Browse content similar to 01/12/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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This is Business Live
from BBC News with Susannah | 0:00:06 | 0:00:08 | |
Streeter and David Eades. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:12 | |
America edges closer
to massive tax reforms, | 0:00:12 | 0:00:14 | |
but will they really deliver
President Trump's promised boost | 0:00:14 | 0:00:16 | |
to the world's biggest economy? | 0:00:16 | 0:00:21 | |
Live from London, that's our top
story on Friday 1st December. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:31 | |
As the President lights
up the Christmas tree, | 0:00:38 | 0:00:41 | |
he's hoping Senators give him
the gift he wants - | 0:00:41 | 0:00:43 | |
but can the US really afford
the biggest tax changes | 0:00:43 | 0:00:46 | |
in a generation? | 0:00:46 | 0:00:47 | |
Also in the programme... | 0:00:47 | 0:00:54 | |
The world's largest lithium ion
battery gets up-and-running | 0:00:54 | 0:00:59 | |
in Australia, so will it spark
a global energy revolution? | 0:00:59 | 0:01:04 | |
And as always we will get | 0:01:04 | 0:01:05 | |
And as always we will get the latest
from the global markets, this is the | 0:01:05 | 0:01:08 | |
picture in Europe as the markets
open. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:10 | |
And we'll be getting
the inside track on the bumpy ride | 0:01:10 | 0:01:12 | |
Uber have been on this week,
as well as Bitcoin's | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
rollercoaster ride, with our tech
guru Rory Cellan Jones. | 0:01:15 | 0:01:21 | |
December is finally upon us,
and this weekend is set | 0:01:21 | 0:01:26 | |
to the busiest for Christmas tree
sales here in the UK, | 0:01:26 | 0:01:29 | |
but amid warnings that
glittery decorations are bad | 0:01:29 | 0:01:32 | |
for the environment -
we want to know | 0:01:32 | 0:01:35 | |
if you use the same ones every
year or buy them new? | 0:01:35 | 0:01:44 | |
Let us know - just use
the hashtag #BBCBizLive. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:47 | |
Hello, and welcome
to Business Live. | 0:01:47 | 0:01:52 | |
The United States is on course
for it's largest tax reforms in more | 0:01:52 | 0:01:56 | |
than 30 years but hasn't quite
got there yet. | 0:01:56 | 0:01:58 | |
If last-minute disagreements can be
overcome, President Trump's big hope | 0:01:58 | 0:02:00 | |
is that the refrorms will boost
growth for the world's | 0:02:00 | 0:02:02 | |
biggest economy. | 0:02:02 | 0:02:03 | |
And that could eventually make
the rest of the world richer, too. | 0:02:03 | 0:02:14 | |
Firstly, it will be very expensive -
costing the Government $1.5 trillion | 0:02:17 | 0:02:19 | |
over the next decade. | 0:02:19 | 0:02:22 | |
Some of that is expected to be
offset by higher economic growth, | 0:02:22 | 0:02:25 | |
but most would be added to the US
national debt - already | 0:02:25 | 0:02:30 | |
at $20 trillion. | 0:02:30 | 0:02:31 | |
That is what is still bothering
some in the Senate. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
Who would benefit? | 0:02:34 | 0:02:35 | |
The big winners would be US firms,
who would see the corporation tax | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
rate slashed from 35% to around 20%. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:40 | |
The White House claims
the average American household | 0:02:40 | 0:02:45 | |
would also be better off
by between $4,000 and $9,000 a year. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:48 | |
But some critics say the plan really
favours the wealthy. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
Others dispute the idea that
a handout to firms will trickle down | 0:02:51 | 0:02:53 | |
to the wider economy. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:55 | |
Not including the banks,
US companies are already sitting | 0:02:55 | 0:03:02 | |
on $1.9 trillion cash piles. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:04 | |
And some have said they'd use
tax cuts to give more | 0:03:04 | 0:03:06 | |
money to shareholders. | 0:03:06 | 0:03:07 | |
Pippa Malmgren used to be
an economic adviser | 0:03:07 | 0:03:09 | |
to President George W Bush
and founder of the business advisors | 0:03:09 | 0:03:12 | |
DRPM research group. | 0:03:12 | 0:03:13 | |
Thank you for joining us. There are
huge questions there, an awful lot | 0:03:13 | 0:03:17 | |
of money to spend effectively for
these tax cuts. How far, assuming | 0:03:17 | 0:03:22 | |
this all goes through, how far could
