this is the business briefing, i'm sally bundock. thomas cook to jet airways. turbulence in the airline industry has forced a record number of carriers to collapse. we find out about the impact on passengers. the us blacklists more chinese firms, setting an uncomfortable tone for crucial trade talks later this week. and stocks in asia are headed higher today on the hope of progress as a chinese delegation heads to washington for trade talks.

turbulence in the airline industry has seen a spate of bankruptcies. carriers face headwinds from increased competition, particularly among budget carriers, to rising fuel prices at a time when the global economy is slowing. later today we find out how budget carrier easyjet, which posts results, is faring. 17 airlines have gone bust worldwide this year, with bankruptcies increasing at the fastest—ever rate. among the most high—profile to collapse, india's jet airways, british travel group thomas cook, and brazil's avianca. many airlines have also been hit by the grounding of the entire boeing 737 max fleet following two fatal crashes. that has driven up waiting times and prices for new, second—hand and leased aircraft.

and a recent survey suggests one in five travellers is flying less, perhaps fuelled by the swedish concept of flygskam, orflight shaming, as people foresake flying for the sake of the planet. there is a lot going on impacting the industry. adrian yanoshik is equity research analyst at berenberg. good morning. welcome to business briefing. first of all, with easyj et, briefing. first of all, with easyjet, results coming out in the next couple of hours. what are we expecting? we can probably expect a bit of caution because of the demand picture, the lack of consumer confidence in and around brexit, but maybe a little bit of balanced optimism as well. it is an opportunity, really, with the failure of thomas cook.” opportunity, really, with the failure of thomas cook. i was going to say, something that easyjet can't say publicly is the fact that thomas

cook has collapsed means they have an opportunity there to make more money and get more customers. absolutely, it's a very competitive industry. whenever one competitor falls away, it is looked at as an opportunity for other airlines to step in. and their boss used to be the boss of thomas cook's archrival. he is very au fait with the whole idea of packaging your holiday. easyj et idea of packaging your holiday. easyjet is moving into that realm, isn't it? it is, generally the ancillary side of the business, the non— ticket revenue side, is looked at as non— ticket revenue side, is looked atasa non— ticket revenue side, is looked at as a growth area. and with that asa at as a growth area. and with that as a background, it is somewhere that easyjet has been moving into. so when you go online to book your flight so when you go online to book your flight you might be tempted to book a hotel and get the car sorted, all the various elements, and before you know it your holiday is done and dusted on the easyjet site. what

about passengers and the customer? because easyjet is uncertain about the future because of the collapse of thomas cook. that's really the big question. i think people understand that in terms of the opportunity from the airline's perspective, there is a lot to kind of push into, to offer more flights to the consumer. the real question is are those consumers going to be there and wanting to fly on the aircraft to take those holidays? that is really the big question. and it has been softer over the last few months. i think that the outlook is soft, as well, for the next few months. and by that you mean there isa months. and by that you mean there is a lot of uncertainty out there. for uk holidaymakers it might be brexit, for those outside it might be in the country they are in they are heading into a slowdown. some countries in recession, that kind of thing. there is a lot of concern, isn't there, and therefore

holidaymakers are not necessarily going to want to spend a lot on their holidays in the next 12 months. yes, and i think it's a matter of potentially deferring trips. you saw a lot of uncertainty until 31 march, the original date, and a bit of a pick—up after that. the question is is october 31 the new date where people get a bit more confidence once they see it pass, and they start their bookings again. we will watch this space. thank you for coming in. interesting, and when we get the news from easyjet, we will make sure we update you. let's talk some more now about the upcoming us—china trade talks in washington later this week. on monday, the trump administration blacklisted several chinese companies over beijing's treatment of ethnic minorities. president trump gave mixed messages, saying there is a chance of something very substantial, but a quick trade deal was unlikely. well, they want to make a deal. they

are down 3.5 million jobs since we started doing what we are doing, and their supply chain has really cracked and broken, and they want to make a deal. now, they are coming to see us on make a deal. now, they are coming to see us on thursday and friday. we think there is a chance that we could do something very substantial. read into that what you well. we will all be watching president trump's twitter feed, won't we, to get a sense of what is going on in those talks. that's true, because this latest move by the trump administration will likely escalate the ongoing trade war between the two economic superpowers. because the united states has added 28 new chinese groups to the so—called entity list, which effectively blocks these groups and companies from buying american—made products. well, the commerce department said the organisations include a company

that makes surveillance equipment, as well as one which develops facial and voice recognition. as you mentioned, these groups had been targeted for their involvement in human rights abuses against uighers and other human rights abuses in xianjang province. experts estimate 1.5 million minorities have been interned in camps. the us took the same action earlier this year against huawei, the chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer, which has been accused of stealing american technology. a spokesperson says the company strongly opposes the us action, which would hamper efforts by its companies to promote human rights around the world. so we would likely see a very intense 13th round of us trade negotiations, which begins

