welcome to business our team is good to have your company russia's budget plan for the next three years has been signed by president vladimir putin today now it's set the budget deficit a point eight percent of the g.d.p. for the next year this budget has been drawn up by finance minister told sulu on earth and with due regard for new rules for the use of oil and gas money which in the past has been used as a safety net by the former finance minister execution to see russia fruita bad times let's cross over to work a bill being there for an explanation of how this all works out hey there katie so basically how does the budget local know whether to major i've just been running through the numbers that is a deficit budget as you say we're looking at five hundred twenty billion dollars they're looking like they're going to be borrowing and saving a bit of

a compromise going on at the moment in terms of boring we're looking at seven billion dollars on the four involved it's next year. there is going to be money put away as well because the extra cash that is made above the ten year average price will go into fund now once that reserve fund reaches seven percent of g.d.p. that money will then be put into a longer term saving account for russia if you like now putin has also mentioned the tax is going to come into play for the gas and oil sector as well which is kind of spook them a little bit see saying these energy sector is all significantly under attack so they've got some added tax increases to look forward say well let me go through these these features that you mentioned like one by one so yeah she will be borrowing again then kerry to you hasn't done so the past couple of years exactly if we go back to twenty eleven they didn't have to dimitri at the time the coffers were full and it was full of oil money. at the time the. the finance minister

alexei courage and who is no more any more he set up this cushion fund as you say it was a contingency plan for a rainy day and at the time people were saying well haitian is spent on infrastructure improving russia the future of it and well actually it seemed to work because he loved for the mistakes that were made in one nine hundred ninety eight when we had a catastrophic disaster in terms of the economy we had all opines as promised in the ruble devaluing so it meant that the financial crisis they hit the globe in two thousand and eight left rough so largely unscathed. so those lessons were learned also just to demonstrate how how good he was as a finance minister in two thousand and six the whole of the u.s.s.r. that was accounted for such as put in to perspective for you know it's right yeah the paris club that was was paid off completely forty five billion dollars.

basically he's no longer in power he hasn't been a minister for more than a year now but apparently its policies are still still in place yet he's still furry respected i mean i think it's because of that cushion funds we know that he did actually lose his position that's because at the time the president dimitri medvedev he fell out with them but the interesting thing is is that he fell out a lot to do with because he was very critical about how russia was spending its money in particular to do with the military he felt that it was too much also or dependency as well and he was talking about today's budget and it seems like his opinion hasn't changed much. to the new budget has the same flaws i was talking earlier about with the government and these exact disagreements the reasons for my dismissal. huge budget for difference in law enforcement these expenses are not really enormously blown up they're not affective and you budget is forecast really different. you should the oil price either be from ninety seven to

one hundred ten dollars per barrel but if the oil price goes to eighty dollars it will be a critical point for russia we might not get new loans and lose our investment rating so oil prices will continue to determine our future. yes he's critical about dependency on oil it's a theme that keeps coming up time and time again and he's also part of the opposition now and he's so critical of the budget that he's actually releasing a new website i believe it's still under construction but the idea of it is actually pretty cool because it's all about open to the masses so that people can understand how it's going to affect them so it goes region to region and it also shows you how you can actually compare with neighboring countries as well which puts it all in to perspective that's ok so if you look at basic economic principles such as even keynes actually suggested for the great depression coming out of it you take if you have a lot of money in order to prevent inflation from looming and keep it within five

and a half percent by the way by this budget you need to just spend this money on things which do not lead to overproduction so basically upgrading the military is an option it is an option it's certainly an option that the likes of the u.s. many other cultures are taking on we know that we know that russia's got to keep up with the jones as you say but also i think that's very questionable you can argue because you said about the health care say for example if you know if you've got a poorly grandma or hospital you're not going to be wanting the russian government to spend on military surely also education that's something a lot of people thought passionately about and you said that in terms of the military is it twice as much the spending that's right on education and health combined i think a shocking statistic to me and still sounds like this budget deal to me and least is not that flexible because if you keep investing money and the same time into military can really take it out can you but at the same time what was about to say

