this is business live from bbc news with ben thompson and victoria fritz. the future of a global retail giant hangs in the balance. it might not be a household name but steinhoff is mired in a multi—billion dollar accounting scandal. live from london, that's our top story on tuesday the 19th of december. steinhoff is a global retail empire in 30 countries, but today, investors and creditors meet in london to decide whether they'll throw the firm a financial lifeline. also in the programme. the trump administration points the finger at north korea for the wannacry cyber attack that hit organisations across the globe. and us markets hit record highs, as president trump's tax plans look

set to get the green light. we'll assess the possible impact. and we'll be getting the inside track on the changing world of cinema. the global audience for traditional theatres is dwindling, so will new ways of watching movies lure us back to the silver screen? today we want to know, are you a fan of the cinema experience or is streaming your movie the only way to go? let us know. just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. lots to fit in today. the future of the south african retail group, steinhoff, hangs in the balance. it's battling a huge accounting scandal. today, the retailer is meeting its lenders here in london, to find out whether those that it owes money to will throw them a lifeline. its origins are in the furniture

business in germany in the ‘60s. but it's now a global giant, with brands across europe and the us such as conforama and poundland. reflecting the global deal—making, the company has at least 200 subsidiaries and affiliates and is dutch—registered and listed in frankfurt and johannesburg. alarm bells were ringing last week when it failed to publish its financial results. what we did learn is that it's grappling with a $7 billion hole in its finances. little wonder that the regulators are now taking a look. the value of shares is down 80% since the news broke, as investors stampeded for the exit. the scandal has claimed the scalps of both the billionaire chairman and the chief executive.

both men are among the best—known members of the "stellenbosch mafia" — a close—knit group of wealthy businessmen who have properties in the exclusive winelands around cape town. they themselves have lost millions. but that is dwarfed by the amount to which creditors are out of pocket — $21 billion. lerato mbele has been following the story from johannesburg. why is there such interest in steinhoff? there's a lot of interest in steinhoff in the south african context because it blows the lid on private sector corruption, when you note to a large extent in south africa, the issues around in fractions and mismanagement and maladministration have always been attached to government and now we are seeing that actually, it is not exclusively so. also, as you rightly said, steinhoff has two very

significant south african entities as shareholders, will and the recent chairperson had the single biggest, south africa's richest man and also the public investment corporation, which is the largest pension fund in the african continent. with a 10% ta ke the african continent. with a 10% take that the pic the african continent. with a10% take that the pic has, there is exposure now that ordinary men and women have to this saga. people who arejust women have to this saga. people who are just saving for retirement, those who might even be going into retirement and having their savings wiped away. it then becomes a national tragedy that has the financial services board getting involved, the south african finance minister getting involved and when you look at it in terms of the global repercussions, german regulators now getting involved and concerns about the 130,000 people worldwide who work for steinhoff subsidiaries. it is a big story not just because of the alleged accounting irregularities but because of how it touches and impact the lives of ordinary men and women,

the lives of ordinary men and women, the pensioners whose savings are invested there. the huge amount at sta ke for invested there. the huge amount at stake for a lot of people right across the world but briefly, do you think the company can survive this 01’ think the company can survive this or will it implode? at the moment it is being called alleged financial irregularities. that stems from the fa ct irregularities. that stems from the fact that earlier this year, when they did their unaudited half—year results, we could see an increase in revenue of 48% and yet the company was having liquidity problems. the numbers simply didn't stack up. going forward, the bankers want to see whether or not it is truly a case of maladministration, even fraud, or simply a case ofjust making bad acquisitions here and there and needing to reschedule the debt. what steinhoff has to do today when it meets with the bankers is come clean, open the books and let everybody see whether they have been cutting the numbers or whether it is a question of complex mathematics in

mergers and acquisitions and if the situation can be salvaged. the european central bank is a bond holder of corporate bonds so there isa holder of corporate bonds so there is a lot at stake here and everyone wa nts to is a lot at stake here and everyone wants to make sure that the repercussions are not felt worldwide. absolutely, and thank you for joining worldwide. absolutely, and thank you forjoining us, we will keep across the story on bbc news and bbc world news today. the implications will be felt far and wide. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the russian cybersecurity firm kaspersky labs has filed a lawsuit against the trump administration over a ban on its anti—virus products. kaspersky says the us has harmed its reputation without any credible evidence, after it banned the compa ny‘s software from government agencies. boeing and bombardier have appeared before the us international trade commission in the latest round of their bitter row. boeing accuses bombardier of harming sales of its 737 aircraft and has asked the commission to impose tariffs on its canadian rival. london stock exchange shareholders

