:00:00. > :00:08.This is Business Live from the BBC with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.
:00:09. > :00:10.The clock is ticking, but can the massive transatlantic
:00:11. > :00:14.trade deal be saved before the end of the year?
:00:15. > :00:35.Live from London, that's our top story, today - Monday 25th April.
:00:36. > :00:37.Despite fierce protests on both sides of the Atlantic,
:00:38. > :00:39.talks resume on the controversial Transatlantic Trade
:00:40. > :00:41.and Investment Partnership - but is there even a future
:00:42. > :00:45.for the trade deal once Obama leaves office in November?
:00:46. > :00:55.Also in the programme - on the brink of collapse -
:00:56. > :00:57.high street giant BHS is to enter administration,
:00:58. > :01:00.We'll be live at its flagship store in London.
:01:01. > :01:03.And a new week, but the same old problems.
:01:04. > :01:08.We'll have all you need to know for the trading week ahead.
:01:09. > :01:11.We throw away over a billion tonnes of food every year -
:01:12. > :01:15.so we'll meet the man who says he can encourage us to waste less -
:01:16. > :01:20.And, as a new report warns that 2016 could be the year of the shareholder
:01:21. > :01:22.revolt over top boardroom pay, we want to know -
:01:23. > :01:29.Has the gap between those at the top and the rest of us, got too big?
:01:30. > :01:50.Hello, a warm welcome to the programme.
:01:51. > :01:52.Today we are focused on the Transatlantic Trade
:01:53. > :01:54.and Investment Partnership - or TTIP.
:01:55. > :01:57.The 13th round of talks get under way today in New York
:01:58. > :01:59.and President Obama is racing against the clock to complete
:02:00. > :02:05.Whilst meeting Angela Merkel in Germany on Sunday,
:02:06. > :02:08.he called on all European leaders to support the deal and not "let
:02:09. > :02:12.Diplomats from both the US and the EU will meet later
:02:13. > :02:14.to discuss the deal which has already been three years
:02:15. > :02:23.TTIP aims to slash almost all tariffs on trade between the US
:02:24. > :02:26.and the EU and reduce regulation to make business cheaper and easier.
:02:27. > :02:28.One study estimated that the potential gain for the EU
:02:29. > :02:34.and US economies could top $240 billion dollars.
:02:35. > :02:37.However, the deal has faced fierce criticism.
:02:38. > :02:38.This includes claims that harmonising regulation
:02:39. > :02:41.between the EU and US will lead to lower standards of consumer
:02:42. > :02:46.and environmental protection and safety at work.
:02:47. > :02:51.There is also widespread opposition to rules
:02:52. > :02:52.for investor-state dispute settlement.
:02:53. > :02:54.This would allow companies to sue foreign governments over claims
:02:55. > :02:58.Critics say it will undermine the power of governments to act
:02:59. > :03:01.Stephanie Hare, an independent political risk analyst
:03:02. > :03:12.Thank you for coming in. We saw images of thousands of people on the
:03:13. > :03:15.streets of Hanover in Germany yesterday where President Obama was.
