21/03/2017 BBC Business Live

This is Business Live from BBC News with Rachel Horne and Sally Bundock.

There are calls for a radical shake-up of corporate governance in

South Korea as the former president is grilled over corruption. That is

our top story. The boss of Samsung is already

facing a trial so will Park Geun-hye face a similar fate in a case that's

shone a light on the influence Some of the UK's top

banks, including HSBC, hundreds of millions of dollars

from an international money We will get the details and has it

moved the markets? The FTSE close to record high territories. It keeps

doing it. We will look at the figures in a minute.

Would you pay to see a play - not live - but streamed to a cinema?

Later in the programme we'll speak to the boss of a company hoping

to bring the opening curtain to the silver screen.

We would love to hear from you and get your views on stories we are

covering today. Get involved. It's the scandal that's

engulfed a nation. The ousted South Korean President

Park Geun-hye is being questioned by prosecutors over the corruption

scandal that brought her down. Mrs Park took the chance to again

apologise for her conduct. She is accused of colluding

with a friend to pressure the country's biggest

companies to donate for In response, it's alleged that these

businesses received favours But the scandal has also raised

questions about the role of the so-called chaebols

within Korean society. The word chaebol is a combination

of the Korean words These influential

groups of companies - that are often family run -

include Samsung, Hyundai and Lotte group - all of which dominate

the domestic economy. To put this in perspective,

Samsung alone accounts for 30% of the entire value of the Korean

stock market and its de facto leader - Jay Y Lea -

has been charged in connection But there are dozens of other

chaebols in the country. Another big worry for the economy

is the government's claims that its biggest trading partner -

China - is imposing economic sanctions on the country,

over its decision to host the United States THAAD

missile defence system. He is chairman of the TS

Lombard's China team. Rachel touching on some key issues.

