:00:00. > :00:09.This is Business Live from BBC News with Sally Bundock and Ben Thompson.
:00:10. > :00:13.The UK Finance Minister gets set to announce billions
:00:14. > :00:15.of pounds of new government spending amid forecasts
:00:16. > :00:24.Live from London, that's our top story on Wednesday,
:00:25. > :00:43.Increased funds will go to infrastructure,
:00:44. > :00:47.research and those who are just managing, but will the national
:00:48. > :00:56.Also in the programme - rumours Facebook is working
:00:57. > :00:58.on censorship software to accommodate China's data requests
:00:59. > :01:00.- the company has neither confirmed nor denied the reports -
:01:01. > :01:09.Markets in Europe are mixed today, but everybody is celebrating on Wall
:01:10. > :01:13.Street as the Dow goes above 19,000 for the first time.
:01:14. > :01:21.The oil giant Shell serves 20 million customers a day
:01:22. > :01:23.in its retail outlets that are attached to petrol stations.
:01:24. > :01:26.So are they really a one-stop shop and what will the forecourt
:01:27. > :01:38.It's Black Friday soon but some brands are scrapping big reductions.
:01:39. > :01:41.We want to know, do you still wait for the sales?
:01:42. > :01:51.Let us know - use the hashtag BBCBizLive.
:01:52. > :01:59.The UK's Autumn Statement, which is just the Budget,
:02:00. > :02:03.will be announced in a few hours' time.
:02:04. > :02:06.It's especially important this time around because it's the first
:02:07. > :02:13.fiscal plan that's been unveiled since Brexit.
:02:14. > :02:18.And the UK leaving the EU means specific challenges
:02:19. > :02:20.that the Government will have to face head-on.
:02:21. > :02:23.Phillip Hammond is likely to pledge increased
:02:24. > :02:40.?5 billion or $6.2 billion is the number being mentioned.
:02:41. > :02:43.That's modest compared to say Donald Trump's one trillion dollars
:02:44. > :02:46.Another area likely to get a cash infusion is research
:02:47. > :02:53.and development in the science and tech sectors.
:02:54. > :02:55.?2 billion - nearly two and half billion dollars -
:02:56. > :02:57.will go to the industry, which is being touted
:02:58. > :03:00.by the Government as a long term investment strategy
:03:01. > :03:04.But the money to pay for this has to come from somewhere.
:03:05. > :03:07.The government is likely to borrow ?100 billion over
:03:08. > :03:25.With me in the studio is Kate Andrews, the news editor
:03:26. > :03:29.at Institute of Economic Affairs, a conservative leaning think-tank
:03:30. > :03:33.and in our Business newsroom our business editor Simon Jack.
:03:34. > :03:40.Kate, if we look at what the Chancellor has to give away, there
:03:41. > :03:45.is not much money in the pot? There is not a lot of wiggle room, is
:03:46. > :03:48.there? Growth forecasts are down according to the Office for Budget
:03:49. > :03:52.Responsibility and he is looking at higher inflation figures which is
:03:53. > :03:55.why I think we are seeing stranger things in this Budget that have been
:03:56. > :03:58.released. For example the big headlines are the fact that he is
:03:59. > :04:02.going to try to ban letting fees this. Is something where the
:04:03. > :04:05.Chancellor can come in and not have to commit any of his spending to
:04:06. > :04:09.doing something that seems like he's trying to help those who are just
:04:10. > :04:13.managing, but this is him basically skirting around the issue of the
:04:14. > :04:16.housing crisis. He is not really in a position at the moment where he
:04:17. > :04:20.can be flexible or bold in a lot of his statements. He has a looming
:04:21. > :04:25.deficit and a debt that he's going to have to tackle. Simon Jack, Kate
:04:26. > :04:29.outlining that there is not a lot of money really in the pot to be
:04:30. > :04:32.distributed and also coming in that era of slowing economic growth.
