:00:00. > :00:08.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.
:00:09. > :00:11.Strapped for cash - one of the world's biggest oil
:00:12. > :00:14.producers, Saudi Arabia, woos banks ahead of its plan
:00:15. > :00:16.to issue its first ever international bond.
:00:17. > :00:32.Live from London, that's our focus today, Monday June the 6th.
:00:33. > :00:37.With the price of oil hovering at around half
:00:38. > :00:40.the levels seen last year, Saudi Arabia gets the ball
:00:41. > :00:43.rolling on its plans to sell government bonds.
:00:44. > :00:49.Is there an appetite and what does it mean for the region?
:00:50. > :00:53.Also in the programme: Will trade talks between the world's economic
:00:54. > :00:56.superpowers China and the US be overshadowed by mounting tensions
:00:57. > :01:03.And a brand new trading week is under way.
:01:04. > :01:07.Europe has managed to shrug off the negative tone set in Asia.
:01:08. > :01:12.We will talk you through what's moving markets and why.
:01:13. > :01:19.We meet the women who set up their own theatre production
:01:20. > :01:23.company despite limited funding and tough competition.
:01:24. > :01:27.And as one Canadian boss says he takes every Friday off as a day
:01:28. > :01:30.to think we want to know would you ditch the 9-5 to work
:01:31. > :01:35.Or would that mean you actually never switch off and
:01:36. > :01:48.Let us know, use the hashtag BBC Biz Live.
:01:49. > :02:03.Working 9-5 is the stuff of dreams in 24 hour news. Send us your
:02:04. > :02:14.Saudi officials are meeting with global banks in Riyadh later
:02:15. > :02:17.today as the oil producer moves forward with plans to issue
:02:18. > :02:22.The country has been badly hit by low oil prices which generate
:02:23. > :02:24.more than two-thirds of its revenues.
:02:25. > :02:27.So to plug the gap the country could sell up to $15-billion worth
:02:28. > :02:30.of US-denominated debt in the next few months.
:02:31. > :02:33.It follows a $10-billion government loan agreed
:02:34. > :02:39.Taking a look at this graph from the beginning of the year
:02:40. > :02:41.the price of Brent Crude has dramatically improved.
:02:42. > :02:45.It's now trading at close to $50 a barrel, an increase of almost 70%
:02:46. > :03:04.Even though oil prices are now at seven-month highs, they're
:03:05. > :03:07.still a fraction of the prices seen in the middle of 2014.
:03:08. > :03:13.It's thought Saudi Arabia needs to have the price at about $100
:03:14. > :03:16.Jane Kinninmont is a senior research fellow and deputy head
:03:17. > :03:21.of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House.
:03:22. > :03:30.Sally said it was a drop in the ocean. This is the starting point
:03:31. > :03:36.for Saudi Arabia when it comes to doing this. Why does it need to do
:03:37. > :03:38.this and wide do it now? Saudi Arabia's main source of revenue has
:03:39. > :03:44.plummeted over the past couple of years and it is not easy for the
:03:45. > :03:46.country to radically cut spending because most of
:03:47. > :03:52.it is such spending and public sector salaries for a population
:03:53. > :03:57.that is accustomed to a high level of spending from the state. They are
:03:58. > :04:02.cutting back on projects, but it is difficult to cut back on salaries
:04:03. > :04:09.and public service projects. There is $100 billion deficit this year
:04:10. > :04:10.and this will plug 15% of that. They are trying
:04:11. > :04:15.to lay out their stall before Ramadan which begins today, so not
:04:16. > :04:17.much will get done this month, so off the back of that there will
:04:18. > :04:31.be an Again it is still a drop in the
:04:32. > :04:35.ocean, but it also suggests there will be a lot of competition between
:04:36. > :04:36.these countries, the likes of man and Bahrain are
:04:37. > :04:50.it be more popular? Cutout and Abu Dhabi are probably the best places
:04:51. > :04:55.to borrow and a few months ago you had to pay a lot less than in Saudi
:04:56. > :04:55.Arabia for a bank loan. But Saudi Arabia
:04:56. > :05:04.has a much larger population and diversify economy. The population is
:05:05. > :05:09.a double edged sword economically because it costs a lot of money, but
:05:10. > :05:12.it has more potential to be an ongoing post-oil market
:05:13. > :05:17.compared to countries that have over a billion citizens.
