this is business live from bbc news with maryam moshiri and sally bundock. the world's biggest miner, bhp billiton, sees a 37% drop in net profit. we dig into the numbers to find out what drove earnings lower. live from london, that's our top story on tuesday, 21st august. fears over trade wars and a slow down in the biggest users of raw materials. china are fanning fears that the industry could see more rocky times ahead. also in the programme: president trump accuses beijing of currency manipulation to combat us tariffs on some chinese products, as a further $16 billion worth are due to come into force. markets europe looking better.

also, in the programme, markets in europe are looking better. and, the art of crockery, these british designs are proving particularly popular, especially across the pond. we'll find out why and how portmeirion plans to expand further. a new survey shows the traditional nine—to—five job is now far from the norm. we want to know, do you still work nine—to—five? are those set hours outdated? let us know, just use the hashtag #bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. the commodities industry is not a happy place at the moment. the world's largest mining company has reported a 37% drop in its full year net profits. bhp billiton was hurt by costs 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 removed, 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 gait, senior research analyst at bernstein good to see you, i have looked at bhp billiton shares trading in london, down nearly 2%, your take? slight miss, consensus expectations, looking elsewhere, i don't think

this is associated with the impairments and the one of items we have seen, that you alluded to, most people have those in their numbers already, most people understood what the situation was. with the sale of the situation was. with the sale of the onshore us assets. that was old news, what people were looking at this morning with some of the cost inflation that is starting to come through in the system. they are looking at some of the language around productivity guidance. trimming that back a little bit. that makes people more cautious on the cost line and at the same time, the cost line and at the same time, the points you flag around the risks oi'i the points you flag around the risks on trade wars, the impact of that on global gdp, tiny us tensions and the potential slowdown in the chinese economy. more around the macro economic situation, coupled with decelerating productivity line from bhp that has really driven this response this morning. the chief executive, speaking to the press afterwards, highlighted some of theseissues afterwards, highlighted some of these issues that you have mentioned, talking about concerns

about the trade war going on between the us and china, to what extent would that impact bhp billiton if it got worse? at the moment we are not seeing the impact, it is not impacting underlying fundamental demand for commodities, they are still supportive, but we are seeing a shift in sentiment, a shift in the expectations people might have about what the next year or two is going to look like and we have seen that reflected in commodities prices at the moment. clearly, anything that shows a percent or two of gdp growth, that is clearly a big issue. they are very sensitive to macroeconomic sentiment, as articulated through commodities prices. very sensitive to whatever happens in china and what decisions are made their about future expansion, when it comes to the chinese economy, will we ever get to the point where bhp billiton and rivalry tinto are not so dependent upon china? it is fundamentally a

developing market story, about urbanisation, moving people out of poverty, infrastructure, creating the fundamentals of wealth. to the extent one is looking at china, still a long way to go. looks like short—term headwinds but fundamentally, the growth in the chinese economy over the medium to longer term is robust. after that, you have the development of india, the development of the rest of asia, you have latin america, you have africa, these are all places where there is huge pent—up demand for raw materials. over the longer term, there will be a shifting in focus away from china on to developing markets. any fears around the long—term decline and demand form commodities are deeply mistaken. thank you very much, good analysis, good to see how companies like bhp billiton are doing. now, some of the other stories making headlines. the uk brexit secretary dominic raab is heading to brussels for the latest round of negotiations

with eu chief negotiator michel barnier. the british government says it will be quote "resolving the few remaining withdrawal issues". the uk's international trade secretary is expected to say that britain can become a 21st century exporting super power. detailing the government's post—brexit ambitions, liam fox is expected to say he wants exports as a proportion of gdp to rise from 30% to 35%. just 6% of people in the uk now work nine—to—five, a new survey has found. almost half of people work flexibly with arrangements such as job sharing or compressed hours, allowing them tojuggle other commitments. what is a nine to five?” what is a nine to five? i have no idea! that is the question we are asking you. so many already in touch, we will discuss those comments a little later on. the war of words between washington and beijing continues, with us president donald trump

accusing china of manipulating its currency. he said the move was to combat us tariffs, with another $16 billion worth set to come into force later in the week. sharanjit leyl is in singapore. this is something he said a lot on the campaign trail, now he is back on the currency manipulator agenda. that is right, the accusation was made in an interview with the reuters news agency, it comes at a time when the two countries are preparing to meet in washington to discuss ongoing trade fight, many doubting that the talks, which this time involve lower—level officials, will be successful at defusing tensions. he had pretty much said as much, saying he did not expect much to come out of this meeting which we know of followers failed negotiations back in spring. no evidence china is actually doing such a thing, according to most

