08/09/2016 BBC Business Live

This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.

The Tech giant launches the iPhone 7 to much fanfare over its features,

but is it enough to revive slowing sales?

Live from London, that's our top story on Thursday 8th September.

Apple's new iphone7 has been revealed.

It will be water resistant, have a long battery life,

Is it enough to put the shine back on Apple's core business? We will

find out. Also in the programme: US firm

Liberty Media confirms it's buying racing business Formula 1

in an 8 billion dollar deal, ending years of speculation

about ownership of the company. Could a little American and let's

bring back the punters to the global brand?

And ahead of a meeting of the European Central Bank,

Today sees the bank's first policy decision since the Bank of England

Toasting to future success - we get the inside track on a booze

business that's trying to turn the company behind Lambrini

The boss of Halewood Wines and Spirits will be here to offer

Today we want to know, headphone jack or no headphone jack?

Is Apple right to ditch the traditional connecter?

Is the new iPhone enough to boost sales for Apple?

So many of you have been in touch already. You know what to do.

Keep your comments coming in about this story.

We start in San Francisco, where Apple has unveiled its latest

It's water resistant, with a faster processor and better

camera, more memory and improved battery life.

The big change - which was widely rumoured in advance -

is that Apple is ditching the traditional headphone socket,

to encourage buyers to invest in expensive

Apart from that - say the critics - it's the same old formula,

As of this summer Apple has sold more than a billion iPhones since it

launched the first model almost a decade ago.

But iPhone sales are starting to slow.

Sales have actually fallen for the last two quarters.

In the three months to June, they were down 15% on last year.

The smartphone market is slowing down - but Apple is also losing

market share to cheaper versions from Chinese manufacturers.

And it has failed to come up with new types of product

Apple hopes new versions of its watch - also

announced on Wednesday - will boost sales.

But some say boss Tim Cook is failing to keep up

the pace of innovation set by his predecessor,

Then there is the growing scrutiny of the company's tax affairs -

culminating in a $14.5 billion demand from the EU last week.

We'll be talking about some of this in a moment.

First, our Tech reporter Dave Lee was at the iPhone 7 launch and has

So, here we have it, the new iPhone seven. This one is in one of the new

colours they have brought out. There is better camera technology. But the

main thing everybody will notice is that for the first time there is no

headphone jack on the device. This has made it easier for them to make

it more water resistant. Of course, there is no where to stick your

headphones. You have a couple of choices. Choice number one is to

have headphones that go into the lightning port. You may have used

that to charge your phone in the past. Or there is a little adapter

that can change normal headphones to go in there as well. It is a little

bit ugly. They have not brought it out here and I think that is the

reason why, it doesn't look great. These are their new wireless

airports. They look very much like the old earphones without wires.

They pop into your ears. They connect directly to your phone. They

promise it is much simpler than using Bluetooth. I find Bluetooth

very difficult. These will retail at $159, which I think puts them a bit

at risk of someone coming up to you and pinching them straight out of

your ear. We the CF that happens. This is Apple's big development for

its new life seven. -- we will see if that happens.

Alex Wood, editor in chief of technology publication,

I'm already thinking about air pod earrings. A whole new line! Alex,

give us your thoughts on this. Social media is chatting about this.

Some people are really miffed about the jack. Some think, I am not going

to get another Apple phone. It is too expensive. Social media is an

interesting place to start. Apple's Twitter account leaked the news

ahead of its own announcement. That is interesting. Normally such a

slick presentation. Overall my personal feeling is it is a

revolutionary but not revolutionary. A couple of fixes here and there. --

evolutionary. Nothing particularly new and exciting. When it comes to

the headphone jack, you will not be able to physically plug it in. You

will need a Bluetooth headset. In some respects it means maybe the

battery can be bigger, longer battery life. But Apple is known for

doing things like this. It says it is a bold move. If you look at their

laptops, they got rid of the CD drive early. It is pre-empting the

way things are going even though it may be difficult for users in the

first place? I agree. People will struggle with it initially. The

battery on headphones is not that good. You are looking at maybe for

her five hours usage at best. I have got this line of things I have to

charge when I get home in the evening. That is a frustrating

future. Apple is keen to expand in India and other big emerging

markets. Many say the phone is too expensive for that. In a few weeks

they are launching a system where you can pay for your phone directly

through Apple. You don't have to have the carriers involved so much.

