this is business live from bbc news with sally bundock and victoria fritz. stock markets give the fed a thumbs down as it raises interest rates — despite warnings from president trump and concerns over slowing growth. live from london, that's our top story on thursday the 20th of december. fed bossjerome powell says pressure from mr trump played no role whatsoever in the decision and that the strength of the us economyjustified a rise. also in the programme: another surprise from tokyo. former nissan boss carlos ghosn could soon be out ofjail, after a court ruled against his detention being extended. the financial markets are giving the

fed a big thumbs down and europe is following the lead from asia and wall street. powering an electric future, we'll be talking to a dutch startup — which wants to build europe's biggest battery plant. and the uk's second busiest airport, gatwick, is paralysed by drones on one of the most important weeks of the year. today, we want to know — are you stuck? have you been affected? are you listening to us in gatwick? let us know — just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. get in touch, we will share your comments later. welcome to the programme. we start in washington dc, where the us central bank, the federal reserve — has raised the cost of borrowing for the fourth time this year. it is what everyone said it would. it has upped its main interest rate by a quarter of a percent — to a range of between 2.25% and 2.5%. the move comes despite recent turbulence on financial markets —

and signs that growth is slowing, not to mention the ongoing criticism from president trump, who wants cheaper borrowing to support the economy. the fed has now raised rates nine times since 2015. you can see the steady increase. it says it expects to raise them again twice next year — not three times as it was previously predicting. this has been thejustificiation — as far as the fed's concerned. us growth has been recovering strongly since the financial crisis with unemployment now the lowest in almost half a century. but the recent slowdown means there is a growing debate about where interest rates should be. julian howard, head of multi—asset, gam investments is here. welcome to the programme. good morning. one of the big things here is around the independence of the

federal reserve and whether or not they should have raised rates, given they should have raised rates, given the amount of concern that there is now building around the picture for global economic growth and also some of the comments from president trump, asking them to hold. president trump was both wrong and right at the same time, he was wrong to interfere because the fed's independence is sacrosanct. but he makes a good point that us economic growth is starting to slow down a bit and there is no inflation problem in the us. inflation is below 2% and the target is 2%, there doesn't seem to be any need to raise interest rates to head off an inflationary threat that simply doesn't exist. if there isn't an inflationary threat to the us, what should they be doing? why raise rates at all? that is exactly the point and that is why markets didn't like it, the dow was down 3% yesterday, they felt it was unnecessary and this could be what economists call a policy mistake whereby the fed or the central bank gets too worried about potential

inflation, ramps up rates in anticipation and then it doesn't materialise and then you have a monetary tightening and weak economy asa monetary tightening and weak economy as a result. they have this doctrine of steering the market, telling people what's going to happen. we are hearing now that they will be giving monthly updates when it comes to setting. is that the right call? is that the right way to communicate policy? it probably is, they have taken a policy? it probably is, they have takenafairold policy? it probably is, they have taken a fair old time to get around to it. previously they were on a predetermined path. we got a rate increase roughly every quarter and now we are in a transition period where the fed is going to become more data dependent on the market would have liked to have seen more data dependency at this round than they did. it is part of the fed trying to make it look as if the transition is controlled. we have gone from every quarter raising rates to we will do this one and may be two more next year then we will become data —dependent. they need to become data —dependent. they need to become data —dependent. they need to become data dependent is more

pressing than that. there is no inflation coming through and the tailwind from the tax cuts is fast fading and the consensus forecast for economic growth next year is 2.596, for economic growth next year is 2.5%, down from three and a half percent this year. the fed need to speed up. i welcome monthly updates but they need to do this quicker. we will leave it there, thank you very much. thanks. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. i know you are doing your markets, i will leave you to it. let's talk about gatwick. all flights in and out of london gatwick — the uk's second busiest airport have been suspended after two drones were seen flying near the runway. many passengers have been left facing long delays. we will be going live to gatwick later in the programme. facebook shares have tumbled, amid concerns about its ability to safeguard user data sparked a government lawsuit. washington dc‘s top prosecutor is suing the firm in the first significant us move to punish the firm for its role in the cambridge analytica scandal.

