:00:00. > :00:00.Now for the latest financial news with Sally Bundock
:00:00. > :00:22.A "free and fair" trade relationship - that's the message from the US
:00:23. > :00:29.as Mike Pence continues his tour of Asia.
:00:30. > :00:34.And banking on reform from President Trump,
:00:35. > :00:37.Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are the latest
:00:38. > :01:02.In a minute, we'll cross over to Asia to hear about a potential
:01:03. > :01:04.takeover of one of Britain's most popular breakfast cereals.
:01:05. > :01:13.as we speak, the US Vice-President Mike Pence is en
:01:14. > :01:18.route to Tokyo where he's meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister,
:01:19. > :01:25.In recent weeks, President Trump appears to have softened his stance
:01:26. > :01:28.on trade after taking aim at some of the world's biggest exporters
:01:29. > :01:37.In the case of Japan it has been accused of manipulating its currency
:01:38. > :01:40.for trade advantage, something the Japanese have denied.
:01:41. > :01:43.And the Trump Administration is hoping to reverse the trade
:01:44. > :01:45.deficit between the two nations which last year stood
:01:46. > :01:50.When it comes to their trade relationship, the car industry
:01:51. > :01:54.is key - Japan currently exports more than a million cars
:01:55. > :02:02.While the US only sells around 10,000 vehicles a year in Japan.
:02:03. > :02:04.That is something Trump wants to change.
:02:05. > :02:07.And his administration is keen to strike what it calls a "balanced
:02:08. > :02:10.and fair" trade agreement with Japan, which has been given
:02:11. > :02:12.added urgency by America's decision to withdraw
:02:13. > :02:14.from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
:02:15. > :02:17.So we will have a discussion with out on an expert
:02:18. > :02:21.in World Business Report, coming up later.
:02:22. > :02:31.Ken Odeluga is Market Analyst at City Index.
:02:32. > :02:38.Quite interesting, Mike Pence on his tour of Asia. The geopolitics is
:02:39. > :02:42.completely dominating, which will continue today in Japan, despite
:02:43. > :02:48.trade supposed to be one of the most important issues. -- despite the
:02:49. > :02:54.fact trade was supposed to be. Yes, just hours before these talks got
:02:55. > :02:59.under way, the Treasury Secretary provided a more nuanced take on the
:03:00. > :03:08.administration's in view of the strong dollar, Secretary Mnuchin
:03:09. > :03:13.saying that over the longer term a strong dollar is actually a positive
:03:14. > :03:18.thing. If you juxtapose that with the idea that Mike Pence is going to
:03:19. > :03:24.meet Japanese officials, and of course the Prime Minister, a country
:03:25. > :03:27.which the administration has suggested could be on the verge of
:03:28. > :03:31.being a currency manipulator, clearly we think that is
:03:32. > :03:36.significant. Also, as well, Mike Pence was in favour of the TPP. He
:03:37. > :03:41.was quite an advocate for it. Yes, not just TPP. If you look into Mike
:03:42. > :03:47.Pence's background, his history, his voting record, he has consistently
:03:48. > :03:52.been an advocate of free trade. So that is obviously a little bit of a
:03:53. > :04:01.contradiction. He supported TPP very specifically and his supporters
:04:02. > :04:04.Nafta. -- he supported. He is not really the person to send to
:04:05. > :04:09.drastically rearrange existing trade agreements. But we know that when it
:04:10. > :04:12.comes to President Trump himself, he has been fairly vocal about various
:04:13. > :04:19.issues. The car industry is one of them. There was a lot of lost before
:04:20. > :04:23.he became president about his views that the Japanese do not buy more
:04:24. > :04:28.cars made in America. -- lot of bluster. Although Japan does have
:04:29. > :04:32.some huge factories in the US, it employs a lot of Americans. Yes, the
:04:33. > :04:39.United States would read their biggest export market in the year to
:04:40. > :04:44.March. A 2.8% rise in car sales, no letup. A big installed a soft
:04:45. > :04:52.production in the United States as well. -- big installed base of
:04:53. > :04:57.production. So we will not get any specific news about trade between
:04:58. > :04:59.the two countries after this visit, but it is important in setting the
:05:00. > :05:06.foundations for future discussions. Absolutely. Donald Trump has made
:05:07. > :05:10.clear that that is his intention, to rebalance existing trade agreements.
