:00:00. > :00:08.Now for the latest financial news with
:00:09. > :00:21.Digging itself into a bit of a hole, mining giant BHP Billiton sees its
:00:22. > :00:25.And driving the future of mobile technology.
:00:26. > :00:29.We look at how connecting your phone to your car could be one
:00:30. > :00:39.Welcome to World Business Report, I'm Sally Bundock.
:00:40. > :00:42.Also in the programme, we will be looking at a giant leap
:00:43. > :00:50.The world's biggest miner BHP Billiton has released
:00:51. > :00:53.its latest set of numbers, and they don't make for very happy reading.
:00:54. > :00:56.BHP reported a net loss of $5.7 billion for the six months
:00:57. > :01:05.That is the first loss in more than 16 years.
:01:06. > :01:08.It is a huge reversal of fortunes for a firm that made
:01:09. > :01:16.a profit of $5.4 billion during the same period in 2014.
:01:17. > :01:18.Like many of its rivals, the Australian mining giant
:01:19. > :01:25.suffered from the collapse in commodity prices.
:01:26. > :01:27.BHP also took a pickaxe to the interim dividend,
:01:28. > :01:29.abandoning its long-held policy of maintaining or increasing
:01:30. > :01:37.dividend payments to shareholders, reducing the pay-out by 75%.
:01:38. > :01:44.Rico, this is a stark reminder of how hard the current environment
:01:45. > :01:58.That's right. Not only BHP Billiton but also its rivals. The world's
:01:59. > :02:04.largest mining company has been under intense pressure as a slowdown
:02:05. > :02:08.in China's economy has resulted in lower demand for its key commodities
:02:09. > :02:13.such as iron ore and coal and you also had to add to the equation the
:02:14. > :02:19.collapse in oil prices due to OPEC led Saudi Arabia's determination not
:02:20. > :02:23.to cut production, leading to an oversupply plus slowing demand. So
:02:24. > :02:27.this is really not a good mix for BHP Billiton. Earlier I spoke with
:02:28. > :02:32.David Lennox, a research analyst based in Sydney, and asked if these
:02:33. > :02:36.losses will pile up in the second half of BHP Billiton's financial
:02:37. > :02:41.year from January to June. In the second half of the year we are
:02:42. > :02:45.actually looking for commodity prices to improve only modestly, but
:02:46. > :02:48.that modest improvement should be enough to actually see the
:02:49. > :02:52.second-half result a little more positive than we saw for the first
:02:53. > :02:56.so I would expect perhaps for BHP Billiton when it reports its full
:02:57. > :03:02.year for 2016 that it is going to be a tale of two hubs. The first half,
:03:03. > :03:06.which was very poor, and the second-half which will show some
:03:07. > :03:12.recovery. And despite the disappointing numbers, Sally,
:03:13. > :03:16.surprise, surprise, BHP Billiton's stock price is up around 3% in
:03:17. > :03:21.Sydney trade as according to analysts traders are now focused on
:03:22. > :03:27.the second-half bottom-line numbers, with improving prices for
:03:28. > :03:31.iron ore and oil. OK, a glimmer of hope. Thank you very much, see you
:03:32. > :03:32.soon. In other news: Leaders from some
:03:33. > :03:35.of Britain's biggest companies say that leaving the European Union
:03:36. > :03:37.would threaten jobs Bosses from 36 FTSE 100 companies,
:03:38. > :03:41.including BT, Marks Spencer and Vodafone,
:03:42. > :03:43.signed a letter published in the Times newspaper saying an EU exit
:03:44. > :03:47.would deter investment in the UK. However, those supporting a Brexit
:03:48. > :03:49.say that leaving would cut unnecessary regulation and costs,
:03:50. > :04:00.boosting growth. The British pound continues to trade
:04:01. > :04:03.a multi-year lows versus the US dollar, after sinking to its lowest
:04:04. > :04:05.level against the greenback This is due to the uncertainty
:04:06. > :04:10.about a possible British exit The steep fall adds to losses made
:04:11. > :04:14.by the pound over recent months, which have been linked to
:04:15. > :04:22.the outlook for UK interest rates. Lower oil prices have helped Qantas
:04:23. > :04:24.post a record underlying pre-tax profit of $665 million
:04:25. > :04:27.for the six months to December. The result is the best first-half
:04:28. > :04:30.profit in the Australian Despite the positive numbers,
:04:31. > :04:40.shares in the company fell by 5% in morning trading, in part due to
:04:41. > :04:47.a recent spike in the price of oil. Fitbit shares dropped more than 16%
:04:48. > :04:50.in extended trading in New York, after the tech firm released
:04:51. > :04:53.a weaker than expected profit The company,
:04:54. > :05:01.who are known for their wearable fitness devices, saw revenue nearly
:05:02. > :05:04.double on the last quarter, but missed Wall Street profit forecasts
:05:05. > :05:07.because of larger than expected The internet of things
:05:08. > :05:17.and virtual reality - two big themes at this weeks'
:05:18. > :05:19.Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The mobile industry believes
:05:20. > :05:21.connecting everything to the internet is
:05:22. > :05:23.its next big challenge, and many mobile firms are also hoping virtual
:05:24. > :05:26.reality will take off this year. Our technology correspondent
:05:27. > :05:44.Rory Cellan-Jones is there. It is an industry at zest with
:05:45. > :05:50.getting connected, and having hooked up billions of people, the mobile
:05:51. > :05:55.world is turning to things. Cars are already going online. SIM card
:05:56. > :06:00.buried in this one turns it into a Wi-Fi hotspot and tells the garish
:06:01. > :06:04.it needs a service. Agriculture is getting connected and farmers will
:06:05. > :06:10.soon be able to replenish their feed silos by the phone -- garage. Even
:06:11. > :06:13.this bike is online. It flashes when you are riding into danger while
:06:14. > :06:19.feeding information back to make the city streets safer. And then there
:06:20. > :06:23.is your dog, soon to be hooked up to the online world via a cheap sensor
:06:24. > :06:29.in his collar. Is very lightweight collar means you know where your dog
:06:30. > :06:33.is, you don't lose your job, it is a simple application. This new
:06:34. > :06:37.technology will make that kind of thing affordable and available. As
:06:38. > :06:41.well as connecting nearly every object on earth, they have another
:06:42. > :06:48.of session this year, disappearing into a virtual world. Here we go.
