:00:00. > :00:07.This is Business Live from BBC News with Sally Bundock and Alice Baxter.
:00:08. > :00:11.A critical week for South Africa - as its parliament considers
:00:12. > :00:14.a vote of no confidence in President Zuma,
:00:15. > :00:16.we talk you through what is at stake.
:00:17. > :00:32.Live from London, that's our focus on Monday the 3rd of April.
:00:33. > :00:35.Protests are expected in South Africa this week,
:00:36. > :00:38.and its currency, the rand, is out of favour,
:00:39. > :00:41.after Jacob Zuma fired his respected Finance Minister in a dramatic
:00:42. > :00:43.cabinet reshuffle, so where next for one
:00:44. > :00:50.We are live in Johannesburg for the latest.
:00:51. > :00:57.it could be a third strike and out for Toshiba.
:00:58. > :00:59.The Japanese tech giant's shares plunged again on speculation
:01:00. > :01:03.it will miss its reporting deadline for a third time.
:01:04. > :01:06.And financial markets have just opened in Europe, we talk you
:01:07. > :01:09.through what is moving and why and weigh up the latest prediction
:01:10. > :01:17.that the pound sterling is due for a bounce back.
:01:18. > :01:22.We'll be getting the Inside Track on a business which hopes
:01:23. > :01:25.to provide young companies with cheap renewable energy.
:01:26. > :01:29.how green is your energy, and does it matter?
:01:30. > :01:31.Or when it comes to choosing a supplier,
:01:32. > :01:51.Let us know, just use the hashtag #BBCBizLive.
:01:52. > :01:56.It is a packed agenda as per usual, so let's get started.
:01:57. > :01:59.We begin in South Africa, where President Jacob Zuma is under
:02:00. > :02:01.pressure because a no-confidence vote in his leadership
:02:02. > :02:02.is being considered by the parliament's speaker.
:02:03. > :02:07.It's because of the contorversial cabinet reshuffle last week
:02:08. > :02:10.which saw the respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan
:02:11. > :02:14.and many other cabinet members sacked.
:02:15. > :02:21.Within hours of Mr Gordhan's removal,
:02:22. > :02:26.the South African currency, the rand, fell sharply
:02:27. > :02:29.and was down over 5% against the dollar for the week.
:02:30. > :02:35.There have been further falls this morning.
:02:36. > :02:36.The share markets were also impacted, seeing
:02:37. > :02:44.with government bonds and banking stocks falling hardest.
:02:45. > :02:47.Mr Gordhan's successor, Malusi Gigaba,
:02:48. > :02:50.has called for a radical transformation of the economy,
:02:51. > :02:55.but as yet there are few details of what his plans are.
:02:56. > :02:59.However, it is likely the cost of borrowing will increase further.
:03:00. > :03:03.And that is because of a likely downgrade
:03:04. > :03:08.by the credit ratings agency Moody's.
:03:09. > :03:11.It is due to deliver its verdict on Friday.
:03:12. > :03:13.Many analysts now predict South Africa
:03:14. > :03:23.All eyes on Friday for that announcement.
:03:24. > :03:31.Lerato Mbele joins us from our Johannesburg bureau.
