libyan rebels say if gadhafi's relatives are not returned, it will be aggression against the people. turkish president says his government lost its confidence in damascus. the two countries had a close political and economic relationship. he says syria's crackdown changed that. the remnants of hurricane irene are in canada where hundreds of thousands are without power. across the border in the u.s., irene's caused damaging floods across several states. 27 deaths are blamed on the storm. japan's parliament selected yoke schick ohno da as the new prime minister. know da will take up the post after being endorsed by the emperor. that's expected to happen wednesday much those are the headlines from cnn. the world news leader. world business today starts now. good morning. i'm charles hodson from london. good afternoon from cnn hong kong, i'm andrew stevens. welcome to world business today. the top stories this tuesday, the 30th of august. the new prime minister-elect of japan, with so many challenges ahead, bets are being taken on how long he'll last. >> growth is slowing in india as higher interest rates put the brakes on consumer demand. >> coming to a screen and a household near you, the chinese brand using movies to break into developed markets. >> the markets,let get on to stock mark. big day in europe on monday. news of the greek bank merger sent shares soaring in athens. investors also reacting positively to ben bernanke's speech last week. snapping up a few bargains. let's look at the markets and we are seeing some quite interesting moves there. particularly the london ftse. that was closed for a public holiday on monday. pitch of catch-up going on there. it's up.4%. so is the dax, zurich smi up by less than a quarter percent. some moves, we're seeing bargain hunting, things like luxury goods and commodity stocks being bought as well as the banks. quite a broad-based recovery for now, anyway, andrew. >> buying electric. that says something about confidence or maybe it says the rich are recession proof. who knows? in asia, stocks have risen for a fourth day in row. also by the unexpected strength of the u.s. consumer. the u.s. could be headed back into recession. that was how the markets ended up. the nikkei up 1.1% as the new prime minister was elected by the parliament. hong kong up 1.7: strong performance. shanghai continuing to follow concerns about the inflation picture. financials still under some pressure. stocks in taiwan closing higher today, including a big surge by precision. that's the world's largest contract electronics maker. despite a drop in profit of more than 20% of $447 million. the stock was up by almost 7%. that's on second quarter improvements in hon, hai's profit margins. they make apple, sony and other big names consumer electronics brands. meanwhile, some mergers and acquisitions news from australia. the coal mine of macarthur accepted a sweetened $5.2 billion take controversy from the u.s. energy group peabody and the world's biggest steel maker. the largest maker of pulverized coal, a raw material used in making steel. peabody has made a bid for macarthur last may, but that was rejected. bank of america is selling half of its stake in china construction bank. the deal is expected to help boa -- the stock up. the shares of china construction banks. reports say that singapore's sovereign fund may buy a part of the l.a.'s former state in the chinese bank. charles? >> overall, a solid day of trading in the united states with the stock markets recording significant gaps by the closing bell. surprising in a way because of the impact hurricane irene and making it difficult to get to wall street even. stocks rose off the news of that greek bank deal as mentioned. also we had that improved domestic consumer spending. closing numbers, a powerful rally. up by 3 and a third percent in the case of the nasdaq. equally 2 and three quarters for the s&p 500. the blue chips up by 2.25% at the dow. however, there is a however, some of those gains may be wiped out when trading begins later on tuesday. this is where we're standing in terms of the u.s. futures and pre-market action. a little bit of that bargain hunting. people seem to be taking a bit of profits on the bargain hunting, if you like. that's what it looks like. up about a quarter of a percent, andrew. okay, charles. japan's parliament has elected. yoesh schick ohno da the new prime minister much the he's about to become the sixth leader in just five years. he takes the top job just as new figures showed persisting weakness in asia's second biggest economy. we're joined live from tokyo. let's start with the bad news on the economy. >> well, the bad news in the economy is that what we're seeing is a trend. ever since what we saw during the march 11th earthquake and tsunami is a continued pressure, downward pressure on japan's economy. no matter which way you look. consumer spending, unemployment. which did pick up slightly. what you're seeing is pressure in all sides, including the strong yen. all these factors put together because there are a lot of facts and figure that is did come out. what it all adds up to is that japan's economy is in trouble and it is facing even more trouble as we move ahead. so the question is, is will this new prime minister, once he's officially installed, will he be able to tackle all of this? the question there is not whether or not he has the skills. a lot of people have faith that he does have those fiscal skills in place to try to tackle some of the restructuring that japan desperately need. that namely being trying to tackle this enormous public debt amid a slowing economy, trying to tackle the strong yen. what he is suggesting is raising taxes. a very tough issue. also cutting spending. all of this people have faith in that he can maybe accomplish that. but it's whether or not he's going to be able to turn that into legislation and many analysts are questioning whether he has the power and the vision to do that. here's what one told us today. >> our people already -- are people already doing an over under and how long he'll be around? >> i think they already are. the good thing about noda, he comes in with low expectations. the bar is set low for leadership in japan by his hapless