That is the big story in the UK. In the US they have run this programme

for a number of years. Essentially you pay around ?33 per month and you

are effectively higher purchasing the phone. Every year you can

upgrade. Instead of paying the money to your carrier, you would be paying

the money directly to Apple. I think that is a really big change.

Interesting. Nice to see you. Keep your comments coming in. Jim says

you cannot have a waterproof phone if you have got their hole for

headphones. Another says the next version will have a headphone jack

back. In other news: US firm Liberty Media

will take control of Formula One The firm will take over

the stake currently held Bernie Ecclestone will remain

as chief executive, but Chase Carey, vice-chairman of 21st Century Fox,

will become its new chairman. Liberty Media already has stakes

in other sport and entertainment firms, including the Atlanta

Braves baseball team. Australian carriers Quantas

and Virgin Australia have told customers not to use or charge

Samsung's Galaxy Note This come after faulty batteries

in the new smartphone have caused Samsung, the world's largest

smartphone maker, said last week it was suspending sales

of its latest flagship mobile device and recalling 2.5 million

units shipped globally. The electric car

manufacturer, Tesla, says its autopilot system was not

to blame for a crash in the Netherlands that

left one man dead. Tesla Motors says the Model S car

was travelling at more than 155 kilometers per hour,

and that logs show its autopilot system was not engaged at any

point during the journey. Tesla's semi-autonomous vehicles

have been under scrutiny since Shares in Nintendo have soared

after the Japanese gaming giant and Apple announced that

an exclusive Super Mario game will be available

on iPhones later this year. Also, Pokemon Go will be on the new

Apple watch. Our very own super-Mariko

is in Singapore. Nintendo is on a roll. I cannot

believe you just called me that! That is what we would call an old

man's joke in Japan. Super Mario is the gaming character the Japanese

Prime Minister Rob -- Prime Minister... It is a new game that

will be available just ahead of Christmas. Shares in Nintendo

jumping by as much as 18%, ending the day 13% higher. We have been

talking about the valuation of Nintendo surging ever since the

launch of Pokemon Go. A very popular smartphone game. Today's news is

helping that. It is quite a turnaround for a company which has

been criticised in the past for being too slow in getting into the

smartphone gaming market. It is also a win- win for Apple. Pokemon Go

will become available on the apple's watch. Apple is hoping it can ride

on Pokemon's popularity. Good stuff. Thank you. That was actually my

joke, so I take the blame for the old man joke! A quick look at the

numbers. The Nikkei had a pretty dreadful session. It pretty dreadful

date for the market in Tokyo. This is what the market in Hong Kong did.

That is the close of the Dow Jones. I want to show you what Europe is

doing. An important day for the ECB. Its policy meeting later today. Not

expecting a huge amount of chains. This is the first real policy

meeting since the Bank of England voted to cut rates last month. -- a

huge amount of change. Things looking pretty steady so far in

early trading. We will keep an eye on what happens ahead of that

meeting. We will talk more about that a moment.

And Samira Hussain has the details about what's ahead

On Thursday, America's largest book-seller will be recording

earnings. Sales at Barnes and Noble have fallen for the last seven

quarters as consumers move away from hard books in favour of e-book. Book

stores are trying to attract customers into their stores. Barnes

and Noble is expanding the kinds of merchandise they sell, including

toys and craft kits. We will see later today if that is helping the

book sellers. Also happening on Thursday, unemployment benefit

numbers. Analysts believe the number of Americans filing for unemployment

benefits may have increased by 2000. This comes after the commerce

Department reported last week that job creation in the US slipped in

August, adding just 151,000 new jobs.

