this is business live from bbc news with sally bundock and ben thompson. can luxury firms control who sells their goods online? that's the question that could get an answer today in a case that could change how we all shop in the future. live from london, that's our top story on wednesday, 6th december. the luxury of buying high end goods on amazon and ebay could be about to end. we have the latest on what could be a landmark ruling in the european courts. also in the programme, the price of entering the chinese tech market, we have a special report on the lengths silicon valley is going to, to get behind the great firewall. for financial markets. it is a sea

of red. we'll explain why. and if you can't leave home due to illness, how about sending a robot to school or work instead? we'll get the inside track from a norwegian start—up that's using robots to help children take part in school lessons, even if they can't leave the house. and one in five brits have admitted they never work to the best of their ability. are you one of them or do you see those people in the office and it drives you mad? let us know. just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. let's name and shame the lazy ones in the workplace. hello and welcome to business live. should luxury brands be able to stop retailers from selling their products on online marketplaces such as amazon and ebay?

that's the question at the heart of a decision being made by europe's top court today. it's a battle that's been ongoing for a decade and could have wide ranging consequences for internet shopping. so the test case was initially bought in germany by coty, the multi—billion dollar us beauty company whose luxury brands include machacobs, calvin klein, rimmel and chloe. coty argues it should have the right to choose who sells its products and how. that would allow the firm to protect its image and exclusivity as part of the global personal luxury goods market that is worth some $295 billion. however a german retailer called parfumerie akzente argues it has the right to sell coty‘s goods on sites including amazon and ebay and the restrictions violate eu competition rules. 62% of german retailers use online marketplaces — more than any other eu country and many argue that offers consumers

more choice and lower prices. alan davis the head of competition, eu & trade at pinsent masons. alan nice to see you. welcome to business live. sally has run through the details there. it strikes me this is something that all retailers do. they take brands and they sell them on. why is this so significant? this is significant because luxury brand owners have made huge investments in developing the brand image, the prestige of their luxury products and they want to be able to protect that. they are concerned about retailers being able to free ride on that investment by selling goodsin ride on that investment by selling goods in an environment or on a site that does not portray the same sort of prestige and brand image. but that must open up a wider market for them to more can yous ustomers who are able to access it. they are able

to sell to more customers, are they not? well, that is that argument and if you look at the statistics for online selling on platforms in germany, but by and large, the prestige of the product is so important to them that they want to be able to protect that. is this also about the cost that they have put into marketing that brand? they have made it unique. they have made it niche. they have made it exclusive. so is it about that they wa nt exclusive. so is it about that they want a return on the money they have spent? exact lip. ly. it enables them to ensure the price level for them to ensure the price level for the products is maintained in the market. online selling generally results in lower prices for consumers because there is a downward spiral if products are being sold and there is competition at that level of the market, but by able to restrict how the products are sold enables them to control the price at which the products are sold in the market. you might say a cynic would suggest controlling the price

means they can keep the price higher. you might get it cheaper on ebay or amazon, but they say we want to keep the price high? correct. if the prices are not sufficient, kept sufficiently high, they won't be able to justify making the investments and consumers will not benefit from the range and quality of those prestige products in the market. a brief word on what we expect today. which way are you expecting it to fall? the opinion came out in july expecting it to fall? the opinion came out injuly which favoured the luxury brand owners and the court will normally follow the opinion of the advocate general, but we really don't know. normally. we will wait and see. alan, thank you for explaining that. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the united states has imposed a range of tariffs on some steel products that are imported from vietnam. the commerce department says many of them originate in china and are trying to circumvent existing duties tackling dumping and state subsidies. the new tariffs range from 39% to 265%. australia's economy grew

by 0.6% in the three months from june to september — that's an annualised rate of 2.8%. it was driven by higher business investment and government spending on infrastructure projects. the world's 12th largest economy is trying to diversify away from its dependence on mining and — like many countries — faces the problem of weak wage growth. german firms will reconsider their trade links to the uk if there is no clarity on a brexit deal by march, the country's business lobby has warned. the head of the powerful bdi group, told the bbc there was "a certain urgency" for companies that do business in britain and recently asked its members to prepare for a "very hard brexit". one of china's most prominent businessmen has told the bbc that foreign firms must play by the country's controversial rules

and regulations on the internet if they want to compete in the world's biggest market place. jack ma — the head of the online retail giant alibaba — and he was speaking at an annual gathering of government and corporate leaders which is often over shadowed by the country's tough censorship laws. from the conference in woo—jen our correspondent robin brant sent this report. every year china invites the world to this serene water town to this serene water town to talk about the internet. its vision of the internet and that includes openness this year. china is staying open to face... but there is less talk about china's widespread censorship online. the strict controls on access, the great firewall that this man is partly responsible for that keeps twitter, google and others out. it's no big secret. there wasn't much openness though from one of the ministers in charge of the ministers in charge of the ministers in charge of the internet. these are names familiar to many online here in china

