feel quite pleasant with temperatures around 13—15d different week this week but actually something we should be getting for this time of year. this is business live from bbc. prepare for chaos — a two—day strike is set to cripple flights and rail services in france — president macron says he's not backing down from his economic reforms... live from london, that's our top story on monday 23 april. thousands of travellers are expected to be affected in the walkouts — as president macron vows to stand firm on plans to make france more competitive. also in the programme.... the uk government says it's committed to leaving the eu's customs union — ahead of a vote in parliament later this week. european stocks have opened and are

looking for direction. and an appetite for analytics! later in the programme we'll speak to the founder of a company providing data to some of our best known restaurant chains. and you can be a part of the conversation — get in touch with the stories we're covering, just use the hashtag #bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. a very busy monday morning for us in london. this week, workers in france are staging a number of strikes which could affect thousands of travellers around the country. the walkouts are part of a wider series of industrial action as president emmanuel macron attempts to carry out an ambitious programme of economic reforms. pilots, cabin crew and ground staff at air france have planned strikes

on monday and tuesday. previous walk—outs have forced the airline to cancel 30% of flights. meanwhile, workers at france's national train operator are also planning industrial action. 4.5 million passengers use the network every day and unions are opposed to reforms which will see an end to sncf‘s monopoly over passenger rail travel. the planned strikes will provide a real test of emmanuel macron‘s presidency. during his election campaign, he pledged to modernise the french economy and cut 120,000 public sectorjobs. sally... thank you. antonio barroso, managing director for europe at teneo intelligence joins us in the studio. welcome to the programme, you were listening attentively, talk us through the next couple of days,

we're used to action in france in the spring but this is a bit different this year. it's a bit different this year. it's a bit different in the sense there has never been a similar window of opportunity for reform, the opposition in parliament is divided on the left and right and they realise that president macron is willing to take advantage of this window and that's why people are pushing so hard. you will see disruption levels, let's remind the viewer is we have seen rolling strikes that would go on until the zist strikes that would go on until the 21st of june strikes that would go on until the 21st ofjune in principle. strikes that would go on until the 21st ofjune in principle. it could bea 21st ofjune in principle. it could be a long con process but as you say and marianne pointed out, president macron is determined to get through reforms come he's in a sweet spot in terms of the political scene, how will this play out, do you think?” think he's going to push and ran through the reforms through parliament, he's using an executive

decree to refuse the time of discussion in parliament, byjune, the reform will be passed, he has a strong majority in parliament, i think that will be passed. what impact will that have, we have seen the level of unemployment come down to around 9%, will we see a significant difference in the labour market? it has to do with the liberalisation of the railway sector, in terms, it's hard to know whether the impact we are seeing comes from the reform or from previous reforms that were adopted by president hall on. in terms of the global picture now is a good time as the imf has then saying, fix the roof of the sun is shining, that is the message, get through this difficult type of reform and structural change while the economy is being written by a global wave of growth. exactly and in my view that

triggers to risks, he doing too much at the same time and orders might not even remember one reform he is known for and there is also external shock, voters could say he did all of this and as an economic recession, was it worth it? he's in washington talking to president trump, i would imagine his mind washington talking to president trump, iwould imagine his mind is elsewhere but thank you for coming in and sharing your analysis. we will keep our viewers across have the next couple of days ago in france. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. treasury secretary steven mnuchin says he's considering a trip to china, a move that could cool tensions between the world's two biggest economies. the us has threatened to impose tariffs on up to $150 billion of chinese imports to try to force changes in beijing's industrial policies. chinese officials have welcomed mr mnuchin's proposed visit. uk consumer campaigner martin lewis is suing facebook for defamation.

the money saving expert founder says at least 50 fake ads bearing his name have appeared on the social media platform, causing him reputational damage. facebook says misleading ads are not allowed and any reported are removed. the uk prime minister— theresa may— is facing a week of fresh parliamentary battles over brexit. last week, the government suffered defeat on the eu withdrawal bill in the house of lords when peers voted in favour of staying in the customs union. as a result, mps will get a chance to debate the proposal on thursday. more on this in a moment chinese conglomerate hna has cut its stake in german lender deutsche bank. the firm has gone on a multi—billion dollar spending spree in recent years but has recently started to get rid of some of its assets. leisha santorelli is in singapore with more on this. what's the story behind this? it's a

reversal for one what's the story behind this? it's a reversalfor one china's what's the story behind this? it's a reversal for one china's biggest conglomerates which is built upon the biggest corporate debt piles in china. 0riginally spent billions of dollars using complex financing to become dodger banks biggest shareholder, a couple of months ago it said it would not cut a stake in deutsche bank but hma is under pressure from investors and the chinese government as well. it needs to reduce risk on its balance sheet and raise a lot of money to pay off debts and interest payments. it has reduced its holdings in boccia bank to 7.9%, they are attributing the decision to the current market environment, but is not the only asset, it sold its stake in the hilton hotel group earlier this month, according to reports billions of dollars worth of real estate across china are for sale. thank you. let's look at the markets. it's going to be a very busy week for stock markets around the globe as some of the world's largest corporations update us

