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VIDEO: Check, check and check again

2011-10-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

29 September 2011 Last updated at 14:12 GMT Help

Japan tourism industry recovering

2011-10-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

6 October 2011 Last updated at 11:20 GMT Himeji Castle is one of 14 World Heritage sites in Japan Japan's tourism industry is showing signs of recovery following the devastating tsunami and earthquake last March, according to a report.

The World Travel & Tourism Council said that foreign visitor numbers in June and July were 36% lower than for the same period last year.

In comparison, visitor numbers fell 62% in April and 50% in May year-on-year.

"So, while a full recovery is still some way off, the situation has improved significantly," the WTTC said.

The council's president and chief executive David Scowsill said in the report: "As the world's third largest travel and tourism economy, the recovery of Japan is one of the most compelling issues facing the industry anywhere in the world."

Prior to the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March, Japan's travel and tourism industry was expected to provide nearly 1.5 million jobs in 2011 and to directly contribute 2.2% of total Japan's gross domestic product.

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Markets see big quarterly falls

2011-10-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

30 September 2011 Last updated at 20:14 GMT By Damian Kahya Business reporter, BBC News Continue reading the main story European and US stocks were down again on Friday, contributing towards one of the worst quarterly falls for the markets in the past decade.

Stocks in France and Germany have fallen in value by more than 25% since the end of June.

Shares in London's FTSE are down 13.7%, the worst quarterly performance since 2002.

Friday's falls follow an unexpectedly sharp rise in the eurozone inflation rate for September to 3%.

Investors had hoped the European Central Bank would move to lower interest rates in the eurozone, after raising them in July to 1.5% to limit inflation.

However, the latest inflation figures may make such a move less likely.

Wall Street's main Dow Jones index ended Friday trading down 2.2% to record its worst quarterly performance since 2008.

Eurozone worries

But Friday's falls were just the latest bout of volatility in European markets, which have failed to regain ground since crashing towards the end of July.

Continue reading the main story Jamie Robertson Presenter, BBC World News

Following all the violent swings in equity markets since the sharp falls at the beginning of August, the main markets have not really moved outside fairly narrow ranges: the FTSE between 5,000 and 5,400 and the Dow between 10,800 and 11,600.

The Nikkei, the Dax and the Cac 40 have been gradually trending downwards by about 6-10% over the past two months. This is almost entirely due to uncertainty over the debt crisis and the fate of the eurozone.

However, even if there is no further bad news on that front, things are likely to get very active for individual companies.

Many of them, particularly ones that move in tandem with the economic cycle such as those in mining, retail, the auto sector and manufacturing, are trading on values that imply double digit growth.

October's results season could upset a lot of earnings forecasts, as markets come to terms with the prospect of near-zero growth in Europe and the US, and companies undergoing what are politely called price adjustments.

Economists say worries over the ability of eurozone countries to pay their debts are sparking concerns of a new banking and credit crisis.

"The euro area debt crisis has potential ramifications to euro area banking sectors in particular," said Grant Lewis, head of research at Daiwa capital markets.

"You've got concerns that a Greek default going wider into something more serious in terms of an Italian default, for example, that would leave banking sectors under-capitalised as well as having a calamitous effect on the economic outlook."

Shares in Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank both lost more than 30% in value since the end of June.

Stocks in French banks fared even worse. Societe Generale saw its stock fall more than 50%, while BNP Paribas saw its share price fall more than 40%.

The share falls have therefore been most pronounced in eurozone countries, with the FTSE falling less than benchmark German and French exchanges.

Brent crude was also set for the biggest quarterly fall since the financial crisis of 2008.

Oil for delivery in one month's time fell just over 8% to $103 a barrel in London as investors worried about a slowdown in the global economy.

Worries ahead Global markets have been hit by a 'toxic cocktail' of factors, says one economist

Despite the record quarterly falls, markets remain up on the levels they reached after the 2008 financial crisis.

"There are certainly widespread indications of pretty serious financial stress, but they are not by and large as dramatic as they were in 2007 and 2008," George Magnus, European economist at UBS, told the BBC.

"Then, the whole edifice of the Western banking system was about to implode. At that point, I think it was far more dramatic than it is now."

But investors and economists fear the situation may deteriorate further.

Markets are likely to look to forthcoming company results and quarterly economic data for their next move.

In the longer term, economists say they are seeking reassurance from politicians.

"I think markets are expecting something of substance to be revealed by the G20 [group of leading nations] in November and if it isn't, we could be in a lot of trouble," Mr Magnus added.

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PM warns over eurozone break-up

2011-10-22T02:24:00.000-07:00

2 October 2011 Last updated at 09:50 GMT David Cameron warns that the UK cannot shield itself from the crisis in the eurozone Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that it would be "very bad" for the UK if the eurozone was to break up.

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, he said the debt crisis in the eurozone was "a threat not just to itself, but also a threat to the UK economy, and a threat to the world economy".

He reiterated that eurozone leaders had to take quick and decisive action.

Mr Cameron said that, as 40% of UK exports went to the eurozone, it could not shield itself from the problem.

The prime minister said the UK government had "a very clear view" of what needed to be done, and that it was pushing this with its partners in Europe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said eurozone leaders had to strengthen the region's financial mechanisms, ensure the greater involvement of the IMF, and deal decisively with the high levels of sovereign debt.

Mr Cameron added: "Action needs to be taken in the next coming weeks to strengthen Europe's banks, to build the defences that the eurozone has, to deal with the problems of debts decisively."

He said these emergency measures were needed before any long-term plans of more economic coordination across the eurozone were introduced, such as a single tax system.

Greek fears

European stock markets again fell heavily on Friday due to concerns about the debt crisis in the eurozone.

Continue reading the main story Use the dropdown for easy-to-understand explanations of key financial terms:AAA-rating GO The best credit rating that can be given to a borrower's debts, indicating that the risk of borrowing defaulting is miniscule.It meant that for the three months from July to September, the main UK share index, the FTSE 100, recorded its biggest quarterly fall since 2002.

The concerns centre on Greece, the most indebted eurozone nation.

Greece needs its next 8bn euros (￡6.9bn; $10.9bn) instalment of European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout loans by the middle of this month to be able to continue paying its civil servants and teachers.

This tranche was delayed in September after EU, IMF and European Central Bank officials said the Greek government was not carrying out sufficient austerity measures.

The wider fear is that Greece will ultimately default on its debt payments, and of the knock-on effect this would have on banks across Europe which own Greek government bonds.

Some commentators also warn that Greece may ultimately have to leave the eurozone, plunging the region's economic and political systems into chaos.

Eurozone leaders and the IMF are now continuing to work on a solution to the debt crisis, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel due to speak again this week.

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US factory orders drop slightly

2011-10-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

4 October 2011 Last updated at 15:08 GMT Activity remained subdued at US factories in the summer New orders at US factories declined slightly, adding to concerns over the health of the world's largest economy.

The Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods fell 0.2% in August, after rising a downwardly revised 2.1% in July.

Economists had expected orders to be unchanged.

But orders for capital goods - expensive items such as computers and communications equipment - rose 0.9%, the second gain in three months.

