:00:00. > :00:00.with a number of offences including rape and assault.
:00:00. > :00:00.Now for the latest financial news with Sally
:00:00. > :00:18.Va va voom - the press are at the Geneva Motor Show
:00:19. > :00:23.but despite record sales profitability remains low in Europe
:00:24. > :00:29.And economic gloom for Brazil as its set to reveal
:00:30. > :00:33.Politicians promise it will end but it's already led to misery
:00:34. > :00:49.Also in the programme shop shut - we tell you why one of South Korea's
:00:50. > :00:52.leading retailers is forced to close several stores.
:00:53. > :00:59.European carmakers are gathered in Geneva for the annual motor show
:01:00. > :01:03.and they are celebrating record-breaking sales figures.
:01:04. > :01:07.More than 15 million cars were sold in Europe last year -
:01:08. > :01:09.that's the best result since the financial crisis.
:01:10. > :01:12.But a sneaky peak under the bonnet of the continent's automakers
:01:13. > :01:18.Yesterday, General Motors sold its European businesses
:01:19. > :01:22.that's the company which owns Peugeot and Citroen.
:01:23. > :01:26.The deal highlights the gulf in profitability either side
:01:27. > :01:29.of the Atlantic and it's a problem that persists across much
:01:30. > :01:39.In 2016, Ford announced a profit margin of 9.7% in North America.
:01:40. > :01:43.This compares to just 4.2% in Europe.
:01:44. > :01:45.It's a similar story for Fiat-Chrysler which has profit
:01:46. > :01:51.margins of 7.4% and 2.5% respectively.
:01:52. > :01:58.Cars are an important export for many of Europe's biggest economies.
:01:59. > :02:01.Given that national elections are due to take place in France
:02:02. > :02:04.and Germany later this year, European governments will be keen
:02:05. > :02:09.to keep their domestic car industries ticking over.
:02:10. > :02:11.Christian Stadler is a Professor of Strategic Management
:02:12. > :02:17.at Warwick Business School, and specialises in the car industry.
:02:18. > :02:30.Good morning. Given what I have just said, why is there such a gulf
:02:31. > :02:36.between the profit margin in North America and that seen in Europe? Two
:02:37. > :02:42.factors. Labour cost is higher in Europe and there is still quite
:02:43. > :02:49.capacity in the European market which keeps down margins. The issue
:02:50. > :02:55.of currency has played a big part, certainly since the referendum in
:02:56. > :03:01.the UK? Certainly for General Motors, this was one of the reasons
:03:02. > :03:06.that they state why they did not turn up profit in the European
:03:07. > :03:11.operations and it drove them to finally sell the European
:03:12. > :03:14.operations. What are all those companies selling cars in Europe
:03:15. > :03:19.doing to counter this and improve profit margins? We are seeing
:03:20. > :03:26.probably more cost cuts coming our way for top there was an
:03:27. > :03:29.announcement is part of the PSA deal that they are going to try to have
:03:30. > :03:36.an exercise in cost cutting certain expect some job losses. Is it also
:03:37. > :03:46.about the type of cars coming onto the market? More economic and
:03:47. > :03:53.cheaper cars? Come again? Is it also about the type of models on the
:03:54. > :04:00.European car market that would increase the profit margins?
