hello. this is business live from bbc news with sally bundock and vishala sri—pathma. judgement day for the draft brexit withdrawal agreement, as the uk cabinet and the other 27 eu countries give their verdict. live from london, that's our top story on wednesday 14th november. we are live, in london and that's oui’ we are live, in london and that's our top story today on wednesday 14th of november. business leaders will be going to no 10 to be briefed on the agreement today. but they say it won't change their contingency planning. we'll be live to westminster shortly. also in the programme — japan's economy shrinks by more than expected as natural disasters hit spending, disrupts factories and exports. and as you can see the markets in europe are heading lower as investors get their heads around

brexit, italy and the german economy contracting. and veganism has taken off as a trend among consumers, with the number of vegans quadrupling since 2014. we'll get the inside track on the fast—growing industry of vegan food. today we want to know — are you ok with technology companies having access to your health data if it helps to diagnose disease, or is it giving away too much information? tweet us your views. just use the #bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. let's get started, so much to fit in today's programme. it's taken months of excruciating negotiations and there's a long way to go still. but uk and eu officials have finally agreed a draft brexit withdrawal agreement. little is known about the content but the british pm theresa may is expected to brief her cabinet and business leaders today. the pound initially rose

tentatively against the dollar. this is the picture now. the pound has fallen back against the dollar to a degree, you can see how the currencies are trading, the ftse is down 0.7%. let's talk through some of the business reaction. premier foods has told the bbc that it still intends to stockpile raw ingredients and packaging for some products — as it announced yesterday — until the deal has been agreed by cabinet, by parliament and the other 27 eu states. that sentiment is wide across the business community. not a single company we've spoken to — including aircraft and motor manufacturers and financial services — says the news changes their contingency planning. let's cross over live to philippa thomas who is in westminster. theresa may has quite a day ahead. talk us through this critical day in brexit. it is a critical day, it is

decision day for the uk's top government ministers but i have to say this is a day with a sense of potential. there could be a breakthrough. this feels like a moment where theresa may could emerge in control after months of political sniping, in control perhaps for the first time if she can pull her cabinet around her. if she gets the cabinet to agree to this deal, she knows she also has to get this deal through parliament. but if she manages thatjust think what she has achieved. she will have avoided another election in the uk that could have handed power to the opposition labour party, she will have avoided a second vote, which many people feel they ought to be a second referendum on the shape of any brexit deal. she will have pushed through and delivered what voters here narrowly said they wa nted voters here narrowly said they wanted back in june voters here narrowly said they wanted back injune 2016, the uk leaving the european union. but of course you will have noticed there area course you will have noticed there are a lot of ifs in the statement i have just

are a lot of ifs in the statement i havejust made, are a lot of ifs in the statement i have just made, nothing are a lot of ifs in the statement i havejust made, nothing is guaranteed, and remember, there are also some die—hard brexiteers like the former foreign secretary boris johnson saying, "look, this deal is historically outrageous, it reduces the uk to being a vassal state agreeing to eu rules without having any democratic say in the way that rules are made." but there is still that sense that this could be a day that sense that this could be a day that delivers breakthrough, and we haven't been able to say that at any stage over the last few months. thanks so much, philippa thomas in westminster. let's talk in more detail about this, over to vishala sri—pathma. let's get more analysis now with the bbc‘s economics correspondent, andrew walkerjoins us now. we heard from filipovic is an important day, we have this draft agreement but how significant is this because we have lots of hurdles to get through? yes indeed but you wouldn't get near those hurdles if we didn't get to the stage where we are at today, where the prime

minister has got an agreement on the terms of withdrawing from the eu, which she reckons will fly. that is an absolutely fundamental essential pa rt an absolutely fundamental essential part of the process, and i have no doubt she will be breathing a brief sigh of relief that he has managed to get this far. europe has a lot on its plate, italy to worry about, the deadline for the second submission of its budget was yesterday and it didn't quite do that, digging in its heels over it. indeed, italy has got the stand—off with the european commission over its desire to increase spending and reduce taxes ata time increase spending and reduce taxes at a time when the european commission thinks it should be doing exactly the reverse, so there is the potential there for a major conflict. bear in mind that italy has, by one measure, the largest government debt in the eurozone, so certainly there is the potential for quite serious financial disruption. and in addition we have had some other news this morning that the german economy has contracted in the