Sluggish growth in the US economy earlier this year has not been sufficient to reduce high levels of unemployment.

The economic recovery is "close to faltering", Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday.

On Monday, the ISM Manufacturing Index unexpectedly rose in September, beating expectations that the index would remain unchanged.

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Banking on technology to stop the rogues

2011-10-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

26 September 2011 Last updated at 23:05 GMT By Michael Millar Business reporter, BBC News WATCH: Risk averse: Used correctly, technology could help to avoid losses like UBS trader Kweku Adoboli's $2.3bn

When news broke that Swiss investment bank UBS had lost $2.3bn (￡1.5bn) through alleged rogue trading, the shock was matched by an equally exasperated response of "not again!" as another financial risk management disaster hit the headlines.

After all, not only did the suspected trader, Kweku Adoboli, work in a 'Delta 1' team - the same desk that the biggest ever rogue trader, Jerome Kerviel of Societe Generale, once plied his trade - but the world continues to reel from a global financial crisis which itself stemmed from a monumental failure of risk management amongst financiers.

It leaves a sceptical public scratching its collective head and wondering just what needs to happen for risk to be kept under control in the financial sector.

It might sound surprising but there is no question whether managing risk is a central obligation for financial firms.

"Under UK company law all companies are required to have a duty of care towards shareholders assets and that includes risk management," explains Prof Brian Scott-Quinn from Henley Business School.

"Under FSA rules they have additional responsibilities, they have to take reasonable care to ensure that any activities in control functions [essentially roles with 'significant influence'] are properly controlled," he adds.

But it is no mean feat to do this; across August an average of 880,000 trades were completed each day on the London Stock Exchange alone, with an average daily value of ￡6.17bn.

Financial firms have back-office functions that are there to confirm transactions are above board, but such is the volume that the only way they can keep up is with increasingly advanced technology.

Technology kicks in

Mat Newman is vice-president at SunGard; its software processes millions of transactions for its financial sector clients every day.

Adaptiv is one of Sunguard's risk management software options

"The interconnectedness of what banks are trying to do across different geographies, different time zones and different trading desks, and asset classes is just immense these days," he says.

"One of the key things banks are faced with as a challenge is how to bring this together, this vast amount of data and make sense of it at the same time - so they can see the wood for the trees."

Without such technology companies don't have a hope of gathering the information they need, analysing it and presenting it to the right people at the right time.

"These days you have systems that will monitor your current positions against those risks and you have a whole series of bells and whistles that will flag not just if you breach those limits but if you come close to those limits," says Mark Hanney, CEO of Valbury Capital stockbrokers.

This is crucial for Valbury Capital, which takes trades from clients and then passes them on to the markets, theoretically running a no-risk business model.

Mark Hanney: "You have a whole series of bells and whistles"

"If a client is trading with us they put up a certain amount of margin, and if that margin is insufficient for their positions then our systems can automatically stop them out," Mr Hanney explains.

"Those systems can apply internally as well, so if a trader goes beyond a certain position then those systems are able, once they've breached those limits, to automatically close the position out."

The "bells and whistles" that flag up problems come in all shapes and sizes, dependent on the technology a firm opts for.

"Exceptions can be flagged graphically on summary dashboards with a number of graphical metaphors employed in the form of traffic lights, dials and graphs," says Daren Cox, CEO of Project Brokers, which supplies data analysis tools to investment banks.

He says that graphics rather than tables of data are often favoured simply because they mean that potential problems are easier to spot.

There are certain key areas of risk on which the technology is often brought to bear.

These include liquidity risk (how much cash you have and whether you can meet your obligations), market risk (what's going on out there in the markets) and one of the biggest of all, credit risk - basically how much people owe you and whether they are going to be able to pay it back.

Abusing the system

With the key flash points picked out and technology that can make a decision on whether a deal is a good idea in less than 10 milliseconds, the obvious question is why things seem to go wrong so regularly?

"One of the main problems these days - as it was in 2008 - is not the system but its operators," says Michel van Leeuwen, CEO of financial compliance consultancy, IMS.

"Their intelligence, experience, vigilance, their clout in the hierarchy and the simple analogy of 'having a clock' is irrelevant if you never look at it or don't look at it frequently."

Technology is also open to manipulation if you know how.

"Part of the problem is the rogue traders we have seen in the past have come from a back office function and they know these processes very well," says Mat Newman of SunGard.

"What's quite common in the City is to grow your own talent from the back office and bring it through to the front office."

Mr van Leeuwen calls this "akin to inviting the cat into the pigeon coop".

"It would be wise not to hire a trader that used to be a... back office employee," he says.

"The imperative, regulator imposed, 'Chinese wall' imposed in process and procedures, doesn't seem to have made it to the frontal lobe of HR or the heads of trading."

Positive thinking

There is a temptation with financial crisis in the air and an angry public after blood to overemphasise the down side of the risks financial institutions take.

This Algorithmics software shows where the trade has failed on a graph

But John Macdonald, executive vice-president at financial software firm Algorithmics, says risk management technology should not just be a way to stamp down on transgressors.

"Any one transaction can be analysed by one individual but it may take some time - if you have a customer you provide banking services to they don't want to wait two or three days for a decision," he says.

"Businesses need to be able to have access to funding and making the right decisions helps the economy grow.

"That's all part of risk management - being able to measure and then decide what level of risk you decide to take because you make a return on the capital you use by taking risk."

Of course there will be those that argue that on occasion slowing everything down a bit and taking a day or two rather than a thousandth of a second to mull a deal over might be a good thing.

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VIDEO: Build up a cash cushion, says Alvin Hall

2011-10-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

30 September 2011 Last updated at 10:22 GMT Help

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Dot brand versus dot com

2011-10-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

30 September 2011 Last updated at 03:54 GMT By Fiona Graham Technology of business reporter, BBC News Death sentence?: As brands are given the opportunity to have their own domains, could the dominance of .com be at an end? Business is good. Your bathroom fittings company has replaced the conveniences in half the homes in your neighbourhood. But there's one small fly in your ointment.

You were a bit late to the game when it came to the internet.

And when you finally decided to go online, www.bloggsbogs.com was already taken. You're pretty sure this must be the reason you haven't made quite the splash you wanted in other towns.

Is there another way?

Domain dominion

Beginning in January 2012, applications open for a new class of gTLD (generic top level domain).

The people who control the use of internet domains, Icann (Internet Committee for Assigned Names and Numbers), announced in June they were extending the suffixes used for web addresses beyond the existing 22 (.com, .net, .uk, etc).

Interested parties can apply to run one, and either retain it for themselves, or set up as a registrar selling domains within groups like .car or .bank.

Icann voted to allow the proposals for the new domains at their meeting in Singapore in June 2011.

The suffixes don't have to be roman letters, so could for example be Chinese characters.

Some rules do apply - for instance, they must have at least three letters (Icann is holding onto the remaining two letter domains in case new countries are created).

So now companies can bid for their own gTLD for the first time. Think .hitachi, .coke, .facebook.

Could .com's dominance be coming to an end?

