this is business live from bbc news, with jamie robertson and maryam moshiri. a bumpy road ahead forjaguar land rover, as the luxury carmaker is set to announce thousands ofjob cuts. live from london, that's our top story on thursday 10th january. the car maker owned by india's tata is battlling brexit, a diesel decline and a slowdown in china. also in the programme... fear and loathing in las vegas — we find out why the odds are stacked against chinese players at this year's us tech fair. and with choppy waters in 2019, it's tough times for firms struggling to stay afloat. we get the inside track on a firm

that's riding waves, turning around firms that are about to go bust. as one pet food company claims 40% of it's meat is made from insects of its meat is made from insects to help the environnment, should more industries prioritise saving the planet? let us know, just use the hashtag #bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. it's one of the icons of the british car industry and it has enjoyed a new era of global success under the ownership of india's tata. but over the past year, the road has got decidedly rougher forjaguar land rover. later today, we'll find outjust how rough, when it releases sales numbers for 2018, and its plans for the coming year. workers fear that could mean substantial job losses. the company announced a restructuring plan last year

to save $3.2 billion in costs. 1000 jobs have already been cut at plants in the uk — up to 5000 more could go. a slump in diesel sales has hit the company hard. at the end of 2017, 90% of land rover cars were diesel, and the company has been criticized for being too slow to refocus on hybrid and electric vehicles. then there's the b word. jlr's supply chain is very dependent on frictionless cross—border trade. the ceo has called the prospect of no deal "horrifying", warning it could cost the company $1.5 billion a year. and on top of all that, there's the problem of china. on wednesday, we saw the first annualfall in car sales in china in more than two decades. that is the world's biggest car

market and the biggest export market for indian—owned jlr. let's get a quick update from mumbai with business reporter sameer hashmi. looking at it from india, what is happening, do you reckon? well, jamie, it is not looking pretty at all. and now, jl are is expect to to announce cuts, 5000 jobs, it is expected. most of them are expected to be with regards to marketing and adminjobs, productionjobs to be with regards to marketing and admin jobs, production jobs may to be with regards to marketing and adminjobs, productionjobs may not ta ke adminjobs, productionjobs may not take a major hit but remember, this is the first step thatjlr is taking, in line with what they announced a few months ago, that they will be restructuring about $3.2 billion of their business, and that would involve cuts, so this is the first step, not the final steps, there could be more cuts in the months to come or in the second half of the year. at clearly, the management feels, in the short—term, this could be an effect of step. and then seeing how china plans out,

then, to decide what more needs to be done. but china would really be the key in terms of deciding future plans. thank you very much, i'm sure we will be talking to you later. jim holder, editorial director at autocar is with me now. given that towards the end of last year we were looking at £15 billion of profit in the years leading up to 2018 for this company, how surprised are you? yes, the fall from grace has been next ordinarily quick. this was a company that was on the rise, particularly under tata ownership, they had invested and generated huge profits, speaking at £2.5 billion before tax for the year in 2015. so the fall from grace is dramatic and it is absolutely true that there is this perfect storm of outside events, but with hindsight, perhaps some of the decisions they made with those investments were not as smart as they helps. and i imagine one of

those decisions you're talking about is the drive into more diesel and not really investing as much as one would hope these days in electric and hybrid? absolutely, the fall from grace of diesel sales was very quick, it hit europe very fast and very ha rd quick, it hit europe very fast and very hard and slightly unexpectedly, but they have been slower than their rivals to invest in hybrid technology. they have been quicker than some with the full electric but thatis than some with the full electric but that is not profitable yet. so they need to find a way of capitalising on that and making the money they need to invest for the future. looking at their european operations, there is a feeling they could move a lot of it there, would that be worth their while, in terms of their costs? particularly from the manufacturing point of view, jaguar land rover has for a long time been heavily uk—based and that has been seen as a potential weakness, that's why they opened a plant in europe early last year and they now need to fill that part up. it is not at capacity yet so there is the potential for moving some of

