you are with business life. taking action over russia, the british government prepares its response to the nerve agent attack on a former spy. the nerve agent attack on a former spy. live from london, that is our top story, wednesday the 14th of march. theresa may weighs up sanctions and seeks international support as moscow ignores a deadline to explain how a highly dangerous weapon ended up how a highly dangerous weapon ended up on british streets. also in the programme, some of the biggest names in the world of technology are paying tribute to the renowned british scientist stephen hawking, who has died at the age of 76. despite a downbeat day in asia, markets in europe is mixed. adidas

one of the biggest movers to the upside and we will explain why. and a blooming idea. canon floom standout? and 1p and 2p coins could be scrapped. australia and sweden have done it. would you like to see the end of copper coins, get in touch. 2p or not 2p, that is the question. one of the many we are asking today on business life. welcome to the programme. let's start with the british prime minister considering what action to take against russia after failing to receive an explanation over how energy —— nerve agent thought to be russian—made was

used to poison a former spy. russia has failed to meet a deadline to do so. has failed to meet a deadline to do so. they have denied any involvement. the backing of donald trump and the eu have also said britain can count on its support. the trading relationship going back many years, with quite a bit. if you look at 2016, it came in as $40 billion. sanctions could hurt links, including with oil giant bp, for example, metals company en. and money flowing into premier league football clu bs money flowing into premier league football clubs through chelsea and arsenal through russian backers. the us and un would have to do follow suit as they did when the annex on the premier in 2016 happen. further

damaged by restrictions and sanctions, many remain in force. freezing assets such as bank accou nts freezing assets such as bank accounts and property. travel bans and export on equipment that could be used by the oil industry or military. russian diplomats could be expelled, cut off from the swift system, international banking system. it is thought that is unlikely. what will happen, ben? philip is with me. with the business advisory firm gdw. potential targets, when you are advising business, what are you telling them? increased compliance risk. let's look at the options. balancing not hurting business, alienating the russian population, hitting the

russian... asset freezing on high—ranking officials. one has a flat overlooking the ministry of defence in london. confiscate that, you can. things haven't been sanctioned like banning russian media. like russia today. could lead toa ban media. like russia today. could lead to a ban on media organisations like the bbc. make it harderfor companies to pass the due diligence test. use the unexplained wealth orders to hit large properties owned by russians in london. the list is long. the trick is to get it right without hurting uk business. let's pick that time. two things, one is how to approach the sanctions to have sufficient impact. and not to damage uk interest. sanctions would need collaboration with the us?m

is not there at the moment, collaboration. lu kewarm statements. we have seen lack of cohesion between uk and eu partners. i think what we had posed premier has dissolved. it would be hard to build a coalition to impose broad new sanctions. what about protecting uk interests ? sanctions. what about protecting uk interests? we know business is intertwined. russia trades with the uk. how do you impose sanctions that are not going to come back and hope to? you have to be surgical. sanctions are an inconvenience for russia. the drop in oil prices has been the biggest problem. if you go after russians on sanctions you face after russians on sanctions you face a backlash from the russian government itself. russian companies, uk companies in russia, vp, possibly vulnerable to counter

sanctions. they are preparing mirror measures. “— sanctions. they are preparing mirror measures. —— bp. there is a risk backlash from russia that could hit uk and us companies. we will watch closely. you, philip. some comments coming from the european parliament. the european commissioner for trade, cecilia, who was on the programme 80 weeks ago, talking to parliament and said eu and us trade representative is an intense dialogue at the moment about the proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium. the eu is looking for and aluminium. the eu is looking for an extension for the carriers signed off by the white house last week. australia has an exemption. the eu pushing hard to get some as well. the us trade representative due to publish details soon about how the exemptions might work. that is just

coming through from the european parliament. and a line related to the death of stephen hawking. we have had a comment from the prime minister theresa may. she says, stephen hawking was a brilliant and extraordinary man, one of the greatest scientist of his generation whose courage consumer, determination to get the most from life was an inspiration. a common to there from prime minister theresa may, talking about the death of stephen hawking announced this morning. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. sportswear giant adidas says sales and profit will slow this year. the firm which has seen its shares fall 15% in the past six months, says it plans to buy back up to $3.7 billion worth of its shares over the next three years — that's almost 9% of its share capital. last year operating profits grew to just over $163 million. the french finance minister says he'll take legal action against google and apple for what he called "abusive practices".

