:00:00. > :00:00.Now for the latest financial news with Sally
:00:00. > :00:17.A last-ditch attempt to turn around Yahoo,
:00:18. > :00:24.15% of the workforce is axed as part of an aggressive strategic plan.
:00:25. > :00:31.But is it enough to save the boss Marissa Mayer?
:00:32. > :00:33.And we assess the economic impact of the Zika outbreak
:00:34. > :00:48.Also in the programme: South Korea announces
:00:49. > :00:51.a fresh stimulus programme, in a desperate attempt to boost growth.
:00:52. > :00:56.A major shake-up at the internet giant Yahoo.
:00:57. > :00:58.The firm is cutting around 1,700 jobs, in
:00:59. > :01:01.a desperate attempt to breathe life into the struggling tech company.
:01:02. > :01:04.It has been talked about for awhile, but cutting 15% of Yahoo's workforce
:01:05. > :01:07.and selling off some parts of its business is seen as chief executive
:01:08. > :01:09.Marissa Mayer's last chance to persuade restless shareholders she
:01:10. > :01:12.has figured out how to revive flagging growth. Yahoo reported a
:01:13. > :01:16.$4.4 billion loss for the last three months of 2015, as it wrote down the
:01:17. > :01:20.Yahoo is facing stiff competition from the likes of Google
:01:21. > :01:28.Mayer is calling it an aggressive strategic plan.
:01:29. > :01:43.Tim Danton is editor-in-chief at PC Pro.
:01:44. > :01:52.Nice to see you again. What do you think? Well, I think she is
:01:53. > :01:56.overstating it by saying it is a bold strategic plan. What we are
:01:57. > :02:00.really talking about here is Yahoo kind of battening down all its
:02:01. > :02:04.hatches ready for a sell-off. That seems the most likely outcome for
:02:05. > :02:09.all of this, unfortunately. Who would want to buy it if it was for
:02:10. > :02:12.sale? Well, they have been glimmers of interest. In the past we have
:02:13. > :02:16.seen Microsoft make a bid, but that doesn't look likely any more. We
:02:17. > :02:21.have also heard more recently that one of the big carriers over in the
:02:22. > :02:25.US, Verizon, could be interested. And in terms of Marissa Mayer and
:02:26. > :02:29.her performance she has been there for around four years. When she
:02:30. > :02:33.arrived it was big headline news, partly because Yahoo had churned
:02:34. > :02:39.through Chief Executive 's, three or four in one year. Yes. She arrived
:02:40. > :02:44.in her late 30s, six months pregnant, our staff from Google. Has
:02:45. > :02:48.she delivered? That is difficult to say. History could be quite kind to
:02:49. > :02:55.her because when she took over Yahoo was seen as a lazy start-up company.
:02:56. > :02:58.It had been going so long, it was founded in the mid- 90s, and she
:02:59. > :03:03.took it and shook it and made it into something new. So she gave all
:03:04. > :03:07.the employees iPhones, for example. And she said they could work at
:03:08. > :03:11.home. She did, and one of the things she talked about was this culture of
:03:12. > :03:15.coming in late and leaving early, which you do not want in an
:03:16. > :03:19.aggressive Silicon Valley firm. And she did turn that around and she has
:03:20. > :03:28.made it much more vibrant as a place to work, by the sound of it. What
:03:29. > :03:33.about the Alibaba relationship? They sold the big stake they had in
:03:34. > :03:36.Alibaba but they still have a 20% holding and that has affected its
:03:37. > :03:40.share price. It massively affect its share price. If you track the two of
:03:41. > :03:43.them you will see it almost like a mirror image. That is worrying
:03:44. > :03:47.because really it should have just in an investment for Yahoo but what
:03:48. > :03:51.it has turned out to be is almost like its biggest signifier of its
:03:52. > :03:56.value. When in fact what you would want to be the signifier of your
:03:57. > :04:00.value is your core business. And so what we are looking at here is Yahoo
:04:01. > :04:05.looking to probably shared its core business, and then you do wonder
:04:06. > :04:08.what you are left with. Thank you very much for talking us through
:04:09. > :04:13.Yahoo. And of course we will keep track of how the strategic plan
:04:14. > :04:14.goes, the aggressive one. Let's move on.
:04:15. > :04:16.The US state of Texas has reported its first
:04:17. > :04:19.locally transmitted case of the Zika virus, and there are reports
:04:20. > :04:24.The outbreak, and a possible link to a rise in cases of babies with birth
:04:25. > :04:26.defects, prompted the World Health Organisation to declare
:04:27. > :04:36.For Brazil, the outbreak has already had
:04:37. > :04:38.a negative impact on the country's image and tourism industry.