they weaken that through improved | 0:03:22 | 0:03:28 | |
tax revenues? Well, the Republican
view is that if you lower tax rates | 0:03:28 | 0:03:33 | |
you will increase business activity
and business investment. What is | 0:03:33 | 0:03:38 | |
interesting is businesses keep
saying, our intention is to do share | 0:03:38 | 0:03:41 | |
buy-backs, which is not so
productive for the economy. That is | 0:03:41 | 0:03:45 | |
the big companies, that does not
mean smaller companies won't benefit | 0:03:45 | 0:03:48 | |
and they will invest, but the
question is the magnitude of the | 0:03:48 | 0:03:53 | |
impact. If share buy-backs
particularly a bad thing? The Dow | 0:03:53 | 0:03:57 | |
will have a field day for a few
months if that is the case but is | 0:03:57 | 0:04:01 | |
there any benefit economically?
There is another way of thinking | 0:04:01 | 0:04:04 | |
about it, not so much a benefit but
by stimulating the economy with more | 0:04:04 | 0:04:09 | |
capital you create more inflationary
conditions. We have a little | 0:04:09 | 0:04:13 | |
inflation, as it picks up, people
stay, I can't stay in cash, I need | 0:04:13 | 0:04:17 | |
to invest, because your money is
eroded when you sit in cash in an | 0:04:17 | 0:04:23 | |
inflationary environment so in that
case it stimulates but it is not the | 0:04:23 | 0:04:26 | |
ideal way to stimulate the economy.
There has been some pushback against | 0:04:26 | 0:04:32 | |
this deal, particularly over the
last 12 hours, and there is a lot of | 0:04:32 | 0:04:36 | |
concern that these are projections
for economic growth, there is no | 0:04:36 | 0:04:40 | |
guarantee that there will be a
boost, and we saw there the numbers, | 0:04:40 | 0:04:44 | |
how much it could cost as far as the
deficit is concerned. The real issue | 0:04:44 | 0:04:49 | |
is that the economy is going well,
so people expect that it will go | 0:04:49 | 0:04:54 | |
better if you give it the stimulus.
The actual debate about the | 0:04:54 | 0:04:58 | |
substance of the bill is not so much
about the substance, frankly, it is | 0:04:58 | 0:05:03 | |
about fighting with Trump over what
he will be and will | 0:05:03 | 0:05:15 | |
not be allowed to do. Senator McCain
was annoyed with Donald Trump for | 0:05:22 | 0:05:25 | |
picking on him personally and said
he was not a real war hero, has said | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
this is not going to be the Trump
bill, it will be the McCain bill, so | 0:05:28 | 0:05:31 | |
he has taken it into the Senate and
takes control of the process, that | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
accounts for more than the
substance. That will not wash with | 0:05:34 | 0:05:36 | |
Donald Trump if it goes through and
succeeds, this is his baby, he will | 0:05:36 | 0:05:39 | |
take the plaudits if you like? He
will try, but the Senate can | 0:05:39 | 0:05:41 | |
absolutely put their fingerprint and
signature on this thing in a way | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
that will let them take a good deal
of the credit which, by the way, | 0:05:44 | 0:05:47 | |
they want going into the mid-term
elections. Do you think the | 0:05:47 | 0:05:49 | |
discounts that the state currently
offers as far as tax bills are | 0:05:49 | 0:05:51 | |
concerned, do you think those will
be debated in the Senate? Will that | 0:05:51 | 0:05:55 | |
be a sticking point? What other
factors will they bring in to amend | 0:05:55 | 0:05:59 | |
the bill? What they will do in the
next 24, 48 hours is not so clear, | 0:05:59 | 0:06:04 | |
it is a very detail oriented
process, there are thousands of | 0:06:04 | 0:06:08 | |
pages involved in this kind of
legislation which, interestingly, no | 0:06:08 | 0:06:14 | |
single senator actually reads, only
their staff read the part relevant | 0:06:14 | 0:06:16 | |
to their state, so it is through
traditional messy process and we are | 0:06:16 | 0:06:20 | |
all going to have to wait to hear
what they come up with. Much more | 0:06:20 | 0:06:26 | |
horse trading to come. People, thank
you very much indeed. | 0:06:26 | 0:06:29 | |
Let's take a look at some of
the other stories making the news. | 0:06:29 | 0:06:33 | |
The Irish Foreign Minister has told
the BBC that it cannot be asked to | 0:06:33 | 0:06:37 | |
take a leap into the dark when it
comes to Brexit negotiations. He | 0:06:37 | 0:06:40 | |
said more progress needs to be made
on the solution of how the border | 0:06:40 | 0:06:46 | |
between Northern Ireland and the
republic works if there is to be | 0:06:46 | 0:06:49 | |
progress on trade talks.
