15/09/2016 BBC Business Live

This is Business Live from BBC News with Victoria Fritz

The Hinckley Point deal is back on; the UK government has given the go

ahead for plans to build the first new nuclear plant in

Live from London, that's our top story on Thursday 15th of September.

The UK Government gives green light to build the first new nuclear plant

T-Tipping point. in the programme.

Could the biggest free trade deal in history be about to collapse?

Here are the markets. The FTSE opening flat across Europe.

Digging for the future; companies around the world are mining

The boss of a leading exploration company will be here to explain

We want to know if nuclear is the fuel of the future. Let us know, are

you concerned about the impact? The first nuclear plant to be built

in the UK for 20 years has Prime Minister Theresa May

has given the go ahead for the ?18 billion,

around $23 billion. Hinkley Point C nuclear

power plant station The decision was postponed

by the Government in July. France's EDF had agreed to pay

for two-thirds of the project, There has been no official

confirmation that the deal will go With me is our Business Editor,

Simon Jack In Brussels the US With me is our Business

Editor, Simon Jack. They want to say there are

components of the deal we are worried about. The key is the

involvement of CGM, state-owned in China. They are taking a third stake

in this. There is an understanding they'll take a stake in the next

project at Sizewell, but the real prize for China is they are going to

use their own reactor and run a plant at Bradwell in Essex. They

came into the Hinkley deal which would have failed without them, on

the understanding they would run their own reactor, get British

approval for that in Bradwell. These conditions talk very much about a

legal framework for future investment by foreign Governments in

British near. What the conditions look like will be key as to whether

this offends the Chinese government. Could it be a situation in which

they are so onerous that actually the deal doesn't go ahead anyway?

It's possible that basically they'll say actually this rips up our

gentleman's agreement that we had, the understanding that we were going

to do that, without that we don't do this, without them doing this,

without Chinese involvement, it doesn't happen. The practicalities

will break out. Just a bit of window dressing, put our people in with

your people while building a reactor, there is a precedent, a

Chinese company came in with bit in 290s, they put some personnel in

with that to make sure. If they are saying we fundamentally don't trust

you and we are going to put in monitoring and security surveillance

on that, then who knows, the Chinese may say, the President in the G20

said a few weeks back, you have got to trust us. If they feel that

message is not heard, who knows. If the deal were not to go ahead, what

does it mean for the future of nuclear power in the UK? This is

about keeping the lights on. Some say this project is a project from a

by gone era, a dinosaur in a new energy environment where we talk

about renewables and decentralised production and also digital, using

better resources, and we don't actually need this. Others say,

listen, on that cloudy, very calm day in February where the renewables

aren't producing anything, you need the base load, something that will

be on all the time. Just yesterday in fact, the price for electricity

which if you wanted to buy it now, the now price, spiked up to 180 to

200. That shows you you need the base load load, the reliable source

of carbon that nuclear gives you. Plenty still think this is a duff

project. It seems risking this relationship with China but also

France was too much for the new Prime Minister to bear. She's

obviously had a look at this and the detail, but this is a very political

deal isn't it? Well, there is a School of Thought which says, this

is all a bit of political posturing in the sense that, I'm not going to

go through a deal which was done by my predecessor. There is been a real

effort to draw a line under the previous administration and say I'm

in charge now and this was a way of proving that. The teeth in the new

conditions will tell us whether that was a real security concern or

whether Theresa May just wanted to say, I just wanted to remind

everyone there's a new boss in town. Carrie Gracie joins us now via Skype

from her home in London. I know you have been across this from the point

of view of China's situation, as it were, what are you hearing in terms

of China's reaction to the fact that this is now back on?

