this is business live from bbc news with ben thompson and sally bundock. mission to washington. the uk's foreign secretary holds talks in the us aimed at securing a trade deal as the clock ticks down towards brexit. live from london, that's our top story on wednesday the 7th of august. the uk is keen to strike a deal with the world's biggest economy as the deadline for leaving the eu looms ever closer. foreign secretary dominic raab will be meeting his us counterpart mike pompeo. also in the programme... the $2bn cyber heist. north korea is accused of hacking accounts around the world

to fund its weapons programme. and the markets are looking like this. we will have all you need to know about the trading day. we will have all you need to know about the trading day. do you have what it takes to ditch the dayjob and join the growing army of freelancers? we'll hear about the pleasures and the pitfalls of the gig economy from the man running what claims to be the uk's biggest freelancers' pool. are you a coffee drinker or a tea drinker and do you do that before you go to bed? a new study suggests coffee and tea may not affect your sleep at all. do you agree? do you agree? today we want to know. let us know — just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. let us know what you think about that study. i am on the side of those who are not affected by any of that. i drink coffee and it doesn't

stop me sleeping. we start in the uk, where the countdown to brexit continues and talks about whether the uk can do a trade deal with the world's biggest economy, the united states, is among the top priorities. the uk foreign secretary dominic raab is in washington today to meet his opposite number mike pompeo. total trade in goods and services between the world's first and sixth largest economies was worth $262.3 billion last year. two weeks ago president trump said after a phone call with prime minister borisjohnson that could be multiplied "three to four, five times" under a post—brexit trade deal but gave no details on how that would happen. at the moment, the eu accounts for almost half of all the uk's imports and exports, that's more than three times as much as the usa which at almost 15% has the biggest share for an individual country. a trade deal could close that gap but the unresolved question about how the irish border will be

kept open could make it difficult to get it through congress. the us is one of the guarantors of the good friday peace agreement and many politcians are reluctant to back a deal they think could undermine it. peter bishop, chief executive of london chamber of commerce and industry. good morning, peter. it sounds complicated, lots of hurdles and barriers. but just about this meeting between dominic raab and mike pompeo, what are your expectations? it is a good start. the uk and us trade agreement has been on the agenda for a long time. you can go back to william hague and when we were in the eu, and that promised £100 billion worth of extra business over the site of the pond. theresa may, when she became pm, one

of her first visits was to the white house. it is a good idea to have it. we have got to be realistic though and say that usually a trade agreement really works when there are significant barriers to trade and asa are significant barriers to trade and as a result trade is low. that is not the case here. the us is the biggest single market for the uk and it is the biggest location for investment and pretty much vice ve rsa . investment and pretty much vice versa. what about the issues, ben mentioned the issue with regards to the border with northern ireland and the border with northern ireland and the republic of ireland, that will bea the republic of ireland, that will be a real problem? i don't expect you to have the answers, but what about things like the nhs? should it be part of a trade agreement? things like chlorinated chicken that eu regulations would prevent, but if we are not in the eu that is up for grabs. your thoughts on these more sticky issues. these are reasons why there is no way there will be a quick deal and there is no way it

can bea quick deal and there is no way it can be a comprehensive and quick deal as well. i would expect they are able to get to an agreement on certain noncontroversial items, get it done and dusted and honour is satisfied on both sides. remember we have donald trump saying america first and american jobs first and we should be saying britain first and britishjobs should be saying britain first and british jobs first. there should be saying britain first and britishjobs first. there has should be saying britain first and british jobs first. there has to should be saying britain first and britishjobs first. there has to be a compromise. some in the united states, like larry summers, are saying the uk are weak and we will get a raw deal and america will get a good deal. act in haste and repent at leisure, there is a danger in that. but pick the right subjects and get it over and done with. this should be part of a portfolio of trade deals for the uk. do not do anything that will upset presidents for later on. thank you for your thoughts on that and we will keep a close eye on how dominic raab gets

on in washington. close eye on how dominic raab gets on in washington. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news mining giant glencore has halted production at one of the world's biggest cobalt mines after prices for the battery metal collapsed. the mining giant announced the closure of its mutanda mine in the democratic republic of congo during its third—quarter results, and says it will resume its operations when cobalt prices rebound. facebook has filed a lawsuit against two app developers for "click injection fraud" as it moves to crack down on abuse on its platform that hurts advertisers. it says the developers made apps available on the google play store "to infect their users' phones with malware". walmart is under pressure to use its corporate power to help crack down on the sale of weapons in the us. the country's biggest retailer, has faced criticism before over arms sales. but after a multiple

