19/04/2016 BBC Business Live

This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.

The bids are due but will anyone stump up the big bucks the

Live from London, that's our top story on 19th April.

Yahoo's up for sale but what is it really worth?

As the troubled internet firm prepares to release yet more

disappointing numbers, we get the lowdown on the runners

and riders vying to take over the company.

Argentina tangos its way back into the international money markets

- the South American nation was exiled in 2001 after defaulting

And the trading day has begun in Europe and, as you can see,

all the main markets are headed much higher after a bumper ride in Asia -

And is cheap oil good news, or bad for the Gulf's

We get the inside track on Emirates from boss Sir Tim Clark.

And a new study says if you're over 40 you should only

It says anything more than a 25-hour week

No hope for me according to that report, my brain is Bush!

Yahoo - it's one of the best known brands on the internet,

a billion people use it each month and it is home to much-loved

web properties such as Flickr and Tumblr.

Despite the name recognition, Yahoo is still a byword for decline

and later today is expected to release yet more bad

numbers as the firm looks for potential buyers.

In January, Yahoo reported fourth-quarter earnings of $166m,

Shares have slumped 30% since the end of 2014.

But despite that, it's thought around 40 firms initially expressed

interest in buying all or part of the tech giant.

So why is Yahoo so attractive and looking for a buyer?

In the US, Yahoo is still the third most visited online site, attracting

In the US, its news and sports sites are read by about 25% of

And it's those sorts of numbers that have attracted the likes of Verizon

and the Daily Mail - who see Yahoo as a potential way

to boost video and advertising figures for their own businesses.

With me is analyst Matti Littunen from media research

Good morning, Sally ran through the front runners there, the Daily Mail

possibly making a bit, it would have to pair up with somebody to afford

it, but the rise coming out as a frontrunner. What would they get out

of this? It is about knowing who customers are, isn't it? Yes, Yahoo

has great audience reach. Unfortunately for Yahoo, reach a

alone is not enough, you have to have a large audience but also need

to know the audience. There is an is banking on its 112 million US mobile

subscribers to provide that insight -- Verizon are relying on. They have

got subscriber data, browsing data, they are no doubt hoping that would

bring a much-needed boost. What is interesting when we look at

companies like Google and Yahoo is that we tend to think of them as

search engines, but ultimately they are advertising companies, they

offer maps, Web services not because they want us to enjoy them but

because they get advertising from them and that is the most lucrative

bit of Yahoo's business? These sorts of utilities, Yahoo has many

different types, it has search, mail, so on. They do many things,

but the problem is that for each of these utilities someone else does it

better. But where Yahoo is strong is having advertising technology

designed to make money from these sorts of utilities. For example they

have outsourced the technology behind their search, they still very

much have the know-how on how to sell search. When we get news of who

is going to buy it, no indication of when that might come, but do we

expect the Yahoo brand will continue or will it be an asset stripping

exercise, taking the bits of the business they want and the rest will

be palmed off? It will depend on the type of buyer. Verizon it would be a

question of what would be the best way to maintain Yahoo's audience. I

would imagine some of the individual strong content brands like Flickr

and Tumblr would stay, named the same. And things like Yahoo sports

or finance would be less clear. OK, really good to talk to you. Thank

you. Argentina has returned to

the international borrowing markets. It's selling bonds after 15 years

of exile since its debt The country is raising up

to $15 billion but demand for the bond issue was strong

and attracted orders worth Some of the money will go

to repaying bondholders who opposed the terms of Argentina's debt

restructuring after Netflix shares fell more than 9%

in after-hours trading after the video streaming company

forecast slower growth The company says it expects to add

another 500,000 new customers in the US and 2 million around

the world by the end of June. At the start of this year,

Netflix began a global expansion The world's major steel producers

have failed to agree to measures to tackle global overproduction,

which has caused Officials from 30 countries met

in Belgium to tackle the issue, but decided only that the problem

needed to be dealt with 'swiftly'. Chinese officials bristled

at suggestions its country The mining giant Rio Tinto has

cut its iron ore production Globally, the industry

is suffering from huge oversupply due to a decline

in demand from steelmakers. Christine Hah has more

for us in Singapore. Nice to see you, fill us in on

reopen As yes, production has been cut but they are coming in very much

in line with expectations -- fill us in on Rio.

