24/02/2016 BBC Business Live

Hello, this is Breakfast with Charlie Stayt and Louise

It is the super exchange, as London and the German stock exchanges

announce new marriage plans we ask for their make it to the altar this

time. Fly from London that is our top story today.

Third time lucky, a British German marriage may be on the cards as the

200-year-old stock exchange announces plans to try to merge

again. Europe's biggest playmaker cuts production of one of its jets

as profit and revenue takes off. The markets have opened, boil down we

will tell you why. We have more on the referendum, today we look at

Norway. What do the Norwegians think about this and does it work? As

ever, do get in the conversations. Welcome to the programme, let's

start with the top story. Finally, could a British German

marriage be on the cards? Whoever is sitting on a autocue was

you wake up because we are going to talk about the British and German

marriage of the stock exchange. After many failed tie-up attempts,

the 215-year-old London Stock Exchange Group

and Germany's Deutsche Borse are in talks over what the LSE calls

a "merger of equals". The move that would create

a European industry champion and one of the world's largest

exchanges for trading To thrive on a global stage,

you need to be a Super Exchange to compete with rivals CME Group

and Intercontinental Exchange in the US and in Asia,

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. But it's been a painful

history of tie-up attempts. LSE and Deutsche Borse have tried

to tie the knot twice before in 2000 The LSE has also fought off bids

from the high-tech Nasdaq exchange. Simon Griffiths, Partner,

at the lawyers Irwin Mitchell As Aaron stipulated, these two have

tried to team up before and not succeeded so what is different about

this time from what we know at least? Last time was a long time ago

and yesterday the announcement was forced on the London stock exchange,

they didn't want to make it. Explain why. There was an upward movement in

share price and our UK rules then required company to make an

announcement. They made the announcement, they are trying to get

together again, just focus through previously it was some time ago,

they overcame some hurdles they hit last time? Who knows. There are

competition hurdles and there are other bids, nobody can say there are

more chances this time, this time we have the uncertainty of the breaks

it -- brexit. This may have something to do with the fact that

brexit is a possibility in four months' time. Why do they need to

merge to form this super exchange? Its London after all. It is simply

economies of scale. If you put the two businesses together you will

make more money and make more money for shareholders. It is interesting

because we think of the London stock exchange as a British institution as

the same way that the dodger boyish is German but both organisations are

international in terms of ownership of shares, it is not so much London.

-- Deutsche Borse. It is so about data technology, the stock exchange

produces a quarter of the revenue, it is intellectual property for

which it derives most of profits. It is a global business and by putting

together they become more powerful. We appreciate your input on this

story and Simon inferred, there is a long way to go so we will usually

touch on every twist and turn. Airbus has released

its results for 2015. Europe's largest airline

manufacturer saw profits last year Last month the aerospace giant

revealed that they delivered a record number of planes in 2015

but failed to de-throne Boeing as the world's biggest

aircraft manufacturer. Airbus hopes to deliver more

than 650 planes this year, with the wide-body A350 expected

to help it close the gap. They have to deliver the planes

before they get the money, very important.

Brazilian authorities have charged the former president of mining

company Samarco and six others with homicide for the mining

disaster that killed 19 people last November.

Samarco is owned by Brazil's Vale and mining giant BHP Billiton

and on Tuesday police presented the first official report

The report concluded that the accident was caused

by excess water in the dam, lack of proper monitoring,

faulty equipment and failure in the drainage system.

JP Morgan will set aside an additional $500m to cover

potential losses from its exposure to the oil and gas sector.

The increase is more than 60% of the funds the bank had

The announcement contrasts with the banks assertion in January

that oil companies were "surprisingly resilient".

Johnson and Johnson, it was ordered by a Missouri state in the the US,

that was to the family of a woman who ovarian cancer was linked to use

of the baby powder and shower the shower for several decades she used

it for many years. I say talcum powder can cause cancer? That is

what the conclusion so they have been ordered to pay $72 million in

damages. This was a lance late Monday but is hitting the wires

today, an interesting scenario. 10 million of damages and 62 to

punitive damages. It's a key economic

indicator of the region - so when Singapore releases

its latest growth numbers economists take notice and today's

news isn't good. It's economy grew by 2% in 2015,

it's slowest rate of growth Leisha Chi, Business Reporter

is in Singapore... I like living here. The figures were

not good but better than expected. It expanded by 2% last year but that

is the slowest since 2009, compare that to 3.3% in 2014. It looks like

low growth will be the new norm for Singapore. Economists expect 1-2% in

the years ahead. Which actually is very similar to other advanced

economies. Singapore has been very reliant on trade but that also has

made it incredibly vulnerable to swings in global demand and recently

we have seen a drop in manner factoring output as well as a steep

plunge in exports which is because of slowing growth in China which is

one of the biggest markets. This has been somewhat offset by a growth in

services in the construction sector, services like the casinos and the

government is really have to push ahead with an economic restructuring

so what they will do is focus more on ideas and will turn Singapore

into a high-end research help. Great stuff, stay out of the casinos.

