:00:00. > :00:16.What about the world of finance and business? Aaron knows.
:00:17. > :00:18.The UK's opposition leader calls for an investigation
:00:19. > :00:21.into all British people linked to the Panama Papers as well
:00:22. > :00:35.as an inquiry into tax havens in British overseas territories.
:00:36. > :00:38.The Great American fracking fever - because despite
:00:39. > :00:41.the plunging price of oil, we're going to find out why investors are
:00:42. > :00:50.throwing even more cash - billions of dollars - into US shale.
:00:51. > :00:59.Good morning, Britain. Hello, world. Stevie in my ear tells me we have
:01:00. > :01:02.about nine minutes. Give me nine minutes and I will give you a
:01:03. > :01:06.fascinating snapshot of the latest in world business and money.
:01:07. > :01:09.There should be an independent inquiry into tax havens in British
:01:10. > :01:11.overseas territories, such as the British Virgin Islands, and into
:01:12. > :01:14.the tax affairs of every British person linked to the Panama Papers,
:01:15. > :01:17.according to the British Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. He said that
:01:18. > :01:19.should include the Cameron family following news that
:01:20. > :01:22.the prime minister's late father had set up an offshore investment fund.
:01:23. > :01:25.Downing Street said that David Cameron, his wife and children did
:01:26. > :01:37.Our economics editor Kamal Ahmed has more details.
:01:38. > :01:50.Bounding onto stage, attempting to bound away
:01:51. > :01:53.from tax controversy, David Cameron was asked about an investment fund
:01:54. > :01:56.set up by his late father in the tax haven of the Bahamas.
:01:57. > :01:59.Did the Prime Minister or his family gain anything
:02:00. > :02:04.In terms of my own financial affairs, I own no shares, I have
:02:05. > :02:07.a salary as Prime Minister and I have some savings, which I get some
:02:08. > :02:11.interest from, and I have a house, which we used to live in, which we
:02:12. > :02:13.now let out while we're living in Downing Street,
:02:14. > :02:18.I have no shares, no offshore trust, no offshore funds -
:02:19. > :02:21.Ian Cameron set up the fund in the 1980s and there is no
:02:22. > :02:25.Downing Street said the fund's operation was
:02:26. > :02:27.a private matter and that no government had done more to clamp
:02:28. > :02:35.We've now got country after country sharing tax information, committing
:02:36. > :02:38.to beneficial owner registers, which we have not had before.
:02:39. > :02:48.That was not enough to satisfy the leader of the opposition,
:02:49. > :02:51.who called for an enquiry into the Prime Minister and any British
:02:52. > :02:56.Jeremy Corbyn said he would publish his own tax returns and said it was
:02:57. > :03:06.Britain has a huge responsibility, because many of those tax havens
:03:07. > :03:08.are in British overseas territories or crown dependencies.
:03:09. > :03:10.The leaked documents show tax havens have become honeypots
:03:11. > :03:15.of international corruption, tax avoidance and tax evasion.
:03:16. > :03:22.ADVERT: What is it that makes a secret worth keeping?
:03:23. > :03:25.In the spotlight today, one of those territories, the British Virgin
:03:26. > :03:27.Islands, which has been accused of helping the wealthy avoid tax.
:03:28. > :03:30.Mr Corbyn raised the possibility of direct rule from the UK
:03:31. > :03:37.if Britain's tax havens did not follow Britain's tax rules.
:03:38. > :03:42.ADVERT: These are the kinds of secrets worth having.
:03:43. > :03:44.This is the headquarters of the British Virgin Islands
:03:45. > :03:48.It's actually remarkably easy to set up a business in the country.
:03:49. > :03:50.There are websites offering off-the-shelf company names which
:03:51. > :03:57.say that you can set up a business overnight for as little as $1500.
:03:58. > :03:59.That's about ?1000 - small change for any wealthy
:04:00. > :04:07.That small change has made the British Virgin Islands
:04:08. > :04:10.Some 452,000 international businesses are registered on the
:04:11. > :04:13.island, making the BVI the second largest home to international
:04:14. > :04:25.The tax regime for those businesses is certainly light touch.
:04:26. > :04:28.There is no income tax, no capital gains tax and no inheritence tax.
:04:29. > :04:39.an opinion backed a senior figure from another British overseas
:04:40. > :04:45.The Cayman Islands and the other overseas territories display the
:04:46. > :04:49.Clearly, the British government, whether Mr Corbyn is actually
:04:50. > :04:52.a part of it or not, cannot go around imposing colonial
:04:53. > :05:01.rule without substantial justification for doing so.
:05:02. > :05:04.Tonight, President Barack Obama called on Congress to act to prevent
:05:05. > :05:07.the wealthy basing themselves offshore for tax reasons.
:05:08. > :05:13.A lot of it is legal, but that is exactly the problem.
:05:14. > :05:15.It's not that they're breaking the laws,
:05:16. > :05:18.it's that the laws are so poorly designed that they allow people
:05:19. > :05:21.if they have got enough lawyers and accountants to wiggle out
:05:22. > :05:26.of responsibilities that ordinary citizens are having to abide by.
