you're watching bbc news at nine with me, carrie gracie. the headlines: former chief constable of the metropolitan police lord hogan—howe calls on the government to appoint a "knives tsar" after two more teenagers were killed hello. in stabbings over the weekend. this is business live from bbc news with sally bundock and ben bland. china and the us are reported to be close to a breakthrough on a trade deal which would see washington remove most, if not all, we haven't got a catalyst to pull it tariffs levied on chinese goods. together, it needs a leader, someone live from london, that's our top story on monday 4 march. saying, what are the police doing, what are other agencies doing, how can we get the charities to work together? if it is not treated as a crisis, it will take another two yea rs before we crisis, it will take another two years before we see action. "a brexit bribe" — that's how opposition mps describe the government's new £1.6 billion fund to boost england's run—down towns after britain leaves the eu. the reports come as the national people's congress — effectively china's parliament — the founder and chief executive begins its annual meeting, of fashion chain ted baker, with the country's economy growing at its weakest pace ray kelvin, resigns following in almost three decades. allegations of inappropriate comments and behaviour including "forced hugging". also in the programme: a third bail application for former

nissan boss carlos ghosn. his new defence lawyer says he hopes his new strategy will lead to mr ghosn‘s release "as soon as possible". and news of an imminent deal between the us and china is pushing market stocks up. and how a niche design company has achieved lift—off with some cutting—edge products, including one of the world's first ever passenger drones. we'll get the inside track on maform design. and today we want to hear from you: if you had an industrial designer working just for you, what would you want them to work on? a machine to put on your earrings? or maybe one that can do a perfect knot for your tie. let us know — just use the hashtag #bbcbizlive. so many things. do send in your thoughts on that. it would be interesting to find out what you like designed just for you.

hopes are rising of a us—china trade deal following reports the two sides are close to a breakthrough. the wall streetjournal says the deal would see washington remove most, if not all, tariffs on chinese products. the reports come as the national people's congress — effectively china's parliament — begins its annual meeting, at a time when growth has slowed to its weakest in almost three decades. the country's leaders will pledge to keep china's economy on track, but are expected to set a less ambitious target for the economy this year than last year's 6.5% growth. that was the target for last year, and when growth came in, it wasjust and when growth came in, it wasjust a smidgen higher than that, partly held back by the trade war with the us and beijing's decision to crack down on financial risks. china's budget deficit is likely to rise from last year's 2.6% of gdp — that's the value of everything china produces — reflecting lower tax revenue and higher government spending.

china's huge manufacturing sector contracted for the second month in a row injanuary, to the lowest reading in more than two years. ben. thank you, sally. isabella weber is a lecturer in economics and a china specialist at goldsmiths. the latest manufacturing data from china showed a slowdown, but not as much as people expected? the latest index was the titan index, which was an alternative to the official index, and this was actually higher than the official index at 19.9, whereas 50 would have indicated essentially flat development, so we have a very slightly contracting development here. however, much less so than surveys had predicted. this is essentially due to domestic demand picking up, which is again

linked to the very wide ranging stimulus package that was already started in december, and that we are very likely to see being upscaled at the national people's congress to a national coordinated effort of fiscal and monetary easing. so you think we are likely to see confirmation that they will continue with that, perhaps even step that up at the national people's congress? that is very likely. all the signs are on monetary and fiscal easing, so at the potential cost of not being as tight on d leveraging as they wanted to be. but also likely not to take the road of shadow banking, but rather government and corporate bonds, or rather a conservative approach. and we are seeing these reports in the wall streetjournal that the us and china are perhaps almost in a position to signa are perhaps almost in a position to sign a trade deal when the two leaders meet at the end of march.

how important is that for china, given the numbers and the data we've talked about, and that slight slowdown in manufacturing? yes, so this may be hugely important, and the contracting tendency that we observed in february was largely due to falling of exports, not only the spring festival, which of course put the economy on hold, but also a decline in exports, which after 2018 we had actually seen less of a decline then we had expected because ofa decline then we had expected because of a four loaded export tendency. but with the trade deal being really close to happening, we are likely to see exports pick up, so therefore the contraction tendency that came out of the exports is likely to be remedied, and therefore we are in for a higher bmi in the next

quarter. we shall wait and see, so if that deal does get signed and if it has that effect. isabella, thank you very much. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. lawyers for huawei's chief financial officer, meng wanzhou are suing the canadian government, its border agency and federal police, alleging that her constitutional rights were violated when she was detained, searched and interrogated for three hours. wanzhou remains in a canadianjail awaiting extradition to the us who want to prosecute her for fraud. the head of brazilian mining giant vale has stepped down following the collapse of a dam which killed 186 people. fabio schvartsman and several other executives asked to be removed after prosecutors called for their dismissal. at least 122 people are still missing more than a month after the accident. the british government is planning to make more than $2 billion available to less well—off towns after brexit. more than half the money will go to towns in the north of england

