:00:00. > :00:00.Now for the latest financial news with Aaron and World Business
:00:00. > :00:15.200 million new friends for Facebook.
:00:16. > :00:21.The world's biggest social network keeps getting bigger.
:00:22. > :00:24.And I tell you what, so do its profits.
:00:25. > :00:28.The Hinkley C power station could get the go-ahead within hours,
:00:29. > :00:38.the country's first new plant for a generation.
:00:39. > :00:49.Welcome to World Business Report, I'm Aaron Heslehurst.
:00:50. > :00:54.This is a bite-size snapshot, an exciting one, I hope, of all the
:00:55. > :00:54.latest in the world of business and money.
:00:55. > :00:56.Also coming up: The S7 smartphone boosts Samsung's profits,
:00:57. > :01:02.despite stiff competition in the mobile phone business.
:01:03. > :01:04.We will go to Singapore to talk about that.
:01:05. > :01:07.We start in the US, with the world's biggest social network,
:01:08. > :01:09.which just seems to get bigger and bigger.
:01:10. > :01:11.We are talking, of course, about Facebook.
:01:12. > :01:14.It has reported a huge jump in profits, and in the number
:01:15. > :01:18.Advertising agencies are moving more of their money away from television
:01:19. > :01:21.and towards the internet, especially on mobile phones,
:01:22. > :01:23.and Facebook has been one of the big winners.
:01:24. > :01:34.In the three months to the end of June, Facebook made profits
:01:35. > :01:38.That was an increase of 186% compared to the same three-month
:01:39. > :01:45.Since then, it has also signed up 220 million new users who use
:01:46. > :01:50.That takes Facebook's total membership to this,
:01:51. > :01:53.more than 1.7 billion people who log on at least once a month.
:01:54. > :01:59.And all of that had driven the share price higher and higher,
:02:00. > :02:15.giving Facebook a stock market value of $350 billion and counting.
:02:16. > :02:28.Looking at Facebook on their phone or tablet everyday, but it is not
:02:29. > :02:32.enough just to have eyeballs. Facebook is not just good at getting
:02:33. > :02:36.more of us to use their services. It has also shown a knack for making
:02:37. > :02:43.money of our social media habits. Whether that is using Messenger,
:02:44. > :02:48.WhatsApp or Instagram, which it bought in 2012. It is also making of
:02:49. > :02:52.push into mobile video where it faces competition from the likes of
:02:53. > :02:59.snap chat and YouTube. We have seen brands having fun with Facebook live
:03:00. > :03:03.broadcast. One fast food company, ihop, live streamed pancakes on a
:03:04. > :03:09.beach. I am not sure why. But it speaks to Facebook's success at
:03:10. > :03:12.attracting new advertisers and getting existing ones to spend more.
:03:13. > :03:17.Along with Google, Facebook has benefited hugely from advertisers
:03:18. > :03:22.shifting money from television to the internet. As one analyst put it,
:03:23. > :03:25.the social network is running away with the mobile advertising market.
:03:26. > :03:26.At this point it is hard to see how rivals can catch up.
:03:27. > :03:30.Matti Littunen is from Enders Analysis.
:03:31. > :03:36.I did really good on that one, didn't I? Welcome to the programme.
:03:37. > :03:42.Thank you for coming in. Let's start with what Michelle ended on. It does
:03:43. > :03:46.appear, looking at these numbers, that it would be very difficult at
:03:47. > :03:51.the moment for anybody out there to catch up to Facebook. Yes,
:03:52. > :03:55.especially when it comes to display advertising, especially on mobile.
:03:56. > :04:00.They are in a very strong market position. There are a few would-be
:04:01. > :04:04.challengers, but Facebook has risen above the rest. You talk about
:04:05. > :04:07.advertising, I remember years ago experts would come into this
:04:08. > :04:11.programme saying Facebook have done well but need to crack the mobile
:04:12. > :04:16.advertising market. They have cracked it and then some. They have
:04:17. > :04:20.a pretty decent knack of making money. How are they doing it? Is it
:04:21. > :04:25.because the number of users just gives all this rich information to
:04:26. > :04:28.advertisers out there? It is absolutely crucial, what you said
:04:29. > :04:33.there. A few years ago they put their best product people on the
:04:34. > :04:37.mobile app products, rolling out new ways of targeting users, making use
:04:38. > :04:41.of the massive amounts of data they have on usage of the social network.
:04:42. > :04:48.And we see, even now we see continuously them rolling out new
:04:49. > :04:52.advertising formats, new ways for advertisers to reach those users. So
:04:53. > :04:59.they are building on steady progress in those areas. Have we reached peak
:05:00. > :05:04.Facebook? 1.7 billion, I don't know. Can you sit here and say that maybe
:05:05. > :05:08.in one year's time we could have 2.5 billion people or 3 billion people?
:05:09. > :05:13.It looks like there is definitely still more upside to come. The user
:05:14. > :05:17.growth is as fast as it has been in three years and we have lots of
:05:18. > :05:26.product, Facebook frankly hasn't even started monetising some of its
:05:27. > :05:30.product, such as WhatsApp, and things like Messenger. We will see
:05:31. > :05:35.more payments and other services on that platform. It will be more than
:05:36. > :05:39.just advertising so lots of areas available for Facebook's business.
:05:40. > :05:45.There are many areas as you say, but it is getting the young users, using
:05:46. > :05:49.things like SnapChat. Yes, it seems that audience reach among the young
:05:50. > :05:53.groups is definitely still something Facebook does well but there have
:05:54. > :05:57.been some questions raised, especially in advanced markets like
:05:58. > :06:01.the US, where upstart services like SnapChat might be eating into
:06:02. > :06:06.Facebook's most engaged young users. The evidence of that is still quite
:06:07. > :06:10.mixed but that is still something Facebook will be keeping a close eye
:06:11. > :06:13.on. We appreciate your time, thank you for coming in.
