:00:00. > :00:15.This is Business Live from BBC News with Sally Bundock and Ben Thompson.
:00:16. > :00:17.Has the Santa rally skidded to a halt?
:00:18. > :00:20.The Dow Jones is in touching distance of the historic 20,000
:00:21. > :00:22.mark, but can it hit the top spot before Christmas?
:00:23. > :00:38.Live from London, that's our top story on Thursday 23rd December.
:00:39. > :00:40.US markets have closed at record highs 17 times since Donald Trump
:00:41. > :00:55.We'll ask an expert if the run is set to continue.
:00:56. > :01:01.And a view on the latest Trump appointments, as ever controversial.
:01:02. > :01:05.The Chinese e-commerce giant has been placed on the US list
:01:06. > :01:13.We'll cross live to Asia for the latest.
:01:14. > :01:16.Here, the markets lower slightly, we talk you through the winners and the
:01:17. > :01:20.And we'll be getting festive with Fortnums.
:01:21. > :01:23.The boss of iconic food drink retailer Fortnum and Mason will be
:01:24. > :01:27.here to give us the Inside Track on the busiest time of the year.
:01:28. > :01:30.And new research says using Facebook and Twitter at Christmas will make
:01:31. > :01:34.So we want to know - are you taking a break from social
:01:35. > :02:01.Don't panic, it is December 20 seconds today, I said 23rd and I got
:02:02. > :02:04.worried because I have got so much to do!
:02:05. > :02:08.We start on Wall Street, where it seems this chap has
:02:09. > :02:11.made an appearance - because the Grinch has,
:02:12. > :02:12.temporarily at least, stolen Christmas.
:02:13. > :02:15.They have been calling it a Santa Rally -
:02:16. > :02:18.and after a week of record closes, investors were expecting
:02:19. > :02:22.to celebrate the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting 20,000
:02:23. > :02:26.points for the first time on Wednesday.
:02:27. > :02:34.Instead they got this - the Dow closed down 32
:02:35. > :02:38.It got within 15 points of 20,000 before falling back.
:02:39. > :02:41.Market watchers say investors have been cashing in their profits
:02:42. > :02:43.after what has been the biggest post-election rally
:02:44. > :02:53.Since Donald Trump was elected, the Dow has climbed 9% -
:02:54. > :02:58.putting gains for this year at almost 15%.
:02:59. > :03:01.The US Dollar has also been soaring against major currencies,
:03:02. > :03:11.Against the Pound in particular, it's up over 16% this year
:03:12. > :03:14.And the price of oil has rebounded massively - gains for Brent Crude
:03:15. > :03:18.Some experts are warning though that the US stock market
:03:19. > :03:22.in particular is getting ahead of itself.
:03:23. > :03:30.Tom Stevenson is the Investment Director at Fidelity International.
:03:31. > :03:36.Sally touching on the idea that the market is getting ahead of itself.
:03:37. > :03:42.It is very close to that 20,000, especially look King at the doubt,
:03:43. > :03:49.is that the danger there is this euphoria and New Year is the harsh
:03:50. > :03:51.reality when we find out what President Donald Trump will deliver?
:03:52. > :03:55.That is a danger and I suspect it will not happen in the New Year but
:03:56. > :04:00.at some point next year, there might be a bit of a wobble. The market has
:04:01. > :04:06.borrowed a lot from next year, we have had a very strong rally. And
:04:07. > :04:11.the rally is right up with the biggest post-election rallies of the
:04:12. > :04:17.last century and some of those did not end well, one of the biggest was
:04:18. > :04:22.1920s before the crash. 2004 was big and it led up to the financial
:04:23. > :04:26.crisis. Yes, there is a lot of optimism and anticipation about the
:04:27. > :04:31.growth which Trump is expected to deliver next year. Is there a sense
:04:32. > :04:35.that because for once we can look at something other than monetary
:04:36. > :04:39.policy, it is no longer about interest rates and inflation, that
:04:40. > :04:43.seems to have stabilised? The economy in America is looking OK and
:04:44. > :04:47.people think they can talk about something else and not keep their
:04:48. > :04:53.eyes just on the Fed. There is an element on that. Since the financial
:04:54. > :04:58.crisis over the last seven years, it has been a poor market, the Dow has
:04:59. > :05:07.tripled in that seven year period. And it has been a really grudging
:05:08. > :05:11.move. Investors looking forward to next year, spending, tax cuts,
:05:12. > :05:17.deregulation and they are very excited about it. They are looking
:05:18. > :05:22.at top Trumps. Some of President-elect Donald Trump's
:05:23. > :05:26.appointments and the latest is Peter Navarro, an economist, in markets
:05:27. > :05:30.adviser who has written a book about China, talking about... You can see
:05:31. > :05:36.him here, the bad influence China has had on the US economy and so on.
