:00:00. > :00:08.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.
:00:09. > :00:18.Imports and exports to and from the world's second largest economy
:00:19. > :00:20.continue to fall, fuelling concerns of a hard landing.
:00:21. > :00:37.Live from London, that's our top story on Tuesday December the 8th.
:00:38. > :00:42.Made in China is selling globally at a slower rate, and the Chinese
:00:43. > :00:50.It's the wrong trend that is gathering momentum.
:00:51. > :00:57.Is this the world's biggest ever sponsorship deal?
:00:58. > :01:00.Basketball superstar LeBron James signs a lifetime contract with Nike,
:01:01. > :01:08.the first such deal ever signed by the sporting goods giant.
:01:09. > :01:15.And financial markets are quite worried about the news out of China,
:01:16. > :01:19.and oil prices continue to bump along the bottom. We'll talk to you
:01:20. > :01:22.about the winners and losers. And the battle
:01:23. > :01:24.for our books this Christmas. We hear from the boss of e-reader
:01:25. > :01:27.firm Kobo on the battle with And LeBron James becomes Nike
:01:28. > :01:32.for life in a deal said to be worth Nice work if you can get it,
:01:33. > :01:36.but is that too much? Get in touch -
:01:37. > :01:44.use the hashtag #BBCbizlive. We start with China, the latest news
:01:45. > :01:54.on trade. Both exports and imports declined
:01:55. > :01:57.in November compared with The big question now is
:01:58. > :02:00.whether or not the cooling economy will face a hard or soft landing
:02:01. > :02:03.in the coming months and years. Chinese trade last year was worth
:02:04. > :02:08.$4.3 trillion, making it the world's largest trader, a title it took
:02:09. > :02:11.from the United States in 2013. Those figures disguise
:02:12. > :02:16.a big problem, though. China saw imports drop
:02:17. > :02:19.for a record 13th month in a row in November, down 8.7%
:02:20. > :02:25.on the same time a year before. The falling import numbers suggest
:02:26. > :02:28.domestic demand is not as strong And as you can see here,
:02:29. > :02:37.the rate of Chinese growth has been coming down from the heady heights
:02:38. > :02:41.of over 12% in 2010 to less than 7% The Chinese government is attempting
:02:42. > :02:47.to shift the economy to one that is fuelled by consumer demand,
:02:48. > :02:53.as seen in the West. However these latest figures
:02:54. > :02:55.demonstrate this is not Our correspondent
:02:56. > :03:14.in Beijing is Celia Hatton. How worried should we be by a
:03:15. > :03:22.slowdown in those How worried should we be by a
:03:23. > :03:25.slowdown in those figures? These numbers really just tell us that the
:03:26. > :03:28.decline in the Chinese economy is continuing. Some analysts were
:03:29. > :03:32.hoping that the numbers would a little bit, and maybe that would
:03:33. > :03:39.just show the numbers in the fourth quarter would plateau altogether. So
:03:40. > :03:45.we have seen declines in exports and imports. Imports in particular are
:03:46. > :03:53.down across all major markets except to South Korea -- exports are down.
:03:54. > :03:57.And import numbers, although better-than-expected, they are also
:03:58. > :04:02.down, so it is not looking good for the Chinese economy. What are people
:04:03. > :04:09.saying? Are they worried about the future? We know that economic growth
:04:10. > :04:11.relies on confidence, it relies on people spending, and that
:04:12. > :04:14.rebalancing of the Chinese economy will rest on whether people feel
:04:15. > :04:21.confident to go out and spend and consume. They feeling about the
:04:22. > :04:26.state of the economy? It depends on who you ask. If you listen to the
:04:27. > :04:33.Government line, the government is saying, they are saying they knew it
:04:34. > :04:37.was going to happen and are trying to refocus the economy and aim for
:04:38. > :04:43.slower and medium long-term growth. The Government is saying that they
:04:44. > :04:50.are still on track for China to hit its economic growth targets of 7%.
