17/08/2017 BBC Business Live

This is Business Live from BBC News,

with Ben Thompson and Jamie Robertson.

Another string of top bosses quit President Trump's business groups,

But can he stay friends with business after this?

it's our top story on Thursday 17th August.

He called it "business-friendly" but the White House is showing cracks,

with business leaders distancing themselves from the President.

So can Mr Trump win back support of the business world?

That's how Donald Trump has described the North American

Free Trade Agreement, a pact between the US,

And markets pretty non-plussed by the latest White House chaos,

which could be the most telling thing of all,

investors growing immune to the ups and downs of Washington.

on the batteries that could power the future.

We'll find out how batteries will not only power our cars,

And anything else you'd care to mention.

And as students in the UK get their exam results today,

we want to know, do qualifications still matter?

Did you flunk school or college but still do OK?

Let us know, use the hashtag, #BBCbizlive.

Failing migrate five piano exam is what has got me here today... (!) --

failing my grade five piano exam. We begin in the United States

where pressure from the business community has become too much

for President Trump, and he's been forced to disband his

Manufacturing Council. The announcement came via a tweet,

after several more business leaders quit the group,

distancing themselves from the President's

response to deadly protests Mr Trump had condemned the white

supremacist and neo-Nazi groups in a statement but then on Tuesday

he appeared to defend Samira Hussain reports

from New York. VOICEOVER: It was the tweet that

said it all, on Wednesday, Donald Trump disbanded two White House

business councils, created to bring jobs to America. But the move by the

president to scrap the two groups was more about saving face then

leavening the burden on business leaders. I especially want to thank

Kent Fraser... The first to quit the President's Manufacturing Council,

CEO of age pharmaceutical giant, in a statement he said he felt a

responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.

-- Ken Fraser. By Monday evening, the CEOs of under armour and Intel,

president of the Alliance for American manufacturing, and the IAF

CEO, all left the council. -- UnderArmor. They are not taking

their jobs seriously as it pertains to this country. After commenting on

the corporate resignations in a press conference on Tuesday, the

president blamed both sides on the deadly violence in Charlottesville.

A group on one side that was bad and a group on the other side that was

also very violent, nobody wants to say that, but I will say it right

now! After those comments, the exodus from the business councils

was Fast and Furious, it's rare for corporate America to publicly

distanced themselves from a President of the United States but

this is a different type of administration and many believe

Donald Trump crossed the line. These defections show that corporate

America is no longer waiting for Donald Trump to deliver on any of

his pro-business policies. STUDIO: With us is Marianne

Schneider-Petsinger. She is the Geoeconomics fellow

for the US and the Americas Programme at Chatham House,

a think tank in London. How important were the business

councils? Just set up in January, fairly new, Donald Trump set them

up, but they have a mostly symbolic so far, in the beginning, a lot of

press conference and readings, but in terms of policy, they have not

been able to make much progress because they have not been called

upon in the sense of providing advice, it is really about nice

photo opportunities. And those photo Ops are interesting, President Trump

has made such a big deal of having friends around him and a group of

friends that he can call on, it is impressively has his finger on the

buttons, but he does not seem to deliver it. For the business

community, they also wanted to be able to shape the administration

from inside, particularly with the president a very much business

mogul, they seem to be alignment on that front but as we have seen,

development have stalled, policy developments, we have not seen

anything in terms of tax reform, deregulation, infrastructure plan,

supposedly in the pipeline but concrete, we have not seen any

thing. What I would suggest... Very little reaction from a market point

of view, which suggests that if you think the markets were excited and

did very well over the first half of the year on the back of his

relationship with business and everything he promised business,

surely they should be going back down as soon as they hear that there

is no relationship there is a yellow there is still the potential that on

the policy front, there could be more progress further on down the

line, especially on tax reform, congressional leaders taking the

summer break, to nail that out, flesh it out. When they come back in

September they can push it forward, for the business community, now the

business Council has been dismantled, they are losing

opportunities to influence that. Where does it leave his relations

with the business community, canny rebuild bridges? It'll be very

difficult, if there is room to bring him on board policy developments

down the line, there would be opportunity, but because that has

stalled. Does it matter, how important is that, in terms of his

agenda, generally, renegotiating Nafta, we will talk about it more

later, how important is this relationship with business to his

administration. It is symbolic mother president says that he is a

business leader, to have good relationships, for all of the CEOs

to be distancing themselves. -- it is symbolic, for a president that

says he is a business leader. People in the Republican Party, from the

establishment, will they also start distancing themselves from him?

