this is business live from bbc news with ben bland and rachel horne. chinese and us officials meet for high—level economic talks. but with president trump considering tariffs on steel imports, can a trade war he averted? live from london, that's our top story on wednesday, 19thjuly. president trump hopes the talks can tackle what he sees as an unfair trading relationship as he seeks to boost the number of products made in the usa. also in the programme: cutting diesel emissions, car—maker daimler says it will recall three million mercedes—benz cars to install a software fix. here is how the european markets look at the start of the trading

day. we will take a look at what moved the asian markets and how the american markets closed. some of them at all—time highs. imagine a sports star and you're probably thinking of someone at the peak of their physical fitness — not necessarily. we're looking at the lucrative world of e—sports. today, as the uk government bans businesses from imposing extra charges for paying by card we want to know, when have you been surprised by a surcharge and what was it for? just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. we begin with talks between china and the united states. president trump's 100—day deadline for boosting trade with china has come and gone and officials from both countries are about to meet in washington to assess what's actually been achieved. mr trump hopes the talks will tackle what he says is an unfair deal.

it all boils down to this — the us buys more from china than it sells. last year the deficit or imbalance in goods was $347 billion and it seems to be rising. at their first meeting in april presidents trump and xi set—up trade talks which have already produced some results. both have agreed to expand trade with china saying it would accept us but many issues are still unresolved. china's factories churned out a record 73—million tonnes of steel last month, a record high. us producers have accused china of flooding the market, undercutting american firms. and it's prompted trump to consider slapping tariffs on steel imports, part of the administration's

emphasis to increase products made in the usa. miranda carr is a senior analyst at haitong securities. thank you for coming in. what do you expect to come out of today's meeting? well, in terms of moves, not a lot. these dialogues have been set—up and they are a way of easing tensions. you get tensions building up tensions. you get tensions building up and up and up and then the dialogues smooth things over, but in terms of an agreement then probably not on the table. ben was explaining there, there has been some opening up there, there has been some opening up of the markets in the last 100 days of beef into america or beef into china and cooked chicken into america, but really the commodity here that everybody is talking about is steel. president trump threatening to slap tariffs on steel. i mean, if he is prepared to make that move, could thatjust knock all the discussions out of the water? well, it could. things like beef and chicken won't make much of a difference to the 3117 billion

number, but with steel it has been, so number, but with steel it has been, so china is exporting less steel, one—third less steel than it did this time last year. so they have cut back. they've cut back supply, domestically, and they‘ re cut back. they've cut back supply, domestically, and they're cutting back on exports. so one of the key arguments that trump, the trump administration, the trump negotiating team has about the steel flooding into the us, no longer holds so much water. it is similar with the currency they accuse currency manipulator and then actually the currency has been appreciating so they're going to have to shift into some other moves and in terms of putting a quota on steel, it seems unlikely. another point of contention between the two is china's relationship with north korea. there had about lot of hope on the trump side of things that china would help up the pressure and especially in light of the missile tests and yet we had a tweet from donald trump saying so

much for china helping us on that front. so, the potential sticking point there? yes, well, the us seems to be using some of the political taiwan was an issue about six months ago and now north korea, they are ratcheting up the tension on the political side in order to try to get sort of and conflating it with trade. this doesn't work quite so well. but in terms of, i mean, the idea that you're going to get some easy resolution, i mean actually with north korea, what china is doing and south korea taking a lead there, just recently is probably going to make more of a difference than the economic talks today. miranda, thank you very much for your time. thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: daimler has unveiled plans to cut vehicle emissions. it's recalling three million mercedes—benz diesel cars, and installing a software fix on the vehicles. daimler has been under pressure from police and prosecutors who are investigating the possible manipulation of diesel exhaust emissions.

the voluntary fix will cost the company $250 million and will begin over the next few weeks. a supposed boycott of united airlines because of the poor treatment of passengers has had little impact on the company's earnings results. united revealed its first financial statement that included the period after staff forcibly removed a passengerfrom a plane. profits of $818 million for the second quarter is almost 40% higher than the same period last year. the uk government has cracked down on surcharges issued by credit and debit card companies. from january next year, consumers will no longer be charged extra for using their cards, though they can pass on the processing fee. the treasury estimated that in 2010 alone, consumers spent nearly £500 million on additional charges. the move is in line with european union rules. we have been looking on our business

live page and the in a few hours' time the bbc will reveal a list of the people who are being paid more than £150,000. that's maybe $180,000. there will be 96 people on the list. but an interesting question here. should we know what eve ryo ne question here. should we know what everyone is being paid throughout business? we have a company that's being interviewed on the bbc saying at his firm everyone's salaries are transparent and he says itjust becomes the norm and when you come to asking for a pay rise or somebody has been paid more than you, you know the facts and you can argue your case. we have a story, censorship over whatsapp disruption in china. users of whatsapp raising concerns after disruptions in china. the chinese government hasn't said if it is trying to sensor the service, but neither has whatsapp suggested that there is a technical problem. hong kong airline cathay pacific has seen shares fall after releasing