will vote later to decide whether to remove the compa ny‘s will vote later to decide whether to remove the company's chairman donald brydon. the vote was proposed by one of the biggest investors, which accused mr bryden of forcing out the lse‘s former chief executive. the us government has publicly blamed north korea for the wannacry random—ware attack. that attack crippled hospitals, banks and other companies across the globe earlier this year and cost the us billions. sharanjit leyl is in singapore with more on this. and we're talking about the lazarus group aren't we? that is right, according to a source really but i will get to that because obviously this was a huge malware attack that had massive repercussions, you mentioned billions of dollars being impacted but it was about 300,000 computers

in about 150 countries that were affected and essentially, the source is saying the us government has assessed with a very high level of confidence the hacking entity known as the lazarus group which works on behalf of the north korean government carried out this particular attack. this group is widely believed by many researchers and us officials to have been responsible for the 2014 hack that you might recall of the sony pictures entertainment which destroyed lots of files, leaked corporate communications online and led to the departure of several top studio executives. but what is interesting is this is the first on the us has officially blamed north korea for this particular attack and we know it is not a new accusation because the uk government said pretty much the same thing in november, that it was all but certain that north korea carried out this attack. thank you forjoining us. it is a story that will run and run, the warof us. it is a story that will run and run, the war of words between the two sides or three sides as president trump has outlined those who he thinks could be at risk.

it makes a change to see numbers like that, record highs in the us, everything finishing at record highs. the nasdaq and the snp doing particularly well, touching about 7000 for the first time ever. that's after more and more republican senators came out and publicly backed president trump's tax reform plans. the vote on the plans could be passed later today that would see corporate tax rates cut heavily. it would be from about 35% down to 2196, it would be from about 35% down to 21%, a huge cut. it's designed to boost spending and investment in the us and lure some businesses back to the us. will it work? will it be enough? we will discuss in a moment. european markets also on the rise in this final full trading week of 2017, taking advantage of the boost from the us. the pound also had a fairly decent day yesterday after the latest cbi manufacturing survey showed that industrial orders stayed at a 30—year high in december as well as exports.

that is partly to do with the weak pound. more on all that in a moment, but let's head to the us where yogita has the details about what's ahead on wall street today. the big focus of the day will be the republican tax bill. the house is expected to vote on the final draft today. if the bill passes, it will be the first major overhaul of the us tax system in more than 30 years and also, president trump's first legislative win since taking office. the corporate tax rate is to be cut from 35% to 21%. the government hopes companies will reinvest the money they have saved and that will create more jobs and drive growth. there will also be some indication of how the economy is performing. numbers of how many housing projects were started in november will be out and they are expected to show a slight decrease over 0ctober. among majorfirms releasing earnings data is package delivery company fedex, which is expected to report a rise in profit and revenue. joining us is remi 0lu—pitan,

multi—asset fund manager at schroders — what is driving the market sentiment at the moment? ben touched on it a little bit. the tax cuts, and we're expecting more about that. as traders been drinking the kool—aid or is this the real thing, is it going to benefit the world ? thing, is it going to benefit the world? is that why we are seeing the global rally in equities? you're right, it is a long time coming, we have been waiting for this since last year. i think it is very good news, a significant tax cut, very significant and important and beneficial for significant and important and beneficialfor us significant and important and beneficial for us corporate. i think the markets reacted positively to it because it is certainly going to lead to better earnings next year. good news for business and the jury is out about whether it will bring business back, whetherfirms will spend and invest more and take on more staff but would it not be better to give a tax cut on personal income? typically we are seeing a

