Crude is down some 20 this year, despite opecs attempt to prop it up. And it could have further to go. Plus. On edge over brexit germanys industrial giants fear for the future of their multi billion dollar uk market. We report from the Port City Of Bremen. Welcome to World Business report. I am rachel horne. We also have the story on the excessive borrowing by chinas biggest companies. We start with the price of oil, because, once again, despite the best efforts of the Oil Producing nations to prop it up, it is on the slide. Lets show you whats been happening. This week the talks all been about this guy hes back. Traders refer to a bear market when the price of an asset falls 20 from its recent peak. It often signals a loss of confidence and further falls to come. Since the start of the year, crude has done just that. It is down over 20 . It was 56 per barrel in january, and it is down over 20 . It was 56 per barrel injanuary, and is now below 45 in the middle of this week. Back in november the organisation of the Oil Producing countries opec together with 11 other countries agreed a Landmark Deal to restrict oil output to try and prop up prices. Between them they are supposed to be cutting production by 1. 8 Million Barrels a day. Although there are questions about whether everyone is sticking to it. And last month, they agreed to continue that policy for another nine months to march 2018. But theres still too much oil around. One of the main reasons is this us Shale Producers were were hit hard when Oil Prices Crashed in 2014. Many were put out of business. But this year, thanks to opecs action to boost prices as you can see here the number of active us oil rigs has been creeping up steadily. Thats just added to the global glut of oil. David hunter is an Energy Analyst at schneider electric. Hejoins david hunter is an Energy Analyst at schneider electric. He joins us from a edinburgh studio. They you for joining us. We were saying there that oil is hitting a bear market. Once you get into that, it can be difficult to get out, cant it . That is right. History shows that when an asset of all is by 20 over a relatively short period, that they can be further falls. Relatively short period, that they can be furtherfalls. The relatively short period, that they can be further falls. The of crude oil is very unclear at this point. For some of the reasons that you have mentioned. The future. For some of the reasons that you have mentioned. The future. Some people are severely solution to low oil prices is low oil prices, big as any to keep the prices low, or the us Shell Producers will come back online. That is right. And that has been a big concern from the perspective of opec, who have seen that these Oil Producers have been robust and have become more efficient and Cost Effective at low oil prices than opec expected. So the producers were kind of thought to be leading the market well before we got up to 115 a barrel, but what we got up to 115 a barrel, but what we have seen over the last 22 weeks, now, is the week on week increase in us drilling activity. And that is keeping a lid on prices by postponing the time that it takes for the market to get to demand and so for the market to get to demand and soi for the market to get to demand and so i balance. David, we talk about these low oil prices and a bear market, but what is the problem with oil prices being low . For consumers, that must be a good thing. Is a sword. The major g7 economies are thought to. This is thought to be of benefit to them. This is a double edged sword. This means lower cost for industry and for trepidation as well. But not good news for Oil Producers, from the way that he can hit countries like russia, iran, and others, particularly hard. And fought transportation as well. But if oil falls really far in value, then they can also be endemic of, all, sorry, representative of concerns in the wider economy. Or. Oil is not a proxy for the economy, but if demand is growing, that would suggest a healthy oil price. If it is not growing, people might look for wider reasons as to why. Just briefly, david, when you think the price will go in the next six gotze . That is the 6 million question. I think that some people believe that it could well be range bound for a while. As we move into next year, there are some analysts indicating that the supply will come into balance. But what i would say is that certainly over the last month orso, a number of that certainly over the last month or so, a number of analysts have reduced their immediate Horizon Expectations for the price. So dont expectations for the price. So dont expect a big bout soon. David hunter from schneider electric. Thank you for joining from schneider electric. Thank you forjoining us. Exactly a year on from the we are also in the german Port City Of Bremen exactly a year on from britains vote to leave the european union. Bremens manufacturers export goods All Over The World including 2. 6 billion euros worth to the uk every year. Thats why local businessespeople are on edge about the future of a Trading Relationship that goes back centuries. Joe mellor reports. They are some of the most recognisable landmarks. Miller. But the specialist material that cove rs but the specialist material that covers these buildings is made by Just One Company in the german city of bremen. And for its manager, brexit is a headache. This is one of the ongoing products, projects we have in the uk. We have discussed brexit. It was a lot more of a hassle on the product. If we had closed borders and had to adhere to strict trade and customs policies. It is not just strict trade and customs policies. It is notjust high tech materials that make their way from bremen to britain. Although the bulk of the 95,000 cars in this terminal i headed to the us and asia, some 2. 