:00:00. > :00:08.This is Business Live from BBC News with Victoria Fritz
:00:09. > :00:13.The Hinckley Point deal is back on; the UK government has given the go
:00:14. > :00:16.ahead for plans to build the first new nuclear plant in
:00:17. > :00:37.Live from London, that's our top story on Thursday 15th of September.
:00:38. > :00:40.The UK Government gives green light to build the first new nuclear plant
:00:41. > :00:49.T-Tipping point. in the programme.
:00:50. > :00:58.Could the biggest free trade deal in history be about to collapse?
:00:59. > :01:05.Here are the markets. The FTSE opening flat across Europe.
:01:06. > :01:08.Digging for the future; companies around the world are mining
:01:09. > :01:14.The boss of a leading exploration company will be here to explain
:01:15. > :01:26.We want to know if nuclear is the fuel of the future. Let us know, are
:01:27. > :01:33.you concerned about the impact? The first nuclear plant to be built
:01:34. > :01:43.in the UK for 20 years has Prime Minister Theresa May
:01:44. > :01:49.has given the go ahead for the ?18 billion,
:01:50. > :01:53.around $23 billion. Hinkley Point C nuclear
:01:54. > :01:58.power plant station The decision was postponed
:01:59. > :02:04.by the Government in July. France's EDF had agreed to pay
:02:05. > :02:08.for two-thirds of the project, There has been no official
:02:09. > :02:21.confirmation that the deal will go With me is our Business Editor,
:02:22. > :02:29.Simon Jack In Brussels the US With me is our Business
:02:30. > :02:36.Editor, Simon Jack. They want to say there are
:02:37. > :02:41.components of the deal we are worried about. The key is the
:02:42. > :02:45.involvement of CGM, state-owned in China. They are taking a third stake
:02:46. > :02:49.in this. There is an understanding they'll take a stake in the next
:02:50. > :02:54.project at Sizewell, but the real prize for China is they are going to
:02:55. > :02:59.use their own reactor and run a plant at Bradwell in Essex. They
:03:00. > :03:03.came into the Hinkley deal which would have failed without them, on
:03:04. > :03:07.the understanding they would run their own reactor, get British
:03:08. > :03:12.approval for that in Bradwell. These conditions talk very much about a
:03:13. > :03:14.legal framework for future investment by foreign Governments in
:03:15. > :03:19.British near. What the conditions look like will be key as to whether
:03:20. > :03:22.this offends the Chinese government. Could it be a situation in which
:03:23. > :03:29.they are so onerous that actually the deal doesn't go ahead anyway?
:03:30. > :03:32.It's possible that basically they'll say actually this rips up our
:03:33. > :03:36.gentleman's agreement that we had, the understanding that we were going
:03:37. > :03:40.to do that, without that we don't do this, without them doing this,
:03:41. > :03:48.without Chinese involvement, it doesn't happen. The practicalities
:03:49. > :03:52.will break out. Just a bit of window dressing, put our people in with
:03:53. > :03:58.your people while building a reactor, there is a precedent, a
:03:59. > :04:02.Chinese company came in with bit in 290s, they put some personnel in
:04:03. > :04:06.with that to make sure. If they are saying we fundamentally don't trust
:04:07. > :04:11.you and we are going to put in monitoring and security surveillance
:04:12. > :04:15.on that, then who knows, the Chinese may say, the President in the G20
:04:16. > :04:21.said a few weeks back, you have got to trust us. If they feel that
:04:22. > :04:25.message is not heard, who knows. If the deal were not to go ahead, what
:04:26. > :04:29.does it mean for the future of nuclear power in the UK? This is
:04:30. > :04:35.about keeping the lights on. Some say this project is a project from a
:04:36. > :04:39.by gone era, a dinosaur in a new energy environment where we talk
:04:40. > :04:42.about renewables and decentralised production and also digital, using
:04:43. > :04:49.better resources, and we don't actually need this. Others say,
:04:50. > :04:53.listen, on that cloudy, very calm day in February where the renewables
:04:54. > :04:56.aren't producing anything, you need the base load, something that will
:04:57. > :05:01.be on all the time. Just yesterday in fact, the price for electricity
:05:02. > :05:10.which if you wanted to buy it now, the now price, spiked up to 180 to
:05:11. > :05:13.200. That shows you you need the base load load, the reliable source
