:00:13. > :00:19.The no frills airline Ryanair has reported its latest set
:00:20. > :00:29.The budget airline reports record annual profits,
:00:30. > :00:31.despite tough competition and worries over Brexit.
:00:32. > :00:35.Ryanair slashes ticket prices by 13% as it reports soaring profits.
:00:36. > :00:38.More bank fines in the wake of the 1MDB scandal-
:00:39. > :00:43.And how to stand out in a crowded market?
:00:44. > :00:45.We meet the firm that's using computer games
:00:46. > :00:53.And as critics blame BA for too many cost cuts - we want to know -
:00:54. > :00:57.Do you want more frills, not no frills?
:00:58. > :01:08.Let us know, use the hashtag BBC BizLive.
:01:09. > :01:13.The no frills airline Ryanair has reported its latest set
:01:14. > :01:22.Europe's biggest carrier by passenger numbers announced a 6%
:01:23. > :01:27.jump in full year net profit to $1.46 billion.
:01:28. > :01:31.Ryanair's performance is a sign that its cost-cutting measures
:01:32. > :01:33.are helping the business compete as overcapacity continues
:01:34. > :01:44.Earlier, we spoke to Neil Sorahan, Ryanair's chief financial officer.
:01:45. > :01:54.We saw our unit cost dropped by 11% last year. Excluding fuel, they were
:01:55. > :01:57.down 5%. So we are seeing unit cost savings coming through on all lines.
:01:58. > :02:02.There is a huge amount of uncertainty about Brexit. There is
:02:03. > :02:06.no direction as to which way the UK will go on aviation. The best case
:02:07. > :02:10.scenario would be that they remaining open skies, meaning there
:02:11. > :02:13.is the change. But a hard Brexit is looking more likely, meaning
:02:14. > :02:19.measures will have to be put in place. If things are not negotiated
:02:20. > :02:28.by October 2018, they will not be ratified in time for the exit from
:02:29. > :02:31.the EU on the 31st of March 2019. That could therefore be a distinct
:02:32. > :02:32.possibility of no flights for a period of time in and out of the UK
:02:33. > :02:37.and Europe. That could be days, and Europe. That could be days,
:02:38. > :02:40.weeks or months, nobody knows. But it is a very real possibility.
:02:41. > :02:42.With me is Victoria Moores, Bureau Chief and the European editor
:02:43. > :02:57.So we heard from Ryanair there. The interesting thing is that they are
:02:58. > :03:04.managing to fill their planes. They have cut prices, but they are still
:03:05. > :03:09.filling the planes. Yeah. Ryanair has a strategy where they are load
:03:10. > :03:12.factor passive, passenger active. That means we want to fill up as
:03:13. > :03:16.much as the aircraft as we can by charging low efforts. That does not
:03:17. > :03:21.mean we are desperate to fill them and we must cut the fares, it is
:03:22. > :03:26.their actual strategy to fill the aircraft. Then load factor is 94%.
:03:27. > :03:35.That means 94% of the seats on the aircraft on average are full. In old
:03:36. > :03:41.terms, that would be called pile 'em high, sell them cheap. That makes
:03:42. > :03:44.them very attractive to the airports, because they can get into
:03:45. > :03:49.those airports right the way around the continent. You have to look at
:03:50. > :03:53.the wider environment in aviation at the moment. The legacy carriers like
:03:54. > :03:57.British Airways and Lufthansa and Air France are under a lot of
:03:58. > :04:00.pressure both from the short-haul low-cost airlines like Ryanair, and
:04:01. > :04:07.on long haul from carriers like Etihad and Emirates. So here, you
:04:08. > :04:12.have Ryanair coming in very aggressively. The legacy carriers
:04:13. > :04:14.are tending to cap back. Meanwhile, Ryanair is growing, so it makes it
:04:15. > :04:20.very appealing to have Ryanair aircraft coming into your airport.
