29/01/2018 BBC Business Live

The European Union will reveal

all in a few hours.

Live from London,

that's our top story

on Monday the 29th of January.

British Prime Minister Theresa May

is facing battles within her own

party over the terms

of leaving the European Union.

Just as Brussels tells the UK what

it expects. We will talk through

what is at stake.

Also in the programme...

How education is changing

to prepare students for jobs

in Artificial Intelligence,

Augmented Reality and Robotics.

We take a closer look.

A brand-new business week is under

way. Most of the markets are headed

higher. We will tell you all you

need to know.

The need for weed,

as cannabis is being legalised

across the United States.

We meet one company

is helping to turn local pot

growers into big business.

But, do you think that

cannabis should be

treated the same way

as tobacco and alcohol?

That is what we are asking today.

Let us know.

Just use the hashtag BBCBizLive.

Don't hold back. Tell us what you

think about the legalisation of

cannabis and its sale en masse in

places like Colorado. It is a hot

debate.

Brexit dominates

the headlines again.

The UK Prime Minister is said to be

fighting battles within her

Conservative Party over the terms

of leaving the European Union

and today the EU is expected to sign

off on what it wants for

the all-important transition phase.

There are two key dates.

The 29th March next year

is when the UK government insists

it's leaving the EU.

The second is 31st December 2020.

That's when the EU wants the

so-called transition period to end.

And Brussels says the UK

will stay in the customs

union and single market until then,

which means EU rules continue

to apply even though

the UK will have no say

in making any changes.

One big disagreement

is likely to be over

international trade deals.

The EU argues that whilst the UK

is still in the single market

it can't sign its own trade deals

without approval from Brussels.

But, on Friday, the UK's

Brexit Secretary, David Davis,

insisted the UK would be free

to sign its own trade deals

during the transition period.

Simon Usherwood is deputy director

for UK in a Changing Europe.

Nice to see you. Welcome. A phrase

we will hear a lot over the next

bidets is negotiating directives,

isn't it? That will move us on to

the next step.

What is at stake?

This is the second phase of the

talks, the Article 50 process of the

UK leaving. We have talked about

citizens rights and finances and

Northern Ireland. Now we are talking

about the transition arrangements,

the period until we can get a new

relationship in place and getting a

feel of what the new relationship

might be.

There are two dates which

will affect all of this was whether

it is 2018 or 2020 at which time the

transition phase will have ended.

There is a big debate about what

happens when.

It is about trade

deals that need to be signed. And

what rules need to be applied. What

you are saying is that should look

pretty much like membership except

that the UK will not have a voice

and a vote in most ago she Asians.

The consequence of that is everyone

wants to try to keep this nice and

compact and shorts and we can move

on to the new arrangements.

--

negotiations. We know it does not

always go to plan and perhaps there

is not enough time to stop one thing

is about immigration and the

movement of trade deals. Potentially

people from the European Union could

still settle in the UK right up till

the end of the transition phase?

If

the UK is going to be applying the

EU laws and rules, as does as a

member, that includes free movement.

UK citizens leaving in the EU,

places like Spain is still have the

same rights and access as they do at

the moment. That will be a problem

for domestic political audiences

who, for many of them, they wanted

to leave the EU to limit those kinds

of things.

So, another two years of

something they wanted to stop. Also

about trade. The UK is very keen to

start striking new trade deals with

countries around the world. They

cannot do that potentially until

2020.

David Davis was talking about

negotiating new deals and signing

them. As a member, the UK cannot

sign its own trade deals.

Potentially there might be room for

agreement where the users, you can

start the ball rolling to reduce the

gap between ending the EU

relationship and starting the UK

ones with third countries around the

world.

The UK are negotiating in

Brussels and there is a lot of

uncertainty in Westminster, not

least with Prime Minister Theresa

May and her government that

potentially the Cabinet want

different things.

