this is business live from bbc news with ben thompson and sally bundock. europe's highest court says it's ok for the uk to stop brexit, as prime minister theresa may vows to try and win support for her deal to leave the eu. live from london, that's our top story on monday, 10 december. on the eve of the uk parliament's vote on theresa may's brexit deal, the european court ofjustice has ruled that the uk government can pull out of brexit without the agreement of the other 27 eu countries. also on the programme, nissan boss carlos ghosn has been formally indicted and re—arrested over allegations of financial misconduct. and shares in outsourcing firm interserve sink 75% in early trade,

and red, brown, mayo or mustard? we'll be talking to one uk firm that's trying to take on the big players in sauces. it's an industry worth billions of dollars. and have you ever been mistakenly called the wrong name at work — all because your name sounds like a popular brand name? some bbc research has found that in the age of auto—correct, this kind of thing is more common than you might think. has this happened to you? let us know. just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live.

we have said it before on this programme about it being a crucial week for brexit and theresa may, but with an historic vote on her brexit deal in parliament tomorrow, this week really could determine the uk's future, and possibly the premiership of theresa may. the british prime minister has resisted pressure to delay a vote on the withdrawal deal, despite a large number of mps indicating they will not support it. in the last half an hour, the european court ofjustice has ruled that the uk government can scrap brexit without the agreement of the other 27 eu countries. that is the ruling but why would they want to do it? but why would it want to? the value of the pound against the us dollar has been something of a barometer of what investors make of the brexit.

this steep fall was when the leave vote happened in 2016 and it's been a downward trend in recent weeks as theresa may struggles to get parliamentary backing for the deal she's agreed with the eu. a lot of the concern in parliament surrounds the northern ireland border and what would happen to goods traded over the border if the uk and eu can't reach a deal. trade over that border was worth more than $3.1; billion in 2016. so that is a reminder of some of the key sticking points. joining us now isjonathan portes, who's a senior fellow at the uk in a changing europe. thank you forjoining us. let's talk about the european court ofjustice ruling that the uk can unilaterally revoke brexit, does not need the approval of the other 27 members, your thoughts? the important thing is, does it mean we are going to reverse brexit? it means it's up to us. reverse brexit? it means it's up to us. it throws control back to parliament, where you might argue it belongs. there's been a lot of talk, saying we cannot change our mind

because the eu would have to approve an extension and they are not going to do thatjust for us to fat an extension and they are not going to do that just for us to fat around a bit more. they are not going to prove an extension for us in anyway but actually this says we can decide if we want to change our mind, and thatis if we want to change our mind, and that is a big if, if we want to have a general election or another referendum, we will not be forced, no deal won'tjust referendum, we will not be forced, no deal won't just happen referendum, we will not be forced, no deal won'tjust happen as we all thought it might automatically on the 29th of march. parliament can, if it wants, change course and revoke article 50. timing is everything, this is the day before mps everything, this is the day before m ps vote everything, this is the day before mps vote in parliament tomorrow so what do you think today's news means for politicians? the ec], clearly, accelerated this ruling precisely because it thought that the brexit debate in parliament, in the uk, needed to know before we decide, what our options are. this will

certainly strengthen the hand of people who say, actually, the decision we made two years ago is not irreversible, we can change our mind if we want to. it is likely to strengthen the hand of those who wa nt strengthen the hand of those who want a radically different approach to brexit or another referendum. that is what i wanted to ask, what could this do when we get the crucial vote? could it sway a few people who were borderline before, that this is now a viable option, it could happen and therefore, they might press the button on it? that is possible because there's been a lot of talk saying a referendum, you can't call it overnight, the electoral commission has to decide the question, there are all sorts of procedures and there has to be a and so procedures and there has to be a and so campaign on. in some ways, this makes it a lot easier because it means we can say to the eu that they need to give us enough time to have that or we can unilaterally make up oui’ that or we can unilaterally make up our minds to do it. also, some people have said if we had to go

crawling back to the eu, they might require is tojoin crawling back to the eu, they might require is to join the sigel currency and the shack and no borders area, take away the rebate, but actually, the court has said that cannot happen. if we went back and revoked, it would be on exactly the same deal as we have now. thank you forjoining us. jonathan is a regular on the bbc, telling us your thoughts on what is going on. of course, we are across this week every twist and turn throughout the days and there is so much more information on our website, jargon busting, the explanation of terms, etc, so do take a look to make sense of it. and we will keep and i'll any reaction to the ruling from this morning on the bbc as well. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. mobile operator 02 is understood to be seeking millions in damages from supplier ericsson after last week's day—long data network collapse in the uk. according to the telegraph, the total bill could be $130 million. ericsson blamed expired software certification for the problem.