economists, they blame it on the strength of the us dollar. this is ata time strength of the us dollar. this is at a time of uncertainty with tariffs, the us dollar is seen as a safe haven, that is why the greenback has risen against a majority of other currencies, including the euro. thank you very much indeed. hopes of some progress in averting further trade tension between china and the us helped push up markets. though comments from president trump accusing china of manipulating its currency to make up for paying tariffs on us exports weighed on the dollar. the stronger euro is not really helping here. and kim gittleson has the details of what's ahead on wall street today. on tuesday, we will be looking to see if there is any reaction on wall street to president donald trump's decision to once more criticise america's central bank. in an interview with reuters released late on monday, president donald trump said that he was not thrilled the chair

of the federal reserve] powell for his decision to increase interest rates and he added that he thought he should be given some help by the fed. these are the second such critical comments the president has made this summer regarding america's central bank which is politically independent. any political interference in central banking is often seen as taboo. yet president donald trump has remained firm in his decision to criticise the fed for its policy on increasing interest rates as the us economy continues to grow. that could be worrying to some on wall street. simon derrick, chief markets strategist, bank of new york mellon. talking about the issue you are talking to us about in the green room, donald trump has been criticising the third, what did you make of what he had to say? first

things first, back of the campaign trail, he had a go at janet yellen, talking about low interest rates... in many ways it has been quite surprising that for 18 months he has said nothing of the timing of this is absolutely key, one of the reasons why the dollar has been so strong is interest rates are going up, currency strong is interest rates are going up, currency more strong is interest rates are going up, currency more attractive from a yield perspective, and right now, the dollar has frozen, so everyone is thinking, notjust the dollar has frozen, so everyone is thinking, not just against the chinese currency but also against the euro. he is concerned that the hike in interest rates is sending it even higher. do you think timing is anything to do with the central bankers summit that takes place at the end of the week? is it a bit of a coincidence, and reuters journalist were just probing? timing is key, both from jackson, because this is the annual symposium that takes place when the fed get—together. takes place when the fed get-together. bankers as well. in

particular, getting real steer, as to what the fed is likely to do in the coming months, always a speech from the fed chairperson. it is important, but it is also important when we get a trade delegation coming from china, of course, talk is, they want to bring pressure to bear on china to get the currency to appreciate. all these things coming together at exactly the same time. how much pressure will it take? the fed will ignore the president entirely, they need to be entirely independent, once the independence of the central bank is compromised or believed to be compromised, it takes a long time for that confidence to come back in the markets, they will not want to do anything to dent that. thank you for now, now, idon't anything to dent that. thank you for now, now, i don't believe that you work nine to five? i never have, what a way to make a living(!) as dolly parton would sing. we will

unpack that further. still to come. cracking the crockery market, one british company is going from strength to strength. we'll find out what's behind their success. you're with business live from bbc news. the weather is always blamed for everything but warmer summer weather has actually helped boost supermarket sales in the uk, through tough times. tesco and sainsbury‘s both lost market share to their rivals, according to research from kantar worldpanel. sainsbury‘s market share fell by 0.4% in the 12 weeks to 12th august, while tesco's dropped by 0.5% during the same period. for more on this, we're joined by nicla di palma, who's a retail analyst at brewin dolphin. thank you forjoining us, talk us through what this shows? there is strength in the hot weather, but some supermarkets failing to capitalise? indeed, and i think this

is something we have been seeing for a long time. labour is really strong. obviously, opening new stores, but for tesco and sainsbury, is it that bad? the numbers are up, still losing share, from an investment point of view, what we look at is actually the top line. losing share matters, up to a certain point. these numbers are quite volatile, month to we said, the weather has a massive impact. july, really strong, last month, up 3.6. this month, up 3.5, really big numbers. obviously, the weather has had a big impact. why do you think sainsbury‘s did so poorly this time around? sainsbury‘s did so poorly this time around ? worst sainsbury‘s did so poorly this time around? worst performer of the country's big four supermarkets. hot

on the heels of sainsbury‘s announcement they are buying as the? sainsbury's has not invested that much in discount brands. -- asda. tesco have the so—called farm brands. asda has what they call the farm stores, they have invested quite a lot for that of also a little bit of distraction from management. argos and now asda. i would say it is temporary, they are oi'i would say it is temporary, they are on the ball, the managers of the big supermarkets. thank you so much for joining us. house of fraser on oxford street will be staying open, it has been saved from closure. you can read more about that online. you're watching business live. our top story:

the world's biggest mining company posts a net profit drop of 37%. bhp billiton, mainly due to various one of items like payments related to the mining disaster in brazil, among other matters, and shares are down around 2% today in london. the tradition of having a good dinner set at home for serving meals is helping the global ceramics market go from strength to strength. around the world, ceramic tableware is valued at almost $60 billion a year and is expected to reach $75 billion over the next four years. here in the uk, some of of the most famous brands include spode and royal worcester, both of which have been around since the 1700s and are made by the firm portmeirion. it employs more than 750 staff here in the uk and has recently seen its sales jump up more than 21% in the past six months. dick steele is the chairman of portmeirion group. welcome. we also have some crockery.

