:00:00. > :00:07.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson
:00:08. > :00:23.Yahoo! up for sale.
:00:24. > :00:25.The owner of the Daily Mail newspaper is considering a bid
:00:26. > :00:28.for the struggling internet giant - but could there be rival bidders?
:00:29. > :00:43.Live from London, that's our top story on Monday the 11th of April.
:00:44. > :00:48.After struggling to compete with the likes of Google
:00:49. > :00:49.and Facebook, Yahoo! has been under pressure
:00:50. > :00:53.from shareholders to turn itself around.
:00:54. > :00:56.Now the Daily Mail and General Trust has confirmed it's in early stage
:00:57. > :00:58.talks to formulate a bid with private equity companies.
:00:59. > :01:04.A little-known London investment firm is poised to save 4000 steel
:01:05. > :01:08.Greybull Capital is in talks to buy Scunthorpe steelworks
:01:09. > :01:09.from Tata Steel, in the first sale
:01:10. > :01:21.And a brand-new trading week has begun in Europe, looking not so good
:01:22. > :01:23.so far, and we will explain why. And with selfie sticks
:01:24. > :01:25.and smartphones, do We meet the man behind
:01:26. > :01:29.Photobox who wants us all to print our photos on cards,
:01:30. > :01:32.mugs, T-shirts and calendars. And today we want to know,
:01:33. > :01:35.is there a future for Yahoo!? As usual, it is a packed show, so
:01:36. > :02:01.let's get cracking. The owner of Britain's Daily Mail
:02:02. > :02:03.newspaper is considering a bid for the struggling US
:02:04. > :02:05.internet company Yahoo!. The Daily Mail and General Trust
:02:06. > :02:08.is in talks with private equity Yahoo!
:02:09. > :02:15.is under pressure from around, and just weeks ago invited
:02:16. > :02:19.interested parties to make an offer. So far Google and the US
:02:20. > :02:21.telecoms firm Verizon and we now add to that list
:02:22. > :02:28.the Daily Mail. For Yahoo!'s boss Marissa Mayer,
:02:29. > :02:31.it's an admission she is losing her battle to turn around
:02:32. > :02:33.the struggling tech giant. There were high
:02:34. > :02:35.hopes when she was hired that she would revive Yahoo!
:02:36. > :02:38.that had just churned through several bosses
:02:39. > :02:41.in a short space of time. as one of the biggest power
:02:42. > :02:48.players in Silicon Valley, rise to the top management
:02:49. > :02:52.at Google. was still marred by slowing growth
:02:53. > :03:03.and internal dissent. It's left it vulnerable
:03:04. > :03:04.to activist investors - like shareholder Starboard Value
:03:05. > :03:08.demanding the board be completely Windsor Holden is the Head
:03:09. > :03:22.of Forecasting Consultancy Sally running through some of the
:03:23. > :03:26.potential bidders. There are three names in the fray as we know it at
:03:27. > :03:40.the moment, potentially Google, we now know the Daily Mail, and also
:03:41. > :03:46.the Verizon. Essentially, each brings a different attraction to the
:03:47. > :04:01.table. Part of Yahoo! Is attractive to Verizon, who purchased a AOL last
:04:02. > :04:05.year primarily for its advertising side, so if they purchased Yahoo,
:04:06. > :04:11.they would come under the same roof as AOL, so essentially what we have
:04:12. > :04:15.heard is that if Verizon did make that purchase, then Tim Armstrong
:04:16. > :04:22.would essentially head-up Yahoo and replace Marissa Mayer. The Daily
:04:23. > :04:28.Mail again, the content and the advertising would again be very
:04:29. > :04:39.attractive. The Daily Mail couldn't purchase Yahoo! On its own, it is
:04:40. > :04:46.just too big. So this is where the private equity firms coming. The
:04:47. > :04:49.content of the advertising is attractive, but really, where the
:04:50. > :05:01.value of it comes in four other players are things like Ali Baba,
:05:02. > :05:07.and that accounts for the vast bulk of its value. Let's touch on the
:05:08. > :05:11.brand value. It is well known outside the US, which is where some
:05:12. > :05:20.of this focus will be, but is this the beginning of the end Yahoo! An
:05:21. > :05:23.Internet brand? It could be. Remember its strength as a brand, at
:05:24. > :05:29.the height of its strength, that was ten years ago, and at that time,
:05:30. > :05:33.Google and Yahoo! Were turning over roughly the same amount in terms of
:05:34. > :05:37.revenues. Ten years down the line, Google has been more agile, and is
:05:38. > :05:44.turning over 15 times the revenue of Yahoo! Now. Yahoo! Made more than $4
:05:45. > :05:48.billion of loss last year, compared with the past 14 years when it had
:05:49. > :05:52.made a profit. Its revenues have flat lined in the past decade, the
:05:53. > :05:57.brand strength, while significant, is on the wane. Time is against us,
:05:58. > :06:02.but thank you very much, Windsor Holden.
