you‘re watching bbc news with me, annita mcveigh, at westminster. theresa may heads to brussels to ask this is business live from bbc news eu leaders to approve with susannah streeter a three—month delay to brexit and maryam moshiri. after blaming mps for eu leaders will decide today the brexit deadlock. whether to grant a delay to britain's departure date but there's no end to the uncertainty for businesses. motion after motion and amendment after amendment has been tabled, live from london, that's our top without parliament ever deciding what it wants. all mps have been willing to say story on thursday 21st march. is what they do not want. mps across the house of commons reacted furiously to mrs may‘s remarks last night and said the prime minister should take responsibility for the brexit turmoil. instead of saying, "look, i‘m the prime minister. the buck stops here." the pressure‘s on minister theresa she said, "the buck stops over there. don‘t blame me. may but even more so on businesses as one report by the cbi says 88% of companies would support a delay to the process to avoid a no deal brexit. also in the programme — building a new silk road. china's master plan to build a global transport network

to move its exports around the world — we talk to a senior official at italy's ministry of economic development. this is the latest in europe as the markets have opened. as you can see, it isa markets have opened. as you can see, it is a bit ofa markets have opened. as you can see, it is a bit of a mixed bag so far. as you can see, it is a bit of a mixed bag so far. hello and welcome to business live. it's a testing time for businessess big and small right now. eu leaders will decide today whether to grant a delay to britain's departure date — from march 29th tojune 30th — as requested by prime minister theresa may on wednesday. research by business group the cbi says 88% of companies would support a delay to the process to avoid a no—deal brexit. a point i put to chris southworth, secretary general of the international chambers of commerce here in the uk. the uk has just lost

the uk hasjust lost a the uk has just lost a trillion the uk hasjust lost a trillion in assets because of brexit. some sectors have already kicked in in terms of contingencies and that is happening either way. it is costing the financial services 7000 jobs and a trillion assets and we will see more tape of that activity. we would like to see a focus on the economy, jobs and livelihoods and make sure they are safeguarded. that is what they are safeguarded. that is what the world economy needs, it does not need more instability and chaos. adam fleming is in brussels. it is so confusing, we are hearing differences of opinion. what will happen today? she will have to plead quite strongly. i don't know if that is the case, the eu is united on this lowest common denominator option, a short technical extension for a deal that passes through

parliament and needs a few months to be implemented in domestic legislation. it was if it was a request for a much longer extension, that would be more controversial among the 27 eu countries. what conditions would they apply to it and how would they protect themselves from the uk being in the eu when they were supposed to have left? having said that, there is a massive condition attached to this offer of an extension from the eu. it will only apply if theresa may's deal is voted through by mps in parliament next week. that is a pretty massive if. that is why a lot of the eu member states are talking about an emergency summit of members coming back to brussels next thursday on the eve of what is supposed to be brexit day. will it be another short extension? will it be another short extension? will it bea be another short extension? will it be a longer extension for something like a referendum or everything in the uk, or something even bigger than that? or will that situation

not materialise and the deal will go through next week and there will be a shorter length and brexit and the deal will go through by the summer. thank you for that update from brussels. now to rome, where chinese president xi jinping is arriving today. he's trying to persuade italy tojoin china's grand plan for a global trade network — a sort of modern silk road. the trillion dollar "belt and road initiative" aims to connect asia, the middle east, africa and europe via a network of ports, railways, roads and tunnels. it's central to china's strategy for boosting sales of its goods and services around the world. more than 100 countries have signed up — but italy would be the first g7 member to join. critics in the us and eu see the belt and road initiative as a plan to expand china's sphere of influence. they say it mostly benefits chinese companies and traps poorer countries in debt to china. still, many in italy's business world would like investment from china. the port of trieste is in talks with a chinese construction firm for help with a billion dollar

revamp — it wants to become china's gateway to europe. italy's trade with china hitjust under $50 billion last year. at 2.5% of gdp china trade makes up a smaller share of the economy than it does in the us or wider eu so there is a lot of room for growth. michele geraci is the under—secretary of state for trade and foreign investment of italy at the ministry of economic development and the architect of the plan. thank you forjoining us here. there has been criticism that this has not happened in terms of having consensus amongst other european countries. this is italy going alone and that has garnered criticism from various points? well, i hear the

concerns, but those do not correspond to the reality. italy is not the first country to sign up. in the european union already 13 other countries have signed up to the belt and road initiative, so pretty much half of the eu member states will have joined this project. half of the eu member states will havejoined this project. with regards to the asian infrastructure investment bank that to me is the financing arm of the initiative, all european countries have signed, 28 countries, with the uk leading the effort. if you recall at the time a few years back, the uk also had attracted some criticism for being the first european country to sign up the first european country to sign up to the asian infrastructure bank. 0ne up to the asian infrastructure bank. one by one on the other countries so the benefits. i do predict in a way that the other remaining european countries will see the benefits of trade. forgive me for interrupting.