:03:32. > :03:36.After there's sacking on Thursday, we have just talked through the
:03:37. > :03:43.immediate economic aftershock, talk me through how the rand, the local
:03:44. > :03:52.currency, and the local markets are faring today. Hi, Alice, thanks for
:03:53. > :03:55.that. The South African currency, obviously, is the most traded
:03:56. > :04:00.currency from the African continent, one of the leaders in the emerging
:04:01. > :04:04.markets space, so obviously a lot of speculation on the currency at the
:04:05. > :04:11.moment. It has dropped, as Sally said, by more than 5%, and a further
:04:12. > :04:14.0.5% this morning, and no analyst is expecting the rand to recover,
:04:15. > :04:18.certainly until we have clarity on what the economic programme is going
:04:19. > :04:24.to be going forward. As was said earlier on, the new minister, Malusi
:04:25. > :04:27.Gigaba, has said he is going to pursue a radical economic
:04:28. > :04:34.transformation agenda in the Treasury, make sure that the
:04:35. > :04:36.government spends much more on supporting small and medium
:04:37. > :04:38.enterprises, creating black industrialists, and giving more
:04:39. > :04:42.money to the poor. You get a sense that the policy will be leaning left
:04:43. > :04:46.a lot more than it already is, and if so, you can expect less fiscal
:04:47. > :04:51.consolidation and more of the government spending than saving. If
:04:52. > :04:53.you add to that everything that is happening into international
:04:54. > :04:57.markets, with Iran declining in value, spread elation on the rand,
:04:58. > :05:02.and jitters around the prospects for the South African economy, the
:05:03. > :05:06.picture is not looking good. -- speculation. Government is not able
:05:07. > :05:12.to sell its debt as favourable prices, bond deals have gone down,
:05:13. > :05:17.gone up more than 50 basis points, so anybody buying South African debt
:05:18. > :05:23.will be making a lot more money, and the Government will be paying a lot
:05:24. > :05:26.more on those issue inserts. In terms fiscal consolidation, South
:05:27. > :05:30.Africa is staying the course of managing its finances, and more
:05:31. > :05:33.importantly drawing in investment for growth. Those prospects aren't
:05:34. > :05:39.looking good, and the mood in South Africa right now is damp. As you
:05:40. > :05:42.say, bullish talk from the new finance minister, Malusi Gigaba, but
:05:43. > :05:47.a bit more on the mood in the country, there has been talk of
:05:48. > :05:52.protests due to happening, murmurings about a vote of no
:05:53. > :05:57.confidence. Yeah. Well, the speaker of parliament would have to
:05:58. > :06:01.reconvene parliament, which is in recess until May, so she cut short a
:06:02. > :06:07.working visit to Bangladesh and landed in South Africa yesterday,
:06:08. > :06:10.considering whether to reconvene the parliament, where a vote of no
:06:11. > :06:19.confidence would be heard. She says it is possible but she's still
:06:20. > :06:22.considering. Civic society is frustrated, there have been protests
:06:23. > :06:27.at the Treasury, there has been calls for a mass public strike on
:06:28. > :06:31.Friday, and other people are saying that they just want to go to work to
:06:32. > :06:35.earn a living, that pays the taxes to a government that they believe
:06:36. > :06:41.hasn't really earned its place. So that is really how people are
:06:42. > :06:44.feeling. OK, thank you for joining us live from Johannesburg. We will
:06:45. > :06:46.keep an eye on that story and update you with any news.
:06:47. > :06:48.In a record quarter, Tesla delivered just over 25,000
:06:49. > :06:50.cars in the first three months of the year.
:06:51. > :06:53.The electric car maker said this was a 70% rise
:06:54. > :06:57.It is a rebound for the US company after production problems
:06:58. > :07:04.late last year resulted in a 9% fall in deliveries in the fourth quarter.
:07:05. > :07:09.The UK based chip designer Imagination Technologies
:07:10. > :07:12.says Apple will stop paying the company royalties when it moves
:07:13. > :07:15.away from using its intellectual property in two year's time.
:07:16. > :07:21.Apple is responsible for around half of Imagination's revenues.
:07:22. > :07:25.The Silicon Valley giant uses the chip-maker's technology
:07:26. > :07:32.BP is selling one of its major North Sea oil assets for $250 million.
:07:33. > :07:36.Ineos will buy the Forties Pipeline System in a deal which also includes
:07:37. > :07:39.the terminal which delivers more than a third of the UK's
:07:40. > :07:44.Ineos has welcomed it as a new opportunity, whilst BP says
:07:45. > :07:49.it is looking to concentrate on other parts of the North Sea.
:07:50. > :07:56.That's because of reports that the troubled Japanese conglomerate
:07:57. > :07:58.may delay its quarterly earnings report for a third time.
:07:59. > :08:08.Sarah Toms is in our Asia Business hub in Singapore.