:05:11. > :05:14.The simple fact is that on this occasion there are more important
:05:15. > :05:21.factors to discuss. Canon, thank you for coming in this morning. -- Ken,
:05:22. > :05:23.thank you. We will be across this story all morning, and when we get
:05:24. > :05:25.more news we will update you. As mentioned earlier,
:05:26. > :05:27.Donald Trump has vowed to provide a boost to the country's
:05:28. > :05:29.car industry. But this isn't the only one hoping
:05:30. > :05:33.to benefit from policy changes made Last week, some of the biggest
:05:34. > :05:37.players on Wall Street reported a strong set of results,
:05:38. > :05:50.but is the winning streak Last week both JP Morgan Chase and
:05:51. > :05:54.Citigroup reported earnings, and on Tuesday we will hear from bank of
:05:55. > :05:58.merit and Goldman Sachs. There are two things that will boost earnings
:05:59. > :06:02.for Bank of America. Stronger trading, thanks to record highs seen
:06:03. > :06:05.on US markets, and the higher interest rates, which means that the
:06:06. > :06:09.bank will have made more money from lending. Goldman Sachs will also see
:06:10. > :06:14.a boost to their earnings, because of strong bond trading and
:06:15. > :06:17.investment banking. But really, what investors will want to hear from
:06:18. > :06:22.both banks is an update on the likelihood of any changes to banking
:06:23. > :06:26.rules. The election of President Trump fuelled a big rally in banking
:06:27. > :06:33.stocks on the expectation that he would roll back some of the rules
:06:34. > :06:37.known as Dodd-Frank. Recently banking stocks have been pulling
:06:38. > :06:41.back, after not being able to repeal and replace Obamacare, there were
:06:42. > :06:45.worries that some of the promises made by the company stretch and may
:06:46. > :06:46.not end up happening. -- made by the Trump administration.
:06:47. > :06:50.UK cereal company Weetabix is expected to be sold to US firm
:06:51. > :06:52.Post Holdings for $1.8 billion, according to the Financial Times.
:06:53. > :06:56.Weetabix has been widely reported as being up for sale by its Chinese
:06:57. > :06:59.owner Bright Food, which bought a 60% stake in 2012.
:07:00. > :07:01.Rico Hizon has been following the story for us
:07:02. > :07:12.from our Asia business hub in Singapore.
:07:13. > :07:23.Who else to talk to about this? Nice to see you, Rico. Do you enjoy
:07:24. > :07:30.Weetabix cereal, Sally? Yes, I love cereal, ie it Weetabix all the time.
:07:31. > :07:34.So what is going on? Unfortunately it is not as popular in China,
:07:35. > :07:40.despite being an iconic brand for cereals. Bright Food, which owns a
:07:41. > :07:46.majority of Weetabix, has been having a difficult time marketing
:07:47. > :07:49.the product to a more than a billion strong consumer base. The Chinese
:07:50. > :07:53.food firm is currently struggling to build significant market share on
:07:54. > :08:00.the mainland. That is partly down to Chinese tastes, as consumers they
:08:01. > :08:05.are generally prefer a hot, rice -based breakfast, rather than a cold
:08:06. > :08:09.cereal. Bright's acquisition was the largest by a Chinese company in
:08:10. > :08:13.2012. If you look at the numbers it may look positive for Weetabix,
:08:14. > :08:17.because they doubled their sales in China in 2016. But it isn't enough,
:08:18. > :08:24.because they are coming off a low base. The UK still accounts for the
:08:25. > :08:28.majority of its sales. As for the potential buyer, Post Holdings, it
:08:29. > :08:36.is the third-largest cereal firm in America and owns brands including
:08:37. > :08:39.Goldman Crisp and Coca Pebbles. At post- mouldings may have some rivals
:08:40. > :08:47.for Weetabix. Some of the biggest names in food, including the UK's
:08:48. > :08:51.Associated British Foods and Italy's Barillia have been named as possible
:08:52. > :08:58.suitors. We will know soon who will be the winner for the city % stake
:08:59. > :08:59.of right foods in Weetabix. -- 60% stake of Bright Foods.
:09:00. > :09:02.Netflix has grown its user base at a slower rate than previously
:09:03. > :09:05.expected in the first three months of the year.
:09:06. > :09:07.The streaming giant added 4.95 million new subscribers
:09:08. > :09:10.in the quarter, fewer than the 5.2 million it had forecast.
:09:11. > :09:14.The firm says the delay of its House of Cards series was the main reason
:09:15. > :09:20.for the lower-than-expected subscriber growth.
:09:21. > :09:24.Uber drivers in New York may soon be able to earn tips thanks
:09:25. > :09:27.Regulators have announced plans aimed at forcing all cab companies
:09:28. > :09:31.that take payment via credit card to offer a tipping option.
:09:32. > :09:33.Rival services such as Lyft already offer a tipping option -
:09:34. > :09:41.however, Uber has since resisted such a move.
:09:42. > :09:48.Let's look at the markets. Today everybody is lack across the world,
:09:49. > :09:55.having had a long bank holiday weekend. -- is back. Wall Street was
:09:56. > :10:03.open on Monday, but it was a short today than usual with lighter trade.
:10:04. > :10:07.Next action in Asia. -- mixed. I will show you the US very quickly,
:10:08. > :10:11.so you can see how the day ended. That helped today's session in east
:10:12. > :10:13.Asia. I will see you soon.