most german economy has contracted in the m ost rece nt german economy has contracted in the most recent three—month period. we knew that the eurozone more widely had slowed down, and it may well be there is a significant element of german contractions due to temporary factors associated with new vehicle emissions testing procedures which have disrupted car production. but nonetheless it tells you that the eu does have plenty of things to worry about. the german economy is quite export led and certain tariffs looming on things like car production will impact it. indeed and one of the reasons the german statistical authority said was behind this decline in economic activity was a decline in exports. that was clearly a very important factor, and yes, germany is very exposed to this kind of thing. major exporter, including to the united states, so the possibility, and we are still only talking about a possibility, of additional tariffs on its car exports going to this very important market is certainly a major concern. not the last we will hear about it. thank you very much.

let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. could bitcoin soon have new establishment rivals? the imf boss christine lagarde has said that central banks around the world should consider issuing digital currency. the rise of crypto—currencies such as bitcoin has created concerns for central banks and ms lagarde said that it would be safer if they create their own. shares in flybe have taken off, after the british regional carrier put itself up for sale, less than a month after issuing a dramatic profit warning. flybe's board says it's also considering cost savings. it warned last month that full—year losses would reach $28.5 million because of falling sales, a weaker pound and higherfuel costs. the music streaming giant spotify has launched across the middle east, hoping to tap into millions of digitally—connected consumers. the swedish company says it hopes it will cut down on music piracy but with several rivals already in operation, executives did not say how many users they expect to sign up. japan's economy is under pressure after a series of natural disasters

hit spending and exports over the summer. gdp figures just released show japan's economy shrank 1.2% between july and september, with tensions between the us and china also expected to take their toll in the future. mariko 0i is in singapore. as you mentioned, the natural disasters had some impact on the economy growth, the contraction was bigger than what economists had expected but it is notjust all doom and gloom, i was reading a report by and gloom, i was reading a report by an economist in tokyo who, for example, points out is this investment is at the highest level in over three decades. things are not looking too badly other than the direct impact from those natural disasters. that said, as sally mentioned, the trade war between the us and china is starting to impact

japan's economy, as was recently pointed out by the country's central—bank governor and that is why many economists expect the government to announce some kind of progress budget before the end of the year. thank you, mariko oi. bagnis from japan coming during the trading session in tokyo and you can see japan closed up just slightly, we had a weaker yen which helped to a degree but we saw a mixed picture developing in asia today with quite a lot on the minds of investors. during the asian trading session the pound was strong, as was the euro versus the dollar but both have fallen back. that is the close on wall street the night before. let's look at europe, we mentioned the issues on the minds of investors, oil prices falling by 7% yesterday, oil prices falling by 7% yesterday, oil prices falling by 7% yesterday, oil prices down significantly today as well. you can see europe trading on the one of the big winners in terms of this stock price is full ib, up 28% on the news that it is

looking to be sold, or emerge. 0ne of the low—cost carriers based in the uk that is in a lot of trouble at the moment, flybe. let's look at what is happening on wall street, samira hussain is there for us. macy's, a giant in the retail industry in america, has been fighting the overall decline of in—person shopping as customers increasingly go online. it has been trying to get more people into their stores by doing things like expanding its loyalty programme. so when macy's reports earnings on wednesday investors will see if those strategies have been working. of course, investors will also want to hear what the company expects for the all—important holiday shopping season. also reporting earnings, canadian cannabis company canopy growth. now, it's an increasingly competitive market domestically but investors will really focus on how canopy will capitalise on recreational cannabis legalisation in canada and emerging opportunities right here in the united states. joining us is james hughes, chief market analyst, at axitrader.

