05/01/2017 World Business Report

The trillion dollar tech industry gathers in Las Vegas -

in search of the gadgets that will get it growing again.

Plus - polarising opinion - we find out what's behind

the scramble for lithium - and whether the boom

I'm Sally Bundock - also in the programme Alibaba cracks

We start in Las Vegas where thousands of technology

executives are gathering for the annual Consumer Electronics Show

It's the most important event of the year for the tech industry -

a chance for companies to show off the gadgets we will,

It's a huge business - and also an increasingly tough one.

According to the Consumer Technology Association -

which organises the Las Vegas show - we will buy gadgets worth close

The problem is the industry as a whole is not growing.

If it's accurate - that figure would be down around 2%

And it would be the the fourth year in a row

Smartphones are by far the world's most popular gadget -

accounting for half of all tech revenue -

but sales are expected to peak this year.

Well - it could be the year of wearable technology -

Revenues from wearable devices are expected to soar almost a third

this year - although still just a fraction of the overall market

And one of the biggest themes to watch -

artificial intelligence - more and more gadgets

are being given the ability to learn.

In a penthouse suite at a ritzy Las Vegas hotel, smart home exhibits are

on show. There is a smart speakerphone children were each toy

is a playlist. A voice activated door lock and upstairs, there is

even Nora described as a smart snoring solution. It detects me

snoring and moves just enough to stop me without making -- waking me

up. The big theme this year is turning the advances in artificial

intelligence into products. There are robots. This one is a shop

assistant and this one is designed as a companion for children or

elderly people. AI seems to get everywhere, even into this

toothbrush which learns how you brush your teeth. Artificial

intelligence is not just gathering data that is able to use the data.

Then you learn where your weaknesses are, where your strengths are and

the purpose is to become better at taking care of your oral health.

This walking stick is also smarter than it looks. An inbuilt mobile

phone Sim card can means you can help if you can have an accident. It

can detect the fault of its user and when it detects it, it will alert

the family or the neighbour. They can come and help these people. This

one helps anyone to try out make up -- this mirror. Out on the Las Vegas

strip, Danny Manu, an entrepreneur from Manchester, has just flown in.

His interest in translation headphones are not quite ready. They

will eventually be tiny earbuds that he is still looking forward to CES.

It is really important to us because we will be able to showcase what we

are working on to the whole world to show them it is something we started

years ago. A small start-up with dedication and passion. The odds are

against Danny, a 1-man bands taking on giants like Apple and Google but

like plenty of people here, he is betting that he has a product that

can change the world. Our tech page on our website is

dominated by this event. Rory and others are there. Follow them on

Twitter. Staying with technology -

and one of the vital commodities used in everything from smartphones

to electric cars is becoming Lithium has long been used

in batteries for small gadgets - but Lithium Ion batteries are now

also the dominant technology for electric vehicles -

and there's a scramble On Monday an Australian mining firm

sold a deposit of the metal in Mali - West Africa to a Chinese buyer

for almost 2000 times what it paid So is this the start

of a new commodity boom - Colin Hamilton is head

of commodities research This makes it sound like it is all

getting out of control. Please put it into perspective. We have seen

prices more than double over the course of last year. It is as new

energy vehicles and particularly electric vehicles have taken. We

have seen a strong growth rate and we are getting close to 1 billion

units of sales. That is still just 1.1% of the global auto sales but it

is expected to grow further. Looking at 30%. With that, the Chinese in

particular, are looking to secure supply because they don't have

enough lithium at home. There is also pressure on them to secure

supplies. It is because of policy in China, the government is pushing for

the use of electric vehicles? Killam China is the largest electric

vehicle market. -- China is the largest electric vehicle market.

They have been using cheap batteries thus far but now they are pushing

towards higher technology batteries. They need a higher lithium content

per battery. They need to secure the display -- supply. 80% of the

lithium comes from Chile, Argentina and Australia. You can eat extracted

low cost in Argentina. In Australia it is from rock so it is more

technologically difficult to process but it is also much nearer to China

and more accessible. In terms of those countries, Chile, Argentina,

they will be exporting it to China? China wants to buy the raw material.

They will let them process it into batteries. China wants to control as

much as the technological value chain as they can. The process won't

change. Yes, you will be selling lithium to China. Very interesting.

Thank you for coming in and sharing your expertise will stop we will

keep an eye on this year. To Asia now and ecommerce giant

Alibaba is moving to address US Alibaba were sanctioned in the

States? They are suing these two vendor is for selling counterfeit

goods essentially for the first time. This is after years of

accusations by US authorities that it and its online retail platform

soled high levels of a fake goods and of course as you mentioned, it

is coming shortly after the firm's blacklisted by an industry watchdog

in America. It is looking to curb the sale of counterfeit goods. They

have set -- suit these two unnamed vendor is for selling fake Swarovski

watchers and the law slot -- lawsuit claims just under $200,000 in

damages. They were found out during a test, by, purchase programme

Weather Watch as they bought were confirmed by Swarovski to be fake.

More than one on June 25 counterfeit watches were confiscated.

Rex Tillerson - the former Exxon boss chosen by Donald Trump for US

Secretary of State - will receive $180m to cut financial

ties with the firm if he gets the job.

The pay-out is aimed at addressing concerns he could favour the oil

giant, or his own interests while in office.

The 64-year-old Texan worked for Exxon Mobil for 40 years,

including in the US, Yemen and Russia.

His nomination has come under intense scrutiny over his perceived

close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin

The price of petrol and diesel in the UK has risen to its highest

since July 2015, according to the motoring services company RAC.

The wholesale price of both fuels has risen significantly,

following the production cuts announced by OPEC.

Crude oil prices have doubled over the past year -

from under 28 dollars a barrel a year ago to 55 dollars this month.

The fall in the value of sterling since the Brexit vote has also

increased UK fuel prices, as oil is priced in dollars.

The three financial markets have said that have days progression in

an 80s. -- Asia. -- let's see how the financial markets are