the uk manufacturing out there. and the uk manufacturing out there. and the logic for that grows all the time with the threat of brexit looming on the horizon. how does it compare to others? we have seen the likes of mercedes and bmw also been hit by the slow down in china but they are better placed because they are bigger? absolutely. it is fair to say that other companies are also suffering from the same problems but they're much more insured against them because of their scale. the companies you mentioned, audi, bmw, mercedes, are at least four times the size in terms of sales, they have bigger art and the budgets for the future. perhaps they are not as agile but today, they are the first ones to really face into the shock of what is going on around the world. thank you very much indeed, jim holder, editor of autocar. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. carmaker fiat chrysler will pay more

than $700 million to settle lawsuits from the usjustice department and diesel owners, according to reports. it has been sued for allegedly using software to cheat emissions rules — claims it denies. amazon founder and ceo jeff bezos and his wife mackenzie are to divorce after a 25—year marriage. mr bezos is the world's richest person, according to the bloomberg billionaire index, with an estimated wealth of $137 billion, some $115 billion ahead of bill gates. rolls—royce motor cars sold a record number of cars last year, with sales driven by the new eighth—generation phantom model. the bmw—owned company sold a total of 11,107 vehicles, a rise of 5% on its previous record in 2014. the us and china have wrapped up three days of trade talks in beijing,

with some optimistic statements. sharanjit leyl is in singapore. tell us, how optimistic, exactly? well, generally, if you think about it, these talks were meant to be over two days, the fact that they went into a third day was potentially a sign that they went fairly well. today, both sides have come out with their assessment of how it went. china said the talks laid the foundations to resolve the damaging trade dispute, the ministry went on to say that there were extensive, deep and detailed talks. we heard from the us trade representative saying china had pledged to purchase more agricultural and other goods though they did not provide specifics. the talks, of course, were not expected to produce a final deal but there was a lot of optimism about the progress they had had and that had actually helped global stock markets this week. thank you very much.

0n the markets, you have got the nikkei down, after recent rises. the hang seng hardly moving. the dow, again, a small amount. hang seng hardly moving. the dow, again, a smallamount. a hang seng hardly moving. the dow, again, a small amount. a little bit ofa again, a small amount. a little bit of a slowdown following that big kick which came following the results at the end of last week. the european markets, again, a bit of a breather. down but not serious amounts. and michelle fleury has the details of what's ahead on wall street today. the minutes from the federal reserve's december meeting reveal more caution among policymakers than their statement at the time implied. the message that the central bank in america can afford to wait before raising interest rates again as it considers the risks to the economy. none of this will stop investors from looking for new clues on interest—rate policy when the chairman of the federal reserve

speaks this thursday. as for economic data, look out for weekly jobless claims. the number of americans claiming state unemployment benefits is likely to have dropped to 225,000 at the end of last week. we will see next week ifa of last week. we will see next week if a partial government shut down spurs federal workers to request funds. joining us is jane foley, senior currency strategist at rabobank. let's talk about the asian markets and the broader markets, because we have seen a few days where the asian markets seemed to be on a roll, thinking positively, but they are taking a breather now, what are investors thinking? obviously, there isa investors thinking? obviously, there is a lot of focus on the us iphone china trade talks, extended into yesterday, which forced to ms. but we have not had many details and there is also scepticism because later on the month it is quite likely that maybe donald trump will wa nt to likely that maybe donald trump will want to announce some sort of end to the trade wars, but there might be announcements on cars and soya beans

but when you're looking at structural reform, how are the us going to make sure that china implements the structural reform that they want? yes, if this goes on for years, is it going to be co nsta ntly for years, is it going to be constantly weighing on the markets? i think it depends on the impact on global growth. for instance, we have seen global growth slowing down, forecasts, quite clearly. so, china growth, definitely so and in fact some of the inflation data from china today really confirms that slow down in china, and that's another reason the markets are a little bit cautious today. just coming back to europe and the rest of the world, is brexit having an effect particularly on the markets? we've been through so many stages of confusion, does this make any difference? it certainly does, i think sterling is the biggest gauge. we have seen sterling really quite volatile. if you look back since the