Amazon has launched another version | 0:06:49 | 0:06:53 | |
of its voice controlled assistant
Alex for business, firms will be | 0:06:53 | 0:06:58 | |
able to use the smart speakers to
set up meetings with colleagues, | 0:06:58 | 0:07:02 | |
book conference rooms and do other
basic tasks as well. There have been | 0:07:02 | 0:07:06 | |
concerns raised for privacy in
meetings where sensitive information | 0:07:06 | 0:07:08 | |
is being discussed. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:19 | |
In the UK, the Royal Bank
of Scotland, which is still 72% | 0:07:20 | 0:07:24 | |
owned by the Government,
says its cutting almost 700 jubs | 0:07:24 | 0:07:26 | |
and closing more than 250 branches. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 | |
The lender is trying to reduce
costs as more customers | 0:07:28 | 0:07:30 | |
move to online banking. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:31 | |
Trade unions have raised
questions about the move. | 0:07:31 | 0:07:33 | |
The Japanese carmaker Nissan has
become the latest foreign company | 0:07:33 | 0:07:36 | |
to seek artibtration
against the Indian authorities. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:40 | |
The company believes
it is entitled to $770 million | 0:07:40 | 0:07:43 | |
as part of the agreements
it reached to set-up | 0:07:43 | 0:07:45 | |
a factory near Chennai. | 0:07:45 | 0:07:46 | |
Reports suggest there are more
than 20 similiar cases pending. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
The Indian government
hasn't responded. | 0:07:48 | 0:07:55 | |
The world's largest lithium ion
battery has begun dispensing power | 0:07:55 | 0:07:59 | |
to the electricity grid
in South Australia. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:02 | |
It has been dogged by Tesla, best
known for its electric cars, which | 0:08:02 | 0:08:07 | |
aims to end the state's energy
problems. | 0:08:07 | 0:08:12 | |
Mariko Oi has more from Singapore. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:16 | |
They have created this thing and
done it ahead of schedule? | 0:08:16 | 0:08:20 | |
Indeed, and if you remember it all
started as a bet on Twitter. It was | 0:08:20 | 0:08:25 | |
actually an Australian software
entrepreneur who asked Elon Musk, | 0:08:25 | 0:08:28 | |
the boss of Tesla, if he was really
serious about helping south | 0:08:28 | 0:08:33 | |
Australia after the state suffered a
state-wide blackout. Elon Musk said | 0:08:33 | 0:08:38 | |
yes, he was, and if the battery was
not built within 100 days, the state | 0:08:38 | 0:08:42 | |
would get it for free. The countdown
started on the 30th of September, | 0:08:42 | 0:08:47 | |
after approval from regulators, and
Tesla managed to finish it in about | 0:08:47 | 0:08:51 | |
60 days, so I guess the state would
have to pay now, as, as I mentioned, | 0:08:51 | 0:08:59 | |
the plan started dispensing
electricity today, it is situated in | 0:08:59 | 0:09:06 | |
Jamestown, about fixing, just north
of Adelaide. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:11 | |
Let's check in with the financial
markets now. In Hong Kong, losses as | 0:09:11 | 0:09:18 | |
technology companies have offered
some games at energy companies, but | 0:09:18 | 0:09:22 | |
then the Hang Seng dropped back a
little, a choppy session for the | 0:09:22 | 0:09:25 | |
McKay as well. It finished the
session a little higher. The Dow is | 0:09:25 | 0:09:31 | |
continuing its epic climb, surging
above 24,000 for the first time as | 0:09:31 | 0:09:36 | |
the US Senate move towards proving
that massive tax-cut package. Oil | 0:09:36 | 0:09:40 | |
prices edged higher as Opec's
decision to extend production limits | 0:09:40 | 0:09:44 | |
took place.
