this is business live from bbc news, with sally bundock and aaron heslehurst. are we seeing the green shoots of recovery for the world's third—biggest economy? the bank of japan speaks of better times ahead following a fall in the value of the yen. live from london, that's our top story on tuesday 20th december. could the shock election result in the us provide a boost to japan's flagging economy? we'll get the views of an expert. also in the programme. going, going, gone. cyrus mistry finally steps down from the boards of tata companies, but says he will bring legal action. we're live to mumbai for the latest. markets in europe hold steady

despite the geopolitical concerns, intensified by events in berlin and ankara. we will tell you all we need to know. how do online retailers compete when a new start—up can set up an online business in half an hour? we'll be speaking to the founder of a fast—growing fashion website later in the show. and if you'd like to get in touch about any of the stories covered in today's show, we'd love to hear from you. just use the hashtag #bbcbizlive. welcome to the programme. 2017 is looking like a brighter year for the world's third—biggest economy. the bank of japan says the recovery is now a moderate trend in a sign of better times for the rest of the world. at the central bank's last policy meeting of the year, they kept interest rates at minus 0.1%. the upbeat message was because of a weaker yen and a pickup

in demand from abroad, which offer fresh hope for an economy that's been stagnating for more than a decade. in november, the value of the japanese yen fell by over 9% as investors speculated that the us central bank would raise interest rates at its policy meeting this month, which it did. the weaker currency has been a boost to japanese companies, which rely on exports. despite this, there are question marks over the so—called abenomics programme designed to kick—start the economy. it means the central bank is currently buying around $680 billion worth of financial assets every year. the latest official data saw inflation come in at 0.1%. it's better than it was but still far below the bank of japan's target of 2%, and is why the banks says "powerful monetary easing" must continue.

and there are also concerns over the longer—term "structural reforms" promised by prime minister shinzo abe. these include measures to improve employment rates across japan's ageing population. takashi miwa is chief economist at the japanese bank nomura and joins us from tokyo. we have got inflation atjust 0.1%, and we still have negative interest rates. there is not a lot to celebrate, is there? the weaker yen is a factor. as far as the governor mentioned, the bank

of japan must stay as the governor mentioned, the bank ofjapan must stay on as the governor mentioned, the bank of japan must stay on hold for as the governor mentioned, the bank ofjapan must stay on hold for a while to get the benefit of the depreciation of the currency to get higher inflation in the future. something that we continuously talk about when it comes to japanese economic ‘s is structural reform, like an overhaul of yourjobs market, when will japan like an overhaul of yourjobs market, when willjapan accept more immigration to balance the ageing population and workforce? did you think you will get the reforms under abe? the prime minister is being urged to make structural reforms in the labour market. higher wages are crucial, higher growth and higher inflation. what about the effect of

donald trump in the new year? he said he wants to pull out of the transpacific partnership, which was imported forjapan, but it looks like japan could get a boost from his policies? we are expecting something positive will be coming out from donald trump. the situation is uncertain at the moment, whether he will have a protectionist approach or not. japanese businesses are still waiting to make business investment in the face of the new president to come in the next year. ina president to come in the next year. in a nutshell, what shall outlook for 2017 forjapan? we expect that the japanese economy will go on a gradual recovery. the uncertainty is

quite high. the risks are from the us and from china and europe. one other story we're keeping an eye on is the events in berlin. the authorities there are questioning a man they believe intentionally drove a truck into a crowded christmas market. at least 12 people were killed, and nearly 50 have been injured, many of them seriously. the truck crashed into people gathered around wooden stalls that were serving mulled wine and sausages at the foot of the kaiser wilhelm church in west berlin. police are now describing the incident as a "suspected terror attack". we have a special page on our website for what is going on in

berlin. it covers any new developments, any information regarding that particular event. to ta ke regarding that particular event. to take a look at our website, we are updating it all the time. german tv says special forces have searched an airport hunger at the temple hof airport. they says they have had their first hot leader following the incident. keep across everything as when we receive it. there's been another twist in the tata saga in india, with the ousted chairman of tata sons, cyrus mistry, resigning from the boards of all tata group companies. his move came ahead of several extraordinary general meetings, which had been called to remove him. what is the latest on that? his

decision to resign from all tata companies, ahead of these meetings, has come as a prop's surprise, but they are still going ahead with the meetings. there was one scheduled for the hospitality company, they are holding their meeting today. tomorrow tata steel will hold one. tata don't want him to have the final word, there want to put forward the reasons why they took the decision, and they want to show that shareholders are on their side. it will give a chance for shareholders to come forward and express their point of view. there have been concerns about the way the battle has played out in public. tata has a very good image when it

