:00:00. > :00:00.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson
:00:00. > :00:13.The UK Government vows to offer financial support
:00:14. > :00:15.to find a buyer for Tata Steel's UK plants,
:00:16. > :00:18.but stops short of offering a clear plan to save the industry.
:00:19. > :00:34.Live from London, that's our top story on Monday 4th April.
:00:35. > :00:36.As the future of Britain's steel businesses hangs in the balance,
:00:37. > :00:40.Europe also warns of heavy job losses amid a flood of cheap
:00:41. > :00:47.Exposing the offshore tax havens -
:00:48. > :00:50.a massive leak of documents from a law firm in Panama lifts
:00:51. > :00:53.the lid on where the rich and powerful are hiding their wealth.
:00:54. > :00:58.And markets are looking like this in early trade in Europe.
:00:59. > :01:11.In the wake of recent terror attacks in Europe,
:01:12. > :01:14.what impact does it have on the travel and tourism industry?
:01:15. > :01:17.The boss of luxury hotel group Rosewood will be here.
:01:18. > :01:22.And as one magazine says it's raising its price but ditching
:01:23. > :01:25.adverts, we want to know would you pay more for your
:01:26. > :01:27.newspapers and magazines if they got rid of the adverts?
:01:28. > :01:44.Let us know, use the hashtag #BBCBizLive.
:01:45. > :01:48.The UK Government says it is willing to offer support to find a buyer
:01:49. > :01:50.for the Port Talbot steel works in South Wales.
:01:51. > :01:52.Last week Tata Steel announced it was selling
:01:53. > :02:00.Reports say that Indian tycoon Sanjeev Gupta wants to hold talks
:02:01. > :02:02.with the Government about a possible purchase.
:02:03. > :02:05.But it's not just the UK steel industry that's struggling.
:02:06. > :02:07.Across Europe 320,000 people work in the industry
:02:08. > :02:09.and the European Steel Association says thousands of jobs have been
:02:10. > :02:12.More than 166-million tonnes of steel were made
:02:13. > :02:18.Germany is the biggest producer, followed by Italy, France,
:02:19. > :02:25.But steel plants say not enough is being done to protect them
:02:26. > :02:28.from cheaper Chinese imports and are now pushing for higher
:02:29. > :02:35.tariffs to be levied on those imports.
:02:36. > :02:39.Charles de Lusignan is a spokesperson from
:02:40. > :02:52.You represent European steel production, how do you think the
:02:53. > :02:57.situation in the UK differs to Europe right now, because there is
:02:58. > :03:01.trouble everywhere, isn't there? Yes, it is mainly the case that the
:03:02. > :03:04.UK is in the first line when it comes to difficulties being faced by
:03:05. > :03:07.the EU steel industry, this is because of a combination of factors.
:03:08. > :03:15.They have high environmental costs, high business rates, and the
:03:16. > :03:22.strength of the pound, when compared to the URL, means that the UK is
:03:23. > :03:25.particularly exposed, but the problems are generalised, the
:03:26. > :03:30.challenges faced by the entire EU, so where we see seven or 8000 jobs
:03:31. > :03:36.lost in the last nine months or so, a good couple of thousand of these
:03:37. > :03:41.are also from places such as France, Spain and Scandinavia. Absolutely,
:03:42. > :03:45.there is a lot of steel exported and made in Europe, and a lot of it
:03:46. > :03:47.exported to China. How much do you think China is to blame for the
:03:48. > :03:53.problems we are seeing in Europe right now? The Chinese dumping is
:03:54. > :03:57.certainly the largest, Chinese imports into the EU represents the
:03:58. > :04:01.largest share of imports from any country outside of the EU. Chinese
:04:02. > :04:12.dumping is extreme, volumes have gone from 3 million in 2013 to 4.5
:04:13. > :04:16.million in 2014 to 7 million last year, we expect that to rise. Prices
:04:17. > :04:21.have collapsed by 40% in the last year, this is an extreme case of
:04:22. > :04:24.dumping across a range of product categories, and the effect this is
:04:25. > :04:29.having is to depress prices across the EU, and this is where Port
:04:30. > :04:33.Talbot sees a particular issue, but it is a case that applies to all EU