in a radio interview, bruno le maire said he would take action over the way the tech giants unilaterally impose prices and other contractual terms on software developers. neither company has yet responded. and a gender pay row concerning the queen — that's the fictional monarch. british actress claire foy, who played queen elizabeth in the netflix drama the crown, was paid less than her co—star matt smith, who played prince philip. the producers said it was partly because matt smith was better known at time of casting. more tributes to stephen hawking a little later. coming in as you would expect from right around the world. before that, news this morning from cathay pacific, hong kong flagship airline, first back—to—back annual losses since founded back in 1946.

the airline revealed last year it made a loss of about 161 million us dollars. suggested intense competition from local rivals is to blame. felicia in asia, the airline competition is pretty tough. eating into profits for i who survive the airline of the time. taking a beating. asia's biggest international airline. double the amount it lost in 2016. the big reason is it is paying for one—way bets in fuel contracts. the largest expense for airlines. has to do with not just largest expense for airlines. has to do with notjust premium carriers

from the middle east, singapore airlines for example, but budget airlines. it was the only way for chinese travellers to travel to the rest of the world but now the budget airlines and other carriers are expanding to other parts of asia and the us. overall, cathay has seen an improvement in its overall business performance. cut more covered a man. —— more cargo demand. there is australia and hong kong. jitters in asia today. about the i°ys jitters in asia today. about the joys of the new secretary of state, the concern he is much more on the same page as donald trump when it comes to tariffs as rex tillotson

was. that was the sentiment in asia. in europe, all the main markets are higher. some stocks doing well like adidas. they have announced up 5% today in europe. now, wall street. on wednesday, it is all about us shoppers. in january, on wednesday, it is all about us shoppers. injanuary, the holiday hangover worse than many analysts expected as americans chose to stay home instead of spending. the hope is that retail sales will recover in february after hitting an 11 month low last month. car sales is a headwind. us car—maker said they saw sales decline in february. partially due to the fact that interest rates for car loans have been rising. a

big industry research firm said the february interest rates on loans for new cars should hit eight year high. that shows efforts by the us federal reserve to raise interest rates as the us economy continues to grow could finally be having the intended effect. chief investment officer... allsorts of data, today us retail sales will give us an indication. yesterday, really sank when inflation report. lower—than—expected wage growth. —— sanguine inflation report. some quite good news from the us. now, we have trade friction, donald trump issues making markets volatile. the

revolving door at the white house. the secretary of state sacking by a tweet was shocking. we knew they didn't get on. the pennsylvania result, the democrat winning, a strong republican seat in the run—up to the midterms. mark its time to weigh up what this means? to the midterms. mark its time to weigh up what this mean57m to the midterms. mark its time to weigh up what this means? it comes down to what will happen with policy. rex was a moderate voice. now, more hardline. strongeragainst iran, for instance, trade protectionism stronger stance. potential tariffs on chinese imports, consumer goods, for example. big news and that is why asia was unsettled. so much uncertainty, what are you advising clients? how can you navigate? when managing client portfolios, what is the long—term picture looking like? the global economy is doing well. a lot is noise. every year, the us

comes out on new things on tariffs, calling china a currency manipulator. this is normalfor markets. what is happening next, is the thing. we are keeping a steady ship and looking at the fundamentals. chinese figures? acceleration in at the group —— output growth. really helpful to show the global economy is doing really well. more later in the programme from you. including copper in our pockets or wallets. down the back of the sofa? charities would occasionally benefit from the odd bits of coins and change. a lot of you getting in touch they could potentially lose out. as promised, much more coverage on the news this morning that stephen hawking has died. all the tributes being paid to

him on the bbc live page. a number of videos, talking about his greatest achievements. by minister theresa may paid tribute to what she describes as a brilliant and extraordinary mind. you can see. right around the world, giving an indication of how many people he has touched. pretty appropriate. much more on the website. still to come... the smell of success? we meet the woman behind a flower delivery service that's taking on the established players in a crowded market. you're with business live from bbc news.

