03/02/2016 World Business Report

Now for the latest financial news with Sally

A last-ditch attempt to turn around Yahoo,

15% of the workforce is axed as part of an aggressive strategic plan.

But is it enough to save the boss Marissa Mayer?

And we assess the economic impact of the Zika outbreak

Also in the programme: South Korea announces

a fresh stimulus programme, in a desperate attempt to boost growth.

A major shake-up at the internet giant Yahoo.

The firm is cutting around 1,700 jobs, in

a desperate attempt to breathe life into the struggling tech company.

It has been talked about for awhile, but cutting 15% of Yahoo's workforce

and selling off some parts of its business is seen as chief executive

Marissa Mayer's last chance to persuade restless shareholders she

has figured out how to revive flagging growth. Yahoo reported a

$4.4 billion loss for the last three months of 2015, as it wrote down the

Yahoo is facing stiff competition from the likes of Google

Mayer is calling it an aggressive strategic plan.

Tim Danton is editor-in-chief at PC Pro.

Nice to see you again. What do you think? Well, I think she is

overstating it by saying it is a bold strategic plan. What we are

really talking about here is Yahoo kind of battening down all its

hatches ready for a sell-off. That seems the most likely outcome for

all of this, unfortunately. Who would want to buy it if it was for

sale? Well, they have been glimmers of interest. In the past we have

seen Microsoft make a bid, but that doesn't look likely any more. We

have also heard more recently that one of the big carriers over in the

US, Verizon, could be interested. And in terms of Marissa Mayer and

her performance she has been there for around four years. When she

arrived it was big headline news, partly because Yahoo had churned

through Chief Executive 's, three or four in one year. Yes. She arrived

in her late 30s, six months pregnant, our staff from Google. Has

she delivered? That is difficult to say. History could be quite kind to

her because when she took over Yahoo was seen as a lazy start-up company.

It had been going so long, it was founded in the mid- 90s, and she

took it and shook it and made it into something new. So she gave all

the employees iPhones, for example. And she said they could work at

home. She did, and one of the things she talked about was this culture of

coming in late and leaving early, which you do not want in an

aggressive Silicon Valley firm. And she did turn that around and she has

made it much more vibrant as a place to work, by the sound of it. What

about the Alibaba relationship? They sold the big stake they had in

Alibaba but they still have a 20% holding and that has affected its

share price. It massively affect its share price. If you track the two of

them you will see it almost like a mirror image. That is worrying

because really it should have just in an investment for Yahoo but what

it has turned out to be is almost like its biggest signifier of its

value. When in fact what you would want to be the signifier of your

value is your core business. And so what we are looking at here is Yahoo

looking to probably shared its core business, and then you do wonder

what you are left with. Thank you very much for talking us through

Yahoo. And of course we will keep track of how the strategic plan

goes, the aggressive one. Let's move on.

The US state of Texas has reported its first

locally transmitted case of the Zika virus, and there are reports

The outbreak, and a possible link to a rise in cases of babies with birth

defects, prompted the World Health Organisation to declare

For Brazil, the outbreak has already had

a negative impact on the country's image and tourism industry.

Summer in Brazil is the peak of the travel season, with 600,000 visitors

to arrive in Rio on cruise liners like this. When it set off from

England the passengers were hardly aware of the threat of the Zika. Now

they are protecting themselves before setting foot in the city. I

don't think that we were terribly concerned, I think mainly because it

is affecting pregnant women and I am not pregnant. It did sort of give us

pause because we are considering having another child. But, with

several countries advising pregnant women to postpone travel to areas

with Zika, hotels in Rio are starting to register their first

cancellations and many airlines are offering to refund those who no

longer want to go to the places impacted. Carnival is one of the

main events in Brazil's tourism calendar and here in Rio the Sunday

schools are preparing their floats for the big parades. This will be

the first test into whether the fear of the Zika virus will affect travel

to the country and how the Olympic Games may be impacted. I met the

mayor of Rio as he was inspecting the Carnival warehouses in the

so-called city of slumber. I don't think we have to worry about the

Olympics. At that time of year, we talk about August, it is a period of

the year when the mosquitoes that spread this disease, it is not

around. I mean, it happens in summertime. I mean, if you take care

of yourself, it will not be a problem. Brazil's economy is in

recession but here is one sector which is booming, mosquito

repellent. This store has a waiting list for a brand which claims to

last the longest. It is frequently sold out. TRANSLATION: I have been

coming here every week to buy repellent for my baby daughter and

my sister who is pregnant. Everyone back home is really worried and this

is costing me a lot of money. The electric racket to kill mosquitoes

is another summer must have. Amid the economic slowdown, this public

health crisis is an unexpected hit for Brazil's finances, as well as

it's already beleaguered image. The South Korean government

has unveiled a raft of new Lovely to see you. We were talking

about South Korea yesterday and help it needed. So does this do the

trick? Well, everyone is keeping their fingers crossed that it will

have an impact on the Korean economy. It is the government has

indeed made some aggressive moves. And this includes, Sally, an extra 5

billion US dollars in public spending to boost an economy

struggling with falling exports and high youth unemployment. The package

was announced earlier today after exports plunged almost 20% last

month. Its sharpest decline, Sally, for more than six years. And the

Finance Ministry said that the government will mobilise all

available resources in order to boost consumption and exports

domestically in the first quarter of 2016. Thank you very much.

In other news: A US judge has cleared the way for investors to sue

the Brazilian oil firm Petrobras over billions of dollars

of losses allegedly stemming from a bribery and corruption scandal.

A New York judge has certified two classes of investors,

saying their claims are similar enough to be pursued as groups.

China's state-owned ChemChina is nearing a deal to buy the Swiss

seeds and pesticides group Syngenta for $43 billion.

The deal could be announced later Wednesday, when Syngenta is

If signed, it would be the biggest acquisition by a Chinese firm.

Chipotle Mexican Grill in the US says sales sank almost 15%

in the fourth quarter, following an E-coli outbreak,

and a separate norovirus incident which sickened dozens of people.

It is the first sales drop since the company went public a decade ago.

There are reports the UK-based artificial intelligence firm

SwiftKey will be brought by Microsoft.

The Financial Times says the deal is worth $250 million.

SwiftKey is known for its predictive keyboard, which is installed

It is a sea of red for markets right across the world, a pretty torrid

session on Wall Street following today in Asia. At one point

overnight the US crude price went below $30 a barrel. In Japan the yen

is strengthening, not helping stocks in Tokyo. Really disappointing

investors. Right across the board on Wall Street the NASDAQ tech waited

index down 2.3%. That is all from me for now. More business stories when

we review the papers in a few minutes.