what the chief executive called disappointing figures leisha santorelli is in singapore. there you are, hello! why was he so disappointed by the results? ben, today cathay pacific revealed the trfk numbers and the ceo had comments that got investors attention. rupert hogg took over the topjob in may. he said that attention. rupert hogg took over the top job in may. he said that cathay pacific's performance in the first—half of the year was disappointing and its bottom line is under intense and increasing pressure. he is giving heads up to investors that the numbers won't be that pretty. this is largely drew to strong competition it's facing from middle eastern airlines such as emirates and etihad. they are eating into the business sector. cathay pacific reported its first annual loss in eight years in 2016 and so

mr hogg faces a really tough turn around job at cathay pacific. in recent yea rs around job at cathay pacific. in recent years it has been selling tickets below cost to keep its planes full. so, now mr hogg is going to under go a huge revamp at cathay pacific and hundreds ofjobs are expected to go by the end of the year. thank you very much. 0ptimism about china's economy helped keep the asian markets moving higher. it also gave commodity prices a boost. the dollar hovered near its lowest level for several months with investors betting that any further interest rate rises in the us would come slowly. the us currency was still smarting after the collapse of the republicans' push to overhaul healthcare dealt a blow to president donald trump's ability to pass promised tax cuts and infrastructure spending. the main european markets have opened the day higher.

down slightly in london. household goods giant reckitt benckiser has confirmed a $4.2 billion deal to sell food brands including french's mustard and frank's hot sauces to us group, mccormick. shares in reckitt, the ftse100 listed firm, have risen as a result. interesting to see what the pound does today. it fell yesterday against the dollar and the euro key after an unexpected slip in inflation which dropped to 2.6% injune, down from 2.9% in may. that slowdown is seen as easing pressure on the bank of england to lift interest rates. so far in wednesday trading, sterling is pretty flat against the dollar, slightly up against the euro. and michelle fleury has the details about what's ahead on wall street today. well after goldman sachs dragged down the dow with it's disappointing fixed income trading performance all eyes on on morgan stanley. the bank which reports second quarter results this wednesday is considered goldman's arch rival in the bond

business. any weakness in its trading results well they are likely to be off set by growth in its wealth management division. look out for profit figures from american express. there is a growing battle with apple and its expected to weigh on the results of chip maker. the company warned in april that its profit could be hit as apple had decided to withhold royalty payments until legal dispute was resolved. and should you want a change of pace from company earnings, i can't imagine why, the us commerce department releases its report on new residential construction in june. housing stats are expected to climb to an annual rate of 1.15 million in june, that's climb to an annual rate of 1.15 million injune, that's after they tumbled in may. joining us is trevor greetham, head of multi asset at royal london asset management. thank you very much for coming in. let's start by talking about uk inflation. it caught people by surprise yesterday. remind us of the

figures? the inflation rate dropped from 2.9% to 2.6%, the target is 2%. both the numbers are above target and people are looking at the fact that inflation has dropped and asking themselves is that as high. we think because of the impact of the sterling weakness after the brexit vote we will continue to see inflation pick up probably until about october. so what do you think caused this blip? you think it is a blip? there is all sorts of things going up and down in the inflation basket. it is a blip. i wouldn't be surprised to see inflation more than 396 surprised to see inflation more than 3% by october, but will this make the bank of england raise interest rates ? the bank of england raise interest rates? well, it is interesting and it isa rates? well, it is interesting and it is a global phenomenon the employment rate in the uk is very low. it is the lowest since the 19705, low. it is the lowest since the 1970s, but real wage income is the lowest in 150 yea rs 1970s, but real wage income is the lowest in 150 years and that's the financial crisis and that's also the negative impact on real wages of the brexit vote and the pound going down. the other global phenomenon is

stock markets giding heights. we saw another record close on wall street yesterday. what's going on? how long can it last, do you think? well, we have had an eight bull market so far since the 2009 low, the american stock market is up 260% over that period, but mull markets don't die of all old age. what kills off a market like this is inflation and it is wage inflation, when you get a lot of wage inflation coming through the system, the central banks will say the economy is too strong and the unemployment rate is to low and they will raise interest rates. central bankersjobs they will raise interest rates. central bankers jobs is to take the punch bowl away from the partyjust as things get going and on the wages front, it is not a party. so we have got low interest rates. if china remains relatively stable and commodity prices keep drifting lower, this bull market could last longer. if china surges, and we get