thank you forjoining us. as sally mentioned before, sterling was doing quite well yesterday after news of the draft agreement but it pared down this morning. yes, it has and thatis down this morning. yes, it has and that is almost a case of the market a little bit nervous about what will happen today. you get that a little bit when we get such big announcements. today is make or break and of course there is going to bea break and of course there is going to be a number of make or break steps for theresa may in the next few weeks, even the next few days and from stirling's point of view we are waiting to see what happens, today could be volatile, quiet before we get to any kind of announcement and then we could get some detail, then we could fly all over the place. it is one of those days where we don't really know. for those working in the city and business leaders there will be looking for detail, if we are in a customs union, if we are for how long, will financial services get equivalency in europe? there are these big questions that have huge

applications for their businesses. yes, that's the detail we have been crying out for for such a long time and this is why sterling has reacted so strangely over the last few months. it doesn't go up on negative all good news, it doesn't move on that, it moves on detail, and that's why today is going to be a case of getting that detail finally. we do not really know if it is good or bad news until we go through it with a fine tooth comb. there will be a focus on retail as the week progresses certainly in the added states, today we have inflation figures in the uk coming out, quite a lot of economic news out, we have heard from germany and japan and its building a picture, isn't it? germany and japan both negative and terms of growth but the us, this is the worry, the divergence between europe and the us, the us inflation picture is looking strong, the rates picture is looking strong, the rates picture is looking strong, the rates picture is showing that we are potentially going to get another rate hike in december, the growth picture is strong, but in the uk today we have inflation and we are kind of in the middle. there is

divergence across the world when it comes to monetary policy committee command performance and it is going to be another big day today and the next couple of days for economic data. ok, james, you will be back later to talk about big data and lots of other big stories. lots more to come. consumers are spending more and more on vegan products. are concerns about climate driving the growing trend? we'll get the inside track on veganism with the co—founder of bravura foods, lisa gawthorne. you're with business live from bbc news. let's talk more about flybe, their shares were up but it comes amid grim news. it comes just as the uk firm said it's considering putting itself up for sale. here to tell us more is michael hewson, chief market analyst at cmc markets uk. thank you forjoining us. good

morning. the share price seems to be doing well and investors like the idea of the airline being put up for sale. you also have to put in perspective that they wanted as a move up perspective that they wanted as a move up a perspective that they wanted as a move up a share price trading at 12p and was trading at 40p three months ago, it is still not out of the woods yet and the one thing that we can say about this is at least they are posting a profit, albeit a very small one. i think for me the key thing is why the airline is deciding to put itself up for sale when in march it turned down an offer from stowe bach group, who own southend airport, to do exactly that —— stowe but. i'm concerned as to the reasons why. why is it a good idea now when it wasn't a good idea then, and even though the outlook looks very positive in terms of revenue receipts, seats, forward bookings i'm still struggling to try and make sense of why they think it is a good

idea now when they didn't six months ago. who do you think will buy it? who will be interested? stobart group is one of the names touted and they own southend airport but they are not in a great position, because they have axed six routes out of southend in the last few months, so i think the outlook for airline travel is fairly grim at the moment, costs are arriving, you have seen the oil price rise to a multi—year high earlier this year. flybe have hedged around 90% of their fuel requirements, which if you look at the oil price fall over the last two to three weeks is lousy timing on their part. that being said, i think there are concerns about the balance sheet and their cash flow. the cash flow has reduced from the end of last year by £35 million. i think putting itself up for sale could be an effort to try and strengthen their balance sheet. studio: thanks,

michael hewson at cmc markets. just looking at some other stories online, quite a few bits and pieces online, quite a few bits and pieces on german growth, the slowdown in german growth, and what has been causing it, if you want to have a look at that on the bbc breakfast pages. your‘re watching business live — our top story: business leaders will be going to number 10 downing street later to be briefed on the draft brexit withdrawal agreement. but they say it will not change their contingency planning. now let's get the inside track on the industry of veganism. november is world vegan month, which aims to promote a growing trend among consumers. the global market for vegetarian/vegan products was worth $51 billion in 2016. that is getting even bigger. in britain, the vegan society says

