this is business live from bbc news with maryam moshiri and sally bundock. the commercial conundrum — martin sorrell quits wpp so what now for the world's biggest ad agency? live from london, that's our top story on monday 16th april. after 33 years at the top, sir martin's departure is shrouded in mystery, but the ad industry is facing radical changes. also in the programme: one of the world's biggest social media firms waybaw makes an abrupt u—turn after trying to censor gay content in china. —— weibo. with women's role in the workplace very much in the spotlight thanks to #metoo

and gneder pay equality, we'll get the inside track on how women can set—up on their own. today, we want to know, as samsuug launches a new not—so—smart phone, which blocks internet use, would you use one? let us know. just use the hashtag, #bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. the world's largest advertising agency wpp is starting the new week in a new place. it no longer has the founder sir martin sorrell running it after he resigned at the weekend. the announcement comes less than two weeks after the company said he was being investigated for misconduct. when london trading began half an hour ago, its shares fell 4%. 73—year—old sir martin

had run the ftse 100 company for 33 years since he took control of wire and plastic products, which at the time made shopping baskets. sir martin has stepped down after an investigation into allegations of personal misconduct. few details have been released, but wpp did say "the allegation did not involve amounts that are material." sir martin denies any wrongdoing. he built it into an advertising giant with over 200,000 staff around the world. last year, it made a profit ofjust over $3 billion but sir martin it was "not a pretty year" as the business model came under pressure. that's been reflected in the share price, which has fallen about a third over the last year as the company struggles to compete with digital rivals like google and facebook and its biggest clients spend less on advertising. our business editor, simonjack, is with me. you have been covering this all

weekend, tell us what more you can say about his sudden departure. there are allegations of misconduct, which leaked to the wall street journal. they had an investigation. it was some behavioural issues and financial issues, though the financial issues, though the financial issues, though the financial issues weren't material. but apart from that, we don't know a great deal more. all we know is we don't think he felt he could control. they taught in their press release about a smooth transition, but everyone knows this isn't the way it was meant to go. the executive chairman is stepping in to run the company, they have appointed two chief operating officer is. it will be hard, because it is hard to imaginea company will be hard, because it is hard to imagine a company where the chief executive is more central to the company than this one. he built it from scratch. this huge, sprawling empire, gobbling up dozens of companies. wpp isn't really an ad agency, it's a collection of lots of

ad agencies, marketing firms, pr, cutting across the marketing piece. but as you say, a difficult act to follow. you and i have interviewed him many, many times. he's someone thatis him many, many times. he's someone that is at the forefront of wpp. when you think about the company, you think of him. what now? i've never met anyone that could expect to me the logic of how that company was put together, apart from one person, and even then, i didn't understand his explanation... what will inevitably happen is that the one thing holding the empire together was sir martin sorrell. a lot of people saying it had become too unwieldy, failing to adapt to changes in the marketplace. people go direct to facebook and google, they have analytics, do you need the savvy that the media agencies used to give you, which he owned. and why ami to give you, which he owned. and why am i paying you 15% commission when ican go am i paying you 15% commission when i can go direct? no, thank you. and he was not one without controversy anyway, in 2015, he was all over the

headlines, shareholders revolted against his salary, over £70 million. he would come on here and talk about it. he didn't hide in the shadows. he said he was worth every single penny. but what will he do now? he's not tied in by any severance now? he's not tied in by any severance contract he's got with them, as he? that's right. he will continue to receive share guards, because he is deemed to have retired, even though that is not the true picture. he has a gnome non—compete clause. there was no payoff in this case, and he feels pretty wounded. he is a man of enormous energy, i pretty wounded. he is a man of enormous energy, i would not put it past him, he may build an empire all over again. maybe with the benefit of hindsight, he would structure it differently. he learned the hard way about changes in the marketplace —— no non—compete clause. a shareholder told me, or we no non—compete clause. a shareholder told me, orwe think no non—compete clause. a shareholder told me, or we think it is time for a change. a lot of people like him

