business life from the bbc with sally bunn doc. and ben thompson. british business being hung out to dry by the continued uncertainty over dry by the continued uncertainty over "brexit". continued concerns from a business group. -- sally bundock. we are live and we are from london. the british chambers of commerce demands more clarity from the uk government on key unresolved questions with just 45 days to go until the uk is due to leave the european union. also in the programme, the markets get a boost as president trump says he may let his deadline of march one for a trade deal with china be pushed back, so could an end to the trade will be in sight? markets across union eu looking like this, we will get the latest inflation figures in

about 45 minutes. valentine's day fast approaching, tomorrow, in fact, we will get the inside track on bespoke engagement rings as we talk toa bespoke engagement rings as we talk to a bijou player aimed at shaking up to a bijou player aimed at shaking up how people shop forjewelry. and, do we reach peak happiness at the age of 16 or 17, that is apparently when we are happiest. would you ee, when we are happiest. would you agree, when were you happiest, or, are you happiest right now? get in touch. happiest at the age of 16 or 70 yea rs happiest at the age of 16 or 70 years old, to me, that suggests all of the times that you are not at work... (!) news on brexit, with less tha n work... (!) news on brexit, with less than 45 days to go before the uk leaves the european union on march 29, the clamour for clarity

from business is becoming ever louder, the british chambers of commerce says there is a risk that uk firms commerce says there is a risk that ukfirms are commerce says there is a risk that uk firms are being hung out to dry by the lack of clear information from the government. the bcc, which represents 75,000 firms across the uk, employing nearly 6 million people, has published a list of 20 critical questions it says remain u na nswered critical questions it says remain unanswered in the event of the uk leaving without a deal. the questions include... if britain leaves without a deal, the country will fall back on world trade organisation rules. another question on the list: if there is no deal, there will be no transition period or backstop, that would mean the uk becoming a country with which the eu has no trade deal, so, that would require

border checks. 0n trade deal, so, that would require border checks. on tuesday, the governor of the bank of england, mark carney, warned of an economic shock to the uk economy in the event of no deal, he said business investment in the uk had fallen 3.7% over the past year. 0ver over to the noisy duo, we were making all the noise in the background there... laughter ...20 background there... laughter 20 questions, sounds like a game show, give us your take on what the bcc has had to say. unfortunately this is not a childhood game, and i absolutely support the bcc in their call for clarity. businesses need to plan, and the horizon for doing that and the array of outcomes, instead of shutting down options, we are just proliferating options, this makes it very difficult, especially for small businesses, so, what do you do, how do you move your people from the uk to europe? do you pay roaming charges? how do you move

data, can you move data? these questions demand answers. something you and i have talked about before on this programme, how you feel about the way this is being managed. mmm! you have very strong opinions on that. one line of thinking is that the prime minister is taking it right to the wire, and various people are bemused as to why she is doing that, give us your take on why and how it is being handled? brinkmanship and bloody mindedness, to business strategies which simply do not work, and the other thing i would say which is true of what we are hearing now, secrecy surrounding all this... when you manage things ina all this... when you manage things in a secretive manner, stress levels increase fourfold. and that is what we are seeing. the secrecy is increasing the stress level of everybody, nobody knows what is going on. something you said was what was needed was collaboration across politics within westminster, within the house of commons, so that

asa within the house of commons, so that as a united front, the uk could go to brussels. since we talked about that, there was the historic vote against her withdrawal deal, in parliament, and after that, she said, we need to work together, your ta ke said, we need to work together, your take on how she is progressing? there was the overture of collaboration but no real collaboration, when people have extended the olive branch and said they will negotiate, she has either turned away those offers, as recently, with the leader of the 0pposition, jeremy corbyn, or she has sat, listened and then not changed her stance. if you are prepared to negotiate and compromise, then and we have seen

that in the us, even donald trump has compromised on his wall. thank you very much forjoining us. more detail on the website, including the bbc website's jargon buster. the lawyer defending the former nissan chairman over charges of aggravated breach of trust and understating his salary has quit, the former prosecutor notified the tokyo district court he was no longer representing mr ghosn and no reason has been given. it has been said that mr ghosn has hired a new hotshot as his replacement. staying with japan, toshiba has slashed profit forecast for the year by two thirds, $180 million, the cuts are due to the writing down in value of subsidiary, but also the japanese power project costs,

cutting costs including winding up last year, in the uk the nuclear power has been wound up. all flights all flights to and from belgium have been cancelled today because of a 24—hour strike at the main airport bya 24—hour strike at the main airport by a transport unions. air traffic control say they are unsure about staffing levels. the strike is over wages, benefits and pensions, but will also affect buses, trains and ports. president trump has hinted the 1st of march deadline for us china trade talks could be extended. john is following this story for us, look, they have said, if they can get a deal, we are prepared to let the deadline slip, so, signs of a breakthrough. possibly, for a long time the us side were saying that the deadline is a very hard deadline, no sign they were willing to push it back. 0ver deadline, no sign they were willing to push it back. over the past few months, very difficult to get a sense of how much progress, if any at all has been made during the