taxi—hailing firm uber has lost its latest court bid to stop its british drivers being classified as workers, entitling them to rights, such as the minimum wage. in 2016 a tribunal ruled two drivers were uber staff and entitled to holiday pay, paid rest breaks and the minimum wage. uber says it would appeal the verdict. let's talk markets, not a nice day all week at all. i say nice... it's all week at all. i say nice... it's all red, all going down. this is how things ended in japan, all red, all going down. this is how things ended injapan, 3% loss for the main market. japanese stocks entering a bear market, the bank of japan keeping its policy on hold, the central bank not changing anything. this was in reaction to the big falls we saw on wall street the big falls we saw on wall street the night before. all in reaction in

the night before. all in reaction in the main to the us federal reserve decision... not a decision to raise rates, as we heard we were expecting that, that was priced in but what it said about the year ahead, its cautionary tone about the year ahead and what's beyond that. at this time of year, it is thin trading on markets around the world. when there are movements, they are much more exaggerated because there are fewer players out there buying and selling. let's have a look at europe. it is a very similar picture. a similar picture, these markets heading lower, there are some specific stocks making the news. for example in japan, softbank, the mobile division that had the floating yesterday, another bad day for softbank mobile, shares down quite a bit and the s&p 500 down. a very similar picture. that's the markets at the moment. let's go to asia now — and news that renault boss carlos ghosn may soon be out ofjail after a tokyo court decided not to extend his detention.

ghosn has been indicted for alleged financial misconduct. he's accused of understating how much he was being paid while chairman of renault‘s partner nissan over a five—year period from 2010. 0ur asia business correspondent, karishma vaswani joins us. a bit ofa a bit of a setback forjapanese prosecutors. indeed. very big surprise it would be fair to say. this typically doesn't happen in japan. when japanese this typically doesn't happen in japan. whenjapanese prosecutors in the legal system built up a case there, and when they request for the extension of a detention, pretty much every single time, they are granted that extension. the fact that a tokyo court has made this decision is quite surprising, to say the least. it will also give us the very first time, hopefully, that we hear from the man very first time, hopefully, that we hearfrom the man himself. of course, up hearfrom the man himself. of course, up until now, he has consistently denied these

allegations but only through his legal team. they have talked about the fact that the underreporting of income, under the japanese legal system, there is misinterpretation over that and that's their defence, but how he has deferred his income, with regards to retirement income in the future. all of those things hopefully should become clearer, if and when we hear from hopefully should become clearer, if and when we hearfrom him. we are hearing he could possibly be released on bail as early as friday. having said that, there is still a chance the japanese prosecutors could appeal this decision. it is still very murky. to give you a sense of how big a deal this story is injapan, and across asia, all the media are camped outside that present in case he comes out. exactly. this is a huge story, we cannot underplay that. not at all. not simply because of the fact that this is a massive company injapan and it has global ramifications, but he himself is such a towering figure

in the japanese corporate world. he is pretty much the antithesis of everything you would expect in a japanese boss. for many people i have spoken to injapan who have followed this very carefully, they have said there has been this resentment against carlos ghosn, partly because he was paid so much more than everybody else. and partly because of this larger than life character. he had no qualms, you know, making quite frank statements about the way he wanted business done. he had a view on lots of things in the japanese corporate world. there is a degree of resentment and a great deal of interest as to what he's going to say, if and when indeed he is released on bail. it's so nice to have you in the studio. it is lovely to be here. she is with us in the flesh, thank you so much. still to come: powering an electric future, we'll be talking to a dutch startup — which wants to build europe's biggest battery plant. you're with business live from bbc news. how's your local

town centre looking? we know that many are in serious trouble. a government report today says that one—size—fits—all solutions won't work. the core recommendation is that local task forces take the lead in town centre revival. it comes from sirjohn timpson, the owner of timpsons‘ shoe repair shops, who chaired the government's expert panel. welcome to business live. thank you for being on the programme. tell us in more detail what you are proposing. thank you. it was very apparent, when we started, that there is no great magic solution to there is no great magic solution to the problems that have been affecting our high streets. it has been changing for many years but has