:03:16. > :03:22.What is the likelihood of him achieving his goal before he leaves
:03:23. > :03:26.office? He could maybe get the negotiations sorted but there is
:03:27. > :03:33.zero chance of congressional approval while he is president. That
:03:34. > :03:39.does not mean it can be approved. What are the key hurdles still? They
:03:40. > :03:45.have got to talk about all sorts of things. We're looking at data
:03:46. > :03:48.protection still, standards for the environment, health, public
:03:49. > :03:52.procurement is a big thing, trying to make it so that European
:03:53. > :03:56.countries can have access to public procurement tenders in the US and
:03:57. > :04:04.vice versa, those will be some of the big hurdles still and there is a
:04:05. > :04:06.to do. I think it is very ambitious to have it done by November, and
:04:07. > :04:12.remember we have an election going on in the United States. The voices
:04:13. > :04:15.of the critics on both sides of the Atlantic are getting louder and a
:04:16. > :04:22.lot of criticism that most of this has been done in secret. Is that
:04:23. > :04:26.fair or not? I find that criticism to be the oddest because the
:04:27. > :04:30.negotiations are, by their very nature, done in secret. The
:04:31. > :04:35.democratic process will happen afterwards. Congress could still
:04:36. > :04:38.approve. All of the Parliaments will have to ratify this deal. If people
:04:39. > :04:47.are unhappy with the deal once it is finalised, they will still have a
:04:48. > :04:52.chance to express their will by meeting MPs. Here in Europe, it is
:04:53. > :04:56.such a long road ahead, the European Union has to see it through and not
:04:57. > :05:02.to mention national governments, and we could be in a situation where the
:05:03. > :05:06.UK is not involved at all? That is right, we have a potential Brexit on
:05:07. > :05:12.June 23 which would not stop this deal, it would just mean that the UK
:05:13. > :05:21.was not part of it. President Obama said if the UK chose to leave the EU
:05:22. > :05:26.it would go to the back of the queue when it comes to neb go shading a
:05:27. > :05:29.deal. They're also presidential elections in France and Germany in
:05:30. > :05:37.2017. These trading geisha nations take a long time. -- these trade
:05:38. > :05:43.negotiations take a long time. The real question is, is it a good deal?
:05:44. > :05:48.We cannot answer that right now. Thank you for coming in.
:05:49. > :05:53.Let's bring you date with some other news. -- up-to-date.
:05:54. > :05:55.In other news, figures produced by the Sunday Times suggest
:05:56. > :05:58.the Indian Mittal family has seen its wealth shrink
:05:59. > :06:00.by nearly $30 billion over the past eight years.
:06:01. > :06:03.It's thought the change reflects the heavy losses seen in the steel
:06:04. > :06:05.industry since they own Europe's biggest steel-maker, Arcelor Mittal.
:06:06. > :06:07.The Indian government has revoked the passport of the flamboyant
:06:08. > :06:08.businessman and lawmaker, Vijay Mallya.
:06:09. > :06:11.He fled abroad last month following pressure from Indian banks
:06:12. > :06:13.to repay $1.3 billion in debts owed by his failed company,
:06:14. > :06:16.Some reports have traced him to the UK.
:06:17. > :06:19.India is now seeking legal advice on whether he can be extradited
:06:20. > :06:27.to face charges of money laundering and financial irregularities.
:06:28. > :06:30.In the UK, High Street retailer BHS is to enter administration today,
:06:31. > :06:35.The struggling retailer was sold by the retail entrepreneur
:06:36. > :06:38.Sir Philip Green last year, for just ?1.
:06:39. > :06:43.He had bought the chain for ?200 million in 2000.
:06:44. > :06:45.Our correspondent Catriona Renton is outside the chain's flagship
:06:46. > :06:59.We are expecting details later today about the feature of stores like the
:07:00. > :07:06.one behind you. I know also about the 11,000 jobs. What are you
:07:07. > :07:10.hearing now? As you say, this is the flagship store. BHS was once a
:07:11. > :07:15.household name, one of the biggest names on the UK high street, and
:07:16. > :07:20.this morning we have learned that it will go into administration later
:07:21. > :07:25.today. An appointment has already been made with the administrators.
:07:26. > :07:29.Once they get into the office, effectively, they will be able to
:07:30. > :07:33.start the process. We have been talking to members of staff on their
:07:34. > :07:39.way into work this morning. Many of them were far too upset to speak to
:07:40. > :07:43.us, because all they knew was what they had seen and heard in the
:07:44. > :07:51.media. Over the weekend, there had been two sets of talks, one with a
:07:52. > :07:54.private investor looking at a possible financial deal, another
:07:55. > :08:01.with sports direct will stop clearly those talks have failed. We are
:08:02. > :08:06.looking at the business going into administration. If the administrator
:08:07. > :08:12.cannot find a buyer, that would spell the end of an 88 year history
:08:13. > :08:21.of British home stores, and that would be the biggest collapse since
:08:22. > :08:25.Woolworths in 2008, which had a loss of 30,000 jobs. For now, thank you.
:08:26. > :08:33.She and the rest of our business team will be keeping us up to date
:08:34. > :08:36.on that story as it progresses. There is more detail on our website.