negotiations. given all of that, it is no surprise that the markets would seize on any glimmer of hope, andi would seize on any glimmer of hope, and i think that is what is happening here, comments from donald trump are suggesting that the two sides are potentially close to a deal and something else as well here, that is being reported, resident xijinping may be preparing to meet the us treasury secretary and trade representative to hammer out a deal. —— president. if that we re out a deal. —— president. if that were true, it would be a breach in protocol, but it would signal that china is thing to a deal. a lot of stumbling blocks still in the way. thank you very much. john will follow that for us. this is what that did to the numbers, you can see, in tokyo, shares rising to a high, on the optimism that a deal could be creeping closer, but not yet a done deal. in europe, pounced under pressure

after the prime minister said she could defer another "brexit" vote on her agreement until the end of the month, already raising criticism that it could be running down the clock to push this through because it isa clock to push this through because it is a better deal than no deal. there is still an option, of course, some in the city suggest, by accident, the uk could leave the european union with no deal and many of the implications as we discuss already could result from that. remember we will get the latest inflation figures in the uk, due at 9:30am. a word on spain, remember the government tried to push through their budget deal, through parliament, but only likely to get through with the help of pro—catalan parties and that has prompted big protests across the political spectrum in spain. if the budget fails to pass, there could be new elections by april. certainly one to watch, as far as european politics concerned. michelle has the details about the

trading day on wall street. us inflation figures will be in the spotlight, the us labour department is likely to report that consumer price index rose 0.1% after recording a drop of 0.1% in december. falling oil prices are offset by an increase in the price offset by an increase in the price of food, us lawmakers also holding the first of two hearings this wednesday on the proposed $26 billion merger between t—mobile and sprint. what is at stake? the deal would reduce the number of major wi reless would reduce the number of major wireless players here in the us from four to three. and on the earnings front, cisco systems expects to report a rise in second—quarter revenue, as the network gear maker benefits from growth in new ventures such as cyber security and application software. jane is with us, nice to see you. we

are mesmerised by michelle. also talking about diamond rings. distraction. quickly, let's talk china, we heard from john, potential deal creeping closer, still don't have the details but the willingness to let the deadline slip is potentially a good sign. yes, but it has got to happen, it could also be the opposite, it could be a bigger disappointment if it does not go through but at least it looks like things are moving in the right direction. uk inflation numbers coming out, and the next 45 minutes, what will they tell us? looks as though the headline number will be a little bit less than december, drifting down a bit, because of fuel and travel costs. wages are still above inflation, so that is a pretty healthy situation really. no upward

inflation pressures but wages a little bit higher, that gives people more spending power, that is good. collea g u es more spending power, that is good. colleagues on bbc radio five live and on radio four, they have been talking to people who are really struggling with prices going up. yes, it is a huge problem. in uk stocks, interesting one, whitbread, around the world people may not have heard of whitbread, it is a brewery chain, primarily now involved in hotels as low—cost hotels but selling off the big coffee chain in the uk, selling it to coca—cola. yes, salt costa coffee last year for a huge amount of money, much more than the stock market was expecting. handing money back to shareholders and today may give us a clue as to whether they will give more money back to shareholders and then concentrate on investing in the hotel chain, particularly in europe, they are starting to move into germany, a huge hotel market.

interesting to see what they have to say. happiest year of your life... talking about that, 16 and 17 are the peaks, talking about that, 16 and 17 are the pea ks, the talking about that, 16 and 17 are the peaks, the twin peaks. —— 16 and 70. the bit in between is the tough bit. i wonder when it starts picking up bit. i wonder when it starts picking up towards 70, when you retire? well, you are 50, the next couple of decades are great(!) is bespoke jewellery a girls best friend, we will get the inside track on a general company hoping to shape up the industry. why can't it be a boys best friend? a little bit sexist. we will put that question to our guest later on today. bling cuff links. no diamonds on these, i'm afraid... elsewhere, furniture and home where

maker dunelm has reported pretty impressive growth, today. alongside they have an ounce stockpiling plans because they are trying to get ready for brexit as well. good to see you, chief analyst, tell us more about this, they are doing really well when many competitors like homebase are struggling tojust when many competitors like homebase are struggling to just stay open. yes, they produced a very positive trading update at christmas and these results confirm that. you sense that dunelm is out of the woods a bit, if we go back to may, july last year, issuing profit warnings, they have very much got their house in order since then, they have acquired world stores, the online business. they had to take some losses on that to begin with but those have passed now and they have a very good tech from that acquisition, integrated with their online offering. making progress here. it defies the general high