The FTSE has opened lover, the Dax | 0:09:44 | 0:09:49 | |
in Frankfurt slightly higher, then
pack 40 slightly lower because of a | 0:09:49 | 0:09:57 | |
stronger Euro and stronger pound. | 0:09:57 | 0:09:58 | |
And Samira Hussain has
the details about what's ahead | 0:09:58 | 0:10:01 | |
on Wall Street Today. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:02 | |
It's finally Friday,
but it could be a very | 0:10:02 | 0:10:04 | |
busy end to the week. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:11 | |
The Dow Jones industrial average
crossed a milestone on Thursday, | 0:10:11 | 0:10:13 | |
24,000 points for the first time. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:17 | |
US markets are just downright
euphoric at the prospect | 0:10:17 | 0:10:21 | |
of major tax reform,
so we'll continue to watch | 0:10:21 | 0:10:25 | |
what happens in Washington
and how US markets react. | 0:10:25 | 0:10:32 | |
In other business news,
we see that light vehicle sales | 0:10:32 | 0:10:36 | |
will have fallen ever so slightly
compared to the month before. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:39 | |
We're seeing that construction
spending is going to be up by about | 0:10:39 | 0:10:42 | |
0.5% for the month of October. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:45 | |
Overall factory spending will have
dropped ever so slightly | 0:10:45 | 0:10:47 | |
from the previous month. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:51 | |
Joining us is Lucy MacDonald
from Allianz Global Investor. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
Thanks for joining us. After
everything we have seen coming from | 0:10:56 | 0:11:02 | |
New York, Asia playing it very cool,
waiting, presumably, for this tax | 0:11:02 | 0:11:06 | |
reform bill to pass or not? Yes, and
there is certainly some anticipation | 0:11:06 | 0:11:12 | |
of this bill. We have been waiting
now for months, and it looks very, | 0:11:12 | 0:11:18 | |
very close. It is better priced into
markets now, I think, so if it | 0:11:18 | 0:11:27 | |
passes there will be some positive
benefit, but if you look at the | 0:11:27 | 0:11:34 | |
Trump trade type stocks, the
cyclicals and industrials and | 0:11:34 | 0:11:37 | |
financials, they have been moving,
there it is also the domestics... It | 0:11:37 | 0:11:42 | |
is interesting you say it is priced
in, many were saying before it | 0:11:42 | 0:11:45 | |
reached this point, the bill, that
actually the markets have priced all | 0:11:45 | 0:11:49 | |
of the tax changes in but still you
see this epic climb, don't you? Why | 0:11:49 | 0:11:54 | |
do you think the market is still
going forward and do you think when | 0:11:54 | 0:11:58 | |
it is passed, there won't be a
further climb? I think more of it is | 0:11:58 | 0:12:03 | |
priced in now is that the
probability of it getting through | 0:12:03 | 0:12:06 | |
has been priced in gradually and
that is why you have seen this, that | 0:12:06 | 0:12:10 | |
particular area of the market,
giving better, and at the same time | 0:12:10 | 0:12:13 | |
some other areas of the market,
technology, health care, slightly | 0:12:13 | 0:12:19 | |
coming back to fund some of those
areas, so more rotation in the | 0:12:19 | 0:12:24 | |
market. It is similar to what we saw
a year ago but not anywhere near as | 0:12:24 | 0:12:29 | |
drastic, and that makes sense, so it
seems to me it is priced quite | 0:12:29 | 0:12:32 | |
rationally. Just time to look at
what is happening with oil, prices | 0:12:32 | 0:12:36 | |
going up, Opec reaching a deal, the
Russians leading it, to keep | 0:12:36 | 0:12:41 | |
production down for another 12 plus
months? Guess, that has extended it | 0:12:41 | 0:12:44 | |
further, clearly that agreement so