:04:34. > :04:39.steel, that, while the bobbins themselves are not the largest, we
:04:40. > :04:41.still use 150 million tonnes of steel year so you are talking a
:04:42. > :04:44.small fraction, the price pressure on
:04:45. > :04:59.sales when you sell the steel means that you are potentially operating
:05:00. > :05:03.at unsustainable economic levels. How can Europe hope to compete when
:05:04. > :05:05.that cheaper Chinese still have such an effect on the
:05:06. > :05:13.market? Is there a way to compete with China? It is important to be
:05:14. > :05:14.clear that Europe is still competitive to other countries. The
:05:15. > :05:21.steel from China is unsustainably low priced,
:05:22. > :05:22.it is dumped, sold and sent over here at less
:05:23. > :05:29.than the cost of production, classic dumping, so when we complain of
:05:30. > :05:29.cases of dumping, which is on specific
:05:30. > :05:35.product categories, we have evidence to show that it is being produced at
:05:36. > :05:36.less than it costs them to make it, and that is the
:05:37. > :05:40.issue at play, they are selling at less than it costs to make it in
:05:41. > :05:49.order to bulk up their exports at a time of slowing growth and massive
:05:50. > :05:59.overcapacity in their own sector. OK, thank you for joining us.
:06:00. > :06:02.The leak of 11-million confidential documents from a Panamanian law
:06:03. > :06:07.firm has revealed the extent to which the world's rich
:06:08. > :06:09.and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.
:06:10. > :06:12.The documents, some seen by the BBC, show how clients were helped
:06:13. > :06:14.to launder money, dodge sanctions, and evade tax.
:06:15. > :06:21.The law firm at the centre of the revelations,
:06:22. > :06:23.Mossack Fonseca, says it's operated beyond reproach for 40 years,
:06:24. > :06:25.and has never been accused or charged with wrong-doing.
:06:26. > :06:26.Here's our special correspondent Richard Bilton.
:06:27. > :06:31.Panama's carnival attracts visitors from around the world.
:06:32. > :06:35.But, away from the lights, this place is a thriving tax haven.
:06:36. > :06:40.Investors come to Panama for secrecy.
:06:41. > :06:46.You can go to Panama and you can get a foundation,
:06:47. > :06:49.or a trust or a company, and you can use those complicated,
:06:50. > :06:51.slightly strange structures to hide and disguise your ownership
:06:52. > :07:05.An enormous leak of files from this company, Mossack Fonseca,
:07:06. > :07:15.From outside, Mossack Fonseca looks like a perfectly respectable
:07:16. > :07:18.company, but this is a business that's helped people from around
:07:19. > :07:39.Suddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium
:07:40. > :07:41.Panorama has been analysing the documents.
:07:42. > :07:44.We found links to 72 current or former heads of state.
:07:45. > :07:48.Like the Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson,
:07:49. > :07:50.who had a secret stake in an offshore company.
:07:51. > :07:52.The company held his wife's interests in Iceland's banks,
:07:53. > :08:05.Nobody knew that when her husband was dealing with the Icelandic banks
:08:06. > :08:07.after their collapse - including the British demands
:08:08. > :08:08.for compensation, which he turned down.
:08:09. > :08:19.He walked out when questioned by an Icelandic reporter.
:08:20. > :08:22.Mr Gunnlaugsson is today facing calls for his resignation.
:08:23. > :08:25.He says he has not broken any rules and his wife did not benefit
:08:26. > :08:31.Mossack Fonseca say the services they provide are commonly used
:08:32. > :08:37.worldwide and they are responsible members of the global financial
:08:38. > :08:47.But some of the deals in the files are extraordinary.
:08:48. > :08:48.We believe we have found a billion-dollar laundering
:08:49. > :09:03.This man, cellist Sergei Roldugin - a close friend of President Putin -
:09:04. > :09:06.was officially the owner of two secretive companies which benefited
:09:07. > :09:11.For example, an offshore company borrows $6 million.