Time limited

If your dream of registering .bloggsbogs is going to become reality, you'd better get your skates on. The application period opens on 12 January 2012, and closes three months later on 12 April.

Miss this and you may be twiddling your thumbs till 2015 according to Tim Callan, chief marketing officer at domain experts Melbourne IT DBS.

"[Companies] have to be prepping, and they have to be getting ready and figuring out what they're doing so they're ready."

Some may be left behind, says Simon Briskman, partner and IT specialist at law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse.

Tim Callan: "Verisign predicts there will be 1,500 applications"

"I think it's difficult for brands to take this very short period we've got - the last quarter of this year - to assess and make a full business case."

Mr Briskman says some companies have stalled, initially put off by the cost.

"I think we've now got to the point where people are going: 'Hang on a minute, this is a drop in the ocean compared with the investment we make in the brand. We really do need to properly assess the business case.'

"[Some] big brands are going to miss the window - simple as that. You can't move large organisations at this speed."

Shirt off your back

Cost may cut out all but the megabrands.

Applying will set you back $185,000, and it doesn't stop there, says Melbourne IT DBS's Tim Callan: "Your corner mom-and-pop shop, this is not right for them.

"A good estimate is it will cost between $150,000 - $200,000 a year to run [a gTLD]. So costly yes, compared to your and my wallets, but for the companies we're talking about - trivial.

"I've yet to run into anybody who I would consider a prospect for this who has a cost objection."

Rebecca Moody, head of planning at advertising agency Euro RSCG, agrees: "It's a no-brainer for John Lewis or for Coca-Cola, for example, both successful big brands who can probably afford dot brand."

Bloggs Bogs may have to settle for registering for a dot category domain - if anyone applies for .toilet that is.

The cost of applying for your own gTLD will probably restrict it to megabrand corporations like Coca Cola

When the application period closes, Icann will decide who has a viable bid.

"They're taking the public facing internet, they're slicing chunks off and they're giving them to people to operate," says Mr Callan. "So they want to be confident people can run it correctly."

Where there are multiple qualifying bids, Icann has a set of criteria to decide who wins - in the case of dictionary words for example, open communities trump private ones.

If this process doesn't resolve the situation, then it goes to auction, with the highest bidder winning. The first gTLDs could be live by early 2013.

Return on investment

So what is pushing companies to buy their own dot brand?

Mr Callan says protecting your trademark is one motive, not only to thwart cybersquatters, but to beat other companies using the same name to it.

"Trademark law allows non-colliding trademarks to exist. If I'm operating in North America and you're operating in Europe and we don't cross over, then we can both have a trademark. But only one of us can have the TLD."

Continue reading the main story dot category: .bank, .music, .shopdot place: .london, .berlin, .nycdot brand: .canon, .hitachi, .unicef, .motorolanon-Roman scripts allowed: Arabic, Chinese etcminimum three charactersno numbers, hyphens or non-letter charactersno country namesno two words that differ slightlyno plurals if singular exists, e.g. bank not bankstrademark holders can block cybersquattersThen, he says, there's the marketing benefit.

"[Companies] think they can have a better connection between offline marketing and online traffic by having names that are shorter, more memorable, easier to pop out in a marketing campaign."

"For example, laptop.hitachi. Very crisp. Very easy to remember, very easy to communicate."

This includes the benefits a loaded url brings in terms of search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy, a process where sites are built to make them more attractive to search engines.

Security is another draw.

"There are a lot of people who won't do internet shopping because of the security, I think dot brand has a lot of potential there," says Field Fisher Waterhouse's Simon Briskman.

"[It] is going to really help as a seal of authenticity."

Perception is a big deal, according to Dr Jonathan Freeman, senior lecturer in psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London and managing director of i2 media research.

"A lot of this is consumer perception. Reassuring consumers is going to enhance the online behaviours and transactions. They'll feel a lot more happy dealing [with] it."

Despite this, he anticipates consumers will not immediately take to the new naming conventions.

Dr Freeman says finding dot brand sites without having to search could be easier on mobile devices

"What people are used to doing is going to be a big determinant in how consumers adopt and use dot brand as it rolls out.

"I'd expect it to take a while to embed in consumer behaviour, especially given the extent to which consumers rely on search engines today."

So where does this leave the brands that cannot afford to be part of the new world order?

"There will inevitably be a new brand ranking system, which in a way I find kind of concerning." says Euro RSCG's Rebecca Moody.

"Do you risk looking like a second rate brand?"

Out of the loop

Understandably, smaller brands are uneasy.

"What the small businesses and not-for-profits have been complaining about is there's a significant barrier to entry," says Field Fisher Waterhouses's Simon Briskman.

"People are selling off slices of the internet real estate, and they feel they're going to get closed out."

He says subsequent rounds may prove a little cheaper.

Continue reading the main story

It's just not possible for everyone to get the names that they want in the new dot com space”

End Quote Simon Briskman Field Fisher Waterhouse "I think people will start to aggregate the running of these day-to-day, which ought to bring down some cost. I still don't think that it will be accessible to Martha with her boutique in Marylebone."

And the ubiquitous dot com? It's probably safe for some time to come.

"I don't believe anyone is going to be shutting their dot coms in the next five years," says Tim Callan of Melbourne IT DBS.

"But does any of us think we're going to be typing dot com in a hundred years? No."

Simon Briskman is somewhat more tempered.

"The reason dot com will survive is [for example] the Times - there's the Financial Times, the New York Times. It's just not possible for everyone to get the names that they want in the new dot com space."

"If you want a good presence, but maybe not the best presence, if you want someone else to run the infrastructure, you'll probably use dot coms.

"They'll happily co-exist I just don't think they'll have the same power that the dot brand does."

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Growing trade ties between Indian and Pakistan

2011-10-21T04:45:00.000-07:00

2 October 2011 Last updated at 16:04 GMT By Shahzeb Jillani BBC News Pakistan's commerce minister (right) took a large delegation with him Business leaders from India and Pakistan say there's new optimism about the efforts their governments are making to improve trade ties. But critics warn that overcoming decades of mistrust may not be that easy.

For the first time in 35 years, a Pakistani commerce minister led a business delegation to India last week. The entourage included nearly 80 leading industrialists, traders and high-ranking officials.

Peace talks between the two nuclear-armed neighbours broke down in 2008 after the attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

Nearly three years on, as if to emphasize a sense of normalcy, the Pakistani Commerce Minister, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, was hosted at the city's iconic Taj Mahal Hotel - which was one of the main targets of the 2008 attacks.

There, leading Pakistani traders got a chance to mingle with their equally eager-for-business Indian counterparts.

Between them, they spoke not just of the profits their individual businesses could make if their governments removed the long standing hurdles in their way. But also of how much the people of their two countries, and indeed the wider region, stand to benefit from freer movement of goods, money and commodities.

Win-win situation Continue reading the main story

The only way I see realization of trade potential between our two countries is for India to remove its non-tariff trade barriers and for Pakistan to reciprocate by granting the MFN status to India”

End Quote Hasan Khan Former advisor to Pakistan's Ministry of Finance Vijay Kalantri, president of All India Association of Industries, said traders on both sides feel business between India and Pakistan is a win-win situation for everyone.

