this is the business briefing, i'm ben bland. growth at a five—year low, unemployment at a as—year high, so what can the new finance minister do to shake up india's vast economy? plus: from online bookstore to trillion—dollar tech giant. amazon turns 25 today. we look at how it changed the world, and why not everyone is happy about it. and on the markets, most markets subdued in asia, as investors wait for crucial us jobs figures out later. oil prices edge lower on concerns about the impact of weak global growth on demand for crude.

we start in india, on a huge day for this woman, finance minister nirmala sitharaman. she is the first woman to run india's finances since indira ghandi, almost half a century ago. and in the next hour or so, we will find out how she plans to reinvigorate one of the world's biggest economies, as she delivers the first budget of narendra modi's new government, following his landslide election victory a month ago. and there are some big challenges. india'sjobless rate hit 6.1 % in 2018, the highest in 45 years. that means 30 million people looking for work, and awkward questions for a prime

minister who promised to create millions of newjobs. the rate of economic growth slipped again last year to 6.8%, the weakest in five years, and in the first three months of this year, it has fallen further. the government also needs to find money for the welfare programmes it has already announced, including over $12 billion to support struggling farmers. indians are also demanding better infrastructure, from roads and bridges, to housing, to drainage and public toilets. the government has previously promised spending of over $60 billion, and all this has to be done with an eye on the public finances. last year, india managed to keep its budget deficit, or shortfall, at 3.4% of the size of the economy. if that slips any further, it could hit the country's credit ratings, which are already under pressure. let's get more on this story.

joe miller is in new delhi. what can we expect, then? any clues yet? well, just a few moments ago, the finance minister stepped out with a red folder, instead of a red briefcase. and as you mentioned, the task ahead of her is quite daunting. there have been a few leaks in the last few hours, perhaps an increase in taxes, perhaps a sop to various investors. but crucially, she will have to balance a slowing economy and the need to find money to fund some of narendra modi's election promises. and i am joined by a partner at deloitte. this isn't an ordinary budget. there are quite a few challenges for this finance minister, aren't there? that's right, it's a big day for us, and the prime minister has laid out his ambition for india to be five by 25 -5 ambition for india to be five by 25 — 5 trillion us dollar economy by

2025, and that the finance minister will want to set the roadmap for achieving this solution. and yes, like you said, there are a lot of challenges in the indian economy today. the unemployment, the agriculture, it is about spotting investment. so yes, she will have to juggle investment. so yes, she will have to juggle all the balls up in the air today. and what might she have a purse leave, do you think? so we are expecting the corporate tax rate to be impacted. we are really asking for big relief there. we are expecting certain investment —related policies and schemes to be announced, so it really spurs corporate investment into india, including foreign direct investment. more on that coming live, we will have details as soon as the finance minister delivers her budget. bound to be some winners, and of course some losers. 25 years ago today, jeff bezos set up a small company selling books online via a dial—up modem. at the time, fewer than 0.5%

of people in the world had internet access. today, a quarter of a century on, amazon has a stock market value of close to $1 trillion, making mr bezos is the richest person on the planet. michelle fleury has more from new york. it seems that everyone these days is an amazon customer, so i've come here to put it to the test. hi, ladies. quick question — are you guys amazon customers? yes. yeah, big time. i don't to go to the store anymore. i buy everything online. i think that i do shop more because of amazon. what you use amazon for? to buy gifts. toys for my son. i'm on every day, like everyone else! amazon! jeff bezos filed the paperwork to create amazon 25 years ago, his genius was to recognise the potential of the internet long before others.

for more, i turn to alexa. alexa, what is amazon? amazon.com incorporated is a multinational american technology company that focuses on e—commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming and artificial intelligence. amazon is known for its disruption of well—established industries through technological innovation and mass scale. its dominance is problematic, with its growth getting rid of retailjobs, and it has faced criticism over worker conditions at its warehouses. it's not a good look for amazon, or for any of these companies where efficiency is so prized that the kind of human caught up in the network ends up having a really challenging time. 0ne decision it may come to regret — its failure to place a second

headquarters in new york. the acrimonious split with the biggest city in america may lead to a situation where governments are less friendly to amazon. alexa, is amazon good or evil? i like amazon. without amazon, i wouldn't exist. michelle fleury, bbc news, new york. electronics giant samsung estimates that its profits slumped 56% in the three months to the end ofjune, to $5.6 billion. but that was not as bad as expected. let's go to our asia business hub, where rico hizon is following the story. good to see you, hi there. tell us more about these numbers. well, despite the poor numbers, samsung's performance improved from the first quarter, when the company reported its lowest earnings in more than two yea rs, its lowest earnings in more than two years, and the weak earnings guidance from april to june years, and the weak earnings guidance from april tojune is basically due to the semiconductor industry recovery being delayed by

the slowing global economy. you also have the us— china trade war and the export controls on huawei. the us campaign against acro to swelled the glut of memory chips in the global market, with the chinese company being one of the korean tech sector's biggest customers. as for korean chip—makers, they also face a gloomy outlook following japan‘s decision this week to impose tighter restrictions on exports of key chemicals, chips and smartphones, amid concerns over compensation for korean labour use during the second world war. but with all of these challenges, analysts estimate samsung could still sell 37 million more smartphones annually if huawei's troubles continue, and the company will continue to maintain its market lead. now let's brief you on some other business stories: jaguar land rover is to announce a major uk investment in electric car manufacturing. the move is expected to secure hundreds ofjobs at the castle bromwich plant, near birmingham.

