VIDEO: Eurozone troubles worry Australia

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 01:21 GMT Help

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Oil firm resumes Libya operations

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26 September 2011 Last updated at 13:50 GMT Libya's refineries were mostly closed in March, when fighting intensified Italian oil firm Eni has restarted production at an oil field in Libya, as opponents of Col Muammar Gaddafi tighten their control on the economy.

Eni, which was the biggest foreign oil producer in Libya before Col Gaddafi was overthrown, said it planned to reopen other fields in the coming days.

Other firms, including French company Total, have also restarted operations.

Meanwhile, anti-Gaddafi forces are closing in on his hometown of Sirte, one of his few remaining strongholds.

The soldiers, loyal to the National Transitional Council (NTC), launched a surprise attack on the city on the weekend.

The BBC's Alastair Leithead, near Sirte, says the troops have the city surrounded and are preparing to enter it with significant force.

Gaddafi loyalists have been fiercely protecting the city from NTC advances in recent weeks.

Eni said in a statement it has restarted production at 15 wells in the Abu Attifel oil field, about 300km (190 miles) south of Benghazi.

Slow recovery

The company said it was pumping 31,900 barrels of oil a day, compared with a rate of 70,000 barrels a day before the unrest broke out.

The wells were closed in March amid increasing violence between Gaddafi loyalists and rebels, who later formed the NTC.

France's Total announced last week that it had resumed production at its al-Jurf offshore facility, which is capable of producing 40,000 barrels a day.

And Libya's state controlled Arabian Gulf Oil (Agoco) announced earlier this month that it had started pumping 160,000 barrels of oil from fields in the east.

The country was producing 1.6 million barrels a day before the unrest began, making up the bulk of its wealth.

Experts say it is likely to take at least a year before anything close to those levels are reached again.

The NTC still has not found Col Gaddafi, who ruled the country for more than 40 years.

But several of his children and members of his inner circle have fled abroad.

His daughter Aisha fled to Algeria, and told journalists last week that her father was in good spirits and fighting alongside his supporters.

The Algerian newspaper El-Khabar reported on Monday that a group of Gaddafi supporters, possibly including Aisha, had now left the country for Egypt.

The report has not yet been confirmed.

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Default retirement age abolished

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1 October 2011 Last updated at 07:05 GMT The default retirement age has been phased out The default retirement age in the UK has been fully abolished after being phased out from April this year.

New legislation stops employers from compulsorily retiring workers once they reach the age of 65.

However, research by law firm Norton Rose suggests one in 10 firms plans to offer financial incentives to encourage workers to move on at a certain age.

The charity Age UK welcomed the legislation but said age discrimination was still prevalent in the workplace.

'Devastated'

The legislation came too late for Andrew Webster, from Richmond in Surrey.

He was issued with a compulsory notice to retire from his job as an English teacher at a performing arts school.

''I was devastated. I had found a job I loved, I felt I was in my prime. I got on well with the students and they had good results," he said.

"I wanted to go on doing it for as long as possible and I needed the money as well so it was a terrible blow when it happened.''

Andrew Webster said he was pleased others would not be in his position

He has found work as a tutor but said he took home only a third of his previous earnings, even taking his pension into account.

''I know it is too late for me but I am pleased that other people will not also be forced to retire before they are ready," he said.

Rules

The Employment Equality (Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations 2011 started phasing out the default retirement age from the start of April.

That was the point after which employers could no longer issue the minimum six-month notification for compulsory retirement, using the default retirement age procedure.

Continue reading the main story

Discrimination in the recruitment process is against the law, but it still happens in practice quite a lot”

End Quote Christopher Brooks Age UK If employers still want to enforce retirement, their decisions will have to be objectively justified, but workers can no longer be forced to retire on the grounds of age alone.

The Norton Rose research indicated that some firms were preparing to offer employees a "golden goodbye".

''Our survey suggests employers feel there will be limited ability to take on younger workers as a result of the default retirement age being removed and their perceived inability to ask more senior levels of staff to move on,'' said Paul Griffin, an employment lawyer at Norton Rose.

''If firms are approaching people to retire that could be seen as age discrimination in its own right.

"But our survey indicates that firms are willing to pay to encourage people to move on at a certain time in their career."

Ageism

Age UK said that instead of focusing on making space in firms for younger employees, businesses should instead look at the benefits that experienced older workers could bring.

Christopher Brooks, head of policy for work and learning at Age UK, said there was still a prevailing culture of ageism.

"Many employers simply see the stereotypes of an older worker, particularly in the recruitment phase and statistics show older workers find it harder to find another job than any other age group," he said.

''Discrimination in the recruitment process is against the law, but it still happens in practice quite a lot.

"It is however quite hard to prove but we do get lots of feedback from people who have been in interviews and been told they are over qualified or just too old to do the job, which quite often amounts to age discrimination."

Life experience

Chief executive Liz Fields from business consultancy the Financial Skills Partnership said keeping older workers had benefits.

"The skills and life experience that an older person can bring to a business actually helps that business become much more competitive," she said.

However, the Federation of Small Businesses said the move was "unncessary meddling".

"It will lead to a legal quagmire for a lot of small business owners. If you can't get rid of someone, you then have to go through the process of performance managing someone out of an organisation, which if you have a big HR department and you're experienced in these things is easy," said Andrew Cave from the federation.

"The average business in this country employs four people. The owner-manager doesn't necessarily have that expertise."

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New Ryanair card facing criticism

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 10:37 GMT James Daley from Which?: "The card only benefits passengers who fly solely with Ryanair"

A branded pre-paid card for Ryanair passengers launched on Tuesday has been criticised by consumer group Which?

The airline's passengers must sign up for the Ryanair Cash Passport to avoid an administration fee of ￡6 per person per journey.

However, as with many pre-paid cards, charges are levied for withdrawing cash or not using the card for six months.

Which? described the card as an "insult" to customers, but Ryanair said the card would be more accessible.

The specific type of card that avoided the Ryanair administration fee had previously been changed from the Electron card to Mastercard pre-paid cards. Anyone using the Mastercard pre-paid card will be charged from November.

When the new card was announced, a Ryanair spokesman said that 25% of all UK bookings were made using a Mastercard pre-paid card.

He said that the airline hoped to increase this proportion by changing to the new Cash Passport card that, unlike the current cards, would be available on its website.

But Which? said that switching to the new card complicated the process further and added "insult to UK consumers who have little opportunity to avoid such fees".

Fees

The card will need to be pre-loaded with cash before any booking is made. There will also potentially be additional costs to anyone who signs up for the new card.

It will initially cost ￡6 to buy, although each customer will be given a ￡6 Ryanair travel voucher. Charges include a fee for withdrawing cash from the card over the counter at a bank or from an ATM.

There is also a 50p charge for all transactions, other than Ryanair bookings, from April 2012 and a rolling fee of ￡2.50 if a card is not used for six months.

The OFT recently held an inquiry into card surcharges for passengers booking travel online. Ryanair said that its charge was for administration purposes, such as the cost of running a website, rather than a surcharge for using a credit or debit card.

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Shares up on eurozone bank plan

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 21:02 GMT German support is considered crucial for any European bank rescue proposal European stock markets ignored fresh warnings about Italy's ability to repay its debts by staging a strong rally.

Reports that European leaders are considering co-ordinated action to bolster banks sent European markets up 3%-5%, while Wall Street also rallied.

On Tuesday, Moody's cut Italy's credit rating by three notches and warned about the country's growth rate.

But investors focused on signs that the debt-laden banking system may soon be recapitalised by European authorities.

German support

In an interview in the Financial Times, Olli Rehn, European commissioner for economic affairs, said: "There is an increasingly shared view that we need a concerted, co-ordinated approach.

"There is a sense of urgency among ministers and we need to move on," he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said she favoured a pan-European recapitalisation programme if it proves necessary, and that she stood ready to help German banks absorb losses from a possible write-off of Greece's debts.

Continue reading the main story

There are some European regulators and politicians who regard the downgrade of Italy and the woes of the Franco-Belgian bank Dexia as positive events (oh yes)”

End Quote Robert Peston Business editor, BBC News German support is seen as crucial for any such proposal to succeed.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - which has also been calling for eurozone governments to bolster their banks - put the likely cost of such a programme at 200bn euros ($267bn; ￡173bn).

That would put it within the means of the eurozone's bailout fund - the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) - which is currently being augmented.

In an embarrassing gaffe, the IMF's Europe director, Antonio Borges, suggested in a press conference that the IMF itself may add its own money to the EFSF's.

But he later rushed out a statement retracting his comments, noting that the IMF lacked the legal authority for such a move, nor did the idea have the backing of the IMF's shareholders, which include the US government.

