:00:00. > :00:07.This is Business Live from BBC News with Victoria Fritz
:00:08. > :00:09.The future of the Hinkley Point nuclear power
:00:10. > :00:12.plant is up in the air after the British
:00:13. > :00:15.Government unexpectedly put the decision on hold.
:00:16. > :00:17.It's a big shock, not least to all those companies
:00:18. > :00:20.who were expecting a boost from the $24 billion project.
:00:21. > :00:22.Live from London, that's our top story
:00:23. > :00:47.It's going to cost tens of billions of dollars and take
:00:48. > :00:50.almost a decade to build, that is if it goes ahead at all.
:00:51. > :00:52.So is Hinkley point, the UK's first Nuclear power plant
:00:53. > :01:01.We'll be live at the site - where work is already underway
:01:02. > :01:04.on the project which the government is yet to sign off on.
:01:05. > :01:07.The man responsible for delivering billons of parcels to our
:01:08. > :01:10.door just added a few billion to his net worth.
:01:11. > :01:13.Jeff Bezos, the man behind Amazon, has just become the world's third
:01:14. > :01:15.richest man after his company announced a bumper set of results.
:01:16. > :01:17.And Asian shares slip after touching a one
:01:18. > :01:24.And Japanese stocks tumbled and the yen strengthened as the Bank
:01:25. > :01:33.of Japan's fresh stimulus measures disappointed markets.
:01:34. > :01:36.And we'll be getting the inside track on what Brexit
:01:37. > :01:38.means for one of the biggest airline groups in Europe.
:01:39. > :01:41.Later in the show, we'll be speaking to the boss of IAG -
:01:42. > :01:45.that's the company that owns British Airways.
:01:46. > :01:48.Following the UK Government's shock decision NOT to sign off just yet
:01:49. > :01:51.on the building of that $24 billion nuclear power project
:01:52. > :01:53.we want to hear your best stories of getting cold feet?
:01:54. > :02:18.It was a big shcok and those companies involved with
:02:19. > :02:21.the Hinkley Point C Project in Europe are waking up this morning
:02:22. > :02:24.scratching their heads and wondering what the delay is all about.
:02:25. > :02:26.Less than 24 hours ago, the British Nuclear Association,
:02:27. > :02:29.and umbrella group for the companies involved, said it was delighted that
:02:30. > :02:32.EDF the French company building the plant, had decided to go ahead -
:02:33. > :02:38.only for the Governemnt to pull back only a few hours later.
:02:39. > :02:41.This is a hugely controversial project - not least because of some
:02:42. > :02:48.The cost of the power plant is likely to be
:02:49. > :02:52.around ?18 billion - close to $24 billion.
:02:53. > :02:56.Due to the vast cost, Chinese investors, via the CGN
:02:57. > :02:59.group, have agreed to pay for one-third of the project -
:03:00. > :03:03.The power plant would provide around 3,200
:03:04. > :03:06.megawatts of power - about 7% of the UK's total
:03:07. > :03:12.So what does that mean in every day terms?
:03:13. > :03:15.Our producers have been doing the maths and it's enough
:03:16. > :03:20.to make 85.3 million cups of tea at once.
:03:21. > :03:22.Or alternatively it's enough to keep all the lights
:03:23. > :03:27.on at the same time in 48.5 million houses.
:03:28. > :03:29.Oh, and if you've got a smartphone that needs charging,
:03:30. > :03:31.good news, because this power station can charge 640
:03:32. > :03:39.While the French and the Chinese are expecting to pay
:03:40. > :03:41.for the project, they have previously been promised something
:03:42. > :03:46.in return - a guaranteed price for the electricity it produces.
:03:47. > :03:50.The UK Government agreed to pay them a price of ?92.50 or $121 dollars 68
:03:51. > :03:52.cents per megawatt hour of electricity - more than twice
:03:53. > :04:05.Ben Thompson is down at Hinkley Point where the new plant
:04:06. > :04:18.Good to see you. Apparently late yesterday a VIP party tent was
:04:19. > :04:27.erected there, where they were going to do the signing and the VIPs are
:04:28. > :04:33.not there. What is change heart, is it Brexit or just a new government?
