this is the business briefing. i'm ben bland. finance ministers and central bankers from the world's 20 richest countries to meet this weekend and assess the effects of the coronavirus on the global economy. from a galaxy far, far away to toyshop near you. how disney builds a baby yoda empire through merchandise. and on the markets, global stocks fall because of fears about the economic impact of coronavirus. investors turning instead to safe havens, the us dollar and gold touching their highest level in years.

the finance ministers of the world's 20 biggest economies are getting ready for a major meeting in saudi arabia this weekend, amidst mounting fears about the economic impact of the spread of the new coronavirus. one estimate suggests that growth in china could fall by 1% this year because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. and if the virus spreads widely outside of asia, it's thought a trillion dollars could be wiped off the global economy because of a fall in output. in fact, the boss of the international monetary fund kristalina georgieva says coronavirus constitutes the "most pressing uncertainty" facing the global economy. the 620 ministers also say it poses a real risk to growth. let's get more on this story. our correspondentjoins us from

dubai. what, realistically, can this gathering of finance ministers and central bankers actually do? that is the big question, what can they really do. it is the first big gathering that is taking place after the outbreak of the coronavirus. what we know at this point of time is that in the draft statement that has been prepared and will be discussed during the meeting, it clearly acknowledges the fallout of the coronavirus and it says it poses downside risks for the global economy. however, there is no clarity whether they will be announcing any action orjoint programme to tackle this issue. you mentioned imf, the imf in a note to these leaders who are attending the meeting, spoke about how there is a need to have a joint action plan ready to prepare themselves for the kind of impact that could take place or could impact the global economy because of the

coronavirus. at the same time it also could urge their leaders to focus on other issues like trade or climate change least it brings some amount of certainty because they think the biggest problem right now is the uncertainty, what will be the eventual fallout because of the coronavirus? and are theyjust meeting to discuss coronavirus oi’ meeting to discuss coronavirus or there are other issues on the agenda as well? there will be other issues as well. this is of course one of the main agendas that will be discussed. in fact i've forgot to mention that there are reports saying that there are reports saying that china may not be sending any delegates to attend the meetings. but clearly i think the 620 meetings. but clearly i think the g20 leaders would want to hear from the g20 leaders would want to hearfrom china, the g20 leaders would want to hear from china, what the g20 leaders would want to hearfrom china, what steps the g20 leaders would want to hear from china, what steps are they planning to take because a lot would depend on that in terms of what can they do from there, but coming to your original question, what are they planning to do. the other big issue on the agenda is new tax rules for tech companies are. that has been in the making for a while stopping the 620 making for a while stopping the g20 feels like there is a need to have new tax rules for tech

and internet companies because they feel like companies like amazon, facebook, google, they open their officers in low tax countries and even though the customers are based across the globe, so you could be manufacturing or providing a service from a low tax country even though your customer is based in a high—tech country, because of which they are able to register high profit stopping g20 feels there is a need to bring in new rules which is a fair tax system, however the united states has been reluctant to accept some of those terms and conditions but what the g20 leaders are hoping is that they will be able to make some progress on this and hope lead find those new tax rules for tech companies by the end of the year. 0k, thank you very much. staying with the coronavirus, air industry body iata says ticket sales could fall 13% in asia this year because of the outbreak. let's go to our asia business hub where sarah toms is following the story. how big a problem could that 10% fall in asia the airlines?

it isa 10% fall in asia the airlines? it is a huge amount. every day we are sitting here talking about the impact the coronavirus is having on businesses, but it does seem that the airlines are particularly struggling. the international air transport association has been warning that airlines could use more than 29 billion us dollars in revenue this year as a direct result of the coronavirus, and the global airline industry bodies predicting that demand forair bodies predicting that demand for air travel could fall for the first time in the decade, thatis the first time in the decade, that is since the financial crisis in early 2008, 2009. so airlines have already had to ta ke airlines have already had to take measures, they have been cutting flights in asia, they have suspended routes to china and that is because demand has dropped because people arejust too scared to travel at the moment and the iata estimates that chinese airlines are set to lose nearly 13 billion us

dollars, and that is just in the home market. of course those figures will be much worse if the coronavirus severely spreads outside that region. it is definitely going to bea region. it is definitely going to be a tough year airlines. very much. —— thank you very much. now let's brief you on some other business stories: human life "as we know it" could be threatened by climate change, economists atjp morgan have warned. in a hard—hitting report to clients, the economists said that without action being taken there could be "catastrophic outcomes". the bank said the research came from a team that was "wholly independent from the company as a whole". the us agency in charge of secure communication for the white house has been the victim of a cyber—attack. the us department of defence confirmed that computer systems controlled by the defence information systems agency had been hacked, exposing the personal data of about 200,000 people. the agency oversees military communications including calls for us president donald trump.

