this is the business briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. brexit delay dilemma — leaders are meeting in brussels to determine a revised timescale for the uk's departure from the eu — meaning more uncertainty for businesses. boeing's legal battles over the 737 max intensify after shareholders file a lawsuit against the company. and on the markets: a negative depth asian stocks, trade tensions are playing on investors mind, it'sa tensions are playing on investors mind, it's a crucial day in terms of exit here in europe. investors have lent to to get their heads around. things are not looking good on the asian markets.

we start with an all important brexit summit that'll be getting underway in brussels in a few hours. british prime minister theresa may is looking for an extension to the date when the uk leaves the eu. at the moment, that date is set for this friday — but ahead of today's meeting the european council president donald tusk said a delay of up to a year might be possible. mrs may, though, has put forward a new deadline ofjune 30th. uncertainty over a deal has led to an increase in stockpiling of goods by many manufacturers here in the uk. and that of course has been based on a timeline of leaving in march, april, or may. so those companies will have their goods stored in warehouses — not knowing how long they'll have to remain there. companies in the uk reduced investments last year — in the lead up to that original march 29th deadline.

and the bank of england says that uncertainty played a big role in that. the bbc has spoken to the movers and shakers in the business world over the last few months and there's a clear theme that's emerged. we need to know what's happening and it might be that these things come down the horizon, if oliver sudden this happens, we can't absorb it. the uk is an important termination for airbus, we have to say to the people listening that the future investments will be under review. the predictability is a very important element, that's why uncertainty has caused a lot a second thought about continuing business in the uk. lesley batchelor is director general of the institute of export & international trade. you obviously are a trade expert, let's first of all talk about the

possibilities on friday. because if nothing is sorted out, as things stand, we will leave the eu with no deal. what does that mean in terms of our trade relationships?m deal. what does that mean in terms of our trade relationships? it means at our trade relationships are left in limbo because we are at the moment trading is in the european union agreement. the eu south korea, eu, canada, all these trade agreements in place, we are getting great deals out of dealing with those countries. there are zero rating the tariffs that we would normally pay. we could make an impact on some of the goods going into a country, perhaps 25%, defence and what kind of products they are selling. it's an issue because it's about our trade and about the customers in that country having to bear the extra cost. whatever the rules that we can fall back on. bear the extra cost. whatever the rules that we can fall back onm is governed by wto, even the eu.

robert happen is we would go back to the basics. this only one of the country, a contract which manages the trades on wto basics, so that they call the most—favoured—nation and that's literally whatever was said jewelled to charge. what you think the businesses are thinking right now? the advice has been to prepare for no deal, prepare for as much as you can. but it's difficult for businesses to prepare in that way. the businesses have four main things they are worried about. the person they want is quick distract frictionless trade. the second thing is alignment, the third thing is all about lab access and being able to work with people and have workers in the factories. the fourth thing is they need more time. putting aside all of the issues we've got around

the emotional side of things, we need to take this argument back to the economics and the economic say that businesses need time to get ready. the need for clarity, we need the legislation in place to make this work. we haven't got it in place. do you think a delay will help? everyone wants clarity but we know we not ready to leave on friday. one more question, working inafield, friday. one more question, working in a field, trade is what you do. it's a bread—and—butter. looking at what's happened with brexit, beyond that, trade tensions between the us and china, the eu and china, what a time to be involved in trade. it's amazing. what we need to know is that we are not training the young people about international trade. this is what we do, bear trying to help businesses understand, trying to bring new people into the industry and it's great but we can't train people quickly enough. more trouble for boeing — its shareholders have filed

a lawsuit against the company over the now grounded 737 max airplane. the airline's market value tumbled by $34 billion in the two weeks following the ethiopian airlines crash in march — which killed all 157 people on board. james brauchle is an aviation attorney at motley rice and joins me from south carolina. top method what is happening here? the shareholders have filed security fraud action against boeing and to bother down, what they are saying is that boeing hit safety problems from their shareholders and therefore the shareholders were unaware of these problems. because of these problems, and the crushers, as you mentioned in your opening, the stock rises

have tumbled billions of dollars. this means that shareholders have lost a lot of money. how much money are we talking about are they could be show —— sieving boeing for? typically in their suits what you're looking for is that when the stock was purchased and you're looking at the price drop, to what the stock is and if they lost money on their sales, or if thou still presently holding stock and the stock is come down, there would be entitled to recoup those losses. you are talking in this case millions of billions of dollars. do they have a strong case? i think they do based on what we know so far. obviously it's going to depend on what boeing new about the safety problem and when they knew it. you're representing one of the families i believe, of one of the victims in a lawsuit against known.

