piers morgan. >> piers promised everybody that i would cry. >> you're not going to make me cry, buddy. >> cnn, very good job hiring that piers, i will say. >> okay, well, that's a wrap. i thank you, but i don't feel thankful. so that's all for tonight. headlines this hour. the search continues for the passengers and crew members who are still missing, possibly t p trapped inside the wreck of the costa concordia. opposition groups say that the latest death toll in syria is at

least 13 killed on monday including five people shot. five others were soldiers trying to defect. meanwhile, a u.n. spokesman says the arab league has asked for help. and pakistan supreme court has ordered the prime minister to appear at a contempt hearing on thursday. the judges want to know why he hasn't pursued corruption charngs. those are the headlines from cnn, the world's news later. world business today starts now. >> hello, welcome to "world business today." >> and i'm andrew stevens. thanks for joining us. science in a slow down, but

china's enveeble growth continues sparking a rally on the markets. >> and the captain of a wrecked cruise ship will today face judge of possible criminal charges, including mans laugter. >> plus, cnn uncovers widespread child slavery on cocoa farms in ivory coast. well, markets in asia are rallying after chinese economic data exceeded forecast today. the country's economic growth is slower than it's been for the past two and a half years. despite stagnation in many western economies. in the fourth quarter of last year, china's gdp growth slowed to 8.9%, better than the 8.7% that analysts have been expecting but continuing the downward pattern that you see there. now, growth the full year measured 9.2% and that was down from 10.4% in 2010. the drop is partially down to

spiraling inflation. and on that score, it appears to have succeeded with both the consumer and producer price indices rising much more slowly in december. now in a position to refuel the economy by easing policy. well, certainly investors seem confident on that point. take a look at the reaction. the shanghai constant snapping a four-day losing streak in pretty strong style, too. and that came as other chinese data including retail sales and industrial output surpassed expectations. the shanghai compass up more than 4%. hong kong up by 3%. now, europe's difference to the s&p credit rating down on friday also helping to firm up the mood in this part of the world, as well. the key factor in that turn around. so looking at the market, hong

kong up by 3.24%. it was the banks and the commodity companies who got the real big hit today. gives you an idea of the expectations that china growth will be a little stronger than expects. nina? >> and it certainly does. investors clearly like what they see. but whichever way china looks at it, gdp is on the way down. cnn spoke to one economist from hsbc who remains weak momentum. you did say this, china should crucially avoid a hard landing. and that is on the provee sew, though, that beijing proceeds with its policy of easing monetary policy. a credit swiss analyst is cautioned with the promising signs saying on the other hand, we would warn against taking

this month's sales data at its face value as this year's chinese new year takes place earlier than usual and boosting december and january sales figures. >> so we may have to wait a few months to see the true fruits of beijing's economic policy. but for an overview of what to expect, joined now by j.p. morgan chase, how do you do? >> happy new year to you, andrew. >> now, we have been hearing for the last two months or so how china has switched its focus from fighting inflation to promoting growth. are we going to see that growth promotion happen soon? how long is it really going to take? >> well, china has already started monitor easing back in november of 2011. throughout 2012, we're expecting more measures to come out of beijing, for example, they will continue to cut the bank reserve requirement ratio.

in addition, we're expecting china to adopt a much more proactive fiscal policy in the form of tax cuts. >> well, the economy is gently deceleratiing. in some areas, for example, in the smes, we're seeing quite a lot of deceleration. in other areas, for example, the deceleration is much -- is what the government has desired for. so exports are slowing. so this time around, we're going to see the central government using a much more nuance policy compared to three years ago when they really launched a very large-scale spending program. >> so what do you think the profile, then, of the chinese economic growth is going to be in 2012? it will continue to weaken before it gets stronger? >> that's right. in the first quarter, 2012, we may see growth rates dip below 8%. for the whole year, 2012, especially starting in the second half, we will expect

