this is the business briefing, i'm sally bundock. focus on fast fsahion. uk pioneer primark gets ready to unveil its results as the sector comes under increasing pressure to clean up its act. uber tells investors sorry about the waiting time, and promises profits will arrive within two years. and on financial markets, on wall street it was another record breaker, and we are seeing gains gci’oss breaker, and we are seeing gains across the board in asia. japan catching up today on advances on monday as it was closed for a public holiday. but the word from the us is that a deal with china on trade on

phase one could be coming soon. the fast fashion sector is under the spotlight today, as one of its leading players gets ready to tell us its latest financial results. the british giant primark helped spearhead the rise of the industry, and its performance will come in for major scrutiny as the sector faces increasing pressure. british mps have scrutinised fast fashion and made a series of recommendations. these include a penny tax on every garment sold, in order to help fund more recycling, and moves to ban the incineration of unwanted clothes. in the uk alone, consumers send around 300,000 tons of clothes a year to incineration or landfill. the environmental campaign group friends of the earth says up to 64% of fabrics we wear are now synthetic, and these are damaging

when burned or sent to landfill. the fashion sector employs around 60 million workers. the walk free foundation estimates a0 million people are living in modern slavery today, many of them in supply chains of western clothing brands. charlotte 0wen is executive editor of the digital media company bustle uk. so primark is going to release its results later. we will see how it is doing in terms of how much money it is making, but regardless of that, it is an opportunity for everyone like we are to discuss the sustainability of this industry, fast fashion. i think increasingly the industry is under scrutiny, not least because of the damage to the environment in terms of rivers that are now declared barren wasteland, but also the human impact in terms

of labour, that is people on a living wage, i think two thirds of workers are on a living wage, whereas rest aren't. there is increasing scrutiny around how these companies are operating. and there is definitely growing awareness around shoppers. this morning i have been asking workers on the briefing whether it is about the pricetag, most are whether it is about the pricetag, mostare in whether it is about the pricetag, most are in touch saying it is definitely about buying quality clothing and wearing it for longer oi’ clothing and wearing it for longer or keeping it for longer, and even perhaps selling it on. and even the youngerfashion perhaps selling it on. and even the younger fashion shopper, which perhaps selling it on. and even the youngerfashion shopper, which is really the primark audience, et cetera, they are more aware, would you say? they are definitely more aware. they expect more from their companies, they expect more transparency, companies like the la —based fashion brand reformation, they publish their sustainability data online so people can check

everything. i think that is what millennials expect to see. i think also they are more open to trying things a different way. they are open to renting their clothes. 0ne re ntal open to renting their clothes. 0ne rental store in the us is enormous, and they are open to shopping secondhand. 0ne company has 15 million users globally in 167 countries —— so dpop is like ebay, but it is very used by teenagers who are selling trainers, clothes, all sorts —— depop. are selling trainers, clothes, all sorts -- depop. yes, and like you say, it has retail value if they sell it on again. will fast fashion ever be consigned to the history books, or not? we are nowhere near that, are we? we are nowhere near, but they say it is a question of when, not if. i think in the next ten yea rs when, not if. i think in the next ten years we will definitely see it growth decline or steady. i think in

the us we are expecting to see by 2028 the secondhand market being worth $61; billion, to fast fashion‘s $35 billion. so we will see changes there. and for companies like primark and h&m, they have huge pressures on them like rental pressures , pressures on them like rental pressures, as well. those pressures, but also consumers are more savvy, when a company says it is carbon neutral, it is often down to carbon offsetting, and people are interrogating whether that is good enough. and many of these companies have recycling initiatives, where it is bringing your clothes and we will give you a discount for how much you can spend in store. that is very much feeding the beast, so to speak, still. i think there are a lot of questions and kinks to iron out there. thank you for your time. uber has disappointed investors with its latest quarterly results. it shows lackluster gains in bookings and monthly active users, two of the factors most closely watched by wall street. it reported more than $1 billion in net losses, but says it is on course

to make a profit. samira hussain has more from new york. over $1 billion in losses for the quarter. people are using the service but the company reported $1 billion in losses for the order, and that is despite a 30% increase in revenues. so what gives? according to uber‘s ceo, this is the year when the company will be making big investments into the business and all that spending should really slowdown in 2020 and beyond. but the pressure is on. last week, uber‘s biggest rival, lyft, reported earnings, and they were better than expected, and they even said it will

become a profitable company by the end of 2021, much sooner than any expected. it isa it is a really busy time for earnings, so it is a really busy time for earnings, so many it is a really busy time for earnings, so many companies reporting in the last few weeks. the story really fuelling the optimism on financial markets, i mentioned it earlier in the programme. us commerce secretary wilbur ross is in indonesia this week, and he is accompanied by officials from boeing. what is he hoping to achieve? sharanjit leyl is in our asia business hub in singapore to bring us the details. tell us more about wilbur ross's visit. that's right, well, as you say, he is in southeast asia, indonesia this week. he is with a delegation of senior us business executives from 17 big firms, eve ryo ne executives from 17 big firms,

