16/06/2016 BBC Business Live

President Vladimir Putin and European Commission President

Jean-Claude Juncker hold talks at Russia's economic forum

as sanctions hit trade by tens of billions of dollars a year.

Also in the programme: The Yen rises to a 21-month high as Japan's

central bank decides against expanding its massive

And the Fed has cited uncertainty over the job market there and the UK

referendum on Europe. Here is how it looks on the first hour of trade.

And how to feed a growing global population?

As the cost of growing meat in laboratories falls,

is it really the future for food production?

We'll get the inside track on what's known as cellular agriculture.

So, that's what we want to know - would you eat a burger

Does it send a shiver down your spine?

Absolutely, an interesting debate. Would you eat a burger grown in a

lab? Let us know. We start today in Russia,

where President Putin is set to welcome business and political

leaders from around the world for And his biggest meeting

today is with this man, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president

of the European Commission. It's the first visit by the EU chief

to Russia since the EU imposed sanctions after Russia annexed

Crimea two years ago. The EU's sanctions put

restrictions on investments, the energy sector and export

of military equipment. Russia retaliated and imposed

sanctions on European food exports. Last year, trade continued to shrink

dramatically between Russian exports to the EU fell

by more than $52 billion, But the EU has also been hit

by Russia's retaliatory sanctions, Exports are down $32 billion last

year, just over 28%. The current EU sanctions come

to an end next month but are expected to be

renewed because of ongoing In a speech on Wednesday,

the German Finance Minister explained why the sanctions should

stay in place. This is a non-negotiable

requirement for Russia, There can be no return to normal

relations if Russia behaves contrary Europe must uphold the lesson

from its history that international law is an indispensable tool

for maintaining peace. Lilit Gevorgyan, Russia analyst

at IHS Global Insight, is with me. Lovely to see you. Interesting,

isn't it? This economic Forum is an annual event often used by Russia as

a bit of a tool to get its message out there. Jean-Claude Juncker is

going this time, why do you think that is? I think this is part of the

European Union carrot and stick tactics. On one hand they have

clearly stated that despite disagreements within the European

bloc there will be an extension of sanctions against Russia at least

for another six months. On the other hand when the European Commission

president is visiting this high-level forum, it's basically

for as long as there is a mutual for as long as there is a mutual

understanding why the sanctions have been imposed and what has to be done

for them to be gradually ruled out. Then was outlining some of the

numbers, it is clear these sanctions are biting hard for Russia and the

European Union both. Russia will try to get its message across that as an

economy they are still in an OK place in spite that. Your take on

that? They have two present figures that will support this presentation

of the Russian economy doing OK. Because on paper the figures are

showing that it is not really doing OK. Fair enough it did not contract

as much as some economists were fearing. But there was still

contracting in the first quarter of 2016. And this was a result, as you

mentioned, of sanctions, but also falling and a malingering fall in

crude oil prices. So, double trouble for the Russian economy. Of course

there will be some green shoots. And statistical low base is another

reason that you will see some improvement in numbers but would

disagree that Russia is out of the woods. In terms of the sanctions

themselves from Europe's point of view, they are actually discussing

this issue next week, European leaders. They expire or are renewed

at the end of July. We are assuming they will be renewed. There has been

strong signals from the European Union that they will be continuing

with the sanctions, at least with current sanctions until the end of

the year. However, what we are also seeing is that some of those

European Union members who are against the sanctions because they

have suffered more than others, they argue that perhaps it is time to

start an incremental decrease of these sanctions. I think from a

Russian perspective they would be quite happy with one sector being

released from that, the financial one. Because that has really had an

impact on the Russian economy. I think within six months we will see

some improvement but it will be very slow improvement in EU Russia

relations. As ever we appreciate your insight. Thanks for coming in.

The yen rose to a 21-month high against the dollar

after the Bank of Japan decided to keep its 80 trillion yen

The central bank stuck to its optimistic view

of the economy, even as fears over Britain's future in the EU hit

America's Central Bank kept interest rates on hold

at between 0.25% and 0.5% because of an uncertain jobs market.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said a possible UK vote to leave

the European Union was one of the factors deterring them

She called it "a decision that could have consequences for economic

and financial conditions in global financial markets".