Well, there is no official reaction yet. I'm sure it will come from CGN

and the Chinese Government. Exactly what they say will remain to be

seen. They'll want to look closely at the detail of the kind of

conditions that have been put in place here. To look at the language

coming out of the British Government, it's been carefully

structured to make it seem and read that this is not directed against

China, that there's not a specific Cold War mentality going on, as the

Chinese would put it, a sense that the Chinese are not to be trusted,

that this is the UK trying to ramp up its security component with

regard to political infrastructure and that there's not a direct

element. For China, the concern will be, are we going to get Bradwell,

our own technology into that nuclear power station so that we can then

export it around the world with the stamp of approval of one of the

highest, the UK industry standard is very high, and therefore other

jurisdictions across the world will say, if it's good enough for the UK,

it may be good enough for us. For them, that is crucial, so they think

that, as a result of these conditions and these new rules being

put in place that they can still get that, then I think they'll probably

still want the deal even if they're fed up at having to wait for seven

weeks and they don't like the language of the new conditions per

say. Carrie Gracie and Simon Jack, who

was first with the news on your blog a few days ago. It was an

uncomfortable couple of days because the Government made it clear there

were no certainties around this and were no certainties around this and

they wouldn't be rushed so it's a relief. Still plenty of detail to

run through. We'll talk about this again. We definitely will. Thank

you. Trade Representative Michael Froman

is due to meet the EU's Trade Commissioner,

Cecilia Malmstr m, in a last ditch attempt to save the biggest

trade deal in history. It's the Transatlantic Trade

and Investment Partnership or TTIP for short that aims to break down

trade barriers between Europe and the United states and boost both

economies by billions of dollars. But despite three years of talks

the prospects of a deal We'll be speaking to a trade expert

in a moment about what might happen next first here are some facts

and figures about TTIP. Plans to create a free trade zone

between Europe and the US have stirred up controversy from the

start. The pact would group 850 million

consumers into one market. Those in favour say it would offer tens of

billions of dollars of benefits to both the EU and US economies.

But sceptics disagree, saying it would favour big business and lower

product safety standards. Recently, they've been voicing their

opposition. When President Obama visited Germany earlier this year,

thousands of protestors rallied against TTIP. Many in France,

including the Trade Minister, have criticised a lack of concessions

from the US side. Now there is a real possibility the

talks could stall altogether. With me is Stephanie Hare,

senior Europe analyst We have talked about this before,

it's been going on for some time. Do you think we'll make headway today

in Brussels? The negotiations take years, we are entering a critical

phase politically with the US election coming up in November.

Right now, there is a lot of signalling that is happening. France

has got an election next year, Germany has an election next year so

right now, the comments that we are hearing are as much to each

politician or trade negotiators politician or trade negotiators

domestic constituency as it is to one another.

It's worth mentioning that there has been widespread opposition to this

deal at a grass roots level as well as the more political sphere as

well? Grass roots right there hits it on the head. This is a deal that

will benefit multinational corporations, less clear whether it

will benefit ordinary people. That's what we have seen in a lot of

discusses on both sides of the Atlantic with the economy, so the 1%

movement, the 99% movement, we are seeing benefits in trade but they

don't necessarily trickle down. From the point of view of the US, without

the UK involved in TTIP it's a different proposition isn't it?

That's the irony of this situation now, as with Brexit, the UK, one of

the most vocal supporters of this deal, and still supports it, is

going to end up leaving and the UK is a really important trading

partner for US exports, 25% of EI exports are from the UK, so this

matters. -- the EU. Particularly matters for the financial sector.

Thank you very much. Let's have a look at the markets.

Sell off in bank stocks following reports that Japan's Central Bank

will consider slashing interest rates deeper into negative

territory. There are worries that the Fed could lift interest rates as

soon as this month in the US. Let's hear from Samira Hussain about

this. Two thirds of the US economy depends on consumer spending.

Excluding vehicles, it's believed retail sales are expected to go up.

The kind of rise that we could see is expected to mean a growth.

Donald Trump will participate in a question and answer period. Finally,

earnings will be reported. Voters will want to know how the

Brexit vote will affect things. Brexit everywhere right now in terms

of the impact. James Hughes is with us from GKFX. Tell us what is

occupying your attention at the moment because there is so much

going on with, as Victoria mentioned, looking ahead to next

week, the Bank of Japan, the Fed, but oil has been all over the place,

there is quite a bit going on? Yes, we have had that week where the

markets get back together when the kids get back to school, the volume

picks up and the markets then tend to move all over the place. Today is

particularly busy, so much data coming out. We have the Bank of

England where Mark Carney is going to give himself a huge pat on the

back again for doing so well. Then ECB numbers or eurozone numbers in

terms of inpolice station will move markets so we are going to see

currencies, indices moving volatile. We just wait for any kind of bit of

data around the Fed. So you can't relax at all? Well, we try, but...