:06:14. > :06:17.We are also in the west of England, where Britain's first new nuclear
:06:18. > :06:20.power plant in a generation is expected to get the green light
:06:21. > :06:24.The board of the French energy giant EDF, which is due to fund most
:06:25. > :06:27.of the controversial project, is meeting in Paris later,
:06:28. > :06:28.and is expected to approve the investment.
:06:29. > :06:34.Our industry correspondent John Moylan has more.
:06:35. > :06:42.It is a project on a vast scale. The twin nuclear reactors planned for
:06:43. > :06:46.Hinkley point will provide 7% of the UK's electricity. Due to start
:06:47. > :06:51.generating in 2025, it will be one of the first new nuclear plants to
:06:52. > :06:56.be given the green light in Europe in years. Preparation work at the
:06:57. > :07:02.site is under way. EDF has already ploughed in more than 2.5 billion
:07:03. > :07:07.euros. Now, after years of delays, it is set to be approved. Hinkley C
:07:08. > :07:10.will cost more than 21 billion euros. It has been called one of the
:07:11. > :07:20.most expensive man-made structures on the planet. The Chinese nuclear
:07:21. > :07:24.group CGN has a 35% stake in The Project. It is part of a wider deal
:07:25. > :07:28.which could see Chinese reactors built in Britain. But plans to
:07:29. > :07:31.export their technology around the world have suffered a series of
:07:32. > :07:37.setbacks. The Project in northern front has been hit by delays and is
:07:38. > :07:43.billions over Budget. Its nuclear fleet will also need a 100 billion
:07:44. > :07:47.euros upgrade in decades ahead. That led its finance chief to resign
:07:48. > :07:53.earlier this year, amid concerns soaring cost could destabilise EDF's
:07:54. > :08:00.finances. Its powerful unions also want Hinkley to be delayed. Earlier
:08:01. > :08:04.this week EDF's shareholders agreed a major refinancing plan which has
:08:05. > :08:06.paved the way for today's decision. The UK looks set to enter a new
:08:07. > :08:08.nuclear era. To Asia now, and Samsung has
:08:09. > :08:11.made its best quarterly profits in two years thanks to strong sales
:08:12. > :08:14.of its flagship smartphone, It is also confident
:08:15. > :08:21.about the rest of the year, despite stiff competition
:08:22. > :08:22.from rivals like Apple, at the top end of the market,
:08:23. > :08:25.and cheaper brands from China. Mariko Oi is following this
:08:26. > :08:39.for us in Singapore. Good to see you. I talk about the
:08:40. > :08:49.bottom end, those other competitions, we are talking about
:08:50. > :08:52.the likes of Huawei. Indeed, Samsung has been struggling to compete at
:08:53. > :08:55.the Top End and the bottom end for several years now but this set of
:08:56. > :09:00.results has come in very strong. Earlier this week we were talking
:09:01. > :09:06.about Apple reporting a fall in iPhone sales but as you mentioned,
:09:07. > :09:11.Samsung managed to sell more of its smartphones, as you mentioned, known
:09:12. > :09:16.as Galaxy S7. Its mobile division had profits jumping 27%, helping the
:09:17. > :09:20.overall profit at the company. In other divisions like the TV sales,
:09:21. > :09:25.which were down, Samsung still supplies chips for Apple's iPhones
:09:26. > :09:29.and chip sales were actually down. The company is still counting on its
:09:30. > :09:34.smartphone for strong performance in the future. It is releasing its new
:09:35. > :09:37.model next week, ahead of Apple's launch of new models in September.
:09:38. > :09:40.We will talk to you soon, thank you. In other news: The Federal Reserve
:09:41. > :09:43.has kept interest rates unchanged at between 0.25% and 0.5%,
:09:44. > :09:46.where they have been The US central bank said near-term
:09:47. > :09:54.risks to the economic outlook have diminished, but inflation remained
:09:55. > :09:56.below the bank's target. It is still expected to raise
:09:57. > :09:59.rates twice this year. Investors expect the first
:10:00. > :10:08.increase to come in autumn. Mining giant BHP Billiton will take
:10:09. > :10:12.a hit of up to $1.3 billion to cover the costs of a dam disaster last
:10:13. > :10:15.November at the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil, which it co-owns
:10:16. > :10:18.with Brazilian rival Vale. That puts the company
:10:19. > :10:20.on course to report its worst The charge accounts for BHP's share
:10:21. > :10:30.of a settlement reached with the Brazilian government
:10:31. > :10:32.to cover clean-up costs and damages, for the dam burst that killed 19
:10:33. > :10:39.people, left hundreds homeless, You are going to make me do the
:10:40. > :10:42.markets? This robotic camera is all over the place, forcing me to do the
:10:43. > :10:45.market. Despite some of the recent gains we have seen in the hope that
:10:46. > :10:48.Japan and its new stimulus, which we will know about very soon. I will be
:10:49. > :10:51.back to take a look at some of the papers from around the world.
:10:52. > :11:00.An iconic fairground attraction, described as the original
:11:01. > :11:02.white-knuckle ride, is in danger of being lost,
:11:03. > :11:06.The owners of the Moon Rocket, which first appeared in 1939,
:11:07. > :11:09.want to sell it, but the National Heritage Memorial Fund needs
:11:10. > :11:13.to raise another ?17,000 to stop it going abroad or being broken up.