Chinese taxi hailing app Didi Chuxing says it's raised

$7.3 billion from investors in its latest round of fund raising.

That values the company at more than $25 billion -

according to the Wall Street Journal.

Didi is trying to fend off the arrival of US rival Uber

into the Chinese market, which it currently dominates.

It recently won a billion dollar investment from Apple.

If you are watching in China and I mispronounced that completely, let

me know. If you are watching, do let us know, if you speak Chinese.

Let's look at some of the stories out there, Brexit is dominating, but

there are some other stories. Mulberry has come out with pre-tax

profits last year, ?6.2 million. That's up nearly ?2 million on the

year before, so that's encouraging. Because of course British handbag

brand Mulberry has not had the easiest of times of late, nor have

many other rivals in the luxury goods market. It has seen its

profits grow for the first time in four years. So a bit of good news in

business. We like to give you a little bit of good news, it is not

all doom and gloom. And this is a nice story.

It's taken more than a decade, and $5.5 billion but Disney

is opening its first park in mainland China.

The resort covers nearly four square kilometers,

and is a joint venture with state-owned companies.

Around 900 Communist party officials will attending the opening gala.

I think Pirates of the Caribbean is the theme behind you, or something

of that nature. Tell us more, Robin. Well, it's been open for hours now.

The park is full on day one, fully booked for the next couple of weeks,

we're told. Disney's Hope and Bob Eiger's Hope, the Chief Executive

mouse is that people will keep coming to this park. They have a

seven square kilometres base and already there is talk of this park

expanding. Could there be a Star Wars world here? Who knows. Huge

investment for Disney, seven years in the making. As you said it is a

joint venture as virtually all Western companies have to go into if

they want to come into China. Essentially owned and controlled by

the Shanghai government. Disney alongside the Shanghai local

government. Behind this massive project. And what we have today is a

really big moment for Disney because it is a bit of a gamble. It is big

money but they hope that the 330 million people within a three Hour

Drive of this park will be tempted, persuaded to come here, spend their

money and really imbibed the Disney way. Thanks very much, enjoy the

rights, Robin. I'm sure he'll be trying a few of those out as

Disneyland in Shanghai opens today. It's central bank action -

or inaction to be precise - The Bank of Japan held off

from offering any more monetary stimulus on Thursday

despite the usual headwinds That was enough to send the yen

to a two-year high - casting a shadow over

an already worsening outlook It wasn't a huge surprise

but coupled with a lack The Federal Reserve said it

would keep interest rates unchanged It also cited the UK's referendum

on EU membership as an issue. Now that the US Federal reserve has

spoken, investors will be looking to economic data for signs of strength

in the US economy. On Thursday we will get the consumer Price index

for the month of May. CPI looks at how much prices of certain consumer

goods change month over month. The annual changes are used as a measure

of inflation. Now it's expected that the CPI will have gone up by 0.3%

for the month of May. And a big part of that is because Americans are

paying more for gasoline. And also happening on Thursday, the US

Secretary of State John Kerry will be in Denmark and Finland. Arctic

exploration, climate change and trade are among some of the topics

that will be discussed. Joining us is Tom Stevenson,

Investment Director Good morning. Let's talk about

Japan, we were discussing this earlier in the Green room. It was

quite a big reaction to the fact that there is no action by the

Central bank. Many were predicting there would not be action, either.

Yes, so given that was the case it was a very big reaction in the

currency market. A year ago it took 125 yen to buy a dollar, now it just

takes 103 yen. A massive strengthening in the yen. That is

important for the Japanese stock market. So many companies listed on

the Tokyo stock exchange big exporters, and a strong yen makes

their product less competitive in overseas markets. What we have seen

is a 24% decline in the value of the nick a index. While we have been

watching Brexit and the Fed, quietly the Japanese market has been

deflating. Let's talk about the Fed, although we have heard a lot about

it, deciding to do nothing again yesterday, this is a story we will

follow, clearly they are taking in the impact of events around the

world, not least the potential Brexit? Yes, she mentioned the

Brexit vote. What was interesting about the Fed yesterday and last

night was the fact that the expectations for future interest

rates and the expectations for future growth in the American

economy just keep coming back and coming back. Just chipping away

slowly. It just means that interest rates will stay much lower for

longer. Even further away than September for example? Yes, the Fed

is still expecting to make to rate rises this year, the market is not

expecting that, and there has been that disconnect for some time. Lots

of good stories to discuss later when we look at the business press.