:05:14. > :05:19.of carbon that nuclear gives you. Plenty still think this is a duff
:05:20. > :05:22.project. It seems risking this relationship with China but also
:05:23. > :05:25.France was too much for the new Prime Minister to bear. She's
:05:26. > :05:29.obviously had a look at this and the detail, but this is a very political
:05:30. > :05:33.deal isn't it? Well, there is a School of Thought which says, this
:05:34. > :05:40.is all a bit of political posturing in the sense that, I'm not going to
:05:41. > :05:44.go through a deal which was done by my predecessor. There is been a real
:05:45. > :05:47.effort to draw a line under the previous administration and say I'm
:05:48. > :05:51.in charge now and this was a way of proving that. The teeth in the new
:05:52. > :05:55.conditions will tell us whether that was a real security concern or
:05:56. > :06:01.whether Theresa May just wanted to say, I just wanted to remind
:06:02. > :06:06.everyone there's a new boss in town. Carrie Gracie joins us now via Skype
:06:07. > :06:12.from her home in London. I know you have been across this from the point
:06:13. > :06:16.of view of China's situation, as it were, what are you hearing in terms
:06:17. > :06:24.of China's reaction to the fact that this is now back on?
:06:25. > :06:29.Well, there is no official reaction yet. I'm sure it will come from CGN
:06:30. > :06:33.and the Chinese Government. Exactly what they say will remain to be
:06:34. > :06:38.seen. They'll want to look closely at the detail of the kind of
:06:39. > :06:42.conditions that have been put in place here. To look at the language
:06:43. > :06:46.coming out of the British Government, it's been carefully
:06:47. > :06:50.structured to make it seem and read that this is not directed against
:06:51. > :06:54.China, that there's not a specific Cold War mentality going on, as the
:06:55. > :07:01.Chinese would put it, a sense that the Chinese are not to be trusted,
:07:02. > :07:03.that this is the UK trying to ramp up its security component with
:07:04. > :07:09.regard to political infrastructure and that there's not a direct
:07:10. > :07:14.element. For China, the concern will be, are we going to get Bradwell,
:07:15. > :07:18.our own technology into that nuclear power station so that we can then
:07:19. > :07:22.export it around the world with the stamp of approval of one of the
:07:23. > :07:26.highest, the UK industry standard is very high, and therefore other
:07:27. > :07:30.jurisdictions across the world will say, if it's good enough for the UK,
:07:31. > :07:34.it may be good enough for us. For them, that is crucial, so they think
:07:35. > :07:38.that, as a result of these conditions and these new rules being
:07:39. > :07:42.put in place that they can still get that, then I think they'll probably
:07:43. > :07:47.still want the deal even if they're fed up at having to wait for seven
:07:48. > :07:54.weeks and they don't like the language of the new conditions per
:07:55. > :07:58.say. Carrie Gracie and Simon Jack, who
:07:59. > :08:02.was first with the news on your blog a few days ago. It was an
:08:03. > :08:04.uncomfortable couple of days because the Government made it clear there
:08:05. > :08:07.were no certainties around this and were no certainties around this and
:08:08. > :08:11.they wouldn't be rushed so it's a relief. Still plenty of detail to
:08:12. > :08:13.run through. We'll talk about this again. We definitely will. Thank
:08:14. > :08:15.you. Trade Representative Michael Froman
:08:16. > :08:20.is due to meet the EU's Trade Commissioner,
:08:21. > :08:23.Cecilia Malmstr m, in a last ditch attempt to save the biggest
:08:24. > :08:27.trade deal in history. It's the Transatlantic Trade
:08:28. > :08:30.and Investment Partnership or TTIP for short that aims to break down
:08:31. > :08:34.trade barriers between Europe and the United states and boost both
:08:35. > :08:38.economies by billions of dollars. But despite three years of talks
:08:39. > :08:42.the prospects of a deal We'll be speaking to a trade expert
:08:43. > :08:50.in a moment about what might happen next first here are some facts
:08:51. > :08:59.and figures about TTIP. Plans to create a free trade zone
:09:00. > :09:04.between Europe and the US have stirred up controversy from the
:09:05. > :09:09.start. The pact would group 850 million
:09:10. > :09:13.consumers into one market. Those in favour say it would offer tens of
:09:14. > :09:19.billions of dollars of benefits to both the EU and US economies.
