:00:14. > :00:16.This is Business Live from BBC News with Alice Baxter
:00:17. > :00:19.Microsoft shareholders vote today on whether to approve a $26 billion
:00:20. > :00:21.offer to buy the social network, LinkedIn.
:00:22. > :00:40.Live from London, that's our top story.
:00:41. > :00:43.Linking-in to the $26 billion gamble.
:00:44. > :00:45.Microsoft shareholders get to vote on whether they want to buy
:00:46. > :00:48.the professional networking site Linkedin.
:00:49. > :00:54.But will the takeover be a perfect partnership?
:00:55. > :01:00.And offering lucrative pay packages to attract foreigners to help meet
:01:01. > :01:08.And global markets are all fairly subdued at the end
:01:09. > :01:10.of the trading week, with investors looking ahead to next
:01:11. > :01:15.week and a key speech from the US Federal Reserve.
:01:16. > :01:18.And we'll be looking back on the business week,
:01:19. > :01:21.talking about the mixed messages coming out of the US Fed,
:01:22. > :01:29.as the price of the black stuff hits $51 a barrel.
:01:30. > :01:33.And how Japan's yen continues hurting Japan's economy.
:01:34. > :01:35.All of that with our economics correspondent, Andrew Walker.
:01:36. > :01:38.Today we want to know with China offering lucrative deals to pilots
:01:39. > :01:45.what would tempt you to move abroad for work?
:01:46. > :02:05.Microsoft shareholders are voting today on whether to approve
:02:06. > :02:12.a $26 billion deal to buy the social network, LinkedIn.
:02:13. > :02:16.Microsoft is betting heavily that LinkedIn will secure its place
:02:17. > :02:19.in a world after Windows, but will it work?
:02:20. > :02:24.Microsoft's best-known brands are Windows, Office and Xbox.
:02:25. > :02:26.But consumers are turning to smartphones and tablets
:02:27. > :02:32.and many of these products are beginning to fade.
:02:33. > :02:37.How can LinkedIn help ensure Microsoft's future survival?
:02:38. > :02:42.LinkedIn has about 433 million members, with 105 million using it
:02:43. > :02:51.Crucially, 60% of usage is on mobile devices.
:02:52. > :02:52.In buying LinkedIn, Microsoft gets a ready-made platform
:02:53. > :02:58.to run its business on other people's computers in the cloud.
:02:59. > :03:03.But LinkedIn has made losses for the last two years.
:03:04. > :03:07.Earlier this year, shares fell more than 40 per cent in one day
:03:08. > :03:10.after it unveiled gloomy annual forecasts,
:03:11. > :03:12.but the share price rebounced following news of
:03:13. > :03:30.Microsoft has a mixed record on big-money acquisitions.
:03:31. > :03:33.In 2013, it bought Nokia's mobile phone unit for $7.2 billion
:03:34. > :03:38.Then in 2011 it bought the voice-over-internet business,
:03:39. > :03:47.It's still unclear if that has paid off yet.
:03:48. > :03:51.Tech Journalist Adrian Mars joins me now.
:03:52. > :03:58.OK, you are Microsoft and I am LinkedIn. I have not made any profit
:03:59. > :04:02.for the last couple of years. I am struggling to get new users and I
:04:03. > :04:07.have not really learned how to make money from my users. But you are
:04:08. > :04:13.going to give me $26 billion? It is a lot of money, the biggest ever
:04:14. > :04:20.paid for a tech buyout. And really, what they are paying is $62 per
:04:21. > :04:21.user. They are buying address books in many cases, these detailed
:04:22. > :04:32.profiles, potted Seve is that people profiles, potted Seve is that people
:04:33. > :04:37.use for recruitment. -- potted CVs. The problem is that many people
:04:38. > :04:41.using the site are not looking for jobs. Most of us gets nagging
:04:42. > :04:46.e-mails saying that we have been endorsed for skills, or we get
:04:47. > :04:54.harvest address books, we get invited en masse to join the thing.