Banks rise

Signs that Europe's leaders were ready to act came on Tuesday when plans were announced to split struggling Franco-Belgian financial group Dexia into its "good" and "bad" banks.

This plan to ring-fence Dexia's toxic debts led to an initial 10% jump in the firm's share prices in early trading, but it ended the day only 1.4% higher.

Continue reading the main story The problems at Dexia have further undermined the credibility of stress tests carried out earlier this year by European regulators to determine the resilience of the EU's banks - tests that Dexia comfortably passed.

Any recapitalisation programme may need to be preceded by a new round of stress tests, according to the BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, and would presumably consider the possibility of a significant write-off of Greek - and possibly other government - debts.

France's three big banks, which are also heavily exposed to Greece, rose sharply on stock markets, with Credit Agricole 9.9% higher at the close of trading.

Italy's biggest banks were up 5%-7%, while in London Barclays rose 7.7% and RBS was 5% higher.

The rally, which began as a late surge on Wall Street on Tuesday night, continued into US trading hours on Wednesday.

By the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones was up a further 1.2%, with tech and media stocks taking the lead, while the Nasdaq rose 2.3%.

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A lost decade for investors?

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27 September 2011 Last updated at 07:46 GMT By Gemma Godfrey Investment committee chairman, Credo Capital Gemma Godfrey: there is an investing "sweet spot" Over the past 10 years, investors have experienced a stark divergence of fortunes, with some making substantial amounts of money whilst others have suffered losses.

Timing, picking the right investments and employing the right strategy have determined their fate.

When investing, timing can be crucial. You make money if you buy something when it is cheap and sell it when it is perceived to be more valuable. If you buy the same object when its price is high, making a profit will be that much harder.

In the run up to the year 2000, investors bought shares in technology companies to such an extent that values predicted firms would make unrealistic profits. This 'bubble' burst and the stock market fell. September 2001, the start of our 10 year period, lies within this period of selling. Therefore, together with the fall from the financial crisis in 2008, losses were enough to offset the substantial gains achieved in the seven years between these events.

Investing in the 'sweet spot'

An initial investment of ￡100 in the FTSE 100 (the index of the 100 largest companies listed in the UK), would have fallen in value by 4%, returning only ￡96 all these years later.

This return hides a huge divergence of fortunes. Firstly, when choosing the size of the firm in which to invest, there appears to have been a 'sweet spot' for medium-sized firms in the FTSE 250 (the next 250 companies after the largest 100 listed on the London Stock Exchange) - small enough to grow substantially, but large enough to have weathered the storms.

Secondly, the sector. The shares of companies selling basic materials almost tripled in value over the past decade, in contrast to those of financial firms, which lost half the initial investment. The belief driving these moves was that certain materials (for example copper and iron) have become harder to mine and produce, making their producers more valuable. In contrast, banks have suffered from loan defaults, bankruptcies and increased regulation, which have all hurt profits.

Thirdly, the geographic focus. Whilst investing in UK, US or European companies on the whole produced meagre returns or losses, investing in the developing markets of China, Russia or Brazil generated astounding returns; Brazil stands out with a gain of 578%.

Basic Materials outpaced the FTSE 250, while the FTSE 100 did better than financial shares Reinvesting is key

Short-term investment decisions have had as much of an impact as choosing where to place money for the longer term.

During our investment timeline, many companies regularly paid a portion of their profits to shareholders, so-called dividends. How an investor used this payment strongly dictated how much money they made.

If it was re-invested back into the stock market it continued to generate returns, if it was put into their bank account it did far less.

The MSCI World Equity index - boosted by reinvesting returns, lagging when taking out the money Wealth of opportunity

There are other assets an investor could have bought apart from shares, some of which performed far better and greatly enhanced the amount of money made over this period.

Lending to governments or companies in developing countries proved highly profitable, with relatively large interest payments made to the lender (i.e. the investor) until the loan was repaid.

Another interesting investment was property, which in general provided investors with highly attractive returns over the past decade, even after the sharp correction during the recent recession.

Finally, hedge funds, like investors, have had a mixture of fortunes. With focus on different markets, some have made staggering returns whilst others are still nursing losses.

Interestingly, it has not been worthwhile to bet on a falling market. Money managers lost money if they focused solely on making a profit when certain investments fell in value.

Unsurprisingly, fund managers with investments in emerging markets (like Brazil, Russia and China) almost tripled their initial investments.

When investing, during the past decade it paid to be particular.

Brazil was the top performer; hedge fund investments in emerging markets were runner up; government bonds did well; the S&P Global Property index provided returns; UK stocks were lagging

Gemma Godfrey is a quantum physicist, former hedge fund manager and now chairman of the investment committee of wealth management firm Credo Capital.

The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not held by the BBC unless specifically stated. The material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Links to external sites are for information only and do not constitute endorsement. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.

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Japan outlines quake-tax increase

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 03:54 GMT Japan's rebuilding effort will take years to complete Japan's government and the ruling Democratic Party (DPJ) have agreed to temporarily raise taxes to pay for reconstruction after the deadly March earthquake.

The plan to raise 9.2tn yen ($120bn; ￡77bn) needs approval by the DPJ's coalition partner and the opposition party.

Officials said a further 2tn yen would be raised by selling government assets.

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 16,000 people.

At the same time, thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed in the country's north-eastern coastal areas.

The new tax plan will increase taxes on incomes, companies, property and tobacco.

Corporate taxes will be raised starting next April and last three years, and income taxes will go up as of January 2012 for 10 years.

The tax on tobacco will be increased as of October 2012.

The Democratic Party of Japan also agreed to a third post-quake stimulus package of 12tn yen, government officials confirmed.

That plan must also now be negotiated and approved by opposition lawmakers.

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VIDEO: Check, check and check again

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 14:12 GMT Help

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Samsung forecast beats estimates

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7 October 2011 Last updated at 06:35 GMT Falling demand and prices of flat-screen TVs have hurt profits at various electronics makers Samsung Electronics has issued a better-than-expected profit forecast for the third quarter as its handset business helped to offset falling demand for TVs and computer chips.

Samsung said it expected an operating profit of 4.2tn won ($3.5bn; ￡2.3bn) a 14% dip from a year earlier, but better than market projections of 3.5tn won.

Compared with the previous quarter, the projected profit is up 12%.

Samsung is the world's second-largest maker of mobile phones.

"Its telecommunications business is seen very positive as shipments of smartphones and other high-end handsets expanded," said Park Jong-Min of ING Investment Management.

Advantage Samsung? Analysts said they expected Samsung's handset business to keep growing robustly, not least due to the Apple's decision to upgrade its existing model of iPhone4 with new features and technology, rather than launch a new version.

Apple had been expected to launch an iPhone5 at a media event held earlier this week.

"Given Apple's relatively unchanged new iPhone, Samsung will have the opportunity to eat into Apple's market share with its hardware build-up and growing software power until next year," said Jang In-Beom of Bookook Securities.

Samsung has also been growing its presence in the tablet PC market.

Last month the Korean electronics manufacturer announced that sales of the Samsung GALAXY S II had crossed the 10 million mark, doubling from five million in just eight weeks.

'Major risk'

Despite the optimism about the growth potential of its handset business, analysts said that external factors remain a big threat to the company in the short to medium-term.

There have been concerns that a slowdown in the US coupled with the ongoing debt crisis in Europe may hurt global growth and dent consumer demand.

"The macroeconomic situation will remain a major risk for Samsung in the fourth quarter," said Ahn Seong-Ho of Hanwha Securities.

At the same time, there are fears that volatility in the currency markets may also have a bearing on its earnings.

The Korean won has fallen as much as 10% against the US dollar since the start of July.

A weaker won makes Korean goods cheaper for foreign buyers.

"The weakening won may have inflated third-quarter profits," said Kim Young-Chan of Shinhan Investment Corp.

However, Mr Kim added the exchange rate remained a threat to Samsung as any recovery in the won would have a counter effect.

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Abramovich 'good at psychology'

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 16:59 GMT Mr Berezovsky began giving evidence as the case moved into a fourth day Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich is good at psychology, appearing humble and getting people to like him, a High Court judge has heard.

Boris Berezovsky, 65, said his former business partner "intimidated" him into selling shares in Russian oil firm Sibneft for a fraction of their value.

The Russian oligarch is seeking ￡3bn in damages from Mr Abramovich for an alleged breach of trust and contract.

Mr Abramovich, 44, disputes the claims and denies making "oral agreements".

In a written witness statement given to the judge at the Commercial Court, Mr Berezovsky said: "He [Mr Abramovich] is good at getting people to like him and good at psychology in that way.

'Pressure'

"He is good at appearing to be humble. He is happy to spend days just socialising with important or powerful people if that is what is needed so he can get closer to them."