:06:03. > :06:06.Let's have a look at some other business stories.
:06:07. > :06:08.Japan has sought to reassure investors that it is willing
:06:09. > :06:14.to intervene in the currency markets if needed.
:06:15. > :06:17.The yen has gained more than 10% against the US dollar this year,
:06:18. > :06:19.which worries the government because it hurts exports and puts
:06:20. > :06:21.pressure on the country's already low inflation.
:06:22. > :06:23.The statement from Japanese officials follows a recent pledge
:06:24. > :06:26.by the G20 nations to consult on foreign exchange markets
:06:27. > :06:29.and avoid competitive currency devaluations.
:06:30. > :06:31.The latest figures for March show that Chinese
:06:32. > :06:37.The consumer price index again rose by 2.3%.
:06:38. > :06:40.Later in the week, China will report economic growth figures
:06:41. > :06:43.Weak data would increase the likelihood of the Chinese
:06:44. > :06:47.Tata Steel is beginning the formal process of selling its loss-making
:06:48. > :06:53.UK plants, inviting interested bidders to submit their offers.
:06:54. > :06:56.Today the investment firm Greybull Capital is expected
:06:57. > :07:00.to announce a deal to buy the part of Tata Steel's business which makes
:07:01. > :07:04.products for the construction and rail industries.
:07:05. > :07:07.This includes the company's plant in Scunthorpe, which employs more
:07:08. > :07:22.Let's take you to the Business Live page. There has been a lot of debate
:07:23. > :07:27.about our banks in the wake of scandals, and today banks have been
:07:28. > :07:32.fined for ?53 billion for their misdemeanours. All of those scandals
:07:33. > :07:35.that have hit the banking industry over the past couple of years,
:07:36. > :07:40.finally putting a total on it, a staggering ?53 billion. And the tax
:07:41. > :07:46.return row continues, there is a picture that of a rather happy
:07:47. > :07:50.looking Chancellor. That was probably not taken this
:07:51. > :07:53.morning! The Prime Minister yesterday made
:07:54. > :07:56.details of his tax affairs public, and we now expect the Chancellor to
:07:57. > :08:00.do the same within the next few days, that is according to our
:08:01. > :08:06.political editor Norman Smith. His account ats are busy!
:08:07. > :08:09.Where the biggest ever trade delegation from Australia
:08:10. > :08:20.It's hoping to boost trade between the two countries.
:08:21. > :08:23.Robin Brant is in Shanghai.
:08:24. > :08:29.A lot of money riding on this. They did this last time in 2014, an
:08:30. > :08:35.injection into the Australian economy. According to the
:08:36. > :08:40.government, 3.5 billion US dollars. This is a much bigger effort this
:08:41. > :08:44.time around, representatives from 1000 Australian businesses, as you
:08:45. > :08:50.have just referred to, some of them land today, it is a five-day effort
:08:51. > :08:53.and they are going to eight cities, culminating in a visit from the
:08:54. > :08:57.Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, who will be in Shanghai briefly on
:08:58. > :09:00.Thursday, and up to Beijing on Friday. The politics of the moment
:09:01. > :09:10.between the two countries a little tricky, Turnbull has called China's
:09:11. > :09:13.moves into the contested South China Sea islands counter-productive. But
:09:14. > :09:15.they will set up a side and try to take the relationship between
:09:16. > :09:20.Australia and China to the next chapter. Looking back to what their
:09:21. > :09:23.relationship was defined by ten years ago, it was ostensibly the
:09:24. > :09:27.Chinese buying lots of stuff on the ground in Australia, those days are
:09:28. > :09:32.over so this mission is about trying to broaden the appeal, particularly
:09:33. > :09:35.on tourism and education. That is where the really big push will be.