predecessors. the japanese people want more dramatic bold leadership. but the japanese leaders in recent years have been tentative, half steps, half measures and noda looks to be more of the same. >> kingston says what this country truly needs and what a lot of analysts we've spoken to frankly say what this country needs is someone who has that bold vision and leadership. you have to look many years back before you can find it among japan's prime ministers. the last one that really did try to sort of generate that sort of public and private mandate along with a political mandate to push a strong agenda through. regardless of whether or not you are a fan of koizumi and his legacy, there is no question that he was able to unite the country. that's what this country needs, especially when we talk about a post disaster japan and these ongoing weak figure that is keep coming out. andrew? >> obviously, he's going to have to start by getting, as you point out, the politicians need to be on board. but he needs the electorate on board too. this is the man who i think in weekend polls was -- in polls amongst japanese people was getting about 9% popularity. so why did the party opt for him at all? >> reporter: because when you look at all of the various candidates and remember, this is about internal party politics. internal factions. it's a lot like when you vote for the homecoming queen in high school much that's really how simple it is. it's who you're friends with. who is going to get your personal priorities ahead. that's what politics in japan has really come down it. if you look at all of the different candidates, he was the least objectionablebrokers in t. this was about party politics, factions, friendships, very little to do with the issues facing japan and almost nothing to do with the voters of japan. >> pretty weak base on which to build a platform to save the world economy. good to talk to you. good for your analysis. joining us live from tokyo. charles? >> let's move from the second largest economy in asia to the third largest and in a way, these are two countries who probably wish that they had each other's problem. one of japan's struggles to ramp up growth, india is trying as hard to cool down. new figures show that the third largest economy in asia, which is indeed india, grew faster than expected in the second quarter with growth off 7.7%. monica joins us from mumbai with more. monica, this is a mixed blessing. at the same time the inflation rate is above 9%. >> that's absolutely right, charles. while growth has been good, in fact i talked to a number of economists this morning to get their reaction to the gdp figures and overall, the reaction has been not bad. people have said that the dproet is predictable. coming in at 7.7%. that's a little bit lower than the previous quarter, which was 7.8%. the reason we've seen the slowdown is because of the sale of monetary tightening. it's increased interest rates 11 times in the last 18 month. 11 times in 18 month, that's some really serious tightening going on over there. the reason the central bank has been forced to do that is because of what you talked about,charles. which is india's record high inflation. inflation remains at 9%. that is a huge cause of concern for india and the main reason the rbi raced interest rates. what's happens as a result of raising interest rates, consumption in india has gone down. the one thing that distinguished the economy from a lot of other countries, it's been domestic demand. when you have such high interest rates, demand has gone down and there's no way better -- no other specter that illustrates it better than the auto sector. you and i have talked about this, charles, a number of times the last few months on air. we've talked about india's record auto sales. every month auto sales hit a new record high. this year in july, we've seen auto sales for almost the first time in three years. that gives you a pretty good sense that indian customers are cautious about spending. charles? >> it's fascinating, because it's a challenge for the government. it would dearly like to get on top of the problem of poverty. but it's got a huge problem of debt and deficits which makes it difficult for them to stimulate the economy. politically, over this corruption issue, maliki, it's on the back too. >> very much so. the private corruption issue is at the forefront of the political scene in india. many people are saying in the economy, in fact, as you know the anti-corruption campaign that india has been caught up with the last few days. and now people are referring to the economy as an a no, ma'am ix. we're waiting to see what impact the anti-corruption movement will have on the indian economy. all the economists i spoke to today said, well, it's a great start and if this anti-corruption watchdog is implemented, if it's a success, this could really be a game changer for the indian economy. the big problem india has grappled with for years is corruption. not just as a -- the daily level when you drive a policeman on the road. but at a very serious level, on a very large national level. you can look back at the commonwealth games last year. look at the scandal we've seen in the telecom sector the last couple of months. these sort of scandals have wiped billions and billions of dollars off o the new economy. if we can even start to have a slightly more corrupt-free or transparent society, there is a huge sense of optimism that it could really be a game changer for the indian economy and for growth. charles? >> thank you for joining us from mumbai. than i thanks to you. andrew? >> charles, an apology in the chase of dominique strauss-kahn. the former head of the imf, told staff members in washington on monday that he wanted to apologize to those hurt by his recent scandal. sexual assault charges against him were dropped last week after prosecutors say that they could not pursue the case. they said there were too many holes in the story told by the hotel maid who accused kan of assault and attempted rape. coming up, another prominent businessman in court. the former hairdresser turned football entrepreneur fronts up the charges of money laundering in hong kong. the details in just a moment. ♪ [ male announcer ] sitting. waiting. hoping. that's a recipe for failed investing. open an e-trade account and open doors, seize opportunities, take action with some of the most powerful yet easy-to-use trading tools on the planet all built to help you maximize the potential of every dollar you invest. successful investing isn't done by throwing ideas against the wall and hoping. it's done by lowering your costs and raising your expectations by using unbiased research and powerful screeners to build a diversified portfolio with stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and every etf sold. and we'll help you every step of the way. with 5-star research and free education covering everything from the basics to advanced investing strategies. start now and we'll give you up to $500 and let you trade free for 60 days. visit our website, call us, open an account. e-trade. investing unleashed. who need our website, call us, open an account. