:00:00. > :00:07.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.
:00:08. > :00:10.France says "bonjour" to the big banks.
:00:11. > :00:13.As Brexit creeps closer, it's been revealed that British
:00:14. > :00:16.banks are actively preparing to shift across the Channel.
:00:17. > :00:36.Live from London, that's our top story on Thursday 8th December.
:00:37. > :00:38.Could Brexit mean a new financial dawn for Paris?
:00:39. > :00:41.A top official there tells the BBC that big banks are already
:00:42. > :00:48.Also in the programme, From Russia With Love -
:00:49. > :00:52.the Kremlin has sold an $11.3bn stake in Russia's largest
:00:53. > :00:54.oil company Rosneft to Glencore and Qatar.
:00:55. > :01:00.And we'll be getting the inside track on a firm
:01:01. > :01:08.named one of the top 50 disrupters in the world.
:01:09. > :01:12.In Europe, we are going up and up. How long will the rally last? We
:01:13. > :01:14.will get an expert view. And we'll be getting
:01:15. > :01:16.the inside track on a firm named one of the top 50 disrupters
:01:17. > :01:21.in the world. It lets customers buy online
:01:22. > :01:23.with just one click. We ask the boss how it works
:01:24. > :01:26.and whether it's safe. And as a new study lists the top ten
:01:27. > :01:30.places to work, we want to know - what's the one thing you'd change
:01:31. > :01:33.about your workplace? We start with Brexit -
:01:34. > :01:57.and the growing concerns within Britain's financial industry
:01:58. > :01:59.about the coming departure In Paris, a top official has told
:02:00. > :02:03.the BBC that major banks are in advanced stages of planning
:02:04. > :02:07.to shift some operations from London Financial firms contribute some 12%
:02:08. > :02:15.percent of the UK economy. Currently, they can
:02:16. > :02:16.operate across the EU a right they may lose when Britain
:02:17. > :02:33.leaves the EU. In the City of London, some of the
:02:34. > :02:38.world's biggest financial giants are pondering how to react to an
:02:39. > :02:41.uncertain future. In Paris, they are in full swing. I am told
:02:42. > :02:44.international banks are being wooed with special deals on income tax,
:02:45. > :02:49.corporation tax, schooling. They corporation tax, schooling. They
:02:50. > :02:57.have even been told contracts will be written in English. You have had
:02:58. > :03:03.lots of interest from international institutions. What state are you at
:03:04. > :03:09.now with negotiations? In some cases, we are still at the level of
:03:10. > :03:15.informal consultants be with lawyers and so on. But in other cases,
:03:16. > :03:21.especially regarding international banks, it is no more informal. There
:03:22. > :03:23.are already undertaking reels due diligence and we receive a lot of
:03:24. > :03:39.practical questions. So we now know that companies have
:03:40. > :03:44.taken big steps towards moving. And if they do come to Paris, there will
:03:45. > :03:48.probably come here, where 70 new office buildings are being planned
:03:49. > :03:54.and where an influx from Britain is seen as key to attracting the rest
:03:55. > :03:58.of the world. We are also aiming at world companies that are today
:03:59. > :04:02.established in London, or thinking about establishing themselves
:04:03. > :04:07.somewhere in Europe. For instance, we have a lot of contact with
:04:08. > :04:11.Chinese companies who are looking for a base in Europe and are very
:04:12. > :04:17.interested by France in Paris for many reasons, and they are very
:04:18. > :04:20.interested by the Paris business Institute. Do you think these are
:04:21. > :04:29.companies that would otherwise have gone to London? Probably. But now
:04:30. > :04:32.that is off the table? Yes. I have spoken to bankers and lobbyists and
:04:33. > :04:36.politicians across Europe, and it is clear that there isn't one city, not
:04:37. > :04:42.even Paris, that thinks it can take on everything that the City of
:04:43. > :04:45.London does. But there are lots, like Luxembourg, Amsterdam,
:04:46. > :04:49.Frankfurt, Dublin and yes, the French capital, that think they can
:04:50. > :04:53.take a big chunk of that business, and if you put all those chunks
:04:54. > :04:55.together, you end up with a very big problem for one of Britain's biggest
:04:56. > :05:12.and most lucrative industries. We will stay across that story about
:05:13. > :05:14.the banks that are actively preparing to move overseas.