:04:21. > :04:24.The things you are vulnerable to, whether you are a cheap upstart when
:04:25. > :04:27.legacy carrier, are things like Brexit and terror attacks. We have
:04:28. > :04:30.seen all the airlines suffer as a result of the terror attacks in
:04:31. > :04:34.various parts of the world. Is there a way to mitigate against that?
:04:35. > :04:38.Ryanair's approach has been typical Ryanair's approach has been typical
:04:39. > :04:42.of Ryanair. If there is a terror attack or some kind of security
:04:43. > :04:46.threat, they drop their fares again. That is to stimulate the market.
:04:47. > :04:50.They can because they have the low cost base and at the moment, fuel is
:04:51. > :04:54.very favourable. So it means they can stimulate the market, but it is
:04:55. > :04:59.a very competitive market and Ryanair has the cheap costs to
:05:00. > :05:03.support that. They say they want to become the Amazon of travel. What do
:05:04. > :05:08.they mean by that? They mean that they want to really extend their
:05:09. > :05:12.business. They have had a huge push into digital focus is part of their
:05:13. > :05:19.new being nice strategy. So they have improved their app. Ryanair did
:05:20. > :05:22.not have the best reputation for nice previously. They had a
:05:23. > :05:26.reputation for cheap, and now they want to be cheap and nice, a bit
:05:27. > :05:29.more like easyJet. Historically, easyJet has been more appealing to
:05:30. > :05:38.the business traveller. Ryanair are going after that market share as
:05:39. > :05:48.well by going into the herbs. -- the hubs. Cheap and nice. Sounds like
:05:49. > :05:49.you, Ben! Victoria, thank you. Not cheap, but nice.
:05:50. > :05:52.Let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.
:05:53. > :05:57.British Airways says it will operate a normal
:05:58. > :05:58.schedule today after this
:05:59. > :06:02.The airline's Chief Executive blamed a power surge for the computer
:06:03. > :06:05.Many passengers are still without their luggage.
:06:06. > :06:09.Some estimates say the problems could cost BA more than $150m.
:06:10. > :06:11.Retail sales in Japan rose more than 3% in April
:06:12. > :06:18.That's higher than economists had been expecting and comes just weeks
:06:19. > :06:22.after government data showed the economy grew faster
:06:23. > :06:25.than forecast in the first three months of the year.
:06:26. > :06:29.That's its longest period of expansion in more than a decade.
:06:30. > :06:31.New analysis suggests Chinese-speaking criminals may have
:06:32. > :06:33.been behind the WannaCry ransomware that affected thousands
:06:34. > :06:41.Researchers say the language used in the ransom notice indicates
:06:42. > :06:51.the writer was "native or at least fluent" in Chinese.
:06:52. > :06:54.Singapore has fined two banks over the 1MDB scandal following a two
:06:55. > :07:01.Malaysia's 1MDB fund is at the centre of money-laundering
:07:02. > :07:05.investigations in at least six countries.
