23/02/2017 BBC Business Live

This is Business Live from BBC News, with Sally Bundock

Elon Musk's electric car and clean energy company says it's on track

to launch its first mass-market vehicle this year.

Live from London, that's our top story on Thursday

Tesla shares have been surging in recent months and more good news

was delivered overnight - but will Elon Musk deliver

on his promise of mass market car production by July?

Also in the programme: Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn announces

he's going to step aside as Chief Executive after 16

years at the helm - he remains its chairman -

we'll be live in Asia for the latest.

And a mixed performance for Europe's markets today.

It was the turn of Barclays to wow investors with its profits news

We'll continue our Disability Works series by meeting the woman whose

College of Fragrance is changing the lives of blind people in Mumbai.

The President of Iceland says pineapple on pizza should be banned!

Are you a lover or a hater of fruit as a topping?

I will begin by stating I am for pineapple on pizza. Give us your

views on this, it is a very hot debate. We will be asking all of our

guests, as well. We start with electric car maker

and clean energy company, Tesla. Its share price has been

soaring in recent months - and it was up again late

on Wednesday after it reported Tesla is still losing money -

but less than expected. More importantly though it has

reassured investors it's on track to expand beyond the niche luxury

car market and enter the big At $35,000, it's half the price

of existing Tesla models - In a letter to shareholders,

Tesla says it's on schedule Tesla has promised to be producing

a total of half a million cars In 2016, it delivered this

many of its existing two luxury models -

just over 76,000 - So it's still a small

scale operator. But judging by the share price -

investors have high hopes it could become the next Ford

or General Motors. Tesla shares have soared around 50%

since the beginning of December, giving it a stock market value

of this: $44 billion. To put that in context -

it's being valued almost as much as Ford - which has been around more

than a century and sold over With me is our technology

correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones. Always good to see you. I don't know

where to start. At 1.I want to talk about the company's valuation

because it is right up there with Ford, at this model three is being

described as a make or break the Tesla, is that right? The whole

journey of the company is towards being more than a niche sports car

business. And this man is business. And this man is

extraordinary, Elon Musk is extraordinary. Everything hangs or

falls on him, and he has laid out this vision. They unveiled this

Model three car, this mass-market car, it is going to cost $35,000 and

they got a huge number of pre-orders, and everyone is waiting

to see whether they can deliver. There has been suddenly turns on the

trajectory of this company, he is like a man walking up a mountain on

a tightrope. Similar times he has nearly fallen off but kept on going.

But he has got the investors behind him. The share price up 50% since

December. But the investors must be looking at this company, going, this

is almost the same value as food, which is 100 years old and sold 6

million cars last year. It is crazy rule. It is being valued like

Amazon. That kind of business. Amazon, Facebook, a big growth

stock, his best years are certainly ahead of it, and they better be.

Because it is already being priced as if it is a huge volume car-maker,

which let's be clear, it isn't, it is a tiny niche maker. But another

little warning last night, Elon Musk said we are very close to the edge,

in terms of needing to raise more money, we may have to go back to

Wall Street to get some more money. They are investing huge amounts.

This factory, the giga factory, the biggest factory ever, one of the

biggest in the world, that is costing a huge amount to build.

There is political risk because nobody knows what the Trump's

administration attitude is towards clean energy. It has been

interesting to see the careful line Elon Musk has trodden with President

Trump. It is a fantastic story, because it is as I say a man walking

a tightrope. You have met Elon Musk, what does your gut feeling say about

this? They want to raise more money but they have got so much debt, they

are not making any money, they are very small and there was a risk you

just mentioned. You think he will deliver, or are we going to see

delays in July, the story of delay from Tesla? It is quite likely we

will see delays. He is the most amazing character, I met him at the

design centre. There was a car and a black sheep which we never got to

see, which was probably this Model three. And he spends this

extraordinary tale. He is an inspiration, talks about as becoming

a multi-planet species and living on Mars. There was a whole new services

to melt there. It is a question of whether you buy into that, and a

little to. Pineapple on pizza. An abomination. This is the man who

makes his own bread. I don't want pineapple in my bed. You should try

it. Bring on a next time, thanks, Rory. Let's move on.