:08:09. > :08:18.through the numbers. As you said, Toshiba shares did plunge, 5.4% on
:08:19. > :08:21.Monday, and as you said, it is after the electronics conglomerate
:08:22. > :08:26.signalled it might miss another deadline to release its results for
:08:27. > :08:31.the last quarter of 2016. Now, Toshiba can apply to the Tokyo stock
:08:32. > :08:35.exchange for another extension, but still, the delay is bad news for
:08:36. > :08:37.shareholders, delivering another blow to investor confidence, and of
:08:38. > :08:45.course increasing those concerns over a possible delisting. They have
:08:46. > :08:49.delayed reporting earnings over problems at Westinghouse Electric,
:08:50. > :08:54.its US nuclear unit. Westinghouse has been hit by cost overruns and
:08:55. > :08:58.filed for bankruptcy last week, and as a result Toshiba forecast an
:08:59. > :09:03.annual loss of a record 9.1 billion US dollars. To make up for this
:09:04. > :09:08.loss, the company is putting its prize memory chip unit up for sale,
:09:09. > :09:14.and bidders are queueing up - Apple, Amazon and Google was said to be
:09:15. > :09:18.interested. That is the very latest on Toshiba once again, moving in the
:09:19. > :09:28.wrong direction, as Sarah said, down over 9% at one pit -- at one point
:09:29. > :09:31.this morning. Business sentiment went up in March by quite a big
:09:32. > :09:34.amount, which is really interesting to know that the big corporate in
:09:35. > :09:39.Japan are more optimistic than they have been for some time. That is
:09:40. > :09:43.Howard went in Asia today, that is how the Dow Jones closed on Friday.
:09:44. > :09:48.Let's have a look at Europe right now to give you a sense of how
:09:49. > :09:53.things are developing, belly flat, down in France, no big movers.
:09:54. > :09:58.Imagination Technology is a massive mover, a UK tech company that has
:09:59. > :10:02.had royalties with Apple, but Apple saying that the relationship may
:10:03. > :10:06.come to an end, and the shares are down 60%, I believe, a massive
:10:07. > :10:07.mover. We will talk more about the stories in a moment.
:10:08. > :10:09.Michelle Fleury has the details about what's ahead
:10:10. > :10:13.It's a busy week ahead, with President Trump meeting Chinese
:10:14. > :10:16.leader Xi Jinping in Florida, as well as lots of economic data.
:10:17. > :10:18.On Tuesday, new numbers will show that the trade deficit likely
:10:19. > :10:23.On Wednesday, we get a look at private sector hiring,
:10:24. > :10:27.with a report from payrolls processor ADP.
:10:28. > :10:29.But of course the big number comes on Friday,
:10:30. > :10:32.that is the Labor Department's closely watched employment report,
:10:33. > :10:34.which is expected to show an increase
:10:35. > :10:44.major car-makers will release new vehicle sales figures for March.
:10:45. > :10:52.Now, auto companies have been enjoying
:10:53. > :10:55.a great run of rising sales, so investors and analysts are keenly
:10:56. > :10:58.watching to see whether the wheels are coming off the present
:10:59. > :11:08.Joining us is Nick Hungerford, founder of Nutmeg.com.
:11:09. > :11:29.Good morning, Nick! Sterling has been having trouble s, but some are
:11:30. > :11:32.saying it is undervalued. Well, it takes two to make a trade, but we
:11:33. > :11:38.are seeing a record number of bets on the fact that sterling remains
:11:39. > :11:43.overvalued. But after the Brexit vote, sterling fell to its lowest
:11:44. > :11:47.level against the dollar since 1985. This quarter that has just finished,
:11:48. > :11:52.that has been the first quarter of rebound for still in since then, so
:11:53. > :11:55.you have got people coming out of the woodwork saying, yeah, now is
:11:56. > :11:58.the time to trade, we're going back to where we were, and is forecast
:11:59. > :12:10.says that in 18 months we could get back to about 1.38 against the
:12:11. > :12:13.dollar. But it could all change very quickly if the Brexit negotiations
:12:14. > :12:15.look like they are not going well, or if something is leaked from
:12:16. > :12:17.somewhere, sterling is going to be extremely sensitive. Three key
:12:18. > :12:21.factors driving world currencies, and we think about sterling, the
:12:22. > :12:27.euro-dollar mix-up, political risks from Europe and what happens with
:12:28. > :12:31.sort of any potential defaults, and payments, overpayments et cetera.