welcome. we also have some crockery. we are surrounded by very lovely crockery. just tell us about a company that is so well established, such a strong brand, been around for decades, how the company continues to remain at the forefront, cutting—edge, when it has been around for that long? there are two important words to do with portmeirion, heritage and innovation. we were founded as portmeirion group in 1961, susan williams ellis, when the portmeirion village in north wales, susan pinter —— susan came to stoke, she could not find what she wanted, and we

have gone from strength to strength, in1972, have gone from strength to strength, in 1972, susan designed the botanic garden brand of pottery which is one of the biggest brands in the world, must be 100 million pieces out in the world at the moment on shelves, in dishwashers, on tables. my in—laws had it on their wedding list, 50 years ago, they still have the set. i am really pleased. it is still a £30 million a year product to us and we put new things into it every year and that is innovation matched with their heritage. we also own royal worcester, you have a beautiful piece in front of you, the cup, a piece of what i would call celebratory work made for morgan on their 100th anniversary, a piece of bone china, made in stoke, not in oui’ bone china, made in stoke, not in our factory. you mentioned heritage, innovation, both very important, but to what extent does the heritage

elements supersede innovation, made in britain, when it comes to things like pottery, in markets like the us, canada, and asia, that has a big standing? it does. we sell a lot in korea and considering they were fine potters while we were still painting ourselves blue, it is a great compliment to us. we sell a lot of botanic garden in korea and blue italian, an old pattern established in 1816. finest english earthenware manufactured in our pottery in stoke. you have a piece of portmeirion porcelain, sophie for portmeirion, 2006 pattern, that has

taken very well. how worried are you given that you have a big market in the us, a potential trade war, tariffs, and europe is a market for you, are you worried about brexit, two issues looming on the horizon? they are items of uncertainty and business hates uncertainty and all we can do is contingency plan and hope that we get it right. the us is oui’ hope that we get it right. the us is our first hope that we get it right. the us is ourfirst or hope that we get it right. the us is our first or second—biggest market, depending on how the year goes, and it is very big for us at christmas. europe is increasingly important market for us. yesterday i had my two old est market for us. yesterday i had my two oldest grandson is to stay and i was looking after them while my wife was looking after them while my wife was at a funeral and my youngest, potty training, which means i have to watch him all the time. if we had an accident, it was my fault, not his fault. that is like planning the brexit. you have to cover the

angles, make sure you ask him if he needs to go, put a towel under him when he goes to sleep on the sofa, stay on top of the problem. when he goes to sleep on the sofa, stay on top of the problemm when he goes to sleep on the sofa, stay on top of the problem. it is going to be messy! if we plan properly, we can avoid the mess. you have factories in the uk, sophie conran, that is in china, but how likely is it you will be able to continue producing in the uk after we leave the eu? almost certainly. there was a big cachet to made in britain. you have worked extensively with many very well—known high street retailers in the uk, a comment about the crisis on the high street? it is changing but it was a lwa ys street? it is changing but it was always changing and they will adapt and they will have to learn to adapt. chairman of the many, dick steele, thank you for coming on and running your crockery. we have managed to keep it intact, despite

the mayhem in the studio. we have previous on that! donald trump has trumpeted the state of the us economy under his leadership, as the us economy seems to go from strength to strength. the bbc s paul blake has been looking at one crucial number that seems stuck, potentially holding down the american consumer. 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 generally heading north. in fact, since last year, wages are up 2.7%. we have so manyjobs now coming in, they are raising wages. here is the problem. that is what we call nominal wage growth, meaning we haven't adjusted for inflation or the ever—rising prices of everyday goods. and by the way, do you see the prices? in fact, over the past year, average prices for consumers have gone up 2.8%, so while the numbers on america's paycheques may 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 adjust it for inflation, it's not a good look. our economy has soared and we are creating opportunities for everyone. so, what is driving up prices? i am for massive oil and gas and everything else and a lot of energy. it's mainly oil prices. they've 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's likely global supply levels of oil are going to be tightened even further, driving up prices at the pump and in the checkout. simon is back to look through the papers. before we talk about working nine to five, interesting article in the financial times, crisis in venezuela, president taking steps to devalue the currency, but a lot of scepticism about this. disaster is happening, as simple as that. the