it's Day 2 of talks to renegotiate the 23-year-old

North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta,

between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Talks to overhaul Nafta, which President Trump had

once vowed to tear up, will be watched closely by America's

Currently trade between these three countries is worth

But the US buys more goods and services from its neighbours

than it sells to them, so has a big trade deficit,

more than $12 billion with Canada and more

Trump wants a deal that helps US firms sell more to these nations,

and his trade representative began the meeting by talking tough.

For countless Americans, this agreement has failed, we cannot

ignore the huge trade deficits, the lost manufacturing jobs, the

businesses that have closed or moved, because of incentives,

intended or not, in the current agreement. Canada does not view

trade surpluses deficits as a primary measure of whether it's own

relationship works, nonetheless, it is probable in worth pointing out

today that our trade with the US is balanced and mutually beneficial.

Let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.

The economy of the Philippines grew by 6.5% in the second

quarter of the year, boosted by higher government

spending and a strong performance in the agriculture sector.

The performance is though, lower than the 7.1% growth

in the same period a year ago, when election-related spending

Japan has recorded a 17% fall in its trade surplus last month

to $3.8 billion, as the cost of energy imports rose because

But imports and exports are still rising sharply indicating

an economy that's both consuming more and exporting more.

Earlier this week, the country reported economic growth of 4.0.%

Expectations are high for Alibaba's quarterly

Chinese consumers' demand for shopping online has made Alibaba

the dominant player in that sector with companies like Alibaba,

Alibaba is also now building physical stores.

At the start of the programme we asked you to get in touch with exam

results, whether not getting the grades you needed have affected you

in the world of work, do qualification still matter, Shane

says, I left school with nothing, now I get a comfortable wage. Jason

says, they matter to a point but they are not the be all or end all,

keep your comments coming in. Chinese tech firm Tencent saw shares

rise as much as 5.5% after posting record profits

for the second quarter. The news comes ahead of results

from another chinese giant Tell us what are these companies

going to do. Look into your crystal ball. It has been a really exciting

week for Chinese tech companies, as you say, a record estimate leading

result, for Tencent and it is expected that Alibaba will beat

estimates. Revenues are $7.1 billion. A lot of that is because of

the core business of Chinese online sales, retail sales grew 40%, just

came from China, that is a big chunk of where Ali Baba makes its money.

Purchases growing even faster, and as was said, they are going into

other areas, cloud computing is another big growth area, digital

media, entertainment division, and the only great spot in this report

is questions are now being asked, our share prices of tech stocks like

Allen Barbre, Tencent, are they to Fat high for their real value full.

-- Alibaba. Given that there are some risks in the Chinese economy,

and certainly a lot of new business that has not proven their weight in

monetisation so far for these businesses. And give very much, we

will keep a close eye on what that does to shares over the course of

the session when we get the update from Alibaba. To the markets.

Tokyo stocks closed lower with big car makers seeing

and banks down after the US Federal Reserve minutes hinted

at a slower pace for future interest rate hikes.

We'll get results from clothing firm Gap and retail giant

In Europe, we get retail sales stats for the UK,

giving us the familiar update on whether consumer spending

But that also comes with the usual warnings about personal debt levels

that are climbing once again to record levels.