comes to the public, but given that the warring factions put so many allegations in the public domain, it has tarnished their reputation. we will rely on you in mumbai to keep usa will rely on you in mumbai to keep us a cross will rely on you in mumbai to keep us a cross that. the markets in asia wobbled a bit due to what is going in —— on in berlin and ankara. hopefully my team can fix the black screen. the markets in europe slightly up, we will hopefully bring the numbers to do. holding steady. the big movers on the ftse 100 the numbers to do. holding steady. the big movers on the ftse100 is the lloyds banking group, up 1%, they are buying a uk credit card company. they are wheeling and dealing, and that stock is on the move. joining us is trevor greetham,

head of multi—asset at royal london asset management. i want to talk about the italian banks, they have been in the spotlight for some time, they are sitting on $400 billion of bad debt. it looks like the italian government might have to step in, they are talking about passing a vote to raise 20 billion euros. is that a bailout? it is nationalisation? they are trying to navigate the eu rules on state capital injections. if they inject capital into the bank, they have to share the pain with some of the bondholders. the italian government stuck between a rock and a hard place. if they were to let a bank fail, there would be depositors

losing money, if they bail a out, bondholders lose money. that is a bail in. a lot of the bondholders in italy in particular or individuals. they make themselves unpopular with savers 01’ savers. they make themselves unpopular with savers or savers. they have a tricky situation. they are trying to encourage private sector capital to come in, but so far, since 2009, the bank has had 4 billion euros of public money and 8 billion euros of private money, it is looking for another five, and it private money, it is looking for anotherfive, and it is private money, it is looking for another five, and it is touch and go. what italy needs is some growth and inflation. and some structural reform may be? that would help, but getting growth and inflation going when you cannot weaken your currency is fickle. you could see the political tension. we had the is fickle. you could see the politicaltension. we had the bank of japan meeting, the politicaltension. we had the bank ofjapan meeting, the last politicaltension. we had the bank of japan meeting, the last of the central banks to meet this year. china releasing its growth figure

that it expects to hit next year. 6.5%. it is always 6.5! the chinese economy grows rapidly and slows down, there are interesting things, but the official numbers never seem to change. last year, when we kicked off, there was a panic about china having a hard landing and the currency was weak and oil prices we re currency was weak and oil prices were collapsing, but now if anything theissueis were collapsing, but now if anything the issue is the other way around, the issue is the other way around, the economy is strengthening, housing market is booming. we have seen a housing market is booming. we have seen a shift, which is what beijing has wanted to do. it has not been the factory floor, it is the services. the housing market. a lot of stimulus was thrown at china over the last couple of years, including currency weakness, and they have turned inflationary for the world, and that is why will see interest rates going up and bark —— bond market selling off. if the interest

rates go up, that could be a problem. have a merry christmas, it is the last time we will see you before the new year. still to come. how do online retailers compete when a new start—up can set up an online business in half an hour? we'll be speaking to the founder of a fast—growing fashion website later in the show. you're with business live from bbc news. at this time of year, many of us will be stocking up on drinks and going out for christmas parties, but what we're choosing to buy is changing. sales of gin and rum are up by more than 10% in the last year. steph mcgovern is in warrington at one of the uk's oldest gin distilleries to find out how they're keeping up with demand. hello. this is one of the uk's

old est hello. this is one of the uk's oldest distilleries, and they have been making gin here for 250 years. we are here because sales of gin have been increasing, it is really popular now, up 10% over the last year. joanne is the master distiller. tell us what goes into gin. it is made of three building blocks, spirit, british wheat, water, a local water, and botanicals. the only botanical we have to put in isjuniper berries. they come from the toscana region in italy. we also have coriander from morocco and lemon peel from pain. —— spain. it is hand peeled, sitting around in the spanish sun and peeling those are. it has got eight different botanicals, we will put them in pots. replace everything in there with water and spirits, heat

everything up. at 80 degrees that alcohol boils and the vapour travels up alcohol boils and the vapour travels up the column and goes over the lion arm, it's the condenser and into the receiving tanks. why do you think gin is so popular? it isa why do you think gin is so popular? it is a versatile spirit. it lends itself well to cocktails. it smells lovely in here today. that's it from me here at one of the uk's oldest gin distilleries. that was steph, of course, who looks com pletely that was steph, of course, who looks completely sober. i'm glad i didn't do that 0b! there is a lot of detail on the website. second day of strikes. hundreds of workers on strike again today for the post office and southern rail guards as well. keep up—to—date. southern rail guards as well. keep up-to-date. the poor people that