"Why are Indians and Pakistanis forced to trade unofficially via third countries like Dubai or Sri Lanka?" he tells the BBC from Mumbai.

"All we are asking is, let there be direct business-to-business contact between us."

After the talks in Delhi, ministers from the two sides announced their agreement to boost their annual bilateral trade from current $2.7bn (￡1.7bn) to $6bn by 2015.

They also pledged to ease business travel and promote bilateral trade through the land route.

For Pakistan, a significant announcement was a pledge by India to drop its opposition to the European Union's plan to grant Pakistan tariff waiver on select commodities to help it recover from the devastation of 2010 floods.

There was hope that Pakistan might reciprocate and grant India the Most Favoured Nation status (India granted Pakistan MFN status way back in the 1990s).

Even though no such announcement came, Pakistan committed itself to a road map to implement preferential trade ties with India, as prescribed under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).

Trade barriers

There are a number of explanations why Pakistan has so far withheld the MFN status from India.

At present there are a number of barriers to prevent trade between Indian and Pakistan

First is political. Pakistani leaders have often linked it to the resolution of the core issue of Kashmir.

It's a stance which has long been propagated for mainly domestic consumption.

But there is a sense in Pakistan that while the country should continue to push for a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue, trade and commerce should not be held hostage to resolution of political disputes.

The second is protectionism. For years, domestic industry in Pakistan has feared it would be swamped by imports from India. But even there, the mood appears to have shifted.

Senator Haji Ghulam Ali, president of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, says there's a consensus that Pakistan should open up to Indian business.

"Everyone now recognizes it will be beneficial for both sides. It's just a matter of time before it's done," he tells the BBC from Delhi.

Business leaders say that less trade barriers would benefit firms in both countries

However, the last, and more plausible, obstacle is the issue of non-tariff barriers.

"In my experience, India has one of the most restrictive trade regimes in the region," asserts Dr Ashfaq Hasan Khan, a former advisor to Pakistan's Ministry of Finance. His view matters, given has decades of dealings with South Asian governments on trade liberalization.

He explains that despite granting Pakistan the MFN status, India has a variety of non-tariff barriers in place - such as, stringent certification codes, customs rules, security clearances and movement restrictions - which make it virtually impossible for Pakistani traders to do business in India.

"The only way I see realization of trade potential between our two countries is for India to remove its non-tariff trade barriers and for Pakistan to reciprocate by granting the MFN status to India," says Mr Khan.

He adds: "Unless there's political will to do that, everything else is just talk and photo-op."

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Firms fear energy price hikes

2011-10-20T23:58:00.000-07:00

4 October 2011 Last updated at 04:09 GMT By Gerry Northam Reporter, File on 4 Energy-intensive industries have seen gas and electricity bills soar Despite government hopes that manufacturing will lead the UK recovery, there are fears some energy-intensive industries may be forced to leave the UK as prices rocket.

Davin Bates is standing at the cool end of a tunnel kiln watching racks of cups and sugar bowls trundle out ready for glazing.

As we peer fifty feet in to the bright orange centre, he tells me that the internal temperature is well over 1000 degrees centigrade.

Then he breaks the bad news about his gas bill.

Davin is a management accountant at one of Stoke-on-Trent's remaining successful potteries, Steelite. It is a sprawling village of redbrick buildings employing 650 people which produces half a million pieces of crockery a week.

There are seven kilns in all. Keeping them fired up was costly enough last year.

But this year Davin has faced a 55% rise in the cost of gas. The firm's electricity bill has also gone up by 17%.

Tough decisions

"We find it difficult to pass on these costs to our customers," says Davin.

He says profits are therefore getting squeezed and the company's future plans are in jeopardy: "Investment will have to be looked at, because this is coming off the bottom line," he adds.

Across the whole sector, energy bills are driving managers to make tough decisions.

At the British Ceramic Confederation, Dr Laura Cohen has watched factory after factory close - and she identifies high energy costs as a major problem.

She knows that other companies have moved production overseas.

"We heard only a few weeks ago that one firm has transferred all of their manufacturing to China," she says. "Energy costs are a significant part of that."

It is a trend which is not confined to the long-troubled Potteries. Other parts of the country are hit too.

The huge chemical industry, which contributes ￡30m a day to the British economy, is also suffering.

At the family firm of Thomas Swan in County Durham, enormous sealed vats of chemicals are heated and stirred to make specialist powders and liquids for niche hair dyes, printing and cleaning products.

Managing director Harry Swan, a great-grandson of the founder, has steered the company through the recession and now finds himself hit by electricity and gas bills of almost ￡1m.

His plant uses 28,000 megawatt hours of energy a year. Even before the latest round of price rises, his extra energy costs this year were equivalent to a month's profit. He is dreading the next bill.

For the Chemical Industries Association, chief executive Steve Elliott fears British job losses could be imminent: "There will come a moment when people say enough is enough," he says.

"There will only be one direction of travel - out of the UK."

There could be worse to come.

Industries have been totting up the cost of government and European initiatives to promote a low-carbon economy, the so-called "green taxes", and some say their additional bill will run into the millions.

'Tipping point'

Cemex UK runs the biggest cement plant in the country, based on the outskirts of Rugby. It is not averse to the idea of a green economy. In recent years it has moved away from dependence on coal alone.

It now also burns chippings from old tyres and a fuel made from minced-up household waste. But the company is worried about the impact of coming green taxes.

Director Andy Spencer estimates that they will increase his annual energy costs by ￡12m.

What most concerns Cemex is that other countries will not impose similar new taxes on their cement producers. His prices would then struggle to compete on world markets.

So Andy Spencer's thoughts are already turning to the possibility of switching production out of the UK to Cemex plants abroad, particularly in Egypt.

"I can foresee a time when economically it makes more sense to do that and I don't think that time is far away," he says.

"We are very committed to the UK, but there is a genuine concern that we could reach that tipping point where the economics don't stack up to produce domestically in the UK."

This seems at odds with the government's goal of rebalancing the economy in favour of manufacturing industries. The Chancellor George Osborne has called for "a march of the makers".

Andy Spencer sees that march hitting a roadblock. "We know we need to make the transition to a green economy," he says.

"But it must not come at the price of exporting our domestic energy intensive industries."

No blank cheques

The Energy Secretary Chris Huhne says there is little the government can do about some energy price rises.

"How much of this is due to the fact that these businesses are very reliant on world market factors? We've had a 27% increase in the gas price on world markets over the year to August," he says.

"Now with the best will in the world, I can't do anything about that."

But he argues the government's reform of the electricity market will reduce prices for business and domestic consumers alike.

He is working on plans to announce special help for high-energy industries later this year, and says that in 2020 the net effect of the government's energy and climate change policies will be to reduce bills across the board.

But he is sceptical of some complaints on green taxes.

"I don't accept that some of the stories we are hearing about green taxes are correct. There are some ludicrously inflated and exaggerated claims," he says.

"I do not want to see even the most energy-intensive industries leave the UK, that would be madness.

"But am I writing blank cheques to anybody who says they've got a problem? No."