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobility and your life. one medicare benefit that, with private insurance, may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. hi i'm doug harrison. we're experts at getting you the power chair or scooter you need. i didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my power chair. with help from the scooter store, medicare and my insurance covered it all. call the scooter store for free information today. 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[oinking] check in now on the price of gold. recovered some ground since monday when strong gains in the united states turned investors attention to riskier assets. at the moment, gold is worth just over $1793 an ounce. down almost $3. welcome back from cnn hong kong and london. this is world business today. >> carson yeung, the jailed millionaire chairman of birmingham city england has been granted approval to travel from hong kong to london. in june, a hong kong court confiscated his passport calling him a flight risk. so why did a judge make the revers reversal. we're joined with the details on that. >> today's reversal had a million dollar price tag. that's pretty much the reason here. 8 million hong kong dollars in cash in yeung jumps his bail. that's a little more than one million in u.s. dollars and double the original amount. that sets him up to head to london, september 15, a couple weeks away, he'll attend club matters for four days. take a look at the latest pictures of carson yeung heading into court today. he's actually just being mobbed there by cameras and reporters. all this interest around him is because he's been charged with five counts of laundering 720 million hong kong dollars. meantime, he has not filed any plea. as he packs his bags, the question remains. will yeung actually come back? his lawyer, grossman, had this to say. let me pull this up here. he said there is no evidence whatsoever that he is a flight risk. he argued that his client is a high-profile figure with too many business interests to disappear. pretrial is scheduled for december 7. the actual trial should start early next year. the prosecution plans to call fewer than ten wanss. >> ramy, thank you very much. charles? >> well, we're going to make a stop at the international weather center in a moment. we'll have an update on why southeast china is now hunkering down. the nascar nationwide se, i know pleasing fans is a top priority, 'cause without the fans, there'd be no nascar. just like if it weren't for customers, there'd be no nationwide. that's why they serve their customers' needs, not shareholder profits. because as a mutual, nationwide doesn't report to wall street, they report to their customers. and that's just one more reason why the earnhardt family has trusted nationwide for more than 30 years. nationwide is on your side. welcome back. you're watching world business today live on cnn. a powerful storm killed 16 people in the philippines and caused significant damage in taiwan. now china is in its path. jennifer delgado is at the cnn weather center. tell me, jen, how does this compare to irene in terms of its size and destructive power? >> charles, big difference. it's certainly a smaller storm. structurewise. but we're also talking it being a tropical storm as opposed to irene when had it made landfall as a hurricane. a weaker storm windwise and a smaller one as well. really hard to find the center of sfek lags. it's off the coastline of china. it will make landfall in the next couple of hours. i want to point out to you, you notice rain through parts of taiwan and down towards area, including philippines. some of the outer bands working down towards that region. as i said, it's going to make landfall within the next couple hours. it's going to be inland and go into an area of low pressure. this is go going to cause big problems with rainfall. we're talking widespread rain in some areas, especially along the province. as i go over and show you video, they're already getting ready for nam dal. this is what we like to see, people taking it seriously. bringing in their boats. preparing for rough seas. this is of the jay jong province. you can see fishermen really securing their boats much that's the right thing to do. i take you pack over to show you the rain coming down. we're seeing right along the coastline, there's for areas in red, we're talking 25 to 50 centimeters of rainfall. again, the problem is the storm is not history bringing. as charles mentioned, this is in the philippines. let's go through video out of taiwan. this is just new to us. you can see the rain just pouring down. roads actually were just washed away. many roads buckled. rushing water across the area. problem is, when you get all this rain coming down and it's still coming down, the ground is so weak, it's going to continue to be a problem as we go through the next several days ahead. you can still see the rough seas through parts of taiwan. charles, back over to you. we're also going to talk about the economics of hurricane irene and how it shapes up with some of the storms and some of the damage that we've had across the u.s. this past year. >> okay. jen thank you very much. jennifer delgado joining us live from the international weather center. andrew? 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