:00:16. > :00:18.With just hours to go before Article 50 is triggered we find out how
:00:19. > :00:24.prepared businesses are for this seismic change.
:00:25. > :00:27.And back in the race, Samsung gears up to show
:00:28. > :00:30.off its latest smartphone, but can it regain consumer's trust
:00:31. > :00:43.Also in the programme, we'll be finding out how exporters
:00:44. > :00:47.are getting ready ahead of the UK breaking away from the world's
:00:48. > :00:57.After nine months of anticipation the UK is set to become the first
:00:58. > :00:59.country to formally tell the European Union it
:01:00. > :01:02.It means the two year negotiation process formally begins.
:01:03. > :01:05.For businesses across the continent it is time to sharpen their focus
:01:06. > :01:09.on how to deal with what, for some, will be some pretty drastic changes.
:01:10. > :01:12.Here in the UK companies large and small have been coming up
:01:13. > :01:15.with contigency plans, something that is quite difficult
:01:16. > :01:16.to do given the level of uncertainty.
:01:17. > :01:20.And in the case of the big banks some have threatened to move staff
:01:21. > :01:24.to the continent if they don't get the Brexit deal they're looking for.
:01:25. > :01:34.If we focus on the case for the City of London.
:01:35. > :01:37.In 2014, financial and insurance services contributed $159 billion
:01:38. > :01:39.to the UK economy, that's about 8% of the total.
:01:40. > :01:41.It employs almost 1.2 million people in UK.
:01:42. > :01:44.It also contributes a trade surplus of approximately $73 billion dollars
:01:45. > :01:48.to the UK's balance of payments, meaning it brings lots of money
:01:49. > :01:59.$6.6 trillion worth of financial assets are under management
:02:00. > :02:18.With me is Dr Angus Armstrong, Senior fellow from the group,
:02:19. > :02:32.Thank you for coming in. We have highlighted the city of London
:02:33. > :02:38.because it is such a huge part of the UK economy. But for the whole,
:02:39. > :02:44.in terms of businesses, services, whatever, this is huge news. You are
:02:45. > :02:49.exactly right. This is a momentous day, perhaps even the most momentous
:02:50. > :02:53.since the Second World War economically. We will change our
:02:54. > :02:58.economic relationship with the biggest economic partner so far.
:02:59. > :03:02.That will change everything in the economy. The city in particular will
:03:03. > :03:07.be affected because of the Prime Minister's insistence to leave the
:03:08. > :03:13.jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Finances defined by
:03:14. > :03:21.laws. The person who oversees does is the European Court of Justice.
:03:22. > :03:25.Outside of that and services will be affected. That is why contingency
:03:26. > :03:30.plans have been mentioned. Financial services and sectors are watching
:03:31. > :03:34.closely. So is everyone else. The UK has said from the beginning we want
:03:35. > :03:39.to discuss trade in parallel with discussions about the actual divorce
:03:40. > :03:44.terms as well. But Brussels does not want to do that, does it? It does
:03:45. > :03:49.not want to talk trade initially. Article 50 itself says the final
:03:50. > :03:52.agreement must make reference, only reference, to the future trade
:03:53. > :03:59.agreement, not a detailed plan. And of course it is in the interest of
:04:00. > :04:03.the EU to some extent get everything else sorted out first and leave the
:04:04. > :04:09.trade until later because the UK has more at stake than the EU. To leave
:04:10. > :04:14.it later to some extent is playing a tough bargain. Will have to wait
:04:15. > :04:19.until 2018 unfortunately until we get real clarity about what the real
:04:20. > :04:24.arrangements will look like. For businesses, whatever they are,
:04:25. > :04:29.financial, import and export, they have had to make contingency plans
:04:30. > :04:35.anyway. Many are planning for a hard Brexit. There will be winners and
:04:36. > :04:40.losers. Give us your take on that you are right. Yesterday the Prime
:04:41. > :04:44.Minister said she wanted a Brexit for anyone. Old trade deals by
:04:45. > :04:51.definition have winners and losers. Who could be the most exposed? Those
:04:52. > :04:55.in the agricultural sector, manufacturers, carmakers, textiles,
:04:56. > :04:59.food and beverages, and of course, these are not even located across
:05:00. > :05:04.the whole of the UK. The North of England which predominantly voted
:05:05. > :05:10.for Brexit and Scotland as well are especially exposed. There will be
:05:11. > :05:16.winners and losers and we will see how the politics play out. OK,
:05:17. > :05:19.Doctor. Thank you for coming in. I am sure you have many questions
:05:20. > :05:21.about Brexit and Article 50. And if you have any questions
:05:22. > :05:24.about Article 50 then do We'll answer your questions on this
:05:25. > :05:38.Friday's edition of Business Live. We will be leaning on our expertise
:05:39. > :05:39.within the business union to give you answers to your questions.