Australia's top airline Qantas says profits fell 7.5 per cent

in the last six months of 2016, blaming tougher competition.

Qantas has turned itself around in recent years

through aggressive cost-cutting, but say it is facing increased

CEO Alan Joyce called market conditions "challenging".

Officials at the US Federal Reserve have said they may need to raise

interest rates "fairly soon" if the economy stays strong.

Minutes of their first meeting since Donald Trump took office

as president show they discussed the possibility of a rate

Most economists have been forecasting a rise in June.

Swiss engineering group, ABB, says it has discovered what it

calls a "sophisticated criminal scheme" in its South Korean

subsidiary, which may cost it $100 million.

ABB is accusing a senior employee in South Korea,

who it did not name, of colluding with others

The company's Chief Executive Ulrich Spiesshofer described the situation

as "shocking news" that could dent the reputation of

All prices rose overnight. This is basically, they have been up and

down, but in the general sense they have been on the rise. This time of

the back of as you can see that there, the US stockpiles shrinking,

basically, lower than what they originally thought they were. Oil at

$56.35 a barrel. Padelli who is not going to like that. Qantas, or any

of the airlines. It is challenging. Don't you love it when the CEO uses

that word? Tim McDonald is in Singapore,

where Carlos Ghosn is relinquishing his role as chief executive

of Nissan. And now he's going to be chairman,

doesn't mean it is hands after today, or how it work? He is not

released the thing back so far as the defining his role. It is true

even though longer be the CEO, but he was to be very busy, -- he will

still the Chief Executive. The reshuffle will allow him to

focus on the alliances between the three companies and making use of

the greater scale that the Mitsubishi purchase might bring to

the alliance. His old job will go to the roto Sarkar were, already the

company's co-Chief Executive and a 40 year veteran of Nissan, so likely

to be seen as a fairly safe pair of hands was the do you or do you not

like you're pineapple on pizza? You know, I kind of abstain from this

one. Pep you can't set of offence. Don't be a worse! I can vote however

I want! Butt we will be accused of bullying.

Let's have a look at the markets. In Asia, a fairly flat day, and a lot

of that is to do with the minutes from the last Federal reserve

meeting, the US central bank. They were released on Wednesday.

Everybody is trying to do just and read between the lines as to what

they will tell us about rates going up in the United States and it is

not that clear as ever. Markets are sort of treading water. That was the

story in Asia, that is the closure for the Dow Jones overnight. Let's

look at your right now, trading as we speak. London down a little bit,

Barclays shares among the big winners of the back of its was out.

Nasr was out at, we will talk you through Europe in a moment but first

the United States. Donald Trump is to meet with business leaders from

different industries this Thursday to discuss how to create more jobs.

