this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock live in westminster where british mps will today decide whether to back or rule out a no—deal brexit, after rejecting the prime minister's divorce deal for a second time. business has reacted with exasperation at the continued uncertainty, urging mps to "stop this circus" and warning that no—deal would be an "own goal of historic proportions". but as the wheels come off forward—planning for many firms, opportunities remain for others. we'll hear from a warehousing company enjoying a surge in demand. and on the markets:

the asian markets are focused on what is happening in the us. does inflation figures that were not so much of a worry. the pound is treading water ahead of the vote today. so let's not talk about the reaction from the business community. —— let's now talk about the reaction. business has reacted with frustration at the ongoing brexit uncertainty, after the prime minister theresa may's deal on the uk's withdrawal from the eu suffered a second heavy defeat in the commons. and business leaders are urging mps to reject the possibility of the uk leaving without a deal,

in a vote later today. many are not mincing their words: the head of the confederation of british industry carolyn fairbairn has called on mps to "stop this circus", saying "enough is enough. this must be the last day of failed politics". the head of the society of motor manufacturers and traders, mike hawes, says the uk is now "perilously close to the cliff—edge" and "no—deal would be catastrophic for the automotive industry". miles celic, ceo of thecityuk says "the uk leaving the eu without a deal would be an own goal of historic proportions". with me is chris southworth, secretary—general of the international chamber of commerce. good morning to you. what is your reaction to the defeat in commons yesterday? it is incredible that we have two weeks out from march 29 and no clearer as to the options.

worldwide, businesses are absolutely frustrated. in terms of looking ahead we had a vote today and tomorrow if mps behind us to reject ano tomorrow if mps behind us to reject a no deal there will be a vote on the extension of article 50. to what extent the extension of article 50. to what exte nt d o the extension of article 50. to what extent do you think that will help, given the fact that we are quite unclear on what are sleeping with a deal looks like. the priority today must be to remove no deal from the table. that would be catastrophic to business all over the world. no—one thinks no deal is a good idea. by extension it also does not provide solutions. we need solutions from parliament. this constant focus of debate on the brink of no to a solution. today we expect to hear from government about trade tariffs. if they were to be no deal. some say that the numbers could be high and that the numbers could be high and that would have a huge impact for some industries in the uk. notjust

for the industry but also for consumers. lamb prices will rise. car prices will rise io%. business cannot absorb all those costs. there are companies with no margins so that will get passed on to the consumer. your members, how are they coping with this period of time? something we hear all the time on this programme and others is how they can not plan ahead they find it difficult to know what to do next. don't forget we represent companies worldwide so when you are overseas oi’ worldwide so when you are overseas or you see is chaos in the uk. people are planning accordingly. they are rerouting trade relationships into supply chains elsewhere out of the uk. here in the uk it is very difficult planning environment. almost impossible for business. thank you so much for being with us today and thank you for your comments. let's discuss the

financial markets then and how they have been digesting all these guys love and. our asia business correspondent karishma vaswani is in singapore. asian investors have been digesting the news from the vote overnight just as others have around the world. by and large investors here are watching the outcome of the next vote with a degree of caution. of course it has been priced into the value of the pound that we will not have a no deal outcome. is, however, there is an unexpected upset, a nalysts there is an unexpected upset, analysts have told me it is likely to have a very big impact on the pound with one saying it would be catastrophic. joining me to discuss this in detail is alvin lee. what is your sense of where your clients are seeing the value of the sterling over the next few days? this morning

one interesting point is that as of la st one interesting point is that as of last week we saw a lot of traders ta ke last week we saw a lot of traders take long options. this week we could see a reversal of this especially since yesterday 's was pooh especially since yesterday 's was poor. so when you say long-on the pound, what you mean is that they expect the value to strengthen. what about the filtering effect into asian markets? our investors he really concerned about what happens in brexit? i would say they are especially after last night. the asian equity markets this morning is down. the hang seng is down as well. so asian investors are more careful in that sense so far. more fearful. thank you very much forjoining us on the programme. sally, that is the

overwhelming sense i have gotten from people speaking on the trading floor as well is from business around the region. while asian investors do not necessarily follow every twist and turn in the negotiations regarding brexit there is an overwhelming sense that any further uncertainty would add to global economic concerns at a time when, really, investors do not need that. and that is what we are hearing here as well. with brief you now another briefing stories —— business stories. the us insists there's "no basis" to ground boeing 737 max planes, after a second deadly crash involving the model within five months. but it's increasingly isolated, after the european union, the uk and india joined a long list of countries grounding the aircraft or banning it from their airspace. all 157 people on board a new ethiopian airlines 737 max 8 were killed when it came down on sunday.