far has stabilised the oil price and | 0:12:44 | 0:12:51 | |
we have seen it coming up and the
sector following close correlation | 0:12:51 | 0:12:55 | |
between the oil price and the sector
so we have seen that now for six | 0:12:55 | 0:13:00 | |
months and now that the Saudis and
Russians, who are 10% of the total | 0:13:00 | 0:13:05 | |
supply, agreed to extend, I would
have thought that should continue. | 0:13:05 | 0:13:10 | |
And it is still an area of the
market where you can find some | 0:13:10 | 0:13:14 | |
value, it is not necessarily the
highest growth or the highest | 0:13:14 | 0:13:18 | |
quality market but there is still
some value and yield there and yield | 0:13:18 | 0:13:22 | |
is still something we are looking
for. Absolutely, Lucy, thank you | 0:13:22 | 0:13:25 | |
very much indeed. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:26 | |
Still to come... | 0:13:26 | 0:13:31 | |
Bube's bumpy ride and bitcoin's
roller-coaster, we catch up on | 0:13:31 | 0:13:36 | |
another big of technology news. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:38 | |
You're with Business
Live from BBC News. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:46 | |
A jump in online sales has helped
Fortnum and Mason announce a 23% | 0:13:46 | 0:13:51 | |
rise in pre-tax profits
to £7.6 million. | 0:13:51 | 0:13:55 | |
Online sales rose by 17% over
the past year, with rising demand | 0:13:55 | 0:13:58 | |
from Asia helping to boost
the upmarket department | 0:13:58 | 0:14:00 | |
store's bottom line. | 0:14:00 | 0:14:01 | |
Fortnum recently opened a new store
in South Korea, and operates | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
in 160 countries globally. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:08 | |
Joining us now to discuss
these results, is the CEO | 0:14:08 | 0:14:11 | |
of Fortnum and Mason,
Ewan Venters. | 0:14:11 | 0:14:16 | |
Thank you for joining us. Pretty
impressive figures, is that mostly | 0:14:16 | 0:14:21 | |
down to growth abroad? There is a
substantial element of that but over | 0:14:21 | 0:14:26 | |
50% of our growth last year came
from the rising demand from UK and | 0:14:26 | 0:14:31 | |
domestic consumers, which is exactly
what we wanted to happen, we are | 0:14:31 | 0:14:35 | |
very happy about that, and I believe
part of that success story is that | 0:14:35 | 0:14:38 | |
so much of what we sell in our
business is actually produced here | 0:14:38 | 0:14:43 | |
in the United Kingdom, over 80% of
our products are manufactured in the | 0:14:43 | 0:14:48 | |
UK, so every pound spent with
Fortnum 's is 82p spent with art | 0:14:48 | 0:14:56 | |
producers across the UK. Does it
surprise you that there is still | 0:14:56 | 0:15:00 | |
growing demand for luxury goods at a
time, particularly in the UK, where | 0:15:00 | 0:15:05 | |
people are really feeling poorer
because of austerity or the economy? | 0:15:05 | 0:15:10 | |
Or losing jobs? My experience tells
me that when there are periods of | 0:15:10 | 0:15:17 | |
uncertainty and Times are tough,
people turn to brands that the | 0:15:17 | 0:15:21 | |
trust, brands great the great
authenticity, great heritage, great | 0:15:21 | 0:15:24 | |
story, and I think the British at
the moment like a great cup of tea | 0:15:24 | 0:15:29 | |
and a proper English biscuit! Keep
calm and carry on! You are tapping | 0:15:29 | 0:15:33 | |
into that trend?! It would appear
that way, but the rest of the world | 0:15:33 | 0:15:38 | |
is also engaging with us, whether
they are coming to London, and | 0:15:38 | 0:15:41 | |
undoubtedly the drop in the value of
the pound has helped to drive more | 0:15:41 | 0:15:45 | |
tourism into London, but also
through the website, we are reaching | 0:15:45 | 0:15:49 | |
out across the world more than ever.
