:00:00. > :00:00.are the latest headlines from BBC World News. Now, for the latest
:00:00. > :00:18.financial news with Sally Bundock and World Business Report. Budget
:00:19. > :00:20.day in France: as the government looks to cut spending to please
:00:21. > :00:27.Brussels, the French people are threatening widespread strikes. Pay
:00:28. > :00:30.up to drink up: the Irish face new water charges from today but
:00:31. > :00:40.protestors say it isn't safe to drink so why should they pay up.
:00:41. > :00:44.Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock.
:00:45. > :00:51.Also in the programme will the people's fight for democracy in Hong
:00:52. > :00:56.Kong hurt its economy? We will assess that. But first: Its
:00:57. > :00:58.budget day in France and the annual event is likely to confirm bleak
:00:59. > :01:04.predictions that France will miss its national debt targets. On
:01:05. > :01:07.Tuesday, the national statistics agency said France's public debt
:01:08. > :01:10.topped the symbolic level of two trillion euros for the first time,
:01:11. > :01:21.putting Paris on a fresh collision course with the European Union. If
:01:22. > :01:23.it fails to hit its, already deferred, targets and appears to not
:01:24. > :01:26.be reforming its economy fast enough, tensions will mount between
:01:27. > :01:29.the French and their European neighbours. But the government is
:01:30. > :01:32.stuck in a difficult spot. Pleasing the European Union is likely to
:01:33. > :01:35.trigger social unrest, street protests are already common. And
:01:36. > :01:40.talk of cutting benefits and health spending will not win votes. Hugh
:01:41. > :01:46.Schofield reports from Paris. Figure out just yesterday revealed
:01:47. > :01:52.the true scale of the problem facing the Finance Ministry in Paris. Each
:01:53. > :02:01.immolated national debt of France has just topped, for the first time,
:02:02. > :02:11.to truly in euros, the equivalent of more than 95% of annual economic
:02:12. > :02:16.output, or GDP. The numbers keep getting worse. `` two trillion
:02:17. > :02:24.euros. Government receipts of May down. `` our way down. The only way
:02:25. > :02:31.to bring the budget under control is to cut spending. But the mood in the
:02:32. > :02:37.country is increasingly fractious. Yesterday it was the pharmacist who
:02:38. > :02:41.took to the streets to protest against the derecognition of their
:02:42. > :02:45.profession. There are all sorts of groups who stand to lose in the
:02:46. > :02:47.country if there is a serious government attempt to bring down
:02:48. > :02:56.state spending and reform the economy. So as it sets at the budget
:02:57. > :03:02.nephew, France faces a daunting task. If it is going to make any
:03:03. > :03:07.headway for meeting these deferred European deaf as targets, three
:03:08. > :03:14.times now, it needs to start cutting the budget. `` European deficit
:03:15. > :03:24.targets. No government has ever done it before, because the potential
:03:25. > :03:35.repercussions are so normal. When the budget is revealed we will
:03:36. > :03:39.give you more details. From today the Irish will have to
:03:40. > :03:42.pay for the water that comes out of their tap. The move is an austerity
:03:43. > :03:45.measure that was ordered by the Troika as part of the country's
:03:46. > :03:48.bailout programme. Ireland's has until now been the only OECD country
:03:49. > :03:51.not to charge directly for water, a source of revenue the EU and IMF
:03:52. > :03:54.said must be tapped. Water infrastructure in the country needs
:03:55. > :03:57.almost two billion euros worth of investment over the next two years,
:03:58. > :04:05.but charging the public for water is not going down well. Diarmaid
:04:06. > :04:10.Fleming reports from Ireland. It rains a lot in island so there is
:04:11. > :04:13.no shortage of water. But there has been a drought of investment in
:04:14. > :04:17.decades in water infrastructure, meaning some areas do not have a
:04:18. > :04:20.supply fit to drink full to island has plenty of fresh water but here
:04:21. > :04:24.in this town people have to boil their tap water before they can
:04:25. > :04:28.drink it because it contains bacteria which makes it unfit for
:04:29. > :04:31.human consumption. I learned it needs to investing huge sums of
:04:32. > :04:37.money to bring its water infrastructure up to scratch. But
:04:38. > :04:40.plans to bring in a water tax to do so are proving to be and posterity
:04:41. > :04:45.measure that is too much to swallow. . Super whites as are doing a
:04:46. > :04:52.booming trade in water. `` supermarkets. Villagers do not trust
:04:53. > :04:56.what is in the cups. You are going to be sick for two to four hours, it
:04:57. > :05:01.has happened to me twice. But not a third time. It is disgraceful in
:05:02. > :05:09.this day and age. It is an absolute disgrace. We are not that poor of a
:05:10. > :05:17.country that cannot fit its resources. `` fix. Water was paid
:05:18. > :05:23.for from general taxes but the plan to charge homes individuals has
:05:24. > :05:29.brought protests in Dublin. Bills would range from $200 a year to
:05:30. > :05:36.$600. The latest austerity charges are proving hard for some to
:05:37. > :05:40.swallow. There are that many people in Ireland that have not paid their
:05:41. > :05:44.mortgage, how are you going to pay for water and everything else they
:05:45. > :05:51.have thrown at us? The government have not realised how important it
:05:52. > :05:56.is to these people. Ireland is stretched financially of paying tax
:05:57. > :06:02.after tax. This is just one tax too far. Around half the country's water
:06:03. > :06:06.disappears through leaks in old pipes. Supply barely meets demand.