:05:15. > :05:17.The world of big oil deals doesn't come much bigger than this.
:05:18. > :05:19.The giant commodities trader, Glencore, and the sovereign wealth
:05:20. > :05:22.fund of Qatar are buying almost a fifth of Russia's state-owned oil
:05:23. > :05:28.The big bucks for the deal are coming from Qatar,
:05:29. > :05:46.with Glencore putting up around $320m.
:05:47. > :05:51.Our reporter from the BBC Russian Service joins us from Moscow
:05:52. > :06:03.This is a big-money deal? Yes. The Kremlin say this is another victory.
:06:04. > :06:08.They say they have managed to sell Rosneft despite the sanctions and
:06:09. > :06:11.that investors are still interested in Russia. However, if you analyse
:06:12. > :06:15.it carefully, you can see the opposite. You can see that Russia's
:06:16. > :06:19.economy is struggling and the Kremlin urgently needs to take steps
:06:20. > :06:24.to heal holes in its budget. This was another example of that. It
:06:25. > :06:27.shows how the Russian economy is struggling and how some of the
:06:28. > :06:32.Russian firms are struggling to repay their debts and how volatile
:06:33. > :06:39.the Russian economy is and how dependent it is on oil, which is
:06:40. > :06:43.still unstable and is not growing. So put this in perspective for us.
:06:44. > :06:49.Russia has of course been grappling with western sanctions for some
:06:50. > :06:57.time. How key is this deal for Rosneft and the Russian economy? It
:06:58. > :07:02.was very important for Rosneft and Moscow on the one hand to get some
:07:03. > :07:10.profit and somehow get money to heal the holes in the country's budget.
:07:11. > :07:15.But on the other hand, it was important to remain in control of
:07:16. > :07:21.this strategic asset, and they managed to achieve both of these
:07:22. > :07:27.goals. However, the Russian rouble is still heavily dependent on oil
:07:28. > :07:32.and the Russian economy is still struggling to overcome the outcomes
:07:33. > :07:37.of Western sanctions to deal with the volatility in the oil market. As
:07:38. > :07:41.you said, a welcome boost as far as the coffers are concerned in Moscow,
:07:42. > :07:44.and President Putin has talked about this, highlighting that it is the
:07:45. > :07:51.biggest sale in the energy sector so far this year? Yes, Russia's state
:07:52. > :07:55.news has shown this in their headlines. They are showing that
:07:56. > :08:00.this is a great success of the Russian economy and of the Russian
:08:01. > :08:06.president. On the other hand, we are waiting for markets to react and we
:08:07. > :08:10.are seeing that Russian oil companies had a meeting with Mr
:08:11. > :08:19.Putin earlier and they had to agree on cuts which may hit the Russian
:08:20. > :08:23.economy later this year. Big Russian companies will have to repay their
:08:24. > :08:30.debts, and this is also adding to uncertainty in the market. All that
:08:31. > :08:41.is part of our Russian service. Thank you for your time. -- Olga.
:08:42. > :08:47.Let's take you to do Business Live page. But the UK retailer is
:08:48. > :08:52.dominating the stories, Sports Direct. It has reported a this
:08:53. > :09:02.morning, so staff morale has been hit, they say. -- it has reported a
:09:03. > :09:09.loss. It was hit by accusations of Victorian conditions in its
:09:10. > :09:13.warehouses. It has come in for a lot of criticism, not least by MPs, who
:09:14. > :09:16.have been calling for an improvement in working standards. There is
:09:17. > :09:19.plenty of detail, because they have issued their figures this morning.
:09:20. > :09:25.We have had a fierce fightback from the boss, lashing out at critics. He
:09:26. > :09:27.says his business is all ethnically motivated.
:09:28. > :09:30.Financial markets in Europe will be looking to Frankfurt today
:09:31. > :09:35.where the European Central Bank holds its meeting.
