this is business live from bbc news with sally bundock and tim willcox. a new deal, but without the united states. the trans—pacific partnership will be formally signed in chile today. live from london, that's our top story on thursday, 8th march. 11 countries are expected to sign a landmark trade deal — as an antidote to the increasingly protectionist direction of the united states — we talk you through what's at stake. also in the programme, a new report reveals china has more self—made woman billionaires than any other country — the top four spots come from the asian superpower. financial markets have starting the

trading day in europe. fairly flat, if not mixed. we will tell you all you need to know. and if the shoe fits... we'll get the inside track on how one woman's business idea for a fold—away shoe was rejected 130 times before becoming a run—away success. and on international women's day, we want to know, should women be used as a means to sell cars? so—called booth babes are at geneva motor show. let us know what you think — is there still a role for this in 2018? or is it out of date and sexist? just use #bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. thank you so much for all of your comments so far, we have plenty, we will share them with you later. one year after america's sudden withdrawal from a global tpp trade pact, the remainers are due to sign

a new deal later on thursday to virtually eliminate tariffs in a marketplace worth close to $14 trillion. it's seen as an antidote to growing us protectionism under president donald trump as he prepares to implement tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. the original tra ns—pacific partnership boasted 12 countries bordering the pacific ocean. but president trump pulled out after coming to power, leaving 11 nations to rebrand the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans—pacific partnership. it may lack america's clout, but still has marketplace

of 500 million people, worth close to $14 trillion. it would abolish tariffs on seafood, wine, sheep meat, cotton wool and manufactured goods across the region. while changes to intellectual property rules, something the us demanded, could leave the door open for president trump, as he has said he'd consider returning if america got a better deal. i asked suzanne spears, partner at law firm volterra fietta, how significant this deal is. it is very significant particularly with canada joining. demonstrating the number of countries both from north america and from other regions in the pacific are still committed to free trade, still committed to the rules of the road of the global economic order which is what the trade agreement symbolises. when they announce these trade agreements, it took years to

negotiate and president urbana was spearheading the negotiations at the time when he was in office —— president obama. they talk about the degree to which it will boost the individual economies, the growth they will see, the growth in trade, how people will benefit, will it really bear that much fruit? yes, we do see trade does in fact increase gdp in the economy is in question and there have been a number of studies showing this trade agreement alone will boost trade and investment very dramatically at least 1% increase in gdp over the next few years for the involved. on the other hand, quite clearly, there are downsides, both to globalisation writ large, as well as to trade agreement like this and the important feature is that this trade agreement does do something to try to address some of the downsides. it has labour and environmental standards it could be constituted as

the new generation of global free trade agreements. as you know, in the campaign, in the us, and in other places, these trade agreements have become the symbolism of globalisation and of the dangers of oui’ globalisation and of the dangers of our economic system today and it is important that there are voices that counter that narrative and ensure they represent the other side. let us they represent the other side. let us have a look at some of the other stories making the news this hour. french companies caught discriminating against women over pay will be given three years to close the gap or face fines. the government revealed the planned crackdown to unions and employers on wednesday, giving them a month to iron out the details. the measure will be rolled out by 2020, if passed by parliament. japanese regulators are issuing punishment notices to several cryptocurrency exchanges and forcing others to stop doing business. this is to protect consumers,

after that theft of digital money worth over half a billion dollars from coincheck. regulators said it lacked a proper internal control system for risks like money laundering and terrorism financing. china's exports unexpectedly surged at the fastest pace in three years in february, suggesting its economic growth remains resilient, even as trade relations with the united states rapidly deteriorate. china's exports to the world surged 4a.5% compared with the same period last year, while import growth was a disappointing 6.3%. here is a question for you. which country has the most self—made female billionaires?

the answer — revealed in a report today — is china. the hurun rich list shows the top four self—made women billionaires are in fact chinese. leisha santorelli is in singapore with details. quite a figure, isn't it? absolutely. china remains a very patriarchal society but women are very clearly making their mark. but female leaders at the top ranks of china's communist party are almost nonexistent, but the companies and the rich list, you can see it is home to most of the world's self—made female billionaires. the number one spot, she grew up in a really poor village, now worth nearly $10 billion, and this took place after she founded a company making glass covers for laptops and smartphones and apple and samsung are among her biggest customers. globally, only the 16th richest woman, but if you look deeper at this list, most of those women on

