:00:10. > :00:21.This is business life. The European Commission unveils a plan to
:00:22. > :00:24.guarantee energy supplies. Live from London, that is our top story on
:00:25. > :00:43.Tuesday, 16 February. As temperatures plunge across
:00:44. > :00:53.Europe, temperatures rise about the supply of gas. The EU unveils a
:00:54. > :00:56.long-awaited strategy today. Also: a commercial airshow opens in
:00:57. > :01:00.Singapore. We will hear the first from the world's fastest-growing
:01:01. > :01:05.aviation market. The European trading day is under way. Energy
:01:06. > :01:11.stocks are pushing most market higher, as oil is trading above $35
:01:12. > :01:17.per barrel. We find out why. And we have the inside track on the foam
:01:18. > :01:27.that is changing the market for sportswear. We'll hear from the boss
:01:28. > :01:32.of the company. And we assess how the boom in cocktails is eating into
:01:33. > :01:34.profits for beer firms. The Nikolaevo or pint of ale? What is
:01:35. > :02:06.your tipple? What will happen if Russia closes
:02:07. > :02:10.its pipelines? Guaranteeing gas supply is one of the EU's biggest
:02:11. > :02:14.challenges. It is importing more than half of all the energy it
:02:15. > :02:22.consumes. For oil, it imports more than 90%. For gas, more than 66%. It
:02:23. > :02:29.comes at a huge cost. The total bill is more than 1 billion euros
:02:30. > :02:34.everyday. Many countries are reliant on a single supplier. For some,
:02:35. > :02:38.Russia is their only gas supplier. That makes them very vulnerable in
:02:39. > :02:42.times of stress. Today, the European Commission announces a long-awaited
:02:43. > :02:53.gas package. Our reporter looks at what is at stake. One of Europe is
:02:54. > :02:58.my greatest fears, freezing in winter for a lack of gas from
:02:59. > :03:04.Russia. Almost all is piped through Ukraine. He dangerous choke point.
:03:05. > :03:07.When Russia has cut off gas to Ukraine in the past, other
:03:08. > :03:12.countries, in eastern and central Europe, have also been left in the
:03:13. > :03:18.cold. The EU wants to counter this by opening up the gas market,
:03:19. > :03:23.stopping Russia's Gazprom locking out competitors in countries where
:03:24. > :03:29.it is the dominant supplier. The EU says we used to much gas anyway. By
:03:30. > :03:34.2030, it wants us to burn one quarter less than we do currently.
:03:35. > :03:39.The EU has to strike the right balance. Energy firms say that if
:03:40. > :03:44.sales fall too far, they may not bother exploring for a new gas
:03:45. > :03:54.reserves. And that in turn will put your's gas supply in jeopardy. Those
:03:55. > :03:58.are the issues at stake. You are a senior research fellow. Nice to see
:03:59. > :04:05.you. We had some of the issues. Talk us through this strategy by Europe.