:04:33. > :04:37.That's what everyone will be keeping a really close eye on, won't they,
:04:38. > :04:41.the forecasts? The news from today's Autumn Statement will be just
:04:42. > :04:45.exactly how bad the public finances look over the coming years. Now
:04:46. > :04:49.remember the original plan as early as just as soon as March of this
:04:50. > :04:53.year, was that the Government wouldn't have to borrow any machine
:04:54. > :04:57.at all by 2020. In fact, it would be getting more in in taxes than it was
:04:58. > :05:02.spending. That's been ditched that as unrealistic. What we are going to
:05:03. > :05:05.be looking at out for is how much money they will be borrowing per
:05:06. > :05:10.year by the end of the Parliament. Some of the number crunchers reckon
:05:11. > :05:14.it will be ?25 billion per year, that's adding ?25 billion every year
:05:15. > :05:17.to a debt pile that the Chancellor has already called eye watering. So
:05:18. > :05:21.what will be interesting is his language about about when he wants
:05:22. > :05:26.to balance the books and over what time frame? It will not be some
:05:27. > :05:30.date, it will be an aspiration, expect a lot of aspirations today
:05:31. > :05:34.because aspirations are free and spend something not! Kate, do you
:05:35. > :05:38.think he would hold back today, Philip Hammond, in terms of what he
:05:39. > :05:43.may or may not announce, because he wants to wait for a Budget before an
:05:44. > :05:46.election in 2020 and also a Budget that's during or after Brexit
:05:47. > :05:50.negotiations? Certainly, well Brexit is that huge question mark, the UK
:05:51. > :05:55.a net ?10 billion back. That it a net ?10 billion back. That it
:05:56. > :05:59.would be normally paying to the EU, but it is not obvious that he will
:06:00. > :06:02.have that money yet to play with depending on the relationship with
:06:03. > :06:06.the EU going forward, some of that money might be going to the EU to
:06:07. > :06:09.buy into the single market, perhaps. There is a big question mark for him
:06:10. > :06:14.around what figures he is going to have to play with going forward, but
:06:15. > :06:19.we should be concerned about the fact that the da debt is estimated
:06:20. > :06:25.to be around 90% of the UK's annual GDP. It is staggering and it is not
:06:26. > :06:28.money that can be put off forever. At some point future generations
:06:29. > :06:33.will be taxed and borrowing will impact us and with Brexit looming
:06:34. > :06:37.and everything, it is a gamble to be borrowing this much at this time.
:06:38. > :06:42.Simon, the question is how much this is going to cost us as a result of
:06:43. > :06:45.the vote to leave the EU? The very wildly ranging forecasts of what
:06:46. > :06:53.that could mean? Yes, I think it will be tempting to look at the
:06:54. > :06:57.March Budget and the way the OBR set out its plans there and look at this
:06:58. > :07:02.one and compare the two and say the difference is the cost of Brexit and
:07:03. > :07:07.over the next five years some will say that's ?100 billion. Economies
:07:08. > :07:09.are dynamic things. It is difficult to ascribe one things. Are
:07:10. > :07:15.businesses investing bes because of Brexit? Probably. Is inflation going
:07:16. > :07:18.to be higher because of breaks snit Yes, because of the fall in the
:07:19. > :07:22.pound. In today's forecast we will show that growth for this year looks
:07:23. > :07:26.like it will come in exactly on target and yet we already know he's
:07:27. > :07:30.going to miss his borrowing targets this year. Even when growth is on
:07:31. > :07:33.target you can still miss your borrowing forecasts. So that Iing
:07:34. > :07:38.that it is to do with Brexit, we have to be careful about how much we
:07:39. > :07:43.definite ascribe to one phenomenon. Simon, thank you very much indeed.
:07:44. > :07:45.Kate Andrews, news editor at the Institute of Economic Affairs,
:07:46. > :07:49.really good to talk to you, thank you very much.
