13/01/2016 BBC Business Live

This is Business Live from BBC News with Sally Bundock and Ben Thompson.

President Obama says the US is the strongest and most durable

economy in the world, but what do his critics

That's our top story on Wednesday, 13th January.

President Obama took office at the height

So how successful are his policies and what economic legacy

Forget the doomsayers, China sees a sharp bounce back

in exports and the markets are on the rise.

And the trading day has just begun in Europe and so far so good

as share markets track the gains seen in Asia and the price

Why only nine of the world's top 100 law firms are led by women.

We meet one of them who tells us why in a male dominated profession,

So what about you, has your gender helped

Or does this age old debate get on your nerves?

We want to hear from you, use the hashtag BBCBizLive.

In his final State of the Union Address,

President Obama said the US economy is the strongest and most durable

But he called for more progress on equal pay,

We are in the longest streak of private job creation in history.

APPLAUSE More than 14 million new jobs, the strongest two years of job

growth since the 1990s, unemployment rate cut in half. Our auto industry

just had its best year ever. Inheriting

the post recession economy, he says his administration saw more

than 14 millions jobs created. Unemployment hovers now

near record lows 5% though as the President

said wage growth has failed to keep

the same encouraging pace. Those positive

indicators combined with steady GDP growth saw the first Federal Reserve

interest rate rise in December And under Obama -

the power of Wall Street The Frank-Dodd Act brought into law

measures to stabilise financial institutions as well as offer

greater protection to consumers. Some though, have suggested it

doesn't go far enough to stave off Zayne Wickett is the head of the US

and the Americas Programme Sally running through the issues

that faced the Obama presidency. What do you think will be his

lasting economic legacy? Well, I think the thing he will define as

his legacy is the fact he took the presidency during a recession that

turned into what we now call the Great Recession and seven years on,

presumably eight years on by the time he leaves, you know, as Sally

already said, job creation, low unemployment, GDP growth is back

again, he will probably neglect to mention the fact that inequality is

higher than ever, but we have to remember just as a little caveat

there, is what we will think as his great legacy, presidents don't have

huge influence on a nation's economy, it tends to lag behind

often what they do, lags behind the impact on the economy, but

nevertheless that's what we will see as his legacy. It is interesting the

point about whether presidents have that direct impact. I suppose you

might feel it keenly in reigning in the power of Wall Street and

reigning in the power of the big banks. Banks still have the ability

to do what they want to a certain extent. Is that criticism fair?

There is criticism on both sides. I think if everybody is criticising

you, you're probably getting it right. A lot of people are saying

the regulation hasn't gone far enough and others are saying the

regulation has gone too far, it is restraining the American economy, it

is restraining private sector investment, private sector growth,

so I think there are both sides of the story which probably means he is

just about in the right place. You touched on the economic resurgence,

growth is slow and steady, it is not the rebound that many would have

liked, that in a climate of a world economy that we see the impact of

China and a slowdown elsewhere, and Europe is sluggish, how excited can

we get by modest growth in the US? It is a great question. I would

suggest you look at the narrative. Five years ago, we were talking

about China being the engine behind global growth. We're no longer

really talking about that. What we tend to notice is America is

reliable, it's stable and that's where a lot of investment is

returning because of that, because of energy revolution over the last

few years, investment is flooding back into the United States. We are

beginning to see America once again as the engine of global growth.

American productivity is increasing. Again, there are all sorts of signs

that suggest that America is actually here to stay in a way that

some of the other os sill lations from the other countries is not so

great. One we'll watch closely. Thank you for talking us through

that. There is a lot more analysis of what

President Obama had to stay in the State of the Union address online.

Oil is trading just above the $31 a barrel mark -

On Tuesday, Brent crude fell as low as $30,

while the US benchmark, fell below $30 a barrel.

Prices have fallen sharply as a result of too much supply

Meanwhile Brazil's oil giant, Petrobras, has announced a massive

scale back of its investment plans as a result of lower prices.

Petrobas will slash investment by $32 billion

And the end of an era for Internet Explorer users.