those lists are either married or inherited wealth, so this makes her achievement a lot more impressive. some other interesting findings from this report, the founder of vietnam's budget airline is the highest new entrant, at 28. another interesting finding is india which has a very similar sized population to china only has one woman on the self—made billionaires list. to china only has one woman on the self-made billionaires list. really interesting. thank you. from our bureau in singapore. looking at the financial markets today, australia is down a little bit, but not reflecting asia as a whole, we saw japan up at the close, around 0.7% higher, hong kong, 1.5% higher, the dow closing behind me. europe right 110w. . . dow closing behind me. europe right now... the story dominating markets this week has been the conversation about trade, possibility of a trade war, you're responding, what the us may do, what donald trump has

tweeted —— europe responding. pretty flat. we will talk more in a moment. let us look ahead. and joe miller has the details about what's ahead on wall street today. while wall street waits for concrete details of donald trump's proposed steel and aluminium tariffs, and weighs up the prospect of a full—blown trade war, there'll be weeklyjobless numbers to digest. the fewer out of work people in the us economy, the more money there is available to spend, which plays into investors‘ fears over rising inflation. the us labor department is expected to report that unemployment claims have continued to drop, and this should help investors prepare for friday's big banner data dump, the monthly employment numbers, which last month were strong enough to send markets into a spin. and walt disney will hold its annual shareholder meeting. this one is bound to be an eventful one, as the company is awaiting approval for its purchase of 21st

century fox's film and tv businesses. joining us is sue noffke, uk equities fund manager at schroders. volatility on the markets, what do you see as the long—term impact, especially with the white house going back on it slightly in the past few hours? we do not know what we are dealing with in terms of protectionism, the threat it takes place, that it spreads, that would be very bad for markets, but at the moment, markets do not know and we are seeing that influx. rises and falls, or falls and recouping losses. a swing towards more domestic and small caps... he is fulfilling what he said on the campaign trail, this is what he said he would do? yes, but some of his party are not happy. when you say

they are rowing back, the discussion about perhaps canada, mexico, perhaps not being a part in the trade tariffs on steel and aluminium, but as you say, we have nothing concrete to go on? we know they might say something more today. he might sign something today, we're waiting with bated breath. what we know is going to happen is the european central bank is meeting today, more economics to look at tomorrow, bank of japan today, more economics to look at tomorrow, bank ofjapan and jobs figures in the states. the drivers for financial markets, certainly in the short—term. it is all about monetary policy and whether the jobs data in the us will mean more rate rises in the rather than the three booked in and what are they going to say in europe about quantitative easing? lots to keep you busy today! indeed. and tomorrow. you will be back later. not off the hook yet. more work to do. still to come... putting your best foot forward. how the fold—away shoe

became a run—away success. you're with business live from bbc news. fast... not fast. we have been talking about running away. getting my words mixed up. first... domino's pizza, britain's biggest pizza—delivery firm, has reported a 10.2% rise in annual profits. domino's — which has stores in ireland, switzerland and germany as well as the uk — says it benefited from strength in domestic and european markets. neil wilson, senior analyst at etx capitaljoins us. a success story on all fronts? a great year for a success story on all fronts? a great yearfor dominoes, a success story on all fronts? a great year for dominoes, revenues ahead of expectations, this has come off the back of really strong volume growth as they expand a lot of new

stores in the uk and across europe. naturally underpinning this, despite the fact like for like sales are maybe not growing quite as fast as they have been in the past. that is encouraging to hear domino's is doing well or is it a reflection it has not got very strong competition? such a strong brand when it comes to pizzas being delivered to your home. it isa pizzas being delivered to your home. it is a very strong brand. internationally, everyone knows the brand very well. it faces quite stiff competition in the uk, actually, when we look atjust eat which has risen very rapidly. there isa which has risen very rapidly. there is a slightly softer market in the sense restaurants, casual dining, maybe not doing so well, that allows domino's and the like to pick up some of the value conscious consumers who want to treat... but they do not want to splash out on a meal out. is it a reflection of the economic times we are in, the fact

people, as you say, they want a takeout but they cannot afford what they would really like? takeout but they cannot afford what they would really like ?|j takeout but they cannot afford what they would really like? i think that is very much the case. the market has shifted a little bit. we see restau ra nts has shifted a little bit. we see restaurants are not able maybe to drive home the values they could because they have much higher fixed costs, minimum wage increases to deal with, business rates, and domino's and others can really drive home the value, they can absorb some of the costs and i think that is helping them at the moment. thank you very much. senior a —— senior analyst. do take a look at the business life page. you're watching business live, our top story: a new deal without the united states, the trans pacific partnership