critics say this is a plan that fundamentally is china trying to expand its political influence and that it does benefit chinese companies above other companies and leaves a lot of poorer countries in debt to china. with regards to poor countries, of course that is their own choice and just the fact that italy is a large g7 country, it is less affected by that because you mentioned may be investment in a tiny port compared to the economy and italy which is $1.7 trillion. that does not put italy at the mercy of chinese investment. the chinese port investment in europe, let's be careful, already includes athens, malta, egypt, israel, marseille, dunkirk, zeebrugge, rotterdam and

antwerp, pretty much everywhere. it is not that now if we sign this, the chinese will invest in european ports, they already own a certain capacity. i do not really understand the logic of the criticism anyway. undersecretary of state for trade and foreign investment in italy, thank you so much. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. pressure is mounting on boeing as us politicians have called for executives to testify over two crashes involving the new 737 max aircraft. officials say a senate committee plans to schedule a hearing with boeing at a later unspecified date. meanwhile, the same committee is due to question officials from the federal aviation administration next week about why they certified the 737 max. the us federal reserve says it does not expect to raise interest rates for the rest of 2019 amid slower economic growth. after a two—day meeting, monetary policymakers voted unanimously to keep the us interest rate range between 2.25%—2.5%.

the swedish carmaker volvo says it will install cameras in its cars from next year to monitor drivers for signs of being drunk or distracted. if activated the system warns the driver and if they don't respond the car slows down and calls the company's assistance line. let's find out what's been happening on the financial markets. the nikkei was closed for the session, but elsewhere shares in asia rose after the us federal reserve abandoned forecasts for any interest rate hikes this year, but concerns over us—china trade talks and slowing global growth continued to weigh on investor confidence. lets take a look at europe. since the open it's been very much a mixed bag for european indices — the ftse 100 is in positive territory though. as it's stuffed full of multinationals it usually gains when the pound falls, which it has as the prospect for a no—deal exit has again increased, but the index is up only slightly.

michelle fleury has more on what's coming up on wall street later. in late february american college basketball star zion williamson, who plays for duke university, was injured when his foot ripped through a nike shoe. it was a bad book for the sports retailer and the next it was a bad look for the sports retailer and the next day its share price fell. however, the stock has since bounced back. basketball after all is only a fraction of the compa ny‘s business. but investors will no doubt want to hear what nike has to say about the incident when it releases its third—quarter profits yesterday. another firm reporting third—quarter results is the owner of birds eye foods, conagra brands. wall street will be curious how the food chain has been affected by higher transportation and commodity costs. we can speak to a senior portfolio manager at coutts. let's talk about the brexit saga and the impact that

has had on british pound sterling. the pound is a real barometer of how the markets fear about what is going on and time is ticking. the pound is down a little bit this morning but still above 1.31. that's as the market does not anticipate anything horrific happening. the other thing is, if you look at uk banks, domestic stocks, construction companies, they have had a fantastic start to the year. that is because most people think the odds are shifting towards some sort of deal being agreed. it is not certain, things could still happen, but the odds have got better. let's talk about another issue that has been market moving and it is about the fed and its stance towards interest rates. this is a handbrake turn. it is, we have gone from december last year and four rate rises in a year and reducing their balance sheet after they bought all the bonds and

know they are saying no more rate rises. they said yesterday they were also going to hold the reduction of their balance sheet by a bit which was surprising. that meant us treasuries fell, the yields fell and prices rose. if you look at emerging markets those are countries that financed themselves with a lot of dollars, so it is beneficial to them when interest rates are lower. this is what president trump wanted. he thought the federal reserve was going in the wrong direction and he wa nts to going in the wrong direction and he wants to see a weaker dollar. he probably has a lot of debt and so the other side is for businesses if they can borrow at lower rates, it makes it easier to finance debt capital investment. that is the angle he is looking it from. we talked a lot about the chinese belt and road initiative and concern about us and china trade at the forefront of investors‘ nines. how will that have an impact in italy

today? we have already seen the chinese market rise a lot this year, but it is still below levels it hit last year. we may have an agreement like nafta where we tear it all up, rebrand it and call it new and fantastic, but it is just the same as it was before. to get really far—reaching changes with chinese business practices will be much more tough. we will hear from you a bit later, talking to some other stories. still to come, do you love the feel of a posh printed card? many of us still have a passion for traditional paper in an industry that‘s being shaken up by new technology. you‘re with business live from bbc news. 115 shop staff are physically attacked at work every day according

