:00:00. > :00:08.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.
:00:09. > :00:18.The bids are due but will anyone stump up the big bucks the
:00:19. > :00:33.Live from London, that's our top story on 19th April.
:00:34. > :00:35.Yahoo's up for sale but what is it really worth?
:00:36. > :00:41.As the troubled internet firm prepares to release yet more
:00:42. > :00:45.disappointing numbers, we get the lowdown on the runners
:00:46. > :00:47.and riders vying to take over the company.
:00:48. > :00:51.Argentina tangos its way back into the international money markets
:00:52. > :00:53.- the South American nation was exiled in 2001 after defaulting
:00:54. > :01:04.And the trading day has begun in Europe and, as you can see,
:01:05. > :01:08.all the main markets are headed much higher after a bumper ride in Asia -
:01:09. > :01:14.And is cheap oil good news, or bad for the Gulf's
:01:15. > :01:20.We get the inside track on Emirates from boss Sir Tim Clark.
:01:21. > :01:23.And a new study says if you're over 40 you should only
:01:24. > :01:26.It says anything more than a 25-hour week
:01:27. > :01:47.No hope for me according to that report, my brain is Bush!
:01:48. > :01:51.Yahoo - it's one of the best known brands on the internet,
:01:52. > :01:54.a billion people use it each month and it is home to much-loved
:01:55. > :01:59.web properties such as Flickr and Tumblr.
:02:00. > :02:01.Despite the name recognition, Yahoo is still a byword for decline
:02:02. > :02:03.and later today is expected to release yet more bad
:02:04. > :02:07.numbers as the firm looks for potential buyers.
:02:08. > :02:10.In January, Yahoo reported fourth-quarter earnings of $166m,
:02:11. > :02:25.Shares have slumped 30% since the end of 2014.
:02:26. > :02:28.But despite that, it's thought around 40 firms initially expressed
:02:29. > :02:40.interest in buying all or part of the tech giant.
:02:41. > :02:43.So why is Yahoo so attractive and looking for a buyer?
:02:44. > :02:46.In the US, Yahoo is still the third most visited online site, attracting
:02:47. > :02:51.In the US, its news and sports sites are read by about 25% of
:02:52. > :02:55.And it's those sorts of numbers that have attracted the likes of Verizon
:02:56. > :02:58.and the Daily Mail - who see Yahoo as a potential way
:02:59. > :03:08.to boost video and advertising figures for their own businesses.
:03:09. > :03:10.With me is analyst Matti Littunen from media research
:03:11. > :03:21.Good morning, Sally ran through the front runners there, the Daily Mail
:03:22. > :03:25.possibly making a bit, it would have to pair up with somebody to afford
:03:26. > :03:29.it, but the rise coming out as a frontrunner. What would they get out
:03:30. > :03:36.of this? It is about knowing who customers are, isn't it? Yes, Yahoo
:03:37. > :03:41.has great audience reach. Unfortunately for Yahoo, reach a
:03:42. > :03:45.alone is not enough, you have to have a large audience but also need
:03:46. > :03:54.to know the audience. There is an is banking on its 112 million US mobile
:03:55. > :04:04.subscribers to provide that insight -- Verizon are relying on. They have
:04:05. > :04:16.got subscriber data, browsing data, they are no doubt hoping that would
:04:17. > :04:19.bring a much-needed boost. What is interesting when we look at
:04:20. > :04:23.companies like Google and Yahoo is that we tend to think of them as
:04:24. > :04:29.search engines, but ultimately they are advertising companies, they
:04:30. > :04:32.offer maps, Web services not because they want us to enjoy them but
:04:33. > :04:38.because they get advertising from them and that is the most lucrative
:04:39. > :04:43.bit of Yahoo's business? These sorts of utilities, Yahoo has many
:04:44. > :04:48.different types, it has search, mail, so on. They do many things,
:04:49. > :04:54.but the problem is that for each of these utilities someone else does it
:04:55. > :04:57.better. But where Yahoo is strong is having advertising technology
:04:58. > :05:03.designed to make money from these sorts of utilities. For example they
