:00:00. > :00:00.This is Business Live from BBC News, with Ben Bland and Sally Bundock.
:00:07. > :00:12.America's Vice President meets European leaders in Brussels,
:00:13. > :00:15.as the future of trade relations remains shrouded in uncertainty.
:00:16. > :00:18.Live from London, that's our top story on Monday
:00:19. > :00:37.The US and Europe are the world's biggest trade blocs.
:00:38. > :00:41.But tensions between the two sides have been rising.
:00:42. > :00:48.The world's biggest potential takeover gets canned.
:00:49. > :01:00.US food giant Kraft Heinz now says it won't buy its rival Unilever.
:01:01. > :01:04.That's how the market looks at the start of the trading day.
:01:05. > :01:06.Making sure everyone gets in on the act.
:01:07. > :01:13.We'll meet the woman putting disabled actors centre stage.
:01:14. > :01:15.Supermarkets say we're buying more organic fruit and veg.
:01:16. > :01:16.Do you think it's worth the extra money?
:01:17. > :01:41.The US Vice President Mike Pence meets the President
:01:42. > :01:44.of the European Council Donald Tusk in Brussels this morning.
:01:45. > :01:46.They will try to mend fences after throwing rhetorical fire
:01:47. > :01:48.crackers at each other in recent weeks.
:01:49. > :01:50.While Mr Tusk described Trump as a threat to Europe,
:01:51. > :01:53.Mr Trump has praised the UK's decision to leave the Union
:01:54. > :02:00.and angered many nations with his travel ban.
:02:01. > :02:03.Between them, the US and the European Union are the world's
:02:04. > :02:07.Figures from 2014 put the value of all goods and services traded
:02:08. > :02:22.It sold $91 billion more stuff to the USA than
:02:23. > :02:25.Something the Trump administration would like to change.
:02:26. > :02:31.And since 2013, the EU and US have been trying
:02:32. > :02:40.to broker a free trade deal, the so-called Transatlantic Trade
:02:41. > :02:42.and Investment Partnership, TTIP, that would eliminate tariffs
:02:43. > :02:47.But President Trump has said nothing about it since his election.
:02:48. > :02:49.Many though expect TTIP to be scrapped.
:02:50. > :02:50.Where differences have emerged, it's been over
:02:51. > :02:52.currency valuations, car exports and
:02:53. > :03:06.Leslie Vinjamuri is an associate fellow of the US the Americas
:03:07. > :03:14.Programme at the Chatham House, a thinktank here in London
:03:15. > :03:21.Mike Pence has been in Europe for a few days, talked us through how it
:03:22. > :03:27.is going? The vice president was at the Munich
:03:28. > :03:32.Security conference, the premier meeting of ministers and notable
:03:33. > :03:37.officials across the world. He spoke about America's commitment,
:03:38. > :03:42.reaffirming it to Nato, but he did not speak about the EU which left a
:03:43. > :03:47.lot of European leaders concerned. He is going to Brussels today.
:03:48. > :03:54.There is a broader question about whether or not there will be some
:03:55. > :03:59.concern about whether America will try to amend the unravelling of the
:04:00. > :04:03.EU. President Trump has been supportive of Brexit, talking about
:04:04. > :04:09.a bilateral trade deal with the UK. There has been no clear commitment
:04:10. > :04:12.to supporting a multilateral vehicle through the EU. Donald Trump is
:04:13. > :04:17.opposed to multilateralism and has sought to work by naturally with
:04:18. > :04:25.most of the country's partners. The focus of the visit by Mike Pence
:04:26. > :04:27.has been about security, Nato, but there is a lot of overlap between
:04:28. > :04:32.security and trade. Prior to him coming, the
:04:33. > :04:37.conversation between the US and Europe has not been good.
:04:38. > :04:43.It has been unsettling for most of the European leaders, the idea Trump
:04:44. > :04:49.gave the interview in January and said Nato was obsolete. And put
:04:50. > :04:52.Europe on the back foot, saying, you must increase your defence spending
:04:53. > :04:58.if you want us to be committed to Nato. This weekend, renewed pressure
:04:59. > :05:03.for Europe to step up and those states not hitting the 2% of GDP the
:05:04. > :05:07.spending on defence to really step up.