Asian stocks were mostly lower on Wednesday, tracking declines

on Wall Street as crude oil extended losses after Saudi Arabia ruled out

freezing production, saying market forces should be

Oil dropped 4% - now hovering around $30.

Just adding to the global worries, those Singapore numbers -

Both slowing last year predicting continued weakness this year.

Europe - a steady open after those sharp losses yesterday -

today's focus more on company results.

But let's turn our attention to the biz-buz on the other

side of the Atlantic - here she is Michelle Fleury.

Remember when HP split into two companies, the business that houses

the PC and printer operations is set to report its first set of earnings

this Wednesday. The stock has fallen since the spin of an analysts aren't

too cheerful about its prospects given the gloomy outlook for the PC

market. Also weak commodity prices continue to cast a chill on

earnings, oil and gas producing energy are producing a loss in the

fourth quarter, compared to a profit of the year ago, investors want to

know what the company would do to reduce the high debt level around

eight times the market value. The plunge in crude oil is also forecast

to weigh heavily on North Dakota's consonantal resources when its

report its fourth-quarter results. Thank you to Michelle.

Joining us is Jeremy Stretch, head of currency strategy at CIBC

Same sorts of issues but one slightly newer, the oil price

slipped and the pound has sunk? Indeed it has, the sterling is under

pressure. Wizards sided through the 140 barrier, the first time since

around March 2009 so further negativity playing out in terms of

the standings this -- the sterling perspective. The whole brexit being

crystallised into the upcoming vote so there is concern about foreign

investment impact and stalling foreign investment and the questions

about what that implies for the UK. Investors are saying we don't want

to be involved in the sterling at this juncture and have been stepping

away. Not good for another soulless going on holiday. -- for those of us

going. Last week we had the meeting in Doha are in Qatar, the Isa will

freeze the production in January level if everybody will do it, we

knew back then that not everyone was so Saudi making it clear they will

keep playing this game if you will call it a game. If we go back to

November, December 2014 when the Saudis said they would not cut

production, that crystallised the downtrodden victory of the oil price

which has continued. The question is why would they change of tack at

this edition. You could argue it is hurting them financially, we saw

this reflected in their budget, austerity is now ongoing so the pain

is hitting them, but by taking that amount of pain why would they change

strategy? Especially with Iranian oil coming back, they'll not wanting

to cede market share to arrive so they will continue and freezing

production is one thing and cutting production is another thing. Being

Wednesday this is the day when we get the weekly oil numbers in the US

and once again we are expecting to see those infantry is to build, a

glut of oil beginning to accumulate and according to that it'll keep the

oil price under some degree of pressure. Not enough storage

nowadays, that is the problem. It is one of those classic things, if you

have an asset which you think will appreciate them you may want to

store it but as you say, it is becoming more of an issue. I can

hear new businesses starting as we speak. You are coming back to take

us through the papers. As we kick of our special series

on Britain's EU referendum journey, we hear from Norway -

a country that's outside but paying for the privilage

of trading with the EU. You're with Business

Live from BBC News. The UK is on the verge of a flexible

working tipping point - when working away from the office

is becoming more common Let's get more from Ben Thompson,

who's in central London. We are also in central London, but

he's clearly not in the studio. Tell us more about this, people avoiding

the commute, but does working at home really work? Good morning,

welcome to my brilliant vantage point here in central London. It

seems that more and more of us are ditching the commute into the city

centre up and down the country, and instead choosing to work from home.

4.2 million of us now do that. 1.8 million more would like to if their

employer was a little bit more flexible. Some advantages with it,

some disadvantages. It seems that more of us are avoiding those long

commutes. The average commute in London is 1.25 hours to get to the

office. You can see why many people simply don't want to do it. Then it

is with me, he runs his own marketing them from home. Told me

through the advantages. What is it that made you decide that you would

run your home from your kitchen table? You pointed at the first

thing, cutting down on the commute. That hour and a quarter that people

spend commuting to the office and back again, it can be spent more

productively, getting on with work or preparing yourself for the day,

or generally just a better use of time. Also cuts down on costs, to

come because you don't have to pay for an office space and get caught

up in longer contracts. We're much more flexible. As a relatively new

at them, it is more attractive for us to work from home. Good luck with

the firm. It cuts a lot of costs, a lot of time, but it also comes with

some disadvantages. There is none of that face-to-face interaction, none

of that quick chat over coffee in the office, which is often sometimes

when the best ideas are created. One statistic that caught my attention

this morning is that we spend 10,600 hours commuting over the life of an

average person when it comes to work. That is over a year of your

working life spent on a train or stuck in a car. Worth thinking about

during your commute this morning. Big Ben and little Ben in central

London. I am talking about you and the fellow next to you.

More about the UK economy, Barrett profits are headed higher. About

40%. Our top story - third time lucky

for a marriage between the two hundred-year-old London Stock

Exchange and Germany's Deutsche As the UK prepares for a June

referendum on whether to leave the European Union, so voters

and investors are looking at what other options could be

on the table if an exit vote won. As part of our special series

on the EU refereundum, we go to Norway, a European nation

that's not part of the EU. It has a unique trade

deal with the block. So is this a good deal

for the people of Norway? The BBC's special correspondent

Allan Little went to find out. The water is the border between

Sweden and Norway, the edge of the European Union. You can drive

straight across it without even noticing. When you cross this

bridge, you are leaving the EU, but you don't have to show your

passport. There is nobody to show it to, even if you wanted to.