:05:04. > :05:07.have outsourced the technology behind their search, they still very
:05:08. > :05:11.much have the know-how on how to sell search. When we get news of who
:05:12. > :05:15.is going to buy it, no indication of when that might come, but do we
:05:16. > :05:19.expect the Yahoo brand will continue or will it be an asset stripping
:05:20. > :05:22.exercise, taking the bits of the business they want and the rest will
:05:23. > :05:30.be palmed off? It will depend on the type of buyer. Verizon it would be a
:05:31. > :05:35.question of what would be the best way to maintain Yahoo's audience. I
:05:36. > :05:43.would imagine some of the individual strong content brands like Flickr
:05:44. > :05:53.and Tumblr would stay, named the same. And things like Yahoo sports
:05:54. > :05:54.or finance would be less clear. OK, really good to talk to you. Thank
:05:55. > :05:56.you. Argentina has returned to
:05:57. > :06:00.the international borrowing markets. It's selling bonds after 15 years
:06:01. > :06:03.of exile since its debt The country is raising up
:06:04. > :06:13.to $15 billion but demand for the bond issue was strong
:06:14. > :06:17.and attracted orders worth Some of the money will go
:06:18. > :06:21.to repaying bondholders who opposed the terms of Argentina's debt
:06:22. > :06:23.restructuring after Netflix shares fell more than 9%
:06:24. > :06:26.in after-hours trading after the video streaming company
:06:27. > :06:28.forecast slower growth The company says it expects to add
:06:29. > :06:34.another 500,000 new customers in the US and 2 million around
:06:35. > :06:38.the world by the end of June. At the start of this year,
:06:39. > :06:46.Netflix began a global expansion The world's major steel producers
:06:47. > :06:51.have failed to agree to measures to tackle global overproduction,
:06:52. > :06:53.which has caused Officials from 30 countries met
:06:54. > :06:59.in Belgium to tackle the issue, but decided only that the problem
:07:00. > :07:02.needed to be dealt with 'swiftly'. Chinese officials bristled
:07:03. > :07:04.at suggestions its country The mining giant Rio Tinto has
:07:05. > :07:13.cut its iron ore production Globally, the industry
:07:14. > :07:21.is suffering from huge oversupply due to a decline
:07:22. > :07:23.in demand from steelmakers. Christine Hah has more
:07:24. > :07:38.for us in Singapore. Nice to see you, fill us in on
:07:39. > :07:44.reopen As yes, production has been cut but they are coming in very much
:07:45. > :07:49.in line with expectations -- fill us in on Rio.
:07:50. > :07:52.The first quarter came in as expected at about 84 million tonnes,
:07:53. > :07:58.and at this stage it is on track for a record 350 million tonnes in 2016.
:07:59. > :08:04.Remember I know accounts for almost half of Rio Tinto's revenues and
:08:05. > :08:09.they have taken a huge hit has prices have fallen amid the global
:08:10. > :08:14.supply glut. Every $1 change in price of iron ore prices means an
:08:15. > :08:20.estimated $260 million' change in revenue. Their share fires has
:08:21. > :08:27.fallen over 13% in the last year but the CEO is focused on keeping market
:08:28. > :08:34.share despite weaker profit margins. Thank you very much. Mining stocks
:08:35. > :08:38.did well and energy stocks did well, banks were doing all right today
:08:39. > :08:42.actually and Japan up nearly 3.7%. It has been a roller-coaster. This
:08:43. > :08:48.time yesterday we were down as much, it has been up and down by 3% plus
:08:49. > :08:52.the days. This is how things went the night before on Wall Street.
:08:53. > :08:56.Better than expected news from Morgan Stanley boosting the sector
:08:57. > :09:00.but also oil prices going up and up again. We will talk more about that
:09:01. > :09:03.in a minute but it is helping financial markets. Let's look at the
:09:04. > :09:08.European market Snapple stop across the board, steady as she goes, as it
:09:09. > :09:14.were -- let's look at the European markets now. Expectations were
:09:15. > :09:19.extremely low, and when you look at the numbers they are not so great.
