27/02/2017 BBC Business Live

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

Hopes of a European mega exchange between London

The London Stock Exchange says the regulatory hurdles are too high.

Live from London, that's our top story on Monday 27th February.

Doubts about the $30 billion merger plan come as a top German banker

tells the BBC that leaving the European Union is not the reason for

penalising the City of London. Also in the programme:

Ringing a familiar tune. The Nokia 3310 makes a comeback

but will help its new makers stand out from the crowd at one

of the mobile phone This is how the European markets

begin the trading week. In positive territory. We will talk about what

will move them later in the week later in the programme. We are

joined by a French entrepreneur described as a rock star in the

world of proud funding. She will reveal to us her latest plans

shortly. And the winner is... La La Land. Moonlight? Sort out the

autocue! What a night. What is your Warren Beatty moment? Get in touch.

One of Europe's biggest mergers looks like it is off.

The London Stock Exchange and its German rival

the Deutsche Boerse say their coming together is unlikely to be approved

The merger was supposed to be worth just over $30 billion and would have

created a giant trading powerhouse that would better compete

When they announced the deal last year the two companies said together

they should be able to make cost savings of $475 million a year,

about 20% of the combined group's operating costs.

They had already agreed to sell part of LSE's clearing business, LCH,

to satisfy concerns from European competition regulators

for the merger to go ahead the LSE would have

to sell its 60% stake in MTS, a major platform for trading

European government bonds, something the LSE dismissed

And with Brexit on the horizon questions about whether to put

the headquarters in Germany or London hung over the deal anyway.

To get more insight into this, we are joined by our economics editor,

Kamal Ahmed. It seems like LSE and Kamal Ahmed. It seems like LSE and

Deutsche Boerse will not make it down the aisle. It just shows how

much regulatory controls are important when it comes to these

major deals. This all feeds into the Brexit issues. This is not actually

directly to do with Brexit but nevertheless it does show how

important the regulatory voices can be in the debate as Britain makes

their way out of the European Union. We tend to focus on the politics for

obvious reasons but there are huge and conjugated rule books that need

to be unwound. I spoke to the executive director of the

Bundesbank, and the central banks in Europe will have an important role

in how Britain leads the European Union. He was talking about the City

and threats to the City and threats to the European Union financial

sectors. I kicked off by asking him what the risks were and he said they

were two-way, and there was a risk to employment in the United Kingdom.

There will be some job losses but that doesn't mean that London will

lose its very eminent position as the financial centre in Europe. From

a German perspective, should a business be looking to move to

Germany, we would not accept empty shelves, we would not accept a

letterbox companies. We will make sure that the management, the

controlling, the risk control etc, is done out of Germany. That doesn't

mean that we couldn't have back-to-back booking models but dual

structures and all the like is not something we would give. He is very

senior in Germany in banking. Interesting that you should have a

chat with him at this time when we are expecting Article 50 to be

triggered, as early as March the 9th according to some reports.

Regardless of when it is triggered, the issue of the City of London and

its relationship with the rest of Europe, that has been one of the

main issues. That will be the main concern not just for businesses in

London and banks in London, but also businesses and banks on the European

continent because London has very deep capital markets and it is very

important for providing funding to European Union businesses and

governments, let's not forget. I think he was making it clear that

although Britain wouldn't be penalised for leaving the EU, there

will be risks. The Bundesbank has put up on its own website and area

of information for banks looking to move to Frankfurt. He said it wasn't

an advert, but boy, it feeds that idea, which a number of UK banks

have already said they are looking at, that jobs will have to move in

the area of foreign exchange in particular. That is called Euro

clearing. That will have to move on to the European continent and there

will be some job losses but the Bundesbank director has made it

clear that London will remain the financial centre for the whole of

the European Union. Thank you. Much the European Union. Thank you. Much

more on that and that interview on our website. Now some other news.

US billionaire Warren Buffett has backed American

businesses to continue to create mind-boggling wealth.