The software that got millions online is being phased

It will end support for all but the newest version

of Internet Explorer - potentially exposing millions

The company will no longer support versions 8, 9 and 10 -

meaning there won't be fixes for new vulnerabilities.

Microsoft is pushing customers towards its new Edge browser.

The FTSE 100 opening higher. I suppose to be fair we should point

out that wipes millions back on to out that wipes millions back on to

the value of shares since we talk about how much is wiped off when the

markets fall. I want to show you this story. Dick's sporting retailer

in the United States. Our team have been on the phone to

Sports Direct to find out if this means a push into the United States.

They have not denied or confirmed those plans, but nonetheless, an

interesting move for the UK retailer. That has been

controversial in the UK over the us of its zero-hours contracts, it has

some plans on the United States. Chinese exports have

defied expectations in December - rising

by 2.3% from a year ago. Forecasts were predicting

a sharp fall in exports, but a weakening currency may have

boosted the sector.Steve Evans I wouldn't make too much of the

rise, it depends how you denominate the figures in dollars or yuan.

People were expecting it to be worse. Performance is better than

expected in South Korea and Japan, they maybe wondering whether the

devaluation of the yuan will be at their expense. The fundamentals of

the Chinese situation remain the same. Growth is slower than it been

in two-and-a-half decades. The economy is unbalanced. One month's

figures indicate it might not be as bad as people initially expected.

Steve, thank you. Steve saying let's not make too much

of the figures and he is right in the inn that sense. It could be a

blip in the month of December. However, the markets celebrated the

fact. It did a lot to boost trade in Japan, in Hong Kong, and elsewhere

across Asia. Of course, that's the Dow. The night before, in the US,

let's look at Europe now. The price of oil going higher today is a big

factor for the FTSE 100. A lot of commodities and mining stocks and

oil majors listed on this market in London. It is up by 0.7%, in Europe,

we are seeing a stronger day. We'll talk you through the reasons why

shortly, but first, let's look ahead to what's happening on Wall Street.

They will have their eyes on the beige book and the auto conference

continues in Detroit and it is general motors turn to give their

predictions for the year ahead. James Quinn joined us. James, nice

to see you. Oil back up. We have been talking a lot about it this

week, $31 for Brent and light crude at under $31, it is interesting

yesterday, a stark warning from RBS, sell everything was the headline,

wasn't it? They think oil could get down to $16 a barrel. The banks

economists and strategists are having a game of who can go lower?

Standard Chartered winning that game. RBS, the chief economist, Sir

Andrew Roberts saying sell everything. A rebound today, but at

$30 in the US last night, oil touching below $30 just $29, the top

end of $29, that's a 14-year low. A rebound today in the scheme of

things, it doesn't really matter. Does this rewrite the rules? We were

sat here, weren't we, talking about oil can never get to ?50, it can

never get to $40, it can never get to $30 and we are seeing it fall

further and further. We talk about the new normal, but this really is

it? The impacts are being felt widely. BP announcing yesterday

4,000 production jobs to go. The Scottish economy has figures out

later and the impact there and what would the Scottish economy have

looked like if Scotland had more independence. Looking at the

commentary today, Asian markets bouncing off a three year low, $5

trillion knocked off share values since the beginning of the year.

Perhaps it was over done and we are due for a dead cat bounce? The FTSE

was up higher earlier and it is up under a percent. A dead cat bounce

yesterday. Can you explain what that is? A dead cat bounce is where we

have had a sharp fall and the markets correct themselves and

buyers come in at cheap prices and push those higher, but overall, and

China close to last summer's low. James, thank you very much. We're

going to talk about Lego later. Stay with us for that. James is going to

explain why Lego is in the headlines today. James for now, thank you.