:05:08. > :05:12.There is a broader conversation which is who is really in charge?
:05:13. > :05:17.Donald Trump has not stepped up in the same way to affirm that
:05:18. > :05:20.commitment to Nato or the EU. A lot of people are watching this to see
:05:21. > :05:26.who is really running the ship will stop so much uncertainty from the
:05:27. > :05:31.US. Very unnerving for Europe. The visit today is very important.
:05:32. > :05:38.The other thing I mentioned was the transatlantic partnership, Donald
:05:39. > :05:41.Trump hasn't said much about that since taking office. Do you think
:05:42. > :05:47.there is any hope for any sort of trade deal between the US and the
:05:48. > :05:54.EU? Or is that I get out of the water? I
:05:55. > :05:56.think TTIP is probably very unlikely to move forward. The Trump
:05:57. > :06:02.administration has been very reluctant to push forward new
:06:03. > :06:06.multilateral trade deals, it has pulled out of Asia.
:06:07. > :06:11.TTIP is unlikely to move forward. What we are likely to see is,
:06:12. > :06:17.whatever talks go on about trade, it will be with this agenda of American
:06:18. > :06:22.interests must come first. What does that mean? We don't know yet. A lot
:06:23. > :06:26.coming out of the Trump administration is rhetorical. We
:06:27. > :06:31.haven't seen very significant efforts in terms of legislating or
:06:32. > :06:36.pushing forward policies. A lot of uncertainty, we are still operating
:06:37. > :06:40.at the level of what will the stated commitment be, on trade.
:06:41. > :06:45.But little movement so far. Thank you so much for coming in and
:06:46. > :06:50.sharing your expertise. We shall keep you across any news that comes
:06:51. > :06:52.out of that meeting today between Donald Tusk and Mike Pence.
:06:53. > :06:54.It will be interesting. Japan's trade deficit grew by more
:06:55. > :06:58.than expected in January to about $9.6bn, largely
:06:59. > :07:00.because of the increased Nonetheless, exports increased
:07:01. > :07:11.by 1.3%, despite a fall in vehicle sales to Europe
:07:12. > :07:13.and the United States, amid concern of protectionist trade policies
:07:14. > :07:15.from President Trump. The latest numbers mean
:07:16. > :07:17.Japan's trade surplus Ride-sharing service Uber has opened
:07:18. > :07:23.an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment made
:07:24. > :07:26.by a former employee. The boss Travis Kalanick said
:07:27. > :07:30.there was "absolutely no place" for the type of behaviour detailed
:07:31. > :07:33.in a blog by former engineer Susan Fowler who left
:07:34. > :07:40.the company in December. It is likely to bring a renewed
:07:41. > :07:44.focus to sexism in Silicon Valley with several commentators suggesting
:07:45. > :07:46.online that her experiences were instantly recognisable to other
:07:47. > :08:05.women working in the tech industry. A lot of news on our website, quite
:08:06. > :08:11.interesting is the story our second headline, Kraft Heinz has decided it
:08:12. > :08:15.is not going to go ahead with a better or renewed offer for
:08:16. > :08:18.Unilever. That has had an immediate impact on the shares on the
:08:19. > :08:22.financial markets. Some are saying perhaps it is the previous
:08:23. > :08:27.experience of Cadbury that was snapped up by Kraft Heinz which they
:08:28. > :08:34.have impacted on this deal. This paragraph saying, Kraft Heinz
:08:35. > :08:38.will find it difficult to win over UK politicians because of concern
:08:39. > :08:41.about what it might mean for British jobs. More analysis on that as well.
:08:42. > :08:45.A New Zealand judge has upheld an earlier court ruling that
:08:46. > :08:47.flamboyant internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and three
:08:48. > :08:50.of his colleagues can be extradited to the US to face criminal charges.