ride—sharing firm uber has reportedly filed paperwork for its initial public offering. it's racing with smaller rival lyft to be the first to sell shares publicly. both planned ipos are shaping up to be amongst the biggest of 2019. huawei chief financial officer meng wanzhou is fighting to be released on bail after she was arrested on 1st december in vancouver. she is also fighting an extradition request to the usa, and china has lodged a "strong protest" over her arrest. to japan now, where in the last few hours, prosecutors have charged the former nissan chairman carlos ghosn with financial misconduct. they say mr ghosn under—reported his compensation in the company's financial statements over a five—year period. rupert wingfield—hayes is following this story for us. an interesting development but one

that will not make things any easier for carlos ghosn. no, it certainly won't. it effectively means he's going to be spending christmas and possibly new year in japanese detention, certainly christmas because his rearrest today, after he was charged, means japanese prosecutors can hold in for another 20 days to continue questioning him on the same but different allegations. this is the weird thing about the day. he has been charged with underreporting his package, if you like, from nissan, from 2011-2015. he has you like, from nissan, from 2011—2015. he has been rearrested today on allegations he did the same thing from 2016—2018. people i have talked to here says that is essentially the same offence he is being accused of twice and one former prosecutor told me if they are going to do it, it shows the

case against him is pretty thin and questioned why he was being arrested in the first place. in terms of the company, rupert, tell us where we are at. it has been in turmoil since the story first broke a few weeks ago. that's right, sally, from the first day, we have known or at least we have been saying that behind this arrest of carlos ghosn is another story which is a deep rift between the french parent company renault, which owns 43% of nissan, and the internal management of nissan motor corporation. it is essentially over the balance in ownership and control between the two companies. it is an alliance but the french have had the upper hand for the last 20 years and nissan, being a bigger, more profitable company, there's been a growing feeling they want to regain control. this has really brought it out into the open. 0ver control. this has really brought it out into the open. over the weekend, there has been media reports in the wall streetjournal and

there has been media reports in the wall street journal and elsewhere suggesting carlos ghosn, according to sources inside nissan, before he was suddenly arrested last month, he was suddenly arrested last month, he was planning to remove the chief executive officer of nissan motor corporation, the man who, in the end, brought down carlos ghosn. rupert, i know you are going to follow that story but for now, thank you very much. rupert wingfield—hayes, following the fortu nes wingfield—hayes, following the fortunes of the former nissan boss in tokyo. japan not having a great session. japanese stocks fell to a six—week low, as economy reported a deeper—than—expected contraction for the third quarter. the market is down by more than 2%. there was also a sell—off on wall street to contend with. the japanese market is down just over 13% from a 27 year high from early october. some suggesting there was only one way to go and that was down. in asia, nissan is in the spotlight, of course, as we just

heard. investors trying to work out what it means for one of the biggest organisations there. in europe, markets are digesting the news from the european court ofjustice, confirming that the uk can actually remain in the eu and scrap its brexit plans without agreement of the other 27 members. we have been discussing that at the start of the programme. tomorrow, mps will vote on theresa may's withdrawal agreement, which seems to have little support. and if that wasn't enough, we'll get the latest reading on economic growth for the uk. we get manufacturing, industrial production and construction output all released at the same time. that happens at 9:30am. about 50 minutes away. so lots to chew over in a moment, jane foley is standing by to do that, but first let's take you to new york where samira has the details of what's ahead on wall street today. on monday, american investors will be looking for calmer waters after last week's storms. just a reminder of how volatile last week was, on thursday alone, the dow jones industrial average fell by more than 750 points,

only to regain most of those losses by the end of the day. there are many reasons for investors being so skittish. trade tension between the us and china, the latestjobs report showed that the labour market did not create as manyjobs as investors expected, and of course, reaction to the possibility of a recession. many will be watching what happens on monday on us markets. also happening this week, we get the latest inflation numbers on wednesday and retail sales on friday. lots going on. joining us is jane foley, senior currency strategist at rabobank. a critical week ahead. give us your thoughts. it is a huge week for the uk, certainly, buti thoughts. it is a huge week for the uk, certainly, but i think the broader stock markets, for market sentiment, really important time. the markets today are in the red