:05:18. > :05:23.How attractive is this debt from Saudi Arabia? If you compare it to
:05:24. > :05:25.elsewhere around the world, is it somewhere people would
:05:26. > :05:32.want to put their money? All the major ratings agencies have cut
:05:33. > :05:37.Saudi's ratings, so it is seen as being on a par with Japan which is
:05:38. > :05:38.one of the world's most heavily indebted countries and Saudi Arabia
:05:39. > :05:44.the least. But the great uncertainty of risk is the
:05:45. > :05:49.dependency on oil and investors will be thinking about the dramatic
:05:50. > :05:54.vision that Saudi has announced to diversify, but they are in early
:05:55. > :05:54.stages and the implementation is not yet certain.
:05:55. > :06:02.A lot will depend on the oil market and on the premium Saudi Arabia is
:06:03. > :06:04.willing to pay. We will be watching that really closely and we will be
:06:05. > :06:08.speaking again about that. He might run the world's biggest
:06:09. > :06:11.social networking site, but not even Mark Zuckerberg
:06:12. > :06:13.is immune to being hacked. The Facebook founder's accounts
:06:14. > :06:15.on sites including Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest
:06:16. > :06:18.appear to have been briefly A hacker group called Ourmine,
:06:19. > :06:33.which has more than 40,000 Twitter Swiss voters have rejected
:06:34. > :06:37.a proposal to introduce a guaranteed Final results showed that nearly
:06:38. > :06:42.77% oppose the plan, The proposal had called
:06:43. > :06:45.for adults to be paid a monthly income, regardless
:06:46. > :06:48.of whether they are working or not. The suggested monthly income
:06:49. > :06:50.would have be at around 2,500 US More than 40% of the UK's oil
:06:51. > :06:59.and gas firms say they're plan to cut costs in the wake
:07:00. > :07:01.of the industry downturn. Of the 141 companies surveyed,
:07:02. > :07:03.51% made redundancies In Scotland - where the North Sea
:07:04. > :07:08.is a big employer, 57% of companies said they had been severely or badly
:07:09. > :07:12.affected by the slump in oil prices. Across the UK as a whole,
:07:13. > :07:15.firms said that for every one job created last year,
:07:16. > :07:31.six had been lost. We would love to show you the tablet
:07:32. > :07:34.right now, but it is having a Monday morning feeling.
:07:35. > :07:40.It is not charged. It is not playing. But lots of stories on the
:07:41. > :07:48.business life paid, all the stories we do not have time to get across
:07:49. > :07:53.like German industrial orders and the demand for them is falling.
:07:54. > :07:59.Trust us, it is there even though we cannot show it to you.
:08:00. > :08:02.The US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has called on China to cut excess
:08:03. > :08:05.capacity in steel and aluminium - warning that overcapacity was having
:08:06. > :08:07.a "distorting and damaging effect on global markets".
:08:08. > :08:10.He's also called on the country to be more transparent
:08:11. > :08:14.in its communications about monetary policy.
