this is the business briefing, i'm sally bundock. driving home the point. president trump escalates his attack on general motors, 3 day after the carmaker announced major job cuts. and brexit impact. the bank of england will today lay out its assessments of how britain leaving the eu will affect the economy. and on the financial markets, investors are mulling the question, could there be a breakthrough on the us—china trade dispute? traders are positive for now. president donald trump has escalated his attack on general motors, a day after the carmaker announced plans to halt production at five factories in the us and canada. the closures come amid rising costs and slower car sales for the firm. in response to the loss of more than 1a,000 jobs in north america,

president trump announced that he is now looking at cutting all of general motors' subsidies. since the closures were annouced, president trump has kept up the pressure against gm to try and keep facilities in ohio, michigan and maryland open. it is not clear exactly how much gm benefits from federal government subsidies, but buyers of new electric vehicles in the us do currently qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500. as part of its restructuring announcement on monday, gm said it now intends to focus on electric and self—driving vehicles. michelle fleury reports from new york. the president vented his frustration — where else —

but on twitter. he wrote that he was very disappointed and that he was looking at cutting all gm subsidies, including full electric cars. general motors made a big bet on china years ago when they built pla nts china years ago when they built plants there and in mexico, i don't think that it is going to pay off, i am here to protect america's workers. it is not immediately clear what specific subsidies the president had in mind, or whether he would be able to follow through on his threat. some of the subsidies would require changes to the law, for which he needs the help of legislators. gm's decision to close factories has angered many politicians, perhaps none more, though, than mr trump, who has promised

to bring back american manufacturing. gm defended its decision. ina in a statement they said they plan to position the company for long—term success and maintain and grow americanjobs. many of us workers impacted by these actions would be able to shift to other gm plants. shares in general motors soared when it announced the plan. donald trump's threats were enough to send the stock lower after his tweets. when it comes to brexit, the economic impact of leaving the eu has been one of the most fiercely contested issues. brexiteers argue that the uk will be more prosperous outside the eu, while remainers contend the opposite is true. and today the bank of england weighs in with its view, when it reveals the strength of the uk's biggest banks ahead of brexit. the last time the bank published its financial stability report

was six months ago, and it gave the uk's financial instiutions a positive review, saying that apart from those related to brexit, domestic risks remain standard overall. the pound has fluctuated in that time against the us dollar as investors try to work out what brexit will mean for the future of the british economy. meanwhile, the last report in may warned of growing international risks for the uk economy, some of which have increased in the intervening period, such as high levels of chinese debt, uncertainty over the italian economy, and us tariffs on trade. a separate bank of england report will lay out the economic impact of a range of different brexit scenarios, and may give us some idea of how realistic it thinks the independent office of budget responsibility was in forecasting growth of 1.6% for next year. michelle mcgrade, chief investment officer and executive director,

m&g securities, joins me now. good morning. so for those who want to know this kind of information, is the financial services sector ready? how will the uk manage? today the day to get stuck in, isn't it? yes, it definitely is. there will be lots of reports out later today, the bank of reports out later today, the bank of england and the treasury select committee, so it will be interesting to see if any of their thoughts collide, and how different some of their views will be. and also how it may impact mps who make that critical vote on 11 december in parliament. so give us your take on what the bank of england's report may say. i think they have delayed the report. they were going to bring it out early this morning and they have delayed it until later today

because they have realised that actually the report has got to be probably pretty impartial so that the mps can make a judgement based on... well, an economicjudgement based on what the bank of england saysin based on what the bank of england says in various scenarios. the bank of england has focused on two areas, really. one is no deal and no transition. and so mps have got to think very carefully about that. so thatis think very carefully about that. so that is the worst—case scenario. absolutely the worst case scenario, yes. which of course the uk central bank has to plan for. it definitely has the plan for it and they say they have been planning for it all they have been planning for it all the way along, since the referendum. soi the way along, since the referendum. so i think the banks are probably in pretty good condition. they have got to watch things like what is going to watch things like what is going to happen the day after, i suppose, and what is going to happen with sterling, what is going to happen to transactions, and make sure that these transactions will flow

through. and a lot of work has already been done on that. and also, as well, following the 2008 financial crisis when some of our major banks were spectacularly bailed out by the taxpayer, since then, uk banks have been undergoing regular stress test to make sure they can withstand financial shock. absolutely, and banks are three times stronger than they were in 2007. so actually, i am times stronger than they were in 2007. so actually, iam not times stronger than they were in 2007. so actually, i am not sure that the banks are the problem, or will be the problem, with brexit. i think there will be other things. it will be what happens to sterling, and maybe while everyone is thinking about brexit, what about cyber security? so these are the things that the bank has got to be think about, things that might happen in the background that might impact financial stability. thank you so much for coming in, andjust financial stability. thank you so much for coming in, and just to say, of course, is today's news unfolds, the treasury report on the bank of

