:00:00. > :00:09.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.
:00:10. > :00:12.Sales at brewing giant AB InBev lose their fizz in China and Brazil
:00:13. > :00:17.as economic worries force consumers to cut back on beer.
:00:18. > :00:38.Live from London, that's our top story on Thursday 25th February.
:00:39. > :00:42.Profits are not as frothy as hoped from the world's biggest
:00:43. > :00:47.It's been hit by economic woes in Brazil and China.
:00:48. > :00:52.So will its mega takeover of SABMiller help it thrive again?
:00:53. > :00:57.Japan's struggling electronics firm Sharp is rescued at last,
:00:58. > :01:01.but Foxconn of Taiwan is an unlikely white knight, and it marks the first
:01:02. > :01:05.foreign takeover of a major Japanese tech firm.
:01:06. > :01:09.We'll hear from our correspondent there.
:01:10. > :01:11.And, the rollercoaster ride on financial markets continues.
:01:12. > :01:15.Today we are seeing gains across Europe but the pound
:01:16. > :01:22.We'll have more on our globe-trotting mission to find out
:01:23. > :01:24.how Britain could fare outside the EU.
:01:25. > :01:27.We'll head to another island, Singapore, to find out what the UK
:01:28. > :01:31.can learn from this small but mighty Asian hub.
:01:32. > :01:34.And what's the toughest question you've ever been asked
:01:35. > :01:39.It's reported that Facebook asks candidates, what did you do
:01:40. > :01:56.Send us your best and worst interview questions.
:01:57. > :02:10.The world's biggest brewer AB InBev warns economic challenges in Brazil
:02:11. > :02:14.The maker of Stella Artois and Budweiser saw profits rise
:02:15. > :02:23.by 6.6% to $4.31 billion in the latest quarter.
:02:24. > :02:29.It's on course for a $106 billion mega takeover of rival SABMiller,
:02:30. > :02:33.which owns Grolsch and Peroni, a big shakeout of the industry
:02:34. > :02:40.But even with a slowdown, China is already the world's biggest
:02:41. > :02:45.beer-drinking country, guzzling a whopping 47.5
:02:46. > :02:55.Well ahead of the US, in second place with 17.7 billion
:02:56. > :03:02.Established brands, like Budweiser, are being challenged
:03:03. > :03:07.by the craft-beer phenomenum, as the micro-brewery craze spreads
:03:08. > :03:10.from Europe and the US to China, Brazil and Russia.
:03:11. > :03:21.Craft makes up not even 0.5% of the total beer market.
:03:22. > :03:30.Jonny Forsyth is global drinks analyst at Mintel.
:03:31. > :03:39.Sally running through the issues, what I want to pick up on is they
:03:40. > :03:42.blame the slowdown in China and Brazil, it is a common complaint, a
:03:43. > :03:51.lot of businesses warning that the slowdown is hitting their bottom
:03:52. > :03:58.line. Is it fair, as an excuse? No, because they have small coverage in
:03:59. > :04:03.China. A China slowdown is not good but it is not necessarily a
:04:04. > :04:07.disaster. It points to how reliant these brewers are on the emerging
:04:08. > :04:13.markets. We have talked about those markets and what growth potential
:04:14. > :04:15.they give to big firms. With a slowdown they are looking for
:04:16. > :04:24.alternatives, where are the alternatives? The big one is Africa.