:08:15. > :08:17.It comes as a US-China summit opens in Beijing today to discuss
:08:18. > :08:32.We have touched on some of the headlines, but there is a lot to
:08:33. > :08:36.talk about. Indeed, a very busy day for them. They are not allowed to
:08:37. > :08:42.have the Monday blues that your tablet is having. This is one of the
:08:43. > :08:48.most significant and high profile bilateral talks between the two
:08:49. > :08:52.countries, but remember this is the last one under President Obama and
:08:53. > :08:57.many experts were saying that no one wants to be too aggressive. It will
:08:58. > :09:02.be rather understated, but the Americans get in with a very topical
:09:03. > :09:08.subject of the steel industry and China being accused of flooding the
:09:09. > :09:13.market with cheap products. China is accused of manipulating its currency
:09:14. > :09:19.to gain competitiveness in exports, which is a topical issue in the US
:09:20. > :09:25.presidential election. Thank you so much, good to see you. We will keep
:09:26. > :09:28.across how that discussion goes on between the US Treasury Secretary
:09:29. > :09:37.and authorities in China. We will keep you right up to date. Japan is
:09:38. > :09:45.down by 0.4%. In Hong Kong it is the opposite story. The Asian reaction
:09:46. > :09:49.today to the US non-farm payroll numbers, which were much worse than
:09:50. > :09:55.expected and spooked investors in terms of their thinking about what
:09:56. > :10:01.the federal bag will do next. All eyes will be on Janet Yellen and
:10:02. > :10:08.later today. The pound is really wobbly today, down significantly
:10:09. > :10:13.versus the dollar and other major currencies. That is on the fear that
:10:14. > :10:20.perhaps we may vote to leave the European Union. For now investors
:10:21. > :10:24.are very nervous about that. The mining stocks, the FTSE 100, we are
:10:25. > :10:28.right across the board hire in Europe. First, let's have a look at
:10:29. > :10:34.Samira Hussain has the details about what's ahead on Wall Street Today.
:10:35. > :10:41.Janet Yellen may give investors lose to thinking about the economy. This
:10:42. > :10:46.will be the last time she speaks publicly head of the next meeting of
:10:47. > :10:50.the US Federal reserve in June. According to the minutes from the
:10:51. > :10:56.last meeting, as long as the economy continues to show signs of strength,
:10:57. > :10:59.June rate hike was on the table, but that was before the latest report in
:11:00. > :11:03.which the US economy created only which the US economy created only
:11:04. > :11:09.38,000 jobs for the entire month of May. It was the worst jobs growth in
:11:10. > :11:12.six years and has led many to believe that the Federal reserve
:11:13. > :11:17.will not raise interest rates in June.
:11:18. > :11:20.Joining us is Trevor Greetham, head of multi-asset
:11:21. > :11:26.at Royal London Asset Management joins us again.
:11:27. > :11:34.As we touched on, it is all about the Federal reserve today and Janet
:11:35. > :11:38.Yellen speaks a bit later. It is interesting because everybody is
:11:39. > :11:43.looking to what she says to give us an indication about rates in the
:11:44. > :11:50.world's largest economy and it is important. Yes, the jobs rate rise
:11:51. > :11:54.on Friday was a shocker. It is a notoriously volatile report month to
:11:55. > :11:59.month and she may decide to take it is one piece of data, but generally
:12:00. > :12:02.the economy has been recovering and it is time we started raising
:12:03. > :12:09.interest rates a bit more. They have only raised interest rates once in
:12:10. > :12:14.most people's investment careers. We are talking about a quarter of a
:12:15. > :12:19.percent. It is a real mindset shift and that is the issue. Many people
:12:20. > :12:24.have not seen a rate rise at all and that concept of going up is
:12:25. > :12:29.important. It is important. People say when they start to raise rates
:12:30. > :12:32.it will burst bubble, but when they did it in December, the markets
:12:33. > :12:37.wobbled a bit and they are back where they are now. From Janet
:12:38. > :12:43.Yellen's point of view, the interest rates are stuck close to zero and
:12:44. > :12:46.the unemployment rates are very low level and 5% and if they do not
:12:47. > :12:53.start now, they will have to do it later. June is looking likely in
:12:54. > :13:00.this report. The meeting in June is on the 15th and the referendum here
:13:01. > :13:04.is on the 23rd. The pound is very weak today, which is good news if
:13:05. > :13:11.you are an exporter in the UK, but bad news for other reasons. If you
:13:12. > :13:15.are an exporter in the UK and we leave the EU, you are in deep
:13:16. > :13:21.trouble and there is massive uncertainty about what the rules are
:13:22. > :13:26.and your trading partners will draw support from that, but there is a
:13:27. > :13:31.lot at stake here. We think the remain vote will win, that is where
:13:32. > :13:38.the bookies are. A few polls said the opposite. It it is really close
:13:39. > :13:42.and we are focusing on the positive and we think it will be better for
:13:43. > :13:47.the overall size of the economy, a bigger market to trade in and we
:13:48. > :13:52.think that will result in a stronger pound and ultimately higher interest
:13:53. > :13:56.rates in the UK, but nothing to fear, a better economy. We will
:13:57. > :14:03.speak again about this. Trevor will be returning. We will be talking
:14:04. > :14:07.about whether you work 9-5. One Canadian boss takes Friday off as a
:14:08. > :14:09.day to think. A great idea. Thursday is the new
:14:10. > :14:16.We meet the composer and the ballet dancer who teamed up
:14:17. > :14:18.to create their own theatre production company, amid limited
:14:19. > :14:30.You're with Business Live from BBC News.