:09:20. > :09:21.Michelle Fleury has the details about what's ahead
:09:22. > :09:29.The new earnings season is underway, US companies starting to turn in
:09:30. > :09:34.their results for the first three months of the year. There are some
:09:35. > :09:41.big technology names to watch out for, a slumping PC chip business is
:09:42. > :09:46.expected to take its toll on Intel, which reports after the market has
:09:47. > :09:50.closed. Yahoo's earnings will be overshadowed by questions about its
:09:51. > :09:56.future, who is interested in buying its Internet business? The potential
:09:57. > :10:07.sale comes after Yahoo abandoned plans to sell off its stake in
:10:08. > :10:11.Alibaba. Most markets are anticipating a decline in first
:10:12. > :10:16.quarter profits. We heard from some companies late on Monday, shares in
:10:17. > :10:23.the video streaming service Netflix fell after its earnings disappointed
:10:24. > :10:24.inspectors -- investors. Quarterly revenues for other companies
:10:25. > :10:33.continue to fall. As you can see, the man with a red
:10:34. > :10:38.braces, as he is known, Justin Urquhart Stewart, an economist, nice
:10:39. > :10:42.to see you. Let's talk oil, we heard a lot over
:10:43. > :10:48.the weekend about what they managed not to do in Gauhar, which was to
:10:49. > :10:53.agree a cap and try to stabilise prices somewhat, but they have
:10:54. > :10:56.bounced back a little -- in Doha. A line from Russia that we have just
:10:57. > :11:02.got in saying it will raise its output, so the opposite of what we
:11:03. > :11:05.were expecting, rising to 540 million tonnes. If nothing else it
:11:06. > :11:09.underlines the situation Russia has got, its reserves have been dropping
:11:10. > :11:13.dramatically because we have had Mr Putin going off on adventures in
:11:14. > :11:19.Syria, Ukraine, and we have had the financial blockages, the likes of
:11:20. > :11:22.Gazprom and others have been unable to refinance themselves. This is
:11:23. > :11:27.foreign exchange reserves we are talking about, money not oil? But it
:11:28. > :11:32.has an impact, where is the income coming? They are desperate to get
:11:33. > :11:35.more dollars coming in. Gazprom and others have had to go into the
:11:36. > :11:38.markets to borrow from the Chinese because they cannot go into
:11:39. > :11:44.international markets, the sanctions are beginning to bite. The price of
:11:45. > :11:48.oil today quite a bit up, and at the same time Argentina entering the
:11:49. > :11:54.market again, the bond market again, and it was seen there was a rush? It
:11:55. > :11:57.is strange, I go back to the days when Argentina and the rest of South
:11:58. > :12:01.America was going through that terrible time and we had to go
:12:02. > :12:05.through debt rescheduling that. They have just come out of their last
:12:06. > :12:10.perilous Government, perilous Government in Argentina are normally
:12:11. > :12:15.financially disastrous, and there was no change, it was disastrous,
:12:16. > :12:20.only regime has come in now and they can go back into the markets, they
:12:21. > :12:26.have agreed to pay the outstanding elements they have due. The move has
:12:27. > :12:30.given them a slight uptick in their credit rating. Argentina is in that
:12:31. > :12:35.face but Brazil, when you think not so long ago, totally the reverse.
:12:36. > :12:40.The sleeping giant was awaiting but the sleeping giant has now tripped
:12:41. > :12:45.over its self so its president is being breached, so Argentina has got
:12:46. > :12:47.a long way to go. Justin, you will be back, we will see you shortly to
:12:48. > :12:48.talk about the papers. The boss of Emirates tells us why
:12:49. > :12:54.the low oil price is good news and bad news for the Gulf's
:12:55. > :12:57.fast-growing airline industry. You're with Business
:12:58. > :13:06.Live from BBC News. The owner of Primark,
:13:07. > :13:08.Associated British Foods, has reported a 4% rise
:13:09. > :13:14.in half year profits. The group was boosted by strong
:13:15. > :13:17.performance in its sugar business. Profits at the discount retailer
:13:18. > :13:21.Primark were down for the period. Our business editor Simon Jack joins
:13:22. > :13:35.us from the Business Newsroom. Is it good or bad Ms?
