:00:15. > :00:17.The enduring demand for the iPhone helps Apple defy it's sceptics again
:00:18. > :00:41.with blockbuster results and a healthy forecast for Christmas.
:00:42. > :00:44.Also in the programme: We'll hear more about National Australia Bank's
:00:45. > :00:49.But first: The world's largest tech giant Apple is claiming its most
:00:50. > :00:54.successful year ever, after posting encouraging fourth quarter numbers.
:00:55. > :01:00.The world's largest tech giant Apple is claiming its most successful year
:01:01. > :01:04.The company's revenue reached $51.5 billion for the three months to
:01:05. > :01:07.September, up more than 20% from the same period last year.
:01:08. > :01:13.It meant the company made a profit of over $11 billion.
:01:14. > :01:15.It's thanks largely to strong iPhone sales.
:01:16. > :01:19.The firm sold more than 48 million of them in the last three months.
:01:20. > :01:21.And despite slowing economic growth in China, sales there have nearly
:01:22. > :01:25.That's nearly a quarter of Apple's total revenue.
:01:26. > :01:40.Michelle Fleury is across this for us in New York.
:01:41. > :01:47.Is this apple's most successful year ever? Chief executive Tim Cook says
:01:48. > :01:50.yes and tells investors the tech giant is heading into the holidays
:01:51. > :01:55.with the strongest product lineup yet. The boss of the tech company
:01:56. > :02:00.has lots of reasons to smile. The iPhone continues to fly off the
:02:01. > :02:07.shelves. 48 million were sold in the last quarter. Is apple too dependent
:02:08. > :02:13.on smartphone sales? It helped drive revenues 20% higher. There is a
:02:14. > :02:17.saying on Wall Street that trees don't grow to the sky. What's meant
:02:18. > :02:23.by that is every product line reaches its limits. Whether we are
:02:24. > :02:28.there yet or not with the iPhone remains to be seen. A lot of people
:02:29. > :02:34.were saying that before the iPhone 6 was launched and then we all had a
:02:35. > :02:41.nice surprise in terms of strong unit sales. There are many regions
:02:42. > :02:46.in the world, such as India, Brazil, Russia, where there is room
:02:47. > :02:51.for growth left. The story from China is mixed for apple. Annual
:02:52. > :02:56.revenue in the region almost doubled compared with last year -- Apple. It
:02:57. > :03:00.was lower than the previous quarter, and sales of the iPad suffered as
:03:01. > :03:06.more of us choose oversized smartphones instead. With a cash
:03:07. > :03:11.pile bigger than many country's GDP, and with such a firm grip on the
:03:12. > :03:18.smart phone market, there is no sign that Apple's dominance is
:03:19. > :03:19.diminishing -- countries' GDPs. Once again we are on Fed watch
:03:20. > :03:22.with everyone wondering if we will see the US central bank raise
:03:23. > :03:25.interest rates this year or next. Today Janet Yellen and her team will
:03:26. > :03:28.announce this month's decision. Most economists predict we will see
:03:29. > :03:31.no action this time, but should there be a rise in
:03:32. > :03:34.the cost of borrowing, it would mark With me is Nandini Ramakrishnan,
:03:35. > :03:46.global market strategist at Nice to see you again. It is the
:03:47. > :03:52.same conversation we are having, isn't it, but quite a lot has
:03:53. > :03:55.changed. We have had a lot of US companies coming out with earnings
:03:56. > :04:00.of stories and US manufacturers are concerned about the future. Shore.
:04:01. > :04:07.Not enough has changed to push them to change rates today -- sure. US
:04:08. > :04:11.manufacturers have been struggling. Manufacturing data hasn't been a
:04:12. > :04:16.strong. If you want everything to be convincing to tell you the economy
:04:17. > :04:21.is strong enough to read stand concerns, the data points aren't
:04:22. > :04:25.there. The dollar is strengthening, that is hurting many companies in
:04:26. > :04:32.the states, that is a key issue for the manufacturers and the oil prices
:04:33. > :04:37.remain low and China, concern about China is still there, isn't it? The
:04:38. > :04:40.dollar strength has been hurting the exporter is an more dollar sensitive
:04:41. > :04:45.companies. As time goes on they've been more active with hedging and
:04:46. > :04:50.currency management and we don't see that challenge facing them in 2016
:04:51. > :04:54.as much as it did in 2015. Oil-price, definitely, hasn't
:04:55. > :04:57.rebounded higher than 40-50 per barrel, so it is a challenge for
:04:58. > :05:04.energy oriented companies. When will they go up? I don't think it is
:05:05. > :05:09.today. There is a chance for December. If we are waiting for the
:05:10. > :05:13.set of factors it might be 2016. Are they waiting too long? I think they
:05:14. > :05:17.should raise rates. There are some benefits raising rates at a low
:05:18. > :05:24.level that economists think the US economy can handle it, it is time to
:05:25. > :05:26.move on. The emerging markets can deal with this uncertainty for not
:05:27. > :05:32.too much longer so I think they should. Early 2016 isn't pushing it
:05:33. > :05:36.too fast so let's hope. In the meantime, everybody is hoping the
:05:37. > :05:41.Bank of Japan will inject more stimulus on Friday. There is this
:05:42. > :05:45.dynamic where the ECB and the Bank of Japan are easing in order to
:05:46. > :05:50.stimulate the economy whereas the US is thinking of tightening. And the
:05:51. > :05:56.UK. Exactly. There is a diverted between the central banks and, you
:05:57. > :06:00.know, sorry, what Friday's announcement with the bank of Japan
:06:01. > :06:03.will give us a sense about whether another huge economy is going in a
:06:04. > :06:08.different direction from the Fed. Interesting. Thank you for coming
:06:09. > :06:11.in. You've got a long day ahead. Staying at your desk until the
:06:12. > :06:12.decision is announced later. Let's move on.
