hello, this is business live from bbc news with ben thompson and sally bundock. it's been one of the worst year's in boeing's history — how will problems with the once super—star aircraft impact the company's balance sheet? we're live, we're in london, and that's our top story on wednesday 24th april. after two fatal crashes in five months — can boeing restore trust in its ability to safely fly with potential passengers around the world? also in the programme: two top american officials head to beijing next week as both sides

eke closer to a solution in the bruising trade war. european markets looking like this in the open, we will have all you need to know on the trading day. how to tackle future problems like climate change and digitalisation? well, a leading european voice says the eu businesses need to face those difficulties head—on. we'll hearfrom him later on. also, google drones are given approval for home delivery — so we'd like to know, are you comfortable with a drone delivering goods to your home? let us know — just use the hashtag bbcbizlive hello and welcome to business live. boeing has been in the spotlight after its 737 max plane flown by ethiopian airlines crashed at the beginning of march. three days later us regulators

grounded that aircraft and in a few hours the aviation giant will give an indication of the impact that could have on the company. following the accident — the second fatal crash within 5 months — boeing said it would slash production of the 737 max by 20% and deliveries will remain on hold until the software fix is approved. last week, the firm said it had carried out 127 test flights with the new software but it's unclear when it will be ready for inspection by regulators. before the ethiopian aircraft incident — the 737 max had an estimated $600bn worth of orders and was the most successful aircraft for the firm. sally gethin, aviation analyst and editor of gethin‘s inflight

news is with me now. we must remember that many have lost their lives in relation to terrible tragedies involving 737 aircraft but this is critical for bowing on the day it releases its result. a day of reckoning, the first time it has really got to show its hand in terms of the financial hit it has taken from the aftermath of that incident. things are still on a trajectory for the company, following the lion air crash, but complete confidence has gonein crash, but complete confidence has gone in many areas of the operations how gone in many areas of the operations now following this crash. what do we expect boeing will say today? we expect boeing will say today? we expect them to make reassuring comments, to say they are rushing out, not rushing out but bringing out, not rushing out but bringing out a security patch, a software fix, for the automated system that is reckoned to be behind this incident. and that they are getting all their customers on board, also working with regulators around the

world, and, obviously, they want to get the max back on track as soon as possible. but they are backing many probes, many investigations, so they have a long way to go before they can really get the max back into full commercial production. in the meantime, as a company, boeing, it isa meantime, as a company, boeing, it is a huge player, one of the main biggest players in this whole industry, boeing against airbus, the ongoing rivalry between europe and the united states. what is a long—term outlook for boeing? the united states. what is a long-term outlook for boeing? we cannot say right now what the long—term outlook is, they do have very strong, two very strong contenders. they have the dreamliner, things are looking good with those two wide body aircraft but unfortunately, they put a lot onto this 737 max, they staked their future, and of course they had 5000

orders for that. —— 737 max. now thatis orders for that. —— 737 max. now that is looking very uncertain. from this point onwards, it is hard to predict what the long—term future is, for boeing, and also, we have to clarify the relationship with the federal aviation authorities. there are concerns that the faa, the aviation radiator, did not have enough scrutiny and power to control the certification processes with many of the avionics systems on the 737 max aircraft and there are concerns that certain employees in boeing try to raise concern internally and they were silenced. that is of great concern. also, the relationship with politics, lobby groups and so forth, how much influence did it exert in order to get the 737 max right through and into the air. thank you for your

time today, results out later, we will be watching closely. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: china's huawei says it welcome reports that britain would allow limited use of its equipment in new 56 networks and a security source said britain will allow the chinese company restricted access to non—core parts of the 56 network, but block it from all core parts of the system. two former us drug firm executives have been charged with fulfilling orders they knew were fraudulent during an opioid epidemic which has claimed thousands of lives. laurence doud, pictured here, and william pietruszewski had both worked for rochester drug cooperative. it's the first time former executives have faced criminal charges in connection with powerful prescription painkillers. president trump has met with twitter chief executive jack dorsey for the first time. the meeting came hours after mr trump again attacked the social media firm over allegations it is biased

against conservatives. reuters reports president trump spent a significant amount of time questioning mr dorsey on why he had lost twitter followers. now, two top american officials will head to beijing next week to continue talks on the bruising trade war between the us and china. mariko oi has been following the story from singapore us trade representative robert lighthouse, and steve mnuchin, will be going to new york from the white house, and the vice premier, he will be going to washington on the 8th of may as well, and they are now hoping that president trump and president xijinping that president trump and president xi jinping meet by the end of may and the main sticking point appears to be, notjust the huge trade deficit that the us has with china, which president trump is not happy