When questioned by Mr Abramovich's lawyer Jonathan Sumption QC about his own past, Mr Berezovsky admitted he was one of the most politically-influential oligarchs in Russia in the mid 1990s.

But he denied any underhand dealings, telling the court: "I am not corrupt. I didn't corrupt anybody."

He also denied "fixing" an auction of Sibneft following its privatisation, and putting "pressure" on the then Russian president Boris Yeltsin.

"My way is not to make pressure," he said. "My way is to persuade and to explain why it is important to do."

Mr Abramovich watched proceedings from the public gallery as Mr Berezovsky began giving evidence to the judge, Mrs Justice Gloster, on the fourth day of proceedings.

The trial is expected to last more than two months.

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Lone Star guilty of market fraud

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 11:38 GMT Analysts believe the case has put off US investment into Korea A South Korean court has fined US buyout fund Lone Star $20.9m (￡13.4m; 15.6m euros) and jailed its former Seoul chief for stock price-fixing.

The decision by the Seoul High Court overturned a 2008 acquittal in the long-running case.

It had temporarily halted Lone Star's efforts to sell its 51% stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB).

Lone Star bought the stake in KEB for $1.2 billion in 2003 and later merged it with KEB's credit card business.

Spread rumours

It was alleged Paul Yoo, who ran the firm's South Korean division, deliberately spread rumours that KEB Credit Services might reduce its capital and issue new shares, to reduce the price of a merger.

Yoo has been jailed for three years.

Lone Star has reached an agreement to sell its KEB stake to Hana Financial Group in a deal originally assessed to be worth $4bn. But the deal was put on hold awaiting the outcome of the court ruling.

The conviction, according to Seoul's Financial Services Commission, said Lone Star was likely to be judged unfit to be the majority owner of KEB.

The court case had thwarted Lone Star's attempt to sell KEB to Kookmin Bank in 2006 and to HSBC Holdings in 2008.

Public discord and the US buyout firm's legal woes have dissuaded foreign investors from acquiring Korean companies, said Henry Seggerman, president of New York-based International Investment Advisers.

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Reebok pays $25m over toning shoe

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 18:41 GMT Reebok got into trouble in the US about alleged health benefits of using its toning shoes Sports goods maker Reebok International is to pay $25m (￡16m) to settle charges that it made unsupported claims about its Easy Tone and Run Tone shoes.

Reebok, a unit of Adidas, said these toning shoes would "strengthen and tone key leg and buttock (gluteus maximus) muscles more than regular shoes".

The US Federal Trade Commission ruled these advertising claims were false.

Adidas said Reebok had settled with the commission "to avoid a protracted legal battle".

"Settling does not mean we agreed with the FTC's allegations; we do not," Adidas added.

The FTC said Reebok began making the claims in early 2009 and provided statistics about the alleged benefits.

The $25m penalty will go towards consumer refunds.

"The FTC wants national advertisers to understand that they must exercise some responsibility and ensure that their claims for fitness gear are supported by sound science," said David Vladeck, director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection.

The commission said in one advert Reebok claimed that by walking in its Easy Tone shoes users were able to strengthen hamstrings and calves by up to 11%, and tone the buttocks up to 28% more than normal trainers.

UK advert

It comes three months after a Reebok advert in the UK, which featured Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, was banned.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the leaflet which said Reebok's ZigTech Apparel helped blood vessels to relax, boosting oxygen levels by up to 7%.

The ASA said the claims could not be proved and also criticised the advert for implying the trainers Hamilton wore in it featured the new technology.

Reebok said it disagreed with the ASA ruling but accepted it.

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Crisis at S Korean savings banks

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3 October 2011 Last updated at 16:02 GMT By Lucy Williamson BBC News, Seoul Who's to blame for bad financial shape of South Korea's savings banks? About lunchtime during the last bright days of the Korean summer, Jeong Gu-haeng, the president of one of South Korea's biggest savings banks, jumped from his sixth floor office window, killing himself.

As he jumped, prosecutors were inside the building, seizing documents from the bank's headquarters.

They were investigating whether his Jeil 2 Savings Bank had mishandled loans given out to creditors.

The death of the bank's president - splashed over the front pages of newspapers here - refocused attention on a widening crisis among the country's savings banks.

Jeil 2 was one of seven banks to be suspended last month after financial regulators found that they all had too little capital stored against risky loans.

They have been given 45 days to correct the situation or face being sold.

It was the second round of suspensions to hit Korea's savings banks.

Nine others were suspended earlier this year, and several others have narrowly avoided it.

The current investigation - into seven of the suspended banks - is looking at whether major stakeholders and chief executives misused the company's capital to finance personal projects or those of their close contacts.

But the question of why so many of Korea's savings banks were in such bad financial shape to begin with, goes much deeper.

Risky loans

A large part of the answer lies in the forest of concrete on the outskirts of Seoul's city centre.

Kilometre after kilometre of grey-beige tower blocks, rising high into the sky, have been built to house the capital's burgeoning workforce.

Continue reading the main story Jeil Savings BankJeil 2 Savings BankTomato Savings BankPrime Mutual Savings BankAce Mutual Savings BankDae Yeong Mutual Savings Bank Parangsae Mutual Savings Bank Until recently, real estate was a good investment here.

Prices were rising, people kept buying, and construction firms were keen to keep building.

But after the global financial crisis three years ago, demand began to fall - and with it, prices. And that left builders, and their backers, exposed.

Dr Jeong Dae hee, an associate fellow at the Korean Development Institute, says that savings banks were on the front line of the downturn in the construction industry, because they provide many of the bridging loans which get projects started, often before there are any real assets.

When builders start a construction project, he says: "They often don't have the money to do it, so they go to savings banks and ask for loans.

"But they actually don't have the land or even permission to build the apartments..

"So they make some plans, and the savings banks look at the plans, and if the plans aren't too weird, they give them the money."

As the loans became riskier, he says, the banks' interest rates got higher - meaning that when demand began to fall it was harder than ever for builders to honour their debts.

Blame game

Financial officials agree that the banks' credit practices have been too loose. And that discovery has led the finger of blame to swing in the direction of the country's financial regulators.

Dr Jeong believes that Korea's main financial enforcement agency, the Financial Supervisory Service, or FSS (which takes its cue from the Financial Services Commission, or FSC), was unable to act strictly enough in its regular audits because it was under political pressure not to scare the market.

Savings banks were on the front line of the downturn in the construction industry

And also, he says, because many of the banks' senior employees were former FSS officials.

Allegations that the relationship between financial regulators and the savings banks was too cosy are widely accepted - even by regulators themselves.

One financial official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says: "The FSS has been parachuting in their retirees as auditors of the savings banks, so their juniors [who were still working in the FSS] couldn't go through a very rigorous audit."

In Korea, the sense of professional hierarchy and respect for those in senior positions is acute.

Confronting your boss is almost unheard of.

To inspect a bank which now employs a former senior colleague as auditor would put many Koreans in a difficult position.

"To some extent, we accept it," the official says.

But he also believes that the banks' "lack of risk management skills and business scope" was more to blame.

Wider impact?

But if the proper regulation and good business practices were lacking in Korea's savings banks, what about the rest of its financial industry? And what about the impact of the suspensions on the wider economy?

Dr Jeong says commercial banks are unlikely to face the same problems, because they have different financing to savings banks, and have many more assets.

Savings banks act as a kind of safety net for commercial banks, he says.

They are the first stage in the financing process, and so weed out the worst performers.

Continue reading the main story

If the problem of the savings banks is just non-performing loans, then it's going to be much easier to fix this.”

End Quote Dr Jeong Dae hee Korean Development Institute And Choo Kyungho, the vice-chairman of Korea's policy regulator, the Financial Services Commission, says there's little to worry about financially.

"There are two sides to this," he says.

"From the political-social standpoint, it's a big issue with many concerns. From a purely financial point of view, this issue is very small.

"The total assets of savings banks are less than 3% of the total financial market, so there's no chance this can escalate."

Dr Jeong agrees there's little chance of the savings banks affecting the wider economy. And the risk is made even smaller by an insurance fund that he believes will more than cover any losses.

But politically it has been tricky, even so.

The public have been shocked to learn of the 16 suspensions.

And with national elections due here next year, politicians have been queuing up to demand reform.

Mr Choo says it's not expecting any more suspensions this year, and the FSC has already put forward its proposals to improve the system - though some accuse it, and its enforcer the FSS, of refusing reform themselves.

As Dr Jeong points out, the real problems in this case aren't bad loans at all - but the trickier issues of possible illegality and lack of regulation.

"If the problem of the savings banks is just non-performing loans," he says, "then it's going to be much easier to fix this."

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VIDEO: Germany passes eurozone vote test

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 13:55 GMT Help

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Typhoon Nesat heads for Vietnam

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 15:19 GMT Typhoon Nesat is heading for Vietnam after making landfall on the southern Chinese island of Hainan A typhoon that caused death and destruction in the Philippines and shut down Hong Kong is now heading towards the coast of Vietnam.

