:00:00. > :00:07.This is Business Live from BBC News with Aaron Heslehurst
:00:08. > :00:12.Stagnation in the world's third largest economy -
:00:13. > :00:16.but what can be done to get Japan moving again?
:00:17. > :00:35.Live from London, that's our top story.
:00:36. > :00:41.Japan's latest growth numbers are weaker than expected -
:00:42. > :00:46.the Prime Minister's economic plan is put into question once again.
:00:47. > :00:52.Middle-class binge drinkers are responsible for a 'boom'
:00:53. > :01:08.And we will show you the markets, Asia is having a nice time at the
:01:09. > :01:10.moment. Still camped in those one year highs.
:01:11. > :01:13.We'll be talking to a woman who is living proof that an abrupt
:01:14. > :01:16.switch in career can be a recipe for success.
:01:17. > :01:20.The boss of Propercorn will be here to explain how she's making
:01:21. > :01:27.Today we want to know when it's time for a snack -
:01:28. > :01:52.We will talk about the middle-class binge drinking... Sally cannot help
:01:53. > :01:54.herself! We start with Japan,
:01:55. > :01:57.where it's been another very tough quarter for the country's economy -
:01:58. > :02:01.it saw a smidgen of growth in the three months to the end
:02:02. > :02:06.of June, leading to some economists questioning the Prime Minister's
:02:07. > :02:09.aggressive economic policies Let's look at the steps
:02:10. > :02:15.the government has taken The growth figures were weaker
:02:16. > :02:26.than expected at 0.2% - most economists predicted growth
:02:27. > :02:33.would be something closer to 0.7%. The central bank has flooded
:02:34. > :02:37.the financial system Government spending has been boosted
:02:38. > :02:48.to try to stimulate growth. Earlier this month Shinzo Abe
:02:49. > :02:56.unveiled a stimulus package the government valued
:02:57. > :02:59.at $274 billion. And deflation remains
:03:00. > :03:10.a huge problem. Exports are also under pressure due
:03:11. > :03:19.to the strong yen. That is seen as a safe haven around
:03:20. > :03:25.the world so when investors worry they put money into the yen and that
:03:26. > :03:28.pushes the value up which makes Japanese manufactured stuff more
:03:29. > :03:30.expensive to buy around the world, so we buy less of it and that hits
:03:31. > :03:33.the bottom line in Japan. Jonathan Allum, strategist at SMBC
:03:34. > :03:46.Nikko Capital Markets, is with me. I feel like we have been talking
:03:47. > :03:49.about this for years. Things have not improve significantly despite
:03:50. > :03:53.the efforts of the Japanese government? That there's a fair
:03:54. > :03:57.point although we must be wary, these are preliminary GDP figures
:03:58. > :04:03.which are revised extensively, the last quarter has been revised up
:04:04. > :04:05.marginally, particularly the corporate capital expenditure number
:04:06. > :04:10.which is surprisingly negative in this and that will be revised up
:04:11. > :04:15.with the subsequent survey so we should not be definitive. The
:04:16. > :04:18.numbers are certainly below expectation and they have shown
:04:19. > :04:23.little to no growth and that is a fair point. We have been in this
:04:24. > :04:26.place for a long time, Shinzo Abe has been in power for a significant
:04:27. > :04:31.amount of time and many have argued in the past prior to his Premiership
:04:32. > :04:35.that part of the problem was the political change all the time, the
:04:36. > :04:40.leader could not push through difficult decisions and change but
:04:41. > :04:46.Abenomics has been in place for a while, in power for some time, when
:04:47. > :04:49.will we see real change? He has been in power for some time and if you
:04:50. > :04:54.look at the famous three arrows which he talked about, the first was
:04:55. > :04:58.monitoring all of the that has happened, Japanese inflation numbers
:04:59. > :05:04.are not spectacular but if you look at the GDP, it is positive. The
:05:05. > :05:07.trend has been positive. Slower than desired but Japanese inflation has
:05:08. > :05:11.risen at a time when in other countries that has fallen. The real
:05:12. > :05:16.problem is that fiscal policy and rather than being stimulate his it
:05:17. > :05:20.has been contractionary because of the increase in the consumption tax
:05:21. > :05:27.and what we are not seeing in these figures is a change in policy with
:05:28. > :05:32.the consumption tax increase scheduled for 2017 kicked into the
:05:33. > :05:37.long grass and becomes expansionary. Not as much as the numbers you say,
:05:38. > :05:41.it is a bit like Gordon Brown, they have a tendency to re-announce
:05:42. > :05:45.more than once for a higher headline more than once for a higher headline
