:00:00. > :00:08.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.
:00:09. > :00:10.Tesla shows us the road to the future.
:00:11. > :00:13.The world's leading electric car maker cut its losses and pushes
:00:14. > :00:16.into fifth gear with a big jump in sales.
:00:17. > :00:18.Live from London, that's our top story on Thursday
:00:19. > :00:40.Elon Musk's company says it's had more than half a million
:00:41. > :00:43.orders for it's Model 3, but how long will it take for Tesla
:00:44. > :00:50.Delivering a blow to Australian retailers?
:00:51. > :00:52.Internet shopping giant Amazon says its going down under
:00:53. > :00:59.to open its first warehouse in the country.
:01:00. > :01:02.And as the Dow surged through 22,000 off the back
:01:03. > :01:04.of those Apple earnings - attention today on the Bank
:01:05. > :01:08.of England's rate decision and forecasts for growth.
:01:09. > :01:14.We speak to the boss of Cirque du Soleil on how to walk the tightrope
:01:15. > :01:16.of balancing finance, safety and magic tricks
:01:17. > :01:25.And as Brazilian footballer Neymar looks set to become most expensive
:01:26. > :01:28.footballer in history - moving to French club
:01:29. > :01:31.Paris Saint Germain for a record breaking 262 million dollars -
:01:32. > :01:34.we want to know what's your most expensive purchase?
:01:35. > :01:40.Let us know, use the hashtag, BBC Biz Live.
:01:41. > :01:57.A lot of suggestions coming into us already, including your university
:01:58. > :02:03.education and your house, chances are it is one of those two. Let us
:02:04. > :02:05.know, use the hashtag. Let's begin in the United States, with Tesla.
:02:06. > :02:07.Tesla is the car company that's promising to change
:02:08. > :02:11.Investors have been taking a huge gamble on the electric car maker
:02:12. > :02:14.and it judging by its latest numbers that appears to be paying
:02:15. > :02:16.off, the share price has risen even higher.
:02:17. > :02:20.Here's why: In the three months to the end of June sales hit $2.8bn.
:02:21. > :02:28.That's more than double the same time last year.
:02:29. > :02:31.It's still losing money though - over $336 million in the same three
:02:32. > :02:34.month period which is more than last year - but not as bas
:02:35. > :02:38.And it's paying off - Tesla delivered nearly 26,000
:02:39. > :02:40.vehicles in that time, 40% more than the same
:02:41. > :02:50.And that number could soon rise even further because its taken more
:02:51. > :02:52.than half a million orders for the Model 3.
:02:53. > :02:55.It started delivering what's being described as its first mass
:02:56. > :03:07.Tesla hopes the Model 3 will keep it at the top of the market
:03:08. > :03:11.But two Chinese rivals are already in the top five -
:03:12. > :03:14.Plus the German car giants are investing heavily
:03:15. > :03:17.as they try to put the 'dieselgate' emissions scandal behind them.
:03:18. > :03:19.But the Model 3's design is transforming the industry.