This next week or so is so busy. You mentioned the Bank of Japan and the

Fed. We try to look at other data because we do have UK and European

data today, but we all just always jump back to the Fed and look at

when they are going to make the hike on the rate, probably in December.

You will be back with paper stories later on. See you soon.

Lithium is the super-material being used to develop

But can we get it out of the ground without wrecking the environment?

We'll meet the boss of a major exploration company.

You're with Business Live from BBC News.

First, some fairly surprising news from John Lewis.

Surprisingly bad news, we are used to hearing good news from the

partnership and better than expected news from the supermarket chain

Morrisons. You would expect it to be the other

way around. Not today. Which one shall we start

with? John Lewis or Morrisons? Two very different story. Let's

start with John Lewis. The problem there is pre-tax profits for the

first half are down nearly 15%, although sales, oddly, are holding

up well, up 3%. So what is going on? According to the chairman of John

Lewis, there is profound structural change going on in the retail

business for a start, they are trying to prepare for that, they are

investing a lot in their IT systems, important for online trading, and

trying to boost pay for their workers, as well as the price war in

the supermarkets, the John Lewis partnership owns Waitrose. But John

Lewis says, watch out, because most of their profits are made in the

second half of the year in the run-up to Christmas so they should

be judged on the second half of the year more than the first.

Let's talk about Morrisons, normally at the sharp end here in the UK, but

they are doing better? Morrisons is in a period of recovery

which began last year when Dave Potts took over as chief executive.

They have had three successive quarters of increasing profit. ?157

million for the first half of the year, up 11%. If you look at the

share price graph here, we have the downward trend in the middle of June

around the EU referendum, a lot of companies saw their share prices

fall then. There has been steady recovery since and to date up 5%

largely because these results from Morrisons were a lot better than

expected. So, John Lewis, a bit more disappointing, Morrisons doing

better than expected. Time will tell, we have got the

Christmas advert race still to come. See you soon, Villon.

We have been asking for your tweet about Hinkley Point and what you

think. This one, Hinkley Point C will

produce the waste of the future. Also, all it takes to understand

nuclear energy is not safe is another Chernobyl or Fukushima.

You're watching Business Live - our top story:

The UK Government has given the go-ahead for plans to build

the first new nuclear plant in Britain for 20 years.

Lots more on that story on our website, take a look. Let's remind

you how the trading day is faring in Europe, going now for about 15

minutes, and pretty flat, not much movement. China was closed today for

a public holiday so no action today in Shanghai.

We've spent a lot of time recently bemoaning the state

of the commodities market, which has been under

a lot of pressure because of the slowdown in China.

But one commodity sector that's booming is lithium.

It's the metal used as a key element in many next-generation batteries -

and demand is expected to grow further because of the increasing

Our next guest is the boss of leading exploration company

The firm shifted its focus towards lithium projects this year,

anticipating big growth in demand from those new technologies.

And it is specifically pushing into Chile, which has one

of the largest lithium reserves in the world.

Wealth Minerals has specifically highlighted Tesla,

which is currently building a huge Gigafactory in Nevada to manufacture

Wealth Minerals says demand for lithium will be given a big

boost by the factory when it comes online.

The company's boss is Henk van Alphen, and he joins me now.