and the midlands to create jobs and boost economic activity. the opposition labour party describes it as a bribe to influence mps in those areas to back mrs may's brexit deal. the new lawyer for carlos ghosn — the former boss of renault—nissan — has said he'll pursue a different strategy to defend against charges of financial misconduct. junichiro hironaka has been speaking to journalists in tokyo for the first time since he was appointed last month. 0ur asia business correspondent, karishma vaswani is monitoring develoments from singapore. so, the significance of this development, what do you make of it? it isa development, what do you make of it? it is a new legal strategy that is emerging from carlos ghosn‘s team, and you would expect that to happen given previous attempts haven't been all that successful. the former chairman of nissan motors has been

in custody now for over three months, and that is over the allegations as you were just saying that he under reported his compensation from nissan for nearly a decade through to 2018. he has also been charged with aggravated breach of trust. carlos ghosn has consistently decide all wrongdoing, and now the new head of his legal tea m and now the new head of his legal team has said it is going to have to try a different strategy from aggravated breach. and the new head of his... mrghosn aggravated breach. and the new head of his... mr ghosn has consistently denied all wrongdoing, and are not included the involvement of the japanese legal system, because of course of chording to his new lawyers, this is a private internal company affair. the key challenges this team faces, as the one before it did, is how successful they will be with their case in the japanese justice system, because even if he beats the odds and is found innocent

of the charges against him, the prosecutor's office can still appeal to the high court. thank you very much, karishma vaswani. gremlins in the system messing about with her microphone, but we did get the message from her. that was the message from her. that was the message about the carlos ghosn trial. let's have a look at the markets, all pretty strong in asia, mainly because of our top story, which is talk of a breakthrough between the us and china when it comes to their trade discussions. talk of a meeting or summit on the 27th of march, so we shall keep an eye on that for sure, right up to date. let's have a look at the day in europe, a brand—new trading week right under way, two companies on the move in london, we have a chief executive revolving door today, so on the way out, ray kelvin, who was the ceo of ted baker, shares down

4x, the ceo of ted baker, shares down 4%, and aviva shares up 2%, a new chief executive there, morris tulloch, taking over from chief executive there, morris tulloch, taking overfrom mark wilson. he has been at aviva, one of the uk's biggest insurance companies, since 1992, he has been there a long time, he is now the bus. let's have a look ahead to the day on wall street. samira hussain is there. this week we will hear from american retail giant target and coles went both companies report their earnings on tuesday. 0thers both companies report their earnings on tuesday. others will report their profits on wednesday, and the week ends with the latestjob prospects for the month of february, on friday is also international women's day. 0n is also international women's day. on monday, the commerce department is scheduled to report construction spending data for the month of december, and total construction spending is expected to have gone up 0.2% in december.

just a quick correction. main ones meng wangzhou is on house arrest, we should point out, she is not behind bars, whereas carlos ghosn is in fact behind bars. just to clear that up. joining us is tom stevenson, investment director at fidelity international we are talking about closeness here. that is the story that is driving markets overnight in asia, and we are seeing it feeding through into shares in in europe as well. it is a combination of things. positive news on the trade situation, we've got that meeting possibly on the 27th of march, which could seal the deal, but we've also got the authorities in beijing acting to stimulate the

economy, and of course, last year was terrible for chinese shares. they fell a long way. became very cheap at the end of the year, so it is not surprising they have had this bounce. so there will be a real focus on china right through the week, but also for the us, their trade numbers out, and on friday their latest jobs report trade numbers out, and on friday their latestjobs report as well, so you get a sense of how the two biggest economies in the world are doing. that will be really important, because the trade wars, people have focused on the impact on china, but clearly there is a big impact on us business as well, and it is really clear that both xi jinping and donald trump need to stimulate the economy is on both sides, america and china. so, the 27th of march, just before the 29th. why, what is happening on the 29th? laughter there is a lot going on this month!

still to come. it started in a basement in hungary, its founders so skint their diet was largely beans on toast. been there, done that! now the company has won a dozen international design awards. haven't done that! it's maform design and we'll get the inside track from its chief executive. you're with business live from bbc news. first, we mentioned it is busy. shareholders will get a chance to vote today on whether to sell what remains of the regional airline flybe to a consortium that's already bought its planes and other assets. connect airways — which includes virgin atlantic among its backers — is already running flybe. today's vote will decide whether to sell the company that used to run it. joining us with analysis is graham dunn, editor of flight global premium news. welcome to the programme. what do you think will happen? best guess is