Joining us is Trevor Greetham, from Royal London Asset Management

Samir mentioning their that more data is out today about the jobs

market in the US. We have got the ECB holding its monthly meeting.

What are your thoughts about what it might do? There is a split opinion

as to whether anything will be announced today are whether the ECB

wait until December to see what is happening in the UK economy. We have

had a big plunge in business surveys after Brexit and now quite a big

bounce back. They may want to wait and see. They can do is extend the

length of time they are buying government bonds for, by more bonds

from indebted countries like Italy, and by more bonds with negative

yields. It is not very appealing. You have to think that Monetary

Policy Committee reaching limits. We need fiscal policy as well. We have

the US economy doing one thing. We see the UK doing its own thing. And

Europe doing its own thing. There was a point when everybody was in

the same boat and now we see diverging policies and economies?

Yes. One of the things America did write to come out of the financial

crisis was to support the economy with fiscal stimulus. Obama said he

needed to support the economy. They got their economy moving pretty

quickly. Elsewhere, in Europe and in the UK, we cut government spending,

but all the pressure on the central banks. We need some fiscal spending

too. We will get it in the Autumn Statement. Japan is interesting. In

two weeks, Japan may be doing the same thing. Crucially, the central

banks, keeping interest rates so low they inflate away the debt. Thank

you, Trevor. You will be back looking through some of the stories

in the papers. How do you turn around

a company that lost its fizz? The boss of Halewood wines

and spirits did just that, ransforming the company

behind brands including Lambrini Crabbie's.

He's with us a little later. You're watching Business

Live from the BBC. Dixons Carphone,

Britain's biggest consumer electricals and mobile phone

retailer, has reported a 4% rise in quarterly sales, and said it

had seen no real impact from the vote to leave

the European Union in June. The results come as

the firm looks to cash in on new smartphones launched

by Apple, Samsung and LG. Theo Leggett is in

our London newsroom. It is an interesting one. We have

seen the firms come together. They have cornered the market as far as

consumer electricals in the UK are concerned. Things are looking up?

Yes, they are doing well. Sales of 4%. Revenue is 9%. This company is

facing a number of challenges, first of all from the consequences of

exit. In particular the fall in the pound. A lot of what this company

sells is imported. They are losing money. The hint of a consumer

downturn would affect them. They say that has not happened. There are

other challenges. For example, Amazon. There has been a battle on

pricing between Amazon and Dixons carphone. Dixons has kept its prices

low. The signs are at the moment it is working. There has been good

demand for certain types of consumer products.

The euro is prompted sales of flat screen televisions. Pokemon go has

benefited them as well because they have been selling a lot of telephone

chargers. All these factors are playing into it and it seems at the

moment the company is doing pretty well. But these are first-quarter

results and only about half of that quarter was after the European vote

came through, so we will have to wait to see if there is a

longer-term effect after the next of quarters. You have got until

November to save up to buy me distress. It is an auction in Los

Angeles. It is Marilyn Monroe's press that she wore when she sang

happy birthday to JFK in 1963. She had to be sewn into the stress.

You are expecting me to stump up $2 million?

It is definitely worth it. We have to so Ben into his suits before we

present Business Life. Rossmore on our website as always.

Our top story: The technology giant Apple has unveiled the new iPhone 7

and the big change is the lack of a traditional headphone socket.

Apple said its lightning connector could be used instead,

which would make room for other components.

A lot of you getting in touch with us.

You have been very vocal and I am trying to find positive tweets, but

I am struggling. You are annoyed about the Jack going, it is too

expensive. Samsung's telephone has a headphone

socket and it is still water and dust proof.

