this is the business briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. uber narrows its losses but is still burning through millions of dollars a day. so can the popular ride—hailing firm break even before going public? the world's biggest bricks and mortar retailer — walmart — has been spending big — but will it put a dent in the firm's latest profits? one of the world's biggest ride—hailing apps, uber, has managed to narrow its losses but it's still a long way from turning a profit. at the moment it's a private firm —

so it's not required to give financial data — but in a move to boost transparency its released its latest numbers. (mix screen 2) in the three months to the ofjune uber made a loss of almost $900—million dollars. —— in the three months to the ofjune uber made a loss of almost $900 million dollars. it's an improvement on the same time last year — where it lost $i.i—billion. but revenue growth slowed for the firm — and it faces big challenges in cities like new york which has capped the number of licences for ride hailing services over the next year. uber was recently valued at $72 billion making it one of the most valuable privately held companies in the world. but as our north america technology reporter dave lee explains — the firm is under great pressure to become more profitable as it gears up to go public. uber is of course a private company which means it doesn't have to release its finances to anyone other than its private investors but the

firm is trying to be more transparent and that is because they are planning on hitting the public markets in the future but investors in the company i worry that some of the recent troubles for the firm mean when it goes public, the value could be considerably lower than where it is now, which is $70 billion but there is good news in these latest figures. bookings are up these latest figures. bookings are ‘7 these latest figures. bookings are up 6% on the last quarter and that means year—on—year, bookings are up by 40%. means year—on—year, bookings are up by a0%. that includes both bookings for car journeys by a0%. that includes both bookings for carjourneys and also from uber eats, the compa ny‘s for carjourneys and also from uber eats, the company's food delivery service but there are areas of this business bringing huge losses, most notably the self driving car programme which is getting through around $1 million — $2 million every single day but not bringing too much on the way of results. the self driving car project was involved in a fatal crash earlier this year. axing the project would of course

save an awful lot of money for uber but it is seen as an important part of the business so you would wonder if saving the money now that the company itself at risk further down the line. david lee the bbc news, in san francisco. the world's biggest bricks and mortar retailer — walmart — is releasing its latest numbers in a few hours. the retail giant has been splashing the cash buying up big — and is warning the spending spree may have eaten into profits. in may, walmart announced it would pay $16 billion for a 77% stake in india's biggest online retail company — flipkart —allowing it to go head—to—head with amazon in the lucrative indian market. flipkart, allowing it to go head—to—head with amazon in the lucrative indian market. the company has also been heavily investing into e—commerce projects. walmart predicts 40% increase in e—commerce investment by the end of next year. but it looks like all the recent spending has weighed on walmart‘s share price.

after rising by about half in 2017, the firm's shares have dropped more than 10% so far this year. bryan roberts is the global insight director at the retail marketing firm tcc global. you've been following walmart for yea rs. you've been following walmart for years. what you expect from its figures today? their profitability will be impacted by lots of these investments. not just will be impacted by lots of these investments. notjust overseas but also that acquired four or five different e—commerce businesses in the united states, and there are lots of other headwinds as well. some of import prices, for example. it's quite frustrating for walmart —— walmart. despite all of the attention being put onto e—commerce ventures, they are doing well in america. interestingly, every time they report, e—commerce sales are

seeing as slightly slowing down, it reacts unfavourably. it's a small pa rt reacts unfavourably. it's a small part of their earnings. the share price sees bad news. are expecting any merge between asda in the uk. and sainsbury‘s. any merge between asda in the uk. and sainsbury's. it is still in the hands of the regulators. a lot of conjecture about the significant merger in the uk. the best case and will be 50, 60,70 merger in the uk. the best case and will be 50, 60, 70 store disposals. it really marks a big change in —— an approach to global retailing. all three of those businesses have been

withdrawing from lots of international markets. the simple fa ct of international markets. the simple fact of the matter is, it's not as easy as ron thought. china was very difficult. russia was very difficult to get into. india has put strict regulations into overseas retailers coming in. walmart, despite all of its best intentions, which explains why pay the hefty pricetag as potential majority stake. really interesting. now let's brief you on some other business stories. shares in the chinese technology giant tencent fell 5% during trade in hong kong after it reported its first quarterly profit fall in nearly 13 years. the firm also said it dosn't know if it will get chinese approval for its most popular game — monster hunter world.

china will send a a top negotiator to the us later this month to resume trade talks. it will be the first public meeting in weeks — as the trade conflict intensifies. china says it opposes trade protectionism and does not accept unilateral restriction measures. new zealand's parliament has banned many foreigners from buying existing homes in the country — a move aimed at making properties more affordable. low interest rates, limited housing stock and immigration have been blamed for driving up prices in recent years. next week, greece is due to emerge from its final international bailout deal. while it's a symbolic end to the country's financial crisis — greece's economy is still fragile. three years ago — as a condition to an eu bailout — the country agreed to privatise a number of assets — including the piraeus porth authority.