growth to resume the steady pace of growth. so for the full year, we're still expecting 8.2% growth. >> 8% has always been seen by a lot of commentators as the number which the authorities focus on. go below 8% and you don't have enough growth to create enough jobs. is that still the case? >> as the economy grows larger in size, we cannot expect the growth rate to remain above 8%. so 7-8% i would expect to be the acceptable number going forward. >> okay. two major factors facing china, one external, one internal. let's talk external, first. exz ports. what sort of impact is this slow down in europe going to have? if you look at that final quarter, it obviously hasn't had as big an impact? >> for 2011, net exports became a drag on growth. so if you look at a contribution

to china gdp growth in 2011, all the growth came from internal sources. and in the new year, we're expecting further slow down in exports. and in some months, we may actually see a deficit. so, therefore, it makes it all the more important for china to find a growth driver internally, i.e., consumption. so therefore, more measures will come out of beijing in the coming few months. >> one of the key nations -- or boosters for domestic consumption would be the property market. if property is falling sharply, people aren't inclined to dry. is there a chance that we could see that property will burst rather than a slow down which could lead to a hard landing, still. >> i think the public sector is deflating. we don't see the bubble bursting. in some areas, we're seeing probably prices gently declining. transaction volumes have come down a lot.

at this juncture, beijing is not prepared to basically slow down the measures they announced on the property sector. they will keep the measures in place for some time until we see property markets gently deflate. >> how further would they need to fall, do you think, just very quickly. >> i think starting in the third quarter of this year, they will begin to ease some policies, especially to first time home buyers. but they're still trying to dampen the investment. >> okay. always good to speak to you. >> thank you very much. >> andrew still pulls another blow to the euros, this time by cutting the rating of its bail out fund. the fund's new aa rating, plus rating, i should point out, because it does have a positive outlo outlook, still means that it may not be able to operate as effectively to bail out nations in need. s&p says that the essf says that

the ratings agency strips two of the big of their triple a ratings. so this step widely expected but coming just about a trading day after news of those nine downgrades we had on friday evening. now, after a positive day on the markets on monday, things still seem to be looking up into this first hour of trading. we've got some pretty significant days coming from paris yesterday after the french government managed to sell a successful bond sale, about $11 billion worth of assets. but a lot of this is lifted by things going on in china. some of these countries here, andrew, as you and i will know, are huge exporters to china. >> absolutely. that's the switch. it's now looking at china for their groout. still ahead, the captain of a

wrecked cruise ship is going to kourlt. we'll also take a look at the likely effect of the tragedy on the broader cruise industry. you're watching "world business today." [ male announcer ] let's level the playing field.

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the captain of the wrecked cruise ship is due to appear in an italian court today. he'll face question with the following possible charges: manslaughter causing a ship wreck and abandoning ship while passengers were still on board. let's remind you that the total death toll now remains at six. but 26 people in total are still missing. it's now almost four days since the shop ran aground. rescue workers currently being hampered by the capsized cruise line is shifting in the shallow waters. the enormous gash in the hull is still visible above the water line, as you can see in those pictures there.

now, when you just think about what we've seen in those kind of outstanding pictures from this particular incident, the drama takes another twist. what we're going the show you now is live video -- excuse me, video that happened overnight. this is what we're showing at the moment. it's a controlled explosion you should be able to see going on as they try and solve the situation and get to certain parts of the vessel. the stricken vessel that could perhaps harbor some of those 29 people. we saw explosive flares taken place off the coast of the island where the coast guards are still diving day and night to try and find any survivors there. here, you can also see the sight of the boulder wedged into the hull of the costa concordia. as you can see there, they're winching one of the survivors, i believe that was a crew member

found aboard still alive with a serious leg injury. he was wenched aboard the helicopter on sunday afternoon. so just to remind you, this is the latest we have of the costa concordia. we' we're showing you pictures of how close it is to the show. 29 people still remain missing after that ship ran aground on friday evening. six people, so far, have died. these, i believe, are live pictures. this is the costa concordia shifting. one vessel was about to fall over a sea cliff on the seabed. at that point, the rescue operation had to be suspended for about several hours. i believe the divers have now gotten back in. but there are still 29 people missing and so far, the death

toll stands at six. >> yeah, no matter how many times you see those pictures, they just do not lose their impact. now, the u.s.-based carnival corporation has fully owned costa cruises since 2000. carnival's stock is listed in new york where because of a holiday on monday, its share price has yet to react. but it is also listed in london and its stock there is now trading, as you see, just a fraction lower at 1,875 pence. it's also cost the chairman, as well, 450 million tla$450 milli personal fortune has been wiped off by that fall in the share price.

