a chinese shopper is greeted this year's edition of the world's biggest retail events known as singles day with less enthusiasm than they have in the past. retailers reporting that online sales rose 2 percent as compared to 2.9 percent last year. and us, despite huge discounts by major platforms. this year's lat, cluster sales figures become a mid concerns that china's economic slowdown is persisting and that household spending remains dampened. a retail activity has recovered since the cold. 19 pandemic continued problems with a house the housing sector. hit pocket books still today. now paging may need to do more to spur the chinese economy. that's at least what some analysts are saying. will fraser? how is author of read capitalism, the fragile financial foundations of china's extraordinary rise. rays are good to have you back on the show. singles day is a bit like black friday. it was at one time a day of rebates. now it's weeks long. i believe i'm. is it

a gauge of where the chinese economy is right now? i'm well of course it is any big event. it's a, it's been proved by ali baba, i enter 9 companies burn up for, you know, but it actually, it, this is a major event of trying to push make that big sales day. and it's largely fall and flat. it has the 3rd slight games, but the numbers are always a bit dubious. you're never sure if that's really what was sold at the end of the day. all right, that was just what was booked. and people are going to play to those numbers because the time goods later um, but it certainly shows that your deport, find the like that caught me just by weight. that consumption is not strong. and i think it probably is not a bad reflection of where the economy is, frankly. so we've seen that um, as you suggested, some major retailers including j. d dot com and alibaba refusing to share their sales figures from it. others show me saying that they saw record sales actually of handsets. you mentioned the chinese consumption being down right now. that's what

we've seen with this event. what is driving it down? what is depressing consumers when they reach for their pocketbooks? in this case, look that there's a whole slew of fishes. obviously one of the big drives on the chinese economy is the property market, the peoples. i sure would you mind if i sold well was in their property, they were just the property is going up and having multiple properties and i property prices out of best spot but really are falling and the market is largely so you stop. so there is a feeling that people are not getting restrictions, the work that are plenty of layoffs across the country that our plan to off um, solid either adoptions, etc. and you also have a large body of the younger people who are in there, but it's called the flying flat, which is refusing to take part in this off consumer modern day, right? race off, you know, very long hours and consumption, etc. so all, and it's a very lethargic economy and it's going to take an awful lot to try and boost and again, especially after cobra, which basically was a huge sock to the system. at the same time,

we have seen that the chinese economy be growth expectations in the 3rd quarter. is that not a sign that things might be moving toward a more positive direction as i'm flicked? i think i explained that meeting expectations by a little bit. i wouldn't go to too excited, ultimately property being a cartridge. the economy is such a big problem. it's a, it's a real millstone right in that economy is neck. and that's going to be a problem. it's going to be overhang academy for years. so you know, some carts or some months they're going to be somebody expectations, bags, vacations are very low. i'm fundamentally, you have too much, or you have to a little off the national well going to are you sold. so it's very difficult to see how a consumption is going to be boosted or is really going to pick up when i sold or not getting their fair share. we for these calls for stimulus with the best stimulus, 5 aging, perhaps not be to intervene more in the property sector. would you expect that to happen? i think that's very unlikely. i think they will intervene so. so take the worst, the worst falls on christ. that's like the bad as best they can, but ultimately,

one of the complaints or bites of the properties, thanks or for years from the party is being an affordable property, is that they talked about property not be for speculation, but for, for living in. and yet, chinese cities are basically the world's highest price, the income ratio of properties. it's 3 times more expensive to buy a property based on your income in shanghai that it has a new york. so on that basis it's very difficult to see the parties going to be actively propping up. prices are trying to drive them higher, they want them to come dine, but they don't want to shock collapse. right? that's trying to enlist fraser, how we present. thank you. shifting gears the world wide race to build cheaper electric vehicles is also race for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel for companies. that means securing new deals with new suppliers. and sometimes that can lead to trouble or next report takes us to morocco and new