File on 4 is on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 4 October at 20:00 BST and Sunday 9 October at 17:00 BST. Listen again via the Radio 4 website or download the podcast.

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China in $1.3bn copper mine deal

2011-10-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

30 September 2011 Last updated at 05:48 GMT China is the world's largest consumer of metals as it fuels its rapid industrialisation China's Minmetal Resources has agreed to buy copper miner Anvil Mining, giving it three copper mines in Africa.

Minmetals, which is a unit of China's largest metals traders, will pay about $1.3bn (￡830m) for the acquisition.

That would amount to a 39% premium on Anvil's closing share price on Thursday in the Toronto stock exchange.

China has been buying up resources around the world from copper to zinc, to support its rapid growth.

"It is very clear that Minmetals has a mandate to make mining investment outside of China," said Andrew Driscoll, head of resource research at CSLA.

Minmetals, which is based in Hong Kong, is backed by the Chinese government.

The Anvil acquisition will give it three copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

One of those mines, the Kinsevere mine, is expected to produce 60,000 tonnes of copper cathode a year, Minmetal said in a statement.

Anvil is listed in both Sydney and Toronto. The bid from Minmetals is subject to approval from the Australian government.

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Greene King ends Wrexham FC deal

2011-10-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

28 September 2011 Last updated at 14:24 GMT The future of Wrexham Football Club finally agreed The Greene King brewery and pub chain has ended its sponsorship deal with Wrexham Football Club.

The announcement came two days after Wrexham Supporters' Trust (WST) agreed a deal to take over the club.

Wrexham said the two-year sponsorship deal, agreed last April, was ending because the Racecourse ground is now owned by Glyndwr University, which has its own beer sale deal.

Greene King said an amicable agreement had been reached.

After months of negotiations, WST and the club agreed a takeover deal on Monday.

On Wednesday, outgoing club chief executive, Jon Harris, said Wrexham FC could no longer honour its agreement with Greene King because ownership of the Racecourse had been transferred to Glyndwr University, which has a beer sales deal with another company.

Continue reading the main story

It's been a tough eight months because of the nature of what we have been trying to do here”

End Quote Jon Harris Wrexham FC chief executive A Greene King spokesperson said: "We originally agreed a sponsorship deal with Wrexham FC in good faith which included providing beer for the club and both stand and shirt sponsorship.

"We have met with the club to discuss how the sale of the ground has impacted on our sponsorship deal.

"It has transpired that the new owners have been left in a position where they don't have the ability to meet our original agreement as the right to sell Greene King beer was not transferred from the ground to the new owners as part of the sale.

"As a result we have reached an amicable agreement to end our sponsorship with immediate effect so the new owners are free to find new sponsors. We wish Wrexham FC and its loyal fans the very best of luck for the future."

A club spokesman expressed sadness at the end of the partnership as Greene King was a "fantastic sponsor" but it gave the new owners the chance to seek a new shirt sponsor.

Jon Harris said he expects to leave his job as caretaker managing director at the end of the week.

The former Shrewsbury Town general manager arrived at the Racecourse in January and took on the role of chief executive in May after failing with his own bid to buy the club.

He said the supporters' trust had made it clear they had their own people to run the club.

"It's been a tough eight months because of the nature of what we have been trying to do here.

"But it's a magnificent club with great potential and supporters who are second to none.

"I wish the trust well and now I'll just have to wait and see what the future holds for me. I have had a great time here and I think the majority of people have appreciated what I have tried to do."

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Qantas boss threatened in job row

2011-10-20T11:27:00.000-07:00

5 October 2011 Last updated at 07:33 GMT Mr Joyce has received a threatening letter about his role in the dispute Qantas says its chief executive, Alan Joyce, has received a threatening letter related to its current industrial dispute.

The letter comes amid a row between the Australian airline and unions on a restructuring and outsourcing plan that could lead to job cuts.

But officials from two unions have raised doubts about the authenticity of the letter, saying that it was not clear who sent it.

Police are investigating the matter.

According to reports in the Australian media, the letter went on to read: "The unions will fight you... Qantas is our airline, started and staffed by Australians, not foreign filth like you."

Irish-born Mr Joyce has been Qantas' chief executive since November 2008.

Luke Enright of Qantas confirmed to the contents of the letter to the BBC, though he refused to comment further on the matter.

Unions' anger However, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) accused the airline to turning the issue into a public relations exercise.

"We are unsure whether it came from an angry employee, or it may have been fabricated by the Qantas management to gain sympathy from the public," Steve Purvinas, federal secretary of ALAEA, told the BBC.

TWU's national secretary, Tony Sheldon, said: "This is an unsubstantiated piece of correspondence, that was either created by Qantas or sent by any of its 35,000 employees or people outside the company."

They said the airline had been losing public support because of its plans to restructure its business and relocate jobs outside Australia and as a result, it was trying to garner public sympathy using such tactics.

"The question here is, did they go to the police first or the media," TWU's Mr Sheldon said. "They released the letter to the media even before their staff knew about it."

Flights cancelled

The airline and the union members have been involved in a dispute that has seen Qantas' services being disrupted.

Last month, Qantas cancelled 28 flights, while another 27 were delayed after ground staff stopped work for four hours at all major Australian airports.

The union members have been striking against the planned restructuring that will see the airline's operations expand in Asia.

Qantas has also announced plans to launch two new airlines, including a budget carrier based out of Japan. At the same time, Singapore and Malaysia are being talked about as potential hubs for the other venture.

There have also been concerns that the outsourcing of certain jobs could result in as many as 1,000 job cuts in Australia.

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ECB called for Italy budget cuts

2011-10-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

29 September 2011 Last updated at 10:45 GMT Not all the reforms wanted by ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet were introduced The European Central Bank told Italy to make sweeping changes to its labour laws and take tough action to cut the deficit, a leaked letter has shown.

In the letter, sent to prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in August, the ECB said the severity of Italy's economic situation made "bold and immediate" action "essential".

The ECB said its list of demands should be enacted by the end of September.

The letter was published in the Italian media on Thursday.

Dated 5 August, the letter came from ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet and his designated successor, Bank of Italy Governor Mario Draghi.

In unusually clear language, the signatories told Mr Berlusconi to make deep reforms, including opening up public services and overhauling pay bargaining and hiring and firing rules.

The ECB called for "pressing action", "essential to restore the confidence of investors" as markets panicked over fears that Italy could be the next country to succumb to the eurozone debt crisis.

Days after the letter was sent, the ECB began its controversial programme to buy Italian bonds, a move aimed at reducing the country's borrowing costs.

The ECB has always rejected suggestions that its bond-buying programme was linked to demands for austerity cuts.

Continue reading the main story Use the dropdown for easy-to-understand explanations of key financial terms:AAA-rating GO The best credit rating that can be given to a borrower's debts, indicating that the risk of borrowing defaulting is miniscule.The letter, published in Corriere della Sera, said Italy should aim to bring the deficit down to 1% of gross domestic product by 2012 and balance the budget by 2013, a year ahead of schedule, "mainly via expenditure cuts".

It said: "In view of the severity of the current financial market situation, we regard as crucial that all actions listed" be ratified by 30 September.