The investment guru, known as the Sage of Omaha,

said stocks were virtually certain to be worth far more

US markets are currently trading at record highs.

Profits at private Australian companies showed an increase of 20%

It's a big boost for the economy and is the highest jump in operating

profits for that time of year in 17 years.

Higher prices for raw materials meant that mining companies

Later in the week Australia is due to release its latest growth

figures after the suprise contraction of 0.5% in the third

Google's voice-activated digital assistant will soon be available

on smartphones running the latest versions of the Android

Until now, Google Assistant had only been available on the firm's

The service, like Siri on iPhones, allows users to interact

The company says that the software update would bring Google Assistant

to hundreds of millions of new users.

The main opposition party in South Korea,

the Democratic Party, has said it's working with others

to seek the impeachment of the Prime Minister,

Hwang Kyo-ahn, after he decided not to extend an investigation

That scandal has amongst others seen the head of the biggest company in

the country, Samsung, arrested. This corruption scandal gets bigger and

bigger. It does. And this week we will see a culmination, I think,

when we see the indictment of some very senior figures, the formal

indictment. Probably including the acting head of Samsung. J Wiley is

currently under arrest but he will probably face a formal charge to be

outed in a court of law about allegations that some sun gave money

in return for favours from the government. -- Samsung. There is a

debate going on but it is mainly to do with the way government and

businesses are to close in this country. Thank you. We can check on

the Asian markets now. Asian markets moved lower,

led by financial stocks. Also the yen strengthened

against the dollar putting downward pressure

on the Nikkei. A stronger yen hurts Japanese shares

because it makes Japanese exports Later in the week, looking slightly

further ahead, we get the latest German employment figures and EU

leaders will meet for informal trade talks in Malta and the advertising

giant WPP will publish its full-year results towards the end of the week.

The other thing that may affect market investors all around the

world, will be looking ahead to the US President Donald Trump's speech

to US Congress about promised tax cuts and infrastructure spending.

The Mir Hussein has all the details about what is ahead on Wall Street.

Happening this week in the US, the President of the United States will

be addressing a joint session of Congress. This is a chance for Mr

Trump to speak directly to the American people and to really

outline his vision for the coming year. We can expect that the

President will likely be talking about things like the US economy and

jobs. Before we hear from the President on Tuesday, we will be

getting the latest snapshot of the American economy in terms of its

gross domestic product, GDP. And also happening this week on

Thursday, it could be the biggest tech IPO since Facebook. That is

when Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, the online messaging

service, will start trading at a publicly traded company on the New

York Stock Exchange. A look ahead to what is going on in the United

States. Quite a busy week, as ever. Joining us is Trevor Greetham,

head of multi asset Before we get into this week, what

about this Deutsche Boerse and London Stock Exchange story? It is

not official yet but rumours are rife and the LSE is saying that the

sale is not likely and shares are falling. This merger was mooted

months before the Brexit float and both parties at that time thought it

was certain that we would vote to remain and we would be heading

towards capital markets union. So clearly it is choppy waters and it

is not a huge surprise that they are saying what they are saying. Can you

give more on that story about Warren Buffitt, who is saying that he

thinks stocks are certain to be worth far more in the years ahead?

