14/03/2018 BBC Business Live

You are with business life.

You are with business life. Taking

action over Russia, the British

Government prepares its response to

the nerve agent attack on a former

spy. Live from London, that is our

top story, Wednesday the 14th of

March.

Theresa May weighs up sanctions and

seeks international support as

Moscow ignores a deadline to explain

how a highly dangerous weapon ended

up on British streets. Also in the

programme, some of the biggest names

in the world of technology are

paying tribute to the renowned

British scientist Stephen Hawking,

who has died at the age of 76.

Despite a downbeat day in Asia,

markets in Europe is mixed. Adidas

one of the biggest movers to the

upside and we will explain why. And

a blooming idea. Canon Floom

standout? And 1p and 2p coins could

be scrapped. Australia and Sweden

have done it. Would you like to see

the end of copper coins, get in

touch.

2p or not 2p, that is the question.

One of the many we are asking today

on business life. Welcome to the

programme. Let's start with the

British Prime Minister considering

what action to take against Russia

after failing to receive an

explanation over how energy -- nerve

agent thought to be Russian-made was

used to poison a former spy. Russia

has failed to meet a deadline to do

so. They have denied any

involvement. The backing of Donald

Trump and the EU have also said

Britain can count on its support.

The trading relationship going back

many years, with quite a bit. If you

look at 2016, it came in as $40

billion. Sanctions could hurt links,

including with oil giant BP, for

example, metals company EN. And

money flowing into Premier League

football clubs through Chelsea and

Arsenal through Russian backers. The

US and UN would have to do follow

suit as they did when the annex on

the Premier in 2016 happen. Further

damaged by restrictions and

sanctions, many remain in force.

Freezing assets such as bank

accounts and property. Travel bans

and export on equipment that could

be used by the oil industry or

military. Russian diplomats could be

expelled, cut off from the Swift

system, international banking

system. It is thought that is

unlikely. What will happen, Ben?

Philip is with me. With the business

advisory firm GDW. Potential

targets, when you are advising

business, what are you telling them?

Increased compliance risk. Let's

look at the options. Balancing not

hurting business, alienating the

Russian population, hitting the

Russian... Asset freezing on

high-ranking officials. One has a

flat overlooking the Ministry of

Defence in London. Confiscate that,

you can. Things haven't been

sanctioned like banning Russian

media. Like Russia Today. Could lead

to a ban on media organisations like

the BBC. Make it harder for

companies to pass the due diligence

test. Use the unexplained wealth

orders to hit large properties owned

by Russians in London. The list is

long. The trick is to get it right

without hurting UK business.

Let's

pick that time. Two things, one is

how to approach the sanctions to

have sufficient impact. And not to

damage UK interest. Sanctions would

need collaboration with the US?

It

is not there at the moment,

collaboration. Lukewarm statements.

We have seen lack of cohesion

between UK and EU partners. I think

what we had posed Premier has

dissolved. It would be hard to build

a coalition to impose broad new

sanctions.

What about protecting UK

interests? We know business is

intertwined. Russia trades with the

UK. How do you impose sanctions that

are not going to come back and hope

to?

You have to be surgical.

Sanctions are an inconvenience for

Russia. The drop in oil prices has

been the biggest problem. If you go

after Russians on sanctions you face

a backlash from the Russian

Government itself. Russian

companies, UK companies in Russia,

VP, possibly vulnerable to counter

sanctions. They are preparing mirror

measures. -- BP. There is a risk

backlash from Russia that could hit

UK and US companies.

We will watch

closely. You, Philip. Some comments

coming from the European Parliament.

The European Commissioner for trade,

Cecilia, who was on the programme 80

weeks ago, talking to Parliament and

said EU and US trade Representative

is an intense dialogue at the moment

about the proposed tariffs on steel

and aluminium. The EU is looking for

an extension for the carriers signed

off by the White House last week.

Australia has an exemption. The EU

pushing hard to get some as well.

The US trade representative due to

publish details soon about how the

exemptions might work. That is just

coming through from the European

Parliament. And a line related to

the death of Stephen Hawking. We

have had a comment from the Prime

Minister Theresa May. She says,

Stephen Hawking was a brilliant and

extraordinary man, one of the

greatest scientist of his generation

whose courage consumer,

determination to get the most from

life was an inspiration. A common to

there from Prime Minister Theresa

May, talking about the death of

Stephen Hawking announced this

morning.

Let's take a look at some of

the other stories making the news.

Sportswear giant Adidas says sales

and profit will slow this year.

The firm which has seen its shares

fall 15% in the past six months,

says it plans to buy back up

to $3.7 billion worth of its shares

over the next three years -

that's almost 9% of its share

capital.

Last year operating profits grew

to just over $163 million.

The French Finance Minister says

he'll take legal action

against Google and Apple

for what he called

"abusive practices".

In a radio interview,

Bruno Le Maire said he would take

action over the way the tech giants

unilaterally impose prices

and other contractual terms

on software developers.