that the shareholders will accept this, i guess. there are some angry shareholders, the flybe story has taken some difficult turns over the last couple of months. and we are seeing some interesting moves in the aviation sector. do you think this kind of sale is what will be needed in order to survive in a tough market? the uk regional market has some additionalfactors market? the uk regional market has some additional factors that have created pressure, not least things like brexit, high fuel prices which has affected every european airline. but flybe to some extent has found itself in this position because of quite a few legacy issues relating specifically to its fleet and an expansion that took place in a difficult climate. so it doesn't necessarily mean that all carriers are in trouble, and you only have to look at the results of iag last week, the parent, showing strong profits still. and i just wonder, will passengers notice every

different if this goes ahead? to begin with, i don't think so. 0bviously begin with, i don't think so. obviously it is quite an opportunistic move. for the consortium. so initially you are not going to see very much, but certainly if this goes ahead, the virgin brand and the virgin touch, especially on those routes which are flying into hubs at heathrow and manchester, you might start to see a touch of that virgin style attached touch of that virgin style attached to it. graham, thank you very much. while we are on the subject, let's look at ryan air passenger numbers jumping in the month of february, seeing a strong rise, total passenger numbers including those at lauda air as well, up to 13 million

customers. you're watching business live. our top story: hopes are rising of a us—china trade deal following reports the two sides are close to a breakthrough. it comes as the national people's congress, effectively china's parliament, begins its annual meeting, with pressure to boost the economy, with growth at its weakest in almost three decades. industrial design is a process of design applied to products manufactured through mass production. over the years it's produced everything from the jumbo jet to the humble paper clip. but now 3—d printing, the internet of things and developments in life sciences technology are changing the nature of industrial design. maform design is one company designing new products including the galaxy gear edge smartwatch and new transportation designs. peter molnar — maform design ceo

and cofounder is with us now. welcome to the programme. tell us how all this began. we have alluded to the fact that it was pretty tough at the start. it was. after graduation, we wanted to find a job in design, like a properjob in design or similar at a studio, but we couldn't. then we met after a year and decided to create our own company, and have a good job. but we had no connection, no money, no business education, no experience. so what was the breakthrough moment for you? the first breakthrough was the decision to start a business, and then it took us more than two yea rs and then it took us more than two years to reach a point where we could start, and we were approached bya could start, and we were approached by a hungarian company, who was

about to manufacture a bus, but their design was not perfect, so they contacted us and bought our design. and that was the big breakthrough for you, because this was the first electric bus design, the first that became an operational bus ina the first that became an operational bus in a city? it is the first ever electric and fully composite bus, so it has a plastic body, and this means its range is bigger than the standard steel buses. give us a little glimpse, what are you working on now? what is the most exciting thing that is perhaps not quite ready but we might see soon? our most recently published design as the aircraft, the passenger drone, the aircraft, the passenger drone, the lyft aircraft. but we are also working on engineering developments, we are attempting a cogwheel connection that could revolutionise the watch industry. how has design

changed? the watch industry. how has design changed ? it the watch industry. how has design changed? it has gone through an enormous revolution in recent years, partly because of 3d printing, but also because of our appetite as consumers for things like internet of things, smart devices. a passenger drone is kind about the pinnacle. butjust things we have got on our wrists, our bodies, the design has changed so dramatically. i would say the change is in the approach. so when industrial design began its journey, it approach. so when industrial design began itsjourney, it was approach. so when industrial design began its journey, it was all about designing something —— sub enclosure for the machine so that you wouldn't cut yourfingers. then for the machine so that you wouldn't cut your fingers. then there was this argument about functionality and ascetics, which was important. but today the central issue that the design has to solve is the connection between the machine and the person who is using it. and what is your favourite example of design? it could be something that you have

encountered that you have thought, i wish i had come up with that. that isa wish i had come up with that. that is a really good question. i would say one of our favourite designs is the haematology analysers. it is something that issues a problem, that haematology analysing is a long process. so this is blood tests? yes, so you give a blood sample, thenit yes, so you give a blood sample, then it is sent to a laboratory, then it is sent to a laboratory, then you get the results, then you get the medical results. but with this new design, you could do blood tests on the spot, and it makes it quicker. and that is an example of design really affecting people's lives in a very direct way? yes. i assume baked beans are off the diet are they now? yes! things are getting better. thank you for coming in. thank you very much. in a moment we'll take a look

through the business pages but first, are we about to enter a new era of manned space flight? elon musk certainly hopes so. over the weekend his spacex company successfully launched an unmanned astronaut capsule — called the dragon vehicle — which successfully docked with the international space station. nasa is hoping that it could soon be used to take people into space from us soil for the first time since the shuttle was decommissioned, eight years ago. here's what happened. vt next) 0n on behalf of ripley, little earth, myself and my crew, welcome to the crew, mike dragon. welcome to the new era in space flight. we are about two metres away. the crew is no longer sending commands, and dragon is doing everything on its own.