:09:12. > :09:16.Three months later, the loan is written off for just $1.
:09:17. > :09:30.Why would anyone want to give all this cash to a cellist?
:09:31. > :09:39.There is nothing that I have seen that would make me do anything
:09:40. > :09:42.other than say, "Stop, we need to investigate very closely
:09:43. > :09:44.To you, does it look like money-laundering?
:09:45. > :09:47.Yes, it does look like money-laundering to me, for sure.
:09:48. > :09:48.Mr Roldugin hasn't answered our questions.
:09:49. > :09:50.Mossack Fonseca say they have a strong compliance record.
:09:51. > :09:54.Through the leak, the world can now see more clearly how the wealthy can
:09:55. > :10:01.And if you're watching in the UK, you can see more on this story
:10:02. > :10:07.Global viewers watching us right now on BBC World News,
:10:08. > :10:09.check your local listings for when it's showing
:10:10. > :10:17.The IMF's Christine Lagarde has warned that a new deal on Greece's
:10:18. > :10:22.The comments were made in a letter to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
:10:23. > :10:27.Greece and its EU and IMF lenders are due to resume talks this week
:10:28. > :10:30.to conclude a review of the country's bailout.
:10:31. > :10:33.Iran says its oil exports have reached 2-million barrels a day,
:10:34. > :10:35.following the lifting of sanctions in January.
:10:36. > :10:38.The country says it won't take part in a meeting later this month
:10:39. > :10:41.in Doha where freezing output will be discussed.
:10:42. > :10:44.Iran has previously said it wants to increase production until it
:10:45. > :10:55.than than 270,000 pre-orders for the new Model 3 electric vehicle.
:10:56. > :10:58.The California-based firm unveiled the five-seater car on Thursday.
:10:59. > :11:00.Potential owners need to put down $1000 deposits
:11:01. > :11:22.And I'm sitting next to one of them. I wish!
:11:23. > :11:26.You are not a card guy, really. Let's have a look at the stories
:11:27. > :11:30.making the headlines on our website. Oil is very much on the minds of
:11:31. > :11:35.investors today, if you can see the story here, or oil prices have
:11:36. > :11:39.dropped yet again. The reason for this, Saudi Arabia, it said it will
:11:40. > :11:43.only participate in global production freeze if Iran also takes
:11:44. > :11:46.part, but Iran is not going to play ball.
:11:47. > :11:49.As we heard in the round-up, some of the stories affecting Enron, after
:11:50. > :11:58.sanctions were lifted on the country it is keen to get its oil and gas
:11:59. > :11:59.exports back up so does not want to take part in a freeze that many
:12:00. > :12:01.hoped would raise the price. Let's check in on
:12:02. > :12:06.the market numbers. Jeremy Stretch is with us,
:12:07. > :12:14.he's head of FX strategy at CIBC. Lots to talk about, let's start with
:12:15. > :12:19.the US, all eyes on what the US will do. What is happening? It is the
:12:20. > :12:23.case that it is the leader in terms of Monetary Policy Committee high in
:12:24. > :12:27.first-rate direction. We saw the labour market data on Friday in the
:12:28. > :12:31.US continued to show the US economy continues to generate good levels of
:12:32. > :12:35.jobs growth, also signs of a pick-up in average earnings, said that has
:12:36. > :12:38.implications for where markets will interpret US interest rates are
:12:39. > :12:44.likely to move, and that has implications for other interest
:12:45. > :12:47.rates markets but also for how equity markets will perform as well,
:12:48. > :12:51.so all eyes will be on the US, particularly into the minutes from
:12:52. > :12:55.the last meeting from the Federal Reserve this week, when they changed
:12:56. > :12:59.their outlook, so that'll be something for investors to focus on.