allegations of labor and environmental violations at a cobalt mine that supplies german automaker, bmw, of the was that of mine and southern moral. cory is where bmw of sources, cobalt worth, 100000000 euros for its electric car batteries. repeated one of them and got to here is to all the international regulations faced with these findings, bmw, when he is now demanding a comprehensive review from the supplier, a spokesperson for bmw, told deutsch develop that the company is investigating those allegations of environmental and labor standards. for labor violations, i should say, and would require immediate remedies. should the misconduct be proven? let's go out to some of the other global business stories making headlines. major australian ports reopen monday, following a cyber attack last week. operator d p. world tickets systems offline friday. after detecting the security breach that disrupted operations at its ports, which handle some 40 percent of australia's freight train. if you would expect

further disruptions in the coming days as an investigates the breach and shows up in the system since the middle east. biggest airline everett's announce the $52000000000.00 order for $95.00. boeing aircraft on monday. the biggest sale so far as did you buy air show. the order comes just as ever. it's group announced record half your profits of $2700000000.00. german automotive supplier, continental is planning mass of job cuts and it's auto division. in a bid to reduce costs, it will flash around $5500.00 jobs worldwide. it's about 5 percent of its global workforce, around $1.00 and $5.00 of the affected jobs are in germany. to southern spain as a customs, a warm, dry weather but not like this year. reservoirs are threatening to dry up. that's how bad recent droughts and heat waves have been. the oranges and other money crops are taking a big hit, but farmers are trying to adapt. take a look,

the dried up and even touch the bits of picture of the orange plantations between quoted buttons to them is already clear that the farm is would not be able to harvest the 1600000 tons of the previous year. jose fernandez the header, the on the way to his plantation, which is experiencing extreme drought the get don't have, let me tell you a little angry out you. i planted and grew the middle up and i don't me, david. oh, i'm so sorry. missed. i'm like this. okay, but i don't know what it has and fortunately mirrors. i've never seen them as bad as i know i saw not kidding. okay. and then those are areas here that have no oranges at all here, but i saw others have me out. you a paid $100.00, but the owners are very small. many are not even good to use and i will read the

pass through the tree should be in full bloom, reliable dot the, it's a lot about the domain to. the files of families need more to for that crops, but does that look at the central reservoir shows? it's not coming. only 10 percent of the lakes capacity remains expedite. so now trying to be better prepared at least for the next round. so eat up with time the me doing up front of the water so the can keep it and meet them. i mean, well not, i mean some more story. i'll build the other locate, but i see the putting do you have 11? we have to optimize your use of water, let them in the unit to tell us each now. so when i mean what i like it to you, this request special senses on this thing can north of seville, they already show how much moisture is in the soil. and they measured the diameter of the trees. if they contract, the oranges need water,

a small everything the 20 percent more understand how the other pharmacy and noise all and all of the above that didn't really go like i say, well we know when the and how much winery newman see a good way and i was coming available. this knowledge is crucial for adapting agriculture, climate change. but this alone is not enough to make the south of spain viable this lesson. but i mean, how do you, do we have those done? well, they have the interview again. what are the doctors of the management on water? so you told him, we also need to promote that cold evasion on on, on your day is going to use again one more time. many to must try to find a solution. in general, we have different measures. the technology will help us get by with less water for longer. and finally, we ins with a different kinds of auction in japan, not fine art or jewels, but crafts. there's no crap fishing season has kicked off and depends to 20 prospector. truthfully,

marked by the 1st auction of the season of the event featured for exceptional snow, crabs rented its suki bushy for their outstanding quality. one crab alone fetched around $18000.00. that almost triples last year's top did this new record price is thanks to booming demand from restaurants and hotels. the season runs until march 20 is next year with more high stakes auctions. expected until then. right. that's it for me and the dw team, you can find out more about these stories and others online at the w dot com slash business. you can also check us out on youtube under the dw news channel, so you can barely invalid. it's watching the,

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this is the, the news live from ballot struggling to save lives, small hospitals, and goes up unable to operate. world health organization tells the w mold in hospice strips medical centers on not in working what it says there is fits frontier taking place near many facilities and a surprise come back in british politics before the prime minister, david cameron returns to governments as the new foreign minister in a major cabinet results cameron lift.