but as philip hampsheir reports — the move remains a controversial one. piraeus has been athens's main gateway to the season subleased 500 bc but more recently, in 2016, it was privatised under pressure from those involved in the greek bailout, a35 those involved in the greek bailout, a 35 year lease sold to chinese company cosco. this man works for the piraeus port authority and says the piraeus port authority and says the investment by cosco and facilities is already paying dividends in terms of growth and jobs. it's not an accident that before the management change, the largest quantity of containers that had ever been protest —— process was

1.6 million. now we are exceeding four million and we have continued to grow in the cargo area. piraeus is your‘s first major port immediately after the suez canal. it is the main entry point into the continent for cargo that wants to get into the balkans or the eastern end of the european union. it is experiencing phenomenal growth right now. it is the second—largest port the mediterranean but despite all about, not everyone is happy. george gorgos is being a representative and system port did not have the funds required for expansion. it was a lwa ys required for expansion. it was always possible, it was never subsidised by the state. it was a lwa ys subsidised by the state. it was always given to the national budget. all these investments that took

place, it was out of work people working here and that of the profits of the organisation. cosco's initial release on piraeus runs at 35 years, not giving them long to make a return all the money they are investing in the port, unless they can getan investing in the port, unless they can get an extension. the markets: concerns in the us about the trade conflict between china and the us and also the turkish financial turmoil having a negative impact on markets across the board. coming up next, the papers. rail unions have clashed with the government,

after a call by the transport secretary to change the way annual fare increases are calculated. the transport secretary chris grayling has suggested linking them to the lower rate of inflation, cpi, rather than the higher rpi. the rmt union said it was an attempt to impose a pay cap on its members. tom burridge reports. commuters crammed into a rickety old carriage. i pay just commuters crammed into a rickety old carriage. i payjust over £1000 a year. john has two kids and commutes from outside wigan into manchester. it's absolutely horrendous. sometimes one train turns up, sometimes they don't. now his season ticket could cost an extra £32 next yearin ticket could cost an extra £32 next year in line with inflation. remember, this is august, when things are supposed to be quiet but after half an hour of ourjourney, it was standing room only and remember, these passengers have suffered weeks of disruption with

cancellations and delays. at the end of january‘s rail they arise, cancellations and delays. at the end ofjanuary‘s rail they arise, the government has suggested a lower measure of inflation, the consumer price index, rather than the retail price index, should be used in future to produce smaller increases to ticket prices but it says costs, like rail workers wages, should go up like rail workers wages, should go up at like rail workers wages, should go upata like rail workers wages, should go up at a lower rate. salary amounts to the half the cost of the industry asa to the half the cost of the industry as a whole sea can't make adjustments without working with the unions. undersupported they just said no, we want our members to have higher pay rises than anybody else. the unions say the idea is a bad joke. labour agrees. chris grayling then trying to blame rail workers is absurd. it's his decision, his decision to keep this privatised network in operation and there are a lot of people making a lot of money out of it and a lot of commuters paying a lot more to travel. with more of is the using the trains, the conundrum is who should pay for a better, affordable service? this is the briefing from bbc news.

the latest headlines: two women charged with murdering the half brother of north korea's leader are due to find out if their trial is to continue. they are accused of smearing a lethal nerve agent on kim jong—nam's face in malaysia last year. they say they thought they were playing roles in a prank tv show. the italian government has declared a state of emergency after the motorway bridge collapse in genoa that killed at least 39 people. five million euros will be freed from central funds to address more possible infrastructure failures. about 15 vehicles are still under the rubble. the former cia director, john brennan, who's been a vocal critic of the white house, has had his security clearance removed on the orders of the president. a spokeman for mr trump also gave a list of other high—profile critics who may get the same treatment. now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media

across the world. we begin with the telegraph, and the decision made by us president donald trump to revoke the security clearance of former cia director, john brennan. mr brennan is a vocal critic of the president on national security issues. guardian financial pages look at how qatar has pledged to shore up turkey's banking sector with loans worth $15 billion. the country's weakened currency, the lira, has also been helped by moves to increase tariffs on us imports. the new york times says ride—hailing company uber has posted a loss of $891 million for the second quarter. uber‘s losses have widened after spending on food delivery, bike sharing and expansion in competitive international markets. in the ft, new zealand has banned foreigners from buying existing residential property. one of the reasons behind the move is to stop the global super—rich snapping up luxury estates in the hope of securing a bolt—hole in case of global catastrophe.

and finally, on the front of the independent is a picture of the queen of pop herself, madonna, who turns 60 today. can you believe it! considered one of the greatest selling artists of all times she is also recognised for her life long work in campaigning for aids awareness and research. so, let's begin. with me is mark davies, who's ceo of strategy consultancy, camberton. mark, first of all, let's talk about the front page of the telegraph. security clearance revoked for cia directorjohn brennan. this is a move donald trump says is about national security. clearly not.