:00:00. > :00:11.This is Business Live from BBC News with Sally Bundock and Ben Thompson.
:00:12. > :00:16.President Obama says the US is the strongest and most durable
:00:17. > :00:23.economy in the world, but what do his critics
:00:24. > :00:35.That's our top story on Wednesday, 13th January.
:00:36. > :00:40.President Obama took office at the height
:00:41. > :00:44.So how successful are his policies and what economic legacy
:00:45. > :00:49.Forget the doomsayers, China sees a sharp bounce back
:00:50. > :00:52.in exports and the markets are on the rise.
:00:53. > :00:57.And the trading day has just begun in Europe and so far so good
:00:58. > :01:00.as share markets track the gains seen in Asia and the price
:01:01. > :01:13.Why only nine of the world's top 100 law firms are led by women.
:01:14. > :01:16.We meet one of them who tells us why in a male dominated profession,
:01:17. > :01:20.So what about you, has your gender helped
:01:21. > :01:25.Or does this age old debate get on your nerves?
:01:26. > :01:34.We want to hear from you, use the hashtag BBCBizLive.
:01:35. > :01:41.In his final State of the Union Address,
:01:42. > :01:44.President Obama said the US economy is the strongest and most durable
:01:45. > :01:49.But he called for more progress on equal pay,
:01:50. > :02:14.We are in the longest streak of private job creation in history.
:02:15. > :02:20.APPLAUSE More than 14 million new jobs, the strongest two years of job
:02:21. > :02:26.growth since the 1990s, unemployment rate cut in half. Our auto industry
:02:27. > :02:38.just had its best year ever. Inheriting
:02:39. > :02:40.the post recession economy, he says his administration saw more
:02:41. > :02:47.than 14 millions jobs created. Unemployment hovers now
:02:48. > :02:50.near record lows 5% though as the President
:02:51. > :02:55.said wage growth has failed to keep
:02:56. > :02:57.the same encouraging pace. Those positive
:02:58. > :03:04.indicators combined with steady GDP growth saw the first Federal Reserve
:03:05. > :03:09.interest rate rise in December And under Obama -
:03:10. > :03:13.the power of Wall Street The Frank-Dodd Act brought into law
:03:14. > :03:19.measures to stabilise financial institutions as well as offer
:03:20. > :03:21.greater protection to consumers. Some though, have suggested it
:03:22. > :03:24.doesn't go far enough to stave off Zayne Wickett is the head of the US
:03:25. > :03:46.and the Americas Programme Sally running through the issues
:03:47. > :03:49.that faced the Obama presidency. What do you think will be his
:03:50. > :03:55.lasting economic legacy? Well, I think the thing he will define as
:03:56. > :03:59.his legacy is the fact he took the presidency during a recession that
:04:00. > :04:02.turned into what we now call the Great Recession and seven years on,
:04:03. > :04:08.presumably eight years on by the time he leaves, you know, as Sally
:04:09. > :04:13.already said, job creation, low unemployment, GDP growth is back
:04:14. > :04:16.again, he will probably neglect to mention the fact that inequality is
:04:17. > :04:21.higher than ever, but we have to remember just as a little caveat
:04:22. > :04:25.there, is what we will think as his great legacy, presidents don't have
:04:26. > :04:30.huge influence on a nation's economy, it tends to lag behind
:04:31. > :04:33.often what they do, lags behind the impact on the economy, but
:04:34. > :04:37.nevertheless that's what we will see as his legacy. It is interesting the
:04:38. > :04:43.point about whether presidents have that direct impact. I suppose you
:04:44. > :04:47.might feel it keenly in reigning in the power of Wall Street and
:04:48. > :04:51.reigning in the power of the big banks. Banks still have the ability
:04:52. > :04:57.to do what they want to a certain extent. Is that criticism fair?