There is a lot going on for South Korea and its economy, the

businesses that work there but on the geopolitical stage as well with

North Korea. If we focus on the chaebols, do you think this sort of

perfect storm of an impeached president and the boss of Samsun,

both on trial at the same time, will mean there will be significant

change? It opens the door to significant change. The chaebols are

all important in running South Korea's economy and run it in a

closed system, without little external investor pressure, low

dividends and so on, so this is a series of baronies which the health

of the economy need to be addressed and the opposition are committed to

doing that. The big shift would be if the Samsun boss ends up behind

bars and is not pardoned because in the past bosses of companies, Samsun

in the past, they have been pardoned. They tended to get away

with it to put it mildly. The opposition which is well placed for

the election in May is committed to change and I think there is a

feeling in South Korea that the economy needs to be looked at

because exports are not what they used to be. The stock market is

doing well but there is a feeling it is time for reform. What about the

issue of Chinese sanctions they say are happening as a result of the

missile defence system? This makes everything more complicated. What

has happened is because of the North Korean threat, South Korea is

deploying a US anti-missile system. China sees it as a threat to China

because it can contain Chinese missiles but more important the

radar could go hundreds of miles into China and reach as far as the

main Chinese missile deployment in north-eastern China and China is

afraid of electronic spying. Rex Tillerson has just been in the

region, trying to talk to all leaders to get a sense of where we

are going and there is emphasis on the President, the Donald Trump

administration and its role. What will be the outcome? The problem

with this is the North Korean issue is one to which there is no evident

solution. Rex Tillerson talked about military options on the table but

the trouble is if the US tries to attack North Korea, most of its

missiles, nuclear sites, are difficult to find underground, and

the capital of South Korea is within artillery range of North Korean

government. If you go the military route it is terrible but the

diplomatic route has produced nothing. I know we will talk about

this again. Thanks. The Japanese Prime Minister,

Shinzo Abe, is in Europe for talks with senior

European Union officials. The discussions will involve a trade

agreement. Brussels is keen to boost trade

with Asia, to take advantage of the more protectionist stance

in the United States The US government is

expected to announce that with immediate effect,

it's banning certain battery-operated devices from cabin

baggage on flights from a number of countries in the Middle

East and North Africa. Speaking off the record,

government officials said it would apply to devices

larger than a mobile phone on nonstop flights from ten

airports in eight unspecified One story that is all over the

website this morning is the death of Martin McGuinness from Sinn Fein. He

was 66 years old. He died this morning. He was Northern Ireland

former Deputy First Minister. He started as leader of the IRA and was

convicted for membership of the IRA but turned to politics, turned

peacemaker, working at the heart of the power-sharing government

following the Good Friday Agreement. A lot of tributes pouring in and

more details on the website. Some of the UK's top banks inlcuding

HSBC are being accused of processing laundering operation

connected to Russia. The allegations are made

in the Guardian newspaper. The banks named insist they comply

with all regulations and operate Andrew Walker is in our

business newsroom. Give us some more details. It is a

striking story that's the Guardian has. They have seen thousands of

documents founded investigation they say is led by police in Latvia and

Moldova. 20 billion at least, they reckon the total figure could be

more, of money laundered by criminals in Russia, with strong

official connections. Of that money they reckon as much as 600 million

may have been processed by British banks. To say it has been processed

by them does not necessarily mean they know that, which is important

to emphasise. They do not necessarily know it has gone through

the accounts and they are keen to emphasise they comply with

legislation. Of those banks, more than half the British psalm is

alleged to have gone through HSBC, which also has a share traded

overnight in Hong Kong. Precious little impact haps because traders

are aware banks are at risk of this kind of thing being done through

their recounts. It must be emphasised HSBC and the other banks

say they do everything to comply with the law, but they are in a

difficult situation. They are also accused of being excessively

vigilant, of being too quick to close down accounts that have been

held by various charitable religious organisations in the UK. It is a

difficult judgment to get right. On the other side, HSBC has in the past

had problems in the US and made a settlement of more than ?1 billion

to deal with allegations of money-laundering in relation to a

Mexican drugs cartel. A difficult spot for the banks. Thanks, Andrew.

this week after a public holiday yesterday.

hit a 21 month high while the dollar fell back a bit -

that is unusual given that the Fed has just raised the interest rates -

you would expect that to strengthen the dollar - but the markets

were expecting to hear of more rises more quickly -

banking stocks move today following that report Andrew shared.