:09:20. > :09:26.But sceptics disagree, saying it would favour big business and lower
:09:27. > :09:30.product safety standards. Recently, they've been voicing their
:09:31. > :09:35.opposition. When President Obama visited Germany earlier this year,
:09:36. > :09:39.thousands of protestors rallied against TTIP. Many in France,
:09:40. > :09:43.including the Trade Minister, have criticised a lack of concessions
:09:44. > :09:47.from the US side. Now there is a real possibility the
:09:48. > :09:50.talks could stall altogether. With me is Stephanie Hare,
:09:51. > :10:00.senior Europe analyst We have talked about this before,
:10:01. > :10:04.it's been going on for some time. Do you think we'll make headway today
:10:05. > :10:08.in Brussels? The negotiations take years, we are entering a critical
:10:09. > :10:11.phase politically with the US election coming up in November.
:10:12. > :10:14.Right now, there is a lot of signalling that is happening. France
:10:15. > :10:18.has got an election next year, Germany has an election next year so
:10:19. > :10:21.right now, the comments that we are hearing are as much to each
:10:22. > :10:23.politician or trade negotiators politician or trade negotiators
:10:24. > :10:27.domestic constituency as it is to one another.
:10:28. > :10:32.It's worth mentioning that there has been widespread opposition to this
:10:33. > :10:35.deal at a grass roots level as well as the more political sphere as
:10:36. > :10:40.well? Grass roots right there hits it on the head. This is a deal that
:10:41. > :10:43.will benefit multinational corporations, less clear whether it
:10:44. > :10:47.will benefit ordinary people. That's what we have seen in a lot of
:10:48. > :10:52.discusses on both sides of the Atlantic with the economy, so the 1%
:10:53. > :10:55.movement, the 99% movement, we are seeing benefits in trade but they
:10:56. > :10:59.don't necessarily trickle down. From the point of view of the US, without
:11:00. > :11:03.the UK involved in TTIP it's a different proposition isn't it?
:11:04. > :11:07.That's the irony of this situation now, as with Brexit, the UK, one of
:11:08. > :11:11.the most vocal supporters of this deal, and still supports it, is
:11:12. > :11:16.going to end up leaving and the UK is a really important trading
:11:17. > :11:23.partner for US exports, 25% of EI exports are from the UK, so this
:11:24. > :11:24.matters. -- the EU. Particularly matters for the financial sector.
:11:25. > :11:41.Thank you very much. Let's have a look at the markets.
:11:42. > :11:46.Sell off in bank stocks following reports that Japan's Central Bank
:11:47. > :11:50.will consider slashing interest rates deeper into negative
:11:51. > :11:52.territory. There are worries that the Fed could lift interest rates as
:11:53. > :12:10.soon as this month in the US. Let's hear from Samira Hussain about
:12:11. > :12:14.this. Two thirds of the US economy depends on consumer spending.
:12:15. > :12:25.Excluding vehicles, it's believed retail sales are expected to go up.
:12:26. > :12:33.The kind of rise that we could see is expected to mean a growth.
:12:34. > :12:40.Donald Trump will participate in a question and answer period. Finally,
:12:41. > :12:49.earnings will be reported. Voters will want to know how the
:12:50. > :12:56.Brexit vote will affect things. Brexit everywhere right now in terms
:12:57. > :13:00.of the impact. James Hughes is with us from GKFX. Tell us what is
:13:01. > :13:04.occupying your attention at the moment because there is so much
:13:05. > :13:07.going on with, as Victoria mentioned, looking ahead to next
:13:08. > :13:12.week, the Bank of Japan, the Fed, but oil has been all over the place,
:13:13. > :13:15.there is quite a bit going on? Yes, we have had that week where the
:13:16. > :13:18.markets get back together when the kids get back to school, the volume
:13:19. > :13:22.picks up and the markets then tend to move all over the place. Today is
:13:23. > :13:26.particularly busy, so much data coming out. We have the Bank of
:13:27. > :13:32.England where Mark Carney is going to give himself a huge pat on the
:13:33. > :13:34.back again for doing so well. Then ECB numbers or eurozone numbers in
:13:35. > :13:44.terms of inpolice station will move markets so we are going to see
:13:45. > :13:49.currencies, indices moving volatile. We just wait for any kind of bit of
:13:50. > :13:57.data around the Fed. So you can't relax at all? Well, we try, but...