That suggests that we will see more record highs. Can they? Will we

eventually be corrected? There are two different things. In the very

long run, stocks tend to do better than all other asset classes, which

is what Warren is referring to. In the short run, the markets have

surged since the US presidential election but the world economy was

starting to recover before that vote anyway. It has been supercharged by

promises of stimulus and the real question is whether we will get them

in the big speech tomorrow. Let's talk about that President Trump

speech tomorrow, which is highly anticipated. Will he deliver on tax

cuts and massive infrastructure spending and if he does and what

happens to the share market? -- if he doesn't. I think he will deliver

but what will be frustrating is how he does it. Will there be an

increase in spending or will it be robbing Peter to pay Paul? He talked

about ramping up defence spending but taking tens of billions of

pounds away from the environment protection agency, and I think that

would be a big mistake. What about the tax cuts? I think they will be

coming but they are much slower and the question is whether the markets

are patient enough to wait for the details. We may get a situation

where the markets have a bit of a correction over the summer, which is

quite normal, waiting for evidence. At the moment we are keeping the

balls in the air, at that stage, and the US data is still strong. People

are worried about US politics, French politics, and the Mac pro and

the earnings data keep coming in strong. -- macro. Thank you. Still

to come: Beating the drum for crowdfunding, we will meet the woman

described as a rock star in the skill of raising money from the

masses. This is Business Live from BBC News.

Trinity Mirror has posted its full year preliminary results.

the largest British newspaper, magazine and digital publisher

with national and regional newspaper titles including the Daily Mirror,

the Daily Record, and the Sunday Mail.

Nice to see you, Michael. Give us your take on these numbers. They are

better than expected. Yes, profits and revenues are up. The numbers

don't disguise the fact that print volumes, in terms of circulation,

are dropping sharply. Print revenue has increased but that is largely as

a result of increasing costs. And also an increase in advertising

revenue. What is clear is that digital is becoming a much bigger

part of the company's overall strategy, certainly in terms of

views, digital revenue is up quite sharply. The chief executive of

Trinity Mirror, interviewed about Express newspapers, and whether they

will buy them or not. Yes, and that highlights the pressures that print

media is under. Simon Cox was contemplating speaking to Richard

Desmond about this and I think that is the way to go. We will get much

more consolidation, I think, within the newspaper network. Certainly

given the fact that circulation, print circulation, is continuing to

decline. Michael, we're asking our viewers

this morning what their Warren Beatty moment is after that stumble

at the Oscars. Have you ever had a Warren Beatty moment? I've had

plenty of Warren Beatty moments when I've been doing live

presentationsment none of them stand out. They're all equally as

embarrassing. A very diplomatic answer!

I was trying to find a red envelope earlier. I couldn't find one for

love nor money. Shares in the big car insurers today in London are

tumbling. That's on a decision made to change the way personal injury

claims are calculated so Admiral Group shares down. Directline down

7%. AA down some 3%. If you don't know about the changes, do take a

look at our website. There is more detail about the personal injury

changes that are coming. Our top story, a $30 billion merger

between the London Stock Exchange and Germany's Deutsche Boerse

appears on the verge of collapse after the LSE said the deal

was unlikely to be approved A quick look at how

markets are faring. It is a new trading week. All of

them are headed higher, only a little bit.

Our next guest has been described as being something of a "financial

rock star" in the crowd-funding world having accomplished two major

Leetchi is an online fundraising platform that allows anyone

You can invite others to help finance creative projects and raise

It has over seven million users in 150 countries,

and helped raise more than $425 million in 2016.

Mangopay is an online paglobal payment technology

designed for marketplaces, crowd-funding platforms

Mangopay launched in 2013 and it has over ten million users worldwide.

It creates e-wallets for buyers and sellers,

enabling funds to be held securely and for as long as necessary.

Shall we introduce the rock star, sell lean who is here with us who

has pretty much created those two companies.

Welcome to the programme. Is it a big pressure to be described as a

rock star? I hate to put lots of pressure on you, many would argue it

is a worthy description because you are now 33... 34. 34 and yet you've

created these two companies and some time ago, you started this at a very

young age, both of which are very successful and disrupting? Yeah,

true. I like to describe myself as an entrepreneur. I had the chance to

create both businesses, first the crowdfunding and Mangopay. The idea

behind Mangopay is because I run my first company and I realised there

wasn't any payment solution dedicated to market places and

crowdfunding and that's why I created Mangopay. I see myself as a

creative person and I can't stop creating a new business and then

Mangopay was born. Many entrepreneurs will think, "I've got

the ideas. I've got that area where I want to move into." It is one

thing having an idea and it is other thing making it happen and them

being successful? I remember seeing when you dream, when you try and

when you work then nothing can have limits. So you just have to create

and work hard. So with the Mangopay, how does it work? If I wanted, I

came up with a brilliant business idea that everyone is going to want

me to help get off the ground and fund. How does Mangopay help me?

