0:00:00 > 0:00:02Theresa May says there will be no hard border in Ireland. That is our
0:00:02 > 0:00:07top story live from London.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11This is Business Live from BBC News, with Jamie Robertson and Ben Bland.
0:00:11 > 0:00:17Live from London, that's our top story on Friday 8th December.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21A major breakthrough in the Brexit process,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23but is it too little, too late for businesses
0:00:23 > 0:00:25here in the UK?
0:00:25 > 0:00:26We'll hear from the boss of the organisation
0:00:27 > 0:00:32which represents UK industry.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37Also in the programme...
0:00:37 > 0:00:38We're taking a break from fake news,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40we'll be looking at fake goods instead.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43A Chinese firm has lost a landmark legal case preventing it
0:00:43 > 0:00:45from selling counterfeit Lego.
0:00:45 > 0:00:52And finally, on the markets, the stats looking fairly strong and we
0:00:52 > 0:00:55have had a good performance on the Asian markets as well. We will bring
0:00:55 > 0:00:56you more on that.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59And the US government has avoided a cliff-edge of its own.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Republicans and Democrats have come to a temporary agreement
0:01:01 > 0:01:03which prevents the shutdown of federal agencies -
0:01:03 > 0:01:05we'll have more on that later in the show.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Following that story about copyright in China,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10today we want to know whether you've had to deal with fake goods.
0:01:10 > 0:01:11Maybe you've bought some inadvertently?
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Can you even spot the difference?
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Let us know, using the hashtag #BBCBizLive.
0:01:24 > 0:01:31Hello and welcome to Business Live.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34We start in Brussels, where it looks like, for now,
0:01:34 > 0:01:35the deadlock over Brexit has been broken.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38After talks with UK Prime Minister Theresa May early this morning,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40the European Commission has announced that "enough progress" has
0:01:40 > 0:01:43been made on the terms of divorce to begin the second
0:01:43 > 0:01:47phase of negotiations.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51This now opens the door for talks on the future trading relationship
0:01:51 > 0:01:54between the UK and the EU after it leaves in 2019.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56The agreement comes after the Prime Minister
0:01:56 > 0:02:02committed to no hard border between Northern Ireland
0:02:02 > 0:02:03and the Republic.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05The business community has welcomed the decision.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Earlier, we spoke to the head of the organisation which represents
0:02:08 > 0:02:16industry here in the UK.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Now, of course, the hard work starts, that is developing agreement
0:02:20 > 0:02:22for the long term relationship between the EU and the UK. And in
0:02:22 > 0:02:30the meantime, bringing great clarity to transition, so that businesses
0:02:30 > 0:02:33can suspend any contingency planning. And secondly, making sure
0:02:33 > 0:02:39that the EU citizens go home this Christmas confident that they're
0:02:39 > 0:02:42welcome in the UK and they can stay with the full support of the UK
0:02:42 > 0:02:48going forward. So, and unconditional assurance to EU citizens I think
0:02:48 > 0:02:54will make a big Franz Liszt Christmas.-- will make a big
0:02:54 > 0:02:55difference this Christmas.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Our economics editor Kamal Ahmed joins us now.