england report, we will be right across all of it on the bbc. lots of analysis and breaking news on the bbc website and business life page, which we will update throughout the day. one of the most controversial industrial projects ever built in the uk, the thorp nuclear reprocessing plant at sellafield in cumbria, in the north—west of england, is closing down, after nearly a quarter of a century of operations. it has already recycled its last batch of nuclear fuel. now, parts of the site will be used to store waste, while the rest will be decommissioned, a process expected to take decades. theo leggett reports. the fuel has been taken from the main pond hole, transferred into this area... this is thorp. nearly 25 years it has been recycling old nuclear fuel, 25 years it has been recycling old nuclearfuel, separating 25 years it has been recycling old nuclear fuel, separating usable uranium and plutonium from useless waste, a process once seen as uranium and plutonium from useless waste, a process once seen as a uranium and plutonium from useless waste, a process once seen as a kind of alchemy. what kind of science could take a fuel, burn it, turn the

ashes back into fresh fuel to burn it again? but soon, alarms were sounding. thorp was meant to provide fuel for a new generation of super efficient power stations, but they we re efficient power stations, but they were never built, and ambitious targets were never met. the plant did not operate as well as we originally expected. there were a number of operational problems through its life. those lofty aspirations were built on expectations around nuclear power, cost of uranium, and those expectations, those assumptions, did not prove to be valid. has to be kept cool, for a start. thorp did make some $12 billion reprocessing waste from overseas, but now those contracts had dried up as well. although reprocessing has now finished here at thorp, that is in the end of this vast facility. parts of the plant will still be used to store old nuclear fuel, of the plant will still be used to store old nuclearfuel, and of the plant will still be used to store old nuclear fuel, and the rest, well, that will become part of the growing industry— had nuclear

decommissioning. the most dangerous parts of the site will have to be decontaminated before being dismantled. sophisticated technology is being developed to go where humans can't. the ingenuity we will have two apply will be interesting. it will be a fascinating time for the facility. new tech elegies, new processes , the facility. new tech elegies, new processes, and as well as the technical aspects of it, for me personally, the most challenging aspect has been making sure we look after the people. thorp was once a key target for environmental campaigners greenpeace. they now agree that decommissioning creates exciting opportunities. decommissioning has to be unwell, with skilled people, who know what they are doing and have experience doing it. so we support decommissioning work, and if sellafield wants to become a world leader in that, we support it. thorp once supported ambitious plans for a future of clean nuclear power. its

legacy is a facility which will take decades to decommission. that's it for the business briefing this hour. the royal college of psychiatrists says many women who experience a traumatic birth are being let down by the nhs. new research suggests as many as one in 25 experience ptsd after child birth, affecting around 30,000 women a year in the uk. our correspondent jamie coulson reports. that's mr... when anna gave birth to her daughter maisie, it should have been one of the happiest days of her life. but when competition is led to

an emergency caesarean section, it rapidly became one of the most frightening. there was a lot of people around me, they were kind of ripping my clothes off, ripping my jewellery off. i felt as if i was being attacked. in the weeks that followed, and develop symptoms of post—traumatic stress disorder, or ptsd, including vivid flashbacks and deep distress when reminded of the birth. many people may traditionally associate post—traumatic stress disorder with soldiers on the battlefield or that it is of violent crime. but for women who have had a traumatic birth, it can bejust crime. but for women who have had a traumatic birth, it can be just as real, and without help, can lead to long—term harm. research suggest 4% of women in the uk, or around 30,000 a year, develop ptsd after a dramatic earth. experts believe many others could go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed —— traumatic birth. others could go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed -- traumatic birth. the royal college believes it is fair to say that currently women in the uk

who experience of birth trauma are being failed by the nhs, both in the way that the trauma is detected, diagnosed, and subsequently treated. nhs england say any form of mental ill health is a concern, but great strides have been made, with 7000 more women treated last year and specialist mental health services plant throughout england. following treatment, and is now looking to the future instead of fearing the past —— anna. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: donald trump threatens to pull out of a meeting with president putin as russia's conflict with ukraine intensifies. there has been a sharp increase in migrant boats crossing the channel to the uk. ministers say it is being organised by criminal gangs. now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the ft and the white

house who have cast doubt over the prospect of a ceasefire in the escalating trade war with china, saying negotiations in the run—up to a high—stakes summit this week had made no progress and a new round of tariffs was likely. meanwhile politico says us president donald trump may cancel his g20 meeting with russian president vladimir putin. mr trump said he was still waiting to receive a "full report" from his national security team on the situation off the coast of crimea, which russia annexed from ukraine in 2014. (ani) the front page of the independent carries a warning the telegraph business pages focus on facebook and report the social media giant had previously investigated suspicions of russian data harvesting as early as 2014, at least two years before the social network admitted to widespread interference from moscow. that's according to private emails seized by the uk parliament. the front page of the independent carries a warning

from the united nations that countries throughout the world must slash emissions by five times their planned amount in the next 11 years if they are to avert disastrous global warming. the un says vanishing islands, widespread species extinctions and extreme weather have all been predicted under even the most optimistic climate predictions. and, finally, on the bbc news website two swedish mums have persuaded 10,000 people to commit to not taking any flights in 2019 in an effort to tackle climate change. direct emissions from aviation account for about 3% of the eu's total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the european commission.