:14:31. > :14:33.Last year a BBC investigation found that working practices
:14:34. > :14:35.at Sports Direct were so tough, that ambulances were called
:14:36. > :14:38.to its warehouse and premises 76 times in just two years.
:14:39. > :14:42.Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley originally said he wouldn t attend
:14:43. > :14:50.Over the weekend, he agreed to appear before MPs.
:14:51. > :14:58.Lucy Burton has been following the story.
:14:59. > :15:03.So Lucy, why the change of heart? Well, Mike Ashley has been
:15:04. > :15:09.prevaricating for months, hasn't he? On Friday at the end of last week,
:15:10. > :15:12.it looked like he wasn't going to appear in front of the MPs, he said
:15:13. > :15:15.his lawyer wasn't available and neither would he be. Over the
:15:16. > :15:19.weekend there was a change of heart, he wrote to the head of the
:15:20. > :15:23.committee and said, "I will be available. I've got nothing to hide.
:15:24. > :15:27.Qrts he feels like he is able to defend some of the allegations that
:15:28. > :15:30.you mentioned at the beginning of the section, but also, there was a
:15:31. > :15:34.suggestion that he could have been physically dragged in front of the
:15:35. > :15:38.committee by the Serjeant at Arms at Parliament. Now, that would have
:15:39. > :15:42.been on live TV. It would have been pretty embarrassing, it is unlikely
:15:43. > :15:46.that would have happened, but a legal lengthy battle could have
:15:47. > :15:49.ensued, he probably decided it is just easier to go in there and
:15:50. > :15:55.defend my actions. Lucy, the challenge, of course, is determining
:15:56. > :15:58.what he is accused of doing and whether MPs can get anymore evidence
:15:59. > :16:02.to back that up. Talk us through the allegations? There is a number of
:16:03. > :16:07.allegations that were uncovered by the BBC and the Guardian newspaper.
:16:08. > :16:11.They looked at things like zero-hours contracts. A suggestion
:16:12. > :16:16.that employees were harassed over the tannoy at workment they are
:16:17. > :16:21.saying there was a rather Draconian six strikes and you're out system if
:16:22. > :16:25.you were an agency worker. Those ambulance claims as well. What the
:16:26. > :16:29.MPs will be trying to find out is whether the investigation that Mike
:16:30. > :16:33.Ashley has launched into this has worked and how far it has got. Thank
:16:34. > :16:38.you very much, Lucy for filling us in on that story. As ever, there is
:16:39. > :16:42.a lot more online about that. It is a story, that we have been following
:16:43. > :16:50.closely at the BBC with an investigation. You can see Mike
:16:51. > :16:54.Ashley there. Read more detail. Analysis too from our business
:16:55. > :16:58.correspondent, Joe Lynam, talking about the U-turn from Mr Ashley over
:16:59. > :17:02.the weekend. Check it out on the website.
:17:03. > :17:07.Our top story: Saudi Arabia is moving forward with plans to borrow
:17:08. > :17:12.money from the international money markets for the first time ever.
:17:13. > :17:16.The government hopes to raise about $15 billion through the sale
:17:17. > :17:19.of government debt which it will then invest to help move
:17:20. > :17:25.the economy away from its over reliance on oil.
:17:26. > :17:30.Starting a business will always be tough,
:17:31. > :17:33.but it can be particularly hard in creative industries
:17:34. > :17:41.where funding is limited and competition is fierce.