The first quarter came in as expected at about 84 million tonnes,

and at this stage it is on track for a record 350 million tonnes in 2016.

Remember I know accounts for almost half of Rio Tinto's revenues and

they have taken a huge hit has prices have fallen amid the global

supply glut. Every $1 change in price of iron ore prices means an

estimated $260 million' change in revenue. Their share fires has

fallen over 13% in the last year but the CEO is focused on keeping market

share despite weaker profit margins. Thank you very much. Mining stocks

did well and energy stocks did well, banks were doing all right today

actually and Japan up nearly 3.7%. It has been a roller-coaster. This

time yesterday we were down as much, it has been up and down by 3% plus

the days. This is how things went the night before on Wall Street.

Better than expected news from Morgan Stanley boosting the sector

but also oil prices going up and up again. We will talk more about that

in a minute but it is helping financial markets. Let's look at the

European market Snapple stop across the board, steady as she goes, as it

were -- let's look at the European markets now. Expectations were

extremely low, and when you look at the numbers they are not so great.

Michelle Fleury has the details about what's ahead

The new earnings season is underway, US companies starting to turn in

their results for the first three months of the year. There are some

big technology names to watch out for, a slumping PC chip business is

expected to take its toll on Intel, which reports after the market has

closed. Yahoo's earnings will be overshadowed by questions about its

future, who is interested in buying its Internet business? The potential

sale comes after Yahoo abandoned plans to sell off its stake in

Alibaba. Most markets are anticipating a decline in first

quarter profits. We heard from some companies late on Monday, shares in

the video streaming service Netflix fell after its earnings disappointed

inspectors -- investors. Quarterly revenues for other companies

continue to fall. As you can see, the man with a red

braces, as he is known, Justin Urquhart Stewart, an economist, nice

to see you. Let's talk oil, we heard a lot over

the weekend about what they managed not to do in Gauhar, which was to

agree a cap and try to stabilise prices somewhat, but they have

bounced back a little -- in Doha. A line from Russia that we have just

got in saying it will raise its output, so the opposite of what we

were expecting, rising to 540 million tonnes. If nothing else it

underlines the situation Russia has got, its reserves have been dropping

dramatically because we have had Mr Putin going off on adventures in

Syria, Ukraine, and we have had the financial blockages, the likes of

Gazprom and others have been unable to refinance themselves. This is

foreign exchange reserves we are talking about, money not oil? But it

has an impact, where is the income coming? They are desperate to get

more dollars coming in. Gazprom and others have had to go into the

markets to borrow from the Chinese because they cannot go into

international markets, the sanctions are beginning to bite. The price of

oil today quite a bit up, and at the same time Argentina entering the

market again, the bond market again, and it was seen there was a rush? It

is strange, I go back to the days when Argentina and the rest of South

America was going through that terrible time and we had to go

through debt rescheduling that. They have just come out of their last

perilous Government, perilous Government in Argentina are normally

financially disastrous, and there was no change, it was disastrous,

only regime has come in now and they can go back into the markets, they

have agreed to pay the outstanding elements they have due. The move has

given them a slight uptick in their credit rating. Argentina is in that

face but Brazil, when you think not so long ago, totally the reverse.

The sleeping giant was awaiting but the sleeping giant has now tripped

over its self so its president is being breached, so Argentina has got

a long way to go. Justin, you will be back, we will see you shortly to

talk about the papers. The boss of Emirates tells us why

the low oil price is good news and bad news for the Gulf's

fast-growing airline industry. You're with Business

Live from BBC News. The owner of Primark,

Associated British Foods, has reported a 4% rise

in half year profits. The group was boosted by strong

performance in its sugar business. Profits at the discount retailer

Primark were down for the period. Our business editor Simon Jack joins

us from the Business Newsroom. Is it good or bad Ms?

