:00:00. > :00:00.Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News.
:00:00. > :00:00.Now for the latest financial news with
:00:00. > :00:18.China's exports plunged more than 25% in February.
:00:19. > :00:19.Its struggling manufacturing sector is dragging down
:00:20. > :00:32.And it's the countdown to the Rio Olympics, but there's anger that
:00:33. > :00:35.the billions of dollars promised to improve the City's sprawling favelas
:00:36. > :00:51.I'm Sally Bundock, also in the programme: On International Women's
:00:52. > :00:55.Day, we'll hear how Japan is trying to woo women back to the work place.
:00:56. > :01:04.We start in China where there's news of a steep export slump.
:01:05. > :01:06.It will make difficult reading for China's leaders as they lay
:01:07. > :01:09.down their five-year economic and political plan at the National
:01:10. > :01:13.The world's second biggest economy is trying to keep the growth going
:01:14. > :01:16.The latest trade figures show exports plunged more than 25%
:01:17. > :01:19.That's far steeper than most analysts predicted.
:01:20. > :01:22.While imports also fell 13 point 8%, down for 16 months in a row.
:01:23. > :01:24.That leaves a trade surplus of $32.6 billion.
:01:25. > :01:27.The fall is partly due to the week-long Chinese new year holidays
:01:28. > :01:31.But it is bad news for China's leaders who downgraded
:01:32. > :01:33.the growth target to between 6.5%-7% for this year.
:01:34. > :01:35.This has hit financial markets with shares
:01:36. > :01:59.on China's stock markets falling for the first time in six days.
:02:00. > :02:15.Lovely to see you. Tell us more about this data. Not good news at
:02:16. > :02:22.all. Mounting problems for the Chinese economy. And this trade
:02:23. > :02:26.report has deepened concerns about the health of the world's
:02:27. > :02:34.second-largest economy. Economic growth has slowed to a 25 year low
:02:35. > :02:40.in 2015, debt is starting to balloon with capital outflows accelerating
:02:41. > :02:49.and last week, modus investment services even warned they may lower
:02:50. > :02:54.the country's debt rating. Many are wondering if the country's economic
:02:55. > :02:59.problems have bottomed out and what more we can expect from Beijing to
:03:00. > :03:03.jumpstart growth. Hopefully the answers will come soon but for now
:03:04. > :03:08.and economists say the February numbers may have come as a shock to
:03:09. > :03:12.the market but this does not indicate that the economy is getting
:03:13. > :03:22.worse. It is just a seasonal change, you mentioned the lunar New Year's
:03:23. > :03:26.holiday, but still the mainland will face more challenging situations in
:03:27. > :03:34.2016 compared to 2015. However, in the near-term, as the closely
:03:35. > :03:41.watched barometer for the global economy, this suggests it is not
:03:42. > :03:46.looking good in the short to medium term. It is difficult with just one
:03:47. > :03:52.set of numbers as the lunar new year break was in February and many are
:03:53. > :03:59.saying we need the full quarter's numbers to get a sense of whether
:04:00. > :04:07.this is a blip in the month of February or not. Absolutely. The
:04:08. > :04:12.lunar new year was between January-February and many people
:04:13. > :04:16.were on holiday. Many factories were shut down. There was not enough
:04:17. > :04:23.production. So we will really have to see the data from the month of
:04:24. > :04:29.March and combine it with January and February and really find out if
:04:30. > :04:35.the trade numbers, both imports and exports, were indeed bad. But if you
:04:36. > :04:41.look at the trends over the past year, imports and exports have also
:04:42. > :04:48.shown to be struggling. We will have to wait and see. Thank you.
:04:49. > :04:49.Meanwhile, Asia's number two economy has
:04:50. > :04:54.Japan is in its fourth year of monetary stimulus with little sign
:04:55. > :04:59.The latest numbers out today show the economy shrank at an annualised
:05:00. > :05:02.rate of 1.1% in the final quarter of last year, although this is a
:05:03. > :05:05.slight improvement on the previous estimate of a 1.4% contraction.
:05:06. > :05:07.But household spending keeps falling, now lower than when
:05:08. > :05:10.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to office making it hard
:05:11. > :05:14.It's partly due to wages that aren't rising quickly enough to
:05:15. > :05:18.Mr Abe may now delay raising a sales tax, from 8% to 10%,
:05:19. > :05:21.It's worth remembering when that tax was hiked in 2014,
:05:22. > :05:59.Well, one way Japan's government is trying to spur growth is
:06:00. > :06:01.by encouraging more women to join the workforce.