the number of vegans has quadrupled since 2014. demand for meat—free food increased by 987% in 2017, according to online food order and delivery service just eat. 0ur guest today founded the vegan food brand, bravura, in 2011 after struggling to find any good vegan products on the market. lisa gawthorne's company is now worth $6.5 million. you were struggling to find decent products and you found a gap in the market. we read frustrated by the lack of products on the market for vegan lack of products on the market for vegan consumers, so we lack of products on the market for vegan consumers, so we looked at the confectionery and soft drinks sectors and biscuits until the snacking when we thought there was a lack of choice and range out there

for vegans. how easy was that to do in 2011? if somebody was to pitch to investors the idea of a vegan food product now, they would get interested listening ears, but what about back then in 2011? when we started the business there were lots of doubters, because it was seen as a niche market. fast forward to today and as you say, quite rightly, it has had huge interest with regard to the growth in the market. there we re to the growth in the market. there were challenges in the early days but we were fortunate to have some very strong brands and we had good performance from the start. verza brands that you have the uk rights to, distribution rights to. —— those are brands. now you have ashley got your own brands. we started the business importing from finland, then we extended to include vegan ba kery then we extended to include vegan bakery products. and then we launched her own brands in 2013 and

just this year, we have launched this product that you see here, which is a sugar free this product that you see here, which is a sugarfree range this product that you see here, which is a sugar free range of confectionery solos two brands, we own ourselves. it has done quite well in 2018 based on social media, has that done well for you in terms of sales and business? we had a record year of growth, last year we we re record year of growth, last year we were at 3.2 million, this year, we are heading for 5 million. so we are forecasting growth rates of 55% this year. it has been fantastic. social media is heavily driving that. everybody wants to take a picture of everything they find on the market thatis everything they find on the market that is vegan. you are a small company and unlike the likes of premier foods, company and unlike the likes of premierfoods, you company and unlike the likes of premier foods, you cannot company and unlike the likes of premierfoods, you cannot be as agile as then when it comes to brexit, stockpiling, those kind of

decisions, how are you preparing for it, and how do you foresee this is going? what are your concerns?m it, and how do you foresee this is going? what are your concerns? it is difficult. we would love to stockpile but being a small business we cannot afford to do that because everything that we either manufacture or import has a shelf life on it so, we are subject to getting it to retailers, so stockpiling was never an option. the situation with brexit is we are planning towards a best case scenario and worst case scenario and likely scenario, it is very difficult until we know exactly what's what. 0n difficult until we know exactly what's what. on a positive point, exports and future plans the export free from products into a number of countries is going to be a fantastic move for us as a business. we are exporting to poland, finland, iceland, slovakia, australia, the united arab emirates. so diversified as you can possibly be in terms of

where your goods are going, that is your hedge against brexit. for two reasons, we import products from the eu and beyond, and we also import raw materials for our own brands as well so that leaves is exposed, which is why as soon as we can find out what the actual deal is, it is going to be betterfor us to plan. beel natalie did there, lisa. thank you for coming in and talking to us. —— thank you very much lisa, we will leave it there. coming up, how companies like google are using are health data, scary or progress? stay up—to—date with all the day's business news as it happens on the bbc bbc breakfast page, we have business and analysis from our team of editors around the globe. get involved on the bbc bbc breakfast

web page. —— bbc business live. and we are on facebook, business live, what you need to know, and when you need to know. james is back with us, we have been looking at christmas adverts. shall we talk about google first? the question that has got viewers going is this story about google and its purchase of deep mind, which looks at technology and health data. this is all about our personal data again. this time it is health records. there is a big divide about whether using our own data, companies using our data is a good thing or whether they are using it to save other lives in the situation, and what deep mind is doing, all of this data has been