:04:34. > :04:38.It is funny, welcome to Hinkley Point. You can see the work well
:04:39. > :04:42.under way and you might be surprised the diggers are moving, although the
:04:43. > :04:46.plans are on hold. They're doing the ground work and preparing this vast
:04:47. > :04:52.site for the plant that they still hope will get the go ahead. To show
:04:53. > :04:57.you where we are, this will be the third nuclear plant on this site.
:04:58. > :05:02.The blue ones in the background are Hinkley Point A, that is closed and
:05:03. > :05:06.decommissioned. The one on the right is Hinkley Point B. That is fully
:05:07. > :05:10.operational, but will be decommissioned in 2023. So they have
:05:11. > :05:14.to come up with an alternative and that was going to be Hinkley Point
:05:15. > :05:18.C. But a spanner thrown in the works, the Government in the UK said
:05:19. > :05:22.it will reconsider that plan and make a final decision in the autumn.
:05:23. > :05:30.Why? Well I think the main reason will be down to the cost. Building
:05:31. > :05:35.this site will cost ?18 billion. The big question over whether it could
:05:36. > :05:40.get higher. Some estimates say 37 billion. So a significant amount and
:05:41. > :05:45.how much the Government has promised to say EDF for that money. It is
:05:46. > :05:48.double what the wholesale price is and the fears are that us as
:05:49. > :05:56.consumers could end up picking up the bill. So much more controversy,
:05:57. > :06:00.the rate a big issue, the current rate they were going to sign up for
:06:01. > :06:05.35 years was the twice, more than twice the rate that you pay for the
:06:06. > :06:12.same electricity now. But the fact that the Chinese were going to own a
:06:13. > :06:18.third. And worries about is the UK giving away energy security to the
:06:19. > :06:25.French and to the Chinese. Yes, look, we talk about this a lot on
:06:26. > :06:30.the programme, international business and getting ex-per seize --
:06:31. > :06:36.expertise from wherever. The Chinese would fund a third of the cost and
:06:37. > :06:43.EDF would pick up the rest. From a business point of view the risk is
:06:44. > :06:47.on them. The government signing a 35 year deal and guaranteeing the
:06:48. > :06:52.price. But the price on energy can fluctuate wildly. At the moment it
:06:53. > :06:55.is half what it was. I have been speaking to the nuclear industry
:06:56. > :07:01.association and they have said over the past five years it has been
:07:02. > :07:06.higher and lower. It is a gamble and it is taking an education guess on
:07:07. > :07:10.the way the price will go. Some suggest by the time the plant comes
:07:11. > :07:15.on line it could be more and it may mean we have a bargain. If it is
:07:16. > :07:19.lower we may feel we are out-of-pocket and paying more to
:07:20. > :07:24.compensate for that. It is a calculated gamble. But they're
:07:25. > :07:28.looking at where the expertise is coming from. There is a concern
:07:29. > :07:32.about the technology. There are two similar plants like this one that
:07:33. > :07:38.would be built here. One in Finland and one in France. The one in France
:07:39. > :07:42.is way over schedule and costing about 7 billion euros more than it
:07:43. > :07:47.should have done. But they say we know the technology works and we
:07:48. > :07:53.have a consortium ready to build it and we hope we can build it. EDF
:07:54. > :07:59.signed off on it last night. It is now down the British Government to
:08:00. > :08:05.decide in the autumn. Thank you. Gosh, you can talk, can't you. I
:08:06. > :08:09.thought I could talk. I'm joking! He is done. Thankfully they cut the
:08:10. > :08:12.sound! Amazon shares are set
:08:13. > :08:14.to open at a record high, after strong earnings
:08:15. > :08:16.from the online retail giant. Second quarter revenue
:08:17. > :08:18.was up 31% on last year Amazon stock is up about
:08:19. > :08:24.50% since February - that means founder Jeff Bezos has
:08:25. > :08:28.now overtaken Warren Buffett to become the world's third richest
:08:29. > :08:42.man, according to Forbes magazine. The company behind Google has
:08:43. > :08:45.continued to see its earnings boosted by advertising on mobile
:08:46. > :08:48.devices, like its rival Facebook. Alphabet says revenue
:08:49. > :08:49.in the April-to-June The results put to rest lingering
:08:50. > :08:54.concerns about how the rise of mobile might impact Google,
:08:55. > :08:56.which has a strong mobile presence with its Android
:08:57. > :08:58.smartphone operating system, but has long relied on desktop
:08:59. > :09:24.search traffic to power its profits. Switzerland's biggest bank has
:09:25. > :09:30.posted a big drop this profit. Net profit doped to 14.5%. The firm has
:09:31. > :09:37.been hit by weak performance in its wealth management and investment
:09:38. > :09:40.banking. Clients were also spooked about Brexit.