:08:51. > :09:07.What more do we know? Basically, he was the founder of the now-defunct
:09:08. > :09:10.mega upload .com. Five years ago the US authorities
:09:11. > :09:17.shut down that site. Putting some 15 charges against him of racketeering,
:09:18. > :09:21.money-laundering, copyright infringement amongst other things.
:09:22. > :09:25.The New Zealand High Court has said he is not guilty of copyright
:09:26. > :09:29.infringement and cannot be extradited under that. But he can
:09:30. > :09:35.still be etched dieted under conspiracy to commit copyright
:09:36. > :09:41.infringement, that goes for his other co-defendants. All four say
:09:42. > :09:46.they will appeal this case. The defendant says he expects this case
:09:47. > :09:52.to go on for another two years, this extradition court case.
:09:53. > :09:59.He posted it as a David Angella case. We will see whether he, his
:10:00. > :10:03.case stands up against the law. Christine, thank you very much for
:10:04. > :10:05.that. Let's take a look at how the markets
:10:06. > :10:08.are doing. Asian markets were mixed
:10:09. > :10:10.as political uncertainty globally Japan's Nikkei went flat
:10:11. > :10:15.after domestic data showed exports US financial markets will be closed
:10:16. > :10:26.for a long weekend holiday, European markets starting
:10:27. > :10:34.the new trading week with gains Worth watching what happens
:10:35. > :10:42.to Unilever shares after US food company Kraft Heinz
:10:43. > :10:43.withdrew its proposal Unilever's shares jumped 13%
:10:44. > :10:51.on Friday on news of the bid. Lots of corporate results
:10:52. > :10:55.due out this week. The UK's big banks will report
:10:56. > :10:57.their annual profits, including HBSC, RBS,
:10:58. > :11:01.Lloyds and Standard Chartered. Also due out, results
:11:02. > :11:03.from the big mining companies including BHP Billiton,
:11:04. > :11:14.Glencore and Anglo American. US stock markets are closed today
:11:15. > :11:17.for the President's Day holiday. But here's Michelle Fleury
:11:18. > :11:19.in New York with the details of what to look out
:11:20. > :11:29.for later in the week The question is will they be able to
:11:30. > :11:34.build on the gains last week, the major indexes have been buoyed
:11:35. > :11:39.partly by Donald Trump's promises fewer vacations and tax cuts for
:11:40. > :11:48.businesses, all happening against a backdrop of an improving US economy.
:11:49. > :11:52.That progress was pointed to, but the dangers of waiting too long to
:11:53. > :11:59.raise interest rates. Investors will be looking at the latest Federal
:12:00. > :12:03.reserve meeting the clues of any imminent hike.
:12:04. > :12:08.On the economic front, Wall Street will be looking at plenty of data on
:12:09. > :12:16.the housing market and an insight to the manufacturing sector, look out
:12:17. > :12:17.for the report for February. Wrapped up only that, freezing in
:12:18. > :12:17.New York. Joining us is Jessica Ground, UK
:12:18. > :12:28.Equities Fund Manager at Schroders. Quite a bit going on. Let us talk
:12:29. > :12:35.about Kraft Heinz and their pull-out of pursuing Unilever. Interesting, a
:12:36. > :12:42.swift reversal of intentions late yesterday.
:12:43. > :12:47.That was because Kraft Heinz really did want to lose Unilever, they felt
:12:48. > :12:52.it had to be an agreed deal partly because Unilever has those iconic
:12:53. > :12:56.brands, partly because Kraft Heinz have a mixed track record having
:12:57. > :13:00.shut down those Cadbury plants. I suspect when it became clear
:13:01. > :13:06.Unilever was less than enthused, they decided not to go ahead.
:13:07. > :13:10.Unilever shares down 8% this morning, no surprise. They were up
:13:11. > :13:13.over 10% on Friday on news of a possible take over.
:13:14. > :13:18.A bit of a round trip on the situation.