rely on southern rail, i tell you what, tough times. you're watching business live. our top story, 2017 is looking like a brighter year for the world's third biggest economy. the bank of japan says its recovery is now "moderate" and the global outlook has improved. the upbeat message was attributed to a weaker yen and a pick up in demand from abroad. 0.1% inflation. a quick look at how markets are faring. holding steady given events going on in europe at the moment. there is talk of the santa rally which is historically a period of time where markets head higher in the run—up to christmas and in the funny week between christmas and new year when some markets are open for short periods of the there is a lot of

distortion on markets because of thin trade. but that's how they are at the moment. for a boutique fashion retailer — trying to expand by opening new outlet stores can be incredibly expensive. the costs of new leases, staff and additional merchandise can make it an impossible challenge. one website trying to make it easier is farfetch, but for a price. the firm sells goods from almost 500 boutique stores to customers in nearly 190 countries. last year it saw sales rise by 70%, reaching more than $0.5 billion. its clients don't mind splashing the cash with customers on average spending $700 a visit. jose neves is the chief executive and founder of farfetch. good morning. welcome to business live. can i start with this? what are you? are you a retailer or are you like a software tech company? we area you like a software tech company? we are a platform. we are an e—commerce

platform. we are not a retailer. you don't hold any goods. you don't have any don't hold any goods. you don't have a ny stuff don't hold any goods. you don't have any stuff in terms of infantries sitting in warehouses? no. we connect the most beautiful stars around the world to a digital platform and that allows customers around the world to shop the streets of london, paris, milan, tokyo and calais. the logistics of this, like getting it to the, all the items could be in one country and i order from a boutique. the logistics of getting the goods must abnightmare? we ship from 40 countries to 150 with no surprises. through customs clea ra nce with no surprises. through customs clearance and local currencies and local payment systems. we have 12 offices that we have local teams. so

we have local teams in all key areas and they are taking care of our customers and making sure all these logistics are spotless and impeccable. as far as you're concerned, you impeccable. as far as you're concerned , you were impeccable. as far as you're concerned, you were coding at the age of nine and you grew up in a fashion world, didn't you, really? you designed your own shoes initially which are still selling today, aren't they? the brand is swear? yes, i started programming computers. it was my passion since i was a little kid and at the age of 19i was a little kid and at the age of 19 i started my own business. being from the north of portugal there is a big fashion cluster. it is close. 0ne a big fashion cluster. it is close. one hour drive from the largest fashion company in the world. my actual customers, when i was a programmer were fashion businesses

that got me close to fashion and fell in love with that industry and came to london in 1996 to design and start my shoe label and that's it. we often use the word because it is banded around quite a bit, unicorn a company that's valued at $1 billion before it goes to the markets. that's you guys are. is that a help ora hindrance? that's you guys are. is that a help or a hindrance? obviously, it is good for media. it gets media attention. it gets some media attention. it gets some media attention and quite frankly it is good for recruitment because if you're trying to recruit someone that doesn't necessarily know about your company, they google it and see there was significant valuation event throughout the company. but that's it. that's not what we care about. just briefly, you're portuguese. you lived in the uk, well in london for over 20 years and

you employ many overseas, but in the uk alone 300 odd people. yes. you're wondering if you will be able to stay, aren't you, depending on how brexit goes? well, the worry is more long—term. so 50% of our workforce here in london is not british. not by design. it is because we found the best dofrles or the best fashion merchandisers orfrom the best dofrles or the best fashion merchandisers or from sweden or from the west or from spain or wherever they are. that's the key concern. i often joke they are. that's the key concern. i oftenjoke i they are. that's the key concern. i often joke i wouldn't have, if there was a points system i wouldn't be given a visa package! surely you would get the points if you employ 300 people. at the time, i wouldn't. back then, you wouldn't. you're here 20 years, you are part of the furniture! you would hope so. say merry christmas in portuguese. in a moment we'll take a look

through the business pages but first here's a quick reminder of how to get in touch with us. the business live page is where you can stay ahead. we will keep you up—to—date with the latest analysis from the bbc‘s team of editors around the world. we want to hear from you too, get involved on the bbc business live page. 0n from you too, get involved on the bbc business live page. on twitter we are at: you can find us on facebook at: business live on tv and online whenever you need to know. the bbc‘s dominic o'connell is with us. this result in france regarding christine lagarde and allegations when she was finance minister and