:05:37. > :05:41.He will head up a newly created body on trade will stop what is your take
:05:42. > :05:50.on these appointments, like Rex Tillotson, Secretary of State. It is
:05:51. > :05:54.a mixed bag! Donald Trump made some pretty bullish promises during the
:05:55. > :05:57.campaign and everybody said, let's see what happens when he gets into
:05:58. > :06:02.power, will he follow through with that or will he become more
:06:03. > :06:07.presidential and predictable? If you look at the Cabinet appointments so
:06:08. > :06:10.far, they are pretty punchy appointments. Peter Navarro is a
:06:11. > :06:15.good example, very outspoken and China. He has talked about getting
:06:16. > :06:20.closer to Taiwan, very per property of the China. We will see how that
:06:21. > :06:28.turns out. What does that mean for trade? Thinking about the New Year
:06:29. > :06:33.with the Trump presidency and also Brexit. That is the flip side of
:06:34. > :06:37.Donald Trump, we have optimism about growth but what he has said about
:06:38. > :06:40.global trade could be potentially quite negative. We just saw a
:06:41. > :06:45.graphic showing market performance over the year, put it in
:06:46. > :06:49.international context, not the best performing, the Dow? No, it is very
:06:50. > :06:52.strong but the emerging markets are very good.
:06:53. > :06:56.Argentina and Brazil right up there. Wonderful, nice to see you, thank
:06:57. > :07:01.you. He will be back later, he has more to do including looking at some
:07:02. > :07:02.of the other business stories in the press today.
:07:03. > :07:04.The Italian Parliament has approved a government plan
:07:05. > :07:07.for a possible E20bn bailout of the country's banks.
:07:08. > :07:09.The Italian Treasury will probably have to rescue Italy's
:07:10. > :07:10.third largest lender, Monte dei Paschi, by
:07:11. > :07:17.The rescue fund will be used to prop up other banks as well.
:07:18. > :07:19.Ride-sharing firm Uber has suspended tests of its self-driving cars
:07:20. > :07:21.in San Francisco after regulators revoked the registration
:07:22. > :07:24.Passengers had recently been given the option of a booking
:07:25. > :07:35.But authorities had threatened legal action if Uber did not obtain
:07:36. > :07:40.Billionaire investor Carl Icahn will serve as a special adviser
:07:41. > :07:43.to President-elect Donald Trump - focusing on regulatory reform.
:07:44. > :07:48.Mr Icahn has criticised what he called "excessive
:07:49. > :07:53.He is a major shareholder in companies including insurer AIG
:07:54. > :08:04.Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is back on America's blacklist over
:08:05. > :08:17.The list is a rollcall of so-called "notorious markets".
:08:18. > :08:20.to Alibaba's attempts to expand out of China.
:08:21. > :08:30.Being on this blacklist is not great for a firm that wants to portray
:08:31. > :08:36.itself as an international player to take some the likes of eBay and
:08:37. > :08:40.Amazon. Not at all. And the company was only taken off the list four
:08:41. > :08:46.years ago but the US authorities have said that the company and its
:08:47. > :08:52.online platform is used to sell high-level goods. Alibaba has
:08:53. > :08:57.rejected these allegations, saying it polices the marketplace a lot
:08:58. > :09:00.better than in the past. And it also suggested today's political climate
:09:01. > :09:06.in America might have something to do with the fact it is back on the
:09:07. > :09:09.blacklist. They are talking about President-elect Donald Trump
:09:10. > :09:14.repeatedly accused China of stealing intellectual property during the
:09:15. > :09:18.election. And just appointing an outspoken China critic as the head
:09:19. > :09:23.of the new trade body. But Donald Trump has not taken office so I am
:09:24. > :09:26.sure the US authorities would disagree with Alibaba's speculation
:09:27. > :09:32.that has anything to do with the fact it is back on the blacklist.