Trump has cast himself as the anti-globalisation president,

criticising multinationals for moving jobs abroad. And vowing to

bring manufacturing positions back. This meeting has been described by

his press secretary at a listening session, where he will receive job

creation advice from captains of industry. It comes against a

backdrop of an improving US economy, one which many economists described

as close to full employment. Talking about jobs on the economic front,

initial weekly jobless claims will be released and the cinema chain

IMAX is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results. Compared

with last year it may not be doing as well, because although cinema

attendance was boosted by the release in December or programme a

stable story, with fewest December saw the release of Star Wars: The

Force Awakens, which many of you may recall was a big box office

blockbuster. Joining us is Jane Sydenham,

Investment Director, Good morning, Jane. Have you been

away? Skiing. Lovely sunny skiing. We have to roll on. Interest rates,

we have this suggestion, this feeling that with all the economic

numbers, pretty good, the higher interest rates will come sooner. To

me like I interest rates? Savers do, investors don't so much, but what it

really means is we are getting back to a more normal, stronger economy,

that is what this is all about. Inflation picking up a bit,

employment is fairly full, markets are pretty good. We are in a

position, we can start to make money little bit more expensive by putting

rates up, and that shows that things are getting better after years and

years of rock bottom rates. Talking of that, the banks, the bad

headlines about banks has not been the case this week. HSBC did a bit

of a disappointment at the beginning of the week but Lord and Barclays

today... Generally much better, and certainly a bit of inflation and

rising interest rates are really good for banks, which is where you

have seen share prices start to recover. Barclays results were

actually better than expected. They have a bit more capital now, which

is better, they have benefited from currencies, the investment bank is

doing better. All of these things are relatively small improvements

but it is all a sign... Investors are climbing in today and yesterday

for roads. Yes, and after years and years of really poor performance of

the banks, we are just starting to see the early signs of improvement.

Jane, pineapple? Not for me, why not apples or blackberries? It is not

for me. Why not? You will come back and take us through the papers and

we will talk about it more then. We will explain why that story is in

the news, it is quite interesting actually.

Coming up: Changing lives and changing perceptions.

We'll meet the woman whose College of Fragrance in Mumbai is helping

blind people get into the art - and industry - of perfumery.

You're with Business Live from BBC News.

And now a look at some of the stories from around the UK.

Britain's Barclays Bank has reported sharply higher profits this morning.

Our business correspondent Theo Leggett has more.

Good to see you. We are going to ask you the question at the end of this

about pineapple, but Barclays, why are they doing better? There are

lots of reasons that Barclays has embarked over the last few years in

a major restructuring exercise. It has been selling non-core

businesses. It has been focusing on being a transatlantic business

focusing on the United States and the UK. That business at the moment

is doing rather well. Obviously, there are some outside factors which

have massaged the figures. Barclays is not having to set as much money

aside for past wrongdoing such as exchange rate manipulation and

Payment Protection Insurance. There is some money set aside for that but

not as much as the previous year. Not as much as 2015, so that has

helped boost the figures. Also the businesses themselves are doing

well. Particularly the investment banking business which has been

raking in the profits. Obviously, there are uncertainties out there.

What will happen if Britain has to leave the single market when it

leaves the European Union? My colleague Simon Jack has been

speaking to the chief executive about just that point. We are

looking at contingencies right now. We have a subsidiary bank in

Ireland. We have a very large operation in Germany. We are the

largest credit card company in Germany, for instance. So we are

looking at what our options are to operate across Europe if we lose the

single market, because of Brexit. But I don't think any of those plans

reflect a dramatic departure from London. We may add some people in

Dublin, we may add some people across Europe, but our core

operations Centre will continue to be London.

So obviously there are issues about what happens after Brexit, that he

is not panicking just yet. The bank is in a better shape to whether the

slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. It has good capital

buffers. Now, you were going to ask me about some pizza. Do you like

pineapple? Not on a pizza. I am a pepperoni man. I like spicy. We will

leave it right there! You're watching Business Live -

our top story - Tesla fever! Elon Musk's electric car and clean

energy company says it's on track to launch its first mass-market

vehicle this year. Shares have surged over

the past three months, They are up 50% since December.

Investors are loving this company. It is quite incredible.

Being blind can affect your life chances - even in the most

But in developing economies, where poverty is deep and endemic -

India has about five million people living with visual impairment - and,

for them, finding employment can be a real battle.

Today, in the latest in our Disability Works series,

we look at how one company is working to change that.

CPL Aromas is a global perfume company, and has set up a College

of Fragrance for the visually impaired in Mumbai, which teaches

basic skills and training needed to work in the fragrance industry.

Research by CPL showed that visually impaired people showed significantly

heightened levels of odour perception.

