:00:00. > :00:15.Now for the latest financial news and World Business Report.
:00:16. > :00:20.Not exactly - but French bosses could get more
:00:21. > :00:25.rights under a controversial shake-up of labour laws.
:00:26. > :00:29.Premier Li Keqiang says China won't resort to devaluing
:00:30. > :00:40.We've the latest from the Boao economic forum.
:00:41. > :00:50.I'm Sally Bundock - also in the programme.
:00:51. > :00:53.Singaporeans are awaiting the latest budget news.
:00:54. > :00:59.We start in France - where a fierce debate is raging over
:01:00. > :01:02.the length of the working week - and the rights of workers.
:01:03. > :01:04.Bosses have long complained France's labour laws are far too restrictive
:01:05. > :01:06.- and deter them from creating new jobs.
:01:07. > :01:11.Later today President Francois Hollande and his Labour Minister
:01:12. > :01:15.will unveil their plan for a shake-up at a cabinet meeting.
:01:16. > :01:19.Let's take a look at the details: In France the working week is capped
:01:20. > :01:22.by law at 35 hours - it's the only country in Europe to do this.
:01:23. > :01:25.So is France about to abandon its cherished 35 hour week?
:01:26. > :01:28.The government wants to let bosses negotiate longer hours with
:01:29. > :01:43.They could ask them to work 48 hours - which is the official EU limit -
:01:44. > :01:47.or even 60 in special cases - as long as they still average 35 -
:01:48. > :01:50.calculated over a three month period.
:01:51. > :01:52.Companies won't be able to impose flexible working
:01:53. > :01:57.The idea is to make the law less rigid - but critics say the reforms
:01:58. > :02:00.have been watered down Still more big protests are expected today.
:02:01. > :02:03.These were the scenes in Paris earlier this month when the reforms
:02:04. > :02:06.And an online petition against them has gathered more than
:02:07. > :02:10.Since then - small companies have been excluded from the reforms -
:02:11. > :02:22.which some argue are the very firms that need flexibility the most.
:02:23. > :02:33.Let us get some analysis from the director of European economics. It
:02:34. > :02:39.is not sound like reforms to me. Is a whole range of measures about
:02:40. > :02:43.working hours and holidays and also about the cost of companies firing
:02:44. > :02:48.people and the flexibility of companies with hiring people. Is
:02:49. > :02:52.putting a lot of triggers in terms of making labour law more flexible.
:02:53. > :02:56.Something that we have seen in other European countries in recent years,
:02:57. > :03:03.which is worked in recent years. The French reforms aren't that ambitious
:03:04. > :03:17.by European standards. And they are saying that it is to water down to
:03:18. > :03:21.have any impact on the -- too wanted down to have any impact on the
:03:22. > :03:32.economy. In the end, they are likely to be quite modest and not strong
:03:33. > :03:35.enough to boost the economy and lower unemployment. When you compare
:03:36. > :03:41.to Spain, for example, they are seeing their unemployment rate fall
:03:42. > :03:44.significantly and job creation climb where they are pushed to quite
:03:45. > :03:51.difficult reforms. Where the French unemployment rate has hardly changed
:03:52. > :03:54.around 10%. Indeed, the reforms may be in Spain and Italy, and they are
:03:55. > :04:04.the blueprint as to what is happening now in France. They've
:04:05. > :04:10.taken a blueprint, they have introduced some measures from these
:04:11. > :04:14.reforms to improve flexibility and reduce labour costs so that
:04:15. > :04:18.companies hire more and bring down unemployment. As I mentioned, they
:04:19. > :04:23.aren't as ambitious and they come very late and we aren't going to
:04:24. > :04:27.have elections in 2017 and whether these reforms which cost them a lot
:04:28. > :04:32.of clinical capital are going to be strong enough to boost job creation
:04:33. > :04:37.is ahead of the elections for the president to get a benefit in 2017,
:04:38. > :04:47.that is highly doubtful. Thank you so much for your time. When they get
:04:48. > :04:48.an outfit from France we will update you.
:04:49. > :04:51.We are also in China where Premier Li Keqiang has been
:04:52. > :04:54.delivering his keynote speech at the opening of the annual Boao Forum.
