:00:00. > :00:09.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.
:00:10. > :00:15.Nigerians take to the streets in protest against government plans
:00:16. > :00:17.to raise the price of fuel by two-thirds.
:00:18. > :00:20.Live from London, that's our top story
:00:21. > :00:42.Nigerian trade unions say they'll ignore a court ruling and strike
:00:43. > :00:46.as planned after the government ups fuel prices by 67%
:00:47. > :00:49.Shares in Suzuki slump as it becomes the latest carmaker to be
:00:50. > :01:09.embroiled in the Japanese fuel testing scandal.
:01:10. > :01:16.20 restaurants, 23 swimming pools and a slide that his ten stories
:01:17. > :01:20.high, Aaron is on the list of the biggest cruise ship in the world,
:01:21. > :01:24.joins us live and he will talk to the boss of real Caribbean. Also,
:01:25. > :01:30.would you ever consider a cruise holiday? Is your idea of holiday
:01:31. > :01:43.heaven or holiday hell? Get in touch.
:01:44. > :01:49.A very unscientific office poll puts it at 50-50. Keep you comments
:01:50. > :01:53.coming in. We start today in Nigeria -
:01:54. > :01:56.where unions are expected to strike today - despite a court ruling,
:01:57. > :01:59.banning any industrial action. The protest comes a week
:02:00. > :02:01.after the government announced it would raise the price
:02:02. > :02:03.of petrol by two-thirds Politicians hope cutting fuel
:02:04. > :02:09.subsidies will help to address But why is one of the largest
:02:10. > :02:14.oil producers in Africa struggling to meet the demand
:02:15. > :02:18.of its own population? The global slump in oil prices has
:02:19. > :02:23.taken its toll on the country's economy and it means the US dollar
:02:24. > :02:26.is buying a lot more That's all too evident here -
:02:27. > :02:31.and it means Nigeria's buying power struggled to get the US dollars
:02:32. > :02:44.needed to import the REFINED fuel the Nigerian government wants
:02:45. > :02:54.to raise the price from 43 US cents With me now is Spencer Welch, an oil
:02:55. > :03:10.analyst with IHS, based in London. Another element for Nigeria is a tax
:03:11. > :03:16.on some of their key oil production areas. Talk us through what is
:03:17. > :03:21.happening. The government was subsidising the price of fuel and
:03:22. > :03:25.that was making it an economic to import fuel so there were petrol
:03:26. > :03:29.shortages, so they have removed the subsidies and that has caused prices
:03:30. > :03:35.to go up and unhappiness in the country. One of the reasons for
:03:36. > :03:38.removing the subsidy was they were struggling to pay those because of
:03:39. > :03:43.lack of revenue, that has become worse in the last month or so with
:03:44. > :03:47.militant attacks, so the production has been reduced by about 40%, a
:03:48. > :03:56.significant trap in revenue to the country. Add that the other elements
:03:57. > :03:58.and you a serious problem. It's mostly military attacks but not
:03:59. > :04:05.solely, they have been operational problems. Oil makes up 10% of
:04:06. > :04:10.Nigerian GDP, 50% of government revenue and 90% of export sales so
:04:11. > :04:19.yes, it's a serious problem for the country. It is a country which is
:04:20. > :04:22.very reliant on oil. That has been a problem that Nigeria has faced for
:04:23. > :04:25.many years, while the price was always headed higher, I guess there
:04:26. > :04:33.was not the incentive for the government to. Diversify. Nigeria
:04:34. > :04:36.are trying to diversify their economy as are other countries which
:04:37. > :04:45.are reliant on the price of oil but it takes time, that's their biggest
:04:46. > :04:50.natural resource. It is starting to increase, but it has a long way to
:04:51. > :04:56.go. In terms of the applicant what's your thinking? In terms of the
:04:57. > :04:59.strikes, it's good to take time, the government was forced to remove the
:05:00. > :05:04.subsidy, they really couldn't afford to carry on doing that, so the
:05:05. > :05:09.country needs to get used to be higher oil price. In terms of the
:05:10. > :05:17.military attacks, that is a complex situation, hard to resolve, but they
:05:18. > :05:23.need to do that. Quickly, cruise ship holiday, holiday heaven or
:05:24. > :05:27.holiday hell? Heaven. Keep your comments coming in. We will talk
:05:28. > :05:28.through them later. A bill that would allow the families
