:00:00. > :00:00.This is Business Live from BBC News,
:00:07. > :00:08.with Ben Thompson and Jamie Robertson.
:00:09. > :00:12.Another string of top bosses quit President Trump's business groups,
:00:13. > :00:22.But can he stay friends with business after this?
:00:23. > :00:43.it's our top story on Thursday 17th August.
:00:44. > :00:46.He called it "business-friendly" but the White House is showing cracks,
:00:47. > :00:48.with business leaders distancing themselves from the President.
:00:49. > :00:51.So can Mr Trump win back support of the business world?
:00:52. > :01:04.That's how Donald Trump has described the North American
:01:05. > :01:06.Free Trade Agreement, a pact between the US,
:01:07. > :01:10.And markets pretty non-plussed by the latest White House chaos,
:01:11. > :01:12.which could be the most telling thing of all,
:01:13. > :01:15.investors growing immune to the ups and downs of Washington.
:01:16. > :01:19.on the batteries that could power the future.
:01:20. > :01:21.We'll find out how batteries will not only power our cars,
:01:22. > :01:30.And anything else you'd care to mention.
:01:31. > :01:32.And as students in the UK get their exam results today,
:01:33. > :01:34.we want to know, do qualifications still matter?
:01:35. > :01:37.Did you flunk school or college but still do OK?
:01:38. > :01:40.Let us know, use the hashtag, #BBCbizlive.
:01:41. > :01:57.Failing migrate five piano exam is what has got me here today... (!) --
:01:58. > :02:03.failing my grade five piano exam. We begin in the United States
:02:04. > :02:07.where pressure from the business community has become too much
:02:08. > :02:09.for President Trump, and he's been forced to disband his
:02:10. > :02:11.Manufacturing Council. The announcement came via a tweet,
:02:12. > :02:13.after several more business leaders quit the group,
:02:14. > :02:15.distancing themselves from the President's
:02:16. > :02:16.response to deadly protests Mr Trump had condemned the white
:02:17. > :02:20.supremacist and neo-Nazi groups in a statement but then on Tuesday
:02:21. > :02:22.he appeared to defend Samira Hussain reports
:02:23. > :02:41.from New York. VOICEOVER: It was the tweet that
:02:42. > :02:44.said it all, on Wednesday, Donald Trump disbanded two White House
:02:45. > :02:48.business councils, created to bring jobs to America. But the move by the
:02:49. > :02:53.president to scrap the two groups was more about saving face then
:02:54. > :03:00.leavening the burden on business leaders. I especially want to thank
:03:01. > :03:04.Kent Fraser... The first to quit the President's Manufacturing Council,
:03:05. > :03:09.CEO of age pharmaceutical giant, in a statement he said he felt a
:03:10. > :03:13.responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.
:03:14. > :03:20.-- Ken Fraser. By Monday evening, the CEOs of under armour and Intel,
:03:21. > :03:22.president of the Alliance for American manufacturing, and the IAF
:03:23. > :03:27.CEO, all left the council. -- UnderArmor. They are not taking
:03:28. > :03:32.their jobs seriously as it pertains to this country. After commenting on
:03:33. > :03:36.the corporate resignations in a press conference on Tuesday, the
:03:37. > :03:40.president blamed both sides on the deadly violence in Charlottesville.
