:00:00. > :00:09.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Bland and Rachel Horne.
:00:10. > :00:12.Chinese and US officials meet for high-level economic talks.
:00:13. > :00:14.But with President Trump considering tariffs on steel
:00:15. > :00:38.Live from London, that's our top story on Wednesday, 19th July.
:00:39. > :00:45.President Trump hopes the talks can tackle what he sees as an unfair
:00:46. > :00:47.trading relationship as he seeks to boost the number
:00:48. > :00:56.car-maker Daimler says it will recall three million
:00:57. > :01:01.Mercedes-Benz cars to install a software fix.
:01:02. > :01:07.Here is how the European markets look at the start of the trading
:01:08. > :01:10.day. We will take a look at what moved the Asian markets and how the
:01:11. > :01:13.American markets closed. Some of them at all-time highs.
:01:14. > :01:16.Imagine a sports star and you're probably thinking of someone
:01:17. > :01:18.at the peak of their physical fitness - not necessarily.
:01:19. > :01:20.We're looking at the lucrative world of e-sports.
:01:21. > :01:22.Today, as the UK Government bans businesses from imposing extra
:01:23. > :01:25.charges for paying by card we want to know, when have you been
:01:26. > :01:28.surprised by a surcharge and what was it for?
:01:29. > :01:52.We begin with talks between China and the United States.
:01:53. > :01:56.President Trump's 100-day deadline for boosting trade with China has
:01:57. > :01:59.come and gone and officials from both countries are about to
:02:00. > :02:05.meet in Washington to assess what's actually been achieved.
:02:06. > :02:09.Mr Trump hopes the talks will tackle what he says is an unfair deal.
:02:10. > :02:12.It all boils down to this - the US buys more from
:02:13. > :02:22.Last year the deficit or imbalance in goods was $347
:02:23. > :02:28.At their first meeting in April Presidents Trump and Xi
:02:29. > :02:30.set-up trade talks which have already
:02:31. > :02:36.Both have agreed to expand trade with China saying it would accept US
:02:37. > :02:41.beef imports and will increase access for financial services.
:02:42. > :02:45.While in return, the US will allow imports of cooked chicken.
:02:46. > :02:47.But many issues are still unresolved.
:02:48. > :02:51.China's factories churned out a record 73-million tonnes
:02:52. > :02:57.US producers have accused China of flooding the market,
:02:58. > :03:07.And it's prompted Trump to consider slapping tariffs on steel imports,
:03:08. > :03:09.part of the administration's emphasis to increase products
:03:10. > :03:16.Miranda Carr is a senior analyst at Haitong Securities.
:03:17. > :03:22.Thank you for coming in. What do you expect to come out of today's
:03:23. > :03:28.meeting? Well, in terms of moves, not a lot. These dialogues have been
:03:29. > :03:32.set-up and they are a way of easing tensions. You get tensions building
:03:33. > :03:35.up and up and up and then the dialogues smooth things over, but in
:03:36. > :03:38.terms of an agreement then probably not on the table. Ben was explaining
:03:39. > :03:44.there, there has been some opening up of the markets in the last 100
:03:45. > :03:47.days of beef into America or beef into China and cooked chicken into
:03:48. > :03:50.America, but really the commodity here that everybody is talking about
:03:51. > :03:54.is steel. President Trump threatening to slap tariffs on
:03:55. > :03:57.steel. I mean, if he is prepared to make that move, could that just
:03:58. > :04:03.knock all the discussions out of the water? Well, it could. Things like
:04:04. > :04:08.beef and chicken won't make much of a difference to the 347 billion
:04:09. > :04:11.number, but with steel it has been, so China is exporting less steel,
:04:12. > :04:16.one-third less steel than it did this time last year. So they have
:04:17. > :04:20.cut back. They've cut back supply, domestically, and they're cutting
:04:21. > :04:23.back on exports. So one of the key arguments that Trump, the Trump
:04:24. > :04:28.administration, the Trump negotiating team has about the steel
:04:29. > :04:33.flooding into the US, no longer holds so much water. It is similar
:04:34. > :04:36.with the currency they accuse currency manipulator and then
:04:37. > :04:41.actually the currency has been appreciating so they're going to
:04:42. > :04:46.have to shift into some other moves and in terms of putting a quota on
:04:47. > :04:50.steel, it seems unlikely. Another point of contention between
:04:51. > :04:55.the two is China's relationship with North Korea. There had about lot of
:04:56. > :04:59.hope on the Trump side of things that China would help up the
:05:00. > :05:04.pressure and especially in light of the missile tests and yet we had a