more rises in commodity price it sta rts more rises in commodity price it starts to fuel the risk of interest rate. it is steady as she goes for china the markets would like to see. trevor, tauch. you're coming back to go through the papers later. bring a punch bowl if you can find one! still to come: imagine a sports star and you're probably thinking of someone at the peak of their physical fitness. not necessarily — we're looking at the lucrative world of e—sports. you're with business live from bbc news. people who live in the south east are better off than people in the rest of the country. but the gap between the richest and poorest has narrowed since the recession of 2007/2008 according to a new report from the ifs. andrew walker is in our business newsroom. what does the report say happened to average incomes in the aftermath of the financial crisis? going back to

just before the crisis and recession really hit in a twist, we have seen average growth of 3.7% which the ifs describes as being extremely slow. that makes down a bit into better performances for pensioners households and that reflects the triple—lock recently. and weaker performance for people in work on average. we know that is likely to persist beyond the data reflected in this report. because we are now in a situation where real terms average earnings are declining, wages going up earnings are declining, wages going up more slowly than prices. some other striking things, the report says there has been little change in the level of apsley poverty over this period. it describes it has been historically unusual. also a striking fact that low income tends to be more persistent than it used to be more persistent than it used to be. following composers, people

experience sharp changes in income from year to year. what we're seeing in this report is more recently, a tendency for that problem to be more persistent. what about inequality, how is that changed? we have a grasp from the ifs report. we are clearly ina from the ifs report. we are clearly in a situation here, this is the national figures, in a situation here, this is the nationalfigures, inequality substantially more than it was if we go back to the early 1980s. but it has come down from the period just before the great recession. the really big decline of course has been here in london. that partly reflects the strength of the labour market. although incomes are low, people with jobs, we market. although incomes are low, people withjobs, we have market. although incomes are low, people with jobs, we have low levels of unemployment and that brings these inequality figures down. thank you, andrew. a lot of great stories, including this one from talktalk describing

good growth. you're watching business live. our top story — trade talks between the us and china kick off in washington today — with president trump hoping they will be able to tackle what he sees as an unfair trading relationship. a quick look at how markets are faring. 0ne and now let's get the inside track on esports. the word "athlete" may conjure up images of broad shoulders, and people in the peak physical fitness. but thanks to video games,

the idea of sporting stardom is being turned upside down. professional esports players may not make as much as cristiano ronaldo, but one of the most successful gamers has bagged nearly $370,000 in prize money over the course of his career. not bad, but it doesn't stop there — some of the world's biggest sports teams are now paying gamers to represent them at major tournaments. all of this helps develop the company's brand and enhance the reputation of esports as a whole. video games are big business here in the uk. in 2016, the gaming industry raked in some $3.8 billion — this compares to just $1.11 billion for the music industry. fnatic is one of the world's biggest esports teams— we're joined by its co—founder sam mathews. can you explain what esports are? if you think of sports in general, it isa game you think of sports in general, it is a game you play with the ball, in a net or over a net and ultimately,

esports, it's the same thing. you can play it, it's a game, but it is available anywhere. all you need is available anywhere. all you need is a device and an interconnection and you can compete. we're talking about big tournament is happening in major stadiums where there are players on the pitch as the football players may be but they are gamers with the hand—held devices and people are filling the stadium is watching them play. yes, last weekend, there was one in cologne, there was one in cracow, last year, we sold out wembley arena faster than the foo fighters. it is a global thing, not just a fighters. it is a global thing, not justa uk fighters. it is a global thing, not just a uk or american sporting, it is over asia, it spans the globe. you started a company in 200a. what is nice about it, you said, most pa rents is nice about it, you said, most parents will say to the kids, stop playing the computer game but your mum was completely behind you. playing the computer game but your mum was completely behind youlj mum was completely behind you.|j have mum was completely behind you.” have an amazing mother. she really

got involved. i was 19 at the time, i sold my car, it was like, what are you doing? i'd better make sure you don't go into this and lose your money. she was in it for ten years and she was instrumental in growing our business. you decided to set up your team so you are a bit like a football manager or an f1 person running the team. how many members of your team do you have and what you love for when choosing members? right now, we are in about eight different games with about 45 players. we have a team in kuala lumpurfor players. we have a team in kuala lumpur for example. we have players. we have a team in kuala lumpurfor example. we have been in 21 different games in the time we have been growing this thing. it's a lot different real sport because you are either in a basketball team or a baseball team and we have this opportunity to be a brand, we make clothing and make hardware, headphones as well. we look people but a focus, good at this and professional. when it comes to

looking after your team members, is there any sort of regulation in this environment? looking at other major sports, it is about regulation, good governance, regulating bodies. sports, it is about regulation, good governance, regulating bodiesm sports, it is about regulation, good governance, regulating bodies. it is a little different because each game is kind of its own sport. there is a regulation in different varying levels per game. however, going forward , levels per game. however, going forward, there's going to be the more government intervention i guess. at the moment, it's quite a free market and its working quite well. we don't want to repeat any m ista kes well. we don't want to repeat any mistakes traditional sports might have made in the past. you would be open for more regulation? as long as it made things better. where do you see your company going? do you think it could become as mainstream as some of the sports we talk about, football, tennis? i think esports are the future of sport. i think at

