horn of africa. the united nations says it has received half of the $2.5 billion it needs to tackle the crisis. china says it is slowing down its bullet trains and stopping new construction because of an accident that killed last month that killed at least 40 people. the accident was blamed on design flaws on equipment. and syrian troop efforts are growing to end the crackdown. under scored the urgency of the situation there. those are the top stories from cnn, the world news leader. world business today starts right now. good morning cnn london. and a very good friday afternoon, from cnn hong kong. i m andrew stevens. you re watching world business today and the top stories for today, friday, august 12th, four countries go to protect their banks. a short-selling ban goes in effect today. growth slows to zero. and several reasons to celebrate. a reversal of fortune for this group, whose company just announced massive layoffs. let s get straight to the mark