this is the business briefing. i'm victoria fritz. global trade faces the worst crisis since 1947, the head of the wto tells the bbc. that's one of the dark clouds looming over the world economy, as leaders gather for the 620 summit. and on the markets, a mixed day on wall street — and very much the same picture in asia, as investors get some mixed messages about the trade showdown between president trump and president xi. will it be the end of the trade war, or the start of a new escalation in hostilities? we start in the argentine capital buenos aires, where world leaders gathering for the 620 summit —— we start in the argentine capital buenos aires, where world leaders gathering for the 620 summit are being warned that ‘darker clouds are looming' over the global economy. the head of the international monetary fund, christine lagarde, says ‘significant risks are materializing' and is urging leaders to work together to head them off. the 620 group of developed

and developing countries represent 85% of the world economy, and two thirds of the world's population. many of them are seeing slowing economic growth. two of the world's five biggest economies, japan and 6ermany,actually saw their economies shrink in the third quarter of this year. earlier this month the imf cut it's global growth forecast for next year and it says the picture has worsened since then. one of the big worries is this: the trade war between the us and china. this year the world's two biggest economies have slapped import tariffs on $363 billion worth of goods that they sell each other. the head of the world trade organisation, roberto azevedo, is also at the 620 summit. he has been telling our correspondent daniel 6allas that the breakdown in relations is the worst crisis since current trade rules were agreed more than 70 years ago.

i would say it is the worst crisis, not just for the wt i would say it is the worst crisis, notjust for the wt oh, but for the whole system. —— wto. this is a moment were some very basic will —— basic principles of the organisation, principles of cooperation and nondiscrimination are being challenged and put into question. that is very serious. we cannot ignore those concerns, we have to talk about them and would have to talk about them and would have to talk about them and would have to see whether there are ways of addressing those concerns that are acceptable to all wto members. can we expect anything relevant to

come out of this meeting before those two leaders meet? it has to shift from a mode of engagement, from threats and accusations, finger—pointing, to one of finding solutions. i think both sides already know, what is bothering them, what we need to do now is how do we find solutions and find a way would in light of the concerns that both sides have. that was roberto azevedo, director—general of the world trade 0rganisation, speaking exclusively to the bbc. let's get the views now of anna stupnytska, 6lobal economist at the fund managers fidelity. we had him there saying what is

required is a shift from threats and finger—pointing to finding solutions. we hear the same solutions. we hear the same solutions from the imf, urging world leaders to work together. do you think they will? i think we can say with a high degree of certainty that this is not going to be the end of the trade war. we are unlikely to seek a major deal breakthrough, after which tariffs are removed and suddenly we have this trade between us and china and globally. i think we need to remember that this is not just about trade. this is about the competition between the us and china, the two largest economies, this is the great power rivalry between them across multiple dimensions, economic, trade,

military, political, geopolitical, so military, political, geopolitical, so it won't be the end to these tensions. what we might get is we have some sort of ideal, perhaps delaying the tariffs that were to be increased from 10— 25% this january and that might boost sentiment and help provide some relief to market, but it is going to be long—lasting. perhaps some temporary result to the market. there is an issue, that at these big events, apec was another one, we are not getting these joint communique is, we are not getting some form of statement even that they are willing to work together. what will it take? dragging the rest of the world into a trade war isn't good for anyone. that is not what donald trump thinks. what will it take? there are reports that are

suggesting that this communique will be watered down. they will use much softer language on climate change, another point of contention, and a p pa re ntly another point of contention, and apparently the antiprotectionist rhetoric will be drop, it will be much softer just to rhetoric will be drop, it will be much softerjust to keep the us on board. the message should get out that the leaders agreed to work together to co—operate, but it will be softer. we can talk about this all day and we will have you back to talk about some of the things that do come up from the summit, for the moment, thank you. let's go to asia now, because there's more stark evidence of the slowdown in the world's second biggest economy. growth in china's vast manufacturing sector has ground to a halt, according to official figures for november. rico hizon is following the story for us in singapore. not good news for the chinese economy! we are seeing it fizzling

in the month of november, its lowest point in two years. this is the latest sign that the world ‘s second—largest economy is indeed losing steam. purchasing managers actually had a lot of pressure on xi jinping ahead of its high—stakes trade talks the donald trump this weekend. the official pmi fell to a 50 point mark, which is considered neutral territory. a bleak —— blame a further weakness in new orders from the trade market. this trade dispute between us and china is starting to have an impact on the mainland economy. so this meeting between trump and xi jinping, their first meeting since both sides began imposing tariffs on each others did

