this is business live from bbc news with jamie robertson and david eades. trading threats — raising tensions. fears of a global trade war set to dominate as 620 finance chiefs gather this weekend. live from london, that's our top story on friday the 16th of march. with jobs and trade on the line, the united states is demanding more from its biggest partners so will they hit back with action of their own? also in the programme... singapore—based chipmaker broadcom hints it will look to buy smaller rivals after president trump blocked its $140 billion dealfor qualcomm. the market is starting down but not a huge amount of change. less than a

10% movement on the european markets as they open today. and we'll be getting the inside track on the business impact of those growing tensions between russia and the uk and all the other big stories of the week with our business editor simonjack. and we begin our future of work series with a look at commuting so we want to know what unusual journeys to work you have. just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. tensions are growing over global trade. as president trump continues to protect us industry there have been threats of retaliation from around the world — raising fears of a trade war that could seriously damage the global economy. people putting up tariffs to protect their own industries against others around the world. the issue will top the agenda when finance chiefs from the world's biggest economies meet

in the argentine capital buenos aires this weekend. this week the trump administration raised the temperature with china again — demanding a $100 billion cut in beijing's trade surplus with the us. it also turned its attention to india, complaining to the world trade 0rganisation about export subsidies to indian exporters worth an estimated $7 billion a year. that's what he reckons, anyway. and there's just a week to go until us tariffs of 25% on imported steel and 10% on imported aluminium come into force. many countries are seeking exemptions to stop any damage to their economies. since they were first announced at the beginning of the month, global stock markets have been confused as investors try to assess the potential damage as the european union and others threaten to retaliate against those us tariffs. chris watling is the chief executive of the global consultancy longview economics. thanks for joining us. just

thanks forjoining us. just to get the short for you first. we have a raft of demands from donald trump, but it's all coming to a head. what's going to happen, two days to sort it out. it's classic trumpet, go in hard and aggressive, make a lot of noise and shake things up and see how things fall, and hopefully go from there and end up with something fairly sensible. we have seen this several times in his presidency in the last year or so, whether it was tpp on many of these deals. he goes in hard and then pulls back and see what happens. with china, would you expect some movement from them? this sort of technique has some effect. movement from them? this sort of technique has some effectm movement from them? this sort of technique has some effect. it does have some effect. we saw some movement from japan when he raised it with japan several months ago. whether or not we'll get movement

with china who knows, only the chinese leadership will know. the problem i think is misdiagnosed by the administration. it's not simply a case of, we have a $100 billion deficit, you are clearly doing better than we are. it's a reflection of overconsumption in the us and under saving, essentially. when the shouting stops and it dies down, will he get anything out of it? what are his targets? is there anything specific, there is more to him thanjust anything specific, there is more to him than just making anything specific, there is more to him thanjust making a noise. anything specific, there is more to him than just making a noise. there is more, his place in the political constituency, old economy, a lot of it in the midwest. there is something in this. there are unfair trade practices in the world and the wto does not have a much bite as one would hope. china has all sorts of industries, there is too much steel capacity in the world and part of thatis capacity in the world and part of that is because china keeps businesses that are basically loss—making going through the

government stimulus and back door credit programmes. there is something to what he says, but i think it misses the main point about the trade deficits and overconsumption. when it all dies down, whatever happens here, if there is give and take, it has a ripple effect. it's notjust necessarily a one—off, we are done and move on. it's a risky business. you are clearly upsetting the global consensus. growing global trade is a good thing, falling tariffs is a good thing, falling tariffs is a good thing. all that stuff is very powerful. we saw in the 1930s, rising tariffs was a dangerous approach to global growth. it's not approach to global growth. it's not a great way to go about things, but it is donald trump and hopefully it will follow the usual pattern and calm down. we will see, chris, thank you very much. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news... a committee of british mps say they have been unable to find a technical solution anywhere in the world that would be capable of avoiding a hard border between northern ireland and the irish republic after brexit.

the northern ireland affairs committee has called on the government to set out more details on how it will manage the movement of people and goods across the border. the swedish music streaming giant spotify says it will start selling its shares on the new york stock exchange on april 3rd. in a pitch to investors the company's boss daniel ek said he would put growth over profits to try and fend off competition from the likes of amazon and apple. more than half of spotify customers use the free services and the firm has yet to make a profit. deutsche bank says it does not expect to cut costs by $1.1 billion in 2018 as previously announced. however, germany's biggest lender is forecasting an increase in revenues, with banker bonuses returning to levels not seen since 2015. profits are up at singapore—based computer chip maker broadcom which has been outlining it's plan for the future.