still, but they think, what wpp needs to do is shrink to grow. a sickly, trim off some of the excess there, we focus on the modern marketplace. but it will be fascinating to see what he does. a lot of people say he would make a great boss of formula 1. watch that space. he likes his racing. he likes the globetrotting that goes with it. and the glamour. the media spotlight. he is on his way to dubai or hong kong... that takes a lot of boxes. thank you, simon. simon has blogged about this on the website. lots more about that story. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: shares in the russian aluminium giant rusal have taken another pounding. they were down almost 30% in hong kong after the united states said it would impose more sanctions on russian companies with ties to the syrian president, basharalassad. russia's deputy foreign minister has accused washington of demonstrating open economic aggression. the latest round of brexit talks will get underway in brussels later today.

officials from the uk and the eu will by discussing issues that weren't concluded in the first phase of negotiations. later in the week, they're due to have their first discussions about the future relationship including trade. the uk will formally cease to be an eu member in march 2019. this week leaders of the commonwealth, which accounts for a third of the world's population, gather in london for an annual summit. the uk's prime minister theresa may is scheduled to speak at the opening business forum on monday and the group claims that intra—commonwealth trade could almost double to one trillion dollars by 2020. south korean telecom company kt corp's chairman will be questioned on tuesday over suspected breaches of political funding laws. police say they're investigating suspicious payments amounting to about $100,000 from former and current kt executives and employees to about 90 members of parliament between 2014—17.

a spokeswoman for kt chairman hwang chang—kyu could not be immediately reached. one of the world's biggest social media platforms has abandoned its decision to remove all gay content. quite a u—turn. weibo has nearly 400 million users and has been trying to meet new chinese government rules on censorship. although china decriminalised homosexuality more than 20 years ago. stephen mcdonell is in hong kong for us. stephen mcdonell is in singapore. this is a bit u—turn, which happened pretty quickly, all things considered. yes, well, it seemed at one point over the weekend as if china was going to ban all gay content on china's version of twitter, weibo. you can imagine the response to this, especially from 93v response to this, especially from gay users of the platform, who are not happy about this. it's hard to

say whether this is a backtrack now that they've announced there will not be a blanket ban on gay content on weibo, or more of a misunderstanding. what it could be is that there has been a big crackdown on you'd content, dirty jokes and things like this on the internet, right across china. this is going to be potentially problematic, because one person's smarty content could be another person's art, and there are grey areas there. this is all to be worked out. however, it does not seem either way that all gay content is going to be banned on weibo, and i think that many gay users of weibo will be quite relieved that that is in fact the case. stephen, thank you very much indeed. let's look at the markets. in asia, a mixed picture for the mix.

the us—led strikes on syrian targets insuring that investors worry about geopolitical uncertainty and the middle east generally. the strikes have not led to an escalation, allowing stocks a bit of breathing space. investors in china, particularly, waiting for the first quarter chinese growth data is out later this week. european stocks have just opened, and later this week. european stocks havejust opened, and in later this week. european stocks have just opened, and in terms of london, wpp, the advertising giant, who lost its boss, its share price down 4% last i checked. the rest treading water. joe miller has the details about what is ahead today on wall street. on monday, we get the latest in a slew of financial earnings when bank of america reports its first—quarter results. investors will be hoping that the north carolina—based lender follows the lead of wells fargo, citigroup and jp morgan, all of which posted higher than anticipated profits last week. in part, as a result

of donald trump's tax cuts. and elsewhere, video streaming giant netflix is expected to put on a good show after successfully luring subscribers outside of the us with a strong slate of original content, including the crown and the cult hit stranger things. the company has been pumping in funds to expand its offering across different than witches. and finally, retail sales data for march will hit traders‘ desks, and should make for pleasurable reading as sales are forecast to have grown by 0.2%. joining us is alpesh patel, ceo at praefinium partners. nice to see you. talking about the market and how things have gone in asia and what we are looking forward to on wall street, what are you watching? we have averted world war iii. from our perspective as fund managers, we are calm and it is