About 100,000 homes were evacuated on the southern Chinese island of Hainan as Typhoon Nesat threatened to cause landslides.

Fishing boats in northern Vietnam have been ordered to return to port as the storm approaches.

The typhoon killed at least 39 people in the Philippines.

The Chinese authorities on Hainan island called boats back to port, suspended flights and ferry services, and closed schools.

Typhoon Nesat made landfall in Hainan's Wenchang city, packing winds of up to 150 km/h (93 mph).

The typhoon forced the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and most businesses and schools there to close on Thursday as it swept past the territory, bringing howling winds, torrential rain and rough seas.

All ferry and some bus services were cancelled, and trains operated at a reduced frequency.

There were few people on the streets, with 100km/h winds shredding umbrellas and making it hard to walk.

Local radio reported that two people, including a taxi driver, were injured when scaffolding collapsed onto a taxi.

And a large cargo barge crashed into the seafront after slipping its moorings, television footage showed. About 50 people had to be evacuated from a nearby block of flats.

Neighbouring Macau was also affected, with schools and businesses closed. But the city's glittering casinos remained open for the tourists who managed to get there.

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HP completes buy-out of Autonomy

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3 October 2011 Last updated at 21:51 GMT Continue reading the main story Hewlett-Packard has completed the $12bn (￡7.8bn) buy-out of UK software firm Autonomy, despite the departure of the man who initiated it.

Leo Apotheker was replaced as HP chief executive last month amid falling sales and a share price collapse.

The Autonomy deal was part of a massive overhaul of the troubled US computer giant unveiled by Mr Apotheker.

But plans to spin off its core PC business received a thumbs down from the market.

HP's shares have fallen 47% this year, making it one of the worst performers in the Dow Jones index of leading US companies.

The purchase price for Autonomy was also widely criticised by market analysts as too high, but British takeover rules made it almost impossible to cancel the bid.

Meg Whitman, the former head of eBay who replaced Mr Apotheker, said shortly after her appointment that the deal would still go ahead.

The UK firm's head, Mike Lynch, later got into a colourful spat with HP rival Oracle, who claimed that Mr Lynch had sought a rival bid from them and been declined.

Oracle's chief executive Larry Ellison described the asking price as "absurdly high".

HP's shares closed 1.1% lower on Monday, outperforming the wider market.

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Barclay brothers buy Claridge's

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 21:39 GMT Claridge's is the latest luxury hotel to be owned by the Barclays The Barclay brothers have bought three of London's top hotels, including Claridge's, for 800m euros (￡695m).

They acquired Claridge's, the Connaught and Berkeley from the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), the Irish government agency created to manage the toxic property loans of its bust banks.

Nama said it had recovered 100% of the original value of the loans plus interest.

The Barclays already own the Ritz hotel in London.

The loans had originally been made to the Maybourne Hotel Group by two Irish banks to fund the acquisition of the hotels in 2005.

By buying the loans, the Barclays have acquired the hotels.

Nama took control of the bad property debt from Irish banks during the height of the financial crisis, and it is tasked with maximising the return to the Irish taxpayer over the long term.

The agency has said that it wants to dispose of 5bn euros of UK loans in 2011. Its annual report listed total UK assets of about ￡8.5bn.

Sir David Barclay and his brother Sir Frederick also own the Daily Telegraph and the Littlewoods retail group.

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Group buying hits the Middle East

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20 September 2011 Last updated at 06:14 GMT By Simon Atkinson Business reporter, BBC News, Dubai WATCH: Can group buy tempt these Emiratis out of the shopping mall to buy online?

The sun is barely up over Dubai's Jumeirah beach, but already a group of about 30 fitness fanatics are sweating furiously as they grimace through another set of squat thrusts.

In sand-covered royal blue vests, they are here to get fit and enjoy fresh air before the Gulf's late summer humidity kicks in for the day.

But some have also been lured to this exercise boot camp by an online marketing trend that is only just gathering momentum in the Middle East.

Group buying - sometimes called social buying - has become a multi-billion-dollar business from the US and Europe, to Australia and China.

It has made companies like Groupon household names through their daily emails offering hefty discounts on everything from meals to mobile phones, hotel rooms to horse riding, and beauty spas to brand new cars.

The people taking part in this boot camp got a substantial discount by group-buying online

While each firm operates in slightly different ways - they essentially deliver customers to retailers in return for a cut of the total revenue.

'Big shift'

But despite retail making up a substantial chunk of the Middle East economy - and credit card usage being widespread - it has taken longer to establish the trend in the region because e-commerce is still in its infancy.

"The history of online buying in this part of the world can be measured in days and weeks, not years," says Dan Stuart, chief executive of GoNabit, which was the first firm to open in this region.

"When we started, people could buy flowers, gift baskets and flights through the internet, but not much else. They had to buy from sites based outside the region but we've seen a big shift in that."

Such is the apparent potential that Groupon opened offices in Dubai this year, while Mr Stuart's GoNabit is preparing to rebrand after being bought out by another US firm, Living Social.

Group-buy sites like this one are still a novelty in the Middle East

UAE-owned Cobone.com launched a year ago, and to meet local needs and reticence about internet shopping, about 80% of sales in the first few months were done through cash on delivery.

Customers bought online but then had a voucher physically delivered to them and handed over the cash.

"That might sound strange to someone in another part of the developed world," says chief executive Paul Kenny, whose firm now has more than half the Middle East market share by revenue, according to data from research firm Kongregator.

"But until very recently, that's the way it was,"

'Cost-effective'

For Original Fitness Co, which runs the beach boot camps, the trend has offered a new marketing technique.

Tighter economic times and more competition means the firm's regular prices are already about half the 900 dirhams ($245; ￡160) per month it could charge in the boom years.

Original Fitness's Corey Oliver says this is a cost-effective means of marketing

And through a social buying site, it recently charged just 270 dirhams ($70; ￡45) for a month of sessions.

"We don't make much money from the deals at all, but the idea is to get people in and then we try to keep them," says managing director Corey Oliver.

"Marketing can be expensive, but this is quite a cost effective way of doing it.

"And once people try it, we hope they enjoy it and want to come back, even if it'll cost them a bit more."

Regional complexities

Both Cobone and GoNabit have expanded from their UAE roots, with Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon seen as key markets.

And the Arab uprising, which has dominated the region this year, does not appear to have hampered expansion.

GoNabit was recently bought by US firm Livingsocial

GoNabit delayed its Egypt launch after President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, but went online in March, with the encouragement of staff in Cairo.

"They convinced us that even when all anyone was talking about was revolution and change, that people still want to do the things that our offers have," Mr Stuart says.

"They still want to go to restaurants, to have a spa, to go paintballing. Life goes on."

All the region's key players have their sites in both English and Arabic, with Egypt now the region's biggest growth market for group buying - helped by the opening up of the internet, and the increasing popularity of social media.

But Cobone's Paul Kenny says each country needs a different approach - from the tone of language to the deals offered.

"From Jeddah to Riyadh to Cairo to Dubai they all have different complexities," he says.

"In Dubai there are still plenty of people with a lot of disposable income. We sell a lot of trips on luxury yachts, and recently sold four $28,000 cars in one day.

"Compare that with Cairo and it's food and spas - they're the things more commonly consumed ... [there's] less disposable income, so we make sure we tailor it to the local market."

'Denigrate brand'

While the group buying trend allows retailers to create demand for things which customers may otherwise not have wanted - and therefore offer growth opportunities - there are also potential pitfalls says Hermann Behrens, chief executive of The Brand Union Middle East.

He warns that a hangover from the boom years of pre-2008 means places such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi suffer an over-supply of things like restaurants and spas - and that the new retail trend might further drive firms only to compete on price.

Go! Yachts Rob Appleyard says group buy sites bring in revenue during quiet periods

"The biggest danger is that if you're generating trial for a brand and people are actually going to a restaurant or a spa or buying a product, and it doesn't fulfil a value that's higher than they have paid for it, that could dilute or denigrate the value of the brand," he says.

"That's especially true if it's not an established brand with an established value."

It is an issue which faces Go! Yacht Charters - a firm hiring luxury boats in the UAE.

While there remains demand for its VIP services - from footballers and presidents to visiting oil tycoons - the economic downturn and slow recovery has hurt business, especially corporate bookings.

Now the firm is using a group buying site to sell time on its vessels - from $30 short trips out to sea to a $3,700 (￡2,400) package to this November's Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.

It is one way to get some revenue from boats that may otherwise be standing idle, says managing partner Rob Appleyard.

But sitting on the plush purple seating on the 120ft yacht Sheleila, Mr Appleyard denies that allowing people onto multi-million-dollar boats for a few dollars a time cheapens his brand.