:13:00. > :13:03.What will investors want to see from the minutes? They will want some
:13:04. > :13:08.degree of recognition as to why the Reserve changed its position so
:13:09. > :13:12.markedly from December to March. We have seen global uncertainty through
:13:13. > :13:15.that period, equity markets falling dramatically in January and
:13:16. > :13:19.February, subsequently bouncing back, so investors will look to try
:13:20. > :13:22.to determine where the Fed will be going and we have seen some
:13:23. > :13:26.aggressive talk from Janet Yellen, the chair of the Federal Reserve,
:13:27. > :13:30.last week, underlining the fact that the Federal Reserve, in her opinion,
:13:31. > :13:34.have a lot of barriers to some degree of movement of interest rates
:13:35. > :13:51.beyond what we saw in December. Let's talk about
:13:52. > :13:55.oil, falling again as we touched on that. There is a danger that we get
:13:56. > :13:58.too caught up on the oil market, that it actually has very little
:13:59. > :14:00.bearing on reality. It is beer, expectation, dissipation, but there
:14:01. > :14:02.is a correlation between oil prices and what everybody is thinking about
:14:03. > :14:05.the state of the economy? That is true, and it has been elevated in
:14:06. > :14:07.the first quarter of this year as investors have produced their
:14:08. > :14:09.assumptions of global growth, which has played into negative demand and
:14:10. > :14:12.expectations on the oil price site and when we see the supplied that
:14:13. > :14:16.you have talked about in terms of Iran, it adds to that. It calls oil
:14:17. > :14:21.markets to trade lower through the first part of this year and that had
:14:22. > :14:25.negative feedback in equity markets and general sentiment. We need to
:14:26. > :14:31.see some degree of stabilisation in terms of the demand and supply
:14:32. > :14:35.balance, unfortunately that is why the upcoming meeting in Gauhar is
:14:36. > :14:39.important, because of course as you correctly said Saudi Arabia do not
:14:40. > :14:43.want to see their market share lost to Iran, and it undermines the
:14:44. > :14:48.geopolitical tensions that impact on the oil price, which then comes back
:14:49. > :14:52.to investor sentiment globally. OK, thank you, I know he will come back
:14:53. > :14:54.and talk to us about the papers in a little while.
:14:55. > :14:56.Still to come: Tourism in the face of terrorism.
:14:57. > :14:58.How do international security fears change our willingness to travel,
:14:59. > :15:00.and how is the industry weathering the storm?
:15:01. > :15:03.The boss of global hotel chain Rosewood will be with us later
:15:04. > :15:06.in the programme as it plans a rapid global expansion.
:15:07. > :15:17.You're with Business Live from BBC News.
:15:18. > :15:20.Homeowners living in areas at risk of flooding should be able
:15:21. > :15:22.to save hundreds of pounds on their insurance premiums from today.
:15:23. > :15:26.A new scheme called Flood Re has been designed to cut the cost
:15:27. > :15:35.of insurance for those whose homes are at risk rather than having
:15:36. > :15:38.to pay a large additional premium to make sure their homes
:15:39. > :15:44.Let's speak to insurance specialist Louise Claro from Circle Insurance.
:15:45. > :15:52.What has been announced? Basically, there will be 17 insurers who will
:15:53. > :16:00.be offering this to start off with. The insurance industry, effectively,
:16:01. > :16:02.is going to collect premiums off all householders, probably ?10.50 per
:16:03. > :16:05.household that's insured and what's going to happen is that money is
:16:06. > :16:10.going to be shunted into a special fund. It will be a levy and that
:16:11. > :16:18.levy which is expected to raise about ?180 million will be used to
:16:19. > :16:27.effectively fund flood risks that come to light as a result of claims.
:16:28. > :16:41.They have They have been restricted and people had high premiums.