Angela Stavrevska, UK Creative Director

Angela, great to have you with us. I can see we are going to do a lot of

smelling! When I first read this, I thought, this has got to be a

no-brainer because you would think visually impaired people have a

stronger smell. Think all of their other senses tend to be heightened,

but when we have looked at the sense of smell, research is still not

complete but it looks as if it is the way people smell and analyse the

smells that they are smelling, as opposed to the physical aspect of

fragrance smelling. As an example, I work as a perfume, so my whole life

I am always smelling waters around me and almost navigating and

understanding where I am because of the smell, so whether I am in my

garden, or I am in Hong Kong and the smell of the streets and food. I

think visually impaired people have that heightened sense of using

fragrance almost as a navigation tool so that is why they are better

suited to working in the fragrance industry. How did CPL start this

place in mum by where they are training visually impaired people to

become perfumers? The CEO wanted to check that. We have an office in mum

by and again the managing director there also wanted to see if that was

true and see if we could help people. So about five years ago this

research was taking place which we funded and it was found to be, Yes,

it substantiated the theory. Is the training the same as somebody -- for

somebody like you? Dissimilar, it is smelling raw materials. It is

talking fragrance language because we have a specific language and it

is also memory, memorising smells. You have to have an interest and

passion for it in the first place. We were talking about our sense of

smell. Mine is pretty shocking, given that I have three little boys

and the dog and farm animals which is probably a good thing. But Aaron,

you have a better sense of smell. I have been a bit bunged up myself

lately but we can try it. This is a range of new materials we have

developed. It is quite a complex odour stop complex or bad? It is how

you would interpret that. I would say that is for a male. It is not a

female smell. Woody? Yes. From my point of view, the perfumer, it is

Woody, there are also smoky aspects, there is also citrus, grapefruit

fresh. A smoky, Woody Mann! It is looking at it in a slightly in-depth

way and people with visual impairment have that skill. Have you

got a pineapple pizza on?! Should other fragrance houses be

doing this with the visually impaired? We have set up the college

in mum -- Mumbai. There are eight graduates and we are also looking at

developing it in the UK with a charity in Northamptonshire called

Victor. We are looking at using some of the people there to work as

panellists for us. We do a lot of panel testing where people smell

fragrances and see if they'll work and it is using their abilities. It

is fascinating. We wish you the best of luck.

Thank you for the smell test. Do you like pineapple on your pizza?

Absolutely not. There are a lot of food snobs in today! Thank you,

Angela Stavrevska. You can find more on our special

coverage of this issue, and how businesses are dealing

with it, at bbc.com/disability. The Business Live page is where you

can stay ahead of all the breaking business news. We will keep you

up-to-date with insight and analysis with the BBC team of editors right

around the world. We want to hear from you as well. Get involved on

the BBC Business Live web page and we are on Twitter, and Facebook.

Business Live on TV and online, whenever you need to know. Jane is

back. We have been talking pizza all morning. Explain why this is in the

news? Understand Mr Johannesson, the Icelandic Prime Minister visited a

school and he was asked if he liked pineapple on his pizza and he said

he was fundamentally opposed to the idea. He said he would ban pineapple

on pizza in icelands, which is interesting. You have not said where

you are? I would eat pineapple on pizza. So you are not a food snob.

We have lots of tweets. They have been pouring in.

This person says I am pro-pineapple on pizza. It is the key to a lovely

Hawaiian pizza. It is a high wind pizza, isn't it?

Another person says I will stop eating pizzas if they ban pineapple

is as a topping. Jiri says my favourite is double pineapple pizza.

He says he is ashamed. Don't be ashamed! Another person says it is

absolutely unspeakable. So it is a hot debate. Jane, can we

talk about this story in the Irish Times. It says Brexit has delivered

a big mass of companies registering there. Think there is a fear that

what happens in Brexit and the regulatory environment, companies

are trying to hedge their bets. They want to set up an option in Ireland,

so they can adjust the way they operate, particularly companies from

Northern Ireland seem to be doing this. There is obviously in need,

they can move their staff relatively easily south of the border. And

cheaper corporate taxes? Indeed. Said hedging your bets.

Short and sweet with the papers I am afraid. Sally has taken up all the

time! I am not here to tomorrow so you can

enjoy it then. Bye-bye. Hello, we are quite likely to seize

and disruption from Storm Doris as it moves its way across the Atlantic

from the United Kingdom. You can see this hook of cloud is where we have