:05:05. > :05:07.tweet from Donald Trump saying so much for China helping us on that
:05:08. > :05:13.front. So, the potential sticking point there? Yes, well, the US seems
:05:14. > :05:18.to be using some of the political Taiwan was an issue about six months
:05:19. > :05:23.ago and now North Korea, they are ratcheting up the tension on the
:05:24. > :05:27.political side in order to try to get sort of and conflating it with
:05:28. > :05:32.trade. This doesn't work quite so well. But in terms of, I mean, the
:05:33. > :05:37.idea that you're going to get some easy resolution, I mean actually
:05:38. > :05:40.with North Korea, what China is doing and South Korea taking a lead
:05:41. > :05:45.there, just recently is probably going to make more of a difference
:05:46. > :05:47.than the economic talks today. Miranda, thank you very much for
:05:48. > :05:50.your time. Thank you. Let's take a look at some of
:05:51. > :05:53.the other stories making the news: Daimler has unveiled plans
:05:54. > :05:55.to cut vehicle emissions. It's recalling three million
:05:56. > :05:57.Mercedes-Benz diesel cars, and installing a software fix
:05:58. > :06:00.on the vehicles. Daimler has been under pressure
:06:01. > :06:02.from police and prosecutors who are investigating the possible
:06:03. > :06:04.manipulation of diesel The voluntary fix will cost
:06:05. > :06:10.the company $250 million and will A supposed boycott of
:06:11. > :06:19.United Airlines because of the poor treatment of passengers has had
:06:20. > :06:22.little impact on the company's United revealed its first financial
:06:23. > :06:26.statement that included the period after staff forcibly removed
:06:27. > :06:33.a passenger from a plane. Profits of $818 million
:06:34. > :06:36.for the second quarter is almost 40% higher than the same
:06:37. > :06:38.period last year. The UK Government has cracked down
:06:39. > :06:40.on surcharges issued by credit From January next year,
:06:41. > :06:44.consumers will no longer be charged extra for using their cards,
:06:45. > :06:46.though they can pass The Treasury estimated that in 2010
:06:47. > :06:53.alone, consumers spent nearly The move is in line
:06:54. > :07:13.with European Union rules. We have been looking on our Business
:07:14. > :07:16.Live page and the in a few hours' time the BBC will reveal a list of
:07:17. > :07:22.the people who are being paid more than ?150,000. That's maybe
:07:23. > :07:25.$180,000. There will be 96 people on the list. But an interesting
:07:26. > :07:30.question here. Should we know what everyone is being paid throughout
:07:31. > :07:34.business? We have a company that's being interviewed on the BBC saying
:07:35. > :07:37.at his firm everyone's salaries are transparent and he says it just
:07:38. > :07:42.becomes the norm and when you come to asking for a pay rise or somebody
:07:43. > :07:49.has been paid more than you, you know the facts and you can argue
:07:50. > :07:52.your case. We have a story, censorship over whatsapp disruption
:07:53. > :07:56.in China. Users of whatsapp raising concerns after disruptions in China.
:07:57. > :07:59.The Chinese Government hasn't said if it is trying to sensor the
:08:00. > :08:01.service, but neither has whatsapp suggested that there is a technical
:08:02. > :08:03.problem. Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific has
:08:04. > :08:06.seen shares fall after releasing what the chief executive called
:08:07. > :08:22.disappointing figures There you are, hello! Why was he so
:08:23. > :08:28.disappointed by the results? Ben, today Cathay Pacific revealed the
:08:29. > :08:32.trfk numbers and the CEO had comments that got investors
:08:33. > :08:38.attention. Rupert Hogg took over the top job in May. He said that Cathay
:08:39. > :08:42.Pacific's performance in the first-half of the year was
:08:43. > :08:45.disappointing and its bottom line is under intense and increasing
:08:46. > :08:50.pressure. He is giving heads up to investors that the numbers won't be
:08:51. > :08:56.that pretty. This is largely drew to strong competition it's facing from
:08:57. > :09:02.Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates and Etihad. They are eating
:09:03. > :09:06.into the business sector. Cathay Pacific reported its first annual
:09:07. > :09:11.loss in eight years in 2016 and so Mr Hogg faces a really tough turn
:09:12. > :09:15.around job at Cathay Pacific. In recent years it has been selling
:09:16. > :09:21.tickets below cost to keep its planes full. So, now Mr Hogg is
:09:22. > :09:25.going to under go a huge revamp at Cathay Pacific and hundreds of jobs
:09:26. > :09:25.are expected to go by the end of the year.