:09:36. > :09:41.Thank you so much, Robin Brant in Shanghai for us, and you will keep
:09:42. > :09:46.us up-to-date as the week progresses on that trade delegation. Let's look
:09:47. > :09:51.at the markets in Asia now. Japan not doing so well, down almost half
:09:52. > :09:53.a percent, that is about the fact that the Japanese yen is
:09:54. > :09:58.strengthening day after day, the seventh day in a row, stronger
:09:59. > :10:02.versus the US dollar, making all of its goods overseas more expensive to
:10:03. > :10:06.buy. But as you can see, Hong Kong and China ended the day fairly flat,
:10:07. > :10:10.despite that inflation news we had which we have already mentioned in
:10:11. > :10:14.the programme. A lot of economic news coming out of China this week,
:10:15. > :10:22.it will be very much in focus as the week progresses. Let's look at
:10:23. > :10:26.Europe now. When we looked at them a few minutes ago, they were all
:10:27. > :10:29.headed lower, the FTSE 100 in London and Germany and France. We are
:10:30. > :10:34.trying to bring you the numbers if we can, but just to say, lots of
:10:35. > :10:38.issues on the minds of investors, including lots of reports in the
:10:39. > :10:41.press today that the IMF is poised to downgrade the global growth
:10:42. > :10:46.forecast yet again. That is the numbers in Europe, and I will hand
:10:47. > :10:47.you back to Ben for more detail on the winners and losers.
:10:48. > :10:50.Thank you very much. Joining us is Brenda Kelly, Head
:10:51. > :11:01.Analyst at London Capital Group. Let's stay with Europe. We consider
:11:02. > :11:07.numbers behind us. -- we can see the numbers behind us. Not everyone is
:11:08. > :11:11.happy with the interest policy. It is good news for some bad for others
:11:12. > :11:14.when you cut interest rates. You are looking at negative interest rates
:11:15. > :11:18.from the ECB and a dose of quantitative easing that continue
:11:19. > :11:21.for a number of years. This is all very well when it started taking
:11:22. > :11:23.effect in the economy, but when you have a stronger euro affecting
:11:24. > :11:30.German exports, and the rise of the era scare as a result of the actions
:11:31. > :11:35.of the ECB, that doesn't make the finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble,
:11:36. > :11:40.very happy. And a strong euro is something of a problem because it
:11:41. > :11:44.feeds into the disinflation we are seeing in Europe, and it is
:11:45. > :11:48.affecting export competition as well. So for the time being,
:11:49. > :11:52.everything is about currency, and I think the markets are taking their
:11:53. > :11:56.cues for the likes of the yen, the likes of the euro, and the US
:11:57. > :12:00.dollar, where it is always a little uncertain as to when the next move
:12:01. > :12:05.will be from the Federal reserve. We are into a new quarter, so in terms
:12:06. > :12:09.of market this week, what do you think will be weighing on them for
:12:10. > :12:14.Europe? Will it become oddities again? Is it looking again ahead to
:12:15. > :12:17.the central bank? Oil prices were dictating the strength and weakness
:12:18. > :12:22.of the equity markets over the last quarter, and we have seen oil go
:12:23. > :12:28.back up to almost $40 per barrel, but we haven't seen that follow
:12:29. > :12:32.suit, so a lot will depend on what Opec say in the coming weeks over
:12:33. > :12:37.production. Certainly China's GDP due out later this week will keep
:12:38. > :12:41.sentiment capped, and that will be closely watched by all traders. And
:12:42. > :12:44.a big week for China, we get obsessed about that growth number,
:12:45. > :12:48.and whether it is true or not as well, but we will be watching it
:12:49. > :12:49.closely. We certainly will. You will be back to talk us through the
:12:50. > :12:53.papers a little later. Thank you. We meet the boss
:12:54. > :13:01.of card and gift firm Photobox and find out whether in
:13:02. > :13:04.the age of smartphones and selfie sticks, there's still life left
:13:05. > :13:06.in the humble photo frame.You're In the UK, Tata Steel
