04/01/2018 BBC Business Live

Live from London, that's our top

story on Thursday, 4th January.

Computer chips made by Intel have

been shown to have serious security

flaws but those made by ARM and AMD

are also affected, we'll tell

you everything you need to know.

Also in the programme.

A week after Iran's protests kicked

off the authorities declare victory

but the economic worries

haven't gone away.

Japan closes at a 26 year high. This

is Europe and how it is trading

right now.

This is Europe and how

it is trading right now.

And taking homework online.

We'll speak to the former teacher

whose using to technology to make it

easier for students to give

in their work and

teachers to mark it.

So will it bring an end to excuses

like "My dog ate it, sir"?

Today we want to know.

With the floating of Spotify set

to be worth billions -

have you embraced the music

streaming revolution?

Or are you still using

an iPod, CDs or vinyl?

Just use the hashtag BBCBizLive.

Hello and welcome to Business Live.

So many of you have been in touch

already about the Spotify story so

keep your comments coming in and we

will fill you in on what you have

been saying as the programme

progresses.

Let us start with the story

regarding Intel.

Let us start with the

story regarding Intel.

Nearly all the world's computers

worldwide have been exposed

to security flaws which leave them

vulnerable to attacks by hackers.

Many smartphones and tablets

are also affected by the flaw in

the chips which power the devices.

There are two separate

security flaws, known

as Meltdown and Spectre.

Meltdown affects Intel chips,

they're the most popular by far,

and are in around 1.35 billion

personal computers worldwide

as well as internet servers.

Spectre potentially

has a wider reach.

It affects chips in smartphones,

tablets and computers powered

by Intel, ARM and AMD.

Fixes are being rolled out,

but some researchers have claimed

they could slow down computer

systems by as much as 30%

but Intel believes these

claims are exaggerated.

Let's get more on this

with our technology

correspondent Rory Cellan Jones.

So it seems like we have a

programme. One for us, two for

Intel. Let us talk about us first,

have we got a problem, how big is

it?

I love the fact that cyber

security industry calls these two

meltdown and spectre. Nothing to

scare anybody at all. This is, this

is very serious, the industry has

known about it for some month, what

happens is they are discovered and

there is a race to fix them before

they become public, so, They are

annoyed it has come out. What this

is, is a flaw which could enable

somebody with malicious intent to

get into the heart of a computer,

places where you are not supposed to

be able to get, where secure

information such as passwords, the

Crown jewels are kept, so that is

why there is such concern. But there

has been this effort goes on over

many months to fix this flaw, in all

of these different chip designs, I

think it is quite far advanced. The

security patches are already being

rolled out, we should see more over

the coming days and obviously the

instruction is, if you get a note

saying update your computer, do it.

OK, what about Intel, how big a

problem for them is it?

It is less

of a problem we first thought. When

this first merging a news site that

broke this yesterday, and it was

thought to be just about Intel, and

other chip makers were walking round

looking pleased with themselves,

then, late last night we had Google

security blog, pretty respected,

came out with this line it actually

after fectd effected AMD, a big

rival chip maker and ARM who designs

the chips that go into mobile

phones. A huge hit on Intel share

price, at one point it was down 5%,

others were soaring upwards, we will

see the pain is spread more evenly.

? One last question, as far as we

know, nobody has made use of this

vulnerability, has anyone hacked? We

are just open at the moment? It is a

potential vulnerability, the UK's

national cyber security centre,

stressed as far as we know nobody so

far has managed to exploit this

flaw.

Thank you. Are you off tomorrow?

I

am getting on a plane to go to...

Las Vegas.

What some would regard

Aztec heaven, the show in Las Vegas.

The next time we will see Rory it

will be there. We look forward to

hearing about it.

We look forward to hearing about it.

Let's take a look at some of

the other stories making the news.

The world's most popular music

streaming company Spotify is widely

reported to have approached US

regulators to list

its shares publicly

on the New York Stock Exchange.

According to Axios and Bloomberg,

the firm hopes to launch its shares

in the first three months

of the year.

The company could be worth as much

as $15bn and has declined

to comment on the reports.

Electric car maker Tesla has again

pushed back production targets

for its mass-market Model three.

Tesla now says it will hit 5000

cars per week at the end

of the second quarter -

instead of at the end

of the first quarter

as per their previous announcement.