:03:20. > :03:22.It has less than 7,000 parts, which compares to 30,000
:03:23. > :03:35.That might sound like a lot. But it isn't much compared to the
:03:36. > :03:36.traditional car. That makes it simpler to build -
:03:37. > :03:39.and less likely to suffer Jeremy White, Product Editor
:03:40. > :03:47.of WIRED is with me. Thank you for coming in. So, Ben is
:03:48. > :03:52.talking through some of the statistics and numbers. These are
:03:53. > :03:55.pretty good earning figures for Tesla, aren't they? Which is good to
:03:56. > :04:00.deliver, considering how the share price has been going up and up over
:04:01. > :04:07.the recent weeks and months? They are impressive figures and they show
:04:08. > :04:11.the appetite for these vehicles, they are getting 1800 orders per day
:04:12. > :04:16.for the new Model three. It is whether they will be able to deliver
:04:17. > :04:23.those, they have had difficulty delivering on the previous models,
:04:24. > :04:27.getting sales delivered. It is whether they do that, that is
:04:28. > :04:35.interesting. Talk us through what could be bumps in the road. They are
:04:36. > :04:40.more simple for the manufacturer but it is the supply chain, the plants
:04:41. > :04:44.to build the cars, they do not have that at the moment. They are
:04:45. > :04:54.building a battery factory in Nevada with Panasonic and they are trying
:04:55. > :04:57.to compete with the traditional manufacturers, with the supply chain
:04:58. > :05:02.which is already set up, it is going to be difficult. And it is true that
:05:03. > :05:07.Elon Musk has cast a spell over Wall Street and the numbers help him, it
:05:08. > :05:11.shows that he is delivering on his enormous promises but, in the
:05:12. > :05:15.meantime, his rivals in the car industry are catching up very
:05:16. > :05:20.quickly, and they are busy working on those similar vehicles, and there
:05:21. > :05:23.is momentum behind this now. We have government policy coming into line,
:05:24. > :05:29.we had the meeting in Berlin yesterday and announcements from the
:05:30. > :05:35.UK Government. The appetite is that? Yes, and the regulations coming in
:05:36. > :05:41.for 2019 require higher restrictions on emissions, that is why we had
:05:42. > :05:49.an announcement from Volvo that they will be making electric only cars
:05:50. > :05:52.from 2019. Car makers are making cars and government is trying to
:05:53. > :05:56.push policy but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of it, or whether you
:05:57. > :05:59.can charge what you want, and the batteries need to get better so they
:06:00. > :06:06.do not take so long to recharge? That is right, the Model three has a
:06:07. > :06:10.range of 500 kilometres. Jaguar are working on a car with a similar
:06:11. > :06:15.range, as are Bentley. It's what you do when you run out of power after
:06:16. > :06:18.that distance. The gamble is you will only use the car for less than
:06:19. > :06:22.that per day and then come home and charge it up. What if you are on the
:06:23. > :06:26.road and you do not have charge left? Battery technology is
:06:27. > :06:29.relatively in its infancy in electric vehicles and it needs to
:06:30. > :06:34.get much better to allay these fears and allow for fast charging. Thank
:06:35. > :06:39.you for your time this morning, fascinating. So much more about
:06:40. > :06:43.Tesla on our website, including if you dig deep and find the interview
:06:44. > :06:45.with Elon Musk that Rory Kevin Jones did not so long ago.
:06:46. > :06:47.Let's take a look at some of the other stories
:06:48. > :06:50.The food delivery company Deliveroo is introducing
:06:51. > :06:52.new safety measures to protect its riders from violence.
:06:53. > :06:54.It follows acid attacks in London last month,
:06:55. > :06:56.where the victims included riders delivering by bike or moped.
:06:57. > :06:59.Among the measures are a new app feature that allows riders
:07:00. > :07:07.to raise security concerns, plus a trial of helmet cameras.
:07:08. > :07:09.Australia's Commonwealth Bank has been accused of massive
:07:10. > :07:12.breaches of money-laundering and counter terrorism regulations.
:07:13. > :07:15.The case against the country's biggest mortgage lender
:07:16. > :07:18.is the biggest case of its kind in Australia and the first
:07:19. > :07:22.Commonwealth Bank says it is reviewing the allegations
:07:23. > :07:30.Toshiba says it's going ahead with the capital investment to build
:07:31. > :07:32.a new memory chip production line without joint venture
:07:33. > :07:34.partner Western Digital, after the two have failed to reach
:07:35. > :07:39.Somewhat confusingly though, Western Digital has just said it
:07:40. > :07:47.intends to invest in the new chip line along with Toshiba.
:07:48. > :07:53.We will find out what is going on and let you know! You have that job,
:07:54. > :07:55.OK? I am delegating! Amazon has announced it
:07:56. > :07:57.will open its first retail logistics The online retailer says
:07:58. > :08:07.that the 24,000 square metre "fulfilment centre" is "an integral
:08:08. > :08:10.early step" in its effort to establish a retail
:08:11. > :08:12.presence in Australia. That's management-speak if I have
:08:13. > :08:14.ever heard it! Mariko Oi is in our Asia
:08:15. > :08:21.Business Hub in Singapore. We heard the management-speak, what
:08:22. > :08:27.is going on, a big change for Australia? Indeed. It seems that
:08:28. > :08:35.Amazon is really investing heavily in Asia-Pacific, just last week we
:08:36. > :08:40.told you that Amazon has launched its Prime Now service in Singapore
:08:41. > :08:47.as part of the start of its aggressive expansion into Southeast
:08:48. > :08:52.Asia and now the company has unveiled the location of its first
:08:53. > :08:57.warehouse, in Melbourne, making sense due to its proximity to the
:08:58. > :09:00.east coast were over 80% of the country's population lives. We still
:09:01. > :09:05.do not know when the service is going to start but it is definitely
:09:06. > :09:08.going to put a lot of pressure on traditional retailers whose shares
:09:09. > :09:13.have been falling since the announcement was made. Absolutely,
:09:14. > :09:14.thank you very much. Yes, Amazon's integral early step to establish a
:09:15. > :09:19.retail presence in Australia. Asian shares were down on Thursday,
:09:20. > :09:26.led by falls in South Korean tech shares, as investors locked
:09:27. > :09:29.There was also some evidence of slowing activity
:09:30. > :09:34.in China's service sector and weaker commodity prices.