:04:58. > :05:01.There is criticism on both sides. I think if everybody is criticising
:05:02. > :05:04.you, you're probably getting it right. A lot of people are saying
:05:05. > :05:08.the regulation hasn't gone far enough and others are saying the
:05:09. > :05:12.regulation has gone too far, it is restraining the American economy, it
:05:13. > :05:16.is restraining private sector investment, private sector growth,
:05:17. > :05:20.so I think there are both sides of the story which probably means he is
:05:21. > :05:26.just about in the right place. You touched on the economic resurgence,
:05:27. > :05:30.growth is slow and steady, it is not the rebound that many would have
:05:31. > :05:35.liked, that in a climate of a world economy that we see the impact of
:05:36. > :05:39.China and a slowdown elsewhere, and Europe is sluggish, how excited can
:05:40. > :05:42.we get by modest growth in the US? It is a great question. I would
:05:43. > :05:48.suggest you look at the narrative. Five years ago, we were talking
:05:49. > :05:52.about China being the engine behind global growth. We're no longer
:05:53. > :05:57.really talking about that. What we tend to notice is America is
:05:58. > :05:59.reliable, it's stable and that's where a lot of investment is
:06:00. > :06:02.returning because of that, because of energy revolution over the last
:06:03. > :06:06.few years, investment is flooding back into the United States. We are
:06:07. > :06:12.beginning to see America once again as the engine of global growth.
:06:13. > :06:15.American productivity is increasing. Again, there are all sorts of signs
:06:16. > :06:19.that suggest that America is actually here to stay in a way that
:06:20. > :06:23.some of the other os sill lations from the other countries is not so
:06:24. > :06:29.great. One we'll watch closely. Thank you for talking us through
:06:30. > :06:34.that. There is a lot more analysis of what
:06:35. > :06:44.President Obama had to stay in the State of the Union address online.
:06:45. > :06:46.Oil is trading just above the $31 a barrel mark -
:06:47. > :07:06.On Tuesday, Brent crude fell as low as $30,
:07:07. > :07:08.while the US benchmark, fell below $30 a barrel.
:07:09. > :07:10.Prices have fallen sharply as a result of too much supply
:07:11. > :07:14.Meanwhile Brazil's oil giant, Petrobras, has announced a massive
:07:15. > :07:19.scale back of its investment plans as a result of lower prices.
:07:20. > :07:26.Petrobas will slash investment by $32 billion
:07:27. > :07:36.And the end of an era for Internet Explorer users.
:07:37. > :07:38.The software that got millions online is being phased
:07:39. > :07:41.It will end support for all but the newest version
:07:42. > :07:43.of Internet Explorer - potentially exposing millions
:07:44. > :07:47.The company will no longer support versions 8, 9 and 10 -
:07:48. > :07:49.meaning there won't be fixes for new vulnerabilities.
:07:50. > :07:51.Microsoft is pushing customers towards its new Edge browser.
:07:52. > :07:54.The FTSE 100 opening higher. I suppose to be fair we should point
:07:55. > :07:58.out that wipes millions back on to out that wipes millions back on to
:07:59. > :08:02.the value of shares since we talk about how much is wiped off when the
:08:03. > :08:13.markets fall. I want to show you this story. Dick's sporting retailer
:08:14. > :08:17.in the United States. Our team have been on the phone to
:08:18. > :08:21.Sports Direct to find out if this means a push into the United States.
:08:22. > :08:24.They have not denied or confirmed those plans, but nonetheless, an
:08:25. > :08:30.interesting move for the UK retailer. That has been
:08:31. > :08:31.controversial in the UK over the us of its zero-hours contracts, it has
:08:32. > :08:40.some plans on the United States. Chinese exports have
:08:41. > :08:46.defied expectations in December - rising
:08:47. > :08:48.by 2.3% from a year ago. Forecasts were predicting
:08:49. > :08:51.a sharp fall in exports, but a weakening currency may have
:08:52. > :09:07.boosted the sector.Steve Evans I wouldn't make too much of the
:09:08. > :09:12.rise, it depends how you denominate the figures in dollars or yuan.
:09:13. > :09:17.People were expecting it to be worse. Performance is better than
:09:18. > :09:22.expected in South Korea and Japan, they maybe wondering whether the
:09:23. > :09:26.devaluation of the yuan will be at their expense. The fundamentals of
:09:27. > :09:31.the Chinese situation remain the same. Growth is slower than it been
:09:32. > :09:37.in two-and-a-half decades. The economy is unbalanced. One month's
:09:38. > :09:43.figures indicate it might not be as bad as people initially expected.