:13:07. > :13:17.begins the formal process of selling its loss-making plants
:13:18. > :13:20.by inviting interested bidders Thousands of workers in England
:13:21. > :13:23.and Wales risk losing their jobs There is still doubt over
:13:24. > :13:28.the Port Talbot works - however the BBC understands that
:13:29. > :13:30.a city investment firm will agree to buy Tata's Scunthorpe
:13:31. > :13:33.plant later today. Our business editor Simon Jack
:13:34. > :13:42.is following the story. Simon, talk us through what we know
:13:43. > :13:46.at the moment. Clearly a crucial day for those jobs that hang in the
:13:47. > :13:51.balance. This is a rather good news story for what has been pretty bleak
:13:52. > :13:56.outlook for the UK steel industry. The Scunthorpe plant has been up for
:13:57. > :14:00.sale for some time, almost a year, and we are expecting today to get
:14:01. > :14:04.news that this deal to save that plant will be finalised, A.D. With
:14:05. > :14:11.Greybull Capital, a little-known investment fund which specialises in
:14:12. > :14:17.turn around failing companies. There have already been some redundancies
:14:18. > :14:23.from about 5000 down to around 4000, and those employees left will see
:14:24. > :14:27.some pension and salary cut. But that I think is a price worth
:14:28. > :14:33.paying, many people think, to preserve our plant which makes
:14:34. > :14:37.trains, rails, Network Rail gets most of its rails from this plant,
:14:38. > :14:41.so good news in an otherwise bleak output. This is not the same as the
:14:42. > :14:46.Port Talbot story, which was surprisingly put up for sale just
:14:47. > :14:50.ten days ago, the fate of that still very much in the balance, but this
:14:51. > :14:55.is a good bit of news for one bit of the Tartar steel empire. I was just
:14:56. > :14:59.going to say that this is a very positive start to the process, and I
:15:00. > :15:04.would imagine if everybody's morale, whether in Port Talbot or
:15:05. > :15:07.Scunthorpe, it is important for them to have a strong beginning to the
:15:08. > :15:11.process where other people might come in hopefully. I think that is
:15:12. > :15:15.right. What this deal shows is there is some light at the end of the
:15:16. > :15:22.tunnel, life beyond Tata Steel. Sajid Javid will trumpet this, the
:15:23. > :15:25.Business Minister, saying that there are people who want to invest if you
:15:26. > :15:30.can get the conditions right. But this plant basically makes things
:15:31. > :15:34.called long products, half finished stuff, the Port Talbot steelworks
:15:35. > :15:38.makes the basics lab, the real raw materials, and that is the bit that
:15:39. > :15:41.they are going to find tough to sell, but good news today for
:15:42. > :15:49.Scunthorpe. Simon, thank you very much. Much more on the website.
:15:50. > :15:52.You're watching Business Live - our top story: Yahoo up for sale.
:15:53. > :15:54.The owner of the Daily Mail newspaper confirms it's
:15:55. > :16:03.considering a bid for the struggling US internet company.
:16:04. > :16:08.That's alongside a potential bid for Google. We will keep an eye on this.
:16:09. > :16:11.Call it new technology meets old - Photobox turns old memories,
:16:12. > :16:16.from our photos and videos, into personalised products,
:16:17. > :16:22.The company also owns Moonpig, which lets people
:16:23. > :16:26.personalise and send greetings cards.
:16:27. > :16:31.executive ...but the company began life in a garage in West London
:16:32. > :16:37.Since 2006, it's grown annual revenue from $20 million to over
:16:38. > :16:40.And has more than 1,000 employees across Europe
:16:41. > :16:42.Stan Lauren is the Chief Executive of Photobox Group,
:16:43. > :16:56.Thank you for coming in. Good to have you here. We have an
:16:57. > :17:01.illustration here... You brought us a rather nice gift, I will get it
:17:02. > :17:05.the right way. I don't know why someone would want so many pictures
:17:06. > :17:09.of us but this is a gift you brought in and this is the sort of thing
:17:10. > :17:13.that you do and we said it's about reading new life into photos.