It is a funny business, Associated British Foods, it has food and

retell, best known in the UK for owning Primark. Primark has bucked

the trend is on the high street, always been growing sales and

like-for-like sales. Today, even though sales were up 7%, they have

opened a lot more space, counter to what other people are doing. If you

look at their like-for-like, it is stripping out the effect of opening

new stores, the statement says it is a particularly challenging outlook

in the UK retail market. They say they made a good debut in the US.

But even the mighty Primark is finding life tough on the UK high

street. Let's turn our attention to beer and

booze. A big merger deal means that Roni and courts are being off?

Yes, a colossus of a company, one in three beers that you buy in the

world you are buying from this new giant and the competition

authorities wanted them to sell off a few bits and pieces, so Grolsch

and Peroni are being sold by Japanese beer makers. They are

looking to acquire overseas, so they are buying backward to and Peroni.

The companies behind this want you to have grand -- brand loyalty, so

this might not be the last of the disposal of assets, we might see

some more assets being sold off there.

OK, thank you very much. We will see more from him in later.

Here is a fact for you, Pret has been talking about their food sales

up just over 1.4%, ?676 million, the biggest selling ingredient in its

sandwiches and salads is avocado, so there you go.

Our top story: The deadline has now passed for firms to submit offers

Around 40 companies initially expressed an interest in the company

but it's thought only a handful have actually made bids for

Troy has got his bid in. Is he one of the 40? Who knows?

A quick look at the live page. The details are there including

everything we've talked about relating to Argentina returning to

the debt markets after the default in 2001. What that could mean for

the international picture. But also keep your comments coming in. You

can see the hashtag on the screen there.

A new study suggests if you're over the age of 40 then you should only

be work ago three-day week. Lots of comments from you already. Keep them

coming in. We will discuss them later.

I'm over 40! How many days a week do you do? Are you over 40? No. How

dare you! I shouldn't work as much as Ben!

All right, let's move on. It's just 30-years-old, but already

one of the world's largest airlines and with an impressive marketing

budget it's a well-known name at sports events,

stadiums and events. In a moment we'll get

the inside track from the airline's boss, but first let's take a look

at how the company began. It was founded in 1985

and flew its first routes out of Dubai with just two aircraft,

but has since grown at an astonishing rate with a fleet

of 230 aircraft, flying to 150 destinations

in more than 80 countries. Last year, it reported a 40% jump

in profits for the year, primarily But, the airline also faces

criticism over allegations that it receives billions of dollars

in illegal state subsidies and financial help from

the Dubai government. That prompted some US airlines

to call on lawmakers to restrict Emirates and other Gulf carriers'