:13:19. > :13:23.Mentioning the results we are expecting later this week, the big
:13:24. > :13:28.banks, big mining companies, that will all move the markets presumably
:13:29. > :13:33.in One Direction or another. They are large parts of the markets,
:13:34. > :13:38.two different trends, with the commodity markets, compared to a
:13:39. > :13:42.year ago were the figures were so low, commodity prices are much
:13:43. > :13:48.higher. We are still looking for evidence the management teams are
:13:49. > :13:52.disciplined, keeping a lid on costs, not having that boom and bust
:13:53. > :13:56.mentality. The banks, it will be interesting.
:13:57. > :14:02.Particularly some of the forward looking indicators for the
:14:03. > :14:06.consumers, high levels of indebtedness, employment is high
:14:07. > :14:10.which is great but there could be interest rate highs is on the
:14:11. > :14:16.horizon, so it will be interested to see what the banks do on that side.
:14:17. > :14:23.Thank you for now, Jessica will be back soon. We will be talking about
:14:24. > :14:25.organic food sales. Do you buy organic?
:14:26. > :14:30.Sometimes. Do you? Me too.
:14:31. > :14:39.I try to grow my own. The last organic vegetable I've bought was
:14:40. > :14:39.properly. --
:14:40. > :14:44.A question of equality, We'll meet the woman making sure
:14:45. > :14:49.disabled actors get their turn in the spotlight.
:14:50. > :14:51.Online retail giant Amazon has said it will create 5,000 new full-time
:14:52. > :14:57.The jobs will be across the business in the London head office,
:14:58. > :15:04.Edinburgh customer service centre, and in three new warehouses.
:15:05. > :15:13.Let's speak to Natalie Burge. Tell us more, why is Amazon investing so
:15:14. > :15:17.much in the UK? Amazon is committed to the UK. It is their second
:15:18. > :15:26.largest international market after Germany and they view the UK as a
:15:27. > :15:30.very strategic market. There is a lot of overlap between US and UK
:15:31. > :15:34.consumers. They see it as a very familiar market when it comes to
:15:35. > :15:38.rolling out some of the big US initiatives. They see the UK as an
:15:39. > :15:43.international launch pad and that's why, if you look over the past year,
:15:44. > :15:47.we have seen the launch of Amazon Fresh, their online grocery service
:15:48. > :15:53.here in the UK. They delivered their first order by drone before
:15:54. > :15:57.Christmas last year and we have seen the roll-out of their virtual
:15:58. > :16:01.personal assistant. So they're clearly doing a lot in the US and
:16:02. > :16:05.they view the UK as a gateway to the international market.
:16:06. > :16:09.That's interesting the creation of new jobs, because the other
:16:10. > :16:12.direction that Amazon has been going in is using these drones for
:16:13. > :16:17.deliveries and there has been a lot of talk about drones perhaps taking
:16:18. > :16:21.the jobs of some delivery drivers? Yeah, I mean, you know, drones are
:16:22. > :16:26.certainly part of their fulfilment offering, but the more significant
:16:27. > :16:30.pieces is the fact that they are opening three new fulfilment centres
:16:31. > :16:33.in the UK and it just shows they need additional warehouse capacity.
:16:34. > :16:38.Drones will be part of it, but I think if you look at what they're
:16:39. > :16:42.doing in terms of they are seeing growth in their own products, but
:16:43. > :16:46.they are seeing growth in their third party sellers, their market
:16:47. > :16:51.place vendors and this is really significant because from a
:16:52. > :16:55.consumer's point of view, they go to Amazon.co.uk for assortment. You've
:16:56. > :17:02.got 150 million products on this website and if they're able to have
:17:03. > :17:05.access to the products and also have the benefit of Amazon's speedy
:17:06. > :17:11.delivery, well, it is a win, win. I think it is quite significant.
:17:12. > :17:18.Thanks, Natalie. Lots more to discuss on our website.