:07:50. > :07:52.There is more on the website from the Autumn Statement. Special
:07:53. > :07:55.coverage from our team who will stay across the announcements as they are
:07:56. > :07:58.made. Special details there on the BBC News website. Just look for the
:07:59. > :08:04.Autumn Statement 2016 section. Lufthansa has cancelled almost 900
:08:05. > :08:07.flights after it lost a last-ditch The two-day strike began
:08:08. > :08:17.at midnight local time. Lufthansa says about 100,000
:08:18. > :08:21.passengers will be affected. The industrial action is part
:08:22. > :08:26.of a long-running dispute involving 14 strikes in the past
:08:27. > :08:29.two and a half years. Three Australian employees
:08:30. > :08:30.of gambling group Crown Resorts, who were detained in China last
:08:31. > :08:33.month, have been formally arrested. The three were among 18 Crown staff
:08:34. > :08:36.held after a police operation, believed to target Crown's
:08:37. > :08:38.marketing activities. Casino gambling and promoting
:08:39. > :08:40.gambling abroad are The Japanese car maker Toyota
:08:41. > :09:03.is recalling more than 800,000 minivans in North America over
:09:04. > :09:05.concerns the sliding doors could open while
:09:06. > :09:07.the vehicle is moving. The recall affects Sienna
:09:08. > :09:09.minivans from 2011 to 2016. Toyota says it is still developing
:09:10. > :09:11.a fix for the problem. Sally, you came up with a good fix?
:09:12. > :09:18.I thought a lock might work well! The New York Times is reporting
:09:19. > :09:21.Facebook has been working on a tool that could pave the way
:09:22. > :09:23.for censoring certain content if the network
:09:24. > :09:27.was ever to launch in China. Facebook has not confirmed or denied
:09:28. > :09:32.the software's existence, It is learning more
:09:33. > :09:46.about the country. Robin, tell us more about what
:09:47. > :09:55.Facebook is supposedly thinking through? Well, the big question for
:09:56. > :10:00.Facebook, it has one billion users, where does it get the next one
:10:01. > :10:03.billion from? Facebook looks like that. You can't get it because it
:10:04. > :10:13.hasn't been in this country since 2009. Mark Zuckerberg has a possible
:10:14. > :10:18.solution. The potential here is vast. He met the president, we have
:10:19. > :10:23.seen him running through the smog during visits in Beijing and we have
:10:24. > :10:28.evidence, some might say in reports in the New York Times that Facebook
:10:29. > :10:33.is trying to develop software which will allow it to exist in China and
:10:34. > :10:39.exist by new rules and new laws that China insists on having if social
:10:40. > :10:42.media giants are allowed to be here. That software will allow, according
:10:43. > :10:49.to the New York Times certain content to be blocked from specific
:10:50. > :10:53.geographic areas. Facebook and other social media giants do take down
:10:54. > :11:00.some content, but this would allow third party actors, other companies,
:11:01. > :11:03.to remove content at the behest of the Chinese Government. Very
:11:04. > :11:11.interesting. Robin, thank you for filling us in.
:11:12. > :11:20.Tell us what you think about that. Use the hashtag BBC Biz Live.
:11:21. > :11:25.Most of the markets in Asia were higher. You can see hong don'ting
:11:26. > :11:29.down at the close. The big story is the Dow. Going above 19,000 for the
:11:30. > :11:33.first time, closing above that. You can see behind me there and all
:11:34. > :11:37.markets in the US were at record levels at the close on Wall Street.
:11:38. > :11:41.Let's look at Europe right now. Just to give you a sense of how the day
:11:42. > :11:47.is progressing. All higher at the moment. It is a really interesting
:11:48. > :11:51.time we're in. Is it a bubble we're experiencing in share markets? We
:11:52. > :12:02.will talk about why we had a good session on Wall Street.
:12:03. > :12:06.Here is Samira. Trading volumes will be light, but before carving the
:12:07. > :12:10.turkey, there are a few bits of economic news to chew on the durable
:12:11. > :12:16.goods orders for the month of October are expected to increase
:12:17. > :12:22.1.5%. But non defence related capital goods orders are expecting
:12:23. > :12:27.up 0.2%. Now, this is actually a closely watched number as it gives
:12:28. > :12:34.us an idea of how businesses maybe planning on spending money going
:12:35. > :12:42.forward. And new home sales, increase 0.3% in October.