shooting at a texas store, and the death of two staff at a mississippi branch, critics say walmart has a responsibility to act. british airways travellers are facing delays and facing problems. this is for those who want to check in online. the airline is saying there are systems failures at the moment and this is to blame for the problem is that customers are experiencing. some people have taken to social media to complain about the long queues, the flight delays and the app crashing. british airways is trying to revert to manual systems for check—in at airports. if you are flying with british airways today it could be a frustrating experience. it is not the first time it has happened and heathrow is the main hub, just dodging narrowly the strike action that was due to take place this week. not a great week for the airport or the airline. many are already sceptical about the transparency and safety

of crypto—currencies and today will do nothing to help ease fears. a leaked united nations report says north korea stole $2bn to fund its weapons programme using cyber—attacks. the report says north korea targeted banks and crypto—currency exchanges. monica miller is in singapore. this is the whole argument about these currencies, like libra, facebook‘s big idea. tell us more. according to this report the north koreans snapped up $2 billion worth of funds that were not their own. sources confirmed the united nations is investigating 35 cyber attacks by the north koreans. information in a lea ked the north koreans. information in a leaked confidential report says pyongyang targeted foreign banks to collect this cash. it allowed them to generate income in ways that is ha rd to to generate income in ways that is hard to trace and subject to less government oversight than other

regulations. they also investigated cyber mining activity designed to earn foreign currency. this information comes after north korea launched two missiles on tuesday, the fourth time in less than two weeks. monica, thank you. i know you will be following that story. monica miller in our asia hub. japan's nikkei down again with a stronger yen and fears of a global currency war leading investors to sell riskier assets. the yen is typically seen as a safe—haven during times of market turmoil, and has been firming up as the china—us trade war escalates. but there were some upbeat corporateresults and wall street's bounce helped curb overall losses. india's central bank has cut the key

lending rate to 5.4%. the higher than expected rate cut is aimed at boosting the slowing economy. this is the fourth consecutive rate cut by india's central bank since february. german industrial output fell more than expected in june, driven by weaker production — it adds to signs that europe's biggest economy shrank in the second quarter. industrial output was down 1.5% on the month — a far bigger drop than the 0.4% fall that had been forecast. more on that in a moment, but first michelle has the details of what's ahead on wall street today. several major entertainment companies report second—quarter earnings this week. the home of mickey mouse, walt disney, disappointed investors with their results. this wednesday traders turned their attention to the fox corporation which was created in march and disney bought 21st century fox. investors want to know if revenue from its cable news business

will continue to drive profits as it did during its first quarter as a stand—alone company. revenue is likely to get a boost thanks to more riders using the service, but people are wondering what it might turn a profit, a key question for wall street. profit, a key question for wall street. joining us isjeremy stretch from cibc world markets. we were talking about the reserve bank of india and new zealand. is it a race to the bottom? last week we we re a race to the bottom? last week we were talking about the federal reserve and then cutting rates in more than a decade. this week it is about rates coming down in new zealand, but not by a quarter of a point. they cut rates by half a point. they cut rates by half a point and they are down to 1%. they are talking about what can they do

in terms of additional policies? can they take rates below zero? we have seen they take rates below zero? we have seen that in switzerland. there is a bigger than expected rate cut in india, so it appears to be a race to the bottom. all of these economies are trying to find some way to stimulate growth. in germany industrial output fell by 1.5%. what does it tell us about a traditional powerhouse of the european union? we are talking about struggling on the manufacturing side, but we have other numbers that are better. however, that was due to orders outside of the eurozone. within the eurozone the manufacturing sector is under some degree of stress, partly because of global trade tensions and also a deceleration in china which has driven the move in the chinese currency this week. europe is decelerating and that leads to the supposition that the european

central bank will be joining this race in terms of monetary easing when they meet to decide on their interest rate policy next month. they will cut interest rates by 0.1%, taking the rates two —0.5%. they may well start their printing presses. many central banks are trying to use what little ammunition they have to try and mitigate the pressure of a deceleration in global activity. it is very interesting to watch because it is having little impact in many cases. you are running into the law of diminishing returns. we are only ten years from the crisis. are you a big coffee drinker? in moderation. we will see you back shortly because we are talking coffee and tea and how much it impacts your sleep. too much. but psychologically it doesn't affect me at night, but i need it in the morning, so i am not

sure if that is just pure psychology. still to come... ditching the dayjob — and going it alone.. but does the freelance life really give you freedom? we'll hear from the man running a major uk freelance portal. half the food we consume in the uk is imported. so it's one industry that can't afford to be affected by delays from a no—deal brexit. we've also heard warnings that prices will rise as a result of a no—deal. victoria fritz is at a wholesale market in birmingham for us, looking at how businesses are preparing. i was at iwas ata iwasatap i was at a p farm on thursday looking at how they will deal with it. you are at the other end of the scale, a market. are they worried about the prospects of a no deal? good morning. it is a bit of a mixed