:04:25. > :04:28.So much potential growth. It is a continent where a lot of people like
:04:29. > :04:32.to drink beer, huge potential to bring people into a retail market
:04:33. > :04:38.who have not been in before. Craft beer is a big issue. It is funny,
:04:39. > :04:42.because we see that beer companies are getting bigger, but they are
:04:43. > :04:47.telling us it is all about Craft beers. They don't seem to go
:04:48. > :04:55.together. There is a disconnect. It is a threat for the company. It is a
:04:56. > :04:59.long-term threat. It is more of a bubble in Western markets at the
:05:00. > :05:04.moment, people are turning against big brands, but in a decade or so it
:05:05. > :05:09.will be a big problem in emerging markets as well. We can see by the
:05:10. > :05:13.big firms are doing it, they make efficiency, the bigger they get, but
:05:14. > :05:18.that is the thing that consumers do not want, they want local beers,
:05:19. > :05:21.craft beers, they are not necessarily getting it from the big
:05:22. > :05:26.firms. But not everybody drinks Craft beer. It may have amazing
:05:27. > :05:34.growth potential, but even in America it is still only around 11%
:05:35. > :05:38.of all beer sold. It does have exponential growth, but a lot of
:05:39. > :05:44.people are interested in mainstream beers as well. What does it tell us
:05:45. > :05:47.about the power of marketing? They are huge conglomerate but they are
:05:48. > :05:55.trying to portray an image of a niche luxury brand. It is the
:05:56. > :05:58.marketing. It shows the susceptibility of consumers to
:05:59. > :06:03.lifestyle marketing. A lot of these major brands, there is not a lot of
:06:04. > :06:07.difference in taste but it is selling a dream of how people like
:06:08. > :06:08.to see themselves. It has worked well in Western markets, and it
:06:09. > :06:13.works in emerging markets as well. French authorities have demanded
:06:14. > :06:18.Google pays $1.7 billion The figure is substantially more
:06:19. > :06:25.than the $180 million the search engine agreed to pay in back
:06:26. > :06:30.taxes to UK authorities. But reports suggest Google
:06:31. > :06:33.is to negotiate and may not pay The IMF says the global economy has
:06:34. > :06:38.weakened further and is vulnerable It says that's a result of increased
:06:39. > :06:43.financial turbulence The IMF's report comes before
:06:44. > :06:48.a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central-bank governors
:06:49. > :06:53.in Shanghai later this week. The South African rand has slumped
:06:54. > :06:58.further after the country's finance minister warned the
:06:59. > :07:02.economy is in crisis. Pravin Gordhan cut the country's
:07:03. > :07:08.growth forecast, warning that the economy is struggling
:07:09. > :07:10.with shrinking growth, 25% unemployment and
:07:11. > :07:13.widespread poverty. The South African currency has
:07:14. > :07:16.halved in value over To Japan now, where struggling
:07:17. > :07:24.electronics giant Sharp says it has accepted a takeover
:07:25. > :07:25.bid worth $4.3 billion from the Taiwanese
:07:26. > :07:36.multinational Foxconn. We will talk about BT, they are
:07:37. > :07:42.subject to a review from the regulator. The result was sent
:07:43. > :07:46.through this morning, they must open up its network to competition, but
:07:47. > :07:53.the regulator has stopped short of demanding a full spin off of the
:07:54. > :08:01.Openreach broadband business. Lloyd say profits are up 5%. A 9% stake
:08:02. > :08:06.owned by the Government as a result of the bailout in the financial
:08:07. > :08:12.crisis. Profits are up, but it is putting in provision for mis-selling
:08:13. > :08:18.of PPI, largely in the UK. That is costing the big bounce the -- the
:08:19. > :08:21.big banks the. Shares are up 9% in a moment, we
:08:22. > :08:22.will explain why. To Japan now, where struggling
:08:23. > :08:25.electronics giant Sharp says it has accepted a takeover
:08:26. > :08:27.bid worth $4.3 billion from the Taiwanese
:08:28. > :08:29.multinational Foxconn. Foxconn is the biggest
:08:30. > :08:32.supplier to Apple and makes, It's the biggest foreign buyout
:08:33. > :08:51.of a Japanese firm in its Shop has been struggling for some
:08:52. > :08:55.years with massive losses and it has been cutting thousands of jobs, so
:08:56. > :09:03.it has been looking for a saviour. It had two options, one possibly
:09:04. > :09:07.Japanese state backed fund and the other was Foxconn. Many people
:09:08. > :09:11.thought the company would go with the Japanese fund, because the
:09:12. > :09:18.industry is known to be reluctant to accept foreign takeovers. But
:09:19. > :09:22.Foxconn's offer was more attractive, double the amount, and the board
:09:23. > :09:27.accepted it. The company will raise more than $4 billion by selling two
:09:28. > :09:32.thirds of its shares to Foxconn. The deal still has to be approved by
:09:33. > :09:35.shareholders, they are not impressed, shares were down 20% at
:09:36. > :09:46.one point, they ended the day 14% lower.