:03:41. > :03:44.A group on one side that was bad and a group on the other side that was
:03:45. > :03:48.also very violent, nobody wants to say that, but I will say it right
:03:49. > :03:58.now! After those comments, the exodus from the business councils
:03:59. > :04:02.was Fast and Furious, it's rare for corporate America to publicly
:04:03. > :04:05.distanced themselves from a President of the United States but
:04:06. > :04:09.this is a different type of administration and many believe
:04:10. > :04:12.Donald Trump crossed the line. These defections show that corporate
:04:13. > :04:15.America is no longer waiting for Donald Trump to deliver on any of
:04:16. > :04:24.his pro-business policies. STUDIO: With us is Marianne
:04:25. > :04:26.Schneider-Petsinger. She is the Geoeconomics fellow
:04:27. > :04:28.for the US and the Americas Programme at Chatham House,
:04:29. > :04:35.a think tank in London. How important were the business
:04:36. > :04:39.councils? Just set up in January, fairly new, Donald Trump set them
:04:40. > :04:44.up, but they have a mostly symbolic so far, in the beginning, a lot of
:04:45. > :04:47.press conference and readings, but in terms of policy, they have not
:04:48. > :04:50.been able to make much progress because they have not been called
:04:51. > :04:56.upon in the sense of providing advice, it is really about nice
:04:57. > :05:01.photo opportunities. And those photo Ops are interesting, President Trump
:05:02. > :05:06.has made such a big deal of having friends around him and a group of
:05:07. > :05:10.friends that he can call on, it is impressively has his finger on the
:05:11. > :05:14.buttons, but he does not seem to deliver it. For the business
:05:15. > :05:17.community, they also wanted to be able to shape the administration
:05:18. > :05:24.from inside, particularly with the president a very much business
:05:25. > :05:29.mogul, they seem to be alignment on that front but as we have seen,
:05:30. > :05:32.development have stalled, policy developments, we have not seen
:05:33. > :05:38.anything in terms of tax reform, deregulation, infrastructure plan,
:05:39. > :05:41.supposedly in the pipeline but concrete, we have not seen any
:05:42. > :05:47.thing. What I would suggest... Very little reaction from a market point
:05:48. > :05:50.of view, which suggests that if you think the markets were excited and
:05:51. > :05:53.did very well over the first half of the year on the back of his
:05:54. > :05:57.relationship with business and everything he promised business,
:05:58. > :06:02.surely they should be going back down as soon as they hear that there
:06:03. > :06:05.is no relationship there is a yellow there is still the potential that on
:06:06. > :06:09.the policy front, there could be more progress further on down the
:06:10. > :06:13.line, especially on tax reform, congressional leaders taking the
:06:14. > :06:19.summer break, to nail that out, flesh it out. When they come back in
:06:20. > :06:21.September they can push it forward, for the business community, now the
:06:22. > :06:26.business Council has been dismantled, they are losing
:06:27. > :06:30.opportunities to influence that. Where does it leave his relations
:06:31. > :06:34.with the business community, canny rebuild bridges? It'll be very
:06:35. > :06:37.difficult, if there is room to bring him on board policy developments
:06:38. > :06:41.down the line, there would be opportunity, but because that has
:06:42. > :06:48.stalled. Does it matter, how important is that, in terms of his
:06:49. > :06:53.agenda, generally, renegotiating Nafta, we will talk about it more
:06:54. > :06:57.later, how important is this relationship with business to his
:06:58. > :07:01.administration. It is symbolic mother president says that he is a
:07:02. > :07:05.business leader, to have good relationships, for all of the CEOs
:07:06. > :07:11.to be distancing themselves. -- it is symbolic, for a president that
:07:12. > :07:14.says he is a business leader. People in the Republican Party, from the
:07:15. > :07:26.establishment, will they also start distancing themselves from him?
:07:27. > :07:39.it's Day 2 of talks to renegotiate the 23-year-old
:07:40. > :07:41.North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta,
:07:42. > :07:42.between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
:07:43. > :07:44.Talks to overhaul Nafta, which President Trump had
:07:45. > :07:47.once vowed to tear up, will be watched closely by America's
:07:48. > :07:50.Currently trade between these three countries is worth
:07:51. > :07:54.But the US buys more goods and services from its neighbours
:07:55. > :07:57.than it sells to them, so has a big trade deficit,
:07:58. > :07:59.more than $12 billion with Canada and more
:08:00. > :08:03.Trump wants a deal that helps US firms sell more to these nations,
:08:04. > :08:07.and his trade representative began the meeting by talking tough.
:08:08. > :08:13.For countless Americans, this agreement has failed, we cannot
:08:14. > :08:17.ignore the huge trade deficits, the lost manufacturing jobs, the
:08:18. > :08:22.businesses that have closed or moved, because of incentives,
:08:23. > :08:27.intended or not, in the current agreement. Canada does not view
:08:28. > :08:32.trade surpluses deficits as a primary measure of whether it's own
:08:33. > :08:37.relationship works, nonetheless, it is probable in worth pointing out
:08:38. > :08:42.today that our trade with the US is balanced and mutually beneficial.
