this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. facebook watch goes global. but can it take on netflix, youtube and amazon in the booming business of video streaming? default fears return, as argentina tells the imf to speed up payment of a $50 billion loan, sending the peso to a new record low. and on the markets: asian stocks rise after more record highs for the s&p and nasdaq, as us economic growth is revised higher, and hopes grow for a succesful renegotiation of the north america free trade agreement. we start with facebook.

it's already far and away the world's top social network, with two billion users. but can it take on youtube, netflix and amazon in the booming business of video streaming? today it rolls out its own streaming service, facebook watch, around the world. it's been up and running in the us for the past year but it's had a bit of a slow start. only around 14% of americans are using it at least once a week. it has funded a few original shows but most content providers aren't being paid upfront. instead they get a 55% share of the advertising revenue. the stakes are high — the global video streaming market is growing at 10% a year, and pricewaterhousecoopers estimates it will be worth more than $58 billion in the next four years. facebook‘s reputation as a trustworthy source of information has of course taken

a pounding in recent months, forcing ceo mark zuckerberg to apologize before the us senate earlier this year. it is clear now we did not do enough to prevent these tools to be used harm as well, fake news, hate speech, as well as data privacy. we did not take a broad and a few of oui’ did not take a broad and a few of our responsibility and that was a big mistake. and it was my mistake. i am sorry. i started, run and am responsible for facebook. tim mulligan is research director at midia research. good morning. that is a reminder of the last year that facebook has had. a turbulent and a difficult year.

what will facebook watch investors make of this news today? if investors have the luxury of thinking ahead to five years, this isa thinking ahead to five years, this is a significant development for facebook as a company. it matters because as you have correctly identified in your introduction, facebook has had a difficult year. cambridge analytica, declining active users, in europe, now the launch of facebook watch, beyond the us, where it has had a disappointing first year, us, where it has had a disappointing first yea r, allows us, where it has had a disappointing first year, allows them to re—engage with the battle to attract the next billion on line users who will be in markets such as india and south east asia. over the last two months, facebook has been acquiring premium

at video rights such as la liga writes for south asia, english premier league rights for south east asia, these are perfect contents to be distributed through don mcgahn because it allows the use case for consumers in these markets. it will not translate into revenues now but it creates the team plan to which facebook and then take back to develop markets in the horizon over the next five years. facebook has been tried to make its way into india ina been tried to make its way into india in a significant way sometime and it has been a struggle. south east asia is very much in its view. what you are saying is facebook watch is not really what we are doing in europe or what americans are doing but they are looking at the next billion also facebook users

who will be drawn in to watch football in southeast asia? absolutely. it is a compelling case for newly emerging digital users in south and east asia to come on line and engage and create a habit of engagement with facebook. do you think it is going to work? absolutely, in those markets, because of the opportunity is so immense and premium content is of such interest that it will create a compelling case and that the get the interactivity aspect is unprecedented in these markets. we have seen an example of this working in china with an engagement with nba exclusive rights. what facebook needs to do is translate that from

—— to emerging markets. needs to do is translate that from -- to emerging markets. thank you very much. we will keep an eye on that. argentina's currency the peso has plunged to a new record low against the dollar, on fears the country may be about to default on its debts again. the latest sell—off came as argentina's president macri asked the international monetary fund to speed up the payment of a $50 billion bailout loan, agreed earlier this year. for decades argentina has been trapped in a cycle of financial crises and debt defaults, most recently in 2002. foreign investors had been hopeful the current government would deliver economic reform. but that confidence is evaporating, as our south america business correspondent danie gallas explains. argentina has the highest interest rates in the world, a government committed to reforms in the market

and a multi—billion—dollar deal with the imf so why our investors taking money out of the country? they believe they are issuing too much debt and that could trigger a debt default in the future. the government has promised to tackle the problem through spending cuts but commerce and workers are resisting change, saying society is ready overstretched with the cuts. on wednesday, it was a clear show of how markets distrust argentina. president macri was on tv asking for an early release on imf funds, the peso was having its worst year. right now not many people are convinced that it can handle the problems. let's go to asia now, and news of a major deal in australia's telecoms industry. vodafone's australian business has agreed a merger with rival tpg telecom to create an $11 billion operation. rico hizon is following the story. sally! nice to see you. feel us in.