:05:46. > :05:48.number but we have seen a change in fiscal policy but that is too late
:05:49. > :05:53.for these numbers and that is a question for next year. They are
:05:54. > :05:59.telling me briefly but this is not a brief question, a lot of experts say
:06:00. > :06:02.the problem with Japan as they will not change, you can throw the
:06:03. > :06:07.kitchen sink at the Japanese economy but until you do structural economic
:06:08. > :06:11.reform nothing will change. Japan has an ageing population and is not
:06:12. > :06:14.really like immigration and they haven't got workers, workers who
:06:15. > :06:21.must put into the economy to pay for the old people? The success of
:06:22. > :06:24.Abenomics is the increase in employment, particularly female
:06:25. > :06:27.employment and until the last few months, we have seen an increase in
:06:28. > :06:32.male unemployment also but overall Japan has added more than 1 million
:06:33. > :06:37.jobs over the last three years so that is, it is not dramatic headline
:06:38. > :06:42.stuff but it has been a reverse of the previous trend. Particularly
:06:43. > :06:46.female employment. But you're right, the proposition is contracting, the
:06:47. > :06:52.fertility rate is rising and that is not necessarily unknown thing but
:06:53. > :06:58.that is. The standards of age is very respectable but that is longer
:06:59. > :07:05.term. We will talk about this again! It is good to see you. Another 25
:07:06. > :07:08.years! Don't live that long! We have more positive news!
:07:09. > :07:12.The International Monetary Fund has urged China to reduce its reliance
:07:13. > :07:15.China's non-financial state-owned enterprises accounted for half
:07:16. > :07:19.of bank credit but only a fifth of industrial
:07:20. > :07:25.The report reflected views provided by Chinese policymakers who agreed
:07:26. > :07:29.with the IMF that corporate debt had increased "excessively".
:07:30. > :07:34.London properties are taking longer to sell this month,
:07:35. > :07:40.And of course it is uncertainty over what Brexit will bring
:07:41. > :07:47.On average sellers cut prices by 3.6% from July to $1 million.
:07:48. > :07:50.It leaves London up 2.1% on the year, the slowest
:07:51. > :08:07.It matters if you want to sell your house. Let us look at the Business
:08:08. > :08:16.Live page. The middle of August and you can tell that there is not a lot
:08:17. > :08:21.of corporate news. It is very quiet and people are on holiday but the
:08:22. > :08:28.boss of delivery was on BBC Radio 4 this morning, the radio programme.
:08:29. > :08:33.-- Deliveroo- basically being grilled about what delivery workers
:08:34. > :08:36.are being paid. You see them on their bicycles and many other cities
:08:37. > :08:40.across the UK and the boss of Deliveroo says they are paid
:08:41. > :08:47.perfectly well and he is talking about proposals to changes in what
:08:48. > :08:54.they are paid. 3.75 for every delivery, that is not a lot. In
:08:55. > :09:07.Singapore there are separating the gold medal in the Olympics! Did you
:09:08. > :09:11.see that? Amazing! But consumer confidence has dropped to its lowest
:09:12. > :09:16.level for seven years. You cannot say that is Brexit over there!
:09:17. > :09:30.Despite the jubilation, there is pessimism, the consumer index said
:09:31. > :09:35.Singapore is most pessimistic about the economy in seven years. They
:09:36. > :09:41.have become more gloomy about their quality of life, their income and
:09:42. > :09:46.also job security and the index fell to 33.6 in the first half of the
:09:47. > :09:51.year compared to 44.3 for the previous six months and the last
:09:52. > :09:56.time the index was that low was June 2009 and that was at the height of
:09:57. > :10:00.the global recession. When the economy in Singapore contracted for
:10:01. > :10:06.four straight quarters. This dip in confidence is reflected in economic
:10:07. > :10:11.data. Analysts are forecasting the Singapore economy to grow by 1.8%.
:10:12. > :10:16.This year. That is the slowest pace since 2009. Hopefully it will get
:10:17. > :10:25.some or all winners and have something more to celebrate over
:10:26. > :10:30.here. Good on you! As one Australian says to the other. We come about
:10:31. > :10:32.ninth place on the chart! Let us look at the markets...
:10:33. > :10:36.Asian shares set up camp at one-year peaks today as a rally in Chinese
:10:37. > :10:39.stocks helped offset news that Japan's economic growth had ground
:10:40. > :10:50.Oil prices extended their latest rally.
:10:51. > :10:54.In Europe, markets also digesting not great news
:10:55. > :11:02.US retail sales were unexpectedly flat in July -
:11:03. > :11:07.Americans cut back on purchases of clothing and other goods.