referendum in 2016, sterling is of course that much weaker, reflecting political uncertainty and also consumer confidence down, we have seen it in carfigures and other figures in the uk. stay with us, we'll be back with you in the newspapers in a short time. still to come... and with choppy waters in 2019, it's tough times for firms struggling to stay afloat. we get the inside track on a firms that's riding waves, turning around firms that are about to go bust. retailers suffered their worst christmas since 2008, according to the british retail consortium. in the five weeks to 29th december, sales were flat compared to a rise of 1.4% in december last year. helen dickinson is the chief executive of the british retail consortium. i've seen over the last couple of weeks a couple of bright spots, but just a couple, isn't he, when you're

looking at retail? indeed. we're seeing a perfect storm if you like of technology changing the way people shop, rising costs for retail businesses and sluggish demand rich tailed off towards the end of last year, and that christmas trading period is the most critical for the vast majority of retail businesses. you say technology, but it's not just simply a question of sales shifting from bricks and mortar over to technology, it seems as though everywhere is pretty flat? yeah. these figures that we compiled and put out today include sales through stores and online and what we're seeing is online sales are continuing to grow, store sales are falling. and that is putting real pressure on physical space, we're seeing job losses and store closures in many high streets and communities up in many high streets and communities up and down the country and the

retail industry employs over 3 million people, and therefore the need for government to really take action on some of those costs, particularly things like business rates, is absolutely more imperative than ever, to avoid more unnecessary job losses and store closures. than ever, to avoid more unnecessary job losses and store closureslj wa nted job losses and store closureslj wanted to ask you about what needs to happen next. does the high street need to change the way that it thinks, does the government needs to help more, or do you think consumers arejust changing help more, or do you think consumers are just changing the way they spend their money and they want more deals and better deals all the time?|j think and better deals all the time?” think all of the above, is the a nswer to think all of the above, is the answer to that question. consumers are changing the way that they shop, we as shoppers have access to more information than ever before, more options, and that is creating intense competition across the industry. the government absolutely needs to provide some support and make those changes, particularly to business rates, not for the industry in its own sake but to support the

reinvention of our high streets and communities up and down the country. helen dickinson from the british retail consortium, thank you very much. plenty more on our website. your‘re watching business live — our top story. bumpy road ahead for jaguar land rover, as the luxury carmaker is set to announce thousands ofjob cuts, as china slows down and brexit bites. a quick look at how the markets are faring. all of them down, not seriously, though. marks & spencer is came out with disappointing figures and its share price was down, last time i checked, on the london market. tesco figures weren't too bad. and update from john lewis as well, which is looking reasonably positive. there's so much info on all the latest retail sales figures, it's super thursday for the retail sector, go

to our website for that. now with global debt levels at record highs, more firms are finding it difficult to refinance their debts. this vicious circle is leading to more closures. according to the us trustees program, 733,000 businesses filed for bankruptcy in the us alone last year. in the uk, high debt levels forced 11,308 companies to close their doors in the third quarter of 2018, which is 19.3% higher compared to the same period in 2017. 0ne firm trying to save the day is uk investment specialist rel capital, whose business model is based around turning around firms that are about to go bust. andy scott, chairman and founder of rel, is with us now. it is lovely to talk to you. this company, basically, correct me if i am wrong, looks for firms that are in trouble, you take them over and you turn them around, you don'tjust sell them on, you keep them and

invest in them for the long—term? yes, turning around businesses is not a short—term fix. you might break even at best in year one so we really have to hold on the 3a years to get some kind of stabilised income and we operate across three sectors and run 12 companies at the moment, each sector has its own challenges. there is usually a reason why the companies are going bust, what is it that you can spot ina company bust, what is it that you can spot in a company which says, we can save this? there's a number of things. as you mentioned before, debt is a big heart of it, a lot of companies take on too much debt and they simply cannot service it. if we are faced with an opportunity from an insolvency practitioner, we can strip it out and pick it up and go again, saving 30—50 jobs, we will ta ke again, saving 30—50 jobs, we will take the chance. you've done so well that you are potentially mooted as one of the guys on the sofa in dragons' den? well, there is no seat available at the moment but i think it it would be great if they had someone, a wheeler dealer, young...