Norway may not be in the EU, but it is part of an area which means

anyone can come from the EU and live and work here. 16% of Norway's

population are migrants and they are entitled to the same welfare

benefits as Norwegians. Norwegians rejected EU membership in

referendums in 1972 and 1994. We had a lot of scaremongering, losing

jobs. They said we will lose 100,000 jobs by standing outside the EU, but

every single day since has shown this was false. Industries here have

been a success and we sell our goods to a lot of countries. Nothing

expresses Norway's Independence character more eloquently than its

relationship with the sea. Norwegians have sought to protect

their fisheries from EU competition after oil and gas, this is the

country's last battled against industry. But staying out of the EU

means this salmon processing company has to pay a tariff to sell its

products in EU countries. We have turrets on smoked salmon. It's only

things that is a price worth paying. I have been very constant in my

belief that we should stay outside. It is like saying, you know what you

have, but you don't know what you get. I live by that. But the world

is changing around Norway. Despite its global reputation for quality

and efficiency, Norway is facing growing competition from Poland.

Similar fish products can be made their more cheaply, and sold without

import tariffs. Here at Norway's parliament, the political elite,

unlike the people, have tended to favour EU membership. Most of the

laws and directives issued by Brussels get ratified by this

parliament anyway. Norway has to fall in line with EU law, even

though it is not allowed in the room when that law is made. Politicians

here call that integration without representation. One foreign policy

analyst here told me that every chicken, pig and fish in Norway is a

member of the EU, they just don't know it. We are closely integrated

into the markets, but we have lost part of the serenity through the

regulations. Would it be advantageous to Norway to be a

member, to have a seat at the table? I believe that, but I am in a

minority today. For people who are market orientated, who we believe

that grow who believe we should have more in the economic development of

the world, being outside the EU has always been difficult. Norway may

have stayed out, but the EU has exerted its gravitational pull here

and drawn this country into the orbit of European integration all

the same. Let's find out some of our other

stories making the media. Jeremy is back. Let's talk about the story

that developed overnight, which is online. Not a physical newspapers,

but the fact that Donald Trump one Nevada he wasn't expecting to win.

It was a resounding victory for the Republican nominee for the White

House job. Quite astonishing. The momentum he has at the moment. It

is, and the momentum looks to be increasingly unstoppable. We are --

we still have super Tuesday to come next week. Because he is looking to

be well set in those states that are voting next week, he looks to be

moving towards that sort of winning post, as far as the delegates are

concerned. It looks increasingly likely, however, and however

surprising this may be, that he looks to be set fair for the

Republican nominee. I'm quoting here. Mr Trump, number one with

Hispanics. I'm really happy about that. Before he puts the wall and

won't allow anyone more in. He is looking to Mexico to pay for

the wall. Apart from the wall and apart from a few other things, not

allowing Muslims into the country, except, do we know anything about

his economic stands? This is the thing. There is still a huge element

of gaps in terms of the political process. The two maverick candidates

on both sides of the agenda, both Republicans and Democrats, in terms

of Sanders and John, both have a lot of issues to deal with in terms of

their microeconomic platforms. Neither have been investigated by

the voters. That would be interesting, because we have had

these enormous sound bite election process is undergoing and, as we

say, we know about Trump's siren calls for the wall about

immigration, but beyond that, there are huge issues to be clarified. I

think that will be the interesting point as we move closer to the

Republican delegation process reaching its conclusion, as to

whether these issues are going to be put into the focus. This time next

week, we will have the results from super Tuesday. That will help

clarify. A story in the Financial Times, which we have already

mentioned,. This is absolutely harrowing story, that is not having

much attention in the media. Partly probably because of where it has

happened. Apart, yes. People died, and it was in the investigations are

underway and is now people are being. The environmental backwash of

this process are hideous beyond the ramifications of the immediate death

of 17 people. We are talking about a disaster scenario that has happened

here. You're right that it hasn't had the focus that it perhaps

deserves, and in a sense that is partly due to the geographical

issue. It also just underlines the concern that there are, in terms of

relation to the building of dams and the maintenance of those dams,

because you've you don't maintain them, you create these seismic risk

factors for the local populations, and that is reflected here. You can

look at some other dams globally which are also in very dangerous

scenarios. It just underlines the human risks of the man-made process

and now they are being seen as reflected in terms of the corporate

pressure being put on the executives who are behind the process. We won't

get time, we only have about 15 seconds. Paramount is a struggle

because of its lacklustre filming. It is the end of the game. We will

talk about that in detail at the end of the day. Thank you for coming in.

It has been great to have you on the programme.

There will be more business news throughout the day on the BBC Live

webpage and on World Business Report.

Good morning. We are suddenly in the deep freeze this morning.

Temperature is widely below freezing right the way across the country and

the coldest spots managed to get down as low as minus seven Celsius

in the likes