on how business has been. markets unsteady as traders also wait for big economic news this week there will be gdp figures for the us and the uk. in europe it will be those first quarter results from european banks will be in focus. europe starting in negative territory. and joe miller has the details about what's ahead on wall street today. after a bruising month for america's tech titans, google's parent company alphabet mightjust help restore investors' confidence in the sector when it reports first—quarter earnings on monday. the internet giant's advertising sales, once considered in peril because of the shift from desktop to mobile, are expected to have grown by a whopping 20% on an annual basis, accompanied by success in google's cloud business and its hardware offerings. however, the company faces significant litigation all over the world as a result

of its dominant position in search, and the facebook data privacy scandal has sparked fears of a regulatory crackdown on the use of user information. and, talking of regulation, google—watchers will be looking for details on how the implementation of the eu's general data protection regulation in late may will affect the firm's bottom line. that is true, part of our team. —— thatis that is true, part of our team. —— that is true. joining us is simon derrick, chief markets strategist at bank of new york mellon. i have to say, my eyes are fixed on hospital, the duchess of cambridge is in labour. there could be a coincidence with the royal story breaking and me being a mayor.”

coincidence with the royal story breaking and me being a mayor. i was just going to say that. first in line to the throne as well, so exciting. i'm not sure what this is going to do to gdp, come on! simon dry desperately to get this back on track. friday we worry about the us and uk growth numbers for the first quarter of this year, the day before the european central bank meeting and we get to hear a little bit more about what they may be doing later this year with quantitative easing. in one form or another this is about what happens to us, uk and european interest rates and that will have an impact on markets and on the currency markets as well. what's your thoughts? are we looking worse off, better off in terms of these figures? talking about the uk probably talking about modest numbers of one to 4% for the year, retail sales numbers, we had mark

carney talking about the possibility ofan carney talking about the possibility of an early interest rate hike. i think this is going to be modest and i think the markets will take that as another reason to push back with interest rate hikes when they come in the uk. further does this leave the pound ? in the uk. further does this leave the pound? weaker, the pound is prized for perfection, notjust regarding interest rates but for the outcome on brexit as we will talk about later. a lot of uncertainty. it's about dollar weakness as well, isn't it? dollar weakness has been the story, the interest rates continuing to go higher in the us, i think you'll get more reason to buy dollars this week. we shall watch this space, simon, good to have you here, you will talk more about brexit later and you will talk about michael bloomberg riding a very large cheque, we reveal more of that later. still to come. an appetite for analytics. later in the programme we'll speak to the founder of a company providing data to some of our best known restaurant chains.

you're with business live from bbc news. let's discuss any little bit more detail what we were discussing. the bank of england could raise interest rates twice this year as wage growth picks up while inflation subsides. that's according to forecaster ey, which suggests the uk economy will grow 1.6% in 2018. their chief economist mark gregoryjoins us now. interest—rate rises twice this year, how will the latest economic figures put a damper on the forecast? yes, i think it's touch and go with what we sort this week with the inflation figure but obviously wages are moving upa figure but obviously wages are moving up a little and the bank seems to be signalling it still wa nts to seems to be signalling it still wants to go ahead although mark carney had maybe a wobble last week.

what are expecting in terms of growth figures this time round? depressed by the beast in the east, eve ryo ne depressed by the beast in the east, everyone talks about, probably with a quarter zero points three, less than we would have hoped for with the weather. given all of that come what is the outlook for the rest of this year and beyond the uk economy, given the fact there is somewhat uncertainty over brexit? you have brexit and consumer spending, but may pick up as wages pick up but the threat of interest rates, lots of moving parts, we think 1.6% gross, threat of interest rates, lots of moving parts, we think1.6% gross, a bit faster in the second half than in the first but the uk trapped in 4-5 in the first but the uk trapped in 11—5 years of trend growth below 2% for the period. if that is the case that this year, many would be breathing a sigh of relief, wouldn't they? compared to what we thought would be the worst case, yes, but if brexit negotiations go off track at any point we could see a shot

through the currency that would make 1.6% difficult to achieve. thank you, mark gregory. as simon said the gdp figures later in the week, you can be sure that we will make sure you know and we will update you. you can go to the website, plenty on a web page. let's look at some of the stories breaking on the page. clarkson saying its profits would be materially below last year, coming as part of a trading update in which the firm complained of challenging environment right now in shipping and offshore capital markets. you're watching business live, our top story. thousands of travellers are expected to be impacted by strikes affecting rail and air france services. the walk—outs are part of a wider series of industrial action as president emmanuel macron attempts to carry out an ambitious programme of economic reforms.

