11/08/2016 World Business Report

Now for the latest financial news with Sally Bundock

Wake up to modern slavery - global business is warned.

A report claims forced labour is rife across much of the world -

in mines, farms and factories - with China and India among

Plus - tax cuts, trade and the minimum wage -

how Trump and Clinton stack up on their plans for the US economy.

New Zealand joins the interest rate cutting party. South Korea holds

off. Let's start with what British Prime Minister to reason may have

called the great human rights issue of our time.

It is also - it's being claimed - a major problem for global business.

A report out today warns forced labour is rife in over half

the countries of the world - with some industries

It calls on businesses to do more to find out if workers

in their supply chain are being paid fairly and given basic

According to the report by consultancy Verisk Maplecroft -

the risk is high or extreme in 58% of countries in the world.

Among the worst offenders - two of the most important nations

in many supply chains - China and India.

Not surprisingly - sub-Saharan Africa also fares very

badly - with 80% of countries in the highest risk categories.

As far as industries go - agriculture, manufacturing

and mining are three areas seriously affected by modern slavery.

The exploitation of children in mines and factories is common.

Products of particular concern range from cocoa -

to minerals like cobalt that are used in the mobile phone industry.

With me, Dr Alex Channer, Principal Human Rights Analyst

As consumers worldwide, this is concerning. Verisk Maplecroft has

developed this index to try and understand where they face the

greatest risks of modern slavery in their supply chain.

Lots of businesses have to report publicly about what they are doing

to stop this. Our index can do that. Some of the findings are not good

news for business. We found that over half the countries in the

world, 115, are extreme high risk for modern slavery. When we look to

evidence of forced labour, we found reported cases in over 90% of the

countries we looked at. Few countries are immune to the problem.

The business, the key problem is its major sourcing economies which fall

into the higher risk category. He mentioned that the UK, the slavery

act, it was brought in by the then Secretary Theresa May, something she

is passionate about what about other governments around the world? There

is an interesting trend in the government 's that are now

legislating on modern slavery. The UK is one of the leaders in this

area but the US also has laws on the books in California, which require

companies to report on what they are doing to stop slavery. It might also

include modern slavery in it, the legislation. There is a move to

legislate. What is critical is enforcement. How easy is it for

businesses to find out if, you know, their product is linked to modern

slavery? You have to go right to the beginning of the supply chain and

that is not always easy. That's right. He businesses have actually

mapped beyond Tier one. A few series of steps they have to follow, they

have to map their supply chain and see where they source their

materials from and then they have to do a top-level risk assessment. They

have to an index like ours. Then they collaborate with NGOs and

governments. Most of all with their suppliers and try to protect workers

in their supply chain. As consumers, many, many consumers worldwide are

very keen to buy ethically. But to what extent can we rely on the

information we are getting from companies like fair trade labels,

those kinds of labels? As consumers, we need to help nurses and we need

to help governments as well, make a zero tolerance of modern slavery

competitive. If we vote with our wallets, we buy and put treasure on

companies, read this statement, make sure governments are working in an

environment that helps to stop Modern Slavery Act, they know we can

make zero tolerance of modern slavery in this world. We appreciate

your time. A very interesting reading the report, very scary.

Let's look at some other stories. We are also looking at the US

presidential election campaign - because later on Thursday

the Democratic party's nominee, Hillary Clinton, unveils her plans

for the US economy. Mrs Clinton will be

speaking in Detroit. This is just days after her rival

Donald Trump went to the same to city to lay out HIS

economic proposals. So how do the two candidates plans

for the US economy compare? These reforms will of the biggest

tax revolution since the Reagan tax reform. Which unleashed years of

continued economic growth and job creation.

They tried to make it all, tired ideas sound new but here is what we

know. His tax plans will give super big tax breaks to large corporations

and the really wealthy. There is lots more on our website.

Let's go to Asia where interest rate decisions have been top of the

agenda. Rico Hizon is in Singapore. Nice to see you. Let's start with

New Zealand. The decision to cut? That is right. The reserve bank

decided to reduce its costs of borrowing to a fresh record low of

2% and this is the sixth rate cut in New Zealand in 14 months, quite

active in terms of policy. The central bank also flagged that they

could be one more rate cut this year as economy is struggling basically

to meet its inflation target. This will push the New Zealand dollar to

a one-year high against the US dollar. On the other side of the

coin, you have a South Korea central bank deciding to sit on interest

rates and keep it at a record low as board members need a clearer picture

of the state of the economy. It remains at one .25%. Exploits -- the

central bank will respond if conditions worsen going forward.

Thank you so much, Rico Hizon. Let's talk about Ali Babar.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba just keeps growing.

It is expected to announce a 50% jump in revenue for the three

Alibaba is less than two decades old but dominates online

It is is now one of the world's top retail companies

The UK housing market weakened following direct -- the Brexit vote.

The biggest drop in transactions since the global financial prices in

2008. Prices continue to rise nationally but at the slowest pace

in three years and actually fell in London. I will see you in one minute

when we review the papers. Goodbye.