:04:51. > :04:54.So it is really trying to reassure people, but yes, people on the
:04:55. > :04:57.ground are concerned. It is quite a big worry, and we can really see
:04:58. > :05:03.this were we look at Chinese savings rates. Chinese people save much more
:05:04. > :05:07.individually than many people in many other countries around the
:05:08. > :05:11.world, and most people say, that is because there is this insecurity,
:05:12. > :05:20.this need to save for the future, this need to save for retirement
:05:21. > :05:25.prop cos there is no real confidence that the government will provide a
:05:26. > :05:32.safety net. But this is something we have seen for the past few years,
:05:33. > :05:35.this economic slowdown is set to continue to 18 months, some analysts
:05:36. > :05:45.say. Celia Hatton, thank you very much.
:05:46. > :05:52.They have put out a red alert warning for the first time.
:05:53. > :05:55.Internet firms including Google and Amazon operating in the EU
:05:56. > :05:57.will be forced to report serious security breaches under
:05:58. > :06:04.Reuters says EU countries have agreed to report any issues, for
:06:05. > :06:06.companies in critical sectors such as transport, energy and finance.
:06:07. > :06:10.The price of oil has fallen to its lowest level since 2009 as global
:06:11. > :06:15.The price of US light crude sank to $37.65 a barrel, down 5.8%, while
:06:16. > :06:29.The slumping price comes as Opec, a group
:06:30. > :06:31.of the largest oil-producing nations, refused to cut oil
:06:32. > :06:38.Financial regulators in Japan have recommended more penalties
:06:39. > :06:50.The Securities Commission says the electronics giant should be
:06:51. > :06:52.slapped with a record $60 million fine
:06:53. > :06:55.over a massive accounting violation where the firm inflated profits by
:06:56. > :07:03.around 155 billion yen over seven years.
:07:04. > :07:20.Let's take you to the business live page. -- the Business Live page.
:07:21. > :07:27.Stay with me, it is there. Air France on target despite the attacks
:07:28. > :07:33.in Paris that knocked 50 billion euros of its revenue that month. --
:07:34. > :07:37.50 million euros. But it says despite that, it is still on track
:07:38. > :07:41.for growth in passenger numbers. They had such a difficult year
:07:42. > :07:47.anyway because of disputes with various unions and parts of Air
:07:48. > :07:52.France and KLM as they try to restructure. Not an easy year for
:07:53. > :07:56.them. Here in the UK, flooding is dominating the headlines after a
:07:57. > :08:05.deluge of rain over the last few days. But already now concern,
:08:06. > :08:07.talking about concerns over insurance and whether people are
:08:08. > :08:13.properly insured in high-risk flood areas. A new insurance organisation
:08:14. > :08:21.is good to be set up to be able to offer insurance to people in high
:08:22. > :08:26.risk areas, but it won't start until April 2016, despite being agreed in
:08:27. > :08:33.principle in 2013. There is too much legislation that has to go through
:08:34. > :08:34.Parliament to make it happen. Not good news for people struggling with
:08:35. > :08:36.insurance claims. Let's take you to Asia now,
:08:37. > :08:39.where Japan has avoided Sharanjit Leyl has the details in
:08:40. > :08:56.our Asia Business hub in Singapore. It is down, now it is up? What is
:08:57. > :09:10.going on? That is right. They narrowly dodged a technical
:09:11. > :09:17.recession in that last quarter. They have the economy figures showing a
:09:18. > :09:21.contraction, and this will be a really welcome relief to
:09:22. > :09:26.policymakers who have been trying to lift Japan's economy from the
:09:27. > :09:29.doldrums. They have put in place aggressive stimulus measures aimed
:09:30. > :09:34.at re-inflating the economy, and the Government have really been
:09:35. > :09:39.pressuring companies to try to invest more of their record
:09:40. > :09:42.properties to put the economy on a sustained recovery path, and they
:09:43. > :09:46.have been warned by rising capital expenditure, which was a key
:09:47. > :09:54.component of the upgrade. There was also some good news on the trade
:09:55. > :10:03.front, posting a trade balance surplus.
:10:04. > :10:10.Thank you very much, Sharanjit Leyl in Singapore. The situation in Asia
:10:11. > :10:14.today was quite grim, Japan down 1% and Hong Kong 1.3%, and all of this
:10:15. > :10:20.was about the news out of China which Celia and Ben have discussed
:10:21. > :10:28.so far. It didn't really help markets in Tokyo. Europe following
:10:29. > :10:34.the trend in Asia. All the markets in Europe down, so a sea of red
:10:35. > :10:39.here, too. The fact that oil prices are so low, other commodity prices
:10:40. > :10:45.so low, not helping either. So the sentiment is pretty negative right
:10:46. > :10:50.now. Michelle Fleury is in New York for us.