:12:32. > :12:35.You have got what will Trump do, with his policies be protectionist?
:12:36. > :12:39.Will they reduce global free trade? And then of course the Brexit
:12:40. > :12:43.negotiations. All of this has affected and impact the currency
:12:44. > :12:49.markets. Sensitive is exactly the word, isn't it? We are coming up to
:12:50. > :12:53.the end the quarter, so corporate earnings. They have been pretty
:12:54. > :12:57.positive, but they have set some lofty valuations are the markets.
:12:58. > :13:04.Global markets, as the widest measure we can get, the MSCI world
:13:05. > :13:09.measure, up 6.4% last quarter, which is a fantastic quarter. If you take
:13:10. > :13:16.emerging markets in particular, looking at this, astonishing, 12.3%.
:13:17. > :13:21.When will the bubble burst, or is it not a bubble? Well, back to Alice's
:13:22. > :13:25.point, if corporate inning start to disappoint, if the talks between
:13:26. > :13:29.America and China this week do not go well, we will see some pretty
:13:30. > :13:33.sharp falls in the market. Remember, of course, this is a long-term game,
:13:34. > :13:39.and what is driving these markets is the momentum we are seeing across
:13:40. > :13:42.the politics and economics, rebounds in manufacturing, particularly in
:13:43. > :13:47.China, driving this demand. So it seems positive at the moment, but we
:13:48. > :13:52.are on a bit of a knife edge waiting for is to come out. How long have we
:13:53. > :13:56.been and knife edge? It feels like a long-time! Are we getting
:13:57. > :13:59.comfortable? Great to talk to you, we will talk about the papers later.
:14:00. > :14:01.Still to come, we'll get the inside track on how
:14:02. > :14:04.to power business with cheap renewable energy.
:14:05. > :14:21.Yes, you're with Business Live from BBC News.
:14:22. > :14:29.We have got an energy theme in today's programme.
:14:30. > :14:32.New research reveals that decommissioning oil and gas wells
:14:33. > :14:35.in the North Sea is set to cost ?80 billion across the UK, Norway,
:14:36. > :14:38.The Boston Consulting Group warns that figure could
:14:39. > :14:47.It's director of Energy Practice, Philip Whittaker joins us now.
:14:48. > :14:54.This is a huge sum of money. Is it being spent wisely? Who is going to
:14:55. > :14:57.foot the bill? It is the biggest industrial project that most of the
:14:58. > :15:01.general public has never seen. We hear a lot about HS2 and Hinkley
:15:02. > :15:06.Point, but this is something which over the next decade will be
:15:07. > :15:09.absolutely on the same size of those projects yet the public will foot
:15:10. > :15:14.half the bill and very few are aware. So what are you saying in
:15:15. > :15:19.your report that's out today that needs to be done? I understand that
:15:20. > :15:24.you're saying it will cost double or triple that that we think at the
:15:25. > :15:28.moment? The current cost estimates could easily double or triple.