0:03:00 > 0:03:11A bit of divers and should -- a bit of a divers and check -- a bit of a
0:03:11 > 0:03:13divergences between what Theresa May and what Donald Tusk were saying in
0:03:13 > 0:03:17terms of the future trading relationship?Is I think many
0:03:17 > 0:03:20businesses would argue that they are much more in the Donald Tusk
0:03:20 > 0:03:23position than they are in the Theresa May position. The key thing
0:03:23 > 0:03:28for businesses and indeed for the economics of this deal is the
0:03:28 > 0:03:31transition and final end stage of the relationship between the UK and
0:03:31 > 0:03:37the European Union. Now, on that matter, there's not a lot of
0:03:37 > 0:03:41substance in the agreement we've had today. So, the agreement on citizens
0:03:41 > 0:03:44rights, the agreement on the open border and the agreement on the
0:03:44 > 0:03:49divorce bill, I think politically are good news for the UK Government
0:03:49 > 0:03:53and for the European Commission and for the European Union 27. But what
0:03:53 > 0:03:57of course we don't have is how any of those things are going to work.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01How are we going to maintain an open border between the Republic of
0:04:01 > 0:04:06Ireland and Northern Ireland, if we have different customs arrangements
0:04:06 > 0:04:11between the UK and the rest of the EU? So, I think it's not the time
0:04:11 > 0:04:15that businesses will think, right, that's the deal done, we can get on
0:04:15 > 0:04:19with it. The big issue now is the transition period, and what will the
0:04:19 > 0:04:24end state look like? Businesses plan long-term and that is what they will
0:04:24 > 0:04:28be looking for.Have we passed any particular milestones, are there
0:04:28 > 0:04:33things in this statement where we can say, that's done?I think on the
0:04:33 > 0:04:38divorce deal, the money, that seems to be clear. Britain will be paying
0:04:38 > 0:04:43money over a long period of time for the commitment is...Do we know how
0:04:43 > 0:04:46much?We will never know, we will not know how much until we have paid
0:04:46 > 0:04:53that last amount. It could be years, it could be decades. The UK will pay
0:04:53 > 0:04:58an amount every year, dependent on when the liabilities become due,
0:04:58 > 0:05:03like pension payments, for example, for European Union officials. On
0:05:03 > 0:05:08citizens rights, much more clarity on that. That is citizens rights for
0:05:08 > 0:05:11EU people living in the UK and for British people living in the
0:05:11 > 0:05:17European Union. Those will be guaranteed. The UK has pledged to
0:05:17 > 0:05:20write that into UK law and to take due regard of the European Court of
0:05:20 > 0:05:26Justice judgments on that. I would say that is a dotted line authority.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32The judges are well used to this idea of due regard. Action can be
0:05:32 > 0:05:36taken against you if you have been proved not to have taken due regard.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40I think the big issue is this open border issue, which is the real
0:05:40 > 0:05:43business of economics. The document today says that the border will
0:05:43 > 0:05:52remain open, and that Britain will commit to having no customs border
0:05:52 > 0:05:55between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. How that works is
0:05:55 > 0:06:02difficult to see, as I say, if we have a situation after 2019, when
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Britain and the rest of the European Union have different customs rules
0:06:06 > 0:06:10and are not in a single market. That's the big thing that businesses
0:06:10 > 0:06:21now want to. And they will want the detail.Thank you very much. You can
0:06:21 > 0:06:25check out the effect this is having on business and the economy by
0:06:25 > 0:06:36looking at the BBC business live page.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49For that, just go to the BBC website, follow the links to the
0:06:49 > 0:06:55business page and click on business live. Updates throughout the day on
0:06:55 > 0:07:00this breaking and developing story.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Lego has won a landmark case in China against two companies that
0:07:02 > 0:07:05made and sold toys almost identical to its Lego Friends range.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08This is the first time Lego has won a copyright case in China.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Leisha Santorelli is in our Asia Business hub with more.
0:07:11 > 0:07:18Leisha, counterfeiting is a big problem in China isn't it?
0:07:18 > 0:07:23Absolutely. International brands have complained about the problem
0:07:23 > 0:07:26for years, but the good news is that it looks like the authorities are
0:07:26 > 0:07:31now taking steps to protect overseas intellectual property. In the case
0:07:31 > 0:07:36of Lego, these two Chinese companies had 30 much copied the Lego Friends
0:07:36 > 0:07:42range of toys, and they had even copied the packaging and the logo,
0:07:42 > 0:07:48which you can see for yourself if you do a search online. This is a
0:07:48 > 0:07:54big win for Lego in China. Earlier this year a court had ruled that it
0:07:54 > 0:07:58was a well-known trademark in China. But China is a particularly
0:07:58 > 0:08:01important market for the company, because it has actually been
0:08:01 > 0:08:06struggling. It posted its most disappointing sales numbers out of
0:08:06 > 0:08:11the US and Europe recently. In fact, the worst performance in over a
0:08:11 > 0:08:15decade, and so it is cutting more than 1000 jobs. So, China is
0:08:15 > 0:08:18particularly important to its future fortunes. And so this ruling will
0:08:18 > 0:08:21make sure that its toys are sold through the proper, so is and not
0:08:21 > 0:08:28the counterfeit ones.Thank you very much for that. Now, the markets
0:08:28 > 0:08:40here... The growth forecast for Japan was very good. We also had
0:08:40 > 0:08:43some very good figures on economic growth coming out of China as well,
0:08:43 > 0:08:53so the Hang Seng was up well over 1%. And the European markets... The
0:08:53 > 0:08:58FTSE started up but only by a small amount. The Dax was up by three
0:08:58 > 0:09:04quarters of 1%. Some details now...