How to feed a growing global population?

Could food grown in laboratories be the answer.

It's called cellular agriculture - and as the cost of technology

falls, could it be coming to a dinner table near you?

You're with Business Live from BBC News.

The Governor of the Bank of England has sent an angry response to one

of the most senior figures in the Vote Leave campaign

after being warned about rules banning "any public comment"

Mark Carney's three-page letter, obtained by the BBC,

says that what senior Bank officials considered

a "threat" contained "numerous and substantial" misconceptions.

Simon, the significance of this letter, talked us through it? It

stems from the significance of the Bank of England Governor Mark

Carney. In the past he has warned that there could be economic

consequences of a vote to leave the European Union. He has admitted we

could see a technical recession after the referendum vote. That of

course angered the vote Leave campaign, they thought he should not

be bandying words around like recession. Bernard Jenkin, the

chairman of the select committee, who looks after constitutional

issues, wrote to him and said I do hope you will keep your mouth shut

between now and the 23rd of June because we wouldn't want you raking

the purdah rules. And he got this angry 3-page letter shooting back to

him singing he really fundamentally misunderstand the bank 's role of

independence. We are obliged to give what he called evidence -based

submissions on what would happen to the UK economy. Bernard Jenkin said,

we know how you feel about the referendum. Mark Carney wrote back

saying, no you don't, all I have done is given evidence base

admissions, as is my duty. A real war of words about whether the

governor of Bank of England can make comments on this. As it happens, in

a few hours' time we will get the minutes of the last monetary policy

committee meeting, and it is inconceivable that they will not

mention what they have mentioned so far, that there could be some

economic impact of a vote to leave. So very angry war letters this

morning. You can read those letters on the

Business Live page now, the 3-page letter from Mark Carney to Mr

Jenkins, and if you scroll up you are then able to see the letter that

was sent to the Governor of the Bank of England from Bernard Jenkin is

that led to that 3-page angry response. Do take a look at those

and read if you are interested. Well worth reading. The life page

will have all of the other stories as well but we have not managed to

squeeze in. A busy day in the business world.

You're watching Business Live - our top story:

Rebuilding bridges - Russia and Europe hold

It is often dubbed Russia's Davos, meeting for the first time in a long

time, sanctions imposed on Russia and Europe as a result of that.

Jean-Claude Juncker has not been for a few years so it is interesting he

is there. By 2050, the world's population

is likely to hit nearly 10-billion. But how will we feed

all those people? One possible answer could be

to 'grow' meat and animal products in laboratories rather than rearing

them on farms. But, ethics aside, can it ever

be financially viable? You might remember the Dutch

scientist Mark Post who unveiled the world's first lab-grown

burger in London in 2013. It came with a hefty

price tag - $330,000. Egg whites can also be made

in the lab using yeast, which produces a protein-based

mixture but without involving It's suggested the technology

could revolutionise the food supply chain -

making food more efficiently and reducing the impact

on the environment. Gilonne d'Origny is chief

development officer at New Harvest. It's a non-profit organisation that

brings together all those working Welcome to the programme. Gilonne,

you may have been watching at the beginning, we asked our viewers to

get involved in the conversation and scanning some of the comments, most

of them saying they are quite up for the idea of eating a manufactured,

that is not quite the right word, a scientifically made hamburger bug.