:04:55. > :05:00.Is it because we have the new CEO who some will say is trying to, and
:05:01. > :05:06.there is a lot of credit to this man, but they have missed the boat
:05:07. > :05:12.on a few moves in the tech world. This is the right company to help
:05:13. > :05:20.them catch up? The idea is that it will help themselves Office. But the
:05:21. > :05:26.fine the sales list? -- define the sales list. The idea that you can
:05:27. > :05:33.get a potted CV of people that you are meeting with, and it can in
:05:34. > :05:39.hands dynamics, the online see RM. Break that down. This is what
:05:40. > :05:45.salespeople use to track leads and customers. LinkedIn have their own
:05:46. > :05:48.product, and the big player in this is Sales force also competed to buy
:05:49. > :05:54.LinkedIn. Hopefully that will massively boost that side of the
:05:55. > :06:00.business, but ?26 billion is a lot of money. A lot of money. But not a
:06:01. > :06:07.lot of money if you look at their cash pile. $92 billion. But they are
:06:08. > :06:15.putting this down on the balance sheet as debt. It is still small
:06:16. > :06:23.change. OK. Small change. Wrapping this up, from your point of view is
:06:24. > :06:28.this the right move? If I had to bet on it, I think they are going to
:06:29. > :06:34.struggle to get that cashback but that said, it is a good fit.
:06:35. > :06:38.LinkedIn users are also Office users. The demographic is very good
:06:39. > :06:40.it is just a lot of money. I appreciate your time. Have a great
:06:41. > :06:45.weekend. In other news,
:06:46. > :06:47.the US Justice Department will phase out the use of privately owned
:06:48. > :06:50.prisons, citing safety concerns. Contracts with 13 private prisons
:06:51. > :06:53.will be reviewed and allowed The Federal government began to rely
:06:54. > :06:59.on private prisons in the 1990's The news site Gawker.com
:07:00. > :07:05.will shut down next week, just days after its parent
:07:06. > :07:07.company was purchased Gawker filed for bankruptcy
:07:08. > :07:16.after losing a $140 brought by former wrestler
:07:17. > :07:23.Hulk Hogan, paid for by Paypal Harley-Davidson is paying US
:07:24. > :07:36.authorities $12 million to settle allegations its motorbikes
:07:37. > :07:38.polluted the air at higher The motorcycle-maker said
:07:39. > :07:43.the settlement was "a good faith compromise on areas of law
:07:44. > :07:56.that they interpret differently". Have you ever ridden a
:07:57. > :08:03.Harley-Davidson? Sadly, no. I could see myself on it. But no one has
:08:04. > :08:07.ever asked me to drive one. Well, we could sort that out. Big news in
:08:08. > :08:12.London, one of the most visited cities in the world. The Knights
:08:13. > :08:17.Tube, we are going to hear more about it later, but it says here
:08:18. > :08:22.that the story is that this weekend, for the first time, ground-breaking
:08:23. > :08:26.news, we will have the tube open all night. Normally it shuts at about
:08:27. > :08:34.midnight and people have that last-minute run to the tube. After
:08:35. > :08:39.the people who use it will be workers but they also believe that
:08:40. > :08:45.it is going to add about ?77 million, about $110 million to the
:08:46. > :08:49.British economy. Because people can stay out drinking and eating. The
:08:50. > :08:50.pubs and bars love it. I cannot wait.
:08:51. > :08:56.In China, demand for air travel is ballooning.
:08:57. > :09:01.Media reports say Chinese airlines need to hire almost 100 pilots
:09:02. > :09:13.When they can't find enough pilots domestically, Chinese
:09:14. > :09:20.Joining us from Singapore, Tim McDonald has more.
