this is business live from bbc news with sally bundock and ben thompson. retirement at 55? it's the norm in brazil — until now. latin america's biggest economy finally tackles the pensions crisis that's hurting its economy. live from london, that's our top story on wednesday 10thjuly. the brazilian congress is set to vote on presidentjair bolsonaro's pension reforms — including a dramatic rise in the pension age — and workers are not happy. also in the programme — investors will hang off his every

word for clues on the direction of us interest rates. the chairman of the federal reserve jerome powell will later give evidence to congress. let's look at the markets right now. they are all headed lower in europe, we will be talking you through wife. —— why. and making it all add up — getting kids to enjoy maths at an early age. we'll get the inside track on the maths board game designed to encourage more children to embrace maths. and so today we want to know — is there such a thing as a "math of is maths just a skill which needs practice? do you have a phobia about algebra, geometry and equations? let us know — just use the hashtag #bbcbizlive. why do you need any of that stuff these days when you've got a

smartphone? that's not what i tell my children! hello and welcome to business live. we start in brazil, where the country's lower house of parliament is due to vote today on a long—awaited overhaul of the country's generous pensions system, which analysts say is critical to improving brazil's public finances. it's the first major test for the government of far—right presidentjair bolsonaro, who has made the issue one of the central platforms of his government. the reforms aim to generate savings of around r$940 billion, or $2“; billion, over the next decade. the plan includes raising the minimum retirement age to 65 for men and 62 for women. retiring at 55 is currently the norm, with many brazilians earning 70% of their final salary for the rest of their lives. pension reform is key to bringing down brazil's ballooning debt, which touched a record 79% of total economic output in april. pension payments account for about a third of all government spending.

the overhaul is also aimed at reviving the brazilian economy, which is still struggling to shake off the recession of 2015. that saw the economy contract by almost 7%. but the pensions reforms were initially fiercely opposed by workers. with us now is edwin gutierrez, head of emerging market sovereign debt at aberdeen standard investments. good morning. details from sally and clearly laying out the economic case for why this is perhaps necessary. i wonder what the likelihood of this actually happening is. at this point, consensus is this is going to pass. it's either going to pass before the recess which is scheduled for next week or shortly thereafter when congress comes back into session in august. whether it happens before recess or after is not really important, the only thing

it has a bearing on is that the central bank is ready to cut rates and they want this event to be out of the way before they resume the rate cutting cycle. we know some of the details about why this is deemed necessary. does it go far enough to address the economic imbalance? many brazilians are still living in widespread poverty so will it go far enough to address it? it is a necessary step but by far not sufficient to address all of their woes. one of the reasons brazil has so woes. one of the reasons brazil has so much debt is because they spend so so much debt is because they spend so much debt is because they spend so much money on social security. the key for this is in theory it will reduce the amount of social security and allow them to spend money in public investment. that would be attractive to foreign investors, so they are probably watching to see what happens with a view to them thinking if there is more spending on infrastructure, it's a good place to do business.

definitely. that's part of the economy minister's project, to make brazil more competitive. there are many steps to get to where brazil needs to be. what else is being looked at? this is one of many reforms being proposed for the economy. what else is going to happen and what would make the most difference? well, the next agenda item from the administration is tax reform. tax reform is something that's been discussed for about 25 yea rs that's been discussed for about 25 years in brazil without much progress. the root problem is the fa ct progress. the root problem is the fact that it pits different states against each other. it's the north and north—east of the country versus the south and the south—east and it's difficult to become that constructive tax reform. on the agenda, trade liberalisation, and we are more optimistic on those items but this is really a big project

which paulo guedes and his boss jair bolsonaro are pursuing. thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the us commerce secretary, wilbur ross, says his country plans to issue licenses to companies seeking to sell american—made goods to china's huawei where there is no threat to national security. huawei is on the us‘s so—called entity list over national security concerns. american parts and components cannot be sold to those on the list without special licenses. apple says it's started a programme in shanghai to help chinese developers create apps as part of its plan to build its services business in the country. more than 2.5 million developers for the firm's platforms are from china, one of its most critical overseas markets. technology giant ibm says it has completed its $34 billion acquisition of software maker red hat. the deal — which is one of biggest

in us tech history — was originally announced in october last year. ibm says the acquisition of red hat will help it do more work in the cloud. the company lags behind amazon and microsoft in the cloud infrastructure business. france has announced the introduction of a range of green taxes on flights from its airports, to reduce the environmental impact of air travel. the taxes will come into force next year. funds raised — about $200 million — will go to improve alternative french transport, including local trains. shares in a number of european airlines fell on the news. james dyson, the british billionaire and inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, has purchased the most expensive apartment in singapore, where his company plans to build an electric car. the three—storey "super penthouse"

