:00:00. > :00:23.Live from London, that's our top story on Thursday 23rd June.
:00:24. > :00:28.There has been a string of protests over recent weeks in Paris, this is
:00:29. > :00:35.the last time they went on the march. But is a radical shake up
:00:36. > :00:41.long overdue or is this railroading workers' writes?
:00:42. > :00:43.Also in the programme: It's decision day in the UK.
:00:44. > :00:46.The polls are open in the country's historic vote on its membership
:00:47. > :00:50.The first results are expected overnight tonight - around 4am.
:00:51. > :00:58.And here's how markets are looking as trade gets underway in Europe.
:00:59. > :01:02.As you can see, markets across the region are higher, we will talk you
:01:03. > :01:05.through the winners and losers. And we'll be talking to a man
:01:06. > :01:08.who has a rubbish solution for reducing poverty,
:01:09. > :01:16.improving the environment and making money, cashing
:01:17. > :01:19.in on plastic waste. And are pay rises a thing
:01:20. > :01:21.of the past? New figures show firms are looking
:01:22. > :01:24.for other ways to motivate So we want to know -
:01:25. > :01:27.when's the last time Let us know, just use
:01:28. > :01:42.the hashtag #BBCBizLive. We start in Paris, where trade
:01:43. > :01:49.unions are about to lead tens of thousands of people
:01:50. > :01:57.in a march against proposed changes Figures in the last hour suggest
:01:58. > :02:01.businesses need all the help they can get with activity once again
:02:02. > :02:08.slowing across the country. A preliminary reading of a monthly
:02:09. > :02:14.purchasing index fell to 49.4 from just above 50 in May. To explain
:02:15. > :02:21.what they mean, any number below 50 is a construction -- contraction
:02:22. > :02:24.where one above 50 shows great. So what is being proposed in the Labour
:02:25. > :02:34.laws -- labour laws? France will keep its famous 35-hour
:02:35. > :02:36.working week, but only Firms will be able to negotiate
:02:37. > :02:40.with local trade unions on more or fewer hours from week to week,
:02:41. > :02:43.up to a maximum of 46 hours. The changes will also make it
:02:44. > :02:46.easier to lay off workers. It's hoped companies will take
:02:47. > :02:49.on more people if they know they can Employers will also be given more
:02:50. > :02:53.leeway to negotiate holidays and maternity leave -
:02:54. > :03:11.which is currently heavily Proof that reform is needed, we have
:03:12. > :03:15.mentioned those acres, the unemployment rate in France above
:03:16. > :03:28.10%, more than doubled the UK and Germany.
:03:29. > :03:31.Tomasz Michalski, Associate Professor of Economics at the HEC
:03:32. > :03:34.Business School in Paris, joins me now.
:03:35. > :03:42.This is the latest round of strikes protesting these labour laws, will
:03:43. > :03:49.they achieve anything they have not done in previous strikes? I doubt
:03:50. > :03:52.pushing forward its agenda. They pushing forward its agenda. They
:03:53. > :03:58.don't have to get a boat in the parliament, they can force it with
:03:59. > :04:03.the threat of dissolution of parliament and it seems that the
:04:04. > :04:07.Government is keen on passing this law. There is a political logic to
:04:08. > :04:12.it. When we talk about political logic, forgive me if we are talking
:04:13. > :04:16.about this from the outside looking in, it seems that up until now the
:04:17. > :04:20.labour unions have had things quite good, there have been protections
:04:21. > :04:24.for workers that do not exist elsewhere in the world, is this
:04:25. > :04:28.simply a harmonisation, bringing front into line with international
:04:29. > :04:33.standards or is the government proposing things that front objects
:04:34. > :04:37.to because they are not the same elsewhere? Basically France is the
:04:38. > :04:42.last largest economy in the euro zone that has not reformed its
:04:43. > :04:48.antiquated labour laws, so this would be bringing it more towards
:04:49. > :04:53.where we are in Germany, Italy, Spain, but even falling short of
:04:54. > :04:59.that. We are really talking about cosmetic changes, very small changes
:05:00. > :05:10.to the labour code and even this cannot pass peacefully, Wright would
:05:11. > :05:15.wish a much larger overhaul than I believe would be drastically changed
:05:16. > :05:20.to prepare it for the 21st-century. How much have the current labour
:05:21. > :05:26.laws contributed to the economic problems in France? There are
:05:27. > :05:33.several things, for example the inflexibility in hiring and firing,
:05:34. > :05:36.the high cost of firing, the economic uncertainty about, for
:05:37. > :05:42.example, classification of firing because workers can seek
:05:43. > :05:46.compensation for unlawful dismissal. The last one I mentioned will be
:05:47. > :05:51.countered by this law, that there are lots of other things that are
:05:52. > :05:54.totally untouched, especially because this is a socialist
:05:55. > :06:00.Government and does not want to anger the base even more. Even then,
:06:01. > :06:06.we see that it cannot pass in the current political environment, which
:06:07. > :06:11.is really surprising not only for outsiders but also for people who
:06:12. > :06:16.live here. OK, it is good to talk to you, thank you for explaining that.