"We trust the government will take all the appropriate actions," it ends.

The Italian parliament passed a 60bn-euro austerity package earlier this month.

'Eye-watering' costs

While some tax and budget changes were introduced, others, including pay and pension reforms, were implemented either partially or not at all.

On Thursday, opposition parties in Italy said the disclosure of the letter proved that Mr Berlusconi had placed Italy under the "trusteeship" of the ECB.

The ECB's bond-buying programme has as yet failed to dent Italy's borrowing costs.

On Thursday the central bank sold 6.9bn euros of bonds, but at sharply higher interest rates. The yield on the 10-year bonds rose to 5.86%, up from 5.22% last month.

David Schnautz, rate strategist at Commerzbank, described the yield as "eye-watering".

He said: "Obviously it's not a comfortable level on a sustained basis and the headlines don't help. Despite ECB intervention for more than one month Italy is still printing at these levels to get the paper out of the way."

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Minimum wage up by 15p to £6.08

2011-10-20T04:36:00.000-07:00

30 September 2011 Last updated at 23:01 GMT The increase takes account of the current economic uncertainty The minimum wage has gone up, with the main rate for adults aged 21 or over rising by 15p to ￡6.08 an hour.

The development rate - for those aged 18 to 20 - goes up by 6p to ￡4.98 an hour, for 16 and 17-year-olds it rises by 4p to ￡3.68 an hour and the hourly apprentice rate rises by 10p to ￡2.60.

The TUC welcomed the rise but Unison said the rates were still too low.

The minimum wage was introduced in 1999 at ￡3.60 an hour for adults, and is set each year by the Low Pay Commission.

The commission recommended this year's increase in a report to the government in April.

It said the increases would balance the needs of low-paid workers and their employers facing difficulties during a period of economic uncertainty.

As levels of youth unemployment are relatively high, it recommended a lower increase for young workers than for their older counterparts, to try to encourage employers to keep them on.

The TUC it estimated the increases would benefit nearly 900,000, mainly female, workers.

The general secretary of the public sector union, Unison, said ￡8 an hour was needed to provide a living wage.

"The rise to ￡6.08 is a welcome cushion, but with the price of everyday essentials such as food, gas and electricity going up massively, it won't lift enough working people out of the poverty trap," Dave Prentis said.

As a result, he called on employers to pay more than the absolute minimum.

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Japan extends quake loan scheme

2011-10-19T23:59:00.000-07:00

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Mongolia and Rio reach stake deal

2011-10-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

7 October 2011 Last updated at 05:09 GMT Resource-rich Mongolia has attracted many foreign investors Mongolia and mining giant Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe have reached an agreement on stakeholding of the Oyu Tolgoi project in the resource-rich country.

The Mongolian government had sought to increase its stake in the mine to 50% from 34% as previously agreed.

The mining companies had said that the government should honour an original agreement signed in 2009.

When completed, the project is expected to be one of the biggest copper mines in the world.

According to the initial agreement, Mongolia government could renegotiate its stake after a period of 30 years.

However, the authorities had wanted to bring forward the negotiation period, a move that did not go down well with the miners as well as industry analysts.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, they said "all parties have reaffirmed their continued support for the investment agreement and its implementation".

Shares of Ivanhoe rose as much as 18% on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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Wall Street protesters released

2011-10-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

2 October 2011 Last updated at 15:57 GMT Protester Michael Pellagatti holds up the plastic handcuffs used to restrain him and the court summons he was issued Police in New York City have freed most of the more than 700 people arrested on Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday during a protest against corporate greed.

Fewer than 20 protesters are still held as they are yet to be identified.

Most of those freed were given citations for disorderly conduct and a criminal court summons.

The Occupy Wall Street group, camped in Manhattan's financial district for two weeks, says it will continue its demonstrations.

A spokesman for the New York Police Department told the BBC the small group still detained were expected to appear at the Manhattan criminal court on Sunday.

'Multiple warnings'

The arrests took place on Saturday after protesters carried out an impromptu walk over the East River to Brooklyn.

Some demonstrators carried slogans reading "End the Fed" and "Pepper spray Goldman Sachs".

Police said the protesters were given "multiple warnings" to keep to the pedestrian walkway but spread to the road, halting bridge traffic for several hours.

Some protesters accused the police of not issuing warnings or of tricking them on to the roadway, accusations the police denied.

Demonstrator Henry-James Ferry: "'The police moved in with orange mesh barricade". Saturday footage courtesy Robert Cammiso

Occupy Wall Street says it will continue its campaign, with meetings on Sunday in Zuccotti Park, the privately owned area of land not far from Wall Street that it has occupied since 17 September.

There will be another march on Wall Street on Wednesday afternoon.

"We are the majority. We are the 99%. And we will no longer be silent," the group said in a statement.

"We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of non-violence to maximise the safety of all participants."

The protesters have had previous run-ins with New York's police.

On Friday, about 2,000 people marched under the Occupy Wall Street banner to New York's police headquarters to protest against arrests and police behaviour.

Some 80 people were arrested during a march on 25 September, mostly for disorderly conduct and blocking traffic, but one person was charged with assaulting a police officer.

A series of other small-scale protests have also sprung up in other US cities in sympathy with the aims of Occupy Wall Street.

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Chinese demand boosts Yum profits

2011-10-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

5 October 2011 Last updated at 01:37 GMT Yum Brands is planning to expand its presence in China even further to cater to growing demand Fast food giant Yum Brands has reported a jump in third-quarter profit as sales at its Chinese outlets continue to grow.

Yum reported a net profit of $383m (￡248m) in the three months to 3 September, up from $357m last year.

The owner of Pizza Hut and KFC said same-store sales in China rose 19% during the period.

With close to 4,200 outlets, China accounts for more than 40% of Yum's profits.

"This tremendous sales growth, combined with our expectation to open a record 600 new restaurants this year, gives us even more confidence our China business model is as strong as ever," said David Novak, chairman and chief executive officer of Yum Brands.

Domestic trouble

While it continues to grow in China and other emerging markets, Yum Brands has been struggling in the US market.

The company said like-for-like sales at its US outlets fell as much as 3% in the third-quarter, resulting in a 16% drop in profit during the period.

"We're obviously disappointed in our US performance," Mr Novak said.

Analysts said the company was still suffering the effects of the lawsuit against Taco Bell earlier this year, over allegations that it used large amounts of additives and little actual meat in its beef products.

Though the company denied the claims and the lawsuit was dropped, it damaged Yum's brand image.

"They've got a job to do PR-wise to repair that," said Jack Russo of investment firm Edward Jones.

"It looks like it's stabilising and we'll get to the point next year where they'll be bouncing up against some easier comparisons so that will help," he added.

Yum said that it was planning to launch innovation and productivity initiatives in the US in a bid to improve sales and profits.

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Abramovich 'intimidated' oligarch

2011-10-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

3 October 2011 Last updated at 13:34 GMT Roman Abramovich is worth an estimated ￡10.3bn Roman Abramovich intimidated a fellow Russian oligarch into selling him shares in an oil company at a large discount, the High Court has heard.