:09:21. > :09:30.This is my favourite story. I love this. I have some pilots in the
:09:31. > :09:33.family. But go to China, some reports suggest that they are
:09:34. > :09:38.offering 50% more than you could earn as a pilot in the US? It is
:09:39. > :09:42.quite incredible and I am beginning to think I picked the wrong line of
:09:43. > :09:46.work. It might be a gold rush for pilots. Some of the salaries we are
:09:47. > :09:53.hearing about in range of 300,000 plus. China's airlines are taking
:09:54. > :09:58.off, there are 55 more than there were just a few years ago, a massive
:09:59. > :10:03.increase accounting for a huge number of orders. There are even
:10:04. > :10:08.beginning to build their own planes. But pilots need time to train and
:10:09. > :10:12.there are not enough of them. Having them means that one airline might
:10:13. > :10:15.need to pay more than the next and competition forces the salaries
:10:16. > :10:21.higher. One wonder if wage competition might be forced up
:10:22. > :10:26.elsewhere, perhaps further afield, but pilots are a mobile group with
:10:27. > :10:29.options about where they live. Maybe salaries not everything. Perhaps an
:10:30. > :10:30.offer in western China looks good at the price is right but many have
:10:31. > :10:50.other options. Staying in Asia. Most stock benchmarks
:10:51. > :10:52.drifted lower on Friday thanks to some profit-taking
:10:53. > :10:54.and investors hunkering down ahead of a key speech
:10:55. > :10:57.by the Fed chief next week - although Japanese shares rose
:10:58. > :10:59.as the yen weakened. But gains were limited as many
:11:00. > :11:01.stayed cautious before next week's global meeting of central
:11:02. > :11:03.bankers in Jackson Hole, Investors are looking for clues
:11:04. > :11:07.about a US rate hike. Meanwhile here in Europe -
:11:08. > :11:10.stocks have opened with a similarly soggy start, with Britain's FTSE 100
:11:11. > :11:13.and Germany's DAX and France's CAC And Samira Hussain has the details
:11:14. > :11:24.about what's ahead Starting Friday the financial world
:11:25. > :11:29.will be watching as IEX or investor exchange, launches the first stage
:11:30. > :11:33.of its transition to a full-fledged stock exchange, with the promise of
:11:34. > :11:38.slow trading speeds to provide what the company says will be fair
:11:39. > :11:44.trading for all investors. Cosmetics maker Estee Lauder will be reporting
:11:45. > :11:48.that the demand for its products from Clinique has been slowing. The
:11:49. > :11:55.company has been trying to attract younger customers but other Estee
:11:56. > :12:00.Lauder brands have been doing well, especially in international markets.
:12:01. > :12:08.And also reporting Friday, Dear, the world's biggest agricultural
:12:09. > :12:10.equipment manufacturer. Global recession and weak demand has slowed
:12:11. > :12:20.sales. Joining us is Jeremy Cook,
:12:21. > :12:27.Chief Economist at World First. Happy Friday. Can we look at the UK
:12:28. > :12:34.economy, everybody wondering whether Brexit will cause demise. But the
:12:35. > :12:37.figures on inflation and retail. Inflation, unemployment and retail
:12:38. > :12:41.numbers. If you did not know Brexit had occurred, you would look at this
:12:42. > :12:48.month and go, that's not bad. The retail numbers for July, the UK
:12:49. > :12:55.consumer is a hardy beast. It takes a lot to turn us away from a shop.
:12:56. > :13:00.But the devaluation of the pound, which has dropped significantly
:13:01. > :13:04.since Brexit, and a lot of tourists are still coming. But that is a
:13:05. > :13:10.positive Brexit story. The pound drops, tourists come in and
:13:11. > :13:16.everything is 12% cheaper. Watches and jewellery went through the roof.
:13:17. > :13:20.Exactly. They are coming over here and a Swiss watch or a piece of
:13:21. > :13:30.British jewellery, it is a little cheaper. There is a benefit to
:13:31. > :13:34.having a devalued currency, and we may be seeing that in the retail
:13:35. > :13:39.sector right now. And interestingly, when we compare how robust those
:13:40. > :13:43.retail figures were in the UK, largely thanks to that 12% drop, and
:13:44. > :13:49.the warmer weather, if we compare that to retail figures in the US...