:10:51. > :10:56.The job prospects and labour turnover survey will help to answer
:10:57. > :11:03.the question this Tuesday. Lots of Americans are quitting their jobs,
:11:04. > :11:06.this may be and this would be yet another indication of improving
:11:07. > :11:13.economic health. Turning to the housing market, the world's largest
:11:14. > :11:17.home improvement retailer, Home Depot, will lay out its financial
:11:18. > :11:21.targets for the next three years. And for a snapshot of the financial
:11:22. > :11:26.industry, the bosses in Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo are among the
:11:27. > :11:38.top banking brass attempting to speak.
:11:39. > :11:47.Michelle Burger in New York for us. -- Michelle there in New York. Let's
:11:48. > :11:54.pick up an oil. Opec have kept the taps open, oil is flowing and prices
:11:55. > :12:01.are falling. Good news and bad news. Good news for consumers and bad news
:12:02. > :12:05.for countries producing it and the inflation around the world. It is a
:12:06. > :12:10.balance between winners and losers. But what this is about is an intense
:12:11. > :12:15.battle for market share. Saudi Arabia said it will not cut its
:12:16. > :12:21.production even if the oil price does fall to $20 a barrel. Iran is
:12:22. > :12:23.coming back into the equation as they return to markets after
:12:24. > :12:29.sanctions, and Russia has continued to pump oil, so all of these factors
:12:30. > :12:33.mean there is too much supply and too little demand.
:12:34. > :12:36.In terms of the effect on global markets, there is plenty of good
:12:37. > :12:41.reasons why this is good news. Someone arguing the United States
:12:42. > :12:47.where money spent on gasoline is a pretty big part of people's outgoing
:12:48. > :12:51.is, it is good news there in terms of people having more money to
:12:52. > :12:56.spend. But then we have the Chinese trade numbers out as well. Just put
:12:57. > :13:00.it all in perspective for us. Low oil prices are good for the
:13:01. > :13:06.consumer, and it means prices at the pumps are low, but the reasons
:13:07. > :13:09.markets are down is because markets are interpreting this low oil price
:13:10. > :13:15.as a sign that global growth is slowing. Add to that the Chinese
:13:16. > :13:18.data, which also shows China is a big consumer of resources and is
:13:19. > :13:23.also slowing, that is really weighing on market sentiment.
:13:24. > :13:29.How worried need we be about China? We always talk about America
:13:30. > :13:35.sneezes, the world catches a cold. Is it the same with China? It is an
:13:36. > :13:39.important destination for our goods but also what we buy from China.
:13:40. > :13:45.Should the world economy worry about China when it is coming off such a
:13:46. > :13:50.high? It is slowing significantly, but not the same level we have seen
:13:51. > :13:59.in Europe or the US. Is important to distinguish where the slowdown is.
:14:00. > :14:04.We need to look at infrastructure, imports, exports. But we are not
:14:05. > :14:07.seeing such a slowdown in the services sector, health care,
:14:08. > :14:12.education. Those are the really important sectors. I know you will
:14:13. > :14:16.talk us through some of the other story is a little later, but for
:14:17. > :14:20.now, thank you. Still to come: Have you got one of these on your
:14:21. > :14:32.Christmas list? We will be hearing from the Canadian company Cobo --
:14:33. > :14:38.Kobo, over the battle for the e-book business. First, with that massive
:14:39. > :14:41.event just how many days away, my children are counting, many will be
:14:42. > :14:46.welcoming a pay rise over the next few months to pay for it all. So we
:14:47. > :14:51.do have some good news. Salaries in the UK are expected to rise by 2.5%
:14:52. > :14:55.next year in real terms, with workers in the retail sector feeling
:14:56. > :14:58.the benefit the most. But at the other end of the scale, public
:14:59. > :15:05.sector workers are still expected to see their pay frozen. Let's talk to
:15:06. > :15:08.Ben frost about this, a consultant with the group but have come up with
:15:09. > :15:12.the research. Nice to have you on the programme. Just tell us more
:15:13. > :15:15.about wages in the UK next year in real terms, up by 2.5%. Surely that
:15:16. > :15:27.has to be good news? Pay increases, roughly where the key
:15:28. > :15:34.for the last couple of years, 245%, but very slow inflation, almost all
:15:35. > :15:52.of that increase will benefit people in their pocket and not be beaten
:15:53. > :16:00.away by inflation. -- .5%. -- 2.5%. Where will felt most keenly? Receive
:16:01. > :16:03.benefit for the retail industry, people are benefiting from lower
:16:04. > :16:10.petrol prices and they are spending that money. -- we will see benefit.