:09:47. > :09:55.Sharp's shares fell significantly. They closed down over 10%. But Japan
:09:56. > :10:02.is up, on the speculation. The Government will do more to boost the
:10:03. > :10:09.economy. Elsewhere, a mixed picture. The market up slightly in the US.
:10:10. > :10:18.Lloyds Bank shares up 9% on the FTSE 100. That was after announcing the
:10:19. > :10:22.earnings, which were pretty solid, and they announced a special
:10:23. > :10:28.dividend, which is good news for shareholders. Therefore, people
:10:29. > :10:32.would buy the shares. We have trouble showing give those numbers,
:10:33. > :10:38.but when we can bring them to do, we well. Also, Zodiac aerospace, shares
:10:39. > :10:44.down 34%, it issued a profits warning. Maybe we will get the
:10:45. > :10:49.European numbers in 80 minutes, but in the meantime, this is what is in
:10:50. > :10:54.store in the United States. It is earnings season, we will hear
:10:55. > :10:58.results from a bunch of companies, including many retailers, including
:10:59. > :11:05.cols. They said their sales and profit were hurt by unusually warm
:11:06. > :11:09.weather during the holiday season. Likewise, Sears is expected to
:11:10. > :11:13.announce the loss, and Weight Watchers International seems to have
:11:14. > :11:18.been boosted by Oprah Winfrey, who signed on as a stakeholder and
:11:19. > :11:23.spokesperson. The company is coming off 11 straight quarters of
:11:24. > :11:30.declining revenue. The commerce Department's durable goods report
:11:31. > :11:34.for January is due out. The numbers will be pored over for signs of the
:11:35. > :11:41.sector's resilience. These are the European numbers, they
:11:42. > :11:44.are green. Joining us is Lawrence Gosling,
:11:45. > :11:54.editor-in-chief of Investment Week. A lot of financial data due today.
:11:55. > :12:00.Eurozone inflation, what are we expecting? Not a large number.
:12:01. > :12:08.Things are muted in the Eurozone, as most people would expect. Syrup with
:12:09. > :12:14.one, 0.2%. When you strip out the energy and a bed, prices go up by
:12:15. > :12:17.around 1%, but because energy is going down so sick of the conflict,
:12:18. > :12:23.it keeps pulling the number down. Absolutely. People looking for
:12:24. > :12:29.inflation as a positive sign of economic growth, that 1% number is a
:12:30. > :12:35.good sign that things are gradually going in the right direction. Let's
:12:36. > :12:40.talk UK. It is the second estimate for the first quarter of GDP, it
:12:41. > :12:46.should give us an indication about a slowdown in the world economy are
:12:47. > :12:54.born out in the figures. We are not expecting a very large number, it
:12:55. > :13:02.will be positive, which is good news. The sign of weakness that
:13:03. > :13:07.people will look at, retail sale is beginning to drop off, which might
:13:08. > :13:10.make people nervous. It is interesting, the IMF is all over the
:13:11. > :13:15.business pages today, various comments coming from Christine
:13:16. > :13:21.Nygaard. One of their suggestions to global Finance minister's and
:13:22. > :13:24.central bankers meeting tomorrow in Shanghai is, club together, let's
:13:25. > :13:32.come up with a strategy to help the global economy. Your thoughts? She
:13:33. > :13:35.has argued for an coordinated approach, but that is whistling in
:13:36. > :13:42.the wind, because the economies are moving at different speeds. You
:13:43. > :13:44.cannot get the central banks or the finance ministers getting their
:13:45. > :13:49.heads together, because they cannot do the same thing. I would like to
:13:50. > :13:54.be a fly on the wall, especially with George Osborne and Mark Carney
:13:55. > :14:01.there, given the whole scenario of Brexit. Yes, that will dampen growth
:14:02. > :14:06.a bit in the next couple of months. We had Mark Carney teasing the
:14:07. > :14:11.market about interest rates, suggesting there could be a cut,
:14:12. > :14:18.which is an interesting scenario to play with. You will be back later,
:14:19. > :14:22.we will look through the papers. Still to come, can the UK thrive
:14:23. > :14:26.outside the EU? As the debate continues as friend of
:14:27. > :14:34.the referendum, what can Britain learn from Asia's trading hub
:14:35. > :14:41.Singapore? More about the UK telecoms regulator
:14:42. > :14:45.of calm, just told BT to open up its cable network to allow competitors
:14:46. > :14:50.to connect more homes and offices to superfast Internet.