access to the US airspace. So how does it tackle all that

political and economic turbulence? Our Business Editor went to meet

the company's boss, Sir Tim Clark. We have a dashboard and it tells us

what's going on where, And there are multiple red

lights at the moment. We have a European situation,

we have had these terrible events in Paris and Brussels which have

started to cause demand to diminish, out of the Asian markets

principally China, we have had advisories passed into these

populations to say don't travel We have issues with regard

to what is going on in Africa at the moment because we have got

commodity price collapse, Collapse as well, these are all red

lights that are flashing at us. The oil price obviously has fallen

very significantly over the last For most airlines that

would be great news. For a Gulf carrier, it is not quite

as straightforward as that because obviously the wealth

of the region is generated by oil. So is a low oil price

a good or a bad thing? Well, of course, the drop in the oil

price where we had 43% of our costs at one point were fuel,

they are about half that now. We benefited from that,

but of course, the airline industry races to the bottom with regard

to its pricing and as a result all the fares have come down,

the yields have fallen etcetera so it is a much better

position than it was, but it is not as good people

would think and you're right, as the oil producing Middle Eastern

countries are having to deal with a 75% fall in the price

of oil over the last three to five years,

they have had to trim their economies, but you know,

the economy still needs sustaining. Does that mean sheikhs

are going in economy these days? No, my sheikh often

travels in economy. He does indeed and I've travelled

with him in economy as well. The US industry, some

voices in the EU, complain that the competition isn't

fair because in fact you are the recipient of state

subsidies, what do you say to that? We have brought a new product

to the market which is affordable and people really enjoy it

and that has been seen Are you saying there has never been

a penny of subsidy at any time? Into Emirates I would say

categorically no. We have disclosed

exactly what the Government of Dubai's involvement

has been with us. Those are in our financial

statements which are produced every year and on a fully

transparent basis. I don't think we are going to be

bullied into submission We will take it back to them

as we did in the case A 350 page dossier which dealt

with in a very granular nature with all of the issues that

were thrown at us and I believe we We are waiting for a decision

on extra capacity in the UK. Tell us what we are missing out

on by not getting on with it The South East of England

needs a third runway. If Heathrow had been allowed to grow

in an unconstrained manner and it had the third or the fourth runway

which it would have done under normal capacity demand,

the airport would be 120 million, 130 million passengers today,

not 70 or 72 million. So it would be almost

double the size? It would have continued to grow

at a pace that it had been used to and has been capped so they get

might 2% or 3% more out it. The need has been identified

and assessed and proven as far It is the most significant city

on our network apart from Dubai. The United Kingdom is

the most profitable. So you are agnostic

about whether it is Heathrow For Emirates we will continue

to operate to Heathrow We have managed to get an additional

slot as we have done at Gatwick, but we are growing our

operations as well. You could see actually

Manchester and Birmingham. Birmingham is a fabulous airport

and it is in the heart So they could be developed

in the absence of Heathrow and Gatwick if it was

me, I'd do the lot. The boss of Emirates, Sir Tim Clark.

The Telegraph has been looking at the trade in fake goods which it

says make up 2.5% of all international trade.

If you're over 40 then your brain power could be harmed by working

more than 25 hours or a three-day week. We are all in approval of that

actually! We think it is a good idea. Justin is back as you can see.

Justin and I are both over 40. We have established that I am not! You

are saying that I have to work a longer week. Justin you are an

employer as well. You have got quite a few members of staff. What do you

think of this idea? You find people working part-time, tend to work

harder. They have got an area of work they have to try and do. It

creeps into the other hours that they are not at work. They get more

for less? It is the flexibility and you have got people with flexible

families, you need them to be flexible and you don't want to lose

the talent. You have trained people up and they are good at what they do

and they're going away. Why do you want that? Keep them involved and

you find they are working extra time and the old unones like me just end

up falling asleep in the corner! A lot of you getting in touch. Theo

says, "40 is semi retirement, but that flies in the face of the fact

that the retirement age is getting older and older." Another one, lots

of you suggesting it is a great idea. John says if it is a European

study, if so, it is the best thing to have come out of Brussels in a

long time. John said, "Three days work, five days salary. I'm always

pooped by Thursday anyway." More people are setting up their own

businesses and you will see how flexible they are in that time

because they run their businesses and often running two at the same

time. It would be fascinating to see how that works out. Tony says, "This

is why my brain hurts." Tony, it is only Tuesday.

Justin, tell us about the counterfeit goods story, worth a

quarter of a trillion pounds a year, so says the OECD. Something that's

not on our radar much these days, counterfeit goods? They are talking

about 2.5% of all international trade is fake goods or they are

talking about across the Europe... For big bands there, is a hole in

their profits basically, isn't it? Oh yeah. Big companies that are

ripped off over the world. They have their own police forces going out

and checking up on these. Certainly, some of my family in Indonesia, it

is not what quality of fake do you want to have? Do you want a rubbish

watch or a really good fake watch? The goods, well we all know it is

footwear and leather wear, where are they coming from? China and Hong

Kong. Other areas, but they are by far and away the worst culprits for

it. Justin, thank you. Really nice to see you and thank you for your

comments and suggestions about the three-day week! We think it is a

great idea. We are both back tomorrow. See you then.

We have got a quiet three or four days on the weather front. Today is

not looking bad. If it has been cloudy, the clouds will be breaking