This is the real

concern on the side of the EU as

much as anything else. The EU does

have a clear line on what it wants

to do and how it wants to do it.

With that uncertainty, particularly

with the election last year, Theresa

May looks insecure in her position.

If the unrest in the backbenches

continues, we will see more and more

caution which will make it more

difficult to reach a deal.

One thing

for us to watch very closely. Nice

to see you and thank you for

explaining that.

Let's take a look

at some of the other

stories making the news.

President Donald Trump's

national security team

is looking at options to counter

the threat of China spying on US

phone calls.

According to a senior

White House official,

the proposals include

the Government building

a super-fast

5G wireless network.

An investigation has been launched

after a firm allegedly

sold millions of fake followers

to social media users.

The company, Devumi,

stands accused of stealing

the identity of real people,

and using them to

create fake accounts.

That's according to

the New York Times.

The firm has denied the allegations.

Ford's China chief

Jason Luo has resigned,

after just five months in the role.

His resignation was effective

immediately, the company

said in a statement.

Luo was responsible for leading

the carmaker's operations in China,

including its import business.

The Australian government has set

out plans to become one

of the world's top ten arms

exporters over the next decade.

The Defence Industry Minister said

grants to help arms manufacturers

increase sales could create tens

of thousands of jobs.

Google has announced

a $100 million investment

in the ride-hailing company Go-Jek.

What does it mean?

Karishma Vaswani is in

Singapore for us.

We know there is a battle between

the likes of Lift and Gruber. And

now this company Go-Jek.

I am sure

people in this part of the world are

familiar with it but audiences in

Europe may not know. Go-Jek the

company that is very much part of

the big ride hailing competition for

passengers out on Southeast Asian

streets. It has rivals such as Uber

in this region, as well as Grab.

Sources at Google said the company

is pumping some $100 million worth

of investment into Go-Jek was this

marks Google's first ride hailing

app investment. Other investors are

companies in China. You are starting

to see this part of the world being

carved up into various directors

decided who they are going to bet on

in this competition. You have Uber

and Grab being backed. But Go-Jek is

the prize in this part of the world,

not just for ride hailing but the

internet market as well.

Let's have a look at the financial

markets. In Asia, it was a bit of a

mixed day. It got fairly mixed as

the day progressed. Some things to

keep in focus, last week there was a

lot of talk about protectionism and

also weaker dollar policy. That was

buffeting markets to a degree around

the world last week. That was all

coming out of Davos, the World

Economic Forum. People are back

focusing on earnings and economic

news. Let's have a look at Europe.

You can see London up slightly for

the back is the story across the

board. Earlier you can see the

Spanish markets are lower. Many

commodities are doing really well

for you have a weaker pound sterling

probably because of the conflict

over Brexit.

And Samira Hussain has the details

about what's ahead

on Wall Street Today.

Fresh consumer spending numbers come

out on Monday for that this is

important because consumer spending

accounts for two thirds of all US

economic activity. The commerce

Department is expected to report

consumer spending will have picked

up by .6% and shipments of capital

goods orders increased for the tenth

straight month. Also happening,

negotiations for the sixth and

penultimate round of talks in

finalising the North American Free

Trade Agreement. Time is running out

for Canada and Mexico to tackle what

they call unacceptable demands by

the United States. On Monday we will

hear from the Pentagon's number one

weapons supplier. It is expected to

report its fourth-quarter results.

Joining us is Michael Hewson,

chief market analyst at CMC markets.

Let's stay with the US. That is the

focus for markets this week.

Certainly what I am paying

particular attention to this week.

It has been the worst start for the

US dollar since 1987 in terms of

performance. We have seen six

successive weekly declines since the

last Fed meeting. I will pay

attention to whether or not the

Federal reserve upgrades its

economic forecast for the year ahead

in light of the recent tax cuts that

were implemented by the Obama

Administration. I think it would be

a big week for the dollar. Will we

see a rebound after six weeks of

declines?