tax cut on personal income although it isa tax cut on personal income although it is a lot lower than the reduction in the corporate tax cuts. i guess the advantage right now, what trump is trying to do is generate more jobs in the us and the view is that it needs to come from the corporate side. 0ne it needs to come from the corporate side. one can only hope that corporations will employ more people andi corporations will employ more people and i guess what we are seeing right now is an incentive for them to do so. the cynic in me says they will just rub their hands with glee and said is wonderful because they can give more money to shareholders by the question is whether it goes back into the pockets of the people. and as you have said it is a win—win for shareholders. thank you forjoining us. you willjoin us later to talk through the papers. still to come, films in fresh air. we talk to the man bringing rooftop movies to the masses. keep your comments about that coming in, lots of them already. stay with us, you with business live bbc news. uk businesses are feeling more optimistic about creating jobs,

with over half asked by the cbi planning to expand their workforce in the new year. but worries over a lack of skills and access to overseas workers are overshadowing plans. let's speak to neil carberry, a managing director at the cbi, the business lobby group that carried out the study. good morning. good morning. is this a change of tune? there seems to be a change of tune? there seems to be a bit more optimism than we're used to from business. i think we've had a really good record onjob creation in the uk over the last few years. the survey we have done this morning shows that is going to continue through 2018. it reflects the fact the is still growing, relatively low and slow but enough to create some jobs through next year. the big issue in the survey is looking further on, post brexit, as to how the uk looks for investment then.

this will surprise a lot of people because a lot of the headlines we read, we are told that all the uncertainty means businesses are putting off making decisions about expanding or taking on new staff. why are they so confident? what is giving cause rock to miss? demand is relatively good and the global economy, as you reports this morning on the programme have said already, is doing pretty well. companies, particularly exporters, are both boosted a bit by the fall in the pound but there is genuinely good global growth that companies can leveraged. what did business tell you it would like to see next? clearly, the survey suggest things are relatively good but what would help even more to keep things on an even keel during the uncertainty of brexit? real progress on two things, one, skills and making sure we do a lot more to invest in the skills of young people in the uk to create a more highly skilled jobs that we need. and secondly, we need certainty through the brexit process. the cbi has been clear

about beginning a traditional deal on brexit quickly is important. and after that, a clear deal that acknowledges we will need labour from across the eu in years to come. good to talk to you. thank you for joining us. neil carbury of the cbi. quickly, word coming in from the today programme that toys r us with its american owner is in deep trouble, it says it is in chapter 11 ba n kru ptcy trouble, it says it is in chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the us which puts its uk arm, with 106 stores, in jeopardy. which puts its uk arm, with 106 stores, injeopardy. plenty more on the website. check it out. you're watching business live. our top story, a day of reckoning for retail group steinhoff as the company meets with its creditors over a gaping black hole in its finances. it owns businesses in 60 countries around the world. investors are meeting to discuss the black hole and they are asking creditors for

more time to pay the money back. repercussions could be felt around the world. a quick look at how markets are faring. they have mixed a bit more modestly than we saw over the last few sessions. the european markets are by and large following the us markets a little higher. this is, as we we re markets a little higher. this is, as we were discussing, because we are seeing the likelihood of a tax cut coming into forcejust seeing the likelihood of a tax cut coming into force just a little seeing the likelihood of a tax cut coming into forcejust a little bit more likely and we think that might be rubber stamped before christmas by president donald trump. millennials might have a reputation for splashing cash on experiences, rather than buying things, but not when it comes to the cinema it seems. in the us for example, between 2012 and 2015 the number of young people regularly going to the movies fell by more than a third. so how do cinemas entice the younger generation? well the rooftop film club was setup in 2011 showing films on top of buildings.

it now has four sites here in the uk, it's also in new york, los angeles and miami and thinks turnover will reach $6m this year. gerry cottlejnr is the founder of the rooftop film club. gerry, nice to see you. you too. let us get into some of the film stuff ina us get into some of the film stuff in a moment. you have got a very interesting family history as well. talk us through that because some may recognise your name? indeed. 0bviously my father ran away, did the old adage and ran away to join the old adage and ran away to join the circus many years ago. that was over 50 yea rs the circus many years ago. that was over 50 years ago. i was born into the entertainment world, i grew up clowning around, fire—breathing, bungees and trapeze, but i've turned my focus from circus to still selling popcorn, still you know... you never know when you might need to do you never know when you might need

