15/08/2016

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:00:00. > :00:00.They said the officer who shot him was also black.

:00:00. > :00:07.Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News.

:00:08. > :00:10.Now for the latest financial news with Sally and World Business

:00:11. > :00:19.Japan's latest growth figures are weaker than expected.

:00:20. > :00:28.The Prime Minister's economic plan is put in question again.

:00:29. > :00:31.And could this be the end of wining and dining for businesses in South

:00:32. > :00:38.The government introduces a new law to crackdown on corruption.

:00:39. > :00:46.Also in the programme: Londoners are now cutting house prices

:00:47. > :00:59.It's been another very tough quarter for the Japan's economy.

:01:00. > :01:02.It saw a smidgen of growth in the three months to the end

:01:03. > :01:04.of June leading to some economists questioning the Prime Minister's

:01:05. > :01:08.aggressive economic policies known as Abenomics.

:01:09. > :01:11.The growth figures were weaker than expected at 0.2%.

:01:12. > :01:15.Most economists predicted growth would be something closer to 0.7%.

:01:16. > :01:20.Marcel Thieliant is a Japan Economist at Capital Economics

:01:21. > :01:27.and joins me now from our Singapore bureau.

:01:28. > :01:42.Good morning. Give us your take on these numbers that have come through

:01:43. > :01:47.today. VI .2% you mentioned, it is an annual figure, so if you take the

:01:48. > :01:52.actual change, it was zero, stagnation basically, and we have

:01:53. > :01:59.seen disappointment in basically all components of GDP. I think it is

:02:00. > :02:06.also important to remember that Japan's GDP numbers are notoriously

:02:07. > :02:12.volatile. If you want to get a true picture it is better to look at the

:02:13. > :02:18.yearly growth rate, which was open 6%, which is broadly in line with

:02:19. > :02:23.the economy's growth potential. Given the huge amount of monetary

:02:24. > :02:26.stimulus that Japan is currently seeing, this is clearly

:02:27. > :02:32.disappointing. We should expect the economy to be growing much faster.

:02:33. > :02:37.Is it too soon to expect the economy to zoom ahead given that the latest

:02:38. > :02:42.stimulus wasn't announced long ago. Do we need longer to see it kicking?

:02:43. > :02:48.I don't think the latest measures will have a major impact. The bank

:02:49. > :02:52.of Japan introduced negative rates at the start of the year and banks

:02:53. > :02:58.have already lowered lending rates to an extent. The problem is that

:02:59. > :03:04.there is not enough loan demand, and that is why loan growth has been

:03:05. > :03:08.tepid. With regards to the fiscal package outlined two weeks ago, this

:03:09. > :03:14.had a huge headline figure, but the exact details indicate that we will

:03:15. > :03:21.just get a very small boost to growth next year and this year. From

:03:22. > :03:26.these policy measures, we shouldn't expect tailwind for the economy.

:03:27. > :03:34.Just quickly, what has to be done to give the Japanese economy a serious

:03:35. > :03:39.boost. I think the main support factor would be more fiscal stimulus

:03:40. > :03:41.by the government. They had indicated earlier this year that

:03:42. > :03:47.they would do more but for some reason they have scaled this back,

:03:48. > :03:52.and in the long run obviously there are many things that need to be

:03:53. > :03:56.done, the most importantly addressing the shrinking working age

:03:57. > :04:01.population, which is the biggest factor dragging down growth. And the

:04:02. > :04:06.Japanese economy needs to be much more open to foreign investment.

:04:07. > :04:10.Japan has almost no foreign companies operating in the country

:04:11. > :04:15.and so there it is a cosy environment for firms operating

:04:16. > :04:21.their and more competition would certainly boost productivity in the

:04:22. > :04:25.country. Thank you for your time. More on the website. You

:04:26. > :04:27.You might ask, what would business be without entertainment?

:04:28. > :04:32.Well, not for much longer in South Korea where a new law comes

:04:33. > :04:35.Limits are being put on how much can be spent

:04:36. > :04:39.Our Seoul correspondent Stephen Evans wondered

:04:40. > :04:49.what the consequences might be over a business lunch.