Just on that point, the

pound is weaker today. Is that

because the dollar is coming back a

bit or is it because of concerns

about Theresa May and what is

happening with regards to Brexit?

I

don't think concerns about Theresa

May and Brexit at anything new if

you look at what the pound has done

since August, it is up 7% on a trade

weighted basis. What we have seen

today is a bit of a dollar rebound

was if you look at the pound against

the euro, it is pretty much flat on

the day.

What else are you watching

out for? Any earnings you want to

keep an eye on?

There are

significant earnings coming out this

week. Particularly the oil

companies. Will the higher oil price

be reflected in the headline

numbers? Will the return of the

dividend signify by other rises in

the share price?

As always, it is

good to talk to you. Talking us

through what the city is keeping an

eye on. Let's talk about a story

about that cannabis industry. One

company that is helping marijuana

owners turn their plants into big

business. You are with Business Live

from BBC News.

Is your job is safe from the rise of

robots? People in the Midlands are

more vulnerable to the rise of

automation. We have been finding out

more. It is machines like these that

are starting to take the place of

workers more and more for that this

is a car park distribution centre in

Chesterfield. The reason they are

improving as a business businesses

because they are getting more and

more automation. This report

highlights the fact they think of

this that the jobs in the UK could

be at risk. More importantly, they

say, the benefits may only be seen

in the south of England and the

south-east of England, London and

the South East. The North and the

Midlands, the East Midlands like

here, could see not so much of the

benefits of that. When you look at

the potential benefits of automation

and robots quite you can see

businesses like these can become

more efficient.

There are going to

be job losses over the next ten, 20

years. There will be innovations

like robots taking jobs away. People

are concerned about that. The key

messages our jobs will be lost but

opportunities will be created and we

need to prepare people for that

opportunity.

A lot of opportunity

and a lot of things for areas like

Chester built to have to take into

account. It is not just warehouses,

it is retail assistance and

insurance brokers as well put up

still be opportunity for growth as

well.

There's quite a bit on that subject

on our website so take a look if you

are interested. Regulators are to

investigate the audit of Carillion,

carried out by KPMG. They say the

move follows inquiries made since a

profit warning in July, and you will

know there's a lot of criticism over

why Carillion was still awarded

contracts even though it had issued

profit warnings. There's lots of

detail on that story and also more

on the Business Live page about

companies impacted by the Carillion

collapse.

You're watching Business

Live - our top story:

Another Brexit milestone -

the EU decides on what it wants,

and what its willing to be flexible

on, in negotiation with the UK.

That could have an effect on markets

in Europe too so let's have

That could have an effect on markets

in Europe too so let's have a look.

We have seen weakness with the pound

as the uncertainty continues.

We have seen weakness with the pound

as the uncertainty continues.

Now we are going to talk about

something that is very controversial

and most people have strong opinions

about this. We are talking about

burgeoning of a very lucrative

industry of marijuana.

But first we are going to talk about

artificial intelligence and

augmented reality.

Technology is proving a game changer

for many industries.

Forget about that, back to

marijuana.

Have you had some?

Yes,

in the Green room! No, I haven't.

There has been

a growing awareness that

schools need to revamp,

to give today's students the digital

skills they'll need in the future.

And, there's big money in it too.

This education dollar has brought

almost a thousand Edtech

companies here to London.

Our reporter Katie Silver went

along to take a look.

Going inside Volcano, a trip to New

York or to space, Virtual reality,

they tell me, is the future to

education.

You can put the camera in

and create your own 360 content.

The

company Weblogs has partnered up

with Google to sell virtual reality

sets to schools. The tech giant has

made no-frills version of its own.

This is literally a piece of

cardboard with telescopic lenses and

inside is a smartphone.

The

cardboard versions cost $15 each but

it's unclear how parents will feel

about Google being so embedded in

classrooms. Robotics company I spoke

to also wants to educate tomorrow's

pupils.