:09:26. > :09:31.Thank you very much. Optimism about China's economy
:09:32. > :09:33.helped keep the Asian It also gave commodity
:09:34. > :09:39.prices a boost. The dollar hovered near its lowest
:09:40. > :09:43.level for several months with investors betting that any
:09:44. > :09:45.further interest rate rises The US currency was still
:09:46. > :09:52.smarting after the collapse of the Republicans' push to overhaul
:09:53. > :09:54.healthcare dealt a blow to President Donald Trump's ability
:09:55. > :09:57.to pass promised tax cuts The main European markets have
:09:58. > :10:11.opened the day higher. Household goods giant
:10:12. > :10:15.Reckitt Benckiser has confirmed a $4.2 billion deal to sell food
:10:16. > :10:20.brands including French's mustard and Frank's hot sauces
:10:21. > :10:26.to US group, McCormick. Shares in Reckitt,
:10:27. > :10:28.the FTSE 100 listed firm, Interesting to see what
:10:29. > :10:32.the pound does today. It fell yesterday against the dollar
:10:33. > :10:35.and the euro key after an unexpected slip in inflation which
:10:36. > :10:37.dropped to 2.6% in June, That slowdown is seen as easing
:10:38. > :10:41.pressure on the Bank of England So far in Wednesday trading,
:10:42. > :10:47.sterling is pretty flat against the dollar,
:10:48. > :10:49.slightly up against the euro. And Michelle Fleury has
:10:50. > :10:55.the details about what's ahead Well after Goldman Sachs dragged
:10:56. > :10:59.down the Dow with it's disappointing fixed income trading performance all
:11:00. > :11:02.eyes on on Morgan Stanley. The bank which reports second quarter results
:11:03. > :11:06.this Wednesday is considered Goldman's arch rival in the bond
:11:07. > :11:10.business. Any weakness in its trading results well they are likely
:11:11. > :11:13.to be off set by growth in its wealth management division. Look out
:11:14. > :11:18.for profit figures from American Express. There is a growing battle
:11:19. > :11:22.with Apple and its expected to weigh on the results of chip maker. The
:11:23. > :11:27.company warned in April that its profit could be hit as Apple had
:11:28. > :11:31.decided to withhold royalty payments until legal dispute was resolved.
:11:32. > :11:36.And should you want a change of pace from company earnings, I can't
:11:37. > :11:39.imagine why, the US Commerce Department releases its report on
:11:40. > :11:44.new residential construction in June. Housing stats are expected to
:11:45. > :11:46.climb to an annual rate of 1.15 million in June, that's after they
:11:47. > :11:50.tumbled in May. Joining us is Trevor Greetham,
:11:51. > :12:00.Head of Multi Asset Thank you very much for coming in.