:17:14. > :17:19.Perhaps we stopped printing them down at the local shop, a packet of
:17:20. > :17:23.24 prints, now it's about putting them on campus, T-shirts... That is
:17:24. > :17:27.the business. That's right, it's a big industry and we are the leader,
:17:28. > :17:32.it's all about making products that are personal, and convey a message.
:17:33. > :17:37.You smiled when you open this... And that is what most people do when
:17:38. > :17:42.they receive a card from one of our products. That is the business. It's
:17:43. > :17:47.so important, with a business like this, but your experience is the
:17:48. > :17:53.right experience and I must say, mine was not great when I dry to use
:17:54. > :17:57.photo box to get aid look of my children's photos from my phone and
:17:58. > :18:02.I am a bit of a technophobe anyway, I am not your best customer but it
:18:03. > :18:05.was a difficult process and I dry and successfully used a competitor
:18:06. > :18:09.and that is the issue with businesses like yours. You have to
:18:10. > :18:13.attract the customer quickly and grab them and stay hold of them
:18:14. > :18:19.because there are many other companies like yours out there that
:18:20. > :18:24.do the same thing. Yes, we are very focused on obviously dry to make it
:18:25. > :18:28.as simple as possible for customers to send us their photos and make a
:18:29. > :18:31.product that is inspiring and obviously we want to make it with
:18:32. > :18:36.the right quality and time for our customers. That is what we are
:18:37. > :18:40.obsessed about and I am sorry we don't seem to always succeed but
:18:41. > :18:45.when we don't we try to fix it. But in the end, what counts is the
:18:46. > :18:52.result, as a customer. Do you get the right product with the right
:18:53. > :18:56.photos, with the right quality that allows you to share with the people
:18:57. > :19:01.you love, something, either at the memory of a trip or the first year
:19:02. > :19:05.of your child... Or a party... Those are the emotions that we allow
:19:06. > :19:09.people to share with friends and family. In that way, it's very
:19:10. > :19:15.complimentary to four tap in social networks. People are sharing in a
:19:16. > :19:21.broad sense, what's happening in their lives, we are more about the
:19:22. > :19:26.emotions, memories, and so on, and we still think there is a long or a
:19:27. > :19:33.big potential for physical products in your home, with your photos. We
:19:34. > :19:37.touched on the fact that its old technology meets new, photo using it
:19:38. > :19:41.in a different way, do you get frustrated with the limitations of
:19:42. > :19:44.the process, you can do it on the website, you can print it using
:19:45. > :19:50.high-tech methods and then you have to put it in the post, that's where
:19:51. > :19:55.the likes of companies like Amazon supper, getting it to the house is
:19:56. > :19:58.an age-old process. Long postage times, the cost of getting it to
:19:59. > :20:06.someone... But that is improving their lot. You can send something
:20:07. > :20:10.overnight quite cost efficiently, you can send something same day, at
:20:11. > :20:17.least within London, tomorrow we are pretty sure that we will be able to
:20:18. > :20:22.send in a few hours, but products to our customers, there is a lot of
:20:23. > :20:26.innovation going on on the logistics and as well as upstream, in terms of
:20:27. > :20:31.the device, helping customers make these products more user-friendly
:20:32. > :20:35.from their mobile phone, that is a big focus. There is a lot of
:20:36. > :20:40.improvement through that chain to make it easier for customers to buy
:20:41. > :20:44.products. Broadly, you are spread across Europe, you are in the UK,
:20:45. > :20:51.France, Spain and Germany, is that correct? Across 20 countries in
:20:52. > :20:56.Europe. And also... Not so in the United States... Are you going to
:20:57. > :21:01.try and make away into the United States or is that the market that is
:21:02. > :21:05.too saturated and two different? No plans for that right now, 6 billion
:21:06. > :21:11.market opportunity in Europe alone, we are leading across Europe right
:21:12. > :21:17.now and we still think there is potential for share gains and growth
:21:18. > :21:21.in our geographic. Time is against us but really nice to see you and
:21:22. > :21:25.thank you for this glamorous picture of Sally and me. We will cherish
:21:26. > :21:29.that. That will go on the wall in the green room. Really nice to see
:21:30. > :21:32.you. Thank you. In a moment we'll take a look
:21:33. > :21:35.through the Business Pages but first here's a quick reminder of how
:21:36. > :22:20.to get in touch with us. As promised... We did ask you to get
:22:21. > :22:25.get in touch with us. Do you still use Yahoo, potential buyers lining
:22:26. > :22:30.up to take control of the business. A big response. Business like
:22:31. > :22:33.there's asking do you use Yahoo... The 90s called, they want their
:22:34. > :22:38.discussion topic back. That was the response. That is a valid topic but
:22:39. > :22:42.it could be bought but keep your comments coming in. I just
:22:43. > :22:47.remembered I have a Yahoo account, I haven't logged in for a year and
:22:48. > :22:54.another correspondent said... Use Yahoo as my e-mail second account...