todoa you never know when you might need to do a bit of fire—breathing.” you never know when you might need to do a bit of fire-breathing. i saw my dad growing to do a bit of fire-breathing. i saw d growing up to do a bit of fire-breathing. i saw my dad growing up entertaining and i moved into cinema, putting bums on seats, shall we say, in the cinematic world. before the bums hit the seats, you are getting them to buy a lot, that is where you are making your money, the add—ones before we sit down and watch a film? that is right. with roof top film club, we have be born out of the mundane multiplex and we are putting the social and celebration back into cinema. it's a whole night out. people only to us, they have drinks, food, you know, entertainment, bands playing, stuff like that. it's about that experience before the film. a cinema is a glorified swat shop. for us it's a whole night out. for the consumer, it's value for money because they get to come and spend three orfour because they get to come and spend three or four hours on a roof top and have a great evening and watch their favourite film. we were discussing earlier, if you go to a

regular cinema, you arrive late, miss the trailers then get straight out. so your model is that you want people to get there early and spend money? you got it, yes. we are the antithesis to the multiplex. this is different to the normal cinema by the fact we have themed cocktails, street food, immacrat service, you get your ticket from a smiley human. at the end of the night you share this experience with your friends. we show a lot of cult movies, it's a shared experience, for people hope to new content. we are putting a new generation on to film. that is the beauty of it. the film industry is recognising that. we are in fact bringing the millennials into film with instagram. we are an instagram—led cinema. with instagram. we are an instagram-led cinema. but hang on, there are a few issues with this. first off it rains, a lot in the uk! yes. how does that work? i understand that you don't have insurance to cover the fact that you might have to call the thing off?

it's very tough. it's an issue with being in britain but this is what happened. we used to cancel. we sent e—mails out saying, rain or shine, you know, anyone wants their money back let us know and 3,000 people we re back let us know and 3,000 people were going, six people came back. so people were willing to embrace it. it's very british, ponchoes and blankets, don't get me wrong, heavy rain, we cancel. let us talk about where you get the roof tops from. it sounds simple, find a roof top, but you want a good view. yes. i imagine some are already being used as bars and restaurants. how do you negotiate to find the rooves? also safe ones as well. yes, you think it's easy. when we went to new york two years ago, the home of the room top, we knocked on

doors for two years. if they are good roof tops, you normally use them, if they are under—yew newsed, you need permits and toilets, so what we have started doing, it takes a while to find the roof tops. in the us we are starting to use car parks —— under—used. we are using the under—used car parks, houston and texas next year and we are turning them into roof top spaces and it's a great use of space in the city that's not being used for much else, especially when it's hot in these climates, people don't want to park their cars there but we want to put a cinema there. this is a very seasonal business. how do you cope with the off—season? seasonal business. how do you cope with the off-season? seasonal business absolutely in. the winter, we have got other experiences economy activity so this year we have got curling in london so we have got curling in london so we have got curling in london so we have got six curling lanes and igloos and put them on the roof tops. we are heading to dubai and miami and that will mean we can run 12 months a year as an operation so

that's exciting for us, it will fill up that's exciting for us, it will fill up the winter periods. good luck with it, it's interesting, gerry, thank you for coming in, founder of roof top. thank you. 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. stay up—to—date with the news as it happens on the business news live page. there is analysis from our editors around the globe. we want to hear from you too. get involved on the bbc business live web page at bbc.com/business. bbc business at twitter and we are on facebook at bbc money. business live on tv and online. what you need to know when you need to know. let's see what stories are being talked about on social media. i want to talk about cinemas because loads of messages as a result of that interview we have just had

there. phil says, i that interview we have just had there. philsays, i pay that interview we have just had there. phil says, i pay extra to watch a manifesty in a cinema where food is not allowed, otherwise i'll stay at home and stream. ryan says i use netflix. a lot suggesting going to the cinema isn't as fun as it used to be. are you cinema or streaming? it's less about watching the movie, it's the add—ones, one of the movie, it's the add—ones, one of the big strendz going to bars and binding, if you can offer that social environment, that offers something different. it says a lot about people that are tweeting and texting, they're cyber savvy so maybe that suggests they're more streamers. a lot of other news around today. the car story, this is around today. the car story, this is a story about what needs to change in our every day lives to make cars and electric cars one of the key things for the future? yes. that is really interesting. there is a lot

