:00:00. > :00:00.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson
:00:07. > :00:10.Corporate giants forced to come clean -
:00:11. > :00:15.the EU cracks down on tax avoidance, with plans to force big firms
:00:16. > :00:34.Live from London, that's our top story on Tuesday 12th of April.
:00:35. > :00:36.The European Union prepares to unveil new tax rules
:00:37. > :00:39.for the world's biggest companies, forcing them to reveal how much tax
:00:40. > :00:49.But will the EU target tax havens too?
:00:50. > :00:51.Japan's biggest brokerage Nomura plans cost cuts
:00:52. > :00:56.Around 1,000 employees in Europe and the Americas are expected
:00:57. > :01:06.to lose their jobs in a massive reorganisation of the business.
:01:07. > :01:09.This is how Europe has opened in the first few minutes of trade, we will
:01:10. > :01:11.assess the movers. And it's International Record
:01:12. > :01:13.Store Day this Saturday. We'll be getting the inside track
:01:14. > :01:16.on vinyl, when we speak to the company that makes
:01:17. > :01:26.these record players. We will make the boss of, the
:01:27. > :01:28.company that makes these record players. What other retro- tech
:01:29. > :01:30.would you like to see? It is a busy show, let's get
:01:31. > :01:41.started. Plans to force corporate giants
:01:42. > :01:43.to disclose more about their tax affairs will be unveiled
:01:44. > :01:46.by the European Union later today. Even before the leak
:01:47. > :01:48.of the Panama Papers - which shone a spotlight on tax
:01:49. > :01:50.avoidance globally - the European Commission
:01:51. > :01:52.was debating new rules Tax avoidance currently costs the EU
:01:53. > :01:58.between $60 and 80 million dollars That's big bucks when
:01:59. > :02:04.many EU countries are So the new proposals
:02:05. > :02:09.would require big companies - those earning over $850 million
:02:10. > :02:12.a year - will have to publish their income and tax reports
:02:13. > :02:17.from whichever EU country they operate in, on a
:02:18. > :02:21.country-by-country basis. It would cover 6,500 companies
:02:22. > :02:24.around the world, including But tax transparency campaigners say
:02:25. > :02:32.the rules won't go far enough. They argue tax havens should also
:02:33. > :02:36.fall under the new rules, with data from outside
:02:37. > :02:57.the EU to be published Thanks for being on the programme.
:02:58. > :03:01.Just to start with, hearing what Ben outlined sounds like a huge headache
:03:02. > :03:06.for these global companies to have to come up with all this new
:03:07. > :03:12.information? This draft proposal was put forward by the European
:03:13. > :03:15.Commission today and if it gets through, multinational companies and
:03:16. > :03:22.big companies would have to disclose that rough it, income and tax bills
:03:23. > :03:27.that they make within the EU, that would be available to the public --
:03:28. > :03:32.disclose their profits, income and tax bills. This could get a real
:03:33. > :03:36.boost because of the Panama Papers, there is more interest because tax
:03:37. > :03:41.avoidance is bigger news. They are talking about drawing up and EU list
:03:42. > :03:47.of tax havens. They would need to get member countries on board to
:03:48. > :03:52.list tax havens. Basically, it would mean that if a multinational or big
:03:53. > :03:57.company which does business within the EU has interests in a tax haven,
:03:58. > :04:02.they would have to declare. The EU can't enforce anything, it would be
:04:03. > :04:09.up to the parent nation to deal with it. It is the idea of putting it out
:04:10. > :04:14.there for the public. Transparency campaigners are saying, oh, well, it
:04:15. > :04:18.does not go far enough, it means that multinationals would not have
:04:19. > :04:24.to publish their income in tax payment outside of the EU. -- income
:04:25. > :04:29.and tax payments. At the EU would like this to pass, they did not
:04:30. > :04:34.think it would go through if they made multinationals do that. Just to
:04:35. > :04:39.say, which is typical of Europe, this will take quite some time
:04:40. > :04:45.before it comes into force, assuming the announced plans are approved?