In my spare time, all I have been doing is building Lego. It is what

happens when you have three boys. She heads up one of the biggest law

firms in the US and was named the most prolific BlackBerry user of the

year and she has got four kids. We will hear from her later in the

show about you you do indeed, have it all. You are with Business Live

from BBC News. We have been talking supermarkets

all week. We were discussing Morrisons yesterday, this time it is

the turn of Sainsbury's. It reported a 0.4% fall in like for like sales

during the crucial Christmas period. Simon Jack is in the business

newsroom with the details. Simon, it is interesting, it is the next

retailer to give us the update, all eyes on how the supermarkets did.

How is it going down in the city? Well, I mean, it is not bad. 0.4%

doesn't sound that great, it doesn't sound as great as Morrisons

delivered, but it wasn't a like for like comparison because Morrisons

was over the Christmas trading period and this is for the third

quarter. The City likes it a bit, it is up 0.3% today, but it had its big

move yesterday when Morrisons surprised everyone by posting an

increase over the Chris pass period. A lot of people taking this as the

moment when the big four fight back against the oldies and Lidls, the

discounters of this world. We saw big moves in the supermarket sector

yesterday. So far today, they like it and they think that basically

some of the established players are holding their own against the new

entrants. Bring us the latest on Sainsbury's Argos?

They have made a bid for Argos. A lot of people scratched their heads

and said, "Is that a good brand match?" The Chief Executive has been

explaining his rational today. I was listening into the call. If you want

to look for yourself, if you look at my Twitter feed, you will see I

posted the slides for the rational of that of the most City folk I

spoke to don't like the deal. Most retail people can see the sense in

it. They have got until 2nd February to make an improved rules or the

take-over rules say they have to go away for at least six months.

Argos had a new plan to order online and it would be delivered the same

day. Sainsbury's also like this delivery

network. The infrastructure already in place as a result of that plan to

order and get your delivery on the same day. Simon touched on it but a

lot more detail on the website. All the details that and we have

listened into that call from the Chief Executive answering questions

about training -- trading over that period.

compare the results of Sainsbury's compare the results of Sainsbury's

and Morrisons. We had Marks Spencer awhile ago so have a look

for your analysis. President Obama says the US

is the strongest and most durable But he calls for changes to reduce

the growing income gap during his State

of the Union address. Bankers were in the spotlight last

year - for all the wrong reasons. Rate rigging, market manipulation

and of course the ongoing fallout The Serious Fraud Office in the UK

has brought proceedings against ten people accused of rigging rates,

and a former Barclays and Deutsche Bank worker charged

with conspiracy to defraud. And the outcome of those trials

will be watched closely. She was promoted to the head of one

of the biggest law firms in the US, Morgan Lewis, in October 2014

Focusing particularly on the financial services

and technology industries, she has led bank-related

investigations and litigation cases. Yet she's one of only nine senior

executives at the top 100 Alice Baxter went to meet her

and started by asking her how she juggles being the boss

with her family life and four When you think things are getting

better for women in law, but it has gone at a slower pace than expected

but it is a great profession for women and a great time to be a

woman. When you started in the 1980s, it was not very typical. Law

has a very high proportion of women, more women than men start out their

careers than men but a substantially smaller proportion go on to make a

career out of it. For me, it was an advantage. When I came into the

profession, there were not a lot of women and I did not look like

anybody else. I decided not to try to be like anybody else. When I came

into the profession, people said, dressed in a suit, do not have

pictures of your children in your office. That just was not going to

work for me. You have to be authentic. To clarify, what you like

being called? I once read you did not like the term chairman but did

not want to be called chairwoman, so check? When I came into the

profession, there were a lot of well-meaning, well educated people

who called me honey, or dear. I could have got offended but I did

not. That was not important. Words are very important but you always

have to apply common sense. Turning to one of your areas of specialism,

this is a sensitive area for you because you do represent a lot of

banks. Do the US and UK authorities deal well with the abuse in

financial markets, that has dominated headlines on both sides of

the Atlantic? Should more bankers be facing custodial sentences? This is

an area where emotions can run high. It is very easy for people to jump

to a popular view. That someone should be responsible for everything

that has happened. Every client, every bank wants to do the right

thing. And so you are going to have problems where people stumble and

make mistakes. The real question is whether or not we are looking at

that clearly as opposed to emotionally. There has been a lot of

attention on the Department of Justice, should it be doing more?