changed very fast recently, mainly due to online and there are number of retail formats that have come in to financial life. but we did notice quite a significant number of local town centres that have actually done very well over the last few years. where footfall is up, the number of closed shops are down. that is almost invariably the result of local people, inspirational leaders, who have got great ideas and got on and done things. the recommendation of my panel to the government is that they should be encouraged by what i call a form of upside and government. where, actually, what the government does is to help those people who are there to help themselves. with plenty of data. not to overdo the data, but the relevant stuff. particularly the success stories that have happened elsewhere. and claiming the

obstacles that might be getting on the way, particularly to do with planning to make it easier, quicker and more common sense and clearing the obstacles. the real hope is that there will be plenty of local leaders and local communities who really wa nt leaders and local communities who really want to change their town centres. thanks so much for being on the programme. we should get you back another time when we have more time to unpack this further. yes, and talk about timson‘s. interesting business. more on our website. take a look for all the latest news. it is 99 days until the uk leaves the eu and counting. your're watching business live — our top story: the us central bank the federal reserve has raised the cost of borrowing for the fourth time this year. the markets didn't like it. they are

headed in one direction, as you can see. this is europe at the moment, all down, not far off 2% lower across the main market boards. now, as environmental concerns continue to mount globally, more and more governments around the world are encouraging the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. ten years ago, renewable energy made up 18.5% of the global market. now it makes up 25% of the world's electricity, with that figure set to rise to 30% by 2022. using energy efficiently is vital for renewable energy. bloomberg predicts the global energy storage market will attract $620 billion in investment over the next 22 years. kees koolen, the chairman of lithium werks, a dutch energy storage and battery company is with us. welcome to the programme. hello.

battery is at the heart of energy storage and the idea we are transitioning. what makes your company different? because there are lots of people working in this space, trying to be the race to be the first. there's two things that make us different. most people now focus on electric cars, so they try to make cars and electric. we are into energy storage. secondly, in europe, everybody wants to be a battery back builder but if you build battery packs, you need battery cells, like lights for example and if you don't control the source, like the pen lights, you are not in control of your business. we have a factory in china, one of the first european companies and we will build more factories so we can build those battery cells ourselves. this company has gone through an enormous transformation in one year pretty much. it describes you as a bout a year ago, a logo on a piece of paper

and since then, you've bought several companies in this space. you are on the march? we are. if you look at this industry it will be a multi trillion industry in a few decades from now as you can see in many articles. at that time, in 20, 30 years, there will be ten huge global companies in this sector and i want to be one of them. we were only $7 million turnover last year and this year it is 65 and we plan to be much bigger again. we want to catch up very fast with the current leaders and grow fast. anyone who knows your career history, they know they need to listen to you, you worked for some time with booking.com an uber. you are a disruptor. my hobby is to build companies. it is a kind of way of thinking and working and it is a lot of discipline, setting clear goals and getting it done. what makes a company disruptive, a successful company? there are a few things. 0ne, company? there are a few things. one, the timing has to be right. if

you build booking.com, you are too late and 15 years ago, you are too early. the timing for this industry is perfect. everybody talks about climate change, everybody talks about transition for fossil fuels to clea n about transition for fossil fuels to clean energy and for that, you need energy storage and that is great. the other thing that makes disruptive successful is the team of people you are building. in the end, when the timing is good, they will be multiple companies and the ones that have the best team in place and makes the least mistakes, they will have a place in future leadership. it is high risk, what can go wrong? it is high risk, what can go wrong? it is high risk, what can go wrong? it is high risk, you have technology risks comp of political risks. disruptors disrupt and governments don't like it. -- you have political risks. you are always being sued by various organisations and cities, look at uber‘s story. various organisations and cities, look at uber's story. it isn't so bad, you are a disruptor and you don't do things that that you do something that hasn't been done before. laws did not exist before

