you will —— this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. 2.1 billion friends and counting — and more profit than ever. but facebook users are spending less time on the network. plus, clash of the tech titans. apple, amazon, and alphabet are all soaring in value — which will be first to hit a trillion dollars? and on the markets a mixed picture is emerging across asia as the us central bank indicates the cost of borrowing will be headed up again in march. we start with facebook, the world's biggest social network has got bigger still, with another massive jump in the amount of money it's making, as yet more people around the world sign up.

but despite some more mind boggling figures, facebook revealed its users are spending less time on the network. revenue in the last three months of 2017 came in at almost $13 billion, mostly from advertising, and around a third of that was profit. this represents huge growth again — up 47% on the same period last year. facebook now has two point 13 billion users who log on at least once a month — up 14% in a year. that's well over a quarter of the world's 7.5 billion population. but facebook‘s massive reach has also increased scrutiny, with concerns about its effect on users' mental health — and on democracy, with its role in spreading so—called fake news. at the start of the year, chief executive mark zuckerberg said the company is changing its algorithms to shift the focus of its newsfeed back towards friends and family. but now he's warned investors this is already making people spend less time on facebook, a total of 50 million fewer hours per day. as our north american tech correspondent dave lee explains.

facebook is a saying that the changes to the newsfeed have already resulted in 50 million less hours being spent on the platform. that will have a big impact on how many adverts are being seen. as part of that announcement, mark zuckerberg has attached a statement to these earnings, which goes into more depth than usual, he goes into those talking point he has been making recently. i will read a small bit to you. he says, "in 2018 we are making sure that facebook is not just fun to use, but good for

people's wellbeing adfa society." what he is doing there is a guess we'll impact our network and it is impacting our network but it is important we have big sacrifice now to protect the long—term health of facebook. nigel vaz is ceo for europe middle east and africa and asia pacific at publicis.sapient, which helps companies with their digital strategy. welcome to the programme. what do you make of the drop in thai people are spending on facebook? what we're starting to see is that it is affecting the quality of the feed. more and more people are starting to seek too many commercial messages or not enough trust in the messages they were getting and that was the comment we were getting earlier in the year, then being able to propagate stories that were not true from sources people started to believe was coming through their actual connections on facebook, but wasn't. it is interesting to see the market reaction. after the results

came out there was a swift fall in the share price down 5%, but it headed higher again, closing the share price down 5%, but it headed higheragain, closing up the share price down 5%, but it headed higher again, closing up some one point something %. 0ur investors concerned about this? or is it a minor blip? they looking at the long—term health of the network and focusing on the quality. it has increased substantially with adding 10,000 new things primarily focused on building the duration and the quality. when you look at that trajectory that facebook have adopted, people are concerned about the short term blip and whether that becomes a longer term trend, but are reassured with the commitment of the quality of the social network and the advertising revenue. how will mark zuckerberg keep people on facebook loyal. a lot of people are leaving and young people, millennials, those even younger are not interested in facebook at all.

they have a good strategy of versification. they have on when end of the spectrum and what's up, used far more for direct communication. instagram has a far younger following as compared to facebook. they are trying to make sure it is a network as opposed to a singular product and starting to connect the audiences across those channels. we shall watch this space. nigel vaz, thank you very much. they lot of you have been in touch. 0ne thank you very much. they lot of you have been in touch. one man's as i gave up using facebook two years ago, it is a big relief. mark webster calls it is fleecebook and says it is the most boring social media ever. and that he prefers twitter. they give are getting in touch. —— thank you for getting in touch. let's stay in silicon valley, where more tech giants report their results later. the three a's — apple, amazon, and alphabet, the parent company of google, have all seen their share prices

soar in 2017. and as dave lee reports, that could mean one or more of them is on track for a major stock market milestone this year. when it comes to predictions about 2018, most financial analysts agree, one us tech firm will likely become america's first ever trillion dollar company. the question is, which one will it be? could it be apple? that depends on its latest smartphone, the opening ten. if sales of that device are strong, very strong, then apple will be hurtling towards the trillion dollar valuation —— apple ten. maybe amazon will get there first. jeff bays 0z now come to's richest man. amazon's saw its share price rose by 50%. what could well be value back is the amount the company spends. it expects to spend $4 billion on contact for its prime tv service. —— content. it is investing heavily in its assistant and adding several new fulfilment

centres in markets all over the world. that is before it starts thinking about building that second headquarters it needs. what about alphabet? the google parent company is expected to post revenues about 20% higher than this time last year. that has been driven by search advertising and youtube. if alphabet is to get over that $1 trillion mark it has to come from somewhere other than advertising. keep an eye on its hardware. they lost a smartphone last year and there was a huge marketing push for its google home assistant. any promising signs in that area would have investors jumping for joy. which that area would have investors jumping forjoy. which of these companies will be worth more than $1 trillion in 2018? well, something, they all —— some think they all will. a busy week for dave lee this week. let's go to the indian capital new delhi now, where the finance minister is about to present