Good morning. Thank you for having me. You have been in this business

for quite some time but lithium seems to be the new kid on the block

when it comes to mining and you are focusing very much on Chile as the

place to dig it up. Tell us more? Delay has been, most of the lithium

in the world is in brines, and the place to be for Brian lithium

happens to be what they called the Golden Triangle of lithium, which is

Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, which, by a fluke of nature, has the

largest lithium brands in the world, which is why we have focused on

Chile. And that as far as I understand it, is a type of

saltwater? Yes, dry lakes that exist in the high Andes and because of

evaporation use the increase in lithium concentration. If it is just

sitting on the surface, quite easy to get hold of, why are we seeing

prices rise in the way that we are? An extraordinary level of rising

prices. Supply has to catch up with demand here so there is an enormous

increase in demand for obvious reasons, timing is everything and we

are talking about a nuclear power plant being approved, so alternative

forms of energy here. The worm is changing radically and lithium

batteries are part of this, it is an enormous growth industry and the

supply of lithium is going to have to catch up at some point. Just for

our viewers' information, lithium batteries are in so many devices

that we use all the time, smartphones, tablets, not just

electric cars? And there is an increasing that but really the big

increase will come from electric cars. China will be a huge market

for that. Electric buses, when you go to the humongous cities in the

world, they are all polluted so electric buses, electric trucks, you

name it, it all need lithium batteries. You are a company based

in Vancouver, you decide you will go for lithium in a major way in Chile,

how do you make that happen? You have to work with governments and

local organisations, you need a man on the inside? I have been working

in South America the 25 years so I have a lot of connections and one of

them is a friend, I opened up the idea that we should be focusing on

the lithium potential in Chile and we discussed this and he saw the

same potential that I saw so he joined the company and it has been a

pleasure ever since. Regardless of the relationships you have, when the

oil price is collapsing and we see the lithium price rise, surely there

is not the same profit incentive for governments, policymakers, to start

investing in alternative forms of energy just yet? That is an economic

pressure but I don't think that is going to change. The world is

polluted, CT 's need to clean up their acts, and it is where most

people live so I think governments have no choice, they have to go with

renewable sources of energy. We have a long way to go here, this is a

huge growth industry. Where else would you look in the future? We

will stay focused on Chile as a company. We appreciate your time

today, very interesting. In a moment we'll take a look

through the Business pages but first here's a quick reminder of how

to get in touch with us. The Business Live page is where you

can say ahead with the breaking business news. We will keep you up

to date with the latest details, with insight and analysis from the

BBC's team of editors right around the world. And we want to hear from

you. Get involved on the BBC Business Live web page. You can find

us on Twitter and Facebook. Business Live on TV and online, whenever you

need to know. James is back to talk through some

of the papers. The law of unintended consequences, in Russia they are

drinking a lot more wine? Yes, this is a lot to do with the fact that

the West has imposed all sorts of sanctions on Russia since, well,

pretty much forever! That hampers the ability to import wine from

elsewhere, the big Russian oligarchs have been drinking it before,

however now it seems that within Russia their own wine is becoming a

boom area. Interestingly part of this is that one of the key wine

producing regions of Russia is Crimea, which fell into complete

disrepair under Ukraine but now under Russia is being sold off to a

number of different vineyards and is producing this supposedly amazing

wine. I have not tasted any myself but supposedly it is the next big

thing and is being consumed in its gallons in Russia currently. This

story in the business standard in India, Google and Apple lock horns

with the Government, explain what this is? It is a Government

initiative to help people access their information by smart devices?

Absolutely, the biometrics and... When we talk about Apple, Samsung,

Google, it is the fingerprint recognition, I respected mission,

things you use on your body to confirm what you are doing, and this

programme in India is a way for a lot of Indians to be paid money they

are owed in terms of jobs they are doing all money in view of food

because of the fact that a lot of Indian people don't have bank

accounts, have not set foot into banks, let alone have bank accounts,

so this programme is a great way for them to get the money they are paid.

What Apple, Google and Samsung are involved for is because the growth

in smartphones in India is a massive growth area for those companies,

they want, the discussions between them to try to get some kind of

tired, but it is not going particularly well. Discussions have

been going on, India has been trying to get these huge corporations over.

Did you find your biometrics works? The fingerprint does. It always

works for me, I bought my breakfast on my phone this morning using my

thumb! I was amazed by that! That is the

way forward, it is what is happening in India. That reveals on-air how

backwards I am, good old pounds and pence for me! May a plastic ?5 note!

Exactly right! Thank you for coming in.

There will be more business news throughout the day on the BBC live

webpage and on World Business Report.

Hello. Today brings us the last of our hot