:04:46. > :04:49.This is draft legislation being proposed today. It will have to be
:04:50. > :04:55.accepted by EU leaders and then it will have to go through the European
:04:56. > :04:59.Parliament. They are hoping that, because of the Panama Papers
:05:00. > :05:03.scandal, there will be political will. It might be embarrassing for
:05:04. > :05:10.EU leaders to oppose it too strongly. Also, it needs a qualified
:05:11. > :05:14.majority vote to pass, it has been put into financial services, it does
:05:15. > :05:17.not need unanimous voting, so they are hopeful that it will move
:05:18. > :05:24.through, but the process takes months. For now, Leana, thank you
:05:25. > :05:26.very much. She will keep us up to date. Some of the other business
:05:27. > :05:27.News... Metals giant Alcoa has
:05:28. > :05:29.cut its forecasts for revenue and earnings as it downgraded
:05:30. > :05:31.expectations for global growth. The firm - which is often
:05:32. > :05:34.seen as an indicator of the health of US industry -
:05:35. > :05:36.says first-quarter earnings fell by 92%,
:05:37. > :05:38.hurt by weak aluminium prices. The company also says it's
:05:39. > :05:45.considering up to 2,000 job cuts. Luxury goods retailer LVMH says
:05:46. > :05:47.revenues were up 4% in the first three months of this year,
:05:48. > :05:50.compared to the same LVMH owns more than 60 luxury
:05:51. > :05:58.brands, including Kenzo, The company said the US
:05:59. > :06:05.market remained strong, but France has been affected
:06:06. > :06:18.by a fall in tourism. Particularly sends the November
:06:19. > :06:20.terrorist attacks in Paris. -- particularly since.
:06:21. > :06:22.Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has suffered a blow to her hopes
:06:23. > :06:26.A special committee in Brazil's lower house of Congress has voted
:06:27. > :06:28.in favour of recommending her impeachment over allegations
:06:29. > :06:41.Looking at what is being discussed online today, there is a lot of
:06:42. > :06:46.detail on some of the stories we have mentioned. If you want to dig
:06:47. > :06:52.into the tax story you can look at that Onana Business Life page. There
:06:53. > :06:57.are many of the stories, Nomura, which we will talk about with a team
:06:58. > :07:05.in Singapore in a moment, but it is the London Book Fair starting this
:07:06. > :07:11.morning. Some nice old tech to get your teeth into! In the wake of the
:07:12. > :07:18.Kindle and the growth of e-readers, the book is making a bid of a
:07:19. > :07:21.comeback. That is a bit like story about vinyl. Let's mention Japan.
:07:22. > :07:23.Japan's largest brokerage, Nomura, plans to shut down its European
:07:24. > :07:26.equity operations as it cuts costs after years of failing to become
:07:27. > :07:40.Nomura, this is interesting, we have heard about the implications of a
:07:41. > :07:45.slowdown around the world and what it means for many organisations, to
:07:46. > :07:48.some extent the financial world has survived most of this unscathed, but
:07:49. > :07:55.not yet getting through quite so cleanly? Global investment banks in
:07:56. > :08:00.recent years, many have been selling off Origi sing the size of non-core
:08:01. > :08:05.or non-performing businesses. Japan 's Nomura is the latest to join
:08:06. > :08:09.them. We understand they are downsizing the size of a European
:08:10. > :08:15.cash equities business. They are not shutting it down, they are getting
:08:16. > :08:19.rid of basic and proportion, meaning lots of jobs will go -- getting rid
:08:20. > :08:24.of a significant proportion. They say that will be 500 to 600 jobs in
:08:25. > :08:29.North America and Europe, but another source says around 1000 jobs
:08:30. > :08:33.could go as well. This is a big load from Nomura, they have wanted to be
:08:34. > :08:39.an international player on the banking stage. In 2008 they bought
:08:40. > :08:43.Lehman Brothers' European and Asian businesses when the firm went under
:08:44. > :08:48.chewing the height of the financial crisis, they wanted to build their
:08:49. > :08:51.brands abroad. Ultimately, it has not performed, they have not made
:08:52. > :08:55.money, and so like their peers they have suffered from market volatility
:08:56. > :09:00.and they are shrinking the size of businesses that are not doing well.
:09:01. > :09:06.Thank you, Leisha Chi in Singapore bureau.
:09:07. > :09:07.Let's look at what the numbers are doing at the moment.