As tech heaven, the show in Las

Vegas. The next time we will see

Rory it will be there. We look

forward to hearing about it.

Manchester City have more financial

firepower than any other club in

world football accuse coring to a

new ranking by soccer X. It is owned

by Sheikh Mansour, who has invested

heavily in the team since he took it

over almost a decade ago.

Next, Iran, where the head

of the Revolutionary Guards has

declared the defeat of 'sedition'

in the country.

He's referring of course to a wave

of anti-government protests

which began last week.

But the economic issues behind

them haven't gone away.

This is Iran's economic growth rate

over the past decade.

You can see how it has struggled

because of international sanctions -

and then been boosted since the deal

over Iran's nuclear programme

The problem is - many people have

yet to feel the benefit.

According to a BBC

Persian investigation -

living standards have fallen sharply

over the last decade -

with the average household

budget down to £12,500.

France-based TV presenter

Sanam Shantyaei has

just returned from Iran.

She told the BBC the economy is

the main grievance for many people.

Ording to a new ranking by Soccer X.

It is owned by Sheikh Mansour, who

has invested heavily in the team

since he took it over almost a

decade ago.

The price of Stanle goods has been

soaring compared to people's

incomes. Let us talk to a Middle

East analyst. Those things, is that

the reason we have problems

The main

driver is certainly economic grow

vanses, I think you can --

grievance, you can summarise them in

two point, firstly the nuclear deal,

which came into effect in early

2016, raised expectations

significantly, the President sold it

as something that would reinvigorate

the economy and boost living

standards, while economic growth has

rebounded living standards haven't

matched that.

Isn't it too soon,

given the fact that international

trade sanctions were only lifted

recently.

That is a good point.

Things take time but the trouble

with the recovery that has happened

is that it is mostly been in the oil

and gas sector, which is not labour

intensive so it doesn't necessarily

help boost employment, one of the

key inissues ssm

Is the Government

aware and it is doing something

about this?

The Government is aware

but there is a contradiction between

the authorities in Iran. The

President is keen to introduce

economic reforms, but of course,

there is the Conservative

establishment within the theocratic

regime that contradicts these.

As

well, many have said that one of the

major issues for the economy is the

banking system, the financial

services and the fact they are so

far behind?

The banking system has

its own problems domestically, there

is a lot of bad debt, a lack of

transparency, but sanction, US

sanctions are still inhibiting the

banking sector.

We will leave it

there, thank you.

China's Didi Chuxing is going to be

at loggerheads with US giant Uber

in Brazil, after buying out local

firm 99 Taxis

for a reported $600 million.

With more on the significance of

this deal, Robin Brant

is in Shanghai.

Good to see you. So is that big deal

and is Uber worried?

Yes it is is a

big deal, because this company is

making its first big step in a

foreign market. Didi we are hearing

is looking to go into Mexico as well

and possibly employ drivers there

under its own branding, so this move

in Brazil is a significant step in

the Latin American market. It

reminds us of these big expansions

that these big privately held

Chinese tech companies have. Have.

Didi's COO says it is a top

priority. It is only four years old.

They have managed to raise $4

billion in its last investment round

last year, a young company but one

with huge global ambitionings. It is

a reminder as well of what China is

trying to do in terms of its globe

presence. The company is is a good

example here, perhaps we will see

more of the initial tie up, it has

strategic partnerships with seven

other... In certain markets and what

it does it goes in and ties up and

buys them later, is that going to

happen in India or Europe? Almost

certainly.

We will watch this space.

Let us look at the financial

markets. It was a really good

session in Asia, Japan closing at

23506. A 3.26 gain for the markets

in Tokyo, the first day of trading

in Japan, in 2018, that is a 26 year

high. All this follows in Asia

throughout, and also it follows a

record breaker the night before,

particularly for the SNP500. There

is so much momentum in the markets.

Let us look at Europe. We have a

sense of how things are going. You

can see they are up. Germany up at

the moment. There is lots of issues

at play, we have oil prices rising,

we had a weaker yen in Japan, we

have a big report out Friday

tomorrow, US December employment

data which is very important, of

global attention, so let us look

ahead to today on Wall Street. Here

is Samara.

