this is the business briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. britain buys more time, as firms warn neither the eu or the uk are ready for a no—deal brexit. plus — hot pants! levi strauss soars on its return to the new york stock exchange — trousering a 31% gain. we hear from the boss. and on the markets: asian shares rise after wall street was boosted by positive economic data — a bigger than expected fall injobless claims easing some of the fears about a weakening us economy. a small recovery in the pound, but traders still very cautious about brexit.

we start with brexit because, as you've been hearing, the european union has agreed to delay britain's departure date for at least two weeks. the agreement removes the risk of a no—deal exit next friday night, a prospect that saw the pound have its worst day this year, and provoked an increasingly panicked response from business. firms across europe have warned neither the uk nor the eu are ready for a no—deal brexit, according to a letter seen by bbc newsnight. uk business leaders and trade union bosses united on thursday to call the brexit deadlock a "national emergency", and warn the government against leaving without a deal, saying the "shock to our economy would be felt by generations to come." the confederation of british industry says the vast majority of uk companies — 88% — support delaying brexit to avoid a no—deal departure. a survey for factory lobby group make uk found around

half of its members believe leaving the eu with no deal would make britain unattractive as a manufacturing location. the society of motor manufacturers and traders says investment in the car industry — a key uk exporter — almost halved last year to $772 million. and fast food chains mcdonald's and kfc this week joined uk supermarkets to warn that no—deal would mean "significant" disruptions to their supply chains. next friday may no longer be the cliff edge, but the uncertainty for business will continue next week as prime minister theresa may tries to get parliament to agree to her deal. the decision today underlies the importance of the house of commons passing a brexit deal next week so we can bring an end to the uncertainty and leave in a smooth

and orderly manner. tomorrow morning i will be returning to the uk and working hard to build support to get the deal through. i know mps on all sides of the debate have passionate views and i respect those in different positions. last night i express my frustration and i know that mps are also frustrated. they have difficult jobs that mps are also frustrated. they have difficultjobs to do. i hope we can now agree we are now at the moment of decision and i will make every effort to make sure we are able to leave with a deal and move our country forward. tamzen isacsson is ceo of the management consultancies association, whose members advise top uk companies and the public sector. we'll theresa may's words ease concern — an understatement — by businesses about what happens given the letter we have seen by business

lobbies warning that no—one is ready, not the uk or the eu. ourjob is not to create further panic but it is to advise businesses. we have a crisis and we need to avoid further panic and reactions. we have slightly bit more breathing space but not very much. business cannot operate under these conditions. it is untenable. we pride ourselves as a nation in entrepreneurship, and we have no decision and certainty in order to invest. it is a hugely damaging for the uk plc and damaging for businesses. a large number of businesses are completely unprepared for no deal and it would have devastating consequences. we have been advising companies and they have good plans in place but others

are completely unprepared. it must be taken off the table. what needs to happen for businesses that are not prepared? can they do anything to mitigate a possible no—deal brexit? there is advice out there. there are free advice for companies. top teams to take into account. a lot of free information both on the government website but also on the members website. business need to start planning a look at the impact of no deal on their businesses and their people and make sure they have good communications channel with their people and also their supplies. every scenario is still possible. there is a great deal of uncertainty but also super advice out there. thank you for your

advice. let's go to the us now where shares of levi strauss and co have soared by almost 32% on their return to the new york stock exchange. the 166—year—old firm, which invented blue jeans, has been away from the stock market since it was taken private in 1985. many traders abandoned their no—jeans dress code on thursday and went for double denim in honour of the return of one of america's oldest brands to the stock market. a revival in the popularity of levi's jeans has seen huge demand from investors — valuing the company at over $8.5 billion by the close of trading. the company's ceo chip bergh told the bbc‘s michelle fleury there's now a big opportunity for company to improve its market share with women. one of the few apparel brands where women's business is significantly smaller. only 20% of the business a couple of years ago today it is

almost a third but it is still significantly smaller. we are number one in women's and bottom, globally with a 9% share. it is a fragmented market. it is also one of the fastest growing business. fads come and go faster in women's chaparral? it is. we are waking up technology that could reduce the fashion risk, if you well, and enable us to change things that work quickly. we were chasing things and missing trends when ijoined the company, today we are setting trends. we market leader and have the ability to set trans. the rise on women's jeans has and have the ability to set trans. the rise on women'sjeans has been going higher... the mumjeans. the skinnyjeans but going higher... the mumjeans. the skinny jeans but it going higher... the mumjeans. the skinnyjeans but it has been going higher so we launched the 7—11