:16:42. > :16:52.We think it will affect 350,000 households. 350,000, but not
:16:53. > :16:58.everybody who sat risk risk will be able to get it? Businesses, they
:16:59. > :17:02.were massively hit. We have got claims going through. Huge flood
:17:03. > :17:07.damage and they won't be covered. It will be householders and tenants of
:17:08. > :17:11.properties as well. Now, it means that the excesses in some cases I
:17:12. > :17:18.have heard reports of people having to pay an excess of up to 10,000 or
:17:19. > :17:21.?20,000, normal householders can't afford to write that cheque out if
:17:22. > :17:25.they have an insurance claim, but we think that premiums could, they are
:17:26. > :17:30.being reported come down to as little as ?250 which is more in line
:17:31. > :17:31.with what you'd expect from a household insurance policy. Louise,
:17:32. > :17:46.thank you very much. Interesting comparison between the
:17:47. > :17:47.retail industry and the steel industry and what jobs are
:17:48. > :18:05.considered important. Thousands of jobs have been lost in
:18:06. > :18:09.the steel industry across Europe as a result of cheap Chinese imports.
:18:10. > :18:14.We are staying across that story for you on the BBC.
:18:15. > :18:15.The recent terrorist attacks in Brussels,
:18:16. > :18:18.Paris and Istanbul have taken their toll on travel
:18:19. > :18:21.Hotels, airlines and train companies have all reported a slowdown
:18:22. > :18:23.in visitor numbers and a rise in cancellations.
:18:24. > :18:27.And what can it do to reassure travellers?
:18:28. > :18:30.Well, our next guest is the boss of global hotel giant Rosewood.
:18:31. > :18:33.The firm was founded in 1979 and now operates 55 hotels in 18 countries.
:18:34. > :18:42.The Hong-Kong based company has a strong US presence after a merger
:18:43. > :18:44.in 2011 and runs more than 2,000 hotel rooms worldwide.
:18:45. > :18:47.Radha Arora is the president of Rosewood.
:18:48. > :19:01.Lovely to meet you. Thank you for coming to talk to us. Let's cover
:19:02. > :19:05.the terrorism aspect because I'm sure it is playing on many hotel
:19:06. > :19:09.companies minds across the world. How big an impact have the recent
:19:10. > :19:15.terrorist attacks and events that we have seen worldwide had on business
:19:16. > :19:20.and how does one deal with it? Well, in answer to your first question we
:19:21. > :19:24.have not had a scale back. People are becoming more and more resilient
:19:25. > :19:28.in the face of terrorism. It is unfortunate that it continues to
:19:29. > :19:32.happen and I lived through the IRA bombings back in the 70s and the 80s
:19:33. > :19:37.here and we found ourselves to be resilient. So what is happening is
:19:38. > :19:43.that people are cautious. It is our obligation to work with the local
:19:44. > :19:48.communities to mitigate that risk. And we adhere to the responses that
:19:49. > :19:52.we have had from the companies and as I said, our obligation is to take
:19:53. > :19:58.care of them and make it a safe haven. What can you do to reashire
:19:59. > :20:01.to people that the country they are coming to, the hotel they are
:20:02. > :20:05.staying at will be safe and that they need not change their travel
:20:06. > :20:11.plans? Well, we continue to through our website we continue to mention
:20:12. > :20:16.the fact that it is a safe haven. Some of the destination that is we
:20:17. > :20:22.have our properties in are resort destinations. We are not in loads of
:20:23. > :20:25.risk affected destinations. If you go to Mexico, the Caribbean,
:20:26. > :20:31.Antigua, from London and we know London is a safe, is the safest
:20:32. > :20:35.airport in the world to travel from. So that's always there. But again,
:20:36. > :20:40.as I said, we work with the local communities and local governments to
:20:41. > :20:45.mitigate that risk and when people ask us those questions we will
:20:46. > :20:51.reassure them. Let's talk about Rosewood. You have
:20:52. > :20:55.many luxury high end hotels across the world. You have a big presence
:20:56. > :20:58.in America. You are well-known there, perhaps not so much in Europe
:20:59. > :21:05.and in London. What are you doing to change that? What are your expansion
:21:06. > :21:11.plans? Well, the company was founded in Dallas many years ago. There is a
:21:12. > :21:14.whole sense of mantra that we use is very different, very deliberate and
:21:15. > :21:22.hence the reason why we have taken a long time to evolve in Europe. We
:21:23. > :21:26.have actually as you know, we opened Rosewood London two years ago. It
:21:27. > :21:33.received so many awards. It is a typical sense of place des anyone
:21:34. > :21:41.nation. What do you mean? It is in hold burn. We have created
:21:42. > :21:47.destination... Poor hold burn? There wasn't a luxury operator in hold
:21:48. > :21:50.burn and now it is seen as a mid-town destination for London, you
:21:51. > :21:55.have got Covent Garden nearby and the theatre district nearby. So by
:21:56. > :22:08.arriving in London, we have kind of put a flag in London. We have
:22:09. > :22:18.announced a Rosewood hotel in Paris. And Rosewood which is an
:22:19. > :22:22.800-year-old destination in Tuscany. City and resort destinations so we
:22:23. > :22:26.are continuing to evolve and make a statement in Europe. During the
:22:27. > :22:30.expansion, of course, you are doing so in an environment we keep hearing
:22:31. > :22:34.the word uncertainty and uncertainty about the UK's membership of the EU,
:22:35. > :22:38.uncertainty about a slowdown in China and debt deals in Europe. What
:22:39. > :22:42.is the biggest risk to you? What's the thing that keeps you awake at
:22:43. > :22:48.night amongst many? What's the one you are most worried about?