Let's go to Wall Street. Will Nike do it when it reports earnings? The

world's largest footwear maker is struggling with competition such as

Adidas. Nike and the Jordan Brand dominate the US market but rivals

are gaining strength. FedEx will report earnings on Tuesday and

investors will watch to see how the company managed costs through the

crucial holiday season. Investors will look to see what steps FedEx

will take to bring down the cost in the era of a rapid rise of

e-commerce. It is the high costs that have brought down the FedEx

profit margins. Joining us is Jane Foley, senior

currency strategist, Rabobank. We have been touching on issues in

the markets. What is your sense of where we are? We have a falling

dollar and activity in the bond markets and it would seem the fear

factor is creeping back. There are lots of things will stop the Donald

Trump theme has given way to disappointment with the market more

about protectionism. The idea after Donald Trump's election that he

could bring growth to the economy and inflation, that is taking a step

back with a market thinking he cannot get that through perhaps

until the end of the year. Janet Yellen raised interest rates, the

head of the Federal Reserve, but she also suggested perhaps she may not

be hiking as quickly as some expected. On inflation, yes there is

inflation but not the crucial demand led inflation still which is

something the markets are looking for. Talking about inflation, it

impacts the bond market. For years they went strong and over the last

couple of years people are going, I think it is coming to an end. Do you

think it is time now inflation is creeping in? It might be but we have

to see it in the context of the inflation we have. We have more but

generally on the back of higher energy prices, which acts like a tax

on our pockets. They do not make us spend more money, we have to spend

more money but not because we have higher wages, which is what is

missing, wage inflation is low and without the demand, demand led

inflation will be subdued. We have little bits of inflation but not

runaway inflation and so it could be bond yields or longer-term interest

rates creeping higher but not running away. Jane will come back

later. She has more work to do looking at some of the other

business stories. We will be speaking to the boss of a company

hoping to bring the theatre's opening curtain to be dashed back to

the silver screen. It has been announced

that the former deputy first minister of Northern Ireland,

Martin McGuinness, has died. He retired from Stormont

in January for health reasons. He was a key figure in Northern

Irish politics over recent years, Our political correspondent

Chris Mason has more. What is striking about Martin

McGuinness is his entire life and political career was dedicated to

one aim and that was to remove the power of this place, Westminster,

the home of the British Parliament and British Government from Northern

Ireland. He referred to it as the North of Ireland, he wanted the

reunification of Ireland, but what is striking is how his method for

doing that to change radically as we saw in the report we have just

played. Someone who spent his early years as an IRA commander, a

commander of the IRA, who saw it as their mission statement to try to

drive the British out of Northern Ireland and to use violence to do

so. The contrast between that and in his later years someone who

commanded the political stage as the Deputy First Minister of Northern

Ireland, and had an incredible personal relationship with Ian

Paisley, the First Minister, the two people from as far apart validity in

terms of Northern Ireland battles as you could imagine that they were

known as the Chuckle Brothers, such was the warm nature of their

relationship and as we saw, Martin McGuinness happy to speak out when

necessary against splinter organisations within the republican

movement who carried on using violence against the wishes of Mr

McGuinness and others within Sinn Fein.

So that was the big story that broke in the early hours of the morning,

the fact that Martin McGuinness has died at the age of 66. There will be

more korchl throughout the day on the BBC News Channel as tributes

start to come in. In the meantime n terms of business, we've mentioned

it, a big day for the UK in terms of the inflation figures. Yes, the

inflation figures are out today in the UK. It is answerings siting time

for inflation. There is a new measure. Instead of the CPI, it is

the CPIH. It includes more housing costs and council tax... Does it

include carrots? Carrots and garlic! Keep an eye on it. It's exciting!

You're watching Business Live - our top story.

Let's look at how the markets are faring. The FTSE is ticking up as is

the DAX and the CAC. We were speaking earlier with Jane about

markets. Everyone is watching the Fed to see how many more rate hikes

will be coming and we'll keep you updated on that.

Now let's get the inside track on Event Cinema.

It's where cinemas are used to display a varied range of live

and recorded entertainment, beyond the expected

Over the last few years its grown in popularity all over the world.

The global gross revenue generated by event cinema was estimated to be

But by 2019 it is expected to surpass $1 billion.

The genre has expanded to include opera, ballet,

And it could be the saving of traditional cinemas.

He's the chief executive officer for Piece of Magic Entertainment.

It sounds like a piece of magic to me. It sounds great. I have to say,

can I speak for you Rachel? Go for it. We don't get to the cinema

often. We've got three little kids each. It is not an event we do

often, but it sounds like a piece of magic, but you've got to sell it to

us because I would go to see the Hollywood Blockbuster if I got a

chance? You get to see a live broadcast of the metropolitan opera

or a live ballet from Moscow. That's the idea of event cinema is to allow

you to go to your local cinema and experience something exclusive live.

So you are sitting on a Saturday, midday in the cinema and at the same

time in New York, you have the metropolitan Opera performing.

That's really the idea. This is not streamed elsewhere. This is

exclusive viewing? It is exclusive to cinemas. You only have one chance

or a couple of days to watch this content at the cinema. What brought

this change around? It is to do with technology? The conversion from

analogue to digital cinema technology which means they can

receive live content and it allows producers to release content more in

a cost effective way. You have the shift in the industry of cinemas

going to digital allowing really for the event cinema industry to grow.

How successful is it? We mentioned some statistics there. But from the

point of view of your company, how successful is this? Well, it has

been extremely successful. For example, for one of the artists who

has really embraced event cinema. He reaches more than 100,000 people for

one of his concerts. So that shows that for him, it is a very good way

to liaise with his audiences. We're watching him now. This is not live.

