:00:13. > :00:21.Wall Street puts its doubts aside as the Dow Jones
:00:22. > :00:30.Can Brexit Britain and Trump's US beat the likes of Ireland
:00:31. > :00:32.at their own game and lure back the multinationals
:00:33. > :00:57.We will be checking how markets are doing in Asia in just a moment.
:00:58. > :01:00.We start in the US where President Trump has been
:01:01. > :01:03.provoking more controversy over his plans to wall off Mexico.
:01:04. > :01:05.Meanwhile, traders at the New York Stock Exchange
:01:06. > :01:10.Here's what they have been celebrating:
:01:11. > :01:13.the Dow Jones Industrial Average of top US shares ended here,
:01:14. > :01:15.finally closing above 20,000 points for the first time
:01:16. > :01:21.It's a huge psychological milestone for traders,
:01:22. > :01:24.the Dow has now risen some 9.5% since the election in November,
:01:25. > :01:29.one of its biggest rallies on record.
:01:30. > :01:32.It got within one point of 20,000 back on January sixth
:01:33. > :01:36.before nerves caused the rally to fizzle out.
:01:37. > :01:39.But since President Trump's inauguration, the confidence
:01:40. > :01:46.Some investors are predicting it could rise a lot further
:01:47. > :01:49.if he follows through on promises to slash business taxes
:01:50. > :02:00.and regulations and boost infrastructure spending.
:02:01. > :02:06.World, they printed the T-shirts and hats weeks ago and on Wednesday
:02:07. > :02:11.finally after everyone was beginning to wonder if they'd ever get a
:02:12. > :02:13.chance to wear them, the Dow Jones industrial average finally rose
:02:14. > :02:20.above 20,000 for the first time. Now, Kellyanne Conway, an adviser to
:02:21. > :02:24.President Trump, was quick to take credit calling it the Trump Effect.
:02:25. > :02:28.Now, it is true that Donald Trump's selection has been really good for
:02:29. > :02:33.shares in the US's leading companies. Since November the night
:02:34. > :02:37.the Dow has risen by about 8%. President Trump campaigned on things
:02:38. > :02:43.like rolling back bank regulations and simple find the US tax code.
:02:44. > :02:48.Now, the recent US damn executive orders signed by the president has
:02:49. > :02:52.given Wall Street confidence that he will follow through on some of those
:02:53. > :02:57.promises and that has helped the Dow make it over the 20,000 mark. That
:02:58. > :03:00.said one cannot talk about these market milestones without making
:03:01. > :03:05.mention of the strength of the US economy that Mr Trump inherited from
:03:06. > :03:08.his predecessor, Barack Obama. The unemployment rate is sitting at a
:03:09. > :03:12.10-year low and the Federal Reserve was engaged in a massive stimulus
:03:13. > :03:16.programme that's kept interest rates near zero for a very long time. All
:03:17. > :03:19.of which has helped to bring US markets where they are today.
:03:20. > :03:24.I remember when it went beyond 10000 and the champagne was popping them
:03:25. > :03:26.too! So what's happening now
:03:27. > :03:28.on financial markets. Let's go to our Asia business hub
:03:29. > :03:37.and join Rico Hizon. I want to see you in one of those
:03:38. > :03:44.hats with 20,000 on it, one of the baseball hats. Have you got one? You
:03:45. > :03:52.just mentioned the Dow 10,000, that was aeons ago! Your showing my age,
:03:53. > :03:58.it was one of my first stories! You're very young. Everyone is
:03:59. > :04:04.cheering the Trump jump in Asia, Dow, 20,000, stocks are rising here
:04:05. > :04:09.to 3.5 month highs on hopes that Mr Trump's economic plans will ramp up
:04:10. > :04:15.growth. This surge is the latest sign in investors are brushing aside
:04:16. > :04:19.for now worries about Mr Trump's trade protectionism stance and are
:04:20. > :04:23.instead betting that the White House and the Republican Congress will
:04:24. > :04:27.implement what's in the era mentioned, tax cuts, spending big on
:04:28. > :04:34.infrastructure and cut the bureaucracy -- what Samir mentioned.
:04:35. > :04:39.The Japanese Nikkei 225 is stronger by 1.2%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng has
:04:40. > :04:42.risen by 1%. If you look at the Chinese stock market, it is
:04:43. > :04:47.currently flat as investors are set to start their Chinese New Year
:04:48. > :04:50.holidays. Everyone is migrating to their respective hometowns and
:04:51. > :04:54.travelling overseas and markets there will be closed from tomorrow
:04:55. > :04:59.until next Thursday, a very long market holiday for the mainland.
:05:00. > :05:02.That is the latest on the markets. Sally, back to you.
:05:03. > :05:06.We are also looking closely at that issue of corporate tax cuts.
:05:07. > :05:08.It's a central part of President Trump's strategy
:05:09. > :05:11.to boost the US economy and is on the agenda today
:05:12. > :05:13.at the Republican Party's annual retreat in Philadelphia.