as if there wasn't enough going on in westminster already today, britain's finance minister — the chancellor philip hammond — delivers his spring statement to mps later. he's not expected to make any announcements on tax and spending. there are likely to be new forecasts for uk economic growth. and mr hammond may indicate that a no—deal brexit would hamper his ability to end austerity measures. will britain leave the eu with, or without a deal? it's a question causing headaches for countless british businesses, many of whom have put their investment plans on hold until the future is clearer. others, however, have found an opportunity amid the uncertainty. britain's warehouses, for example, have seen a surge in demand as many companies stockpile supplies. let's hear now from one warehouse operator in sunderland, in the north—east of england.

iam alan i am alan ferguson, that chief executive for ferguson transport limited. we have overi million square feet of commercial property, much of which is turned over to warehousing. we have taken back the building of billiatt hundred 50,000 square feet at the end of january, that building is now full. altogether, probably a 50% lift in demand for warehousing. dominantly it is about the sector. this building has a lot of wheels and tyres and we are seeing a dramatic increase in stock levels. automobile companies here in the north—east are one of the most productive car pla nts one of the most productive car plants in the world and they do this because they have a lean supply chain. they deliverjust—in—time. we deliver every 20 minutes to the factory. they are keen to make sure that the supply chain is not interrupted with customs controls if

they are slapped on during the first few weeks no deal brexit. lets hope and pray that within a few months we will suddenly wonder what this was all about, like the millennium bug. it could turn out to be nothing and i hope that is how it goes. that you do need to prepare for the worse case scenario and that is what is being done here. so there you have it. 0pportunities are out there and a lot of canny business people who are making the most of them. looking at the financial markets, karishma talking about the day in asia and the view over there of what is happening here in london. you can see that they are all headed lower today. asian stocks falling. positive sentiment at the start week has faded for a lack of fresh date of to alleviate any concerns about global growth. the pound sterling buying $1, just over 30 cents right now. it remains steady ahead of the vote today. the

expectation in markets is that a no deal will be ruled out later and that is seen asa be ruled out later and that is seen as a positive for the pound. and thatis as a positive for the pound. and that is your business briefing. ina in a moment we will review the press reaction to the vote but first of all let me talk about another story. three climbers have died and one other has been injured following an avalanche on ben nevis, britian‘s highest mountain. police scotland were alerted to the incident yesterday morning. 0fficers said they were working to establish the identity of the climbers. 0ur scotland correspondent james shaw reports. in driving rain and low visibility, a coastguard helicopter helped with efforts to find the climbers

swept away by an avalanche on britain's highest mountain. they were in an area on the north face of the mountain called number 5 gully, which is known for avalanches. the bad weather meant the effort to rescue them was particularly challenging. it's been very difficult conditions that the mountain rescue teams have faced today and the coastguard helicopter faced difficulties in that regard as well, so it has taken longer to get them off the hill than perhaps other days when the weather's more clement. an air ambulance helped get the casualties off ben nevis, but only one of the four people in the party has survived. that person was airlifted to hospital in glasgow. these are not the first people to die on ben nevis this winter. two young climbers died in separate accidents in december and january. this mountain attracts thousands of climbers and hill walkers every year, but there are dangers which can catch out even the most experienced.

police officers from the station we re police officers from the station were involved in the search on ben nevis but it is our understanding it was members of the public who alerted the emergency services to the fact that there had been an avalanche. they are one of the most dangerous hazards in the scottish mountains because they can cause multiple casualties at the same time. this is the briefing and you are live in westminster as we keep you across all the developments in the british parliament. you will vote today on whether or not to accept deal brexit. this follows the rejection on tuesday of the latest withdrawal agreement. the most senior clergyman ever found guilty of child sex abuse — cardinal george pell is sentenced

to six years in jail in australia. let's have a look at how the media is disgusting and i digesting what happened here in the house of commons on tuesday. and also some of the other stories. —— the media is die we begin with the daily mail and brexit. it points the finger at mps who failed to back theresa may's deal last night, labelling parliament a "house of fools". the daily telegraph also covering brexit, but from a different angle. it says a brexit delay looms after what it calls a "second humiliating defeat" for theresa may. the guardian has the business take on brexit. it reports that companies are dismayed with what it calls the "brexit circus". the sun looks at an event totally

overshadowed by brexit — that being the british chancellor's spring statement. it says philip hammond will stem tech giants's power and announce £50 million to tackle knife crime. and finally, der tagespiegel in germany leads with europe grounding the boeing 737 max aircraft, while the us refuses to follow suit. that is another story that has been dominating certainly in business. so let's bring in a guest. with me is rebecca harding, the ceo of coriolis tech. ian henderson is also back, as promised, to give us their take on this coverage. the daily mail, house of fool ‘s, the daily mail saying that politicians that the country down. —— house of fools. just explain that position for our international viewers. so the explain that position for our internationalviewers. so the daily mail completely backed brexit, the former editor was a big,