:00:00. > :00:00.Now for the latest financial news with
:00:00. > :00:17.Business battles over Brexit: Would UK firms be better off
:00:18. > :00:22.Plus, from boom to bust: How Australia's mining towns have found
:00:23. > :00:52.We start here in the UK with the great debate over Brexit.
:00:53. > :00:54.As you have been hearing, British Prime Minister David Cameron
:00:55. > :00:58.is in Brussels trying to secure a deal on reforms that he hopes will
:00:59. > :01:01.help him win a referendum later this year on whether the UK should remain
:01:02. > :01:10.Japan suffers its biggest drop in currency. We'll get to that.
:01:11. > :01:13.We start here in the UK with the great debate over Brexit.
:01:14. > :01:16.As you have been hearing, British Prime Minister David Cameron
:01:17. > :01:19.is in Brussels trying to secure a deal on reforms that he hopes will
:01:20. > :01:23.help him win a referendum later this year on whether the UK should remain
:01:24. > :01:27.Mr Cameron has called on big business to support him
:01:28. > :01:32.Many top UK companies have already come out in favour,
:01:33. > :01:35.but there are also a lot of business people who want out.
:01:36. > :01:46.Well, let's start with those wanting to stay in the EU,
:01:47. > :01:49.One big manufacturing lobby group says leaving the EU would reduce
:01:50. > :01:54.Others warn it would damage economic growth.
:01:55. > :01:56.According to French bank Societe Generale, leaving the EU could cut
:01:57. > :02:00.British GDP growth by a half to one percent a year over 10 years.
:02:01. > :02:10.And that could add to pressure on the currency.
:02:11. > :02:13.Japanese bank Nomura believes the pound could fall 10 to 15%,
:02:14. > :02:20.some rival banks think the fall could be steeper.
:02:21. > :02:24.Of course for UK exporters that might not be all bad news.
:02:25. > :02:29.So what about those businesses who want to see the UK leave the EU?
:02:30. > :02:31.Well, on the immigration issue, some bosses say they would
:02:32. > :02:41.like more chance to look for talent from outside the EU.
:02:42. > :02:43.We'll hear from one of those in a moment.
:02:44. > :02:46.Small business groups complain about excessive rules and regulations,
:02:47. > :02:49.so called "EU red tape", which is an unfair burden on smaller firms.
:02:50. > :02:52.And some manufacturers think the UK would be better off with its own
:02:53. > :02:55.independent trade policy, enabling it to strike deals with growing
:02:56. > :03:01.Let's go back to that immigration debate though and hear now from
:03:02. > :03:18.The free movement of workers is one of the core principles of the EU. It
:03:19. > :03:24.says so in the Lisbon Treaty, the text that sets out what the EU is
:03:25. > :03:27.and what it stands for. For Britain, it means that if EU citizens want to
:03:28. > :03:33.come and work here, they have every right to do so. If a British citizen
:03:34. > :03:37.wants to go and get a job elsewhere in Europe, they have that right as
:03:38. > :03:43.well. But if written in Leeds the European Union, all that could
:03:44. > :03:47.change. There are currently about 2 million people working in Britain
:03:48. > :03:53.who come from elsewhere in the EU. That compares with about 1.2 million
:03:54. > :03:56.from outside the EU. Some recruiters believe that free movement of
:03:57. > :03:59.workers is crucial if they are to get hold of the talent they need,
:04:00. > :04:04.particularly in specialist industries. It is vital for the life
:04:05. > :04:11.sciences industry. It is a global industry and Lynne -- we need to be
:04:12. > :04:15.able to access the best people, not just in the UK. Research and
:04:16. > :04:18.development is such a big area that we need to be able to access the
:04:19. > :04:21.best people throughout Europe and globally. But not everyone agrees
:04:22. > :04:27.with that point of view. Some employers think that free movement
:04:28. > :04:31.of workers finds it harder to find the staff they need, and getting out
:04:32. > :04:36.of the EU could make things a lot easier. We can't select, we don't
:04:37. > :04:40.have control of migration of people with the right skill set. If we had
:04:41. > :04:45.a points -based system where we could get IT specialist from around
:04:46. > :04:48.the world, and advertise those are the skills we need, we would have a
:04:49. > :04:53.great variety of choice and we would get some amazing people into the UK.