:09:36. > :09:36.Analysts are expecting the massive monetary stimulus
:09:37. > :09:41.The bank is currently buying up 80 billion euros of bonds a month
:09:42. > :09:44.to push down borrowing costs for governments and firms as well as
:09:45. > :09:51.Japan's economy grew at 1.3% in the three months
:09:52. > :10:00.That's down sharply on the original estimate of 2.2%.
:10:01. > :10:02.It's a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,
:10:03. > :10:06.the world's third biggest economy through an asset purchase
:10:07. > :10:11.scheme which he hopes will push inflation up.
:10:12. > :10:13.Tata Steel has announced plans to secure jobs and production
:10:14. > :10:30.at its UK steelworks including Port Talbot in Wales.
:10:31. > :10:36.The one billion pound - that's about $1.25 billion -
:10:37. > :10:38.commitment looks set to end eight months of uncertainty for employees
:10:39. > :10:50.However, changes to workers' pensions are still to be agreed,
:10:51. > :10:56.Let's see how things are going with the markets in Europe. Where are
:10:57. > :10:59.heading into the European Central Bank meeting. There is an
:11:00. > :11:03.expectation that the ECB will step in with further stimulus because of
:11:04. > :11:07.the uncertainty about the outlook for Italy. For now, markets in
:11:08. > :11:10.Europe are following the lead from Asia and Wall Street the night
:11:11. > :11:10.before. And Samira Hussain has the details
:11:11. > :11:18.about what's to watch out All eyes will be on US markets
:11:19. > :11:22.Thursday. It has been a record-breaking streak as of late,
:11:23. > :11:26.repeatedly closing at record highs since the presidential election. The
:11:27. > :11:32.financial sector has been a big winner on markets, up some 15% since
:11:33. > :11:37.November. President-elect Donald Trump's plans to reduce corporate
:11:38. > :11:40.tax and regulations, along with the likelihood of the Federal Reserve
:11:41. > :11:45.raising interest rates next week, have all been big boosts for the
:11:46. > :11:48.banking sector. Also happening Thursday, a department store will be
:11:49. > :11:52.reporting earnings. Investors will want to know how the struggling
:11:53. > :11:55.retailer is getting ready for the holiday shopping season. They will
:11:56. > :12:07.also be looking for any updates on its financial position, business
:12:08. > :12:09.restructuring or sale plans. Back here, Justin Urquhart-Stewart,
:12:10. > :12:14.co-founder and director of Seven Investment Management, is with us.
:12:15. > :12:20.Let's start with the US markets, doing particularly well as a result
:12:21. > :12:26.of Trump. As Sally said, the Trump pump. Let's enjoy the party. No one
:12:27. > :12:30.has said anything yet! We haven't got a clue what the policies are
:12:31. > :12:35.like, but we have an idea, so we enjoy it. It is like Brexit, we have
:12:36. > :12:40.a phoney war there too. Everything carries on until someone explains
:12:41. > :12:46.the policies. At that stage, does the guild suddenly come off the
:12:47. > :12:49.lovely polish? If we add the result of the US election to the
:12:50. > :12:55.traditional December rally, it will that have an impact as well? There
:12:56. > :12:58.is that warm feeling to it, but behind it, people are looking at
:12:59. > :13:01.what he's actually saying. People are saying he will pump a lot of
:13:02. > :13:04.money into the economy, so things will benefit from that. But the
:13:05. > :13:08.other side is what will actually happen about trade, if he is
:13:09. > :13:11.actually going to be more isolationist and break up trade
:13:12. > :13:18.deals, that is very bad for global trade. So at the moment, they are
:13:19. > :13:22.looking on the good side. What would burst the bubble? It would burst the
:13:23. > :13:25.bubble if he said, our policies are going to be directly anti-trade when
:13:26. > :13:31.it comes to Nafta. If it is cancelled, which is unlikely, and if
:13:32. > :13:37.he suddenly turns on Europe. It is more likely that the global carry on
:13:38. > :13:40.for a while, and then you will start seeing the policies coming through
:13:41. > :13:43.and at that stage, people will say maybe it is not quite as good,
:13:44. > :13:46.because things like infrastructure don't happen immediately. It is a
:13:47. > :13:52.nice policy, but it takes a while to come through and at that stage
:13:53. > :14:00.reality will come back. But enjoyed it for the moment. Did European
:14:01. > :14:05.Central Bank were due to wrap up their stimulus programme in March.