it will mean the end of the x] luxury car in its petrol and diesel form. the news follows january‘s announcement of 4,500 job cuts, mostly in the uk, following 1,500 jobs lost in 2018. uk bookmaker william hill says it plans to close about 700 betting shops, which could lead to 11,500 job losses. the firm says the move follows the government's decision in april to crack down on fixed—odds betting terminals, reducing the maximum stake to just £2. since then, it has seen a significant fall in gaming machine revenues. and now, what is trending in the business news this morning? 0n bloomberg, the world's most miserable economy has seven—figure inflation. venezuela tops the company's annual misery index, which covers inflation and unemployment outlooks for 62 economies, for the fifth year in a row, followed by argentina,

south africa and turkey. quartz reports how africa's largest economy is finally backing the continent's plans for a single free trade market. president buhari has tweeted that nigeria will finally sign the african continental free trade area agreement at a summit next week. it aims to boost intra—africa trade, and create the world's largest trading bloc. and from the wall streetjournal — yes, you're hired. no, we don't need to meet you first. employers trying to recruit in the tightestjob market in decades are hiring some candidates sight unseen, afterjust one phone interview. and don't forget, let us know what you are spotting online. use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. that's it for the business briefing this hour. but before we go, here are the markets. most asian markets drifted lower

in subdued trade friday, as investors waited for the release of a crucial us jobs report that could have a major bearing on the size of an expected federal reserve interest rate cut. the amount we use our cars will still need to be curbed even when all vehicles are powered by clean electricity, according to a new report. experts at oxford university, warn that electrifying the car fleet will do nothing to address traffic jams, obesity, and wasted space for parking. it calls on the government to devise a strategy that will eliminate the need to own a car. 0ur environment analyst

roger harrabin has more. ca rs create cars create local air pollution. there over hitting the planet. the clea n there over hitting the planet. the clean electric car will solve our problems, the government thinks. but wait a minute. in problems, the government thinks. but waita minute. in many problems, the government thinks. but wait a minute. in many city streets, car charging is wait a minute. in many city streets, carcharging isa wait a minute. in many city streets, car charging is a tangled obstacle. and not ideal if you can't get a spot outside your house. the report says targets for electrifying the car fleet may be very hard to meet. meanwhile, congestion won't be solved by electric cars either. in fa ct, solved by electric cars either. in fact, self drive electric vehicles could even make jams worse, as people choose to live further and further from the office. key m essa 9 es further from the office. key messages that we need to reduce energy demand and transport by reducing the amount of use of private cars, and by using other

forms of transport to substitute for that. so public transport, safe cycling and walking, access to a car through sharing facilities. the government says it is investing and getting people walking and cycling, but critics say that is dwarfed by roadbuilding. we do need technical innovation, the report says, the innovation, the report says, the innovation needs to help people whether they have a or not. —— car 01’ whether they have a or not. —— car or not. for that story and more, breakfast is coming up at 6:00am, with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: speaking exclusively to the bbc, families of victims of the boeing plane crash in ethiopia say those responsible must be held to account. the military and opposition in sudan agree a transition deal to share power and lead the country

towards elections. president trump has held what he has called a "salute to america", but his militarised version of the 11th ofjuly has attracted strong criticism. now it's time to look at few of the stories making the headlines around the world. we begin in greece with e—kathimerini which looks ahead to sunday's general election. it says opinion polls are putting the centre—right opposition well ahead of the governing syriza party, which has been in power for the past 11.5 years. india's business standard is, unsurprisingly, focused on the country's new budget being unveiled today. it says prime minister modi is to unveil an indian agenda which is billed as being a departure from traditional anglo—saxon thinking. the financial times, like many of the british papers today, puts the announced closure

of 700 high street betting shops on its front page. it's a result of a government move against high stakes automatic betting machines. then, across the water in ireland, the irish times covers the accusations in parliament over the climate emergency bill. the draft law was intended to ban new oil and gas development — but the government has said the country can't afford it. and, finally, inc magazine is looking at amazon's 25th anniversary. it takes us back in time to 1994 when, it reminds us, less than half of 1% of the world's population had access to the internet and the first spam e—mails had only been sent one month before. perhaps alleged to that website on an old—fashioned modem, maybe that's why it wasn't loading. so let's begin with the greek election, taking place on sunday. with me is fiona cincotta, who's a senior market analyst