and they're online here in china and they‘ re coming online here in china and they're coming to a mobile oi’ and they're coming to a mobile ora and they're coming to a mobile or a tablet near you. but china doesn't just or a tablet near you. but china doesn'tjust to sell you stuff, it's ramping up it's investment in how the web works. artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing. the big idea at this conference is openness. china open to the world, apparently, and in return, the world, of course, open to china. but there is a very sinister side to china online. china's internet controllers went into overdrive this year to help this man, the president, apple agreed to remove dozens of apps that allow free access to the web. whatsapp was blocked. pictures of we re whatsapp was blocked. pictures of were not allowed. none of that deterred big names from coming to the conference. facebook is banned from china. when is facebook coming to china legally? no comment. when will you be coming to china legally?

will you be sensoring your comment in china? no comment. there wasn't much openness from their man. excuse me. this man is a star in china. he made billions. he is the best known businessman. he has a very direct message for the foreign firms who want in. china's president promised this conference he will open the doors wider and wider. he knows some foreign firms don't like his vision of the internet, but they will accept it and join in. let's look at markets in asia today.

now, don't be fooled by the big numbers in red over there because the nikkei closed down 1.97% lower. it was their biggest percentage fall since march for the nikkei. the closing number is correct. we have got a funny quirk with the percentage numbers there, but you can see across—the—boa rd percentage numbers there, but you can see across—the—board in asia, hong kong lower. australia, south korea, they were having a torrid session following on from a bad night the night before on wall street. if we look at europe, it is a similar story. let's look at europe right now. so we can get a sense of how we are doing in london, paris and germany. we are seeing declines across—the—board. a lot is to do with people locking in profits right now as we come towards the end of the year with many issues going on in the world of geopolitics which are causing nervousness. north korea, the us president and what he might say today aboutjerusalem and israel. we have got brexit and the stalemate, the lack of breakthrough, all on the minds of investors. let's look ahead to what's happening on

wall street later. samira hussain has the details about what's ahead on wall street today. the employment report is coming out later. compared with a gain of 235,000 jobs in the previous month. the report could give us clues on what we can expect on friday when the labour department releases the latestjobs report. broadcom will be reporting later this week. finally, also reporting is discount store dollarama, they are likely to have boosted prophets. investors will be eager to hear about forecasts for the rest of the year and how the company will drive sales to counter competition from online sales. joining us is jane sydenham, investment director

at rathbones investment management. what are you watching this week? well, we are looking ahead to see what is going to happen next year. as you just said, you know, it's very much a case of investors looking forward. it has been a good year overall and i think to some extent the retreat in asia is that worry about is china's growth going to continue at a reasonable rate, high levels of debt, are they going to have to re—position and slow down. as you rightly say, we are worried about politics. but it's also, you know, rising rates in the us as well. i think there is a lot of strategy talk going on. we are starting to talk to all of the businesses that we deal with and they are all beginning to think ahead. so, i think there is a lot of profit taking and re—positioning. all the markets are coming from a very high level as well. i.97% fall for the nikkei today is not much compared to its rise in the last sort of year. could there be some

things triggering another flurry of buying like us tax reform being actually nailed down that kind of thing? i think that's right. that's been anticipated, but there is quite a lot of doubt because you know, donald trump has sort of got there and then had to pull back and re—think. so there is no certainty until it actually happens. if it does pass, yes, markets will be happy. but there has been a lot of good news. so and some stocks are really over rated. they are really too highly priced. the gap between the most expensive and the cheapest is the widest it has been for 35 yea rs. is the widest it has been for 35 years. that's a spectrum. so there isa years. that's a spectrum. so there is a lot of re—positioning going on. all right. jane, thank you very much indeed. jane is not one of the lazy workers... why are you looking at me? i'm saying jane is not one of those because she has to do some more work for us later. we are asking if people you work with don't work to the best of their

ability. still to come, we hear about the robots allowing children to feel part of the classroom experience when they are too ill to go to school. you're with business live from bbc news. if you are ever faced with a decision of whether you should take a job at google, consider yourself one of the privileged few. the tech giant has been named the best company to work for across europe and north america. joining us now is mark di—toro. he's with glassdoor, the job site which conducted the survey. nice to see you mark. i am not surprised to hear what you found out. yes, first and fore most we are here to help everyone find a company ina company here to help everyone find a company in a company that they love. that's why we do the awards. google for the first time after two years of