:13:58. > :14:02.This next week or so is so busy. You mentioned the Bank of Japan and the
:14:03. > :14:07.Fed. We try to look at other data because we do have UK and European
:14:08. > :14:15.data today, but we all just always jump back to the Fed and look at
:14:16. > :14:18.when they are going to make the hike on the rate, probably in December.
:14:19. > :14:22.You will be back with paper stories later on. See you soon.
:14:23. > :14:26.Lithium is the super-material being used to develop
:14:27. > :14:30.But can we get it out of the ground without wrecking the environment?
:14:31. > :14:32.We'll meet the boss of a major exploration company.
:14:33. > :14:42.You're with Business Live from BBC News.
:14:43. > :14:47.First, some fairly surprising news from John Lewis.
:14:48. > :14:52.Surprisingly bad news, we are used to hearing good news from the
:14:53. > :14:54.partnership and better than expected news from the supermarket chain
:14:55. > :14:57.Morrisons. You would expect it to be the other
:14:58. > :15:05.way around. Not today. Which one shall we start
:15:06. > :15:12.with? John Lewis or Morrisons? Two very different story. Let's
:15:13. > :15:17.start with John Lewis. The problem there is pre-tax profits for the
:15:18. > :15:22.first half are down nearly 15%, although sales, oddly, are holding
:15:23. > :15:27.up well, up 3%. So what is going on? According to the chairman of John
:15:28. > :15:30.Lewis, there is profound structural change going on in the retail
:15:31. > :15:36.business for a start, they are trying to prepare for that, they are
:15:37. > :15:39.investing a lot in their IT systems, important for online trading, and
:15:40. > :15:44.trying to boost pay for their workers, as well as the price war in
:15:45. > :15:49.the supermarkets, the John Lewis partnership owns Waitrose. But John
:15:50. > :15:52.Lewis says, watch out, because most of their profits are made in the
:15:53. > :15:55.second half of the year in the run-up to Christmas so they should
:15:56. > :16:02.be judged on the second half of the year more than the first.
:16:03. > :16:06.Let's talk about Morrisons, normally at the sharp end here in the UK, but
:16:07. > :16:12.they are doing better? Morrisons is in a period of recovery
:16:13. > :16:17.which began last year when Dave Potts took over as chief executive.
:16:18. > :16:22.They have had three successive quarters of increasing profit. ?157
:16:23. > :16:26.million for the first half of the year, up 11%. If you look at the
:16:27. > :16:30.share price graph here, we have the downward trend in the middle of June
:16:31. > :16:35.around the EU referendum, a lot of companies saw their share prices
:16:36. > :16:39.fall then. There has been steady recovery since and to date up 5%
:16:40. > :16:45.largely because these results from Morrisons were a lot better than
:16:46. > :16:47.expected. So, John Lewis, a bit more disappointing, Morrisons doing
:16:48. > :16:53.better than expected. Time will tell, we have got the
:16:54. > :16:56.Christmas advert race still to come. See you soon, Villon.
:16:57. > :17:01.We have been asking for your tweet about Hinkley Point and what you
:17:02. > :17:08.think. This one, Hinkley Point C will
:17:09. > :17:11.produce the waste of the future. Also, all it takes to understand
:17:12. > :17:15.nuclear energy is not safe is another Chernobyl or Fukushima.
:17:16. > :17:17.You're watching Business Live - our top story:
:17:18. > :17:20.The UK Government has given the go-ahead for plans to build
:17:21. > :17:26.the first new nuclear plant in Britain for 20 years.
:17:27. > :17:34.Lots more on that story on our website, take a look. Let's remind
:17:35. > :17:38.you how the trading day is faring in Europe, going now for about 15
:17:39. > :17:43.minutes, and pretty flat, not much movement. China was closed today for
:17:44. > :17:44.a public holiday so no action today in Shanghai.