bag. i had some florists on earlier and they were worried. they say they cannot prepare and they have seen prices fluctuate and the low value of the pound is hurting their business and they were saying that some people in the forestry industry have left. it makes more sense to be buying and selling flowers in eastern europe than it does in the uk these days. however, talking to people who sell fruit and veg, they say there is a lot you can do to mitigate. these plans have come from spain and these nectarines have come from spain. food miles, pretty good, they came from staffordshire. we have got cabbages and letters that come from cambridgeshire. we do not import everything we eat, but a fair proportion does come from abroad. they are very susceptible to any impact on no—deal brexit might have because of delays at the border and the cost of picking the staff in

terms of labour. justin benson is from kpmg, an independent brexit expert. you have been running the numbers, how much of an impact would no—deal brexit have on the food industry? there are three things. you mentioned the currency, there is the tariffs and the delays at the border. after currency at the moment it is the delays that are the biggest issue. you can change the supply chain in the food business but about 60% of the goods from this market come from the european union. that is a plus and a negative. they could be delayed, but you have got a lot of suppliers in the european union who want to supply this marketplace. it is a two—way street. it certainly is. there has been some discussion about whether the food industry could get together and waive competition laws in order to secure oui’ waive competition laws in order to secure our food chain. waive competition laws in order to secure ourfood chain. whether or not the government will listen to that will be anyone's guess, but

plenty more preparations ahead. you're watching business live — our top story... as the october the 31st deadline looms large, when we leave the european union, the us is keen to get a trade deal. a bit of a mixed bag on the european markets. this is what is happening right now. age at the markets ended down a little bit lower, despite a stronger session in the united states yesterday. all sorts of reasons for that. basically global trade concerns between the us and china and everyone else caught up and china and everyone else caught up in its wake. now, to quote dolly parton. ..

forget the nine to five, the difficult boss, the daily commute — more and more people are turning to freelancing as a way to make a living. in the us alone, freelancers now represent around 35% of the total working population and according to statistics portal statista, it will rise to 50% by 2027 — that's almost 87 million people. but while the perks are worthwhile, the growing gig economy has its pitfalls. finding a steady stream of work, for example, can be a challenge at times. and you can find yourself at the mercy of late—paying clients. well, yunojuno says its platform can take all these hassles out of freelancing. the uk—based company manages the relationship between the employer and the client which means no more late payments and chasing for work. the firm's co—founder, shib mathewjoins us now. with us now is shib mathew, chief executive and co—founder of yunojuno(1+1) this all sounds a bit too good to be true. we don't believe it is. we are

based on two observations in one house. the first observation was that the world is moving freelance ona that the world is moving freelance on a global scale. more and more people are choosing freelance as a vocational choice and more companies are choosing to hire freelancers as the best way of doing a project. the second observation we had is even though there is a dramatic shift towards freelancing, there was not an equal shift in the way freelancers and organisations connected. it was all still very manual and opaque and expensive. 0ur hunch was that technology had to provide a better connection, a more informed connection. essentially we provide this marketplace of the very best creative freelancers and a management platform by which those two groups can connect with each other. talk us through the practicalities. if i signed up to the website and i was designing

something and i finished thejob, the website and i was designing something and ifinished thejob, do i get paid immediately? where do you get that money from? does the money come through you and it is passed on to me? we pay our freelancers, we pay them and we collect money from clients that effectively employ them. the tricky thing is the freelancer looks like they have only got one client and that could be a problem for tax purposes. the new legislation that is coming in in april 2020 will be a moment for hmrc to reassess how freelancing works. i think there will be some readjustment in how freelancing works. but if we look to the united states, and you have quoted the stats, freelancing by 2027 will be the majority of the workforce. we believe it is the future of work. even though there is this readjustment in how tax legislation

works, there will still be a drive because people want freedom in their lives and they want a better work and life balance. i was getting to a point where 95jobs will be a thing of the past? i believe it will be. we have built this business on the idea that the future of work is freelance because people want this freedom and flexibility and the strive towards a better worklife balance. as we have mentioned, the so—called gig economy, it is a new growing area within the workplace, but the law has got to catch up with this. it is fine when you are young, fit and healthy, but what if you are on maternity leave and want to have children, or you become unwell or you need to take holidays? it is those times when the freelance lifestyle does not really work. you are right. i think the legislation and the way the companies choose to staff their projects does have to