:04:06. > :04:10.It involves four key pillars. Absolutely. We do not know exactly
:04:11. > :04:16.the details. It will be launched later today. We have seen earlier
:04:17. > :04:19.drafts and the four pillars are, one, the commission wants to
:04:20. > :04:26.increase solidarity among member states by unveiling a plan of extra
:04:27. > :04:30.pipelines and storage capacity and basically forcing member states to
:04:31. > :04:37.aid each other in the event of a supply disruption. Secondly, there
:04:38. > :04:40.is a push to improve transparency between so-called intergovernmental
:04:41. > :04:44.agreements. If a member state signs a contract with a third country,
:04:45. > :04:48.possibly Russia, then the commission wants to know about that before it
:04:49. > :04:55.is signed and wants to be able to sign off on it as well. Thirdly,
:04:56. > :05:01.there is a proposal to boost the import of liquid unnatural gas. And
:05:02. > :05:07.to promote more efficiencies in the heating and cooling sectors. A lot
:05:08. > :05:12.in there. Clearly, your District Court make things more and to get
:05:13. > :05:17.eastern Europe up to speed with western Europe, in terms of how the
:05:18. > :05:22.current market operates. A lot of eastern Europe in countries are very
:05:23. > :05:28.exposed at the moment. Many countries in Central and Eastern
:05:29. > :05:34.Europe are dependent on one single supplier, to a large extent, in this
:05:35. > :05:38.case, Russia with Gazprom. The commission has unveiled an energy
:05:39. > :05:43.union strategy last year. This is the follow-up to that. To ensure
:05:44. > :05:49.that the dependency is reduced and then Europe, as a whole, is more
:05:50. > :05:53.resilient. We talk about reducing dependency on imports. I suppose the
:05:54. > :05:57.using less energy, it will always be using less energy, it will always be
:05:58. > :06:02.dependent on these countries for that. In this proposal, there is a
:06:03. > :06:07.lot looking at how they can reduce the amount of energy we use in
:06:08. > :06:11.Europe. Yes. There are two things, one is the discussion of energy
:06:12. > :06:18.efficiency. Reducing the amount of energy we use in Europe. Secondly,
:06:19. > :06:24.this is for short-term, it will be very difficult for Europe to reduce
:06:25. > :06:30.its use of energy from today to tomorrow, so it is looking for
:06:31. > :06:33.diversified sources of gas. LNG is seen as a very promising
:06:34. > :06:41.alternative. The commission says that over the next few years, the
:06:42. > :06:46.trade in LNG will increase by 50%. That is tremendous if Central and
:06:47. > :06:51.European countries are also able to import significant quantities of
:06:52. > :06:56.LNG. If they can do that, it will not matter that they get natural gas
:06:57. > :07:05.from Russia. It is that diverse vacation of sources that is
:07:06. > :07:07.paramount. Thank you. Other business stories, starting with oil prices.
:07:08. > :07:10.Oil prices are on the rise again with Brent crude climbing
:07:11. > :07:13.This time prices are being pushed up by speculation some
:07:14. > :07:17.of the world's largest producers will finally co-operate.
:07:18. > :07:19.Saudi Arabia's oil minister is said to be planning a meeting
:07:20. > :07:21.with his Russian counterpart in Doha today.
:07:22. > :07:28.Crude prices have fallen 43% over the past year due to oversupply.
:07:29. > :07:32.EDF Energy is to extend generation from four of its UK nuclear power
:07:33. > :07:37.The French firm is planning to build a new nuclear power station
:07:38. > :07:43.Meanwhile, it saw net profit plunge 68% last year,
:07:44. > :07:46.but despite that EDF said it was committed to its planned
:07:47. > :07:52.It is still hammering out details of how it will finance that
:07:53. > :08:17.Anglo-American has seen an increase in share price. Let's look at the
:08:18. > :08:24.details. Falling commodity prices have hit the company, making a
:08:25. > :08:30.pre-tax loss of $5.5 billion. Commodity prices continue to fall.