it is the cutthroat competition in the telecommunication sector in australia bringing together tpg telecom and vodafone, the third and fourth largest in the country. they planned to take on the bigger rivals, it telstra and optus. this marriage which combines tpg fibre network and vodafone mobile system is sending share prices on both sides of the deal soaring on the syd ney sides of the deal soaring on the sydney stock exchange. it comes as australian predication sectors face of people from the rollout of a government owned nbn which is a dented internet profitability and driven price credibility into the

market. they have given it the thumbs up to this deal, saint combining fixed and mobile assets, the new tpg will be in a position to compete with optus. if you take a look at the share price, they are really soaring. tpg jumping 15% while you have the tightly held shares to the highest level in ii yea rs. as shares to the highest level in ii years. as for telstra, its stock is rising by 2.5%. as part of the deal, tpg says it will spin off the singapore mobile business, separating it from the new merged company. it seems like this deal will materialise by 2019. thank you and nice to see you, ricoh. —— rico. now let's brief you on some other business stories:

chinese made batteries failing to meet performance aims. tim cook, the boss of apple, has collected $650 million in apple stocks since becoming chief executive and has led the company to be worth over $1 trillion. remember when he got that job, many were so concerned of how we could feel the shoes of steve jobs but many would argue he has delivered. where we are seeing wea kness delivered. where we are seeing weakness in the markets today is in

hong kong and china. they are falling because of concern over the trade war between the us and china. the us are making the news. the snp 500, for trading days in a row of record rises. it is boosting other markets in asia. an upgrade on the second—quarter numbers the growth in the us and that is what is fuelling the us and that is what is fuelling the optimism. i will see you so on. children in england could be banned from buying high caffeine, high—sugar energy drinks. there are fears they could be damaging child rens' health and education, with the drinks linked to behavoural issues and poor classroom discipline. many also contain very high amounts of sugar, contributing to tooth decay and obesity.

a 12—week consultation is set to decide whether the ban should apply to under—16s or under—18s. our correspondent, ben ando, has more. children are told these drinks will give them energy but doctors say drinking to excess could lead to headaches, sleep problems and upset tummies. teachers suggest children could become a really an disruptive in the classroom. health experts believe it is part of the reason why british children are becoming obese. they contain a double whammy of caffeine and sugar levels and children in the uk are guzzling half as much as the counterparts in europe. they attract the two youngsters. they are often also cheaper than regular soft drinks. the ingredients list tells a

different story. each kamke and contain as much sugar as of this and is much caffeine as these. caffeine can cause too much stimulation, the sugar weight gain and to the k. dieticians, is an also the government wants to hear from the public. many supermarkets have a band but smaller retailers have not signed up. the british soft drink association does not oppose a ban but believes... this consultation will last 12 weeks and is part of the second phase of the child would obesity plan to the government. —— childhood. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: hopes are growing for a breakthrough in trade talks between the us and canada.

officials say negotiations are at a "very intense moment". the imf has pledged to step up support for argentina — and speed up crisis talks — after the country's economy slumped to a new low. the un human rights commissioner has condemned myanmar‘s de facto leader aung san suu kyi forfailing to help rohingya muslims — claiming she's a spokesperson for the myanmar military. now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the times which leads with french president macron, who is preparing to throw uk prime minister theresa may a lifeline by pushing other eu leaders to agree a close relationship with britain after brexit. the telegraph business online looks focusses on argentina where the government has asked for the early release of a $50 billion loan from the imf amid a growing economic crisis. president mauricio macri said the move was designed to restore confidence in the argentine economy.

in the guardian business pages, iconic uk luxury car maker and favourite of 007 spy james bond, aston martin, have brushed off concerns over brexit, announcing plans to press ahead with a flotation on the london stock exchange that could value the luxury car manufacturer at around $6.5 billion. and in the independent sports pages, tennis officials at the us open have been accused of sexist double standards after french female player alize cornet was warned for "unsportsmanlike behaviour" for adjusting her top during at match at the tournament. and finally on the bbc news website, commuters are so regularly using travel time for work e—mails that theirjourneys should be