at the top of singapore's tallest building was reportedly sold for $54.2 million. not bad if you've got the cash! karishma vaswani is looking at this story. you're not in the penthouse, we should be clear! a very different outlook from the bbc bureau! no where near the figures it is thought james dyson paid for the super penthouse. it was called a bungalow in the sky when it was marketed a couple of years ago as luxury living for the well—heeled couple of years ago as luxury living for the well— heeled in couple of years ago as luxury living for the well—heeled in singapore. certainly, when you look at what is on offer according to marketing documents, your private lift, an infinity private barbecue pit. and 600 bottles of wine, that's the size of the wine cellar in this

apartment, spanning something like 21,000 square feet over three stories with views of the harbour, marina bay sands and historical shop house district as well. it is really something to marvel at. we've heard from the dyson company, the firm in singapore saying this is a private residence and they can't comment any further except to say that this sale has gone through. mr dyson was criticised quite heavily when he made the decision to move his headquarters to singapore earlier in the year but he says he will continue to pay uk tax and so will the company. so we aren't getting a tour, that's what you're telling us. not yet, i'm afraid. i'll try better next time! i wanted to check out his gadgets! anyway. let's have a look at the markets in asia. a mixed picture emerging. there is one major event for global markets today and that is

jerome powell speaking later today to congress. he is the head of the us federal reserve and will be grilled for two days. everyone is going to be analysing his every word to see what the us might do with interest rates at the end ofjuly and in the months ahead. that's keeping everybody muted as far as the markets are concerned. we haven't got a lot of corporate earnings coming through. let's have a look at the european boards. in europe today, there will be a big focus on the uk. we've got official gdp figures coming out for the month of may, at the economic data. sterling is remaining at a two—year low. first michelle with more on the fed. federal reserve chairman jerome powell will be keen to talk about monetary policy during his two days of testimony before american lawmakers. but he may not be able to steer clear of washington politics. wall street will be listening

closely to see if the head of the us central bank offers any clarity on interest rates. powell and his committee meet at the end of this month — that's when they will decide whether to cut interest rates or leave them where they are. but after a strong june jobs report, that prospect is dimming by the day. remember, a rate cut is used typically to stimulate a faltering economy. still, an equally important message may have little to do with monetary policy and everything to do with mr powell's commitment to keeping the federal reserve as an independent body in the face of complaints and threats coming from the white house. as recently as sunday, president donald trump asserted that the dowjones industrial average would be up to 10,000 points higher if the fed cut rates. while on tuesday, white house economic adviser larry kudlow said fed chairjerome powell'sjob was safe — at the moment.

joining us is jane foley, senior currency strategist, rabobank. nice to see you. a really big day to day, all sorts of stuff is due within the next hour. that's right. perhaps a bigger day if you are planning to go on holiday. we've seen sterling against the dollar dropped to its lowest level for about two years and this is largely to do with political uncertainty, that's been the biggest driver of the pound in recent years. we are seeing the economy we can as well say that it's going to see today's data with the next batch of uk releases on the market not being very optimistic. when it comes to gdp data, it's been skewed by companies stockpiling, preparing for brexit. we were at the end of march, middle of april and now the end of october which is scheming activity. that's right. if we look at first—quarter gdp, it was quite good. a lot of people bringing forward production, stockpiling

production ahead of the original brexit day. now we are looking at 02 data and it's much weaker with stock being used up, etc. there is a bit ofa being used up, etc. there is a bit of a worry her because while after the brexit vote in 2016 the uk economy was buoyed by strong growth elsewhere and now the uk growth is slowing which is caused by political uncertainty. one of the biggest components of that is the service sector and we will get a sense of what consumers are thinking because it accounts for three quarters of the economy. whether consumers are holding off spending, seeing what happens under caution spreading through to consumer spending. that's right. we've seen the housing market as an obvious example which has slowed but also purchasing holidays. whether that is because we had such a good summer last year or whether it's uncertainty we don't quite know. also people aren't buying as many cars. that might be because people don't know whether to buy

diesel but it could be to do with uncertainty. we've had some survey data about retailing this week and in the uk that was weak. again, there are signs that the retail sector of the economy could be slowing. thank you. jane is going to return later to tell us why one company not putting off spending is jointure bank —— deutsche bank. taylor is arriving to fit seats to some of the top bosses, despite losing 18,000 employees. still to come — was it a calculation that paid off? our next guest quit investment banking to devote her energies to getting kids to fall in love with maths. we'll get the inside track on her maths board game, race to infinity. you're with business live from bbc news.