:07:06. > :07:17.We have talked about this a lot but this is just the latest episode,
:07:18. > :07:21.isn't it? Indeed, we have been talking about 1MDB for several years
:07:22. > :07:24.now. It is basically Malaysia's offer an world fund, set up in 2009
:07:25. > :07:32.by the country's Prime Minister. It was meant to turn the capital Kuala
:07:33. > :07:35.Lumpur into a financial hub, but instead it started to get negative
:07:36. > :07:40.attention when the Wall Street Journal reported four years ago that
:07:41. > :07:45.some $700 million were transferred from the 1MDB to the personal bank
:07:46. > :07:49.account of the Prime Minister. He denies any wrongdoing, but that
:07:50. > :07:55.triggered investigations in at least half a dozen countries including
:07:56. > :08:00.Singapore. It has so far shutdown two Swiss-based private banks,
:08:01. > :08:04.imposed financial penalties over $20 million and this morning announced
:08:05. > :08:08.fines Credit Suisse. Thanks for that. Let's have a quick look at the
:08:09. > :08:26.markets. The FTSE was closed yesterday
:08:27. > :08:37.because of the bank holiday here in the UK, but it has opened and is
:08:38. > :08:39.down two thirds, quite a sharp fall. We have had quite a sharp fall at
:08:40. > :08:42.the end of the long weekend. And Michelle Fleury has
:08:43. > :08:44.the details about what's ahead Economic data due out this week
:08:45. > :08:49.could support or undermine the case for America's central bank to raise
:08:50. > :08:54.interest rates in June. US markets were closed on Monday
:08:55. > :08:56.for Memorial Day and the unofficial But it is time for investors
:08:57. > :09:02.to put away the barbecue and get back to work,
:09:03. > :09:04.because there is plenty of economic This Tuesday, the US commerce
:09:05. > :09:11.department is expected to report that consumer spending increased
:09:12. > :09:14.0.4% in April. That's after being
:09:15. > :09:18.unchanged in March. The Federal Reserve's favourite
:09:19. > :09:25.measure of inflation, the core PCE price index,
:09:26. > :09:28.could well move the markets. Any pick-up in inflation
:09:29. > :09:31.will raise the prospect of a faster rate hike schedule,
:09:32. > :09:35.something that Wall Street Economists are currently
:09:36. > :09:40.looking for a 1.5% yearly That is still well below the Fed's
:09:41. > :09:47.2% inflation target. Joining us is Justin
:09:48. > :09:50.Urquhart-Stewart, Co-Founder and Director of Seven Investment
:09:51. > :10:04.Management. Let's start with the markets. Those
:10:05. > :10:10.boards tell you all you need to know. There is some unease about
:10:11. > :10:14.Greece again and Italy with a potential election there. Piling
:10:15. > :10:19.more uncertainty on. We have to put this into perspective. Last year, we
:10:20. > :10:22.had the oil price drop, feeding through into the global economy. Not
:10:23. > :10:27.just because of Trump and things like that. We saw a lot of companies
:10:28. > :10:30.come through with big figures. That has also been reflected in Europe,
:10:31. > :10:36.so we have had a good nine months. Then we had the Trump effect. All
:10:37. > :10:39.his promises in terms of tax, which didn't happen, and in terms of
:10:40. > :10:42.infrastructure, which haven't happened and all the other ideas
:10:43. > :10:48.which haven't happened. So the Trump pump has turned into the not so much
:10:49. > :10:55.a dump, but it has faded away. But you are talking about macro
:10:56. > :10:57.economics, the big picture. On a company basis, we are seeing good
:10:58. > :11:00.numbers coming through. That is what is astonishing. You get the odd
:11:01. > :11:04.basket case like dish airways and plugging itself, but the rest have
:11:05. > :11:09.been showing good figures -- British Airways has been unplugging itself.
:11:10. > :11:13.It is not a bad situation. But I am worried because it has all been so
:11:14. > :11:20.good and we are now worrying about Greece again. Are you just being
:11:21. > :11:24.contrary? No, here is an opportunity. When you start seeing
:11:25. > :11:27.numbers like this with a bit of volatility coming into the market,
:11:28. > :11:31.that is a time when a good investor can buy some assets quite cheaply.
:11:32. > :11:35.During the summer, there is often a period of volatility triggered by
:11:36. > :11:44.who knows what. Some build up some cash. So you are saying sell in May?