:09:33. > :09:34.Thank you very much, from Singapore. Plenty more to come.
:09:35. > :09:40.The boss of iconic food drink retailer Fortnum and Mason will be
:09:41. > :09:45.here to give us the Inside Track on the busiest time of the year.
:09:46. > :09:53.You're with Business Live from BBC News.
:09:54. > :09:57.The Government is to reinvest more than ?440 million to improve
:09:58. > :09:59.high-speed broadband coverage across the UK.
:10:00. > :10:01.It is expected the funds, which have been recouped
:10:02. > :10:03.from the superfast broadband programme, could bring better
:10:04. > :10:06.connectivity to an extra 600,000 rural homes.
:10:07. > :10:13.Theo Leggett is in our Business Newsroom.
:10:14. > :10:19.This is not new money, this is from a fund already, but long overdue for
:10:20. > :10:25.people struggling with slow service in rural areas. Absolutely. The
:10:26. > :10:30.Government's target is by the end of next year, 95% of the country should
:10:31. > :10:35.have so-called superfast broadband. What does that mean? A broadband
:10:36. > :10:40.speed of 24 megabits per second. Enough for several people in the
:10:41. > :10:44.House to stream video at the same time. 95% sounds good and the
:10:45. > :10:51.Government is on track, BT is on track to deliver that. But that last
:10:52. > :10:57.5% is people in remote areas, rural areas, hardest to connect. This is
:10:58. > :11:03.extra money to help that process. Where is it from? 150 million from
:11:04. > :11:06.cost savings and the rest from BT which is subsidised to set up the
:11:07. > :11:10.infrastructure for this. If enough people sign up to superfast
:11:11. > :11:17.broadband, it has to give some of that back. That is why it 290
:11:18. > :11:21.million is coming from it. We have to be careful about this because
:11:22. > :11:28.what the Government is doing is superfast broadband to the Cabinet,
:11:29. > :11:31.which means fibre-optic cables laid the cabinets and villages and people
:11:32. > :11:37.get connected by copper wires to their homes. But the further you are
:11:38. > :11:41.away from this Cabinet, the slow at your broadband speed gets, like
:11:42. > :11:44.putting the brakes on. From opponents, the argument is more
:11:45. > :11:48.needs to be done to improve the service from the cabinets to the
:11:49. > :11:52.home and deliver fibre-optic broadband to the home and until that
:11:53. > :11:57.is done, we will still be stuck in the slow lane. 440 million is
:11:58. > :11:59.welcome money and it does represent progress, at least, that is what
:12:00. > :12:07.people are saying. Thank you very much. Maybe we are in
:12:08. > :12:12.the slow lane but pushing up a gear. You would hope so, especially for
:12:13. > :12:17.people in rural areas, it is a real problem for business and consumers.
:12:18. > :12:19.More detail on that on the website, the top story this morning.
:12:20. > :12:26.Broadband boost for MOTs parts of the UK. -- remote parts.
:12:27. > :12:36.We are looking at the rally on financial markets in the US,
:12:37. > :12:39.hovering near 20,000. Some investors are pointing
:12:40. > :12:43.to the influence of The billionaire businessman has
:12:44. > :12:47.picked several high-profile figures Yes, most recently, he's
:12:48. > :12:57.appointed Peter Navarro - an outspoken critic of China -
:12:58. > :13:00.as the head of a new White A quick look at how
:13:01. > :13:12.markets are faring. They are in Europe and they are all
:13:13. > :13:16.slightly down, if not flat, following a similar close the night
:13:17. > :13:21.before. So a lot of people bringing down and some traders might not even
:13:22. > :13:26.be at work today. But Tom is at work!