will be formally signed in chile today. a quick look at how markets are faring. trading in europe, we have been going for 45 minutes, and pretty flat, look at germany, hardly any movement, some would say it is nice to have a breather, but maybe investors are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for more action 01’ sidelines, waiting for more action or inaction from the white house. now let's get the inside track on a business that's managed to fold its way to success, yes, that's right i said fold. i have got so many puns on this one to avoid! cocorose is a footwear brand with a difference, because while other companies are focused on making their shoes rigid, cocorose makes all of theirs foldable. why? founderjanan leo started the business after finding a lack of comfortable shoes she could commute in before folding them away into a bag if she wanted to change into heels. and she's clearly not alone,

because the company now sells the shoes in more than 30 countries and turns over $1.lim a year. they have been worn by everyone from dame helen mirren to pippa middleton. and samantha cameron, i think as well. we have gotjanan leo, founder of cocorose, and she has brought in some of the issues, we want to see them in action. nine actor wants to put them on? i will show you! tim, why don't you have a go? the ultimate cinderella thing! as i understand, it is all in the sole. yes, it is flexible but comfortable, you can see the padding, this has been fundamental to the brand in

terms of having that comfort. but you have so many knock backs, explain that. i have loads of rejection, but that just explain that. i have loads of rejection, but thatjust helps to make you even more determined to kind of really want to push on and justis kind of really want to push on and just is not fail. i think having that rejection actually makes you more determined. i must admit, looking at these, i am intrigued, i am always wearing other shoes when i race to work in the morning, other than the one i have got now, my tv shoes, as it were! but talk us through how difficult you found it to start this, we will be discussing later how women who try to start businesses, it has been proven that they find it hard to raise funding, partly because those were likely to invest, it is a very male dominated world. when i started ten years ago, i actually started with self funding, iwas i actually started with self funding, i was working full—time as

well, and i set it up in that way. and i did get knocked back by the bank, i had to present my business plan about three times before i was able to get an overdraft, and then over the ten years, we have basically build it up ourselves in terms of trying to really, you know, take it one step further. recently, this year, we have started to raise, 01’ this year, we have started to raise, or started on a journey to raise investment, and i have been surprised by how male dominated it has been. how much were you looking for? i think eventually you found someone for? i think eventually you found someone in china to help? it was really difficult for me, because the concept didn't exist, so it was something completely new in terms of developing it from the concept to launch, so in a way it was almost like, we don't do that. so it was quite difficult. many people have these great ideas, you know, they come up with something they feel

will be a real winner, but you have had success, the likes of dame helen mirren and pippa middleton wearing your shoes, which is a gift, isn't it, a marketing gift? how did you get these issues, you know, sold in shops, people's attention, in that sense? when we first started, we we re sense? when we first started, we were in recession in the uk, so it was very much about taking the brand and presenting and overseas as well. so it was just trial and error all the time, being able to go out to different markets and really try to work with different people. and clever marketing as well, giving them out in goody bags and things, you have targeted the a list, for wa nt of you have targeted the a list, for want of a better word. we have worked with bafta and the royal ballet, and we have long—standing collaborations, and it has been one of those partnerships, different partnerships that allows a brand to expand and to grow, and i think that is really important for the evolution of any brand. so on

international women's day, we are celebrating women in business, what have you found that is difficult or easy? i think, for me, have you found that is difficult or easy? ithink, for me, one have you found that is difficult or easy? i think, for me, one of the most rewarding, perhaps, has been about the whole piece about cocorose has been about trying to make women's lives easier, and for me, this was why i started this. i loved heels, uncomfortable heels, and i just needed something that would be able to help me get through the day and really helped me to master my day. so that was the whole reason of coming up with it, and i realised that it wasn't just for me, coming up with it, and i realised that it wasn'tjust for me, it coming up with it, and i realised that it wasn't just for me, it was for millions of women around the world as well. it is fascinating, i have seen them around, haven't you? i must admit, i haven't, buti have seen them around, haven't you? i must admit, i haven't, but i am extremely busy, i don't get out to shop! not that i spend all my time in shoe shops! has been great to meet you, thanks for coming in. i might take these

back, will you? a nice sparkly bag as well. sex sells. it's an old mantra, but one which the car industry has been wedded to for decades. it used to be the cliche, but is it anymore? at international motor shows it's still common to see beautiful, elaborately dressed women striking poses next to whatever machine a company really wants to show off. but in the 21st century, in the age of me too, is this still appropriate? we asked a few women attending this week's show in geneva. archive: the hillman super minx is an eyeful, standing up to the competition with the three lovelies trying it out for comfort... it's not a good situation right now to find some woman like that, but at the same time,

women are responsible for themselves, they make their choice. ideally, you go for knowledgeable people, people that can talk about the products. everyone is here to see cars, people should be talking about the cars and not looking for nice things that are there to look at that aren't cars, necessarily. well, i was a glamour model myself when i was very young, and i quite actually like it, i think the cars look beautiful, but i think you need a little bit extra to bring them to life. so i'm not against it, i think they add just a bit of spice. watching that with us, sue noffke, some mixed reviews, but do you use glamour models for a family car? maybe not, but you do for the