the moment, the lack of physicality, people think, these guys are just sitting on their chairs. virtual reality will change that. potentially, you will be watching the real world hunger games but instead of being in a room like this, it might be on the moon of a planet. do you think you will get 0lympic status? planet. do you think you will get olympic status? i think it is inevitable. 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. we will keep you up—to—date with all of the latest details with insight and analysis from our team of editors around the world. we want to hear from you. editors around the world. we want to hearfrom you. get editors around the world. we want to hear from you. get involved on the bbc business live web page and the bbc business live web page and the bbc website. you can find us on twitter and facebook. business live

on tv and online, whenever you need to know. joining us again is trevor greetham, head of multi asset at royal london asset management. uk government to ban companies from adding a surcharge when you try and pay by credit card. talk this through what they are saying about it? when you are online buying tickets or trying to buy clothing and you get to the checkout and it says how would you like to pay and it says debit card, credit card, brackets, plus £2 50, plus £1 50. that is to be banned in the uk from the 1st of january. so you won't have that surprise last—minute charge. retailers and taxi drivers do the same thing sometimes. charging extra for credit cards as they get charged. for processing credit cards. they will need to recoup the cost somehow. you will find that you won't get that

brackets plus £2 but prices will drift higher. these protections do happen in australia and the state of new york, you're not allowed to add this charge, but japan, new york, you're not allowed to add this charge, butjapan, canada and new zealand, you can. a lot of consumer group saying, it is about time. it is a hidden way of getting extra income. when you go to the airport and you have a no commission exchange rate company and it spreads massively wide, you will get charged somewhere for that. we have been asking from when you have had some unexpected surcharge when paying by card. darren says, what about booking fees? i booked tickets for a show and had to pay £8 and booking fees. steve raffle ticket for £2 and the surcharge was five—time because a p pa re ntly the surcharge was five—time because apparently was gambling. someone else says 20 years ago, i got surcharged £12 in a top london hotel forjust surcharged £12 in a top london hotel for just sitting

surcharged £12 in a top london hotel forjust sitting in the lounge, i ordered a pot of tea and a strawberry tart. shocking! we have a story here, briefly, on the bbc web page, an audi car advert which has been criticised in china. yesterday we talked about new standards being brought into the uk to stop gender specific advertising. this is an audi advert showing a mother—in—law inspecting the nose, ears and teeth ofa inspecting the nose, ears and teeth of a prospective bride the siege is appropriate for her son. as she was buying a horse or something. a bit old school. maybe a bit of a black mark for audi. maybe the one people to talk about it. that's it from business live today. we'll see you again tomorrow. good morning, we've had a lot of

thunderstorms through the night and yesterday, giving some spectacular. lightning strikes quite widely across southern england and south wales. 100,000 flushes and over over the last 24 hours. more thunderstorms in the forecast today. if you get hit by one, disruption and localised flooding. some hail and localised flooding. some hail and gusty winds. showers easing off today into the north but later this afternoon, the focus on the heavy showers will be in northern ireland and north wales and the midlands. towards the south east of england, should be a little quieter than it was last night. there was some sunshine here. sunshine breaking through across southern areas in particular. still could be the odd shower around but they won't be nearly as heavy as they were yesterday. the focus on the really

heavy showers parts of mid—to north wales, southern parts of northern england and the north midlands and northern ireland. a few of these thunderstorms could crop up in the south west of scotland but for much of scotland, it should be largely dry and some sunny spells as well. feeling warm in the north west corner but pressure north of england. —— fresher in the north of england. —— fresher in the north of england. this evening and the night, storm is continuing to track their way north. scotland will see a bit of lightning as we go through the night. the odd isolated shower possibly in the thursday morning but perhaps not quite as active as last night. still quite warm and sticky in the south east. thursday, a fresher day. the odd shower initially in the morning in eastern areas, they will clear away and the odd rumble of thunder as well.

plenty of dry weather with some sunny spells. some rain moving into northern ireland and scotland. those temperatures, 17 to 22 celsius, much fresher compared to today. that continues for friday and into the weekend. some heavy rain in northern and western areas on friday but a mixture of sunny spells and showers on saturday and temperatures where they should be for the time of year. hello, it's wednesday, it's 9 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire. this morning we're in north kensington, five weeks since a huge fire engufled the grenfell tower block — claiming the lives of at least 80 people and destroying the lives of hundreds of others. we saw a lot with our own eyes. we saw friends, families... the people in my building were

really close to me and they were like family. seeing them go wasn't good. you're so brave.