Basel III doubters

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The G-20 is expected to sign off the banking reforms known as Basel III, at its meeting in South Korea this week. Back in September, the Basel Committee of central bankers and regulators agreed on measures to increase the cushion of capital that banks must hold to soak up losses. But will this be effective? There are doubters, including 20 academic economists who wrote to the Financial Times, saying the Basel III rules are 'far from sufficient' to banish recurring crises. Another doubter is James Ferguson, chief strategist at Arbuthnot Securities. He told Lesley Curwen that the new rules are only 'half an answer'. Plus, Alan Keir of HSBC suggests Western companies should look east to find new growth opportunities. And from Shanghai, the BBC's Chris Hogg describes the Chinese perspective on the 'currency war' with America.