harrison is ranked the 169th richest person in the world. he owns the nba basketball team, the miami heat, nina. >> well, andrew, of course, a ship wreck like this one off of the italian coast can damage a cruise company in a number of ways, well beyond its share price. and we have to remember the human tragic aspect, as well. exactly how it's managed to stay afloat through the good times and also the bad. >> reporter: when it comes to cruise companies, carnival rules the waves. with more than 100 ships and nearly half the market, the angelo american firm trades under names such as carnival, princess, cunard and its italian arm, costa cruises. costa has 15 ships, including the stricken concordia. will this deadly accident hurt the industry?

this ship is only a small part of the carnival empire. but it's all about confidence. >> we have to reassure everybody that now is a good time to book a cruise and that it is a very safe and secure holiday. >> reporter: in its statement to the stock market, carnival corporation said the ship will be out of service for much of this year, if not longer. >> ships have been refloated from much worse positions, even from underwater. and there will be experts, involves, obviously some of the big salvage companies will be fighting over the contract for it. but, yeah, it's salvageable. >> reporter: carnival says it has insurance for the damage to the vessel and for injuries to third parties. but not for loss of the use of the concordia. it estimates 2012 earnings will be hit by as much as $95 million. and those passenger numbers for carnival increased last year, its net income fell slightly as

higher fuel costs cut into profits. some bookings may be lost after the concordia disaster, but those who have already booked on other ships won't get their money back. >> they won't be subject to a refund because this incident is so rare and isolated that we're totally confident in all of our safety systems, our crew, their training and the supervision of what happens on board our ships that all the listeners can be totally assured that cruising is a very safe and secure holiday and will continue to be so. >> reporter: in the short term, images like these may deter some passengers. but the industry expects that as memories fade, so will anxiety about taking to the high seas. jim boulden, cnn, london. >> and still to come here on "world business today" the true cost of chocolate. as part of the cnn freedom project, we explore the unsavory

world of child labor in ivory coast's cocoa industry. that's just ahead. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company,

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the west african plantations that supplied the vast majority of the world's cocoa. but, since then, very little has changed. in a cnn investigation, david mckenzie traveled deep into the interior of ivory coast. his documentary premiers on friday. but, for now, here is a preview. >> reporter: on this farm, we find abdul. he survived three years of work. he's just ten. he earns no wages for his work, he says, just food, the occasional tip from the owner and the torn clothes on his back. put in the simplest of terms, abdul is a child slave. we move away from the group so he can speak more freely. and through our translater, he tells us his story. >> if he had a choice, he wouldn't work.

>> reporter: abdul says he's from a neighboring country. when his father die died a stranger brought him to ivory kois. he tells us he doesn't even know what cocoa is for. he's never tasted chocolate. we met yaku on the same farm, also from the same place. >> translator: my mother brought me when my father died, he tells me. yaku insists he's 16. but he looks much i don't thinker. his legs bear machote scars from hours of clearing the bush. the emotional scars seem much deeper. >> translator: i wish i could just go to school, he says, to learn to read and write. but yaku says he's never spent a day in school. >> that's a clip there from

cnn's freedom project. now, we have seen some signs of improvement from chocolate companies. nestle announced in november, it's sending independent experts to investigate its cocoa supply chains there. they have since told cnn that they have an assessment team in place there because they're frustrated by the systems currently in place. now, nestle's efforts are already committed to having all of its cocoa sustainablely harvest and certified by independent organizations by the year 2020. mars will partner with fair trade in 2012 to satisfy its brand in the united kingdom and in ireland. and the progress on this issue is literally bar by bar, brand by brand. cadbury has certification on all of its dairy milk bars and one of its most popular bars here in

the u.k. >> but the problem is that the message just doesn't seem to be getting through. in ivory coast, just 3% of communities growing cocoa have been reached by schemes like that. and that's according to a new report commissioned by the u.s. government. british quest looks at why progress is so slow. >> there is a dark connection between the chocolate we enjoy and the child slavery in west africa. researchers have documented disturbing signs of forced labor and trafficking. children held against their will, many never paid. ivory coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa. the u.s. state department estimates there are more than a hundred thousand children involed in the worst forms of child labor on cocoa farms throughout the country. >> this is trafficking. a child being forced to work, it doesn't get worse than that.

