01/11/2016 World Business Report

Now for the latest financial news with Sally

Black gold - 2 of the worlds largest oil companies report earnings today

giving investors vital insight into how big oil is coping

The squeezed middle - as voters in the US prepare

to make their choice we find out which candidate the middle classes

believe will boost their bank balance.

Also in the programme, we'll cross over to Asia

where the latest manufacturing data is pointing to recovery

Global oil giants BP and Shell are due to release their quarterly

The oil producers are both expected to post a decline in profits,

but BP in particular is expected to show more signs of weakness

as the price of crude fails to recover.

Oil has had a rocky 2016 - in January it dropped to its lowest

level in over a decade at around $28 a barrel.

It's currently hovering around $50 a barrel,

weighed down by persistent oversupply.

In September the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

- or OPEC - agreed to do something about this.

At a meeting in Algeria they announced a modest limit on oil

output levels in order to prop up prices.

This is the first cut in production since 2008,

but the details of the how the cuts will work are yet to be finalised

and any further agreement has yet to be reached following a meeting

of both OPEC and non-OPEC members over the weekend.

Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.

Good morning. Lets talk about the two companies to start with. We have

had big US oil numbers reported an their profit at 35% 45% year on year

so that is the benchmark. The European looking for BP and Shell to

be down by half. They are quite different companies to what they

were at the beginning of the year. It was a big manoeuvre, 47 billion

dollars. It meant they are more exposed to liquefied gas, deep water

drilling in Brazil, for example. Shell has more petrol chemical

exposure. BP lubricants. It all depends on different parts of the

world as well. We are looking at a significant fall in profits but what

about other elements - capital expenditure, that kind of thing? If

you look, BP shares and Shell shares are near a 12 month high of partly

because it has recovered from its lowest but capital investment cuts,

cost-cutting, they are leaner and meaner that is the mantra from both

companies. The meeting in Vienna on Friday has spilt into Saturday. We

all hoped OPEC would say about production cuts. We should learn our

lessons given its records. Even if OPEC comes to an agreement, non-

OPEC may see this as an opportunity to grab shares. They seemed to

spring back to life after all your reach is $50 per barrel. Relying on

OPEC is a road to ruin, as in the past. Russia is also meeting with

representatives and it too promised reduction cuts. You have to wait to

deliver, again, unfortunately. Russia and Saudi Arabia need oil at

around $100 per barrel to balance. They have a vested interest to

getting oil up their but the Saudi's be cynical, could be different. When

will it be at the end of the year? That's a brutal question. I will

save $40 per barrel. Let's cross over to the US

where middle class rage has Many Americans feel the economy

is doing poorly and the next generation will be financially worse

off than their parents. Michelle Fleury has been to Florida

to find out who people believe On Florida's Coast, where the

American dream went broke in the housing collapse of 2007. The

horrors of that crash could still be felt in the real estate market and

in this year's election. How much of your income... About 56.5% is going

towards the rent. It is our lot. Jennifer works as a nurse, owning a

home is unthinkable without help. At this stage, she is undecided but

clearly she wants to hear of someone who eases her financial burden.

Someone needs to prove to my type of class that they will go above and

beyond this country. The science seem to favour Donald Trump. He has

tapped into dissatisfaction. $119,000... As a local estate agent,

he has had a front seat. He has a ready cast his vote for Donald

Trump. We need change. We work twice as hard to pay half as much. I am

not saying that is going to change immediately if somebody like Donald

Trump gets elected but at the the better if I put somebody a

businessman rather than a politician in that position. With every bust,

winners emerge. One person who got it good deal was Laurent Richardson

and she will not be voting for Donald Trump. As strong as a

businessman as he is, I would not trust his decisions. I think it

would hire great people but I think Hillary Clinton would do as good as

the job and her experience is primary. I also hold a lot of social

issues she prioritises as near and dear to my heart. Hillary Clinton

sounds a more up beat note on the economy while Donald Trump points to

those struggling as a sign of economic despair. Here, in a swing

state, the economic losers and winners live side-by-side.

Markets in Asia have been given a boost by the latest

The manufacturing sector has expanded at a faster pace

Great to see you. How excited should we be? Investors are cheering this

manufacturing activity from China. It has expanded in its fastest pace

in more than two years in the month of October. Prices, garments,

electronics have now been on demand and it has been a challenging couple

of years for the Chinese but analysts are saying this data could

be an indication that the economy might be stabilising, fuelled by

stronger government spending, and a redhot property market. The

benchmark came in at 51 .2 in October compared to 50.4 in the

previous months. It indicates an expansion. If you take a look at the

three quarters markets, the economy grew and look set to reach the

four-year target to 7% but despite all these positive numbers and there

are still red flags. The incidents persisted sluggishness in global

demand. Despite the apparent surge in domestic spending, the government

has pledged rod capacity reduction across a range of industries so it

is still quite mixed but going forward things looking up for

Chinese economy. Good to see. Looking at the markets of won Japan

is standing out. The bank of Japan had meeting and it has kept interest

rates on hold and acid purchases on hold. The Australian central bank

had its meeting and again interest rates have been kept on hold. Other

meetings in the US and UK happen later this week. The Fed starts its

meetings later