:05:14. > :05:16.President Trump will be there to give an address
:05:17. > :05:17.as will British Prime Minister Theresa May,
:05:18. > :05:26.Before winning the election, Mr Trump promised he'll
:05:27. > :05:30.cut the US corporate tax rate from 35% to around 15% to try
:05:31. > :05:34.He's also targeting the billions that US multinationals,
:05:35. > :05:43.the likes of Starbucks, Google, and Microsoft make overseas.
:05:44. > :05:46.Mr Trump says he'll allow them to repatriate those profits
:05:47. > :05:54.That's what he said anyway before his election.
:05:55. > :05:57.But the US President is likely to face competition.
:05:58. > :06:00.UK Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged she will deliver the lowest
:06:01. > :06:03.corporation rate in the G20 as the UK tries to make itself
:06:04. > :06:06.attractive to big companies once it leaves the European Union.
:06:07. > :06:19.And just next door is Ireland, which is in the European Union,
:06:20. > :06:20.has had big success luring multinationals.
:06:21. > :06:23.The likes of Apple, Intel and Pfizer are some
:06:24. > :06:27.of the big American companies based there.
:06:28. > :06:29.Its controversial arrangements include corporation tax
:06:30. > :06:39.Here's how Mr Trump made his pitch to business leaders earlier this
:06:40. > :06:42.week. to companies that do indeed
:06:43. > :06:47.make their products here. So we've seen it, it is going
:06:48. > :06:52.to get, it is going to be a wave, And I've always said by the time
:06:53. > :07:00.you put them in these massive ships or airplanes and fly them,
:07:01. > :07:04.I think it is going to be cheaper. Now, what we are doing
:07:05. > :07:07.is we are going to be cutting taxes massively for both the middle
:07:08. > :07:10.class and for companies We are trying to get it down
:07:11. > :07:14.to anywhere from 15 to 20% and it is now 35% but it is probably
:07:15. > :07:18.more 38% than it is 35, Dominic Stuttaford is a senior tax
:07:19. > :07:33.expert at the law firm Norton Rose
:07:34. > :07:41.Fulbright. Good to see you. Good morning. This
:07:42. > :07:46.will be discussed in Phil Duffy and Theresa May is there and the
:07:47. > :07:50.competition is getting hot globally, but will this become a reality --
:07:51. > :07:54.Philadelphia. People have always talked about a change in the US tax
:07:55. > :07:58.system, it's complicated and there's many with vested interests, it may
:07:59. > :08:02.take time but now there's pressure. It's interesting, in the UK the
:08:03. > :08:06.government will have a budget and it will make the announcements, it
:08:07. > :08:11.often comes into effect immediately, in the US the system doesn't work
:08:12. > :08:14.like that? In the US you need the President and Congress to work in
:08:15. > :08:18.tandem for anything to happen. That's why it hasn't changed for a
:08:19. > :08:22.long time? And when you have something that is so, located, what
:08:23. > :08:26.bits do you change? Radical reform is difficult because there will
:08:27. > :08:31.always be winners and losers -- is so complicated. That is on the
:08:32. > :08:35.agenda, firmly on the agenda of President Trump, he's made that
:08:36. > :08:41.clear in deed. Will it have the impact if he was able to get the 10%
:08:42. > :08:47.rate on money come back home, from Apple and Google and others, would
:08:48. > :08:51.it have that effect? Would Apple repatriate the billions it has
:08:52. > :08:54.overseas? They will always keep some money overseas to fund subsidiaries
:08:55. > :08:58.but fundamentally yes, because that money has been sitting there, they
:08:59. > :09:03.need it in their home jurisdictions to pay dividends and money back to
:09:04. > :09:07.their shareholders so why keep it overseas if you can bring it back
:09:08. > :09:11.without massive amounts of tax? There in a bizarre situation, big
:09:12. > :09:15.companies like Apple and Google, where they have this money stashed
:09:16. > :09:19.overseas because of the money they used bringing it home but they may
:09:20. > :09:24.borrow in the US to pay things like dividends -- they are in. Yes, but
:09:25. > :09:28.the problem with the system is the system hasn't incentivised you to
:09:29. > :09:33.bring your money back to your home jurisdiction. There's a tax charge
:09:34. > :09:41.if you put it back in the US. That is contrary to every other major tax
:09:42. > :09:44.administration. Thank you very much, Dominick, for making sense of this
:09:45. > :09:47.scenario. Of course it is something we will keep you across as it
:09:48. > :09:51.develops. That is all from World Business Report for now. Thanks for
:09:52. > :09:52.watching. We'll be back in a moment reviewing all the stories in the
:09:53. > :09:59.news. See you then. Half of hospitals aren't yet meeting
:10:00. > :10:01.new Government standards for patients' food,
:10:02. > :10:03.according to a new report. National standards were introduced
:10:04. > :10:07.two years ago with ten key