:11:45. > :11:48.No, I want to buy. If you have got some cash, by during the summer. A
:11:49. > :11:51.word on politics. I normally don't word on politics. I normally don't
:11:52. > :11:57.like talking about politics, but last night in the UK we had
:11:58. > :11:59.interviews with Theresa May, the Prime Minister and Jeremy Corbyn,
:12:00. > :12:04.Leader of the Opposition here. We didn't learn a whole lot. It wasn't
:12:05. > :12:08.particularly exciting. The markets looked at it and walked away. There
:12:09. > :12:13.was nothing on finance there. I would like to see some radical
:12:14. > :12:17.common-sense about your areas of funding, how we get more investment
:12:18. > :12:20.coming in. The key thing with Brexit is to make sure we firstly protect
:12:21. > :12:24.the crucible we have developed in the past few years in starting new
:12:25. > :12:27.companies, which have we have been very effective at and secondly,
:12:28. > :12:31.radical changes with regards to taxation and fundraising and being
:12:32. > :12:40.able to have more investment funds. Not short-term funds, but longer
:12:41. > :12:51.term ones. We have barely got one at the moment. We should go back to
:12:52. > :12:55.regional investment. The northern powerhouse should really have a
:12:56. > :12:57.northern investment mechanism to go with it. Let local people invest in
:12:58. > :13:03.local businesses. Justin, thank you. Can a computer game persuade us
:13:04. > :13:07.to buy more at the supermarket? We meet the firm that
:13:08. > :13:09.says it can cut through the advertising clutter -
:13:10. > :13:11.and it's got big business on board. You're with Business
:13:12. > :13:23.Live from BBC News. On one hand you might think
:13:24. > :13:31.the two are unrelated, but a new report says consumers
:13:32. > :13:36.could put off making a big purchase, or buy a cheaper one,
:13:37. > :13:38.given the uncertainty. Chris Bosworth is Directory
:13:39. > :13:51.of Strategy for Close Brothers Motor Explain a bit more about why this
:13:52. > :13:58.would happen. Why would people be put off by Brexit? It is about
:13:59. > :14:03.certainty and uncertainty. That has been the theme of your programme
:14:04. > :14:07.this morning. When people feel less certain, there is less consumer
:14:08. > :14:11.confidence. It is quite a big investment, usually people's
:14:12. > :14:15.second-biggest capital asset, their car. And they spend less when they
:14:16. > :14:19.are not certain about the future of the economy. Brexit and the election
:14:20. > :14:23.on the mind that certainty. What does that mean for retailers? We
:14:24. > :14:31.have seen record car figures of late. What does it mean for those
:14:32. > :14:38.retailers themselves? It depends where you fit in the ecosystem. The
:14:39. > :14:43.Kadeena can turn it into a positive. They can sell more used cars or
:14:44. > :14:48.different models to say to that new consumer appetite -- the car dealer
:14:49. > :14:51.can turn it into a positive. For the car manufacturer it is more
:14:52. > :14:53.difficult. At the moment, it is quite expensive for a customer who
:14:54. > :15:04.is not sure about the future. Are you just projecting this is what
:15:05. > :15:09.could happen? On the election it a bit too soon to tell but on Brexit
:15:10. > :15:16.we saw capital investment into the motor industry ball last year to
:15:17. > :15:20.1.66, so already the manufacturers are investing less in UK
:15:21. > :15:25.manufacturing debility. That is pretty dramatic. Are people that
:15:26. > :15:31.worried, do you think it will get worse in terms of investment? I am
:15:32. > :15:37.not sure it can get much worse than the 2016 figure, I think that a
:15:38. > :15:44.shock to the system. I think we saw the Nissan discussion with the
:15:45. > :15:52.government, other companies with big facilities in the UK as well. Thank
:15:53. > :15:56.you very much. Remember there is much more on that story and the
:15:57. > :15:58.latest on events at Heathrow Airport as a result of the British Airways
:15:59. > :16:04.disturbances on the website. Our top story, the no
:16:05. > :16:08.frills airline Ryanair has reported its latest set
:16:09. > :16:10.of financial results. Europe's biggest carrier
:16:11. > :16:14.by passenger numbers announced a 6% jump in full year net
:16:15. > :16:18.profit to $1.46 billion. Ryanair's performance is a sign
:16:19. > :16:21.that its cost-cutting measures are helping the business compete
:16:22. > :16:23.as overcapacity continues Full details of that on the website.