:06:17. > :06:19.We will keep a close eye on events in Paris as those strikes and
:06:20. > :06:21.protests continue, more on that later.
:06:22. > :06:26.Polls have opened in an historic referendum on the UK's membership
:06:27. > :06:29.of the European Union - whether it should stay or leave.
:06:30. > :06:32.46.5 million people are entitled to take part in the vote -
:06:33. > :06:39.It is only the third nationwide referendum in UK history and follows
:06:40. > :06:41.a four-month battle for votes between the Leave
:06:42. > :06:49.South Korean car-maker Kia has topped a US quality survey.
:06:50. > :06:52.It's the first time in 27 years a non-luxury brand has taken
:06:53. > :07:00.The survey questioned over 80,000 drivers who'd bought a new car
:07:01. > :07:02.this year about problems during their first 90
:07:03. > :07:11.Kia came first - pushing last year's winner Porsche into second place.
:07:12. > :07:16.The Smart car, owned by Daimler, came bottom.
:07:17. > :07:21.The US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump will reopen his
:07:22. > :07:22.$200-million Scottish golf resort on Friday.
:07:23. > :07:25.Police and security teams in Ayrshire are preparing for protests
:07:26. > :07:32.More than half-a-million people have signed an online petition calling
:07:33. > :07:35.for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK.
:07:36. > :07:42.A quick look at the Business Live page for you.
:07:43. > :07:46.I was just going to say I could think of lots of things to say about
:07:47. > :07:49.that story but I will be good! We need to explain today that because
:07:50. > :07:54.of reporting restrictions, as the polls are open in the UK, we have to
:07:55. > :07:58.be careful as to what we say as a broadcaster about the referendum.
:07:59. > :08:03.You might be wondering about that, there will be no referendum talk on
:08:04. > :08:06.the live page of the programme. A welcome relief, this time tomorrow
:08:07. > :08:10.it will all change! So let's build you up to date with
:08:11. > :08:14.the other news that is appearing today, with the lack of referendum
:08:15. > :08:24.news. I want to talk about this story about Viacom, the media giant,
:08:25. > :08:30.there has been an announcement that the directors can stay in place, it
:08:31. > :08:32.is related to the mental competence of the 93-year-old controlling
:08:33. > :08:35.shareholder, so that is worth watching because there has been a
:08:36. > :08:40.big boardroom tussle between those directors about who is in charge and
:08:41. > :08:43.clearly it controls a lot of advertising revenue and spend in the
:08:44. > :08:48.media markets, so one worth watching.
:08:49. > :08:53.A row is brewing between two superpowers - China and the US -
:08:54. > :09:02.Robin Brant is in Shanghai following this for us.