:04:01. > :04:04.Hopefully so. It also see comparison that in Europe they sell larger cars
:04:05. > :04:09.where you tend to have high you profit margins. I do not expect this
:04:10. > :04:14.in Europe to happen but this immobility with driverless cars we
:04:15. > :04:20.will have higher margins come the way of the European car
:04:21. > :04:24.manufacturers. Interesting to get your analysis. We appreciate your
:04:25. > :04:25.time. And we'll stay with cars
:04:26. > :04:27.for a little bit longer. At the Geneva Motor show
:04:28. > :04:30.our Business Editor, Simon Jack, met up with
:04:31. > :04:32.Ford's President for Europe and asked him what effect Brexit
:04:33. > :04:43.will have on the company. Already we can see what the currency
:04:44. > :04:47.has had on a company like Ford but we are optimistic that the EU and
:04:48. > :04:53.the UK government can find common ground and an industry that has so
:04:54. > :05:00.many jobs to say there will not be a terror for any kind of restriction
:05:01. > :05:07.on trade. -- tariff. We are a huge employer and a lot out jobs for
:05:08. > :05:13.global products like transit so it is a critical for the future of
:05:14. > :05:18.those job is that we are in a safe environment. Do follow Simon Jack on
:05:19. > :05:22.Twitter and go to our website. To Asia now a huge spat
:05:23. > :05:24.between Chinese authorities Rico Hizon is is in our
:05:25. > :05:30.Asia Business Hub in Singapore Rico, what's going on here,
:05:31. > :05:43.there's been talk of missiles. This is a big company effected in
:05:44. > :05:49.South Korea? That right and in the middle of this dispute could be
:05:50. > :05:56.missile technology. Neither Beijing nor Lotte of South Korea would
:05:57. > :06:00.address it directly but the business of the Korean conglomerate is being
:06:01. > :06:05.affected. China has forced the closure of more than 20 of its
:06:06. > :06:20.supermarkets and there could be links to Lotte's decision to support
:06:21. > :06:26.a US system called THAAD. But they are capable, the Rockets to reach
:06:27. > :06:35.Chinese territory. Other businesses have been affected. The duty free,
:06:36. > :06:42.the world, 70% of its sales are to Chinese customers. It was hacked. It
:06:43. > :06:48.has been temporarily closed and products have been pulled out from
:06:49. > :06:51.all Lotte stores. This is affecting one of South Korea's biggest
:06:52. > :07:03.shopping balls. -- malls. Brazil is releasing its GDP
:07:04. > :07:06.numbers for 2016 today and it's set to be
:07:07. > :07:08.a disaster, quite frankly. Officials are likely to confirm that
:07:09. > :07:11.Brazil's economy has been shrinking But the government believes
:07:12. > :07:17.the recession may be near the end and that the economy
:07:18. > :07:19.could be already growing To ordinary Brazilians,
:07:20. > :07:25.the long recession has been devastating and is
:07:26. > :07:27.still taking its toll. The BBC's Daniel Gallas reports
:07:28. > :07:42.from a city just outside Sao Paulo Colours, costumes and carnivals. It
:07:43. > :07:46.seemed Brazil's party would last for ever as it had one of the fastest
:07:47. > :07:50.growing economies in the world just a few years ago. But for ordinary
:07:51. > :07:58.Brazilians that party has been over for some time. A man forced to move
:07:59. > :08:02.with the times for example. 20 years he was logistics co-ordinator for
:08:03. > :08:06.various industries in Brazil, helping clients get what they
:08:07. > :08:15.ordered but two years ago after he lost his job, he switched from goods
:08:16. > :08:18.to passengers. He drives around in a service in ridesharing apps as the
:08:19. > :08:23.millions of unemployed in the country but finding passages is
:08:24. > :08:29.becoming increasingly hard. -- passengers. The economy has been
:08:30. > :08:33.shrinking for the past 24 months. 10 million people have lost their jobs
:08:34. > :08:37.and many are using the elegy to get at least a little bit of money but
:08:38. > :08:42.that option is becoming too saturated. TRANSLATION: Cannot make
:08:43. > :08:49.the same amount of money today as they did to years ago. For the same
:08:50. > :08:54.money and need to drive my car up for 18 hours instead of two. Outside
:08:55. > :08:59.airports there are informal camps were some drivers wait for ten hours
:09:00. > :09:07.to get one single ride for not ride very from $10 to $100. Brazil has
:09:08. > :09:14.failed to revive its once brilliant economy. 2010 five and 7%, five
:09:15. > :09:20.years later, the good times are gone and the economy contract e-bike 3.80
:09:21. > :09:29.cents. Official numbers on Tuesdays will show a similar drop. --
:09:30. > :09:35.contract did bite three point %. The station make the economic downfall
:09:36. > :09:42.was intense and even for the most pessimistic optimist. It is now
:09:43. > :09:49.stabilising and in 2017 we may see Brazil growing again, modestly. For
:09:50. > :09:53.workers, it will still be a long wait. Analysts say it will be years
:09:54. > :09:58.before the Labour market can get back to normal. It could now be a
:09:59. > :10:02.long time before the home of the carnival finds itself celebrating an
:10:03. > :10:14.economic revival. I will be back in a moment when we
:10:15. > :10:22.review some of the stories in the newspapers.
:10:23. > :10:25.New figures gathered by BBC Yorkshire show there's been
:10:26. > :10:27.a 15% increase in the number of people
:10:28. > :10:32.Forces in England and Wales say they receive a phone call
:10:33. > :10:35.about a missing person every 90 seconds on average.