:16:24. > :16:37.Turning our attention elsewhere now. Computer games are on our phone,
:16:38. > :16:40.our laptops, and even finding their way
:16:41. > :16:41.onto movie screens. They seem
:16:42. > :16:43.to be almost everywhere. But one company is taking
:16:44. > :16:45.things even further - to purchase goods by playing games
:16:46. > :16:49.right in the shop or supermarket. Ksubaka is a Singapore based tech
:16:50. > :16:52.startup which has established a network of gaming kiosks
:16:53. > :17:01.in supermarket aisles across China, The aim is to tempt shoppers
:17:02. > :17:05.with games featuring global brands like Coca-Cola,
:17:06. > :17:07.Colgate and Heineken - The company says it now reaches more
:17:08. > :17:18.than 15 million people per month. Joining us is Giles Corbett,
:17:19. > :17:28.co-founder of Ksubaka. Good to see you, thank you for
:17:29. > :17:34.coming in. Pleasure. You are based in Singapore but not from there. We
:17:35. > :17:37.are based in London and Singapore, all of the engineering teams and the
:17:38. > :17:42.guys who build the software to enable less are in London and the
:17:43. > :17:46.business development today is predominantly out of Asia and
:17:47. > :17:51.Singapore. We briefly ran through what it is, tell us how it works,
:17:52. > :17:55.it's a kiosk which goes into a store and it is to try to tempt me to
:17:56. > :18:00.maybe buy another can of Coca-Cola or tube of toothpaste by point
:18:01. > :18:05.again? We are helping brands and retailers tell their stories to
:18:06. > :18:10.shoppers in a way which engages them. And by do so when literally a
:18:11. > :18:16.few feet away from the product, you are right, we do this on our fleet
:18:17. > :18:22.of interactive advertising displays. We have some 8000 of them throughout
:18:23. > :18:30.China in over 150 Chinese cities in a whole range of retailers. Shoppers
:18:31. > :18:33.walk up to a kiosk, the display is incredibly attractive, this is using
:18:34. > :18:39.the language of games to get people to go into it. As they touch the
:18:40. > :18:45.screen they engage with what ever story the brand is keen to tell. On
:18:46. > :18:49.average for over a minute time. You have brought one end so we can look
:18:50. > :18:53.at it but it strikes me the last thing I would want to do going into
:18:54. > :18:59.a supermarket is play a game, I want to be in there for the shortest
:19:00. > :19:02.possible time. This one looks attractive, interesting graphics, I
:19:03. > :19:08.would have a look but I would not start playing, I want to get in and
:19:09. > :19:15.get out. And so many of us are in that situation but while you want to
:19:16. > :19:19.go in and get out you are probably with a family member or friend who
:19:20. > :19:21.is not in the same frame of mind of getting the milk and leaving. They
:19:22. > :19:25.are looking for a distraction and those are the people who will engage
:19:26. > :19:31.with it. It works in Asia, what makes you think it will work here,
:19:32. > :19:35.will it be culturally different? Of course, and the content is adapted
:19:36. > :19:40.to each market we are in. However the actual act of looking for a
:19:41. > :19:45.playful distraction is universal. We have piloted this in Australia, we
:19:46. > :19:51.get better results on some metrics. Take the Tube here in London and
:19:52. > :19:56.observe how many people are playing games on the phone, people play
:19:57. > :20:00.games the world over. I am looking at the consul now and it's going to
:20:01. > :20:08.lots of different things, what there would me by, it's one thing to pass
:20:09. > :20:12.time but how do you convert it into sales? Most advertising is putting a
:20:13. > :20:17.message and a brand in the consumer 's mind and we are using the science
:20:18. > :20:21.behind playful learning to facilitate and develop that. We are
:20:22. > :20:26.taking any brand's story and decomposing it into one core message
:20:27. > :20:31.and we will turn that message into a game, maybe a toothpaste you have a
:20:32. > :20:35.special molecule which blocks micro-cavities, we will turn that
:20:36. > :20:39.into a game, you can block the cavities and you have understood
:20:40. > :20:46.this molecule will help. And does it work, does it make me buy more
:20:47. > :20:51.toothpaste? It does! You have to say that! This is what retailers tell
:20:52. > :20:55.us, this is all a big data plate and what we see through the analytics is
:20:56. > :21:02.two things, we see how consumers preferences change over time and how
:21:03. > :21:10.they change sustainably after using one of these experiences but we also
:21:11. > :21:15.see the uplift themselves. You are going to know too much about me. We
:21:16. > :21:22.are going to no amount the types of people in and an door. At times we
:21:23. > :21:25.don't need to know your name or personal identifiers -- we are going
:21:26. > :21:32.to know more about the type of people in a particular store. Thank
:21:33. > :21:36.you for coming in, in a moment we will look at the business pages but
:21:37. > :21:48.first a reminder in how to get in touch with us.