:14:51. > :14:54.Openreach provides and maintains the cables that deliver connections into
:14:55. > :15:01.consumers' homes but the regulators stopped short of demanding a
:15:02. > :15:04.complete rake up of BT. Some damning comment from the
:15:05. > :15:12.regulator, not least about the so-called jewel divide. Absolutely,
:15:13. > :15:16.a big point in this report is this notion of a digital divide. Fast
:15:17. > :15:20.swathes of Britain do not get the service that people in the big
:15:21. > :15:25.cities enjoyed when it comes to things like superfast broadband and
:15:26. > :15:29.mobile. This morning's disappointment for BT's rivals, they
:15:30. > :15:36.say the way to solve this divide problem is to break up BT. Relief
:15:37. > :15:43.from BT itself that Ofcom has not gone the extra mile and said that BT
:15:44. > :15:49.should be broken up. If you look at the share price, investors in BT
:15:50. > :15:54.pleased that the Chief Executive has not gone as far as many expected her
:15:55. > :15:57.to go, she says there has to be proven, the share price affected by
:15:58. > :16:04.the volatility at the beginning of the year, and it has picked up this
:16:05. > :16:10.morning. The Chief Executive of BT has said they will improve the
:16:11. > :16:15.service, but has also said that investment depends on certainty.
:16:16. > :16:20.Ofcom has said, yes, the voluntary agreements will still be in place,
:16:21. > :16:24.they must improve, but break-up is still on the table. Although there
:16:25. > :16:29.is this major report, they are still saying that at the moment BT can try
:16:30. > :16:33.to keep its own house in order, but if it doesn't, break is still on the
:16:34. > :16:39.cards. Investors will still have that concern to content with.
:16:40. > :16:48.Thank you. Good stuff, as always. Now have a listen, and watch this.
:16:49. > :16:58.WHISTLE. Don't you just love it? This is Britain's most famous steam
:16:59. > :17:03.train, the Flying Scotsman, setting off this morning from King's Cross
:17:04. > :17:08.heading to York. Thousands of spectators expected along the 200
:17:09. > :17:16.mile route. It was built back in 1923.
:17:17. > :17:20.Our top story: Challenges brewing for the beer industry.
:17:21. > :17:23.The maker of Stella Artois and Budweiser, AB InBev,
:17:24. > :17:29.see profits hit by economic problems in Brazil and China.
