this is business briefing, i'm david eades. a trade war in the making: us commerce secretary wilbur ross announce that massive us tariffs on eu steel imports came into force today. the australian bank anz denies claims made by australian authorities that it is involved in criminal cartel activities. and on the markets: they are down a bit. the dow was down, the nikkei and the hang seng are bumping around the middle ground, which might come as a bit of a surprise given what we have seen with us tariffs being announced. there was positive news coming out of asia for some trade and the italian situation seems to be resolved. so all in all a bit of a steady ship. the us has slapped steep tariffs on metal it imports from key allies, including the european union, canada and mexico.

the trump administration says the levies are needed to protect national security, while the countries on the receiving end of the measures have promised to retaliate. from new york, the bbc‘s paul blake. all smiles for the camera, but behind closed doors are simmering family feud. just a day after meeting european leaders in paris, us commerce secretary wilbur ross slapped europe, canada and mexico with harsh tariffs on steel and aluminium. everybody has spat is every now and again. every family does, every country does with others. there is nothing weird about that. i think everybody will get over this in due course. in due course, maybe, but not today. mexico and canada immediately slapped back, announcing their own levies on american goods, and europe is

promising to follow suit. what they can do, we are able to do exactly the same. it is totally unacceptable that a country is imposing unilateral measures when it comes to world trade. the trump administration says the us can't be overly reliant on its neighbours, that it has to be able to provide for itself in the event of an emergency, and for that reason these ta riffs emergency, and for that reason these tariffs are in the interest of national security. but at least one world leader found that justification offensive. from the beaches of normandy to the mountains of afghanistan, we have fought and died together. that canada could be considered a national security threat to the united states is inconceivable. inconceivable or not, donald trump has already shown his willingness to upset traditional allies. these tariffs are one more way his administration is straining

long held thais. —— ties. here in europe the french president, emmanuel macron, said the us decision was a mistake and illegal, echoed by the german finance minister, olaf scholz, who said that the european union would react strongly and wisely, coordinating among eu countries and the bloc‘s partners. so the question now is how would europe retaliate? it is understood the eu has drawn up a list targeting 100 different us goods, worth $3.5 billion, covering agricultural, industrial and cosmetic goods. many of the goods are targeted for maximum political effect ahead of the midterm elections later this year. orange juice is on the list. it is a key export for florida, which is a crucial swing state. bourbon whiskey also features. produced in kentucky, it is the state of the senate majority leader, republican mitch mcconnell. but any retaliation could potentially turn the heat up on european car makers, with president trump saying autos could be the next battleground.

shares of australia and new zealand banking group have fallen as much as 2.4% on news it will be prosecuted over an alleged criminal cartel arrangement. let's go to our asia business hub, where shara njit leyl is following the story. good to see you. by criminal, how criminal? well, criminal indeed, and it is potentially a huge punitive issue around this. essentially what issue around this. essentially what is happening this morning as investors essentially reacting with shock over the news that australia's third—largest bank is expected to face these criminal cartel charges. this is really after an

investigation by the competition regulator into a nearly $2 billion share sale anz made to large institutional investors way back in 2015. it is a huge blow, of course, to australia's financial sector but there has been a broad ranging investigation into the entire industry which began earlier this year and it has uncovered a litany of misconduct by banks and financial companies. it is a publicity nightmare for australia's is financial firms. so far we nightmare for australia's is financialfirms. so far we have nightmare for australia's is financial firms. so far we have the likes of the prospect of an all charges against the country's top wealth manager, that is amp, over allegations it misled the corporate regulator while number one regulator commonwealth bank of australia is facing a civil lawsuit alleging thousands of reaches of anti— money laundering protocols. anz, though, says it believes it acted in accordance with the law in this particular charge, under australia's competition laws. i mentioned those punitive issues earlier. individuals found guilty of criminal cartel

offences could spend up to ten years in prison while institutions could face multi— million—dollarfines. now, the allegations involve anz, a senior executive, along with deutsche bank and citigroup, who are actually underwriters of that sale. so it is spreading beyond just anz, and the australian competition and consumer commission says that public prosecutors are preparing to delay these charges. anz, of course, denies any wrongdoing, but we are seeing australian markets being impacted by this. you mentioned that the shares were falling. well, australia's main benchmark index is falling to 1.5 year lows on this news, and it fell earlier to a lowest level since 2016. and these things don't get cleared up quickly, do they? now let's brief you some other business stories. two anti—establishment parties have reached a new agreement to form a government in italy, ending weeks of political uncertainty. giuseppe conte has for the second time in eight days been asked by the italian president to lead the coalition.