:09:08. > :09:09.Worries over earnings on the minds of investors this week.
:09:10. > :09:12.The worry that it could be another disappointing quarter and there's
:09:13. > :09:15.lots of speculation about just how bad it could get.
:09:16. > :09:19.Major banks announcing their earnings this week
:09:20. > :09:21.and if they come in below expectations, it starts raising
:09:22. > :09:24.tough questions for policymakers, not least the Fed and whether it
:09:25. > :09:43.Mariko Oi has the details from New York.
:09:44. > :09:48.The International Monetary Fund issues its latest world economic
:09:49. > :09:53.Outlook on Tuesday, this comes just ahead of the IMF's Spring meetings
:09:54. > :09:57.with the World Bank taking place this week in Washington, DC. In the
:09:58. > :10:04.forecast, expect warnings that the global economy is at risk, because
:10:05. > :10:07.of China's downturn, lower commodity prices and the slowdown in emerging
:10:08. > :10:15.market economies. This week brings plenty of fresh US economic data. On
:10:16. > :10:20.Tuesday, look out the numbers on the federal budget in addition to import
:10:21. > :10:24.and export prices. In tech news, Facebook holds its annual developers
:10:25. > :10:28.conference this week in San Francisco. It kicks off on Tuesday
:10:29. > :10:34.and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be delivering the keynote address. That
:10:35. > :10:35.is the lovely Mariko, she is normally in Singapore but she is in
:10:36. > :10:37.New York at the moment. Joining us is Tom Stevenson,
:10:38. > :10:49.Investment Director Good morning, Tom. As Mariko
:10:50. > :10:58.mentioned, it is about earnings. The news last night did not look good?
:10:59. > :11:05.Earnings are a big focus, Alcoa always kicks it off, they were
:11:06. > :11:09.pretty disappointing. 92% fall. They downgraded the outlook for global
:11:10. > :11:14.growth and demand for aluminium. The thing about earnings season this
:11:15. > :11:18.quarter is the expectations are very low, we expect earnings to be as
:11:19. > :11:25.much as 8% lower, year-on-year. In a way, that could be good, markets
:11:26. > :11:28.react to what they expect. If earnings expectations are as low as
:11:29. > :11:34.they are, things could turn out better than expected. That
:11:35. > :11:37.fascinates me about earnings season, it is managing expectations. Lots of
:11:38. > :11:41.organisations have said that things are terrible, the reality is
:11:42. > :11:46.difficult, but if you speak to them privately, they say, things are not
:11:47. > :11:49.bad, we are coping, there is a real mismatch between what they want to
:11:50. > :11:54.publicly admit this is what they are preparing us for? Lots of it is
:11:55. > :11:58.managing expectations, if you can get the market to think that things
:11:59. > :12:03.will be pretty bad, when you announce your figures it can give
:12:04. > :12:08.your share price a boost. Oil is in focus, at the end of last week in
:12:09. > :12:11.particular? One of the reasons why earnings season is expected to be so
:12:12. > :12:17.bad is because the energy sector profits will be very, very low,
:12:18. > :12:21.almost wiped out. All eyes will be on the Doha negotiations, they are
:12:22. > :12:26.talking about whether they can cut production in order to boost the
:12:27. > :12:30.price. Expectations for a positive outcome through those talks has
:12:31. > :12:36.already seen the oil price push-up to about $43 a barrel, a lot higher
:12:37. > :12:39.than six weeks ago or so. Thank you, Tom. He will talk as do some of the
:12:40. > :12:42.stories later. Vinyl revival - they were once
:12:43. > :12:45.destined for museums and history books, but vinyl records
:12:46. > :12:47.are making a comeback. And that's good news
:12:48. > :12:50.for the makers of record players! We meet the man behind one
:12:51. > :12:52.of the world's most respected makers of turntables -
:12:53. > :12:54.the Glasgow-based firm Linn You're with Business
:12:55. > :13:00.Live from BBC News. We've had an update from the online
:13:01. > :13:03.retailer ASOS this morning. It says profits are up
:13:04. > :13:05.18% to ?21.2 million The firm began life at the height
:13:06. > :13:16.of the dotcom boom in 2000, has had a tough few years but now
