:00:00. > :00:00.Now for the latest financial news with
:00:00. > :00:17.The European Union outlines new proposals forcing companies
:00:18. > :00:24.to come clean on exactly where they make their profits.
:00:25. > :00:26.More evidence of slowing global growth with aluminium giant Alcoa
:00:27. > :00:46.Also in the programme, we'll hear about the rice heavy diet
:00:47. > :00:48.of Singapore's foreign construction workers that is affecting
:00:49. > :00:54.Plans to force corporate giants to disclose more about
:00:55. > :01:00.their tax affairs will be unveiled by the European Union later today.
:01:01. > :01:03.Even before the leak of the Panama papers, which shone a spotlight
:01:04. > :01:06.on tax avoidance globally, the European Commission was forming an
:01:07. > :01:10.agenda for more transparent rules when it comes to corporation tax.
:01:11. > :01:12.Avoidance currently costs the EU between $60-$80 million dollars
:01:13. > :01:16.That's big bucks when many EU countries are battling with
:01:17. > :01:28.So, in new proposed rules, big companies, that is, those that
:01:29. > :01:30.earn over $850 million dollars annually, will have to publish
:01:31. > :01:33.their income and tax reports from whichever EU country they operate
:01:34. > :01:43.This will cover 6,500 companies globally,
:01:44. > :01:55.including the likes of big US names such as Apple, Amazon and Google.
:01:56. > :01:58.But tax transparency campaigners say the rules won't go far enough.
:01:59. > :02:01.They argue tax havens should also fall under the new rules, with data
:02:02. > :02:04.from outside the EU to be published on a country-by-country basis.
:02:05. > :02:23.There probably wouldn't have been attention paid to the EU
:02:24. > :02:26.Commission's proposal to get multinational companies to publish
:02:27. > :02:31.profits and tax bills and make them available to the public at the
:02:32. > :02:35.so-called Panama Papers scandal, which exposed the extent of the use
:02:36. > :02:39.of offshore tax havens, has given the legislation a real boost. If
:02:40. > :02:44.passed the law will mean multinationals operating within the
:02:45. > :02:47.EU will have to publish their profits and paid within the EU
:02:48. > :02:53.country EU country by country as part of the commission's efforts to
:02:54. > :02:55.ensure companies do not skimp on their taxes. Transparency
:02:56. > :02:59.campaigners say the law does not go far enough as it does not require
:03:00. > :03:05.companies to publish country by country data on profits made outside
:03:06. > :03:08.the EU. Of course it wouldn't become law overnight. EU governments will
:03:09. > :03:17.have to agree to it and it will have to get through the European
:03:18. > :03:20.Parliament. When rules are announced later today, we will update you.
:03:21. > :03:23.The US earnings season has kicked off, with aluminium giant Alcoa
:03:24. > :03:27.And its not good at all, confirming fears that demand remains
:03:28. > :03:28.soft for building and heavy construction materials.
:03:29. > :03:31.Alcoa posted a first-quarter net profit of $16 million.
:03:32. > :03:33.That's down a whopping 92% from a year earlier.
:03:34. > :03:35.The company is also considering shedding another 1,000 jobs.
:03:36. > :03:38.Alcoa also lowered its 2016 outlook for global sales in the aerospace
:03:39. > :03:41.industry, and its shares fell 5% in after-hours trading on Wall Street.
:03:42. > :03:44.Joining me now is Warren Gilman, chief executive of CEF Holdings,
:03:45. > :03:46.a company that invests in mining and resources.
:03:47. > :04:21.It all sounds pretty grim. Give us your perspective on these results.
:04:22. > :04:25.It's all pretty grim indeed, but no great surprise here. We really
:04:26. > :04:32.probably did not learn anything from the Alcoa quarterly release. We all
:04:33. > :04:34.know that the world of resources is tough and probably gonna get tougher
:04:35. > :04:39.before it gets any better. Just to say that as part of the results they
:04:40. > :04:44.stipulate why they are lowering their global sales outlook. China is
:04:45. > :04:49.one of the main reasons. They say they believe consumption is at 6.5%.