:08:31. > :08:35.It is a massive loss compared to the previous year. The market is high
:08:36. > :08:40.because, believe it or not, it is better than most were predicting,
:08:41. > :08:41.which illustrates how tough things are in the industry. Another story
:08:42. > :08:47.coming in, this is about Vodafone. Mobile phone giant Vodafone
:08:48. > :08:49.and cable firm Liberty Global have announced plans to merge
:08:50. > :08:51.their Dutch businesses. The company said the joint venture
:08:52. > :08:54.would create a stronger internet The deal is expected to be sealed
:08:55. > :08:58.by the end of this year, Asia's biggest commercial aerospace
:08:59. > :09:05.and defence airshow opened It's a chance for the industry's
:09:06. > :09:09.major players to gather in one of the world's fastest
:09:10. > :09:10.growing regions. In fact, in South East Asia Boeing
:09:11. > :09:13.expects to sell almost 4,000 new planes, worth $550 billion
:09:14. > :09:31.over the next 20 years. All the action getting under way and
:09:32. > :09:40.some big deal is expected to be announced? Two years ago at the last
:09:41. > :09:46.airshow, in commercial space where announced. They expect the same or
:09:47. > :09:53.more. Rising wealth in the Asia-Pacific region has led to
:09:54. > :09:57.increased travel amount. That affect the aviation industry, especially
:09:58. > :10:05.the big producers. Behind me, we can see the top planes on display. A
:10:06. > :10:09.giant Airbus A380. We hope to get some of these big orders from the
:10:10. > :10:15.countries driving demand. With the fast growth in China, India and
:10:16. > :10:20.Indonesia. Aviation profits in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to
:10:21. > :10:26.grow around 9% each year until 2020. As I said, this is being driven by
:10:27. > :10:33.the rising wealth in the region. Here in Singapore, there is a lot of
:10:34. > :10:40.defence and military are craft on display. We have drones, fighter
:10:41. > :10:44.jets, helicopters. We can expect quite a bit more spending in this
:10:45. > :10:53.area. Geopolitical tensions in the region, specifically to do with the
:10:54. > :11:05.South China Sea will contribute to this. We also have small planes,
:11:06. > :11:12.private jets, Mitsubishi, for example, all expected to announce
:11:13. > :11:16.deals. Thank you. You can follow our correspondence on Twitter. They will
:11:17. > :11:24.be tweeting when those deals are done. Japan is up 0.2% today.
:11:25. > :11:31.Holding onto games. Making a little more. The Japanese yen still a
:11:32. > :11:36.little weak. The Hong Kong stock market is up. Ignore that from
:11:37. > :11:46.America because yesterday was a public holiday. Let's look at
:11:47. > :11:52.Europe. The real winners in Asia and Europe to an extent, the FTSE is
:11:53. > :11:56.being pushed up by Anglo-American. One of the worst performers on the
:11:57. > :12:00.FTSE 100 last year. They have made gains across the board in Europe.
:12:01. > :12:10.First of all, let's hear from Michelle Li in New York.
:12:11. > :12:19.Wall Street returns to work after a long weekend. Investors seem a bit
:12:20. > :12:26.at odds with Janet Yellen, the head of the US central bank, who last
:12:27. > :12:34.week indicated she is keeping things... The ability of traders to
:12:35. > :12:37.support the global economy appears strained. The latest housing data is
:12:38. > :12:42.expected to show the sector continues to move on the right
:12:43. > :12:49.direction and US consumer prices will be released at the end of the
:12:50. > :12:53.week. The season is winding down. One to watch is the giant retailer
:12:54. > :12:57.Walmart, which last month announced the closure of over 200
:12:58. > :13:00.underperforming stores. Thank you. She's the Investment Director
:13:01. > :13:14.at Fidelity International. Nice to see you. Let's talk about
:13:15. > :13:22.oil. Creeping fears about cuts to production. They have not been able
:13:23. > :13:26.to agree on this. But it could happen this time? We have heard
:13:27. > :13:32.rumours of a coordinated plan, finally, as the big players, Russia,
:13:33. > :13:37.Qatar, Saudi Arabia, meet in Doha today. This is what we needed to see
:13:38. > :13:41.from the major oil producers. They plan to cut production. The heart of
:13:42. > :13:51.the collapsing oil price is the issue of oversupply. Markets have
:13:52. > :13:56.been moving in lockstep. It is interesting to see how sensitive the
:13:57. > :14:01.markets are. This is purely speculation. They have said they are
:14:02. > :14:08.going to talk about talking! But there is no indication that any side
:14:09. > :14:16.is going to come to any agreement. Absolutely. So far, only rumours but
:14:17. > :14:20.it is hard and impact on the markets. Central bank policy is the
:14:21. > :14:24.other issue. It is never far from the spotlight. It has had a positive
:14:25. > :14:32.influence on markets this week. We have heard before that the central
:14:33. > :14:37.bank is prepared to step in and help markets stay afloat. It tends to
:14:38. > :14:41.have a short-term effect. In the longer term, people get used to
:14:42. > :14:47.cheap money and stimulus and then it starts to wear off. It depends how
:14:48. > :14:51.reliant markets have become on the central bank drag, if you like. The
:14:52. > :14:57.key thing is the news from the east. From China, over the weekend, and
:14:58. > :15:02.the data from Japan, which is disappointing, although,
:15:03. > :15:07.nonetheless, the Japanese market grew because of speculation of
:15:08. > :15:13.further monetary stimulus to come. Interesting stories to discuss
:15:14. > :15:18.later. Including, beer, cocktail, wind... With your thoughts on that.