taking with consent, we have to say that straightaway. what this company is doing is using it for diagnostics so, only diagnosis of potential diseases or everything else. and moorfields eye hospital has used this already and they say it is working better than humans diagnosing the same disorders. the big question comes about, do we allow companies to use our data this way, is it ethical to use it this way, is it ethical to use it this way, is it ethical to use it when it is saving our lives? and with the nhs under such financial pressure and with personnel, this is something that continuously comes out when we talk about gp appointments, doing it online or through video or computer, for diagnosis, so this is almost an inevitable move that brings up those questions about your personal data. data privacy, when it comes to

booking appointments is slightly different to anticipating things like heart disease, which is what this technology companies hoping to do. it is definitely progress in some ways but it brings up that question about robots and doctors and is it replacing thejob. question about robots and doctors and is it replacing the job. there is thejob situation and is it replacing the job. there is the job situation here as well, and the employment situation hasn't necessarily always been great, but it isa necessarily always been great, but it is a situation where if it is helping to save lives it must be a positive thing. we've had lots of opinions from viewers about this, mel says anything that can promote early detection has to be a good thing. quentin says good in the hands of doctors, bad in the hands of endurance companies, insurance costs could be going up, pensions as well. rebecca says brilliant, not on my own health story but millions of others, for late diagnosis cancers like pancreatic cancer, it is like a death sentence, can ai spot

indicators? and we have £6.4 billion now being spent on christmas adverts by the big supermarkets and shops. that is a new high. especially for companies that are not performing particularly well. and that is the key point, how much is put onto this time of yearfor high key point, how much is put onto this time of year for high street retailers. it is make or break for the entire year. a bad christmas trading period almost ruins an entire financial year for these companies. you can see why they are spending so much money on these. these christmas adverts have become massive, they go viral through social media, on youtube, you get people mocking them around, any pr at this situation is great for these retailers. i haven't seen them yet but i'm going to see them all. good to have you both here with us on

business live. it is a mild day across the board today with temperatures in the mid—teens. we have high pressure over the new continent, though pressure out in the atlantic and some tightly packed isobars. so a breezy day with outbreaks of rain in the north, heaviest in the north and west this morning but tending to ease down. the rain easing for scotland and northern ireland as we move into the afternoon. a good deal of dry, bright weather across much of england and wales. some hazy spells of sunshine. at 3pm, a good deal of dry, bright weather across england and wales. hazy sunshine, but it is and wales. hazy sunshine, but it is a breezy day, windy for northern ireland and western scotland, with the rain tending to ease from this morning, and brighter spells developing for eastern scotland and the moray firth in particular where we have some good spells of sunshine and we could he —— we could see

highs of 17. temperatures above average for the time of year at between 12 and 15 celsius. this evening and overnight, rain in the north will tend to ease. reinvigorating for northern ireland and western scotland into the early hours. some mist and fog possible for central and eastern parts. temperatures in the north, higher than we would expect to see by daytime, and a mild night to come for scotland and northern ireland. holding onto that mild air, you can see that yellow colour, that south—westerly breeze, as we move into thursday, another mild day to come. for central and eastern england, starting off with some mist and fog that could be stubborn to clear. some sunny spells developing as we go through the day. 0utbreaks of rainfor as we go through the day. 0utbreaks of rain for northern ireland and western scotland, gradually edging eastwards as we move through the day. some bright intervals. northern scotla nd day. some bright intervals. northern

scotland could see 17 celsius, that temperature also possible for london in any sunshine. for friday and the weekend, high—pressure dominates, keeping any fonts at bay. looking at more in the way of dry weather, cloud around on friday but as we move through the weekend, we will see increasing amounts of sunshine. temperatures starting to drop off with some chilly and perhaps frosty nights, as well. bye—bye. i'm annita mcveigh in westminster — where theresa may will today try and secure cabinet backing for a brexit withdrawal agreement. the prime minister will try to head off any threat of resignations — telling ministers the deal she's secured from brussels is the best the uk can get. a deal is going to look pretty much like this one seems to look like. it isn't going to be dramatically different from that. therefore, they've got to keep that big picture in mind and they have to stick together, above all. this morning, ministers are still going into number 10 for one—to—one briefings

on the details — but on the backbenches there's opposition on all sides.