imf is forecasting 1,000,000% inflation this year. might as well rip up the banknotes. some weird crypto currency but that the somebody described it as pegging to unicorns, ridiculous. they can use the dollar as the currency or do what hong kong does, but they need to regain the trust of the markets in the central bank, just like we we re in the central bank, just like we were talking about the fed.|j in the central bank, just like we were talking about the fed. i have been dying to talk about this, nine to five, never something for me, i am reading now it is not something the many people in the uk. the survey showing only 6%, 7%, off workers in the uk work nine to five. what is changing in the work environment for that to happen?” think first of all there have always beenjobs think first of all there have always been jobs that not nine to five,

mine has never been nine to five, i accepted that. what has changed is technology and it has put us in a place whereby you are naturally in a place whereby you are naturally in a place whereby you are naturally in a place where you work at weekends, holidays, late at night. and you can work effectively from home as well, you do not have to be in the office. it depends what you do. we cannot do that, but a lot of people can work from home, good old band, laptop. absolutely. in fairness, a good connection, decent phone, ability to be able to type the appropriate a nswe i’s , be able to type the appropriate answers, i do that over time. we have had so many responses, i guess iam in have had so many responses, i guess i am in the minority, i come into work an hour earlier, but it is a personal choice to avoid the rush hour. gavin says, i know no outside of the public sector who works at 95 u nless of the public sector who works at 95 unless they are contracted or work part—time. another says, it is the

best thing i ever did. maybe the hours, working the appropriate set of hours, but i do not think doing nine untilfive of hours, but i do not think doing nine until five is of hours, but i do not think doing nine untilfive is best. in london, travelling then, you will be in the rush—hour both ends. travelling then, you will be in the rush-hour both ends. very stressful. i have been into work in the rush hour and dolly pa rton i have been into work in the rush hour and dolly parton is apparently in talks to make a sequel, seven until three! what a way to make a living. simon, as always, lovely to have you on. thank you for your comments. we can carry on the debate on twitter. we will carry on, no doubt. see you soon. like yesterday morning, rather

cloudy and mild and muggy start of the day for many, patchy drizzle and mist on coastal areas. this was the scene in eastbourne this morning. i am hopeful the cloud at least the england and wales will break up sufficiently to give us sunny spells this afternoon. mostly dry day as well. high—pressure holding on across southern parts. a weather system in the north—west eventually bringing thicker cloud across scotla nd bringing thicker cloud across scotland and northern ireland and by this evening outbreaks of rain. a few showers ahead of that in western scotland, and grizzly showers for england and wales gradually disappearing. giving us warm and sunny spells this afternoon. still quite warm and muggy in scotland, northern ireland, despite the club, but through tonight, rain getting going across scotland and northern

ireland. —— despite the cloud. mild and muggy night for many again with temperatures not falling below 14-16. the temperatures not falling below 14—16. the rain in scotland and northern ireland will gradually work south and east on wednesday. the cold front pushing south. rain for a time across northern ireland and scotla nd time across northern ireland and scotland before it clears and sunny spells developing here, but quite wet for much of the day across northern england, wales, maybe even south—west england later on wednesday. southeast, dry, fairly bright with sunshine. temperatures even higher, up to 27. further north, a fresher feel because the air slowly coming north, a fresher feel because the airslowly coming in north, a fresher feel because the air slowly coming in from the north west. thursday, the one weather system west. thursday, the one weather syste m goes west. thursday, the one weather system goes to the south—east, another behind, and it is that one introducing much cooler air coming in across the uk. the orange turns

to blue. temperatures taking a dip on thursday, still rain in the south—east of england, that will mostly clear, outbreaks of rain in scotla nd mostly clear, outbreaks of rain in scotland and northern ireland and sunny spells for many on thursday, but temperatures down at 15, 16 in northern parts, 22 in the south—east. warm and quite humid at the moment but turning fresher by the moment but turning fresher by the end of the week. hello it's tuesday, it's 9 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire, welcome to the programme. this programme has been told exclusively that three quarters of maternity units in the uk aren't following official guidelines and offering women who are anxious about giving birth the option of a cesearean. iremember my i remember my daughter being placed on my stomach, after giving birth to her, and then suddenly, a red sheet just... just completely soaked the

bed, and then i was rushed to theatre. we'll bring you our exclusive film in 15 minutes' time. were you anxious about childbirth? were you offered a c—section? let us know your own experience this morning email victoria@bbc.co.uk or text.