15/06/2017 World Business Report

Now it's time for World Business Report.

The Fed raises interest rates and says it will start

unwinding its $4.5 trillion stimulus programme.

But is the US economy really out of the woods?

The EU scraps extra mobile charges for travellers from today

But will users end up footing the bill anyway?

Also coming up: The end of an era for Japan Inc.

Toshiba's set to sell off its chip division as it battles for survival.

We start in the US where the central bank, the Federal Reserve,

has raised the cost of borrowing, as was widely expected.

It's the second increase in three months, and comes despite some

fairly mixed data on the health of the US economy.

The Fed has raised its main interest rate by 0.25%.

That takes its target range to between 1-1.25% -

the highest it has been since before the 2008 financial crisis.

The Fed is forecasting one more

It also announced plans to begin selling off this,

the $4.5 trillion worth of bonds and mortgage backed securities it

bought up in the wake of the financial crisis,

effectively pumping money into the financial system under

There's no word on the timing of this though.

Michelle Fleury reports from Washington.

It's still the E-Z-GO is that America's Central Bank. Officials

here are determined to stay the course of slowly but steadily

raising interest rates. Fed chair Janet Yellin explained, with the

world's largest economy improving, this and further things are required

to stave off inflation. We expect gradual injury -- increases to

stabilise inflation around the two 2% objective. But not all signs are

good. Retail sales dropped sharply. It's not shown in American spending.

US investors are a different matter. Stock markets continued to hit

all-time highs. So, is it full steam ahead for further rate rises? I

don't think the Fed is giving a massive vote of confidence. I think

they are saying they can ease off the accommodation a bit, so really

they are still looking at two aspects of the economy, what they

can help and what they can't help. With the Trump Administration

struggling to enact its economic agenda, more than ever, control of

the US economy lies here, with the Federal reserve, and today's

decision to raise interest rates is an example of the Fed doing what it

had carefully signalled it would do. But Janet Yellen can't do everything

and, with economic data mixed, further decisions may not be as

clear cut. on a huge day for struggling

Japanese tech giant Toshiba. it's expected to announce

who will buy its memory chips unit. Toshiba's been forced to sell

off its crown jewels after massive losses at its US nuclear division

and a major accounting scandal has Sharanjit Leyl is

following this for us. Well, Sally, they delayed their

earnings before, and guess what? They are delaying the announcement

as well of that head of the prized memory chip is nice. Toshiba in the

news again for all the wrong reasons. Of course, we would know

that it is hoping to sell its chip unit and use that money to cover

more billions of dollars and overruns at its US unit, which is

now bankrupt, but the sale of it has been delayed, in part because

another US firm, Western Digital, has sought a court injunction to

block the sale of the unit, and they operate Toshiba's main chip plant,

and it's been squabbling with over an auction that could see the chip

business end up with a rival company. Toshiba had been aiming to

pick the preferred bidder for the business by today, but it's unlikely

to come to decision just yet, and according to Reuters, Toshiba will

seek to reach a definitive agreement on its unit sale by July 28, and of

course, due to all of this, its shares are trading low today.

Honestly, this saga is going on and on. Thank you for the latest on

that. Delayed announcement yet again.

A good day for you if you live and travel

As of today, June 15th - so-called roaming charges

for using mobile phones abroad are being outlawed by the EU

after a decade-long battle between Brussels

EU mobile users will now be able to use their allowance of calls

and data in any member state without incurring those often

Experts are warning though that phone companies may try to recoup

From the German-Polish border, Joe Miller reports.

Somewhere beneath my feet is the border between Germany and Poland.

It's impossible to see exactly where because, welcome this is what modern

European borders look like these days. But until recently, if you

came anywhere near this vicinity, your mobile phone operator could

switch randomly between German and Polish providers, and could cost you

a lot of money. Thanks to Brussels, that's no longer the case, and

locals here could not be more delighted. I go to Germany every

day, and for me, it's amazing. I can go with my friends to another

country, and I can ring my mum if I want. It's not just those who live

near borders who are celebrating. Despite uncertainty over how much

free data travellers will receive, and concerns over regulation, the EU

isn't missing the chance to pay lip success. This is a historic

achievement, and we could not have done it without the leading role of

the parliament. The tourism industry is similarly jubilant, particularly

those catering to solo travellers. I can just look at where I am, or I

can just get in touch with anybody over Facebook. When I'm travelling

alone, that's pretty important for me, and I think it might even

encourage other people to travel alone more often, and I think that's

pretty cool. Many in the border region have already signed up to a

mobile phone provider that does not charge them extra every single time

they cross the bridge behind me, but there is some concern that fees

overall may rise as companies try to compensate for the revenue they

blast from the abolition of roaming fees. But in an area that's so

successfully consigned its physical borders to history, the abolition of

the digital one is more than welcome.

The UN-run International Civil Aviation Agency says it's reviewing

a request from Qatar to intervene after its Gulf neighbours

closed their airspace to Qatari flights.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt

have cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar,

accusing it of supporting terrorism.

The ICAO says it will host talks at its Montreal HQ today to seek

Volkswagen is to provide a two-year guarantee for the cars in Europe

fitted with emissions cheating devices which it agreed to modify.

A number of UK consumers have complained that the modifications

have affected performance and reliability.

The European Commission has been putting pressure on VW to compensate

customers over its emissions scandal,

as they have done in the US, but the company has refused.

There are a lot of events to keep an eye on today. It's a real Central

Bank week. We've got the Bank of England meeting, the bank of Japan

meeting, so markets are grappling with lots of things. The Federal

reserve, action in terms of the increase in interest rates, but also

as well, basically the situation with regards to President Juncker

again, and a report is investing -- President Juncker again, a wider

probe into whether he attempted to obstruct justice. That's causing a

wobble in the markets. Also, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip

Hammond, our finance minister, is set to make a case for a new path of

Brexit when he speaks in a City of London annual Mansion House address.

That's later today. Lots to watch out for.