again and they are extremely concerned, both about the prospect of maybe a us recession going into 2020 but certainly the impact of trade wars on the global economy. there are concerns of slower growth looking ahead, if we look at europe, we have got france, obviously a loss of appetite for structural reform there. the european parliamentary elections next year could show us even more populism. a lot of concerns, really, on the horizon but i think this week it will be all about the uk. i touched on the pound at the start given what we have seen since the 2016 vote, it has been pretty u p since the 2016 vote, it has been pretty up and down but heading in one direction, down, really. what will investors, certainly the currency markets, make of this morning's ruling that the uk could scrap its brexit plans without agreement on the 27 other countries? you could argue that on the margin, that makes the prospect of hard brexit that makes the prospect of hard b rex it less that makes the prospect of hard brexit less likely because you would think surely if the politicians thought that was the only option left in march, they would reverse.

that should provide some comfort for style and, for uk investors because the very idea of hard brexit is very negative. if you look at stirling in the last couple of days against euro, it has dropped in price and thatis euro, it has dropped in price and that is again a reflection of how nervous the market is about tomorrow's vote and the uncertainty about what is going to happen next if theresa may fails to push this through parliament. at 9:30am commit uk gdp numbers will come out, both quarterly and monthly, so what can we read into those when they are released? in we read into those when they are released ? in recent we read into those when they are released? in recent weeks and months, going back, super—sensitive to do with anything —— with anything to do with anything —— with anything to do with what we are going through. most economists would agree that if you didn't have the uncertainty in the uk, the political uncertainty, the bank of england would have raised interest rates in november but they didn't and we do have that uncertainty and if we look

forward at the forward—looking surveys , forward at the forward—looking surveys, they reflect the nervousness. wages are a bit higher but consumer confidence is down. investors are quite cautious. from that point of view, it is likely the data that is coming out now will affect a worse situation than the data we had at the beginning of the. you will be back later with more, including a look at some of the stories in the business pages today. there is a great story from one of our colleagues who is permanently called the wrong name because they have quite an interesting spelling and we will talk about what it means for people at work who are co nsta ntly for people at work who are constantly called the wrong name. it isa constantly called the wrong name. it is a lovely tale. we will talk about that little later. still to come, we'll be getting the inside track on ketchup. we'll be talking to one uk firm that's trying to take on the big players in an industry that's worth billions of dollars. believe it or not, the key ingredient is beetroot. yes, there may be a taste test later. you're with business live from bbc news. a story we want to bring you which

is developing in the last hour or so, news from interserve, there's been a lot of talk about the outsourcing giant. responsible for thousands of government contracts, employing around 75,000 people. it does everything from school catering to the hospital cleaning, all of those kind of things. they are getting into financial difficulty over the weekend, you can see the details, it has been talking about its debt restructuring which was enough to send its shares down 75% in early trading this morning. there's been a lot of talk about i nte rse rve there's been a lot of talk about interserve through the weekend which is white is no surprise we are seeing huge reaction on the markets today, in london, as ben said, shares down massively at the open. including some of the noise we have had about interserve over the weekend, on saturday, the ft reported the company was looking for a deal to refinance which would mean

lenders taking a significant loss of course which would explain the huge sell—off on the markets today. public shareholders would be virtually wiped out, that is a quote from saturday's financial times. simonjack has from saturday's financial times. simon jack has been from saturday's financial times. simonjack has been across all of this, our business editor, through the weekend, trying to update on the situation and trying to talk to people who know the inside track. remember, this is interesting given all of the recent difficulties, the well—documented problems with the colla pse well—documented problems with the collapse of carillion, the construction outsourcing firm that had government projects as well, many making some connections between the two but of course, interserve, so important as far as providing all of those contracts for all kinds of different things, hotel cleaning, catering, both in government and industry, employing 75,000 staff. 0ne industry, employing 75,000 staff. one of the elements here is the bbc has learned, this is something simon jack has been recording, that