:13:50. > :13:57.US data, it has been quite good in the summer. But the US consumer
:13:58. > :14:01.seems to be taking a pause. We saw a lot of car sales, auto sales as they
:14:02. > :14:05.call it over there. In July, it tends to be the end of the product
:14:06. > :14:12.line, the new Sheppey is released in August. The new pick-ups and things
:14:13. > :14:17.like that. Dealers are trying to cut prices, trying to get rid of stock.
:14:18. > :14:23.But if you buy a car in a month, you're not buying much else. We are
:14:24. > :14:30.expecting a bounce back. You're going to stick around and take us
:14:31. > :14:38.through the papers. Japan and the US interest rates coming up and we will
:14:39. > :14:47.look back at a busy week. This is Business Live. Don't go away.
:14:48. > :14:50.When we think of the post-Brexit economy, the first topic
:14:51. > :14:53.According to a new survey, trade surged in the months
:14:54. > :14:56.before the EU vote only to falter in the immediate
:14:57. > :14:58.Adam Marshall is acting director general
:14:59. > :15:01.of the British Chambers of Commerce, the body behind the survey.
:15:02. > :15:03.Adam joins us now from the BBC Newsroom.
:15:04. > :15:13.Welcome. Happy Friday. Take us through this. What is the picture?
:15:14. > :15:19.A lot of companies in the UK were fulfilling orders with their clients
:15:20. > :15:23.in the immediate run-up to the summer and the EU referendum. Orders
:15:24. > :15:27.and sales in general are pretty static. A lot of companies tried to
:15:28. > :15:33.get those orders sorted and get them through and to their clients but not
:15:34. > :15:36.necessarily taking too many on. Because of course, and, we don't yet
:15:37. > :15:43.know what sort of trade deals we are going to be able to produce in a
:15:44. > :15:48.post-Brexit reality, do we? That's absolutely right. We still don't
:15:49. > :15:52.have the economic data we need to take a definitive view on how trade
:15:53. > :15:56.is going between the EU and these global markets in the wake of the
:15:57. > :15:59.referendum. You have to remember that trade happens between
:16:00. > :16:04.businesses. Whether we have free trade agreements or not. Just as
:16:05. > :16:09.much depends on the animal spirits of British businesses as it does on
:16:10. > :16:11.those formal negotiations between governments. There are lots of
:16:12. > :16:17.different models available on the table. The base case scenarios would
:16:18. > :16:22.be to go with World Trade Organisation rules. If that were to
:16:23. > :16:26.be the case are you still optimistic about what the future could hold for
:16:27. > :16:32.trading relations? You have to be optimistic in business because if
:16:33. > :16:35.you are not, you are likely to be dead, so you have to seize
:16:36. > :16:39.opportunities where they exist. What we are saying to the UK Government
:16:40. > :16:42.is that British businesses we speak to in every corner of the UK want
:16:43. > :16:46.the best possible terms of trade both with the EU and markets around
:16:47. > :16:52.the world for the future. That doesn't necessarily mean signing up
:16:53. > :16:54.to some pre-existing model, it means figuring out what we need and
:16:55. > :17:00.negotiating with partners over time. What would you say is the key
:17:01. > :17:04.concern when negotiating trade deals in ten seconds? Key concern:
:17:05. > :17:15.receptive audience overseas. But I think we'll have one. Still got more
:17:16. > :17:17.on the London night chewed. Victoria and Central lines. Very exciting.
:17:18. > :17:20.You're watching Business Live - our top story Microsoft
:17:21. > :17:23.shareholders are voting today on whether to approve
:17:24. > :17:29.a $26 billion deal to buy the social network, LinkedIn.
:17:30. > :17:36.A quick look at how markets are faring.