"It gets people on board to have a look and they're wowed by it. It's showing people that these boats are affordable, that they're not just for billionaires

"Hopefully, someone will buy one of these deals, they'll be impressed and they'll tell their boss - if they're not a boss themselves - and we'll get some corporate business off the back of it."

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VIDEO: Rising inflation in the eurozone

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 09:39 GMT Help

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Oil prices fall on economy fears

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5 September 2011 Last updated at 16:20 GMT Continue reading the main story Oil prices have fallen on concerns that the US could fall back into recession, and continuing anxiety about eurozone debt levels.

With fears about a slowdown in China also hitting sentiment, US light crude had fallen $2.40 a barrel to $84.05.

Brent crude was also lower, dropping $1.66 to $110.67 per barrel.

The falls come after data on Friday showed that the US economy added no new jobs in August, a much worse reading than had been expected.

Analysts had predicted that the non-farm payrolls figures from the Department of Labor would show about 70,000 new jobs had been created.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged in August at 9.1%.

In Europe, the main share indexes were down sharply as concerns continue about the high debt levels of eurozone countries, and how these could impact on the wider economy.

Germany's Dax index and France's Cac were both 2.6% lower in morning trading.

Meanwhile, a report in China said that the country's service sector grew in August at its slowest pace since records began.

"Oil is falling on worries over weak demand, unemployment and talk of a double dip recession," said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

He added that oil prices would be falling further were it not for growing optimism that the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, will announce new measures later this month to try to stimulate the US economy.

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Warning over mobility aid scams

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 23:02 GMT By Simon Gompertz Personal finance correspondent, BBC News The elderly are vulnerable to high prices quoted on the doorstep Elderly and disabled people face risks from unscrupulous traders offering stairlifts and other mobility aids on the doorstep, a watchdog is warning.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is promising to try to stamp out unfair sales practices, by removing credit licences and encouraging trading standards officers to prosecute.

The watchdog said it had received thousands of complaints.

Buyers can pay 50% more than High Street prices on the doorstep.

Some have overpaid by hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

Promises

The OFT has received thousands of complaints about sales of the equipment, which includes mobility scooters, special chairs and adjustable beds.

Some victims found the equipment they were promised failed to turn up.

May Bell, an 88-year-old from Sheffield, told BBC News how she was left ￡1,800 out of pocket and trapped on the ground floor of her house after a visit from a salesman.

"I thought I'd had it," she said. "I thought it was the end of my time."

May Bell said she was trapped on the ground floor of her home

She had been promised a new stairlift. But after her old one was disconnected, the replacement did not arrive.

For five weeks, she was forced to sleep in a chair and use a commode instead of her toilet.

In July, the man who visited her, Shane Johnson of Nottingham Mobility, was convicted of breaching consumer protection regulations and sentenced to a year in prison.

Ann Pope, from the OFT, promised more enforcement activity to protect consumers.

"We are issuing a warning to the industry that we will take further action where necessary," she said.

Rules

There is nothing to prevent traders knocking on doors, although there are rules on what they can do once they gain entry to a potential customer's home.

They should show identification and be honest about who they are. They should make it clear that they are selling something and not put consumers under pressure.

Some doorstep sellers have pretended to be from social services to establish trust. Others stay for hours and refuse to leave.

In Sheffield, May Bell had a new stairlift installed for free after the manufacturer heard about her plight. But she remains frightened about answering the phone or dealing with a knock on the door.

Her granddaughter, Frances Bell, is still angry about what happened.

"They are scum to do that to old age pensioners, to vulnerable people, and leave them in the situation that they left my nan in," she said.

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High-speed rail in China encounter security test

Through travel agents to pay bribes in the form of cross-border tourism. Shopping bag full of banknotes in the parking lot. United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), just above year United States Asian government officials in many facilities for the IBM corporate bribery in two ways.

SEC settle in March, the multinational computer companies to $ 10 million fine, civil accusations against it. SEC complains, IBM attempted to China and Korea when its hardware products in government procurement, violated the foreign corrupt practices Act (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act).

IBM is not alone. Only 6 weeks ago, the United States Department of Justice, said California energy storage products manufacturer maikesiwei technology company (Maxwell technologies) to sell power to State-owned enterprises in China to the underlying device, bribed to exaggerate the contract price, the company paid nearly 15 million dollar fine to settle criminal and civil charges against themselves.

There are other examples of known companies, for example in 2009 France Alcatel-Lucent (Alcatel-Lucent), and United States regulators settle, which found that group Telecom was a group of Chinese officials visited the factory and training trip, most of the time spent in Disneyland (Disneyworld), Universal Studios (Universal Studios) or Las Vegas.

The United States authorities with unprecedented intensity, possible violations of the foreign corrupt practices Act investigations, attracted by reconciliation, publishing, and also fined is more and more, Weijia, New York law firm (Weil Gotshal & Manges), United States Department of Justice and the allegations of SEC brought a total of 74 last year, only 12 and 5 years ago. As part of the reason is that companies are increasingly in the Western world to indicate the countries whose economies are largely controlled by the Government. "It is part of globalisation," said a regulator. -When in the market of emerging countries, it is difficult to go from a compliance perspective. ”

But there is also another reason, namely surveys might be hard-pressed to provide federal financial matters also with regard to this pre-admits that harvest. WAI-Kay law firm (White & Case) study showed that within 3 years, target reconciliation brought revenue of us $ 3 billion to the Treasury. When the relevant bodies to get congressional approval when their larger budgets, this is a lot of "selling points". The global financial crisis and bonade · maduofu (Bernard Madoff), after the fraud, the supervisory authorities also felt the pressure to prove his ability to work. The foreign corrupt practices Act is a strong proof of the tool objectives.

As a result, for those companies that do business abroad--whether it is the largest transnational corporations, including the smallest investment institutions--the problem is becoming increasingly difficult. Also operate problem, organizing travel for customers or vendors, may also incur unsecured.

United States businesses complained about strict rules which constitute unfair barriers and United States complain businesses than United States regulators for cross-border jurisdiction. When under beike · maijian advokatbyr? (Baker & McKenzie), in fact, six cases in which foreign corrupt practices act in the largest settlement, 5 has its headquarters in the United States outside the company. Siemens AG (Siemens) to pay fines and up to ever profit recovery in the United States and Germany paid a total of 1.6 billion dollars, since companies in Argentina, Bangladesh, Iraq and other places undue payment of money to government officials to obtain contracts.

Other Governments would follow the United States. United Kingdom anti-bribery law entered into force on 1 July. The OECD (OECD) has several anti-bribery initiative, but transparency International (Ti) noted in 2011 survey, OECD member countries, only 7 countries to actively implement these initiatives, 21 countries which have failed to take action, or a very small, the other 9 countries had taken appropriate measures.

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VIDEO: Eurozone crisis sparks fears for Dexia

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 22:15 GMT Help

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Japan looking to stabilise yen

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 07:19 GMT Japanese exports have been hit by the strength of the yen Japan's government has authorised the use of additional funds to help prevent the yen strengthening further, as figures show a slowdown in the growth of industrial output.

The Finance Ministry said it could spend another 15tn yen ($196bn; ￡125bn) to stabilise the currency, which has risen in value as investors look for safety amid economic uncertainty.

Meanwhile, data showed factory output rose by 0.8% in August.

This was less than analysts expected.

"The recent 75-80 yen range [against the dollar] could pour cold water on the Japanese economic recovery," said Finance Minister Jun Azumi.

"We will take bold actions when needed and we don't rule out taking any necessary measures."

A strong yen makes Japanese exports more expensive to overseas buyers.

As well as boosting the fund designed to stabilise the yen, the government said it would continue to monitor foreign exchange traders' positions in order to deter currency speculation.

This is the latest in a series of moves by recent governments to halt the strength of the yen. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's recently-elected government has already announced subsidies for companies struggling to remain competitive.

Retail slump

Although industrial output grew by 0.8% in August, the government said it expected output to fall by 2.5% in September, before rebounding strongly in October.

On Thursday, figures showed a sharp fall in retail sales in August as a post-earthquake rebound petered out.

Sales fell 2.7% versus a year ago, a much sharper decline than the 0.6% rate expected by markets.

This week's data has led some analysts to question the strength of Japan's post-earthquake recovery.

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Trading in Dexia shares suspended

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 17:01 GMT Dexia is reported to be selling its Luxembourg business to Qatar for 900m euros Trading of shares in Dexia has been halted by the Euronext stock exchange.

The stop was requested by the Belgian regulator until the troubled Franco-Belgian bank could provide details of a planned sale of its Luxembourg unit.

Its shares had fallen 17.3% during the day up until trading was suspended.