:14:06. > :14:08.But they may carry on because of concerns about the banking system
:14:09. > :14:13.not just in Italy, but also the concerns over Deutsche Bank in
:14:14. > :14:17.Germany, and making sure the confidence is still there. Europe is
:14:18. > :14:22.an economy overall, the general picture is not that bad. But they
:14:23. > :14:25.need to make sure there was enough assurance behind the banking system.
:14:26. > :14:31.Everything is woefully negative at the moment. But if it has more
:14:32. > :14:35.support, that could turn around. Justin will be back to talk to us,
:14:36. > :14:39.amongst other things, about what you would change about your office. Lots
:14:40. > :14:45.of you are getting in touch. Some things, we can't say out loud. Chris
:14:46. > :14:48.says, a better owner, a company that doesn't insist on you working eight
:14:49. > :14:53.hours without a break. David says, I would move my office to another
:14:54. > :14:58.country. Keep your comments coming in.
:14:59. > :15:03.All very negative. We want Trump pump style reaction.
:15:04. > :15:08.We meet the firm named one of the top 50 disrupter
:15:09. > :15:11.It allows customers to buy online with just one click.
:15:12. > :15:14.We ask the boss how it works and whether it's safe.
:15:15. > :15:20.You're with Business Live from BBC News
:15:21. > :15:27.Sports Direct has reported a big drop in half-year
:15:28. > :15:31.profits after being hit by the fall in the pound.
:15:32. > :15:34.It caps off a tough year for retailer, which has included
:15:35. > :15:40.paliamentary and newspaper investigations into how it treats
:15:41. > :15:42.its staff and a vote of no confidence from investors.
:15:43. > :15:48.Justin Bones is in our Salford Newsroom.
:15:49. > :15:55.Just tell us a bit more about what the figures show about Sports
:15:56. > :15:59.Direct. Yes, it really does seem like hardly a week goes by without
:16:00. > :16:03.us talking about Sports Direct. It has been warning for some time that
:16:04. > :16:09.profits could be hit this year. If you look at the underlying pre-tax
:16:10. > :16:15.profit, that is down 57%. If you prefer reported pre-tax profit, that
:16:16. > :16:20.is 25%, down by about ?140 million. That is despite sales actually going
:16:21. > :16:24.up in shops to about 1.6 billion. The company is blaming a number of
:16:25. > :16:28.things, including the decrease in the value of the pound. Some of the
:16:29. > :16:32.fall in the value of the assets as well. Also, it is investing more in
:16:33. > :16:36.people. The reason for that is a lot of the controversy that we have been
:16:37. > :16:41.hearing about. You may remember it got in trouble for underpaid people,
:16:42. > :16:45.not paying the minimum wage, because it was taking them so long to get
:16:46. > :16:50.through stringent security checks at the end of the day. They have also
:16:51. > :16:53.done away with the six strikes and you're out rule, for one people were
:16:54. > :16:57.not following rules in the warehouse, and produced a more
:16:58. > :17:01.standard grievance system. Because of all that trouble, the majority
:17:02. > :17:04.shareholder, Mike Ashley, reappointed himself as the company
:17:05. > :17:09.'s chief executive just a couple of months ago. One of his first
:17:10. > :17:13.acquisitions? Well, a new private jet for the company, that will sit
:17:14. > :17:20.alongside Sports Direct's private helicopter. What is the company
:17:21. > :17:24.saying in response to this? Keith Halliwell, the company chairman, has
:17:25. > :17:29.gone on a bit of a rant in the report. A bit of a diatribe. I will
:17:30. > :17:40.really what he said. I have no doubt that extreme political, union and
:17:41. > :17:44.media campaign against the company has impacted negatively on the
:17:45. > :17:47.morale of people. It says it has been disproportionate, inaccurate
:17:48. > :17:58.and misleading. Thank you very much indeed. Much more on the website.