The eastern part of US

and Canada has been living under

cold temperatures for the last ten

day, and now, the same area is

expecting a winter storm so intense,

it has been called a bomb cyclone,

with snow and strong winds that

could take out trees and power line,

that means people who are out

spending money will likely be buying

shovels and heater, hopefully the

ADP national employment report will

warm the hearts of Wall Street. It

is expected to show that US private

employers added 190,000 jobs in the

month of December, finally the US

drug store chain wall green is

expected to report an increase in

its first quarter profit, helped by

a boost in sales of prescription

drugs.

Joining us is Maike Currie,

Investment Director

at Fidelity International.

So Japan, off with a bang?

Absolutely.

What is the reason

behind? It?

We knowed that that a

strong second half after the

re-election of the Prime Minister,

and we just seeing a continuation of

that. Germany, the strong results

out of Germany and the US, strong

manufacturing data is playing a

role, but also, Japan is benefits

from the weaker yen, this is an

export driven economy. It benefits

when the currency is weaker.

As well

of course Japan has been shut till

now, since the end of last year, so

it is kind of catching up because

America and Europe has been open for

a few days and we have been seeing

them going up and up. Tell us about

oil as well. That not breaking new

ground but certainly, round $66 a

barrel?

The question is whether will

oil find the balance? Probably

between $60-70, we have tensions in

Iran, we have tensions between Saudi

Arabia and Iran, but also, global

growth is picking up, on the demands

side we are getting that coming

through.

But, doesn't round about

this level, I would have thought it

was more like closer to $60 that

they start opening the taps.

That is

is a good point. The Shell producers

have been nimble in picking up

protection as soon as the oil price

picks up and that threat remains

there. Opec has been more

disciplined in putting the kerbs on.

What about Iran, what effect is that

having on oil?

We have the

anti-Government protest you spoke

about earlier, so that is putting

some pressure on oil but the big

player is to peck cartel, they have

been disciplined and decided to curb

production for all of 2018.

OK. Stay

round. We will be talking about

newspapers later and also about what

you listen do your music on? Vinyl?

No, no.

CD?

Streaming.

All right.

Still to come. Taking homework on

line we will speak to the former

teacher who is using technology to

make it easier for students to give

in homework and for teachers to keep

track of it.

You're with Business

Live from BBC News.

Have you ever raged about having

to use a self-checkout till

in a shop, rather than being served

by a human being?

You may have to get used to it.

A new report is warning that

some minimum wage jobs -

including cashiers and shop

assistants - could be replaced

by machines or computers.

Agnes Norris Keiller,

Research Economist from IFS

joins us from the newsroom.

What have you found? What are you

predicting?

Good morning. In this

latest piece of work we look at the

sort of people who are doing jobs

which are paid at the minimum wage.

In the next two years, the minimum

wage is set to rise substantially.

While people who are currently paid

the minimum wage are currently

employed in personal servants --

services like

people currently work in personal

services like care work which are

difficult for machines to do.

Do you

think this will push wages up

because you cannot automate these

jobs?

Yes, typically we think some

on's wage is determined by how

easily a new employer can choose

between a work or a machine. Because

the lowest paid doing jobs which are

hard for computers to do, that has

insulated them against technological

change. However, over the next two

years, if the minimum wage rises and

covers more people, the jobs there's

minimum wage workers are doing might

be easier for computers

to do, so we might the increase in

unemployment, rather than an

increase in the wages of low-wage

workers.

Interesting. Agnes, thank

you. On our website our economics

editor Kamal Ahmed has also written

about this report and the analysis

of how it affects us all.

And there is also a story about

house prices which rose by 6.2%

across the UK but the nationwide is

warning that the situation varies

depending on where you are. In

London, prices are 55% above where

they were in 2007, but in certain

areas, including West London, you

will find that prices have been

falling.

Our top story today, tech firms are

rushing to fix major bugs in

computer chips which means hackers

could get our personal data.

Let's have a quick look at the

market.

All the markets are benefiting from

rises in Japan which itself

benefited from rises in the United

States.

When choosing a career,

becoming a teacher can be a very

rewarding profession.

However, many find the job

stressful and are overworked.

In a bid to tackle this,

more and more schools

are using online programmes

to alleviate some

of those pressures.