to the latest industry figures. and the british retail consortium said that incidents are becoming more violent and frightening. james martin is from the british retail consortium. give us an idea of what the biggest triggers are in terms of what brings about violence and abuse for shop staff? our expert members tell us there are three triggers. the first is the act of theft. people use violence when they are trying to steal significant amounts of goods. the second is age—related sales, so when people are challenged when they are buying certain things that are restricted. that can be a flash point. the third is when people are intoxicated with drink or drugs and that can cause difficult issues. but for us, the first one, the attempted theft, is the most difficult and problematic. i had been in a situation when i have seen those

theft taking place and i have grown up theft taking place and i have grown up to theft taking place and i have grown uptoa theft taking place and i have grown up to a security guard and they have stood back. iassume up to a security guard and they have stood back. i assume they are concerned about being attacked. is that pushing shops more out—of—pocket than they used to be? i think it is important for me not to comment on that issue because i was not there, but there is all sorts of de—escalation training that allows shops to manage potential flash points and issues and take the sting out of it. it is important people followed the right priorities. i cannot comment on that one, but it sounds as if they were doing a sensiblejob one, but it sounds as if they were doing a sensible job and who knows what other technology was being deployed. retail has lost £900 million to form of crimes and that isa million to form of crimes and that is a lot of money, especially when you think of how tough it is in the retail sector right now. it is a large amount and if you look at what retailers are spending to prevent crime, that is another billion. we think that money could be better

spent on providing jobs and better services in the industry. that is why we have come up with a few key points we think people should take. parliament should legislate to provide a specific offence to protect colleagues. the police need to give this a bit more priority at a strategic level. thank you very much indeed. more on that and lots of stories on our website. your‘re watching business live, our top story, eu leaders will decide today whether to grant a delay to britain‘s departure date but there‘s no end to the uncertainty for businesses. a quick look at how the markets are faring. it isa it is a bit ofa it is a bit of a mixed picture in europe. it is, the ftse is up slightly and the pound has fallen and given all

the pound has fallen and given all the uncertainty still surrounding brexit and theresa may‘s visit to brussels. now, if you like a nicely printed poster or pad of paper it would seem you‘re not alone. the global printing industry was worth about $980 billion in 2018 with growth driven especially by packaging and labels. here in the uk the printing industry has an annual turnover ofjust over $18bn, making it the world‘s fifth largest producer of printed products, while the united states hold the top spot. it‘s an industry consisting of 8,400 companies in britain. and while the digitial revolution is making a mark across many sectors this one seems to be faring rather well. it isa it is a family run company that has been going for many years and is based in mayfair in london. alex cain is the director of sales at mount street printers. explain to our viewers at home, in the digital world how does an old—fashioned printer like

yourselves, who take time over the details and the quality, how do you set yourself apart from the digital world ? set yourself apart from the digital world? i think people have seen the digital world is overtaking traditional crafts and skills, but it is enabling a lot of the things that we are doing. we are able to reach a wider audience, we are able to use technology to our advantage so to use technology to our advantage so that we can enhance some of the older types of printing process. generally it has made our products more available and educated people about the importance of quality. you do not design online like other printing companies, you have to go into your store and discuss how you wa nt into your store and discuss how you want the invitations and cards or whatever printed and what they look like? design has evolved in a way that it has become so available with the internet and we are working with designers all over the world who i

supply us with files and asking, can you reproduce this in a specific way? before people would come in and look for a template driven work. today everybody want something different and individual.‘ today everybody want something different and individual. a lot of your stuff is hand printed, it is very fine detail. show us what you have got here. these are just ideas and samples. these are examples of different designs you have done for people. who are you cleon tail? i can‘t imagine doing things this way is pretty expensive. it is surprisingly not that expensive because we offer such a broad range of options. people will say our budget is x amount and what can you do within this budget? we make suggestions based on what we can work with. 0bviously suggestions based on what we can work with. obviously there are higher and events that will require more work. people want to attract

attention so they want ever more complex layers of foil or whatever? absolutely. these are party invitations, but we cover a broad spectrum of products. we do business stationary and very generic things as well. the first thing the guest will receive is the invitation, so it gives them an indication of what to expect and it is exciting to receive a nice invitation. it is a family business, how many years has it been going? you either some of the couple who the company. the company was founded in 1981. my pa rents started company was founded in 1981. my parents started it with two employees. we gradually grew over time. ijoined 20 years ago. do you have any special clients like royal clients? we don't talk about our