:13:17. > :13:20.says it's on track to meet sales and profit guidance for the full
:13:21. > :13:26.year. I think ASOS stands for As Seen On
:13:27. > :13:32.Screen? Absolutely. Kate Hardcastle is a retail expert
:13:33. > :13:42.at Insight With Passion. Good morning. Talk is through this
:13:43. > :13:47.turnaround. It has been pretty tough in recent times, but we are told
:13:48. > :13:50.that things are looking much better? What I think ASOS have done
:13:51. > :13:55.brilliantly is determine what their core purposes, they have understood
:13:56. > :13:59.that, for a 20-something customer, of which they want to be the world
:14:00. > :14:04.leading retailer to supply them, they had to change their business to
:14:05. > :14:09.suit. You have got offers to that 20-something customer, free returns,
:14:10. > :14:14.free delivery, categorisation not only by-product but by fashion trend
:14:15. > :14:18.and celebrity, which makes the ASOS site very appealing, there
:14:19. > :14:24.easy-to-use and, for a 20-something, very exciting. Hind the scenes they
:14:25. > :14:26.have operations to conform a lot better, they have their
:14:27. > :14:30.international situation sorted out by pulling out of China are little
:14:31. > :14:38.bits, they have ensured that their operational/ chair, their returns
:14:39. > :14:43.policy etc, is healthier for the customer -- their operational
:14:44. > :14:46.structure. That said, you will still see consumers complaining about the
:14:47. > :14:50.challenges they find contacting somebody at the business.
:14:51. > :14:55.Interesting that ASOS should see a turnaround, companies like Marks
:14:56. > :14:58.Spencer, that dignity with their women's clothing, are struggling. Do
:14:59. > :15:03.they look at these companies and try to pick from them the best bits of
:15:04. > :15:08.turnaround plans? That is what you have with ASOS, they will be
:15:09. > :15:11.spending money and leading the way, others will be quick to follow,
:15:12. > :15:16.adding not gone down some of the dead-end roots that they will have
:15:17. > :15:20.to invest in. -- having not gone down. They have listened to the
:15:21. > :15:24.customer and are delivering, that they have a very fickle customer in
:15:25. > :15:28.the 20-something. Marks Spencer 's have such a wider group of customers
:15:29. > :15:30.to be able to offer two, it is a much more difficult challenge. Thank
:15:31. > :15:37.you, Kate. Things looking much better, Kate,
:15:38. > :15:42.thank you. Our top story: Corporate giants
:15:43. > :15:48.forced to come clean. The EU cracks down on tax avoidance,
:15:49. > :15:51.with plans to force big firms to publish where
:15:52. > :15:59.they make their profits. And therefore pay tax in the
:16:00. > :16:02.jurisdiction in which it is earned. The EU says that could be about to
:16:03. > :16:05.end. This Saturday is International
:16:06. > :16:07.Record Store Day, an initiative designed to promote sales
:16:08. > :16:09.of vinyl records. After being consigned
:16:10. > :16:14.to the history books, sales of vinyl have soared
:16:15. > :16:17.and that's boosted demand And it's something our next guest
:16:18. > :16:25.knows all too well. The company is one of
:16:26. > :16:27.the world's most respected Linn was founded by Gilad's
:16:28. > :16:34.father, Ivor, in 1973. While the company still sells
:16:35. > :16:36.its original turntable and new home music systems,
:16:37. > :16:38.it also makes revenue from the sale of digital downloads
:16:39. > :16:40.from its recorded music division, and from its recently added line
:16:41. > :16:48.of digital streaming players. Gilad Tiefenbrun is
:16:49. > :16:58.Managing Director of Linn. A very warm welcome to Business
:16:59. > :17:01.Live. Thank you. There is so much to your business, I think people
:17:02. > :17:07.generally think of the turntable, don't they? Because that's really
:17:08. > :17:10.what you were about and what many sort of associate you with, isn't
:17:11. > :17:19.it? That's right. My father invented the Linn LP12 turntable in 1973. He
:17:20. > :17:23.was a mechanical engineer with a passion for music and people were
:17:24. > :17:26.designing turntables so they wouldn't skip on the record and
:17:27. > :17:29.through trial and error he realised if you focussed on getting