things back to normal. you are referring to what happened in syria? of course. what was happening last week, we thought that oil could spike up, the dow could take a hit followed by the ftse and the major markets. none of that happened and it isa markets. none of that happened and it is a relief. if anything, or you'll will come off this week. the price is already down today. any of the sanctions imposed on russia will be very targeted, just like the missile strikes were, it will not be sanctions that point us in the face, because it caused the ruble to tumble. the russians think it is great, they making more money. thank you very much, bring more sanctions. we went put sanctions on russian oil because bp owns a chunk of it. any sanctions would affect the markets. what makes stocks are ones to watch this week? what a lot of earnings coming out, bank of america merrill

lynch coming out. netflix today, it is exciting. it is on a bit of a ride, up 60% over the past 12 months, and likely to be more because they penetrate the indian, south korean and japanese markets, still more growth to go there. they will borrow more money to produce more content and do more advertising. one more comment on sanctions, last monday, this time last week, we saw the russian financial markets falling quite a bit. the ruble fell quite a bit, the sanctions introduced the friday before by the us. is it all priced in? what happens to the ruble? what was telling, the qatari government issued bonds, government debt, they raised about $12 billion last week on friday. massively oversubscribed. people don't put money into a region if they think there is going to be more conflict spilling over. follow the money. the thing with russian

sanctions, they are very contained. it does not impact the rest of the world. we will keep an eye. still to come: with women's role in the workplace very much in the spotlight, we'll get the inside track on how they can set—up on their own. you're with business live from bbc news. the cost of raw materials for farms — things like fertiliser and fuel — went up twice the rate of inflation for the past two quarters. that's combined that with the late spring, leading to tough times for farmers. 0ur correspondent ben thompson has been in salisbury — at the farm of the new head of the nfu — to find out more. you are looking very casual, but you

still look good! you wearing designer wellington boots? it's a glorious morning here but not so much the case for the winter, called and wet for most farmers, most keeping their livestock inside for most of the year, meaning a log more costs. i am most of the year, meaning a log more costs. iam here most of the year, meaning a log more costs. i am here with menet, the new head of the national farmers union. we represent hundreds of thousands of farmers across the country, it doesn't matter where you are forming, it's been such a challenging winter, we are seeing the grass with green shoots, the trees are not out, feed costs much higher, animals being kept in for much longer, we are probably six weeks— two months behind, a feat

which has not been planted, spring planting behind. a brief comment on what that means for costs, you have to bear the extra expense? as farmers we are one of the few industries that cannot pass the costs on, we have to absorb them, you farm outside at the mercy of the weather and you never know quite what that is going to chuck at you but i guess if you want to support british farming and devalued the countryside, by british food. the sheep behind you making that clear, menet, thank you. a really busy week, the forecast expected to get much better, forfarmers, getting back out in the fields, getting crops planted, getting the animals out, making sure they do that in time and there is enough food to go around. good to see you, thank you. we are going to play the game, where are you, you will be out and about all this week. you or not going to

be with us in the studio. but you will be back with us soon enough, i am sure. you're watching business live — our top story... sirmartin sir martin sorrell stepping down over the weekend. a quick look at how markets are faring.... you can see the ftse is down just slightly. becoming an entrepreneur and getting your first business off the ground is no easy feat — paperwork, staffing and managing every day logistics can be a huge challenge. around the world it's estimated 163—million women were starting or running new businesses in 2016. but while the global gender gap is closing — male entrepreneurs are still in the substantial majority. 0ne platform trying to close the gap here in the uk is called — a league of her own — it's an online portal which was setup six months ago and now has 200 members.