:13:27. > :13:34.I am at work today. We will look at some of the newspaper stories. This
:13:35. > :13:40.caught my eye, Saudi Arabia against the shift from oil to solar power. I
:13:41. > :13:45.found the second line interesting, it brings more fossil fuels than any
:13:46. > :13:48.other country to generate power, so there is a feeling Saudi Arabia
:13:49. > :13:54.produces this oil and sells at overseas but that is not the case.
:13:55. > :13:58.Yes, Saudi Arabia uses 900,000 barrels a day to generate
:13:59. > :14:03.electricity, costing the equivalent of $16 billion. Which it is not
:14:04. > :14:07.gaining in exports to other countries. Saudi Arabia is going
:14:08. > :14:13.through a big transition to get itself weaned off a dependence on
:14:14. > :14:20.oil revenues, to diversify its economy. And so one thing it is
:14:21. > :14:25.talking about is shifting from oil to solar energy. It needs that $16
:14:26. > :14:29.billion which is essential to balance its budget.
:14:30. > :14:33.It is introducing a lot of new changes and today is budget day in
:14:34. > :14:37.Saudi Arabia and they are expected to announce new taxes for expats.
:14:38. > :14:40.The price of electricity and water, a lot of things expected to go up, a
:14:41. > :14:52.big shift in the near future. This is behind this decision to lead
:14:53. > :15:02.Opec into a production cut. It needs higher revenues. Let's talk about
:15:03. > :15:05.Facebook, Twitter. In fact, Facebook lurking makes people miserable.
:15:06. > :15:09.Looking at wonderful pictures of family and friends having a great
:15:10. > :15:15.Christmas and you are sitting looking at it and it makes you
:15:16. > :15:18.miserable? Social interaction via social media is fine, you are
:15:19. > :15:23.connecting with people. But if you are sitting there looking at how
:15:24. > :15:34.wonderful other people's lives are, then it will be miserable. We ask
:15:35. > :15:40.people to get in touch with us. All I am going to do is upload. Danny
:15:41. > :15:46.says quitting Facebook is one of the best decisions I have ever made.
:15:47. > :15:50.Baby, who are you? We like your name. Christmas Eve and Christmas
:15:51. > :15:56.Day gaining ?15 from tasty goodies and lots of booze.
:15:57. > :16:00.Steve says, it I would rather give up social media for 2017. It is a
:16:01. > :16:06.necessary evil in many jobs these days? Absolutely, in our world, it
:16:07. > :16:11.is a fantastic source of information. But you can find
:16:12. > :16:17.yourself spending a lot of time staring at the screen. You have
:16:18. > :16:21.teenage children, do you have a family rule? My children are a bit
:16:22. > :16:25.beyond rules on social media. They are a bit older than that and they
:16:26. > :16:31.do what they like. They do spend a lot of time on social media. I have
:16:32. > :16:36.not been out for a meal with my daughter for a very long time when
:16:37. > :16:40.she has not taken a picture of it. I am with briny, it is time to put the
:16:41. > :16:46.tech down and go out and have a nice walk around the Yorkshire
:16:47. > :16:53.countryside. Friend of mine has complete ban on
:16:54. > :17:00.social media on Sundays. Lots of people take a week out, take a week
:17:01. > :17:05.out and switch everything. That is a good resolution, sugary sign up to
:17:06. > :17:09.that now. This is our pledge in 2017. Nice to see you. Merry
:17:10. > :17:12.Christmas. Have a good one, we will see you in the New Year.
:17:13. > :17:14.Now, no festive gifts for a Brazilian firm that's facing
:17:15. > :17:20.Ode-brecht - which is the largest engineering firm in Latin America,
:17:21. > :17:22.and its affiliate Braskem - appeared at a court
:17:23. > :17:27.These are their lawyers arriving - before agreeing to pay more
:17:28. > :17:29.than $3 billion to settle charges under the US
:17:30. > :17:44.They have admitted paying out hundreds of millions of dollars
:17:45. > :17:47.to Brazilian state oil firm Petrobras and others to secure
:17:48. > :17:51.From New York, here's Samira Hussain.