:04:55. > :04:57.The event for top business leaders on the island of Hainan is
:04:58. > :05:04.Mr Li has been telling them that China must face up to
:05:05. > :05:06.its economic problems - and not resort to devaluing
:05:07. > :05:10.The BBC's Asia Business correspondent Karishma Vaswani is
:05:11. > :05:22.This was clearly an attempt by a China's Premier to reassure the
:05:23. > :05:26.financial community that China is aware of its economic problems and
:05:27. > :05:30.has the ability to deal with them. He sat to address all the concerns
:05:31. > :05:35.that have been raised about China recently ranging from the slowdown
:05:36. > :05:39.of economic growth to the volatility in China's currency growth. Whether
:05:40. > :05:45.they can push past this transition as well. He also spoke at the world
:05:46. > :05:50.economy is going through a turbulent pack and that is having an impact on
:05:51. > :05:54.China's fortunes as well. TRANSLATION: Domestic leader are
:05:55. > :05:58.deep-rooted problems and an increasing downward pressure on the
:05:59. > :06:02.economy. In particular we are experiencing some unavoidable and
:06:03. > :06:08.temporary problems in the process of transformation and upgrading. He
:06:09. > :06:11.stressed that they have enough policy tools left to deal with the
:06:12. > :06:16.risks that the economy is now facing. He also addressed implicit
:06:17. > :06:24.worries that baiting is try to manipulate the Chinese currency by
:06:25. > :06:29.boosting imports. This was very much about China putting on a good show
:06:30. > :06:33.for the rest of the world. But the Premier has made the statement
:06:34. > :06:37.before and it is doubtful whether they will be convincing enough for
:06:38. > :06:40.those who still have concerns about China's economy.
:06:41. > :06:48.That slowdown in China has hit some of its trading
:06:49. > :06:51.partners particularly hard - one of those is Singapore, where Sharanjyt
:06:52. > :06:57.Sharanjit - it's budget day today - what are Singaporeans expecting?
:06:58. > :07:12.It is by -- budget day. Singapore's economy is so exposed to trade and
:07:13. > :07:19.growth patterns around the world and it is often the first to be
:07:20. > :07:23.impacted. So, this year, there are a lot of accreditations focus on
:07:24. > :07:27.helping businesses deal with the regional slowdown emanating from
:07:28. > :07:32.China. And indeed, there are a lot of big challenges, and one of which
:07:33. > :07:35.is the high cost of labour and the rise of labour costs last year. That
:07:36. > :07:38.is something that is impacting businesses and one of the options
:07:39. > :07:46.from the government is to try to adjust restrictions on the hiring of
:07:47. > :07:55.foreign workers. There's expectations that they may continue
:07:56. > :07:59.to defer levies. This is saying that the budget is unlikely to
:08:00. > :08:10.significantly affect economic growth forecasts. There's been a budget
:08:11. > :08:11.surplus almost every year. But no huge tax breaks expected, so
:08:12. > :08:12.certainly none for me. A 50-year-old Chinese man has
:08:13. > :08:15.pleaded guilty to being involved in a plot to hack into
:08:16. > :08:21.the computer systems of US defence Su Bin is believed to have been part
:08:22. > :08:28.of a group targeting data relating to fighter jets,
:08:29. > :08:30.cargo aircraft and weapons. The US Department of Justice said
:08:31. > :08:34.Mr Su sought "commercial gain" from his actions - but stopped short
:08:35. > :08:38.of saying the Chinese government Mr Su was arrested while working
:08:39. > :08:43.in Canada in 2014. He faces five years in prison
:08:44. > :08:49.and a $250,000 fine. Swiss drug company Novartis has
:08:50. > :08:52.agreed to pay more than $25 million to the US Government to settle civil
:08:53. > :08:56.charges that it bribed healthcare professionals
:08:57. > :08:59.in China to boost sales. That's according to the US
:09:00. > :09:02.Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC says the violations
:09:03. > :09:05.of the US law barring bribery of foreign officials occurred from 2009
:09:06. > :09:23.to 2013 - and that Novartis settled A quick look at markets with a mixed
:09:24. > :09:31.picture emerging in Asia today. Japan we have 20 minutes left. They
:09:32. > :09:37.are slightly down as you can see. Or oil is just above $40 a barrel. This
:09:38. > :09:48.is how trade was like in the United States. Pessimism is coming in
:09:49. > :09:49.again. Is going to the Easter weekend and the long break, I will
:09:50. > :09:58.see you soon. -- as we go into. For the first time junior doctors
:09:59. > :10:01.in England will refuse to cover emergency care during a 48 hour
:10:02. > :10:04.strike at the end of April. It's a dramatic escalation in
:10:05. > :10:08.the row between the British Medical