30/08/2017 BBC Business Live

This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock.

The UK Prime Minister travels to Tokyo to talk trade,

but will the talks be overshadowed by North Korea?

Live from London, that's our top story on Wednesday 30th August.

Theresa May meets Shinzo Abe to discuss life after Brexit.

But the UK can't strike any sort of free-trade deal until it

actually quits the EU - so what progress will they make?

Also in the programme, in touching distance of parity.

A strong euro and weak pound push the two closer.

And here's how those markets are faring across europe -

That's the current rate and how European markets are doing. We will

tell you all you need to know. We meet the man who created

an empire built on baking. The founder of the Hummingbird

Bakery will give us the inside track on the finding

the recipe for success. And so today - and this is in no way

a business question, but we just want to know -

what's your favourite? Lemon drizzle, red

velvet, double chcolate? Let us know.

No reason. We look forward to hearing from you.

If you follow me on twitter you know that the home-made banana bread is

tough to beat. And there are photos as well. Let's start with Japan.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is in Japan for talks

with her counterpart Shinzo Abe on everything from defence

Although the UK can't officially start any trade negotiations

until it leaves the European Union, both sides are already weighing up

While the UK's investment in Japan is relatively small,

Japan's direct investment in the UK is worth over $52 billion.

And that investment feeds through to the real economy,

roughly a thousand Japanese firms operate in the UK, employing close

One of Theresa May's key aims will be to keep as many of those

jobs as possible in the UK in the coming years.

A strongly worded report from Japan's foreign ministry last

year said firms might want to move "if EU laws cease to be

Meanwhile Japanese banks Nomura and Daiwa have already chosen

Frankfurt as their new EU hubs in the wake of the Brexit vote.

The meeting also has added significance as only last month

the EU signed its own free trade deal with Japan - a deal the UK

With me is Yuichiro Nakajima, managing partner at advisory

Nice to see you. Sally running through some of the issues there. If

you can run through what is at stake, how significant is trade

between the countries? It's very important, certainly for the UK, as

the figures we have just seen show. Japan has been one of the biggest

investors in this country. And the UK has been the largest investment

destination for Japanese companies coming to Europe. It really started

in the 80s when Margaret Thatcher promoted Britain as the gateway into

the European market, and Japan bought that. There is a long history

of Japanese companies coming to this country, setting up shop and then

doing business with the rest of the continent. And now that bridge is

likely to be removed. You talk about that gateway to Europe. We should

say these are very early-stage talks because, as Sally pointed out,

nothing can be done and no deal can be put in place until the UK has

left the European Union. How will that affect the issues they will

encounter in these very early-stage talks? I guess Mrs May work like to

get some kind of undertaking from the Japanese government that they

will do their best to not... To keep Japanese companies here, and there

is so much a government can do to control a private company's

behaviour. She is sunny petite tight rope to tread. -- she is on a pretty

tight rope to tread. She has the domestic political audience to

satisfy in the meantime. She needs to make sure that she isn't seen to

be going against EU rules about negotiating with third countries on

an independent basis. A funny irony about this, as he said last month,

the European Union struck its own trades deal with Japan. Ultimately

that's a deal the UK will be locked out of and we now go to Japan saying

that we want something similar. Is there a willingness in Japan to

grant that? I think Japan, because the UK and Japanese relationships

are very good, and strategically quite important, so I think Japan

would like to do the best it can to support the UK Government. But the

trade and investment with the EU, the remainder of the EU, so to

speak, is important, of course, and the UK is but one part of it. Japan

isn't going to be able to do anything particularly formal whilst

the picture is very unclear as to the terms on which the UK will be

leaving the EU. We will follow that closely to see how it plays out.

Thank you very much. Let's take a look at some of

the other stories making the news. Uber says it is cooperating

with an investigation by authorities in the United States

into accusations it It's not yet clear whether

the allegations focus on one country or several

where the company operates. It's the latest in a series of legal

problems the ride-hailing app faces as it waits

for a new chief executive. Sky is to stop broadcasting

Fox News in the UK due 21st Century Fox, which is owned

by Rupert Murdoch, says the channel is being withdrawn

as it is not commercially viable. Sources say the decision

is not related to Fox's The London company that makes

the Rubik's Cube has sued two US companies for selling what it says

is a knock-off of Rubik's Brand Limited says

retailer Toys "R" Us and manufacturer Duncan Toys

are violating its trademark and hurting its reputation with

an "imitation twist puzzle cube". Let's look at the financial markets.