:17:19. > :17:19.Take a look and news about Bovis setting aside more money for
:17:20. > :17:24.customers. Our top story, the US vice-president
:17:25. > :17:28.Mike Pence is holding talks with EU It comes at a time of growing
:17:29. > :17:32.uncertainty over relations between the world's two
:17:33. > :17:35.biggest trading blocs. A quick look at how
:17:36. > :17:45.markets are faring. It is President's Day in the United
:17:46. > :17:49.States. No action there later on today, but European markets are
:17:50. > :17:52.pretty flat. As Ben and Jessica were saying earlier, lots of corporate
:17:53. > :17:53.stories coming out as the week progresses so there will be plenty
:17:54. > :17:58.to chew on as the week progresses. All this week we're looking
:17:59. > :18:00.at the relationship between disabled people and businesses and how
:18:01. > :18:02.they work for each other. An estimated 1.2 billion people
:18:03. > :18:04.around the world have But they still don't always
:18:05. > :18:08.get access to the same Well, one talent agency is trying
:18:09. > :18:13.to change that when it comes VisABLE People was founded in 1994
:18:14. > :18:19.and became the world's first agency It now handles the careers of dozens
:18:20. > :18:26.of actors and models, and says it helps put disabled
:18:27. > :18:32.people into mainstream media focus. So it has got its clients roles
:18:33. > :18:35.in top BBC shows like Casualty and EastEnders as well as on TV ads
:18:36. > :18:38.for big companies like the British supermarket chain Sainsbury
:18:39. > :18:40.and the mobile phone provider Joining us is Louise Dyson,
:18:41. > :18:57.founder and CEO of VisABLE People. Good to see you. Good morning. Just
:18:58. > :19:03.tell us, you started in 1994, 23 years ago, why? At the time I owned
:19:04. > :19:07.a model agency. It was a big agency. The biggest outside London. We had
:19:08. > :19:13.all sorts of different clients and one of them was a manufacturer of
:19:14. > :19:18.mobility equipment. And they decided that they wanted to begin to use
:19:19. > :19:24.genuinely disabled people to model their products and I didn't know
:19:25. > :19:27.any. And we decided to organise a competition, nationwide, to find
:19:28. > :19:33.people who had modelling potential and also who had disabilities and we
:19:34. > :19:37.had the most fantastic response. We had over 600 applicants which was
:19:38. > :19:42.just wonderful. Very high standard. So that's how it all started 23
:19:43. > :19:50.years ago, but you're still the only agency in the whole world that
:19:51. > :19:56.represents disabled actors, models, representatives, for various areas
:19:57. > :20:01.of work. Why is that? I think the reason we are owe the only agency
:20:02. > :20:05.that only has disabled artists and model and covers every area of the
:20:06. > :20:09.work is because most agencies tend to specialise. You will have an
:20:10. > :20:14.agency that perhaps just has presenters and an agency that just
:20:15. > :20:19.has voice-over artists, an agency that has model, an agency that has
:20:20. > :20:23.models. Because it has been a case of trying to create a market from
:20:24. > :20:26.scratch, it has been a case of also having to be good at all things. So
:20:27. > :20:31.we have different people who are capable of doing the different kinds
:20:32. > :20:37.of roles and I suppose in that case it all has to come under VisABLE
:20:38. > :20:44.People. The reason there aren't any other agencies doing what we do
:20:45. > :20:50.because it took 15 years before it was even faintly profitable really.
:20:51. > :20:54.It was a conscious decision not to have the word, "Disability" In the
:20:55. > :21:01.name of the company, wasn't it? Why would we? You were saying to us, you
:21:02. > :21:08.know, you think that the term, "Disabled" Is outdated and
:21:09. > :21:12.unhelpful? I think the word "Disability and disabled" Doesn't
:21:13. > :21:18.conjure anything exciting. I have got fantastic people who have got
:21:19. > :21:22.energy, and beauty and skills and you know the world disability
:21:23. > :21:25.doesn't really help that. Where do you see the business going? What
:21:26. > :21:29.kind of hopes and dreams do you have for the future of it? I think one of
:21:30. > :21:34.the most exciting developments has been the increase in the number of
:21:35. > :21:44.bookings we've had from other countries. And the exciting part
:21:45. > :21:48.about that is that it means that the message, the whole point of VisABLE
:21:49. > :21:52.is to change the mindset on disability. If we succeed in doing
:21:53. > :21:56.that in other parts of the world, that means we're achieving our aim
:21:57. > :22:00.really, but I do envisage opening up in other markets. It means opening
:22:01. > :22:06.other markets. We did have to create the market in the UK to begin with
:22:07. > :22:12.and it means rolling that out into other countries. But you personally
:22:13. > :22:16.had to be extremely, you know, you had to really persevere in this
:22:17. > :22:19.because it has taken awe long time. You're only faintly profitable after
:22:20. > :22:23.15 years in trying to build this business and yet you stuck at it.