:09:41. > :09:43.Japan has been throwing money at its economy -
:09:44. > :09:53.Following its two day meeting, the country's central bank announced
:09:54. > :10:00.stimulus which fell way short of investors expectations.
:10:01. > :10:06.And it held interest rates at minus 0.15.
:10:07. > :10:08.The yen jumped 2.5%, and Japanese shares fell
:10:09. > :10:12.Karishma Vaswani is in Singapore and has been
:10:13. > :10:25.These measures weren't audacious enough for investors.
:10:26. > :10:32.The experts say they need structural reforms? Yes you're right. It
:10:33. > :10:36.wouldn't be remiss of me to say that the Prime Minister can do with that
:10:37. > :10:41.kind of advice now from you. Perhaps that is the next trip you should
:10:42. > :10:49.take to tell him that. The Prime Minister has talked about structural
:10:50. > :10:52.reforms as part of big plan and monetary policy, structural economic
:10:53. > :10:58.reforms were part of agenda. Today, we were expecting to see from the
:10:59. > :11:01.central bank governor a major similar Lues announcement. --
:11:02. > :11:08.stimulus announcement. That didn't happen. Instead he tweaked policy
:11:09. > :11:13.slightly. He disappointed the market and investors and in fact he didn't
:11:14. > :11:17.push interest rates further below zero, as many expected. So there is
:11:18. > :11:21.a great sense of anxiety about the current economic situation in Japan,
:11:22. > :11:28.whether any of this is going to help. Thank you. And the markets.
:11:29. > :11:30.Japan's Nikkei has spent the session swinging
:11:31. > :11:32.between gains and losses right, after the announcement that the Bank
:11:33. > :11:35.of Japan maintained its base money target at 80 trillion yen -
:11:36. > :11:40.as well as the pace of purchases of other assets.
:11:41. > :11:44.There's a mixed picture opening up across Europe.
:11:45. > :11:46.Markets here are awaiting the release of the stress
:11:47. > :11:55.test results on European banks on Friday night.
:11:56. > :11:57.Michelle Fleury has the details about what's ahead
:11:58. > :12:07.The US commerce department releases second quarter growth figures. That
:12:08. > :12:11.could be significant in the election. Both campaigns have talked
:12:12. > :12:14.about what the two US presidential hopefuls would do for the economy.
:12:15. > :12:22.This report will offer a clearer picture of the state it is in. The
:12:23. > :12:26.pace of growth is expected to have picked up with increased consumer
:12:27. > :12:33.spending. There are still corporate reports for investors to sift
:12:34. > :12:38.through from oil joints to drug makers and UPS. Their accounts will
:12:39. > :12:40.not just shed light on how America is doing, but how the global economy
:12:41. > :12:49.looks. Good on you, Michelle. Sorry. Joining us is David Buik,
:12:50. > :12:59.Market analyst, Panmure Gordon. You want to talk about UBS. Good
:13:00. > :13:05.morning, interesting comments, the results were so bad, but very
:13:06. > :13:10.bearish comments from the Swiss bank, they're worried about the
:13:11. > :13:14.Swiss franc and about client risk aversion and that sort of thing. But
:13:15. > :13:24.they're after the Italian bank. What is going on? I think the boss is a
:13:25. > :13:29.shrewd character. He is basically an investment banker, he has had a
:13:30. > :13:31.terrible job since they lost 56 billion dollars during that crash
:13:32. > :13:35.eight years ago. He has been changing the emphasis of the bank
:13:36. > :13:40.away from general banking to wealth management and it takes time. What
:13:41. > :13:47.he is still very good at it doing deals. And I don't think necessarily
:13:48. > :13:55.that UBS will want to invest in the Italian bank. But what I do think is
:13:56. > :13:58.he probably submitting a good package of who might invest and on
:13:59. > :14:06.what terms. I think that is exciting. Because this 46 hole in
:14:07. > :14:09.the banking sector that Italy has got has to be found somewhere. We