:09:03. > :09:11.What is China alleging? The government in Beijing says that
:09:12. > :09:16.the steel market is in a state of overprotection, the latest in a row
:09:17. > :09:20.between Washington, DC and Beijing that has also taken in Japan, India
:09:21. > :09:25.and the European Union, other sizeable steel producers. It is
:09:26. > :09:29.about peace slump in demand for steel and how countries are dealing
:09:30. > :09:33.with it. Yesterday the international Trade Commission ruled that it
:09:34. > :09:36.believed China's steel producers were damaging those in the United
:09:37. > :09:41.States which clears the way possibly for the imposition by the Government
:09:42. > :09:47.in Washington, DC sizeable import duties on Chinese steel, possibly
:09:48. > :09:51.over 500%, essentially meant to prevent Chinese steel producers from
:09:52. > :09:56.dumping, as America sees it, their access steel in the United States.
:09:57. > :10:03.As I said, China heading back saying it believes the US market has been
:10:04. > :10:06.overprotected. What is interesting in this is China is going through
:10:07. > :10:11.significant attempts to reform the supplies died, state-owned
:10:12. > :10:17.emphasised -- state owned Enterprises, it is looking to cut by
:10:18. > :10:21.15%, 150 million tonnes, it's steel production in this country over the
:10:22. > :10:26.next five years but in recent months, despite hearing politicians
:10:27. > :10:30.talking about closing 60 steel mills, there has been an uptick in
:10:31. > :10:35.steel production in China so there is suspicion abroad about China's
:10:36. > :10:38.commitment to reduce the amount of steel it produces and the amount
:10:39. > :10:42.that goes abroad. There is quite a bit of suspicion
:10:43. > :10:47.depending on which country you are looking at. Thank you, good to see
:10:48. > :10:53.you. Let's look at the markets. It has been a fairly positive day in
:10:54. > :11:00.Asia and in Europe. One of the big winners for the McKay is Sharp,
:11:01. > :11:10.rumours it will come up with some new restructuring plans. -- one of
:11:11. > :11:13.the big winners for the Nikkei. On the mind of everyone in the
:11:14. > :11:18.financial market is the UK referendum, we have mentioned the
:11:19. > :11:21.polls are open, the France the data this morning was pretty dire but it
:11:22. > :11:25.has not hit trade in Paris, which is up almost 1%, but manufacturing and
:11:26. > :11:32.the service sector contracting. Samira Hussain has the details about
:11:33. > :11:40.what's ahead on Wall Street today. Some economic data today will likely
:11:41. > :11:44.show Americans are buying fewer new homes. New-home sales are expected
:11:45. > :11:48.to show they have fallen by 8% in the month of May, a pretty
:11:49. > :11:53.significant decline from the month of April when we saw that sales
:11:54. > :12:01.jumped more than 16%. That was the highest level since January 2000
:12:02. > :12:02.eight. Also, remember BlackBerry, the
:12:03. > :12:09.once ubiquitous smartphone? It is reporting earnings on Thursday, the
:12:10. > :12:14.company's expansion into software has so far not been able to stop its
:12:15. > :12:15.sharp decline in overall revenue, so BlackBerry has said
:12:16. > :12:22.that its top goal is to make its device is profitable and it has
:12:23. > :12:29.given itself a deadline of March next year to do so.
:12:30. > :12:33.Samir are keeping us up to date with events in Wall Street. James Bevan
:12:34. > :12:36.has joined us to talk through what is happening in Europe, Sally looked
:12:37. > :12:42.at the numbers earlier. Some optimism despite the French PMI
:12:43. > :12:46.figures suggesting that services and manufacturing are not doing well?