about. —— robert lighthizer. there are more fundamental issues as well, things like intellectual property, false transfer of technology as the usa calls it, from american companies, to chinese companies, when they operate there. the structural reforms are harder for beijing to agree to, and even if they were to agree to it, it would ta ke they were to agree to it, it would take longer than a few weeks to achieve. that appears to be the fundamental issue that they have not come to agreement. they will continue meeting and telling us that progress has been made so we shall see. on the numbers, they tell you all you need to know, strong session in the us yesterday, the dow up more than o.5%, pretty good earnings from the likes of twitter, all coming in ahead of forecast. asian shares did not have the corporate impetus to keep the rally going, that is why asian market numbers are lower, let's show you what is happening in

europe, a big week for corporate earnings, we will get the results, all posting details of how they have fared this week but in europe, pretty lacklustre trade, what is expected to be pretty thin trade, lack of any real corporate news moving the markets in any real direction, aside from what is happening in the us. that is where most of the action is right now, michelle fleury has the details of what's ahead on wall street today. the bar was set low at the outset but so far results have been better than people thought, a sign, perhaps, or better corporate health. this of course is a far cry from the pessimistic mood at the start of the year, and the barrage of earnings continues this wednesday, with two of the biggest names in technology. microsoft's third—quarter revenue expected to rise thanks to its cloud computing services and the worlds

largest social media network, facebook, is likely to report a rise in first—quarter revenue, boosted by advertising sales. positive news out of the tech sector, that could add to the feel good mood on wall street. louise dudley, portfolio manager, hermes global equities. the feel—good factor is on wall street at the moment. coming out of earnings early in the year, a lot of pessimism, now, we have seen some stabilisation from china, of growth numbers. are starting to feel a little more reassured, some of those headwinds that we have seen have started to dissipate. oil weakness. you see all that and yet we look at the european markets, opening, that really tells us a different story. the european markets, opening, that really tells us a different storylj think mostly within europe it is

stable, not getting the same growth we are seeing out of the us and china, at the same time, still in positive territory. a lot of their reaction is where the sentiment expected to be, and then... that is what markets are doing, pricing and what markets are doing, pricing and what they think is coming next, when it comes to europe, concerns about the german economy. brexit rumbling on. what if you're thinking about the second half of the year as we hit the summer, that weird few months in the middle of the year. hit the summer, that weird few months in the middle of the yearlj think to a certain extent we expect only to come through, so far, in terms of the snp, 20% of companies have reported and those numbers have been robust, within europe, looking quite mixed, there may be a bit weak but still we have spanish elections coming up, and we are not expecting that to impact the growth too much from that region either. all right, thank you for now. louise will be back a little later and we will talk

about all sorts including drone delivery to your door, do you like the thought of that? no, terrified. why is that? i have so much chaos around my house already, i have three children, two have their own drones. just throw it in, another thing buzzing around. facing the future head on: we'll hear from the head of a european business group about how they hope to tackle key issues like climate change. you're with business live from bbc news. sales at fast fashion chain primark were down 1.5% like—for—like but a much higher profit margin meant that profit was up 25% compared to the same time last year.

primark is not the only retailer reporting strong profit. online chain boohoo.com reported a 53% increase in gross profit in their full year results. sofie willmott is a senior retail analyst at global data. some pretty decent figures, especially if we look at boohoo, especially if we look at boohoo, especially compared to what we see at asos. sales are up significantly, but a lot of that has come from the younger brown, pretty little thing, where has —— whereas the boohoo brand has increased only by 15%, so thatis brand has increased only by 15%, so that is slowing down. those retailers have done pretty well with the move to online, more and more of us are the move to online, more and more of us are browsing things on mobile phones, devices, tablets, and shopping that way. that comes at a cost for the retailers especially when it comes to things like returns, that is costly. yes, asos re ce ntly returns, that is costly. yes, asos recently announced it is changing the returns policy to try to discourage customers from buying

items, wearing them and then returning them, returns is a very costly process for online operators and they need to build it into operating costs because it is unlikely that they will decrease, they will remain high as shoppers wa nt they will remain high as shoppers want to try on the product before they commit to purchasing them. very briefly, primark, that model is different, they are doing well because they still have the high street stores. primark is one of the few large retailers in the uk that does not currently sell online. there stores are doing well, partly because shoppers do not have the option to buy online, and the retailer is still opening stores, still seeing the uk growth mostly coming from new space. they have opened a store in the last few weeks in birmingham which is the biggest store yet and creating the retail destination. i think if they were to launch online, they would see the shift as other retailers have, and sales moving from physical to digital retail. good to talk to you,

thank you very much. here is a job advert for you... new bank of england boss needed, so, i have suggested that ben apply, he could be the new george clooney of central bankers...! top stories today: aviation giant boeing prepares to report results — following two fatal crashes and the grounding of the 737 max aircraft. a quick look at how the markets are faring. mixed picture in asia, record—brea ker the mixed picture in asia, record—breaker the night mixed picture in asia, record—brea ker the night before mixed picture in asia, record—breaker the night before in wall street, positive sentiment not following through in europe today.