clients? we don't talk about our clients and we have a lot of special clients and we have a lot of special clients and we are privileged to work with great companies and individuals at the higher end of the spectrum. that is why we get to work ona spectrum. that is why we get to work on a lot of exciting projects. spectrum. that is why we get to work on a lot of exciting projectsm must be expensive to keep your mount street store, how do you cope? must be expensive to keep your mount street store, how do you cope ?m must be expensive to keep your mount street store, how do you cope? it is one of the challenges, but fortu nately a one of the challenges, but fortunately a long time ago when property prices were sensible my pa rents property prices were sensible my pa re nts ha d property prices were sensible my parents had the foresight to buy the property so we do not pay rent. we are subject to rates and other things. we have run the business in an economically viable way. you are an economically viable way. you are an international business, do you do business all over the world? we ship internationally daily and that is the benefit of technology, we are working with clients all over the world and what we produce is not readily available in other countries. we are able to increase the amount of goods we produce. what about post brexit if there is no

deal? i don't know what will come with the brexit situation, but i like to look at the positives in every situation. we have been very conscious about looking inwards to see where we can supply things from the uk and not rely so much on imports. is a good thing generally for business, to try and source locally. thank you so much for joining us. this card is gold embossed. it says golden couple. they will be the gold couple, your pa rents they will be the gold couple, your parents who started the business. i was thinking about you as our main! i was thinking about you as our main! let‘s go to the us now where traders on the new york stock exchange will be breaking their strict no jeans dress code today and digging out their denim. it‘s in honour of a return to the stock market for one of america‘s oldest brands — levi strauss and co — the original bluejeans maker. michele fleury reports. what denim are you wearing today? levi jeans, i have always liked them

because of the comfort level and you can wear them anywhere. a wardrobe staple, levi strauss is returning to the stock market, the comeback created an opening for one of america‘s oldest brands. created an opening for one of america's oldest brands. it is a good time to go public, the brand is high, it is continuing to grow in the us and overseas and the market has been at a high for a long time and that can only carry on for so long. it is a good time for them to raise money. fashion is notoriously fickle, levi is closing factories in the late 90s, but now it is making up the late 90s, but now it is making up ground. with help from famous faces like beyonce, levi‘s has succeeded in balancing its heritage with the demands of today‘s customers. with an eye on china, india and brazil for future growth, levi‘s route are definitely american. launched during the california gold rush, when levi‘s painted denim pants in 1873, it

invented blue jeans, or waste overalls as they were first called. 0nce levi‘s goes public fans will be able to buy shares in their favourite denim maker. who knows if it will turn out to be as reliable a bat as buying a pair of its 501 genes. i wonder how much denim will be worn today? i wonder how much denim will be worn today? what other business stories has the media been taking an interest in? shanti kellerman from coutts bank is joining us again to discuss. volvo is introducing spy cameras to combat distracted driving. what do you make of this story? it is a trend in the car industry to have all sorts of features to make driving safer. think about the camera when you back—up. but the interesting thing is this for an insurance company. as cars become safer, does that market shrink? if

we get to driverless cars, how does insurance run in the first place? for the car it is all about the new technology going into them and it costs a lot of money. we have had a few tweets. craig says, how will it work if you are wearing sunglasses? someone called hot muffins are, sounds good to me, says if it is going to save lives, bring it on. big brother only if there is a third party looking in. the general feeling is that it is a good thing. if it can avoid drink—driving and having accidents. but it is the third party and the possible insurance element of that. thank you forjoining us today in the studio. thank you forjoining us today in the studio. 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. yesterday the temperature in sheffield got to 19 degrees celsius. lots of sunshine in the wales and midland. today it will be cloudy day with limited sunshine and that is most likely in the east of wales, the west midlands. north east and scotland getting a bit of sunshine after the rain clears, but further rain for western scotland into the afternoon. elsewhere it will be dry with lots of cloud and temperatures of 13—15dc. where you get sunshine it could be as high as 16 or 17. tonight we will see more persistent rain moving into north—west scotland. elsewhere some cloudy and drizzly rain on the hills

and the coasts of wales and west in england. temperatures between 9—11. the rain in the north—west of scotla nd the rain in the north—west of scotland will turn quite heavy. it will push through scotland to northern ireland and eventually as it clears there will be sunny spells developing into the afternoon. elsewhere on friday it is again a rather grey and cloudy start to the day. not much change in the afternoon, it will stay mostly cloudy. turning chillier in the north—west as the rain and the weather front clears through. as it moves further south and east as we go into the weekend the cooler air sta rts go into the weekend the cooler air starts to filter into many parts of the uk. 0ver starts to filter into many parts of the uk. over the weekend it will be cooler, temperatures coming down particularly for england and wales. with high pressured dominating it should be dry with some sunshine. as

the weather front clears away to the south it also clears the air and there will be much more sunshine coming through on saturday. temperatures about 10—12. by sunday the area of high pressure is still with us keeping things relatively settled. another weather system moves in from iceland and itjust brushes the final. some rain and hill snow across scotland on sunday. for most of us on sunday it is another dry and bright day with blue skies and sunshine. temperatures about 10—13. it will get cooler, but it should be brighterfor many about 10—13. it will get cooler, but it should be brighter for many of us at the weekend.