:09:44. > :09:46.Steve, thank you. Steve saying let's not make too much
:09:47. > :09:50.of the figures and he is right in the inn that sense. It could be a
:09:51. > :09:54.blip in the month of December. However, the markets celebrated the
:09:55. > :09:58.fact. It did a lot to boost trade in Japan, in Hong Kong, and elsewhere
:09:59. > :10:03.across Asia. Of course, that's the Dow. The night before, in the US,
:10:04. > :10:09.let's look at Europe now. The price of oil going higher today is a big
:10:10. > :10:12.factor for the FTSE 100. A lot of commodities and mining stocks and
:10:13. > :10:17.oil majors listed on this market in London. It is up by 0.7%, in Europe,
:10:18. > :10:21.we are seeing a stronger day. We'll talk you through the reasons why
:10:22. > :10:34.shortly, but first, let's look ahead to what's happening on Wall Street.
:10:35. > :10:52.They will have their eyes on the beige book and the auto conference
:10:53. > :10:54.continues in Detroit and it is general motors turn to give their
:10:55. > :11:16.predictions for the year ahead. James Quinn joined us. James, nice
:11:17. > :11:22.to see you. Oil back up. We have been talking a lot about it this
:11:23. > :11:26.week, $31 for Brent and light crude at under $31, it is interesting
:11:27. > :11:30.yesterday, a stark warning from RBS, sell everything was the headline,
:11:31. > :11:36.wasn't it? They think oil could get down to $16 a barrel. The banks
:11:37. > :11:41.economists and strategists are having a game of who can go lower?
:11:42. > :11:45.Standard Chartered winning that game. RBS, the chief economist, Sir
:11:46. > :11:54.Andrew Roberts saying sell everything. A rebound today, but at
:11:55. > :11:59.$30 in the US last night, oil touching below $30 just $29, the top
:12:00. > :12:03.end of $29, that's a 14-year low. A rebound today in the scheme of
:12:04. > :12:07.things, it doesn't really matter. Does this rewrite the rules? We were
:12:08. > :12:13.sat here, weren't we, talking about oil can never get to ?50, it can
:12:14. > :12:17.never get to $40, it can never get to $30 and we are seeing it fall
:12:18. > :12:20.further and further. We talk about the new normal, but this really is
:12:21. > :12:26.it? The impacts are being felt widely. BP announcing yesterday
:12:27. > :12:30.4,000 production jobs to go. The Scottish economy has figures out
:12:31. > :12:33.later and the impact there and what would the Scottish economy have
:12:34. > :12:38.looked like if Scotland had more independence. Looking at the
:12:39. > :12:44.commentary today, Asian markets bouncing off a three year low, $5
:12:45. > :12:48.trillion knocked off share values since the beginning of the year.
:12:49. > :12:53.Perhaps it was over done and we are due for a dead cat bounce? The FTSE
:12:54. > :12:58.was up higher earlier and it is up under a percent. A dead cat bounce
:12:59. > :13:03.yesterday. Can you explain what that is? A dead cat bounce is where we
:13:04. > :13:06.have had a sharp fall and the markets correct themselves and
:13:07. > :13:11.buyers come in at cheap prices and push those higher, but overall, and
:13:12. > :13:15.China close to last summer's low. James, thank you very much. We're
:13:16. > :13:19.going to talk about Lego later. Stay with us for that. James is going to
:13:20. > :13:28.explain why Lego is in the headlines today. James for now, thank you.