:11:08. > :11:09.Other data showed producer prices recorded their biggest drop
:11:10. > :11:25.But talking of the US - let's find out what will be making
:11:26. > :11:27.the headlines on that side of the Atlantic.
:11:28. > :11:36.Final bids for the digital media company gawker are due ahead of the
:11:37. > :11:41.auction on Tuesday, a banker managing the bankruptcy process and
:11:42. > :11:46.sales said as 20 parties could make offers. Gawker recently lost the
:11:47. > :11:52.invasion of privacy lawsuit brought by the former wrestler Hulk Hogan
:11:53. > :11:56.and was ordered to pay damages of $130 million. Gawker is appealing
:11:57. > :11:59.the decision and filing from bankruptcy to continue operating and
:12:00. > :12:05.paying its staff while it seeks to overturn the lawsuit. In election
:12:06. > :12:07.years, the Vice President Joe Biden will campaign with Democratic
:12:08. > :12:14.Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania on Monday. They will
:12:15. > :12:18.focus on economic issues, Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump
:12:19. > :12:22.begins fighting a lawsuit in Florida over denying refunds on Jews to
:12:23. > :12:27.members at the John Nash on a golf course. -- dues.
:12:28. > :12:33.We have Justin Urquhart-Stewart from Seven Investment Management.
:12:34. > :12:47.Happy new week! And you are not on holiday? I was working last week.
:12:48. > :12:54.We're not even going there! Working with a trowel?! US inflation this
:12:55. > :12:58.big? This is crucial, everybody depends on the central bank at the
:12:59. > :13:02.moment, it is pumping money into the system, that is what we saw from the
:13:03. > :13:08.Bank of England and one of the key targets is about inflation, keep it
:13:09. > :13:14.low. Look at these figures, the core inflation in the UK is about 1.4%,
:13:15. > :13:19.commodity prices are rising, oil, there is inflation in the system to
:13:20. > :13:24.the question over the next few months is, will central bankers
:13:25. > :13:28.focus on inflation in two years? You might want to put up the rates will
:13:29. > :13:33.you worry about growth in the economy, still weak, this is a big
:13:34. > :13:37.decision and my prediction is it will focus on growth and not
:13:38. > :13:42.inflation. Those figures will be crucial on Wednesday, Thursday is
:13:43. > :13:47.consumer confidence figures and by the end of this week we should have
:13:48. > :13:51.a better sense of how the economy is faring post Brexit? And the way to
:13:52. > :13:55.look at this is by looking at the bigger picture, the global economy
:13:56. > :13:58.is growing at just over 3% every year and the headline say it is
:13:59. > :14:04.getting slower, that is the long-term average, that is OK, US
:14:05. > :14:08.figures are not that bad, Friday was not strong but OK, Eurozone has been
:14:09. > :14:13.slower but still OK and as we have seen in the Far East and emerging
:14:14. > :14:16.economies, they are also picking up. The UK has its own issues with
:14:17. > :14:18.Brexit but we don't want to talk ourselves into this, the rest of the
:14:19. > :14:27.world is doing well. Join the dots. I'm glad that you have said that, we
:14:28. > :14:33.don't want to talk ourselves into recession. Digging fossils...? We
:14:34. > :14:38.don't anybody to get the wrong impression. The Romans had a single
:14:39. > :14:43.currency. They were talking about gardening in my ear, Norman
:14:44. > :14:46.gardening... The man is digging up bones! LAUGHTER
:14:47. > :14:52.Coins! Still to come, Monday, so there is a fair chance that some of
:14:53. > :14:56.us... Dreaming of chucking in the nine to five job, and starting your
:14:57. > :14:58.own adventure. Stay tuned, you can meet someone who did just that, and
:14:59. > :15:14.made a big success. Industries and businesses
:15:15. > :15:17.across the UK are considering life after Brexit and, from today,
:15:18. > :15:19.farmers will have their say. The National Farmers Union
:15:20. > :15:21.is launching a consultation on the future of
:15:22. > :15:23.post-Brexit farming. Joining us to discuss
:15:24. > :15:41.the topic is the president Welcome to the programme, great to
:15:42. > :15:46.have you with us. Good morning. In terms of farming, most farmers,
:15:47. > :15:51.would they be remain of with baby in favour of Brexit? The debate around
:15:52. > :15:55.the referendum, now we look forward, so we will be consulting with 48,000
:15:56. > :16:07.farm members over the next six weeks. Trade deals, access to
:16:08. > :16:11.labour, they will all be so important, post-20 20. We will put
:16:12. > :16:15.together a policy document after hearing the views, and then we will
:16:16. > :16:17.ask for a framework which will deliver a domestic agricultural
:16:18. > :16:26.policy which is fit for purpose and will lead to a proper competitive
:16:27. > :16:30.farming industry post-20 20. -- post 2020. When I spoke with you earlier,
:16:31. > :16:33.you said that your members were mixed in terms of how they would
:16:34. > :16:40.vote, regardless of that, all farmers in UK received a nice
:16:41. > :16:46.subsidy from the EU at the moment. Assuming that part of your