0:09:04 > 0:09:06And Samira Hussain has the details about what's ahead
0:09:06 > 0:09:09on Wall Street Today.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14This Friday is all about the jobs report to be released by the US
0:09:14 > 0:09:18Labor Department. Economists are expecting the economy to have added
0:09:18 > 0:09:25about 200,000 jobs, after surging with 206 to 1000 jobs in the month
0:09:25 > 0:09:30of October. The unemployment rate is expected to remain the same, at
0:09:30 > 0:09:354.1%. This is the final jobs report before the US Federal reserve, the
0:09:35 > 0:09:41central bank of America, meets next week. The Fed will be watching this
0:09:41 > 0:09:43jobs report closely and they are expected to raise rates at this
0:09:43 > 0:09:48meeting. The latest consumer sentiment index by the university of
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Michigan will be released and it is expected to show a preliminary
0:09:52 > 0:09:55reading of 99 points over the month of December. That is up from
0:09:55 > 0:10:00previous month. This is a measure of how confident Americans are feeling
0:10:00 > 0:10:05about finance and the business climate and their finances.Samira
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Hussain there in New York.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Joining us is Jeremy Stretch, head of currency strategy
0:10:11 > 0:10:16at CIBC World Markets.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19And currency is where we seem to be seeing a lot of the reaction to the
0:10:19 > 0:10:24politics going on in Brussels and this breakthrough?Absolutely. This
0:10:24 > 0:10:27week we have seen extreme levels of volatility, we've seen the market
0:10:27 > 0:10:31react team to Twitter rumours all week as we've seen this debate about
0:10:31 > 0:10:34whether there was going to be an agreement or not. Now that we've
0:10:34 > 0:10:38seen this move towards the next phase, we have seen sterling
0:10:38 > 0:10:41benefiting, which has taken us back to the kind of levels we were
0:10:41 > 0:10:45trading at at the beginning of the week, when we thought there would be
0:10:45 > 0:10:50an agreement. And notably, as the parity rallies, that's why the
0:10:50 > 0:10:54FTSE-100 is less robust than its counterparts in Europe, because as
0:10:54 > 0:10:58sterling goes up, that impacts the foreign earnings.What about the US,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02what should we be looking for in the jobs report which Samira Hussain was
0:11:02 > 0:11:07talking about, from a currency and markets point of view?Absolutely. I
0:11:07 > 0:11:11think it is all about the wage numbers. I think that's the real
0:11:11 > 0:11:15issue, not just for the US but in terms of global central backs in
0:11:15 > 0:11:19general. Of course, we've seen remarkable falls in unemployment
0:11:19 > 0:11:23levels, not just in the US but in most Western economies and yet we
0:11:23 > 0:11:28have not seen that reflect it in higher wages yet. If there is a sign
0:11:28 > 0:11:33that because of the labour market and because of the lower
0:11:33 > 0:11:38unemployment, that it is starting to come through, if that is the case
0:11:38 > 0:11:40then I think it has indications for the Federal Reserve in terms of
0:11:40 > 0:11:45their interest rate policy for 2018. And I think it has applications for
0:11:45 > 0:11:51other countries as well.We're going to talk about newspapers later in
0:11:51 > 0:11:58the programme! And you will be there, worldview?!Indeed I will!
0:11:58 > 0:11:59Still to come...
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Republicans and Democrats have come to a temporary agreement
0:12:01 > 0:12:03which prevents the shutdown of federal agencies.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05It'll see operations continue for another fortnight,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07but is the next funding crisis just around the corner?
0:12:07 > 0:12:14You're with Business Live from BBC News.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17How easy is it for you to get to work by public transport alone
0:12:17 > 0:12:18from where you live?
0:12:18 > 0:12:21According to new research by Direct Line Car Insurance -
0:12:21 > 0:12:23a fifth of us are unable to get to work using public
0:12:24 > 0:12:29transport alone.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Stephen Joseph, is the Chief Executive Officer,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35of the Campaign for Better Transport and he joins us from the newsroom.