:06:07. > :06:13.We have a big infrastructure problem. It does not meet the needs
:06:14. > :06:18.of a modern economy. We need to change this, that means introducing
:06:19. > :06:26.domestic water charges where people pay for their water. We can use that
:06:27. > :06:29.to fix the leaks, and ensure that our wastewater processes are
:06:30. > :06:34.instrumentally compliant. The rote economy recovery has been a long one
:06:35. > :06:40.for island. `` Road. Recent data shows signs of hope but the waves of
:06:41. > :06:49.posterity, such as the water charge, continue to be felt.
:06:50. > :06:55.As you have been hearing it's a national holiday in China today. But
:06:56. > :06:58.the day off work, means one thing for Hong Kong, bigger protests. As
:06:59. > :07:01.the crowds continue to grow in the central business district of Hong
:07:02. > :07:04.Kong, So the time of year that normally sees residents in Hong Kong
:07:05. > :07:07.go shopping or eat meals out is instead going to be focused on the
:07:08. > :07:11.people's fight for democracy. As the protests go into their fourth day,
:07:12. > :07:18.Asian stocks are headed for their fourth straight day of losses. And
:07:19. > :07:21.now there are fears that the economic price might be impact Hong
:07:22. > :07:24.Kong in the longer term too. Political uncertainty could see a
:07:25. > :07:27.collapse in foreign investors in the region. Hong Kong markets and the
:07:28. > :07:32.markets in China are closed today. Let's get more on this. Rico Hizon
:07:33. > :07:35.is live in our Asia Business Hub. So Rico, what is the economic impact of
:07:36. > :07:43.these protests likely to be for the region? What are you here in? In the
:07:44. > :07:48.short`term the general consensus is that the protests will have no
:07:49. > :07:52.impact on the city's economy or on the region, but they stressed that
:07:53. > :07:57.any extended slowdown of Hong Kong's regular commercial activities
:07:58. > :08:01.could have long`lasting ripple effects on global banking, insurance
:08:02. > :08:07.shipping and China's currency. Hong Kong is the third most important
:08:08. > :08:13.financial hub behind London and New York. The value of goods traded last
:08:14. > :08:25.year was more than 5% of the world's over old trade. I spoke to a
:08:26. > :08:29.guest earlier. `` overall trade. The services industry in Hong Kong is
:08:30. > :08:41.very important. Consumer spending is a big part of the services industry,
:08:42. > :08:44.about 95% of the GDP. We have to understand what economic sanctions
:08:45. > :08:49.will be if China imposes them. As China want to damage Hong Kong? And
:08:50. > :08:55.is Hong Kong more important to China or as China more import into Hong
:08:56. > :09:01.Kong? Hong Kong is home to 3700 regional officers and experts say if
:09:02. > :09:08.investor confidence is shaken we could see the economy is moving to
:09:09. > :09:14.other centres, such as Singapore. Thank you Rico.
:09:15. > :09:16.In other news: Microsoft has disclosed the first details of
:09:17. > :09:20.Windows ten, its next operating system .The name is a surprise,
:09:21. > :09:24.bearing in mind it represents a jump from the last version, Windows
:09:25. > :09:28.eight. The software will run on a wide range of devices, from phones
:09:29. > :09:30.and tablets to PCs and Xbox games consoles, with applications sold
:09:31. > :09:35.from a single store. It also marks the return of the Start Menu, which
:09:36. > :09:37.had been removed from Windows eight. The United States will pay Brazilian
:09:38. > :09:40.cotton producers $300 million in compensation to end a dispute over
:09:41. > :09:43.the cotton subsidies enjoyed by US Growers. According to Reuters
:09:44. > :09:45.reports, the agreement will be formally signed on Wednesday morning
:09:46. > :09:48.in Washington. In exchange for the one`off payment to the Brazil Cotton
:09:49. > :09:51.Institute, or IBA, Brazil agreed not to take any further trade measures
:09:52. > :09:54.against the United States. Deutsche Bank is withholding several
:09:55. > :09:57.million euros in bonuses from its co`chief executives and other top
:09:58. > :10:00.managers as it seeks to hold senior staff responsible for a host of
:10:01. > :10:03.costly fines that have hit the bank this year. According to the FT, this
:10:04. > :10:06.year's instalment of 2011 bonuses with be withheld. In 2013 the bank
:10:07. > :10:09.had to pay three billion euros in legal costs.
:10:10. > :10:22.That is all from me for now. We will look at the papers in a moment.
:10:23. > :10:23.New inheritance laws for those who die without leaving a will come into
:10:24. > :10:31.force today.