:06:13. > :06:15.National Australia Bank says it plans to sell its British operations
:06:16. > :06:19.by early 2016, two months later than expected.
:06:20. > :06:21.The British business, which has been plagued by bad debts
:06:22. > :06:24.and misconduct charges, has long been a thorn on NAB's side
:06:25. > :06:34.The news came with the banks latest earnings update.
:06:35. > :06:36.Sharanjit Leyl is in our Asia Business Hub in Singapore.
:06:37. > :06:43.NAD, one of the biggest Australian banks, give us details on its
:06:44. > :06:47.earnings and the British side of the business -- NAB. Well, that is
:06:48. > :06:50.right, Sally, the British business as you said is frustrating to
:06:51. > :06:55.shareholders for years. These are the first time they've revealed how
:06:56. > :07:01.they plan to exit. The CEO Andrew Goulburn made the exit a priority
:07:02. > :07:03.when he took office last August and said that some of the
:07:04. > :07:08.underperforming operations will be spun off and sold off through an
:07:09. > :07:12.initial public offering in what he called a complex transaction. The
:07:13. > :07:16.bank essentially saying it wouldn't emerge from -- it would demerge from
:07:17. > :07:20.the business and it plans to do so by early next year most likely, in
:07:21. > :07:24.February, and some of the shares would be put up for an initial
:07:25. > :07:28.public offering. It is selling because as you said it has been
:07:29. > :07:33.underperforming for years and it is part of the strategy to focus on the
:07:34. > :07:37.Australian and New Zealand operations. What is also interesting
:07:38. > :07:42.with the announcement is NAB said it would sell most of its life
:07:43. > :07:46.insurance business. It is announcing the sale of 80% of that business to
:07:47. > :07:52.Japan's Nippon life insights company, one of the leading life
:07:53. > :07:54.insurers. The insurance arm sale was worth over $2 billion and is
:07:55. > :07:58.representing what the bank essentially calls a very attractive
:07:59. > :08:03.long-term partnership with the high quality partner. In terms of the
:08:04. > :08:06.earnings, though that is the thing people are watching for, it ended up
:08:07. > :08:11.being the thing most investors focused on lease with the other
:08:12. > :08:15.announcements. Those earnings were looking rather good with NAB posting
:08:16. > :08:16.profits up nearly 20% for the year to September. Thank you.
:08:17. > :08:24.Twitter disappointed investors with a gloomy forecast.
:08:25. > :08:31.Its revenues for the third quarter rose, but less than expected
:08:32. > :08:36.and the number of active users only grew by 3 million since June.
:08:37. > :08:38.This is Twitter's first earnings report with Jack Dorsey,
:08:39. > :08:41.its founder back at the helm as its permanent chief executive.
:08:42. > :08:45.Twitter shares lost as much as 11% in after market trading.
:08:46. > :08:47.China's online retailing giant AliBaba also reported its results
:08:48. > :08:51.The firm posted record revenues of almost $3.5 billion, thanks to
:08:52. > :09:06.The latest results pushing up its shares, ending the day higher by 4%.
:09:07. > :09:13.Let's look at markets in Asia. We've mentioned the big event is the Bank
:09:14. > :09:19.of Japan meeting on Friday. What will it do in terms of stimulus?
:09:20. > :09:23.Weakness in Hong Kong. UBS reports lowered growth in China, weighing on
:09:24. > :09:26.sentiment in Shanghai and in Hong Kong today. Chinese stocks listed in
:09:27. > :09:32.Hong Kong headed for the biggest loss in a month. Asian stocks, as
:09:33. > :09:36.you can see, are mixed. Looking at the day on Wall Street, you can see
:09:37. > :09:40.how the Dow and the S 500 ended the day. Some say Wall Street might
:09:41. > :09:46.have a better day today given the news from
:09:47. > :09:50.sentiment, of course, the biggest company listed in the US. That's all
:09:51. > :09:55.from World Business Report. I'll see you soon.
:09:56. > :09:58.Ireland is to start phasing out one and two cent coins today.
:09:59. > :09:59.From now on lots of shoppers will start receiving change, rounded