Joining us is Trevor Greetham, head of multi-asset

The markets at the moment, in London, a little bit weak and

feeble. Yes, looking at the big picture over the summer, it has been

pretty steady rise in stock prices. A lot of stuff in headlines, now the

world economy is expanding. That from perfect, pushing in the

opposite direction? It is and it isn't, if everyone was convinced

stock markets were the best thing ever, but they do get rattled by

things like the stand-off last week with North Korea, and if you do find

Trump withdrawing from the mystic policy because he is finding it too

difficult, you may see him leaning into the international arena and we

may get more shocks like that. Big bait geopolitical effects like North

Korea will affect the markets but looking at the latest chaos in the

White House, the disbanding of the business councils we have talked

about, markets seem not to care, but Trump wants them to care. We never

know what the stock market and the currencies would be if it was not

Trump, we never know the counterfactual, the dollar does

care, it has been weakening substantially during the latest

fiasco. America's Central bank is raising rates ahead of the others,

the dollar ought to be a bit stronger. Sterling, seems to be

continuing its long slow decline ever since the referendum, declining

before the referendum, it fell off a cliff, and then continued... What is

the main impetus behind that, Brexit? Yes, the world economy is

doing well, Europe in particular is growing strongly, we will talk about

that later, because of Brexit, we are less likely to raise interest

rates, economy slowing down, that is why the pound is down, 25% against

the euro since the referendum was called two years ago. Will talk

about the euro economy later on in the programme, interesting

information on that. Still to come we speak

to the man whose batteries could be powering your cars,

and houses in the future. You're with Business

Live from BBC News. Trade confidence fell more

than 2% last quarter - but it's still at its third highest

ever level according to new figures from the British Chambers of

Commerce. The figures show that the volume

of exports was steady but companies Anastassia Beliakova is Head

of Trade Policy at the BCC. A very warm welcome to Business

Live. You might say no surprise that business is worried about the

future, because, frankly, there's a lot for them to be contending with

right now? Yes, there are many factors that businesses need to take

into account. One of them is skill shortages in the UK, another is

inflation, and of course Stirling. Despite all of this, businesses are

still putting in a strong performance. We have seen a slight

rise in their over the last quarter, but there are many factors that

could put some pressure in coming quarters. Tell me, Anastassia, what

do businesses need in order to be a bit to get over the problems of

uncertainty, or is it just certainty that they need? Businesses always

want certainty, but the UK Government must commit to giving

more direct face-to-face support to businesses. They need to ensure that

future immigration system is response of the economic needs, and

also take into consideration the fact that we are now party the trade

agreements with a number of countries, South Korea, South

Africa, Mexico. We currently import from them at preferential rates.

Now, the survey shows that particularly from manufacturers the

price of raw materials is a considerable concern and they are

considering increasing their prices over the next few quarters. If you

think about import costs increasing due to us not being able to

potentially make use of these preferential rates in future, it

will put a lot of pressure on business margins and Osemele be

passed down to consumers. Thank you. If you have been doing any DIY over

the past few weeks, it has not helped sales at B I think I have

spent all that money there. I need a new drill. Revenues down by nearly

2% of the three months. Sales in France doing particularly well, of

course it owns a business there. They own the Screwfix, don't they?

They do. They have two branches in my town.

You're watching Business Live - our top story - Another string

of top bosses quit Donald Trump's business groups -

But can he stay friends with businesses who are distancing

We have also been asking you about qualifications in the UK, exam

results June. We have been asking whether you got where you got --

example results are ten one. Annabel says the hard work does pay off in

the long run, must be stressful. Ollie says I got three A is from

college. Projected from jobs. Available is been nothing.

A quick look at how markets are faring...