:05:29. > :05:35.of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government has passed a key hurdle
:05:36. > :05:37.in the US Senate. The bill, known as the 'Justice
:05:38. > :05:40.Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act' now moves to the House
:05:41. > :05:43.of Representatives. could cause his government
:05:44. > :05:49.to withdraw US investments. US inflation rose at its fastest
:05:50. > :05:52.pace in three years last month, The Consumer Price Index
:05:53. > :05:56.was up 0.4% last month, the biggest one-month rise
:05:57. > :05:59.since February 2013. A build-up in inflation could see
:06:00. > :06:02.the Federal Reserve raising interest Japan's economy grew
:06:03. > :06:07.by 1.7% in the first The better-than-expected growth
:06:08. > :06:16.was thanks largely to higher government spending which offset
:06:17. > :06:18.weakness in exports. Analysts are worried
:06:19. > :06:20.about the outlook for consumer spending, which is critical
:06:21. > :06:22.to Japan's economy, accounting A rare pear-shaped vivid
:06:23. > :06:29.pink diamond set a world The "Unique Pink", weighing 15.38
:06:30. > :06:35.carats and mounted on a ring, It was sold to an Asian private
:06:36. > :06:56.collector bidding by telephone. I am expecting its arrival next
:06:57. > :07:03.week! The pink Panther is interested as well. Hello Tulisa, watching us
:07:04. > :07:13.on a cruise ship, in this is Canal, she says holiday heaven. Lisa says
:07:14. > :07:15.it certainly is holiday heaven. I never say, holiday heaven if you are
:07:16. > :07:21.offering to pay. No is the answer. In Asia, Suzuki is the latest
:07:22. > :07:35.carmaker to be drawn into What more can you tell us? Over the
:07:36. > :07:38.last couple of minutes we have been seeing reports coming out of Suzuki,
:07:39. > :07:44.it appears they have raced a statement in which they have
:07:45. > :07:48.confirmed that there were improper testing methods used in some of
:07:49. > :07:53.their cars, but they have denied that they cheated when it came to
:07:54. > :07:59.mini plating the fuel economy data. What that means is that is coming
:08:00. > :08:02.against the backdrop of Japanese auto-makers being put under the
:08:03. > :08:10.spotlight, and the scrutiny after Mitsubishi motors recently admitted
:08:11. > :08:14.it had manipulated its fuel economy data, making some of its vehicles
:08:15. > :08:18.appear more efficient in terms of fuel than they actually were. As a
:08:19. > :08:22.result, the Japanese transport Ministry ordered all of the
:08:23. > :08:25.auto-makers in the country to come up with results or investigate
:08:26. > :08:34.whether or not they had been compliant with the country, with
:08:35. > :08:36.Japan's fuel economy laws. These comments are reflecting results of
:08:37. > :08:41.that investigation, I'm sure there will be more to come stop we will
:08:42. > :08:51.keep you up-to-date. You have been looking as well at the US tariffs on
:08:52. > :09:00.steel coming in from China? Yes, 522% is the amount of tariffs that
:09:01. > :09:05.they have slapped on Chinese steel. This is part of what the US has been
:09:06. > :09:09.doing over the last couple of months as the US the industry has suffered
:09:10. > :09:14.from what they say is China's dumping of steel into US markets.
:09:15. > :09:18.This is not that significant if you look at the amount of money involved
:09:19. > :09:22.with this particular ruling, only about 200 million dollars worth of
:09:23. > :09:25.Chinese steel that it affects that it is coming against the backdrop of
:09:26. > :09:31.the US elections are a hot topic this year. Thank you. A quick look
:09:32. > :09:40.at the numbers. Japan's stronger-than-expected
:09:41. > :09:42.growth data and then the U.S. In the UK,
:09:43. > :09:47.we get the latest unemployment and wages data from the UK economy
:09:48. > :09:50.hot on the heels of yesterday's weaker than expected
:09:51. > :09:52.inflation numbers. We'll talk more about that
:09:53. > :09:54.in a moment, but first let's check in on Wall Street -
:09:55. > :10:04.Michelle has the details. Curious about the red Federal
:10:05. > :10:08.reserve things? Investors will get an insight on Wednesday with the
:10:09. > :10:13.release of minutes from the April policy meeting. Last month the Fed
:10:14. > :10:17.at the door open for a hike in June. The minutes may help clarify what is
:10:18. > :10:23.driving their thinking. Wednesday is also a busy day for corporate news.