:17:42. > :17:43.Composer Ella Spira and producer Pietra Mello-Pittman set-up
:17:44. > :17:46.the theatre company, Sisters Grimm, seven years ago
:17:47. > :17:49.after a background in classical music and at the Royal Ballet
:17:50. > :17:56.Their biggest production has been the Zulu ballet Inala
:17:57. > :17:59.which performed to sold out crowds and the music was nominated for
:18:00. > :18:04.It brought in almost $3 million, but despite the show's success
:18:05. > :18:06.the pair find getting support for new productions
:18:07. > :18:21.They are both with us now in the studio. Thank you for coming in to
:18:22. > :18:24.be with us on Business Live. Ella, you're the composer and you're, you
:18:25. > :18:28.were, well you still, are you still a ballet dancer? No, I left the
:18:29. > :18:33.royal ballet last year and I am a full-time producer. So teaming up to
:18:34. > :18:41.start Sisters Grimm, how did you two meet? How did it begin? We met
:18:42. > :18:46.because she was looking for someone to write some music. I was cord owe
:18:47. > :18:50.graphing a piece and didn't like the music I had. I gave to Ella as a
:18:51. > :18:55.reference score and she composed something ten times better. We
:18:56. > :19:00.fund-raised and recorded the score at Abbey Road and that was the first
:19:01. > :19:04.time we collaborated together. You make it sound so easy. One gave
:19:05. > :19:09.something to someone else and it came out beautifully. There must be
:19:10. > :19:13.an element you have a specialism in specific areas, how do you make that
:19:14. > :19:18.gel? We got on particularly well because we actually have matching
:19:19. > :19:22.skill sets in being very organised, wanting to do things to the highest
:19:23. > :19:27.standard, not cutting any corners and I think being leaders and
:19:28. > :19:31.wanting to inspire people to want to work with us and believing in the
:19:32. > :19:34.projects we want to do together. You both love spread sheets, is that
:19:35. > :19:37.right? LAUGHTER
:19:38. > :19:43.It is the key to success. Just to explain though when it comes to the
:19:44. > :19:49.business skill, I mean, you know, we think in our heads composer, ballet
:19:50. > :19:54.dancer, fantastic, incredible, aristic skills and when it comes to
:19:55. > :20:00.running a business what about those skills? We never studied business.
:20:01. > :20:03.It is something that was in us. We're entrepreneurial in our
:20:04. > :20:07.creative concepts and the way we approached fund-raising. Yeah, it is
:20:08. > :20:11.something we have always had. What was your biggest learning curve?
:20:12. > :20:16.What's the biggest surprise of doing business? It is one thing to have
:20:17. > :20:19.the creative flair and go out and meet people, raise money and get
:20:20. > :20:24.shows on stage and deal with that? I think managing the fun raising side
:20:25. > :20:28.of it is probably, in a sense, the biggest challenge because we know,
:20:29. > :20:33.it is instinctive in us to know what to do with that money and how to
:20:34. > :20:37.make it go as far as we can make it go. We managed to do a lot with very
:20:38. > :20:42.small budgets, but it is, knowing how to deal with, you know, in the
:20:43. > :20:45.time of austerity really, how to put things together in a creative way
:20:46. > :20:50.because we came out of really that thing of a lot of cuts to the arts
:20:51. > :20:54.funding. So we had to be creative about how we put our models
:20:55. > :20:59.together. And also how you deal with each of those things because there
:21:00. > :21:04.is not a one-size-fits-all. With this over here, this is the process,
:21:05. > :21:09.with this over here, this is, not everything is totally plaque and
:21:10. > :21:15.white, a lot of it is feeling things out. You're both very young. You are
:21:16. > :21:21.both female. Has that held you back do you think or caused hindrances
:21:22. > :21:25.and also in terms of future funding, it has got to be exhausting having
:21:26. > :21:28.to sort of constantly push for that funding you need for those
:21:29. > :21:33.production you desperately want to put on? I think we have felt some
:21:34. > :21:38.challenges in being two ambitious female leaders. But we're driven and
:21:39. > :21:44.we keep on pushing through and we don't give up and we have achieved
:21:45. > :21:50.great things. There is definitely a challenge in looking at how you make
:21:51. > :21:55.something more sustainable. And it is always looking at OK, how can we
:21:56. > :22:02.maximise this skill that we have? What can we do with this? What can
:22:03. > :22:08.we do to build the things we want to do whilst bringing in some other
:22:09. > :22:10.income streams and how can we put the funding together for different
:22:11. > :22:16.things. There has been challenges because of being women, but you make
:22:17. > :22:21.the most of it. On that note, I could talk, we could talk all day.
