this is business live from bbc news with ben thompson and sally bundock. the white house's top economic advisor gary cohn quits over president trump's import tariffs bringing the fear factor back to financial markets. live from london, that's our top story on wednesday 7th march. mr cohn has been seen as a moderate voice in the white house, so his departure has dealt a big blow to business leaders hoping to prevent the us president igniting a global trade war. also in the programme.... harleys, levi's and bourbon — why the european union is targeting classic american goods as it prepares to retaliate against those us tariffs. and all that makes investors nervous. in asia markets dropped sharply and this is how europe has opened. and we'll be getting the inside track on the start—up

siblings who made it big — you may not have heard of the collison brothers but their payments technology has made them billions — they are now among the youngest self—made billionaires in the world. also tomorrow is international women's day and to mark the occasion mattel has launched a new set of barbie dolls — this one behind me is nicola adams the olympic boxing champion. nicola says she is honoured. so we want to know who would you nominate for your barbie role—model? let us know. there should be a sally bundock barbie! you heard it here first. we start at the white house, where top economic advisor gary cohn has quit after losing a heated battle president trump over tariffs.

he opposed president's proposed steel and aluminium tariffs because of the impact on the american economy, us jobs and the threat of a global trade war. in a moment, we'll hear from a global trade expert but first kim gittleson in new york has more details. gary cohn has long said he opposed the tariffs. he is known as somebody who supports free trade. he worked at goldman sachs and he is a democrat. he has clashed with president trump on a host of issues. the thing they seem to agree on was the tax reform. beyond that, there wasn't that much common ground. when we saw president trump come out today saying that he once more believed he wants these tariffs to believed he wants these tariffs to be instituted, it seemed like a done deal that he would have to resign. that is part of our team in new york. gary cohn quitting trump's

team is the latest in the transatlantic tit—for—tat over trade. today, the european commission hammers out its plan to counter the us president's threat of import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium due this week. the commission says response will comply with wto rules. it's drawn up a target list of 100 us goods — worth $3.5 billion. many of them will have significant political impact. among them the iconic us motorbike harley—davidson — made in wisconsin — home state to house of representatives speaker paul ryan. and bourbon whiskey — made in kentucky, the state of senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. orange juice is a key export for florida — a vital swing state in us elections. and there's the ultimate example of classic americana — levi's jeans, a us firm that relied on europe for a 20%jump

in sales last year. the row is already hitting business. electrolux, europe's largest appliances maker, is freezing a $250 million investment in a tennessee factory over fears trump's tariffs could dent its competitiveness. joining us from brussels is allie renison of the institute of directors, a business lobby group. you were listening to all of that, as we speak, european commission representatives are discussing their next move, what do you expect to come out of brussels? well, i think that this is something someone like gary cohn was worried about, the concerns we re the gary cohn was worried about, the concerns were the impact to the us

economy and the scale of retaliation. this is part of the problem. the eu is looking notjust at retaliating in respect of products the us and trump are putting duty on, they're looking wider in scope. it is depressing to hear somebody like president junker say if the us want to do stupid, we can do stupid too. that is the question — how far will it range? the pressure and the stakes getting higher by the hour, when we get to a position where we are talking about ta riffs position where we are talking about tariffs and barriers to trade, there is no telling where that will stop? yes that is part of it, if you're looking at how rationale a proportionate response might look like, you might hope markets like the eu would be looking at taking the eu would be looking at taking the case and taking the us's justification of this under a broad

national security exception to the wto, instead a lot of country and the eu will be thinking after they act, rather than the other way around. how damaging would be a trade war of this scale be for those pa rt trade war of this scale be for those part of your organisation and other businesses? well, i think one of the things that people often forget, certainly the president, there are a lot of industries who rely on inputs, processing and consuming industries and for every one job you might save with tariffs, you lose she sen oreight might save with tariffs, you lose she sen or eight —— even or eight in the supply chain. but that often doesn't get thought about. that is the biggest concern, the revere bracing through the supply chain. thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.