:08:37. > :08:38.Shares in Mitsubishi Motors continue to fall -
:08:39. > :08:41.after the revelations it falsified fuel economy data on its vehicles.
:08:42. > :08:47.Tim McDonald is in our Asia Business Hub following this for us.
:08:48. > :08:55.Tell us more. I understand they are coming out with their results on
:08:56. > :09:00.Wednesday? That is right. Shares today in Mitsubishi motors continue
:09:01. > :09:05.ground by the end of the session. ground by the end of the session.
:09:06. > :09:11.This comes on the back of a bad few days for Mitsubishi. The stock
:09:12. > :09:17.plummeted by 40%, its worst decline since it first listed in 1988. The
:09:18. > :09:22.company admitted it cheated on its fuel efficiency tests. The company
:09:23. > :09:25.has since stopped sales and production of those models. It
:09:26. > :09:30.remains to be seen what the long-term effect of the scandal will
:09:31. > :09:34.be but it appears that the company is very concerned. Mitsubishi will
:09:35. > :09:38.announce results on Wednesday. There are media reports it may skip its
:09:39. > :09:42.earnings forecast which is usually on the same day and was scheduled
:09:43. > :09:52.for Wednesday. That is something we will watch closely. Thank you, Tim.
:09:53. > :10:01.Investors are probably trying to lock in some games after the highs
:10:02. > :10:06.we saw on Friday. Japan's Central bank is considering more stimulus.
:10:07. > :10:08.So - a new week - but the same old problems.
:10:09. > :10:11.Last week was largely positive for European markets
:10:12. > :10:16.It was also another really strong week for oil prices,
:10:17. > :10:21.That implies that investors are betting that the problems
:10:22. > :10:27.We'll discuss that more in a moment, but what about Wall Street?
:10:28. > :10:33.Michelle Fleury has the details from New York.
:10:34. > :10:41.The week gets off to a quiet start. A report on new sales for March is
:10:42. > :10:46.due out on Monday. It should give a sense of the strength of the
:10:47. > :10:52.upcoming spring selling season. For Wall Street, the big event this week
:10:53. > :10:56.is a meeting of federal policymakers. Investors expect
:10:57. > :10:59.interest rates to be kept on hold. We are also in the middle of the
:11:00. > :11:03.first quarter earnings season and it is fair to say there is not much
:11:04. > :11:13.optimism surrounding Halliburton which reports this Monday. Given
:11:14. > :11:19.plummeting oil prices, results for oil companies has been challenging.
:11:20. > :11:23.A number of new technology companies will publish results including
:11:24. > :11:29.Apple, Twitter and Amazon. Lots going on. That was Michelle in the
:11:30. > :11:33.US for us. Stick with us as our cameras decide to whizz around the
:11:34. > :11:36.studio, sometimes they do their own thing!
:11:37. > :11:40.Joining us is Lawrence Gosling, editor-in-chief of Investment Week.
:11:41. > :11:48.BHS? Gets, exactly. In a sense, it is not as a surprise it has
:11:49. > :11:52.happened. We had the discussion a few weeks ago when they were
:11:53. > :11:59.negotiating with the landlord. It is a business which has been teetering
:12:00. > :12:06.on the edge for some time. It is always a surprise when it comes.
:12:07. > :12:09.Retailers are downright Next? There is absolutely no Harold L between
:12:10. > :12:16.the wake Next trades and the way BHS has been trading -- no parallel.
:12:17. > :12:21.These stores are the main stays of the high street for so long and we
:12:22. > :12:26.talked about Woolworths, the way we shop has changed and what we are
:12:27. > :12:30.looking for is about more nimble faster fashion which BHS has not
:12:31. > :12:34.been able to do? And very focused shots. You want to go somewhere
:12:35. > :12:39.knowing exactly what you are after. You go to BHS and you can get
:12:40. > :12:43.everything from children's pyjamas and lampshades. You do not expect
:12:44. > :12:52.that these days in shops like our parents might have done. It is the
:12:53. > :12:58.unfocused nature of these stores. I got a knit your own staff kit from
:12:59. > :13:05.BHS for Christmas. Swiftly moving on, the rest of the market malaise,
:13:06. > :13:10.or oil prices headed down again stopped and the share markets. I
:13:11. > :13:15.think we have seen traders take a few profits on oil. The currencies
:13:16. > :13:20.are always the talking point now, particularly we have had a balm in
:13:21. > :13:25.London last week. This will carry on until the Brexit debate on the 23rd
:13:26. > :13:32.of June for us here in London. The currency is where the story is at
:13:33. > :13:35.the moment. -- we had Obama in London last week.