:04:54. > :04:58.At the moment, it is whatever we can get from Europe. Of course, we don't
:04:59. > :05:02.yet know whether Britain will leave the EU or not, and if it does, what
:05:03. > :05:05.kind of deals might be done behind closed doors on issues like the free
:05:06. > :05:12.movement of workers. But whatever happens it will have profound
:05:13. > :05:14.implications both for British citizens and citizens of the EU who
:05:15. > :05:17.are living and working here. More economic worries from Japan,
:05:18. > :05:20.exports fell 13% last month, that's the worst performance
:05:21. > :05:22.since the financial crisis. Rico Hizon joins us now
:05:23. > :05:24.from Singapore. Japan needs this like a hole
:05:25. > :05:28.in the head and leaves policymakers battling to get re-ignite world's
:05:29. > :05:50.third biggest economy. Good to see you. They are doing
:05:51. > :06:06.whatever they can to jumpstart flagging economy, but currently they
:06:07. > :06:13.have the problem that consumers are buying electronic consumer items.
:06:14. > :06:21.And everybody else in Asia is being impacted by this global economic
:06:22. > :06:23.slowdown. Not enough cash to purchase your favourite item, and
:06:24. > :06:30.the result is the biggest drop since the global financial crisis. In this
:06:31. > :06:35.latest report, there are growing concerns that Japanese authorities
:06:36. > :06:43.are increasingly left with few options to revive the stumbling
:06:44. > :06:46.economy, even as the central bank adopted negative interest rates to
:06:47. > :06:49.spark momentum. Japan is not alone to suffering this rough start of the
:06:50. > :06:55.year. We also have the likes of South Korea, Taiwan and others being
:06:56. > :07:01.impacted by this slowdown. Have you got a cold or something? Yes, my
:07:02. > :07:10.apologies for my croaky voice! I have a major sore throat! You poor
:07:11. > :07:11.man! Go and take care of it. Don't bring those germs into the Singapore
:07:12. > :07:14.studio! We are also in Australia, which
:07:15. > :07:17.for years has been getting filthy But the collapse
:07:18. > :07:21.in global commodity prices has The price of coal has slumped
:07:22. > :07:27.by 60% in the last five years. And Australian coal exports to
:07:28. > :07:30.China, its biggest customer, are Our correspondent Jon Donnison
:07:31. > :07:51.reports from Queensland. Thorn in central Queensland Ground
:07:52. > :07:57.Zero for Australia's mining industry. The state has some of the
:07:58. > :08:02.largest coal reserves and was at the heart of the country's mining boom.
:08:03. > :08:05.It is a boom that may yet not have gone bust, but which these days is
:08:06. > :08:12.certainly providing a lot less bang for the buck. Coal continues to be
:08:13. > :08:17.pulled out of the ground here in Queensland on a massive scale, but
:08:18. > :08:23.such has been the fall in the price of the product that many of the big
:08:24. > :08:30.mines are struggling to turn a profit. And that has hit mining
:08:31. > :08:35.communities like this hard. Nearly everyone here is connected to the
:08:36. > :08:41.coal industry, but wages have been cut and jobs have been lost. I'm not
:08:42. > :08:47.quite sure where boom and bust originated from, but it is certainly
:08:48. > :08:50.cemented into the mining industry in particular. We do need to work
:08:51. > :08:57.towards sustainability, and for consistency. And Moranbah has
:08:58. > :09:00.definitely not seen that. These houses don't look too flash, but
:09:01. > :09:05.during the boom when miners were flush with cash, this small,
:09:06. > :09:11.non-descript town, remarkably had some of the most expensive real
:09:12. > :09:15.estate in all of Queensland, but in the last few years many people have
:09:16. > :09:21.left, and property prices have dropped by as much as 70%. The town
:09:22. > :09:25.is starting to struggle now because of that impact on the bottom line.
:09:26. > :09:28.People don't have money to spend around the town. I am always
:09:29. > :09:34.concerned about my family and the community's future, I am hoping it
:09:35. > :09:37.will come back. We always live in hope that we will see a flattening
:09:38. > :09:42.and potential increase in demand, but there is a way that worry.
:09:43. > :09:48.Australia's coal reserves are not going to run out any time soon, but
:09:49. > :10:04.digging it up is one thing, selling it for a profit is another.
:10:05. > :10:07.Venezuela is raising petrol prices for the first time in 20 years
:10:08. > :10:09.by several thousand percent, although they will still be
:10:10. > :10:12.President Nicolas Maduro said in a televised address that pump
:10:13. > :10:15.prices of premium fuel would rise from the equivalent
:10:16. > :10:20.Venezuela's economy has been pushed to the brink by the collapse
:10:21. > :10:23.in the oil price, which accounts for about 95%