i actually started to go though there you go is based on a very high oil price and so no no rainy day scenario well exactly if your prices go down what then i think that's the idea that could join is trying. tapping into it the my yes you are serious saving money at the moment yes it is pending i think it's only price isn't it and i think in this day and age we've got a global crisis going on at the moment that scary territory and so anyway it's a combination of the two it's investing into something which does not lead to inflation and at the same time some worst case scenarios are in visits so basically see how it works out of course it's not going to be thank you very much for that well let's move over to the stock markets we start with the united states now markets they're mostly staging a comeback on the dow at least financials are leading the game now on the nasdaq apple shares are down more than four percent this is the first session in

a row of losses this is as the company's preparing for first days new hearing against samsung in their long standing that's all for copyright infringement over in the european european markets we've seen moderate gains that's after china vowed to continue stimulus program at least for the near future mining stocks were in the lead related to reach people is no more than two and a half percent and in the in currencies we're seeing the euro losing slightly against the dollar while the russian ruble managed to gain some bout against both currencies actually a typical picture for december both companies need to rubles to pay their taxes and actually people just cashing out in order to to spend holidays presents and the like basically that's what was happening on the russian markets that we saw a pretty hefty boost actually of under two percent at the close of wednesday session among blue chips so lou could buy a bag gaining better than the market but even more so even more so enormous nickel

gained more than six percent now during business russian style as. a survey conducted by economist intelligence unit proved foreign companies are concerned of russia's expansion but surprisingly enough the biggest problem of foreign investors in russia is not corruption it's no red tape as you might have expected but it's the language barrier that's now going to examine the report. russian business is not as scary as it seems the main message from this survey they asked two hundred top managers and company have all over the world whether they want to do business with russians what attracts them how does what pulls them off the interesting fact is that seventy percent of those who have already worked with russians said they would continue to do so of those who have never worked with russians only forty percent said they would be happy to the head of roussel billionaire. who owns

assets in australia and china says business becomes easier when you get to know each other. undoubtedly personal relationships really matter it is important that there are more russians on the boards and in management of companies among regulators and experts and we have to change our people to tune them up to work with others around the globe from china to america and that's the point of the report you wouldn't believe so but a language barrier turned out to be the main concern for almost half of foreign respondents the rocker c. is the second the biggest problem for russia's image the present corruption came in third experts say communication is leaders because even the best traders cannot combat stereotypes foreign investors have this issue. and it's been there forever nobody believes nobody understands why should disappear and i would just maybe. make one example. i think this company should trade at discount they've

always delivered or what they promised relative low cost producer to have production growth strategy in place they have premium leasing land on top of that it's a full name and it's still a discount appears that's what i don't understand russian companies want to go global this year russia becomes the fourteenth biggest global investor with direct investments reaching full to want billion dollars how. are the reports shows that even given the choice between breaks for him there is one preferred to be bought out by him than chinese all brazilian competent russian was the least wanted my that's a female first show breakout scene talks exclusively to top female fall official about the gorillas aspirations of the prospect of peace efforts in colombia. culture is that so much different and there's

a huge musician find it marked with kurds would seem like fantasy only two years ago could become a reality very soon with a strong sense of identity and spread across the middle east because. wealthy british style. time to. market why not. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into kinds a report on our.