:15:19. > :15:23.Cocktails are winning hands down at the moment.
:15:24. > :15:26.Still to come: Just lots of lycra or the key kit to improve
:15:27. > :15:30.We speak to the boss of high tech sportswear firm, Skins.
:15:31. > :15:34.Designed with the help of a Nasa astronaut, the clothing is claimed
:15:35. > :15:49.We'll ask how.You're with Business Live from BBC News.
:15:50. > :16:11.The French energy giant EDF is to extend the life
:16:12. > :16:14.of four of its eight nuclear power plants in the UK.
:16:15. > :16:17.EDF also announced a 68% fall in its 2015 net income Joe Lynam has
:16:18. > :16:23.The much needed commitment that will be useful for energy security in the
:16:24. > :16:25.UK, that it will extend the life of the plants? Yeah, absolutely. If
:16:26. > :16:28.you're in the energy business or you're in the commodities business
:16:29. > :16:31.you have had a nightmare 18 months and that's reflected in these
:16:32. > :16:36.numbers, the fall in pre-tax profits at EDF. From a UK prospective,
:16:37. > :16:41.extending the life of the plants, there are two plants in Lancashire
:16:42. > :16:45.and one in east Lothian and one on Teesside, by five years and seven
:16:46. > :16:49.years in the case of the other two, it is good for EDF, because it is a
:16:50. > :16:57.guaranteed source of money. The regulators are happy that the plants
:16:58. > :17:03.aren't in danger or a risk and they will close in a number of years
:17:04. > :17:08.time. There is a plant at Hinkley Point in
:17:09. > :17:15.Somerset. What's going on with that? This is a ?19 billion investment in
:17:16. > :17:19.new nuclear, but that is the entire value of EDF's shares, the market
:17:20. > :17:24.capital identitiesation is around that. You can see the financial risk
:17:25. > :17:28.that EDF would be doing to proceed with this plant. They have got a
:17:29. > :17:32.third of the money from a Chinese consortium. And the rest of the
:17:33. > :17:36.money is going to be guaranteed in future by UK taxpayers, but it is
:17:37. > :17:40.still a lot of money to invest in one plant and some people suggest
:17:41. > :17:43.that maybe the French are looking for some excuse to wiggle off this
:17:44. > :17:47.one, to get out of this contract so they won't be committed to build
:17:48. > :17:52.what will be the biggest single investment in Europe and in nuclear
:17:53. > :17:56.energy. OK, thank you, Joe. There is more about that on the Business Live
:17:57. > :18:01.page. It has big implications for jobs down there. Many, many jobs
:18:02. > :18:08.would be created if that were to go ahead. If it is delayed, it could
:18:09. > :18:14.have real issues. UK living standards are returning to
:18:15. > :18:17.prefinancial crash levels. It says the longer squeeze on households in
:18:18. > :18:21.living memory has finally come to an end as a result of rising employment
:18:22. > :18:24.and falling inflation. We have got more money in our pockets because
:18:25. > :18:30.inflation is so low. Keeping the lights
:18:31. > :18:33.on and the heating high, the European Commission
:18:34. > :18:35.unveils its long awaited strategy But will it change Europe's heavy
:18:36. > :18:46.dependence on Russian oil and gas? That's a key issue and one that will
:18:47. > :18:51.be debated today. Now, gone are the days of the humble
:18:52. > :18:55.t-shirt and shorts for any Today it's all about
:18:56. > :19:04.high-tech sportswear. From clothes that detect your heart
:19:05. > :19:06.rate to watches that So how about clothes that
:19:07. > :19:10.improve your performance and help Well, SKINS is a range -
:19:11. > :19:13.invented by a skier - that uses "compression technology"
:19:14. > :19:16.that it says boosts oxygen delivery to muscles and can
:19:17. > :19:18.help you run faster. SKINS was founded in 1996