:16:11. > :16:16.Things are not so good in the oil and gas sector. Not so many pay
:16:17. > :16:23.rises there this New Year and of course the public sector is seeing a
:16:24. > :16:28.significant pay freeze. Also we talk about the fact that oil prices are
:16:29. > :16:32.falling and we are benefiting, but in terms of energy prices, white
:16:33. > :16:37.households spending, that does not seem to be going down as quickly.
:16:38. > :16:47.Household energy prices don't seem to be going down. The forecast is at
:16:48. > :16:53.0.2%. The 2.5% salary increase, that is good news for people in the UK.
:16:54. > :16:59.Thank you for joining us, then was joining us to talk about the fact
:17:00. > :17:08.that real wages in the UK could be becoming higher in 2016, that is not
:17:09. > :17:15.for all across industries of course. You are with business alive, the top
:17:16. > :17:21.story is the falling trade figures from China. Also to bring you some
:17:22. > :17:27.breaking news we are having through to the BBC. It is all about the
:17:28. > :17:36.Oscar Pistorius keirin, it is ongoing in South Africa, Victoria.
:17:37. > :17:42.-- hearing, it is ongoing in Pretoria, South Africa. He is to be
:17:43. > :17:47.released on bail. The hearing has been taking place in South Africa
:17:48. > :17:51.today and the news as Sally said, the court has granted him bail after
:17:52. > :17:56.the conviction for murder. More details at the top of the hour with
:17:57. > :18:00.the latest headlines just at nine o'clock. We will bring you that news
:18:01. > :18:04.as soon as we have it. With Christmas around the corner this is
:18:05. > :18:07.the busiest time of year for book-sellers, whether the
:18:08. > :18:13.traditional printed page or e-books, they are flying off the
:18:14. > :18:17.shelves. Amazon sells more e-books than any other retailer, but last
:18:18. > :18:22.year the company faced criticism from some of the world leading
:18:23. > :18:33.authors about its negotiations with publishers. Kobo was taken over by a
:18:34. > :18:38.Japanese retailer, one of the largest in the world and the hope
:18:39. > :18:45.was that it would help it to compete with Amazon. Michael Tamblyn is the
:18:46. > :18:49.president. During his time at the company he has overseen berries
:18:50. > :18:55.acquisitions and helped to launch the world's first waterproof e-book.
:18:56. > :18:59.Our colleague caught up to talk to him about the rise of e-books and
:19:00. > :19:03.what encourages readers to make the switch.
:19:04. > :19:10.A lot of people do both, they may be reading their fiction, their science
:19:11. > :19:16.fiction, their science-fiction, that fantasy on a digital device, but
:19:17. > :19:20.then they are buying cookbooks and children's books and illustrated
:19:21. > :19:28.books in print. A lot of people find themselves as a hybrid reader who
:19:29. > :19:35.does both. Do people like the e-books or the e-readers? We look at
:19:36. > :19:41.the devices as a way to bring people into that and to serve that person
:19:42. > :19:45.who has books at the centre of their lives. You tend to gravitate towards
:19:46. > :19:50.a new reader if you read one or two books a week and you have a device
:19:51. > :19:57.that is optimised for that experience. You may use applications
:19:58. > :20:03.if you or an occasional reader. How do your products differ from
:20:04. > :20:10.Amazon's? The biggest difference is a philosophical one, reading is what
:20:11. > :20:12.we do and it is all we do. We do not look at acquiring a reading customer
:20:13. > :20:18.as a way to solve a bunch other things. We come out of book-selling
:20:19. > :20:24.most of us professionally and then we look at this not so much as a
:20:25. > :20:30.technology problem, more as a way to sell devices, but as a way to make
:20:31. > :20:38.reading better. -- not as wages more devices. We have always believed
:20:39. > :20:41.that there are two ways, the transition from print to digital
:20:42. > :20:45.could go, it could either be a revolution that was happening to
:20:46. > :20:51.publishers or it could be a revolution that happens with them.