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welcome alexandra it's good to see you here. many revolutionary leaders have given up an armed struggle over time some of them consider the thing of the past thus far so one has to pursue dialogue fit into this trend is it that you no longer believe in god real or warfare. i wouldn't say the reason we're now in havana is that we have always asked for dialogue and a peaceful solution but the colombian government has kept us banned from politics we took up arms not because we wanted to or because we enjoy fighting we only use them as a means of justified protection from the terrorist ways of the colombian government the colombian government has been trying to put an end to this armed conflict for decades so what's new and different about this attempt at talks and how ana is compared to the previous ones and do the prospects look any brighter. we

are very optimistic and the fog delegation about the peace talks colombia has always displayed a pattern of rise in decline in regards to its social movement its present movement and its labor movement but right now i believe that movement is gaining ground in an unprecedented way it is a part of the people of colombia a country take this rule any longer they are already asking for peace and they are increasingly joining the social movement we actually want to the colombian people to stand behind us in our efforts to establish dialogue and so they will i believe that a large scale popular movement is what makes all the difference as compared to the previous attempts at peace day after day more people are taking to the streets to protest it seems they're no longer afraid of the government and its terror tactics because it's more than they're willing to put up with another factor is that latin america has changed that getting support from cuba venezuela and other latin american nations and infact has been very helpful for us in forging an

understanding with the colombian government it is a very powerful external factor. but most colombians to believe that fark should take responsibility for the crimes they committed in pay the penalty for them what's your view on this it was the prospect. bridget. it's somewhat absurd to ask for the punishment of people who have always acted out of an agenda meant need to protect ourselves and as i've already said we're not at because we want one we want peace but social justice too and we've never had any of this here in colombia if someone hits you fast and you hit them back in self-defense are you to be punished for that i said this is just an example to show you how we actually view the war in colombia and our role in it it's all about self defense most of us on the other you have declared a ceasefire do you think the government of colombia may follow suit on the. us i'm

. looking the government seems unwilling to respond with a cease fire and that turn so it's going to be a unilateral act for a two month period they have been asking us to take some steps for a long time they keep saying that they need some peaceful justice so we take those steps but we wonder what the response of measures from the government are. they pursued them and then a couple of years ago after the diaries had been seized by the army and disclosed you were in the spotlight all over the world from those notes many people concluded that you were criticizing the system that we're going to zation how do you explain that if that's true then how come you're a member of that organization whose internal regulations you don't fully approve of with them into the political system. first i'd like to note that this was a very inappropriate use of my diary which was supposed to be personal property and i set out to pass it to my parents but this is

a different story everything that was written that dealt with my daily routine every person in any organization have their ups and downs and can sometimes be critical who makes press of criticism out loud and sides of the organization and that's resolved the problem that period was particularly hard for me as i had to adapt to living in a guerrilla group in the forest moreover i needed to get used to colombian culture so it was not easy for me and i recall those days quite often. people call us terrorists many of them claim that to attack civilians and recruit children by fools why then there was nothing of that in my diary nobody has ever wondered i've never come across any speculation on this issue in the media no one tried to figure out why there wasn't anything written about me having just returned from a mass slaughter of civilians or about me recruiting kids i have never written anything like that in my diary i wrote for example that i had run out of cigarettes

and our commander had some so those notes were really light headed and it occurred to me how silly they were when i was reading them still those were my thoughts which i had back then and you can trace back the entire process of my adaptation to living in the woods with a guerrilla group. really groups have lost several of their leaders in recent years and they seem to be weaker how do you view your organization how large is it and how is it structured when it appears i think when we speak of ups and downs they're always there for our organization a downturn means that state terrorism and apparel is a dominating we have seen this and the plan colombia and the patriot plan which provided for a new out who are against us large scale military operations complete with our strikes that are for our movement as presently on the defensive but we should take a broader outlook into the future because drunk one started with the me out fusee

eight members if we still had that many today we wouldn't be there in havana right now and why are we here from a military point of view the government is not want to negotiate with a losing opponent that partnering with us because they realize they have been unable to defeat us in military terms that's the most important reason behind the negotiation. as you do the five members leave by the rules of communism as was initially proclaimed or are these signs of capitalism influencing you as a community less ways. we have our regulations which lay out the rules and requirements for all the fact fighters at all levels from common down to money and down to every single guerilla including those who might have joined our ranks just yesterday those rules apply to all admittedly violations a car there are always people who neglect rules for example being