expedia being number one, google have usurped them and taken the top spot, but followed by anglian water and bromford a social housing company in wolverhampton. google, followed by anglian water, what were you asking? to be on these awards, best places to work, there is no panel, people do not pay, this is no panel, people do not pay, this is purely given by reviews and ratings given voluntarily by employees over the last 12 months, on glass door, companies do not have much of a weight of in this. what makes google the best place to work at, or anglian water a close second? google has a culture of great career development, strong senior leaders, great pay, great perks, what we

found with anglian water, they interviewed their ceo, and we realise that all of their senior leaders, all their top directors, have been through the company for many years. their employees trust them, they know what they are about, andi them, they know what they are about, and i think that makes a big difference. full details of all the other stories that we are following, including news that sakho profits have taken a hit after the collapse of monarch airlines. it says profits will fall by 5% over the next year. that is because it has seen a downturn in travel business as a result... one of the big losers on the ftse 100, saga result... one of the big losers on the ftse100, saga shares are down a lot. —— saga. you're watching business live,

our top story luxury goods firms get set for a landmark european ruling on whether they can control how their goods are sold online. a quick look at how markets are faring. we can see the market is taking a turn for the worse. a lot going on as the week progresses, on friday, end of the week, something that is quite significant, we have a usjobs report coming out, on friday, and also, as well, just to bear in mind, talking about geopolitics earlier, a lot of concern about how brexit negotiations are going this week. the uk is seen to be in a position

of wea kness the uk is seen to be in a position of weakness right now, depending upon which angle you are looking at it from, a lot of discussions about internal politicking going on within theresa may's cabinet, that is weighing on the pound sterling. breaking news on the top story we we re breaking news on the top story we were telling you about, news we were expecting from the european union about whether the grand firms can ban other retailers selling some of their goods. within the last few minutes, us cosmetics company co m pa ny coty com pa ny coty ca n company coty can indeed block. many of these retailers want to protect profit margins but certainly their brand. we are hearing that the european court of justice brand. we are hearing that the european court ofjustice has said us cosmetics company coty can blog retailers from selling their products online.

now, in an increasingly digital world, problems of isolation and solitude can feel amplified by the co nsta nt solitude can feel amplified by the constant presence of social media. but technology can — of course — be pa rt but technology can — of course — be part of the solution. a norwegian sta rtu p part of the solution. a norwegian startup called ‘no isolation' is using robots to help children who can't go to school because of long—term illness to continue to feel part of the action. the small machines act as a proxy for the child and allows him/her to feel pa rt child and allows him/her to feel part of the classroom experience, albeit remotely. and that can help them to feel less lonely. the company estimates that in the uk in 0ctober company estimates that in the uk in october of this year, 70,000 children spend great parts of the school year at home sick or in the hospital. joining us, karen dolva, is co—founder & ceo of no isolation. and in the studio, we have one of the robots which could be in a classroom representing a child that cannot be there. lovely to meet you.

tell us about this little fellow. i am falling in love with it! explained how it will work. am falling in love with it! explained how it will workm am falling in love with it! explained how it will work. it is a total presence robot, if you are really ill and must stay at home for months or years, this represents you in the class, you have a tablet, a phone at home, you control movements, you can see and talk to everyone, friends can pick you up and put you out to break. we are keeping cameras on him, or her... what is really important, the child at home, the user, can change how this robot looks. light up the head with different lights, if they are not feeling well enough to be involved, if they want to alert the teacher, then there is different ways of communicating. one of the first things we saw, we have been testing this with real kids for quite a long time, one of the things thatis quite a long time, one of the things that is difficult for them is saying

out loud, iam not that is difficult for them is saying out loud, i am not feeling well. they have a setting where they can turn the head blue, indicating, i am watching you, but do not ask me hard questions, don't bring me out for the break. that is how children interact, what about students in the classroom... what research have you got about how they interact? we have been observing them, it takes other kids two minutes to get the concept, they are used to having avatars representing them. the teachers take a couple of hours, they need more information when it comes to privacy and it is only the child on the other end that is supposed to see it. i have three children in state school education, you think about the money, money is tight, everything we want to do, expand, invest in, it is not there, and pa rent invest in, it is not there, and parent groups are busy having fundraisers to make it possible. luckily, it is very few kids we are

talking about, so it is not something everyone should have. who pays for it? mostly the schools. at least in the nordic, so far, 300 units out there, but we have five or six customers here in the uk, they have done it on their own. the pa rents have done it on their own. the parents have rented it. how does this work as a business for you, you sell these things, is there an ongoing revenue stream that you can license these further afield? ongoing revenue stream that you can license these further afield ?|j think we will continue doing what we are doing, maybe selling it to schools and renting to parents. more revenue heavy than a telepresence robot for kids, if we rent it to seniors. tomorrow, if we are not here, apps i can stay at home... we are not saying anyone is lazy... thank you very much for coming in. really nice to see it.

