:00:00. > :00:08.This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.
:00:09. > :00:15.The UK Prime Minister travels to Tokyo to talk trade,
:00:16. > :00:17.but will the talks be overshadowed by North Korea?
:00:18. > :00:38.Live from London, that's our top story on Wednesday 30th August.
:00:39. > :00:43.Theresa May meets Shinzo Abe to discuss life after Brexit.
:00:44. > :00:46.But the UK can't strike any sort of free-trade deal until it
:00:47. > :00:49.actually quits the EU - so what progress will they make?
:00:50. > :00:55.Also in the programme, in touching distance of parity.
:00:56. > :00:58.A strong euro and weak pound push the two closer.
:00:59. > :01:07.And here's how those markets are faring across europe -
:01:08. > :01:15.That's the current rate and how European markets are doing. We will
:01:16. > :01:16.tell you all you need to know. We meet the man who created
:01:17. > :01:21.an empire built on baking. The founder of the Hummingbird
:01:22. > :01:24.Bakery will give us the inside track on the finding
:01:25. > :01:27.the recipe for success. And so today - and this is in no way
:01:28. > :01:34.a business question, but we just want to know -
:01:35. > :01:37.what's your favourite? Lemon drizzle, red
:01:38. > :01:38.velvet, double chcolate? Let us know.
:01:39. > :02:01.No reason. We look forward to hearing from you.
:02:02. > :02:04.If you follow me on twitter you know that the home-made banana bread is
:02:05. > :02:08.tough to beat. And there are photos as well. Let's start with Japan.
:02:09. > :02:10.British Prime Minister Theresa May is in Japan for talks
:02:11. > :02:13.with her counterpart Shinzo Abe on everything from defence
:02:14. > :02:20.Although the UK can't officially start any trade negotiations
:02:21. > :02:23.until it leaves the European Union, both sides are already weighing up
:02:24. > :02:34.While the UK's investment in Japan is relatively small,
:02:35. > :02:41.Japan's direct investment in the UK is worth over $52 billion.
:02:42. > :02:46.And that investment feeds through to the real economy,
:02:47. > :02:49.roughly a thousand Japanese firms operate in the UK, employing close
:02:50. > :02:56.One of Theresa May's key aims will be to keep as many of those
:02:57. > :02:58.jobs as possible in the UK in the coming years.
:02:59. > :03:08.A strongly worded report from Japan's foreign ministry last
:03:09. > :03:11.year said firms might want to move "if EU laws cease to be
:03:12. > :03:19.Meanwhile Japanese banks Nomura and Daiwa have already chosen
:03:20. > :03:23.Frankfurt as their new EU hubs in the wake of the Brexit vote.
:03:24. > :03:27.The meeting also has added significance as only last month
:03:28. > :03:30.the EU signed its own free trade deal with Japan - a deal the UK
:03:31. > :03:37.With me is Yuichiro Nakajima, managing partner at advisory
:03:38. > :03:49.Nice to see you. Sally running through some of the issues there. If
:03:50. > :03:53.you can run through what is at stake, how significant is trade
:03:54. > :03:58.between the countries? It's very important, certainly for the UK, as
:03:59. > :04:03.the figures we have just seen show. Japan has been one of the biggest
:04:04. > :04:10.investors in this country. And the UK has been the largest investment
:04:11. > :04:15.destination for Japanese companies coming to Europe. It really started
:04:16. > :04:20.in the 80s when Margaret Thatcher promoted Britain as the gateway into
:04:21. > :04:25.the European market, and Japan bought that. There is a long history
:04:26. > :04:30.of Japanese companies coming to this country, setting up shop and then
:04:31. > :04:38.doing business with the rest of the continent. And now that bridge is
:04:39. > :04:42.likely to be removed. You talk about that gateway to Europe. We should
:04:43. > :04:45.say these are very early-stage talks because, as Sally pointed out,
:04:46. > :04:50.nothing can be done and no deal can be put in place until the UK has
:04:51. > :04:56.left the European Union. How will that affect the issues they will
:04:57. > :05:02.encounter in these very early-stage talks? I guess Mrs May work like to
:05:03. > :05:10.get some kind of undertaking from the Japanese government that they
:05:11. > :05:19.will do their best to not... To keep Japanese companies here, and there
:05:20. > :05:25.is so much a government can do to control a private company's
:05:26. > :05:31.behaviour. She is sunny petite tight rope to tread. -- she is on a pretty
:05:32. > :05:36.tight rope to tread. She has the domestic political audience to
:05:37. > :05:46.satisfy in the meantime. She needs to make sure that she isn't seen to
:05:47. > :05:50.be going against EU rules about negotiating with third countries on
:05:51. > :05:55.an independent basis. A funny irony about this, as he said last month,
:05:56. > :05:59.the European Union struck its own trades deal with Japan. Ultimately
:06:00. > :06:04.that's a deal the UK will be locked out of and we now go to Japan saying
:06:05. > :06:12.that we want something similar. Is there a willingness in Japan to
:06:13. > :06:16.grant that? I think Japan, because the UK and Japanese relationships
:06:17. > :06:21.are very good, and strategically quite important, so I think Japan
:06:22. > :06:28.would like to do the best it can to support the UK Government. But the
:06:29. > :06:35.trade and investment with the EU, the remainder of the EU, so to
:06:36. > :06:41.speak, is important, of course, and the UK is but one part of it. Japan
:06:42. > :06:45.isn't going to be able to do anything particularly formal whilst
:06:46. > :06:50.the picture is very unclear as to the terms on which the UK will be
:06:51. > :06:53.leaving the EU. We will follow that closely to see how it plays out.