:10:24. > :10:30.So far retailers have been struggling to adapt to changing
:10:31. > :10:36.consumer habits. We will target. One area consumers seem to be spending
:10:37. > :10:40.more on is fixing up their homes and investors think this will lift
:10:41. > :10:46.first-quarter profits at a home improvement store. And all the major
:10:47. > :10:51.tech companies hold conferences, these have become huge events that
:10:52. > :10:59.routinely see major announcements. Google's three-day event will kick
:11:00. > :11:00.off. Thanks to Michelle. I believe we have people going to that Google
:11:01. > :11:02.event. Joining us now is Justin
:11:03. > :11:17.Urquhart-Stewart, he is the Director Cruise ships? I would rather not. I
:11:18. > :11:23.prefer proper sailing. When you get wet! You go on those things, you get
:11:24. > :11:28.vertigo! Less talk about financial markets. A big day for UK data, hot
:11:29. > :11:33.on the heels of yesterday's inflation data, what are we
:11:34. > :11:36.expecting? We are close to technically full employment, that
:11:37. > :11:41.doesn't mean everyone being employed but it'll probably level out, the
:11:42. > :11:44.figures would we say the same overall but maybe people claiming a
:11:45. > :11:50.bit more. We have record numbers of people being employed, really good
:11:51. > :11:53.figures. The inflation figures look low but if you look at the core
:11:54. > :11:57.figures you will see in the service sector, we do have inflation. So
:11:58. > :12:03.although interest rates won't be going up soon, Mark Carney is
:12:04. > :12:07.looking at that and saying, it is there he warned that they will be
:12:08. > :12:12.more inflation later in the year. When do you think Janet will make a
:12:13. > :12:15.next move? Looks as though there is more inflation, it as that will be
:12:16. > :12:20.brought forward and you see the reaction on the market, to come
:12:21. > :12:27.further forward. It looks like this summer. The US dollar is up but as
:12:28. > :12:32.every currency in the world, oil prices going up as well. The herd
:12:33. > :12:36.has moved in one direction. On that basis, be careful. But the line we
:12:37. > :12:40.should look at, inflation is going up, look at the price of gold, you
:12:41. > :12:44.can see where the concerns are. Those rates are going to go up
:12:45. > :12:49.sooner than later so long as the data continues to back it up. The
:12:50. > :12:51.data changed, the market changed, and she changed. We will see you in
:12:52. > :12:54.a minute. Aaron will be live
:12:55. > :13:08.on board the biggest Yes, she may look like a shopping
:13:09. > :13:12.mall in California but you are right, I am on the world's biggest
:13:13. > :13:16.cruise ship and we are about to interview the CEO and President of
:13:17. > :13:18.Royal Caribbean talk about the challenges facing this $40 billion
:13:19. > :13:21.industry will stop You're with Business
:13:22. > :13:29.Live from BBC News. Sales at fashion label Burberry
:13:30. > :13:32.are down 1% over the last year March and pre-tax profits fell
:13:33. > :13:42.?29m to ?415.6m. Chief Executive
:13:43. > :13:43.Christopher Bailey has described the trading
:13:44. > :13:49.conditions as "challenging". He'll also have his eye
:13:50. > :13:52.on the company's share price - it's down more than a third
:13:53. > :13:58.in the past 12 months. Nivindya Sharma is a Retail Analyst
:13:59. > :14:10.at Verdict Retail. just assess these figures, because
:14:11. > :14:14.there is a lot to take in. Sales down 1%, not hugely promoted on the
:14:15. > :14:18.face of it but it's the profit figure which is once again suffering
:14:19. > :14:23.because of a slowdown in China. Yes, I think the slowdown was coming, we
:14:24. > :14:29.all knew it was going to happen for burglary. There is another problem
:14:30. > :14:39.is they have had. That put the figures in context, nasty was a
:14:40. > :14:45.really good year for burglary. -- Burberry. That is where the profit
:14:46. > :14:47.figures come into play because that is where Burberry has really
:14:48. > :14:56.struggled and that is the focus they have to put on. If you look at the
:14:57. > :15:00.recent results, talking about cost efficiencies, how they will improve
:15:01. > :15:04.processes, cut costs. It is like a wake-up call for the Petar because
:15:05. > :15:13.let's face it, they are very few years of strong growth. -- a wake-up
:15:14. > :15:22.Burberry sees better times ahead. Burberry sees better times ahead.