skinnyjane higher so we launched the 7—11 skinny jane when we higher so we launched the 7—11 skinnyjane when we launch the business. —— bluejeans. we went to a mile high, and now we launched the rib cagejeans mile high, and now we launched the rib cage jeans and we cannot keep it in stock. it is flying. when is stone wash jeans coming back? they are back. the one technology i should plug is we have been working on the laser finishes which will allow us to finish products much closer to market which will help us avoid fashion risks but some jeans will never go away. part of the reason we went public is that we will be around another 166 years. reason we went public is that we will be around another 166 yearslj probably will be around another 166 years.” probably have a pair in my closet somewhere. let's go to asia now where indonesia's national carrier garuda says it's calling off a multi—billion—dollar order for 49 boeing 737 max 8 jets — following the two crashes

involving the plane. rico hizon in singapore is looking at this for us. i guess it is probably not much of a surprise? absolutely, especially after those two crashes, one in october and won earlier this month. garuda a spokesman said they sent a letter cancelling the order. they say they have lost trust and no longer have the confidence in the plane. the company says it may also change the 737 max ordered to another type of boeing jack. —— jet. october last year, lying on and crashed into the java sea and the same plane model operated by ethiopian airlines. none of the 157 on board that fights survived.

investigators suspect a malfunction in the flight control system being a contributing factor to both these crashes. thank you. now let's brief you on some other business stories: ride—hailing firm uber will list on the new york stock exchange, according to reports, in one of the most anticipated stock debuts of the year. it comes as smaller taxi app rival lyft prepares to list on the nasdaq exchange, which is dominated by tech firms such as google, apple and facebook. uber is expected to launch its initial public offering in april and may be valued as high as $120 billion. britain's tate galleries have joined the national portrait gallery in refusing further donations from the wealthy sackler family, whose company purdue pharma has made billions of dollars from the prescription painkiller oxycontin. purdue faces claims it misled regulators over the dangers of oxycontin, held responsible for helping to fuel the us opioid crisis which has led to thousands of deaths, claims the sacklers vigorously deny.

asian shares were up but they are now down. plenty more on the market is coming up later and also the news briefing coming up. do stay with us. police searching for libby squire have confirmed a body recovered from the humber estuary is that of the missing student. she was last seen in the early hours of the 1st february after a night out. during the initial investigation, a 2k year—old man was arrested on suspicion of abduction. he's been remanded in custody on unrelated charges, and remains under investigation. our correspondent

john mcmanus has more. for seven weeks, humberside police searched for libby squire, hoping the 21—year—old student would eventually be found somebody would come forward with information about her disappearance but now officers from the force have confirmed that, following formal identification, a body discovered on wednesday afternoon is that of libya. the university student was seen just after midnight on the first of february on beverly road, in the city. her body was recovered several miles away close to spam point. a postmortem is now taking place which may help the 50 detectives working on the case and discover what happened to her during that period. they already know she had been on a night out on january they already know she had been on a night out onjanuary 31st and was dropped off by a taxi near her

student house. her mobile phone was found. about ten minutes later she was seen found. about ten minutes later she was seen nearby. last night the vice chancellor where libby was studying philosophy issued a statement saying student and staff were devastated. her parents who had thanked the public in helping in her search are now receiving support from a trained officers. for that story and more, breakfast is coming up at six o'clock with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. they'll have all the day's news, business and sport. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: the european union has agreed to theresa may's request to give britain two more months to prepare for brexit. if mps don't pass her withdrawal agreement, that will change to just two extra weeks.

thousands of people have gathered in christchurch and around new zealand to pay tribute to the victims of last week's mosque shootings. president trump says the united states should now recognise israeli sovereignty over the golan heights, which it captured from syria more than fifty years ago. now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. brexit, the top story on many including the guardian. its story quotes an apparent aide to mrs may as saying she didn't answer eu leaders when they asked her what she would do if she lost another vote on her deal. the financial times, looks at a warning from businesses on the risk of a no—deal brexit with bosses saying it would spark a national emergency. the guardian website now. it quotes insurers saying climate change could make insurance too expensive for most people. abc in australia among many with this story. it reports some popular health apps are sharing sensitive user data like weight and blood pressure with other companies. and, this story on the bbc news website. along with a cute photo or two. should schools have dogs to help bust stress?

some experts seem to think so. with me is james hughes, who's chief market analyst, at axi trader. welcome back. the front page of the guardian, an appeal from theresa welcome back. the front page of the guardian, an appealfrom theresa may and the eu seizes control of the brexit debate to dig a damning indictment, castigating theresa may for not being clear about what she wa nts for not being clear about what she wants or how she will execute her planned. and of course none of this is new news to anyone because this has been the case for such a long period of time now and what has changed, of course, from yesterday to today is the fact that there is an official delay to brexit happening but everything is still dependent on whether teresa gets the deal voted through and the chances are that she will not. there is no change here. all we know is that

from the point of view of