Thanks very much indeed, cup of tea | 0:15:49 | 0:15:53 | |
and a biscuit, my biscuit does not
always come from Fortnum and Mason, | 0:15:53 | 0:15:56 | |
I have to say! | 0:15:56 | 0:16:01 | |
Lets see what else is happening on
the business pages. RBS is | 0:16:01 | 0:16:05 | |
decimating its branch network. That
comes from Unite, the union that | 0:16:05 | 0:16:09 | |
says the bank is betraying
communities with the closure of 259 | 0:16:09 | 0:16:15 | |
branches and the loss of many jobs. | 0:16:15 | 0:16:18 | |
You're watching Business Live -
our top story... | 0:16:25 | 0:16:28 | |
The United States Senate is edging
closer to delivering the huge tax | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
reforms President Trump wants. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:37 | |
Voting is due to resume in a few
hours time amid concerns over | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
whether the country can afford them. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:41 | |
A quick look at how
markets are faring.... | 0:16:41 | 0:16:44 | |
The Dow Jones reached another epic
point, above the 24,000 mark. The | 0:16:44 | 0:16:56 | |
DAX is down, as is the DAX and CAC,
not sharing the same amount of | 0:16:56 | 0:17:03 | |
enthusiasm for those tax cut plans
in the US. | 0:17:03 | 0:17:06 | |
And now let's get the inside track
on another big week of tech news. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:09 | |
It's seen the ride hailing app Uber
suffer a string of setbacks | 0:17:09 | 0:17:12 | |
and the crypto-currency Bitcoin
suffer a roller-coaster ride | 0:17:12 | 0:17:14 | |
that was just as tumultuous as it
reached new heights. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:18 | |
The poems keep on coming! | 0:17:18 | 0:17:20 | |
Our Techology Correspondent
is Rory Cellan-Jones is here. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:25 | |
Let's start with Uber. What a week
for Uber, every week seems to bring | 0:17:25 | 0:17:31 | |
more drama. This company that has
grown into one of the most powerful | 0:17:31 | 0:17:35 | |
in the world, still privately held,
having all sorts of disasters. We | 0:17:35 | 0:17:39 | |
had them accused of hiring ex-CIA
agents to spy on rivals. A trial | 0:17:39 | 0:17:46 | |
which is supposed to be getting
underway where they are accused of | 0:17:46 | 0:17:51 | |
industrial espionage against
Google's self driving car division. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:55 | |
That has been delayed? Yes, because
of new information. A dramatic day | 0:17:55 | 0:18:01 | |
in court with a former Uber employee
coming in and spilling the beans | 0:18:01 | 0:18:06 | |
about their use of covert
surveillance on their rivals. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:09 | |
Rumbling on in the background is all
of this app fallout from the hack. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:15 | |
Yes, we heard here in the UK, 2.7
million UK users probably had their | 0:18:15 | 0:18:22 | |
information exposed during that hack
13 months ago, which we are just | 0:18:22 | 0:18:27 | |
learning about now! Surprise
surprise. And more bad news on the | 0:18:27 | 0:18:31 | |
actual numbers. They are trying to
close this deal with Softbank to | 0:18:31 | 0:18:38 | |
take a share in the company, but
they had to share information of | 0:18:38 | 0:18:42 | |
further losses. Uber are in the
firing line, people are out to look | 0:18:42 | 0:18:48 | |
for stories. Issues like industrial
espionage, isn't that a case of | 0:18:48 | 0:18:53 | |
loads of businesses do it, just
don't get caught doing it, isn't | 0:18:53 | 0:18:56 | |
that the reality? I think... A lot
of people would be offended by that. | 0:18:56 | 0:19:02 | |
The extent of bad behaviour by Uber
by their own admission, not | 0:19:02 | 0:19:07 | |
revealing a hack for 13 months,
allegedly stealing all sorts of | 0:19:07 | 0:19:14 | |
industrial secrets and hiring people
to do that. This comes at a time | 0:19:14 | 0:19:19 | |
when Lift, the US rival in the
states has released great numbers, | 0:19:19 | 0:19:26 | |
revenue more than tripled. There are
contenders to the Uber throne. | 0:19:26 | 0:19:30 | |
Certainly in the US. They face fewer
challenges overseas but they are | 0:19:30 | 0:19:37 | |
running up against regulators. In
London they are fighting a potential | 0:19:37 | 0:19:41 | |
ban. And Israel ruled against this
week and stopped operating there. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:45 | |
The trouble is carry on. A
roller-coaster ride as well for | 0:19:45 | 0:19:48 | |
Bitcoin, that is a huge story.