:12:01. > :12:03.Let's start by talking about UK inflation. It caught people by
:12:04. > :12:12.surprise yesterday. Remind us of the figures? The inflation rate dropped
:12:13. > :12:15.from 2.9% to 2.6%, the target is 2%. Both the numbers are above target
:12:16. > :12:19.and people are looking at the fact that inflation has dropped and
:12:20. > :12:22.asking themselves is that as high. We think because of the impact of
:12:23. > :12:26.the sterling weakness after the Brexit vote we will continue to see
:12:27. > :12:29.inflation pick up probably until about October. So what do you think
:12:30. > :12:33.caused this blip? You think it is a blip? There is all sorts of things
:12:34. > :12:37.going up and down in the inflation basket. It is a blip. I wouldn't be
:12:38. > :12:40.surprised to see inflation more than 3% by October, but will this make
:12:41. > :12:45.the Bank of England raise interest rates? Well, it is interesting and
:12:46. > :12:50.it is a global phenomenon the employment rate in the UK is very
:12:51. > :12:54.low. It is the lowest since the 1970s, but real wage income is the
:12:55. > :12:59.lowest in 150 years and that's the financial crisis and that's also the
:13:00. > :13:05.negative impact on real wages of the Brexit vote and the pound going
:13:06. > :13:08.down. The other global phenomenon is stock markets giding heights. We saw
:13:09. > :13:13.another record close on Wall Street yesterday. What's going on? How long
:13:14. > :13:17.can it last, do you think? Well, we have had an eight bull market so far
:13:18. > :13:25.since the 2009 low, the American stock market is up 260% over that
:13:26. > :13:29.period, but mull markets don't die of all old age. What kills off a
:13:30. > :13:32.market like this is inflation and it is wage inflation, when you get a
:13:33. > :13:38.lot of wage inflation coming through the system, the central banks will
:13:39. > :13:43.say the economy is too strong and the unemployment rate is to low and
:13:44. > :13:46.they will raise interest rates. Central Bankers jobs is to take the
:13:47. > :13:51.punch bowl away from the party just as things get going and on the wages
:13:52. > :13:56.front, it is not a party. So we have got low interest rates. If China
:13:57. > :14:00.remains relatively stable and commodity prices keep drifting
:14:01. > :14:07.lower, this bull market could last longer. If China surges, and we get
:14:08. > :14:11.more rises in commodity price it starts to fuel the risk of interest
:14:12. > :14:16.rate. It is steady as she goes for China the markets would like to see.
:14:17. > :14:19.Trevor, tauch. You're coming back to go through the papers later. Bring a
:14:20. > :14:23.punch bowl if you can find one! Imagine a sports star and you're
:14:24. > :14:28.probably thinking of someone at the peak of their
:14:29. > :14:30.physical fitness. Not necessarily - we're
:14:31. > :14:32.looking at the lucrative You're with Business
:14:33. > :14:38.Live from BBC News. People who live in the South East
:14:39. > :14:41.are better off than people But the gap between the richest
:14:42. > :14:45.and poorest has narrowed since the recession of 2007/2008
:14:46. > :14:48.according to a new Andrew Walker is in our
:14:49. > :15:02.business newsroom. What does the report say happened to
:15:03. > :15:05.average incomes in the aftermath of the financial crisis? Going back to
:15:06. > :15:10.just before the crisis and recession really hit in a twist, we have seen
:15:11. > :15:16.average growth of 3.7% which the IFS describes as being extremely slow.
:15:17. > :15:22.That makes down a bit into better performances for pensioners
:15:23. > :15:26.households and that reflects the triple-lock recently. And weaker
:15:27. > :15:33.performance for people in work on average. We know that is likely to
:15:34. > :15:38.persist beyond the data reflected in this report. Because we are now in a
:15:39. > :15:44.situation where real terms average earnings are declining, wages going
:15:45. > :15:47.up more slowly than prices. Some other striking things, the report
:15:48. > :15:53.says there has been little change in the level of Apsley poverty over
:15:54. > :15:58.this period. It describes it has been historically unusual. Also a
:15:59. > :16:07.striking fact that low income tends to be more persistent than it used
:16:08. > :16:10.to be. Following composers, people experience sharp changes in income
:16:11. > :16:14.from year to year. What we're seeing in this report is more recently, a
:16:15. > :16:21.tendency for that problem to be more persistent. What about inequality,
:16:22. > :16:27.how is that changed? We have a grasp from the IFS report. We are clearly
:16:28. > :16:29.in a situation here, this is the national figures, inequality
:16:30. > :16:35.substantially more than it was if we go back to the early 1980s. But it
:16:36. > :16:38.has come down from the period just before the great recession. The
:16:39. > :16:44.really big decline of course has been here in London. That partly
:16:45. > :16:51.reflects the strength of the labour market. Although incomes are low,
:16:52. > :16:54.people with jobs, we have low levels of unemployment and that brings
:16:55. > :17:00.these inequality figures down. Thank you, Andrew.