6 billion euros worth of goods make their way to Britain Every Single year. Much of that comes from the local airbus and daimler plans. And there is a concern that a brexit that leaves britain outside of the Single Market could harm them and many local businesses that rely on them. For one company, it is the movement of personnel, as will the shipping containers, that is vital to their business. We have a fleet of up to 100 chips. When this free flow of people who work in the London Office all come to bremen from the uk, and with a hard brexit, it has a massive impact on our business, at least the way we are doing it at the moment. The relationship between bremen and london goes back centuries, to when local traders were granted a licence to sell their wares in bremens capital. And the representative here says the goodwill will outlast brexit. The people of bremen take out their umbrellas for londons rain. They are very pro british. Whatever the Legal Framework will be, everybody will adjust to the situation. Local attitudes are one thing, but businesses he ultimately know that brexit will be decided in brussels, and they can only hope that eu negotiators share their enthusiasm for all things british. To asia now. And the Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China known as icbc has moved to calm fears about the health of loans to some of the countrys biggest companies. On thursday the shares of several well known chinese firms were hit after reports of an investigation into excessive borrowing to fund overseas investments. Sharanjit leyl Shara Njit Leyl is Sharanjit Leyl is looking into this in simple. What do you tell us . Well, that is right. Is looking into this and singapore. Following the reports that chinese regulators might be cracking down on the big spending sprees, icbc, one of the banks that was ordered to reduce exposure to these companies, they have said that this is all routine. It isa have said that this is all routine. It is a big deal. They basically said the checks and balances Comedy Checks of loans to companies that invested overseas is just routine. And a handful of the deal makers that have been on those overseas buying sprees, they were also targeted, they saw their shares fall after the matter, in fact one fell about 10 before their shares were suspended, but some of the shares are up to date. They are rebounding, particularly a couple. Others continue to be sold. Sharanjit leyl might think you forjoining us. In other news , might think you forjoining us. In other news , and might think you forjoining us. In other news , and is very new £18 billion Nuclear Power station has come under fire from public auditors, who called it a risky and expensive project. The report describes the case for the Hinkley Point seaplanes as marginal. C plant. It says the deal with state controlled French Energy firm edf and Chinese Company cgn to build the plant is not value for money. With alternative choices. The sa largest banks in the us have enough money on hand to withstand a severe recession, according to the us central bank. The finding comes from an annual stress test conducted by the federal reserve. The tests were put in place after the financial crisis to strengthen Financial Capacity in the event of a downturn. Banks have been pushing to relax those rules. Some said thursdays results could make it easier to convince policymakers to do so. American airlines has received an unsolicited approach from Qatar Airways which wants to acquire 10 of the us carrier. In a regulatory filing, American Airlines said qatar intended to buy at least 808 million of its shares and it would respond in due course. Analysts say qatar could be trying to strengthen its relations with the us amid the diplomatic crisis with its Gulf Neighbours and complaints from us airlines over alleged unfair Government Subsidies lets ta ke lets take a look at the markets as they are going so far. You can see the markets in asia, they are ever so slightly. In fact, this week, the nikkei has touched heights it has not seen since 2015. Brent crude, we have been talking about oil, you can see that even though it has entered this bear market, it has come up a little and perhaps stabilise. Lets move on. We can see how america closed last night. Not a great session on the rack and markets. The dow and the snp are down. Keep an eye on that Healthcare Bill next week. Any turmoil can affect the markets. The american markets. Theres a warning the governments deal for a new Nuclear Power plant at Hinkley Point is risky and expensive. The National Audit office has questioned whether the project will be good value for money. Energy customers will eventually pay subsidies to help foot the bill for the Hinkley Point c reactor. Rob young has more. It will be writtens new Nuclear Plant for a generation. Hinkley point c has been plagued by delays. Writtens. But building workers are ready started. When it is up and running, it should produce 7 of writtens power, replacing older planes which have gone off line. Hinkley has been given a guaranteed price for its electricity, which could cost bill payers as much as £30 billion. The Public Spending watchdog is critical. What we have found is that the government has committed consumers to a risky and expensive deal with uncertain benefits. The case for proceeding with the deal is not clear. And while it will be seven decades before it is known if the deal is value for money, what we have concluded is that the government did not do enough to consider the costs and risks of the deal for consumers. The government maintains that nuclear should be part of a Diverse Energy mix, pointing out that it provides clean, reliable electricity. The projects Majority Shareholder insists that it is good value compared with alternatives, and says that costs for future plans will be lower. It is expected to create more than 26,000 jobs and apprenticeships, boosting the local economy. But its impact could be national. New Nuclear Plants will follow. Coming up at 6am, breakfast will have all the days news, business and sport. Theyll also have more on the politics of the playground the team will look at the latest research which suggests how the gender gap starts in the first years of primary school. This is bbc news. The latest headlines the british Prime Minister theresa may has offered to ensure the rights of eu citizens in britain after it leaves the eu. The german chancellor Angela Merkel said this was a good start and said much more work remained to be done. A new offensive is underway to take raqqa, the capital of the caliphate of the so called Islamic State in syria. And in iraq, Islamic States destruction of mosuls al hadba