:17:37. > :17:43.Got off to a soggy and flat start, taking their cue from Asia.
:17:44. > :17:47.Let's get the inside track on the economic week
:17:48. > :17:55.with our business correspondent, Andrew Walker.
:17:56. > :18:02.You're a bit of everything, aren't you? That's why we love him. Lots to
:18:03. > :18:08.talk about. Starting with the Fed and this clear as mud thing. One
:18:09. > :18:14.official who is a permanent voter on the American central bank came out
:18:15. > :18:18.and hinted, hey, there might be a rate rise by September, then we had
:18:19. > :18:23.the minutes from the last thing coming out. Showing that one member,
:18:24. > :18:28.Mr George, thought there should have been a rate rise at that meeting.
:18:29. > :18:34.She was looking at inflation towards the Fed target of 2%. Strong job
:18:35. > :18:37.games, reasonable economic growth. All that lead to take the view they
:18:38. > :18:40.should have taken the next step in this process of getting back towards
:18:41. > :18:45.more than that normal levels of rates. She was in a minority, in
:18:46. > :18:51.fact she was completely on her own. The other is thinking inflation is
:18:52. > :18:56.getting up a bit but got a way to go before it hits the target. Certainly
:18:57. > :19:04.there is no question that September rise is not to be out altogether.
:19:05. > :19:09.But most people think later. If you look at the estimates, maybe
:19:10. > :19:13.December is the time you to say there is better than evens chance
:19:14. > :19:18.would happen. But how many times have we seen that timetable pushed
:19:19. > :19:21.further and further back. Some were saying seeing the dollar edging up
:19:22. > :19:26.ever so slightly, punting for a rate rise come September. At the same
:19:27. > :19:31.time, edging up the dollar takes some of the edge off inflation. So
:19:32. > :19:36.in a way contributes to an environment in which the Fed might
:19:37. > :19:39.be more reluctant to raise rates. Of course then there is all the
:19:40. > :19:45.aggressive monetary policy loosening that's been taking place in the UK,
:19:46. > :19:50.Japan, the Eurozone. All that can at least have the potential to feed
:19:51. > :19:56.into the strength of the dollar. And thereby make the Fed inflation
:19:57. > :20:07.problem more persistent. Can we move on and do this? I want to talk about
:20:08. > :20:13.oil. There we go, there is the question. Will oil exporters strike
:20:14. > :20:19.a deal in Algeria? This is about the sideline meeting of a meeting and
:20:20. > :20:24.oil is at 51 bucks a barrel. It's not even a proper, formal Opec
:20:25. > :20:29.meeting where we would be hanging on their every word to hear about a
:20:30. > :20:33.production cut. What's this sideline meeting of a meeting? There had been
:20:34. > :20:37.hints there is more chance of them come into that kind of agreement to
:20:38. > :20:42.freeze production at whatever level applies at the time. Remember back
:20:43. > :20:48.in April there was a meeting in Doha where Russia and Opec were expected
:20:49. > :20:53.to have some chance of coming to a deal. It all fell apart, partly, it
:20:54. > :20:58.seems, because of the intervention of the deputy Saudi Crown Prince who
:20:59. > :21:01.did not want a deal that did not involve Iran. Iran has increased
:21:02. > :21:06.production rather a lot and there it is thought to be a chance they are
:21:07. > :21:08.willing to come on board. But it would be a freeze of production at a
:21:09. > :21:15.higher level. I'm hearing it is not higher level. I'm hearing it is not
:21:16. > :21:22.the black stuff, but that, it is the stuff we all use. The kerosene.
:21:23. > :21:27.There are very strong stocks around of finished, refined oil products.