:13:29. > :13:33.In my spare time, all I have been doing is building Lego. It is what
:13:34. > :13:38.happens when you have three boys. She heads up one of the biggest law
:13:39. > :13:43.firms in the US and was named the most prolific BlackBerry user of the
:13:44. > :13:47.year and she has got four kids. We will hear from her later in the
:13:48. > :13:53.show about you you do indeed, have it all. You are with Business Live
:13:54. > :13:56.from BBC News. We have been talking supermarkets
:13:57. > :14:00.all week. We were discussing Morrisons yesterday, this time it is
:14:01. > :14:08.the turn of Sainsbury's. It reported a 0.4% fall in like for like sales
:14:09. > :14:12.during the crucial Christmas period. Simon Jack is in the business
:14:13. > :14:16.newsroom with the details. Simon, it is interesting, it is the next
:14:17. > :14:20.retailer to give us the update, all eyes on how the supermarkets did.
:14:21. > :14:26.How is it going down in the city? Well, I mean, it is not bad. 0.4%
:14:27. > :14:30.doesn't sound that great, it doesn't sound as great as Morrisons
:14:31. > :14:33.delivered, but it wasn't a like for like comparison because Morrisons
:14:34. > :14:37.was over the Christmas trading period and this is for the third
:14:38. > :14:42.quarter. The City likes it a bit, it is up 0.3% today, but it had its big
:14:43. > :14:46.move yesterday when Morrisons surprised everyone by posting an
:14:47. > :14:49.increase over the Chris pass period. A lot of people taking this as the
:14:50. > :14:52.moment when the big four fight back against the oldies and Lidls, the
:14:53. > :14:57.discounters of this world. We saw big moves in the supermarket sector
:14:58. > :15:00.yesterday. So far today, they like it and they think that basically
:15:01. > :15:06.some of the established players are holding their own against the new
:15:07. > :15:11.entrants. Bring us the latest on Sainsbury's Argos?
:15:12. > :15:14.They have made a bid for Argos. A lot of people scratched their heads
:15:15. > :15:17.and said, "Is that a good brand match?" The Chief Executive has been
:15:18. > :15:23.explaining his rational today. I was listening into the call. If you want
:15:24. > :15:25.to look for yourself, if you look at my Twitter feed, you will see I
:15:26. > :15:29.posted the slides for the rational of that of the most City folk I
:15:30. > :15:34.spoke to don't like the deal. Most retail people can see the sense in
:15:35. > :15:38.it. They have got until 2nd February to make an improved rules or the
:15:39. > :15:45.take-over rules say they have to go away for at least six months.
:15:46. > :15:51.Argos had a new plan to order online and it would be delivered the same
:15:52. > :15:54.day. Sainsbury's also like this delivery
:15:55. > :15:59.network. The infrastructure already in place as a result of that plan to
:16:00. > :16:06.order and get your delivery on the same day. Simon touched on it but a
:16:07. > :16:11.lot more detail on the website. All the details that and we have
:16:12. > :16:15.listened into that call from the Chief Executive answering questions
:16:16. > :16:18.about training -- trading over that period.
:16:19. > :16:21.compare the results of Sainsbury's compare the results of Sainsbury's
:16:22. > :16:25.and Morrisons. We had Marks Spencer awhile ago so have a look
:16:26. > :16:29.for your analysis. President Obama says the US
:16:30. > :16:34.is the strongest and most durable But he calls for changes to reduce
:16:35. > :16:38.the growing income gap during his State
:16:39. > :16:41.of the Union address. Bankers were in the spotlight last
:16:42. > :16:45.year - for all the wrong reasons. Rate rigging, market manipulation
:16:46. > :16:47.and of course the ongoing fallout The Serious Fraud Office in the UK
:16:48. > :16:59.has brought proceedings against ten people accused of rigging rates,
:17:00. > :17:03.and a former Barclays and Deutsche Bank worker charged
:17:04. > :17:06.with conspiracy to defraud. And the outcome of those trials
:17:07. > :17:18.will be watched closely. She was promoted to the head of one
:17:19. > :17:23.of the biggest law firms in the US, Morgan Lewis, in October 2014
:17:24. > :17:24.Focusing particularly on the financial services
:17:25. > :17:26.and technology industries, she has led bank-related
:17:27. > :17:28.investigations and litigation cases. Yet she's one of only nine senior
:17:29. > :17:31.executives at the top 100 Alice Baxter went to meet her
:17:32. > :17:40.and started by asking her how she juggles being the boss