:17:30. > :17:35.We have been discussing whether it is fair to blame that slow down when
:17:36. > :17:39.they have small exposure to those markets but it is a common excuse we
:17:40. > :17:42.are hearing from many firms with falling profits, the slow down in
:17:43. > :17:44.China. As the UK contemplates a possible
:17:45. > :17:46.life outside the EU, there have been a number
:17:47. > :17:49.of scenarios of what could happen One theory suggests it could become
:17:50. > :17:55.an Atlantic Singapore, an outward-looking trading nation
:17:56. > :17:58.with a large financial sector. Our Asia Business Correspondent
:17:59. > :18:04.Karishma Vaswani looks at what lessons the UK can learn
:18:05. > :18:15.from Singapore's success, From third World to first. In just
:18:16. > :18:21.50 years since independence, Singapore has turned into one of the
:18:22. > :18:28.world's richest cities. Not too long ago this was a sleepy fishing
:18:29. > :18:32.village. On the banks Indian and Chinese merchants used to haggle
:18:33. > :18:35.over goods but now the icons of global finance tower over the
:18:36. > :18:40.horizon. Trade has always been at the pulse of this place. This
:18:41. > :18:44.transformation has not been repeated anywhere else in the world but
:18:45. > :18:48.Singapore's leaders knew that this tiny island could not survive by
:18:49. > :18:53.itself, so it has used its neighbours to chart its own course
:18:54. > :18:58.of success. Just look at where Singapore is in the region. A tiny
:18:59. > :19:09.dot in a sea of bigger, more powerful countries. That is why in
:19:10. > :19:12.1967 it was one of the founders of the association of Southeast Asian
:19:13. > :19:14.nations also known as ASEAN which is now an economic block of ten member
:19:15. > :19:18.states. They have also signed 21 free trade agreements with everyone
:19:19. > :19:22.from America to China. Looking beyond its shores is what has helped
:19:23. > :19:30.Singapore thrive according to the boss of the country's largest bank.
:19:31. > :19:35.S benefits enormously from the free capital and Labour movement. Frankly
:19:36. > :19:41.I don't think Singapore would be able to survive let alone thrive
:19:42. > :19:45.without access to this. With a small population, this country has looked
:19:46. > :19:49.elsewhere to fill its workforce. Today four out of ten people here
:19:50. > :19:53.are foreigners. This has brought with its own problems and the
:19:54. > :19:58.Government is trying to address them, but Singapore can pick and
:19:59. > :20:03.choose who it wants to let in. If you look at the situation in
:20:04. > :20:06.Singapore and in ASEAN, they have a single market. Not as deep as
:20:07. > :20:13.Europe's but there is a free-trade agreement that covers almost all the
:20:14. > :20:16.trade within ASEAN's borders but there is no free movement of labour.
:20:17. > :20:23.There are efforts to introduce it in some skilled professions but they
:20:24. > :20:28.have not gone very far. In a sense, Singapore now has what Britain
:20:29. > :20:32.wants. As you have seen, Singapore has benefited from being part of the
:20:33. > :20:37.ASEAN grouping. It has been able to sell its products to its neighbours
:20:38. > :20:41.and make use of the workforce in the region. Although ASEAN certainly has
:20:42. > :20:45.its limitations, at its core there is a belief that member states
:20:46. > :20:46.should not get involved in each other's business and currently that
:20:47. > :20:57.is an option the UK does not have. From Singapore to Iran,
:20:58. > :20:59.and one of the biggest deals Tehran has made since sanctions
:21:00. > :21:01.were lifted has been to upgrade its aging
:21:02. > :21:03.fleet of aircraft. The opening up of Iran's economy
:21:04. > :21:06.helped seal the $25 billion It includes 45 A330 jets and 12
:21:07. > :21:12.A380 super jumbos. Speaking to the BBC's Theo Legget,
:21:13. > :21:15.Airbus's chief executive says financing is an issue which needs
:21:16. > :21:27.to be resolved for the What we concluded as a first aid
:21:28. > :21:31.agreement, memorandum of understanding, and in our business
:21:32. > :21:35.you need a purchase agreement to fill it up. When you have a purchase
:21:36. > :21:40.agreement, predelivery payments flow, so yes, we hope to get this
:21:41. > :21:44.agreement, this memorandum of understanding into a firm purchase
:21:45. > :21:48.agreement in the coming months. Financing is obviously one of the
:21:49. > :21:54.big issues we have got to deal with. So where is the money coming from?
:21:55. > :21:58.This is what we are currently discussing. A lot of other companies
:21:59. > :22:04.and industries are in the same situation. This is not easy. I am
:22:05. > :22:08.hopeful that we will find a solution but we will nevertheless comply with
:22:09. > :22:14.all the restrictions and sanctions and regulations that are still in
:22:15. > :22:18.place with respect to Iran. The boss of Adas there. Let's have a look at
:22:19. > :22:24.the other stories making the headlines around the world.