:16:47. > :16:53.consultation will be that that must be replaced. What we have said at
:16:54. > :16:56.the NFU, when the policies designed post 2020, we must not be
:16:57. > :17:00.disadvantaged to competitors in the rest of Europe, we still have to
:17:01. > :17:06.compete with Irish, southern Irish, French, Danish farmers. We must not
:17:07. > :17:10.be disadvantaged if we are going to build that competitive, efficient,
:17:11. > :17:14.profitable industry going forward. We know that our self-sufficiency in
:17:15. > :17:19.food has fallen dramatically over the last 20 years, we must be
:17:20. > :17:21.ambitious, we must reverse the trend, because British consumers
:17:22. > :17:27.want more British food on their plates. Unfortunately, we have run
:17:28. > :17:29.out of time, but president of the national farmers union, we
:17:30. > :17:31.appreciate your comments, and we will keep an eye on the paper when
:17:32. > :17:40.it comes out. Back in the headlines, Peppa Pig, there was the failed ITV
:17:41. > :17:46.takeover, some say that it is going to be the target of private equity,
:17:47. > :17:52.a lot of people pouring into it, it is called Entertainment One. Top
:17:53. > :17:58.story: Japan, the world is third-largest economy, grew this
:17:59. > :18:10.much. 0.2 of a percent. We called it a smidgen!
:18:11. > :18:16.If you are in Japan, watching, can you tell us how you say kitchen
:18:17. > :18:21.sink. A quick look at the financial markets on a new trading week, they
:18:22. > :18:31.are all up slightly, nothing to shout about, London down just a
:18:32. > :18:37.point, 0.1 of a percent. -- zero .01 of a percent. Most traders in the
:18:38. > :18:42.City of London and other financial markets around the world, they are
:18:43. > :18:47.all on the French Riviera, on their boats, the big flashy ones. Talking
:18:48. > :18:51.of big flashy boats, maybe one day! This is the stuff of a Monday
:18:52. > :18:55.daydream, chucking in the job, marching to the boss 's office, tell
:18:56. > :18:58.him or her that you have had enough of slaving for someone else and that
:18:59. > :19:11.he will be starting your own business. For most of us, it remains
:19:12. > :19:17.a fantasy. But our next guest shows how an abrupt career change really
:19:18. > :19:19.can pay off, in spades. Cassandra Stavrou quit her job in 2009 and
:19:20. > :19:24.launched Propercorn Popcorn two years later at the height of the
:19:25. > :19:27.economic crisis. Good timing(!) But she was entering a market growing in
:19:28. > :19:36.popularity, healthy snacks. In just five years, Cassandra and her
:19:37. > :19:38.business partner have managed to establish a company which sells
:19:39. > :19:40.three million packs of popcorn a month, generating almost 13 million
:19:41. > :19:42.dollars in sales a year. Available in ten countries across Europe, the
:19:43. > :19:49.business has emerged as the fastest non-tech start-up in the UK. That is
:19:50. > :19:55.right. You have hurt, in the house with us, Cassandra, the first
:19:56. > :20:01.question, why popcorn? You have said it, it is a healthy snack,
:20:02. > :20:06.gluten-free, played into all of the big... This is very noisy! If you
:20:07. > :20:10.don't mind me saying. Everybody understands what popcorn is, we all
:20:11. > :20:16.have that nostalgia, this is about doing it in a slightly different
:20:17. > :20:21.way, more healthy, it is an amazing journey. Popcorn is very popular in
:20:22. > :20:26.our fire sale, we had it last night. I have three small boys. They want
:20:27. > :20:32.to snack a lot. -- in our household. When I go in the supermarket, I
:20:33. > :20:37.don't necessarily pick yours, I will look at price... I shan't take it
:20:38. > :20:41.personally! Price is important, there are so many options. Crowded
:20:42. > :20:45.market. It is, what is exciting about the story is, from a standing
:20:46. > :20:51.start we have really clicked on ahead of the competition,
:20:52. > :20:55.fastest-growing brand in the UK, that is a testament to the
:20:56. > :20:59.packaging, the fact that we are healthier, and... I did not know
:21:00. > :21:04.that you were healthier, that is important to me, I am looking for
:21:05. > :21:11.healthier options. There is the calorie count on the front, 130
:21:12. > :21:16.calories, and also, increasingly customers becoming aware of popcorn
:21:17. > :21:25.away from cinema, away from film and the buttery sugary versions. This is
:21:26. > :21:29.completely natural. Cassandra, we have this fun about saying it is a
:21:30. > :21:33.Monday and we want to quit our jobs, did you have this idea before you
:21:34. > :21:37.quit your job, did you hate your job and wants to quit? This is not easy
:21:38. > :21:43.to say. Whatever you are making, not easy to do. It took two years to get
:21:44. > :21:47.it off the ground, and I think, perhaps naively I quit my job as
:21:48. > :21:52.soon as I had the idea, it is was passionate about it! Trying to get a
:21:53. > :21:56.business of the ground, it takes a lot of hard work, being quite
:21:57. > :22:01.resourceful, the initial samples I made in a cement mixer! Nobody in
:22:02. > :22:06.the UK could season popcorn in the way that I wanted it to be seasoned.
