:00:00. > :00:20.Cuba's experiencing a rush of entrepreneurship since
:00:21. > :00:22.President Raoul Castro eased the rules on private enterprise.
:00:23. > :00:29.We'll take a look at how this is changing Old Havana.
:00:30. > :00:31.And just when you thought it was dead!
:00:32. > :00:33.Secondlife, an almost forgotten icon of the early "dot-com boom,"
:00:34. > :00:36.is back, with a new purpose and new business propositions.
:00:37. > :00:53.In just a minute, our team in Singapore will explain
:00:54. > :00:57.One country that can expect quite radical change
:00:58. > :01:00.The reestablishment of full diplomatic relations with
:01:01. > :01:03.the US earlier this year after more than half
:01:04. > :01:06.a century has helped fuel reforms and led to a surge in tourism.
:01:07. > :01:08.Since President Raul Castro eased the rules on private enterprise,
:01:09. > :01:11.scores of Havana residents have moved into the private sector,
:01:12. > :01:12.opening restaurants and simple accommodation.
:01:13. > :01:15.Will Grant reports on how private businesses are helping to shoulder
:01:16. > :01:44.Old Havana, the heart of Cuba's at risk decaying capital city is
:01:45. > :01:50.perhaps the most popular destination on the island. -- beautiful. It is
:01:51. > :01:57.in the grip of a tourist boom. The decision to ease tourism bands has
:01:58. > :02:03.brought many. -- bans. They wanted to come before it becomes overrun.
:02:04. > :02:07.Official numbers showed 3 million visitors in 2015, a big rise from
:02:08. > :02:12.2014. The government is trying to build more infrastructure, but for
:02:13. > :02:17.now they are turning to the general population to pick up the slack.
:02:18. > :02:21.Along the private enterprises are allowed our restaurants, and
:02:22. > :02:27.breakfasts, and even hotel is, all appearing at a dizzying rate. --
:02:28. > :02:36.hotels. One of the most successful restaurants is this one. They put a
:02:37. > :02:40.modern twist on Cuban cuisine. It is a small business owned by
:02:41. > :02:44.experienced Cuban entrepreneurs. They told me they are even expanding
:02:45. > :02:49.by building over the old parking lot next door. TRANSLATION: There are
:02:50. > :02:54.many people opening private businesses. Many are doing well. But
:02:55. > :02:59.others are not succeeding. That is because of the number of tourists
:03:00. > :03:02.grow, you have to improve or they will never come back. That has
:03:03. > :03:09.happened to many across the city in general. The other main private
:03:10. > :03:13.enterprise to flourish in Old Havana is accommodation. Many people, like
:03:14. > :03:22.this man, half modest apartments they rent out to tourists for and
:03:23. > :03:25.authentic Cuban experience. The lack of Internet is one of the many
:03:26. > :03:31.challenges they have. But he says that they love the destination.
:03:32. > :03:36.TRANSLATION: Been in the old town is an advantage. The colonial part, the
:03:37. > :03:42.historic path, there is a lot of, bars, restaurants, experience, they
:03:43. > :03:48.don't want modernity, they have sat at home. They want to see the real
:03:49. > :03:52.Cuba. -- that. Old Havana has struggled to cope with a record year
:03:53. > :04:00.for tourism in Cuba. But while tourism has sustained the private
:04:01. > :04:06.enterprise in Cuba, private business has also kept the tourism trade
:04:07. > :04:12.afloat. Will grant, it is in use, via. -- Grant. -- BBC News. --
:04:13. > :04:13.Havana. Oil prices are continuing
:04:14. > :04:26.their decline in Asia this morning. To deceive. We saw it rebound
:04:27. > :04:28.slightly during European and American trading, did are we? --
:04:29. > :04:32.Good to see you. But it has fallen again. That was because of the
:04:33. > :04:38.forecast of colder weather which got traders to think there would be more
:04:39. > :04:46.demands. But, the underlying concern is there is too much oil and supply
:04:47. > :04:51.in the market. All prices are falling 1.5 -2% in Asian trade. That
:04:52. > :04:55.is mainly because of the announcement by Saudi Arabia on
:04:56. > :04:59.Monday which you reported on the programme, which of course,
:05:00. > :05:03.indicated that the world's biggest exporter is preparing for the oil
:05:04. > :05:10.prices to remain low for the foreseeable future, and of course,
:05:11. > :05:16.we have run, which will start to exports once again once the
:05:17. > :05:20.sanctions are lifted. -- Iran. That means more oil in the market. That
:05:21. > :05:24.is why we are seeing them to continue to fall in Asian trade. We
:05:25. > :05:31.will have to get used to the new normal of oil prices in quite low.