:12:43. > :12:53.Agriculture and construction equipment maker Deer are are
:12:54. > :12:58.expected to report lower earnings due to a fall in products.
:12:59. > :13:06.Mike Amey, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at PIMCO is here
:13:07. > :13:11.People were reluctant to commit their money before the election
:13:12. > :13:15.because of the uncertainty created over previous, you know, political
:13:16. > :13:19.events, Brexit for example. So I think there was money on the side
:13:20. > :13:24.and the two things that happened really has been the focus from the
:13:25. > :13:28.Trump campaign about Government spending and that's obviously helped
:13:29. > :13:34.US stock markets. A bit of money on the side. But the two together and
:13:35. > :13:38.there you go. Above 19,000. That's right. The challenge at this point
:13:39. > :13:42.is do we keep going up or do we take a pause for breath as you mentioned?
:13:43. > :13:47.The pause for breath could be the Fed move next month, do you think or
:13:48. > :13:51.not? What will be the reaction when from interest rates go up next month
:13:52. > :13:55.which most people believe they will? So we and most other people expect
:13:56. > :13:58.the Fed to raise rates next month which will be the second time
:13:59. > :14:03.they've done it. We get minutes today, don't we? We do. I think
:14:04. > :14:06.really what investors think about is on the one hand with Trump you have
:14:07. > :14:10.this positive, you know, Government spending story. On the other, you
:14:11. > :14:15.have this kind of withdrawing from global trade and all those aspects
:14:16. > :14:19.of the Trump policy. The markets are focussed on fiscal spending. If we
:14:20. > :14:23.get more focus on the trade then things could become a bit more
:14:24. > :14:27.challenging. Mike, for now, thank you.
:14:28. > :14:37.The oil giant has more shops around the world
:14:38. > :14:39.than Starbucks or MacDonald's and with low oil prices
:14:40. > :14:41.squeezing petrol income, it's looking elsewhere
:14:42. > :14:47.You're with Business Live from BBC News.
:14:48. > :14:52.Thomas Cook has reported a ?41 million fall in profits
:14:53. > :14:56.after what it called a difficult year for tourism after terror
:14:57. > :15:02.Theo Leggett has been looking at the figures,
:15:03. > :15:15.We saw it with easyJet, and this time Thomas Cook. That is true, but
:15:16. > :15:20.look at my graph, see what has happened to Thomas Cook's share
:15:21. > :15:24.price, up 9%. That is a strong reaction, because investors believe
:15:25. > :15:29.that things could have been a long worse. If you look at their
:15:30. > :15:33.underlying profits today, ?308 million earned in the year against
:15:34. > :15:38.310 million last year, which flatters things a little, because of
:15:39. > :15:42.the effects of the fall in sterling, which massaged the figure is a bit.
:15:43. > :15:47.If you strip that out, there is a fall of ?41 million. They had to
:15:48. > :15:53.deal with a number of outside factors, especially a fall in demand
:15:54. > :15:57.in travel to Turkey, one of its major destinations, especially for
:15:58. > :16:01.its German business, and it saw a drop in numbers to Egypt and
:16:02. > :16:07.Tunisia, but they have been working hard to move their destinations away
:16:08. > :16:11.from the eastern Mediterranean and more towards the western
:16:12. > :16:15.Mediterranean, the Spanish islands, for example. It was prepared for a
:16:16. > :16:21.drop-off in passenger numbers to areas like Turkey. Therefore it has
:16:22. > :16:29.done better than expected, and as you can see, investors are quite
:16:30. > :16:35.happy about that. The latest results ad. As the owner pointed out, shares
:16:36. > :16:40.going up and up, at a time expected. They could look at our page,
:16:41. > :16:44.dominated by events today, it is all about the Autumn Statement in the
:16:45. > :16:49.UK. And not from our colleagues at BBC Radio 4. The Chancellor to
:16:50. > :16:53.gloomy about the economy, apparently, but infrastructure
:16:54. > :16:56.projects are on the cards. What that could mean in terms of jobs and
:16:57. > :17:02.economic growth. We are right across this for you,
:17:03. > :17:09.you can follow Simon Jack, and others, on Twitter. The live page
:17:10. > :17:12.will be updating throughout the speech. I have been told it will be
:17:13. > :17:14.a short one. Due to kick off at 12:30pm, full
:17:15. > :17:18.coverage on the BBC. The UK's Finance Minister is poised
:17:19. > :17:29.to announce billions of pounds' worth of new Government spending,
:17:30. > :17:41.but is Britain's national-debt We will have the forecasts for
:17:42. > :17:43.economic growth as well. We will stay across that for you.