:17:45. > :17:46.We've spent a lot of time recently bemoaning the state
:17:47. > :17:49.of the commodities market, which has been under
:17:50. > :17:51.a lot of pressure because of the slowdown in China.
:17:52. > :17:55.But one commodity sector that's booming is lithium.
:17:56. > :17:58.It's the metal used as a key element in many next-generation batteries -
:17:59. > :18:01.and demand is expected to grow further because of the increasing
:18:02. > :18:08.Our next guest is the boss of leading exploration company
:18:09. > :18:13.The firm shifted its focus towards lithium projects this year,
:18:14. > :18:16.anticipating big growth in demand from those new technologies.
:18:17. > :18:19.And it is specifically pushing into Chile, which has one
:18:20. > :18:23.of the largest lithium reserves in the world.
:18:24. > :18:25.Wealth Minerals has specifically highlighted Tesla,
:18:26. > :18:28.which is currently building a huge Gigafactory in Nevada to manufacture
:18:29. > :18:35.Wealth Minerals says demand for lithium will be given a big
:18:36. > :18:38.boost by the factory when it comes online.
:18:39. > :18:44.The company's boss is Henk van Alphen, and he joins me now.
:18:45. > :18:53.Good morning. Thank you for having me. You have been in this business
:18:54. > :18:57.for quite some time but lithium seems to be the new kid on the block
:18:58. > :19:03.when it comes to mining and you are focusing very much on Chile as the
:19:04. > :19:12.place to dig it up. Tell us more? Delay has been, most of the lithium
:19:13. > :19:16.in the world is in brines, and the place to be for Brian lithium
:19:17. > :19:24.happens to be what they called the Golden Triangle of lithium, which is
:19:25. > :19:29.Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, which, by a fluke of nature, has the
:19:30. > :19:34.largest lithium brands in the world, which is why we have focused on
:19:35. > :19:40.Chile. And that as far as I understand it, is a type of
:19:41. > :19:45.saltwater? Yes, dry lakes that exist in the high Andes and because of
:19:46. > :19:49.evaporation use the increase in lithium concentration. If it is just
:19:50. > :19:54.sitting on the surface, quite easy to get hold of, why are we seeing
:19:55. > :20:00.prices rise in the way that we are? An extraordinary level of rising
:20:01. > :20:04.prices. Supply has to catch up with demand here so there is an enormous
:20:05. > :20:08.increase in demand for obvious reasons, timing is everything and we
:20:09. > :20:13.are talking about a nuclear power plant being approved, so alternative
:20:14. > :20:18.forms of energy here. The worm is changing radically and lithium
:20:19. > :20:21.batteries are part of this, it is an enormous growth industry and the
:20:22. > :20:27.supply of lithium is going to have to catch up at some point. Just for
:20:28. > :20:30.our viewers' information, lithium batteries are in so many devices
:20:31. > :20:34.that we use all the time, smartphones, tablets, not just
:20:35. > :20:38.electric cars? And there is an increasing that but really the big
:20:39. > :20:45.increase will come from electric cars. China will be a huge market
:20:46. > :20:49.for that. Electric buses, when you go to the humongous cities in the
:20:50. > :20:54.world, they are all polluted so electric buses, electric trucks, you
:20:55. > :20:59.name it, it all need lithium batteries. You are a company based
:21:00. > :21:04.in Vancouver, you decide you will go for lithium in a major way in Chile,
:21:05. > :21:07.how do you make that happen? You have to work with governments and
:21:08. > :21:12.local organisations, you need a man on the inside? I have been working
:21:13. > :21:20.in South America the 25 years so I have a lot of connections and one of
:21:21. > :21:25.them is a friend, I opened up the idea that we should be focusing on
:21:26. > :21:28.the lithium potential in Chile and we discussed this and he saw the
:21:29. > :21:33.same potential that I saw so he joined the company and it has been a
:21:34. > :21:37.pleasure ever since. Regardless of the relationships you have, when the
:21:38. > :21:42.oil price is collapsing and we see the lithium price rise, surely there
:21:43. > :21:45.is not the same profit incentive for governments, policymakers, to start