:05:32. > :05:41.In the. We will look at the figures at the end of this session. --
:05:42. > :05:43.Indeed. For now, thank you. Marika Oi in Singapore.
:05:44. > :05:46.Remember Second Life, the online parallel universe that ten years ago
:05:47. > :05:48.was the hottest thing since the invention of the internet?
:05:49. > :05:50.Everyone lost interest and left, right?
:05:51. > :05:52.Not only that, it's still profitable!
:05:53. > :05:54.Now, Second Life's developer Linden Lab is working on
:05:55. > :05:57."Project Sansar," which aims to integrate virtual into the game.
:05:58. > :06:00.Theo Leggett caught up with the boss of the firm behind
:06:01. > :06:11.In Secondlife today we make most of our money through renting the
:06:12. > :06:16.servers or simulators that people build their experiences on top of.
:06:17. > :06:21.But we also do tax some of the virtual goods in the world. There
:06:22. > :06:28.are many sales of that. Everyone wants their avatar to look good.
:06:29. > :06:38.Clothing, air, as well as home and garden and vanishing, homes,
:06:39. > :06:42.vehicles. -- hair. -- furnishings. When people sell these things to
:06:43. > :06:48.each other we take a piece of the action. Now you have the second life
:06:49. > :06:50.of Secondlife, if we can call it that, how will you make and take
:06:51. > :07:00.steps forward that the first one failed to take? --. There will be a
:07:01. > :07:05.huge demand for content experiences because you will get new hardware
:07:06. > :07:09.from Microsoft and Google and Facebook, a website that many people
:07:10. > :07:13.can create themselves these days. But with 3-dimensional interactive
:07:14. > :07:18.experiences, that is in the field of the few. We can solve that. Almost
:07:19. > :07:24.anyone can participate in creating that with us. We see so many
:07:25. > :07:30.extremely useful and successful uses of Secondlife Given today. We have
:07:31. > :07:38.incredible users around education. -- even. Universities are using
:07:39. > :07:44.Secondlife to teach. They outperformed their physical students
:07:45. > :07:48.at the university level. We also have physical health, therapy,
:07:49. > :07:54.treatment of post- thematic stress disorders, phobias of all kinds. It
:07:55. > :07:59.is extremely useful and you cannot do it outside of that.
:08:00. > :08:03.Barclays investment bank is to pay more than $13.75 million
:08:04. > :08:05.over accusations it let US customers make unsuitable mutual
:08:06. > :08:09.The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said Barclays Capital will
:08:10. > :08:11.pay more than $10 million in compensation to
:08:12. > :08:14.It will also pay a fine of $3.75 million.
:08:15. > :08:16.Barclays has not admitted wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement,
:08:17. > :08:27.Brazil's deficit jumped in November to one of the highest levels
:08:28. > :08:29.on record as state finances came under increasing strain
:08:30. > :08:32.The public sector deficit, the difference
:08:33. > :08:35.between what the government spends and what it receives in revenues,
:08:36. > :08:44.This was worse than expected and much higher than October's number.
:08:45. > :08:47.A federal judge has certified two shareholder class action lawsuits
:08:48. > :08:50.accusing Facebook of hiding concerns about its growth forecasts prior to
:08:51. > :08:52.the social media company's initial public offering in May 2012.
:08:53. > :08:54.The judge said retail and institutional investors who
:08:55. > :08:56.claimed they lost money by purchasing Facebook shares
:08:57. > :09:12.at inflated prices may pursue their respective claims as groups.
:09:13. > :09:18.A quick look at the markets. For the most part, in the Asia-Pacific
:09:19. > :09:28.region, markets are low, after a brief mourning rally, as the slump
:09:29. > :09:43.of oil prices is making its mark. -- morning. From me and the team, that
:09:44. > :09:44.is the business report for this hour. See