One positive, it means better waterproof telephones. Clearly you

drop your telephone in the water. A quick look at how

markets are faring. And now let's get the inside

track on the state of Worldwide we are spending more

on drinks, both soft drinks In 2016 the sector was estimated to

be worth about 2 billion US dollars. When we say we, we mean all of us,

you watching as well. In the UK the largest independent

drinks manufacturer and distributor It was founded in 1978 on Merseyside

and now makes both alcoholic It exports to more than 50 countries

with a turnover in excess Stewart Hainsworth

is the Chief Executive of Halewood International,

he's with us now. And a few beverages as well. If you

can see him behind the bottles. Let's start with the fact that this

has been quite a turnaround for you. It was an existing company and you

came in and you were tasked with reviving its fortunes. Where do you

start? With every turnaround you have to analyse what is going well

and what is going bad and determine what you are going to do is to set

the strategy and bring the company together. What did you have to do in

this instance? A lot of the brands people will know and be aware of and

have drunk and used, but it is a tough market to be in. What did you

have to do? It is a family company, a medium-size business with assets

across the world. Part of the problem was we did not have a group

strategy and that is where I started. I devised a group strategy

to think about building Halewood for the future. The obvious one was to

move up the margin ladder and invest into spirits, which is what we have

done. The company did not have a global chief Executive when you

join. It was managing without one for some five years. Mr Halewood

died in 2010 and the business had tried to manage individual countries

by the board which was not working. It was in a mess when you arrive?

There were positive things, the quality of the business in terms of

liquid and production was clearly there. It was missing a strategy and

that is what we needed to do. We came in and envisaged that spirits

would provide a longer term strategy in terms of margin and we make

decisions and recruited a new talent team to come in and pushed the

business forward. How was it when you arrived on the scene? It had

been trying to run itself without a global CEO for some time and the

founder had died and they got rid of senior management before you showed

up. I would imagine it was in a difficult place, that the staff and

those working for you were in a difficult position. As in any of

these businesses when you do a turnaround people are apprehensive

about what is going to happen, where their jobs are going and what is the

future. You have to settle people down and recruit very quickly.

Luckily because I came from the drinks industry I had people I knew

and could bring in very quickly to settle things down. There was no

operations director or finance director, so I was doing a few rolls

together for the first few months. Within six months I had a team in

place and we moved the business forward. You talk about the

strategy, but it strikes me that a lot of things you have to do are to

decide what you are not going to do, stopping brands and things like

that. What did you do in this case? The biggest one is obviously

Crabbies, a well-known brand around the world. It is in more than 53

countries. The court constituent is that it is a ginger fermented

product. What had happened in the past is it had moved away from that

core offering and gone into flavoured because of the flavoured

side of the market. They decided they wanted to be a part of that and

it was not really what Crabbies was. We stopped that and went back to the

core qualities of the product. It takes six weeks to produce this

product, so it is a long process and a quality product. There is a lot

more we would love to discuss, but thank you so much for coming in.

All the best. And just to say there is nothing in these mugs.

Just tea and coffee. First a quick reminder of how you can get in touch

with us. The businesslike page is where you can stay ahead with all

the breaking business ease. We will keep you up-to-date with insight and

analysis on the BBC's team of editors right around the world. Get

involved on the web page. We are also on Twitter and Facebook.

Getting cut, today you have not held back. Lots of opinions coming in

about Apple. Let's talk about the fact that Formula one has been

snapped up. Liberty Media is to buy Formula one, paying about ?3.3

billion. I am finding it for you on the tablet. Trevor has returned to

give us his take on this. Bernie Ecclestone, who is 86, staying in

position as the boss. For three more years, continuity. Clearly they need

in young, fresh blood. John Malone is a youngster of 75. $4.4 billion,

it is one of the biggest takeovers in sport. Formula one, how big an

event is it these days? As it's still got that grab that it had

years ago? It has a global brand appeal. It is followed in lots of

countries around the world. The deal was worth $8 billion because they

took on $4 billion of debt. It still has appeal, but what they are

struggling with is getting through to younger audiences. My 11-year-old

build an electric go-kart and younger audiences are not so keen on

clouds of blue smoke that go up when the races are on. We have to talk

about Lego. It is so popular. They are trying to stop Americans buying

any more bricks. Is that protection? Maybe Donald Trump is trying to

build his wall with Lego bricks. Sally and I have got six boys

between us. And we know about Lego demands. Well not between us. On

that note, just to clarify you do not add them together.

See you soon, goodbye.