australia's economy clocked up gdp growth of 0.4% in the last three months of last year — lower than expected and marking a weak finish to the year. a fall in exports in the last quarter dragged on growth. over the year as a whole, the economy grew by 2.4% compared to a year earlier, that's down from 2.9%. the royal bank of scotland has agreed a $500 million settlement with new york state over the mis—selling of financial products in the run up to the global financial crisis in 2008. rbs is the sixth bank to settle with the state over similar claims, linked to risky mortgages. the agreement will see the bank pay $400 million in relief to homeowners, as well as $100 million to the state. blackberry has filed a lawsuit in the us accusing facebook of copying features from blackberry messenger in a violation of its patent rights. blackberry, which was once a leader in the smartphone market, says facebook used the features and technology in its whatsapp and instagram apps. the claims come after blackberry has increased efforts to make money

from its more than 40,000 patents. facebook has said it would fight the claims. lots of stories on the business live pages. all the news as it breaking, paddy power have reported a 20% rise in operating profits. a strong growth in sports betting helped to boost its figures. a new blow forjapanese steel giant kobe — us consumers have filed a lawsuit accusing the company of fraud. it's the first us consumer complaint since the kobe quality—control scandal broke — and it also takes aim at toyota. leisha santorelli is in singapore. we talked about this yesterday, and the boss and all the ongoing chaos around the world, this just the

latest installment? yes the fallout continues this is possibly the first class action that kobe steel have to face. so in this us court filing, kobeis face. so in this us court filing, kobe is accused of breaking us consumer laws by covering up the fa ct consumer laws by covering up the fact they used sub standard metal used in cars. this includes very popular models. so kobe has taken a massive reputational hit in america and they will have to try and limit the damage. as we reported yesterday, their president is stepping down, as is the boss of its aluminium and copper unit. but that won't stop the legal risks and won't limit the hits to their share price, they fell by another 7% in tokyo today to close at its lowest level

this year. the fallout will have to be contained in the months to come. before you go, we are asking people about inspirational business women that could be immortised by barbie, anyone in your part of world?|j replied anyone in your part of world?” replied to sally on twitter, i think a great idea is to allow people to customise their dolls, so if i had a daughter they should make one in her likeness. 0r daughter they should make one in her likeness. or as my mum. it is mother's day on sunday. so good timing. thank you. here is what is happening on the markets. some volatility after the news that mr cohn is leaving the white house. he is leaving, investors are nervous.

so that is what happened in the us and asia. now europe and it doesn't look like i can show you the numbers now, but we are expecting it to look wea ker now, but we are expecting it to look weaker as a result of that nervous frns investors —— nervousness from investors. sally has the european numbers. yes you can see it is flat. brent crude down a per cent and our regular guest is with us. justin urquhart stewart is with us, of seven investment management. you were listening to the conversation about trade. give us your take on this and how it is being interpreted in the markets. the backdrop is the global economy doing well, but you have got to put the issue of trade wars and that is a very serious issue for the markets. add to that mr cohn going.

without him, who is controlling the mad house? without him, who is controlling the mad house ? the without him, who is controlling the mad house? the result is markets are sailing into the wind, the sails are flapping, they haven't got a direction. behind that you will see interest rates rising in the interest rates rising in the interest and that will put further pressure on the markets. among this uncertainty, people are looking elsewhere for places to put their money. we have talked about bit coin and seeing a relationship. you have been looking at an interesting way that people might be investing. some people will know. one lovely thing i found, handbags... you can invest in handbags. not any old handbag. 2010. a hand made himalaya bag and that has been auctioned for 157,000

euros. that is a good return. it is portable and in terms of the elements to invest in, it is something physical you can see. it is better than the bitcoin. how can you use it if it costs 29,000 euros. depends who you are. maybe we could have a barbie doll with the handbag. an incredible asset. thank you. he will be back. more to discuss, including his barbie doll recommendation. still to come: the startup siblings that made their billions from smart online payments sytems stripe — we talk to one of the collinson brothers about how they made it big. you're with business live from bbc news. more debate of the brexit in the uk.

philip hammond will tell european leaders it's in the "mutual interest" of the uk and the eu to include financial services in a free trade agreement. the uk chancellor is due to make the argument in a speech later today. our economics editor kamal ahmed has details. tell us what he is going to say. this is the latest stage in that brexit battle. it is over an important part of the trade negotiations that are coming up — financial services. for britain, they're incredibly important. not just for the two million jobs that are connected to financial services across the uk, but because britain has a trade surplus with the eu on financial services of about £20 billion a year. so very valuable to britain. philip hammond is saying it

is also valuable to the eu — london is also valuable to the eu — london isa is also valuable to the eu — london is a huge global market, where lots of european governments and businesses raise a lot of money. and he is going to say that it is important for both sides that there isa deep important for both sides that there is a deep and special agreement between britain and the eu once we have left the single market. which at the moment give us privileged access to the eu. it seems that his position has already been rejected by the european commission. today, donald tusk is going to say any free trade deal cannot involve financial services. but we need to remember these are negotiations and you put out your stall and make your argument and both sides probably admit in the end there will be some form of agreement. this is one of those perfect