:13:36. > :13:38.Tackling soaring levels of food waste.
:13:39. > :13:40.We'll examine what's been done to tackle the trillion dollar
:13:41. > :13:43.problem and meet the man behind one company that says it has
:13:44. > :13:46.the answer and there's money to be made in doing it.
:13:47. > :13:51.You're with Business Live from BBC News.
:13:52. > :13:54.The government is to force all companies that make cold calls
:13:55. > :13:56.to reveal their phone numbers when they make contact
:13:57. > :14:00.The new rule is part of a crackdown on unwanted calls -
:14:01. > :14:03.but campaigners say the changes don't go far enough.
:14:04. > :14:05.Christopher Graham is the UK Information Commissioner.
:14:06. > :14:25.Good morning to you. Just talk us through what the changes are. This
:14:26. > :14:29.is a very welcome change. It is a small step but it is significant. It
:14:30. > :14:32.means when a call comes through, instead of saying number withheld,
:14:33. > :14:37.it will give the number. That will give you a chance about whether you
:14:38. > :14:41.want to answer the call. You have the information and you can retrieve
:14:42. > :14:50.the information and report to the Information Commissioner's website.
:14:51. > :14:55.It helps us in our job of investigating and stopping these
:14:56. > :14:59.unwanted calls. Do you think it will stop them which, if we are all
:15:00. > :15:05.honest, they drive us round the twist? We are making progress bit by
:15:06. > :15:10.bit. Last year, we persuaded the government to change the rules to
:15:11. > :15:16.make it easier to impose fines. We are imposing our 90th find dealing
:15:17. > :15:23.with this problem. We will have fined over ?2 million. It is making
:15:24. > :15:27.the direct marketers think again. Respectable direct marketers are
:15:28. > :15:31.sticking to the rules. The chances are finding it is becoming
:15:32. > :15:35.increasingly difficult. I think the directors of these companies should
:15:36. > :15:38.be made personally liable so they cannot just close down the operation
:15:39. > :15:46.and start again the next day when they are hit with a fine. There are
:15:47. > :15:50.still a lot to be done but this is a little step forward.
:15:51. > :15:59.What's the geographical implication of this? We have a network of data
:16:00. > :16:04.protection companies around Europe and the world, so where we have
:16:05. > :16:08.operators in Russia, or whatever, we can talk to operators to get them
:16:09. > :16:15.closed down. It's a never ending issue, but we are on the case and
:16:16. > :16:18.making progress. Christopher Graham from UK information Commissioner,
:16:19. > :16:22.thank you for your time. Interesting development in the UK. It could
:16:23. > :16:36.certainly make a big difference. Talks continue over the
:16:37. > :16:44.transatlantic trade partnership, whether they will get the go-ahead
:16:45. > :16:46.and get the deal done between the EU and the United States before the end
:16:47. > :16:55.of President Obama's time in office. "One man's trash is
:16:56. > :16:57.another man's treasure" - Well, our next guest is taking
:16:58. > :17:00.that quite literally. Roughly one third of the food
:17:01. > :17:03.produced for humans every year That's 1.3 billion tonnes of food
:17:04. > :17:09.that ends up in the bin at a cost of around a trillion
:17:10. > :17:12.dollars each year. So tackling that problem is proving
:17:13. > :17:16.to be a lucrative business. One of them - Winnow - wants to cut
:17:17. > :17:20.down on the amount of food waste They do that by installing
:17:21. > :17:24.electronic scales into kitchens and the software processes a report
:17:25. > :17:27.highlighting areas where food Customers pay an annual subscription
:17:28. > :17:32.fee for the service. And the company claims
:17:33. > :17:34.that the technology can help improve Marc Zornes is the founder
:17:35. > :17:50.of the company and he joins us now. Good morning. Let's pick up on the
:17:51. > :17:56.6% figure. It's very specific. How did you come up with it, and it's a
:17:57. > :18:05.big difference for business. It's a bold claim. Absolutely. We believe