it covers all kinds of subjects using video tutorials — explaining accounting, branding, and even how to register a new company with tax authorities. and i'm joined by charly lester, founder of a league of her own and also founder and ceo of the dating award... welcome and thank you for being on the programme. you are a platform, you and your co—founder, caroline, you and your co—founder, caroline, you are on maternity leave, fingers crossed for you. when i read about your organisation and i thought, i know about quite a few of these already why do we need another one? i think because there's not enough information out there and the more we spoke to female entrepreneurs, caroline and i have been running our own businesses for 11—5 years, we had experiences when we doubted our

abilities, we didn't know for to get information, i have a law degree from cambridge and i remember the thought passing through my head, women don't start businesses like this and there are certain businesses and role models that were shown in industries but there are other things for which you don't have role models and appears to offer that advice. online dating industry and dating industry in general, very few women in that industry? on the online side and was on them and i think that was one of the things that caused me to have doubts, i knew! the things that caused me to have doubts, i knew i had a good business idea but i thought can i go into the industry and can i make inroads into it? the one thing we are trying to do is make all of them... there's lots of information out there but we wa nt to lots of information out there but we want to compile it in one place, make it as easy to access as possible and give people extra support. the statistics show the mainfear support. the statistics show the main fear women have his fear of failure and they are not getting the right information in the right places. what do you think it is that

is unique to women that they need that male entrepreneurs don't necessarily need and you can provide? the difference between men and women and this is proven in areas like sport, we only commit to stuff when we are 100% or 95% certain, men will go forjobs when they are 35% qualified, women will have to take every single box... do you think that hold you back? i really do, we want to showcase that there are entrepreneurs and businesses of all shapes and sizes, it is easier than you think. i think thatis it is easier than you think. i think that is the thing caroline and i experienced. what is interesting about platform and what enabled you stand out to me, you provide some really good teaching, it's notjust about hailing women in business, hearing different stories about women running companies, this is the nuts and bolts, this is how you do it and this is what people need. we wa nt to it and this is what people need. we want to give real, practical advice, each module, each month, there is a tutorial video, we want you to come away with notes, we have interviews with experts, we are not pretending

we are experts, we bring in experts to talk about investment and doing your own pr, the nuts and bolts about creating your business, we are keen to solve the problems and challenges we had early on, when it comes to things like pr, there are ways to do your own pr and it is cheaper and when you start out it is all about that, it is about making the early stages as cheap as possible. thank you so much and good luck to caroline! i bet you are watching. good luck. foosball tables, bean bags and free food. those three items are now regularly found in offices looking to emulate the creative success of tech giants like google and facebook. but does the design of an work space really create happier, more productive staff? you can tell she has never played

that! isn't that table football? and how does the bbc stack up? leisha sa ntorelli took one expert on an tour of our singapore office to find out. fantastic! tell me what you think. it's great to see you have an open plan office, everyone can communicate. it can make things a bit noisy and it can create a bit more stress. you have these islands, people can talk face—to—face but they are all the same, you don't have the flexibility you sometimes need but you have a fantastic view. let's look at some of the other officers you have worked on for really big companies. and grab a copy. what have you done here? this is when we help vodafone moved their offers from london to dublin. we had to get everybody comfortable, everybody ready to start a new

adventure. this doesn't look like the offices of a major telecom. we wa nted the offices of a major telecom. we wanted it to feel like home and so we created a kitchen at the centre and we created all the different experiences around it, so many different ways to work, so many different ways to work, so many different ways to be engaged, creative, energetic. ifi different ways to be engaged, creative, energetic. if i were to ta ke creative, energetic. if i were to take one design suggestion and bring to my boss, what should it be?|j think to my boss, what should it be?” think a really creative space that you can own your cells, you can customise, it's because this is where you spend so much of your time andi where you spend so much of your time and i think that will really give everybody a boost when they are in the office. great, i'll ask the boss! that is part of our brilliant tea m boss! that is part of our brilliant team in singapore... i think fish, fish and plants. fish and plants? i would like a foot massage. don't look like and asking you!”