getting around delhi can be difficult at the best of times, but for women in the city, simple journeys are often fraught with danger. now india's capital — which is infamous for rape and other violence — is considering a radical remedy — free public transport for all women. but, asjoe miller reports, the experiment is being welcomed by working class women. hot chai and biscuits for breakfast. fried okra for lunch. each morning, sanju kumari prepares food for her son and teenage daughter before setting off on a two—kilometre walk in the searing delhi heat to a household in which she works as a domestic help. translation: i can earn at most 6000 rupees a month. i have to choose between using that money to feed my kids or pay for travel. it is a long way to my work and i walk there and back, and i am always fearful of what is going to happen on the streets.

sanju has good reason to be concerned. delhi is notorious for gender violence and fear of assault leads many to forego work altogether. just over a tenth of women in india's capital are in formal employment, and those that are face unpredictable, uncomfortable and very often unsafe commutes. now delhi's government is proposing a radical solution, free public transport for all women, subsidised by taxpayers money. the experiment won't be cheap. estimates suggest it would cost some $230 million a year. but delhi's left—leaning government says the city's smooth and efficient metro is not running at full capacity, and it predicts a 50% rise in female passengers if fares are waived. activists say the policy will have a positive effect. the city runs a budget surplus but critics say the extra cash could be put to better use. you want to help women? absolutely. analysis after analysis has shown that the major reason women are less in the workforce is because of

taking care of children. delhi's free travel policy has been endorsed, even by the city's main opposition party. its implementation can't come soon enough for sanju. after a day spent toiling to support her family, she says, no price is too high for some help to get her back home. joe miller, bbc news, new delhi. much more on those figures thatjane touched on on the business live page. it's the economy going into decline? details on the website. we'll bring you those gdp figures later. you're watching business live. our top story — brazil's congress is due to vote on long—awaited pension reforms. they include a dramatic rise in the pension age — to 65 for men and 62 for women. workers are not happy.

now — what comes to mind when we say "maths"? numbers, equations, exams, school... many of us feel anxious — and you're not alone. a recent poll showed that 1—in—5 britons felt the same when shown a maths problem. and ourfailure to embrace mathematics is having a big impact on workplace productivity. in the uk alone, poor numeracy skills costs the economy around $25 billion each year. but there could be hope. one person on a mission to make us fall in love with maths is grace olugbodi. she's created two boad games — begenio maths and race to infinity — aimed at building our confidence in the subject. gracejoins us now. lovely to see you. welcome. so, you we re lovely to see you. welcome. so, you were an investment banker and you left to create these board games and start a business. tell us about that

journey. my background is investment banking and i've always loved maths from when i was very young, my dad supported me when i was ten years old in mathematics. while i was at university i started volunteering with a foundation, we went into schools in london to help children who were struggling with maths and to build their confidence but three games. one of the things you say is it's not about whether you're a maths person or not, whether you've got a maths brain, everybody can do it. there isn't a special gift, and yet you said you love maths and that seems to be the thing. you either love it or you hate it. that's correct. there is no such person as a maths person, maths is a skill. any skill really needs practice, with the right guidance of course. anyone can get better at maths. let's talk about the game. it's about trying to make it more fun. the idea that if we don't enjoy it

we aren't good at it, it suddenly seems to be a big thing in our lives. you shy away from it, you don't embrace it. the point of the game is to get people from an early age to find the fun in it. correct. the point of the game is to help children fall in love with mathematics. i believe the important thing is to catch them young. people have problems when they grow older and even as young children, people have mathematical anxiety. i created a board game to help children enjoy and love maths more. why not an app? we are creating an app but we started with a board game. that's what i started with my children to help them love maths more and i like the physical idea. i love a board game but my three boys, two of them struggle with maths, the school encourages them with various games on their tablets, on their devices because that's what they are on

anyway. it sort of an easier transition. i would anyway. it sort of an easier transition. iwould have anyway. it sort of an easier transition. i would have a job to get them sit round the table and play a board game about maths, if that makes sense. a lot of parents are also getting a bit tired of children being on apps and online stuff all day long and in front of screens. it's also a way to get children away from screens and i get my children to come and play a i don't remember its mass, theyjust think it's fun. the idea is children are playing but they are learning but not realising they are learning. with your professional background, you know the value of maths in the workplace. that figure we talked about, the productivity gap, it's astonishing that if we embrace maths more, the value to the economy is huge and you must see that every day. that's correct. it would help us day. that's correct. it would help us to become more globally competitive. britain is missing a lot of the maths skills we need. it's basic, fundamental maths. too many children don't think they can

get good at maths and it leads to mathematical anxiety. it's in the mind and it's about helping our children to love maths more and that's the whole idea of the race to infinity game. good luck, grace. thank you for coming in. good luck. algebra was my weakness. thank you for coming in. good luck. algebra was my weaknesslj thank you for coming in. good luck. algebra was my weakness. i was all about angles. you like your angles? no, not very good at angles! now, it's the end of the road for this iconic car — the volkswagen beetle. the last one of its current incarnation rolls off production line today. let's look back at its history. jaunty music.