:13:36. > :13:40.It is a funny business, Associated British Foods, it has food and
:13:41. > :13:43.retell, best known in the UK for owning Primark. Primark has bucked
:13:44. > :13:47.the trend is on the high street, always been growing sales and
:13:48. > :13:53.like-for-like sales. Today, even though sales were up 7%, they have
:13:54. > :13:57.opened a lot more space, counter to what other people are doing. If you
:13:58. > :14:03.look at their like-for-like, it is stripping out the effect of opening
:14:04. > :14:07.new stores, the statement says it is a particularly challenging outlook
:14:08. > :14:11.in the UK retail market. They say they made a good debut in the US.
:14:12. > :14:14.But even the mighty Primark is finding life tough on the UK high
:14:15. > :14:23.street. Let's turn our attention to beer and
:14:24. > :14:30.booze. A big merger deal means that Roni and courts are being off?
:14:31. > :14:36.Yes, a colossus of a company, one in three beers that you buy in the
:14:37. > :14:38.world you are buying from this new giant and the competition
:14:39. > :14:47.authorities wanted them to sell off a few bits and pieces, so Grolsch
:14:48. > :14:51.and Peroni are being sold by Japanese beer makers. They are
:14:52. > :14:54.looking to acquire overseas, so they are buying backward to and Peroni.
:14:55. > :15:08.The companies behind this want you to have grand -- brand loyalty, so
:15:09. > :15:11.this might not be the last of the disposal of assets, we might see
:15:12. > :15:15.some more assets being sold off there.
:15:16. > :15:18.OK, thank you very much. We will see more from him in later.
:15:19. > :15:35.Here is a fact for you, Pret has been talking about their food sales
:15:36. > :15:38.up just over 1.4%, ?676 million, the biggest selling ingredient in its
:15:39. > :15:42.sandwiches and salads is avocado, so there you go.
:15:43. > :15:48.Our top story: The deadline has now passed for firms to submit offers
:15:49. > :15:54.Around 40 companies initially expressed an interest in the company
:15:55. > :15:57.but it's thought only a handful have actually made bids for
:15:58. > :16:18.Troy has got his bid in. Is he one of the 40? Who knows?
:16:19. > :16:22.A quick look at the live page. The details are there including
:16:23. > :16:25.everything we've talked about relating to Argentina returning to
:16:26. > :16:28.the debt markets after the default in 2001. What that could mean for
:16:29. > :16:31.the international picture. But also keep your comments coming in. You
:16:32. > :16:38.can see the hashtag on the screen there.
:16:39. > :16:43.A new study suggests if you're over the age of 40 then you should only
:16:44. > :16:46.be work ago three-day week. Lots of comments from you already. Keep them
:16:47. > :16:51.coming in. We will discuss them later.
:16:52. > :16:59.I'm over 40! How many days a week do you do? Are you over 40? No. How
:17:00. > :17:01.dare you! I shouldn't work as much as Ben!
:17:02. > :17:05.All right, let's move on. It's just 30-years-old, but already
:17:06. > :17:08.one of the world's largest airlines and with an impressive marketing
:17:09. > :17:10.budget it's a well-known name at sports events,
:17:11. > :17:12.stadiums and events. In a moment we'll get
:17:13. > :17:18.the inside track from the airline's boss, but first let's take a look
:17:19. > :17:22.at how the company began. It was founded in 1985
:17:23. > :17:24.and flew its first routes out of Dubai with just two aircraft,
:17:25. > :17:28.but has since grown at an astonishing rate with a fleet
:17:29. > :17:31.of 230 aircraft, flying to 150 destinations
:17:32. > :17:38.in more than 80 countries. Last year, it reported a 40% jump
:17:39. > :17:41.in profits for the year, primarily But, the airline also faces
:17:42. > :17:49.criticism over allegations that it receives billions of dollars
:17:50. > :17:51.in illegal state subsidies and financial help from
:17:52. > :17:54.the Dubai government. That prompted some US airlines
:17:55. > :17:57.to call on lawmakers to restrict Emirates and other Gulf carriers'
:17:58. > :18:02.access to the US airspace. So how does it tackle all that
:18:03. > :18:04.political and economic turbulence? Our Business Editor went to meet
:18:05. > :18:13.the company's boss, Sir Tim Clark. We have a dashboard and it tells us
:18:14. > :18:16.what's going on where, And there are multiple red
:18:17. > :18:22.lights at the moment. We have a European situation,
:18:23. > :18:27.we have had these terrible events in Paris and Brussels which have