:17:01. > :17:05.A lot of great stories, including this one from TalkTalk describing
:17:06. > :17:16.good growth. Our top story - trade talks
:17:17. > :17:22.between the US and China kick off in Washington today -
:17:23. > :17:25.with President Trump hoping they will be able
:17:26. > :17:27.to tackle what he sees A quick look at how
:17:28. > :17:41.markets are faring. And now let's get the
:17:42. > :17:52.inside track on eSports. The word "athlete" may conjure up
:17:53. > :17:59.images of broad shoulders, and people in the peak physical
:18:00. > :18:03.fitness. the idea of sporting stardom
:18:04. > :18:10.is being turned upside down. Professional esports players may not
:18:11. > :18:15.make as much as Cristiano Ronaldo, but one of the most successful
:18:16. > :18:17.gamers has bagged nearly $370,000 in prize
:18:18. > :18:20.money over the course Not bad, but it doesn't stop there -
:18:21. > :18:26.some of the world's biggest sports teams are now paying gamers
:18:27. > :18:28.to represent them All of this helps develop
:18:29. > :18:33.the company's brand and enhance the reputation of eSports
:18:34. > :18:35.as a whole. Video games are big
:18:36. > :18:38.business here in the UK. In 2016, the gaming industry raked
:18:39. > :18:40.in some $3.8 billion - this compares to just $1.4 billion
:18:41. > :18:43.for the music industry. Fnatic is one of the world's
:18:44. > :18:46.biggest eSports teams- we're joined by its co-founder Sam
:18:47. > :18:56.Mathews. Can you explain what esports are? If
:18:57. > :19:04.you think of sports in general, it is a game you play with the ball, in
:19:05. > :19:08.a net or over a net and ultimately, esports, it's the same thing. You
:19:09. > :19:12.can play it, it's a game, but it is available anywhere. All you need is
:19:13. > :19:18.a device and an interconnection and you can compete. We're talking about
:19:19. > :19:21.big tournament is happening in major stadiums where there are players on
:19:22. > :19:25.the pitch as the football players may be but they are gamers with the
:19:26. > :19:29.hand-held devices and people are filling the stadium is watching them
:19:30. > :19:35.play. Yes, last weekend, there was one in cologne, there was one in
:19:36. > :19:43.Cracow, last year, we sold out Wembley Arena faster than the Foo
:19:44. > :19:49.Fighters. It is a global thing, not just a UK or American sporting, it
:19:50. > :19:54.is over Asia, it spans the globe. You started a company in 2004. What
:19:55. > :19:59.is nice about it, you said, most parents will say to the kids, stop
:20:00. > :20:04.playing the computer game but your mum was completely behind you. I
:20:05. > :20:11.have an amazing mother. She really got involved. I was 19 at the time,
:20:12. > :20:14.I sold my car, it was like, what are you doing? I'd better make sure you
:20:15. > :20:18.don't go into this and lose your money. She was in it for ten years
:20:19. > :20:24.and she was instrumental in growing our business. You decided to set up
:20:25. > :20:28.your team so you are a bit like a football manager or an F1 person
:20:29. > :20:34.running the team. How many members of your team do you have and what
:20:35. > :20:37.you love for when choosing members? Right now, we are in about eight
:20:38. > :20:44.different games with about 45 players. We have a team in Kuala
:20:45. > :20:49.Lumpur for example. We have been in 21 different games in the time we
:20:50. > :20:52.have been growing this thing. It's a lot different real sport because you
:20:53. > :20:57.are either in a basketball team or a baseball team and we have this
:20:58. > :21:00.opportunity to be a brand, we make clothing and make hardware,
:21:01. > :21:05.headphones as well. We look people but a focus, good at this and
:21:06. > :21:10.professional. When it comes to looking after your team members, is
:21:11. > :21:15.there any sort of regulation in this environment? Looking at other major
:21:16. > :21:21.sports, it is about regulation, good governance, regulating bodies. It is
:21:22. > :21:25.a little different because each game is kind of its own sport. There is a
:21:26. > :21:31.regulation in different varying levels per game. However, going
:21:32. > :21:35.forward, there's going to be the more government intervention I
:21:36. > :21:39.guess. At the moment, it's quite a free market and its working quite
:21:40. > :21:44.well. We don't want to repeat any mistakes traditional sports might
:21:45. > :21:51.have made in the past. You would be open for more regulation? As long as
:21:52. > :21:55.it made things better. Where do you see your company going? Do you think
:21:56. > :22:01.it could become as mainstream as some of the sports we talk about,
:22:02. > :22:06.football, tennis? I think esports are the future of sport. I think at
:22:07. > :22:10.the moment, the lack of physicality, people think, these guys are just
:22:11. > :22:14.sitting on their chairs. Virtual reality will change that.