:21:46. > :21:51.investing in alternative forms of energy just yet? That is an economic
:21:52. > :21:55.pressure but I don't think that is going to change. The world is
:21:56. > :21:58.polluted, CT 's need to clean up their acts, and it is where most
:21:59. > :22:03.people live so I think governments have no choice, they have to go with
:22:04. > :22:09.renewable sources of energy. We have a long way to go here, this is a
:22:10. > :22:15.huge growth industry. Where else would you look in the future? We
:22:16. > :22:17.will stay focused on Chile as a company. We appreciate your time
:22:18. > :22:21.today, very interesting. In a moment we'll take a look
:22:22. > :22:25.through the Business pages but first here's a quick reminder of how
:22:26. > :22:31.to get in touch with us. The Business Live page is where you
:22:32. > :22:36.can say ahead with the breaking business news. We will keep you up
:22:37. > :22:40.to date with the latest details, with insight and analysis from the
:22:41. > :22:44.BBC's team of editors right around the world. And we want to hear from
:22:45. > :22:55.you. Get involved on the BBC Business Live web page. You can find
:22:56. > :22:57.us on Twitter and Facebook. Business Live on TV and online, whenever you
:22:58. > :23:09.need to know. James is back to talk through some
:23:10. > :23:13.of the papers. The law of unintended consequences, in Russia they are
:23:14. > :23:17.drinking a lot more wine? Yes, this is a lot to do with the fact that
:23:18. > :23:25.the West has imposed all sorts of sanctions on Russia since, well,
:23:26. > :23:30.pretty much forever! That hampers the ability to import wine from
:23:31. > :23:34.elsewhere, the big Russian oligarchs have been drinking it before,
:23:35. > :23:39.however now it seems that within Russia their own wine is becoming a
:23:40. > :23:44.boom area. Interestingly part of this is that one of the key wine
:23:45. > :23:49.producing regions of Russia is Crimea, which fell into complete
:23:50. > :23:54.disrepair under Ukraine but now under Russia is being sold off to a
:23:55. > :23:58.number of different vineyards and is producing this supposedly amazing
:23:59. > :24:03.wine. I have not tasted any myself but supposedly it is the next big
:24:04. > :24:09.thing and is being consumed in its gallons in Russia currently. This
:24:10. > :24:13.story in the business standard in India, Google and Apple lock horns
:24:14. > :24:18.with the Government, explain what this is? It is a Government
:24:19. > :24:26.initiative to help people access their information by smart devices?
:24:27. > :24:33.Absolutely, the biometrics and... When we talk about Apple, Samsung,
:24:34. > :24:36.Google, it is the fingerprint recognition, I respected mission,
:24:37. > :24:40.things you use on your body to confirm what you are doing, and this
:24:41. > :24:45.programme in India is a way for a lot of Indians to be paid money they
:24:46. > :24:49.are owed in terms of jobs they are doing all money in view of food
:24:50. > :24:53.because of the fact that a lot of Indian people don't have bank
:24:54. > :24:56.accounts, have not set foot into banks, let alone have bank accounts,
:24:57. > :25:01.so this programme is a great way for them to get the money they are paid.
:25:02. > :25:05.What Apple, Google and Samsung are involved for is because the growth
:25:06. > :25:12.in smartphones in India is a massive growth area for those companies,
:25:13. > :25:17.they want, the discussions between them to try to get some kind of
:25:18. > :25:21.tired, but it is not going particularly well. Discussions have
:25:22. > :25:26.been going on, India has been trying to get these huge corporations over.
:25:27. > :25:32.Did you find your biometrics works? The fingerprint does. It always
:25:33. > :25:34.works for me, I bought my breakfast on my phone this morning using my
:25:35. > :25:40.thumb! I was amazed by that! That is the
:25:41. > :25:46.way forward, it is what is happening in India. That reveals on-air how
:25:47. > :25:52.backwards I am, good old pounds and pence for me! May a plastic ?5 note!
:25:53. > :25:54.Exactly right! Thank you for coming in.
:25:55. > :25:58.There will be more business news throughout the day on the BBC live
:25:59. > :26:13.webpage and on World Business Report.
:26:14. > :26:14.Hello. Today brings us the last of our hot