:18:28. > :18:36.started to cause demand to diminish, out of the Asian markets
:18:37. > :18:38.principally China, we have had advisories passed into these
:18:39. > :18:44.populations to say don't travel We have issues with regard
:18:45. > :18:48.to what is going on in Africa at the moment because we have got
:18:49. > :18:50.commodity price collapse, Collapse as well, these are all red
:18:51. > :18:55.lights that are flashing at us. The oil price obviously has fallen
:18:56. > :18:57.very significantly over the last For most airlines that
:18:58. > :19:01.would be great news. For a Gulf carrier, it is not quite
:19:02. > :19:04.as straightforward as that because obviously the wealth
:19:05. > :19:06.of the region is generated by oil. So is a low oil price
:19:07. > :19:11.a good or a bad thing? Well, of course, the drop in the oil
:19:12. > :19:20.price where we had 43% of our costs at one point were fuel,
:19:21. > :19:25.they are about half that now. We benefited from that,
:19:26. > :19:27.but of course, the airline industry races to the bottom with regard
:19:28. > :19:30.to its pricing and as a result all the fares have come down,
:19:31. > :19:33.the yields have fallen etcetera so it is a much better
:19:34. > :19:35.position than it was, but it is not as good people
:19:36. > :19:38.would think and you're right, as the oil producing Middle Eastern
:19:39. > :19:41.countries are having to deal with a 75% fall in the price
:19:42. > :19:43.of oil over the last three to five years,
:19:44. > :19:46.they have had to trim their economies, but you know,
:19:47. > :19:48.the economy still needs sustaining. Does that mean sheikhs
:19:49. > :19:53.are going in economy these days? No, my sheikh often
:19:54. > :19:54.travels in economy. He does indeed and I've travelled
:19:55. > :20:02.with him in economy as well. The US industry, some
:20:03. > :20:04.voices in the EU, complain that the competition isn't
:20:05. > :20:07.fair because in fact you are the recipient of state
:20:08. > :20:11.subsidies, what do you say to that? We have brought a new product
:20:12. > :20:14.to the market which is affordable and people really enjoy it
:20:15. > :20:16.and that has been seen Are you saying there has never been
:20:17. > :20:30.a penny of subsidy at any time? Into Emirates I would say
:20:31. > :20:35.categorically no. We have disclosed
:20:36. > :20:37.exactly what the Government of Dubai's involvement
:20:38. > :20:39.has been with us. Those are in our financial
:20:40. > :20:41.statements which are produced every year and on a fully
:20:42. > :20:43.transparent basis. I don't think we are going to be
:20:44. > :20:46.bullied into submission We will take it back to them
:20:47. > :20:51.as we did in the case A 350 page dossier which dealt
:20:52. > :20:54.with in a very granular nature with all of the issues that
:20:55. > :20:57.were thrown at us and I believe we We are waiting for a decision
:20:58. > :21:01.on extra capacity in the UK. Tell us what we are missing out
:21:02. > :21:05.on by not getting on with it The South East of England
:21:06. > :21:08.needs a third runway. If Heathrow had been allowed to grow
:21:09. > :21:14.in an unconstrained manner and it had the third or the fourth runway
:21:15. > :21:17.which it would have done under normal capacity demand,
:21:18. > :21:20.the airport would be 120 million, 130 million passengers today,
:21:21. > :21:26.not 70 or 72 million. So it would be almost
:21:27. > :21:28.double the size? It would have continued to grow
:21:29. > :21:39.at a pace that it had been used to and has been capped so they get
:21:40. > :21:42.might 2% or 3% more out it. The need has been identified
:21:43. > :21:45.and assessed and proven as far It is the most significant city
:21:46. > :21:49.on our network apart from Dubai. The United Kingdom is
:21:50. > :21:52.the most profitable. So you are agnostic
:21:53. > :21:54.about whether it is Heathrow For Emirates we will continue
:21:55. > :21:58.to operate to Heathrow We have managed to get an additional
:21:59. > :22:03.slot as we have done at Gatwick, but we are growing our
:22:04. > :22:06.operations as well. You could see actually
:22:07. > :22:09.Manchester and Birmingham. Birmingham is a fabulous airport
:22:10. > :22:11.and it is in the heart So they could be developed
:22:12. > :22:15.in the absence of Heathrow and Gatwick if it was
:22:16. > :22:37.me, I'd do the lot. The boss of Emirates, Sir Tim Clark.