:04:50. > :04:53.They believed growth would be a originally around 8%. It always
:04:54. > :05:00.seems to come back to China, doesn't it? It does. China's the gorilla in
:05:01. > :05:06.the room for any participant in the commodity world. Despite the fact
:05:07. > :05:11.that demand growth is slowing, demand growth in the aluminium
:05:12. > :05:13.business is good on a relative basis, certainly better than other
:05:14. > :05:20.commodities like iron ore and copper. The real problem is Chinese
:05:21. > :05:25.supply. That has continued to grow in the aluminium sector. Just as
:05:26. > :05:29.importantly, if not more importantly, their exports are
:05:30. > :05:33.growing faster than annual production, and that is the headwind
:05:34. > :05:38.Alcoa faces, this constant supply of new aluminium coming into their home
:05:39. > :05:44.markets. They have had to decrease their own production and try to
:05:45. > :05:49.focus people's attentions more on the engineered products downstream
:05:50. > :05:53.side of the business, which is growing, but again that business has
:05:54. > :05:59.its own headwind. We have all seen from the Ford share price and the
:06:00. > :06:03.Boeing share price over the last year, that automotive growing space
:06:04. > :06:07.has a headwind, and that is a bright spot for Alcoa, never mind primary
:06:08. > :06:12.aluminium business which is under continued strife and tension for the
:06:13. > :06:18.next couple of years. Just really, how long will this season last? As
:06:19. > :06:22.you say, china's exporting more on a cheaper basis, which is a challenge
:06:23. > :06:31.steel makers are facing a round-the-world, particularly in the
:06:32. > :06:37.UK -- China's. Look, this is a tough business, as you mention. Still in
:06:38. > :06:40.the UK is an example. The growing supply of resources and commodity
:06:41. > :06:44.finished products like aluminium steel is a problem that's not going
:06:45. > :06:49.away soon -- Steel. It has been a product of the investment the last
:06:50. > :06:53.ten years. There is no sunshine at the end of this corner. It really
:06:54. > :07:00.tends to look towards the second half, when Alcoa's splitting into
:07:01. > :07:04.its two component parts, and shareholders will at least be able
:07:05. > :07:07.to look at the downstream business in separation from its primary
:07:08. > :07:10.business, sometime probably in the third quarter. OK, Warren, we
:07:11. > :07:14.appreciate your time. Rice is a staple food
:07:15. > :07:16.for millions of people around But for some,
:07:17. > :07:20.the rice itself is virtually their only food, leaving them
:07:21. > :07:22.deficient in essential nutrients. The result is called
:07:23. > :07:25."hidden hunger" and it's acute in Now it's also been highlighted
:07:26. > :07:46.as a problem among many migrant Singapore's migrant construction
:07:47. > :07:51.workers are building one of the most advanced cities in the world, and
:07:52. > :07:55.this is what keeps them going. According to the social enterprise
:07:56. > :07:59.45 rice, a typical migrant worker here consumes a whopping 1.5
:08:00. > :08:06.kilograms of cooked rice a day. But not a lot else. A little bit of
:08:07. > :08:10.curry and a little bit of chicken. And normally this large amount of
:08:11. > :08:15.rice a day, without other nutritional food around it, it ends
:08:16. > :08:18.up being mostly an carb diet, they don't get the nutrition they need
:08:19. > :08:22.for the work they are doing on a daily basis. They are working from
:08:23. > :08:29.7am until 8pm and this is arduous work. Workers pay around $1 US per
:08:30. > :08:35.meal to a third party who arranges catering and delivery of food for a
:08:36. > :08:38.cut. The calorie heavy rice fills them up but it lacks essential
:08:39. > :08:46.vitamin A minerals which nutrition experts say leaves workers suffering
:08:47. > :08:50.from a form of malnutrition they call hidden hunger. So they are
:08:51. > :08:53.applying a formula used in the developing world for years,
:08:54. > :09:00.fortifying rice with all of the ingredients needed to make it a more
:09:01. > :09:04.balanced meal. Very often, when you get plain rice as part of your diet,
:09:05. > :09:10.you might feel less productive, less energetic, you might even fall more
:09:11. > :09:15.sick, so you will feel less healthy in general. It would be great to
:09:16. > :09:19.have a more balanced diet, however very often it is not affordable, so
:09:20. > :09:24.it is very simple and cost-effective to add vitamin C and minerals. The
:09:25. > :09:32.enriched rice is already being trialled on a small group of migrant
:09:33. > :09:39.workers -- add vitamins and minerals. Can you tell the
:09:40. > :09:45.difference? Yes. It is nicer. By the middle of this year, DSM, in part
:09:46. > :09:49.partnership with 45 Rice said they would like this fortified rice to be
:09:50. > :09:52.brought to as many as 30,000 of Singapore's migrant construction
:09:53. > :09:57.workers. With in a few years they are hoping to be able to feed the
:09:58. > :10:01.entire foreign construction worker population, more than 300,000
:10:02. > :10:05.people. And while enriched rice is more expensive they say they won't
:10:06. > :10:08.be passing on the extra cost to their workers because they will save
:10:09. > :10:09.money by dealing with caterers directly and a raging their own
:10:10. > :10:20.delivery. Let's quickly look at the markets.
:10:21. > :10:24.Japan is leading today, over 1%, because the yen has weakened versus
:10:25. > :10:27.the US dollar for the first time in seven days, bringing relief to
:10:28. > :10:35.exporters in Japan. Able see you soon. -- I will see you soon.
:10:36. > :10:39.New guidelines covering cosmetic surgery have been revealed