it can't be swrus about are there enough of them. it's a serious abuse. >> reporter: according to an indust industry-wide agreement signed on september 19th, 2001, this should not be the case. the harken angle protocol was written to put an end to forced child labor in chocolate by 2005. that deadline had to be extended to 2008 and again to 2010. it's now been more than ten years. >> if these companies aren't willing to come forward and work with us and put some more money forward to get these kids out of the cocoa fields, i think they may face a really big backlash. >> kevin bales with free the slaves signed the protocol in 2001 along with leading company ins the cocoa market. >> i am disappointed. to a large part, it's a resource

question. while several million dollars a year are moving onto work in the ground, it's not enough to meet the size of the problem. >> cnn has spoken to the top chocolate and cocoa companies. inviting them to be on our air. they either declined or did not respond. those that did passed us along to the international cocoa initiative. the ici was set up by the protocon to bring all parties together to address the worst forms of child labor in the supply chain. >> the progress isn't enough. and that's why we've joined force with other partners to this new framework of action. and we have -- we really believe we have to axccelerate action. we have to do more. and we have a very challenging goal that we're all supporting. >> reporter: the goal now is to reduce the worst forms of child labor within the next eight years by 70%.

however, international labor rights forum sees flaws within the cocoa initiative. >> the idea that companies can join an initiative and sit behind that initiative, i don't think answers the real question. it's not the same as getting companies to step forward and transparentally say this is what we are doing. >> reporter: cnn, london.

from cnn london and cnn hong

kong, welcome back, you're watching "world business today." stocks in china are surging today after beijing released a better-than-expected economic data. the key number was gdp growth from last year. it came in at 8.9%. that may be the worst quarter result since 2009, but analysts were expecting 8.7%. a and as a result, this slowing growth in china, analysts are saying that beijing could ease monetary policy which could be enough to boost growth and avoid the hard landing where the economy contracts sharply. now, there was further evidence of china's relative economic health as well as retail sales figures and industrial output. here's this summary of tuesday aes data and what it means. >> reporter: the ratest figures show that the chinese economy is

slowing down, but at a gradual pace. the economy grew at 8.9%. it is the slowest pace in 2.5 years. the retail sales figures came in quite strong. a lot of people said that that's because chinese consumers are, indeed, spending. now, going forward, people are getting nervous about the outlook for the economy. a lot of the estimates for the current quarter show that the growth will be around 7.5%. with inflation likely to run somewhere around 4% for the year, a lot of people believe that chinese policymakers are going to continue to employ measures to try to loosen policy and support growth and steer the economy to avoid a hard landing. cnn, beijing. >> well, china is also experiencing a big population shift. the country's national bureau of statistics says that for the first time ever, there are now more people living in cities

than in rural areas across the country. the question is, how much exactly? well, this is the total figure. nearly 691 million people have made the move to take the advantage of better economic opportunities in urban areas across china. and out of the country's total population, more than 51% are now squeezed into the nation's already crowded cities. >> many of those cities enormous. people people still don't know their names. now, investors in china's business capital are hardened. take a look at that number, the third one down. the shanghai index up more than 4% on the back of that stronger-than-expected growth. hong kong getting a boost up, as well. many of the big chinese companies are also listed here in hong kong. some of the big movements today, look at bc which is one of the big players.

oil companies in china up by around 5%. the big aluminum producer up by something like 8.1%. it gives you an idea of how much confidence there is. shanghai snapping a four-day losing streak on the back of those numbers. the s&p in australia getting a boost. now, a thriving highly organized black market is taking money right out of the pockets of the computer giant apple in beijing. the company took its iphone 4s off the shelf after near riots at the launch. now, fake apple stores are exploiting the gap in the market. stan grant explains. >> hello. >> hello.

