. > :01:32.looking for and they are then linked up with manufacturers in China. The
:01:33. > :01:40.empire also includes Chinese equivalents of eBay, Twitter,
:01:41. > :01:47.YouTube and PayPal. Let's take a look at the numbers involved,
:01:48. > :01:50.because they are huge. Alibaba now accounts for around 80% of all
:01:51. > :01:53.online retail sales in China. It sold items worth almost $300 billion
:01:54. > :01:57.in the year to the end of June, far more than eBay and Amazon combined.
:01:58. > :02:08.It is expected to have a stock market value of $170 billion once it
:02:09. > :02:11.starts trading on Friday. In the internet world, only Google and
:02:12. > :02:14.Facebook are worth more than that. From New York, Michelle Fleury
:02:15. > :02:20.reports on the Alibaba fever that is gripping Wall Street. The Big Apple,
:02:21. > :02:23.America's financial centre. New Yorkers have a reputation as a tough
:02:24. > :02:28.crowd to please, especially when it comes to investments. That is what
:02:29. > :02:31.the massive Chinese company Alibaba will soon discover when its shares
:02:32. > :02:40.begin trading at the New York Stock Exchange.
:02:41. > :02:44.This will be one of the biggest events I have witnessed.
:02:45. > :02:48.Inside this emblem of capitalism, Alibaba is about to have what could
:02:49. > :02:51.be the biggest stock offering on the planet. Bigger than Facebook and
:02:52. > :03:05.bigger than the Agricultural Bank of China. Such is the anticipation, one
:03:06. > :03:08.broker has had requests for shares via Chinese social media.
:03:09. > :03:17.I'm very active on Chinese social media.
:03:18. > :03:21.I have had people chatting with me and asking me if I can connect them
:03:22. > :03:24.with the IPO team because they want to buy up to two million shares. Why
:03:25. > :03:29.all the hype? Internet analyst Max Wolff explained.
:03:30. > :03:32.This company is literally poised to take advantage of the largest
:03:33. > :03:34.emerging middle class in the world, China, and the largest consumer
:03:35. > :03:39.class emergence in the history of the world, China.
:03:40. > :03:42.Alibaba's success as an online marketplace has already made it a
:03:43. > :03:45.force on the Chinese internet and it has helped turn its founder, Jack
:03:46. > :03:48.Ma, from a teacher into one of China's richest men. Investors are
:03:49. > :03:51.being asked to put their trust in Mr Ma, but should they? After all, this
:03:52. > :03:54.Chinese company comes with unusual risks including a unique ownership
:03:55. > :03:57.structure, which gives the owner most of the control, and an opaque
:03:58. > :04:00.political system that, for now, has supported the company's success.
:04:01. > :04:03.There is no shortage of investors clamouring to place a bet on Alibaba
:04:04. > :04:21.and all eyes will be on that float on Friday.
:04:22. > :04:24.Staying on Wall Street, it could be an auspicious time for Alibaba to
:04:25. > :04:27.float. That is because US stocks closed at yet another record on
:04:28. > :04:29.Wednesday after reassuring comments from the Federal Reserve. The Dow
:04:30. > :04:32.Jones Industrial Average rose 24 points to close at this, 17,156.85,
:04:33. > :04:44.which beats its previous record set in June. It is the 16th new record
:04:45. > :04:53.high this year. The Fed said it would finish winding down its
:04:54. > :04:56.stimulus measures by next month. But traders were encouraged by promises
:04:57. > :04:59.from the US Central Bank that interest rates will stay close to
:05:00. > :05:05.zero for a considerable time after that. Ben Thompson reports from
:05:06. > :05:10.Washington. Here, the focus was on the language
:05:11. > :05:13.being used to describe a potential increase in interest rates. The
:05:14. > :05:19.Federal Reserve said it would not raise interest rates for a
:05:20. > :05:23.considerable time after the end of its stimulus programme. Attention
:05:24. > :05:29.has now shifted to when that might be. Janet Yellen has insisted that
:05:30. > :05:41.forward guidance, that idea of considerable time, should not be
:05:42. > :05:43.linked to a specific date. I want to emphasise there is no mechanical
:05:44. > :05:48.interpretation of what the term considerable time being. As I have
:05:49. > :05:51.said repeatedly, the decisions the committee makes about what is the