this week it formally abandoned a $142 billion attempt to buy its us rival qualcomm after president trump blocked the deal. mariko 0i is in singapore with more details. interestingly, in the conference call with investors, the company's chief executive didn't really comment about that block deal by president trump, who cited national security concerns to which the company said there shouldn't be any concerns. but he also said that the company continues to look at the us as a potential market, prompting speculation that broad, prompting speculation that broadcom might be looking at smaller, probably lower profile targets in the market as well. in terms of the earnings number, they came in stronger than analysts expected, but the company warned that they are seeing a slowing demand from its us customer, which many analysts believe is apple, but growing demand from south korea. again, analysts are speculating that's probably samsung, which is ramping up its production of the latest galaxy smartphones. we can look at the asian markets.

trade and the g20 meeting this weekend in south america. what will happen in terms of protectionism and the amount of tariffs that will be put on over steel and aluminium. a slightly confused message there but we have the dowjones up about 0.5%. asia is a little bit worried, it's down. europe, pretty inconclusive, up down. europe, pretty inconclusive, upa tiny down. europe, pretty inconclusive, up a tiny fraction. and kim gittleson has the details about what's ahead on wall street today. on friday, investors will be eyeing a raft of economic data to better gauge what the us federal reserve will do when it meets next week. housing data released by the census bureau is expected to show that new construction slowed in february, partially

as a result of poor weather here in the north—east. two key measures of us manufacturing activity will also be released. a miss in any of these figures could worry america's central bankers, especially after retail sales and inflation data came in lower than expected this week. the expectation is that the fed will continue to slowly raise us interest rates. but in order to do that, it will need the american economy to be growing at a healthy pace. joining us is simon derrick, chief markets strategist, bank of new york mellon. in terms of occurrences, we have this trade war, a great euphemism, for general chaos in the trade sphere. what effect is it having on currencies generally? i'm thinking about the three main ones. currencies generally? i'm thinking about the three main oneslj currencies generally? i'm thinking about the three main ones. i think the one that is really starting to emerge as being a beneficiary for this has been the japanese yen.

maybe because a little bit it is a safe haven, but it's worth noting over the last a0 years, one of the trade policy has come up as an issue in the us, more often than not it has also focused on people manipulating the currencies and japan has come up time and time again, more often than not, the pressure has been upward on the yen because that is the easiest way of fending off concerns from the us. the stronger currency makes the trade situation better. down on the dollar. that's the main story. in fairness, playing out against the asian currencies. stirling and europe are pretty much sidelined the moment. we talked about the australian dollar and its impact potentially on smaller currencies. that's the one currency that really has been under pressure over the last few weeks. most obviously because canada is the largest exporter of steel to the united states, so if you are looking to

currencies heading in different directions at the same time, the yen and canadian dollar are eight right 110w. and canadian dollar are eight right now. something many people don't follow, unless they are in the market and following day today is the weakness of the dollar and how it has weakened over the last year. it's getting on 15% or something. will that continue? i think it will. what's interesting is that it has broken the relationship with yield because relatively speaking interest rates are going up in the united states, which is normally good for a currency. instead people are focused on two things, first of all, the administration seems to be less supportive about the dollar in the rhetoric. he doesn't talk about stronger dollar any more. and people are talking about increased spending plans and where the money comes from. one of the main areas it comes from. one of the main areas it comes from in the past is the far east, people like china. maybe if china is allowing its currency to move more freely, there is less money coming in to be recycled to the us is about

looking ahead to next week, the fed has a decision to make. interest rates up? definitely next week. what will matter will be the rhetoric and how concerned they are about inflation and what happens with trade. still to come... we'll have all the implications of the uk and russia trade and more from simonjack, the uk and russia trade and more from simon jack, business the uk and russia trade and more from simonjack, business editor. you're with business live from bbc news. jd wetherspoon has reported pre—tax profits of £5am for the six months to 28th january — up 36% on the same period in the previous year. joining us now from london stock exchange is tim martin, the founder and chairman ofjd wetherspoon. thanks forjoining us. these are not easy times for the casual dining market. give us your secret. it's

ha rd to market. give us your secret. it's hard to know, really. it's a thousand components of a bmw, you work on different components all the time and you eventually come up with a good car. we have been going a long time, we sell a lot of things that have been unfashionable over the years, like real ale, which is doing very well for us. we are now selling quite a bit of draught beer, which is at the trendy end of the market. 0ver which is at the trendy end of the market. over the years we have moved into breakfast and coffee which do very well. coffee is particularly going great guns at the moment. what about your costs, the weak pound, food costs going up, and business rates going up next month. you have the national living wage, which is putting upward pressure on wages. will you be able to keep costs under control to the point where you can still increase profit? can we keep them under control when it comes to them under control when it comes to the things that you mention, the