it's a tough time to be in the supermarket business, with rising costs and increased competition squeezing margins. but morrisons, the uk's fourth largest supermarket, has announced an 11% rise in its full year profits. however, like many of its rivals, it is cutting jobs, with 1,500 middle management roles set to go. patrick o'brien is uk research director at the market research firm global data. patrick, what do you make of the numbers from morrisons?” patrick, what do you make of the numbers from morrisons? i think morrisons has had a good year. it has been on a good run now for about two years. it's its tenth quarter of positive like—for—like growth. david potts has done a really good job in steering morrisons. in terms of the

output them, because there is this bitter rivalry between the likes of morrisons, tesco, sainsbury‘s, etc, what does it say about what is ahead? it is restructuring with middle management going. it's a competitive environment. you have the big four, of which morrisons is probably doing the best. it one christmas ahead of tesco, sainsbury‘s and asda. it's also competing with the discount shops like aldi and liberal. efficiencies need to be made and we have seen a lot of jobs need to be made and we have seen a lot ofjobs go across the big four. morrisons are cutting jobs in the store warehouse. they are looking to do automated ordering, so they don't require as many shop roles. morrisons were quite late to be online game which set them back for

a number of years. it seems they are finally on boards, but they always catch—up. finally on boards, but they always catch-up. they have been playing catch up before david potts claiming they were very slow on the two areas of in supermarket retail, convenience and online. they have struggled, but since david has come m, struggled, but since david has come in, they have rejig their strategy on convenience. they have a partnership with petrol station forecou rts partnership with petrol station forecourts and they have also developed their online business in partnership with amazon. good to talk to you, patrick. thank you for your insight this morning. more details on morrisons and the other companies reporting on our website. you're watching business live. the top stories. the prime minister

is due to announce sanctions against russia after the poisoning of a former spy. a quick look at how markets are faring. some uncertainty around the world, particularly relating to the united states and china. and now let's get the inside track on flowers. the global flower industry is worth some $105 billion. but 80% of all cut flowers are bought by women. that surprises me because so many men will buy them as gifts. if you include the ones that are bought from a petrol station, it should be

higher. you really are digging yourself a whole! but consumption habits are changing and instead of visiting the traditional florist, like with everything else, an increasing number order their flowers online. floom is an online florist marketplace hoping to make the process more simple. i caught up with the boss lana elie, and asked her what she's doing differently. sometimes it's a time issue. also, ordering over the phone. there are so many elements when you are sending to different places it becomes difficult, so it's that the going on one platform, knowing they have been vetted and seeing a variety of styles from different florists. you make it sound easy, setting up a new firm, but how daunting is it? at no stage did i

question whether it was going to be huge and i still don't. i have com plete huge and i still don't. i have complete conviction in it and i get this question about fear a lot. where it —— i always thought, why would this not work? to an extent it isa would this not work? to an extent it is a bit of insanity, but it pushes you through. you are essentially the middleman, you connect buyers with sellers. where do you make money? it's not as if the customer is coming to us paying a commission on top of they are buying. they are paying the same they will pay if they went directly to an independent. for example, if you went to an independent and spend £30, without it would still be £30. we are sharing the margin there with the florist which is 20%. so because