:15:23. > :15:29.Burberry is a brand that has been exposed more to China than other
:15:30. > :15:35.brands so it has been hit quite hard. It is doing well in Japan. On
:15:36. > :15:41.mainland China, it hasn't done badly compared to Hong Kong and Macau. You
:15:42. > :15:45.have to look at where your profit is, where are your best performing
:15:46. > :15:49.stores and push the effort there. It does need to focus more in Japan and
:15:50. > :15:55.look at other areas. Our top story - tensions
:15:56. > :16:05.are running high in Nigeria. Trade unions say they'll ignore
:16:06. > :16:09.a court ruling and carry out The government plans to hike
:16:10. > :16:19.the price of fuel by two thirds in response to a shortage
:16:20. > :16:27.of petrol. The world's largest cruise ship has
:16:28. > :16:30.arrived at Southampton ahead It's nearly 1,200 ft long and cost
:16:31. > :16:37.a billion US dollars to build. It can carry 6,780
:16:38. > :16:41.guests and 2,100 crew, and took more than two-and-a-half
:16:42. > :16:46.years to construct. So who better to take it for a spin,
:16:47. > :16:58.but our very own Aaron?? Show us what is there, because
:16:59. > :17:04.frankly at the moment it looks like a shopping wall. You took the words
:17:05. > :17:08.right out of my mouth. It looks like I'm somewhere in California in May
:17:09. > :17:14.shopping wall but believe it or not I am on the world's largest shopping
:17:15. > :17:19.-- largest cruise ship. You mentioned all the passenger numbers
:17:20. > :17:22.and the cost, one and a half billion dollars, four and a half years in
:17:23. > :17:29.the making, and these ships just get bigger and bigger. 24 million people
:17:30. > :17:34.this year alone will hop on board and cruise the high seas. It is the
:17:35. > :17:39.horror -- fastest-growing industry and has been for a long time. The
:17:40. > :17:44.fastest industry within the travel sector and the fastest-growing in
:17:45. > :17:48.terms of around the world is my neck of the woods, Australia, New Zealand
:17:49. > :17:56.and the Pacific region. Let's speak to this CEO of Royal Caribbean.
:17:57. > :18:02.Mike, you are sitting on, is this a jack? Why is there a jaguar on this
:18:03. > :18:08.ship? Why not. It's what we do. We like to give people a great time.
:18:09. > :18:11.Royal Caribbean has five of the biggest ships in the world so now
:18:12. > :18:19.you have six of them with this one as well. This is a beast, in a nice
:18:20. > :18:28.way. Why do you keep going bigger and bigger? We have 25 ships in our
:18:29. > :18:32.feet in total, including six of the largest ships in the world and we
:18:33. > :18:35.were very proud to take delivery of Harmony of the Seas. We build them
:18:36. > :18:42.because people want and experience. It is packed with experiences and
:18:43. > :18:45.innovation. That is why we do it. Can I just interject there. Do
:18:46. > :18:53.people really want all this on board? You are on see -- at sea with
:18:54. > :19:00.nearly 9000 people. Do people really want that? What about a 4000
:19:01. > :19:04.capacity ship? We have 4000 capacity ships but this ship is pretty much
:19:05. > :19:09.sold out all summer and all winter and that is testimony to the fact
:19:10. > :19:16.that people want this. You spent 1,000,000 and a half... Sorry, I
:19:17. > :19:23.meant 1,000,000,000 and a half. I wish it was 1,000,000 and a half.
:19:24. > :19:31.Where Yuri that money? The life of the ship is 25 years and it is
:19:32. > :19:36.around ten to 15 years that we start to see investment returned. Correct
:19:37. > :19:40.me if I am wrong but most of your revenue comes from the Americans,
:19:41. > :19:45.doesn't it? Are you confident in the global economy that you can still do
:19:46. > :19:49.that? We had the financial crisis, the downturn, your industry got hit
:19:50. > :19:55.during that. Are you confident, looking at America, where we are not
:19:56. > :20:00.seeing double-digit growth? The US economy seems to be in good
:20:01. > :20:05.strength. The UK is a good market for us as well. Australia, China and
:20:06. > :20:10.Asia-Pacific is doing really well as well. We feel good about what we are
:20:11. > :20:14.seeing in terms of demand and certainly in the United States,
:20:15. > :20:19.demand is really strong. Let's talk about some of the challengers, shall
:20:20. > :20:22.we? The industry itself doesn't have a great track record when it comes
:20:23. > :20:26.to being environmentally friendly. I know ships are getting greener but
:20:27. > :20:30.we were looking at some of the sums and I have got them here. On an
:20:31. > :20:36.average one-week cruise of about 6000 passengers, it can generate
:20:37. > :20:40.880,000 litres of raw sewage. A lot of that is dumped at sea, isn't it?