street gloom we have seen elsewhere. a word on stockpiling, i am fascinated, we really need to stockpile things like sofas, dining ta bles stockpile things like sofas, dining tables and chairs? probably precautionary, in case there are supply chain problems down the line, art for businesses to plan, as all commentators are talking about, tough for businesses to plan. therefore, some degree of stockpiling would make sense just to protect the supply chain and make sure the shelves do not, are not empty ina sure the shelves do not, are not empty in a few months' time. thank you very much. looking pretty strong. sales of scotch whisky to the united states also looking pretty strong, exceeding £1 billion for the first time. and, interesting, ispent a day at a distillery up in scotland, a couple of weeks ago and they were

telling me about their concerns as far as brexit is concerned, it is such an international industry, bottles from france, used from france. good success story. details are on the bbc business life page. top story today: the british chamber of commerce is warning that uk government firms are in danger of being hung out to dry because of the uncertainty over a no—deal brexit. it has issued a list of 20 key questions that it says remain unsolved, and unresolved, it wants a nswe rs unsolved, and unresolved, it wants a nswers to unsolved, and unresolved, it wants answers to the question is to avoid answers to the question is to avoid a disorderly brexit. let's totally change the subject. valentine's day is tomorrow, if that is something you need to know, we

have a suggestion for you. making a note of that... have a suggestion for you. making a note of that. .. millions of people will be on the lookout for the perfect romantic gifts, flowers, chocolates, jewellery, diamonds. all three, it is not either or, all of them! annual globaljewellery sales are expected to hit $515 billion by the year 2020. the market is healthy, growing at 5% a year. the report says online jewellery sales at least for fine jewellery will reach 10% by the year 2020. and it is not expected to grow much more than that because customers like to feel and touch expensive purchases. bespoke disruptive line of making that perfect ring for the perfect occasion, welcome to the programme, ceo of taylor and heart. tell us about the company, you started it,

what is the story? jewellery has a lwa ys what is the story? jewellery has always been a way to tell a story, we have done that for thousands of yea rs, we have done that for thousands of years, in the last hundred years, mass customisation has been possible but most companies would offer you a something that is their story, their design, now we want to offer an ability to tell their own story with ability to tell their own story with a unique product. why did you start this? i was one of the first customers, hoping to get engaged, wa nted customers, hoping to get engaged, wanted to create a ring that told our story, we got engaged in cape town, i wanted to catch the moment we got engaged and create a ring that held a diamond in place with a wave crest. we realise there is a large number of people interested in this kind of customisation. your website is where you sell most of your products, let's talk about that split, it strikes me as the sort of thing you need to go in and see and touch and feel, how do you square the circle, selling online when it is really something you need to trial? you are precisely right, clicks and bricks, we use the

website to engage customers and educate and inspire them but a large number of customers come into the showroom, in the city, close to monument station, so we are not trying to change this feeling people have to the jewellery, we just want to give them an opportunity to first research online and then come in store to try on the rings, see the diamonds. this ring you have brought in is very classic, classic engagement ring look. you are explaining to me, if i was to purchase this, someone purchased it for me, £2000. the exact same ring, with the same quality of diamond, etc etc, would be over 4000 at tiffany's. i would not like to say the exact same, we have our own designer; in terms of value for money, we don't have the overhead that high street jewellers money, we don't have the overhead that high streetjewellers have, we don't hold a lot of stock and we pass on the savings the business model allows us to have onto customers and give them better for money. with the exchange rate doing what it is for the brexit vote, we

saw the fall in the value of the pound, that makes it attractive for foreign buyers, who are your biggest customers? they continue to be in the uk, 20% of sales come from the us, partly because of that but also because customisation is popular in the us, they leave the trends and customisation is one of those. we see people interested in the product. a lot of concern about where diamonds come from, if they are so called blood diamonds, tell us are so called blood diamonds, tell us about your supply chain and how you check on that? one of the core values is transparency, the first thing we realised when looking at the supply chain, there is not the transparency we would like, so we looked at what we can do, we introduce canadian diamonds which have a certification that tracks them back to source, we also recently them back to source, we also rece ntly got them back to source, we also recently got our flow search which allows us to offer fair trade and recycled metal options. just educating customers, making them aware of, giving them the options to choose products that are traceable.