:22:55. > :22:59.And another viewer says I use it to give to people that I don't want
:23:00. > :23:03.e-mails from, spam e-mails... Plenty more of your comments coming in. An
:23:04. > :23:08.interesting one, the value of Yahoo is in the network of ageing but
:23:09. > :23:12.wealthy customers. I don't know what that says about me with my account.
:23:13. > :23:18.But nonetheless, the boss has failed to innovate during her tenure, that
:23:19. > :23:20.is a real challenge. How do you make users make money and stop them going
:23:21. > :23:24.elsewhere? What other business
:23:25. > :23:26.stories has the media been Joining us again is
:23:27. > :23:38.Brenda Kelly, Head Analyst The Financial Times reporting that
:23:39. > :23:44.The Royal Bank of Scotland is pulling out of India. This has been
:23:45. > :23:47.going on for a while, it's hoping to offload in India, failing to find a
:23:48. > :23:50.buyer, lots of regulations and restrictions preventing them from
:23:51. > :23:55.doing it but they have decided it's cheaper to get rid rather than wait
:23:56. > :23:58.for a buyer to come along, it has found some buyers as far as some of
:23:59. > :24:02.its assets but it will be leaving much of its operations behind in
:24:03. > :24:06.India and starting to focus on the bits of business making money. It's
:24:07. > :24:10.about the bits of business that are less risky, we've seen a lot of the
:24:11. > :24:13.big axe had to be risk averse given the clamp-down on their operations,
:24:14. > :24:18.risky investment banking. We have seen a number of them pulling back
:24:19. > :24:22.from ventures overseas as a result. It is necessary, they have to build
:24:23. > :24:27.up their Tier one capital to be fronting forward and allow
:24:28. > :24:30.themselves to be regulated and ultimately when you have that
:24:31. > :24:33.restriction in terms of high risk financing, you are going to impact
:24:34. > :24:38.profitability and that is the main issue of some of the banks having to
:24:39. > :24:42.build capital and not being allowed to look down riskier avenues to
:24:43. > :24:46.impact the margins on the upside and a low interest environment, you have
:24:47. > :24:51.problems per shareholders. Another story... Barclays is asking staff
:24:52. > :24:57.who is your best friend, what is this all about? Yes... This is the
:24:58. > :25:00.new head of Barclays, and he is ultimately trying to focus on
:25:01. > :25:05.friendship and build a better culture within the bank and he's
:25:06. > :25:11.trying to make banking a respected profession. In your experience... Do
:25:12. > :25:13.you have many best friends? I have plenty of best friends, imagine if
:25:14. > :25:18.you choose a best friend on the other person does not choose you...
:25:19. > :25:21.Nevertheless, an uphill battle for Barclays, trying to bring the
:25:22. > :25:29.banking sector back from the brink, it has been dogged by a lot of... I
:25:30. > :25:32.suppose its own problems and misdemeanours... Is this to stop
:25:33. > :25:37.people working in silos, just their bed, get on with it, that is when
:25:38. > :25:40.problems start. I suppose there is an element of that, they are
:25:41. > :25:44.encouraging loyalty between different departments, you find it
:25:45. > :25:49.will be difficult to do, to get the bank back to where it was. Brenda,
:25:50. > :25:52.thank you. We are all best friends and now I have the picture to prove
:25:53. > :25:54.that. That is all from business life. We will see you very soon.
:25:55. > :26:13.Goodbye. Hello. A slow-moving weather front
:26:14. > :26:18.offering outbreaks of rain to some parts of the country. Stretching
:26:19. > :26:20.from Northern Ireland, you can see this picture, across to Wales,
:26:21. > :26:21.southern England.