ina in a moment, we will look through the business newspapers, if i am still here, but here a quick reminder of to get in touch: stay up—to—date with the business news as it happens on the bbc's business life page. insight and analysis from the team of editors write around the globe. we want to hear from you, too, get involved on the web page. we wa nt we want to remind you of the lead story today, the european court of justice with regards to its decision on this case between the us cosmetics company, coty, that is the

ruling from the top court last few minutes, that it can block its products being sold on amazon, for instance. they want to protect branding full. back with us to talk us branding full. back with us to talk us through some of the stories, let's talk about twitter, lazy people in the workplace, we all have got them, somebody who is not quite pulling their weight. i'm afraid we have a few like that in our office. we wa nt have a few like that in our office. we want you to name and shame... laughter really interesting thing, this survey, talks about brits, may not be british workers, talking about how we are more inclined to be a little bit on the lazy site unless we are massively motivated. a lot of it is about communication, employees are not clear about what their job is and the job description and what is and the job description and what is expected, sometimes they drift because they are not clear. there might be an issue with weak wage growth as well, they tweeted here says, i work to the best of what my salary justifies(!) says, i work to the best of what my salaryjustifies(!) people feel

says, i work to the best of what my salary justifies(!) people feel that they have not had a pay increase for a long time, they will not go the extra mile because employers are not valuing them. motivation is always an issue, if you feel you are not rewarded for the if effort that you make. christopher says, some jobs don't allow people to work to their potential, managers must accept they are part of the problem. rudolph says, perhaps they are working at the level that reflects their pay, the level that reflects their pay, the point you are making. working to the point you are making. working to the best of your ability often has little or no impact on status of prospects, though management pretend it does. people learned that it is not a meritocracy. time is against us, i'm afraid, really good to see you. business live pages updating all the time, with all the latest news. we will see you soon. there is a lot going on with the

weather over the next few days, bear with me while i try to rattle through it. for the rest of the week, storm caroline living in through the early hours of tomorrow morning, after that, turning much colder, and as we go into the weekend, risk of some snow and ice, caroline winding up at the moment in the atlantic. weather front ahead of that, quite a bit of cloud. the wind is picking up for many of us, rain spreading into northern ireland, northern scotland, the south—west, quite patchy in places, another on higherground, in quite patchy in places, another on higher ground, in southern and eastern areas, you will see dry weather, brighter weather at times, still pretty mild, temperatures ten to 12 degrees. tonight's dales developing around the irish sea coast, spreading south and east into

the early hours, strong wind down towards the south—east. then we have caroline, at this point, will have moved up into the far north of scotland. white lines here, ice bars, really close together, that is why we are going to see some storm force winds across scotland tomorrow morning in particular, watch out for the rush—hour, gusts, 70 to 80 mph, as far south as the central belt of scotland. elsewhere, strong wind, heavy rain, clearing to the south—east. as it clears, for many of us, dry and bright day, temperatures tumbling away into the afternoon, with that, the risk of snow. temperatures, down to about three or four celsius, by the end of the day, in northern parts. then a weather system moving south, bringing the risk of snow down to low—level, thursday evening rush—hour, and into wales. that will be something to keep a close eye on for tomorrow evening. going into

friday, all of us under the influence of this cold arctic air, and again, without the risk of snow showers, many affecting northern western scotland, north—west england and into wales, that snow will not be settling, two to five centimetres, frequent snow showers moving through. it is going to feel cold for all of us, wind—chill temperatures, —1 to minus four degrees, so lots going on. you can keep up—to—date with the forecast on the website. hello, it's wednesday, it's 9am, i'm victoria derbyshire. welcome to the programme. our top story today — a man is due in westminster magistrates‘ court this morning over an alleged plot to kill theresa may. we'll bring you the details. also on the programme, will showing a greater understanding of what leads a young offender to commit a crime help cut offending? the chief inspector of probation thinks so. it's about taking a step back and really thinking about this much more

long—term. sometimes spending many months working with this young person to build that relationship before you start that for shaping activity. 0ften those young people have not had continuous emotional relationships in their lives and it can makea relationships in their lives and it can make a very substantial difference. we'll talk to those involved in the scheme. and your assessment on how the brexit negotiations