:00:00. > :00:16.Now it's time for World Business Report.
:00:17. > :00:21.A warning to the Brexit negotiators: Britain is facing a significant
:00:22. > :00:29."brain drain" and manufacturers are worried.
:00:30. > :00:32.Plus a juicy story from down-under - is Australia running out of oranges?
:00:33. > :00:51.Hello, and a very warm welcome to World Business Report.
:00:52. > :00:54.Also in the programme financial markets react
:00:55. > :00:58.to the the North Korean missile launch - our team in Singapore
:00:59. > :01:03.First of all, though, as the third round of Brexit
:01:04. > :01:08.today, a major body representing UK manufacturers is warning Britain
:01:09. > :01:11.is already facing a "brain drain" with skilled workers
:01:12. > :01:20.from across Europe turning their backs on the country.
:01:21. > :01:23.A survey released this morning by the EEF found that a quarter
:01:24. > :01:26.of manufacturers have seen a decrease in applications from EU
:01:27. > :01:29.Meanwhile, 16% have seen the number of EU nationals
:01:30. > :01:30.actually leaving their business going up.
:01:31. > :01:32.KPMG also released its own report this week.
:01:33. > :01:36.It predicts one million EU nationals that currently work in the UK
:01:37. > :01:46.With me is Tom Hadley, Director of Policy at the Recruitment
:01:47. > :01:56.Good morning. From your perspective, how bad is this? We have been saying
:01:57. > :02:01.for a while that this is the biggest challenge for our jobs market, the
:02:02. > :02:04.demand of supply. Every month, recruitment agencies as saying they
:02:05. > :02:10.are making more placements than in the month previously, but
:02:11. > :02:12.availability has been declining since 2013. The difficulty is
:02:13. > :02:17.finding enough staff. The concern for our members as if that is going
:02:18. > :02:22.to get harder, and it appears that things are happening. People are
:02:23. > :02:25.making decisions, now, do not come to the UK, or to leave it. The
:02:26. > :02:32.challenge for the business committee is if it gets worse. Where are the
:02:33. > :02:37.crisis points? One survey highlighted the manufacturing
:02:38. > :02:41.sector. It cuts across. You have engineering, IT, financial services.
:02:42. > :02:48.Some higher in parts of our financial market. But it cuts
:02:49. > :02:51.across. Construction, one in three construction workers in London is
:02:52. > :02:57.from the EU. Manufacturing is another. Care is another,
:02:58. > :03:01.hospitality. It cuts across a range of sectors. What can be done while
:03:02. > :03:06.the process is under way? It is extremely murky. We don't know what
:03:07. > :03:10.the outcome will be. How do employers tackle the issue right now
:03:11. > :03:14.when they are facing some, perhaps, leaving the organisation, or a lack
:03:15. > :03:20.of supply? We are looking for some reassurance from government. Again,
:03:21. > :03:24.we are looking to show EU workers that they have a future in the UK.
:03:25. > :03:29.We have seen some progress in that and we would like to see more. We
:03:30. > :03:33.would like a clear outline of what immigration strategy might look like
:03:34. > :03:37.five years down the line. The other side is for employers, what they can
:03:38. > :03:42.do now to prepare. And we need to start thinking that we will be less
:03:43. > :03:45.workers from the EU, so how can we change recruitment procedures? Can
:03:46. > :03:52.we use different schemes to bring people in? Part of our work at the
:03:53. > :03:56.REC, is to look at what we can do to change a hiring the speeches while
:03:57. > :04:00.still having cleared messages for the government. -- hiring
:04:01. > :04:05.procedures. How confident are you about the Brexit process? We are
:04:06. > :04:09.confident that the government is sad to see the importance of access to
:04:10. > :04:15.skills from the EU. We are confident for the outlook for the UK jobs
:04:16. > :04:20.market. There will be ups and downs. We have a vibrant and flexible job
:04:21. > :04:24.market in the UK. At times of uncertainty, what might happen is
:04:25. > :04:31.employers by using more temporary and contract staff as they see out
:04:32. > :04:35.things pan out. We are at near full employment at the moment, which
:04:36. > :04:40.makes things more tricky it terms of demand and supply? It does. 20% of
:04:41. > :04:44.employers say that they could hire more in the next few months. If
:04:45. > :04:48.countries want to grow, they need to hire more staff. It is partly
:04:49. > :04:51.immigration policy, but also looking at how we can do things differently
:04:52. > :04:56.in the business community, to attract the stuff of skills we need.
:04:57. > :04:59.Thank you for your perspective on this, Tom. It is something we'll be
:05:00. > :05:03.talking about in more detail later on the BBC. But let's talk about
:05:04. > :05:04.global financial markets, now. Global markets have been rattled
:05:05. > :05:07.by an escalation in tensions after the North Korean missile
:05:08. > :05:10.launch we told you about earlier. Rico Hizon is in our
:05:11. > :05:23.Asia Business Hub in Singapore. I am assuming it is all about flight
:05:24. > :05:27.to safety? That is appositely right. Flight to save haven assets.