:14:10. > :14:15.will talk about that later when we go through the papers. Shrewd or
:14:16. > :14:21.crude? I think shrewd. I get called crude. She is shrewd. Shares on that
:14:22. > :14:23.the Italian bank rose about 6%. Very strongly on the news that we might
:14:24. > :14:27.get some rescue deal for that bank. Still to come -
:14:28. > :14:29.we hear from the boss of International Airlines Group,
:14:30. > :14:31.Willie Walsh, about the impact of Brexit, and what he makes
:14:32. > :14:40.of drinking in airports. You're with Business
:14:41. > :14:47.Live from BBC News. Pre-tax profits at Barclays have
:14:48. > :14:49.tumbled 21% to just a shade over 2 billion in the first half
:14:50. > :14:53.of the year. And with the increased risk
:14:54. > :14:55.of recession with lower growth, higher unemployment and falling UK
:14:56. > :14:59.house prices, the bank is warning that Britain's decision
:15:00. > :15:01.to quit the European Union could have a detrimental
:15:02. > :15:03.effect on the Bank. Are the results as bad
:15:04. > :15:06.as they look? Rob Young is in our
:15:07. > :15:21.Business Newsroom. Take us through them that. This
:15:22. > :15:26.essentially is a story of two banks, the core part of Barclays, personal
:15:27. > :15:32.banking business, that have done all right in the first six months of the
:15:33. > :15:35.year. But non-core banking, things like French retail banking for
:15:36. > :15:39.example, bits of the business they are trying to flog off, they have
:15:40. > :15:43.not done so well. That is why we've seen this fall in pre-tax profits in
:15:44. > :15:51.the first six months of this year. Barclays has also had to set aside
:15:52. > :15:55.millions of pounds bra old friend PPI. The scandal continues to hit
:15:56. > :15:59.the banks. What we did not get from Barclays today is the kind of
:16:00. > :16:01.language we got from Lloyd's yesterday on the impact of Britain's
:16:02. > :16:15.decision heard about them cutting jobs, but
:16:16. > :16:21.they did say Brexit could hit the economy and hit them. Another
:16:22. > :16:26.company reporting its results today, Foxtons, a South East property
:16:27. > :16:31.-based company, 42% fall in profits. Is that the Brexit effect? Very much
:16:32. > :16:35.so. The company has been clear Britain's decision to leave the EU
:16:36. > :16:39.and the uncertainty caused in the lead up to the referendum has hit
:16:40. > :16:43.their profits. They said in the first three months of this year,
:16:44. > :16:47.ahead of a new buy to let stamp duty charge being introduced, property
:16:48. > :16:54.charges in London were surging. But once that got out of the way, there
:16:55. > :16:57.was a sharp decline in the number of houses being bought and sold in the
:16:58. > :17:00.capital. They say that is likely to last for the rest of the year. When
:17:01. > :17:04.you talk to anybody in the property game or experts, they say the
:17:05. > :17:07.watchword here is uncertainty, that nobody has a clue what will happen
:17:08. > :17:13.in the property market in the next few months. To be honest, they never
:17:14. > :17:19.do! We would be far richer, wouldn't we? We would. The pharmacies in
:17:20. > :17:21.Sainsbury's supermarkets could soon be wearing the Lloyds logo, not
:17:22. > :17:23.Lloyds bank, Lloyds pharmacy. You're watching Business
:17:24. > :17:25.Live - our top story: The UK government has
:17:26. > :17:27.delayed its decision on the new Hinkley Point
:17:28. > :17:31.power plant until autumn. This despite French Energy
:17:32. > :17:32.company EDF approving A quick look at how
:17:33. > :17:50.markets are faring. European markets, some pretty mixed
:17:51. > :17:54.earnings out today from lots of the big companies. I want to point you
:17:55. > :18:01.towards the world's biggest brewer. It said today there were fairly
:18:02. > :18:05.disappointing volumes in some of its key markets, places like the US.