:08:43. > :08:45.Let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.
:08:46. > :08:48.The economy of the Philippines grew by 6.5% in the second
:08:49. > :08:50.quarter of the year, boosted by higher government
:08:51. > :08:52.spending and a strong performance in the agriculture sector.
:08:53. > :08:54.The performance is though, lower than the 7.1% growth
:08:55. > :08:57.in the same period a year ago, when election-related spending
:08:58. > :09:07.Japan has recorded a 17% fall in its trade surplus last month
:09:08. > :09:10.to $3.8 billion, as the cost of energy imports rose because
:09:11. > :09:13.But imports and exports are still rising sharply indicating
:09:14. > :09:15.an economy that's both consuming more and exporting more.
:09:16. > :09:20.Earlier this week, the country reported economic growth of 4.0.%
:09:21. > :09:22.Expectations are high for Alibaba's quarterly
:09:23. > :09:25.Chinese consumers' demand for shopping online has made Alibaba
:09:26. > :09:28.the dominant player in that sector with companies like Alibaba,
:09:29. > :09:47.Alibaba is also now building physical stores.
:09:48. > :09:53.At the start of the programme we asked you to get in touch with exam
:09:54. > :09:56.results, whether not getting the grades you needed have affected you
:09:57. > :10:00.in the world of work, do qualification still matter, Shane
:10:01. > :10:05.says, I left school with nothing, now I get a comfortable wage. Jason
:10:06. > :10:07.says, they matter to a point but they are not the be all or end all,
:10:08. > :10:13.keep your comments coming in. Chinese tech firm Tencent saw shares
:10:14. > :10:16.rise as much as 5.5% after posting record profits
:10:17. > :10:18.for the second quarter. The news comes ahead of results
:10:19. > :10:30.from another chinese giant Tell us what are these companies
:10:31. > :10:35.going to do. Look into your crystal ball. It has been a really exciting
:10:36. > :10:43.week for Chinese tech companies, as you say, a record estimate leading
:10:44. > :10:52.result, for Tencent and it is expected that Alibaba will beat
:10:53. > :10:57.estimates. Revenues are $7.1 billion. A lot of that is because of
:10:58. > :11:03.the core business of Chinese online sales, retail sales grew 40%, just
:11:04. > :11:08.came from China, that is a big chunk of where Ali Baba makes its money.
:11:09. > :11:13.Purchases growing even faster, and as was said, they are going into
:11:14. > :11:19.other areas, cloud computing is another big growth area, digital
:11:20. > :11:24.media, entertainment division, and the only great spot in this report
:11:25. > :11:29.is questions are now being asked, our share prices of tech stocks like
:11:30. > :11:33.Allen Barbre, Tencent, are they to Fat high for their real value full.
:11:34. > :11:38.-- Alibaba. Given that there are some risks in the Chinese economy,
:11:39. > :11:41.and certainly a lot of new business that has not proven their weight in
:11:42. > :11:46.monetisation so far for these businesses. And give very much, we
:11:47. > :11:49.will keep a close eye on what that does to shares over the course of
:11:50. > :11:54.the session when we get the update from Alibaba. To the markets.
:11:55. > :11:58.Tokyo stocks closed lower with big car makers seeing
:11:59. > :12:05.and banks down after the US Federal Reserve minutes hinted
:12:06. > :12:07.at a slower pace for future interest rate hikes.
:12:08. > :12:09.We'll get results from clothing firm Gap and retail giant
:12:10. > :12:13.In Europe, we get retail sales stats for the UK,
:12:14. > :12:15.giving us the familiar update on whether consumer spending
:12:16. > :12:19.But that also comes with the usual warnings about personal debt levels
:12:20. > :12:38.that are climbing once again to record levels.