i could listen to all day! let's talk about your comments about maths. we asked if there was such a thing as a maths brain. david says, i think there's a difference between people who are good at mental arithmetic and algebra. i suspect left brain right brain dominance might bea left brain right brain dominance might be a factor. martin says, i'm doing a computer science degree at the age of a8, lots of maths in it, i love it. rather you than me! and another fever says, i'm a i love it. rather you than me! and anotherfever says, i'm a linguistic person, thank you. what does that mean? —— another viewer says. jane foley from rabobank joins us again. you must do maths day in day out. i'm reasonable at maths. i have two maths —based degrees. one of my children is very good at maths and the other is useless so very different. is it a psychological thing? if you're good at it you can love it and embrace it but if you're not the ball goes up. it's difficult

to break down those shutters. how good are you with the maths homework? when mine hit 12 i was like, 0k, homework? when mine hit 12 i was like, ok, it's beyond me now! laughter i'm not kidding! i've got to find these things in the back of my brain. let's talk about deutsche bank and the story that many would think it's really shocking. you hear about 18,000 jobs going at the beginning of the week, and yet tailors are arriving to measure up the top bosses. this isn't the image they would want to project, its bad timing. this report talks about the seats starting at £1200 and there are rumours in the city that the packages people are being given for their redundancy aren't that good. again, this is really bad timing. lovely to see you as always. thank you for sharing your insights. that's it from business live today. we'll see you again tomorrow. have a lovely day. goodbye.

good morning. it's been a cloudy started the day with more rain affecting northern areas the uk. generally that rain should clear away. it will be replaced by a scattering of showers, some of those heathery and thundery. it will also get brighterfor heathery and thundery. it will also get brighter for many of us as well. low pressure towards the north—west of the uk with weather systems piling in. that's keeping the weather across the uk pretty u nsettled. weather across the uk pretty unsettled. a fairly wet start for scotland, northern ireland and northern england. a lot of the rain clearing away. further rain spreading into northern ireland later this afternoon and the showers across eastern scotland will turn heavy and thundery. staying cloudy and northern and western areas of

england and wales. elsewhere, turning sunnier and a warmer day compared to yesterday with temperatures 22—25. a drier day compared to yesterday. at old trafford for the reserve day of the semifinal between india and new zealand, brighter skies developing into the afternoon. rain moving and by the evening. not only at old trafford but elsewhere in england and wales. pulses of heavy rain spreading from west to east. it's going to be another fairly warm and muqqy going to be another fairly warm and muggy night with temperatures no lower than 12—15. into thursday, quite a wet start to the day but the rain will generally clear. quite a messy picture, staying cloudy into the afternoon. a few showers and a bit drier. from eastern scotland, heavy with intense downpours and thunderstorms developing in the north—east. maximum temperatures on thursday up to 25. that's in the south—east. feeling pretty warm and

muggy. into friday, this area of low pressure which keeps the weather u nsettled, pressure which keeps the weather unsettled, clearing away with high—pressure developing in the west. that will help settle things down a bit. still some showers on friday particularly in eastern areas. elsewhere, dry and bright, fresh air with temperatures about 21-2a. into fresh air with temperatures about 21—2a. into the weekend, the weather quietening down. quite a lot of cloud on saturday with a chance of a fee showers. maybe one or two showers on sunday but generally a brighter day with more sunshine coming through. goodbye.

you're watching bbc news at 9 with me, annita mcveigh. —— joanna gosling. the headlines. former prime minister sirjohn major says he would seek a judicial review if borisjohnson tries to prorogue parliament to deliver a no deal brexit. the prime minister ‘s advice to the queen, i believe can be challenged in law, and i for queen, i believe can be challenged in law, and ifor one would be prepared to go and seekjudicial review to prevent parliament being bypassed. conservative leadership candidates borisjohnson and jeremy hunt clash over president trump and brexit in a head—to—head tv debate. no, no, i asked you if you'd resign, boris. you didn't answer the question. will you resign if you don't deliver it, yes or no? how many more days exactly would my opponent be willing to delay? how about christmas?