:06:54. > :06:55.Thank you very much. Let's take a look at some of
:06:56. > :06:59.the other stories making the news. Uber says it is cooperating
:07:00. > :07:01.with an investigation by authorities in the United States
:07:02. > :07:03.into accusations it It's not yet clear whether
:07:04. > :07:09.the allegations focus on one country or several
:07:10. > :07:13.where the company operates. It's the latest in a series of legal
:07:14. > :07:15.problems the ride-hailing app faces as it waits
:07:16. > :07:19.for a new chief executive. Sky is to stop broadcasting
:07:20. > :07:22.Fox News in the UK due 21st Century Fox, which is owned
:07:23. > :07:28.by Rupert Murdoch, says the channel is being withdrawn
:07:29. > :07:31.as it is not commercially viable. Sources say the decision
:07:32. > :07:34.is not related to Fox's The London company that makes
:07:35. > :07:41.the Rubik's Cube has sued two US companies for selling what it says
:07:42. > :07:44.is a knock-off of Rubik's Brand Limited says
:07:45. > :07:51.retailer Toys "R" Us and manufacturer Duncan Toys
:07:52. > :07:54.are violating its trademark and hurting its reputation with
:07:55. > :08:09.an "imitation twist puzzle cube". Let's look at the financial markets.
:08:10. > :08:12.They are regaining composure around the world following concern this
:08:13. > :08:16.time yesterday about what was happening with regard to North Korea
:08:17. > :08:20.and its latest missile test. You can see Japan jumping today from eight
:08:21. > :08:27.four-month low, that was yesterday's story. The yen was weakening as
:08:28. > :08:33.well. Wall Street wobbled at the start of trade on Tuesday but ended
:08:34. > :08:37.high. Looking at Europe so we have a sense of how things are going. All
:08:38. > :08:41.these markets were down more than 1% yesterday. Right now you can see
:08:42. > :08:45.they have already gained some composure today. We will talk you
:08:46. > :08:46.through the winners and losers in a moment, in particular the euro and
:08:47. > :08:47.Pound relationship. And Michelle Fleury has
:08:48. > :08:49.the details about what's ahead Donald Trump will make the case
:08:50. > :08:53.for overhauling America's tax system this Wednesday,
:08:54. > :08:55.in a speech in Missouri. He is expected to talk
:08:56. > :08:58.about the need to simplify the tax code and make the US corporate
:08:59. > :09:01.system more globally competitive. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
:09:02. > :09:04.has said in the past he hopes to get tax reform done by the end
:09:05. > :09:07.of the year. That was a tall order,
:09:08. > :09:10.even before attention shifted Sceptics warn that while the White
:09:11. > :09:17.House and Republicans generally agree on a lower tax rate,
:09:18. > :09:20.they still have yet to figure out specifically what they want to do
:09:21. > :09:29.and how to proceed. Meanwhile ahead of Friday's
:09:30. > :09:31.jobs report, investors will be looking at hiring
:09:32. > :09:33.figures from private employers to see if there were any signs
:09:34. > :09:36.that the jobs market And the US Commerce Department
:09:37. > :09:39.will provide an update on the economic expansion
:09:40. > :09:41.in the second quarter. GDP growth likely came
:09:42. > :09:44.in at 2.7%, that's instead James Hughes is here,
:09:45. > :10:02.he's Chief Market Analyst at GKFX. We will come onto the US stuff in a
:10:03. > :10:07.minute. But first of all the pound and Europe. All the attention has
:10:08. > :10:11.been on the pound and dollar relationship. But the euro is really
:10:12. > :10:16.interesting right now. It's interesting because it's getting
:10:17. > :10:19.close to parity, one for one, the Euro and Pound been worth the same
:10:20. > :10:23.amount. It's something we have not seen for a long time. We always talk
