:00:00. > :00:00.Apparently it will take some time to decide.
:00:00. > :00:10.Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News.
:00:11. > :00:12.Now for the latest financial news with
:00:13. > :00:19.Finding work where they can, Brazilians weather the worst
:00:20. > :00:24.Plus, the deadlock continues as Spain's political crisis threatens
:00:25. > :00:41.I'm Sally Bundock, also in the programme: Toshiba surges as
:00:42. > :00:52.We start in Brazil, as it struggles with the worst
:00:53. > :00:58.In a few hours' time official figures are expected to confirm
:00:59. > :01:01.the once booming economy shrank last year at the steepest rate
:01:02. > :01:09.Analysts including the International Monetary Fund think
:01:10. > :01:12.Brazil's economy contracted almost 4% last year, the worst performance
:01:13. > :01:17.Meanwhile soaring prices are hitting people's living standards, with
:01:18. > :01:27.1.5 million jobs disappeared last year, the fastest pace of job
:01:28. > :01:32.Part of the reason is the slump in commodity prices.
:01:33. > :01:36.The slowdown in China means there's far less demand for the minerals and
:01:37. > :01:42.It's also an oil exporter, so it's been hit hard
:01:43. > :01:52.But other problems are definitely home grown.
:01:53. > :01:55.A vast corruption scandal at state-run oil producer Petrobras
:01:56. > :01:57.has implicated key politicians and business leaders, shaking
:01:58. > :01:59.the government of President Dilma Rousseff and further damaging the
:02:00. > :02:13.Brazil's once growing middle class is being battered, as people who
:02:14. > :02:15.were climbing the career ladder find themselves sliding back down again.
:02:16. > :02:25.Daniel Gallas reports from Sao Paolo.
:02:26. > :02:33.Five years ago, Simona thought her days as a housemaid were over when
:02:34. > :02:37.she got a job at a supermarket. Many like her were moving from being
:02:38. > :02:42.domestic workers in middle-class family houses into more skilled
:02:43. > :02:47.jobs, and with higher wages. But things did not turn up the way she
:02:48. > :02:51.expected. TRANSLATION: There was a time when I would leave a job in
:02:52. > :02:54.less than a month later I would be employed somewhere else. Now, before
:02:55. > :02:59.I started this job, I spent months unemployed searching for work. A few
:03:00. > :03:03.months ago, when Brazil's economy was booming, workers like this had
:03:04. > :03:07.plenty of good job opportunities in the industry or shops. But now with
:03:08. > :03:14.unemployment on the rise, double-digit pin placement, --
:03:15. > :03:19.double-digit inflation, people are having to go back to their role
:03:20. > :03:23.jobs. This agency for domestic workers said there are 92% more
:03:24. > :03:28.workers looking for jobs this year. TRANSLATION: We see two common
:03:29. > :03:31.situations. People coming back to being made is the years in the
:03:32. > :03:36.industry for working in jobs, or women who were maids with higher
:03:37. > :03:41.wages, now moving onto more precarious informal jobs. It is not
:03:42. > :03:48.just domestic workers. The recession is having an effect on everyone. The
:03:49. > :03:53.informal sector is expanding again. Last year, there were 2.6 million
:03:54. > :03:58.unemployed Brazilians more than the year before. A 41% jump. During that
:03:59. > :04:03.period, 1 million formal jobs were closed. Many workers are moving into
:04:04. > :04:10.the black market, operating as domestic workers and also as street
:04:11. > :04:12.vendors in other lower paid jobs. Businesses, investors and consumers
:04:13. > :04:16.are all holding onto their money and not spending. Interest rates and
:04:17. > :04:20.mortgages are at their highest rate in five years. People are having to
:04:21. > :04:25.work harder but are still seeing their standards of living drop.
