06/02/2017 BBC Business Live

Chinese investment in Europe and the US continues to grow

reaching almos $100 billion last year - but can the trend continue?

Live from London, that's our top story on Monday 6th February.

So why is investment from a nine chain in Europe and the US --

mainland Europe and We will also speak to the

award-winning business leader who took over a waste management company

at the age of 19. Also today - Ryanair

profits are down - So do you still have

the cheap flights bug? If you are planning your holidays,

why not tell us where you are off to?

The political events of 2016 may have ignited an unprecedented period

of uncertainty for the global economy but one thing that appears

to remain unaffected is the growing appetite of Chinese investors.

Last year Chinese investment in the US increased

Meanwhile, Chinese investment into Europe grew by 90 percent.

All of this gives the impression 2016 was a good year for Western

economies when it comes to foreign investment.

Well the UK is about to begin a two-year period of Brexit

negotiations and this echoes wider concerns over the health

France, Germany and the Netherlands are all set to head to the polls

later this year and Eurosceptic parties are gaining ground

And in the US the uncertainty about what the Trump administration

means for future deals with China is very unclear.

During the recent election campaign he vowed to impose punitive

Add to that moves from Chinese authorities to crackdown on money

Chinese overseas deals could have been worth billions of dollars more

if Beijing had not blocked some 30 acquisitions with Europe and the US.

Tim Gee is Mergers and Aquisitions Partner at Baker McKenzie and one

He explained why those deals were blocked.

Some of the transactions and ousted not complete because the Chinese bid

was outbid. The Chinese bid for London City Airport was outbid by a

Canadian pension fund. Then you also have regulatory control from the

West, particularly in the US. Some deals were blocked there, including

European deals. Then you have controls within China, and what we

have seen is concern over capital outflow from China, and that has

caused some transactions to be pulled as a result of China saying,

we don't want this to happen. Linda Yueh is a Fellow in Economics

at the University of Oxford and an Adjunct Professor

of Economics at London Nice to see you, Linda. This report

is interesting on what happened last year, because the numbers are

staggering, the amount that was invested in the US and Europe, but

also the amount that wasn't. Talk us through a bit more the reasons why.

The Chinese are trying very hard to control out what capital movement.

There are some economic reasons. One is to stabilise the value of the

Chinese currency. Remember, China pegs its currency. They have to

control the amount of currency flowing outside its borders. The

other reason is they don't want companies companies being bought,

but that is how commercial transactions should work. That is

more of an excuse. The real reason is that they want to control the

capital markets, just as they control pretty much everything else

in the financial markets in the country. I wonder what your take is

on the future appetite of Chinese investors investing in the US when

we have quite convert of statements from Donald Trump, accusing China of

manipulating its currency, questioning the one China policy.

Will that affect investors' willingness to pour money in? I

think the rhetoric will have some impact, but I wouldn't overstate it.

Politically, there has always been a lot of tension between the US and

China, but a lot of businesses do deals anyway. The Chinese don't view

Donald Trump that negatively. There are some who are worried, but there

are others who say, he is a businessman. He welcomed some

Chinese companies to make jobs in America. There are only two roles in

an American economy, he said - hire American people and by American

products. -- purchase American products. . There has been a shift

away from... The Chinese Government is attempted to control not just the

financial markets but the whole economy. China's growth is slowing.

It is one of the reasons why big companies want to invest overseas,

to diversify. The Government doesn't want them to put money into things

that they don't think will help china's growth. They want

innovation, expertise and things like high-end financial services,

high-tech manufacturing, so their investment in America and Europe

tends to be permitted if it is of that ilk. It tends to be scrutinised

if it is more about buying entertainment companies. Thanks,

Linda. All was good to have you on the programme. There is more about

that on our website. Take a look when you have time. Some other news

now. Apple, Facebook, Google

and Microsoft are among 97 companies to have filed an official court

document opposing Donald The US President's executive order

prevents people from seven mainly Muslim countries

entering the United States. On Saturday, the federal appeals

court rejected the Trump administration's request

to reinstate the ban after it was initially

blocked a day earlier. Ryanair has reported an 8% fall

in profits as increased competition forced the Irish airline

to cut fares. The company says that average ticket

prices may have fallen by as much as 15 per cent over

the winter period. Ryanair has warned that 2017

will continue to be a difficult year for the industry,

but the carrier left its profit Two of Japans biggest

automakers have announced Toyota and Suzuki said they'd been

working on the deal since October. This is interesting, isn't it?

That's right. I just want to mention that Toyota has just released its

latest earnings numbers. They have raised their profit forecast thanks

to stronger sales. They say they expect profit of 15 billion US

dollars in the financial year to March, a 10% increase from the last

forecast. Toyota last year lost its title as the world's biggest

car-maker to Volkswagen. The industry is getting more

competitive. Tidying up with Suzuki is a means to address that. They

will develop green cars and other technologies, but it is worth

mentioning that both companies have a history of failed alliances, so

let's hope that this relationship works out. Thank you very much.

Asian markets rose as investors tracked a record on Wall Street.