:17:59. > :18:00.France's financial regulator has told BBC News that major banks
:18:01. > :18:03.are in the advanced stages of planning to move some operations
:18:04. > :18:06.from London to Paris as they weigh up the implications of Brexit.
:18:07. > :18:10.Benoit de Juvegny said the French capital was seeking to attract
:18:11. > :18:12.businesses concerned about being able to operate
:18:13. > :18:25.A quick look at how markets are faring.
:18:26. > :18:30.Still higher, how long will that last? For now, enjoy the rally.
:18:31. > :18:33.With Christmas fast approaching, many of you may be avoiding
:18:34. > :18:42.the last-minute dash for presents by shopping online.
:18:43. > :18:46.Yes, the convenience of e-commerce has revolutionised the way
:18:47. > :18:49.we shop and next year, the annual total of all online
:18:50. > :18:52.purchases is set to top 2 trillion dollars for the very first time.
:18:53. > :18:56.But some people say the process can be made even simpler.
:18:57. > :18:58.Klarna is a Swedish payments provider that allows you to complete
:18:59. > :19:03.This means that you no longer need to go through the long-winded
:19:04. > :19:07.process of entering your personal information and bank details.
:19:08. > :19:11.Sebastian Siemiatkowski is the company's boss.
:19:12. > :19:14.He sat down with our colleague Joe Lynam and began telling him how
:19:15. > :19:23.We wanted to make payments really simplistic and realised
:19:24. > :19:25.the things people don't like is exposing a credit card,
:19:26. > :19:30.We said, why wouldn't we just use the data that you already
:19:31. > :19:32.provided to the merchants, just allow you to buy
:19:33. > :19:38.Does the consumer take the risk before the payment is confirmed,
:19:39. > :19:44.We take the full risk, both from a credit risk perspective
:19:45. > :19:47.So, if something happens, it is up to us.
:19:48. > :19:50.This is really where a lot of the technology has been built
:19:51. > :19:53.around how do we recognise fraud, how do we protect both the consumer
:19:54. > :19:58.We have been doing this for 11 years and I think we are processing
:19:59. > :20:02.So, it has worked really, really well, but it has taken
:20:03. > :20:07.How do you assess risk of the consumer given the fact that
:20:08. > :20:09.all you have as their name and e-mail address usually?
:20:10. > :20:15.Basically what we do is we use what we call a risk-based approach.
:20:16. > :20:18.Now it has become more and more used by other financial
:20:19. > :20:22.It was very revolutionary when we started it.
:20:23. > :20:25.It basically means when we look at a specific transaction,
:20:26. > :20:28.a lot of data might be what time of the day is it, what type
:20:29. > :20:32.We are one of the few companies in the world that actually
:20:33. > :20:35.have a security level for the items that you are buying.
:20:36. > :20:37.So we look at this data and make an assessment.
:20:38. > :20:40.If it is a transaction with low risk, it might be just enough,
:20:41. > :20:45.If there is someone buying four iPhones in the middle of the night,
:20:46. > :20:47.you might want to ask a couple of more questions
:20:48. > :20:53.Does the consumer lose out, does the bank lose out,
:20:54. > :21:09.You don't have to sign up before, you can just go
:21:10. > :21:13.If consumers appreciate our experience, it might be
:21:14. > :21:15.that they start using it more and more often, instead
:21:16. > :21:18.of using their card, and eventually it replaces their need for the card.
:21:19. > :21:21.So, obviously, if you are a credit card issuer, if your bank
:21:22. > :21:24.is supplying this kind of payment products, this is the person that
:21:25. > :21:27.could potentially lose out if it is successful.
:21:28. > :21:29.When you started this company, you are just out of university,
:21:30. > :21:32.in your early 20s, with no financial experience or education,
:21:33. > :21:34.and yet your company is now worth $2.2 billion.
:21:35. > :21:44.Why should we trust a guy with no financial experience ten years ago?
:21:45. > :21:49.I have actually been doing this now for 12 years.