:09:35. > :09:38.On Wall Street though, the Dow Jones breaking
:09:39. > :09:40.through the 22,000 barrier for the first time
:09:41. > :09:50.I will get out of the way so we can talk about it better!
:09:51. > :09:53.That was pumped up by those earnings from Apple we told
:09:54. > :09:56.More earnings news in Europe for investors to digest -
:09:57. > :09:59.but attention will be on the Bank of England - as it
:10:00. > :10:03.A hike would be a big surprise - most assuming a rise
:10:04. > :10:05.will come early next year, not this year.
:10:06. > :10:07.And so Assuming rates remain on hold, the quarterly
:10:08. > :10:09.inflation report - that we get a little
:10:10. > :10:22.What does it make of Brexit, slowing growth, and rising inflation?
:10:23. > :10:26.Don't pay too much attention to that, the FTSE 100 is actually down
:10:27. > :10:27.a little bit this morning. More on that shortly -
:10:28. > :10:29.but first Samira Hussain has the details about what's ahead
:10:30. > :10:39.on Wall Street Today. Earnings continue on Thursday with
:10:40. > :10:44.several more companies reporting, including Kraft Heinz, the changing
:10:45. > :10:48.taste in consumers opting for more fresh and organic food will likely
:10:49. > :10:53.have hurt the company in the last quarter. Also reporting earnings is
:10:54. > :11:02.the health insurer Aetna, insurers will be looking for comments on the
:11:03. > :11:10.company, with uncertainty. After the Senate failed to pass a health care
:11:11. > :11:14.bill to dismantle Obamacare. Aetna previously. We will hear from the
:11:15. > :11:17.dish network, they are struggling with the growing trend of cord
:11:18. > :11:22.cutting where subscribers are dropping TV packages altogether for
:11:23. > :11:24.cheaper online streaming services, such as Netflix.
:11:25. > :11:26.Joining us is Jeremy Stretch, head of currency strategy
:11:27. > :11:35.A familiar face to the programme, nice for you to be here. Do you want
:11:36. > :11:46.to start? Let's begin with the Dow Jones. I said figures were
:11:47. > :11:51.partly due to Apple but there are other factors? Yes, Apple was one of
:11:52. > :11:54.them, but in terms of the Apple Store, people were bracing
:11:55. > :11:57.themselves for slightly disappointing numbers as there was a
:11:58. > :12:02.fear that tech savvy phone users were waiting for the next version of
:12:03. > :12:09.the iPhone, that was not the case. Earnings are strong in a number of
:12:10. > :12:13.industries, that is the underlying dynamic. And you could argue there
:12:14. > :12:17.is a currency effect in some instances, as the US dollar has
:12:18. > :12:21.continued to depreciate in recent weeks, as you translate foreign
:12:22. > :12:25.earnings into US dollars, it enhances earnings numbers and boost
:12:26. > :12:29.equity markets. And among market watchers there is a hot debate as to
:12:30. > :12:35.what will happen next. Is there going to be a horrible correction or
:12:36. > :12:40.will its tail off? Where are you in the big debate? It depends on what
:12:41. > :12:45.policymakers do, and so... Are you sitting on the fence? The
:12:46. > :12:48.valuations, if you look at them against his strikes, they look
:12:49. > :12:52.stretched but we have seen a massive run, especially in US equities,
:12:53. > :12:56.there should be some degree of correction but in that context it is
:12:57. > :13:02.not necessarily unhealthy. Are you excited about Super Thursday?