That was fuelled by a better than expected jump in US jobs.

Financial stocks in particular have been boosted by Donald Trump's

He's likely to relax the tighter regulations that were imposed

on banks after the 2008 crash to try and prevent a repeat of that.

In Europe the main markets opened a shade higher - but fairly flat.

Some things to watch out for this week -

investors will be looking at the results from BP and Total

They are two of Europe's biggest energy companies.

Will their results reflect the rebound in oil prices?

And Samira Husain has the details about what's ahead

If the last two weeks were anything to go by, we could see another busy

week. It will also be a busy week per business news, as companies

continue to report earnings. General Motors will release results on

Tuesday and it is expected to have a record year. Coca-Cola is also

reporting this year. Fizzy drinks are going flat as consumers look for

a healthier options. The company has been trying to diversify away from

sugary drinks into coconut and vitamin water, but it hasn't been

enough -- but has it been enough? Wall Street is -- twitter is

reporting as well. Joining us is Trevor Greetham,

Head of multi asset A lot going on, as usual. We'd been

touching on some of the issues. Let's talk about travel, because

that seems to be impacting trade in Asia, with shares doing well.

Perhaps an executive order on financial regulation coming up soon?

Yes, and you will generally here Donald Trump using the short form of

the consumer protection act. He wants to deregulate the American

market generally, which would mean getting banks... Wasn't the

regulation brought in to protect us against another 2008 - style crisis?

Yes. It is that a question about whether it will be a good thing or a

bad thing, but it will have to go through Congress. There will be

opposition. Generally, we are testing America's separation of

powers. Donald Trump will say stuff and then see what happens. The

challenge to immigration. Companies now joining the legal case to try

and get the travel ban overturned. From his point of view, he can't

lose, because he says, I will ban people from these countries, and he

is then stopped from doing it, but he can say to his supporters, I

tried and I was stopped by so-called judges and so-called politicians. He

has nothing to lose. There is a continual war in the markets between

what it sees good, such as stimulus, and what they see as bad, all the

crazy stuff. Other crazy stuff coming up this week - what are you

watching? Amongst all this political noise, the world economy is strong,

which is good. Markets. China is strong this year, whereas it was

weak for four or five years. Maybe they don't want to slam the brakes

on, so it will stay quite strong. Thank you for joining us.

Still to come: We'll speak to the woman who unexpectedly took

over the family firm at the age of 19 and turned it into

You're with Business Live from BBC News.

Let's tell you a bit more about Ryanair reporting and 8% fall in

profits. They said average fares fell to ?28 per customer, a fall of

17%. Traffic was up 16% on last year. The chief financial officer of

Ryanair joins us now. It's an interesting time for you as a

company, as many of your rivals. More people travelling but you're

making less money per passenger and your profits are going down. Good to

talk to you. We're having a relatively good year, to be honest.

Our profits in the first nine months were up. As you said, passenger

numbers were exceptionally strong. We had record load factors of 95%.

An average fare of ?28. Fares could be down as much as 15% in the fourth

quarter. We have maintained our guidance of 1.35 billion, which

would be record profits for Ryanair this year. It really is an issue for

you, isn't it? We have heard you will sustain those low prices the

rest of this year and probably the first quarter of next, so your

profits will be more and more squeezed, when they? -- won't they?

We have the lowest fares of anyone out there, and we announced this

morning that our total costs will be down by 4%. When you consider that

our next nearest competitor's 's 40% higher than ours, and yet we're

looking at unit cost reductions, excluding fuel, that puts is in a

strong position relative to everyone else. We're better hedged next year

compared to competitors. We have compared to competitors. We have

which is our biggest cost, and there which is our biggest cost, and there

will be significant savings on fuel. We are very good at cutting costs in

the businesses and keeping competitive advantage. We grow

profitably on the back of it. Next year, our plan is to deliver 130

million customers. That's the chief financial officer.

More detail is on our website on Ryanair's earnings and other

companies out with news. Our top story, Chinese direct

investment into the US and Europe more than doubled to a record

$94 billion last year. Lawyers Baker McKenzie say

that was despite $75 billion worth A quick look at how

markets are faring. This is how they're looking after a

fairly flat open. The FTSE is up a shade. The DAX and the Cac down

slightly. In the UK alone, the industry

is worth more than ?0.5 billion. But it is in a predominantly

male-run sector, Jacqueline O'Donovan stands

out as a rare female leader. At the age of 19, Jacqueline took

over the family business 30 years on and O'Donovan Waste

Disposal is a fast-growing firm It employs 160 people

and mostly operates in London and the South East,

a complex and very Jacqueline O'Donovan,

Managing Director Tell our viewers about the beginning

for you. Because your father died suddenly when you were just 17. He

was running the company? He was, yes. He had a successful business

and he died back in 1985 when I was 17 and I'm the youngest of four. The

youngest of four? The youngest of four. But it fell on your shoulders

to run the business? It fell on all our shoulders, but it took a couple

of years to stabilise and once it stabilised, we picked our role and

mine was managing director. How did you manage that at such a young age?