:17:52. > :17:53.In a New York court on Wednesday Odebrecht agreed to pay
:17:54. > :17:56.at least $2.6 billion to US, Swiss and Brazilian authorities
:17:57. > :18:00.making this the largest foreign bribery case in history.
:18:01. > :18:03.But this is a Brazilian company, so why is this case happening
:18:04. > :18:09.It's because the company was found guilty of violating the US foreign
:18:10. > :18:16.The American laws are so vast and wide sweeping, that as soon
:18:17. > :18:19.as a company has any dealings that tie it to the US, they are
:18:20. > :18:26.And the troubles for some Brazilian firms may not end here.
:18:27. > :18:28.The sources I have here in Brazil who were directly involved
:18:29. > :18:36.in the negotiations for this leniency for this plea
:18:37. > :18:39.deal that we saw play out today, they have told me that literally up
:18:40. > :18:47.to 100 new investigations could come from this still.
:18:48. > :18:50.The reason for that is because Odebrecht agreed
:18:51. > :18:54.to pay this enormous fine, this historic fine.
:18:55. > :18:58.The flip side is, 77 of their executives have turned
:18:59. > :19:03.state witness and they are now giving testimony to Brazilian
:19:04. > :19:05.prosecutors about anyone's guess, about what other crimes
:19:06. > :19:09.It is expected up to 200 Brazilian politicians could be
:19:10. > :19:19.Earlier this year, the Odebrecht chief executive was jailed in Brazil
:19:20. > :19:26.for paying bribes to executives at Brazil's state run oil firm
:19:27. > :19:28.Petrobras, which has been under investigation for corruption
:19:29. > :19:39.and bribery that has entangled Brazil's political officials.
:19:40. > :19:46.Just to say, we shocked you at the beginning saying it was the 23rd of
:19:47. > :19:51.December, it is not, it is the 22nd. If you are like me, there is so much
:19:52. > :19:55.to do before the 25th. Have you done your Christmas shopping?
:19:56. > :20:03.It has not all arrived. I am waiting for things.
:20:04. > :20:04.Turkey? Two things for two children. Bit of a problem. I will not mention
:20:05. > :20:08.the company names. And now - have you done
:20:09. > :20:10.your Christmas shopping? This week is the busiest time
:20:11. > :20:13.of year for many businesses, especially supermarkets
:20:14. > :20:15.and grocery stores. With record amounts
:20:16. > :20:19.expected to be spent over the next 48 hours -
:20:20. > :20:21.what's life really Well, one man who knows that all too
:20:22. > :20:30.well is the Chief Executive of high-end retailer Fortnum
:20:31. > :20:32.and Mason, Ewan Venters. Fortnum Mason is one
:20:33. > :20:40.of the world's most famous It is most known for its food
:20:41. > :20:45.hampers, which can cost The first hamper was sold in 1730,
:20:46. > :20:50.and it still enjoys impressive popularity today, with the company
:20:51. > :20:52.saying sales for this In the course of the past financial
:20:53. > :21:00.year, Fortnum's has served more than 2 million customers and has
:21:01. > :21:16.delivered its products to 128 Let's talk to the man in charge. He
:21:17. > :21:23.has brought in the classic hamper, I understand. Classic Christmas
:21:24. > :21:28.hamper. Various things on the table here as well, which are extremely
:21:29. > :21:34.tempting. 20% so far this year, where is it coming from which a big
:21:35. > :21:39.boost in sales, is it because the pound has fallen in value? Over the
:21:40. > :21:43.last few months we have seen a positive impact with international
:21:44. > :21:48.visitors. Fundamentally, just because the fall of the pan, people
:21:49. > :21:54.don't buy more smoked salmon, more hampers? It makes it cheaper? It
:21:55. > :21:58.does, but it is the strength of the domestic consumer. We have seen
:21:59. > :22:03.fantastic group of people living in London and around the United Kingdom
:22:04. > :22:07.from our web business. That is a shift you have introduced since she
:22:08. > :22:13.became the boss at Fortnum Mason, you have been with them for four
:22:14. > :22:18.years? Yes, 60% of our business was international. We set out on a