evolve. but from our clients we have seen evolve. but from our clients we have seen this growing shift towards freelancing. there are more people ona freelancing. there are more people on a contract or a booking with us than any other platform. we have grown 100% year on year for the last six years. last year we did £100 million in turnover, that is double that of the previous year and double that of the previous year and double that again of 2016. we are seeing the growth ourselves in our business and we are seeing it outside of our business with the smaller trends happening. it is really nice to see you. it is interesting to see work being done in that area because it isa being done in that area because it is a big problem for many people. 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. london, singapore, shanghai and new york, our correspondence have your business well covered, only, online

and on the bbc news app. check out the website for their insight and analysis. the business life page has the latest business news. we want your views as well. get in touch on the business life page or tweet us 01’ the business life page or tweet us orfind us on facebook. join the bbc‘s business conversation. join the bbc‘s business conversation. jeremy stretch from cibc world markets joins us again. this is a wonderful story, drinking coffee does not affect your sleep. it is the one thing that we have very little of, sleep, but a lot of coffee. explain this story? it is an interesting study because it is quite wide—ranging, but they are not just talking about coffee, they are talking about the impact of nicotine and alcohol. those two components are much more likely to impact sleep than caffeine, according to this

dynamic. it does suggest the traditional warnings we have been getting from the nhs and other organisations about drinking coffee late at night and t impacted on sleep does not appear to be correct. but it underlines the other subtext which they have alluded to, we get too little sleep. that is the reality that modern life is bringing upon us. you are right because when it comes to the subject of sleep so many people are obsessed. books about sleep are flying off the shelves, how to get better sleep, how to solve issues of insomnia. then it becomes more difficult to achieve it. if you know you have to get up early the following day, you think you should go to bed early but then you become obsessed about getting to sleep and you will end up with an even more fitful night's sleep. it is a balancing act and a leveller for all of us. it has really got you animated this morning, maybe you are all on the

coffee. this is interesting. jeff says i drink loads of coffee, sometimes at night and nothing keeps me awake. someone else says even if i have a coffee at two still have trouble sleeping. face as i could have a double es p resso face as i could have a double espresso right before bed and sleep fine. ray says i take my black coffee and go to sleep. i have to say i drink tea all day, tonnes of it and even before bedtime. no issues for me whatsoever. in the city are you fuelled by caffeine? i try not to overdose on caffeine, i keep a balance. the other issue is hydration, another component part. that is another variable i would throw into the mix. that is also something you need to be mindful of and put alongside having caffeinated drinks to keep alert. some have been suggesting that big coffeemakers sponsored this study. thank you, jeremy. that is

a lwa ys study. thank you, jeremy. that is always the supposition. that is eight for another day. see you soon. good morning. if you have got any outdoor plans or are going to an event this weekend, it is worth staying tuned to the forecast. we have a deepening area of low pressure that is moving in. it is this area of cloud here in the mid atla ntic this area of cloud here in the mid atlantic which is the deepening low. it will be moving from thursday night into friday. in the meantime, we have got this area of low pressure towards the north of scotla nd pressure towards the north of scotland and that is providing us with heavy and thundery showers this afternoon. northerly wind across scotla nd afternoon. northerly wind across scotland making it a bit chillier compared to yesterday. elsewhere a few showers scattered around with sunny spells, but for many of us in the afternoon it is looking mostly

dry. temperatures today at 19—24. tonight as that area of low pressure moves away it will take those showers away from scotland and there will be some clear skies and a quiet night for most of us. thursday is probably the quietest day weather wise of the week. plenty of dry weather and sunshine in the morning. a few showers in the north—east of scotland. later on in the day the cloud thickens and rain spreads into the far south—west. temperatures where they should be for this time of the year. late on thursday that rain moves into the south west and it moves across the uk. heavy rain spreads northwards through the early hours of friday morning, quite nasty conditions through friday morning as the rain spreads into scotland. heavy bursts at times. this is followed by heavy showers in western and southern areas. a few sunny

spells, but also quite windy, unusually windy for august. these are the wind gusts, potentially 45 miles an hour. there is the area of low pressure, moving northwards. for england and wales we are looking at widespread gales during saturday. they could be 55 miles an hour in the south and the west. we have got those gales for saturday and sunday. sunday is looking a bit better for the weekend. quite unusual for this time of the year. stay tuned to the forecast.

you're watching bbc news at nine with me rebecca jones — the headlines... supermarkets call on the government to scrap strict competition laws to prevent food shortages in the event of a no—deal brexit. all day we'll be looking at what impact a no—deal brexit might have in different areas, including britons travelling in europe. the biggest worry would be about a huge increase in cost when being abroad, i guess, and then increases in prices in the uk as well. and we'll be answering your questions about what a no—deal brexit might mean. british airways passengers face long delays because of problems with its check—in and departures systems with its check—in and departures systems. plans to resolve a row with doctors over their pensions