As we touched on earlier, the pound weakening, the FTSE 100 barely

changed. It is still August. Earlier this week, you might

remember we spoke to the man behind the UK's largest provider

of charging points How long do they take to charge,

can you really rely Well, our next guest has

some of the answers. Hyperdrive Innovation

is a manufacturer of lithium-ion battery technology, used

in electric vehicles. The UK company is working

in collaboration with Nissan and other third parties to design

and develop innovative Hyperdrive has developed links

with firms in Europe and Japan But the batteries aren't

only used in cars - they can be used at home, too -

to store power from solar Tesla's founder, Elon Musk,

has already hailed home storage So let's speak to Stephen Irish,

the co-founder and MD of Hyperdrive Innovation -

and a self-confessed car nut. welcome to the programme. We had

this chat earlier in the week about plugging in cars. The batteries are

the things they are charging, first question, how reliable are they,

because anecdotally I know the thing that is holding a lot of people back

from electric cars, partly the cost, but also the fact you can't do a

really long trip because you will have to stop somewhere to charge? I

think it is true that electric cars are not necessarily the answer to

everything right away. Battery technology is improving all the time

and you will be a wood to drive further and further in time with

electric cars. How fast of a improving, what kind of games can

you see? Year-on-year, they are small gains but cumulatively quite

quick step changes, and year it is surprising how quickly it is

happening. Talking about storing it at home as well, but when it comes

to the car, there is also a lot of debate about the environmental

impact, just swapping diesel and carbon emissions for actually a lead

of chemicals in a battery. But those batteries last quite a long time,

maybe longer than many people would expect. They will last many, many

years, maybe even outlast the car, and in which case those batteries

can be used in other applications, like the stationary applications you

just mentioned, you could use them to store solar energy in your home.

So it is possible to extend the life of those batteries. You are a

battery company, Elon Musk is, with being vertically integrated, why

aren't you in that sort of area? Hyperdrive's key role is to work

with our partners all over the world to help take their products to

market. Whether or not that is storing solar energy in a home or in

a business, or it could be electrifying and airport tractor, an

autonomous vehicle. Our role is to work with those partners to help

take their products to market faster. The UK Government has

launched a fund, and a fund used to launch battery technology. Critics

say it is just not enough if we are to compete with the likes of America

and Japan. What is holding back battery technology? Is it weight,

cost, where are the sticking points? You need to invest in all those

things, you need to develop technology, the battery management

system, the electronics that said around the battery. What are you

most frustrated about? I think the price point means we would get far

higher take-up if we could get the price of the battery cell down. So

investment in manufacturing is important. That as you role only

some incentives around that, and we think they will grow. The UK

Government has put that right at the front of the industrial strategy,

and we think that is very welcome. Is it enough? I think, for avoided

it is part of a bigger range of mechanisms for supporting, it is a

huge opportunity globally. Thank you so much for joining us. In a minute

we will take a look through the business pages but first a quick

reminder of how to get in touch with the programme. The Business Live

pages where you can stay ahead of all the Dave Coss backbreaking

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business, and you can find this on Facebook, BBC business news.

What story says the media been taking an interest in? Trevor is

back with us. What are we going to start on? Not B Trump. What is

your feeling about the Trump affect? I think you are seeing uncertainty

in the short-term when there is some kind of stand-off but generally it

is the economy that matters more for markets. It is interesting, one

particular story about the Eurozone economy growing at twice the pace of

Britain. When you look at that economy, which is free of Brexit,

free of Trump, it seems to have all things going for it. And Macron as a

centrist leader in France, a lot of positive things going on in Europe,

potential reform. They have loose policy, low energy prices to benefit

from, not really affected by Brexit stress. German manufacturing

confidence is at a record high. There is this great story, Hunt on

for billion kroner, not often we talk about Sweden's economy but they

are replacing some coins, and a lot are down the back of the sofa. About

150 million quid stuff down the back of sofas in Sweden. A charity is

saying give it to us. Not down the back of one sofa, is it? The Bank of

England will take your old banknotes but not your coins. It is very

heavy. There is a bit on the website that says speak to the Royal Mint

about that. You have to go to the bank itself, the Bank of England,

you can't actually, because that is the person who has the signature on

it. They won't take your coins. Or your kroner. Thank you very much,

Trevor. That is it from us today. The team will be back tomorrow, full

coverage of all of this throughout the day and on the Business Live

pages. Thank you for joining us on World Business Report. We will see

you again tomorrow. Many of us had some pretty heavy

rain overnight. A rumble of thunder as well. The good news is that it's

all pretty much clearing away sofa today many of us enjoying a dry day

with some sunshine and just a few showers developing