would like a foot massage. don't look like and asking you! i have skills but they are limited! others might beg to differ. i am only joking. metaphorically speaking, of course. let's look at this not so smart smartphone. the new galaxy smartphone cannot go online because samsung thought of the children. this is in south korea, will this ever ta ke this is in south korea, will this ever take off? no internet connection, you can take photos and make calls and text message. i'm sorry, why not just make calls and text message. i'm sorry, why notjust get an old phone? you try and give your your kids hold anything, this is the devil incarnate, you are staring at it all the time, it's a good idea, it all the time, it's a good idea, it means they can study work, a p pa re ntly it means they can study work, apparently this was the thing. in south—east asia apparently studying is even more important than it is in

the west. in south korea, gaming is huge, that is what they are doing. exactly, they are not studying, coming top of the league, they will not come top in maths, bad news for the west, trouncing us and sciences. we've had some tweets about this, william says just take the phone from the kids have a blocking device, automatically transferring calls to the school office for emergency mother calls. and lock them up in the cellar when you are added, absolutely. another viewer says it's good for kids, i am not sure it will take off in this country. and they are studying or in school, they don't have the phone with them. they don't have it in school, neither does the teacher but when they get home, the preparers, i feel for them. thanks so much for joining us. interesting times. that's all we have time for today. there will be more business news throughout the day on the bbc live webpage and on world business report. good morning. much warmer weather on

the way, we will have to waitjust a little while, cloud and rain on the way in the next few days, later on in the week lighter winds and getting much warmer. these are the sort of temperatures we are looking up sort of temperatures we are looking up by sort of temperatures we are looking up by thursday, the peak of the temperatures, 25 in the south, 18—19 for scotland and northern ireland, widely the low 20s in england and wales. the average temperatures today, rain and result across scotla nd today, rain and result across scotland and northern england petering out, in the afternoon sunny skies across southern england, to the west the wind picking up, increasing cloud and bringing rain to northern ireland. those are the maximum temperatures, near normal for the time of year. the warm air still to arrive, we will see this weather front around the big area of

low pressure, that band of rain coming into scotland and northern ireland overnight, the wind picking up, dell is likely in the irish sea, a milder night, temperatures 7—10d. a wet start to tomorrow, scotland and northern ireland, the rain possibly quite heavy at times over the hills, pushing eastwards, some sunshine in scotland and northern ireland, sharp showers, the rain moving into wales and western england, lighter later in the day, sunny skies, dry weather, towards east anglia and the south—east. 19 degrees, getting warmer, continuing to warm up, wednesday, the rain fizzling out, transferring to the west, not far away from the north—west of the uk, a little more sunshine, the wind dropping, the temperatures climbing, 17 degrees through the central belt of scotland, 23 around london. the reason we get this one is because high pressure is going to be building to the east of the uk,

drawing around at some warmer air from the near continent, highest temperatures across england and wales, warm or very warm temperatures across england and wales, warm or very warm across temperatures across england and wales, warm or very warm across the board and the peak of the temperatures on thursday, some fair weather cloud around, lighter winds by this stage, looking at temperatures perhaps between 18—19d in scotland and northern ireland. why do you 20s across england and wales, 25—26 in the south—east. hello. it's monday, it's 9 o'clock. i'm victoria derbyshire, welcome to the programme our top story today: theresa may is to be questioned by mps about why british forces joined the missile strikes on syria on saturday. we are hearing here the sound of air strikes, almost a rumbling sound. it sounds like thunder in the distance. this morning we're asking you, was the uk right to take part in military action?

i believe it was the right move. keen to hear your views throughout the programme this morning. also, the college cleaner no—one knew was a slave my day normally started at 3am. sometimes we finished at 11pm at night.