a nswer the things that you mention, the answer is no. what we can try and do is make sure we are running the business well, everyone else has got the same costs. if we can get all the same costs. if we can get all the different components running better, we will be able to sell people a pint at a reasonable price with a good atmosphere. it's difficult enough. the main sword of da mocles difficult enough. the main sword of damocles for the pub industry is that it pays much higher taxes per pint or per meal than supermarkets. that disparity has increased over the years. eventually, when things settle down and people have a chance to look at it, we have to say, do we wa nt to look at it, we have to say, do we want pubs and restaurants, particularly in small towns and unfashionable suburbs. if the answer is yes, then you have to equalise tax. tim martin, we wanted to talk about brexit, but we are running out of time. i'm sure you would have lots to say about that, but we will saveit lots to say about that, but we will save it for another day. i'm sure he

might be relieved, or maybe not! a quick look at how markets are faring. there is not much happening on this friday morning but coming off the back of an unsettled week with asian markets waiting to see what's going to emerge from these trade tensions as they mount, courtesy in large pa rt as they mount, courtesy in large part to president trump of course. we will talk more about lead the second because we have simonjack here and a round—up of all the stories. russia says its expelling british diplomats following the poisoning of a spy on british soil but there's less impact on trade ties and global trade tensions on the rise. let's talk to simon. let's talk first about global trade, is there going to be a trade war? people increasing tariffs and the rest of it? there's been widespread condemnation of the steel tariffs

and we will see how other countries respond to that so that is the big worry. much more so than the russian tensions. at the moment we have the us which pulled out of the ttp, and many voices in the us are saying that as we withdraw and put up barriers we are losing influence in areas where we had a lot of it, for example in the pacific area, we used to have a big military presence, that tilts away, meanwhile china is expanding into those areas. so you have got the most developed economy in the world turning away from global trade at a time when everyone else is trying to get together. that could reduce long—term us influence and allow china to get a march on that. you have the rest of the world coming together, promoting trade,

globalisation, the world economy is doing well, the fly in the ointment is the approach of the us. an interesting angle on that, we were saying on this programme a week ago that it saying on this programme a week ago thatitis saying on this programme a week ago that it is not that surprising china is the champion of free trade at the moment because the dominant economy in the world is always in favour of free trade. you go back historically into the 19th century, britain getting rid of the corn laws. then is america became dominant it promoted free trade, now china is coming up and it too will promote free trade. that is not quite the dominant economy, but it is coming soofi. dominant economy, but it is coming soon. this is one of the symptoms of it. one other thing you are seeing, this is being looked at through the lens of brexit, with the uk going its own way. the government are saying we are not leaving europe, just the european union but you have

these tensions there. let's move on, we have the tensions between russia and the uk and we have heard sergey lavrov the foreign minister saying for sure our response is coming so we are waiting for that but there is still this reticence about economically biting...|j still this reticence about economically biting... i thought the prime minister got a lot of plaudits for the way she dealt with this this week, the expulsion of huge amount of diplomats, we are expecting tit for tat. but the word business didn't come into her speech at all and in fact there were words of comfort for the russians who have come and made their home in the uk. you think about roman abramovich who owns chelsea, and of course the big one, bp, aren't they already have... have we been dancing with the devil?

bob dudley sits on a board chaired by close putin friend igor sechin and at some point he has to walk out of the room in case there is anything pertaining to him personally! i don't think there was anything in the list of sanctions we saw that apply additional pressure to the business relationships. they said we don't want your spies or assassins but we want to keep doing business with you. and the royal -- the rollback for banks? yes, in doing this you are swept up in the bid to make the to big banks safer,

you've also swept up lots of community banks and made it hard for them to do theirjob which is to lend to communities. there is a bill passed in the senate to roll back some of these regulations, it has got to go through the house and is deeply dividing the democrats. we are sowing the seeds of another financial crisis, some are saying, but others are saying we have constrained the banking system unnecessarily at a local and smaller level and this is a good thing for the us economy. simon, thanks so much. now it's time for the first in our series about the future of work. for many of us, the daily commute can be a combination of unreliable trains and overcrowded buses. but advances in technology, automation and artificial intelligence are set to change the way we travel to work as rico hizon has been finding out in singapore. people have long dreams of taking a