:05:52. > :06:02.appropriate time to begin to raise its target for the federal funds
:06:03. > :06:06.rate will the data dependent. The Federal Reserve says it needs the
:06:07. > :06:12.ability to adapt to a changing economy. Unemployment is falling and
:06:13. > :06:17.inflation is coming back in line but it needs the flexibility to adapt to
:06:18. > :06:20.changing economic conditions. Raising rates to quickly could choke
:06:21. > :06:28.off an economic recovery. Keep them too low for too long could see the
:06:29. > :06:31.recovery spiral out of control. America has been awash with cheap
:06:32. > :06:35.cash and low interest rates because of the economic stimulus but those
:06:36. > :06:45.emergency measures cannot last indefinitely. Ali Moore is in
:06:46. > :06:52.Singapore for us today. It was what the markets wanted to hear in Asia
:06:53. > :06:58.as well? It was but not as definitively as on Wall Street. The
:06:59. > :07:04.dollar climbed to its highest point in 14 months against a basket of
:07:05. > :07:11.currencies. A six`year peak against the Japanese yen and currently
:07:12. > :07:16.holding that level. Tokyo stocks have climbed as a result. Around
:07:17. > :07:25.Asia, there has been a more mixed reaction on the markets. For the
:07:26. > :07:29.dollar, it is interesting because the Federal Reserve did maintain its
:07:30. > :07:35.language on rate increase is not happening for a considerable time.
:07:36. > :07:39.Certainly, there is no dates. Like most central banks, it is like
:07:40. > :07:45.reading tea leaves. But whatever the timing, US rates seem to be heading
:07:46. > :07:51.higher. Other markets like the eurozone and Japan continue to be
:07:52. > :07:58.firmly committed to easy monetary policy for some time to come. Thank
:07:59. > :08:01.you. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in India on Wednesday. The
:08:02. > :08:08.symbolic three`day trip is seen a chance for India to push for
:08:09. > :08:11.improved economic ties with China. Two`way trade between the Asian
:08:12. > :08:14.giants is already worth tens of billions but the relationship is
:08:15. > :08:17.complicated by politics. So, are the two leaders likely to sign any
:08:18. > :08:28.economic deals and what does this visit mean for relations? Thank you
:08:29. > :08:34.for joining us. Both sides want a great deal out of these three days.
:08:35. > :08:43.How is it going? The first day had a lot of action because Xi Jinping
:08:44. > :08:47.arrived in Gujarat, not Delhi. This is the same state that Narendra Modi
:08:48. > :08:50.was in charge of for a number of years before the became Prime
:08:51. > :09:00.Minister. The Chinese know him quite well. China is very interested in
:09:01. > :09:07.the state as well. The amount of trade between these two countries is
:09:08. > :09:10.huge and even on this trip, they are expected to sign deals worth
:09:11. > :09:15.billions of dollars. But behind these numbers, the first thing we
:09:16. > :09:21.can take away is that China can offer investments in manufacturing
:09:22. > :09:24.and infrastructure. India wants to build a huge manufacturing base and
:09:25. > :09:29.China can do that by pumping in billions of dollars. The second
:09:30. > :09:41.thing is that there is a huge trade balance between the countries,
:09:42. > :09:48.running up to $30 billion. He says `` Narendra Modi says they could
:09:49. > :09:51.open the countries in some ways. That will be the key takeaway from
:09:52. > :09:59.this trip and we expect more deals to be signed in the next few days.
:10:00. > :10:03.What is on the agenda or tomorrow? Between today and tomorrow, we could
:10:04. > :10:07.have more deals signed, especially when it comes to infrastructure and
:10:08. > :10:15.many factoring. Railways, bullet trains, industrial parks are
:10:16. > :10:21.infrastructure projects, electronics, where Chinese companies
:10:22. > :10:23.could create and invest in these huge industrial parks where Indian
:10:24. > :10:31.companies could set up and develop electronics. Thank you. That is all
:10:32. > :10:49.from World Business Report. See you soon.
:10:50. > :10:53.They have been a familiar sight on Britain's cars and vans for over 90
:10:54. > :10:54.years but soon, they will disappear forever.