this year's budget. arunjaitley is under pressure to keep voters happy in the run up to a general election, but also reassure investors who are concerned about the state of the government's finances. devina gupta is there for us. nice to see you. i understand arun jaitley has just begun proceedings. what are we expecting him to say? well, first up it will be a short budget speech, unlike the 120 minutes traditionally, this is said to be the shortest ever made by the finance minister. it is also very crucial for the government that came into power promising an economic shakeup into power promising an economic sha keup but is into power promising an economic shakeup but is seeing an economic slowdown. it is also seeing a agrarian distress, high unemployment rates, and without private investment, we have not seen in

your‘s consumption story go forward. this budget, there could be some relief forfarmers, also this budget, there could be some relief for farmers, also for the education sector. some employment schemes are expected. basically, a signalfor global schemes are expected. basically, a signal for global investment that india is open for business. it needs foreign investment to achieve its growth target of 7—7 .5% that india has set for itself for next year. thank you so much. we will talk to you later as we get more on what happens in that budget. now, let's brief you some other business stories. ebay shares have jumped after it said revenue was up almost 10% in the vital holiday quarter. improvements to its website and more marketing have attracted more shoppers, despite stiff competition from amazon. microsoft beat wall street earnings forecasts on strong growth in its cloud computing business. but it took a one—off tax charge of more than $13 billion on cash it holds overseas, following changes to us tax law, pushing it into a $6.3 billion quarterly loss.

and now, what's happening in business news online this thursday. from bloomberg — us oil production surged above ten million barrels a day in novemberfor the first time since 1970. the wall streetjournal is worried about the rise in us short—term government borrowing. and from business insider, many millennials spend more on coffee than they save for retirement. i have a joke about that but i might tweet later. i am i have a joke about that but i might tweet later. iam running i have a joke about that but i might tweet later. i am running out of time. and don't forget, let us know what you are spotting online — use #bbcthebriefing. that's it for business briefing this hour. but before we go, here are the markets. i will see you soon. up next, newsbriefing,

we'll take you through the stories making headlines in the global media today. here in the uk, the economic gap between the north and the south will continue to grow, unless the government prioritises northern education. that's the warning this morning from the northern powerhouse partnership, an independent body set up to improve the state of the north. if your child is born in the north—east, the latest league tables suggest that is a one in five chance that he or she will go to an underperforming school. born in london, the chances are just one in 15. they's report says the key to closing the north— south divide in clutts £300 million of new money for early years development, making the

north a world leader in our friendships, and all northern businesses mentoring young people. ba rclays is businesses mentoring young people. barclays is one of the businesses behind today's report. they have more than 500 northern apprentices. i think it was an opportunity that i was surprised to find that i didn't have to move away for. i pick my preconception was you would probably have to move to have a really good career. now my view has completely changed on that now that i found the degree programme. you can do it from anywhere. is the government now stepping up after being accused of neglecting the northern powerhouse post george osborne? one of the unsung bits about the northern powerhouse is the £70 million we have put into the school strategy, which goes from early years provision and making sure that is as good as it can be, to the maths and english pubs we have set up. the authors of today's report say that if it is followed there could be

850,000 newjobs and £100 million of new money in the northern economy. —— hubs. they claim that children from all backgrounds and posters will be given a fair start. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: british prime minister theresa may is continuing her diplomatic tour of china. the shadow of brexit is looming large. a controversial memo that claims the fbi is biased against donald trump is expected to be published later. aiming to support education in developing countries — a high—level summit is opening in senegal. 2.1 billion friends and counting — and more profit than ever. but facebook users are spending less time on the network. let us have a look at stories that are being discussed in the media in

general to date. we have the front page of china daily. this is a state—sponsored newspaper. it is covering the theresa may's visit. it's as china and the uk have agreed to boost ties. here in the uk, a big story dominating in business, the colla pse story dominating in business, the collapse of karelian is unravelling. the financial times is saying the outsize —— outsourcing giant and assure its shares drop 47% that carillion. the daily telegraph is looking at the ongoing equal pay row at the bbc. it shows the number of my colleagues on the front page who attended a government hearing yesterday where carrie gracie, to step down as the role as china editor overpay gave evidence before politicians. then we have the sun, one of our tabloid dailies in the uk. it makes its feelings very clear over the axing of a female models at

the formula one. mps in the uk will be leaving the famous houses of parliament for at least six years. we will explain why. as promised, stefa ny is back. we will explain why. as promised, stefany is back. political risk a nalyst. stefany is back. political risk analyst. lovely to see you. women are dominating the papers. we have theresa may to begin with. the front page of china daily. in the uk it is all about brexit and it is all about citizens rights. in the uk, when we do leave in march 2019. china daily is more focused on trade and the relationship between the uk and china. exactly. they are looking to have partnership for china's belt and road