:17:41. > :17:48.with her family life and four When you think things are getting
:17:49. > :17:52.better for women in law, but it has gone at a slower pace than expected
:17:53. > :17:56.but it is a great profession for women and a great time to be a
:17:57. > :18:02.woman. When you started in the 1980s, it was not very typical. Law
:18:03. > :18:06.has a very high proportion of women, more women than men start out their
:18:07. > :18:11.careers than men but a substantially smaller proportion go on to make a
:18:12. > :18:15.career out of it. For me, it was an advantage. When I came into the
:18:16. > :18:19.profession, there were not a lot of women and I did not look like
:18:20. > :18:23.anybody else. I decided not to try to be like anybody else. When I came
:18:24. > :18:28.into the profession, people said, dressed in a suit, do not have
:18:29. > :18:31.pictures of your children in your office. That just was not going to
:18:32. > :18:37.work for me. You have to be authentic. To clarify, what you like
:18:38. > :18:43.being called? I once read you did not like the term chairman but did
:18:44. > :18:47.not want to be called chairwoman, so check? When I came into the
:18:48. > :18:51.profession, there were a lot of well-meaning, well educated people
:18:52. > :18:57.who called me honey, or dear. I could have got offended but I did
:18:58. > :19:01.not. That was not important. Words are very important but you always
:19:02. > :19:06.have to apply common sense. Turning to one of your areas of specialism,
:19:07. > :19:10.this is a sensitive area for you because you do represent a lot of
:19:11. > :19:16.banks. Do the US and UK authorities deal well with the abuse in
:19:17. > :19:21.financial markets, that has dominated headlines on both sides of
:19:22. > :19:26.the Atlantic? Should more bankers be facing custodial sentences? This is
:19:27. > :19:33.an area where emotions can run high. It is very easy for people to jump
:19:34. > :19:37.to a popular view. That someone should be responsible for everything
:19:38. > :19:42.that has happened. Every client, every bank wants to do the right
:19:43. > :19:44.thing. And so you are going to have problems where people stumble and
:19:45. > :19:49.make mistakes. The real question is whether or not we are looking at
:19:50. > :19:54.that clearly as opposed to emotionally. There has been a lot of
:19:55. > :20:03.attention on the Department of Justice, should it be doing more?
:20:04. > :20:06.The reach of the office essentially make sure that US citizens and US
:20:07. > :20:10.companies are not engaged in corruption. That is a goal we all
:20:11. > :20:17.should be happy about. government takes that into account
:20:18. > :20:25.when there is a stumble and a trip, that is the government to arrange a
:20:26. > :20:28.team between things happening and things that are more nefarious and
:20:29. > :20:34.that is really important. In terms of trends, is US law being exported
:20:35. > :20:42.to Europe at the moment? I think some aspects of US law, class action
:20:43. > :20:48.and litigation, some things have becoming -- incoming mortar the UK.
:20:49. > :20:55.But it is less US law than the US firms. If you look at the people
:20:56. > :20:56.populating firms, it UK lawyers. Interesting conversation between
:20:57. > :21:05.Jami Wintz McKeon and Alice. These are some of the tweets about
:21:06. > :21:10.women in business and whether you can have everything and whether it
:21:11. > :21:14.has affected your career prospects or your career.
:21:15. > :21:18.This says, I teach English, one of the least affected by gender
:21:19. > :21:24.discrimination, men and women enjoy equal opportunities.
:21:25. > :21:29.And this says, has my gender affected my career? No. Does gender
:21:30. > :21:33.have anything to do with the work in the global media world?
:21:34. > :21:39.I doubt it. Send us your thoughts. This debate will go on and on with
:21:40. > :21:44.strong opinions on both sides. James is back. Your thoughts on the usual
:21:45. > :21:50.gender? I think in business, clearly, there are six women at the
:21:51. > :21:56.top of the books he 100. What are people coming through the ranks and
:21:57. > :22:05.trying to do more, it is not so much women on boards but coming through
:22:06. > :22:09.the middle tiers -- FTSE. A lot of boards say they are nonexecutive
:22:10. > :22:14.directors but you do not have day-to-day power in the running of
:22:15. > :22:17.the firm. We need more women who can change something.