:22:07. > :22:11.Don't let that put you off! LAUGHTER Not anymore they are not! We
:22:12. > :22:15.fashioned it with steel, on top gear, I saw the way that they spray
:22:16. > :22:20.paint cars, they use a special Mr, and so we ordered a kit off-line. I
:22:21. > :22:27.was making it very crudely, now we have a shiny all singing all dancing
:22:28. > :22:32.line. -- Mr. And all health and all safety as well, I am sure! You have
:22:33. > :22:37.got to be prepared to take a punt, and really go for it. How do you
:22:38. > :22:44.fund it, you have got to have a lot of resources yourself, how did you
:22:45. > :22:50.get people involved? I was lucky that my family lived in London, I
:22:51. > :22:54.moved back home and I did jobs, walking dogs, painting, whatever I
:22:55. > :22:59.could get my hands on, to fund the initial first steps. And then we got
:23:00. > :23:03.a little bit of seed investment from my business partner's family, to
:23:04. > :23:08.launch, but it really was just a case of going for it. Now you are in
:23:09. > :23:12.most of the main supermarkets in the UK, we have talked about your
:23:13. > :23:18.massive sales numbers, how did you manage to get it into the main
:23:19. > :23:22.marketplace? No set recipe, it is a case of calling up and turning up to
:23:23. > :23:27.everywhere you possibly can, leaving no stone unturned, at Tesco we are
:23:28. > :23:32.now the number six bestselling snack in their whole category. If you had
:23:33. > :23:39.told me that when we first launched, it would have surprised me. It is a
:23:40. > :23:43.testament to the traction of the product, and how people find it.
:23:44. > :23:49.They love it, thank you very much joining us. They are going to watch
:23:50. > :23:53.a tape of how to contact us, you told me you are great at catching
:23:54. > :23:59.popcorn, come on, near we go... ! LAUGHTER
:24:00. > :24:04.Stay ahead with all the days breaking news, we keep you
:24:05. > :24:10.up-to-date with all the latest details with insight and analysis
:24:11. > :24:13.for the BBC's team of editors around the world, and we want to hear from
:24:14. > :24:20.you as well. Get involved on the web page. On Twitter, and also on
:24:21. > :24:33.Facebook. Just in his back with us, we have
:24:34. > :24:38.talked popcorn, now we are talking about a story in the Telegraph,
:24:39. > :24:41.middle-class binge drinking creates boom in sales of giant bottles of
:24:42. > :24:46.bubbly, this is not my own consumption! Talk us through what
:24:47. > :24:51.this story is about. It is fascinating, not just buying more
:24:52. > :24:59.bubbly, but buying a big butch bottle... Showing off. The figures
:25:00. > :25:05.here go back to 2014, just under 300,000 Magnas, now it is over
:25:06. > :25:15.700,000! We have suddenly... Showing off my thing. -- magnas. but you can
:25:16. > :25:24.have a nebuchadnezzar, 15 litres at one sitting, if you so wish! --
:25:25. > :25:30.magnums. not so much champagne but per second, they have opened it up
:25:31. > :25:36.to large serve bottles. in a word, your favourite snack? caviar, dare i
:25:37. > :25:45.say that? laughter just in! caviar! Some people say
:25:46. > :25:49.please, fruit, chips... Joe says his favourite is mini popcorn! There you
:25:50. > :25:53.go. Just in, thank you. That was businesslike, have a very good day,
:25:54. > :26:12.we will see you tomorrow, thank you very much.
:26:13. > :26:14.Thus far the summer has misfired, a bit stop and start, now