:12:39. > :12:40.Joining us is Trevor Greetham, head of multi-asset
:12:41. > :12:53.The markets at the moment, in London, a little bit weak and
:12:54. > :12:58.feeble. Yes, looking at the big picture over the summer, it has been
:12:59. > :13:09.pretty steady rise in stock prices. A lot of stuff in headlines, now the
:13:10. > :13:12.world economy is expanding. That from perfect, pushing in the
:13:13. > :13:20.opposite direction? It is and it isn't, if everyone was convinced
:13:21. > :13:23.stock markets were the best thing ever, but they do get rattled by
:13:24. > :13:28.things like the stand-off last week with North Korea, and if you do find
:13:29. > :13:33.Trump withdrawing from the mystic policy because he is finding it too
:13:34. > :13:40.difficult, you may see him leaning into the international arena and we
:13:41. > :13:43.may get more shocks like that. Big bait geopolitical effects like North
:13:44. > :13:47.Korea will affect the markets but looking at the latest chaos in the
:13:48. > :13:56.White House, the disbanding of the business councils we have talked
:13:57. > :13:59.about, markets seem not to care, but Trump wants them to care. We never
:14:00. > :14:04.know what the stock market and the currencies would be if it was not
:14:05. > :14:07.Trump, we never know the counterfactual, the dollar does
:14:08. > :14:11.care, it has been weakening substantially during the latest
:14:12. > :14:14.fiasco. America's Central bank is raising rates ahead of the others,
:14:15. > :14:19.the dollar ought to be a bit stronger. Sterling, seems to be
:14:20. > :14:23.continuing its long slow decline ever since the referendum, declining
:14:24. > :14:28.before the referendum, it fell off a cliff, and then continued... What is
:14:29. > :14:33.the main impetus behind that, Brexit? Yes, the world economy is
:14:34. > :14:38.doing well, Europe in particular is growing strongly, we will talk about
:14:39. > :14:42.that later, because of Brexit, we are less likely to raise interest
:14:43. > :14:46.rates, economy slowing down, that is why the pound is down, 25% against
:14:47. > :14:51.the euro since the referendum was called two years ago. Will talk
:14:52. > :14:52.about the euro economy later on in the programme, interesting
:14:53. > :14:56.information on that. Still to come we speak
:14:57. > :14:58.to the man whose batteries could be powering your cars,
:14:59. > :15:01.and houses in the future. You're with Business
:15:02. > :15:19.Live from BBC News. Trade confidence fell more
:15:20. > :15:23.than 2% last quarter - but it's still at its third highest
:15:24. > :15:27.ever level according to new figures from the British Chambers of
:15:28. > :15:28.Commerce. The figures show that the volume
:15:29. > :15:31.of exports was steady but companies Anastassia Beliakova is Head
:15:32. > :15:48.of Trade Policy at the BCC. A very warm welcome to Business
:15:49. > :15:51.Live. You might say no surprise that business is worried about the
:15:52. > :15:56.future, because, frankly, there's a lot for them to be contending with
:15:57. > :16:01.right now? Yes, there are many factors that businesses need to take
:16:02. > :16:05.into account. One of them is skill shortages in the UK, another is
:16:06. > :16:08.inflation, and of course Stirling. Despite all of this, businesses are
:16:09. > :16:16.still putting in a strong performance. We have seen a slight
:16:17. > :16:21.rise in their over the last quarter, but there are many factors that
:16:22. > :16:27.could put some pressure in coming quarters. Tell me, Anastassia, what
:16:28. > :16:31.do businesses need in order to be a bit to get over the problems of
:16:32. > :16:37.uncertainty, or is it just certainty that they need? Businesses always
:16:38. > :16:41.want certainty, but the UK Government must commit to giving
:16:42. > :16:45.more direct face-to-face support to businesses. They need to ensure that
:16:46. > :16:49.future immigration system is response of the economic needs, and
:16:50. > :16:53.also take into consideration the fact that we are now party the trade
:16:54. > :16:57.agreements with a number of countries, South Korea, South
:16:58. > :17:03.Africa, Mexico. We currently import from them at preferential rates.
:17:04. > :17:05.Now, the survey shows that particularly from manufacturers the
:17:06. > :17:08.price of raw materials is a considerable concern and they are
:17:09. > :17:14.considering increasing their prices over the next few quarters. If you
:17:15. > :17:17.think about import costs increasing due to us not being able to
:17:18. > :17:20.potentially make use of these preferential rates in future, it
:17:21. > :17:27.will put a lot of pressure on business margins and Osemele be
:17:28. > :17:31.passed down to consumers. Thank you. If you have been doing any DIY over
:17:32. > :17:41.the past few weeks, it has not helped sales at B I think I have
:17:42. > :17:45.spent all that money there. I need a new drill. Revenues down by nearly
:17:46. > :17:55.2% of the three months. Sales in France doing particularly well, of
:17:56. > :18:00.course it owns a business there. They own the Screwfix, don't they?