:22:24. > :22:28.Were you not tempted to just... No. Pull the plug? No, I was never
:22:29. > :22:32.tempted to do that. It was such a great idea. It was a great idea
:22:33. > :22:37.because of the power it has to influence people's thinking. It is
:22:38. > :22:42.all about, it is specifically not a charitable venture, although I would
:22:43. > :22:48.describe VisABLE as having social enterprise conditions, in that we
:22:49. > :22:53.have an objective which is for something good, not just about the
:22:54. > :22:57.bottom line, but at the same time, it really does, it influences
:22:58. > :23:03.people's thinking. Louise, thank you for coming in today and sharing. It
:23:04. > :23:08.is very, very interesting. Louise Dyson of VisABLE. It is a
:23:09. > :23:11.deliberately funny spelling. Well, it works. Well done, thank you for
:23:12. > :23:14.coming in. In a moment we'll take a look
:23:15. > :23:18.through the Business Pages, but first here's a quick reminder
:23:19. > :23:22.of how to get in touch with us. The Business Live page
:23:23. > :23:28.is where you can stay ahead of all the day's
:23:29. > :23:31.breaking business news. We will keep you up-to-date
:23:32. > :23:33.with all the latest details, with insight and analysis
:23:34. > :23:35.from the BBC's team of editors Get involved on the BBC business
:23:36. > :23:44.live web page: bbc.com/business, on Twitter @BBCBusiness and you can
:23:45. > :23:46.find us on Facebook Business Live on TV and online,
:23:47. > :24:01.whenever you need to know. Jessica Ground, UK Equities Fund
:24:02. > :24:15.Manager, Schroders is back. Jessica so the Guardian, organic
:24:16. > :24:18.food sales are soaring as shoppers put quality before price. How long
:24:19. > :24:22.will that last, we wonder? Well, quite interesting because in the
:24:23. > :24:28.last financial slowdown we saw shoppers move to discounters and to
:24:29. > :24:35.cut back on eating out. But I think that we've got to divorce the
:24:36. > :24:41.cyclical from the stuck turl. There is this long-term trend towards
:24:42. > :24:45.cleaning eating, healthy eating, Instagraming your food, but as
:24:46. > :24:48.consumers spending power comes under pressure from higher inflation they
:24:49. > :24:53.start to cut back and it will be interesting to see. We had a few
:24:54. > :25:00.tweets about this. We asked do you buy organic or not? Grumpy Pete said
:25:01. > :25:06.no, it is a waste of money. Jerome said organic veg, but only if it is
:25:07. > :25:11.in season and not flown in. It may taste better, but it is too
:25:12. > :25:16.expensive in the UK. Jessica? A mix and match. There is a massive debate
:25:17. > :25:20.in our newsroom about this with one of our producers saying it is a con
:25:21. > :25:24.unless you buy it from the farm. Let's look at Bill Gates. This is
:25:25. > :25:28.really interesting, the Financial Times Bill Gates is calling for
:25:29. > :25:33.robots to pay taxes. What is he talking about? He is pointing out
:25:34. > :25:38.that the rise of robots is going to cause a lot of disruption for labour
:25:39. > :25:43.markets and make a lot of jobs obsolete. He is pointing out that
:25:44. > :25:47.employment produces a lot of tax for Government. He's saying let's tax
:25:48. > :25:55.robots and use that money to retrain workers. In a nutshell. As you can
:25:56. > :25:58.tell we're both humans by how the programme has gone! We will see you
:25:59. > :26:00.soon. Have a really good day.