They are regaining composure around the world following concern this

time yesterday about what was happening with regard to North Korea

and its latest missile test. You can see Japan jumping today from eight

four-month low, that was yesterday's story. The yen was weakening as

well. Wall Street wobbled at the start of trade on Tuesday but ended

high. Looking at Europe so we have a sense of how things are going. All

these markets were down more than 1% yesterday. Right now you can see

they have already gained some composure today. We will talk you

through the winners and losers in a moment, in particular the euro and

Pound relationship. And Michelle Fleury has

the details about what's ahead Donald Trump will make the case

for overhauling America's tax system this Wednesday,

in a speech in Missouri. He is expected to talk

about the need to simplify the tax code and make the US corporate

system more globally competitive. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

has said in the past he hopes to get tax reform done by the end

of the year. That was a tall order,

even before attention shifted Sceptics warn that while the White

House and Republicans generally agree on a lower tax rate,

they still have yet to figure out specifically what they want to do

and how to proceed. Meanwhile ahead of Friday's

jobs report, investors will be looking at hiring

figures from private employers to see if there were any signs

that the jobs market And the US Commerce Department

will provide an update on the economic expansion

in the second quarter. GDP growth likely came

in at 2.7%, that's instead James Hughes is here,

he's Chief Market Analyst at GKFX. We will come onto the US stuff in a

minute. But first of all the pound and Europe. All the attention has

been on the pound and dollar relationship. But the euro is really

interesting right now. It's interesting because it's getting

close to parity, one for one, the Euro and Pound been worth the same

amount. It's something we have not seen for a long time. We always talk

about this sort of stuff when the markets get to those areas, and very

often we don't end up seeing it. Very often there is something

psychological that happens and the market will move. It's because we

are all talking about it. Everybody puts money on it and it doesn't

necessarily work. Because we have seen strength in the euro, with the

Eurozone recovering particularly well, but in the UK we have so much

uncertainty around Brexit. Because we don't have any idea what breaks

it means, what post Brexit means or what it means right now, the issue

means we see negativity in the pound, strength in the euro, driving

it closer and closer to parity. Any of us going on holiday to Europe, we

can feel the difference this year and last summer. But it's a huge

deal for businesses and it can not huge sums of their quarterly

profits, or it can add, as the case may be. Importers and exporters get

hit and not hit on both sides. Also from an economic point of view, the

weaker currency in the country, it tends to push up inflation that

little bit. On the other side, if the currency is too strong, it can

push down inflation. The problem we have in the UK is that inflation is

that little bit too high at the moment. If there are problems with

the Eurozone with recovery, it's that inflation is too low. The

strength with the Euro and the weakness with the pound are doing

just that. And a quick word on America. GDP, we are expecting 2.7%,

slightly higher than what we expected and saw earlier in the

month. Not too many surprises but good news for the economy there. You

will talk us through the papers later.

Still to come - cashing in on cupcakes.

Your tweets about favourite cupcakes have been flooding in.

The founder of Hummingbird Bakery is here to talk all things

But how did the one bakery in West London

You're with Business Live from BBC News.

Kate and debt, the two can be linked... -- cake and debt.

Soaring levels of consumer debt are worrying the Bank of England -

unsecured debts have risen 10% over the last year.

And now new figures suggest people already struggling with long term

credit card debt are being offered more credit, and more likely

Matthew Upton is from Citizens Advice who produced the research.

It's an interesting one, this. They say people most at risk of not being

able to pay it back are being offered more money. As you say,

credit cards are very popular as well as cake, and credit card debt

currently stands at ?67 billion and is growing quickly. We have all had

the experience of getting the letter through the door saying our credit

card limit has been increased without is asking it to happen.

Research has shown that small likely to happen if you are stuck in debt

and struggling to pay off that credit. These are often people stuck

on paying the minimum payments and barely chipping away at their debt,

discovering the interest payments. This can only be characterised as

irresponsible behaviour on the part of lenders and we want to see it

banned. You say that, but I'm amazed this hasn't been tackled already.

The issue of debt and those in debt being offered further credit, as you

say, it's been around for years. How has it not been sorted? It's a very

good question. The reality is that credit card companies and lenders

stand to make huge amounts of money from these people who are often

stuck on minimum payments and stuck in debt for many years and

struggling to pay it off. That's why we think it's time to act. We can't

see there being any justification. Credit cards are clearly a good

product for some, but for flexible payments, good for when people want

to make a purchase and will struggle to pay it down initially. But we

don't think there is any justification for keeping people

stuck in a cycle of debt that happens in these circumstances.