:12:47. > :12:50.The manufacturing numbers were expected to be poor, this is a
:12:51. > :12:55.global issue which we have heard with China and the US, oversupply,
:12:56. > :12:59.deflation, it is hard to be optimistic about manufacturing
:13:00. > :13:03.numbers. The service numbers were a shock, people were not expecting to
:13:04. > :13:08.be given news that services are heading for a downturn. It is
:13:09. > :13:15.interesting, Samir mentioned above in the United States, the Federal
:13:16. > :13:19.Reserve stress test for the big banks, will that be looked at, or,
:13:20. > :13:24.given the event in the UK today, will it be a question of burying the
:13:25. > :13:28.bad news? I don't think we will expect bad news from the States,
:13:29. > :13:31.what happened after the global financial crisis was the troubled
:13:32. > :13:35.assets programme which cleared out the stables and made the US banks
:13:36. > :13:38.solvent and respectable. There is a bigger question over the banks in
:13:39. > :13:46.Europe, particularly peripheral Europe, where the asset management
:13:47. > :13:51.community has not been doing enough to face those risks. In the US they
:13:52. > :13:54.have been hard on the banks but the results mean those banks are in a
:13:55. > :13:58.stronger position perhaps? Absolutely, they were early to the
:13:59. > :14:03.table with real measures to sort out the challenge and I think they will
:14:04. > :14:07.be going great guns. We have not had the great downturn in the old price
:14:08. > :14:12.which meant well-run companies like Wells Fargo had to come to the table
:14:13. > :14:16.and say, sorry, we have dodgy loans to the oil industry and may not be
:14:17. > :14:21.making the profits we expected. Interesting, there is a lot going on
:14:22. > :14:25.today, a busy one! James, thank you for now. Still to
:14:26. > :14:29.come, we will speak to a man who has set up a business turning plastic
:14:30. > :14:32.waste into money whilst also giving an income to some of the world's
:14:33. > :14:36.poorest communities. More on that in just a few minutes.
:14:37. > :14:41.You are with Business Live from BBC News.
:14:42. > :14:48.First let's talk about Tesco. It's the biggest retailer in Britain, it
:14:49. > :14:54.had a rough ride. It posted its worst loss in its history in 2014,
:14:55. > :15:01.six 4p. Plagued by an accounting scandal since then. There were
:15:02. > :15:05.sounds of a turnaround. And a new boss, David Lewis. Sales are growing
:15:06. > :15:09.again, it has reported two quarters in a row of sales growth, the first
:15:10. > :15:19.time they've been able to do that in five years. Explain this for us.
:15:20. > :15:25.We're getting excited, two consecutive quarters. There was a
:15:26. > :15:33.time Tesco could do no wrong, never mind two consecutive quarters.
:15:34. > :15:36.Clearly, the UK business has found it incredibly difficult over the
:15:37. > :15:40.last two years, much greater competition from the other
:15:41. > :15:47.supermarket as well as Aldi and little. And big structural and
:15:48. > :15:53.financial issues. -- Lidl. Lots of disposals and restructuring.
:15:54. > :15:58.Disposed of around nine different businesses since Philip Clark left.
:15:59. > :16:02.A lot of the focus and attention and money is being reinvested into the
:16:03. > :16:04.offer for UK supermarket shoppers. They are beginning to vote with
:16:05. > :16:12.their feet and return to Tesco. To what extent can David Luiz take
:16:13. > :16:17.the glory? E was new on the scene and shortly after his arrival the
:16:18. > :16:23.accounting scandal emerged. Tough for him from the beginning. Lots of
:16:24. > :16:32.it was external to Tesco, Aldi and Lidl's. If focused attention on to
:16:33. > :16:37.the UK business, big investment getting stuff back onto the staff
:16:38. > :16:40.floor. Service level has improved, availability has improved, and
:16:41. > :16:45.customer satisfaction has increased as a result. He can take credit for
:16:46. > :16:49.some of it. The time he took over, couldn't have got much worse. Brian
:16:50. > :16:53.Roberts talking us through the Tesco numbers.