:15:29. > :15:31.Firstly, we need to get more transparency into the market. We
:15:32. > :15:35.need to get a better view of when we will be doing things and how much we
:15:36. > :15:39.will be spending? Secondly, we'd love to see for consistency about
:15:40. > :15:44.the way we are promoting the xhishging activity. The more you do
:15:45. > :15:48.something, the better you get. Finally, we'd love to see a stronger
:15:49. > :15:52.performance agenda. We'd like to see operators competing and the
:15:53. > :15:57.Government making demands around efficient spend around the
:15:58. > :16:00.decommissioning space. You're critical in your report about the
:16:01. > :16:04.way in which the decommissioning is being conducted. You think there
:16:05. > :16:11.isn't enough transparency, it isn't clear enough in which the process is
:16:12. > :16:14.being done? We think it is a fantastic opportunity for UK
:16:15. > :16:18.operators and for the UK taxpayer and also very importantly for UK
:16:19. > :16:24.suppliers. If we can establish the UK as a base for decommissioning
:16:25. > :16:27.expertise that opens up a big global market for the 9,000 platforms that
:16:28. > :16:31.will be decommissioned globally in the next half a century, we're
:16:32. > :16:36.optimists, but critical optimists. Thank you for your time. Just
:16:37. > :16:46.mentioning that story about imagine deck knolling, shares down over 65%.
:16:47. > :16:50.Apple dealing a blow to the UK tech firm notifying it will stop using
:16:51. > :16:58.its products. More details on our website.
:16:59. > :17:05.You're watching Business Live. Our top story:
:17:06. > :17:21.South Africa's rand has fallen again amiden amid the fall-out of last
:17:22. > :17:32.week's Cabinet reshuffle. They are on an Easter recess, but will
:17:33. > :17:34.Parliament be reconvened? A look at the markets. That's how they are
:17:35. > :17:40.faring at the moment. Starting a business
:17:41. > :17:42.is a risky decision for any In the absence of a proven track
:17:43. > :17:46.record, start-ups face higher costs for things like loans
:17:47. > :17:48.and technology, but the cost of energy can also provide a barrier
:17:49. > :17:52.to entry for new businesses. A recent report found that small
:17:53. > :17:54.and medium-sized enterprises are losing $625 million a year
:17:55. > :18:02.on overpriced contracts. And a separate report has found that
:18:03. > :18:05.more than 60% of small business owners in the UK interviewed last
:18:06. > :18:08.year don't regard energy efficiency Squeaky Clean Energy
:18:09. > :18:15.is a marketplace which connects companies with renewable energy
:18:16. > :18:20.providers. We're joined by Chris Bowden,
:18:21. > :18:31.founder of Squeaky Clean Energy. Good to see you. Good morning. That
:18:32. > :18:37.was the keyword, isn't it, market place? Yes. This is a clean energy
:18:38. > :18:44.market place that you're setting up, targeting small and medium sized
:18:45. > :18:49.businesses? We connect renewable or clean generators, solar, wind, high
:18:50. > :18:53.dread and sustainable biomass. We connect them to corporate businesses
:18:54. > :18:58.so they can supply those businesses at a similar price or lower price
:18:59. > :19:02.than fossil fuel or what we call dirty electricity. But this isn't
:19:03. > :19:06.about saving money. This is about being able to choose clean energy?
:19:07. > :19:09.Well, it is about saving money because a lot of clean energy
:19:10. > :19:15.contracts or renewable energy contracts are sold at a premium to
:19:16. > :19:19.dirty energy contracts people and so, so what we are trying to do is
:19:20. > :19:25.being the catalyst to shift businesses to renewable energy by
:19:26. > :19:27.providing a price which is at or below the big six who dominate the
:19:28. > :19:31.industry after 27 years of competition. If I am he a small
:19:32. > :19:35.business and I think I've never heard of this company, but I'm going
:19:36. > :19:40.to consider them, but one of my thoughts would be what if they can't
:19:41. > :19:44.supply? What if there is a massive surge and there is just, you know,
:19:45. > :19:49.the supply isn't there and also how do I know that it's clean? Well, to
:19:50. > :19:53.answer those two questions, the first one is how do we always
:19:54. > :20:00.guarantee that we always supply you? Well, we have a deal with Europe's
:20:01. > :20:04.largest renewable generator so they top-up the supply from the largest