:17:44. > :17:45.In a world of falling oil prices and squeezed profit margins,
:17:46. > :17:48.the companies selling it are increasingly looking for other
:17:49. > :17:50.And that's clear on the petrol-station forecourt.
:17:51. > :17:54.Shell runs the biggest single chain of petrol stations,
:17:55. > :17:58.it's got around 43,000 around the world.
:17:59. > :18:03.Close behind are China's state-owned Sinopec, Exxon Mobil and BP.
:18:04. > :18:05.Shell is increasingly using those sites to sell
:18:06. > :18:12.It got through 250 million cups of coffee last year
:18:13. > :18:21.In fact, in the US it's come full circle, and the stores now dominate.
:18:22. > :18:24.Around 80% of all motor fuel bought in the US is sold in
:18:25. > :18:37.Istvan Kapitany is the executive vice president at Shell Retail.
:18:38. > :18:46.Good morning. Good start, I got your name right! You were smiling when we
:18:47. > :18:51.talked about how much coffee and drinks you sell, but it is an
:18:52. > :18:55.important point, an important source of revenue. How has that changed? It
:18:56. > :19:00.is rapid change in the last ten years. 35% of the customers who are
:19:01. > :19:03.coming to the 44,000 service coming to the 44,000 service
:19:04. > :19:07.stations around the world are buying fuel only, and 50% of them are
:19:08. > :19:18.buying convenience retail items, like offing. In the UK we have the
:19:19. > :19:23.biggest Costa Coffee chain, almost every Shell service station has won.
:19:24. > :19:27.That is really growing, we are introducing it in more countries,
:19:28. > :19:33.with global partners. I can see how drinks and food are ages for fit,
:19:34. > :19:40.because people wanted on the go. But you can also pick up strange things,
:19:41. > :19:46.flowers, call for your fire, although anybody buying flowers from
:19:47. > :19:51.a petrol station will get it for -- in the neck! But they are not
:19:52. > :19:55.convenient things. It is growing, it is interesting how habits are
:19:56. > :20:04.changing. In many countries, we are starting to sell what we should have
:20:05. > :20:09.been selling for a long time. Steak and kidney pie in the UK! We are
:20:10. > :20:14.still working on the fish and chips programme! We need to become more of
:20:15. > :20:19.a convenience outlet around the world. That is what the Gucci must
:20:20. > :20:24.tell us, the reason why be do this is not just because of the oil price
:20:25. > :20:29.being low, because it is what the Gucci must would like. You have had
:20:30. > :20:35.a challenging recent couple of years, the cost of lower oil prices,
:20:36. > :20:40.and many of the kickabout Lolo oil forever now, so that is a world you
:20:41. > :20:45.have to get used to. But also, how we are moving around this changing,
:20:46. > :20:49.the driverless vehicles conversation, electric vehicles, all
:20:50. > :20:52.of that kind of thing. How will you change? What will you do to
:20:53. > :20:58.accommodate those changes in the future? These changes are not
:20:59. > :21:04.entirely new, some of the elements are, but if you look around the
:21:05. > :21:08.world, we are selling biofuel, we are the number one in the world. We
:21:09. > :21:15.are the only company which produces second-generation biofuel, it is
:21:16. > :21:20.very environmentally friendly. We are selling petrol and diesel, more
:21:21. > :21:25.and more, with all of the changes, we need to adapt, so we are at the
:21:26. > :21:29.forefront of building hydrogen service station networks in Germany
:21:30. > :21:39.and the US, and we are starting in the UK next year. Hydrogen -- one
:21:40. > :21:48.fella is three minutes, so it is a good proposition. As you move into
:21:49. > :21:54.that realm, hydrogen, biofuel or a battery change, cost is important.