:22:38. > :22:44.The Telegraph has been looking at the trade in fake goods which it
:22:45. > :22:50.says make up 2.5% of all international trade.
:22:51. > :22:56.If you're over 40 then your brain power could be harmed by working
:22:57. > :23:00.more than 25 hours or a three-day week. We are all in approval of that
:23:01. > :23:07.actually! We think it is a good idea. Justin is back as you can see.
:23:08. > :23:10.Justin and I are both over 40. We have established that I am not! You
:23:11. > :23:14.are saying that I have to work a longer week. Justin you are an
:23:15. > :23:19.employer as well. You have got quite a few members of staff. What do you
:23:20. > :23:25.think of this idea? You find people working part-time, tend to work
:23:26. > :23:29.harder. They have got an area of work they have to try and do. It
:23:30. > :23:39.creeps into the other hours that they are not at work. They get more
:23:40. > :23:42.for less? It is the flexibility and you have got people with flexible
:23:43. > :23:46.families, you need them to be flexible and you don't want to lose
:23:47. > :23:49.the talent. You have trained people up and they are good at what they do
:23:50. > :23:53.and they're going away. Why do you want that? Keep them involved and
:23:54. > :23:58.you find they are working extra time and the old unones like me just end
:23:59. > :24:05.up falling asleep in the corner! A lot of you getting in touch. Theo
:24:06. > :24:09.says, "40 is semi retirement, but that flies in the face of the fact
:24:10. > :24:13.that the retirement age is getting older and older." Another one, lots
:24:14. > :24:18.of you suggesting it is a great idea. John says if it is a European
:24:19. > :24:22.study, if so, it is the best thing to have come out of Brussels in a
:24:23. > :24:32.long time. John said, "Three days work, five days salary. I'm always
:24:33. > :24:35.pooped by Thursday anyway." More people are setting up their own
:24:36. > :24:38.businesses and you will see how flexible they are in that time
:24:39. > :24:40.because they run their businesses and often running two at the same
:24:41. > :24:46.time. It would be fascinating to see how that works out. Tony says, "This
:24:47. > :24:50.is why my brain hurts." Tony, it is only Tuesday.
:24:51. > :24:55.Justin, tell us about the counterfeit goods story, worth a
:24:56. > :25:01.quarter of a trillion pounds a year, so says the OECD. Something that's
:25:02. > :25:06.not on our radar much these days, counterfeit goods? They are talking
:25:07. > :25:16.about 2.5% of all international trade is fake goods or they are
:25:17. > :25:20.talking about across the Europe... For big bands there, is a hole in
:25:21. > :25:24.their profits basically, isn't it? Oh yeah. Big companies that are
:25:25. > :25:28.ripped off over the world. They have their own police forces going out
:25:29. > :25:33.and checking up on these. Certainly, some of my family in Indonesia, it
:25:34. > :25:38.is not what quality of fake do you want to have? Do you want a rubbish
:25:39. > :25:48.watch or a really good fake watch? The goods, well we all know it is
:25:49. > :25:53.footwear and leather wear, where are they coming from? China and Hong
:25:54. > :25:57.Kong. Other areas, but they are by far and away the worst culprits for
:25:58. > :26:01.it. Justin, thank you. Really nice to see you and thank you for your
:26:02. > :26:05.comments and suggestions about the three-day week! We think it is a
:26:06. > :26:14.great idea. We are both back tomorrow. See you then.
:26:15. > :26:22.We have got a quiet three or four days on the weather front. Today is
:26:23. > :26:24.not looking bad. If it has been cloudy, the clouds will be breaking