02/03/2017 BBC Business Live

This is Business Live from BBC News with Susannah Streeter

Investors scramble for Snapchat - in the biggest tech

But is the app a cash cow - or just a craze?

Live from London, that's our top story on Thursday 2nd of March.

So today is the day for the most anticipated tech market

floatation since Twitter - SNAP shares will begin trading

on Wall Street later at $17 a share valuing the company at $24 billion.

Also in the programme - the fallout from Yahoo's

massive security breaches - Marissa Mayer is to take

a significant pay cut and the company's top lawyer

And the global market rally continued in Asia earlier today -

this is the scene right now in Europe right after another

record breaking night for the Dow in the US.

We'll talk you through all you need to know.

We will be getting the inside track on how our cities might look in the

world's largest property fair. Today world's largest property fair. Today

we want to know, do you love snatch at, or do you have no idea what it

is? -- SnapChat. The programme is jam-packed day, so

we will make it as snappy as we can. We start on Wall Street

where investors are gearing up for what could be the biggest -

and certainly the most hyped - technology flotation

since Twitter in back 2013 - In a few hours' time shares in SNAP

- the owner of photo messaging app Snapchat -

will begin trading Will it end up a stock market

giant like Facebook - or - like Twitter -

a bit of a flop? The flotation has been

hugely oversubscribed, Late on Wednesday it

priced its shares at $17 - above the $14-to-$16 range it

had previously indicated. That will give the company

an opening valuation More than twice as much as Twitter

at its current share price. That's despite a couple

of major worries - Firstly, Snapchat has

yet to turn a profit. In fact it lost over half a billion

dollars last year alone. Plus shareholders

who buy in will not The founders of the company

will retain complete They are incredibly young -

and as of later today - Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy -

both in their 20s - will be worth around

$4 billion each. the younger audience only brands

want to reach. For me personally it makes me feel like a dinosaur. I

find this out incredibly difficult to use. If we rewind and look at

Facebook. When it went on the public market it had huge scale. Millions

of people use it. Not just young people. For me that's one of the

biggest concerns. It has a lot of young users. There is optimism

around because it has quite a few, given its young age, but can they

entice more to keep that user base growing? Well, as we have seen in

has been slowing. I think that is has been slowing. I think that is

because of threats in the market. Look at Instagram, they went away

and copied some of the biggest features of Snapchat. But they have

the backing of Facebook to move users across. I think there are some

worries there. Kevin the owners, still in their 20s, they

will retain complete control of the company. Given they have minimal

corporate experience that is a risk, isn't it? Absolutely. Mark

Zuckerberg created the same thing, he is still owner of the company. We

are looking at very young founders. The have to be questions about how

they can scale the company. An deal will all of the corporate questions

in the long term. -- and deal. Will it be a rocky ride? Or do think you

the optimism will continue? There is one major opportunity for it. If we

look at social media, a lot of people we speak to say they are

moving away from the larger social networks. People are looking for a

more intimate connection. If you look at your own Facebook feed, the

fact that all of your family, your parents come your grandparents, and

people you don't want to be in touch with our on there. There is a

certain value in having a smaller network. If Snapchat can tap into

that I think there is some value there. Does all of this talk about

Snapchat make you feel old? Do get in touch.

One of London's tallest buildings, The Leadenhall Building -

nicknamed the Cheesegrater - has been sold to Chinese

It's one of the largest UK property deals so far by a Chinese investor.

British Land and Oxford Properties, which both own 50% of

the wedge-shaped skyscraper, say contracts have been

exchanged with CC Land, a company run by Chinese property

Yahoo, which disclosed two massive data breaches last year,

now says about 32 million user accounts were accessed by intruders

in the last two years using forged cookies.

The Internet giant say some of the latest intrusions can be

connected to the people believed to be responsible for the 2014

breach - which at least 500 million accounts were affected.

Forged cookies allow an intruder to access a user's

Lots of other stories on the website. Merlin is a UK-based

organisation that runs many, many theme parks, many of the corporate

stories there, as well. Have a look when you have the time.

Australia has announced a crackdown on visas for foreign workers

in the Fast Food Industry in a bid to protect jobs.

This is part of a trend, isn't it, saying that citizens already in the

country need to have access to those jobs first before immigrants?

Exactly. That is what the country's Immigration Minister said. It's to

protect Australian jobs and give them to Australians first and

foremost. He is talking about the 457 visas. They are given out to

skilled professionals. Last year most of them were given to jobs in

the restaurant sector, cooks for example, medical professionals also

come under that Visa, along with other people in the software

industry, programmers and software developers. It covers a broad range

of industries. Targeting the fast food sector. McDonald's and KFC are

some of the employees have employed around 500 people since 2012 on this

particular Visa. And he has said, you know what, they don't need to be

country, they could be employing country, they could be employing

Australians, instead. About 100,000 people were on the 457 Visa. He is

targeting the fast food sector. He admitted most of these jobs would

affect managerial staff at these companies, not the guys on the

ground, but it does show that Australia, along with many countries

around the world, are taking visual and political steps to show they are

looking after their people first. Interesting to see what is going on

happening in the US with regards to happening in the US with regards to

that kind of story. Let's look at Asia. Hong Kong down slightly by the

end of the day. But most of the day in Asia most of the markets were

high and rallying following that rally from Dow Jones. Quite a bit

above 20 1000. Japan had a good session. The yen is weak. Lots of

talk about that the Fed in the United States is poised to raise

rates this month in March. -- above 21,000.