:13:03. > :13:05.Undoubtably, not that we are expecting a policy change but what
:13:06. > :13:09.is most interesting is what the banks say about the growth, they
:13:10. > :13:13.revised the forecast in February and were forced to take a little of that
:13:14. > :13:18.in May, they may be forced to do more now, the first half of this
:13:19. > :13:21.year has been rather disappointing and the consumer is facing
:13:22. > :13:25.difficulties in terms of maintaining expenditure, so I think numbers will
:13:26. > :13:28.be revised down which could impact how the markets consider monetary
:13:29. > :13:35.policy outlets for this year and especially into 2018. We will be
:13:36. > :13:40.watching closely! The reason I am looking at my phone... That is a bit
:13:41. > :13:45.rude! We have been asking people for comments about Neymar... Oh, so it
:13:46. > :13:50.is work? Jeremy is coming back in a moment. The Brazilian footballer is
:13:51. > :13:55.moving to PSG for a record-breaking amount of money, we suspect.
:13:56. > :13:59.A lot of the comments this morning. Will you share them or will you
:14:00. > :14:03.tease us? Starbucks, there we go, I bought a $6 cup of coffee from
:14:04. > :14:10.Starbucks, it didn't even taste good, it was the most expensive
:14:11. > :14:13.purchase of my life. On my wish list is the Tesla Model three, says
:14:14. > :14:19.Natasha. This is what you can spend your money on... A familiar theme...
:14:20. > :14:20.Housing, cars and clothing. We will look through those later.
:14:21. > :14:28.Still to come, we will find out how you balance the high wire act of
:14:29. > :14:33.entertainment with demand for profit with the boss of Cirque du Soleil.
:14:34. > :14:39.Stay tuned for that. You are with Business Live from BBC News.
:14:40. > :14:41.High street fashion chain Next says sales fell by 7.4%
:14:42. > :14:45.But sales at its Next Directory and online shopping
:14:46. > :14:48.Theo Leggett is our business correspondent -
:14:49. > :15:06.Next has had a torrid time, what was in these number is, talk us through
:15:07. > :15:09.them. It is a mixed bunch, but full price sales, if you take into
:15:10. > :15:14.account what is going on on the high Street, online and the catalogue
:15:15. > :15:17.business were up 0.7%. Now, that doesn't sound too dramatic but it
:15:18. > :15:23.was a lot better than the first quarter, which was pretty dire. At
:15:24. > :15:30.11 and one third percent the share price. What is explaining that? Next
:15:31. > :15:34.has said it still has a very large cash pile, still generating a lot of
:15:35. > :15:37.cash and it intends to return a lot of it to shareholders, that is why
:15:38. > :15:43.the share prices going up, that the fact that it was pretty mediocre, it
:15:44. > :15:49.was a lot better than the first. Sales picked up in June and July.
:15:50. > :15:53.Ten one says it wasn't down to any particular marketing genius, it was
:15:54. > :15:57.the warm weather, remember that? It was summer. So the bits that are
:15:58. > :16:03.doing well, we have mentioned the online side of the business, focus
:16:04. > :16:10.through that. Next Directory was already doing well. In the second
:16:11. > :16:16.quarter sales were up more than 11%. Overall, that is helping to massage
:16:17. > :16:21.the entire business. The high-street business is down more than 7%. It is
:16:22. > :16:25.what we have been seeing for quite a while, next is doing very poorly on
:16:26. > :16:26.the high-street but doing rather well online. Thank you very much
:16:27. > :16:39.indeed. Talking about this on the today
:16:40. > :16:47.programme today on Radio 4, despite the rise in binge viewing, streaming
:16:48. > :16:51.services, things like Netflix, and people say people are still -- Ofcom
:16:52. > :16:57.said people are still watching traditional TV. Like Business Live!