:18:06. > :18:09.Places that Mexico has seen strong growth, but in Brazil it is falling
:18:10. > :18:16.a lot because of a fall in disposable income. That is one of
:18:17. > :18:21.the big things. It says the SAB-Miller is going to go ahead.
:18:22. > :18:25.You just had all of that stuff floating around your head. That's
:18:26. > :18:28.because she likes a drink by the way!
:18:29. > :18:30.British Airways owner IAG has reported a weaker than expected
:18:31. > :18:33.operating profit of 555 million euros - or $615 million -
:18:34. > :18:44.The firm says it is operating in what it has described as
:18:45. > :18:50.You spoke to IAG CEO Willie Walsh just after the results came out
:18:51. > :18:53.and asked him about the current headwinds IAG - and the airline
:18:54. > :19:07.I said, running a European airline at this timeous be like facing a
:19:08. > :19:11.perfect storm. It is an interesting time and challenging time for us.
:19:12. > :19:15.One of the biggest impacts, as you will see from the results are
:19:16. > :19:19.announced today, is the affects of the referendum vote, which has
:19:20. > :19:24.significantly weakened the pound against the euro and the dollar.
:19:25. > :19:29.That has had a very noticeable impact on our second-quarter
:19:30. > :19:32.results. 148 million euros negative, I had never seen that sort of
:19:33. > :19:36.impact. When you lay on top of that all the issues you mentioned, yes,
:19:37. > :19:40.it is a challenging environment. But I think we are performing very well,
:19:41. > :19:43.we have managed these challenges as well as can be expected and are
:19:44. > :19:48.confident about the performance of the business going forward. Very
:19:49. > :19:53.briefly, for the uninitiated out there, you talk about the drop in
:19:54. > :19:58.the pound, it has lost about 10% of its value to the dollar. As you say,
:19:59. > :20:03.that has an impact because airlines, you have to buy fuel in dollars and
:20:04. > :20:08.aeroplanes in dollars? That is right and it has an additional impact on
:20:09. > :20:15.us. Because we report accounts in Europe but we have significant
:20:16. > :20:19.sterling profits space, when we take that profit in Stirling and
:20:20. > :20:23.translate into your rose it is at a much lower exchange rate. That has a
:20:24. > :20:27.reduction in the reported profitability in Europe. We have a
:20:28. > :20:32.lot of dollar costs, principally fuel costs. When we see a weak pound
:20:33. > :20:37.and euro against the dollar, those costs increase for us. A big impact
:20:38. > :20:41.as a result of the weakness of the pound, but also some weakness of the
:20:42. > :20:48.euro against the dollar. How far and how deep can you keep cost-cutting?
:20:49. > :20:54.Correct me if I'm wrong, across the group you have a load factor. That
:20:55. > :21:00.is bottoms on seats, about 72%, and a lot of new big birds coming into
:21:01. > :21:05.the fleet that need to be filled up. How long can you keep going with the
:21:06. > :21:09.cost-cutting programmes? It is a 80%, so we have done quite a good
:21:10. > :21:14.bit of work to improve the number of people flying with us. There is
:21:15. > :21:19.always opportunity to address the cost base, particularly through new
:21:20. > :21:22.technology. As we seek technological advances we can see opportunities to
:21:23. > :21:26.adjust our cost base. That's what we doing. Looking to see if we can
:21:27. > :21:29.become more efficient, looking for smart things other things are doing,
:21:30. > :21:33.looking at other industries to see if we can capitalise on some of the
:21:34. > :21:37.changes they have made. I am confident we can adjust our cost
:21:38. > :21:42.base. We can't always adjust it as fast as we'd like, so when we get
:21:43. > :21:46.these short-term shocks it difficult for us to offset the impact on
:21:47. > :21:50.revenue with a reduction in costs. But over time, we are an industry
:21:51. > :21:55.that has shown remarkable resilience and a fantastic ability to be able
:21:56. > :21:59.to adjust. In December last year you were quoted as saying, to the
:22:00. > :22:03.British government, stop dithering about this decision for a third
:22:04. > :22:08.runway at London's Heathrow Airport, which is fall to the brim. You said