According to some analysts,

the global e-Learning market

could be worth $325 billion by 2025.

In India alone, the online education

industry is expected rise by 800%

over the next three years.

And in China, the country currently

has 90 million students using online

software for educational purposes.

Satchel is one example of a company

which works with students,

teachers and tutors to provide

a range of services including

interactive resources and online

homework submission.

I know it well. My son uses the

system at his school.

Other products are available, or we

have to say.

They are indeed but not at my son's

school.

We're joined by Naimish Gohil,

CEO and co-founder of Satchel.

Just tell us what your product is

capable of doing?

Our software makes

it easy for teachers to set homework

and parents can see the homework

without having to rely on their

children. They can have this

information ahead of time. I think

the big benefit is they can stay

informed and be ahead of the curve

so they can be involved in their

child's education.

I have to say, it

sounds like a no-brainer. I'm amazed

this was not done years ago but your

company has been around a while, but

I'm amazed there is not more

competition in this market?

Icon

from this world. I used to be a

teacher.

But you are also an

engineer?

Have an engineering

background so I was able to merge my

engineering and teaching skills.

When you are a teacher in the

trenches, you don't have time to

learn how to use lots of new

technology. It should be like

electricity. You should just press

the switch and it will work. I think

that has been one of our big

strengths.

I have to agree with you.

I am useless when it comes to

technology that I can use this and I

can keep an eye on what my son is up

to or what he is not up to, but it

does not improve his performance. It

just tells me what he's doing or

what he was not doing. I wish there

was something out there that would

make in work harder or better or

improve?

That is a very valid

question. From our side, technology

like this can hopefully free up

teachers' time and if we can do that

it means they can spend more time

creating relevant quality homework,

so when students are spending

outside school, it is worthwhile and

they are more interested and engaged

in it.

How much competition is

there? How far right you getting

into this market? How much further

is there to go?

In the UK we are

used by more than one in three

secondary schools in the UK. We have

customers in 23 countries outside

the UK. What is exciting and

beneficial for the industry as a

whole, we see lots of technology

from other education providers and

other teachers, but are building

solutions that can hopefully impact

the whole industry.

The way you make

money as the school pays you an

annual subscription for this

service. But I would expect the

school then to make some savings. So

my son has got the system that we

are talking about, but also he has

this big fat homework diary where he

physically write stuff in there as

well. You would think the schools

would make some sort of savings but

they'll still using old tech and new

tech?... Yes, we are starting to see

that more and more. As schools

become more and more comfortable

with technology, we are finding over

time they reduced the amount of

money they spend on physical

products like diaries.

Naimish Gohil from Satchel, thank

you for joining us.

In a moment we'll take a look

through the business pages but first

here's a quick reminder of how

to get in touch with us.

Stay up-to-date with all the day's

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BBC's Business Live page. There is

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We are on Twitter and you can find

us on Facebook. Business Live, on TV

and online. What you need to know

when you need to know.

What other business

stories has the media been

taking an interest in?

Maike Currie is joining

us again to discuss.

Spotify, the big one. That seems to

be getting everybody excited. Are

you excited?

I am excited. It is

interesting because we will see more

and more of these digital players

list on the main stock exchange is.

It is tricky to value these

companies and we will see some

comparisons with the company like

Snapchat which listed at a boom but

since then the share price has

fallen.

We have a tweet but I am

logging into Twitter as we speak.

Technology is not my strength! James

says I keep my vinyl as a souvenir.

I still listen to old CDs now and

then. Quite a few of you have told

me that you still have cassettes.

I

love cassettes but you have to have

a good machine to listen on.

Ryan

says I never use Spotify but I use

Apple music mostly with their

download option, customise channels

and he has a long list of streaming

services.

This person says vinyl

cannot be replicated digitally.

Another story, this story about

Norway, I really like. I am not

surprised at all to hear that Norway

is the country with the most hybrid

or electric cars on the roads.

Norway has a name of having hybrid

or electric cars by 2025, so just in

a few years' time, to reduce

pollution. They give generous tax

breaks and people who buy these cars

get the benefit of free ferries and

toll fares. Norway is the biggest

producer of oil in Western Europe.

The government now has two claw-back

on all these subsidies and ways of

encouraging people to use electric,

because they have been so

successful?

Her razor Norway!