obviously it's a difficult and very sensitive time for the family. obviously it's a difficult and very sensitive time for the familym is. it is, it's, we represent families who have lost loved ones and plane crashes and the biggest thing that drives the families is not monetary gain, but you know exactly what happened, why it happened, and if it could have been prevented. and obviously, we have seen boeing share prices tumble, do you think this is going to have a long—term impact on boeing ‘s reputation? i don't think so. boeing is still one of the leaders in the aerospace industry throughout the world. the main competitor is our bus but boeing still, with their entire fleet of different our plans are make, they will be able to survive this. it's good to talk to

you, thank you for coming on the programme. the global economy is at a delicate moment, according to the international monetary fund — which now forecasts global growth of 3.3% this year. let's go to our asia business hub where shara njit leyl is following the story. so how are the world's two most populous nations likely to fare in 2019? reasonably well still, as you mentioned the fund is projecting the slowdown. got the slowdown for 70% of the global economy, having said that, china and india is amongst them, they're expecting 6.3% growth for the world ‘s second—largest economy, that is of course, china. but also to 6.1 next year and chief concerns include the trade war with the us. the organisation acknowledges the policy response globally might help cushion the impact ofa globally might help cushion the impact of a slowdown. china has ramped up its fiscal and natural

stimulus to try and counter the negative effects. they said the outlook for these trade tensions have improved as the prospect of the trade agreement take shape. for india on the other hand, they predict robust growth of 7.3% this year, expanding to seven and a half centre next year, that's actually a revision downward from the forecast last october. this involves cuts from india central bank. the continued recovery of the investment and robust consumption will help india which comes is good news for a nation that heads to the polls starting tomorrow. undoubtably the indian government will use this to boost his chances at the polls. the prime minister has already confident the patient make india the third largest economy by 2030. it's even in his party ‘s manifesto. largest economy by 2030. it's even in his party 's manifesto. indian election is very much based on the economy.

thousands of people with mental impairments could be missing out on council tax discounts as campaigners say differences in how local authorities handle the process is too confusing. the severe mental impairment exemption means people with dementia, alzheimer's or parkinson's shouldn't be paying council tax. our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. thomas is doing more to help his mum out at home at the moment. because she is doing more to help her mum stop the show. sharon ‘s mum has dementia which means that apparent her siblings are in charge of the

finances. following the diagnosis we had an appointment with the memory clinic and they said, what are you doing about benefits? survey told me about the council tax exception which i had no idea existed. it's thought that tens of thousands of people across the uk don't realise they should be paying —— shouldn't be paying tax. that's why they have decided to advertise exemption more to just have one standardised form and to give people the money back right up to the point that they were first diagnosed. sharon managed to get help but her mum ‘s local citizens advice. they say a lot of people are put up by the term severe mental impairment. it's not a nice term really, that's something we discuss a people when they're talking about whether they may qualify, whether they may be eligible to make the claim. under this system, she can now claim three yea rs of this system, she can now claim three years of council tax payment since her mum was first diagnosed. by

having those extra funds available, that's going to make it so much easier to be able to get the extra help she needs it. coming up at 6:00 on breakfast we'll have all the day's news and sport. they'll also be coming live from northern ireland to see what impact game of thrones has had on some of the locations it's been filmed in. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: with most of the votes counted, israel's election is still too close to call with both sides claiming victory. eu leaders are preparing for an emergency summit in brussels, to consider british prime minister theresa may's request for a delay to brexit. the mayor of new york has declared a public emergency in north—west brooklyn, because of a rise in measles cases. bill de blasio says residents who don't get vaccinated will be fined. now it's time to look at the stories that are making

the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with french daily le figaro which leads with the continuing brexit story. a new report, it asks, to do what? the million—dollar question. two days away from the brexit deadline, the uk prime minister, says the paper, will ask for a postponement of the divorce. and the british daily telegraph also features the story prominently. the paper says european leaders have warned theresa may that her proposal for short extension until the end ofjune is too much of a risk, following weeks of parliamentary chaos in the uk. the us version of the financial times now. and the story of increased investment in saudi bonds, despite, as they say, last year's outrage over the killing of journalist jamal khashoggi and the boycott by several business leaders of last october's conference in riyadh dubbed ‘davos in the desert‘. the new york times is next with a report about a fungus which, it says, preys on people with weakened immune systems, and is quietly spreading across the globe.

it is impervious to anti—fungal medications and is another example, they say, of the rise of drug—resista nt infections. and finally, the uk sun newspaper. and a report that the lottery jackpot curse ha struck again with a couple married for 38 years who scooped a lottery win of £161 million pounds, only to find that the money made them drift apart. with me is eileen burbidge, partner at passion capital. let's talk the lottery win in a moment and whether it is coastal not but first, brexit. interesting that we get the french viewpoint today because that french newspaper says, literally, it asks why? a new report to do what? very french. what is the point? what will we see that is different? i think that is a fair question and as italian —— european leaders are