:04:50. > :04:53.this is a very nice restaurant in the middle of Seoul and it is

:04:54. > :05:01.classic business entertainment territory. The rules are gonna

:05:02. > :05:06.change at the end of next month. There will be strict limits on this

:05:07. > :05:10.kind of dining. I have with me a government official and a

:05:11. > :05:16.businessman. Under the rules, entertainment would be limited to

:05:17. > :05:23.about $30 per head in restaurants and you can't give gifts of more

:05:24. > :05:32.than $50 a head. Cash gifts, which are traditionally given at weddings,

:05:33. > :05:38.cannot be more than $100 per head. One of the intriguing things is that

:05:39. > :05:41.teachers are covered in this, because parents give gifts to

:05:42. > :05:52.teachers to get more attention for their children. Korea is very much a

:05:53. > :05:57.relation basis country, so if they want to do something they have to

:05:58. > :05:59.build the relationship. If they have over entertaining with the people,

:06:00. > :06:09.the government officer cannot the fair enough to do something for the

:06:10. > :06:13.citizens or for the people. The loophole however is that the law is

:06:14. > :06:21.focusing on the individual journalist. The problem is that you

:06:22. > :06:26.have still 20 odd newspapers in Seoul. The only way they can survive

:06:27. > :06:35.is through advertising subsidies by the big conglomerates here, and of

:06:36. > :06:39.course in return for getting the advertising, the newspapers are very

:06:40. > :06:49.careful about writing critical stories about these corporations.

:06:50. > :06:55.Oh, the bill has arrived... It is more than $30 a head. It is lucky

:06:56. > :07:02.the new law doesn't come in place for a month, otherwise we would all

:07:03. > :07:09.be in deep trouble. We would, especially on the BBC budget. You

:07:10. > :07:11.can see Sharanjit Leyl behind me. Wining and dining off the menu in

:07:12. > :07:16.South Korea. So wheeling and dealing over a long

:07:17. > :07:20.lunch may be off the menu in South Korea and,

:07:21. > :07:22.according to a new report, there is not much to smile

:07:23. > :07:29.about in Singapore either. Many Singaporeans were beaming for

:07:30. > :07:30.change as we saw the homecoming of the first Olympic gold-medallist

:07:31. > :07:33.Joseph Schooling, who beat Michael Phelps over the weekend. That is not

:07:34. > :07:37.the case according to the survey you mentioned. It is a consumer

:07:38. > :07:40.confidence index by MasterCard and apparently Singaporeans are the most

:07:41. > :07:45.pessimistic about the economy they have ever been in seven years with

:07:46. > :07:51.the index falling to 33.6 compared to 44.3 for the previous six months.

:07:52. > :07:58.Many here are growing gloomy about the quality of life and income and

:07:59. > :08:03.job security. MasterCard's consumer confidence jumped to 33.6 in the

:08:04. > :08:08.first half of 2016. That is the lowest since June 2009, which was

:08:09. > :08:13.the height of the global recession. It is when the city's gross domestic

:08:14. > :08:20.product contracted for four straight quarters. The index will seem to

:08:21. > :08:24.echo Singapore's growth stats, with the trade ministry lowering the top

:08:25. > :08:29.end of the 2016 growth forecast after the economy expanded less than

:08:30. > :08:33.previously estimated for the second quarter with economists predicting

:08:34. > :08:40.the economy to grow 1.8%, the slowest pace since, surprise,

:08:41. > :08:41.surprise, 2009. Thank you. And congratulations on goal for

:08:42. > :08:41.Singapore. The International Monetary Fund has

:08:42. > :08:46.urged China to reduce its reliance In its annual review of the world's

:08:47. > :08:49.second-largest economy, the IMF also said Beijing needs

:08:50. > :08:56.to tackle rising corporate debt. London properties are taking

:08:57. > :09:00.longer to sell this month, And of course it is uncertainty over

:09:01. > :09:05.what Brexit will bring On average sellers cut

:09:06. > :09:09.prices by 3.6% from July, It leaves London up 2.1%

:09:10. > :09:26.on the year, the slowest growing Normally it is the other way around

:09:27. > :09:31.but Brexit put paid to that. Let's look at markets and you can see

:09:32. > :09:35.Japan is down a third, bucking the trend. All markets elsewhere in Asia

:09:36. > :09:40.are higher. I am a German growth story has hit sentiment in Japan.

:09:41. > :09:45.And the dollar is only buying 101 yen as well, which does not help

:09:46. > :09:48.Japanese exporters listed in Tokyo. That is a look at currencies today.

:09:49. > :10:02.I will see you soon. The sale, importation

:10:03. > :10:03.and manufacture of so-called "Zombie knives" will become illegal

:10:04. > :10:06.in England and Wales The Home Office says

:10:07. > :10:09.the weapons glamorise violence.