Well, Mangopay is a business solution. So we only work for

business. So for example we work with 1500 platforms in Europe. For

example, if you want to create a fund-raising venture. Lucy Watson is

doing it. The technology for the payments, so collecting the payment

and then paying out is done by Mangopay. There are many

crowdfunding websites out there. Kickstarter and many of them

extremely well-known. I hadn't heard of your's until I realised you were

coming on the programme. How do you manage to stand out? Yeah, in the

prospective of Mangopay as it is a business solution so we are known by

our customers because there is not a lot of technology. So it's more

about the quality of the product. We have been launched less than four

years ago and for example in 2017 we're going to do one billion

transactions. What about Leechi? Because of the word of mouth. Lucy

Watson is collecting online and then she invites followers to join the

money pot and then they create a new money pot in the next week and the

next months. So that's how we came to have more than seven million

users. Briefly, the Guardian's business pages today reporting a lot

of London based financial tech companies are eyeing up alternative

options in Europe because of Brexit. Is that your experience or do you

think that's overblowing the effect of Brexit? Well, in our prospective

we are doing 20% of our turnover in the UK market. So the UK market is

really important for us. So we will figure out if the passporting is

still live and then we will still work the way we do and if not, we

will apply for our own licence on the UK market because it's a really

important market for us. 25% of the finance is done here. So it's an

important market. Thank you for coming in. We have to

move on. Nokia used to be synonymous

with the mobile phone and HMD the company which recently bought

the rights to the Nokia brand, is hoping a blast from the past

will restore the company back Rory Cellan-Jones sent us this

report from the Mobile World It's back. It has been reborn by the

new owners of the Nokia brand. But if Nokia is to make a huge comeback,

it's not going to be this that's going to do it. It's going to be a

smartphone called the Nokia 6 and with me is the Chief Executive of

HMD which is bringing back the two brands. Is it that's the future or

is it that? It is absolutely our smartphone is the future. This is

where we are putting our efforts and we are thriving together with our

partners. It's not that small. There are people who like to use this

instead of smartphone. It's always going down slowly, and that's why we

are focussing on smartphones. There was a lot of affection for that,

though, was there? For sure, there is a lot of interest and a lot of

media and that's serving, this announcement that now we are trying

the next chapter of Nokia. Isn't the danger that you're sending out a

nostalgic one about an old phone rather than a future phone? This is

fun and entertaining. This is making a clear statement. Nokia, this is

our story and this will be announced everywhere and our partners, more

than 500 partners globally have decided to try the next cap ter of

Nokia. More than 120 countries. It brings back memories that.

The thing that will dominate is the Oscars and that Warren Beatty

moment. It is part of their whole marketing. We're trusted do the

Oscars and there is never a mistake, well, there has been now, but there

have been a couple before. The two people who do are the chairman of

the US business and he is on the goble board of PWC, the other person

is a text woman at PWC. They have put out a message saying they are

very sorry, viewers and members of the Academy for handing over the

wrong envelope. This article that was published a couple of days ago,

what would happen if a presenter announced the wrong winner at the

Oscars? We don't know what arrangement is because it never

happened before. Now we do. It is a shambles! That's the answer. They

didn't really prepare for failure. We asked you what's your Warren

Beatty moment. A viewer says, "It was to tell us that the humans have

seven ages of life and Warren Beatty's is in his last age." Is

that a little bit harsh? Recently I was reading out a bulletin and I was

doing the markets, there was no Dow Jones number there. You pause. Did

you make it up? I made tip, but I was within 100 points. 20,000 and

something? 20,000! Nicely covered. If we don't start

saying goodbye, we'll have our own Warren Beatty moment. That's it from

Business Live today.