:04:39. > :04:51.Summer in Brazil is the peak of the travel season, with 600,000 visitors
:04:52. > :04:55.to arrive in Rio on cruise liners like this. When it set off from
:04:56. > :04:59.England the passengers were hardly aware of the threat of the Zika. Now
:05:00. > :05:04.they are protecting themselves before setting foot in the city. I
:05:05. > :05:08.don't think that we were terribly concerned, I think mainly because it
:05:09. > :05:12.is affecting pregnant women and I am not pregnant. It did sort of give us
:05:13. > :05:17.pause because we are considering having another child. But, with
:05:18. > :05:21.several countries advising pregnant women to postpone travel to areas
:05:22. > :05:25.with Zika, hotels in Rio are starting to register their first
:05:26. > :05:29.cancellations and many airlines are offering to refund those who no
:05:30. > :05:33.longer want to go to the places impacted. Carnival is one of the
:05:34. > :05:38.main events in Brazil's tourism calendar and here in Rio the Sunday
:05:39. > :05:43.schools are preparing their floats for the big parades. This will be
:05:44. > :05:47.the first test into whether the fear of the Zika virus will affect travel
:05:48. > :05:51.to the country and how the Olympic Games may be impacted. I met the
:05:52. > :05:56.mayor of Rio as he was inspecting the Carnival warehouses in the
:05:57. > :06:00.so-called city of slumber. I don't think we have to worry about the
:06:01. > :06:04.Olympics. At that time of year, we talk about August, it is a period of
:06:05. > :06:09.the year when the mosquitoes that spread this disease, it is not
:06:10. > :06:12.around. I mean, it happens in summertime. I mean, if you take care
:06:13. > :06:18.of yourself, it will not be a problem. Brazil's economy is in
:06:19. > :06:23.recession but here is one sector which is booming, mosquito
:06:24. > :06:27.repellent. This store has a waiting list for a brand which claims to
:06:28. > :06:30.last the longest. It is frequently sold out. TRANSLATION: I have been
:06:31. > :06:35.coming here every week to buy repellent for my baby daughter and
:06:36. > :06:39.my sister who is pregnant. Everyone back home is really worried and this
:06:40. > :06:46.is costing me a lot of money. The electric racket to kill mosquitoes
:06:47. > :06:50.is another summer must have. Amid the economic slowdown, this public
:06:51. > :06:53.health crisis is an unexpected hit for Brazil's finances, as well as
:06:54. > :06:56.it's already beleaguered image. The South Korean government
:06:57. > :07:09.has unveiled a raft of new Lovely to see you. We were talking
:07:10. > :07:14.about South Korea yesterday and help it needed. So does this do the
:07:15. > :07:17.trick? Well, everyone is keeping their fingers crossed that it will
:07:18. > :07:23.have an impact on the Korean economy. It is the government has
:07:24. > :07:28.indeed made some aggressive moves. And this includes, Sally, an extra 5
:07:29. > :07:31.billion US dollars in public spending to boost an economy
:07:32. > :07:37.struggling with falling exports and high youth unemployment. The package
:07:38. > :07:41.was announced earlier today after exports plunged almost 20% last
:07:42. > :07:46.month. Its sharpest decline, Sally, for more than six years. And the
:07:47. > :07:50.Finance Ministry said that the government will mobilise all
:07:51. > :07:52.available resources in order to boost consumption and exports
:07:53. > :07:56.domestically in the first quarter of 2016. Thank you very much.
:07:57. > :07:59.In other news: A US judge has cleared the way for investors to sue
:08:00. > :08:01.the Brazilian oil firm Petrobras over billions of dollars
:08:02. > :08:04.of losses allegedly stemming from a bribery and corruption scandal.
:08:05. > :08:06.A New York judge has certified two classes of investors,
:08:07. > :08:14.saying their claims are similar enough to be pursued as groups.
:08:15. > :08:17.China's state-owned ChemChina is nearing a deal to buy the Swiss
:08:18. > :08:19.seeds and pesticides group Syngenta for $43 billion.
:08:20. > :08:21.The deal could be announced later Wednesday, when Syngenta is
:08:22. > :08:39.If signed, it would be the biggest acquisition by a Chinese firm.
:08:40. > :08:41.Chipotle Mexican Grill in the US says sales sank almost 15%
:08:42. > :08:43.in the fourth quarter, following an E-coli outbreak,
:08:44. > :08:46.and a separate norovirus incident which sickened dozens of people.
:08:47. > :08:55.It is the first sales drop since the company went public a decade ago.
:08:56. > :08:57.There are reports the UK-based artificial intelligence firm
:08:58. > :08:58.SwiftKey will be brought by Microsoft.
:08:59. > :09:01.The Financial Times says the deal is worth $250 million.
:09:02. > :09:03.SwiftKey is known for its predictive keyboard, which is installed
:09:04. > :09:19.It is a sea of red for markets right across the world, a pretty torrid
:09:20. > :09:26.session on Wall Street following today in Asia. At one point
:09:27. > :09:33.overnight the US crude price went below $30 a barrel. In Japan the yen
:09:34. > :09:42.is strengthening, not helping stocks in Tokyo. Really disappointing
:09:43. > :09:49.investors. Right across the board on Wall Street the NASDAQ tech waited
:09:50. > :09:52.index down 2.3%. That is all from me for now. More business stories when
:09:53. > :10:05.we review the papers in a few minutes.