:04:26. > :04:30.Simona certainly knows what that feels like. She moved into a smaller
:04:31. > :04:31.house and sold her car. But with all her troubles, she still considers
:04:32. > :04:37.herself lucky to have a job at all. We are also in Spain where,
:04:38. > :04:40.despite a patchy recovery from years of recession, more than 4
:04:41. > :04:43.million people that's 20% of the The economic crisis has left
:04:44. > :04:47.the country in political deadlock, after big gains for anti-austerity
:04:48. > :04:49.parties in December's election that What you are seeing here is another
:04:50. > :04:53.failed attempt in parliament If Spain can't resolve its political
:04:54. > :04:58.crisis it faces new elections and a Spanish stocks have been
:04:59. > :05:06.among Europe's worst performers Madrid is due to sell billions
:05:07. > :05:12.of dollars' worth Federico Santi is Europe Analyst
:05:13. > :05:26.at Eurasia Group. Good morning, thank you for coming
:05:27. > :05:31.in. Talk through the political situation, because it is complicated
:05:32. > :05:35.and it is difficult to see how it will be resolved, which is partly
:05:36. > :05:39.why there is so much uncertainty about Spain at the moment, which
:05:40. > :05:44.markets hate. That is right, Spanish politics was dominated for a long
:05:45. > :05:49.time by two big political parties, the Conservatives and the
:05:50. > :05:53.Socialists. This estranged dramatically with the rise of two
:05:54. > :05:58.new parties, which is a reflection of discontent with the established
:05:59. > :06:02.political elites, a direct consequence of the crisis. This is
:06:03. > :06:08.something that has happened across the eurozone and Europe, and is
:06:09. > :06:11.happening in Spain with some lag, as the electoral cycle catches up and
:06:12. > :06:20.changes in society. This is something we could see coming,
:06:21. > :06:26.because Podemos was gaining momentum as an anti- austerity party, some
:06:27. > :06:32.saying it was inspired by Syriza in Greece. Explain the impact on the
:06:33. > :06:40.Spanish economy. Projections for this year are still healthy growth,
:06:41. > :06:44.is that right? There is no suggestion that the political
:06:45. > :06:50.discourse is having a huge impact on the economy. Years ago that might
:06:51. > :06:54.have been a different story, but right now we are still one of the
:06:55. > :07:00.most fast-growing economies in Europe. That could change if this
:07:01. > :07:02.goes on for much longer though. The country could be left without a
:07:03. > :07:07.functioning government for the better part of 2016, which could
:07:08. > :07:10.take some of the momentum of the otherwise strong Spanish economy.
:07:11. > :07:19.Thank you for coming in, we shall keep an eye on how that progresses.
:07:20. > :07:21.A lot of those who support Podemos our young people, and they are out
:07:22. > :07:21.of work. Let's go to Asia now where
:07:22. > :07:24.another of Japan's big Sharanjit Leyl is in Singapore
:07:25. > :07:30.for us. It seems Toshiba has got
:07:31. > :07:44.a lifeline from the banks? Not so long ago we were talking
:07:45. > :07:48.about Sharp being rescued. Toshiba shares are doing very well today,
:07:49. > :07:52.rallying more than 12%. This confirms that the firm was about to
:07:53. > :08:00.secure some substantial new loans for its restructuring efforts. This
:08:01. > :08:04.was in a report on talks with Japanese investors over money it
:08:05. > :08:09.needs to reorganise its business in the wake of a massive accounting
:08:10. > :08:14.scandal last year. The electronics giant is hoping for loans of up to
:08:15. > :08:20.$2.2 billion. Toshiba confirmed the talks but said details had not been
:08:21. > :08:24.decided. According to the report, some of Japan's biggest banks were
:08:25. > :08:32.likely to provide funds as early as later this month. We know the funds
:08:33. > :08:37.are vital, coming of course after the company admitted in 2015 that it
:08:38. > :08:42.had overstated its profits by $1.3 billion over seven years. Of course,
:08:43. > :08:51.it is part of efforts to try to balance its books, announcing major
:08:52. > :08:59.job cuts and losses of external investing. They have lost about 4%
:09:00. > :09:00.of their value since the news last year of them overstating their
:09:01. > :09:05.profits began to emerge. Toshiba shares riding high on those
:09:06. > :09:07.stories today. One of the pioneers of the US
:09:08. > :09:10.fracking industry has died in a car crash, a day after he was
:09:11. > :09:14.indicted for allegedly rigging bids Aubrey McClendon was
:09:15. > :09:21.the former head of Chesapeake Energy, which he turned
:09:22. > :09:24.into one of the world's largest natural gas producers worth some $25
:09:25. > :09:27.billion at its peak before he was His car hit a bridge wall
:09:28. > :09:32.in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. Police said he was the only occupant
:09:33. > :09:37.and no other vehicles were involved. The owners of a Brazilian mine
:09:38. > :09:40.involved in country's worst environmental disaster have agreed
:09:41. > :09:43.to pay 4.4 billion real, about 1.1 Samarco is co-owned by Vale
:09:44. > :09:46.of Brazil and global mining giant In November,
:09:47. > :09:56.two of its dams ruptured causing the mudslide that destroyed
:09:57. > :10:15.the town of Mariana in southern Financial markets: we are at an
:10:16. > :10:21.eight-week high, with oil prices rising above $35 a barrel. Emerging
:10:22. > :10:29.market currencies are strengthening. Is this a turning point? We seem to
:10:30. > :10:31.be losing the fear factor. Let's see how long that lasts. I will see you
:10:32. > :10:42.soon. There's a warning that
:10:43. > :10:44.the government's extension of Right to Buy for housing association
:10:45. > :10:47.tenants in England will have a disproportionate effect
:10:48. > :10:48.on older and disabled people. Under the scheme,
:10:49. > :10:52.councils will be forced to sell