:16:58. > :17:03.I am sure it is Business Live, they just forgot to include us. All the
:17:04. > :17:07.people watching -- older people watching more than younger people,
:17:08. > :17:10.who I guess ten to watch it more on tablets. Full details on the
:17:11. > :17:25.website. The top story today, shares in the
:17:26. > :17:28.electric car company Tesla are pretty sharply after reporting a
:17:29. > :17:32.doubling of sales and more than half a million orders of its model three
:17:33. > :17:38.car. That has begun shipping right now. It has been pegged as the big
:17:39. > :17:43.change for the electric car market. Now markets trading in Europe, the
:17:44. > :17:46.Footsie down slightly, they are all edging lower just a little bit. Not
:17:47. > :17:48.following on from the record-breaking night on Wall
:17:49. > :18:03.Street, the Dow Jones closing down. Cirque du Soleil - or in english
:18:04. > :18:07.the Circus of the Sun - it's one of the biggest theatrical
:18:08. > :18:09.producers in the world. The company had its beginnings
:18:10. > :18:12.in 1984 and now has almost 4,000 staff from more
:18:13. > :18:13.than 50 countries. Known for its acrobatics,
:18:14. > :18:16.the group is putting on 20 different And the Canadian
:18:17. > :18:19.company is expanding, it's just bought the American
:18:20. > :18:21.entertainment firm the Blue Man group,
:18:22. > :18:23.and is looking to walk Sharanjit Leyl has been speaking
:18:24. > :18:26.to Circue du Soleil's chief executive about the company's
:18:27. > :18:47.expansion plans, and Now with the acquisition of blue man
:18:48. > :18:57.group, we want to, so with the blue man group and the experience on time
:18:58. > :19:01.square, Cirque will be looking at markets like London, Hamburg in
:19:02. > :19:06.Germany, and all of the Asia, we still see a lot of growth, including
:19:07. > :19:14.here, Singapore. When the private equity firm TPG first took over
:19:15. > :19:17.sector to lay, -- Cirque du Soleil, there were lots of streamlining of
:19:18. > :19:26.cost cuts, are those concerns still there? We have not seen any push
:19:27. > :19:30.from TPG to do extreme cost saving. Obviously we managed saving, but it
:19:31. > :19:35.hasn't changed the way we produce shows and we create shows. That is
:19:36. > :19:39.what I told them from the get go. I said I am there to listen to all the
:19:40. > :19:45.advice you can give me, from a business standpoint, but for
:19:46. > :19:48.creation and production, you know, that's so important, please leave
:19:49. > :19:53.our creators alone, and they just burst laughing, because as financial
:19:54. > :19:58.people, they haven't had any ambition about the product itself.
:19:59. > :20:06.And of course the Chinese company Folsom also has a stake. So have
:20:07. > :20:09.they influenced your push into China? They are a great supporter of
:20:10. > :20:11.us cracking the Chinese market, diving when we will look into three
:20:12. > :20:18.years from now, and you will see the of Cirque in China. It will be
:20:19. > :20:22.because of the support I got from them. Over the years though, Cirque
:20:23. > :20:26.du Soleil has had its fair share of tragedy. You've heard three deaths,
:20:27. > :20:32.including the death of the son of one of the founders. So what have
:20:33. > :20:35.you done to improve safety? Obviously we are very sad of what
:20:36. > :20:41.happened, but the reality is a lot of enquiries has been done after
:20:42. > :20:45.those fatalities, and it was crystal clear that it was an accident.
:20:46. > :20:52.Because we are recognised worldwide as having the best safety measure in
:20:53. > :20:57.the world. And hopefully it will never happen again, but we are very
:20:58. > :20:59.proud of our safety measures. Tell us a little of yourself, because you
:21:00. > :21:03.have a really very different background. You started off as a
:21:04. > :21:07.journalist, you were in television and now you are the Chief Executive
:21:08. > :21:12.of the largest circus firm in the world. How did you get into it?
:21:13. > :21:19.That's interesting, because I used to support guy in the early days of
:21:20. > :21:24.Cirque du Soleil when I was in the PR business. And he was one of the
:21:25. > :21:28.founders. Yes, then I moved to the TV business and started working with
:21:29. > :21:34.guy again, and that is when the relationship was not between us, and
:21:35. > :21:39.Monday he called me out of the blue and said you are going to join the
:21:40. > :21:45.circus. And here I am running around the world for Cirque du Soleil. Did
:21:46. > :21:49.you say yes immediately? No, for me, it was such a different challenge
:21:50. > :21:54.than the TV business, I said let me think about it, and three weeks
:21:55. > :21:59.later I was joining the circus. And it has changed your life ever since.