Meanwhile, the French and Belgian governments are negotiating a break-up of the bank - and how to share the cost of rescuing it between them - with a decision expected before the weekend.

Qataris

Dexia has confirmed it is in "exclusive negotiations" with a group of international investors to dispose of Dexia Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (BIL).

The subsidiary employs about 5,500 staff worldwide, 3,700 of whom are based in Luxembourg.

It runs a 40-branch retail network in the country, as well as offering private banking and asset management services.

Continue reading the main story The key buyer is reported to be the Qatari Investment Authority, the country's sovereign wealth fund.

Reports say it may pay 900m euros ($1.2bn, ￡785m) for control of the Dexia unit.

It follows an announcement in August that the Qataris were to become a major shareholder in the merger of two Greek lenders, Alpha Bank and EFG Eurobank.

The government of Luxembourg is also in talks to buy a minority stake. The country's finance minister, Luc Frieden, said he expects discussions to be completed by the end of the month.

Break-up

Dexia is facing its second rescue in three years because of the eurozone debt crisis.

The firm has 3.4bn euros ($4.5bn, ￡2.9bn) of exposure to Greek government bonds, and about four times that amount to Italian sovereign debt.

Ratings agency Moody's put the lender on review for a credit score downgrade on Monday. It said the bank was finding it harder to borrow from the markets.

The news led to a sell-off of Dexia's shares, prompting France and Belgium to announce they would prevent its collapse.

The governments are expected to pool its most risky assets into a "bad bank" and force it to sell off units that provide vital services, including a French division that specialises in lending to local authorities.

Belgium's Prime Minister said the burden must be divided fairly.

Yves Leterme told RTL radio: "This is a very sensitive and crucial part of the negotiations, an equitable split of the costs."

The two countries are expected to finalise the plan before the weekend.

Dexia's board says it intends to meet in Paris on Saturday to vote on the break-up.

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VIDEO: Greek payout decision delayed

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 05:29 GMT Help

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IBM's bet on data-centric computing

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3 October 2011 Last updated at 23:01 GMT IBM's Watson computer was a proof of concept, says Dr Menon Each week we ask high-profile technology decision-makers three questions.

This week it is Dr Jai Menon, the chief technology officer and vice-president for technical strategy for IBM's Systems and Technology Group.

He holds 52 patents and is arguably most famous for his contribution to the Raid storage technology. Computing giant IBM has more than 426,000 employees, generating an annual turnover of just under $100bn (￡64.6bn) and profits of $14.8bn.

What's your biggest technology problem right now?

There are always multiple problems, but one problem that we are focused on is providing our customers with IT solutions that are flexible to their needs, but easily consumable.

Our customers have many different kinds of workloads they have to run, for example transaction-based systems that have to serve thousands or millions of users at the same time, 24/7.

Or analytics systems with fewer users that require deep complex computation. The challenge is how do you satisfy all these different kinds of tasks?

The are two different approaches: You can standardise it all on one kind of computer, and use that for all their business tasks. But that doesn't really work: it's like saying 'buy just one type of car', and hope it meets the needs of a small family, and doubles up as a pick-up truck, a big van or an MPV [people carrier].

So the other approach is to realise that you have lots of different types of workload, and you buy systems that are optimised for these tasks. That's clearly preferred to the first approach. The challenge over time is that with lots of different workloads, you end up with many kinds of computers, and then there's the challenge to make that consumable.

We are working on a technical approach that will create a system that has all the pieces that make up a computer system. You build this system with different kinds of processors, and there are memory and storage and networking elements, and then you have very sophisticated software that comes with the system. And the software is able to construct the kind of computer you need.

So if you need a lot of computing power, medium-sized storage and not a lot of memory, that's what the system provides. And once the task is running, and you need more memory or computing power, then the system will make that choice for you.

And when your workload goes away, you simply deconstruct the system.

This is not just virtualisation, where you have one kind of standardised computer, with a standardised processor and a certain amount of storage and memory.

You need to be able to assign more than what a single computer can do.

This is very much customer driven. What our customers are telling us is: 'Come up with newer better computers, that take up less floorspace and are faster.'

People have amazing amount of workload, and require lots of different virtualisation environments, but they also have too many different systems.

So I've got to let customers reuse their existing assets, skills and software.

The software is key - it's a universal resource manager.

What's the next big tech thing in your industry?

The next big thing in our industry are new kinds of computers. I call them data-centric computers, because right now our computers are very processing-centric computers.

These new computers can extract and find information in data that can aid human cognition. When we created [supercomputer] Watson, it combined hardware and deep analysis software that we designed to work together.

We are moving away from computers that compute, to computers that can extract information from the huge amounts of unstructured data - because every two days we generate more data than all data from the dawn of civilisation until 2003.

Watson was just an example to prove the point. There are very interesting business problems out there, and rather than having to be programmed these computers learn as they go along.

They are data-centric rather than compute-centric.

For example, they could work as a physician's assistant, providing all the knowledge, the data about the patient itself, manage the doctor's notes.

Right now, all we do is Google a medical problem, and we get back 20 documents, and we have to go through them and rate them and find the answer.

In the future, the computer will give you an answer with a probability to go with that, and that's so much better than what we do today.

That to me is the next big technology thing. And it also applies to government. Computers could help governments find answers to tax issues, zoning laws, financial issues.

From a technology point of view, we still need a few things that to support this - more memory in the system, and solid state memory and storage, and obviously the deep software.

This is not Skynet [as described in the Terminator movies]. People always worry about new technology. When pocket calculators were introduced, people said we would forget to multiply; when computers came they said we would forget how to spell.

In reality all these computers are assistants, and they save us time so that we can focus on doing the things that only humans can do.

Pilots, for example, have always had things to helped them fly a plane. But at the end of the day I would not fly without a real human on-board.

What's the biggest technology mistake you've ever made - either at work or in your own life?

This is probably an unusual kind of answer, but the timing of innovation is really important. My experience is, as innovators, we are always frustrated if we are too late.

We say: "I had the idea first, why did product development not move fast enough?" But my biggest mistake was in pushing an innovation too early to market, and I've learned from that.

What I've learned is that you really have to prepare the market. You have to shape the market, prepare your customers, create a standard, get enough people to buy into the standard.

And if you introduce your product too early and you haven't done that, then your product doesn't do very well. You just create a vicious circle, because you don't have the profits from the product to recycle and improve and innovate the product.

And then, once the market is ready and prepared, then you will be hesitant because you tried this once before and it didn't work. Then it gets very difficult to reenter the market.

For example in the storage space, we developed this IP [internet protocol] driven storage attached to the network. We shipped it in 2001, and it didn't do so well in the market.

This is now a $3bn market - 10 years later it's a great story, but by pushing it too soon, maybe five years too soon, it soured our executives as to whether this really was a good idea.

And then it is hard to catch up later.

Timing is everything. You can be wrong on both sides, too early and too late, and both are bad.

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Australia's trade surplus widens

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 04:59 GMT Australia's coal exports have been picking up after being hurt by floods earlier this year Australia's trade surplus surged in August as exports of coal and other minerals increased despite concerns of a global slowdown.

Shipments from Australia grew 8% from the previous month, while imports rose 3%, the statistical bureau said.

That resulted in a trade surplus of 3.1bn Australian dollars ($2.9bn; ￡1.9bn), the second-largest on record.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the interest rate unchanged at 4.75%

The data comes amid concerns that fears of a slowdown may hurt demand for Australia's mineral exports.

"Export volumes are really kicking along and that will be a big fillip for the economy in the quarter," said Brian Redican of Macquarie.

Asia factor Continue reading the main story

The indications are that the pace of near-term growth is unlikely to be as strong as earlier expected”

End Quote Glenn Stevens Reserve Bank of Australia Analysts said the fact that a huge amount of Australia's mineral shipments head to Asian economies has been a big factor in ensuring that its export sector sustains its momentum, despite global slowdown concerns.

They said that as economies like India and China see more people move from rural to urban centres, the demand for minerals will continue to rise.

"Both these countries have more than 1 billion people, and that is a big factor," David Lennox of Fat Prophets told the BBC.

As these countries undergo rapid urbanisation, they will also need to boost their power generation capacity in order to meet the increased demand for electricity.

"That process is not dependent on what happens in the US or European economies," Mr Lennox said.

He added that given these factors, exports of Australian minerals to the region will continue to grow.

Monetary easing?

However, despite the encouraging export numbers, the RBA indicated that it may ease its monetary policy going forward.

Glenn Stevens, the governor of the central bank, said the slowdown in the US and the ongoing debt crisis in Europe are likely to hurt global growth and also have an impact on Australia's economy.

"The indications are that the pace of near-term growth is unlikely to be as strong as earlier expected," he said in a statement.

There have been concerns that while its mining sector is booming, other parts of its economy are facing a tough time due to falling consumer demand.