:21:49. > :21:59.We want to hear from you, get involved on the BBC business live
:22:00. > :22:06.web page. And on Twitter. And you can find us on Facebook. Business
:22:07. > :22:09.live, on TV and online, whenever you need to know.
:22:10. > :22:13.The BBC's Dominic O'Connell is with us.
:22:14. > :22:22.We are going to talk through some of the papers stories. This is a
:22:23. > :22:28.fascinating story, a big write-up in the FT, the debt pile up in the US
:22:29. > :22:33.car market sparks sub-prime of the year. It has been talked about being
:22:34. > :22:40.that, we associate it with housing loans which caused the 2008 crash,
:22:41. > :22:44.the fear was that sub-prime had spread to car loans. People who
:22:45. > :22:51.could not afford a car would take a cheap one. The big banks are pulling
:22:52. > :22:57.right back on the car market. Wells Fargo said a third less auto loans
:22:58. > :23:01.in the past quarter. The signs are all beer that the market has reached
:23:02. > :23:05.the top, they have spotted it and are stopping but have they stopped
:23:06. > :23:12.soon enough is the question? The car industry will suffer, car sales in
:23:13. > :23:17.America are expected to slow down sharply because the lone figure is a
:23:18. > :23:23.leading indicator of sales. Do we have an idea of how big it is? It's
:23:24. > :23:28.a few trolley and rather than tens of trillions like the housing
:23:29. > :23:32.market. They are not worried about consumer credit and people not being
:23:33. > :23:34.able to afford loans it is because Ka values are falling, when you
:23:35. > :23:54.repossess a car they sell it. Up until the last set of figures...
:23:55. > :24:00.Done by some kind of consumer finance product which is the auto
:24:01. > :24:03.loans we are talking about. What is driving that, the consumer saying
:24:04. > :24:10.they need to update their card but cannot afford to take it on credit?
:24:11. > :24:16.Cheap finance, and it is also used cars, about 40% of used car sales
:24:17. > :24:21.done on finance. Interest rates, if they continue to go up, we think in
:24:22. > :24:29.the next couple of months in the United States? Certainly everyone
:24:30. > :24:36.thinks one is due. Another reason to steer clear of sub-prime. Brief word
:24:37. > :24:41.on this story, check out free shopping, I like the idea of it but
:24:42. > :24:44.it sounds... We read about this quite often, people scanning things
:24:45. > :24:55.with their smartphones, Anna Zorn has just opened one -- Amazon has
:24:56. > :24:58.opened one and it's based on tracking your movement around the
:24:59. > :25:05.store, I am not sure how to reconcile it. I could buy a whole
:25:06. > :25:12.lot of things I did not think I had. Or you could go into a normal shop
:25:13. > :25:15.and what about all the stuff -- you could go into normal shop and what
:25:16. > :25:20.out all the stuff without paying for it.
:25:21. > :25:27.There will be more business news throughout the day on the BBC live
:25:28. > :25:30.webpage and on World Business Report.