:18:06. > :18:09.that food shouldn't be wasted and technology can fundamentally change
:18:10. > :18:12.the way we work with food. We work with businesses like Compass Group
:18:13. > :18:15.and core hotels, large businesses who produce food in advance, and we
:18:16. > :18:21.put into is to monitor and reduce the waste. We find anywhere between
:18:22. > :18:25.ten and 20% of food going into the kitchen is often thrown away. If you
:18:26. > :18:29.monitor that and equip chefs with the right data we can cut back on
:18:30. > :18:36.that. Where would the scales go, what do they way and what report
:18:37. > :18:39.does it produce? They go to the same place the food is thrown away, and
:18:40. > :18:45.as it is thrown away, there is a change in the weight that makes the
:18:46. > :18:53.scales wake up, so if they throw away aches, it can block that. It
:18:54. > :18:57.goes back to staff, so it shows what they are throwing away. It raises
:18:58. > :19:00.the awareness of the waste in kitchens. The chefs can then
:19:01. > :19:07.identify where they need to make improvements in production. Are the
:19:08. > :19:11.staff quite surprised by results? We often find kitchens underestimate
:19:12. > :19:15.how much food is being wasted. When we put in place the tools to monitor
:19:16. > :19:21.it and equip the chefs with the data, we can cut food waste by half
:19:22. > :19:25.or more in just a few months. I understand nobody else is really
:19:26. > :19:29.doing this. You started the company around two and a half years ago in
:19:30. > :19:35.the UK and are now operating in five other countries, notably China and
:19:36. > :19:39.Singapore. What gave you the idea? I used to work for McKenzie and
:19:40. > :19:43.company where I was leading research on resource productivity and found
:19:44. > :19:49.the enormity of the problem of food waste, $1 trillion of food waste,
:19:50. > :19:54.that's more than 1% of global GDP. We can't have that in today's's
:19:55. > :19:57.economic climate. We focused on the is that our tea industry where if we
:19:58. > :20:02.save the clients food waste they save money. We talked about one
:20:03. > :20:10.man's trash being another man's treasure. We have seen this happened
:20:11. > :20:15.in recycling. A real gold rush for the firms that get in first and get
:20:16. > :20:21.their systems in place, they could cash in. Is this the next gold rush
:20:22. > :20:24.as far as waste and rubbish is concerned? We absolutely think so.
:20:25. > :20:28.One company that has taken a big step forward is core hotels, the
:20:29. > :20:33.largest hotel chain in Europe who have made a commitment to reduce
:20:34. > :20:38.food waste by a third by 2020. We have challenged other companies to
:20:39. > :20:39.make those reductions. Fascinating conversation. Thank you for coming
:20:40. > :20:44.in today. Let's see what other
:20:45. > :20:46.stories are being talked When will driverless cars
:20:47. > :20:49.finally hit our streets? Well, the race is on between
:20:50. > :20:51.developers to come up with a mass market, affordable
:20:52. > :20:53.and reliable autonomous vehicle. And they could be on our roads
:20:54. > :20:57.sooner than you think. The boss of Ford has told the BBC
:20:58. > :21:00.he expects to see them Our Economics Editor Kamal Ahmed
:21:01. > :21:10.spoke to Mark Fields and asked him where the the biggest threat
:21:11. > :21:13.to his company would come from - traditional rivals, or newer
:21:14. > :21:17.competitors like Google. There's a lot of traditional
:21:18. > :21:20.competitors we have in our business, There's a lot of new nontraditional
:21:21. > :21:26.competitors who are looking at the automotive space and that
:21:27. > :21:28.addressable market, and saying, So from our standpoint
:21:29. > :21:34.we are looking at a number of the technological changes
:21:35. > :21:37.in the industries and we are viewing that is an opportunity,
:21:38. > :21:40.not as a threat. There will be some things we do
:21:41. > :21:44.on our own to be able to satisfy those customer needs
:21:45. > :21:47.that technology enables. And other times we will
:21:48. > :21:50.partner with others. That's the reason we set up a big
