01/10/2014 World Business Report

are the latest headlines from BBC World News. Now, for the latest

financial news with Sally Bundock and World Business Report. Budget

day in France: as the government looks to cut spending to please

Brussels, the French people are threatening widespread strikes. Pay

up to drink up: the Irish face new water charges from today but

protestors say it isn't safe to drink so why should they pay up.

Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock.

Also in the programme will the people's fight for democracy in Hong

Kong hurt its economy? We will assess that. But first: Its

budget day in France and the annual event is likely to confirm bleak

predictions that France will miss its national debt targets. On

Tuesday, the national statistics agency said France's public debt

topped the symbolic level of two trillion euros for the first time,

putting Paris on a fresh collision course with the European Union. If

it fails to hit its, already deferred, targets and appears to not

be reforming its economy fast enough, tensions will mount between

the French and their European neighbours. But the government is

stuck in a difficult spot. Pleasing the European Union is likely to

trigger social unrest, street protests are already common. And

talk of cutting benefits and health spending will not win votes. Hugh

Schofield reports from Paris. Figure out just yesterday revealed

the true scale of the problem facing the Finance Ministry in Paris. Each

immolated national debt of France has just topped, for the first time,

to truly in euros, the equivalent of more than 95% of annual economic

output, or GDP. The numbers keep getting worse. `` two trillion

euros. Government receipts of May down. `` our way down. The only way

to bring the budget under control is to cut spending. But the mood in the

country is increasingly fractious. Yesterday it was the pharmacist who

took to the streets to protest against the derecognition of their

profession. There are all sorts of groups who stand to lose in the

country if there is a serious government attempt to bring down

state spending and reform the economy. So as it sets at the budget

nephew, France faces a daunting task. If it is going to make any

headway for meeting these deferred European deaf as targets, three

times now, it needs to start cutting the budget. `` European deficit

targets. No government has ever done it before, because the potential

repercussions are so normal. When the budget is revealed we will

give you more details. From today the Irish will have to

pay for the water that comes out of their tap. The move is an austerity

measure that was ordered by the Troika as part of the country's

bailout programme. Ireland's has until now been the only OECD country

not to charge directly for water, a source of revenue the EU and IMF

said must be tapped. Water infrastructure in the country needs

almost two billion euros worth of investment over the next two years,

but charging the public for water is not going down well. Diarmaid

Fleming reports from Ireland. It rains a lot in island so there is

no shortage of water. But there has been a drought of investment in

decades in water infrastructure, meaning some areas do not have a

supply fit to drink full to island has plenty of fresh water but here

in this town people have to boil their tap water before they can

drink it because it contains bacteria which makes it unfit for

human consumption. I learned it needs to investing huge sums of

money to bring its water infrastructure up to scratch. But

plans to bring in a water tax to do so are proving to be and posterity

measure that is too much to swallow. . Super whites as are doing a

booming trade in water. `` supermarkets. Villagers do not trust

what is in the cups. You are going to be sick for two to four hours, it

has happened to me twice. But not a third time. It is disgraceful in

this day and age. It is an absolute disgrace. We are not that poor of a

country that cannot fit its resources. `` fix. Water was paid

for from general taxes but the plan to charge homes individuals has

brought protests in Dublin. Bills would range from $200 a year to

$600. The latest austerity charges are proving hard for some to

swallow. There are that many people in Ireland that have not paid their

mortgage, how are you going to pay for water and everything else they

have thrown at us? The government have not realised how important it

is to these people. Ireland is stretched financially of paying tax

after tax. This is just one tax too far. Around half the country's water

disappears through leaks in old pipes. Supply barely meets demand.

We have a big infrastructure problem. It does not meet the needs

of a modern economy. We need to change this, that means introducing

domestic water charges where people pay for their water. We can use that

to fix the leaks, and ensure that our wastewater processes are

instrumentally compliant. The rote economy recovery has been a long one

for island. `` Road. Recent data shows signs of hope but the waves of

posterity, such as the water charge, continue to be felt.

As you have been hearing it's a national holiday in China today. But

the day off work, means one thing for Hong Kong, bigger protests. As

the crowds continue to grow in the central business district of Hong

Kong, So the time of year that normally sees residents in Hong Kong

go shopping or eat meals out is instead going to be focused on the

people's fight for democracy. As the protests go into their fourth day,

Asian stocks are headed for their fourth straight day of losses. And

now there are fears that the economic price might be impact Hong

Kong in the longer term too. Political uncertainty could see a

collapse in foreign investors in the region. Hong Kong markets and the

markets in China are closed today. Let's get more on this. Rico Hizon

is live in our Asia Business Hub. So Rico, what is the economic impact of

these protests likely to be for the region? What are you here in? In the

short`term the general consensus is that the protests will have no

impact on the city's economy or on the region, but they stressed that

any extended slowdown of Hong Kong's regular commercial activities

could have long`lasting ripple effects on global banking, insurance

shipping and China's currency. Hong Kong is the third most important

financial hub behind London and New York. The value of goods traded last

year was more than 5% of the world's over old trade. I spoke to a

guest earlier. `` overall trade. The services industry in Hong Kong is

very important. Consumer spending is a big part of the services industry,

about 95% of the GDP. We have to understand what economic sanctions

will be if China imposes them. As China want to damage Hong Kong? And

is Hong Kong more important to China or as China more import into Hong

Kong? Hong Kong is home to 3700 regional officers and experts say if

investor confidence is shaken we could see the economy is moving to

other centres, such as Singapore. Thank you Rico.

In other news: Microsoft has disclosed the first details of

Windows ten, its next operating system .The name is a surprise,

bearing in mind it represents a jump from the last version, Windows

eight. The software will run on a wide range of devices, from phones

and tablets to PCs and Xbox games consoles, with applications sold

from a single store. It also marks the return of the Start Menu, which

had been removed from Windows eight. The United States will pay Brazilian

cotton producers $300 million in compensation to end a dispute over

the cotton subsidies enjoyed by US Growers. According to Reuters

reports, the agreement will be formally signed on Wednesday morning

in Washington. In exchange for the one`off payment to the Brazil Cotton

Institute, or IBA, Brazil agreed not to take any further trade measures

against the United States. Deutsche Bank is withholding several

million euros in bonuses from its co`chief executives and other top

managers as it seeks to hold senior staff responsible for a host of

costly fines that have hit the bank this year. According to the FT, this

year's instalment of 2011 bonuses with be withheld. In 2013 the bank

had to pay three billion euros in legal costs.

That is all from me for now. We will look at the papers in a moment.

New inheritance laws for those who die without leaving a will come into

force today.