Fairly flat in Europe. In Europe yesterday all of these markets

closed up around 2% higher, or slightly under that, so a strong day

for Europe. We will talk about these issues in a second. First, let's get

more on what we can expect on Wall Street later today.

It could be the biggest tech company for a while. SNAP, owners of

Snapchat, will start trading on Thursday. We'll see the success of

Facebook? Or will it look more like twitter? -- will it see. The

bellwether for the supermarket retailer Kroger. They are battling a

renewed price war from Walmart. Intense competition and deflating

food costs. Also reporting on Thursday, Abercrombie and Fitch.

and those who are shopping is not and those who are shopping is not

spending much of clothing and accessories, the company will likely

be taking a hit. -- hitting malls. Record levels reached in the

markets. Joining us is Alix Stewart, fixed

income fund manager at Schroders. What is driving the market onwards

and upwards? Partly global growth is picking up around the world and

optimism that Trump is going to roll back regulation and the spirits are

high. Even though he didn't actually say much in his address, there

wasn't much detail about this massive boost infrastructure, was it

more his demeanour that reassured investors? I think so. I think he is

being seen as the mouthpiece but he has a team behind him which are

quite, quite keen on delivering, making America great again. Also, we

were talking about this yesterday, the fact that quite a few people are

saying Mart is the month when they raise rates again. That has shifted.

Most were expecting it to be in June. In a couple of weeks' time we

are looking at a rate increase. Indeed. We were looking at two rises

for the rest of the year and only 50% chance of a march rise, and now

it is 80%. With our more cautious members saying they think it is time

to reduce accommodation. The Fed has been vocal. They are putting out the

signals. Yes. If they don't deliver in two weeks it'll be interesting.

They don't like to surprise the market. Even the more cautious are

saying we are going to go in March, it would be a big surprise if they

don't. We will have to see that key crunch meeting in a couple of weeks'

time. Still to come: Is property still the best

investment? We will find out when we speak to

the head of one of the biggest property shows. Let's talk some more

about Merlin. We mentioned earlier about Merlin. We mentioned earlier

that their results were out. They own many theme parks around the

country. It is their first set of figures since the accident of their

roller-coaster Smiler. The company, which also owns

the London Eye and Legoland, Theo Leggett has been

looking at the numbers. On the face of it, they look

positive. The Alton Towers crash eventually cost the company ?5

million in a fine imposed for safety failings last year. There was a drop

in visitor numbers at Alton Towers in the wake of the crash but the

company says it is recovering, cost company says it is recovering, cost

savings have been made. A lot of job losses at the park are reaping

rewards and the park is recovering. But it is a big company owning 100

visitor attractions around the world, a lot of them outside of the

UK. Results were better than expected but this is the share price

today. A lot of anticipation before results came out, now it has fallen

quite dramatically down 2.5% this morning. If you look at the figures

come as you can see why. Revenues are looking well on the surface,

profits -- profits up 3% but a lot of that is due to the fall in the

pound sterling after the referendum last year. Taking out those are

facts, operating profits would be done more than 6%. The company talks

about headwinds like the effects of international terror on business,

and that is why we see this response from investors this morning.

Although the park chain seems to be operating in a fairly robust

fashion, there are issues it must address. Thank you. We have some

company results from Jimmy Choo, men's shoes are boosting their

figures, after strong demand for the menswear line. We cannot give you an

insight on that! And another story, something breaking just after 7am

today. The capita Chief Executive is to step down, Andy Parker, in

September, they issued a profits one in. The bass is to step aside at

Catheter. More details on the website.

Today is the most anticipated tech market floatation since Twitter -

SNAP shares will begin trading on Wall Street later at 17 dollars

a share, valuing the company at 24 billion dollars.

That is a lot of money. A look at the markets now. Markets in Europe

have been mixed today, all of these markets, most of them, these three

that you can see, London, Paris and Frankfurt, they all had good days.

Today, taking a breather, looking for direction. As we've been saying,

certain shares on the move. And now let's get the inside

track on real estate... MIPIM is the biggest

property show in the world. It takes place every March in Cannes

in the south of France. What are some of the challenges -

or even opportunities - In the coming years,

more than 60% of the population Next comes efficiency of resources:

How will future real estate projects be able to take into account

the need to monitor and save resources, when energy

demands will grow 40% and half the world's population

will be living in areas Very soon, over one trillion objects

will be connected to the internet and all the data collected

from the users and the buildings will clearly modify the way real

estate professionals are working. Perhaps they are already changing in

reaction to that trend? Let's find out.

Filippo Rean, Head of Reed MIDEM's Real Estate Division -

he's also the director of the property show.