they didn't have laws. we have learnt a lot from history. in this company i am much more proactive than i have ever been in reaching out to governments, to work with them and expend what is happening, so them and expend what is happening, so they can prepare themselves better. what is also happening in this world is that disruption goes faster and faster. at booking.com we had a few decades to educate governments but we only have a few yea rs, governments but we only have a few years , we governments but we only have a few yea rs, we have governments but we only have a few years, we have to be much more proactive and we have learned from it. we are lucky to be speaking to you, because you had a very difficult time back in 2006, didn't you? yeah, i do some motor and part of motorsport is that sometimes you crash. that means it is not always nice but it is a nice hobby —— might ido nice but it is a nice hobby —— might i do some motor sports. you broke 20—something bones and the paramedics didn't want to take you back, they didn't think it was worth their while? yeah, that happens. laughter it hasn't happened to us! luckily, it turned out to be good. has it changed your perspective when it comes to business? an experience

like that. no. ithink comes to business? an experience like that. no. i think racing is a strange hobby, but it's very comparable to building a disruptive company. you are going into an area where you don't know where you're going, you have to get out, get through and you will experience a lot of things you could not prepare for. it's similar to business. thank you for coming in, fascinating. we shall keep an eye that is for sure. 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. insight and analysis from our team of editors around the globe and we want to hear from you, editors around the globe and we want to hearfrom you, too. get involved on the bbc buzz business live page online. 0n on twitter... you can find us on facebook. business live, on tv and online.

what you need to know, when you need to know. we have a very familiar face with us. justin urquhart—stewart from seven investment management is with us. hopefully we will go to gatwick as well. good morning. let's talk about the papers. facebook. like a lot of these disruptors you were just talking about, how a lot of these tech businesses are now being attacked for various reasons, whether it is political, in terms of being monopolistic, some of the actions being taken or in terms of taxation and in terms of controlling their data. yet again, how you have actually got facebook now being accused of misleading privacy settings, allowing firms to harvest information, this is all about controlling data. in europe we have had gdp are and those processes but this is the effect. if these companies can't control it they will get thoroughly spanked. companies can't control it they will

get thoroughly spankedm companies can't control it they will get thoroughly spanked. it has been a terrible year for facebook. time and again they have been hit with scandals. is the age of facebook over? it will morph. it will be there but how it will be doing it or other businesses... facebook is the brand name everybody knows but talk to the next generation, they are already using variations of other elements. these businesses have to grow up and learn to control themselves. they have to make sure they are proper members of the business society and paying the appropriate amount of tax. as we saw with france last week, they are having a go at these large businesses saying we will have to pay an amount of tax and we have half—heartedly tried to do it here. they have to make sure they control their data. if they are seen to be monopolistic, anti—trust actions are being taken in america, you will see actions being taken to take some of these businesses apart. either they reform and change or they will go. make sense of a story that i have been trying to get my head around today. reuters. city am. the free

underground paper. is there another branch to the city of london or is a big blockage when it comes to how financial services will work if there is a no deal? same story of two views. city am saying... diametrically opposed. it is not fine. actually, go back to actually see what others are saying, what reuters are saying. what they are doing is saying you will have a period of time after which you will have to change or you will be blocked out. predicting with regards to clearances of derivatives, slightly more esoteric area, there will be a period of 12 months or two yea rs will be a period of 12 months or two years where the clearing process will be able to appear and after that it will change. it is not saying it is an olive branch but it is now saying there has to be an end date to this. the trouble is, the city has not been able to reach a

pub agreement. lots of investment firms are having to set up operations now —— might reach a proper agreement. in the eu property make sure they are not locked out. ba rclays has transferred make sure they are not locked out. barclays has transferred very significant capital is out. hsbc is the same. various american firms have said they will do a britain light, which turns out to be ireland! interesting! let's hear more from gatwick airport now, the second busiest in the uk where flights have been halted because of some rogue drones flying nearby. since 9pm last night. these are the skies above london as shown on the flight radar website. at the top of the picture is heathrow where airspace is exceptionally busy and at the bottom, where gatwick airport is located just north of crawley, no planes are circling. 0ur correspondent andy moore is at gatwick now. what's the latest? the runway is still closed and the