>> reporter: someone doesn't want us to see what they're up to. right in front of apple's flag ship store, gangs of scalpers are preying on customers. now, our news assistant is approached by a man wanting to sell her a new iphone 4s. we bought this from a real apple store in beijing. if you're really interested, i can show you. it tells her she can buy for about a thousand dollars. a mark up of more than a hundred dollars on the official price. they're not just selling, they're buying, as well. this man was talking on his iphone and approached by one of the scalpers. >> they wanted to buy my iphone. >> reporter: so you have it with you? they saw this and they wanted to buy it off of you? >> yeah. >> reporter: what did they say to you? >> told me 2600 kwie. >> that's about $500.

what do you think they're doing here? >> i don't know. i guess ripping people off. >> reporter: everything here is under cover. when exposed, they turn nasty. our assistant abused. this is how far scalpers will go to try to get their hands on apple goods. this was meant to be the official launch of the new phone. apple withdrew it from sale and it all went terribly wrong. the gangs target stores to buy up all of the stock and sell it at a profit. you can only buy the phone online now. >> here, less than 10 minutes away, you can buy the iphone 4s. in fact, you can buy many apple products in this fake apple market. you can buy ipads, iepods, computers and all of them, apparently, coming from apple stores. >> the logo is the same. apple does not endorse these

stores, but its goods are displayed. there's nothing you can't buy here if you're willing to pay. >> translator: i can promise you these are the real stuff. don't worry, she says they come with a full guarantee from the official apple store. the mark up, again, about a hundred dollars of the real price. if you really want the 4s now, the only way to get it is through us. the stores can't sell them. we've got them through our waves. chinese consumers are caught in the middle. scalpers turn angry profit, apple lovers of china left with a sour taste in their mouth. stan grant, cnn, beijing. >> coming up next, individual foreign investors can now buy individual indian stocks. the question is will opening up equities give india's markets the much-needed lift that they require.

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welcome back, you're watching "world business today." >> time now to focus in on england. this is how the bombay stock index is trading at the moment, we're talking about the sensitive index, referred to as the sensex. now, indian stocks are falling off of the back of asia's lead high on the back of the gdp figure that andrew has been telling you about. that's just a reminder that china's gdp, the growth there came in on the one hand a two-and a-half year low. if we do a bit of a comparison between india and china, these two countries have similar size

populations. in fact, vying neck and neck for the crown of the world's fastest growing major economy. that may be where the similarities end as worries mount over whether indian can maintain its growth speed. >> so this is the second day that overseas investors have been able to buy indian equities. how is it going? >> hi, you know, i think this is actually an important move by the government and the various exchanges to open up opportunities for international participate better in markets. clearly, you have to be careful. we can't look at this as a one event.

it's part of a broader process which has been undergoing since middle of last year. it allows different foreign institutions to come in and reduce the cost of participations for new type of investors to come and participate directly in the indian market. i think it's a well-thought out strategy in consultation with various market participants. and i think in the long range, it's going to have a significant impact on getting greater market participation. so good start, but i think you've got to be patient and it's going to take a long term perspective and look at this as part of a longer term plan by the government to open up our markets. >> many investors saying yesterday that given the fact that the markts is only up about two tenths of one percent, well, it was a bit of a lackluster

performance given the fact that you'd have expected so many investors to rush into indian equities? >> well, you know, you've got to be careful. the rules for the framework was published last friday. i think it's still -- and that gives a framework on what one needs to do to participate using this route. there's going to be a lag as this political framework gets implemented by market participants and the infrastructures put in place. so it's not that the switch got turned on on monday. i think the framework has been set. the infrastructure has been created. and you're going to see an impact of these moves. that's the way i would look at it. and that's the way everybody should be looking at it. >> ever so briefly, if i may, also, some people have been saying that bureaucracy is something that they're nervous