:16:54. > :17:08.If you need more on the BBC website, it is to flog off Harris and tool,
:17:09. > :17:13.which will go to cafe Nero. Acquired at the height of the expansion plans
:17:14. > :17:19.for Tesco, but things now looking very different for the retailer. Our
:17:20. > :17:24.top story today, French business activity unexpectedly slowed in June
:17:25. > :17:28.for the first time in four months as waves of strikes get underway again
:17:29. > :17:35.in Paris. Protesting against changes to labour laws. They make it easier
:17:36. > :17:38.to hire and fire staff amongst other things, protesters marching through
:17:39. > :17:43.Paris in the latest series of demonstrations against those
:17:44. > :17:48.changes. We'll watch very closely. Is there money to be made from
:17:49. > :17:52.rubbish? Any recycling plant and refuse business will tell you there
:17:53. > :17:58.is, big money. What if the money is made from the rubbish itself? Stay
:17:59. > :18:03.with us, we'll explain. David Katz is the founder of the plastic bag, a
:18:04. > :18:06.social enterprise alleviating extreme property by making money
:18:07. > :18:12.from plastic waste. There's plenty around, 8 million metric tonnes of
:18:13. > :18:17.plastic waste it is thought enter the oceans every year. It encourages
:18:18. > :18:21.residents of poor communities to collect plastic that litters
:18:22. > :18:25.beaches, they can turn it into currency. They trade in the material
:18:26. > :18:30.at the cycling centres and can receive various things I could cook
:18:31. > :18:36.in oil, or get firms charged. To make money, the start-up recycles
:18:37. > :18:40.the plastic and sells it to bigger businesses, generating revenue that,
:18:41. > :18:46.of course, also means it's helping the environment. David Katz, founder
:18:47. > :18:51.of the plastic bag, is with us. Thank you, good morning. We've
:18:52. > :18:56.touched on how it works, explain where in the world this operates.
:18:57. > :18:59.Plastic in oceans affect a lot of places, talk us through the biggest
:19:00. > :19:09.areas when it comes to the bank. The plastic bag is in Haiti, the poorest
:19:10. > :19:13.country in the Western Hemisphere. We have a chain of recycling markets
:19:14. > :19:17.there and continue to build to encourage the collection. If you've
:19:18. > :19:20.ever been in a place with extreme poverty you see there happens to be
:19:21. > :19:25.an abundance of waste as well. In those countries where they don't and
:19:26. > :19:29.can't afford a solid waste infrastructure, that's what we
:19:30. > :19:33.provide. Operating in Haiti in earnest, I understand Brazil... It
:19:34. > :19:41.is next on the list, urban implement a share, working in Sao Paulo. Low
:19:42. > :19:47.recycling rates in Brazil, certainly an environmental concern there. And
:19:48. > :19:51.the Philippines. The Philippines and Indonesia after that, 500 million
:19:52. > :19:59.people between those countries. Some of the most plastic that is entering
:20:00. > :20:02.the ocean is contributed by them. This is about getting local
:20:03. > :20:08.communities to improve their community to make a bit of money on
:20:09. > :20:12.the side, who buys the end product? We provide social cause, give
:20:13. > :20:15.organisations and opportunity to exhibit a true social responsibility
:20:16. > :20:20.through action. Many people want to implement some process to donate
:20:21. > :20:25.money but this gives them a chance to connect with the consumer and use
:20:26. > :20:28.a plastic material that has helped people transcend poverty. It's a
:20:29. > :20:32.great opportunity, gathering everybody together. They get
:20:33. > :20:35.together, their customer gets together, let's say it's a shampoo
:20:36. > :20:41.bottle, when you take a bottle off the shelf, you are helping somebody
:20:42. > :20:46.in poverty. Why did you decide to do this? Excellent question, I've grown
:20:47. > :20:51.up at the edge of the ocean, it's where I'm from, I've seen it just in
:20:52. > :20:56.our lifetime. Plastic is our generation. We've just seen it
:20:57. > :21:03.continue to pollute the bellies of birds. Many watching will say, great
:21:04. > :21:05.idea, but where do you begin? Many are passionate about the problem is,
:21:06. > :21:14.how do you start? Excellent question. It's the... How do you eat
:21:15. > :21:19.and elephant? One bite at a time. I was overwhelmed when I had the idea
:21:20. > :21:24.to change the world, alleviate the pressure of plastic flowing into the
:21:25. > :21:29.ocean. It came in the idea we needed to reveal the value in the plastic
:21:30. > :21:33.waste. If you come across a bar of gold on the ground you have no way
:21:34. > :21:38.to use it as currency, do you pick it up? No, you don't. It's what we
:21:39. > :21:42.do with plastic, we provide the opportunity for it to be monetised.