you are creating more business for the florist, they will take a cut on what they make? exactly. they are aware that 20% is going to customer acquisition and the site. the more they sell, the higher quantities they sell, the higher quantities they will buy and the more they will save on wholesale. how do you stand up save on wholesale. how do you stand up in save on wholesale. how do you stand upina save on wholesale. how do you stand up in a market like this? probably content because i come from a content because i come from a content background. one of our first hires was a content creative person. we do video in—house, we should photography in—house, everything we do is about the content. our website launch with a magazine section with it. everything we do is about storytelling. what has been the biggest hurdle for you? you make it sound easy, but what has been the biggest challenge you have faced?” guess fundraising and hiring. i have hired before, but not in the way

that you do when you hire someone for your own company. that took a lot to learn, how to hire well and find the right people in the first place, let alone then interview them. funding is not something i have done before. we have done well, we've always got the money we needed at the right time. it's never really been a huge issue, but there have been a huge issue, but there have been moments of trying to figure out how to do five—year projections, all these things i have never experienced and i was a bit out of my depth. but now i have an incredible team and you don't feel those limitations any more. you hire the right people and you overcome those aspects. the founder and chief executive of floom speaking to me earlier. there's talk about some of the tributes coming in from

professor stephen hawking. stephen wozniacki said that he is above pure brilliance. the chief executive of microsoft said we lost a great one today. he will be remembered for his contributions to science. he made concepts and theories more accessible to the masses. he did definitely translate cosmology and physics to the masses. sean has rejoined us. let's talk about is the treasury wanting to scrap copper coins. how would you feel about losing them ? scrap copper coins. how would you feel about losing them? well i have been sitting on my shelf. so there was this statistic that copper coins are only used once. just once by

millions of people though. no one was carried around because they are so heavy. australia and sweden have done it already. a lot of people are getting in touch. chris says how will i paid the penny slots with my kids? a lot of you are worried about charities, whether they will lose out. quite often the charity boxes by the till and when you pay say £2 99 for something, the penny goes in the pot. we all have piles of them. john says it's about time they were scrapped. trevor says people normally use car payments now. anything less than 50p goes in a coffee jar. thank you for coming in sean. see you soon. goodbye. todayis

today is expected to be the mother state of the week, but going forward temperatures will go down, significantly down by the time we get to the weekend. today we have this area of low pressure moving its way in. the isobars are quite close together towards the western areas and that's indicative of strong winds, in fact girls around the far west. further west, we start on a chilly night, but sunshinejim the afternoon. it will turn hazy, but there is fine and dry weather. in south—west england there will be gales and heavy rain across cornwall and devon. girls around the irish coast in general. the rain will move in across scotland in the afternoon. temperatures in the west, up to 11 celsius. towards the south east, we

could see temperatures of 15 degrees. read this evening and to night this every frame will edge its way across northern islands with the total is adding up there could be some localised flooding. milder towards the south and west. temperatures no lower than seven to 9 degrees. the rain will spread north and is wood. it could be heavy at times in central areas, eventually pushing its way up into scotland. further south and west, brighter skies and sunshine developing. some boundary showers and temperatures down by a couple of degrees. by friday, colderstill, particularly in the north east. we could see snow over the pennines, grampians and highlands. further south, thundering with lots of rain

showers. we will start to see snow in the forecasting the weekend. high pressure over scandinavia which means our wind is coming in from the east. the siberian air drifting across the uk. for the weekend significantly colder and windy with snow around. it looks as if most of the snow will be in the form of showers. more details on that over the next couple of days. goodbye. i don't have much positive things to say about motor neurone disease but it taught me not to pity myself and to get on with what i still could do. i'm happier now than before i developed the condition. ‘a brilliant and extraordinary mind — one of the great scientists of his generation' — one of thousands of tributes to professor stephen hawking, world—famous for his ground—breaking work on black holes and for re—defining perceptions

of people with disabilities, has died at the age of 76. we will be looking back at the life and legacy of the most talked—about scientist since einstein. also — if your children go to a nursery, chances that they're taught by a man are incredibly slim. why? there was a lot of stigma based on negative stories out