this is the business briefing, i'm sally bundock. the world's biggest miner, bhp billiton, saw a 37% drop in net profit. we dig deep into the numbers to find out what drove earnings lower. president trump says he doesn't expect much to come out of upcoming talks with china on tariffs. but one family—run business in singapore is caught in the crossfire of the trade war. we look at how smaller businesses across asia are coping. and on the markets: in asia, you can see both are in asia, you can see both are headed in asia, you can see both are headed higher, in japan in asia, you can see both are headed higher, injapan and hong kong. that is the story across the region. we will talk is the story across the region. we will talk you is the story across the region. we will talk you through is the story across the region. we will talk you through the is the story across the region. we will talk you through the reasons why, that was the close the night before in the us. the commodities industry is not a happy place at the moment.

the sell—off in emerging markets has spilled into commodities, hitting prices of key resources from copper to oil. the world's largest mining company has reported a 37% drop in its full—year net profits. bhp billiton was hurt by impairments related to costs associated with the samarco mine disaster in brazil. it also didn't too well from the sale of its us shale oil and gas assets. injuly bhp sold them for $10.8 billion to bp, bowing to shareholder pressure to ditch what some called a disastrous investment. if those problems are taken out, the miner actually saw profits rise by 33%. but commodity prices have been falling. there are concerns that a clamping down on credit in china, the world's biggest user of raw materials, will have a knock—on effect.

shares in many metals like copper and iron have dropped sharply since the start of the year. paul renken, a senior geologist and mining analyst, joins me now. good morning. thank you for being on the briefing. give us your take on how bhp billiton is doing. the briefing. give us your take on how bhp billiton is doingm the briefing. give us your take on how bhp billiton is doing. it is very much steady as she goes, as you pointed out, they had some i—off items which affected the net profit figures for this particular year, with the right backs for the cost of the samarco disaster as well as some other items. the other thing is that costs are rising as far as internal costs are rising as far as internal cost of production, whether it is iron ore, copper, orwhatever. otherwise the company is showing discipline pretty well. so i am not too concerned. it is pretty much where i expected. andrew mckenzie,

the chief executive, talking to the press after the earnings came out, mentioned a few issues. one of them was his concern about the impact of the trade tariffs that have been slapped on goods between the us and china. what are your thoughts on that, and how it might impact bhp billiton? it is not the tariffs themselves which would be bhp billiton‘s concerned, it is the fact that the cost for the chinese economy in general as far as total gdp is concerned, the gdp rate will be going down, the manufacturing rate for orders out of china will be going down, and since bhp billiton provides the raw material for those orders it needs less sales, and therefore lower revenues. for bhp billiton, for rio tinto, its rival, the chinese economy is the biggest client. it is so important how well china does. that is correct. and with that, the stronger the chinese economy is, as far as manufacturing, the better the raw material rates

should be for the metals themselves. and in terms of the movement in commodity prices, we know they go up and down. currently some of the main commodities are on the way down again. the impact for bhp? you will see a weakening as far as total reve nu es see a weakening as far as total revenues are concerned , see a weakening as far as total revenues are concerned, which means some profits will be lower. but managing those issues fairly well. there doesn't appear to be any special items which have to be worried about. and was it right to sell it shale assets to ep as well? it has passed on some of that cash to shareholders with a high dividend, which i imagine they will be quite happy with. yes, again there was that particular group of shareholders which didn't feel that the us onshore assets were appropriate for bhp, and therefore they were happy to see it. thank you very much for coming in. just to say that after they announced the results, shares were down something

like 1.5% results, shares were down something likei.5% in results, shares were down something like 1.5% in australia. it is notjust china or the us that are caught up in this trade war. asian economies are intricately linked to china's fortunes through their highly connected supply chains, and what hurts beijing can also hurt countries further afield, like south korea, taiwan or singapore, from where our asia business correspondent karishma vaswani sent us this report. in the 50 years he has run this business, this man hasn't seen anything quite like this. he and his daughter, joyce, are trying to figure out how their family business can avoid becoming a potential casualty of the us—china trade war. they make speakers in this factory in singapore, and also have factories in vietnam and china. the worst case is you impose a 25% tariff... now they have found out that the equipment they make in their chinese factory is on the latest list of chinese goods the us is targeting. if these tariffs come into effect, their chinese—made speakers could be

up to 25% more expensive for american customers. we are sandwiched. we have a little voice, like, our voices will drown out. hopefully it finds its way to somewhere, and this threat will cease, but we're not sure. anything can happen, so as a business we have to be prepared for the worst. the predictions are dire. singapore alone could see up to a percentage point of its economic growth shaved off this year if these tensions turn into an all—out trade war, and around the region, the numbers are almost as bad. there are many things we can do together... but, as singapore's trade minister told me, the bigger threat to the global economy is lurking in the background. if global confidence is shaken, if it's impacted negatively, and everyone withholds their investment, then i think we will suffer quite serious consequences for the entire global economy. international trade,