You've worked with One Direction? Yes. You're streaming that in all

the big named cinemas in Europe... Everywhere. What about other regions

in the world? Where else are you moving into it? With One Direction

we are in almost 78 countries. That was really big, but the exciting

development that we will see is Latin America. And the hope is

obviously Asia and China which is a little bit more complicated with

regulations, but that's really the hope that the markets will open up.

This is extends to other things. Could gu into sport or gaming? It

really depends on the market. Sport in the UK is quite difficult because

of the licence and the rights. But in Latin America, it is very

popular. I do think that event cinema is the kitchen of where you

can try new things. That's how I see it and that's our responsibility to

look at new ways of bringing content to the big screen. What's the last

event you went to, event cinema? What did you see? A ballet which is

great because it's live from Moscow and you are sitting in your local

cinema. When it comes to ticket prices, what are you talking about,

the price for the cinema, that's going to be less than watching the

ballet live? It is affordable. So on average the ticket price is higher

than your average ticket price, but it is more affordable than going to

the venue itself. Caspar, thank you, if I can get a baby-sitter maybe

Rachel and I can go together. If you want to babysit, tweet us. Don't!

From self-driving buses to delivery drones -

this week the northern German city of Hanover becomes the centre

of the tech world, with the CeBIT trade fair, at which some 3,000

exhibitors from 70 different countries will

A photo opp and a renewed commitment to open trade from Angela Merkel

and Japan's Shinzo Abe and the opening of

On display, the latest in automation including some

products that could transform the world of work.

Now like many children, I grew up with a dream of one day

driving a digger like this but if that is ever to happen,

I'm going to get a move on because this is an autonomous

digger and it can do all of the dirty work itself.

It doesn't need a driver to operate it and it uses sensors to get a map

of the environment and then the operator can specify a region

where to dig based on this map and the digger drives to this region

and then autonomously digs whatever is specified.

This won't be the end of human digger drivers, of course.

You always need a person which programs the task

for the digger and tells the digger where to go and what

Now, not all robots are here to take your job.

This one over here could become your next colleague and what's more,

you can control it from halfway around the world.

Now imagine my colleague operating the robot with the exoskeleton

being located on earth and the robot being located on the

Now, the robot could perform regular maintenance tasks

Shooting for the stars is one thing, but back on Earth,

robots may not be able to beat humans at their own game just yet.

What we need is an automated baby-sitter, do you think?

Definitely. Jane has returned to discuss the

stories out there. This story is something that broke overnight. It

is not official yet, but it has been widely reported that the US

Administration will announce today a ban on electronic devisds on flights

from eight majority Muslim countries? That's right. But only

from non-US carriers too. Now you can still take your laptop etcetera,

but it has got to be in the hold. The only thing that you can take on

the flight or on the deck with you is your mobile phone. So this is

going to upset a lot of business travellers. It raises a lot of

questions, why have they sudden by done this. There has been

speculation, there has been some tip off, hopefully we'll get clarity

when this is announce the later on, assuming it is announced. It led to

disconcerning reports, why have US carriers being allowed to carry on.

Why is it just from certain carriers? Some, Emirates for

instance will be particularly heavy hit, 119 flights a week between

Dubai and the US. That's a lot of customers that they're going to

upset. There is another story in the Financial Times, UK retailers axe

low skilled workers as higher wage bill bites. This was a concern when

the Living Wage and the extra wage increases were pushed by the

Government that it would affect the lower skilled workers? Yes, there is

a lot of different parts to this story. The first thing is that in

economic theory you raise wages, then you need less workers or you

employ less workers. This is the first thing. A lot of workers like

this report are saying in addition to companies concerned that they

will have to sack workers in order to pay the bills. Some companies are

concerned that the extra wage costs could wipe out their profits too,

but there is concern that as wages go up, then firms are going to use

machinery instead of workers. The rise of automation. The robots are

back. Jane, thank you. That's it from Business Live for another day.

There will be more business news throughout the day on the BBC live

web page and on World Business Report. See you soon.

Hello there. After the mild weather we've had recently today brings a

reminder that it is only March. Very early in the spring, a cold feeling

day with a mixture of sunny spells and showers.