Hundreds of thousands of people | 0:19:48 | 0:19:52 | |
trying to jump in on the act. I am
in obsessed... I keep meaning to | 0:19:52 | 0:20:02 | |
sell it, but the roller-coaster ride
is ridiculous. I'm looking at what | 0:20:02 | 0:20:05 | |
has happened in the last 24-hour. It
reached $10,500, went as low as | 0:20:05 | 0:20:12 | |
$9,200 and has picked up a bit since
then. There are real signs of strain | 0:20:12 | 0:20:18 | |
in the system, one of the biggest
wallets where people store their | 0:20:18 | 0:20:23 | |
Bitcoin, inaccessible for many, and
inaccessible right now. It is those | 0:20:23 | 0:20:30 | |
who create Bitcoin who are
responsible for maintaining | 0:20:30 | 0:20:32 | |
transactions? The other huge
concern, the really interesting | 0:20:32 | 0:20:36 | |
story we are looking up at the
moment is the energy use around | 0:20:36 | 0:20:40 | |
Bitcoin. Actually, as it gets bigger
and bigger, it requires more and | 0:20:40 | 0:20:44 | |
more computer processing power. The
figure came out this week, more | 0:20:44 | 0:20:48 | |
energy used by Bitcoin each year
than the whole country of Ireland in | 0:20:48 | 0:20:52 | |
a year and that is continuing to
grow. Very briefly, I think even the | 0:20:52 | 0:20:58 | |
Goldman Sachs pass that this is a
vehicle for fraudsters. But one day, | 0:20:58 | 0:21:03 | |
once regulated, crypto currency will
be the way of the future? That is | 0:21:03 | 0:21:08 | |
what the believers say. And there is
huge belief in the technology | 0:21:08 | 0:21:12 | |
underlying it. A lot of people
plumping that. There is a frenzy | 0:21:12 | 0:21:17 | |
around it, anything around crypto
currencies has got people | 0:21:17 | 0:21:20 | |
potentially losing their minds.
Thank you very much indeed. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:24 | |
And if you want more of the latest
tech news you can catch Rory's | 0:21:24 | 0:21:28 | |
'Tech Tent' programme on BBC
World Service radio at 1500gmt, | 0:21:28 | 0:21:31 | |
and if you miss it you can download
the podcast from our website, | 0:21:31 | 0:21:34 | |
just search for BBC Tech Tent. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:44 | |
That is just an allegation. Have to
watch it and see for yourself. | 0:21:44 | 0:21:50 | |
You find them in almost every cafe
and bar in the world. | 0:21:50 | 0:21:53 | |
They're used by the
billions every year. | 0:21:53 | 0:21:54 | |
We're talking about the drinking
straw and it's the latest | 0:21:54 | 0:21:57 | |
in our Million Dollar Idea Series. | 0:21:57 | 0:21:58 | |
Here's Aaron Heslehurst. | 0:21:58 | 0:22:02 | |
It's drinking straws. However did we
slurp our drinks without them? We | 0:22:05 | 0:22:13 | |
used pieces of real straw. Then one
day in 1888, this man, Marvin Stone | 0:22:13 | 0:22:21 | |
of Washington, was sipping his
whiskey. His straw with getting | 0:22:21 | 0:22:26 | |
soggy, leaving gunk in his class, so
he took on paper, wrapped it around | 0:22:26 | 0:22:31 | |
a pencil to make it tube and
fastened the end with glue. The | 0:22:31 | 0:22:38 | |
first straw. Fast forward to 1936,
Joseph Freeman from San Francisco. | 0:22:38 | 0:22:45 | |
His young daughter couldn't drink
your milkshake, she is too small to | 0:22:45 | 0:22:48 | |
reach the top of the straw. If only
the straw would work if you bent it. | 0:22:48 | 0:22:56 | |
So Joseph took a screw, put it
inside the straw and then wrapped | 0:22:56 | 0:23:00 | |
dental floss around to make a spiral
indentation. Hey presto, it's the | 0:23:00 | 0:23:07 | |
world's first bendy straw. Nowadays
the world goes through billions of | 0:23:07 | 0:23:13 | |
dollars of drinking straws each
year, most of them plastic. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:16 | |
Americans won't go through 500
billion of these every single year. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:22 | |
That's 2 million tonnes of discarded
plastic. Can't we use anything? | 0:23:22 | 0:23:28 | |
I bought some wooden straws.