Boris Berezovsky made the claims about the Chelsea football club owner with regards to Russian oil firm Sibneft.

He alleges breach of trust and breach of contract and is claiming more than ￡3.2bn in damages.

Mr Abramovich, who is worth an estimated ￡10.3bn, has denied the claims by his former business partner.

The Chelsea Football Club owner sold Sibneft to Russia's state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom in a multibillion-dollar deal in 2005.

Both men attended the first day of the trial, which is expected to last for more than two months.

They sat at either end of the packed courtroom.

Laurence Rabinowitz QC, who represents Mr Berezovsky, told Mrs Justice Gloster both men had worked together to acquire Sibneft and became friends.

He said the pair remained friends until Mr Berezovsky "fell out with those in power in the Kremlin and was forced to leave his home and create a new life abroad".

Mr Berezovsky is now exiled to the UK.

The barrister said his client had been "betrayed" after falling out with Russian political leaders and leaving Russia in 2000.

'Threats'

"It is our case that Mr Abramovich at that point demonstrated that he was a man to whom wealth and influence mattered more than friendship and loyalty and this has led him, finally, to go so far as to even deny that he and Mr Berezovsky were actually ever friends," he said.

Mr Rabinowitz went on: "Mr Berezovsky's case in relation to Sibneft is that Mr Abramovich intimidated him into selling his very substantial interest in Sibneft to Mr Abramovich himself at a very substantial under value and that he did so in effect by making threats.

"The threats being... that unless Mr Berezovsky... sold those interests to him, he, Mr Abramovich, would take steps with a view to the interest being effectively removed from them by those in the Kremlin, led by President Putin, who had come to regard Mr Berezovsky as his enemy."

The barrister claimed that Mr Abramovich had also threatened to "take steps with a view to preventing" the release from prison of a close friend of Mr Berezovsky.

Mr Rabinowitz said his client contended that as a result of "this intimidation", he was pressured into selling his Sibneft interest to Mr Abramovich for "very substantially less" than it was worth.

The case continues.

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Will NFC make the mobile wallet work?

2011-10-19T03:32:00.000-07:00

6 October 2011 Last updated at 23:52 GMT By Fiona Graham Business reporter, BBC News Mobile money: Will paying for a taxi in New York with a swipe of your mobile phone become second nature - or will the dangers outweigh the benefits? As Tim Cook unveiled the new iPhone 4S, for many there was a sense of slight disappointment.

For some financial institutions and telecoms companies, the highly-anticipated launch had failed to bring the announcement they'd been hoping for - that the new phone would have NFC (near field communication) technology integrated into it.

NFC has many uses as a technology. But the one that has pushed it into the spotlight lately is as an enabler of the mobile wallet.

The developing world has been using mobile phones to pay for goods and services in shops, taxis, and just about anywhere else for a few years now. These are usually based on SMS technology.

In the developed world - although there are other options, such as the service PayPal offers - the announcement earlier this year of the launch of the Google Wallet in the US kick-started the hype around NFC.

In Japan, Sony's FeliCa contactless payment system - originally used on Hong Kong's mass transit system in the form of Octopus cards - has been a feature of NTT Docomo mobile phones since 2004. The rest of the world may be catching up.

Japan has been using contactless mobile payment in shops since 2004 Radio silence

It works like this. Two devices with NFC chips are brought into close proximity to each other, at least 4cm, and are then able to communicate with each other.

The NFC chip - which is a form of radio frequency identification (RFID) - is an enabler, letting the data - your payment - move between devices. There also has to be a secure element to deter hackers, and an application that provides a user interface on the phone.

Although some handsets are equipped with NFC chips, phones can be retro-fitted with sim cards, microSD cards, or cases that incorporate chips. So although the iPhone has no inherent NFC capability, thanks to devices like the one created by DeviceFidelity and used by Visa among others, it can still run a mobile wallet.

The wallet could be run by your bank or Mastercard or Visa, the likes of Google or Isis in the US, or one of the telecoms companies - Telefonica O2 and Orange are just two with offerings in Europe.

Business basics

What are the advantages for business?

Telecoms analyst David Snow of Juniper Research says it is an attractive proposition for retailers.

"I think for the retailer on the street particularly if it means he doesn't have to handle so much cash, if you're thinking of a convenience store you can process people faster, you can bust the queue."

This does mean at some point there has to be an investment in new NFC-capable point of sale devices.

Carl Tsukahara of mobile banking solutions supplier Clairmail says NFC's flexibility could motivate shoppers through the door.

Services like Visa's real time alerts could be used with NFC payments

"The value goes far beyond the payment. There has to be a motivation for the consumer to use this thing as well as the merchant to put in the equipment at the point of sale.

"And that value is driven by the value surrounding the payment. Electronic receipting to the consumer might be one example. The ability to get offers because you have location on a phone - imagine walking into a store, and immediately because of the device you get offers pushed to your phone you can redeem at the point of sale."

Michelle Janes of Visa agrees. The credit card giant has its own mobile wallet technology, which they have also licensed to Google and Isis. They already use a real-time offer service tied to their cards.

"We think the opportunity for mobile is much more beyond just making a payment at point of sale," she says.

"The benefits of a dynamic device like the mobile is the ability to add additional services.

"So Visa has realtime alert services, and offers capabilities and preference management that we really see complementing payment."

Jason Reese, director of mobile payments at Everything Everywhere, says they are starting to see more and more retailers embracing the technology.

Orange is rolling out a mobile wallet in several European markets

"For example McDonalds have rolled out across all of their 1200 [UK] outlets. We're starting to see more and more retailers on board.

"Once you've got the retailers interested, the consumers interested you create the environment for the market."

Security alert

Not everyone is quite so sanguine about the adoption of the mobile wallet.

Phil Lieberman, head of IT security specialists Lieberman Software, believes the technology poses a significant security risk to consumers.

"I think it's insane. How's that for vague?" he says.

"I really do like technology, for the most part I do trust it, and security is the business that my company is in.

"It is possible to create secure solutions - but there's an old saying, don't fix what isn't broken and technology should make life better and more secure, I'm not sure in my thinking how this actually creates a more secure environment."

Phil Lieberman believes NFC chips are at risk from hackers

Mr Lieberman believes that because the chips remain programmable, this leaves the way clear for hackers. He does stress that the technology needs to become more widely adopted before it becomes a worthwhile target.

"When credit cards are manufactured, they're made in a secure facility and when the card issuer is done setting up the card they burn a fuse in the card that makes it tamper proof, meaning that the card can't be updated any longer.

"In this technology they're talking about programming this over the air."

"I think the one thing that concerns me is that the programming path to the wallet is open."

Dr Siva Narendra is the president of Tyfone, a company that has created technology that lets this financial institutions programme NFC chips wirelessly. He disagrees completely.

"If that security is not sufficient there is no security today that is sufficient.

"There are two ways to manage security. You keep the algorithm of how you communicate a secret or you keep the algorithm open and keep the digital keys that unlock that secret.

"The entire planet's security to date relies on keeping the digital keys. That's how smart card chips work today. Those digital keys can continue to be a secret, and you can manage that lifecycle remotely."