european safety regulator europe control says it will be closed until at least 10am. the airport says they will try to get it open as soon as possible but we were told by the chief operating officer about half an hourago chief operating officer about half an hour ago that a drone was still operating in the airspace over his airfield. there are 20 police units trying to find the drone itself and the drone operator. this is a deliberate act that has been going on for something like 12 hours. it is no accident. the motive is unknown but it is certainly causing huge problems and has already affected tens of thousands of people and tens of thousands of people more will be hit today. never a good time for a major airport like this to be closed just before christmas, it is a very bad time. thank you. many people have been in touch to tell us about your woes. justin is still

with us and you have news from easyj et. with us and you have news from easyjet. in the last two minutes, three minutes ago, easyjet advising its passengers not to travel to grab gatwick airport if their flight has been cancelled. easyjet diverted a number of flights to other airports across the uk. aircraft and crew are now out of position, they are at different airports across the uk, so thatis different airports across the uk, so that is resulting in a lot of cancellations. it is astonishing. in israel, where they were flying drones over the archaeological sites, we had about two minutes before the authority or authorities are zapped then. 9pm last night this has gone on. it sounds like the keystone cops charging around. it is pathetic when you see how it is controlled elsewhere. great to have you here. that's it from business live today. there will be more business news throughout the day on the bbc live web page and on world business

report. we'll see you again tomorrow. hello, there, good morning. grab your umbrella because there will be quite a few showers about this morning. 0utbreaks outbreaks of rain and it will turn quite mild across southern areas on friday. quite a few showers this morning. the satellite imagery, speckled cloud across the uk and the bright lights, the towns and cities beneath that. quite a bit more cloud across scotland and northern ireland. that will bring in more showers this afternoon, frequent and in northern england. for wales and the south—west, still a few showers this afternoon but for the midlands, eastern and southern parts of england, it will be drier and brighter compared to this morning. quite blustery winds and temperatures getting up to seven to ten or 11. tonight, we will continue with a few showers but clear spells across the far north of scotland and rain spreads its way in overnight.

across wales and eastern and southern parts of england. temperatures staying at a six to 8 degrees. it could be freezing and a bit of a frost on the far north of scotland. that weather front is the culprit for the wet weather during friday. with that weather front moving in it will also bring milder conditions. notice the orange and yellow colours, the dividing line from the milder air in the south to the colder air in the north. the rain will ease off across wales, the midlands and eastern and southern parts, sunny spells developing here and the rain petering out across northern parts of england and northern ireland and the far north of scotla nd northern ireland and the far north of scotland it will stay dry but it will be chilly, 6—8. meanwhile, temperatures in the south about 13, 14 temperatures in the south about 13, 1a degrees. the weekend, higher pressure dominating things on saturday which will keep things relatively settled. rain spreads its way in across southern areas as we go through sunday. saturday, the

driest of the days, a bit of sunshine and rain moving in by sunday and on christmas eve there will still be rain at times in southern parts. temperatures coming down a touch, 4—11. and then christmas day, the big day, high pressure looks like it will be in charge of the weather. a bit of cloud, patchy fog around and it could be a bit chilly first thing. high pressure, not much in the way of rain, a white christmas is very unlikely. goodbye. you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines: travellers are facing major disruption at gatwick airport after two drones seen flying near the runway caused dozens of flights to be grounded and diverted overnight. i have a drone on my airfield. as we stand here now, gatwick will not be able to reopen until that drone is brought down. we are told at least one drone is

still flying right now in the skies above gatwick airport. at least 20 police units are searching for the operator. more money is needed to change the layout of town centres according to a new report into the state of the high street, and we'll have more analysis at 09:30 when latest retail figures are published. the work and pensions secretary amber rudd says a second brexit