Neither company has yet responded.

And a gender pay row

concerning the Queen -

that's the fictional monarch.

British actress Claire Foy,

who played Queen Elizabeth

in the Netflix drama The Crown,

was paid less than her

co-star Matt Smith,

who played Prince Philip.

The producers said it was

partly because Matt Smith

was better known at time of casting.

More tributes to Stephen Hawking a

little later. Coming in as you would

expect from right around the world.

Before that, news this morning from

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong flagship

airline, first back-to-back annual

losses since founded back in 1946.

The airline revealed last year it

made a loss of about 161 million US

dollars. Suggested intense

competition from local rivals is to

blame. Felicia in Asia, the airline

competition is pretty tough. Eating

into profits

I who survive the airline of the

time.

Taking a beating. Asia's

biggest international airline.

Double the amount it lost in 2016.

The big reason is it is paying for

one-way bets in fuel contracts. The

largest expense for airlines. Has to

do with not just premium carriers

from the Middle East, Singapore

airlines for example, but budget

airlines. It was the only way for

Chinese travellers to travel to the

rest of the world but now the budget

airlines and other carriers are

expanding to other parts of Asia and

the US. Overall, Cathay has seen an

improvement in its overall business

performance. Cut

more covered a man.

-- more cargo demand.

There is Australia and Hong Kong.

Jitters in Asia today. About the

joys of the new Secretary of State,

the concern he is much more on the

same page as Donald Trump when it

comes to tariffs as Rex Tillotson

was. That was the sentiment in Asia.

In Europe, all the main markets are

higher. Some stocks doing well like

Adidas. They have announced up 5%

today in Europe. Now, Wall Street.

On Wednesday, it is all about US

shoppers. In January, the holiday

hangover worse than many analysts

expected as Americans chose to stay

home instead of spending. The hope

is that retail sales will recover in

February after hitting an 11 month

low last month. Car sales is a

headwind. US car-maker said they saw

sales decline in February. Partially

due to the fact that interest rates

for car loans have been rising. A

big industry research firm said the

February interest rates on loans for

new cars should hit eight year high.

That shows efforts by the US Federal

Reserve to raise interest rates as

the US economy continues to grow

could finally be having the intended

effect. Chief investment officer...

Allsorts of data, today US retail

sales will give us an indication.

Yesterday, really sank when

inflation report.

Lower-than-expected wage growth. --

sanguine inflation report. Some

quite good news from the US. Now, we

have trade friction, Donald Trump

issues making markets volatile.

The

revolving door at the White House.

The Secretary of State sacking by a

tweet was shocking. We knew they

didn't get on. The Pennsylvania

result, the Democrat winning, a

strong Republican seat in the run-up

to the midterms. Mark its time to

weigh up what this means?

It comes

down to what will happen with

policy. Rex was a moderate voice.

Now, more hardline. Stronger against

Iran, for instance, trade

protectionism stronger stance.

Potential tariffs on Chinese

imports, consumer goods, for

example. Big news and that is why

Asia was unsettled.

So much

uncertainty, what are you advising

clients? How can you navigate?

When

managing client portfolios, what is

the long-term picture looking like?

The global economy is doing well. A

lot is noise. Every year, the US

comes out on new things on tariffs,

calling China a currency

manipulator. This is normal for

markets. What is happening next, is

the thing. We are keeping a steady

ship and looking at the

fundamentals.

Chinese figures?

Acceleration in at the group --

output growth. Really helpful to

show the global economy is doing

really well.

More later in the

programme from you. Including copper

in our pockets or wallets. Down the

back of the sofa? Charities would

occasionally benefit from the odd

bits of coins and change. A lot of

you getting in touch they could

potentially lose out. As promised,

much more coverage on the news this

morning that Stephen Hawking has

died. All the tributes being paid to

him on the BBC live page. A number

of videos, talking about his

greatest achievements. By Minister

Theresa May paid tribute to what she

describes as a brilliant and

extraordinary mind. You can see.

Right around the world, giving an

indication of how many people he has

touched. Pretty appropriate.

Much more on the website.

Still to come...

The smell of success?

We meet the woman behind a flower

delivery service that's taking

on the established players

in a crowded market.

You're with Business

Live from BBC News.

It's a tough time to be

in the supermarket business,

with rising costs and increased

competition squeezing margins.

But Morrisons, the UK's fourth

largest supermarket,

has announced an 11% rise

in its full year profits.

However, like many of its rivals,

it is cutting jobs, with 1,500

middle management roles set to go.

Patrick O'Brien is UK

Research Director at the market

research firm Global Data.

Patrick, what do you make of the

numbers from Morrisons?

I think

Morrisons has had a good year. It

has been on a good run now for about

two years. It's its tenth quarter of

positive like-for-like growth. David

Potts has done a really good job in

steering Morrisons.