:19:19. > :19:20.and currently sells products The firm this week launched
:19:21. > :19:34.an international $2.9 million The boss is Australian Jaimie
:19:35. > :19:38.Fuller, a keen corporate activist. He was outspoken about reforms
:19:39. > :19:40.at corruption-hit Fifa last year and is now pushing for a clean-up
:19:41. > :19:43.in world of sports. The BBC's Alice Baxter caught up
:19:44. > :19:46.with him and quizzed him about the firm's scientific
:19:47. > :19:59.claims and wider goals. Well, it grew out a chaps who was
:20:00. > :20:05.the original inventor of the product. We rarely ski during the
:20:06. > :20:11.year it is once or twice a year. You suffer from sore legs. He a
:20:12. > :20:16.brainwave, how do we take a technology that's synonymous with
:20:17. > :20:21.old sick and infirm, how do we take that technology and incorporate into
:20:22. > :20:27.21st century fabrics and make it applicable for super fit athletes.
:20:28. > :20:30.How did you go from turning the idea into generating this complicated
:20:31. > :20:36.compression technology? I understand you talked to Nasa on this? Well, it
:20:37. > :20:41.wasn't with Nasa per se, it was with an Australian astronaut who worked
:20:42. > :20:45.closely with Nasa because there are a lot of similarities between
:20:46. > :20:49.needing to enhance circulation in zero gravity environments and we
:20:50. > :20:53.know the Russians in the 1960s in the high flying jets were wearing
:20:54. > :20:57.compression stockings back then to promote circulation. Surely for
:20:58. > :21:02.ordinary people such as myself it comes down to fitness and hard work.
:21:03. > :21:05.Because it enhances your circulation and delivers more oxygen to your
:21:06. > :21:11.muscles, it reduces any issues around recovery. So for elite
:21:12. > :21:16.athletes, it is not a question of running the 100 meters in 10.2 and
:21:17. > :21:19.pulling these on and you will do it in 10.15, it is a question of
:21:20. > :21:24.pushing yourself harder and train more which gets you fitter because
:21:25. > :21:29.you don't need as much recovery if you wear these products. Tell us
:21:30. > :21:33.about your crowd funding campaign. Why did you choose to go down that
:21:34. > :21:36.route? Seven years ago, we arparticular laid our brand
:21:37. > :21:38.principles and values around fuelling the true spirit of
:21:39. > :21:45.competition and how that applied particularly on the field in the
:21:46. > :21:50.form of championing sportsmanship and values around sport. 2012, Lance
:21:51. > :21:54.Armstrong affair blew up. Suddenly our eyes are open to the level of
:21:55. > :21:58.corruption that's going on. For the last four years, we have been
:21:59. > :22:02.actively involved in championing and advocating for reform in a number of
:22:03. > :22:07.sports, not least football, with Fifa. We're going into the third
:22:08. > :22:11.phase of our journey which is understanding the power that sport
:22:12. > :22:16.can have in advancing social progress. Understanding also the
:22:17. > :22:21.sorts of corruption that involved with those at the highest level of
:22:22. > :22:25.sports governance, we need money to go and do that which not only
:22:26. > :22:29.improves society, but adds to our brand and will add value to our
:22:30. > :22:32.brand which will deliver a commercial opportunity. As you
:22:33. > :22:37.mentioned, you have been involved in lots of campaigns to clean up sport
:22:38. > :22:40.including the new Fifa Now Campaign, do you think it is your place as a
:22:41. > :22:44.commercial business to become involved in the governance and the
:22:45. > :22:47.ethics of sport? I do when a commercial business such as ours is
:22:48. > :22:51.under pinned by this principle of fuelling the true spirit of
:22:52. > :22:57.competition. These are the values that we revolve our business around.