clunk. capture confirmed. applause four, three, two, one. ignition, lift off. ididn't i didn't realise that it was named after sigourney weaver's character in alien. who knew? we all know now! we asked for your views on what you would like design for you. some really good ones. adrian says, a four point milk container that doesn't leak when you put it on its side. is that as good as it gets? sophie randall says, a bin that empties itself from the kitchen once it is full. i'd be up for one of

those! i would as well. and troy, has custom made for me with swimming pool has custom made for me with swimming pool, cinema, all the latest tech incorporated to make life easier. i think incorporated to make life easier. ithinki incorporated to make life easier. i think i know him! joining us again is tom stevenson, investment director at fidelity international what would your one item be? what would your one item be ?m what would your one item be? if i could hit a golf ball in a straight line, i would could hit a golf ball in a straight line, iwould be could hit a golf ball in a straight line, i would be very happy. but where is the fun in that? that would ta ke where is the fun in that? that would take the competition out of the game. it would transform my life! iam game. it would transform my life! i am with you on that one. making me the perfect cup of tea comes before that. so, let's look at this story. everybody in the uk is writing about brexit, different ways of looking at what it means, and this is about what it means, and this is about what we will have to do without in the short—term, food wise. what we will have to do without in the short-term, food wise. it does make an important point, which is that we import about half of our vegeta bles that we import about half of our vegetables and three quarters of our fruit into this country, so clearly these are the areas where we are

looking at potential shortages. it is easy to overstate this. we are not going to run out of food, and we grow plenty of food in the uk, plenty of dairy, plenty of meat, plenty of dairy, plenty of meat, plenty of dairy, plenty of meat, plenty of potatoes. but it is the more exotic stuff. like avocados? even tomatoes. most of our tomatoes are imported. they come from spain. what do? spain. tomatoes. ithought they came from the allotment. but joking aside, there is a lot to get your head around before the 29th of march. £1.6 million to be spent in the north and in the midlands, labour's calling it bribery, and then of course there are stories on then of course there are stories on the front page of the financial times about the deal deficit at the spring budget coming from chancellor hammond next week the day after the vote, and what he says he can put in that budget if the deal goes through? both of those deals are flip sides of the same story, which

is persuading people to vote for this deal. forgive me for being slightly cynical, but £1.6 billion is not a huge amount of money in the context of a £1.5 trillion economy, and you do have to weigh that up against the potential downside cost of brexit. i can see why it's happening, and i can see why this kind of pork barrel politics is being implemented at this crucial stage, but it is pretty small beer. and then this investment for the north, that is as sally mentioned as a potential bribe, but they may say it is just an incentive using money that they wouldn't have otherwise had. it is money that they wouldn't have otherwise had, and it needs to be offset against other things such as someone pointed out the withdrawal of money because of the

single allowance. tom, thank you very much. thank you for your company. enjoy your day, and we will see you tomorrow. good morning. storm freya brought strong winds, heavy rain and for some of us, snow. that is the centre of the storm, moving its way out into the north sea, said thing is becoming a little bit quieter across the uk through the course of today. as we go through this week, it will stay fairly unsubtle, still some rain in the forecast, particularly on wednesday, quite windy, and it will be quite chilly throughout this week as well. this is today, plenty of sunshine across most parts of scotland, england and wales, showers

moving through northern ireland, through wales at the south—west, gradually moving further eastward. the further east you live, it will be largely dry with some sunshine, still blustery out there today, but the wind is not as strong as they we re the wind is not as strong as they were yesterday, and maximum temperature typically up to ten or 11 celsius. through the rest of the evening, the showers will continue to push their way eastward up into parts of scotland, there could be a bit of snow over the higher ground of the pennines, including the scottish mountains, through the night, and the more significant rain will slowly push its way through northern ireland and across the irish sea. temperature going down to close to freezing, maybe three or four celsius, tuesday morning could start off on a rather chilly note, and we will see this rain moving its way through northern england, northern ireland, through central and southern areas of scotland, where it will continue for much of the day, some snow again over the higher ground, sunshine again for many parts of england and wales before the cloud starts to increase from the west. through wednesday, this area of low pressure will

slowly move its way up from the south, you can see the isobar is getting closer together, so a breezy day expected on wednesday. there could be some gales around coastal areas, and you can see the heavier rain as it moved northward, again, significant snowfall over the higher ground of scotland throughout wednesday. it will be followed by showers, temperatures in southern areas 13 or 1a, a bit chilly across the north, with highs of 7—9d. then for thursday and into friday, it will be quite unsettled, some sunny spells, perhaps friday the driest of the days going into the end of the week, and those temperatures remaining up to 11 celsius. goodbye.