:22:18. > :22:21.I think there is a lot of momentum on this issue in terms of seeing
:22:22. > :22:25.more women climbing up the ladder within companies and heading up
:22:26. > :22:31.companies, more so now than ever. That is a good thing. Let's talk
:22:32. > :22:38.about the papers. This is a male dominated club! Opec. Calls for a
:22:39. > :22:43.crisis meeting, according to The Times, over the warning that oil
:22:44. > :22:48.could hit $10 a barrel. Why is Opec seemingly so slow to act? The
:22:49. > :22:53.Nigerian energy Minister has called for an emergency meeting by March to
:22:54. > :23:02.discuss the oil supply and demand crisis. Opec is seen by many as a
:23:03. > :23:05.cartel. Opec is in the oil producing nations interests to keep the oil
:23:06. > :23:10.price as high as possible and warnings of oil as low as $10 a
:23:11. > :23:15.barrel, that is not in their interest. Why they slow? They are a
:23:16. > :23:19.club and each country operates in its own interests. Not knowing
:23:20. > :23:24.greased beady in decision-making. Many say they are a club not in a
:23:25. > :23:27.place of agreement, you have Angola, Nigeria and Venezuela who all
:23:28. > :23:34.desperately want production cuts and Saudi Arabia who many would argue
:23:35. > :23:39.make the calls in this club. Saint, no way. We are not budging on this.
:23:40. > :23:48.That is right, and this is a time of $31 a barrel and Saudi Arabia
:23:49. > :23:52.considering listing at $10 trillion a national oil engineer company. It
:23:53. > :23:56.needs to raise money. It has the guts to do that but some Latin
:23:57. > :24:01.American countries do not. Something entirely different. Disney is
:24:02. > :24:05.opening its first theme park in mainland China. In June. We knew
:24:06. > :24:09.this was happening but it is late and has been delayed and so many
:24:10. > :24:15.cultural issues to overcome. It is one of America's biggest exports,
:24:16. > :24:22.the Disney Dreamland. In China, it is different. At this rate, the
:24:23. > :24:26.Mickey Mouse of China is something Chinese leaders will not be keen on
:24:27. > :24:32.-- that is right. There is already a Disneyland in Hong Kong and this
:24:33. > :24:36.part has been delayed and some nuances are different to Paris and
:24:37. > :24:42.Florida and California. If I remember rightly, there is going to
:24:43. > :24:49.be a Legoland in mainland China. In Shanghai, yes. Lego incher but with
:24:50. > :24:53.regulators in Germany, which? -- in trouble. German regulators have
:24:54. > :24:58.found in the case of one department store looking to discount the price
:24:59. > :25:01.of Lego, Lego officials told the department store they were not able
:25:02. > :25:06.to do that so they have been fined as a result. I have wondered, as a
:25:07. > :25:11.purchaser of Lego especially at this time of year, you never see
:25:12. > :25:18.discounts. It is never in the sales, I wish it was! It is not cheap. It
:25:19. > :25:22.has been in demand is thanks to The Lego Movie and Star Wars
:25:23. > :25:28.derivations. Speaking of buying Lego, the story this morning says,
:25:29. > :25:31.the controversial Chinese artist I weigh weight was banned from buying
:25:32. > :25:35.Lego in bulk because they did not want to get involved with a
:25:36. > :25:39.political statement, but they have reversed that ban -- Wei Wei. I have
:25:40. > :25:44.not said they will allow it to happen, they say they will not take
:25:45. > :25:48.any interest when people buy in bulk. They are trying to tread a
:25:49. > :25:55.middle ground. Wei Wei has tweeted this morning, freedom of expression.
:25:56. > :25:57.A bulk brick order. If you need 100,000 for the children, no
:25:58. > :26:01.questions! I might get in touch with Wei Wei to
:26:02. > :26:03.get his bricks when he has finished. Thank you, James. That is all, good
:26:04. > :26:17.why! -- goodbye. Good morning, many of us have
:26:18. > :26:18.started the day with Frost. Chilly