goods being manufactured and moved across the world, has been the lifeline notjust for singapore but this entire region. it has transformed asia from an economic backwater into being front and centre on the world map of trade. but now, asia is stuck in the middle, caught up in a fight between the world's two superpowers, and all businesses here could do is stand on the sidelines and watch. now let's brief you on some other business stories: us president donald trump has accused china of manipulating its currency to combat us tariffs. the accusation, made in an interview with reuters news agency, resembles claims mr trump made during his 2016 campaign but had avoided more recently. it comes as the two countries prepare to meet in washington this week to discuss the ongoing trade fight. just 6% of people in the uk now work 9:00am to 5:00pm, a yougov survey has found. almost half of people work flexibly with arrangements such as job sharing or compressed hours,

allowing them to juggle other commitments, the survey found. donald trump has, well, trumpeted the state of the us economy under his leadership. indeed, much of the us economy has boomed during the trump administration. but are average people feeling the benefit? the bbc‘s paul blake has been looking at one number that seems stuck, potentially holding down the american consumer. we have the greatest economy we've ever had. we have the best numbers, where setting records in every respect. —— we're setting records. the us economy is booming, the president is right about that, but our average americans feeling any of the benefit? wages for the first time in 18 years are rising again. wages have been stagnant for decades, but let's just look at the last five years.

overall a decent picture, some ups and downs, but it is generally heading north. in fact, since last year, wages are up 2.7%. we have so manyjobs coming in, but they're raising wages. but here is the problem — that is what we call nominal wage nominal wage growth, where they haven't factored in inflation. in fact, over the past year, average prices for consumers have gone up 2.8%, so while the numbers on americans' paycheques might look like they are going up, when you factor in costs, wages are effectively flat. let's look at that nominal wage growth graph again. now let's adjusted for inflation. it is not a good look. our economy is soaring, and we are creating opportunity for everyone. so what is driving up prices? i am for massive oil and gas, and everything else, and a lot of energy. it is mainly oil prices. they have shot up in part because of the situations in venezuela and the middle east. and then there is the iran deal, with trump pulling out of it and slapping new sanctions

on the country. it is likely that global supplies of oil are going to be tightened even further, driving up prices at the pump and in the checkout. i've been here a little more than 1.5 years and we've had record numbers. we have had numbers that nobody believed possible. so the best numbers — i guess it depends on which ones you are looking at. that's it for the business briefing this hour. but before we go, here are the markets: asi as i mentioned, we are seeing a positive session for most markets around asia. basically the hope is that trade hostilities will be dialled back as those officials meet later this week in washington, chinese and american officials. i will see you soon. up next: newsbriefing.

calls are being made for tougher regulations on bailiffs, amid claims that british households are behind on essential bills to the tune of nearly £19 billion. the charity citizens advice says it receives a call every three minutes asking for help with sometimes aggressive bailiff situations. the civil enforcement association says it only collects 18% of the overall debt owed, and that bailiffs are trained. simon gompertz reports. when bailiffs are called them, charges can escalate, and there is the fear that belongings will be taken, with arrears on household bills rising stubbornly, even more people are in danger. in the last five years, household debts including council tax, energy bills

and even parking fines have risen by 40% to an annual £18.9 billion, while problems with bailiffs have tripled to 90,000 a year, and that is just complaints to citizens advice. people have told the charity they are scared to open their doors because of aggressive tactics from bailiffs, even having things removed from their homes while they are ill, which is why citizens advice is calling for an independent regulator for bailiffs. household debt is increasing, and referral to bailiffs is as well. in 2017, two .3 million referrals were made to bailiffs, and at the receiving end of that our families and households who are intimidated and worried and concerned that they are building up even more debt, rather than finding a way out. council say they are protecting vital services like elderly care when they use bailiffs to retrieve money. even so, the ministry ofjustice is launching a call for evidence on bailiffs, and has promised to take action if necessary. and coming up at 6:00am on breakfast: dan walker

and louise minchin will have all the day's news, business and sport. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: venezuela's neighbours say they are struggling to cope as more and more migrants flee the country's economic crisis. the aid operation accelerates in the indian state of kerala. more than a million people are living in relief camps. now it's time to look at the stories making the headlines across the world. we begin with the guardian's website, and british foreign secretaryjeremy hunt's first visit to the us as the country's top diplomat. the headline says mr hunt is expected to call on trump to impose fresh sanctions on russia. the front page of the ft is leading with venezuela's 95% currency devaluation.

five zeros were lopped off the updated bolivar, which begins circulating today. on bbcnews.com a warning to those in the uk working in jobs vulnerable to artificial intelligence or ai takeover. the chief economist of the bank of england says britain needs a skills revolution to avoid swathes of people becoming technologically unemployed. and finally in the daily telegraph, goldman sachs becomes the first company in the uk to pay to courier new mothers' breast milk home from anywhere in the world while they are away on business. american firms such as twitter, ibm and accenture already offer the milk—shipping service to staff inside the us. so let's begin.

with me is maike currie an investment director at fidelity personal investing.