:22:49. > :22:53.Certainly, the aspect of European Union. Our office is based in Los
:22:54. > :22:58.Angeles, it is not something I have given thought to, but something that
:22:59. > :23:02.does keep me up at night is other brand operators in our luxury... Who
:23:03. > :23:12.are your big rivals? Can I mention them? Yes, of course. Four Seasons,
:23:13. > :23:18.Peninsula. We deliberate over finding the unique destinations and
:23:19. > :23:21.you see Rosewood London, in Paris, we want to create this auz thentic
:23:22. > :23:27.experience so what does keep me up at night is the fact how do we
:23:28. > :23:30.continue to different ate ourselves and finding ourselves separated from
:23:31. > :23:32.our competition? Interesting stuff. Thank you for coming in. Nice to see
:23:33. > :23:43.you. The Business Live page is where you
:23:44. > :23:47.can stay ahead with the day's breaking business news. We will keep
:23:48. > :23:51.you up-to-date with the latest details with insight and analysis
:23:52. > :23:55.from the BBC's team of editors around the world. We want to hear
:23:56. > :24:01.from you too. Get involved on the BBC Business Live web page.
:24:02. > :24:07.And on Twitter: You can find us on Facebook.
:24:08. > :24:15.Business Live on TV and online wherever you need to know.
:24:16. > :24:22.Let s take a quick look at the stories making business
:24:23. > :24:35.Falling rates for adverts because they are not able to charge as much?
:24:36. > :24:43.What we have seen is the print media are finding themselves squeezed. It
:24:44. > :24:49.is by lower ad revenue and lower levels of circulation. So they have
:24:50. > :24:56.taken this solution so say well, we will cut ads and reduce the number
:24:57. > :25:02.of pages and hope they can recoup and maintain a core residual
:25:03. > :25:07.readership which will be enough to maintain readability. We have seen
:25:08. > :25:11.in the Evening Standard where they have added advertising and removed
:25:12. > :25:15.the purchase price. There are two models being followed by the print
:25:16. > :25:20.media to maintain their sector in the market. This is a horrible
:25:21. > :25:25.picture! It is about cockroaches. It is about the new word for companies
:25:26. > :25:30.that are survivors and resilient because cockroaches are. They will
:25:31. > :25:35.survive a nuclear hollow Cors. We talking about companies that will
:25:36. > :25:40.survive. Well, we are talking about traditional means of building up a
:25:41. > :25:44.company, starting small and starting slow and keeping costs low. And
:25:45. > :25:47.what's what this article is implying. Jeremy, thank you.
:25:48. > :25:52.There will be more business news throughout the day on the BBC Live
:25:53. > :25:54.webpage and on World Business Report.
:25:55. > :26:11.Hello. Yesterday temperatures hit 17 Celsius at Gravesend. The warmest
:26:12. > :26:16.day of the year so far. You maybe wondering if we have got more of
:26:17. > :26:17.that warm weather to come this