right, thank you for coming in. 0n on this day, 20 years ago, i got engaged, it was a surprise. i said yes! and there was a diamond ring? three stones. i'm not saying more. while we discuss that, we are also looking at how japan is trying to change the way that people work. as pa rt change the way that people work. as part of the worklife japan series, we have gone out to find out one of the newest innovative ways to try to make sure we are not working too long a day. a drone on patrol in the office, monitoring the workers but not for their daily performance, the drone is being used to encourage them to go home. it is quite loud! he says that the

noise is probably enough to send most people home! 0ver over the last few years, there have been many innovations related to employees health, this one analyses how focused people are. these glasses monitor the movement of my eye balls as glasses monitor the movement of my eyeballs as well as how often i am blinking, and how! eyeballs as well as how often i am blinking, and how i am moving my head. by analysing all the data, it tells you how focused i am at this moment. the aim is to help employees realise when they need to take a break. these are small steps that not all companies have taken, requiring a lasting change allows them to tackle how much work

employees are expected to do. if you want to follow that worklife japan series, do take a look on the website. jane is back as promised, website. jane is back as promised, we are looking at some stories, apple making the headlines, to do with news and how we consume news. trying to set up a new subscription service, a netflix for news, the issue is, who gets which slice of the revenue for what and at the moment, apple are trying to, so we hear, take half of the revenue. some of the content providers may not feel very happy about that, whether or not they will have access to the customers for the news service, there is a lot to agree before it can be rolled out. that is the challenge, one is getting us used to paying for news online, so many organisations have put up tables, seeing various successes as a result. the idea of how you would split that, is that depending on how much you consume over a certain

publisher, how long you look at it, it is notoriously difficult. it is about strength of brand, who will be the big draw for the service. it is a new business model, a new way of trying to do this, will be interesting to see how it works. this story is interesting, researchers mapped 1 million britons over a long period of time to find out at what point in their life span they are happiest, the conclusion drawn is, we are happiest aged 16 and then again aged 70, those are the twin peaks. 16, no responsibility, when i get to 70, i am hoping for no responsibility, either, but at the moment... lots of responsibility! from the age of 50, happiness urges and goes up, it is about what you are doing in between those times. isn't itjust demob happy! laughter because of changes in retirement age, iam

because of changes in retirement age, i am not as because of changes in retirement age, iam not as happy as because of changes in retirement age, i am not as happy as i perhaps should be at the age of 50, 55. thank you for so many comments, "as soon as we are thank you for so many comments, "as soon as we are 16, we take on responsibilities, when we approach retirement we let go of those", says wendy, "so the answer is to remain irresponsible!" gary says, 36 was great, 16 to 17 was a low point". "i have five months still to go, that must be when the kids leave home at 16!" says one viewer. thank you very much forjoining us. thank you for your company as well, we will see your company as well, we will see you tomorrow. hello, at last, i bring you good

news about the weather, for many parts of the british isles, notjust the rest of today but on through the rest of this week. should stay very mild for the time of year, a lot of dry weather as well, and for that combination we must thank the area of high pressure over the continent, on the western flank, drawing mild airfrom north africa into iberia and the british isles. quite a long sea and the british isles. quite a long sea track, not a great surprise that the satellite picture shows a lot of cloud close by to the british isles. weather fronts close by to the northern and western parts of britain, continuous rain to gradually pull away during the course of the morning and on into the afternoon, brighter skies for the afternoon, brighter skies for the north—east, central and southern parts of england, south—east of wales too. quite a bit of cloud and breeze elsewhere, especially across northern and western parts of britain. at least the wind is coming in from the south—west. mild day in all parts, temperatures at this time

of year should be in single figures, doing very well on the temperature front. don't be to buy that, overnight, skies will stay clear across southern parts of britain, temperatures dribbling away, you may see frost in southern counties. rain keeping temperatures up to nine or 10 degrees as a night—time minimum. thursday, not a great deal changes, more in the way of a southerly and south—westerly breeze, a little more in the weight of dry air in the mix. that is going to lead to less in the way of cloud, glorious day on thursday. weather front being way of cloud, glorious day on thursday. weatherfront being pushed away from all but the very far north of the british isles, elsewhere, plenty of sunshine coming through, not too much on the way of breeze, and we will see highs again in double figures, 13, 14, possibly 15 degrees. and then from thursday on into friday, high—pressure easing a little to the east, and eventually,

later in the day, first signs of the weather front pushing cloud and eventually rain into the western isles, the far west of the mainland, to the western side of northern ireland, but for many of you, it is going to be another sumptuous day, not too much in the way of breeze, easily into double figures. 14, 15. you're watching bbc news at 9:00 with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines: social media companies should be made to take more responsiblity for cracking down on content fuelling knife crime, the home secretary tells the bbc: we don't have the legislation for it. i have the legislation for tariffs content, i have it for illegal child sexual abuse imagery, but we don't have that legislation today for that kind of content. nine out of ten police officers say there aren't enough of them to meet demand, as the government is warned the public faces "increased risk" due to lack of front line staff the british chambers of commerce warns that firms are in danger

of being "hung out to dry" over the prospect of a no—deal brexit. the brexit secretary denies there is a plan by government to force mps to either back a reworked withdrawl deal or accept a significant delay to leaving the eu.