:21:55. > :21:58.From that point of view, I assume you are in a position of strength,
:21:59. > :22:07.it is a brand we all know, wherever we are. It is more than 100 years,
:22:08. > :22:10.it is a trusted brand, we have a strong brand preference, almost a
:22:11. > :22:17.quarter of the world's motorists say, we prefer Shell. Where ever we
:22:18. > :22:22.go and start with electric charging, there is a trust, because they know
:22:23. > :22:26.we put research and technology behind it, we are spending $1.1
:22:27. > :22:31.billion on research and development in the company, this is their sense
:22:32. > :22:37.of the company technically. We are well prepared, and we are trying to
:22:38. > :22:44.participate in shaping this. In hydrogen, electric charging we have
:22:45. > :22:49.in Norway and Russia and Spain, and we are starting in the UK. What is
:22:50. > :22:53.the one thing I can buy at one of your forecourt that I cannot buy
:22:54. > :22:59.now? It will be the fish and chips, hopefully avoid you! It is a global
:23:00. > :23:05.programme, we have that everywhere in the world! I will hold you to
:23:06. > :23:06.that! If you are wondering, Hungary. Hence
:23:07. > :23:10.the name. In a moment, we'll take a look
:23:11. > :23:12.through the business pages. But first, here's a quick reminder
:23:13. > :23:23.of how to get in touch with us. The business life pages where you
:23:24. > :23:27.can stay ahead, with all of the breaking business news. We can keep
:23:28. > :23:30.you up-to-date with the latest details, with insight and analysis
:23:31. > :23:35.from our team of editors around the world. We want to hear from you as
:23:36. > :23:48.well. Get involved in the BBC web page. We are on Twitter and you can
:23:49. > :23:50.find us on Facebook. On TV and online, whenever you need to know.
:23:51. > :24:04.This is a story we asked if he was about, big sales are getting smaller
:24:05. > :24:09.at department stores, Black Friday is traditionally the time when they
:24:10. > :24:13.sell things cheaper, it is ready for Christmas and Thanksgiving, but
:24:14. > :24:21.maybe not so much any more? Classically, we think sales on Black
:24:22. > :24:26.Friday, but some of the core brands are resisting. In the department
:24:27. > :24:30.stores, they say, I don't want to go on discount, I want to maintain my
:24:31. > :24:34.price premium, and I will take the lower volume. A tug-of-war between
:24:35. > :24:40.the department store and the brands in the store. For years, we have
:24:41. > :24:48.been told it is relentless pressure and competition, so maybe there is a
:24:49. > :24:54.bit of... Chris is challenging my attitude, he says, sales are of no
:24:55. > :24:58.interest at all, nasty, cheap, unwanted stock and hideous queues.
:24:59. > :25:02.Utter madness. Happy Wednesday morning! But it is all of those
:25:03. > :25:09.images that we see. That's talk about Eurostar, operating between
:25:10. > :25:17.Continental Europe and the UK, is axing 20 trains a week between
:25:18. > :25:23.London and Brussels. Sadly, some of this is related to a fall in tourism
:25:24. > :25:29.for that particular route. The number of daily trains will go down
:25:30. > :25:36.from nine to seven. There will be more flights from London to
:25:37. > :25:42.Brussels. That is interesting. Not super environmentally friendly. If
:25:43. > :25:45.you read the comments, it is not lost on many people, talking about
:25:46. > :25:50.the gravy train to Brussels. Maybe that is finally drying up. Not my
:25:51. > :25:55.view, just the view of some of those comments underneath.
:25:56. > :25:58.Thank you for your company, have a good day. Children for the Autumn
:25:59. > :26:08.Statement. See you later. Goodbye.
:26:09. > :26:13.The last few days have seen some extreme weather around the country.
:26:14. > :26:19.Over four inches of rain in the south-west of England. Scenes of
:26:20. > :26:21.flooding in the south-west. More recently further north as well, into
:26:22. > :26:22.parts of northern