:17:30. > :17:33.information out of the groove of the record, you could actually achieve a
:17:34. > :17:37.much better sound. So you grew newspaper a home where you were
:17:38. > :17:41.being blasted by music all the time! Your dad and his colleagues testing
:17:42. > :17:49.things out. You told me there was a lot of Pink Floyd? Yes, I was kept
:17:50. > :17:54.awake by Darkside Of The Moon and ELO, that's what it was like back in
:17:55. > :17:59.the 70s. The vinyl and the record player has stood the test of time as
:18:00. > :18:03.we said there, making a come back now and in the meantime, we have
:18:04. > :18:08.seen CD players come and go, we have seen cassettes come and go, what is
:18:09. > :18:11.it about vinyl that people keep coming back to? There is something
:18:12. > :18:15.magical about the experience of taking that record out of its sleeve
:18:16. > :18:21.and you have to take really good care of it, putting it down on the
:18:22. > :18:24.platter and there is something interactive that makes you connect
:18:25. > :18:28.with the music and encourages you to listen to the full side of an album
:18:29. > :18:32.which is so different to the flipping mentality that there is
:18:33. > :18:37.today. So there is a real kind of enduring, enjoyment that goes with
:18:38. > :18:41.vinyl that really attracts people plus it sounds better than the other
:18:42. > :18:45.formats that you mentioned. It doesn't sound better than digital
:18:46. > :18:47.though and during the digital era, that was something that you
:18:48. > :18:52.introduced to the company, wasn't it? Well, that's right. Modern
:18:53. > :18:59.digital recordings are best experienced just played directly
:19:00. > :19:03.through a digital streamer like our range of players, but to a beguning
:19:04. > :19:07.generation they will only have experienced MP3, probably through
:19:08. > :19:10.portable players, so vinyl for them is a big jump up in quality,
:19:11. > :19:14.probably the best quality they will have experienced. We are talking
:19:15. > :19:18.about the comeback, but it will always be a niche business, I can't
:19:19. > :19:22.imagine this will see the full-scale appeal that it once did, but it is
:19:23. > :19:27.an important niche and one that will keep making money for you, but
:19:28. > :19:30.digital and streaming services are the majority of your business, how
:19:31. > :19:39.do you balance the two conflicting demands? Well, my father had the
:19:40. > :19:47.fore sight to design his turntable so it was upgradeable. So if you
:19:48. > :19:51.bought it the LP12 in 1973 you could upgrade it step by step to the 2016
:19:52. > :19:57.specification. We take a similar approach on the digital side, but it
:19:58. > :20:01.is software upgrades so if new formats come out, we make sure our
:20:02. > :20:06.customers can experience the improvements in sound quality. So
:20:07. > :20:09.what's the next step? Where do we go next? Well, I think people want to
:20:10. > :20:14.listen to whatever they want, wherever they are and I think what
:20:15. > :20:17.we are seeing then is higher quality digital coming along through
:20:18. > :20:21.streaming services like Tidal and they integrate to a system like Linn
:20:22. > :20:27.and allow you to access the huge libraries in the Cloud and not
:20:28. > :20:30.necessarily at MP3 quality, there is now higher quality music becoming
:20:31. > :20:36.available for everyone. It is fascinating. We could talk much
:20:37. > :20:42.more, but time is against us. Thank you for coming in. We appreciate it.
:20:43. > :20:46.We were asking you what other retro tech would you like to see make a
:20:47. > :20:49.comeback? A surprising number said you want to see cassettes back. I
:20:50. > :20:53.really don't understand that. I don't either. I remember them
:20:54. > :20:59.unRAFFing and the whole thing getting messy! And you had to do it
:21:00. > :21:04.with your pencil and the rubbish quality! A lot of you commenting on
:21:05. > :21:08.the difference in the quality as we touched on, the difference between
:21:09. > :21:13.CDs, records, vinyls and cassettes, clearly quality is a big issue. Are
:21:14. > :21:19.you too young for vinyl? No, I remember vinyl. He is not that young
:21:20. > :21:20.then you see! Not that young! Let's move swiftly on, shall we?
