this is business briefing. i'm david eades. is coca—cola losing its fizz? the drinks giant is releasing its fourth quarter results in a few hours amid a 12 year decline in the us market for carbonated soft drinks. japanese markets are relieved as the government reappoints bank of japan governor haruhiko kuroda for another term. the nikkei is up. it has been a good week for markets across asia. not so good for the all 0rds. the dow is up a bit, even if the dollar is having a bit, even if the dollar is having a troubled time. when it comes to our eating habits, it turns out that many people are choosing healthier options, or at least cutting back where they can.

but for a company like coca—cola, does a shrinking waste—line mean a shrinking bottom line? just to give you an idea, one can of coke has about seven teaspoons of sugar in it and it accounts for 139 calories. that's about the same as eating one and a half apples or nearly nine cucumbers. americans are definitely cutting back either way. in 2016, soda sales hit a 31—year low in the united states. coke will be reporting earnings in a few hours‘ time for joining

£5- family. and they are very distinctive from coke and coca—cola. yes, and if you look at some of the advertising campaign that coca—cola have been undertaking of late, it's been focusing on coca—cola as an organisation and its portfolio

rather than focusing on coca—cola as a standalone flagship brand among that grouping. where does that leave the various coke named? we have got zero and diet coke, massive product is nonetheless even if there is a fall. that's correct. and you would have noticed over the last couple of months that coca—cola have undertaken a complete re—energise asian its diet coke portfolio, introducing new flavours and new packaging formats. one of the interesting factors is around pack format and the change in drinking occasion. the shift towards smaller pack sizes, single serve, drives greater profitability and greater value per litre and this is a shift away from the two litre and one

litre pet formats. that raises the question as to whether people are buying into the idea that we shouldn't have so much sugar, so many busy drinks, which is one issue, or simply ready for a change. we have a new generation of youngsters looking for a new product. they might like a jazz stop look to coke. there are some significant trend is playing out. health is obviously a key importance in that and people are looking to reduce their sugar intake. but we are also increasingly heading toward are also increasingly heading toward a personalised solution, they personalise their drinks to say something about them and provides a unique experience. hence why you are seeing the of portfolios. one of the key areas is what is being termed

the adultification of the soft drinks market, where you get increasingly complex flavours and flavour varieties, different textual experiences and as we've seen in the beer industry and orientation towards more craft products and solutions. we will have to leave it there. thanks very much indeed. adultification, no less! investors injapan were relieved to see the government appoint bank ofjapan governor haruhiko kuroda for another term today. let's go to our asia business hub, where mariko oi is following the story. much relief? use a relieved, but i got excited. he is one central bank governor injapan got excited. he is one central bank governor in japan who got excited. he is one central bank governor injapan who has really surprised the markets in the past five years. it's been dubbed even as we kuroda bazooka because sometimes his decisions have moved to the

market a lot. he hasjust been nominated for a second term, from april, by the government. he is also seen april, by the government. he is also seen as a april, by the government. he is also seen as a key player in prime minister shinzo abe introducing his abenomics policies. there have been some speculations in recent months, whether they have fallen out and whether they have fallen out and whether mr kuroda will not be nominated, so at least we have the confirmation now that he will be, because the ruling party dominated parliament he will likely get another five years. let me ask the nerd why the yen is doing so well?|j don't nerd why the yen is doing so well?” don't know if it's a strong yen story or a weak dollar story, but as you say it is now flirting with or it is actually in the 105 yen territory, the first time, the strongest level, in about 15 months. the finance minister injapan says that he might have to intervene. of course he said earlier in the week

that there is no need for intervention, which got a bit of criticism, so he is now correcting his statement. so definitely worth monitoring the yen. it is interesting that despite the strong yen, which of course makes japan's exporters more expensive overseas, the nikkei is doing quite well today. thanks very much. now let's brief you some other business stories. us regulators have rejected the sale of the chicago stock exchange to a group led by chinese based investors , over concerns with its ownership structure. the deal has drawn criticism from us lawmakers who questioned the sec‘s ability to regulate the foreign buyers if the proposal was approved. mcdonald's is slimming down by removing cheeseburgers from its happy meals as customers look for healthier options. the fast food giant says by 2022, they will offer more balanced meals on their children's menu across 120 markets. that means meals that are 600 calories or less. but they include the choice

of a hamburger or a box of chicken mcnuggets. the classic cheeseburger will only be available at a customer's request. today is the first day of the lunar new year. it's the biggest holiday celebrated in countries like china, vietnam, south korea, and singapore. and with the new year comes a new chinese zodiac, the year of the dog. will it be the investor's best friend? our reporter leisha santorelli met with chinese astrologerjoey yap to get his predictions. we are doing this interview in a special place. this is singapore's biggest dog resort and that's because we want to get your predictions for the chinese year of the dog. dogs are many types. stop