:10:24. > :10:31.about this sort of stuff when the markets get to those areas, and very
:10:32. > :10:33.often we don't end up seeing it. Very often there is something
:10:34. > :10:38.psychological that happens and the market will move. It's because we
:10:39. > :10:42.are all talking about it. Everybody puts money on it and it doesn't
:10:43. > :10:47.necessarily work. Because we have seen strength in the euro, with the
:10:48. > :10:52.Eurozone recovering particularly well, but in the UK we have so much
:10:53. > :10:56.uncertainty around Brexit. Because we don't have any idea what breaks
:10:57. > :11:00.it means, what post Brexit means or what it means right now, the issue
:11:01. > :11:04.means we see negativity in the pound, strength in the euro, driving
:11:05. > :11:09.it closer and closer to parity. Any of us going on holiday to Europe, we
:11:10. > :11:13.can feel the difference this year and last summer. But it's a huge
:11:14. > :11:17.deal for businesses and it can not huge sums of their quarterly
:11:18. > :11:23.profits, or it can add, as the case may be. Importers and exporters get
:11:24. > :11:29.hit and not hit on both sides. Also from an economic point of view, the
:11:30. > :11:33.weaker currency in the country, it tends to push up inflation that
:11:34. > :11:37.little bit. On the other side, if the currency is too strong, it can
:11:38. > :11:40.push down inflation. The problem we have in the UK is that inflation is
:11:41. > :11:44.that little bit too high at the moment. If there are problems with
:11:45. > :11:47.the Eurozone with recovery, it's that inflation is too low. The
:11:48. > :11:53.strength with the Euro and the weakness with the pound are doing
:11:54. > :11:58.just that. And a quick word on America. GDP, we are expecting 2.7%,
:11:59. > :12:01.slightly higher than what we expected and saw earlier in the
:12:02. > :12:05.month. Not too many surprises but good news for the economy there. You
:12:06. > :12:07.will talk us through the papers later.
:12:08. > :12:11.Still to come - cashing in on cupcakes.
:12:12. > :12:14.Your tweets about favourite cupcakes have been flooding in.
:12:15. > :12:16.The founder of Hummingbird Bakery is here to talk all things
:12:17. > :12:22.But how did the one bakery in West London
:12:23. > :12:39.You're with Business Live from BBC News.
:12:40. > :12:47.Kate and debt, the two can be linked... -- cake and debt.
:12:48. > :12:49.Soaring levels of consumer debt are worrying the Bank of England -
:12:50. > :12:52.unsecured debts have risen 10% over the last year.
:12:53. > :12:54.And now new figures suggest people already struggling with long term
:12:55. > :12:57.credit card debt are being offered more credit, and more likely
:12:58. > :13:04.Matthew Upton is from Citizens Advice who produced the research.
:13:05. > :13:09.It's an interesting one, this. They say people most at risk of not being
:13:10. > :13:13.able to pay it back are being offered more money. As you say,
:13:14. > :13:22.credit cards are very popular as well as cake, and credit card debt
:13:23. > :13:26.currently stands at ?67 billion and is growing quickly. We have all had
:13:27. > :13:28.the experience of getting the letter through the door saying our credit
:13:29. > :13:32.card limit has been increased without is asking it to happen.
:13:33. > :13:36.Research has shown that small likely to happen if you are stuck in debt
:13:37. > :13:42.and struggling to pay off that credit. These are often people stuck
:13:43. > :13:46.on paying the minimum payments and barely chipping away at their debt,
:13:47. > :13:50.discovering the interest payments. This can only be characterised as
:13:51. > :13:55.irresponsible behaviour on the part of lenders and we want to see it
:13:56. > :14:00.banned. You say that, but I'm amazed this hasn't been tackled already.
:14:01. > :14:04.The issue of debt and those in debt being offered further credit, as you
:14:05. > :14:10.say, it's been around for years. How has it not been sorted? It's a very
:14:11. > :14:12.good question. The reality is that credit card companies and lenders
:14:13. > :14:16.stand to make huge amounts of money from these people who are often
:14:17. > :14:19.stuck on minimum payments and stuck in debt for many years and
:14:20. > :14:23.struggling to pay it off. That's why we think it's time to act. We can't
:14:24. > :14:27.see there being any justification. Credit cards are clearly a good
:14:28. > :14:31.product for some, but for flexible payments, good for when people want
:14:32. > :14:35.to make a purchase and will struggle to pay it down initially. But we
:14:36. > :14:37.don't think there is any justification for keeping people
:14:38. > :14:42.stuck in a cycle of debt that happens in these circumstances.
:14:43. > :14:50.Matthew Upson from citizens advice, thank you for your time. All the
:14:51. > :14:57.stuff we can't fit into the show is on the business live page. That
:14:58. > :15:04.includes the story in a lot of the business pages this morning, the
:15:05. > :15:05.news that the online retailer Asos is set to overtake Marks Spencer
:15:06. > :15:15.in terms of value. You're watching Business
:15:16. > :15:17.Live - our top story. British Prime Minister Theresa May
:15:18. > :15:20.is in Japan for talks with her counterpart Shinzo Abe
:15:21. > :15:22.on everything from defence Between the world's third biggest
:15:23. > :15:31.economy and the UK. A quick look at how
:15:32. > :15:40.markets are faring. The pound and the euro are getting
:15:41. > :15:59.ever closer. Uncertainty over Brexit really
:16:00. > :16:03.weighing on the value of the pound. Our next guest is here to prove you
:16:04. > :16:06.can have your cake and eat it. Marshmallow fluff-filled
:16:07. > :16:09.whoopie pies. These are just some of the sweet
:16:10. > :16:13.treats that our next guest Tarek Malouf started up
:16:14. > :16:17.the Hummingbird Bakery to fill a gap in the UK market for traditional
:16:18. > :16:23.American baking. He's taken the business
:16:24. > :16:25.from a single store on Notting Hill's Portobello Road
:16:26. > :16:32.to a 129-person strong company, with seven stores in the UK,
:16:33. > :16:36.and a turnover of ?6.6 million - that's around $8.5
:16:37. > :16:38.million - last year. It has four franchises
:16:39. > :16:43.in the Middle East, and is seeking franchise partners in Russia,
:16:44. > :16:46.India and China. And Tarek has written four
:16:47. > :17:07.best-selling cookbooks, sharing He is here with a box of cupcakes
:17:08. > :17:14.and they've not been eaten yet! I've never seen anyone so excited about a
:17:15. > :17:19.box! LAUGHTER Tarek, good morning. We'd like to talk to you. Welcome to
:17:20. > :17:25.the programme. Let's talk about how it all began. We probably take this
:17:26. > :17:28.for granted, cupcakes in the UK. They are an American import and you
:17:29. > :17:34.were inspired to do it after a trip to America. Yes, I was inspired
:17:35. > :17:39.after visiting my sister who lived in New York for many years. I grew
:17:40. > :17:43.up in London but went to an American school so these were really familiar
:17:44. > :17:49.to me. They didn't exist in London at the time and they also had a bad
:17:50. > :17:54.reputation for being cheap and not very well made. I wanted to remedy
:17:55. > :17:59.that and show people the amazingness of American baking. Interestingly
:18:00. > :18:02.you're working as a reporter for another TV broadcaster which we
:18:03. > :18:08.won't name. After five years of doing that, you thought I'm going to
:18:09. > :18:13.start this company. You went back to the US to learn the trade. This is
:18:14. > :18:18.what is key about your company, it's about the American way of breaking
:18:19. > :18:23.with American ingredients and that's your USP. That's right. We always
:18:24. > :18:26.wanted to use traditional recipes. It's really important that
:18:27. > :18:33.everything we make is freshly made, we bake on site. I wanted to have
:18:34. > :18:38.that authentic home-made feel, even though it wasn't made at home. We
:18:39. > :18:47.talk about cupcakes and there was a real boom in their popularity, a lot
:18:48. > :18:52.of that was related to things like Sex and the City. We often see with
:18:53. > :18:57.these things they are short lived trends, you are proof that isn't the
:18:58. > :19:04.case. 14 years later I can say it's not a trend. Many things can be
:19:05. > :19:11.fads. But ultimately cupcakes are cake and they are just in an
:19:12. > :19:17.individual size. Who is your typical customer? Customers are mostly
:19:18. > :19:24.female. We have all age ranges but I would say women between 18 and 40
:19:25. > :19:33.something. People like me! You're looking so longingly at this box!