:22:15. > :22:17.Potentially, you will be watching the real world hunger games but
:22:18. > :22:27.instead of being in a room like this, it might be on the moon of a
:22:28. > :22:28.planet. Do you think you will get Olympic status? I think it is
:22:29. > :22:36.inevitable. In a moment we'll take a look
:22:37. > :22:39.through the Business Pages but first here's a quick reminder of how
:22:40. > :22:46.to get in touch with us. We will keep you up-to-date with all
:22:47. > :22:50.of the latest details with insight and analysis from our team of
:22:51. > :22:55.editors around the world. We want to hear from you. Get involved on the
:22:56. > :23:05.BBC Business Live web page and the BBC website. You can find us on
:23:06. > :23:06.Twitter and Facebook. Business Live on TV and online, whenever you need
:23:07. > :23:09.to know. Joining us again is Trevor Greetham,
:23:10. > :23:20.Head of Multi Asset UK Government to ban companies from
:23:21. > :23:23.adding a surcharge when you try and pay by credit card. Talk this
:23:24. > :23:30.through what they are saying about it? When you are online buying
:23:31. > :23:33.tickets or trying to buy clothing and you get to the checkout and it
:23:34. > :23:40.says how would you like to pay and it says debit card, credit card,
:23:41. > :23:45.brackets, plus ?2 50, plus ?1 50. That is to be banned in the UK from
:23:46. > :23:49.the 1st of January. So you won't have that surprise last-minute
:23:50. > :23:53.charge. Retailers and taxi drivers do the same thing sometimes.
:23:54. > :23:59.Charging extra for credit cards as they get charged. For processing
:24:00. > :24:04.credit cards. They will need to recoup the cost somehow. You will
:24:05. > :24:09.find that you won't get that brackets plus ?2 but prices will
:24:10. > :24:13.drift higher. These protections do happen in Australia and the state of
:24:14. > :24:19.New York, you're not allowed to add this charge, but Japan, Canada and
:24:20. > :24:24.New Zealand, you can. A lot of consumer group saying, it is about
:24:25. > :24:28.time. It is a hidden way of getting extra income. When you go to the
:24:29. > :24:34.airport and you have a no commission exchange rate company and it spreads
:24:35. > :24:39.massively wide, you will get charged somewhere for that. We have been
:24:40. > :24:44.asking from when you have had some unexpected surcharge when paying by
:24:45. > :24:47.card. Darren says, what about booking fees? I booked tickets for a
:24:48. > :24:52.show and had to pay ?8 and booking fees. Steve raffle ticket for ?2 and
:24:53. > :25:00.the surcharge was five-time because apparently was gambling. Someone
:25:01. > :25:04.else says 20 years ago, I got surcharged ?12 in a top London hotel
:25:05. > :25:10.for just sitting in the lounge, I ordered a pot of tea and a
:25:11. > :25:16.strawberry tart. Shocking! We have a story here, briefly, on the BBC web
:25:17. > :25:21.page, an Audi car advert which has been criticised in China. Yesterday
:25:22. > :25:28.we talked about new standards being brought into the UK to stop gender
:25:29. > :25:34.specific advertising. This is an Audi advert showing a mother-in-law
:25:35. > :25:38.inspecting the nose, ears and teeth of a prospective bride the siege is
:25:39. > :25:44.appropriate for her son. As she was buying a horse or something. A bit
:25:45. > :25:47.old school. Maybe a bit of a black mark for Audi. Maybe the one people
:25:48. > :25:50.to talk about it.