Matthew Upson from citizens advice, thank you for your time. All the

stuff we can't fit into the show is on the business live page. That

includes the story in a lot of the business pages this morning, the

news that the online retailer Asos is set to overtake Marks Spencer

in terms of value. You're watching Business

Live - our top story. British Prime Minister Theresa May

is in Japan for talks with her counterpart Shinzo Abe

on everything from defence Between the world's third biggest

economy and the UK. A quick look at how

markets are faring. The pound and the euro are getting

ever closer. Uncertainty over Brexit really

weighing on the value of the pound. Our next guest is here to prove you

can have your cake and eat it. Marshmallow fluff-filled

whoopie pies. These are just some of the sweet

treats that our next guest Tarek Malouf started up

the Hummingbird Bakery to fill a gap in the UK market for traditional

American baking. He's taken the business

from a single store on Notting Hill's Portobello Road

to a 129-person strong company, with seven stores in the UK,

and a turnover of ?6.6 million - that's around $8.5

million - last year. It has four franchises

in the Middle East, and is seeking franchise partners in Russia,

India and China. And Tarek has written four

best-selling cookbooks, sharing He is here with a box of cupcakes

and they've not been eaten yet! I've never seen anyone so excited about a

box! LAUGHTER Tarek, good morning. We'd like to talk to you. Welcome to

the programme. Let's talk about how it all began. We probably take this

for granted, cupcakes in the UK. They are an American import and you

were inspired to do it after a trip to America. Yes, I was inspired

after visiting my sister who lived in New York for many years. I grew

up in London but went to an American school so these were really familiar

to me. They didn't exist in London at the time and they also had a bad

reputation for being cheap and not very well made. I wanted to remedy

that and show people the amazingness of American baking. Interestingly

you're working as a reporter for another TV broadcaster which we

won't name. After five years of doing that, you thought I'm going to

start this company. You went back to the US to learn the trade. This is

what is key about your company, it's about the American way of breaking

with American ingredients and that's your USP. That's right. We always

wanted to use traditional recipes. It's really important that

everything we make is freshly made, we bake on site. I wanted to have

that authentic home-made feel, even though it wasn't made at home. We

talk about cupcakes and there was a real boom in their popularity, a lot

of that was related to things like Sex and the City. We often see with

these things they are short lived trends, you are proof that isn't the

case. 14 years later I can say it's not a trend. Many things can be

fads. But ultimately cupcakes are cake and they are just in an

individual size. Who is your typical customer? Customers are mostly

female. We have all age ranges but I would say women between 18 and 40

something. People like me! You're looking so longingly at this box!

Can I eat while you two tour?! I want to bring up the point that you

make all your cakes on the day. They have to be made the day they are

sold or consumed and you believe that's really important. You aren't

making them en masse and freezing them. That's right. Cake is

delicate. It dries out quickly and can go stale. You are selling

something like 25,000 cakes a week and you've got 120 people. How do

you physically make that many on the day and shift them on the day? Do

you have to have lots of premises? We have seven in the UK. We've grown

used to it over the years. The ovens are high-capacity, the storage

space, but we make do and manage somehow. We talked about your

expansion plans. Looking around the country, certainly in the UK. I know

you've got big plans in Dubai. It's interesting the dynamic. Sweet

things in the UAE and the Gulf are really popular. It's a social

activity, it's not about going to the pub or the bar, it's about ice

cream and cake. How would you pick where you would opening in the UK?

You said London for you is tough. It's tough because of friends. Any

area where there is a relatively affluent population but also

businesses nearby, lots of kids, mums with kids. Tourists help. The

ideal place would be somewhere that combines all of those elements.

Right here, giving the interest you've seen in the studio! Thank you

for coming. The cakes are staying! Nice to meet you. You just want the

cakes! What's your favourite cake? Someone's pointed out on Twitter

that millionaires shortbread should be the one we talk about the most.

It's technically not a cake. It's my banana bread, isn't it?! Just

saying! Still to come, we are talking about the sharing economy.

John Sudworth had a look around the Chinese city of Beijing.

The company behind this venture plan to make 20 million footballs

and basketballs available for hire right across China.

The cakes have gone! Not far. A lot of you getting in touch. Red velvet

is one viewer 's favourite. Welsh cakes, Madeira cake and we've got

one more saying date and walnut, hard to find a good one she says.

Remember the W Y shops and their home-made cakes. -- WI shops.

James Hughes is back with us, he's Chief Market Analyst at GKFX.

Favourite cake? I'm partial to a lemon drizzle cake. Let's talk about

Apple. This is really interesting. Spars with movie studios overpricing

ahead of Apple TV roll-out? In the next couple of weeks Apple will have

their keynote presentation, launch a new iPhone we imagine. They are also

launching another version of Apple TV. One of the capabilities is being

able to stream 4k quality videos and films. It's super high definition.

The problem they are having is they are in a tussle with the film

studios about how much they want to charge. Apple want to charge around

1999 per film. But the film studios are saying is they are looking at

charging more like $5 - $10 per film. It seems like the wrong way

round. It's not necessarily always been Apple's major point of being

cheap. The fact that this is a big difference between $5 and $19. An

interesting quote from one of the film studios says, I wouldn't tell

Apple how to price their iPads. Ford and dominoes trialling delivering

pizza in self driving cars. How does that work? Automated cars and self

driving cars are big business. Apple are looking at doing this. This is a

collaboration between Domino's and Ford to say let's get your pizza to

you quickly without some on taking at there. It wouldn't get past

family if it's like the cakes! LAUGHTER

Good morning. Feeling much cooler today across the south-east of

England. Temperature is 29 degrees yesterday, today they are going to

plummet. In the North and the West a mixture