a gorilla you're not supposed to keep a person a radio or an m p three player because it can get you detected and fired upon if a fighter violates this rule when it to instill some sense into them it may be some sort of penalty or a critical written assessment of that person to be deliberated at a group meeting such meetings without every eight days you can voice personal criticism if you believe that a fellow gorilla has behaved in appropriately act as a chauvinist or gravitates towards capitalism and wants to have things with oneself and disregards the interests of the team the fighters comrades will point to these issues and even the person in question may criticize oneself money problems get solved this way it will be. the colombian government in the united states have always insisted that far lives of drug trafficking but the guerrillas have always a denied it if it's not drug money used to find your bev a listener is struggle

than what. i know when colombia known as act governor to which of largest every citizen to pay a special tax to finance the government's war against its own people that fool would believe anyone who makes a million dollars the moon must pay a revolutionary tax to the guerrillas so will love this tax and an army as well as they grow coca plants and where people have nothing else except for the coca we tax the cartels who make a lot of money on this business but who want to tax village folk who own but if you have to is of coca bush's each that is why everyone wants to draw a relation between coca and the guerillas in other areas where they have different businesses we also have a our tax differently but the reality in colombia is such that every institution across the country is involved in drug trafficking so wherever we go collecting our tax now always local drug dealers and cartel members to be found and they will have

to pay us a war acquires money just like a car needs an engine to run. daniels for fark announced earlier this year that it would no longer kidnap people but if you individuals are still held captive what are their prospects is their plan to have them released. we hold no captives. some time ago there was an organization that used to claim that we how some three thousand people in captivity that was before last february when we announced we would stop taking captives due to economic reasons and that was when we took an account of all our prisoners and found that we have nine of them all in all i think it would be helpful if the government were to announce a cease fire them a good invite to the right course of human rights missions to each of our fronts for them to see first hand how many captives we're holding and they would see that the alleged schools of prisoners were how they are actually nonexistent now i'm

aware that there are some fifty thousand people missing in our country after all these years of fighting and that suggests that some of those fifty thousand must be in our custody so why not find out what the truth is and let the world know to what. you've requested me to call you alexandra why is it so important for a guerilla to go under a different name. for. this because this is my combat name when you come to the bush years human you name because war requires secrecy secrecy and mystery are of great importance for guerrillas we don't know each other's legal name is and we don't keep our ways that's the way it goes in any war that's a rule the media always call me by my legal name which doesn't really bother me but just to prefer my combat names because this is what they always call me among the guerrillas and for me this is part of the rebel spirit. to what have you gained by

joining the guerrillas you know was it something you couldn't get in europe where your life was peaceful and prosperous according to many. i believe being among gorillas is the most important thing for me is the appreciation of the international solidarity by the guerrillas that i experience in my daily routine i would often go somewhere minding my own business and then someone would come up to me and say i'm really proud of you for being here i'm happy that i don't have to feel alone in this battle in spite of everything that the media has said about us all the negative propaganda against us and spite of all that we came over to help us it's very important for me i would never get anything like that back in the netherlands. you know do you have any regrets just do you ever think about the way many young ladies go about settling down and

having a family where you. know. men never i mean i had regrets many times when i would not be able to go through another track i was saying to myself i cannot do it i won't be able to do it but every time i go back i was happy i had managed these are the kind of obstacles that you put up for yourself and then you overcome them each time more successfully than the last time as her gretz about on having a family definitely no i wouldn't want a life of that kind. what do you expect for your future do you see yourself involved in colombian politics for instance. the way i see it my future is with our doing which has required for them if the organization needs me as a teacher or a politician i will do it for them. clarke is by all means a key player in the armed conflict has been lasting for decades now and at stake in

many lives do you accept this responsibility would you be willing to ask forgiveness for anything i mean i would be willing to ask for social justice rather than forgiveness and that's it nothing more than which out of a sense on the thank you so much for this interview. which brightened. from.

the top teeth don't come. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something

else you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture.