this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. the latest intel on spectre and meltdown chip vulnerability — the boss says fixes will be rolled at by the end of the month and there are no signs customer data has been put at risk. despite having its boss behind bars, samsung electronics goes from strength to strength, predicting record profits in the months ahead. we will be live at the ces show. you can see the markets are all higher. if you love tech news, you will love this programme. the boss of intel has made his first major public appearance since the security scandal that has

potentially left millions — possibly billions — of machines vulnerable. called meltdown and spectre, they could allow hackers to steal sensitive data, including passwords and banking information. the uk security services say the chip vulnerabilities have not been exploited. and structurally there is nothing wrong with the hardware. it's like having doors and windows in a house — that need to be there — but that burglars are able to exploit. adding to intel's image challenges, the compa ny‘s chief executive brian krzanich sold about $24 million in intel shares in late november, after the company learned of the chip security problems, reducing his holdings by about 50%. intel released a statement insisting there was no impropriety, saying the sale was "unrelated," rather a pre—arranged stock sale plan and that he "continues to hold shares in line with corporate guidelines." at the consumer electronics show in las vegas, intel's ceo said there was no evidence that customer

data had been put at risk. the best thing you can do to make sure your data remains safe is to apply any updates from your operating system vendor and system manufacturer as soon as they become available. for our processors, products, introduced in the past five years, intel expects to issue updates for more than 90% within a week and the remaining by the end of january. our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones is in las vegas. he didn't say anything standing or new, really. how worried are people about this? well, it was an extraordinary moment, really because he had long been scheduled to deliver the opening keynote, the

show opens in a few hours and there is always a big technology figure giving a boost of view of the industry for the year who is going to make a big speech about big date and he went on to do that but he gave just the first minutes of his address to this problem. it did seem address to this problem. it did seem a bit perfunctory, i have to say. there was no apology. he was stressing this is an industrywide problem and that they were all collaborating. i have to say it hasn't really been the focus of this event so far. it is not what people are talking about. i suppose there isa are talking about. i suppose there is a fatalism. this is a really big vulnerability. they crop up all the time. people patch them and then they get on with life. they seem to be getting used to the idea the systems of honourable and that we have to continually be updating everything to ward off the danger is. and as you say there is so much going on. and i know you and dave and others are trying to get across

as much as you can. what is grabbing your attention? well, what's really grabbing my attention is the extraordinary emphasis on artificial intelligence. the amount of money going into that. we have had google here this year which we don't really have. they are usually undercover here. i think they were irritated by last year, amazon's alexa, which was everywhere controlling everything. so this year google has posters everywhere, emphasising its role in artificial intelligence and controlling devices around your home. but also i went to a press conference with baidu, chinese search giant, and they were very much saying, hey, we are china's google, we have the money, we have more people in china thanjust google, we have the money, we have more people in china than just about anywhere else, more mobile phone owners, and that gives us a huge advantage because we have so much data and the people who have more data and the people who have more data can move further forward data and the people who have more data can move furtherforward in al,

that was their claim. not everything was going to plan, i noticed lg's robot cloi didn't go as planned. we a lwa ys robot cloi didn't go as planned. we always enjoy those moments when the robot walks on stage and then falls over. that robot turned out to be quite unresponsive. i met a very charming robot called sophia who i had a conversation with, a humanoid robot. we were expecting her about one hour before she turned up. she seems to be a bit shy. when she did come out she had quite a good conversation with me, although i have submitted my questions in advance and she had plenty of time to think about them and she didn't appear to be stumped. that is what we love, isn't it, questions in advance. thank you very much. we will see you soon. we will leave you do it. so much for him to do. he is having a lot of fun along with dave lee. and we have a whole page on the website, the technology page, do go when you have time, lots of

information on ces and what's going on. well, let's stay with technology. despite having its boss behind bars, samsung electronics appears to be going from strength to strength. the south korean tech company has released its earnings guidance this morning and while it's missed analysts expectations, it's expecting a record quarterly profit in the fourth quarter. let's go to our asia business hub where rico hizon is following the story. you know, samsung just seems to go from strength to strength. u nfortu nately, from strength to strength. unfortunately, they missed expectations, sally, as you mentioned, but it has nothing to do with those scandals. the reason behind the weaker performance is a strong korean lg's —— yuan. the currency is at its highest level against the greenback in three yea rs. against the greenback in three years. but thanks to our obsessions with smart phones the conglomerate is still expecting a record profit

of $14 billion, sally, which is up 64% from last year levels and the strength is that it makes notjust phones, but chips and screens, which they not only make for themselves, but also for their competitors. and while the guidance puts the tech giant on course for a record 2017 profit, samsung shares are falling as much as two and a half % in late trade due to the outlook for memory chips, smartphones and the stronger yuan. sally. thank you very much, rico. it is good to see you. and in other news now. french prosecutors have launched a probe into allegations of planned obsolescence in apple's iphone. under french law it is a crime to intentionally shorten the lifespan of a product with the aim of making customers replace it. in december, apple admitted that older iphone models slowed down to cope with diminished battery performance. google has been accused of discriminating against conservative

white men in a class action lawsuit. it's been launched by two former engineers. one of whom was fired last year over a controversial memo which argued there are fewer women in top jobs at the firm because of biological differences between men and women. so, let's tell you more about that robot, cloi, and the fact that artificial intelligence is a huge growth area, a big deal at ces this year but as we said the lg robot was not really on board, it was a rather embarrassing public debut. allow me to introduce cloi. hello, cloi. good morning, dave, i hope you are well. what can i do for you today? cloi, what is my schedule? you need

to go to the gym at 10am today. power up! power up. smart lerner has set the washer to the sportswear setting. cloi, aml cloi, am i ready on my washing cycle ? eve n cloi, am i ready on my washing cycle? even robots have bad days. cloi, what's for dinner tonight? cycle? even robots have bad days. cloi, what's for dinnertonight? 0k. cloi, what's for dinnertonight? 0k. cloi is not going to talk to me. cloi is not going to talk to me. cloi doesn't like me, evidently. goodness me, she is not playing

ball, is she? that is not a great moment when you're trying to demonstrate your latest robot at ces, 2018. let's have a look at financial markets now in asia, and you can see that we have games for the main markets in asia. we've got japan open today for the first time this week. they have a public holiday yesterday. and injapan we have the big winners, banking stocks, this is basically with the wea k stocks, this is basically with the weak yen boosting stocks. in the us in some markets we have another record low sorry, a record close, should i say, look at brent, $70 a barrel, and that is the business. i will be back for the news briefing injusta will be back for the news briefing injust a moment. stay will be back for the news briefing in just a moment. stay with us. the education secretary justine greening has resigned

from the government after refusing a job as work and pensions secretary in theresa may's cabinet reshuffle. it's also understood that jeremy hunt was asked to become businesss secretary, but persuaded the prime minister to keep him at the department of health. theresa may is expected to make more changes to her cabinet later today. leila nathoo reports. are you confident of staying in government? after a day or few surprises it was the edges —— education secretaryjustine surprises it was the edges —— education secretary justine greening people the biggest and in the works of theresa may's cautious plans, emerging from downing street having quit the government rather than move to ta ke quit the government rather than move to take charge of welfare as she was asked to do. and it is understood the health secretaryjeremy hunt, who was also in line for a move this time to business, successfully argued to stay where he was. a reshuffle designed to breathe new life into the government did see a

few switched jobs, and for promoted, but there was no movement in the top positions and the cabinet make—up is largely unchanged. although there was a shakeup of staff in charge of running the conservative party to try to broaden its appeal and revive the tory electoral machine. now on day two of the reshuffle theresa may's focus turns to the junior ministerial roles. number ten says the prime minister will promote young talent from the backbenches. downing street is promising the new ministerial team will be more diverse with more women mps from minority backgrounds, so it better reflects the country. nearly 100 firefighters have been tacking a blaze at a large paint factory in north london. london fire brigade said 15 engines were sent to the scene after eyewitnesses heard explosions. workers left the factory safely before crews arrived people in the area around staples corner were told keep their doors and windows shut the london fire brigade says the blaze has now been brought under control. an investigation's begun. this is the briefing from bbc news.

the latest headlines: north korea has offered to send a high—level delegation including athletes and journalists to next month's winter olympics, after the first talks with the south in more than two years. the prime minister of malta has told the bbc about the impact the death of investigative journalist daphne caruana galizia has had on his government. the trump administration has cancelled the permits that allow 200,000 people from el salvador to live and work in the us. now it's time to look at the stories making headlines in media across the world. we begin with this, the korea times online and its coverage on today's inter—korea discussions which focus on the winter olympics. the website quotes a realmeter poll

saying more than half of south koreans want the government to cover the expenses for north korean athletes to participate in pyeongchang. turning to the uk's independent newspaper. not suprisingly, the front page looks at theresa may's cabinet reshuffle ahead of their first meeting this morning. the headline reads like this. "night of the blunt knives. ministers wreck reshuffle." bloomberg with this article on line. british sports car maker aston martin is said to be targeting a valuation of as much as five billion pounds or $6.8 billion in a potential initial public offering, a value that would put it on par with ferrari. making news for the guardian today. apple investors call for action over iphone addiction among children. an open letter highlights the growing concern on the damage smart—phones are having on youth and investors are urging new parental controls and release of data. many newspapers have this story.

a hospital in greater manchester has become the first in england to ban all sugary snacks from its canteen and vending machines as it encourages overweight staff to set a better example to patients. the move has had a mixed reaction from staff. and lastly, a look at the daily telegraph. with an adorable picture of princess charlotte as the two—year—old heads off to her first day of nursery. the photo was taken by her mother, the duchess of cambridge. with me is lianna brinded, who is the europe news editor, for quartz.