The reach of the office essentially make sure that US citizens and US

companies are not engaged in corruption. That is a goal we all

should be happy about. government takes that into account

when there is a stumble and a trip, that is the government to arrange a

team between things happening and things that are more nefarious and

that is really important. In terms of trends, is US law being exported

to Europe at the moment? I think some aspects of US law, class action

and litigation, some things have becoming -- incoming mortar the UK.

But it is less US law than the US firms. If you look at the people

populating firms, it UK lawyers. Interesting conversation between

Jami Wintz McKeon and Alice. These are some of the tweets about

women in business and whether you can have everything and whether it

has affected your career prospects or your career.

This says, I teach English, one of the least affected by gender

discrimination, men and women enjoy equal opportunities.

And this says, has my gender affected my career? No. Does gender

have anything to do with the work in the global media world?

I doubt it. Send us your thoughts. This debate will go on and on with

strong opinions on both sides. James is back. Your thoughts on the usual

gender? I think in business, clearly, there are six women at the

top of the books he 100. What are people coming through the ranks and

trying to do more, it is not so much women on boards but coming through

the middle tiers -- FTSE. A lot of boards say they are nonexecutive

directors but you do not have day-to-day power in the running of

the firm. We need more women who can change something.

I think there is a lot of momentum on this issue in terms of seeing

more women climbing up the ladder within companies and heading up

companies, more so now than ever. That is a good thing. Let's talk

about the papers. This is a male dominated club! Opec. Calls for a

crisis meeting, according to The Times, over the warning that oil

could hit $10 a barrel. Why is Opec seemingly so slow to act? The

Nigerian energy Minister has called for an emergency meeting by March to

discuss the oil supply and demand crisis. Opec is seen by many as a

cartel. Opec is in the oil producing nations interests to keep the oil

price as high as possible and warnings of oil as low as $10 a

barrel, that is not in their interest. Why they slow? They are a

club and each country operates in its own interests. Not knowing

greased beady in decision-making. Many say they are a club not in a

place of agreement, you have Angola, Nigeria and Venezuela who all

desperately want production cuts and Saudi Arabia who many would argue

make the calls in this club. Saint, no way. We are not budging on this.

That is right, and this is a time of $31 a barrel and Saudi Arabia

considering listing at $10 trillion a national oil engineer company. It

needs to raise money. It has the guts to do that but some Latin

American countries do not. Something entirely different. Disney is

opening its first theme park in mainland China. In June. We knew

this was happening but it is late and has been delayed and so many

cultural issues to overcome. It is one of America's biggest exports,

the Disney Dreamland. In China, it is different. At this rate, the

Mickey Mouse of China is something Chinese leaders will not be keen on

-- that is right. There is already a Disneyland in Hong Kong and this

part has been delayed and some nuances are different to Paris and

Florida and California. If I remember rightly, there is going to

be a Legoland in mainland China. In Shanghai, yes. Lego incher but with

regulators in Germany, which? -- in trouble. German regulators have

found in the case of one department store looking to discount the price

of Lego, Lego officials told the department store they were not able

to do that so they have been fined as a result. I have wondered, as a

purchaser of Lego especially at this time of year, you never see

discounts. It is never in the sales, I wish it was! It is not cheap. It

has been in demand is thanks to The Lego Movie and Star Wars

derivations. Speaking of buying Lego, the story this morning says,

the controversial Chinese artist I weigh weight was banned from buying

Lego in bulk because they did not want to get involved with a

political statement, but they have reversed that ban -- Wei Wei. I have

not said they will allow it to happen, they say they will not take

any interest when people buy in bulk. They are trying to tread a

middle ground. Wei Wei has tweeted this morning, freedom of expression.

A bulk brick order. If you need 100,000 for the children, no

questions! I might get in touch with Wei Wei to

get his bricks when he has finished. Thank you, James. That is all, good

why! -- goodbye. Good morning, many of us have

started the day with Frost. Chilly