:21:21. > :21:24.. Well, how about adding
:21:25. > :21:30.17 more rotor blades? Entrepreneur Alex Zosel says
:21:31. > :21:32.that his unusual looking device with 18 rotors can still fly
:21:33. > :21:35.even if some of its batteries It can even land itself
:21:36. > :21:39.when battery power is low. But the multicopter can only fly
:21:40. > :21:42.for 25 minutes and is expected to cost nearly $300,000
:21:43. > :21:44.when it goes on sale. With 18 rotors we have a really safe
:21:45. > :22:09.system so we can lose more than two rotors with no problems and also
:22:10. > :22:12.in very hard and So we have a lot of people
:22:13. > :22:27.who want to buy it. So the first step is we want
:22:28. > :22:32.to sell to flight schools. So the challenge is
:22:33. > :22:35.with the authorities. The German authorities are working
:22:36. > :22:43.very, very good with us. So we are sure that we can have
:22:44. > :22:46.in two-and-a-half years a type certification so we can produce
:22:47. > :22:57.a large scale and sell it We were so.
:22:58. > :23:01.Busy having a chat there, welcome back!
:23:02. > :23:04.They didn't go anywhere. They were just listening to helicopter news.
:23:05. > :23:07.Welcome back to our conversation and Tom is with us to talk about the
:23:08. > :23:13.newspapers and Tom, we are going to talk about this tall tower. Dubai,
:23:14. > :23:17.home, of course, to the world's tallest, but they are going to build
:23:18. > :23:24.an even taller one? Yeah, funny that, isn't it? I can see why they
:23:25. > :23:32.are building another tall tower because the Saudis just next door
:23:33. > :23:37.are about to open an even taller, a one kilometre high kingdom tower.
:23:38. > :23:42.Unsurprisingly the UAE, Dubai are coming back by 2020 they will have
:23:43. > :23:45.an even taller tower and it will sit within a megaretail district, you
:23:46. > :23:49.would have thought Dubai probably had enough retail space, but who
:23:50. > :23:54.knows. Someone has done the research about when you build the towers and
:23:55. > :23:57.it tends to be, you build during a downturn when stuff is cheap and
:23:58. > :24:00.labour is cheap and building materials are cheap and you get the
:24:01. > :24:05.fruits of your labour when the economy picks up again. There is so
:24:06. > :24:09.there is a strange correlation between what the economy is doing
:24:10. > :24:13.and when you build these things? The cycle is wrong which is why property
:24:14. > :24:16.companies make a lot of money and lose a lot of money. That's the
:24:17. > :24:21.nature of the business. On from the tall tower to the new ?5 in
:24:22. > :24:27.Australia which viewers will see in a moment when this loads up. Sorry
:24:28. > :24:32.Australia dollars. A picture of the Queen on it? Yes, I have seen only
:24:33. > :24:36.seen a black and white picture. If you look at the comments below the
:24:37. > :24:41.story on the online version of this. We have got a colour one, Tom.
:24:42. > :24:48.Rather unfavourable comments about the colours, could have been drawn
:24:49. > :24:51.by a child in kindergarten. Plus the Queen is grey. A lot of comments
:24:52. > :24:56.about the Queen perhaps unsurprise grid in Australia. So --
:24:57. > :25:09.unsurprisingly in Australia. So it is not an uncontroversial note. It
:25:10. > :25:13.makes h look rather young. On to the Guardian, Kraft beer, we have a lack
:25:14. > :25:18.of hops. This is another industry that we used to do very well and
:25:19. > :25:21.stopped doing. We used to grow lots of hops, we stopped growing hops and
:25:22. > :25:25.now they are grown in America and Germany, but there has been a
:25:26. > :25:31.problem with the German harvest. There is a shortage of hops. The
:25:32. > :25:36.price are soaring and one of the reason the price is soaring is
:25:37. > :25:41.because of Kraft beer, they use a lot of hops, Kraft beers. Are you a
:25:42. > :25:48.craft beer fan? I like a beer once in a while. Let's ignore that. My
:25:49. > :25:51.tablet is doing funny things. Sally has broken the tablet so it means we
:25:52. > :25:58.have got to go! That's all from Business Live for
:25:59. > :26:00.another day. We are back tomorrow. We are, same time, same place. Have
:26:01. > :26:06.a great day. Bye-bye.