exa m ples this is one of those perfect examples where critics will say you cannot have your cake and eat it. yes but for the eu it is important they keep links to london. frankly neither frankfurt, paris, norany ce ntre neither frankfurt, paris, norany centre in ee you can maintain the financing operations they have, so they will meet london in this instance. —— nor any they will meet london in this instance. —— norany centre in the european union. dhl has reported its results. last year profits up 7.2%. you're watching business live — our top story — the top economic advisor to the white house, gary cohn has quit after a battle president trump over tariffs. he opposed president's proposed steel and aluminium tariffs because of the impact on the american economy, us jobs and the threat of a global trade war. that has left investors pretty

nervous. we can show you what trading is doing in the european markets... some suggesting this can only do one thing, which is harm global trade. we often introduce you to interesting businesses and entrepreneurs. and today's guest is no exception. his name isjohn collison and with the help of his brother patrick he founded "stripe". stripe enables businesses around the world to more easily accept online payments and run their websites. set up in san francisco six years ago, it now has over 100,000 customers worldwide including the likes of amazon, fitbit and facebook. in 2016 it announced a new round of funding that valued the company at $9.2 billion. according to forbes that means the brothers are now worth upwards of $1.1 billion each.

and at 27john is the world's youngest self—made billionaire. where did we go wrong? we arejust a where did we go wrong? we are just a little bitjealous. yes, we sent somebody else because we we re yes, we sent somebody else because we were so yes, we sent somebody else because we were so jealous. our business editor simon jack went along to meet him and began by asking for the secret of his success? it was valuable that myself and patrick at the technical background to be able to build the first version of stripe. because you can build a product, see if it works for customers, make changes, wash and repeat on a two—day cycle. one is the career track of being a software developer. it will continue to be a good one for decades to come. i think that is a good bet to make. the second thing is, i think in the case of stripe, it was helpful that it was a gradual process. we came to the idea because we had started an internet business before. we were

gobsmacked at how easy it was to accept money. we started using a prototype. we got a user using us. then another, and then after a while things started to snowball. but that is the other thing i would encourage people, especially if they are in that starting position, if you pay close attention to what the customers are saying about the actual problems you can learn a lot just through the listening process. you have 25 people in london, 700 in california, now you are betting big in dublin. people think that london is the thin tech hub in london, you are betting on dublin, wife? dublin has been our european headquarters from day one. if a few reasons for that. it is in the eu. also, dublin is increasing its phenomenal talent market. where you have this melting

pot effect. it reminds me of what you get in the valley and what you get in london, people coming from all over europe to work in dublin. we are using dublin as a hub for which to serve europe, the middle east, and africa. what is the threat to the —— what is the threat brexit has on london as the tech hub?l to the —— what is the threat brexit has on london as the tech hub? a big one. it is twofold. firstly, in actuality, it'll get harder to have actuality, it'll get harder to have a talent hub here where people from across europe, especially, are coming to work. we are seeing this in the us right now where it has already proven the case that people are already proven the case that people a re less already proven the case that people are less willing to move to the us. they don't even want to enter the visa process because of what they perceive to be the political climate and how the country is towards foreigners. i think that is the perception and that'll get difficult

for people to go over there. are you seeing it already here? we are seeing it already here? we are seeing it already in the us and we are worried about seeing it in the uk. if recruitment gets harder, if people are less willing to move to the uk, for example, what the penalty, what happens? the ultimate risks we are talking about is does the uk have a vibrant tech centre and start—up system. that is putting it into stark terms. i think it will, but how successful it will be, i think there are degrees of success we can talk about there. we might be looking at a lower level than before... if you had a message to the government, as they are thinking about this, from your sector, what would it be? it is a bit of a factor of what is done is done, on the brexit side, but i think what we can affect is people's perceptions of the uk and the uk as an attractive

investment climate. and the attractiveness of moving to the uk. like i said, in the us, i think that is something we are risking, we are sending the message that people should not come to the us, but we should not come to the us, but we should be sending the opposite message. we need to make it clear to people that the uk is still a great place to emigrate to. justin has returned, as promised. we have lots to discuss, including your nominations for the barbie doll idea. first, this story in the papers. debenhams to rent flagship store s pa ce papers. debenhams to rent flagship store space to people who hot desk. this is a sign of the times, isn't it, with these big department stores are it, with these big department stores a re really it, with these big department stores are really struggling. it isn't good news, it is just showing a problem. debenhams has all of this space. but