:05:40. > :05:42.Leaving the European Union will potentially have a huge impact
:05:43. > :05:45.on companies here in the UK which produce and export goods.
:05:46. > :05:48.We've been talking to firms in the north of England about how
:05:49. > :06:06.I am Simon, the managing director of this company, which makes products
:06:07. > :06:11.like this. We make about 6 billion a year, 4 million of which are
:06:12. > :06:15.exported all over the world. We are looking East. Things will get harder
:06:16. > :06:19.in Europe. The free market will no longer be for us. The tremendous
:06:20. > :06:27.sporting goods market is a massive, almost another world, opening up, as
:06:28. > :06:31.they get richer. There is potential, though it will be difficult. I am
:06:32. > :06:37.the managing director of this company. We are an old established
:06:38. > :06:42.company. We predominantly provide wattles to the spirits industry all
:06:43. > :06:48.over the world. Products go to Europe. We have put a lot of effort
:06:49. > :06:54.over the last 6-9 months into looking at the USA is a real
:06:55. > :07:03.business growth opportunity. Hopefully the Free Trade Agreement
:07:04. > :07:10.going forward will benefit us in this. We are a specialist flooring
:07:11. > :07:20.manufacturer. We exports all over the world. It is a large market in
:07:21. > :07:24.the UK. Brexit leaves our strategy unchanged. We will carry on
:07:25. > :07:31.exporting to Europe, exporting to the states, and dealing with the UK.
:07:32. > :07:35.With the sterling devaluation, we have become so much more competitive
:07:36. > :07:44.that our sales into Europe have become better. We will stay
:07:45. > :07:48.unchanged. And we will talk some more about Brexit in the next
:07:49. > :07:50.half-hour. But now some other stories to talk about.
:07:51. > :07:52.Samsung is due to unveil its latest smartphone later today,
:07:53. > :07:56.but can it regain consumer's trust after it was forced to recall
:07:57. > :08:01.the Note7 last year over fire issues.
:08:02. > :08:16.We will go to Rico Hizon. Sally Bundock! An important day for
:08:17. > :08:20.Samsung. Absolutely. With the launch of the Galaxy S8, the hope is they
:08:21. > :08:27.will regain the trust of consumers once again after the de Bakker will
:08:28. > :08:31.of the Galaxy Note 7. -- debacle. This will carry greater expectations
:08:32. > :08:36.and has to prove a lot more than usual. Samsung's mobile credibility
:08:37. > :08:44.will also be under scrutiny after being shaken by that scandal. It now
:08:45. > :08:47.needs to reassert its reliability while also rebuilding its technology
:08:48. > :08:52.called advantage. The first thing everyone wants to see from Samsung
:08:53. > :08:56.is a mobile phone they can trust and not one that will spontaneously
:08:57. > :09:05.combust in their pockets and hands. And their stock was up by 1% today,
:09:06. > :09:15.Sally Bundock. Thank you. We will see you soon. Toshiba has approved a
:09:16. > :09:20.plan to put its troubled nuclear section in the US under protection.
:09:21. > :09:25.It has given Westinghouse the green light to make it at 11 filing court
:09:26. > :09:28.with struggling firms as they try to restructure their affairs. President
:09:29. > :09:36.Donald Trump signed an executive order rolling back Barack Obama's
:09:37. > :09:38.plans to curb time a change. -- climate change.
:09:39. > :09:42.President Trump said it would put an end to the "war on coal"
:09:43. > :09:50.A quick look at the markets. It has been pretty flat in Asia today as
:09:51. > :10:00.you can see. The price of oil edging above $51 a barrel. Keep an eye on
:10:01. > :10:06.the pound sterling today. We will wrap this up now. I will be back in
:10:07. > :10:10.a couple of minutes as we review the big stories in the news. I will see
:10:11. > :10:13.you then.