:22:25. > :22:26.The Business Insider asks - China's GDP growth has slowed
:22:27. > :22:28.while its debt has increased so is China heading
:22:29. > :22:36.A regular question and we will look at the detail.
:22:37. > :22:38.The Washington Post has details about the daunting job interview
:22:39. > :22:42.On your very best day at work what did you do that day?
:22:43. > :22:45.This seemingly simple question was conceived to help assess
:22:46. > :22:49.And the FT reports on the CEO email scam that has cost
:22:50. > :22:55.Apparently more than 12,000 people around the world have fallen victim
:22:56. > :23:06.We will explain this particular scan in a minute. Let's talk interview
:23:07. > :23:11.questions, Lawrence, because it has got everybody animated this morning.
:23:12. > :23:17.Keep your questions coming in. If you go for a job at Facebook, they
:23:18. > :23:21.touch on this question, trying to assess a candidate's usefulness to
:23:22. > :23:27.the business. You interview people. What do you ask them? I always ask
:23:28. > :23:31.at the end, tell me the most memorable thing about Hughes said
:23:32. > :23:35.that we will know you over the other candidates. One guy said to me that
:23:36. > :23:43.he learned to drive a steam train before he learned to drive a car,
:23:44. > :23:46.which was great! It revealed him as a railway enthusiast. Khatami one
:23:47. > :23:53.your daughter had to answer yesterday. She went to an interview
:23:54. > :23:56.and in the job they asked her what your best friend and worst enemy
:23:57. > :24:00.would say about you in the workplace. It threw her. You end up
:24:01. > :24:05.focusing on your worst enemy and to did not get the job unfortunately.
:24:06. > :24:08.It is about standing out. Christopher says that his worst
:24:09. > :24:13.question was whether his knowledge was deep or broad. To me that means
:24:14. > :24:17.nothing. You cannot say both. It is about coming up with something
:24:18. > :24:31.original. Say whatever you want it to be if you want the job! Fabrics,
:24:32. > :24:33.thank you for getting in touch. The toughest question is why do you
:24:34. > :24:35.think you are the right person that we need? It is tricky, controversial
:24:36. > :24:39.and stressful. It is addressing what you can do versus what the business
:24:40. > :24:43.needs. Everybody has identical CVs these days and trying to find
:24:44. > :24:47.something personal that makes them stand out is difficult. Let's get to
:24:48. > :24:55.this email scam, an issue for cyber security. The story here, it is
:24:56. > :24:59.costing companies $2 billion and you think the email comes from your boss
:25:00. > :25:03.asking you to transfer money but it is from a fraudster. You feel sorry
:25:04. > :25:09.for people that have fallen for this. If my boss asked me to wire
:25:10. > :25:14.him money, I would worry, about him and about the business. But these
:25:15. > :25:17.are clearly plausible emails. This is a large amount of money and the
:25:18. > :25:22.police have made some arrests around the world so it is genuinely global
:25:23. > :25:27.fraud. Some businesses need to take this seriously but I do wonder. You
:25:28. > :25:30.see the cost to business, $2 billion, and they are now investing
:25:31. > :25:34.even more to make sure they are prepared. It is about the cost
:25:35. > :25:37.benefit thing, putting the money up now so they are not at risk. We have
:25:38. > :26:01.talked about the threat of cyber crime, which is
:26:02. > :26:03.becoming a huge amount of company's spent that they cannot grow their
:26:04. > :26:06.businesses and hire more people. Thank you for being on the show and
:26:07. > :26:09.talking through the newspapers today. If you have a job interview,
:26:10. > :26:12.the best of luck. If your boss asks you for money, say no. Top tips from
:26:13. > :26:15.as! We will see you soon. Goodbye. Good morning. Another day where we
:26:16. > :26:19.are starting off in a deep freeze with widespread frost. Temperatures
:26:20. > :26:21.took another dive last night, similar to the previous