:19:34. > :19:38.Can I eat while you two tour?! I want to bring up the point that you
:19:39. > :19:42.make all your cakes on the day. They have to be made the day they are
:19:43. > :19:45.sold or consumed and you believe that's really important. You aren't
:19:46. > :19:54.making them en masse and freezing them. That's right. Cake is
:19:55. > :19:58.delicate. It dries out quickly and can go stale. You are selling
:19:59. > :20:03.something like 25,000 cakes a week and you've got 120 people. How do
:20:04. > :20:09.you physically make that many on the day and shift them on the day? Do
:20:10. > :20:15.you have to have lots of premises? We have seven in the UK. We've grown
:20:16. > :20:19.used to it over the years. The ovens are high-capacity, the storage
:20:20. > :20:23.space, but we make do and manage somehow. We talked about your
:20:24. > :20:28.expansion plans. Looking around the country, certainly in the UK. I know
:20:29. > :20:33.you've got big plans in Dubai. It's interesting the dynamic. Sweet
:20:34. > :20:39.things in the UAE and the Gulf are really popular. It's a social
:20:40. > :20:43.activity, it's not about going to the pub or the bar, it's about ice
:20:44. > :20:49.cream and cake. How would you pick where you would opening in the UK?
:20:50. > :20:56.You said London for you is tough. It's tough because of friends. Any
:20:57. > :21:01.area where there is a relatively affluent population but also
:21:02. > :21:08.businesses nearby, lots of kids, mums with kids. Tourists help. The
:21:09. > :21:12.ideal place would be somewhere that combines all of those elements.
:21:13. > :21:21.Right here, giving the interest you've seen in the studio! Thank you
:21:22. > :21:30.for coming. The cakes are staying! Nice to meet you. You just want the
:21:31. > :21:34.cakes! What's your favourite cake? Someone's pointed out on Twitter
:21:35. > :21:43.that millionaires shortbread should be the one we talk about the most.
:21:44. > :21:52.It's technically not a cake. It's my banana bread, isn't it?! Just
:21:53. > :21:55.saying! Still to come, we are talking about the sharing economy.
:21:56. > :21:58.John Sudworth had a look around the Chinese city of Beijing.
:21:59. > :22:09.The company behind this venture plan to make 20 million footballs
:22:10. > :22:13.and basketballs available for hire right across China.
:22:14. > :23:45.The cakes have gone! Not far. A lot of you getting in touch. Red velvet
:23:46. > :23:49.is one viewer 's favourite. Welsh cakes, Madeira cake and we've got
:23:50. > :23:54.one more saying date and walnut, hard to find a good one she says.
:23:55. > :24:03.Remember the W Y shops and their home-made cakes. -- WI shops.
:24:04. > :24:07.James Hughes is back with us, he's Chief Market Analyst at GKFX.
:24:08. > :24:20.Favourite cake? I'm partial to a lemon drizzle cake. Let's talk about
:24:21. > :24:26.Apple. This is really interesting. Spars with movie studios overpricing
:24:27. > :24:31.ahead of Apple TV roll-out? In the next couple of weeks Apple will have
:24:32. > :24:35.their keynote presentation, launch a new iPhone we imagine. They are also
:24:36. > :24:44.launching another version of Apple TV. One of the capabilities is being
:24:45. > :24:47.able to stream 4k quality videos and films. It's super high definition.
:24:48. > :24:52.The problem they are having is they are in a tussle with the film
:24:53. > :24:57.studios about how much they want to charge. Apple want to charge around
:24:58. > :25:03.1999 per film. But the film studios are saying is they are looking at
:25:04. > :25:12.charging more like $5 - $10 per film. It seems like the wrong way
:25:13. > :25:18.round. It's not necessarily always been Apple's major point of being
:25:19. > :25:23.cheap. The fact that this is a big difference between $5 and $19. An
:25:24. > :25:29.interesting quote from one of the film studios says, I wouldn't tell
:25:30. > :25:39.Apple how to price their iPads. Ford and dominoes trialling delivering
:25:40. > :25:46.pizza in self driving cars. How does that work? Automated cars and self
:25:47. > :25:50.driving cars are big business. Apple are looking at doing this. This is a
:25:51. > :25:54.collaboration between Domino's and Ford to say let's get your pizza to
:25:55. > :25:58.you quickly without some on taking at there. It wouldn't get past
:25:59. > :26:01.family if it's like the cakes! LAUGHTER
:26:02. > :26:16.Good morning. Feeling much cooler today across the south-east of
:26:17. > :26:19.England. Temperature is 29 degrees yesterday, today they are going to
:26:20. > :26:20.plummet. In the North and the West a mixture