They are getting an

introduction to computer science,

mechanical engineering, electrical

systems. These are really in demand

careers at the moment.

Companies are

also using drones to inspire

children to cope. Using software,

children programme machines and

learn mathematical concepts at the

same time. It is expected to reach

$150 billion by 2020 and brought

exhibitors like these from around

the world, hoping to break

themselves off a bit of that pie.

When you build something that adds

value instantly and is so simple,

there's many companies working into

this space but it takes a certain

mix of technologies to understand

the classroom and teacher. Whoever

gets that right sees the volume

increasing significantly.

There are

even companies allowing children to

print greedy pens perfectly tailored

to their grip. -- 3D pens.

Fascinating, now onto the

controversial debate I tried to

introduce to you three minutes ago.

Yes, it was worth waiting for. You

work just teasing.

In the US,

cannabis is legal medically in 29

states and recreationally

in nine others.

The latest figures

show the market was

worth $7.1 billion in 2016

and it's growing every year.

The UN estimates the global industry

is worth $142 billion.

And transforming the sale

of cannabis from an illegal to legal

endeavour means creating a lot

of new jobs - some estimate

over a million - and,

of course, revenue from tax.

To help navigate

the business world of cannabis,

is a company called BudTender.

It's chief executive

Ebony Costain is with us now.

You help people work out how they

can make jobs, pay their taxes and

do this properly as a business, how

does it work?

We are an online

platform working with cannabis

brands to deliver information to

people responsible for selling the

products, and they are called

BudTenders. You have to have a

BudTender to facilitate

transactions. With advertising laws,

with cannabis, very restrictive so

brands are having a hard time and

how to get there rounded product

information in front of the

customer.

So this helps them

navigate the market, what they can

and cannot do. We were surprised how

many products there are. This isn't

just about the leaf.

No, you have

edibles, topicals, patches, even

inhalers, so thousands of products

and they are all different in

different states so being able to

keep up with that information is a

lot for the BudTenders.

You are in

Colorado, which is where it has

become legal in the last five years

and the industry there has boomed,

hasn't it? You moved from Virginia

to Colorado where you could provide

this business legally. How do you do

that, because if you are going to

provide information about thousands

of products which the user needs to

know all the different elements and

whether it affects them chemically

well or not, whether it will supply

the medicinal lead or not, how do

you know what's involved in each of

these products?

We work very closely

with the brands and help deliver

their product information, their

brand stories so we are not just

guessing on our own. We are working

hand-in-hand with the brands we work

with.

And they pay you money, don't

be, so if I'm going on your website

and I want to find out about the

different brands, how do I know your

information is impartial and not

skewed by the fact they pay you to

tell me about their products?

I

understand that but it is a

marketing platform. How you see

advertisements in commercials and

magazines, it is up to the consumer

to filter through that.

It is pretty

rare there is an industry that is

created overnight, and to be at the

forefront of it from early stages,

are you now looking around the world

at where else this is applicable?

Where governments are thinking

should we legalise?

Yes, the great

thing with our platform is it is

scalable since it is online

technology, we can go to Israel or

Amsterdam.

So where are you

watching?

Clearly the US, California

will be a huge market. In a couple

of years they are expected to see $1

billion with the tax revenue.

But

you have to be right across the

moor, don't you. In the States where

you are writing I know there's a

pile of BudTenders being

investigated in Colorado because

they have been giving customers too

much cannabis and there's strict

regulations about it.

There are

still a lot of grey areas we are

trying to figure out in the States

but I think in the next five to ten

years, this industry is wealth

generating.

Ever need, really good

to see you. Thank you for explaining

that.

Thank you for having me.

So

many people have been in touch about

this. We will have to retweet them,

won't we? Matt says think about tax

revenue. Paul says plusses and

minuses but why not tax it and

profit from it.

That's it from

Business Live today.

Have a good day, goodbye.