0:12:35 > 0:12:42Is this the government's problem, or the free market? Because generally
0:12:42 > 0:12:45it has been the free market for the last 20 years.Ultimately the
0:12:45 > 0:12:51government. Government controls a lot of what goes on in transport. To
0:12:51 > 0:13:01do with the railways under of funding. We have seen bus fares
0:13:01 > 0:13:04going up by something like twice the rate of inflation over the last 20
0:13:04 > 0:13:08years. We have seen the disappearance of whole bus networks
0:13:08 > 0:13:14and therefore transport deserts appearing. And we've seen rail fares
0:13:14 > 0:13:21go up significantly, as well, above. With another rise due of the
0:13:21 > 0:13:27inflation level in the New Year. We are trying to get people away from
0:13:27 > 0:13:30core independence. Giving them real choice in how to get around, and
0:13:30 > 0:13:34particularly funding public transport better in the way other
0:13:34 > 0:13:38European countries do.Is this a productivity issue? We've heard a
0:13:38 > 0:13:41lot about that over the last few weeks with the Budget, and so on.It
0:13:41 > 0:13:47is. One of the things we have seen, we are getting heart rendering
0:13:47 > 0:13:50stories from people who find themselves locked out of labour
0:13:50 > 0:13:57markets because basically cannot get to or from work. In some places this
0:13:57 > 0:14:01affects whole communities. Some of the old coal communities in the
0:14:01 > 0:14:05Midlands and North of England have lost a lot of public transport. It
0:14:05 > 0:14:08makes it difficult for people there to actually get into the labour
0:14:08 > 0:14:15markets. We've always said transport is an underrated part of the market.
0:14:15 > 0:14:21It doesn't fall into the transport frameworks, but it is very
0:14:21 > 0:14:27important.Thank you very much.
0:14:27 > 0:14:34What have you found out? Plenty of updates. The story
0:14:34 > 0:14:39dominating his Brexit. Now for the hard work, the words from the CBI.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41History shows that trade negotiations are the toughest thing
0:14:41 > 0:14:48you can engage in. That is where the talks move next week to begin
0:14:48 > 0:14:50discussing the future trade relationship. More details on the
0:14:50 > 0:15:00website.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06The talks on Brexit have reached something of a milestone. And it
0:15:06 > 0:15:10looks like they are progressing to the talks on trade in the coming
0:15:10 > 0:15:16months. Talks about talks beginning on Monday, according to Donald Tusk
0:15:17 > 0:15:24. Let's turn our attention to the other side a -- the other side of
0:15:24 > 0:15:30the Atlantic.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33The US Congress has passed a last-minute bill to stop
0:15:33 > 0:15:36the government running out of money - but only for two weeks.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Now President Trump and the House have until December 22nd to thrash
0:15:39 > 0:15:40out long term deal on spending.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43It's all about what's known as the 'debt ceiling' -the country's
0:15:43 > 0:15:44borrowing limit set by Congress.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Mike Jacob and joined us. We seem to reach this point any soap -- every
0:15:47 > 0:15:51so often, is it different this time? It was only three months ago we last
0:15:51 > 0:15:56talked about this when Trump struck a deal with Democrat leadership
0:15:56 > 0:16:00rather than republicans and upset his party significantly.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05I'm really sorry to interrupt... We need to cross live to Michel Barnier
0:16:05 > 0:16:08who is speaking. Let's listen to him now.
0:16:09 > 0:16:15...And also the tax payers. We need to be accountable at every stage of
0:16:15 > 0:16:25the negotiations. Now if the European Council agrees, and
0:16:25 > 0:16:30following the European Parliament's resolution next week, the document
0:16:30 > 0:16:39could be the basis for the withdrawal agreement. Let me be
0:16:39 > 0:16:47clear. There will still work to be done. There are a range of issues,
0:16:47 > 0:16:55such as the governance of our agreement, or, for instant... There
0:16:55 > 0:17:02are more others to take. We will need to have the final version of
0:17:02 > 0:17:12the withdrawal agreement ready by October 2018. Less than one year.