earlier this year, is crucial to the future of the chinese economy. but when you speak with market watchers, like your guest earlier, they don't really expect a major breakthrough in this trade disputes. thanks very much. now let's brief you on some other business stories. 6erman chemicals giant bayer says it's selling off several businesses and cutting around 12,000 jobs, or one in ten workers worldwide, with a significant number in germany. bayer stock is down more than a third this year following its purchase of us seed company monsanto, which faces thousands of lawsuits over cancer cases allegedly caused by its weedkiller roundup. boxer floyd mayweatherjr and music producer dj khaled have agreed to pay more than a quarter of a million dollars to settle charges over their promotion of cryptocurrency investments. it's the first such case brought by the us financial regulator, the securities and exchange commission, since it warned earlier this month about celebrities promoting the investments on social media without disclosing they were being paid. shares of deutsche bank have fallen

further after prosecutors raided its frankfurt headquarters in a money laundering investigation. five other deutsche offices in the city were searched in an operation involving about 170 police and officials. deutsche has lost more than half its stock market value this year as it struggles with losses and regulatory scandals and now, what's trending in the business news this morning? 0n bloomberg, fed ramps up 6oldman investigation over 1mdb compliance failures, sources say. the us central bank reportedly stepping up its investigation into goldman sachs role in the scandal at malaysia's sovereign wealth fund, where billions went missing. 0n the wall street journal,

6ermany 0pens amazon antitrust probe, adding to european scrutiny. 6erman antitrust regulators are apparently probing amazon's "double role as the largest retailer and largest marketplace". and on cnn, three lights blinking red on the us economy. a surge in risky corporate borrowing and people taking out bigger mortgages than they can afford are signs of trouble to come in the us. and don't forget, let us know what you are spotting online. use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing that's it for the business briefing this hour. before we go, here are the markets. you can see a bit of a mixed picture, lot of this is much caused by the fact that we are getting mixed messages coming out about trade —— trade, what will happen next, whether we will see an escalation or an end to hostility. wishful thinking, even escalation or an end to hostility. wishfulthinking, even fora escalation or an end to hostility. wishful thinking, even for a friday.

to more coming up on. for now, this is your business news. —— plenty more coming up. thousands of patients will be prescribed a low—calorie, liquid—only diet, after trials showed it can help to reverse type two diabetes in people who have recently been diagnosed. nhs england says alongside the diet it will expand an existing prevention programme that is designed to help those at risk of developing the condition. dominic hughes reports. it is about cutting down, you know, small step. at a community centre in leeds, the battle against diabetes is under way. reducing portion sizes and help frequent you have these foods. all the people here were on

the cusp of developing type 2 diabetes, now have been helped to lose a bit of weight and think about what they are eating. everybody should be educated about how we eat, what we eat, why we eat and when we eat. i have lost so much weight. i feel better, i feel happier. an estimated 12.3 million people in the uk are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. a quarter of a million people in england have already been referred to the special prevention programme, like the one running in leeds. 0n programme, like the one running in leeds. on average, they have lost nearly four kilograms, so now the scheme is being extended. weight loss is well and good and we are delighted with the weightless trajectories that we have seen in the participants, at the end of the day is when we are preventing it from a rising, that takes longer. and there is help for those who have already developed type ii diabetes. a recent trial of a very low calorie

diet using liquid meals has helped almost half of those involved to reverse the condition. almost half of those involved to reverse the conditionlj almost half of those involved to reverse the condition. ijust started to do something, walk around the house. that project is also being rolled out more widely, reflecting the growing concerns of the impact diabetes is having on our health. 0mni queues, bbc news. —— dominic hughes. chip this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: touching down in buenos aires, world leaders arrive at the 620 for tough talks on security, trade and climate change. for the first time in a decade, a south korean train crosses into north korea, to begin a joint survey aimed at reconnecting the north's railway lines to the south. some of europe's most ancient forests in romania are quickly disappearing due to logging. now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the i newspaper. it says theresa may and 0pposition leaderjeremy corbyn

have agreed to tv debates over the brexit deal. the only problem is they can't agree on which channel. 0n the financial times, it's covering the raids on deutsche bank's offices in and around frankfurt as the company faces another probe over money laundering. let's look at the story on the fast company website. it has an exclusive claiming that airbnb plans to design homes from next year. the daily telegraph among many covering a type two diabetes trial. liquid diets will be prescribed to 5,000 sufferers in a bid to reverse the disease. that has put a question as well, so do get in touch with us and your thoughts on that. and finally, the daily mail. it reports on the standing ovation given to an mp here in the uk, after he revealed in parliament that he was hiv positive. so let's begin. nina trentmann is from the wall streetjournal.

is back to go to the papers. just stop the tv debates, just ask very basic question. why is the tv need a television debate when only 650 people are able to vote and perhaps what they see two days later? perhaps the idea is to give theresa may and also jeremy corbyn perhaps the idea is to give theresa may and alsojeremy corbyn another venue may and alsojeremy corbyn another venue to talk about their vision for the uk after brexit and of course, for mps it is quite important to have some sort of feeling that they represent their constituents and so, i guess this is presenting another chance for people to make up their