:20:41. > :20:46.We have incredibly environmentally friendly programmes and I would say
:20:47. > :20:50.our company is a leader in this space. This ship is the most energy
:20:51. > :20:55.efficient ship in the industry and we are very proud of that. In terms
:20:56. > :21:00.of environmental management, we are really focused on stewardship and we
:21:01. > :21:04.are leaders in terms of managing waste except except. When you think
:21:05. > :21:08.about it, it's 6000 people go on vacation, wherever they go in the
:21:09. > :21:14.world, waste is created. You have to be realistic about it. The way we
:21:15. > :21:19.manage it is far superior to what you would see in other vacation
:21:20. > :21:24.destinations. I want to speak to you about improving the image. There
:21:25. > :21:28.were many within your position in the industry he said, what we
:21:29. > :21:35.haven't done is sold our message to non-cruisers well enough. That is
:21:36. > :21:38.one of the challenges. Trying to show people how incredible this
:21:39. > :21:41.vacation experience is. I've seen mentioned at the beginning of this,
:21:42. > :21:46.the growth of this industry is outstanding. That is because people
:21:47. > :21:50.have a great vacation. It is a quality experience. It is difficult
:21:51. > :21:54.to explain how incredible this experience is and that is one of the
:21:55. > :21:57.challenges in terms of our marketing, communication and word of
:21:58. > :22:00.mouth. Word of mouth is the most important way of expanding to people
:22:01. > :22:06.how incredible this is and to try it. I have got to wrap it up but can
:22:07. > :22:11.I just quickly say, he is the godmother? The godmother, by the
:22:12. > :22:18.way, is somebody who cracks a howl -- a bottle of champagne against the
:22:19. > :22:21.hull of the ship. We have not named her yet. It is a secret that we will
:22:22. > :22:27.announce it in the next three or four weeks. He is a little tip in
:22:28. > :22:34.its south. I've been doing my sums. A lot of people retire at sea, so
:22:35. > :22:42.you think about it, when we need help and care and go into a home,
:22:43. > :22:48.the thousand ?500 is how much it costs on land. -- the thousand ?500
:22:49. > :22:59.is how much it costs on land. How much would it cost on a ship? ?3000.
:23:00. > :23:04.Can you ask him, can I be the godmother? We are taking all
:23:05. > :23:10.applications and I think Sally is great, so she has a great chance.
:23:11. > :23:17.That's not what you told me before we went to her! ' guys. I am going
:23:18. > :23:21.to have plenty more throughout the rest of the day. Coming up next, we
:23:22. > :23:32.will be on Victoria Derbyshire's show. Lots of you sending in
:23:33. > :23:34.messages saying, holiday heaven if Aaron stayed on board because he's
:23:35. > :23:40.my reason to get up on Friday morning.
:23:41. > :23:50.Let's just reintroduced Justin who is back and has been in joining that
:23:51. > :23:55.with us. -- enjoying that with us. I don't want to go on a shopping
:23:56. > :23:58.centre that floats around the place. If they had specialist things, like
:23:59. > :24:10.specialist history things, I would go. Ken in Armitage says, Sally, it
:24:11. > :24:16.is cold to Newcastle without pressure, I would love to go on a
:24:17. > :24:20.cruise, but they charge single is 90% cost of two people sharing. It
:24:21. > :24:23.depends who you are as to how cost-effective it is. Many people
:24:24. > :24:29.are saying it is too expensive and they afford it. Some of the cabins
:24:30. > :24:37.are inside and don't even have a portal. Mum not my idea of fun.
:24:38. > :24:43.Let's look at the news now. HSBC saying Saudi Arabia is in stagnation
:24:44. > :24:50.and decay. It is being very out there about its views of Saudi
:24:51. > :24:52.Arabia. It is highlighting quite rightly the issue around Saudi
:24:53. > :25:00.Arabia. It is a one track -- one trick pony and only has oil. What is
:25:01. > :25:07.it going to do? It has said it will diversify within four years. As have
:25:08. > :25:13.other countries, I remember Mr Putin saying that, and it doesn't happen.
:25:14. > :25:21.When you look at Saudi Arabia, what is their USB going to be? It will be
:25:22. > :25:24.very difficult to do, particularly with such a young population. That
:25:25. > :25:34.will cause a lot of problems over the coming years, particularly in a
:25:35. > :25:39.country which has been universally subsidised over the last few years.
:25:40. > :25:48.They are used to getting free electricity, free rents, and that
:25:49. > :25:50.the mind that were difficult. Justin, as always, thank you so
:25:51. > :25:54.much. Nice to see you. That's it from
:25:55. > :25:56.Business Live today. There will be more business news
:25:57. > :25:59.throughout the day on the BBC Live webpage and on World Business
:26:00. > :26:13.Report. Good morning. What a difference a
:26:14. > :26:18.Day makes. We have got a lot of rain in the story today. That will have
:26:19. > :26:22.an effect on the temperatures as well. Some of the rain will be heavy
:26:23. > :26:23.at times as it continues to push its