america's top cyber—security official has warned that the trump administration has not given up on its fight to stop the uk using huawei for its 56 networks. robert strayer, the us deputy assistant secretary for cyber and communications, told rory cellan—jones he did not believe the government's decision to give the chinese firm limited access was final. 0ur our understanding is that there might have been some initial decision for conversations are continuing. no part of a 56 network should be exposed to the chinese communist party and that includes the regular access network, where destruction of critical assets could occur. the government has been pretty clear that it has made its decision. it is allowing huawei to go ahead. what are you saying to the uk

government and do you have any belief that they may change their mind? as we said, if countries adopt untrustworthy vendor's in 56 technology it will jeopardise vendor's in 56 technology it willjeopardise our ability vendor's in 56 technology it will jeopardise our ability to share information at the highest levels. we must maintain the ability to share information, to conduct military and law enforcement operations at a rapid tempo. so we will keep working with the uk and understand, let them understand our views about the security risks and find a path forward. even if you don't watch the streaming tv hit, the mandalorian, chances are you're already familiar with one of its key characters. baby yoda has been all over social media since disney's latest star wars story hit our screens. and now the inevitable toys are about to hit the shelves, along with all manner of other merchandise. baby yoda is about to become big business. michelle fleury reports from new york. the mandalorian, disney plus's new star wars series,

has had a big impact on popular culture thanks to one small but central character. he's been a tv star for months already, a massive hit on social media and now finally the child, a.k.a. baby yoda, is available as a toy so you too can live out your memes. it's just a testament to the power of social media. the character was introduced in november and already it's become a worldwide phenomenon. given its success, why keep fans waiting? this lucasfilm executive defended the lack of official merchandise last christmas, a move that may have cost disney $3 million in sales. we live in a world where leaks are very difficult to manage so we all agreed we wouldn't release assets on the character until the show had aired and worked out. that secrecy created a similar problem when the first star wars films came out. back in 1977, there was no product development when the film came out. they ended up shipping

empty boxes to consumers, what was known as an early bird special so there is definitely a precedent. brands havejumped on board, and forget getting you hands on this baby yoda, it is already the biggest pre—selling funko pop figure of all time. and its partners are hoping that the popularity of the mandalorian and ba by that the popularity of the mandalorian and baby yoda will create the next big hit in the toy market, and that turning up late won't cost too much in profits. michelle fleury, bbc news. that's it for the business briefing this hour — i , news briefing. we will go through the stories making headlines in the global media. don't go away, we will see you

in. ——we will see you soon. a 62—year—old woman has been rescued from floodwaters in monmouthshire by three men. she was trapped on the roof of her carfor 12 hours. tomos morgan reports. this is what's left of the bridge... 8am, tuesday morning in monmouthshire. geoff handley, out for a stroll after storm dennis's deluge. the river wye at record high levels had broken its banks 50m or more onto geoff's local country road. in the distance, he spotted something, which the engineer quickly realised was a woman in trouble. i called to her. she responded with, "help me, help me!" and ijust said, "stay where you are, do not do anything, i need to get help." we need a plan, we need a plan here, boys. by the time my words had finished, he had his coat off, shirt off, coat off

and he went straight in. fearing for her life, the three men decided they had to take matters into their own hands. they traversed down this steep bank and waded through chest high water, carried her off the top of the car and then back onto the bank where they waited for the emergency services. make no doubt, i thought she was going to die. clearly, she had been stuck for 12 hours in one position. apart from when mark moved her, she was yelping. poor lady, but strong as an ox, i take my hat off to her. fantastic. as the 62—year—old woman recovers in hospital, the hangoverfrom dennis has also left others suffering across the country. norris george spent the night in looking after his 92—year—old mother in worcester. whilst on a visit to pontypridd, where the high street was under water

on sunday, labour leader jeremy corbyn criticised borisjohnson, labelling the uk government's response as wholly inadequate. number ten said they are speaking to emergency services, local authorities and the welsh government, ready to provide assistance when needed. the first minister here has already pledged £10 million to help those affected across wales. tomas morgan, bbc news, monmouth. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: in germany, large crowds have joined vigils for the nine people shot dead by a far—right extremist in the town of hanau. many were immigrants from turkey, one was romanian. police are investigating whether the gunman had accomplices. a 28—year—old new zealander who killed the british backpacker grace millane has been sentenced to life in prison. the man was convicted in november of strangling miss millane, hours after they met through a dating website. voting has begun in iran's parliamentary election, which is expected to strengthen the country's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. thousands of reformist candidates were barred from running and there have

been calls for a mass boycott. now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the morgenpost in germany asking: how many more people must die before we take right—wing terrorism seriously? that's after the racist shooting of nine people on wednesday. coronavirus still getting plenty of coverage in the media. city am among many reporting the outbreak will cost the airline industry around $30 billion. the conversation website covers another story getting a lot of attention, not only has a new antibiotic been discovered but in a medical first it was found by a computer using artificial intelligence. let's look at the front page of the financial times now. morgan stanley is buying online bank and trading platform etrade in what the paper says is the rush into retail and the biggest banking deal

since the financial crisis. and from a huge deal to what seems like a bargain on the bbc news site — that city centre property that's sold for a pound, but is inaccessible. laughter. there's always a catch, isn't there? always a catch with every bargain. with me is david buik, market commentator with core spreads. good to see you, david. and you. we will come to that flat ina you. we will come to that flat in a moment. let's start on the horrific events that took place in germany and the paper there, as you know, starkly asking when well right—wing extremism be taken seriously? you've really got to cast your mind back, the factions at the moment it is right—wing, in the ‘705 moment it is right—wing, in the ‘70s and 80s it was but a mind of going to cause chaos all over europe. and it really requires serious input from the german government. i think this was triggered in