In terms of the

output them, because there is this

bitter rivalry between the likes of

Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury's, etc,

what does it say about what is

ahead? It is restructuring with

middle management going.

It's a

competitive environment. You have

the big four, of which Morrisons is

probably doing the best. It one

Christmas ahead of Tesco,

Sainsbury's and Asda. It's also

competing with the discount shops

like Aldi and liberal. Efficiencies

need to be made and we have seen a

lot of jobs go across the big four.

Morrisons are cutting jobs in the

store warehouse. They are looking to

do automated ordering, so they don't

require as many shop roles.

Morrisons were quite late to be

online game which set them back for

a number of years. It seems they are

finally on boards, but they always

catch-up.

They have been playing

catch up before David Potts claiming

they were very slow on the two areas

of in supermarket retail,

convenience and online. They have

struggled, but since David has come

in, they have rejig their strategy

on convenience. They have a

partnership with petrol station

forecourts and they have also

developed their online business in

partnership with Amazon.

Good to

talk to you, Patrick. Thank you for

your insight this morning. More

details on Morrisons and the other

companies reporting on our website.

You're watching Business Live.

The top stories. The Prime Minister

is due to announce sanctions against

Russia after the poisoning of a

former spy.

A quick look at how

markets are faring.

Some uncertainty around the world,

particularly relating to the United

States and China.

And now let's get the

inside track on flowers.

The global flower industry

is worth some $105 billion.

But 80% of all cut flowers

are bought by women.

That surprises me because so many

men will buy them as gifts. If you

include the ones that are bought

from a petrol station, it should be

higher. You really are digging

yourself a whole!

But consumption habits are changing

and instead of visiting

the traditional florist,

like with everything else,

an increasing number

order their flowers online.

Floom is an online florist

marketplace hoping to make

the process more simple.

I caught up with the boss Lana Elie,

and asked her what she's

doing differently.

Sometimes it's a time issue. Also,

ordering over the phone. There are

so many elements when you are

sending to different places it

becomes difficult, so it's that the

going on one platform, knowing they

have been vetted and seeing a

variety of styles from different

florists.

You make it sound easy,

setting up a new firm, but how

daunting is it?

At no stage did I

question whether it was going to be

huge and I still don't. I have

complete conviction in it and I get

this question about fear a lot.

Where it -- I always thought, why

would this not work? To an extent it

is a bit of insanity, but it pushes

you through.

You are essentially the

middleman, you connect buyers with

sellers.

Where do you make money?

It's not as if the customer is

coming to us paying a commission on

top of they are buying. They are

paying the same they will pay if

they went directly to an

independent. For example, if you

went to an independent and spend

£30, without it would still be £30.

We are sharing the margin there with

the florist which is 20%.

So because

you are creating more business for

the florist, they will take a cut on

what they make?

Exactly. They are

aware that 20% is going to customer

acquisition and the site. The more

they sell, the higher quantities

they will buy and the more they will

save on wholesale.

How do you stand

up in a market like this?

Probably

content because I come from a

content background. One of our first

hires was a content creative person.

We do video in-house, we should

photography in-house, everything we

do is about the content. Our website

launch with a magazine section with

it.

Everything we do is about

storytelling. What has been the

biggest hurdle for you? You make it

sound easy, but what has been the

biggest challenge you have faced?

I

guess fundraising and hiring. I have

hired before, but not in the way

that you do when you hire someone

for your own company. That took a

lot to learn, how to hire well and

find the right people in the first

place, let alone then interview

them. Funding is not something I

have done before. We have done well,

we've always got the money we needed

at the right time. It's never really

been a huge issue, but there have

been moments of trying to figure out

how to do five-year projections, all

these things I have never

experienced and I was a bit out of

my depth. But now I have an

incredible team and you don't feel

those limitations any more. You hire

the right people and you overcome

those aspects.

The founder and chief

Executive of Floom speaking to me

earlier. There's talk about some of

the tributes coming in from

Professor Stephen Hawking. Stephen

Wozniacki said that he is above pure

brilliance. The chief Executive of

Microsoft said we lost a great one

today. He will be remembered for his

contributions to science. He made

concepts and theories more

accessible to the masses. He did

definitely translate cosmology and

physics to the masses.

Sean has rejoined us. Let's talk

about is the Treasury wanting to

scrap copper coins. How would you

feel about losing them?

Well I have

been sitting on my shelf. So there

was this statistic that copper coins

are only used once.

Just once by

millions of people though. No one

was carried around because they are

so heavy. Australia and Sweden have

done it already. A lot of people are

getting in touch. Chris says how

will I paid the penny slots with my

kids? A lot of you are worried about

charities, whether they will lose

out.

Quite often the charity boxes by the

till and when you pay say £2 99 for

something, the penny goes in the

pot. We all have piles of them. John

says it's about time they were

scrapped. Trevor says people

normally use car payments now.

Anything less than 50p goes in a

coffee jar. Thank you for