:05:27. > :05:29.David Cameron would like to drive towards the same
:05:30. > :05:36.Next month's corruption summit in London will be
:05:37. > :05:38.his opportunity to prove to the public that he takes the issue
:05:39. > :05:54.Well, that was long, wasn't it? Let's move on.
:05:55. > :05:57.Oil has been particularly volatile over the past couple of days
:05:58. > :06:01.It is the same old story. Too much black stuff floating around the
:06:02. > :06:02.world. But despite the uncertain outlook
:06:03. > :06:04.for producers, new figures suggest investors still have their faith
:06:05. > :06:07.in the shale gas sector. According to the
:06:08. > :06:11.Carbon Tracker Initiative almost $9 billion was invested
:06:12. > :06:13.in the first quarter of 2016. James Leaton, head of research
:06:14. > :06:25.at the Carbon Tracker Initiative. He joins us. Thanks for coming in,
:06:26. > :06:32.thanks for getting up at the crack of dawn here in Britain. $9 billion,
:06:33. > :06:37.$8.9 billion, isn't it, ten times more than what was invested in the
:06:38. > :06:43.last three months of last year. I am wondering, with oil prices, falling
:06:44. > :06:47.off the cliff, 70% since mid-2014 - all we have heard is that billions
:06:48. > :06:54.of money has been withdrawn out of the sector. They don't understand.
:06:55. > :06:57.We are seeing those shale companies scrabbling around trying to cover
:06:58. > :07:01.their debt, trying to find more funding from somewhere because of
:07:02. > :07:04.the low oil price. They have found some investors willing to take a
:07:05. > :07:12.punt on the oil price coming back. Obviously for investors it is a
:07:13. > :07:17.long-term thing... You know, it is a long-term mindset. Are they
:07:18. > :07:24.believing we could see oil prices going up this year? They could see
:07:25. > :07:28.some upside, potential for bounce, but we have continued oversupply and
:07:29. > :07:32.a band is disappointing, so there is still a lower for longer view in the
:07:33. > :07:36.market. You are still betting on your bonus coming through from an
:07:37. > :07:42.oil price just to tread water, basically. Just to tread water,
:07:43. > :07:49.interesting, because a lot of Shell producers, let's be frank, have been
:07:50. > :07:52.struggling. Certainly with oil under $40 per barrel -- shale. There is a
:07:53. > :07:57.cut-off point where it is make or break. You are sorting out the wheat
:07:58. > :08:05.from the jar. Some have good hedging positions. -- chalf. We are looking
:08:06. > :08:10.at death being written off. Equity value being wiped out. Now we will
:08:11. > :08:14.see the banks looking at their debt exposure, looking at the oil price
:08:15. > :08:16.forecast and seeing whether those companies have the assets they need
:08:17. > :08:22.to be able to justify that debt -- wheat from the chaff. Let me get
:08:23. > :08:29.this straight, for the uninitiated, banks holding in... Sorry, lending
:08:30. > :08:35.out, they will look at how healthy they are and then decide on what
:08:36. > :08:41.Durst Hang on, this shale company is not looking very good -- decide on
:08:42. > :08:47.what? They might have to put more funds aside if they cannot pay off
:08:48. > :08:52.that debt. Is it a good opportunity for some of the big majors out
:08:53. > :08:54.there, if you will, to get into the US fracking scene, to purchase some
:08:55. > :09:01.of the smaller struggling producers? We are seeing more
:09:02. > :09:08.capital discipline from the majors, who have cut back on spending, so
:09:09. > :09:12.they are not going to start betting on a high oil price. They are under
:09:13. > :09:15.pressure to maintain dividends, which is what investors expect from
:09:16. > :09:19.companies, regular dividends. They are having to borrow just to cover
:09:20. > :09:22.their dividends. I am not sure that betting on a shale price rebound is
:09:23. > :09:26.going to be the best strategy at the moment. It is an interesting story
:09:27. > :09:31.and it is something we will keep across, and so will you, James.
:09:32. > :09:39.Short and sweet, I told you, but we appreciate your time. Blame it all
:09:40. > :09:40.on, Ahmad. I am only joking -- Kamal Ahmed.
:09:41. > :09:42.In other news: Germany's Angela Merkel says it's
:09:43. > :09:45.not legally possible for Greece to have its debt burden
:09:46. > :09:50.Talks have resumed this week between Greece and its creditors -
:09:51. > :10:00.The IMF has long argued for Greece to be given debt relief.
:10:01. > :10:06.Let's be frank, the boss believes Greece sits on too much debt and
:10:07. > :10:08.it's not possible to pay all that back.
:10:09. > :10:11.The UK's Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, is due to meet with Tata's
:10:12. > :10:14.chairman in Mumbai for the first time since the firm announce it
:10:15. > :10:18.Mr Javid says the UK government is using all
:10:19. > :10:20.official and diplomatic "levers" to help secure the long-term future
:10:21. > :10:31.Don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of
:10:32. > :10:40.I am back shortly with Adnan to take a look at some of the papers.
:10:41. > :10:43.David Cameron is being accused of breaking his promises to victims
:10:44. > :10:46.In an open letter published in the Guardian, a number
:10:47. > :10:49.of people affected by the hacking scandal say they feel betrayed.
:10:50. > :10:53.A key part of the Royal Charter agreement on press regulation has