but you need a lot of capital, to be able to service debt, you need to be able to service debt, you need to be able to service debt, you need to be able to inject capital, that is your problem, isn't it? yeah, the first few months of a business is the intensive care and we watch the numbers like a hawk. 0ver intensive care and we watch the numbers like a hawk. over the year you have to be able to service the cash drain. do you pick them up and drop them again or do you keep it on for ever once you have taken it on? no, you have to see the business through, there's no point getting rid of staff after three months and then having to really after nine months. i wanted to ask you, what happens to the staff in the companies you take over? the companies you take over? the companies we take on, a lot of the quys companies we take on, a lot of the guys have had a torrid time so our first priority is to reassure the quys first priority is to reassure the guys that theirjob is safe. getting them to buy into the plan. so, all of the businesses we have taken on, i think we have kept 90% of the businesses on. it must be quite

emotional because you're talking about people's livelihoods, taking a company which is by its nature going to be risky, do you have sleepless nights? bumble the joys or downsides of the business is that you often have to buy a business which would often have to buy a business which would ofte n ta ke have to buy a business which would often take three or four months, in 24 often take three or four months, in 2a hours. so i don't sleep a lot for those days. but before christmas we we re those days. but before christmas we were trying to rescue a business in the north of england and it does look on your mind. and you saved those jobs? sadly not in that case, the transport licence was not granted in time, so we don't always get there. what is your success rate? in terms of. . . ? get there. what is your success rate? in terms of...? in get there. what is your success rate? in terms of. . . ? in terms of selling a company on?” rate? in terms of. . . ? in terms of selling a company on? i have only been going for two or three years and for me, they are my babies now soi and for me, they are my babies now so i don't want to let them go. so we haven't sold anything and we don't wish to do so. where did you come from, not physically, but in terms of your career, because didn't start out in the world of business, you have a fascinating story...?

yeah, ithink you have a fascinating story...? yeah, i think i lied about my age andi yeah, i think i lied about my age and i was a nightclub answer at the age of 16, which is probably illegal now, but i was walking the doors when i was at university, dropped down to become a builder, with £5,000 from my grandmother, so i have had a go at running building sites, i had a go at ours, which i sold out, but i have had my bumps along the way. 2008 was a horrendous time, the lights are pretty much went out so i really went back to basics after 2008, working on building sites again, and i have rebuilt. what do you need? just going back to your point about saving money, often people think you need big wads of cash, but if you we re need big wads of cash, but if you were to take a business and start again, all the good bits, they can be prodigal quite quickly. you don't often need, especially with a smaller business... so what goes wrong, then? i often say people fail rather than businesses. there is a

number of factors. people lose interest, disputes, you see a lot of husband and wife team is working together, i imagine their marriage would fail as well as the business in that case. i think you and i jamie could have a really successful business together, if nothing else! we have managed to do if half an hour, don't know... that is better than me and my husband most days! let's go to las vegas now — and the consumer electronics show, where the growing tension between the us and china, is causing a buzz. 0ur north america technology reporter dave lee is there. for decades, ces has been a thrilling ride into the future of the global tech industry. a multimillion dollar sales pitch of the weird, the wonderful and maybe the groundbreaking. companies from china have long been a familiar sight, with firms like huawei now taking up almost as much room as the top us names. it makes business sense for them to come here because they can meet their buyers from all around the world. but while huawei has come out in force for this tech show,

none of the us phone networks offer their smartphones. that's because the us government is concerned that china might use them to spy on americans. and then there is the ongoing trade war between the two countries which threatens to impact tech firms greatly. most here hope and expect the trade disputes to pass. there is a growing atmosphere of suspicion between the two global superpowers over how they use new technology. dave lee, bbc news, in las vegas. what other business stories has the media been taking an interest in? jane foley is joining us again to discuss. that's talk about japan's, beef, british beef, going to japan once again, after the mad cow crisis, and british land, this is all to do with the japanese prime ministers visiting theresa may today? yeah, so he is in london, clearly it is good

