06/04/2016 World Business Report

What about the world of finance and business? Aaron knows.

The UK's opposition leader calls for an investigation

into all British people linked to the Panama Papers as well

as an inquiry into tax havens in British overseas territories.

The Great American fracking fever - because despite

the plunging price of oil, we're going to find out why investors are

throwing even more cash - billions of dollars - into US shale.

Good morning, Britain. Hello, world. Stevie in my ear tells me we have

about nine minutes. Give me nine minutes and I will give you a

fascinating snapshot of the latest in world business and money.

There should be an independent inquiry into tax havens in British

overseas territories, such as the British Virgin Islands, and into

the tax affairs of every British person linked to the Panama Papers,

according to the British Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. He said that

should include the Cameron family following news that

the prime minister's late father had set up an offshore investment fund.

Downing Street said that David Cameron, his wife and children did

Our economics editor Kamal Ahmed has more details.

Bounding onto stage, attempting to bound away

from tax controversy, David Cameron was asked about an investment fund

set up by his late father in the tax haven of the Bahamas.

Did the Prime Minister or his family gain anything

In terms of my own financial affairs, I own no shares, I have

a salary as Prime Minister and I have some savings, which I get some

interest from, and I have a house, which we used to live in, which we

now let out while we're living in Downing Street,

I have no shares, no offshore trust, no offshore funds -

Ian Cameron set up the fund in the 1980s and there is no

Downing Street said the fund's operation was

a private matter and that no government had done more to clamp

We've now got country after country sharing tax information, committing

to beneficial owner registers, which we have not had before.

That was not enough to satisfy the leader of the opposition,

who called for an enquiry into the Prime Minister and any British

Jeremy Corbyn said he would publish his own tax returns and said it was

Britain has a huge responsibility, because many of those tax havens

are in British overseas territories or crown dependencies.

The leaked documents show tax havens have become honeypots

of international corruption, tax avoidance and tax evasion.

ADVERT: What is it that makes a secret worth keeping?

In the spotlight today, one of those territories, the British Virgin

Islands, which has been accused of helping the wealthy avoid tax.

Mr Corbyn raised the possibility of direct rule from the UK

if Britain's tax havens did not follow Britain's tax rules.

ADVERT: These are the kinds of secrets worth having.

This is the headquarters of the British Virgin Islands

It's actually remarkably easy to set up a business in the country.

There are websites offering off-the-shelf company names which

say that you can set up a business overnight for as little as $1500.

That's about ?1000 - small change for any wealthy

That small change has made the British Virgin Islands

Some 452,000 international businesses are registered on the

island, making the BVI the second largest home to international

The tax regime for those businesses is certainly light touch.

There is no income tax, no capital gains tax and no inheritence tax.

an opinion backed a senior figure from another British overseas

The Cayman Islands and the other overseas territories display the

Clearly, the British government, whether Mr Corbyn is actually

a part of it or not, cannot go around imposing colonial

rule without substantial justification for doing so.

Tonight, President Barack Obama called on Congress to act to prevent

the wealthy basing themselves offshore for tax reasons.

A lot of it is legal, but that is exactly the problem.

It's not that they're breaking the laws,

it's that the laws are so poorly designed that they allow people

if they have got enough lawyers and accountants to wiggle out

of responsibilities that ordinary citizens are having to abide by.

David Cameron would like to drive towards the same

Next month's corruption summit in London will be

his opportunity to prove to the public that he takes the issue

Well, that was long, wasn't it? Let's move on.

Oil has been particularly volatile over the past couple of days

It is the same old story. Too much black stuff floating around the

world. But despite the uncertain outlook

for producers, new figures suggest investors still have their faith

in the shale gas sector. According to the

Carbon Tracker Initiative almost $9 billion was invested

in the first quarter of 2016. James Leaton, head of research

at the Carbon Tracker Initiative. He joins us. Thanks for coming in,

thanks for getting up at the crack of dawn here in Britain. $9 billion,

$8.9 billion, isn't it, ten times more than what was invested in the

last three months of last year. I am wondering, with oil prices, falling

off the cliff, 70% since mid-2014 - all we have heard is that billions

of money has been withdrawn out of the sector. They don't understand.

We are seeing those shale companies scrabbling around trying to cover

their debt, trying to find more funding from somewhere because of

the low oil price. They have found some investors willing to take a

punt on the oil price coming back. Obviously for investors it is a

long-term thing... You know, it is a long-term mindset. Are they

believing we could see oil prices going up this year? They could see

some upside, potential for bounce, but we have continued oversupply and

a band is disappointing, so there is still a lower for longer view in the

market. You are still betting on your bonus coming through from an

oil price just to tread water, basically. Just to tread water,

interesting, because a lot of Shell producers, let's be frank, have been

struggling. Certainly with oil under $40 per barrel -- shale. There is a

cut-off point where it is make or break. You are sorting out the wheat

from the jar. Some have good hedging positions. -- chalf. We are looking

at death being written off. Equity value being wiped out. Now we will

see the banks looking at their debt exposure, looking at the oil price

forecast and seeing whether those companies have the assets they need

to be able to justify that debt -- wheat from the chaff. Let me get

this straight, for the uninitiated, banks holding in... Sorry, lending

out, they will look at how healthy they are and then decide on what

Durst Hang on, this shale company is not looking very good -- decide on

what? They might have to put more funds aside if they cannot pay off

that debt. Is it a good opportunity for some of the big majors out

there, if you will, to get into the US fracking scene, to purchase some

of the smaller struggling producers? We are seeing more

capital discipline from the majors, who have cut back on spending, so

they are not going to start betting on a high oil price. They are under

pressure to maintain dividends, which is what investors expect from

companies, regular dividends. They are having to borrow just to cover

their dividends. I am not sure that betting on a shale price rebound is

going to be the best strategy at the moment. It is an interesting story

and it is something we will keep across, and so will you, James.

Short and sweet, I told you, but we appreciate your time. Blame it all

on, Ahmad. I am only joking -- Kamal Ahmed.

In other news: Germany's Angela Merkel says it's

not legally possible for Greece to have its debt burden

Talks have resumed this week between Greece and its creditors -

The IMF has long argued for Greece to be given debt relief.

Let's be frank, the boss believes Greece sits on too much debt and

it's not possible to pay all that back.

The UK's Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, is due to meet with Tata's

chairman in Mumbai for the first time since the firm announce it

Mr Javid says the UK government is using all

official and diplomatic "levers" to help secure the long-term future

Don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of

I am back shortly with Adnan to take a look at some of the papers.

David Cameron is being accused of breaking his promises to victims

In an open letter published in the Guardian, a number

of people affected by the hacking scandal say they feel betrayed.

A key part of the Royal Charter agreement on press regulation has