However, the central bank inisisted it was ready to act in a bid to boost demand.

"An improved inflation outlook would increase the scope for monetary policy to provide some support to demand, should that prove necessary." the bank said.

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Supergroup facing £9m profit hit

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 15:59 GMT Continue reading the main story Shares in clothing firm Supergroup have fallen by a quarter after it said problems at a distribution warehouse would hit profits by between ￡6m and ￡9m.

The company behind the Superdry brand said the problems had seen a "reduction both in the amount of stock and range of sizes reaching its UK stores".

The firm said the problems centred on an upgrade to its Gloucester warehouse.

Supergroup's shares ended the day 30% lower at ￡7.07.

In a management statement, the firm said it estimated "the total cost of this isolated event, including the additional temporary warehousing capability and resulting lost sales will impact the current year's profitability by between ￡6m and ￡9m".

Supergroup, which is based in Cheltenham, also said its stock levels would increase by ￡2m.

Analysts believe the problem will add to a range of difficult factors facing the firm, including the tough consumer climate, a weak August and the unseasonably warm September weather discouraging the purchase of autumn clothes.

In July, Supergroup said that profits for the year to May had jumped by 110% to ￡47.3m.

Supergroup floated its shares on the London Stock Exchange in March 2010, at a price of ￡5 per share.

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US nears South Korea free trade

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 03:19 GMT The trade deal is expected to dominate President Lee Myung-bak's visit to the US later this month The free trade agreement between the US and South Korea has cleared the first hurdle four years after the deal was first agreed.

The House Ways and Means Committee has voted to advance US free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to the full House.

The push for a swift approval of the deals comes amid a slowdown in the US economy and high rates of unemployment.

Backers of the deals said they will boost US exports and create jobs.

"With zero jobs created last month and the unemployment rate hovering around nine percent, we must look at all opportunities to create American jobs," said David Camp, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Tariff concerns

The deal with South Korea is the largest US trade pact since it signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.

According to some estimates, it is expected to increase US exports to the Asian economy by as much as $10bn (￡6.5bn).

Though the deal was agreed in 2007, there had been concerns in the US over tariffs imposed by South Korea on the US carmakers.

The two sides finally managed to reach an agreement on the issue last year. South Korea said it would halve its tariff on US cars to 4% and lift it completely in four years.

At the same time, US said it would also lift its 2.5% tariff on Korean cars during that period.

South Korea had also agreed to allow the US to export up to 25,000 cars a year that do not meet its more stringent safety requirements.

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Greece received 109 billion euros from the European bailout money

European leaders have further bail out Greece reached an agreement. A new round of bailout funds amounted to 109 billion euros one third will Greece debt swaps or bonds bond holders of private contribution in the form of extensions.

Agreement for the private creditors is Germany Angela (Angela Merkel) is a political victory, but at the same time, will almost certainly lead to a common European currency, the euro area bonds since the establishment of the first infringement.

Investors have been waiting impatiently for the opening of the recent Summit in Brussels. In this very important Summit, the heads of the eurozone countries soon consensus, agreed to reduce its rescue package comprises three State bail-outs of lending rates. Officials said, Greece and Ireland and Portugal paying interest will be around 3.5%, reduce the current level of 100 to 200 basis points. The heads of Government also agreed to extend the repayment schedule from 7 years to at least 15 years.

In addition, they also provide 440 billion euros in the eurozone rescue fund-the European financial stability arrangements (EFSF)--new powers, so that it can help countries that are currently not in the rescue package, including the provision of preventive credits and recapitalisation of distressed banks in the euro area.

But wait a few weeks since the core issue is how Greece debt holder of the private sector to contribute to rescue package--this would cause some Greece debt default by a temporary.

The European central bank (ECB) Jean-Claude Trichet (Jean-Claude Trichet) have strongly opposed allowing selective default. But officials revealed that the clarification this plan applies only to holders of bonds in Greece, and does not apply to other heavily indebted countries, Terry thanks reluctantly this arrangement.

In the draft final outcome document of the Summit, leaders announced: "(we are) willing to clarify one point, Greece is uniquely difficult, so the country requires an unusual solution."

France President Nicolas Sarkozy (Nicolas Sarkozy) to allow selective default similar reservations, but in the end reluctantly. Sarkozy also agreed to hold a banking levy of 50 billion euro in the euro area's proposal. He always think that the tax measures can achieve the same purpose--to let Greece bond institutional holders buried part of the single, but also to avoid default.

Translator/Wang Kelun

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BBC Wales workers' one-day strike

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 06:10 GMT Bectu is protesting against the loss of four BBC Wales editing jobs BBC Wales workers from the broadcasting union Bectu are staging a one-day strike on Friday.

The union is protesting against the loss of four editing jobs in the BBC's post-production news area.

"Every request made that our members be redeployed in new roles being created in the area of their expertise was refused," said a Bectu statement.

BBC Wales said it was disappointed about the strike and apologised for any disruption to services it might cause.

In a statement the broadcaster said it had a record of successfully redeploying as many staff as possible.

In July, members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) at BBC Wales took part in UK-wide industrial action protesting at compulsory redundancies due to cutbacks in funding.

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Icelandic doubts about the euro

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 23:07 GMT By Paul Henley BBC News, Iceland Formal negotiations for Iceland to join the EU come in the middle of the eurozone crisis

Bombarded as Europeans are, these days, by news of economic disaster in the eurozone, few would expect countries to be queuing up to adopt the single currency.

But in Iceland, which this summer opened formal negations to become a member of the EU, the troubled currency remains the big attraction.

"Compared to the Icelandic krona, the euro is like a rock in the sea, you know," is how Gylvi Arnbjoernsson, president of the Icelandic Confederation of Labour, puts it.

He represents an impressive 85% of his country's workers, and he firmly believes joining the EU would benefit them.

"This is partly because we are already members of the European Economic Area (EEA) and enjoying, and also meeting, the challenges of Europe," he says.

"And it is also because the stability of the euro is such that it would be better than the fluctuations of our own currency.

"For the last 50 years in Iceland, the krona has been used to transfer wealth, every 10 years or so, from the workers to the employers, the companies."

In the aftermath of Iceland's big economic crash of 2008, EU membership was suddenly an attractive prospect to many Icelanders - probably a majority of them - because of the safety-in-numbers it seemed to offer.

But times have changed.

Not only are Icelanders taking note of the increasingly frantic efforts of politicians in countries hundreds of kilometres away to save the euro, they are finding that their own financial circumstances constitute less of an emergency.

The conditions attached to their bailout by the IMF seem comparatively lenient.

The new government of 2009 was allowed to carry on borrowing and spending for another year before the cuts kicked in.

In the meantime, devaluation - something impossible for eurozone members - meant all-important exports suddenly became competitive again. Unemployment is already falling.

Many people's mortgages were quietly "re-negotiated" by the newly nationalised banks. The richest 5-7% of the population have been subjected to a new wealth tax.

The welfare state and the health service were shielded from the biggest savings and public sector workers have recently been awarded an above-inflation wage rise.

Opinion polls suggest a clear majority of Icelanders now oppose joining the EU and the finance minister, overseeing all these changes, is among them.

Steingrimur Sigfusson says his country's size has been crucial in the move towards recovery: "You are quicker turning a small boat around than a big ship.

"And that is, I think, what is being proven: that the small, vibrant Icelandic economy, including having our own currency, makes adapting quicker."

Fisheries obstacle

The biggest sticking point for those currently negotiating the possible terms of Iceland's EU membership will undoubtedly be fishing rights.

Iceland owns the rights to 200 nautical miles around its shores.

It fishes and manages them exclusively, sustaining stocks upon which it relies for 70% of its total export business. Gone are the days when banking was Iceland's biggest business.

In the determined fishing community of the Westmann Islands, off the south coast of Iceland, the resistance seems unanimous to any change that might bring EU boats within reach of these waters.

A population of about 4,000, sheltered by intimidating cliffs - black and sheer - in what is the windiest inhabited place on Earth, relies on year-round catches of cod, mackerel and scampi.

Sigmar Oskarsson remembers the Cod Wars with the British in the 1970s, when Iceland last demonstrated the strength of its resistance to foreign fishing fleets.

He is a youthful-looking fisherman of 50, as sceptical as all his colleagues about the idea of EU membership.

"Icelandic fishermen want to keep their jobs," he says.

"We know from our Scottish colleagues how difficult it can be when other nationalities, like the Spanish, fish their grounds.

"We are good at catching fish and good at protecting them. We have been good at it for a hundred years and we want to keep going, to live on fish."

Neither he nor his bosses at the local fishing company go into detail about the fact that Icelandic concerns own substantial amounts of the fishing and fish processing industries in other EU countries, particularly the UK and Germany.