happening, a lot of manufacturers are happening, a lot of manufacturers a re really happening, a lot of manufacturers are really trying to move into the electric vehicle market. i think the real important thing is that it needs to be affordable. we need to get prices down. in orderfor manufacturers to do that, they have to have access to the resources, so what i love about this story is how do you access that. lithium. the thing in the battery? yes. actually the problem is, you can only really get it from china or chile. the price has increased rapidly so if we are going to get electric cars cheaper, we really need the resources to fall in price. it's so interesting isn't it because on one hand the technology allows it, but actually there are so many infrastructure things that need to change about charging points and road change about charging points and roa d s pa ces change about charging points and road spaces and all that sort of thing. yes, it's 8.54 in london, it's about time we talked about wine. absolutely, never too early to talk about wine. i've been here

since 3am so definitely! this is a story in the independent. today is the busiest wine—buying day of the year and we the busiest wine—buying day of the yearand we are the busiest wine—buying day of the year and we are seeing a big rise in the sales of uk wine. brilliant. that is a good story. particularly when it's that is a good story. particularly when its related to wine, sparkling wine for that matter. there's been a huge surge in demand for uk wine, particularly sparkling wine. huge surge in demand for uk wine, particularly sparkling winem huge surge in demand for uk wine, particularly sparkling wine. is that because of the weakness of the pound making it cheaper abroad, or because of the weakness of the pound making it cheaperabroad, orare there other things? makes it cheaper but there is a value aspect as well. the quality has increased massively in the uk. i feel like the quality has increased massively in the uk. ifeel like i need to go and have one. on that note! let's all go for wine. thank you very much. have a lovely christmas. that is it. plenty more later on throughout the day. bye. see you very throughout the day. bye. see you very soon. throughout the day. bye. see you very soon. bye. good morning. a big temperature

contrast this morning. in the north of scotland, temperatures well in double figures, but in the south, below freezing and, with that some fog around. dense fog across central and southern england, northern ireland, that could cause a few problems to your travels this morning. some of the airports are struggling with the fog. that fog will gradually lift and you might see brighter skies across the south—east of england. the further north and west, a mild start to the day. a lot of cloud into the afternoon lyngering. temperatures could reach 15, perhaps 16, around the moray firth. patchy rain moving its way into the far north—west. dry for northern ireland, through much of northern england and wales. drizzly rain over the higher grounds, and hill fog as well. staying cloudy across central and southern areas. feeling chilly with temperatures about four to seven in the south. tonight, we have the rain which will

continue to move its way further south across scotland into northern ireland. grey skies for much of england and wales. it should be largely frost—free tonight into wednesday morning. in fact temperatures in northern ireland staying up in double figures. during wednesday, the rain's moving south, it's during wednesday, the rain's moving south, its associated with a cold front. high pressure is weakening. patchy rain across northern england and north wales throughout the day. hill fog here again. to the south of that, it's mild, but lots of cloud. temperatures nine to 12. it will turn colder across the north in scotla nd turn colder across the north in scotland and northern ireland. there'll be a bit of sunshine around too. into thursday, this weather front will gradually move its way further south. again, bringing some rain infairly further south. again, bringing some rain in fairly similar areas to wednesday. it's not going to move very far. patchy rain in england and wales. temperatures nine to 11. the milder side of that cold front there. the north of it, the colder air is with you. temperatures six or

seven up towards the north. gradually the mild air is being pushed through going into friday. temperatures into double figures. a dry day again on friday. settled conditions. there'll be some sunshine. a bit of brightness from time to time. as we go into the weekend, things staying on the milder side. there is some uncertainty as we go into the early pa rt uncertainty as we go into the early part of next week. more details on the website. that's it from me. bye. hello it's tuesday, it's 9 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire, welcome to the programme this morning: gas leaks, damp, holes in the floor and cracks in the walls. for some, their new—build homes have become "uninhabitable" less than a year after moving in. this, this has broken me, and ijust can't believe how unlucky we've been to be in this position when it was supposed to be completely different to this. this programme has heard from people

who bought from big—name builders, only to uncover numerous things wrong with the property, just weeks after they moved in. 0ne expert says you've got more protection when you buy a toaster. we'll bring you the story in around 15 minutes' time. also on the programme, the grandparents of a four—year—old girl from london, who went missing in may this year, plead for information that will lead to her safe return.