this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. driving change — we'll bring you the latest from the north american auto show as carmakers adapt to shifting consumer tastes. china's global trade volume rose last year but its surplus fell again as imports outpaced exports. and on the markets: a flat close at the end of last week bodes for a pretty mixed day in urging in asia. we have not got japan up—to—date because it is closed for a public holiday. we start in the us, where the hugely anticipated detroit motor show is just hours away from opening its doors. it's massive, attracting the great and the good of the global industry hoping to wow us with their latest designs and innovations, and lure us into spending on vehicles.

but it comes at a tricky time for the industry. one of the first car launches of 2019 was actually on sunday night and it was the new cadillac xt6 model from general motors. the hometown carmaker is trying to put its best foot forward at a time of uncertainty for the industry, as michelle fleury now reports from america's motor city. ladies and gentlemen, the 2020 cadillac xt6! chasing the luxury market and profit, the new family crossover vehicle. market and profit, the new family crossovervehicle. bigger market and profit, the new family crossover vehicle. bigger cars mean bigger profits. the cadillac xt6 on show for the first—time here in detroit. the other star of the night was gm's cheap executive. can you tell us what you think the prospects are for the us car market? are we

headed for a downturn? with either market remaining strong. i am excited, we are advising our technology electric vehicle technology. there is plenty of opportunities and gm is intent on leading. get into that position has required some tough choices. to shore up their fortunes in the future, the company plans to stop making cars at five plants in north america, including this one. for the employees who have sacrificed a lot to keep gm afloat in the past, this change comes at a higher price. we had to go through the bankruptcy, we took a lot of concessions. monique has worked alongside her mother at is planned for the last 12 years. now they are making record—breaking profit. on our backs on top of everything we have done to help them. even to our tax dollars. and we still feel like we got slapped in

the face. more than 4 million cars have been built here at gm's planned, but the carmaker like many of its competitors said it needs to restructure to stay profitable.” restructure to stay profitableli think restructure to stay profitable.” think we are in a transition period for the industry. we are in a place where we had to focus on today's business to fund the future business, which is going to be very —— different comic will be electric vehicles, autonomous vehicle and we don't know whether that will be profitable. people here this week's auto shows are at depending on the carmaker is to get it right. let's stay with this theme. anna—marie baisden, head of autos research at fitch solutions joins me now. lovely to see you. interesting to hear the report, hearing about a radical change going on at general motors, but we have the announcements written —— recently from land rover, ford, the world's

egypt carmakers are going through significant change. it is a very challenging time for them. a lot of their biggest markets in north america, europe, china are slowing down from the growth they have seen in the last years, a big change in consumer taste, they are having to restructure their production networks for, so they have a lot going on at the moment and a lot of trade uncertainty. we need talk about consumer taste changing, it is radically changing. we all think electric. if we are not driving something along those lines now, we are thinking of doing that in the next few years. yeah, and that is pa rt next few years. yeah, and that is part of the problem carmakers are facing. something like the auto show isa facing. something like the auto show is a great example because you see them showing off big suv is we saw, people are buying them at the moment but they had to showcase their future technology as that report showed, the autonomous vehicles, the electric vehicles, the hat to show they are thinking of these in. and

significant change in people in leadership, the huge global player, there have been in turmoil, general motors announcing significant radical restructuring. the issue with trade, tariffs on steel, on components. it is all playing a big pa rt components. it is all playing a big part in this, isn't it? it is. it seems to be coming at once. the is they still had to make money. they still need to be producing the things that people want to buy in order to be able to fund what is coming in the future. and also making these big strategic positions and renault and nissan is in a situation where they don't have the figurehead to be driving that strategy. what about regs it? just throw that the mix. any car maker that has significant presence in the uk, building cars in the uk, etc, they are having to think about what is happening in a very short term.

it isa is happening in a very short term. it is a big issue. the data shows investment over the last 18 months 01’ so investment over the last 18 months or so has tailed off from where it was because there is so much uncertainty around it. i would say in europe it is not the only issue. there is also uncertainty around us, eu trade relationship as well. certainly, regs it is front and foremost in most people's mind. will we see all these companies become leaner and meaner, but we are looking at lots of jobs leaner and meaner, but we are looking at lots ofjobs going in the near term? it is a big side effect, yes. they do have two do some restructuring because if you believe a lot of the thought in the next couple of decades, people won't be buying as many cars, they need to massively change their business model. they are starting to lay the groundwork for that. all right. good to see you. thank you for coming in. the shell is that the motor show this week so we hear more from her as this week progresses. china's global trade volume rose last year, but its surplus fell again as its imports outpaced its exports.