for uk farmers if they can trigger beef and lamb going tojapan for uk farmers if they can trigger beef and lamb going to japan for the first time since 1996. but there is the other side of the coin is well. we've got to remember what prime minister bay represents, he really is the world flag flyer of free trade. there is something potentially which be done for both sides post—brexit, obviously, the uk wa nts to sides post—brexit, obviously, the uk wants to build up trading partners but from japan's point of view, it is imperative. japan has an extremely ageing population, domestic demand is owned to fall off and he really wants to kick up trading partners, he needs destination is for his exports. so this could be a win—win solution if it works out. . have got a trade deal with japan now as a result of the eu signing it? yes, as long as the eu signing it? yes, as long as the uk is in the eu it cannot do independent trade agreements by itself. but i think theresa may will be looking forward to the post—brexit situation here. be looking forward to the post-brexit situation here. let's talk about climate change, this is very much of the moment now, a lot

of companies trying to do their bit or at least show that they are doing so. this pet food company in the uk, this is going on uk supermarket shelves, this is basically dogs eating insects the pet food companies only a, we are making dog food which will contain 40% soldier flies, i believe it is. to be honest, don't let's eat insects anyway? i had a labrador who are trained to catch spiders because i hated the spiders. lots of spiders we re hated the spiders. lots of spiders were harmed in the process of this film being made! no problems with eating insects for me. but first of all the correspondent did ask a vet if it was good for dogs and the vet said, yes, because we know that insects are full of protein. but actually it needs to be tested more. we have got a tweet which says, where will you get all the insects from? the where will you get all the insects from ? the latest where will you get all the insects from? the latest research from germany shows that the total mass of insects in germany is absolutely

declining. they will be farming them? they will be farming them. we need them, though, to pollinate our crops? we need that as well, i suppose that is another issue. but it does say it is more in fact if in terms of the amount of protein, far more efficient to get insects to generate the protein than farm animals. do you think they should be vegetarian, dogs? not for me! do you think it would be possible?” vegetarian, dogs? not for me! do you think it would be possible? i don't know, jamie, but... it has been lovely to speak to you, jane foley. there are vegan dog plans as well, all sorts of things! that's it from business live today. there will be more business news throughout the day on the bbc live webpage and on world business report. we'll see you again tomorrow. good morning. we had a frost this

morning across england and wales but not as cold for scotland and northern ireland. mild air filtering in and that mild air will gradually move southwards today. it is going to be quite a cloudy day for many of us. this one front is responsible for the milder air and it is going to push it south and eastwood. but it is in this area of high pressure, keeping things relatively settled today. zeppelin flow in a clockwise direction around the area of high pressure, these yellows moving in across northern and western parts. there will be some spots of and drizzle, some sunshine in the far south, and later on some sunny spells in scotland and northern ireland and the far north of england. it is here where temperatures will get up to 8—11 but still quite chilly for england and wales. tonight, varying amounts of

cloud. the mild air will gradually filtered in across all parts, so there's no blues on the map tonight, so, a frost free night, milder certainly than last night. through friday, again, there will be some cloud, but also some writers guys, some sunshine, especially across the midlands, north—eastern parts of england and into the south—east of scotland. dry for all of us pretty much, but there will be a shower or two moving into the west of scotland. maximum temperatures, about 8—11, across the south, it will be warmer than today. going into the weekend, a number of weather fronts moving in into the weekend, a number of weatherfronts moving in on into the weekend, a number of weather fronts moving in on top of this area of high pressure. so we're going to increase the wind gradually on saturday. quite gusty across the far north especially and with it some outbreaks of rain as well. that should clear away fairly quickly but

there will still be jump hours around perhaps. and then further rain comes into northern ireland, scotland, wales and the south—west of england later in the day. some sunny spells are crossed eastern areas. 0n sunny spells are crossed eastern areas. on sunday, again, there will be some showers mainly affecting northern and western areas. temperatures will be even higher, up to 12 degrees, but still quite windy conditions. gales in the far north of scotland. you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines: up to 5000 jobs are expected to be lost as britain's biggest car maker jaguar land rover plans to cut around an eighth of its uk workforce. jlr, a stellar company with a first—class workforce, have always been clear

that their success depends on exports, including to the rest of the european union. the uk's retail sector suffers its worst christmas in ten years with falls in sales for marks and spencer and debenhams, according to new figures. the government may back calls to protect workers' rights after brexit to help win support for theresa may's dealfrom labour mps in next week's crucial brexit vote.