0:17:12 > 0:17:21But at this turning point I want to pay tribute to the dedication of all
0:17:21 > 0:17:33members of both our teams, our coordinators, Europeans, and on my
0:17:33 > 0:17:39side, all of the members of my task force team. And also on our side, I
0:17:39 > 0:17:47want to personally thank President Jean-Claude Juncker and his Cabinet,
0:17:47 > 0:17:53the secretary-general, the legal service Commissioners, and their
0:17:53 > 0:18:02Cabinet. We have all worked very hard over the last few weeks, days,
0:18:02 > 0:18:10and nights, to achieve this. This first result was also made possible
0:18:10 > 0:18:20by our very close work with the council team. With the 27 member
0:18:20 > 0:18:29states. On the EU side we have all worked together every single week
0:18:29 > 0:18:38since negotiations started. On Wednesday the president and I
0:18:38 > 0:18:42updated the College of Commissioners. Jean-Claude Juncker
0:18:42 > 0:18:50told you this morning, based on our agreement, his recommendation, my
0:18:50 > 0:18:55recommendation, and the recommendation of the College of
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Commissioners, that the progress achieved today is sufficient to move
0:18:58 > 0:19:04to the next phase. It is now up to the European Council to decide
0:19:04 > 0:19:10whether this constitutes sufficient progress, and to move talks to the
0:19:10 > 0:19:18next stage. We will then have completed the first chapter of this
0:19:18 > 0:19:25extraordinary negotiation. My assessment of this first result,
0:19:25 > 0:19:32ladies and gentlemen, is based on the real progress on each of our
0:19:32 > 0:19:51three main issues. SPEAKS FRENCH.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59STUDIO: Michel Barnier, the lead negotiator for the European Union in
0:19:59 > 0:20:04the Brexit talks just giving hers comments. Earlier we heard from
0:20:04 > 0:20:12Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk, and Theresa May. Underlining there,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Michel Barnier, the fact there is an expectation that the withdrawal, the
0:20:16 > 0:20:20full withdrawal agreement, must be ready by October next year. The
0:20:20 > 0:20:24reason for that, they want to give plenty of time for the European
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Parliament to discuss it, debate it, and ratify what at the negotiating
0:20:27 > 0:20:32teams come up with. That, as he pointed out, gives them less than a
0:20:32 > 0:20:37year. It echoes the earlier sentiment of Donald Tusk who said
0:20:37 > 0:20:42breaking up is hard, but breaking up and crafting a new future
0:20:42 > 0:20:45relationship is even harder. And all of them alluding to the fact there
0:20:45 > 0:20:50are more hurdles to overcome as the Brexit talks move into the next
0:20:50 > 0:20:54stage. The other thing we must remember,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58this all still has to be approved by the European Council, even though a
0:20:58 > 0:21:02deal has been done. They have final say on this. They are saying an
0:21:02 > 0:21:04agreement has been done, the agreement isn't in place until that
0:21:04 > 0:21:16meeting of the 27 members next week. Mike is still with us from the
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Economist Intelligence Unit. Listening to Michel Barnier, it was
0:21:18 > 0:21:23quite an interesting point he made about the hurdles that lie ahead.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27And I suppose that is what a lot of businesses will be waiting to see.
0:21:27 > 0:21:33Just how quickly, how much more smoothly to the next -- to the next
0:21:33 > 0:21:43phase of talks go.You start from different positions. They harden
0:21:43 > 0:21:46themselves into those positions. In the UK realises a compromise needs
0:21:46 > 0:21:51to be struck and they start to make concessions. The pattern will
0:21:51 > 0:21:56continue throughout the entire negotiating process, I think.Where
0:21:56 > 0:22:00are the big slip ups going to be, or the obstacles in the trade
0:22:00 > 0:22:07discussions, do you think?A couple of sets of the UK economy will want
0:22:07 > 0:22:10something specific. Particularly agriculture. Getting the opt outs
0:22:10 > 0:22:14will be difficult, I think.Thank you for your thoughts. Mike Kennedy
0:22:14 > 0:22:19talk about the US debt ceiling, and we've bounced you into talking about
0:22:19 > 0:22:26Brexit, thanks very much. -- Mike came in to talk about. More
0:22:26 > 0:22:30throughout the day here on BBC World News, and the BBC News Channel.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34And you can get everything we have been talking about all the BBC
0:22:34 > 0:22:34website.