let's go to our asia business hub where shara njit leyl is following the story. nice to see you. tell us more about what it going on. what is really going on, sally, we have been talking about his trade war between china and the us for months now. guess what? china seems to be painting something of a mixed picture. they rose 99% for the entire year in 2018, the strongest performance in seven years despite those growing disruptions from the trade relationship between the largest economies. nonetheless the picture starts to change at the end of 2018 when china started to bear the brunt of that trade row. export figures for december which were also released today showed an unexpected fall of over 4%. customs officials are warning of a tough year ahead. they blame protectionism and uncertainty. china will work to straighten out the trade frictions

with the us this year but it looks like the damage is starting to be done. you were talking about the global car sales earlier. china's annual passenger car sales fell last yearfor annual passenger car sales fell last year for the first annual passenger car sales fell last yearfor the first time annual passenger car sales fell last year for the first time in more than 20 years and that is as trade war with the us rocked consumer confidence. the cost of producing goodsin confidence. the cost of producing goods in chinese factories is slowing sharply as well, particularly in december. the fun at demand remains weak. in black official data showing many fat during contract thing in december for the first time in more than two yea rs. really for the first time in more than two years. really worrying signs that china is starting to slow. thank you very much. now, let's brief you on some other business stories. donald trump has said he has "no idea" if he will be able to strike a deal with the democrats for his border wall and end the partial us government shutdown. his comments come as the shutdown entered its fourth week, the longest on record. one of nissan's top executives has resigned. jose munoz was widely considered to be a close ally of ousted chairman carlos ghosn and a possible successor to lead the partnership

with france's renault. it's a fresh blow to the japanese carmaker‘s management team as it broadens an investigation into mr ghosn's alleged financial misconduct. emirates plans to reduce its number of flights by 25% during the closure of dubai international airport's southern runway for 45 days. the world's largest long—haul carrier said the closure, scheduled between april 16 and may 30 for maintenance, will result in up to 48 of its aircraft not being used. let's talk market. japan markets are closed for a public holiday. that is how things ended on friday in the us so the dow is pretty flat after an

interesting week. resource wrong gains during the market week last week because the expectation was that talks between the us and china about trade would go well and would perhaps lead to a breakthrough when it comes to that impasse. you can see elsewhere in asia, the market open ourfairly see elsewhere in asia, the market open our fairly negative really. o nto open our fairly negative really. onto the next board so we can show you so commodities. the of oil headed lower. the commodities fairly mixed. today, not today but this week, we have a lot of earnings coming out from the big banks in the us. the list is long. citigroup, jp morgan, bank of america, morgan sta nley, morgan, bank of america, morgan stanley, wells fargo, goldman sachs among those reporting earnings. i will see you soon. we will have our news briefing in a

moment. the most polluting log burner and open fire fuels will be banned as part of an ambitious new clean air strategy to be published by the government today. the proposal also outlines plans to reduce ammonia emissions from farming and minimise pollution from the use of fertilisers. environmental campaigners say the ideas lack detail. our environment analyst roger harrabin reports. in britain's big cities, the air people previous off on top six. this hazeis people previous off on top six. this haze is caused by tiny airborne particles. it is bad news for people with lung problems. you can taste diesel fumes, particularly you can feel this taste in your mouth. i have even had my son say this, when have even had my son say this, when have been out cycling. and itjust makes you very, very tired. when you are out of a polluted area, you have

are out of a polluted area, you have a lot more energy. in the court case over nine—year—old asthma victim ella, it is alleged pollution from london's circular road actually contributed to her death. the government has a ready action on cars, although environmentalists say not enough. farmers are under the spotlight now. ammonia gas released from fertilisers drifts into cities and harms health. new rules will curb the pollution. home heating produces tiny sooty particles. only the clique is woodburning stoves will be sold in future. councils will be sold in future. councils will have new powers to curb pollution from home fires. but even domestic products cause pollution as well. new furniture, toiletries, a oppression as can all irritate the lungs. ministers want people to do their bit to reduce the risk. environmentalists want ministers to do more. this is the briefing from bbc news.

the headlines: prime minister theresa may is set to make a last—minute appeal to pro—brexit mps today to support her deal with the eu on britain's departure. more heavy snowfall expected in the alps as parts of europe continue to grapple with the worst winter weather for three decades. we will be the now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the telegraph who say pro—eu mps will raise the stakes in the battle over brexit by publishing draft legislation to force a second referendum that could reverse the result of the 2016 vote. meanwhile the guardian reports the eu is preparing to offer theresa may a delay to brexit until at leastjuly if the uk prime minister fails to get her departure deal through the commons this week. the gulf news focusses

on comments made by us secretary of state mike pompeo's during his visit to the middle—east. mr pompeo said the ongoing gulf crisis "has dragged on too long". his words refer to bahrain, saudi arabia, and the uae, cutting off diplomatic, commerce and travel relations with qatar who they accuse of harbouring extremists. the ft leads with accusations that china's central bank has refused to acknowledge applications submitted by visa and mastercard to process renminbi payments, even though beijing removed formal obstacles to international participation in the $124 trillion dollar market back in 2017. and finally would you be prepared to sit on the floor of an aircraft whilst travelling back from holiday?

a family of four had to sit on the floor during their birmingham—bound flight after vacationing in spain. the situation arose after the taylor family were told their pre—paid tickets were for seats that didn't physically exist. so let's begin with david buik, who's a market commentator at core spreads. telegraph is got its regular column from boris