everyone from boeing to tesla stop one of those stops is indonesia, which is keen to retain its preferential trading status with the us. the us is one of indonesia's largest direct investors with $11 billion invested in the country last year. but knowing's presence in the delegation may be problematic. we know of course that the plane maker is underfire know of course that the plane maker is under fire over two crashes involving the same 737 max aircraft, one of those crashes involving an indonesian airline, lionair, in fact family members have just observed the one year anniversary of that tragic crash on 29 october last year -- lion tragic crash on 29 october last year —— lion air. really hard to imagine what kind of concessions boeing is likely to make. we know they have made some reparations to family members, each family entitled to nearly $150,000, while they have also set up a scholarship fund. but of course, that will never quite make upfor of course, that will never quite make up for the loss of a family member. what we also know is that mr ross has a somewhat tricky task ahead with these visits. part of it

is the fact that he comes from the annual asean summit, and as one columnist in jakarta annual asean summit, and as one columnist injakarta puts it, the us president intentionally humiliated asean and their important trading partners by sending the lowest level ever us delegation to these summits, so ever us delegation to these summits, so there is already a sense of disappointment and the fact that it comes as the region's growth rates falter at the impact of the us— china trade row, anotherfactor that is unlikely to help. now let's brief you on some other business stories: mcdonald's says stephen easterbrook, who was fired as boss after having a relationship with an employee, is entitled to six months' severance pgy- he earned $15.8 million in 2018, according to a filing. the board found that the relationship had been consensual, but violated company policy. mr easterbrook says it had been an error ofjudgement. chinese leader xijinping has

renewed calls for world leaders to do more to bring down trade barriers. he was speaking at an international trade show in shanghai. president xi also urged the removal of barriers to the free flow of knowledge and skills around the globe. it comes has china and the us are locked in bitter trade dispute. uk businesses are optimistic about international trade and future growth overseas, but mainly outside the eu. that is according to a new survey by hsbc. it found that 86% of uk businesses were positive about the outlook overall, but were gloomy about the prospects for stronger trade with europe. we have mentioned some of the earning stories, uber, for example.

i record close on wall street last night filtering through to trading time in asia. hong kong up 0.5%, japan up nearly 2% asjapan time in asia. hong kong up 0.5%, japan up nearly 2% as japan catches up japan up nearly 2% as japan catches up on monday's gains. that's it for the business briefing this hour. 2,500 people employed by mothercare face losing theirjobs after the baby goods retailer announced it was appointing administrators. its 79 stores remain open for the time being, but the company said they weren't generating enough profit to be sustainable. so far, no buyer has been found. the company has been struggling for some time, losing £36 million last year. our business correspondent emma simpson reports

it is big business, all this baby kit, from prams and toys to clothes. mothercare is the uk's best known one—stop shop. but it has lost its appeal for new mums and dads. at this baby and toddler group today, they say the retail picture has changed. back in the ‘70s, mothercare was the go—to place for baby essentials. you could get a pram for 6 quid. but, after serving generations of new parents, the business lost its way. mothercare's uk business has been losing money for years. today the company said it could no longer see a return to profitability, and called it a day. at its peak, in 2008, mothercare had 425 shops including early learning centres. but by last year, it was down to just 79 mothercare outlets, after a major

restructuring to close shops and cut costs. the plan didn't work, and now 500 full—time jobs and 2,000 part—time roles are at risk. another blow to the high street, already in turmoil as the all—important christmas trading season gets under way. the stores continue to trade as normal, for now. mothercare's profitable international business isn't affected. but tonight, its long—term physical presence here on uk high streets is far from clear. emma simpson, bbc news. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: turkey says it has captured the elder sister of abu bakr al—baghdadi, the leader of the islamic state group, who died in a us raid in syria last month. thousands of catalan separatists take to the streets of barcelona in protest at a visit by spain's king felipe.

now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the independent, which reports that the british prime minister is being accused of a cover—up over alleged russian medalling in uk politics, after claims the government is blocking the release of a damning report. the guardian features a picture of the newly elected speaker of the house of commons, sir lindsay hoyle, who has vowed to bring a different kind of management style to the commons than, as the paper sees it, his sometimes larger—than—life predecessor. the daily mail reports on a medical breakthrough in screening for cervical cancer that could see the end of women having to endure what the paper calls the dreaded smear test. the business media organisation cnbc reflects on the fact that the us stock market is continuing to set new highs, in a rally no—one saw coming. and the sun features a report that a weekly run can slash the risk by more

than a quarter of early death from numerous illnesses, including heart disease and cancer. with me is jane foley, senior foreign exchange strategist at rabobank. good morning, jane. are you someone who likes to go on a run?|j good morning, jane. are you someone who likes to go on a run? i do go running. yes. i am not good at that. they don't know why they call it a fun run. it's not fun at all. most honest miserable to me. we look at the independent, security chiefs, they must release the russia report. it looked into moscow's attempts to influence things like the brexit campaign, and other high—profile figures in russian and russian business, and their influence in the uk. this is right. if we go back to before this report was commissioned and look at some of the evidence, for instance in 2017, swansea university, one of the us

universities,