:05:28. > :05:33.Investors are nervous. That is keeping the markets on edge in
:05:34. > :05:37.midday trading. It is not only Asian stocks in negative territory. Wilson
:05:38. > :05:40.have futures stocks in the red. Expect Wall Street to start lower
:05:41. > :05:48.when they open for trade in about eight hours. The Nikkei two to five
:05:49. > :05:55.is down to a four-month low. The South Korean index is the biggest
:05:56. > :05:59.loser today. It led the declining list across the region. But safe
:06:00. > :06:03.haven assets of benefited most. You have the Japanese yen gaining
:06:04. > :06:08.against all major developed currency. The Swiss franc is
:06:09. > :06:13.developing as well. The yen tends to benefit in times of geopolitical
:06:14. > :06:23.financial stress, as it is the biggest creditor nation. There is a
:06:24. > :06:28.thought that Japanese companies might repatriate funds if the crisis
:06:29. > :06:33.should escalate. Gold is above $1320 an ounce. This is is highest level
:06:34. > :06:41.since November nine last year. Investors are also rushing to the
:06:42. > :06:45.safety of US Treasuries, pushing down the ten month yield to a
:06:46. > :06:52.two-month low. Investors are also looking to how Donald Trump will
:06:53. > :06:56.react to North Korea and to his push of reforms after Hurricane Harvey. A
:06:57. > :06:58.lot of developments that investors are digesting today.
:06:59. > :07:08.Let's talk about Australia and what is happening there.
:07:09. > :07:10.Australia is - according to some companies -
:07:11. > :07:12.in the grips of a national orange shortage.
:07:13. > :07:15.Some drinks manufacturers are having to import from abroad
:07:16. > :07:16.because there isn't enough home-grown fruit.
:07:17. > :07:20.Huge demand for Australian oranges in China is one reason being given
:07:21. > :07:30.Our correspondent, Hywel Griffith, has been to find out more.
:07:31. > :07:36.Groan under the South Australian sun, these trees may look leaden
:07:37. > :07:40.with oranges, but however fast they are picked, there is just not enough
:07:41. > :07:43.to go around. Shoppers are being warned that they cannot expect that
:07:44. > :07:48.used to be made with Australia and oranges, which is confusing, when
:07:49. > :07:52.they seem to be plenty in the shops. -- grown under. When was the last
:07:53. > :08:00.time you saw one of these? This morning. You don't know about the
:08:01. > :08:05.shortage? No. I have a tree. You don't know about the shortage? So
:08:06. > :08:09.what is going on? We can't accept any more orders for fruit. This man
:08:10. > :08:15.says that growers have been hit with a perfect storm. Over the years,
:08:16. > :08:19.production costs have gone up, and so few have been producing Valencia
:08:20. > :08:24.oranges for juicing. But now there is a surge in demand for all of our
:08:25. > :08:28.oranges, led by China. We are just another probably the worst six
:08:29. > :08:33.months in my memory. And I have been in this since high school. We have
:08:34. > :08:40.massive demand for even Valencia's, not just our navels, into Asia. They
:08:41. > :08:46.were sucked up by Asia as well. We finished up doing something I never
:08:47. > :08:50.thought we would do, importing container after container of whole
:08:51. > :08:57.oranges, it juicing Valencia oranges, from Egypt, of all places.
:08:58. > :09:02.Australia exports two thirds of the foodie grows. And China has become
:09:03. > :09:07.its biggest, RS customer. After huge success exporting iron ore and coal
:09:08. > :09:11.to China in the last decade, some argue that Australia should start
:09:12. > :09:16.moving towards being a food bowl for Asia. Not just oranges, but apples,
:09:17. > :09:22.grapes, and meat, too. Not that it is always an easy path to tread.
:09:23. > :09:25.Last year, there was an import ban into China after questions were
:09:26. > :09:28.raised over labelling. Some argue the best way forward is to
:09:29. > :09:33.concentrate on the quality of exports, rather than the quantity.
:09:34. > :09:36.We can offer something that they were to pay for. That means
:09:37. > :09:41.consistent quality, and understanding were it is coming
:09:42. > :09:47.from. Traceable back. What its origin is. It seems to me that
:09:48. > :09:52.increasingly in food and wine markets, there is a story to tell.
:09:53. > :09:56.When it comes to oranges, it is a trading success story which seems to
:09:57. > :09:58.have put the squeeze on Australia supplies. Hywel Griffith, BBC News,
:09:59. > :10:01.Adelaide. Now, let's look at some other
:10:02. > :10:03.stories. many refineries have shut and almost
:10:04. > :10:07.a fifth of oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been
:10:08. > :10:11.suspended amid the largest storm to hit in the US in
:10:12. > :10:13.more than a decade. The closures are expected to cause
:10:14. > :10:23.a temporary spike in US gas prices. Analysts expect the economic impact
:10:24. > :10:24.of the storm to surpass $40 billion, with direct losses of over $20
:10:25. > :10:26.billion. On Monday, Amazon officially
:10:27. > :10:28.took over Whole Foods. It's a deal that cost online
:10:29. > :10:33.giant nearly $14 billion. And Monday was also the day
:10:34. > :10:36.when the internet giant It slashed prices on popular items
:10:37. > :10:40.like avocados and apples by a third as it bid to shake off
:10:41. > :10:45.its reputation for high prices. But for competitors
:10:46. > :10:47.like Walmart and Costco, the ecommerce giant's entry
:10:48. > :11:00.is a source of concern. That is World Business Report. We
:11:01. > :11:02.will be back in a moment to review some of the stories in the press. I
:11:03. > :11:12.will see you then. Stay with us. More than half of those mis-sold
:11:13. > :11:16.payment protection insurance,