:21:43. > :21:44.I wish we could talk more, best of luck with the project, sounds really
:21:45. > :21:55.interesting. We have to move on, as is always the
:21:56. > :21:59.case. Never enough time. We are going to show the viewers this
:22:00. > :22:04.amazing landing, aren't we? The solar panel plane. No, we're going
:22:05. > :22:08.to show them the amazing clip we talked about, how to get in touch
:22:09. > :22:12.with us on the programme. We'll show you the solar powered plane in
:22:13. > :22:16.another time. The business live pages where you can stay ahead of
:22:17. > :22:20.all of the breaking business News, we'll keep you up-to-date with the
:22:21. > :22:24.latest details with insight and analysis from the BBC's team of
:22:25. > :22:26.editors around the world. We want to hear from you, too, get involved on
:22:27. > :22:47.the BBC business live website. If you do want to see that claim,
:22:48. > :22:51.check out the website. It's amazing! It's about a solar powered plane
:22:52. > :22:56.that has been flying around the world. Can I say? We were waiting
:22:57. > :22:59.for that plane to land all morning and it landed during my world
:23:00. > :23:04.business report, touched down in Seville. They timed it perfectly so
:23:05. > :23:12.I could have that moment. Anyway, let's move on. Let's talk papers,
:23:13. > :23:17.lots to get through, not referendum related, which many we'll be glad to
:23:18. > :23:20.hear. I can hear you cheering. Pay rises, the question we've been
:23:21. > :23:26.asking, when is the last time you got a pay rise? Businesses say it's
:23:27. > :23:29.about the motivational factors, is it really? Certainly people need to
:23:30. > :23:32.be motivated to contribute to companies, keeping a job is for many
:23:33. > :23:38.people are challenging this day and age. Global outsourcing issues mean
:23:39. > :23:41.people who have done jobs that can be replicated elsewhere have
:23:42. > :23:47.competition the like of which they've never seen. We're at the
:23:48. > :23:53.cusp of an interesting challenge, as to how much we are global in the way
:23:54. > :23:56.we look at these issues, and what is the Federation ship between business
:23:57. > :23:59.owners and staff. We've had viewers getting involved in the
:24:00. > :24:04.conversation, thanks for getting in touch. John says he hasn't had a pay
:24:05. > :24:08.rise in four years and isn't motivated. Guerrero says non-cash
:24:09. > :24:12.rewards are good as part of a mixed at world help getting a mortgage,
:24:13. > :24:15.show me the money. That's always the issue, businesses might want to
:24:16. > :24:20.think they are caring and sharing what it comes down to what pays the
:24:21. > :24:24.bills. The cost of living for many is rising. Speaking about cost of
:24:25. > :24:28.living, this is in the Washington Post, the cost of a wedding dress.
:24:29. > :24:32.We're not going to talk about weddings. Things specifically
:24:33. > :24:36.targeted for other things are way more expensive. If you bought a
:24:37. > :24:43.normal dress it would have a certain price, put wedding on the front and
:24:44. > :24:46.it is three times more expensive. Absolutely, and recognised strategy
:24:47. > :24:51.companies have two price for very specific markets. You always pay a
:24:52. > :24:54.premium if you are seen as a soft touch. It's interesting going back
:24:55. > :25:00.to the issue of what people are paid, a large chunk of the world is
:25:01. > :25:05.in deflation. If the products you are selling have falling prices, the
:25:06. > :25:08.capacity to pay the workforce more isn't there. There is a realism test
:25:09. > :25:14.behind this. It's an interesting article. If you are organising a
:25:15. > :25:19.wedding or event, you have been advised to not classify it as a
:25:20. > :25:23.wedding until the last moment when you show up because then you get a
:25:24. > :25:28.lower price. I don't think it's entirely unfair you pay more because
:25:29. > :25:34.they fear is at weddings are not the same at corporate events. -- because
:25:35. > :25:37.behaviour at weddings is not the same as corporate events. We'll see
:25:38. > :25:42.you very soon, goodbye.