:06:02. > :06:19.More Japanese women are entering the workforce all time but only a tiny
:06:20. > :06:24.fraction of them hold senior positions. It is great news and
:06:25. > :06:29.great progress to see more women overall working in Japan, but we
:06:30. > :06:32.still have a dearth of females in decision-making leadership positions
:06:33. > :06:35.come out whether it be in the government, whether it be in the
:06:36. > :06:42.government, weathered B directors on private company boards -- Michael
:06:43. > :06:48.whether it be. Shinzo Abe had said he wanted to fill 30% of new jobs by
:06:49. > :06:58.women by 2015 but he has now slashed that target with Japanese women
:06:59. > :07:08.holding just 8% of director positions in major companies as
:07:09. > :07:12.opposed to the 22% global average. TRANSLATION: I believe women need to
:07:13. > :07:15.return to work but there is a lack of discussion about how to apply
:07:16. > :07:21.motherhood to real working situations. Last week there was much
:07:22. > :07:25.fanfare as Japanese girls were celebrated on Girls Day. The
:07:26. > :07:28.challenge now is to create an environment where these young people
:07:29. > :07:31.can grow up to for fill their hopes and dreams, what ever they may be --
:07:32. > :07:39.fulfil. The countdown to Rio is on: 150
:07:40. > :07:42.days from now Brazil's world famous Unlike
:07:43. > :07:45.the World Cup there two years ago, when many venues were completed just
:07:46. > :07:48.days before the event, this time But many in Rio are unhappy,
:07:49. > :07:52.claiming the promise of change within
:07:53. > :07:54.the cities extensive and rundown And it is the rich who are set to
:07:55. > :08:07.benefit from the Rio Games, With the Olympic Games starting in
:08:08. > :08:14.just 150 days, construction workers are busy pouring concrete. But this
:08:15. > :08:17.is not a sports venue, this is a favela. This community leader says
:08:18. > :08:23.this favela will be a different place after the games. TRANSLATION:
:08:24. > :08:31.This is a dream come true for residents here, who were expecting
:08:32. > :08:33.this for 20 years. A few years from now the works have done, you won't
:08:34. > :08:39.have flooding 's or open sewerage. This place will be great. When the
:08:40. > :08:43.Olympic Games were announced in Rio de Janeiro, this is what the poor
:08:44. > :08:47.communities were expecting, that some of the big money being invested
:08:48. > :08:51.in the city would trickle down to the favelas, very much in need of
:08:52. > :08:54.better housing, plumbing and pavement. That has happened to some
:08:55. > :09:00.extent but this has been more the exception than the rule. The local
:09:01. > :09:05.government promised to invest $2 billion over ten years to urban eyes
:09:06. > :09:09.all of the city's favelas but of the 14 neighbourhoods that were
:09:10. > :09:15.earmarked for change, only two have actually seen any work being done.
:09:16. > :09:19.Brazil's Institute of Architects says all others were abandoned by
:09:20. > :09:23.authorities. They initially helped the government with the programme
:09:24. > :09:28.and sage is the rich areas that are set to benefit most from Olympic
:09:29. > :09:33.legacy. One posh neighbourhood is getting better transport links.
:09:34. > :09:38.Apartment buildings here are only affordable for the very rich.
:09:39. > :09:41.TRANSLATION: On the London 2012 in the east side was revamped to bring
:09:42. > :09:47.social changes and help the poor, Rio Negro opposite, investing
:09:48. > :09:55.heavily in posh areas where real estate is already rich and is now
:09:56. > :09:59.richer -- Rio has done the opposite. Officials say the programme was
:10:00. > :10:01.scaled down but not abandoned and several people in fragile
:10:02. > :10:11.neighbourhoods will still benefit. This falls far short of its initial
:10:12. > :10:17.promise. The markets are negative and it is no surprise because of the
:10:18. > :10:25.news out of China and Japan. Even oil is headed lower. In the US, the
:10:26. > :10:33.markets ended pretty flat. I will see you soon.
:10:34. > :10:35.Psychiatric services for children have had no significant investment
:10:36. > :10:39.despite government plans to overhaul provision, that's according to