mr conte's government is expected to be sworn in later today, and he says his administration is ready to get to work for all italians. the indian government's attempt to sell a stake in the national carrier, air india, has failed to attract a single bidder. in march, the government announced they were going to sell three—quarters of the airline as a way of off—loading some of its $5 billion debt. but, despite a booming aviation market, prospective buyers stayed away. mps in the spanish parliament are due to vote today on a motion of no confidence against the spanish prime minister, mariano rajoy, following a huge corruption scandal involving the governing party. the motion was called by the socialist party and is expected to topple the prime minister and the government. people have been wearing lipstick for thousands of years, but for most of that time the authorities have denounced it as decadent. nowadays, however, billions of women

and quite a few men wear it regularly, and it earns its makers $8 billion a year. so how did lipstick become a commercial success? hey, it is lipstick! the ancient egyptians water, general george washington warded. he got away with it. but generally, the world hated lipstick —— wore it. it was only fit for actors and courtesa ns. lipstick —— wore it. it was only fit for actors and courtesans. but then in 1870, this bloke, pierre francois gollan, the famous paris perfume you, created the world's first commercial lipstick. he made it out of think candle wax. in english, it is forget me not. the most famous

early wearers of lipstick were these ladies, america's suffragettes. they w0 re ladies, america's suffragettes. they wore it on marches to show that defiance. then in 1923, a real revolution. the tube was invented which meant women could carry lipstick around with them without making their handbag a mess. sales rocketed after that, and nowadays $8 billion worth of lipstick is sold every year. modern lipsticks are made from oil and wax, but in the past they contained lethal things like lead. so someone wearing lipstick really could give you the kiss of death. there is only one aaron, isn't that? —— there? that's it for business briefing this hour. but, before we go, here are the markets. the nikkei up turning a tiny bit, so

if you thought there would be a shaky if you thought there would be a s ha ky start if you thought there would be a shaky start to the markets, given what we have heard about the tariffs, maybe it is worth bearing in mind from an asian perspective, south korea, for example, already has a deal in place with the us. so that might affect a little bit the way it goes. it is going to be possibly a bumpy ride throughout the day for the european markets. italy seems to be resolved politically, but spainjust seems to be resolved politically, but spain just about to be thrown into the mixer if the prime minister, as expected, loses vote of confidence. he has been in government for the last seven years now, mr rajoy. up next: newsbriefing. thousands of children are at risk because they are being moved around the care system too much — that is the warning from the children's

commisioner for england. the government says it has put in place a range of measures to help create stable environments. but the commissioner, anne longfield, said nearly 2,500 children had to change home, school or social worker in the last year. elaine dunkley reports. jack, not his real name, went into ca re jack, not his real name, went into care three years ago after a troubled home life. but he struggled with the instability of constantly being moved around to different foster homes. at first i was a bit more. . . foster homes. at first i was a bit more... i was being a little baby, for instance. i wasn't really trying to let them help me, because they needed the help, and as i got older, i started getting involved in the activities, i realise that they do care. the report by the children's commisionerfor care. the report by the children's commisioner for england found, care. the report by the children's commisionerfor england found, in the past three years, around 2500 children moved home five times or more. 0ver

children moved home five times or more. over 4000 children moved school in the middle of the year, with 400 missing a whole term as a result. julie has been a foster carerfor result. julie has been a foster carer for 11 result. julie has been a foster carerfor 11 years, result. julie has been a foster carer for 11 years, and says the co nsta nt carer for 11 years, and says the constant disruption also leaves children vulnerable to being groomed by gangs. they end up seeking out stability and relationships with people that aren't safe people. they don't have a safe base. so they seek that out somewhere else, and that means that they are vulnerable to cse, which is a huge issue at the moment, exploitation, be that gangs, radicalisation, because they are desperate to be accepted. children in care are amongst the most vulnerable in society. in a statement, the department of education said it is investing £4000 to create safe environments, and is prioritising those in care.

this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: new american tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the european union, canada and mexico have come into force. leaders from the affected countries have called the measures unjustified, and vowed to retaliate. italy's prime minister—designate giuseppe conte will be sworn in later today, and then try to form a new populist government after days of political deadlock. mr conte's first attempt was blocked by the country's president. north korea's former spy chief is to present a letter from kim jong—un to president trump at the white house later on friday. he has reiterated his commitment to a step—by—step denuclearisation of the korean peninsula. now it is time look at the stories that are making the headlines in media across the world. we begin with politico's main story "italy gets populist government" is its headline. it explains all that might bring, including, not least, clashes with brussels over the eu budget.

on to the business insider, covering kimjong—un‘s growing list of meetings with foreign officials. it shows the north korean leader welcoming the russian foreign minister to pyongyang, but there's a bit of intrigue. just what is the mystery box sergei lavrov handed over? here's the sun, and could another puzzle be nearer to getting solved? its article reckons the uk's now mulling the idea of giving northern ireland joint eu and uk status to solve the trade problem posed by the irish border. the daily telegraph among many outlets covering a big health story. its front page describes a new cancer blood test as a "holy grail" and explains it could show early warning signs for ten types of tumour years before someone falls ill. and finally, on to time magazine's special issue on drones.

from the threats they pose to the lives they save and everything in between. and, yes, they're drones on the cover photograph — almost 1,000 of them. so let's begin. with me is lawrence gosling, editor—in—chief of what investment. good to see you, we've had a few charts over the italian conundrum, or will run the country, and the crew to get his chance at last? he does the former government, having snatched away from early in the week and the irony is the stumbling