debenhams has all of this space. but debenhams is a shop where people go and rent spaces. this isjust an extension of that. a lot of these businesses, and yet the same with house of fraser, they are all suffering. all of the news we have had is that the bottom has fallen out of the retail basket. many of these shops are having real problems. the bricks and mortar basket, is that what we are thinking? exactly. the online ones are still there. one prime example isjohn lewis that are still there. one prime example is john lewis that works effectively. but where that hasn't happened you are in difficulty. lot of big supermarkets have done this, as well. they have been leasing space to dry cleaners, cafes, key cutters, this isjust an extension. and a logical extension. this reflects what has happened to british business. we are sitting at record numbers of new businesses, 600,000 per year. go record numbers of new businesses, 600,000 peryear. go back record numbers of new businesses, 600,000 per year. go back 30 years, that number would be around 180,000. still a high rate. but we are being much more entrepreneurial than

france and germany. what we must do is nurture these. providing sites like this is a good way of doing it. but beyond that you need to be able to finance. and access to long—term finance, not just short—term solutions. why is washington so obsessed with china's huawei. it is proving to be pretty dominant in the market. almost challenging apple and samsung. just how close is huawei to the government? these companies are intrinsically linked. if you are allowing huawei into high—tech areas, which can affect national communications with some influence, that level of high—tech, i am talking about five g, then you need to control it, see who is involved. we are more accepting of it over here. vodafone already has a deal with huawei. more to come on that.

nominations for new goals. the maker of barbie says it will be recognising international women's day tomorrow and will come out with some new models. there is nicola adams with a goal with her likeness. were talking about this, who would you nominate? cleopatra. a historicalfigure. and she ran the economy. absolutely. boudicca. .. and she ran the economy. absolutely. boudicca... and i thought of mary queen of scots, you can have an a ccesso ry queen of scots, you can have an accessory where you might be able to remove the head. chuckles or chuckles oers chuckles or mrs pankhurst holding a placard about the suffragettes. you need to access rights these things. chuckles thank you. just quickly, amelia earhart has already been done. goodbye. it isa

it is a fairly quiet day today across the uk. plenty of dry and bright weather in the forecast. it's sunny spells for many. a few showers around across northern and western areas. rain affecting the south east of england. but gradually it all clear away from the north coast line and it will become dry here, brighter spells. still a few showers over northern ireland and scotland. but for many, dry and bright into the afternoon. at about three o'clock this afternoon, showers and rain across the northern isles. the best of the sunshine is across the north—east of scotland. its poles of sunshine coming through across northern ireland with a few showers moving in. and sunshine for much of northern england, temperatures around seven to 10 celsius. card across the south—east of england. sunny for much of central and southern areas with just a few showers down towards the south—west.

—— cloud across the south—east of england. more showers will move on. there is a likeliness of it turning into snow for wales and parts of the midlands on thursday morning. much of that will be over the higher ground, but stay tuned, the snow could come down to lower levels for the early morning rush hour across wales and the midlands. that snow moving its way gradually further east into lincolnshire, before clearing away. snow showers across scotland. for many on thursday similarto scotland. for many on thursday similar to today with some sunny spells, plenty of dry weather around, and maximum temperatures once again around seven to 10 celsius. going into friday, still the chance of snow showers across scotland. foremost, dry and bright start. we will see cloud moving into southern areas. that will thicken up into the afternoon. with that outbreaks of rain are slowly moving into cornwall and west devon. temperatures in northern areas,

seven, 8 degrees. 11 degrees further south. that is an indication of mild air which will slowly move its way up air which will slowly move its way up from the south. it will move gradually north as we go through the weekend. for much of northern part of the uk we will remain in that cold air. as rain spreads north, which will be heavy at times, as it moves into the cold air there could be some snow in the north for a time. generally speaking it will become milder as template is across southern areas are well into double figures. goodbye. —— as temperatures across southern areas are well double figures. hello it is wednesday, 9 o'clock. welcome to the programme. a new crackdown on secondary ticketing websites. today the advertising standards agency is taking action against the four main operators to stop people like claire turnham falling victim to misleading pricing practices. and we'll be speaking to a woman who was overcharged by £1,150 when she tried to buy ed sheeran tickets for her son's 16th birthday as ministers hold an emergency

meeting about the suspected poisoning of a former russian spy on uk soil we get the inside track on uk—russia relations from the writer of the book mcmafia, on which the hit tv thriller was based. we have a rare insight into what it is like to be in a coercive relationship in which a partner is abused through threats and restrictions, not just violence. this kind of controlling behaviour has been illegalfor three years,