this thursday. and so far no resolution is insight. we shall talk about this again very soon. thank you, for now. still, deals are being done elsewhere. president trump has called his new trade deal with japan, inked on monday, a phenomenal victory for us farmers. some insiders say it offers worse access to japan for some us agricultural goods than the trans—pacific partnership pact that mr trump ditched in 2017. from new york, samira hussain has more. this trade agreement is a big win for american farmers, who lost out on other markets when the us pulled out of the trans—pacific partnership. now, japan already imports around $14 billion worth of farm goods from the us. under this new agreement, japan will open new markets to about $7 billion in american agricultural products,

and japanese tariffs on beef, wheat, cheese and other imports from the us will either be significantly reduced or eliminated completely. however, absent from this trade deal was any mention of the auto sector. now, that is the big sticking point between the two countries. japanese cars already face about a 2.5% tariff. mr trump has threatened to impose more duties on all foreign—made cars, worrying japan's auto industry. last week, japanese prime minister shinzo abe says he received assurances it would be spared from any additional penalties. now let's brief you on some other business stories: even a relatively benign no—deal brexit would push uk debt to its highest since the 1960s. so says the institute for fiscal studies. the ifs said borrowing would likely climb to $123 billion and total debt would soar to 90% of national income.

the hong kong stock exchange has dropped its $39 billion takeover bid for the london stock exchange group, saying it could not win over bosses at the takeover target. the london exchange had rejected the unsolicited approach by hkex. talks between general motors and the united auto workers resumed on monday, as the strike by 118,000 us workers enters in fourth week. gm's boss said the cost of the strike has escalated to around $90 million a day. gm said it is temporarily laying off hundreds more workers in mexico as a result of the action. i mentioned the fact that asian stocks opened higher today. hong kong reopened today, the mainland

chinese markets opened, headed higher on hopes that we may see progress in the us— china trade talks at the end of the week. new zealand is marking 250 years since the british explorer captain james cook set foot in the country. a replica of his ship, the endeavour, has arrived at the same spot in gisborne, to a mixture of celebrations and protests. our correspondent phil mercer is there. the arrival of the replica of james cook's ship, the endeavour, has once again reignited debate here in new zealand about the legacy of captain james cook. too many maori people, his arrival was the start of a

brutal colonisation. they say the effects of invasion, as they call it, i still felt today. maori effects of invasion, as they call it, istill felt today. maori people make up about 15% of the population, but they suffer disproportionately high rates of ill—health, imprisonment and suicide. too many other new zealanders, today is a time for great celebration. they are commemorating an important chapter in the european history. we have seen hundreds of people gather around the bay today to watch this ship sailed into gisborne harbour. 250 yea rs ship sailed into gisborne harbour. 250 years ago was the first time that europeans had contact with maori people on the ground here in new zealand. a very significant day, a very divisive issue, when we consider the legacy of captainjames cook. was he a barbarian, was he an invader, was he a father of the nation? phil mercer there, in gisborne, new zealand. before we go, it's not every day

you see something like this swimming in london's river thames. a humpback whale has been spotted for the first time in around ten years. it is over 80 foot, or nearly 30 metres long, and doesn't seem to be in any distress. scientists monitoring the animal say its behaviour is perfectly normal. nothing to be concerned about. coming up at 6:00am on breakfast, dan walker and louise minchin will have all the day's news, business and sport. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump is accused of abandoning america's kurdish allies as he withdraws us troops from northern syria. the british foreign secretary has urged his us counterpart to allow a diplomat‘s wife to return to the uk and face questioning about a fatal traffic accident near a military base. a stolen truck has ploughed into several cars in the german city of limberg. at least 17 people have been injured. the driver of the vehicle

has been arrested. now it's time to look at a few stories making the headlines in other media outlets. we begin with a story on a few front pages in the uk. it's the case of an american woman, the wife of a us serviceman, who was involved in a road accident that killed a 19—year—old man. the couple have claimed immunity under the ‘status of forces agreement‘ and she has left the uk. the man's grieving parents are demanding action from the british government. as the clock ticks down to the next brexit summit, there's a warning from the non—partisan institute of fiscal studies based in london that the financial fall—out of a ‘no—deal‘ exit from the eu could push the uk's government debt up to levels not seen for half a century. in spain, el pais contrasts the fate

of rich and poor regions across the eu. the wealthiest place is right here in west london — and the poorest is in bulgaria. the paper points out that only five areas of spain are above the european average. the gap between rich and poor has widened by 40% since the financial crisis — with capital cities gaining most and rural areas losing. the daily telegraph reports plans by the uk health service to treat children with mental disorders triggered by gaming and social media over—use. the chief executive of the health service has accused internet firms of cashing in on young people's addictions. and one other technology story — this time from the bbc website. it examines the emergence of the new buzzword — femtech — basically any form of online application aimed at women. some love it, but plenty hate it. the article asks whether it helps or hinders equality.