:20:05. > :20:08.portfolio of renewables in the UK. If the wind farm or the solar park
:20:09. > :20:13.that you've chosen to supply you isn't supplying at the time because
:20:14. > :20:20.it is not windy or it's not sunny then we will guarantee to top that
:20:21. > :20:24.up. In terms of the cost, we're basically buying that electricity at
:20:25. > :20:29.market prices and that's the same for coal or gas. The issue is not
:20:30. > :20:34.the cost, it is about how do we know it's really green? When we meter the
:20:35. > :20:39.electricity into the network we stamp each kilowatt with our unique
:20:40. > :20:43.identifier and when we meter it out, we do the same so we've connected
:20:44. > :20:50.the consumption to the generation basically. And that's how you as a
:20:51. > :20:57.business can demonstrate that you have bought electricity from that
:20:58. > :21:01.specific wind farm. This company is very, very new, it launched it
:21:02. > :21:05.January, you have been in the industry for 20 years? I have been
:21:06. > :21:09.in the industry in the UK and been in the industry for that long and I
:21:10. > :21:13.have been actually this concept isn't a new concept. It is something
:21:14. > :21:17.we dreamed up over ten years ago and this is the way that companies like
:21:18. > :21:21.Google and Apple and Facebook buy their electricity. How are you going
:21:22. > :21:25.to persuade people to switch? This is a problem with domestic
:21:26. > :21:31.households with normal energy companies? There is so much choice
:21:32. > :21:35.out there and people don't switch from the big six? Well, there is a
:21:36. > :21:39.number of things. We have tried to create a different ated product by
:21:40. > :21:43.saying we can give you clean energy for the same price as dirty. If
:21:44. > :21:46.you're faced with the choice of switching from dirty energy to clean
:21:47. > :21:49.energy, you will do so. A lot of businesses want to move away from
:21:50. > :21:54.the big six because of the services that they get from the big six and
:21:55. > :21:57.the fact that they're trying to or lots of businesses want to different
:21:58. > :21:59.ate themselves and attract customers. Chris, thank you for
:22:00. > :22:15.coming on. Rising property prices are making it
:22:16. > :22:24.hard for young people to get on the property ladder.
:22:25. > :22:37.Stephen McDonnell sent this report from Beijing.
:22:38. > :22:41.It's the start of the evening rush hour here in Beijing and this city's
:22:42. > :22:45.young workers are pouring out of the towers above and into
:22:46. > :23:01.In their millions they will join the commute to the outer suburbs.
:23:02. > :23:04.There is no way that most young people here could afford
:23:05. > :23:08.In fact, it's hard to imagine how most of them could ever afford
:23:09. > :23:24.to buy a property anywhere in this city.
:23:25. > :23:26.It's true there are plenty of cities in the world
:23:27. > :23:28.where property is expensive - Sydney, Paris,
:23:29. > :23:32.Here, the flats might cost just as much, but people's salaries
:23:33. > :24:29.The government is trying to reign in this price explosion by limiting
:24:30. > :24:32.access to credit In the hope that China's young workers may one day be
:24:33. > :24:50.Nick is back. This story from the Financial Times, it is what Sally
:24:51. > :24:55.was talking about earlier. Are they making any money? Well, they are not
:24:56. > :25:00.making money and it is not that many cars. Really, compared with some of
:25:01. > :25:05.the big manufacturers, 25,000 isn't much. It did beat expectations?
:25:06. > :25:10.predicting and lots of anticipation predicting and lots of anticipation
:25:11. > :25:18.because the Model 3, so we have got the Model S and the Model X and this
:25:19. > :25:25.is the reasonably priced car, it is around ?28,000. ?30,000. That's a
:25:26. > :25:31.mark down from what's around on the market. It is the mass market,
:25:32. > :25:37.Tesla, but will they deliver on time this summer? There is so much
:25:38. > :25:41.anticipation? It is remarkable what Elon Musk has been able to convey
:25:42. > :25:46.with this mission of his. He's talking about 500,000 this year. The
:25:47. > :25:50.share has gone up 30%. He is a brand in himself, Elon Musk. Thank you.
:25:51. > :26:10.Good morning. Most of the weather action will be
:26:11. > :26:12.at the beginning of the week. It looks like it will be a quiet week
:26:13. > :26:13.ahead. Over