:18:01. > :18:04.They do. They have two branches in my town.
:18:05. > :18:07.You're watching Business Live - our top story - Another string
:18:08. > :18:09.of top bosses quit Donald Trump's business groups -
:18:10. > :18:13.But can he stay friends with businesses who are distancing
:18:14. > :18:24.We have also been asking you about qualifications in the UK, exam
:18:25. > :18:32.results June. We have been asking whether you got where you got --
:18:33. > :18:36.example results are ten one. Annabel says the hard work does pay off in
:18:37. > :18:42.the long run, must be stressful. Ollie says I got three A is from
:18:43. > :18:50.college. Projected from jobs. Available is been nothing.
:18:51. > :18:55.A quick look at how markets are faring...
:18:56. > :18:59.As we touched on earlier, the pound weakening, the FTSE 100 barely
:19:00. > :19:05.changed. It is still August. Earlier this week, you might
:19:06. > :19:08.remember we spoke to the man behind the UK's largest provider
:19:09. > :19:09.of charging points How long do they take to charge,
:19:10. > :19:14.can you really rely Well, our next guest has
:19:15. > :19:18.some of the answers. Hyperdrive Innovation
:19:19. > :19:19.is a manufacturer of lithium-ion battery technology, used
:19:20. > :19:21.in electric vehicles. The UK company is working
:19:22. > :19:23.in collaboration with Nissan and other third parties to design
:19:24. > :19:25.and develop innovative Hyperdrive has developed links
:19:26. > :19:28.with firms in Europe and Japan But the batteries aren't
:19:29. > :19:33.only used in cars - they can be used at home, too -
:19:34. > :19:36.to store power from solar Tesla's founder, Elon Musk,
:19:37. > :19:42.has already hailed home storage So let's speak to Stephen Irish,
:19:43. > :19:50.the co-founder and MD of Hyperdrive Innovation -
:19:51. > :20:04.and a self-confessed car nut. welcome to the programme. We had
:20:05. > :20:10.this chat earlier in the week about plugging in cars. The batteries are
:20:11. > :20:14.the things they are charging, first question, how reliable are they,
:20:15. > :20:18.because anecdotally I know the thing that is holding a lot of people back
:20:19. > :20:21.from electric cars, partly the cost, but also the fact you can't do a
:20:22. > :20:26.really long trip because you will have to stop somewhere to charge? I
:20:27. > :20:29.think it is true that electric cars are not necessarily the answer to
:20:30. > :20:32.everything right away. Battery technology is improving all the time
:20:33. > :20:36.and you will be a wood to drive further and further in time with
:20:37. > :20:41.electric cars. How fast of a improving, what kind of games can
:20:42. > :20:48.you see? Year-on-year, they are small gains but cumulatively quite
:20:49. > :20:54.quick step changes, and year it is surprising how quickly it is
:20:55. > :20:58.happening. Talking about storing it at home as well, but when it comes
:20:59. > :21:03.to the car, there is also a lot of debate about the environmental
:21:04. > :21:07.impact, just swapping diesel and carbon emissions for actually a lead
:21:08. > :21:11.of chemicals in a battery. But those batteries last quite a long time,
:21:12. > :21:16.maybe longer than many people would expect. They will last many, many
:21:17. > :21:21.years, maybe even outlast the car, and in which case those batteries
:21:22. > :21:23.can be used in other applications, like the stationary applications you
:21:24. > :21:28.just mentioned, you could use them to store solar energy in your home.