:22:00. > :22:05.It did, it brought an amazing experience to travel around the
:22:06. > :22:10.world, and to have the possibility to bring a Canadian company around
:22:11. > :22:15.the world. And this is very, very rewarding. And the fact that you're
:22:16. > :22:21.a Canadian brand, how do you use that as a potential selling point?
:22:22. > :22:26.What is quite unique about Canada is that we are recognised worldwide as
:22:27. > :22:32.a country that really bring a lot of people from around the world, and
:22:33. > :22:36.everyone loves to come to our creative centre in Montreal. They
:22:37. > :22:39.feel at home and hosted. If you were to come in our studio in Montreal,
:22:40. > :22:43.you would have the feeling you are at the United Nations, not at Cirque
:22:44. > :22:47.du Soleil, which is great, because we like this idea that everybody
:22:48. > :22:49.feels at home when they come to Canada and they feel at home and
:22:50. > :22:59.they come to Cirque du Soleil. Daniel Lamarre. Jeremy Ross back to
:23:00. > :23:01.talk through some of the stories out there being discussed and there is
:23:02. > :23:07.no doubt that this one about the footballer Neymar's possible
:23:08. > :23:12.transfer fee, not confirmed, not sealed or signed by any means, but
:23:13. > :23:15.quite phenomenal the same. This is where business and sport collide in
:23:16. > :23:21.a very serious way because we're talking about enormous sons of
:23:22. > :23:25.money. And also about geopolitics, because PSG, the owners of them are
:23:26. > :23:28.the Qataris, and of course they are also trying to enhance their own
:23:29. > :23:36.credibility internationally and they are suffering from a little bit of a
:23:37. > :23:41.political blockade back home. And hosting the World Cup in 2022. They
:23:42. > :23:45.say money talks, but some would argue this is like verbal diarrhoea,
:23:46. > :23:48.it really is on another level and you wonder where it will end. We
:23:49. > :23:53.have this discussion every year, whether the football profit news
:23:54. > :24:01.comes out, Deloitte, with that on an annual basis. It just seems there is
:24:02. > :24:05.no cap. The numbers continue to accelerate exponentially. In the UK,
:24:06. > :24:10.we have seen new football rights, more TV cash coming into the game,
:24:11. > :24:14.which invariably goes out of the game to agents and players. We as
:24:15. > :24:18.viewers or supporters of course are one is forced to pay those prices in
:24:19. > :24:23.order to facilitate these ever elevated salaries and transfer fees.
:24:24. > :24:29.We asked the viewers what they might do with this kind of money. Chris
:24:30. > :24:31.said, we asked what is your most expensive purses -- purchase, Chris
:24:32. > :24:38.said it was his divorce. Alex says my degree. So I think it is houses
:24:39. > :24:48.and education and maybe family matters. Someone on Twitter says on
:24:49. > :24:53.returning from deployment in Afghanistan, I bought a Tag watch
:24:54. > :25:05.for ?2000. That is an expensive watch. Let's talk about this other
:25:06. > :25:09.story, which is interesting. FTSE 100 pay-outs is going down. Indeed.
:25:10. > :25:14.What we have seen in the last ten or 15 years is that the earnings of
:25:15. > :25:17.Chief Executive 's have risen stratospherically. We are now just
:25:18. > :25:22.seeing a bit of a correction, partly due to the fact that shareholders
:25:23. > :25:25.are becoming more vociferous and pushing back against... There have
:25:26. > :25:30.been shareholder revolts. Indeed, and that is making businesses or
:25:31. > :25:34.renumeration committee is a little bit wary of putting their heads
:25:35. > :25:39.above the parapet and trying to give Chief Executive 's exceptionally
:25:40. > :25:48.high pay packages for fear of investor revolts. It could be an
:25:49. > :25:51.element of tokenism, but there was a realisation there had been a
:25:52. > :25:58.dislocation between topics Vicky Gibbs and the rest of the workforce.
:25:59. > :26:09.Thanks, nice to see you. -- between top executives.
:26:10. > :26:14.Hello, good morning, a day of sunny spells and showers today, the
:26:15. > :26:20.majority of those will be the north. They are making their way slowly
:26:21. > :26:21.towards the East, twirling around an area of low pressure sitting