Pin money

For Andy Kemshall, chief technology officer at SecurEnvoy, the concern is authentication.

For small payments with some contactless payment systems there is no requirement to enter a pin number.

"If someone steals your phone clearly they could start to use it for micropayments or connectivity. We need to maintain that second factor."

But unlike Mr Lieberman, he feels that the mobile wallet isn't such a bad idea.

"If however the system's set up for the micropayments where that second factor is still maintained, we're asking should the phone be the logical equivalent of a credit card.

"The answer is yes it should, it's an ideal device."

Loading money on to your phone no longer means finding some change

Visa Europe's head of innovation Sandra Alzetta says all of the security checks have been made.

"We've been through a huge amount of security and risk review, through all of the external labs, where basically people's job is to hack into this. All of the statistical security, all of the software security and so on.

"Is something ever 100% secure? I don't believe there's any such thing. Is it fit for purpose? Absolutely, and it has to be."

And as mobile money expert Monitise's Richard Johnson says - ultimately NFC is not the only option.

"Mobile wallets don't have to have NFC. You've got what Paypal are showcasing at the moment which is very pointedly not dependent on NFC. You've got the wallet that we're involved in in the UK, the Simply Tap network which is ready for NFC but in its initial phases isn't at all dependent on NFC.

"NFC is just a technology. It's about the ability of people to build compelling propositions around it. It's not a Vegas thing, build it and they will come, it's because it's more convenient.

And will the mobile wallet replace the humble credit card? Probably not entirely, says Juniper Research's David Snow.

"They're going to be complementary for a long time. For instance contactless cards are being distributed widely in the States but not many people use them, they still swipe them," he says.

"It will take time. I think up until this point the slowness of the NFC phone roll-out has been the bottle neck. But that appears now to be being unblocked. I think the bottle neck will move into other areas.

"I would be bullish about the market, it's such a winning technology."

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VIDEO: Asia 'needs more and better jobs'

2011-10-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

3 October 2011 Last updated at 03:49 GMT Help

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VIDEO: Sri Lanka tea hit by bad weather

2011-10-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

4 October 2011 Last updated at 02:40 GMT Help

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Tributes flood in for Steve Jobs

2011-10-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

6 October 2011 Last updated at 18:28 GMT 1984-2011: Three decades of innovation at Apple

World and business leaders have paid tribute to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who has died at 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

US President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev said Mr Jobs had changed the world.

Microsoft's Bill Gates said it had been "an insanely great honour" to work with him. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg remembered his "mentor and friend".

The Twitter microblog site struggled to cope with the traffic of tributes.

Apple itself said Mr Jobs had been "the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives" and had made the world "immeasurably better".

Thousands of celebrities and ordinary people went on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to record their tributes and memories of the man behind products such as the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad.

The death of Mr Jobs could create a record for Twitter traffic.

Thousands of people all over the world have also been attending Apple stores to leave flowers, notes, and apples with a bite taken from them to mimic the company's logo.

Apple's leading rivals such as Microsoft, Google, Sony and Samsung all chipped in with glowing tributes.

GS Choi, chief executive of Samsung, which is embroiled in a major court battle with Apple on patents, said Mr Jobs was an "innovative spirit" who "introduced numerous revolutionary changes to the information technology industry".

In his statement, Bill Gates said: "The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honour."

Continue reading the main story Peter Jackson BBC News, London

A single bunch of flowers - still in their plastic wrapper - were the only outward sign of the passing of Steve Jobs outside Apple's flagship London store in Covent Garden.

Ginnie Leatham, a brand director in the media industry, from West Sussex, hand delivered a single red Gerbera to staff inside the store.

She said: "I was really sad when I woke up this morning. I had a real lump in my throat and felt quite tearful.

"I was thinking about it on my commute into work. I always walk past the Apple store and I just thought 'I'm going to stop'.

Mr Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook: "Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you."

His comments were "liked" by more than 200,000 people within hours.

In his own tweet, Barack Obama wrote: "There may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented."

Web users in China have reportedly posted almost 35 million online tributes.

Tim Cook, who was made Apple's CEO after Mr Jobs stood down in August, said his predecessor had left behind "a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple".

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Steve Jobs transformed the way we work and play; a creative genius who will be sorely missed."

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the US had "lost a genius who will be remembered with Edison and Einstein".

News Corp's Rupert Murdoch said: "Steve Jobs was simply the greatest CEO of his generation."

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak will remember Mr Jobs for "knowing what made sense in a product"

People also gathered outside Mr Jobs's home in California's Silicon Valley to lay floral wreaths, while flags were flown at half mast outside the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.

A statement from Mr Jobs's family said they were with him when he died peacefully on Wednesday.

"In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family," they said, requesting privacy and thanking those who had "shared their wishes and prayers" during his final year.

Face of Apple

Mr Jobs built a reputation as a forthright and demanding leader who could take niche technologies - such as the mouse and graphical user interface, using onscreen icons rather than text - and make them popular with the general public.

Continue reading the main story Born in San Francisco in Feb 1955 to students Joanne Schieble and Syrian-born Abdulfattah Jandali - adopted by a Californian working class coupleHad a summer job at Hewlett-Packard while at school - later worked at AtariDropped out of college after six months and went travelling in India, where he became a Buddhist Launched Apple with school friend Steve Wozniak in 1976 - first Apple computer sold the same yearLeft Apple amid disputes in 1985 but returned in 1996 and became CEO in 1997Bought Pixar animation company in 1986 for $10mMarried in a Buddhist ceremony in 1991 - has three children with his wife and a daughter from a previous relationshipHad a personal wealth estimated at $8.3bn (￡5.4bn) in 2010Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, and after three periods of sickness leave, resigns as Apple CEO in August 2011He introduced the colourful iMac computer, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad to the world. His death came just a day after Apple unveiled its latest iPhone 4S model.

With a market value estimated at $351bn (￡227bn), Apple became the world's most valuable technology company.

More than almost any other business leader, Mr Jobs was indistinguishable from his company, which he co-founded in the 1970s.

As the face of Apple, he represented its dedication to high-end technology and fashionable design.

And inside the company he exerted a level of influence unheard of in most businesses.

Mr Jobs also provided major funding to set up Pixar Animation Studios.

In 2004, Mr Jobs announced that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer. He had a liver transplant five years later.

In January, he took medical leave, before resigning as CEO in August and handing over his duties to Mr Cook.

In his resignation letter, Mr Jobs said: "I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role."

However, Mr Jobs stayed on as Apple's chairman.

Despite his high profile, he remained fiercely protective of his private life.

He married his wife Laurene in 1991, and the couple had three children.

Mr Jobs also leaves a daughter from a previous relationship, and as an adult he discovered that he had a biological sister, US novelist Mona Simpson.

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VIDEO: Cleaning machines 'based on military robots'

2011-10-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

Experts have been promising for decades to put a robot in everyone's home - and finally robots are beginning to make the transition from specialist to everyday use.

Spencer Kelly discovers the similarities between robots used for cleaning and those used by soldiers in Afghanistan for a very different purpose.

READ MORE: Robot wars 'still a long way off'

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