He joins us now. Thank you for joining us. What will the city of

the future look like? What are the current trends in property? Our

exhibitors at the show thinking much more about energy efficiency, and

how we will live in future? The answer is a big yes. It means these

themes and trends that it years ago appeared quite different from the

main real estate business, today they are included and considered,

when cities and planners and developers think about new projects

and new developments. Some people would say, why aren't we seeing

energy-efficient products put on new homes? Some would say, solar power

tiles on the roofs, things like that, why haven't they been in

force? There are economic considerations, what is important is

to give a new dimension to changes, the collaboration between the public

and private sectors. This is what we've tried to do at MIPIM, a place

where real estate themes and issues and opportunities, the private and

public sector have come together because, you are right, you might

have different views, more short-term views or long-term views,

you have two combined the two and come up with developers of the

future. In terms of the show itself, it is very international. You have

most countries represented, architects, investors, developers,

discussing and chatting. Depending on where you are in the world,

challenges and demands are very different in terms of use cities and

how they will change in future. But, what are the key themes discussed in

the industry in terms of development of the future cities? You have at

least two big themes which are quite common. One is the sustainability,

that is common and everybody is aware of that. Secondly, how to

include key societal changes. What is sometimes called be sharing a

economy. Into our cities come into our buildings. -- Schering

and I assume the time frame where they change, it is getting shorter?

There's an acceleration... Because of technology. It is something that

accelerates the trend and is something that will allow the

industry to adapt. That is why there is a new buzzword, the combination

of property and technology. It is beginning to be a real thing. At

places like MIPIM, even last year, there was still the margins and

today will be one of the key topics and will have a large space within

the exhibition area. Thank you very much for talking to us about it.

Good to meet you today. Very soon, we will be looking at other stories

being talked about today... The boss of Netflix has been talking

to Rory Kevin Jones. Net neutrality has taken hold around the world as

an assumption and belief about how the Internet should work. There are

many countries that do not have a law about net neutrality. But, we

still operate along those principles. If you could send a

message to Donald Trump about the principle and weight is still

important, what would it be? I think net neutrality very important, so

that no voices are censored and there is equality around. Facebook,

it suddenly seems very interested in doing a lot more video. That would

be quite a danger to you, wouldn't it? And there is YouTube Red, which

is a subscription service, and Amazon, and potentially Apple doing

some original shows. There is a lot of competition and challenge for

Netflix, but room to grow. His business is very challenging. It

is, given the competition. Earlier, we asked what she thought of

Snapchat, whether you love it or have no idea what it is. Snapchat

are hoping to disrupt social media in the way that Netflix wants to

disrupt television. These are the views of some people in New York

about Snapchat. I know what it is but I do not use it. When I see

something, I snap it. I have it but don't use it. I use it everyday. My

kids use it. I'm not the right demographic! I use it all the time,

it's great. I don't know what it is, don't use it! This is what you been

telling us, David, you are 60, and you say that you've just joined, and

your wife has, so you can have fun with your grandkids.

It's not just for youngsters. Good for you. Someone else says that they

tried it for a few weeks but it was pointless. Sarah says that it was

fun in the beginning but she does not know if it is cool any more!

Someone else as that they are too addicted for their own good and it

is taking over their lives! -- someone else says that. Let's

reintroduce Alec Stewart, here to talk about more stories. Marissa

Mayer, and Kodak. Yahoo has been sold to the rise, is that right?

That has gone through. One of the problems is all live the stories

about security breaches, numbers of accounts exposed to seems to be

getting bigger every day and she will pay the price? Quite rightly

so, data security is a massive issue. Would you have your details

with somebody you feel you cannot trust? Data is very valuable to

these companies. So you do not get a bonus. It is not just these data

breaches but the reactions from the executives to it. They were so slow.

It took so long for them to admit it. And we are still finding out.

She will get a cut in future bonuses, and the lawyer is stepping

down. Are we seeing accountability? Finally they are taking action. The

buck stops at the top. To say that they did not know the depth of it is

not good enough. Corporate governance. People have been calling

for it for a long time. With events like this and bridges, there is some

sort of call-back? Yes, it is not just the banking sector that needs

to be accountable. We talked about technology and new developer and is

on the programme today. Virtual reality is supposed to be the future

but interestingly, we have numbers from Google today, it is cardboard

virtual reality sets that have been a big hit. Probably because they are

cheap! A bit of a 70s throwback! LAUGHTER

I would imagine it is the money more than the 70s throwback! What do you

think about virtual reality, have you had a go? Not yet, no. It is a

big trend. These cardboard ones, they want people talking about these

things and so people talk about and by the new expensive ones. Clip onto

a mobile phone, you can see a 360 degrees view of your photos. They

are hoping it would be a gateway to the more expensive motion sensor

virtual reality headset? Yes, I think it is so people have a taste

for it and have that full on experience. They have been really

successful. It would be interesting to see if we have virtual reality in

the cities of the future, as we spoke earlier about with the

property show in Cannes, thank you for coming in.

And thank you for your company. We are back tomorrow, so we will see

you then. More business news throughout the

day on the BBC Live web page. Goodbye.