:22:19. > :22:22.journey to make that shift. 60% of our business is now led by people
:22:23. > :22:27.with a UK address. We have become more relevant to more people across
:22:28. > :22:30.the UK. Why did you engineer that shift? When I think about Fortnum
:22:31. > :22:34.Mason and I think about these gorgeous products, I do think it is
:22:35. > :22:40.the tourism issue, tourist attraction? We have been in business
:22:41. > :22:47.for over 300 years and we have always been relevant to the smart
:22:48. > :22:51.people of the United Kingdom. It was easy to re-engage and become more
:22:52. > :22:56.relevant. International visitors, they want to know where the people
:22:57. > :22:59.of Britain shop, where the smart people of Britain shop, where the
:23:00. > :23:04.Royals shop and whether great quality ingredients can be found. It
:23:05. > :23:09.was an obvious strategy to deploy and it is working. It is not only
:23:10. > :23:12.about where they shop, and also where this stuff comes from. You
:23:13. > :23:17.make a big thing of sourcing the stuff from the UK. All made
:23:18. > :23:23.particularly in the North of England? 70% of the stuff is bought
:23:24. > :23:27.from British suppliers. Christmas puddings are made by two sisters in
:23:28. > :23:30.Lancashire who have been making thousands of Christmas puddings for
:23:31. > :23:35.the last 20 years. Shortbread comes from Leith in Edinburgh, chocolate
:23:36. > :23:39.from Brighton, that he is blended in Newcastle. Every part of the United
:23:40. > :23:44.Kingdom can benefit from the sales that go to the Fortnum Mason
:23:45. > :23:50.brand. Of your products, what percentage are made in the UK, what
:23:51. > :23:55.percentage from overseas? 70% is made here in the United Kingdom. It
:23:56. > :23:58.is all the small producers. Sieve ingredients that go into every
:23:59. > :24:03.single product that is produced in different parts of the British
:24:04. > :24:08.Isles. The aspects that are not made in the UK, so for example, the tea
:24:09. > :24:13.or other elements made in other countries, how across Ayew of the
:24:14. > :24:18.supply chain? I remember one of our journalists did a piece about tea
:24:19. > :24:22.picking in India and said some of this tea is sold in Fortnum Mason,
:24:23. > :24:27.Harrods and various other big stores around the world. How can you be so
:24:28. > :24:32.diligent about that because it is so important to your brand? It is
:24:33. > :24:36.hugely important, we have a strong team of buyers and technologists who
:24:37. > :24:41.travel the world, meet with our producers and suppliers. They
:24:42. > :24:46.understand all of the upstream products. It is expensive, but an
:24:47. > :24:50.essential part of us doing business because people expect very high
:24:51. > :24:55.standards, exacting high standards from our brand. Speaking of people
:24:56. > :24:59.who expect high standards, at the Royal warrant. How important is
:25:00. > :25:04.that? Potential queens to be, royal family from around the world are
:25:05. > :25:08.regular shoppers? They are and we are proud of that association. We
:25:09. > :25:15.have had a Royal warrant since the beginning, I think it is 165 years.
:25:16. > :25:21.How important is it to be to sell off the back of that? We were issued
:25:22. > :25:24.the warrant is because the Royals considers to be so good at what we
:25:25. > :25:28.do. We are honoured to have the warrant of Her Majesty The Queen and
:25:29. > :25:34.the Prince of Wales. It does make a difference. People look at the Royal
:25:35. > :25:37.warrant as a standard-bearer of great quality, authenticity and
:25:38. > :25:41.trust. It is true of domestic customers, but certainly of
:25:42. > :25:46.customers around the world. You did have European queens? The Duchess of
:25:47. > :25:50.Cornwall is a great shopper of ours and on a more recent visit I was
:25:51. > :25:54.taking her around the store and we bumped into three European queens
:25:55. > :26:04.and a queen to be. It was a good moment. Goodness me. Thank you for
:26:05. > :26:06.coming in. Happy Christmas. Tomorrow is the Christmas live Christmas
:26:07. > :26:10.special. So June into that.