they have decided she was in the wrong. there was a criminal case. no fine and no sanction. no sanction at all. the imf said, "we are sticking by her." not long ago she took over from dominique strauss—kahn. he left under a cloud. he was not convicted of anything. she has bvenlt after allegations of assault against a new york hotel maid. there is something about imf and french politicians, but you can understand why the imf have done it, the trump presidency, they don't want to be looking for a new managing director right now. they don't want to be looking for a new managing director right nowm she regarded as somebody who does a good job? she is a good figure head for the imf, she is instantly recognisable and very, very quotable. she is great on media. all these things make her a good head for the imf, you might say the imf

hasn't covered itself in glory over the last few years, but she is regarded as a safe pair of hands. it would have been a surprise if they had to get rid of her. a conviction isa had to get rid of her. a conviction is a conics even if there is no penalty. monopoly set-up a helpline to stop bust—ups at christmas time. we play it our home. do you have bust—ups? we play it our home. do you have bust-ups? it can cause real dos. do you play it? this is a pr stunt. it is open for two days. which two days? it opens on christmas eve and finishes on boxing day. but really it isjust a pr stunt, hasbro who makes monopoly would love if people play it. these days they are more likely to be on digital games. play it. these days they are more likely to be on digital gamesm play it. these days they are more likely to be on digital games. is it not so popularjust like lego. it goes on and on, monopoly? there is a kids version of monopoly which doesn't have the nasty little rules

and it is over in 15 minutes. the key is you want the yellow ones, the green ones and the dark blue ones. yeah. the most expensive. purple then! park lane. i like coming off when you come around the purple and the orange. you are the dog. don't you have a free parking rule, every time you have a free parking rule, every time y°u pay have a free parking rule, every time you pay a penalty? this is one of the biggest bones of contention. the biggest thing was people stealing from the bank! 13% of people admit to stealing from the bank! the other thing is what is a free parking rule. i wonder what christine lagarde's rules are when she plays? sally, i wouldn't even go there! that's it for another day. bye-bye. bye— bye. we're seeing a change to our weather

starting today across scotland and northern ireland. wet and windy weather moving in here with gales developing particularly across northern and western scotland and later in towards northern ireland. a speu later in towards northern ireland. a spell of heavy rain as well. further south, we have got a little bit of rain across western wales and in towards the south—west of england. so here staying murky and damp throughout the day. but further east though, we will have a little bit of drierair though, we will have a little bit of drier air pulling though, we will have a little bit of drierair pulling in though, we will have a little bit of drier air pulling in off the nor continent. for eastern wales, for much of central and southern and eastern england a fine afternoon with decent spells of sunshine. something we haven't seen for a while. but it will stay chilly with temperatures remaining in single figures, five to nine celsius. but for northern ireland, a really wet end to the day. that rain really pepping up end to the day. that rain really pepping up across western scotland. although eastern scotland holding on to the brightness. that is until the evening period. so for this evening, it will be pretty wild across scotla nd it will be pretty wild across scotland and northern ireland, a speu scotland and northern ireland, a

spell of heavy rain spreading eastwards and it will be wintry over the higher ground. gusts 50mph to 60mph. the band of rain and fairly strong winds continues to move southwards and eastwards this evening and overnight across england and wales. following on behind, a rack of blustery showers. some will be wintry over the higher ground of scotland. it will remain windy here. across the south as well, outbreaks of rain continuing. now the run—up to chris has is looking unsettled. there will be spells of wind and rain thanks to deep areas of low pressure and it is the winds i think which will cause most concern particularly in the end of the week and towards the christmas weekend. for wednesdayings it is windy day. gales. lots of showers and hail and thunder mixed in and snow maybe done to the lower levels for a while. for england and wales, a spell of really wet weather moves its way through. so that rain holds on across the south east later in the day, but some brightness pushing in behind. double figure values in the south, but cold across the north. thursday,

windy across the northern half of the country with further gales. blustery showers, hail and thunder and snow over the higher ground. further south, something quieter. some sunshine and lighter winds closer to this area of high pressure. and then on into friday, the next deep area of low pressure comes rattling. a spell of heavy rain with gales or severe gales. keep tuned to the weather forecast. this is bbc news. i'm joanna gosling. the headlines. german police say they now regard the killing of 12 people at a christmas market in berlin as a probable terror attack. investigators say the truck was deliberately steered into the market, where it crashed through wooden huts filled with christmas shoppers. we saw the truck just going from our left—hand side right across us, in front of us, maybe eight to ten feet in front of us, ploughing into the store we'd just bought wine from, ploughing into people. it was relentless, it didn't seem to stop.

this is the scene of the aftermath of the attack this morning as officers interrogate a man and continue their investigation. in other news. russia sends investigators to turkey after the assassination of the russian ambassador by an off—duty turkish policeman.