:22:22. > :22:30.The time is against us. Thank you. Thank you for coming in.
:22:31. > :22:36.Flying is one of the safest forms of transport -
:22:37. > :22:39.But recent accidents have focused our attention on how we can
:22:40. > :22:43.Among those is the risk of cyber attack.
:22:44. > :22:45.The computer systems of airliners being hacked and controlled
:22:46. > :22:50.Our correspondent Theo Leggett caught up with cyber-security
:22:51. > :22:55.expert, Matthew Finn whether it's a growing threat.
:22:56. > :22:58.The worst that could happen is that someone could get control
:22:59. > :23:00.of the aircraft or potentially of the landing lights,
:23:01. > :23:13.Where we have been focusing attention for the last 40
:23:14. > :23:16.or 50 years has been about worrying about weapons getting
:23:17. > :23:18.on board the aircraft, now the thinking is moving
:23:19. > :23:21.into a space where we think about what could happen
:23:22. > :23:25.None of this has actually happened yet, so how seriously our defence
:23:26. > :23:40.Well, there have been some eventuated and possibilities
:23:41. > :23:42.happening, such as that in Kiev Airport.
:23:43. > :23:46.Even if it doesn't happen as yet, it is important to take a look
:23:47. > :24:02.at how cyber security could present a risk to the aviation industry.
:24:03. > :24:14.That was Matthew Finn speaking to Theo Leggett earlier.
:24:15. > :24:16.Trevor Greetham, head of multi-asset at Royal London Asset
:24:17. > :24:22.The Chief Executive that's taken a Friday off. If you have a flexible
:24:23. > :24:27.schedule, great news because you can do more things, is there a danger
:24:28. > :24:34.you end up working more? I'm not going to do 9am to 5pm, but 10am to
:24:35. > :24:38.6pm and you end up working more? There is a danger of that and I can
:24:39. > :24:44.speak from experience. I don't work Fridays. I have the same arrangement
:24:45. > :24:49.as the CEO here. On Fridays I'm looking after my three boys aged
:24:50. > :24:52.three, nine and 11. That's a different full-on day. I'm
:24:53. > :24:55.responsible for my team and I'm having to check messages and the
:24:56. > :24:58.four days I am in the office, are flat-out and there is no hanging
:24:59. > :25:03.around at the water cooler talking about television! You're really
:25:04. > :25:08.focussed on getting things done and it is a good way of getting things
:25:09. > :25:12.done and I recommend it. Most Chief Executives we meet. We talk to a lot
:25:13. > :25:16.of them on this show and a lot of programmes on the BBC are constantly
:25:17. > :25:21.working. They are across everything. It is quite unusual for one of them
:25:22. > :25:25.to say right, I'm going to take time out on a Friday. It is interesting
:25:26. > :25:29.to think how those work for him feel about that? It is interesting, isn't
:25:30. > :25:37.it? There is a picture of this guy mountain biking. We should mention
:25:38. > :25:43.who is he is? He is Chief Executive of O 2 EU brands. I get one hour at
:25:44. > :25:47.gym which is the me time for me on a Friday. It is more about balancing
:25:48. > :25:50.family life and work life and things happen on Friday in the business
:25:51. > :25:54.world which you have to be aware of, I think from my point of view, I
:25:55. > :26:01.could work four days a week more efficiently than five. One we should
:26:02. > :26:03.take on board. Trevor. We don't work on this programme on a Friday. There
:26:04. > :26:09.is a reason. Bye-bye.