:00:00. > :00:17.China tells us its seen the weakest growth
:00:18. > :00:22.But here's the question, are there signs of life or is there
:00:23. > :00:34.Plus, America's shale boom bites the dust.
:00:35. > :00:36.We visit the North Dakota communities left reeling by the
:00:37. > :00:53.Welcome to World Business Report, I'm Aaron Heslehurst.
:00:54. > :01:10.It is Friday and we have nine minutes! Give me nine minutes and I
:01:11. > :01:16.promise you, I will give you a fascinating snapshot of the world of
:01:17. > :01:20.business and money. Also coming up, the problems are stacking up in
:01:21. > :01:29.Brazil with the worst financial crisis in decades and now an
:01:30. > :01:31.impeachment vote on Sunday for president Dilma Rousef.
:01:32. > :01:34.We start in China where fears about a worsening slowdown
:01:35. > :01:36.in the world's number two economy have been confirmed
:01:37. > :01:40.In the last few hours China has told us it's seen
:01:41. > :01:42.the weakest growth numbers since 2009, since the financial crisis.
:01:43. > :01:45.Let's show you the numbers and what is behind them.
:01:46. > :01:47.In the first three months of this year, China's economy
:01:48. > :01:51.expanded at an annual rate of 6.7% that's down from the 6.8% we saw
:01:52. > :01:54.This chart shows growth since the 1980s.
:01:55. > :01:57.From 2000 you can see the boom which boosted the whole world's
:01:58. > :01:59.economy, followed by a sharp slowdown in recent years.
:02:00. > :02:01.China's facing an array of challenges.
:02:02. > :02:04.The one we all know about, weak global demand for Chinese
:02:05. > :02:07.But at home, it's become too reliant on huge,
:02:08. > :02:09.inefficient state run firms, often called Zombie Companies,
:02:10. > :02:14.Some six million jobs will need to be cut over the next few years.
:02:15. > :02:16.This week the International Monetary Fund called
:02:17. > :02:19.China one of the biggest threats to global financial stability.
:02:20. > :02:21.In particular, it's worried more Chinese firms are
:02:22. > :02:24.That could be a huge ticking time bomb.
:02:25. > :02:27.The IMF says loans worth almost $1.3 trillion could be at risk
:02:28. > :03:32.Robin Brant is our correspondent in Shanghai.
:03:33. > :03:43.Let's start with the debt. House series is $1.3 trillion of debt for
:03:44. > :03:53.China -- how serious? What kind of a question is that? It involves the
:03:54. > :03:56.world trillion -- word. They have corporate debt which includes
:03:57. > :04:07.state-owned enterprises and local government, about 160% of GDP and
:04:08. > :04:20.rising. So that debt and how to -- it is serviced will determine how it
:04:21. > :04:23.goes in the future. The market has been flooded with money and credit
:04:24. > :04:27.has been much cheaper here and this is all because of the effort to keep
:04:28. > :04:31.companies alive but also to get Chinese shoppers to purchase more
:04:32. > :04:37.and to move the economy away from investment and industry and towards
:04:38. > :04:41.consumer industries. Look at the figures. In March, new figures
:04:42. > :04:54.reached about a quarter of $1 billion. That is up 18%. The total
:04:55. > :04:57.stock is up 18%. New loans are up a quarter. Credit is easy to get in
:04:58. > :05:03.this country and cheap money continues to flood the market in
:05:04. > :05:06.hopes it will insulate the economy against a disastrous landing. They
:05:07. > :05:12.want the landing to be soft and they hope by continuing this, they can
:05:13. > :05:16.ensure that the Chinese economy has something of a soft landing and can
:05:17. > :05:18.get on with that transition in the long-term and that the same time
:05:19. > :05:26.prevent the world from getting cold when they have -- getting a cold
:05:27. > :05:28.when they have the sniffles here. Thank you.
:05:29. > :05:31.We are also in the United States where the slump in crude prices has
:05:32. > :05:35.It's taken a heavy toll on local economies
:05:36. > :05:38.and communities that had come to rely on the shale oil industry.
:05:39. > :05:53.Michelle Fleury reports from North Dakota, in America's midwest.
:05:54. > :06:01.Flying low above North Dakota's planes. On Jacks dot the landscape,
:06:02. > :06:10.evidence of the boom here which is helped to power America's energy
:06:11. > :06:20.renaissance -- pump jacks. On the ground, signs that the downturn.
:06:21. > :06:27.Used wellhead to sit unsold -- oil heads sit unsold. I am not sure what
:06:28. > :06:30.you can see behind me but there are only cure for people working here.
:06:31. > :06:36.He says there is now less business to go around. It is largely a game
:06:37. > :06:40.of musical chairs where there are so many vendors chasing a very small
:06:41. > :06:47.amount of work. The environment is considerably more difficult.
:06:48. > :06:52.So-called man camps were built during the boom years but now much
:06:53. > :06:59.of that looks deserted. Two years ago, the room at worker would have
:07:00. > :07:04.been packed. Dining hall was always full and it was hard to find a
:07:05. > :07:10.parking spot everyday. A big difference. The hallway I am in is
:07:11. > :07:15.basically vacant. It is pretty quiet. Now occupancy rates have
:07:16. > :07:21.plummeted. Many workers can't afford to stay and wait for things to pick
:07:22. > :07:27.up. We drove less than a mile from the camp and we came across this,
:07:28. > :07:31.what is clearly an abandoned RV Park. You conceal the debris left
:07:32. > :07:38.behind. Many laid-off workers have been unable to find new jobs -- you
:07:39. > :07:43.can see. In many cases they have given up and left town. Lifelong
:07:44. > :07:53.residents haven't been spared by the slump either. This farmland has been
:07:54. > :07:57.with this family for generations but now the monthly checks are not what
:07:58. > :08:03.they used to be. I have been around long enough to know that even if you
:08:04. > :08:13.have an oil well, it could be packed in in a month. Those royalties may
:08:14. > :08:21.end. The energy companies and workers who remain are betting the
:08:22. > :08:25.slump will end. The question is when.
:08:26. > :08:28.In other news: The five largest European economies have agreed to
:08:29. > :08:31.work together to try to combat tax evasion - urged other countries to
:08:32. > :08:35.The UK has joined France, Germany, Italy and Spain in agreeing to share
:08:36. > :08:38.information about the secret owners of businesses and trusts who hide
:08:39. > :08:41.The deal, announced at the International
:08:42. > :08:44.Monetary Fund meeting in Washington, comes in the wake of the tax
:08:45. > :08:54.Microsoft is suing the US government over the right to
:08:55. > :08:57.tell its users when federal agencies want access to private data.
:08:58. > :09:00.It says keeping access requests secret is against the US
:09:01. > :09:01.constitution, which states that individuals should
:09:02. > :09:20.be made aware if the government searches or seizes their property.
:09:21. > :09:22.BP shareholders have rejected a pay package
:09:23. > :09:24.of almost $20 million for chief executive Bob Dudley at the oil
:09:25. > :09:28.Just over 59% of investors rejected Mr Dudley's 20% pay increase,
:09:29. > :09:31.which came despite record losses and thousands of job cuts.
:09:32. > :09:33.It is one of the largest rejections to date
:09:34. > :09:38.The vote is non-binding on BP, but the company's chairman has promised
:09:39. > :09:58.A quick look at the markets which are subdued on Friday. They are all
:09:59. > :09:59.looking ahead to the weekend OPEC meetings.
:10:00. > :10:03.Don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of