my late this, docile and the dog. dogs are many types. stop py- “ some this. others are fearful and noisy. with fearful and noisy, you might get volatility of challenges and fights, just like how an aggressive dog would be like. the last two weeks we seen extreme volatility in the global stock rockets. can we expect that to continue? at least for the first half of the year. in terms of the global economy, what's the outlook? in the year of the dog the strongest element is wood. wood related industries will be one of the most dominating headlines. for example agriculture, education, palm oil, coffee, those are all wood related. the second element is fire. that's technology, oil and gas. we will see a return on oil and gas now, so that the peak of the fire energy. what the peak of the fire energy. what the outlook for the property market in this part of the world? in

singapore we will see a pickup, so will be announced. but malaysia, because the element is rather weak and it will take at least a year before the energy returns. last year you joined us and gave some predictions about donald trump. how will this year be? will he face many challenges like it did —— like he did during his first year? he was born in the year of the dog. i know a lot of people are saying he might get challenges in his own parties and getting impeached and all that. there may be attempts by this energy is very strong, so they may not be successful. in fact, is very strong, so they may not be successful. infact, he is very strong, so they may not be successful. in fact, he will add onto the american economy in some ways. volatile than... a bbc investigation has revealed a

significant difference between the highest earning male and female co nsulta nts highest earning male and female consultants working for the nhs in england. figures show that one in five of the top 100 earners are women, while an average full—time men earned £14,000 more than their female counterparts when including bonuses and overtime. our health correspondent dominic hughes explains. many different organisations have faced tough questions around the gap in pay between men and women, not least the bbc. now an examination of the pay of co nsulta nts, now an examination of the pay of consultants, the most senior clinicians working on the nhs in england, reveals it's an issue for the health service to. on average co nsulta nts the health service to. on average consultants and a basic at salary of just over £85,000 a year, but they can get paid extra, for example in overtime or special awards for clinical excellence. but when the figure for total pay is broken down

for women —— men and women, full—time female consultants and £40,000 less on average than their male colleagues and of the top 100 earners just five are female, even though they make up more than a third of the workforce. certainly within the nhs there should be no disparities in pay because pay structures a re disparities in pay because pay structures are national and are clearly publicised. and so other than issues of, for example, people working longer hours, there shouldn't be any reason for discrepancies in pay. the government has already announced an independent review of how the gender pay gap can be eliminated in medicine. it might be eliminated in medicine. it might be that men are more willing to work overtime, or more likely to apply foran award, at overtime, or more likely to apply for an award, at a study in 2009 revealed a similar picture and female consultants say it is disappointing that these differences still exist. coming up at 6am on breakfast, charlie and naga will have all the day's news, business

and sport, including the latest from the winter olympics and more on that bronze medalfor team gb. thousands have attended a candlelit vigil in parkland in florida to honour the victims of wednesday's high school shooting. new york police have arrested twin brothers suspected of building an explosive device. they have both pleaded not guilty. hundreds of millions of people around the world have been celebrating the start of the lunar new year — welcoming in the year of the dog. the drinks giant is releasing its 4th quarter results in a few is coca cola losing its fizz?. the drinks giant is releasing its 4th quarter results in a few hours amid a 12 year decline in the us market for carbonated soft drink. now it is time look at the stories

that are making the headlines —— in media across the world. we begin with the new york times. it's looking at president trump's reaction to the deadly school shooting in florida, highlighting the fact his speech focused on mental health support rather than gun control and oving on to the financial times now and another example of what's known as "gouging", this time an irish pharmaceutical company's charging three thousand dollars for a bottle of two—in—one pills — the problem, says the paper, is the drugs can be bought seperately for 36 dollars. our next story's covered across the world but here it is in british tabloid the sun, its headline, "it's good to be stinky and lazy" after research showed cosmetics are causing air pollution and fumes from household cleaning products can be as harmful as smoking 20 cigarettes a day. turning the page on president zuma — south africa's enca profiles his successor and the eventful career that's taken cyril ramaphosa from activist to multi—millionaire and now given him the presidency. and finally the gulf today

with a story that seems like an accident waiting to happen. how do you fancy taking in art exhibitions while you drive along a 100km/h stretch of motorway? well, if you're in abu dhabi you can — and not any old collection — it's in conjunction with the prestious louvre. —— prestigious. so let's begin and back with me is andrew tuck, editor of monocle. no surprise there are going to speak about the florida shooting. president trump says that mental health is the key issue. he is given a speech in which he