Cultured hamburger. Tell us more about the process. Cellular

agriculture is making any agricultural project from the

cellular level up, rather than harvesting that product from an

animal, plant, or synthesising a petroleum product. So we are using

the technologies that have been advanced in medicine, tissue

engineering, for instance, to grow hearts all ears, and see if it can

be applied to making food. We touched on the issue of the growing

global population, dealing with things like world hunger, but it is

potentially somewhere down the line, we are not there yet, but it could

help solve some of those problems? Oh, yes. The life-cycle

environmental impact assessments that have been done so far comparing

the production of meat made in an animal and meat made in cultures, it

is in the parable, savings of up to 90% in water consumption, in

greenhouse gas emissions, it allows vertical farming in cities. From the

point of view of the environment the benefits are clearer, but is it

financially viable? First of all we are a long way from the point where

we can buy one of these burgers, so there will be a long road in terms

of research and development which has to be funded, and how will it

work in terms of making it financially viable, could people

afford to buy this meet? We are a research institute precisely to

establish these basic tools, so that we can then bring these products

closer to market. The first computers were prohibitively

expensive, progressively they've become less and less expensive. Same

thing in aviation. You need a concerted effort from Kovtun,

universities, private institutions and foundations and research

institutes like ours to start pushing these technologies said they

are developed sufficiently for entrepreneurs to start picking them

up. But until and unless universities start to develop

specific disciplines where students can start being educated in this

field, just like happened with computer sciences once you had

computer science departments are you started having experts coming out.

We have covered the cost, which is falling, the technology, which is

improving, but there will always be the ethical, moral, perception

issue, Sally said a lot of people have got in touch to say they would

be fine with it, but a lot of said, it is a beer into genetically

modified territory, I don't know where it is from, I would steer

clear of it. How do you get public perception on your side? First of

all the exercises terrible cognitive dissonance to meet today, the vast

majority comes from a factory farm, animals are protein factories. There

are about 60 billion animals that were growing last year for our

conception. 36 billion of those were chicken. It is an efficient protein

factory right now but it is very dangerous, it is a vector of

diseases, it is a reason why we have antibiotic resistant at the scale we

do, and it is not really necessary any more if we manage to develop

these technologies sufficiently that we can take out the animal from this

industrialised system. We are not talking about farms where cows roam,

we are talking about the industrialisation of the animal. It

is absolutely fascinating, and it is all stuff of future years. Thank you

very much for coming game, very happy day year what you are finding

out that. But we have to move on, as ever, and we returned to that big

decision... It's just a week until

voters in Britain decide whether the UK should remain

in the European Union or leave. All this week we are hearing

the views of small business owners In the latest of our special series,

here's one who thinks he's far I am one of the owners of a textile

company, we have been recycling textiles the 26th year. Our main

business partner is Britain, we import 45 trucks a day, I hope

Britain will stay in the EU. There are three main reasons. One of the

reasons is the customs duties, obviously if Britain leaves the

customs duties might be imposed, which makes goods expensive. The

other reasons, things that make the procedure longer, more expensive,

more difficult, sometimes impossible, and also the currency

fluctuations. No-one knows what will happen but if the pound gets

stronger obviously the price will be much more expensive for us. Finally

there is an even bigger problem. If Britain leaves, the whole EU might

break up and that would not be good for anyone.

A lot more views online, of course. Tom is back with us in the studio.

Before we dig into some of the papers, laboratory burgers? Your

guest made a good point about cognitive dissonance, we can put the

reality of factory farming to one side... While we are talking in. But

I still don't really fancy burger made in a laboratory! I think I am

with you on that one! Lets move swiftly on, a great story today,

California is a bigger than France. California the sixth largest economy

in the world. Just explain this, it is crazy. California is beaten only

by the rest of the US, Japan, China, Germany and the UK now in terms of

the size of the economy. What is interesting about this, bigger than

France's economy but the population of California, just 40 million

people, 66 million in France, so it shows the amazing productivity gains

that California has. Is it the technology firms? I think that is

what is driving it, what was interesting about this article was

that the economy grew by 5.7%, emerging markets rate of growth. Not

long ago we were talking about it long ago we were talking about it

being bankrupt. It shows the importance of the technology sector

and silicon valley to the US economy. Nice to see you, thank you

for coming in. And a lovely picture about serve their on that story

about California. Not funny, raining all the time!

Thank you for joining us, we will see using.

Good morning, it will be another day of downpours