:21:29. > :21:34.So it is possible to extend the life of those batteries. You are a
:21:35. > :21:43.battery company, Elon Musk is, with being vertically integrated, why
:21:44. > :21:46.aren't you in that sort of area? Hyperdrive's key role is to work
:21:47. > :21:51.with our partners all over the world to help take their products to
:21:52. > :21:57.market. Whether or not that is storing solar energy in a home or in
:21:58. > :22:01.a business, or it could be electrifying and airport tractor, an
:22:02. > :22:05.autonomous vehicle. Our role is to work with those partners to help
:22:06. > :22:11.take their products to market faster. The UK Government has
:22:12. > :22:14.launched a fund, and a fund used to launch battery technology. Critics
:22:15. > :22:19.say it is just not enough if we are to compete with the likes of America
:22:20. > :22:24.and Japan. What is holding back battery technology? Is it weight,
:22:25. > :22:28.cost, where are the sticking points? You need to invest in all those
:22:29. > :22:31.things, you need to develop technology, the battery management
:22:32. > :22:37.system, the electronics that said around the battery. What are you
:22:38. > :22:40.most frustrated about? I think the price point means we would get far
:22:41. > :22:45.higher take-up if we could get the price of the battery cell down. So
:22:46. > :22:48.investment in manufacturing is important. That as you role only
:22:49. > :22:53.some incentives around that, and we think they will grow. The UK
:22:54. > :22:58.Government has put that right at the front of the industrial strategy,
:22:59. > :23:04.and we think that is very welcome. Is it enough? I think, for avoided
:23:05. > :23:13.it is part of a bigger range of mechanisms for supporting, it is a
:23:14. > :23:18.huge opportunity globally. Thank you so much for joining us. In a minute
:23:19. > :23:22.we will take a look through the business pages but first a quick
:23:23. > :23:25.reminder of how to get in touch with the programme. The Business Live
:23:26. > :23:27.pages where you can stay ahead of all the Dave Coss backbreaking
:23:28. > :23:32.business news. We will keep you up-to-date with all the latest
:23:33. > :23:36.details, insight and analysis from the BBC's team of editors right
:23:37. > :23:40.around the world. And we want to hear from you too. Get involved on
:23:41. > :23:47.the BBC Business Live web page/ business. On Twitter we are at BBC
:23:48. > :23:56.business, and you can find this on Facebook, BBC business news.
:23:57. > :24:05.What story says the media been taking an interest in? Trevor is
:24:06. > :24:17.back with us. What are we going to start on? Not B Trump. What is
:24:18. > :24:21.your feeling about the Trump affect? I think you are seeing uncertainty
:24:22. > :24:24.in the short-term when there is some kind of stand-off but generally it
:24:25. > :24:29.is the economy that matters more for markets. It is interesting, one
:24:30. > :24:33.particular story about the Eurozone economy growing at twice the pace of
:24:34. > :24:39.Britain. When you look at that economy, which is free of Brexit,
:24:40. > :24:43.free of Trump, it seems to have all things going for it. And Macron as a
:24:44. > :24:48.centrist leader in France, a lot of positive things going on in Europe,
:24:49. > :24:51.potential reform. They have loose policy, low energy prices to benefit
:24:52. > :24:55.from, not really affected by Brexit stress. German manufacturing
:24:56. > :25:03.confidence is at a record high. There is this great story, Hunt on
:25:04. > :25:08.for billion kroner, not often we talk about Sweden's economy but they
:25:09. > :25:13.are replacing some coins, and a lot are down the back of the sofa. About
:25:14. > :25:19.150 million quid stuff down the back of sofas in Sweden. A charity is
:25:20. > :25:25.saying give it to us. Not down the back of one sofa, is it? The Bank of
:25:26. > :25:29.England will take your old banknotes but not your coins. It is very
:25:30. > :25:34.heavy. There is a bit on the website that says speak to the Royal Mint
:25:35. > :25:37.about that. You have to go to the bank itself, the Bank of England,
:25:38. > :25:45.you can't actually, because that is the person who has the signature on
:25:46. > :25:51.it. They won't take your coins. Or your kroner. Thank you very much,
:25:52. > :25:55.Trevor. That is it from us today. The team will be back tomorrow, full
:25:56. > :25:59.coverage of all of this throughout the day and on the Business Live
:26:00. > :26:00.pages. Thank you for joining us on World Business Report. We will see
:26:01. > :26:13.you again tomorrow. Many of us had some pretty heavy
:26:14. > :26:17.rain overnight. A rumble of thunder as well. The good news is that it's
:26:18. > :26:22.all pretty much clearing away sofa today many of us enjoying a dry day
:26:23. > :26:23.with some sunshine and just a few showers developing