businesses around the world are facing some unprecedent challenges brought on by changing technology and a growing population. a group of europe's biggest companies is urging governments and business leaders across the continent to act swiftly and in a coordinated way to tackle the issues of the 21st century. so, the european round table of industrialists is a group of 56 chief executives and chairs from companies ranging from shell to l'oreal, nestle and vodafone. together their total sales are more than $2.5 trillion and they employ about 6.8 million people across europe. today's call covers areas including climate change, the skills gap and global trade rules. carl-henric svanberg is chair of the european round table of industrialists, as well as chairman of volvo group and formerly chair of bp. welcome to business live. the

european round table of industrialists, i have visions of, you know, nights with shields and armour, and swords. what is your agenda? the agenda is to speak up for europe, and present ideas that advise how we think we can do better. if we put it in context, we have a world of increased protectionism, east and west, and we see a rise of nationalism in europe, people not satisfied. we think it is an important time to stand up for europe and the eu. we have seen, the eu is may be the most important project in the world. —— most important piece project. we have driven prosperity and shared it more equally among people, in europe. where does brexit fit in on this, you do have british companies as pa rt you do have british companies as part of the roundtable? yes, when we

look at the challenge in the geopolitical context, but also, as you said, in the introduction, from climate change, from digitalisation, we need to invest, we need to be upfront. we used to say in the oil industry, it would be the stone age, but we ran out of stone, we found better ways to do it. —— we used to say in the oil industry, we didn't leave the stone age because we ran out of stone, we found better ways to do things. still, we are not doing good enough for where we need to be. we need a stronger policy framework. we are pushing that. on the digital side, that is going to patch everything in our societies. we are not as good there. we seem to fall behind both us and china. we need to accelerate that, that is urgent for us. and following that, we need, as you also said, we need to re—skill and

we need, as you also said, we need to re—skilland up we need, as you also said, we need to re—skill and up skill and train staff. it is going to touch everything and everybody. that goes for the whole society. you have laid out a pretty long list of things you wa nt to out a pretty long list of things you want to tackle and things you have identified, how do you prioritise this, there are some big challenges. there are some big challenges but we are basically talking about bringing more investments in both training people, in innovation, in production. these things we do, we don't ask for any help. this is not us don't ask for any help. this is not us asking for better conditions for business, this is our worry for europe's future. we are talking about the digital revolution, the transformation in energy, and also, fairand open trade. transformation in energy, and also, fair and open trade. there are six pledges. that is not so much in a complicated world. is this how you see the world is changing? you talk about the nationalisation, particularly in east and west, europe stuck in the middle. is the future battle going to be between

china, the us, europe and africa playing a growing part? we are seeing a bit of that, no one knows exactly how it will play out, but we see more of —— more of that than a few years ago. the eu is basically on par with the us in its economy. we have not yet been able to leveraged full strength. we definitely believe that we are much better off in the un and europe working together than separate. who is listening? you are a very powerful group of business leaders and organisations not just powerful group of business leaders and organisations notjust eu based, you are global, but when it comes to your discussions, your conclusions, your discussions, your conclusions, your recommendations, who is listening to that, what change will occur because of your roundtable? you would find that any head of state, if we approach a head of state, if we approach a head of state and so, we are the 56 biggest companies in europe, we have some ideas about what is important, any kind of state would take the meeting. we have continuous meetings

like that. with that said, today, when the world is taking this turn, we also think it is important that we also think it is important that we come out more vocally to anyone. this is ahead of the parliamentary european parliament elections. we will have an inclination, a good time to speak up and tell the story. sally touched on the brexit issue, strikes us, you are in a position where you are calling for coordinated action, everyone bringing labourforce coordinated action, everyone bringing labour force forward and the massive elephant in the room, the massive elephant in the room, the uk saying, we don't want to be pa rt the uk saying, we don't want to be part of that. it's obvious, anyone who reads the document understands, we would have liked britain to stay m, we would have liked britain to stay in, but again, we are a european round table, we have both norway and switzerland and even turkey as part of it. so, it is notjust focus on the eu. eu is obviously the strong force in all of this. now, britain has a democratic process that we

respect, and we have focused our interactions with the british government in trying to explain the impact on supply chains that are very integrated today. if we can get toa very integrated today. if we can get to a customs union, friction free trade agreement, then it will be harder. we will have to leave it here. thank you very much for coming in. fascinating story. in a moment we'll take a look through the business pages but first here's a quick reminder of how to get in touch with us. stay up—to—date with all the days business news as it happens, on the business news as it happens, on the business live page. insight and analysis from the team of editors right around the globe. and we want to hear from you, too. get involved in the business live web page. you can find us on facebook.