:20:52. > :20:56.We always believed the latter. With collaborating together, figuring out
:20:57. > :21:00.what it is that readers want and by trying to bring the best knowledge
:21:01. > :21:04.we have about digital reading back into publishing, that makes it
:21:05. > :21:08.better for everyone. We would much rather be doing that in a more
:21:09. > :21:14.friendly and less contentious way than some of our competitors do. It
:21:15. > :21:21.seems to have worked well. That is the Chief Executive of kobo. Are you
:21:22. > :21:28.an e-reader man or real book man? Definitely an e-reader. Then if you
:21:29. > :21:32.go away you don't have to carry so many books. I still like a book, I
:21:33. > :21:42.like turning the page. A traditionalist. Sorry! Coming up:
:21:43. > :21:48.Would you pick an English bottle of bubbles over a bottle of champagne?
:21:49. > :21:56.There is demand in places as far afield as China and Japan! Frazer
:21:57. > :22:00.Thompson, no relation, the boss of Chapel down wines will join us live.
:22:01. > :22:08.Let's have a look at some of the stories out there. We mentioned this
:22:09. > :22:28.incredible deal that the Bron James has clinched with an IQ. -- LeBron
:22:29. > :22:38.James has clinched with Nike. If these reports are accurate, a $300
:22:39. > :22:49.million deal, it is a lifetime deal. It is believed to be the first kind
:22:50. > :23:02.of this contract signed by Nike. In some ways I am not surprised, it is
:23:03. > :23:08.a lot of money and unprecedented. I would be interested in the terms and
:23:09. > :23:12.conditions. We know Nike sponsored a lot of other young sports stars who
:23:13. > :23:17.have had a fall from grace. Tiger Woods, Oscar Pistorius, Lance
:23:18. > :23:24.Armstrong. What does it mean if you sign a lifetime deal, are they
:23:25. > :23:30.locked in? What is interesting is it sounds like a lot of money, $300
:23:31. > :23:35.million is a lot of money, but you look at what they generate, the
:23:36. > :23:39.brand association, the product range that it will no doubt launch for
:23:40. > :23:42.them, it will bring in the money and it will be a profitable deal for
:23:43. > :23:49.Nike, they will get something out of this. Absolutely, global sponsorship
:23:50. > :23:54.deals worth billions and Nike is at the forefront of that. Let's talk
:23:55. > :24:01.about a similar theme, Star Wars and the money it will make for Disney.
:24:02. > :24:07.Star Wars carries its own marketing weight for Disney. What Disney is
:24:08. > :24:12.arguing is that Star Wars has such a loyal fan base is they do not need
:24:13. > :24:21.any linked merchandise or any commercial objects. At the moment
:24:22. > :24:26.there is a Star Wars frenzy for all the bits and bobs to do with the
:24:27. > :24:32.moving and all the merchandise is on sale for kids. You are speaking from
:24:33. > :24:37.personal experience gesture marked my kids are pretty obsessed have not
:24:38. > :24:43.even seen the film! This is a new fan base as opposed to an old fan
:24:44. > :24:48.base. Yes, for Disney this has been a huge part of their business since
:24:49. > :24:52.the 1920s, you think of Mickey Mouse, appearing on school
:24:53. > :24:57.stationery, Star Wars has such a loyal fan base. Really good to see
:24:58. > :25:04.you, thank you for talking us through that. We are wrapping up
:25:05. > :25:07.business live slightly earlier, we are taking you to Johannesburg to
:25:08. > :25:17.bring you the latest on Oscar Pistorius hearing. Oscar Pistorius
:25:18. > :25:23.has been granted bail of 10,000 rand which is the equivalent of $700. He
:25:24. > :25:26.will return to court on the 18th of April in 2016 and that is when his
:25:27. > :25:32.lawyer will have to tell the court how far his appeal to the
:25:33. > :25:36.Constitutional Court has gone, because he wants to appeal his
:25:37. > :25:40.murder conviction dating that his constitutional rights have been
:25:41. > :25:44.infringed upon. We have also heard from the judge that Oscar Pistorius
:25:45. > :25:53.will be allowed to leave the house between seven and 12 in the day.
:25:54. > :26:00.More news on that at the top of the hour. Oscar Pistorius granted bail.
:26:01. > :26:06.That is it from us on business live .