:21:51. > :21:53.research and innovation centre in Palo Alto,
:21:54. > :21:55.because we want to collaborate with and participate
:21:56. > :21:59.in that environment. Do you think Apple want to build
:22:00. > :22:01.their own car? I read what everyone
:22:02. > :22:05.else reads in the paper. Our working assumption
:22:06. > :22:09.is that they are, and that again provides us the right motivation
:22:10. > :22:12.to make sure we stay very focused, not only on the product,
:22:13. > :22:19.but overall on the experienced not only on the product,
:22:20. > :22:21.but overall on the experience the customer has interacting
:22:22. > :22:23.with the product and services Could you imagine building
:22:24. > :22:26.a car with Google? Contract manufacturing is not
:22:27. > :22:28.something that appeals Other aspects, as we work
:22:29. > :22:34.with others, who knows? But that aspect of being a contract
:22:35. > :22:49.manufacturer is not something that Does that appeal to you? A
:22:50. > :22:53.driverless car? It's that whole debate about their always being in
:22:54. > :22:57.element of risk driving a car. What if you are late and want to go a
:22:58. > :23:02.different way? I contact with another driver is so important,
:23:03. > :23:06.because you can assess whether they will let you pull out. You can't do
:23:07. > :23:13.that with driverless cars. You are already stressed about it! Lawrence
:23:14. > :23:18.is back with us to talk us through the papers now. Normally we would
:23:19. > :23:23.look at the tablet but we have not charged the battery. It's not
:23:24. > :23:29.working, and it's not my fault today! We can talk about the
:23:30. > :23:33.stories. We will start with the story on the pay ratio between
:23:34. > :23:37.bosses and employees. It will be the hot topic of the year. We saw it
:23:38. > :23:44.kicked off in a big way with the BP AGM. It's fascinating. We are in
:23:45. > :23:47.this period where big insurance companies and pension funds in the
:23:48. > :23:53.UK are beginning to protest against the level of executive pay. We had
:23:54. > :23:59.BP last week. We are expecting to see Shires, the pharmaceutical
:24:00. > :24:02.company, this week. This story from the Guardian is talking about the
:24:03. > :24:06.suggestion from legal and general that there should be a direct link
:24:07. > :24:11.between the pay of the average worker, which in the UK is ?27,500,
:24:12. > :24:17.and the Chief Executive 's various companies. We have talked about
:24:18. > :24:22.shareholder activism before, and Barclays was subject to it before
:24:23. > :24:26.last year. We talked about the power shareholders could wield, but in the
:24:27. > :24:29.past when it has got to the crunch moment, they have not followed
:24:30. > :24:38.through. Is it any different this year? I think your cynicism is
:24:39. > :24:45.correct. Even legal and general talk about inverting in 93 cases. But
:24:46. > :24:50.even when you do vote, as we saw with the BP case, it can be
:24:51. > :24:58.overturned, even when the vote went one way. It remains to be seen. A
:24:59. > :25:05.lot of the executives of big Footsie companies are very well paid. One
:25:06. > :25:08.viewer says executives are paid too much, but they also decide their own
:25:09. > :25:14.wages. It's like wardens having the keys to the prison. It's not
:25:15. > :25:21.strictly true. There are remuneration facilities. Tackling
:25:22. > :25:24.climate change is a good news for the economy. Mark Carney talked
:25:25. > :25:28.about this last week, and he talked about the stimulus it could give to
:25:29. > :25:35.the global economy by increasing productivity. We heard about the
:25:36. > :25:38.effects of pollution. The governor of the Bank of England. We always
:25:39. > :25:44.think of Beijing when we see images like that. They have seen people
:25:45. > :25:49.choosing to leave or not post their international staff there because of
:25:50. > :25:53.the problem. It is one of the major cities in China, and it's having a
:25:54. > :25:59.huge effect on the population and the health in China and other
:26:00. > :26:01.countries. Thank you, Lawrence. We will rely on the trusty papers from
:26:02. > :26:02.now on.