:22:09. > :22:13.stop dithering, otherwise I will take British Airways elsewhere. This
:22:14. > :22:19.has Brexit or possibly the changing government, does that ramp up the
:22:20. > :22:23.move towards a third runway? I would like to think the government will
:22:24. > :22:26.address this. Theresa May has demonstrated very clear
:22:27. > :22:29.determination as Prime Minister. I determination as Prime Minister. I
:22:30. > :22:33.think we are looking at a different style of government in the UK at the
:22:34. > :22:36.moment, one that is more decisive and probably one a bit braver than
:22:37. > :22:40.the previous government. I should say, I didn't say take British are
:22:41. > :22:44.those elsewhere but that we would look at growing our business
:22:45. > :22:48.elsewhere. We have the opportunity to grow elsewhere and that is what
:22:49. > :22:54.we're doing. We are growing Aer Lingus about 10% per annum where
:22:55. > :22:57.British Airways is growing about 2.5%. We see growth opportunities
:22:58. > :23:02.out there, but it will principally be outside the UK, unless we see
:23:03. > :23:06.critical issues of infrastructure is being addressed. There is news
:23:07. > :23:10.around today in some of the newspaper suggesting UK ministers
:23:11. > :23:14.are calling for restrictions on the amount of booze being sold in
:23:15. > :23:20.departure lounge areas, to stop at Al prevent passengers being unruly
:23:21. > :23:27.in the air. What is your take on that? Would you support it? It is an
:23:28. > :23:29.issue, we can't deny we have seen issues of unruly passengers
:23:30. > :23:33.increase, not as much with our airlines as others have reported. I
:23:34. > :23:39.think it is an issue. It is sensible to look at it, but I think the issue
:23:40. > :23:45.needs to be examined carefully. The vast majority of 99.9% of passengers
:23:46. > :23:57.actually enjoy themselves, don't go overboard. This is a very, very
:23:58. > :24:00.small minority. While it has increased, I think we need to be
:24:01. > :24:02.sensible about how we deal with these issues. Talking to the big
:24:03. > :24:05.boss Willie Walsh a little earlier. A creek about... I asked people
:24:06. > :24:10.about cold feet on something. John Murphy said he spent ?1000 on a tent
:24:11. > :24:15.for a camping holiday only to give up that idea and book a holiday
:24:16. > :24:23.home. Chickened out of camping! Terrible expense. Let's talk to
:24:24. > :24:27.David, back to discuss some of the papers. This story in the Telegraph,
:24:28. > :24:32.this is about the IMF and a scathing report that came out yesterday,
:24:33. > :24:36.saying staff were misled by their own board, made a series of real
:24:37. > :24:39.misjudgements about Greece and became euphoric cheerleaders for the
:24:40. > :24:43.euro project, when perhaps they could have done with a bit of
:24:44. > :24:50.distance? I think the remit of the IMF is
:24:51. > :24:56.ridiculously large. If the IMF help struggling countries, emerging
:24:57. > :24:59.nations, they do a fabulous job, but when they start thinking they are
:25:00. > :25:04.the international political springboard, you are bound to get a
:25:05. > :25:09.trip on a banana skin. This is what I think has happened. The trumpeting
:25:10. > :25:13.of the euro was ill thought out by a lot of people, because it was or is
:25:14. > :25:17.going to be a very decent currency within the framework of the European
:25:18. > :25:22.Union. But as I said before, I went to Tokyo and I said it has two
:25:23. > :25:28.syllables, otherwise people can't spell it. Of no value whatsoever
:25:29. > :25:32.over there. Reverting an Greece, that was pretty disgraceful, because
:25:33. > :25:36.they signed off on that bailout package in 2011 and they were far
:25:37. > :25:39.from convinced it was really what the doctor ordered and basically we
:25:40. > :25:44.should have let Greece go and be done with it. And they would now
:25:45. > :25:49.probably be a very happy nation, with lots of production, in terms of
:25:50. > :25:54.the value of the drachma. Ten seconds on Amazon, what do you
:25:55. > :26:00.think? I think he is a top bloke, 15 years of no profit and you are
:26:01. > :26:04.making $30 billion. Fantastic. I don't know why I am clapping!
:26:05. > :26:07.Thank you. Plenty more business news available on the website, have a