i nte rse rve jack has been recording, that interserve is expected to announce imminently it has secured new public service contracts, but with the crisis surrounding interserve and of course, we have seen the story with regards to carillion unfolding this year as well, it raises lots of questions about how these public service contracts are given out, who gets them and how the whole system works. 0nce gets them and how the whole system works. once again, the spotlight will be on the whole public—private contracting system. much more, we have just given you a snapshot but much more on the business pages on the bbc website. you can stay up—to—date on the latest of elements there. you're watching business live. our top story: europe's highest court says it's ok for the uk to stop brexit, as prime minister theresa may vows to try and win support for her deal to leave the eu. a quick look at how the markets are faring. in london, you can see they are all

a bit flat, the footsie is flat but certainly in germany and france, we are seeing some weakness and you can see how the pound is trading against the us dollar. keep an ion the currency this week. now to something com pletely currency this week. now to something completely different. ketchup, mayo, mustard or brown sauce? something we take for granted, but it's a multi—billion dollar industry. in fact, the global ketchup market was worth just over $4.1 billion in 2015 and is expected to hit $5.9 billion by 2023. it's dominated by north america with a 37% market share, followed by europe. in 2017, kantar reported uk mayonnaise sales had overtaken sales of the red stuff, growing 6.9% to clock up a cool £152.2 million compared with £1455 million for ketchup. there things you find out on this

show! well, one brand cashing in on that boom is the foraging fox. its products are on the shelves of more than 1,250 stores across the uk and they are expanding their operations in europe and the usa. it just goes to itjust goes to show, despite all the things we discuss on a daily basis, for some companies, theyjust crack on. joining us in the studio now is desiree parker, who's the ceo and co—founder of the foraging fox. thank you forjoining us. nice to have a break from brexit for a few minutes. we have got some examples of the beetroot ketchup in front of us. why? when did this start? how did you come up with this idea? us. why? when did this start? how did you come up with this idea7m was my friend and business partner frankie who came up with the idea a few years ago, she had a bumper crop of beetroot and apples in her garden and started tinkering around with her children, fundamentally, her aim was to create something that was healthier, better, tastier and it took us three years to perfect the recipes. in 2014, she asked me to

join her at a trade show at london 0lympia and i recall so clearly walking through the doors and you are greeted by the big, global brands of the world, unilever, and then i came to our table which was a one metre square store with a lovely ta blecloth one metre square store with a lovely tablecloth and at that time, handmade bottles of the original beetroot ketchup. that is what fascinates me, if someone said to you, come up with a new business idea, find a niche, something no one else has done before, this is the most crowded market you could have chosen, dominated by some absolutely huge places got the money, the marketing budget and shelf space to compete. why go into this market?- that time, it was more a proof of concept and when we got there, we had no expectations of what it could do. but what we realised was that three hours into the show, we were the talk of the show because it was unique. no one had ever thought of using a superfood is the fundamental basis to the ketchup, something that

we created which was a lot lower in sugar, had natural ingredients, no artificial ingredients, and it tasted better than what was in the market. when you say it tastes better, who is tasting for you? my boys absolutely love ketchup. they put it on everything, i'm ashamed to say, even my sunday roast, they turn their nose up at my home—made gravy and they would rather have ketchup. they are, dare i say, those that say it has got to behind. they would be the ultimate testers. it is so true because we do lots of panel testing and consumer shows and actually it is the children who come first and say, "wow, iwant is the children who come first and say, "wow, i want this", is the children who come first and say, "wow, iwant this", and is the children who come first and say, "wow, i want this", and that has been a big factor in all of this. i remember when i first brought it home, my two—year—old at the time was just learning to speak and she was covered in beetroot ketchup and she just pointed to the bottle and said, "more". it might have been her third word!|j bottle and said, "more". it might have been her third word! i touched

on taking on the big players, how do you get distribution because it is all well and good being a niche and alternative and unique but you need it on the shelves and for people to buy it. its critical and we reach strongest region in the uk, we are listed, our full range of ketchup and main a's is on a cargo, sainsbury‘s, waitrose, and lots of independent stores and in the specialty sector but once you start exporting, something we started doing two years ago, we realised we had a big market on our doorstep which was north america. we have had to do the same thing, forge strong relationships with importers and distributors and really find our best placement there. again, there's been huge movement in the state. people want healthier, tastier, lower sugar alternatives and that is exact what we give them. we are told we're out of time which is a real shame because i wanted to know how you're preparing for brexit but he will have to come back and tell as another time. i'd be delighted! we will see you again. in a moment we'll take a look through the business pages but first here's a quick reminder of how