aspirational dream car, if you can afford this car, you will get your beautiful model girlfriend as well! it seems old—fashioned, doesn't it? even listening to you, that is not sounding great! i pulled it back to us sounding great! i pulled it back to us that the last moment! let's look at what the viewers are saying, we asked for your opinions, gary says booth babes are fine, if both boys are too, why not keep it to both sexes? no, another person says, beefy, keep them, should topless men advertise products on tv, then? women should be able to choose, says bonnie, it is the objectification of women, another says. but the fact that we are discussing it, i am surprised they are still used like this. it is this old latecomer it came up

with the great girls in formula one, but let's talk about this story in the financial times, but by their personal finance editor, about women being reluctant to invest, and why is that? i think it is around self—confidence, and women tend to know all the answers before they do something, and there is a lot of research to help women, but they feel intimidated, particularly by industry jargon. feel intimidated, particularly by industryjargon. i feel intimidated, particularly by industry jargon. i have feel intimidated, particularly by industryjargon. i have worked in financial services all my career, and there is a lot ofjargon to get your head around, to try and u nsta g ette. your head around, to try and unstagette. men, on the other hand, tends to be quite confident about doing things that they do not know and fully understand but which they know are important, and investing is important. and if you are looking at afund,

important. and if you are looking at a fund, predominantly a men, the fa ct a fund, predominantly a men, the fact that these men socialise with each other and do the same sort of things together, is that a problem? there is a bit, but this is about taking control of your own finances, your financial future, and most taking control of your own finances, yourfinancialfuture, and most of us yourfinancialfuture, and most of us have pensions, and a lot of them require decisions. and it is about making sure that women understand that they are empowered to take decisions for their own financial future. many women will have mortgages and may invest in second homes. and many will be dealing with this on their own, quite a lot going on, spinning plates. what i would say is that cash isn't the safest investment, because it gets eroded. sue noffke, we are running out of time, lovely to see you. thank you for being with us on business live. and lovely to have you here, tim! lovely to sit here with the shoes and everything else! we will see you soon, bye—bye. some snow falling across parts of

the mid and north wales bindu northern areas of england, and a lot of it is falling over high ground, but even to low levels, expect disruption through the morning, gradually clearing away, it will be dry and bright for most of us. the rain, sleet and snow clears from east yorkshire by lunchtime, a few showers coming into western areas of wales and south—west england, wintry showers in the north and west of scotland, but elsewhere dry with lots of sunshine this afternoon, temperatures getting up to 7—11 degrees. through this evening and tonight, we'll still see showers moving into scotland, some snow over the higher ground, but down to low levels across the north of the central belt. elsewhere, clearing skies means it will be a cold night, widespread frost across many areas, perhaps not as cold across southern

parts, temperatures staying just above freezing. during friday, cold and frosty, yes, watch out for ice where we have had rain and showers today. dry and bright weather on friday, the cloud thickens up across southern areas, showers moving into the south—west, temperatures similar to today, 8—10 or 11 degrees. going into the weekend, things are turning milder, but quite heavy rain during saturday, moving northward, a bit of snow, but later on saturday and into sunday, sunny spells developing. let's look at saturday, the heavy raini let's look at saturday, the heavy rain i was talking about moving northward, yes, turning to snow for a time across the north of northern england, up into the scottish mountains. heavy rain still following behind that with sunny spells, but look at those temperatures, 13—14d towards the south—east. that is associated with this weather system, linkedin with the low pressure towards the

south—west, moving its way northward. a bit of respite on sunday, but that low pressure system towards the south—west will gradually throw up some showers across southern gradually throw up some showers across southern areas on gradually throw up some showers across southern areas on sunday, some heavy, but sunny spells in between. elsewhere on sunday, a dry and a kellie bright state for many of us, temperatures up into double figures across most areas, 13 or 1a degrees further south. more details, of course, available on the website or the app, but that is it from me, bye— bye. hello, it's thursday, it's 9am, i'm victoria derbyshire. welcome to the programme. our top story... the mystery substance that left a former russian spy critically ill is finally identified. it was a nerve agent that put sergei skripal, his daughter, yulia, and a police officer in hospital. they are fighting for their lives. we're talking to a man who is considered vladimir putin's number one enemy —

who says he has to take steps to protect his own life. ido i do not spend my life living in fear but i have to take great precautions so they do not kill me. you say that so matter—of—factly, wow. i have been living with it for yea rs. all you single women, does this man look like