:21:50. > :21:54.If you bring somebody in and say, yes, that person has been working 12
:21:55. > :21:57.years in the financial industry, you'd say that is quite all right
:21:58. > :22:04.To me, being one of the largest shareholders
:22:05. > :22:09.Basically, I am the one that is going to suffer
:22:10. > :22:13.I think that is actually the difference, with a lot
:22:14. > :22:15.of the banks, what we saw in the financial crisis,
:22:16. > :22:18.because there was no skin in the game for the executives,
:22:19. > :22:21.when things hit the fan, basically, they didn't mind that much.
:22:22. > :22:27.I have invested sweat, blood and tears, the last 11 years on it,
:22:28. > :22:29.and make sure that compliance is number one.
:22:30. > :22:40.Because that is the license to operate we have been given.
:22:41. > :22:46.Speaking about that idea of simple fine payment processes. It is too
:22:47. > :22:50.simple already, you spend too much when it is simple. You need the
:22:51. > :22:57.barriers! I can see you clicking away. You need the barriers so you
:22:58. > :23:00.put it off and don't spend. Justin is waiting to chat some more about
:23:01. > :23:04.some of the other stories. This one in the Washington Post is
:23:05. > :23:11.interesting. Company bosses turn to Jamie Diamond, the boss of JPMorgan,
:23:12. > :23:15.lead to outreach to the Trump administration. He was the one that
:23:16. > :23:19.was vaguely friendly with Mr Trump. All of the others are busily erasing
:23:20. > :23:26.their previous speeches and comments about him. Trying to get into the
:23:27. > :23:33.golden elevator in Trump Tower? The question is, isn't Jamie Diamond
:23:34. > :23:38.part of the establishment, part of the haves? Is he in the swamp that
:23:39. > :23:42.he is trying to drain? Is Mr Trump part of the swamp? In terms of
:23:43. > :23:46.trading and business arrangements, Mr Diamond is part of it as well. He
:23:47. > :23:52.is a firm supporter of things like immigration controls and some of
:23:53. > :24:00.firms. -- some of the tax reforms. Is he a supporter when it comes to
:24:01. > :24:05.trade agreements? He has been quite combative on the trade issue. The
:24:06. > :24:10.problem would be, if you move to a period of more trade barriers, it is
:24:11. > :24:13.bad for global trade. There is this view that globalisation is bad, the
:24:14. > :24:17.world will move against it, but we need to be careful. The world has
:24:18. > :24:21.got wealthier as a result. There is a balance between liberalising,
:24:22. > :24:26.making sure you have money coming in, and putting up more barriers. At
:24:27. > :24:32.the moment, the good side is winning, everybody is ignoring the
:24:33. > :24:35.other side. The best places to work in the UK, I am sure that seven
:24:36. > :24:40.investment management, you would say it is the best? Does everybody have
:24:41. > :24:46.to wear braces? Of course, it is the uniform. No, not really. The only
:24:47. > :24:50.time they did was my 60th birthday. We have seen the pictures on
:24:51. > :24:54.Twitter. We asked what he would like to see. Let's talk about air
:24:55. > :24:57.conditioning. I want the air conditioner switched off in the
:24:58. > :25:02.winter and better job security. I don't know which order that should
:25:03. > :25:13.come in. Madelyn says bringing dogs to work. If my cat could stand it, I
:25:14. > :25:19.would bring him in. Let's talk about Expedia, number one? They have cars
:25:20. > :25:26.and computer games in the office, I can tell why they like it. It is all
:25:27. > :25:32.about issues, you know, how is my career, is there good training? Are
:25:33. > :25:36.they flexible over time off work and things like that? It is basically
:25:37. > :25:40.careers and training, that is what people want to see. I was surprised
:25:41. > :25:44.there was not a spark of originality. We went through a phase
:25:45. > :25:48.of people having games rooms and things like that. That seems to have
:25:49. > :25:52.changed. It seems quite serious. Important stuff like training, as
:25:53. > :25:59.opposed to table tennis and computer games? But if the BBC wants to put
:26:00. > :26:01.them on, that is fine! He won't make it on the air, he'll be playing a
:26:02. > :26:12.game! Once again, incredibly mild out
:26:13. > :26:17.there. The sort of temperatures we have been getting overnight are
:26:18. > :26:18.closer to what we have in the summer. 14