:21:28. > :21:30.And that does mean it will take a long time before any production
:21:31. > :21:33.freeze on the crude side would feed through into a decisive increase in
:21:34. > :21:40.the price of oil. Still on oil watch. I want to ask quickly about
:21:41. > :21:43.Japan, exports falling for the tenth month in a run despite the stall in
:21:44. > :21:49.the end. Despite the fact the bank of Japan has been throwing all kinds
:21:50. > :21:53.of things, not directly at the exchange rate, but certainly hoping
:21:54. > :21:57.the end would weaken. Yet it's something like 20% up against the
:21:58. > :22:03.dollar. So it's a real problem. When you look at their domestic economy,
:22:04. > :22:07.consumer spending in the latest figures did rise, but barely.
:22:08. > :22:10.Business spending was down. Fascinating, investors love the yen,
:22:11. > :22:20.that's why it goes up in value, right? People by end. It's a safe
:22:21. > :22:24.haven. We are going to wrap it up, mate. Have a good weekend.
:22:25. > :22:27.London may have the world's oldest underground network -
:22:28. > :22:32.but finally the tube will run all night - but only at weekends.
:22:33. > :22:37.The frantic dash for the last tube has been part of many
:22:38. > :22:48.But this weekend - a new Night Tube changes all of that.
:22:49. > :22:50.While some may be nostalgic - it comes as welcome
:22:51. > :22:57.relief for others - as Josephine McDermott found out.
:22:58. > :23:07.The last traveller heads for home and the city shuts its eyes.
:23:08. > :23:11.Midnight stations remember the bustle of the mid-day rush.
:23:12. > :23:17.Stations across the underground slam shut on Friday and Saturday nights.
:23:18. > :23:23.These days, one of those last travellers is Lucas,
:23:24. > :23:25.who often runs for the last Tube when he finishes his shift
:23:26. > :23:34.When I get the last tube, it is a bit lively.
:23:35. > :23:42.People are coming home from work or the pub or whatever.
:23:43. > :23:45.There is usually a decent amount of people rushing to get it,
:23:46. > :23:50.Missing the last Tube can mean a longer journey home
:23:51. > :23:56.I took the last one so I am very happy but I am very tired.
:23:57. > :23:59.But with the new 24-hour service, the weekend last Tube dash
:24:00. > :24:24.This story caught a lot of us by surprise, Volvo will make these
:24:25. > :24:29.driverless cars, Uber will buy them, joint deal worth 300 million bucks.
:24:30. > :24:32.Uber got into the autonomous car market last year. Many have been
:24:33. > :24:36.dancing around the subject for years, Google have been talking
:24:37. > :24:40.about it, Apple have been talking about a car or a driverless car.
:24:41. > :24:46.Soon in Pittsburgh instead of going on to app and getting a car you will
:24:47. > :24:49.be able to a driverless car. You will have two Uber engineers in the
:24:50. > :24:54.front to make sure it does not go off the rails. Or off the road. And
:24:55. > :25:02.it's free for the trial? Are people ready for this? Pittsburgh, if you
:25:03. > :25:05.are watching, are you ready? I think it's great. From an economist 's
:25:06. > :25:09.point of view we have to look at the other side and say, what does this
:25:10. > :25:14.do for the jobs market. We've seen a lot of moves in what they call the
:25:15. > :25:17.gig economy, people getting a gig here, bartending, food delivery,
:25:18. > :25:21.Uber driving, what does it mean for these people going forward with
:25:22. > :25:24.white that was in the Washington Street Journal, that story.
:25:25. > :25:32.Can we move the times and this headline here? It's about what are
:25:33. > :25:36.you worth, right? The office for National statistics has done this
:25:37. > :25:41.survey about what you're worth. Criterion on how much everyone is
:25:42. > :25:43.worth. It looks at the value of people's qualifications, health,
:25:44. > :25:49.personalities, I don't know how you measure that. Whatever. Measuring
:25:50. > :26:02.the total potential future earnings of everyone, boil it down, you are
:26:03. > :26:06.worth ?135,000. Which is about $200,000. So that is your worth. On
:26:07. > :26:13.that note, have a great weekend. See you soon, goodbye.