let's have a look at one of our other stories in business. a tricky week for theresa may as she faces another battle over brexit. norman smith is in westminster. talk us through what she is facing this week and why she's in the position. it was a house of lords ruling on wednesday that led us to this point. it centres on whether or not britain stays in some form of customs union after we leave the european union. there is growing pressure on mrs may to backtrack on her previous pledge which was we are leaving the eu's customs union and we aren't going to be part of any sort of customs union. that has rung alarm bells among many in the business community but also politically it is facing

difficulties. in the house of lords last week the government suffered a defeat on the issue. eu negotiators have also described mrs may's alternative packages as "unworkable". now there will be a series of crunch commons votes in which possibly there may be enough tory rebels to side with the opposition to defeat the government on this absolutely critical issue which is why, over the past 2a hours we had seen downing street trying to reassure eve ryo ne we had seen downing street trying to reassure everyone that mrs may isn't having a wobble, she is not about to waver over a customs union. she is determined britain will still leave it after brexit. thank you. that's another story we will keep across. the restaurant trade has always been a tough one. but in recent months it seems like the appetite for eating out has taken a further hit. mid—range restaurants here in the uk, like byron burger, jamie's italian, prezzo and carluccio's have been forced to shut some of their outlets in the wake of dwindling consumer spending and rising running costs.

but one company says it's coming to the sector's rescue. yumpingo allows customers to leave immediate feedback on a tablet device and the information is immediately shared with the chef and restaurant manager. gary goodman is the founder of yumpingo — an analytics company which provides data to the food industry. good morning. you've brought in a couple of devices. if you hand them over. . . couple of devices. if you hand them over... i want to give my feedback on my meal. 50% of over... i want to give my feedback on my meal. 5096 of guests take part with no incentive. it'sjust like a smartphone, really. after the meal, before the bill arrives... you ask for the bill, it comes on the device

during the dead space. that space? it depends on the company you are keeping! laughter we capture 4000 live reviews per restaurant per month. we had exactly the same reaction when we read about your company, can't think of anything worse. i know when i'm out in a restau ra nt worse. i know when i'm out in a restaurant and people come up to me and say can you do a review, i think back off i'm just trying to chill out. but having spoken to you and seen out. but having spoken to you and seen this i can see why i would do this but other ways of giving feedback i'm balking at. three things are different. firstly, this is in the moment. secondly, there's no pressure. thirdly, consumers have a voice and enables people to be pa rt of a voice and enables people to be part of the conversation. it's all about convenient, this is very quick

and familiar. i think being quick and familiar. i think being quick and in the moment helps. but actually this is about food and we all love food. let's talk about cost. some of these restaurants are struggling with running costs and they are paying you a set fee to use they are paying you a set fee to use the service. is it the right time for restaurants to be paying even more money to get feedback when after a ll more money to get feedback when after all they could just go on trip advisor close. before yumpingo, re sta u ra nt advisor close. before yumpingo, restaurant operators didn't have certainty. if they are trying to find their new concept, we can help them with that. big data comes at a small fee. we charge no more than 5p for a live customer review. isjust about food ? for a live customer review. isjust about food? it's about the overall experience. it's asking you about dishes you were served but can you

then talk about the service. it's a 42 second review. food first because we ca re 42 second review. food first because we care about our state being picked a certain way and then we slipping three questions afterwards. do they clea n three questions afterwards. do they clean the scream afterwards —— clean the screen. we provide a spray. how valuable is this to the restaurant and how readily available is it? we have a live dashboard that can sit at front of house. we have an e—mail sent daily and we have a machine learning tool that gets a weekly report. you are just starting learning tool that gets a weekly report. you arejust starting in learning tool that gets a weekly report. you are just starting in the states and that's quite a large market. i was in dallas last week.

fingers crossed. you could become a very busy person! thank you. in a moment, we'll take a look through the business pages, but first here's a quick reminder of how to get in touch with us. stay up—to—date with all the day's business news as it happens on the bbc‘s business live page. there's insight and analysis from our team of editors, right around the globe. and we want to hear from you, too. get involved on the bbc‘s business live web page at bbc.com/business. on twitter we're @bbcbusiness. you can find us on facebook @bbcmoney. business live, on tv and online. what you need to know, when you need to know. please get in touch. simon is back and we told you we would talk about and we told you we would talk about a very big check that michael bloomberg has written, $4.5 million.