about when it comes to investing in india. what about the bureaucracy that's involved to qualify to buy indian stocks. is that hampering things? >> i would completely disagree with it. if you look at some of the policy announced with the comeback, i mean, and i'm having been part of the process, some of these measures have been driven quite significantly by the ministry of finance. as i mentioned, in consultation, the office of capital markets in the dmt of economic affairs in the ministry has taken in consultation. but has to come up with this policy. so i would quite strongly disagree that in as far as opening up our markets in a systematic manner, allowing to come in in the proper manner, the bureaucracy, as you put it, has been very, very supportive. there's one other couples that

have taken place which is important to keep track of. there's been a lot of reform in beefing up the surveillance with the infrastructure of the country. it's also worked towards innovation to make sure that the process is simplified and there's a constant effort to keep fighting in the system. so i think it's sort of quite easy to say there's been a bureaucracy in i would strongly disagree and say that on the contrary, as for the capital markets are concerned, has been very, very supportive in creating an appropriate framework and infrastructure. >> okay. i'm afraid we're going to have to leave it there. the ceo of the bombay stock exchange, many thanks for your time. we appreciate it. we'll be back in a couple of minutes. uh-oh.

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welcome back, live from london and hong kong. i want to show you now some pictures of victoria harbor in hong kong at the tail end of a clear and beautiful day today. but that, sadly, is not a sight that we've seen much of recently. looks certainly can be deceiving. hong kong has some of the worst air pollution in the world. the government says it reached a record high last year. and that's based on air monitoring tools that the

industry professionals call 25 years out of date. it doesn't measure the really nasty stuff. but the school of public health at hong kong university has just updated its environmental index which measures the human and economic costs of pollution, nina. and it makes a pretty grim reading. >> it does, absolutely. if you take a look at this particular web site, its goal is to provide important pollution information in realtime. if we take a look at exactly what it says and does, well, there are measures of air quality around various parts of the territory, current ones, i should say, and how those particular measures stack up against w.h.o. guidelines. just for instance, let's give you a recap of the month of december. we saw 311 deaths and nearly 800,000 hospital visits in hong kong. >> yeah, it's certainly boar riing signs.

the world health organization compiled a list. out of more than 500 cities surveyed, only seven were higher than hong kong. hong kong wasn't included in that report because w.h.o. measures dangerous air particles that are smaller in size than those included in hong kong's list of recognized air pollutants. now, the friends of the earth used the figures from the environmental protection department and found that air pollution here is 20 times higher than the world's best ranked city, that's in canada. skbl and now time for a story that's making new york commuters crawl. this is why the rat race is taking on a whole new meaning. >> reporter: when you see a new yorker looking town the track, it's not always a train he's looking for. >> and i saw a huge one. >> next time, don't just gawk add it. at it. the rate my rat contest has been extended.

transit worker's union asked commuters to submit their nastiest rat photo to ratfreesubway.com. there's videos like rat drags pizza. and rat picnic even has a sound track. ♪ >> reporter: in the rat gallery, you can vote on the photos submitted by commuters, handsome, cute, plain, ugly and the coveted beastly. >> wow, that's ugly. >> ratty is an understatement to describe this one. >> oh my gosh, and still moving. >> at the opposite end of the scale is the beer swigging party rat. >> miller lite. >> that's a good one. hyena. >> reporter: who cares about the golden globes. new york has the golden rat. leading the rat pack, this guy nosing around a slit in the garbage bag is ahead in the voting.

the winning photographer gets to ride the rails free for a month. but, hey, rats always get a free ride. remember the sleeping passenger who woke up to a rat crawling on him? conductor scott harris describes how a train operator was bitten by a rat. >> went to bite the food and it a actually bit him. >> the union is pushing the contest because they want the transit authority to hire more cleaners. sometimes the subway can feel like a rat race to nowhere. >> there's no service. you, sitting on the bench, you're going to be there until 5:00 in the morning. >> at least the rats provide entertainment. this visitor from chicago described her first spotting. how big was it? but who needs to exaggerate in a city where we once saw a rat about to get squished in the

middle of 8th avenue when a good samaritan ran out and rescued it. who says new yorkers don't give a rat's [bleep]. turns out the rescuer lost it. cnn, new york. >> and that's it for this edition of "world business today." we'll see you later.