Such extensive foreign involvement would not be allowed under Icelandic law, so it is not as if there is already a level playing field.

Splendid isolation

As the pro and anti campaigns hot up in preparation for a referendum on EU membership, Icelanders will most likely continue to consider themselves a special case.

And their unique isolation within Europe might well prove be too precious an asset for them to compromise.

One of Iceland's most successful artistic exports, the film director and actor Baltasar Kormakur (101 Reykjavik, Jar City), puts it like this when I meet him in a cafe during the city's film festival: "We actually take it for granted that we will get a different treatment from other nationalities.

"We will always be the special kid in the class because we're small. We're not that important. We're like: 'You can't do that to us, you can't take our fish'."

He adds: "It's really hard to beat somebody up who seems too weak to be beaten up."

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Energy bills break £1,000 barrier

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 12:11 GMT Price rises have recently been announced by all the major energy suppliers The cheapest domestic energy deal available to UK householders has risen above ￡1,000 a year for the first time.

Scottish Power has withdrawn its ￡990 internet tariff, following moves by other energy providers in recent weeks.

Some online packages are cheaper than the average gas and electricity bill because of the lower overheads involved.

But these prices have risen in the same way as other payment options, with companies blaming wholesale costs.

Tariffs

Last month, EDF Energy became the last of the "big six" energy companies to announce increases in prices for domestic customers.

The tariffs across the industry have included price rises of up to 18%.

Price comparison website Uswitch said that in the last couple of months, energy companies had withdrawn some of their most competitive online rates.

Meanwhile, Mark Todd, of price comparison website Energyhelpline, said that the cull meant households with average energy use could no longer get any deals for under ￡1,000.

"This is the first time that has been the case and emphasises in stark terms how bills are reaching historic levels," he said.

Regulator Ofgem is studying whether higher prices are justified, while Energy Secretary Chris Huhne recently pledged to "get tough" with the six biggest energy companies on their tariffs.

Scottish Power Scottish & Southern British Gas Npower E.On EDF

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Ericsson up on handset exit news

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 18:13 GMT Sony may merge its phone joint venture with its other mobile gaming business Shares in the Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson have risen on a report that Sony may soon buy it out of their mobile phone handsets joint venture.

The Wall Street Journal says Sony wants to integrate the division with its tablet computer and hand-held games machine businesses.

The report said the Japanese firm may pay its partner up to 1.25bn euros ($1.7bn, ￡1.1bn) for its 50% stake.

Ericsson's shares climbed close to 8% in US trading after the news broke.

'Struggling'

Despite Sony's reputation as a technology innovator, the joint venture has struggled to maintain market share.

Sony Ericsson accounted for 1.7% of all global mobile phone sales between April and June, according to a recent report by technology research firm Gartner.

That compared to a 3% share the previous year.

"The business has been struggling," said Mark McKechnie, a technology analyst at ThinkEquity.

"Sony's decision to use its brand with Ericsson's technology was a good idea, but it didn't work out. Now it wants more control to better compete against Apple and other [Google] Android devices."

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VIDEO: Malaysia's hard-up pensioners

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 01:36 GMT Help

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Japan extends quake loan scheme

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7 October 2011 Last updated at 05:26 GMT The earthquake and tsunami caused widespread damage to Japan's infrastructure The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has extended its loan scheme for banks operating in areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami by six months.

The central bank had offered 1tn yen ($13bn, ￡9bn) in special loans to banks to ensure liquidity for reconstruction efforts after the natural disasters.

The loan scheme was due to expire at the end of this month.

BOJ also left its interest rate unchanged at 0.1% in a bid to boost growth amid uncertain economic outlook.

"Rebuilding from the earthquake is the dominant story for Japan, and this will become an identifiable force in the second quarter of next year." said Adrian Foster of Rabobank International.

Uncertain outlook Continue reading the main story

If concerns over Europe trigger a spike in the yen that would threaten Japan's real economy, the BOJ could ease policy again as it did in August”

End Quote Yasuo Yamamoto Mizuho Research Institute Japan's economy in a recession and has contracted for three successive quarters.

Though the reconstruction and rebuilding efforts are expected to boost growth, analysts warned that external factors may hurt Japan's economy.

"Uncertainty over Europe remains and there is a possibility that more negative news will come out of the region." said Yuichi Kodama of Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance.

The are fears that a global economic slowdown may dent demand for Japanese exports and impact growth.

Analysts said the central bank may be forced to ease its policies even further if that happened.

"I think there is still a 50% chance of additional easing by the BOJ this year." Mr Kodama added.

Yen trouble

The uncertainty surrounding the global economic growth has seen investors flock to the yen, a traditional safe haven in such times.

That has resulted in the Japanese currency strengthening against the US dollar, a move that has hurt the country's manufacturing and export sector.

Japanese authorities have already intervened in the currency market in a bid to stem the yen's rise and analysts said the central bank may be forced to step in if the currency continued to rise.

"If concerns over Europe trigger a spike in the yen that would threaten Japan's real economy, the BOJ could ease policy again as it did in August," said Yasuo Yamamoto of Mizuho Research Institute.

"Further easing would involve boosting its asset-buying scheme."

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Qatar forges new global role

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12 September 2011 Last updated at 23:02 GMT By Katy Watson Middle East business reporter, BBC News, Doha As President Nicolas Sarkozy greeted the world's leaders at the Libya meeting in Paris last month, one leader who emerged from his limousine was perhaps a little less well known than the others.

Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, then proceeded to stand alongside President Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron as the talks began.

The tiny Gulf state's bank rolling of the Libyan rebels has given its leader a front-row seat in international politics.

The Arab uprising is changing the political map of the region and Qatar is playing an important role in it.

Tiny population A picture of Qatar's emir hangs on a building in the anti-Gaddafi stronghold of Benghazi

There are fewer than two million people living in Qatar. And of those, only about 250,000 are Qataris, the rest being foreign workers. But its vast gas reserves have made its people the richest on the planet.

At a time of unprecedented unrest and while traditional regional leaders like Egypt are dealing with their own problems, that wealth is being used to try to forge Qatar's new path as a regional political heavyweight.

But Qatar is not a democracy. Ruled by a monarchy, this may seem at odds with the political changes happening in the region, but some experts think it actually helps Qatar in making quicker decisions.

"We have the emir at the top, but he's generally well respected and he has a lot of genuine domestic legitimacy here," says David Roberts of the Royal United Services Institute think tank.

"It's quite conservative so there's some kind of societal deference."

Rebel TV

Qatar's support for the rebels has been widespread and was not just limited to funding the fighting on the ground.

It also provided money for projects such as Libya TV, a television station set up to counter the pro-Gaddafi propaganda machine.

Libya TV is funded by the Qatari government as part of its support for Libyan rebels

It got off the ground in just five days - no dry runs or practices. Dozens of Libyan journalists and non-journalists alike were recruited and trained at lightning speed.

Among them is 26-year-old Yusra Tekbali. Born and brought up in the US, she returned to live in Tripoli in December. But when the violence started, her plans had to change.

A month ago she arrived in Doha to work for Libya TV as a blogger. And despite the shift in direction, she remains upbeat.

"I was lured to Libya by greater economic opportunities and also a connection with my roots," she says.

"But now, the opportunity for Libyans and young Libyans from abroad is going to grow at an amazing rate. And Qatar will have a role in that, of course."

Despite Qatar saying that its interests were solely about the welfare of the Libyan people, it is expected that Qatar's support for the rebels will pay off economically in time, too.

It has already helped to market oil for the rebels and that relationship is expected to continue.

And as the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas - there may be potential to work with Libya on exploring its reserves.

'Arab renaissance' Continue reading the main story

This opens the door quite well for Qatar to take this leadership role and to play a role in the Arab renaissance in the 21st Century”

End Quote Ibrahim Sharqieh Brookings Doha Centre Qatar's role in the Libyan conflict has boosted its profile. And that, according to some experts, is exactly what Qatar wanted. It is a Gulf state trying to stand out from the crowd.

"These are brand new countries, dating back to the 1970s," says Mehran Kamrava, the director of the Centre for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University in Qatar.

"They're frantically trying to play catch-up, frantically trying to make a global presence felt.

"[They are] competing with countries like Egypt with centuries of history, competing with countries like Saudi Arabia, competing with countries like Iran that has tremendous resources and a massive demography and geography."

This stance has been well received at home.

In a region used to foreign intervention, an Arab country taking the lead is seen as a welcome step and one that provides both political security and economic stability too.

"This opens the door quite well for Qatar to take this leadership role and to play a role in the Arab renaissance in the 21st Century," says Ibrahim Sharqieh, deputy director of the Brookings Doha Centre.

"By having that active role in the international arena at this point and taking political leadership, Qatar is protecting its wealth and protecting its existence."

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