to get in touch with us. stay up—to—date with all the day's business news as it happens on the bbc‘s business live page. there is insight and analysis from our team of editors right around the globe. and we want to hear from you. get involved on the bbc‘s business live web page at bbc.com/business. on twitter, we are at bbc business. and you can find us on facebook at bbc money. business live, on tv and online. what you need to know, when you need to know. jane is back. she has not had this problem, nor have we. none of us have this issue but our colleague has written a hold article about being given the wrong name. how it impacts your work and it is interesting. it is interesting my blood pressure begins to rise at the idea i would make this kind of mistake and i'm sure i have in the

past and i don't envy you yourjob, reading at unfamiliar names but certainly a lot of people feel it has impacted their job. certainly a lot of people feel it has impacted theirjob. some people don't know how to deal with its necessarily, some people think they should use humour, or potentially not correct the person who has made the mistake initially, or other people are just living with it, being called the wrong names and some are quite humiliating, the m ista kes some are quite humiliating, the mistakes that people make with respect to names. i'm looking at the picture here but it is interesting, so much of it is to do with predictive text or e—mail but also, something as simple as being respectful, getting somebody‘s name right, spell it right because it's important. i totally agree which is why my blood pressure rises at the very idea i might make these m ista kes very idea i might make these mistakes and i have done and it is exactly because of predictive text, particularly on the phone but also e—mail. particularly on the phone but also e-mail. thank you, ]ane, good to see you and thank you for your company. we are back tomorrow. much more on brexit on the bbc live page. we are going to see a battle between

mild ever the west and cold air from the east later this week but before then, it is fairly quiet to start off weather—wise. dry for many today. after a bright start, some sunshine with cloud increasing from the west. we can see from the satellite imagery, clear skies across many parts of the uk this morning. cloud towards western areas which will start to move its way, all associated with this weather front moving its way through northern ireland. high pressure the dominant weather pattern for many of us dominant weather pattern for many of us today. we will see a few showers around the north—east of northern ireland, south—eastern scotland, some of them moving through north wales, north—west england, perhaps into the midlands. for most, dry with cloud increasing across western areas but we held onto the sunshine across the east and temperatures getting up to about 6—9 or 10

celsius. 0vernight tonight, the cloud continues across western errors, keeping temperatures above freezing. where you have clear skies in north—east scotland and down the eastern side of england, there is likely to be a false developing into tuesday morning. temperatures likely down to —1, —2. beneath all of that cloud in the west, temperatures staying up at 5—7. 0n cloud in the west, temperatures staying up at 5—7. on tuesday, we will see some sunshine across eastern areas initially but then the cloud will tend to increase a bit into the afternoon. elsewhere, quite cloudy skies but again, if you brea ks to cloudy skies but again, if you breaks to give us a few glimmers of sunshine. this rain out towards the west and ireland will stay there. drive foremost and temperatures once again at about 7—9. that weather front will gradually move its way further east as we go into wednesday. because it is running into an area of high pressure, it wea ke ns into an area of high pressure, it weakens out and it will give us a few spots of rain across western

areas aware again, it will be mostly cloudy i think for many during wednesday. as he breaks perhaps across eastern areas of the uk. —— a few breaks perhaps. temperatures are 7-10 few breaks perhaps. temperatures are 7—10 or maybe up to 11. into thursday, we will start to see easterly when starting to develop. steal a line of south—westerly wind sitting towards the west of the uk but we think that on thursday, the easterly went will set up across most parts of the uk so it will turn colder by the end of the week. goodbye. you're watching bbc news at nine with me, reeta chakrabarti. the headlines: the european court ofjustice rules that the uk can cancel brexit without the permission of the other 27 members. the ruling comes the day before the crucial vote due in the house of commons on theresa may's brexit deal. she's making calls to european leaders as ministers urge mps to back her. the prime minister is best place, as

i mentioned earlier, to secure the right dealfor i mentioned earlier, to secure the right deal for britain. there i mentioned earlier, to secure the right dealfor britain. there is i mentioned earlier, to secure the right deal for britain. there is a really important decision that eve ryo ne really important decision that everyone has to make tomorrow. the suspect in the case of murdered british backpacker grace millane appears in court. new zealand's prime minister gives a tearful apology to the family. on behalf of new zealand, i want to apologise to grace's family. your daughter should have been safe here