That's a start, well done. | 0:23:28 | 0:23:38 | |
Let's see what other
stories are being talked | 0:23:38 | 0:23:40 | |
about on social media. | 0:23:40 | 0:23:42 | |
Lucy McDonald, first of all, a story
in the Daily Telegraph, African | 0:23:42 | 0:23:47 | |
finance minister of the year is
facing jail for telling his | 0:23:47 | 0:23:50 | |
country's politicians to trim their
perks. This comes at a time when the | 0:23:50 | 0:23:54 | |
EU Africa summit is winding up. That
is aimed at trying to boost Africa's | 0:23:54 | 0:24:00 | |
growth and economic development.
That is also to do with cutting | 0:24:00 | 0:24:04 | |
corruption. What has happened here?
It is, Africa is a great growth area | 0:24:04 | 0:24:12 | |
that hasn't really delivered. If you
look at population growth, that is | 0:24:12 | 0:24:18 | |
where all the population growth is
going to come in the next 50 years. | 0:24:18 | 0:24:23 | |
We have seen some improvement in
overall economic growth but | 0:24:23 | 0:24:26 | |
corruption is the big problem. There
has been a lot of work done to help | 0:24:26 | 0:24:32 | |
this issue, but it seems very
difficult to completely eradicate it | 0:24:32 | 0:24:35 | |
and this feeds into the same story
again. 1.2 million dollars worth, | 0:24:35 | 0:24:45 | |
not an insignificant amount of money
and it is their allowances. I | 0:24:45 | 0:24:47 | |
suppose that would be their
argument. It is more the manner in | 0:24:47 | 0:24:51 | |
which you respond, seeking arrests.
It seems beyond bizarre structure | 0:24:51 | 0:24:55 | |
exactly. And as I say, it just
really taps into the big concern | 0:24:55 | 0:25:01 | |
that all investors have about
investing in the region. OK, it is | 0:25:01 | 0:25:06 | |
finally the start of December, the
green light by many to put up their | 0:25:06 | 0:25:10 | |
Christmas decorations. There is a
warning all that glitter is not good | 0:25:10 | 0:25:14 | |
for the environment. Apparently it
is very difficult and get stuck in | 0:25:14 | 0:25:20 | |
filtration systems. It is plastic.
Are you a fan of glitter or a | 0:25:20 | 0:25:25 | |
decorating fan, a Christmas fan? A
Christmas plan definitely. This is | 0:25:25 | 0:25:30 | |
the concern about the oceans. Fish
versus fun. The micro beads | 0:25:30 | 0:25:41 | |
legislation that's been talked about
here and is being put in place in | 0:25:41 | 0:25:46 | |
the US is tapping into that. Let me
bring in some tweets. Old-fashioned | 0:25:46 | 0:25:50 | |
comedy says I'm afraid I don't have
Christmas decorations, but we always | 0:25:50 | 0:25:53 | |
used to have a real treat.
What is wrong with wire coat hangers | 0:25:53 | 0:25:59 | |
and tinsel? Nothing, go for it! I
have had some for 25 | 0:25:59 | 0:26:03 |