what is it for? that's to cover the shortfall on the paris climate commitment for this year now that the us isn't making that payment. commitment for this year now that the us isn't making that paymentm that how much the us pays? it doesn't seem like a lot of money.” was thinking that as well. he's only made the commitment for one year, in fairness. it's interesting in terms of the timing. if you look at it not from the perspective of the climate change but from the perspective of us politics, we are coming up to the mid—term election, michael bloomberg was a candidate as an independent for the presidential race. he considered being one and then pulled out because he didn't want to risk donald trump getting the job. he said quite explicitly there was... would be a low likelihood of him running against top it is keeping himself in the public eye. he didn't say it was a zero chance. it could be more to do with politics than

anything else. $4.5 million isn't that big a price to pay. it is still something. is more than we are going to get! let's be fair. let's move on to get! let's be fair. let's move on to this story and today's papers. theresa may facing a brexit showdown, very much on the pressure the government from all sides. that's the point. if it's not for the remainers. both are trying to make sure their agendas are heard. -- if it's make sure their agendas are heard. —— if it's not for the brexiteers, it's for the remainers. the interesting thing is how the markets haven't reacted so far to the brexit story. people outside the uk find the story so labyrinthine that they assume. . . the story so labyrinthine that they assume... maybe they've got brexit

fatigue. in the last four years we've managed to either have a referendum or election in june. maybe people are happy there's nothing happening. however, the fact there was talk of a leadership challenge, never say never. you work in the financial industry. what are the main worry is the financial industry and the finance markets have regarding brexit? is it the uncertainty? right now it is simply about are we looking for a soft brexit or not? right now people are trying to work that out. as long as they hear soft brexit the market sees positive. what about passporting writes, surely that's got to be top of the agenda for financial markets in london? for the financial markets in london? for the financial industry, yes. for the financial industry, yes. for the financial markets... surprisingly little. i think it comes back to

what you said, i think there is fatigue on the news story. behind the scene is in the finance industry there's a lot of concentration on what happens. in terms of how the economy is doing, you said earlier what you think gdp levels will come in at, how do you feel the economy is doing given what the many predictions were in thejune when we did that surprise decision to leave? it was all doom and gloom back then and yet the uk economy is doing all right. i remember us talking about it and we said there that danger we can talk ourselves into a recession. actually nothing was going to happen. i think now you are starting to see the tiniest bit of an impact. retail sales are down, things like that. i think the economy is becoming more cautious. thank you. that's it from business live today. there will be more business news throughout the day on the bbc live web page and on world business report. hello. the weather is going to be

very different to that of last week. temperatures won't get above 20 celsius whereas last week they were widely above 20. much cooler and fresher for the week ahead. there's going to be a mixture of sunshine and showers. last week we had the warm airfrom the and showers. last week we had the warm air from the south, this week the jet stream which drives our weather is much further south. that allows the cooler, fresh air to come in from the north—west. through the morning we've got some sunshine eastern and north—eastern areas of the uk. this afternoon there will be more cloud around. more cloud for scotla nd more cloud around. more cloud for scotland and northern ireland with some showers moving in. temperatures 12-16. some showers moving in. temperatures 12—16. for england and wales to the

co re 12—16. for england and wales to the core values of 13—17 but those are fairly average values for the time in april. 0vernight there will be more rain towards southern areas, showers and clear spells to the north where temperatures could be in single figures. double digit temperatures across southern areas to ta ke temperatures across southern areas to take us into tuesday. 0n temperatures across southern areas to take us into tuesday. on tuesday this area of rain will get heavier for wales, the midlands into southern england. moving further north into the afternoon, in the north of that there will be a mixture of bright sunny spells and showers. maximum temperature is tomorrow about 13—16. the rain across central arrears on tuesday with this weather front is going to move into wednesday. low pressure towards the far north and west and that will drive in some showers towards northern and western areas of the uk. in the south—east it should be largely dry. it's worth noting that some of these showers

could be heavy with some hail and perhaps some thunder. with sunny spells and between temperatures about 12—16. wednesday into thursday, low—pressure situated towards the north. the air coming in from the north west. quite an u nsu btle from the north west. quite an unsubtle direction which means there will be the mixture of sunny spells and april showers. some of those on thursday will be on the heavy side. plenty of rainbows around when there are showers because there will be some sunshine in between. typical values for the time of year, 11—16. very different compared to last week. hello, it's monday, it's 9 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire. this morning we're live in a domestic violence refuge for women who've fled their abusive partners. i can't describe the countless times

i tried to get us out. i can't count the times i was disappointed i couldn't. she took my hand and said to me, if you don't do it now you never will and then you can go back to being the claire we love, the claire you should be and live the life you should be living. if anyone out there has gone through something similar for di went through, you need to find the courage and get away from anything thatis courage and get away from anything that is as unhealthy...