:06:49. > :06:52.Wow, virtual reality is everywhere at this show, providing all sorts of
:06:53. > :06:55.thrilling experiences but it is the cheaper version where you slot a
:06:56. > :07:00.phone into a headset which were first introduced many people to the
:07:01. > :07:04.technology. What you are seeing now, especially at this conference, is
:07:05. > :07:07.that for the first time you can take your phone everywhere with you in
:07:08. > :07:10.your pocket, snap into a very affordable device and just like that
:07:11. > :07:15.you can transport yourself anywhere around the world and get these
:07:16. > :07:18.experiences that money can't buy. But it is augmented reality that
:07:19. > :07:22.will have a bigger impact. Want to turn any space into a car showroom?
:07:23. > :07:27.This app using Google technology allows you to do that. You can
:07:28. > :07:32.change the colour, even get in and turn the Radio one. Virtual reality
:07:33. > :07:36.is not for everybody, not everybody can weather virtual reality had
:07:37. > :07:41.debts, many people feel dizzy. It is an experience which we can take to
:07:42. > :07:46.everybody. Mobile phones used to be about something simple, making
:07:47. > :07:47.calls. Now this industry believes the power of its technology can
:07:48. > :07:51.change every aspect of our lives. Now, if you have ever struggled
:07:52. > :07:54.getting hold of a spare part for an appliance, spare
:07:55. > :07:56.a thought for the astronauts on the International Space Station, where
:07:57. > :07:58.deliveries aren't exactly regular, Our North America technology
:07:59. > :08:02.reporter Dave Lee reports on how 3D printing is about to revolutionise
:08:03. > :08:16.the business of working in space. The International Space Station has
:08:17. > :08:22.been in orbit for over 6000 days. And from time to time the astronauts
:08:23. > :08:26.on board need something from Earth. And there has really only ever been
:08:27. > :08:33.one way to get it to them, until now. Next month, NASA is going to
:08:34. > :08:36.send up a 3D printer like this one to the International Space Station.
:08:37. > :08:40.It is able to print object around this size but eventually NASA wants
:08:41. > :08:45.to create huge structures like this and have them assembled in space by
:08:46. > :08:50.robots. The pioneering scheme has been developed by a small tech
:08:51. > :08:55.start-up, funded and supported by NASA at its research Centre in
:08:56. > :08:59.Silicon Valley. Our ultimate goal in space manufacturing is to be able
:09:00. > :09:05.to, in space, create and assemble large structures, like very large
:09:06. > :09:09.spacecraft, or very large dishes and reflectors and those sorts of
:09:10. > :09:13.things. Every ounce of weights and in the space can cost thousands of
:09:14. > :09:18.pounds and so it is hoped this scheme can make things cheaper and
:09:19. > :09:22.much, much quicker. You can actually bring us a USB stick with your file
:09:23. > :09:26.and you can send it to space and via 3D printing you can make that object
:09:27. > :09:31.in space and completely avoid putting it on a rocket. For now the
:09:32. > :09:35.material for raw printing must be sent up from Earth but the team is
:09:36. > :09:39.confident one day they can manufacture using what is already
:09:40. > :09:45.out there in space, so we can live off the land in new worlds.
:09:46. > :09:52.The mind boggles. A quick look at markets. You can see how the pound
:09:53. > :09:56.is trading at the moment. A mixed picture, mainly downwards in Asia
:09:57. > :10:00.despite the fact that they had a strong close to the day on Wall
:10:01. > :10:04.Street. A lot more to come, we will be discussing the papers very soon.