and you have not held back today with your thoughts on drone delivery to your door... laughter louise is back to look through some of the papers. talk us through the story, before we look at what is being said, we all assume it is amazon, but it is google. yes, and their parent company that have just got approval from the faa, the us aviation authority, allowing them to do some drone delivery, consumer goods, talking food, retail items. medicine, that kind of thing. what do you think, is it something that bothers you? do you think it is a fantastic new innovation? fantastic new innovation. it is going to happen, regulation coming from different countries, there is a certain amount of racing to get there, to get this out, to get this

working. where we have lots of global businesses that are primed in this area, it is going to be a massive boost to their margins, to their growth massive boost to their margins, to theirgrowth in massive boost to their margins, to their growth in that area. asking viewers to send in their thoughts, "i prefer a human being", john says, ifi "i prefer a human being", john says, if i put cash in a birthday card without it getting nicked, that sounds good to me". georgia says, "it will get medicines quickly to ha rd to "it will get medicines quickly to hard to reach areas, but also, what about fish and chips on friday?" she says, bring it on. i'm trying to find some that i can read out...! sometimes that is tricky, so we will move on! this new story, really interesting, about supermarkets, tell us more. human touch past its sell by date in modern supermarkets. yes, toa sell by date in modern supermarkets. yes, to a certain extent, similar job in terms of automation, taking out some of these retailjobs, but,

what it does mean, it is starting to recognise that making peoplesjobs easier is beneficial and that gives people more time to interact with customers and certainly that is the report we have seen from some of the high street brands where they want to enable colleagues to be spending more time in front of customers rather than restocking shelves, for instance. good to see you. thank you for taking us through that. lots in the papers. wrapping up business live today, and saying goodbye to ben, for a wee while, because he has other stuff to do at the bbc.“ you're watching internationally, thank you for your company for the last four years, we have been doing this programme. it has been a long four years! i am off to do bbc brea kfast four years! i am off to do bbc breakfast in the uk, domestically you will be able to see a bit more of me. i will be here with other co—presenters on business life. whatever you are up to, and thank you, ben, we will miss you. a

wonderfulfour you, ben, we will miss you. a wonderful four years, you, ben, we will miss you. a wonderfulfour years, i you, ben, we will miss you. a wonderfulfouryears, i may you, ben, we will miss you. a wonderfulfour years, i may pop back from time to time. i am sure you will. goodbye! hello, good morning, yesterday was the last of the very warm days, we got to 24.8 celsius in porthmadog in north wales. today, the transition to cooler conditions, but with it, come some sunshine and showers, some could be heavy and thundery. sunshine image, quite a bit of cloud, this cluster of cloud coming out of northern france is an area of thunderstorms, showers, those are pushing their way into south—western parts of england and south west wales. further north, quite a bit of cloud across the north—east of scotland, the north—east of england, elsewhere, some sunny spells. these showers in the south—west will gradually start to work their way

north, there could be a few of them towards east anglia and the south—east but the majority will move south—east but the majority will move through the midlands into north wales, southern portions of northern england, where they could be thundery, a bit of hail stones mixed in. further north, largely dry, 14, 15 degrees. 19 or 20 degrees maximum temperatures towards eastern parts. through tonight, though showers pushing into scotland and northern ireland, further showers following on behind from the south or south—west, those are your overnight temperatures into thursday morning. during thursday, still have relatively mild air across the uk, but, we will see colder air pushing its way into the north—west, first, going to be a repeat performance of today, heavy showers and some thunderstorms moving north, across much of england and wales, by the afternoon, certainly, merging together to give longer spells of rain. look at the temperatures on

thursday, 13, 15 celsius at best. low pressure is in charge of the weather at the moment, and as we go through friday, where system stance, that will provide the energy and the moisture for more showers during friday, so, quite a rash of them across england and wales, pushing up into scotland and northern ireland, and look at the temperatures, 12 to 15 degrees, and then into the weekend, temperatures could be even lower, nine to 13 degrees at best during saturday. there will be some showers but there will be sunny spells, wet weather expected during sunday. certainly, it is going to feel much cooler, that is all from me, goodbye.

you're watching bbc news at 9 with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines: the government will allow the chinese telecoms giant huawei to supply some non—core equipment for the uk's 5g data network , despite security concerns from senior members of the cabinet. the news comes as the so—called "five eyes" intelligence alliance meet at a security conference today — they say the huawei risk can be managed last month we did our 2019 report, which shows some concern in the way that huawei do engineering, but that wasn't a level of concern in the chinese government itself.