:22:58. > :23:00.Everything we do, from sponsorship strategy to corporate culture, to
:23:01. > :23:05.how we behave and what we do. And as a commercial player in in the field
:23:06. > :23:09.of sport, it would be hypocritical of us not to agitate for those
:23:10. > :23:12.things and at the same time, stand there and say, "These are our
:23:13. > :23:18.values, this is what we believe in." Yes, I do. Jamie, do you think you
:23:19. > :23:23.could be accused of hypocrisy, you are a campaigner for cleaning up
:23:24. > :23:28.sport and yesterday, your product is a performance enhancer? People chuck
:23:29. > :23:31.that at me all the time. We have been banned in some sports. We have
:23:32. > :23:37.been banned at times. Really? Which is fine. When... Which sports? For
:23:38. > :23:41.example, cycling. We are not allowed to wear grading compression when
:23:42. > :23:51.they cycle and that's fine. We turn that into a positive and we use that
:23:52. > :23:58.as, if you like, a brand differentor from everybody else. SKINS, the kind
:23:59. > :24:02.of thing I can envisage you in. Head to toe in Lycra. Well, he cycles to
:24:03. > :24:04.work sometimes. He doesn't cycle in this outfit. Especially when it is
:24:05. > :24:18.so cold in the morning. This is a story in Business Insider,
:24:19. > :24:23.but it is one that's been discussed in a lot of places. It is a question
:24:24. > :24:25.that's being asked, are we heading into another recession? Is this a
:24:26. > :24:29.repeat of the financial crisis? I think the concerns we saw in the
:24:30. > :24:41.banking sector last week is one of the reasons why this question is
:24:42. > :24:44.being asked. In the bond market, that's the area where we are seeing
:24:45. > :24:48.similarities and you can understand why the question is being asked. The
:24:49. > :24:52.financial crisis is burned into the memory of a lot of investors. Is the
:24:53. > :24:56.world heading into another crisis at a time when it is not fully
:24:57. > :25:02.recovered from the 2008 crisis? I don't think it is. Personally. I
:25:03. > :25:06.think the banks are better capitalised, the key question is
:25:07. > :25:10.what we are seeing in the markets, especially last week is that
:25:11. > :25:15.reflected in the economic data and that question is inconclusive. A
:25:16. > :25:19.report out in the United States shows that tastes are changing. The
:25:20. > :25:25.beer market is shrinking and people are back into cocktails. Wine is a
:25:26. > :25:32.small part of the market. Yes, what's your preference? I am a wine
:25:33. > :25:36.girl. Straight in on the wine. For the beer makers they are really
:25:37. > :25:40.struggling to compete. And it is a health thing apparently. Well, it is
:25:41. > :25:45.interesting because cocktails have a higher alcohol content. It is a
:25:46. > :25:49.question of changing tastes. So this generation that we hear a lot about,
:25:50. > :25:58.they consume more cocktails because they are not loyal to one brand or
:25:59. > :26:00.one alcohol type. Thank you. It is about the belly feel.
:26:01. > :26:13.Apparently. Hello everyone. Cold and crisp this
:26:14. > :26:14.morning and it looks like it will stay nice and sunny across