24/01/2016 BBC Weekend News

Snow more than 30 inches deep in places has brought the east coast

of the United States to a standstill.

In New York, three people died while shovelling snow.

A travel ban had been imposed in the city.

Washington DC's two main airports are likely to remain closed today.

Our Correspondent Laura Bicker is in Washington.

After 36 hours of snow, the battle to clear up after this Blizzard

begins. One in seven Americans will wake up to around one fifth of snow

on their doorstep after record-breaking amounts here in

Washington, New York and Baltimore. Sarah Campbell reports.

The forecasters accurately predicted this as a record-breaking storm.

potentially disrupting the lives of 85 million people.

until late on Saturday night in New York.

By the time it did, central areas recorded 70 centimetres of snow,

We figured we might be the only people out here,

we might get some maximum speed on the bridge.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled,

and even if people could find their cars under the thick blanket

of white, there was a travel ban in New York and Baltimore.

This was to maximise the chances of getting public transport systems

and helping emergency vehicles get about unobstructed.

No travel ban in Washington, DC. People were warned in the starkest

possible terms. On a scale People were warned in the starkest

ten it is going to be ten. Run for your lives! The snow has cut power

to 100,000 people. We have no power, no electricity. It took my son and

neighbours an hour to dig us out. There are concerns the white out

could cost the economy. New York was closed for business.

Some New Jersey residents were not but everything is closed.

Some New Jersey residents were not only hit by snow but icy waters as

levels rose along the east coast. The snow clouds which have covered

eastern states for the last couple of days are now dissipating. The

clear up is getting under way. There will be plenty of opportunities for

those who want to, to enjoy the snow while it lasts.

Sarah Campbell, BBC News. Is the snow actually over now? Yes,

the snow is over. These guys have cleared and it is now actually quite

a beautiful day. The worst of it has passed. Millions of Americans will

have two dig themselves out. Many routes remain impassable. The travel

ban has been lifted in New York. People can begin to get back out in

their cars if they can find them. In Washington, DC, the public transport

system remains closed. The airports will remain closed. More than 7000

flights have already been cancelled. We are expecting further delays and

cancellations today. The knock-on effect could go on early into the

week. When it comes to the amount of snow that has fallen, there has been

a record amount in Baltimore. In West Virginia they had more than 100

centimetres of snow. Certainly many of the rural routes will remain

impassable for some time to come. The consequences could be

substantial. Some estimates are already putting the cost of $1

billion. Laura Bicker, thank you.

Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said it

would be "a mistake" for David Cameron to hold

a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU as early

She told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC One that that would confuse

with elections due to be held in May in Scotland,

You might interpreted as being a bit selfish. The Scottish election is in

may, indeed the Welsh and Northern Ireland. To have a referendum

campaign starting in parallel would be disrespectful to those important

elections. So Eleanor, we know David Cameron

would like a referendum sooner rather than later, if he's got

the right deal from EU leaders - It is certainly possible but it is

not a definite. David Cameron is currently negotiating a whole

package of EU reforms with European leaders. There is speculation that

if he can get a deal done next month when European leaders meet in

Brussels, we could see a referendum as early as June. But today Nicola

Sturgeon, the leader of the SNP, said that was too early. It would be

a mistake because it may confuse voters if it clashes with the

Scottish and London mayoral elections. Also, she said there

needed to be more time between when a deal is done and the voters get a

chance to have their say to widen the debate on the issue. She does

want the UK to stay in the EU but she has warned the end campaign

needs to be more positive if it is going to win. She was warning that

it will lose if it does not turn around and become more positive.

Eleanor Garnier, thank you. The International

Development Secretary, Justine Greening, says

the Government is looking at calls from charities for the UK to take

in thousands of unaccompanied refugee children who have

made it into Europe. Many of the children are fleeing

the conflict in Syria. Ms Greening is suggesting up

to three thousand children Downing Street says no decision has

been made on the issue. A pollster who carried out research

for Labour under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown has criticised

the report on the party's general Labour said the report

by Dame Margaret Beckett had But Deborah Mattinson says her work

for the report was ignored. In an interview for Sunday Politics

on BBC One, she says she fears an opportunity has been missed

to revive the party's fortunes. Lots of defensive stuff in there,

but nothing that actually, really, I felt, shone a light

on what had gone wrong. The number of profit warnings posted

by listed companies has reached the highest level since the start

of the last recession. The data, compiled by

the consultants, EY, comes amid growing concern for

the health of the global economy. More from our business

correspondent, Joe Lynam. Companies who supply the oil sector,

smaller general retailers, and some listed firms

in the hospitality sector are just three of the types

of businesses which have issued the most profit warnings

at the end of last year. The last time there were

as many in a single quarter was the start of 2009,

when Britain was in the middle of its deepest recession

in modern times. A profit warning

is where publicly listed companies are obliged to warn their investors

when they think that they will earn less than

they had previously advised. In the last three

months of 2015, there were a hundred profit

warnings by listed companies. 16 included companies

working in the oil sector, seven warnings came

from general retailers, and six were travel

and leisure businesses. On average, share prices

tumble by almost 14% The thing to remember about a

profit warning is that it is really the board having to explain

to the market that they maybe got it wrong,

maybe their views on the outcomes for the future are not where they

thought they were going to be. So in that regard,

the fact we are in a more volatile world makes

the likelihood of that more frequent,

more likely to occur. And most of that volatility stems

from a slowdown in China. If the world's second-biggest

economy isn't building or buying as much, the rest of

the world feels it. The world economy may have issues,

but things are looking positive GDP is one of the fastest in Europe,

unemployment is at a near record low, whilst employment

is at a record high. But Britain won't be immune

from a major global slowdown, which these profit warnings

may be signalling. The Iranian transport minister says

Tehran will sign a contract this If confirmed, it would be the first

big commercial contract to be announced since the lifting

of international sanctions imposed Yesterday China announced a trade

deal with Iran worth ?400 billion In tennis, the defending

champion Novak Djokovic is through to the quarter finals

of the Australian Open in Melbourne. He beat Gilles Simon

of France in five sets. But the top seed made a hundred

unforced errors before finally defeating his opponent in just over

four and a half hours, You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel. The next news on BBC One

is at five past five. Good afternoon. There is plenty

going on with the weather this week. We are starting mild, we will end

mild and in between wet and windy weather, all courtesy of the storm

system