You're running a company, what sort of business experience did you have

at that stage and were you just winging it? I was winging it. I ran

out of school at 16. I couldn't wait to get out the gatesment I had a job

as a childminder in Germany which I didn't take on and the rest is

history. What reaction do you get from friends when you tell them your

line of work? They say what line of work are you in and I say, "I bet

you can't guess." Which they can't! It is a difficult business to be in

anyway, I imagine 30 years ago, at the age of 19, being a woman running

this company in London it was extremely tough. What kind of

barriers and difficulties did you face? First of all, the biggest

barrier was I was a female in a male dominated industry which I think

bothered the men more than it bothered me. Then I didn't play

golf. That was also a bit of a hurdle especially when it came to...

Do you play golf now? No, no time to shop or golf. That was a hurdle. But

I just saw them as challenges and worked my way over them each and

everyone. How did you overcome them? Was it by proving to people that you

could hold your own and you were just as able to grasp this industry

as they were? I didn't really think about it at all. It wasn't something

that I thought about, oh, my gosh, I'm a woman in a male dominated

industry. It was something I took as a challenge. I enjoy a challenge and

I got on with it. The males felt more intimidated than I did.

The actual industry itself has changed in that period of time? Oh,

massively. We just chuck everything away in one bag and you guys would

take it away. I imagine in the UK many viewers around the world have a

similar experience, we're separating our waste, we might get fined if we

don't do it properly and it is left behind. It has completely changed.

What has that meant for your business? It brought us to the fore

front. 20 years ago if you were at a social event with regards to

business you would tell people you were in waste disposal, it was right

move on to the next question or the next subject. Now, they want to know

how you do it, what equipment is involved, whether people are still

involved, and people are more interested in how it's done. Is it

harder to make money now? Oh, yeah, without a shadow of a doubt because

it takes a lot more money, a lot more equipment to recycle more. So

yeah, the prices have gone completely. What's your ambition for

the business. Where do you take a waste disposal business in the

future? Bigger and better things. I would like to try different waste

streams. We would like to expand as a family. So yeah, bigger and

better. Are we sitting on a waste time bomb in London? I imagine any

capital city around the world in terms of waste is a big problem? I

wouldn't say it is a time bomb. I think it is very well handled.

Behind the scenes what normal people don't see is very well handled. How

much is landfill and how much in terms of percentages? We are 100%

diverted from landfill and we have been for years. The old landfill,

the biggest issue is food waste going to landfill. That's the next

hurdle for the food waste industry. I could talk to you for hours,

couldn't you? Yes. Fascinating. We can't. Thank you for coming in.

Really good to have you on the programme. Thanks.

And now for the latest instalment of our ongoing CEO secrets series

we're going to hear from the head of a family company that's now

Paul Symington is chairman of the Portuguese wine company

This is the business advice he wishes he had been given

If you were going to have a big row, leave it for the really important

things and don't have arguments over the small things.

We're a family business that goes back into the 19th century.

A family business that is united is unbeatable and there

is incressing evidence of the success of family businesses

Put aside the little irritations because they're not important.

Take a deep breath, sleep on it, come back and then

If you let small niggly things get in the way,

you really break up a really, really fantastic business.

There you have it. Loads of top tips from bosses on the programme today.

Let's see what other stories are being talked

We have to talk about Brexit. It is on the front page of the FT today. A

survey which indicates big quota companies are negative on the UK

following the vote to leave the European Union. Which is hardly

surprising given in the run-up in the campaign most of these people

would have campaigned in favour of Remain. That's despite all the data,

you know, proving them perhaps wrong? Yeah, it shows the UK is

growing reasonably at the quarter it was 0.6% one of the best of the G7.

Are they wrong? Well, it matters if they have a negative outlook because

they are the ones who drive investment into the UK. They are the

ones who provide jobs for the k. I must say also the survey is at odds

with the ones I've talked to, most business people are prag pattic

about life. Most business people I speak to are let's get on it. Some

companies will have to move people, but by and large business people are

flexible and adaptable, I think. Let's talk about this fascinating

story about the boss of Tiffany. He was shown the exit door in a kind

of... He has been in the job for two years. He got the boot on Sunday

night they announced it. Just before the Super Bowl when Tiffany had one

of its first time ads? Tiffany sells upmarket jewellery. Tourists going

to New York, you know, it costs them more to buy Tiffany jewellery, if

you know New York, Tiffany's main store is right beside Trump Tower.

They said it was getting hard for them to get people in and out of the

door because of the motorcades arriving, it is a double Trump

thump. Why get rid of the boss? That's not his fault? It is often

the boss that carries the can. It is difficult for Tiffany. All the up

market brands are flying on the edge. One mistack and you can easily

fall out of favour. There you go. On the ropes. He's looking for a new

job. Thanks Dominic. That's the end of another packed show. It flies by.

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

and on world business report. We will see you soon. Take care.

Bye-bye. Hello there. The week has started on

a cold note with quite a widespread frost this morning. The week will

end on a cold note as well as I'll show new a moment, but we have a wet

and windy interlude to get through first and that's heading our way