jet pack orflying people have long dreams of taking a jet pack or flying car to work and that reality is closer than most of you think. 0ne that reality is closer than most of you think. one man passenger drones are being tested but widespread use is yet to come. for now battery—powered electric vehicles are moving people in new ways. for many commuters, this is the last mile solution. when their office is there and the train only takes them here so how does it work? it is a battery operated scooter, where you can actually use an app to activate it. we see the huge popular demand in other places we have launched, especially places where they need connection to their offices or schools from the station. jet packs we re schools from the station. jet packs were only used by the likes of james

bond, but a were only used by the likes of james bond, buta number of were only used by the likes of james bond, but a number of companies are turning science fiction into science fa ct. turning science fiction into science fact. we can get into really exploring the dream and the idea, the concept and the science behind true human flight and achieve a lot of those things that people have been dreaming about for a long time. jet packs may not be for commuting just yet but the way we get to work is constantly changing and will be vastly different in the future. simon derrick is back with us, and you like the hover board. it's all right when you get one person doing it, it is when you get thousands going down 0xford it, it is when you get thousands going down oxford street! but have a look at the papers. this is the rush

investigation and they are going after the trump organisation now closer and closer... obviously we don't know how this plays out so we cannot comment too much about how it goes but i think what matters is how markets react to these kind of stories. people forget what matters overtime. stories. people forget what matters over time. people seem to think politics is a big issue but it's never proved a market mover in germany. in the us absolutely it has beena germany. in the us absolutely it has been a market mover. think back to watergate in 1973, a cause of major market volatility so this story, talking about concerns within the white house, that could potentially be an issue. would you expect flight

away from us assets if political things get hot in the states?m away from us assets if political things get hot in the states? if we go back and look at the past three events, they were dollar negative. but not necessarily globally? noakes. shall we go for your favourite story of the day, the scientists who planted a noble card in his hand to make it easier to use the sydney underground —— an 0pal card. he puts the card under his skin. the big he got done for was mutilating his card, which is the best bit of all of it! he calls himself a body hacking scientist. there are lots of them around, i'm told. if i put there are lots of them around, i'm told. ifi put my there are lots of them around, i'm told. if i put my travel card for london inside my glove, is that

low—level body hacking? most important, the gentleman changed his name... does he signed it on all his checks? he wouldn't have a i doubt. i wonder if we have this, body hacking. click has it all over the weekend! simon, thanks for coming in. have a good weekend. that's all we have got time for. it looks like the mini beast from the east is coming in time for the weekend and bringing the risk of snow. good spells of sunshine across southern england and wales and the chance of some showers. the rain clearing into north—west england and parts of northern ireland, and heavier and more persistent rainfall

scotland, some of it falling snow over higher ground. temperatures in the south reaching up to 1a celsius. through this evening and overnight rain will turn to snow over lower levels, some snow showers fading in and we will see the wind picking up across the south as well. perhaps just the south—west holding onto milder temperatures but many seeing temperatures widely falling to zero. this is how it's looking as we move into the weekend with high—pressure setting of scandinavia, dragging in cold airfrom setting of scandinavia, dragging in cold air from the east and that brisk easterly wind so it will feel significantly colder as we start the day on saturday. some waking up to a light dusting of snow and some light rain and snow clearing the south—west through the morning, with snow showers being in from the east. particularly parts of lincolnshire and yorkshire could see snow showers so stay tuned to your local forecast. 0nce

so stay tuned to your local forecast. once we add in the brisk wind it will feel significantly cold. in the far north—west of scotland, perhaps scraping snow showers and staying dry. the move overnight sunday, we will see a speu overnight sunday, we will see a spell of smoke for a time into central southern england and wales, but uncertainty over the exact positioning so stay tuned. 0n but uncertainty over the exact positioning so stay tuned. on sunday some patches of ice and frost to begin with, that's clearing away through the day with some snow showers feeding in on the brisk easterly wind. temperatures struggling to reach five celsius and against some significant wind—chill. as we move into the weekend it will turn noticeably colder, struggling to reach five celsius tomorrow, adding in the bitterly cold wind it will feel significantly colder than that. chances of disruption so stay tuned to the forecast. hello it's friday, it's 9 o'clock, i'm chloe tilley, welcome to the programme.

we speak to a woman who's campaigning for a change in the law to make it easier to convict someone who kills an unborn baby. malorie bantala was eight months pregnant when her baby — joel — was killed when his father repeatedly kicked her and stamped on her stomach. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, says again we shouldn't be too hasty to condemn russia over the nerve agent attack on a former spy and his daughter in salisbury. members of his party aren't so sure. jeremy's concern seems to be that we could be rushing to some kind of armed conflict with russia. ijust don't think anybody is talking about that at all. nobody is talking about invading russia or launching air strikes on moscow. what the prime