this program is live captioned by red bee media. this is the business briefing. i'm samantha simmonds the sell—off continues. asian shares fall sharply after the dow racks up its biggest points loss on record. plus — out of office. is coronavirus forcing the world's biggest ever experiment in working from home? and here are those market numbers. those sharp losses continuing in asia after us shares lost more than 4% on thursday. it's shaping up to be the worst week on the markets since the financial crisis more than a decade ago.

we start with those markets because the sell—off on wall street has gathered pace as fears grow about the economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak. and the selling has continued in asia — we'll update you on that in a moment. it has been the worst day on wall street for almost a decade. the dow jones industrial average lost more than 1,100 points — its biggest points drop on record. all major us indices lost more than 4%. investors were particularly spooked by a warning from investment giant goldman sachs that the coronavirus could wipe out all growth in us corporate profits this year. from wall street, here's michelle fleury. investors like the rest of the world will try to figure out how far this might spread and what it might mean. you see businesses continue to close, travel being disrupted and

people staying at home. all of that not only has a human toll, it has an economic cost and thatis it has an economic cost and that is we are seeing pay—out in financial markets right now with the dowjones industrial average, the s&p 500 and nasdaq falling into correction surgery, falling into correction surgery, that is around io%. there have been lots of comparisons to the sars outbreak. back then, the us economy and china was far less integrated when it comes to supply chains than it is today. you see companies like apple saying there foxconn plant in china has been affected, that will affect the supply of iphones as that factory was closed and workers are now returning. but big consumer brands like starbucks, which operate in china, it is a big market for them. they are seeing community demand dropped off, they have had to close stores. united airlines and delta are basically looking at the spread of the epidemic to

countries like italy, saying they are going to offer waivers and flights to allow customers to change the dates of their travel to italy as a result of the spread of this epidemic. so thatis the spread of this epidemic. so that is the kind of thing that you are seeing, this economic cost mounting. and while it is still too soon in many ways to predict how long this will go on for, but is essentially what investors in wall street are trying to do. they tend to look forward and are trying to anticipate where this could go, and that is why you are seeing these falls day after day after day. michelle fleury with the latest from the us. that's jack on asian markets. mariko oi is in singapore —— let's jack. samantha, as you can imagine, it's been a tough week for asian investors. japan's nikkei open 2.5% lower, now down 4%.

hong kong's hang seng is down 2.596 hong kong's hang seng is down 2.5% at this hour. i have to say, asian markets have been reacting to the coronavirus are bred for almost a but initially it was mostly about china, how factory closures there may affect the global supply chain. but now the virus has spread well beyond china and asia, we are starting to see, as michelle mentioned, a site fall on while street and european shares as well. —— a sharp fall. and as michelle mentioned, a lot of experts have been comparing this to the sars, how any number of asian economies recovered rather quickly back then but now experts are starting to wonder whether we could see something similar this time. because it has become a global outbreak, really. mariko oi in singapore, thank you. that's the big picture in terms of the global economy and financial markets. but what about the disruption to everyday business around the world 7 business events and conferences are being cancelled — non—essential trips banned —

and in asia in particular staff are being advised not to come into the office. some employment experts are calling it the world's largest ever experiment in working from home. even injapan — famous for its long hours culture — the government is encouraging home working. the country's top bank mufg, top advertising agency dentsu and cosmetics giant shiseido are all encouraging staff to stay out of the office. the global business travel association says spending on business travel could slump by more than a third — meaning losses of over $46 billion dollars per month. it found most companies have simply cancelled all travel to china — with trips to neighbouring countries also cut back significantly. on thursday we spoke to the head of the us chambers of commerce in china about the impact on his members. they are clearly trying to manage as best they can do the unpredictability. it is safety first and the safety of their

employees and their business partners. and as a result of that, almost 95% of our member companies are working from home, working remotely, but at the same time trying to get back to work. again, with the condition that it is safety first. let's get more on this. tamzen isaacson is chief executive of the management consultancies association here in the uk. shejoins me now as she joins me now as you shejoins me now as you can see. good morning, thank you for coming in. good morning. let our businesses prepared for this? it is high on the agenda for global businesses and large businesses for sure. the impact on the supply chain and as you said with staff travelling overseas. businesses always have to deal with a level of risk and have crisis management plans in place. so many large businesses are looking at their businesses are looking at their business continuity plans and their crisis management plans and looking to see how they adapt them for the circumstances at the moment. i would say the most important thing is that we look at the government advice on what they

are saying on travel, and not overrea ct. are saying on travel, and not overreact. and it is really important that now businesses are communicating with both internal and external stakeholders, looking at the supply chain and really assessing short medium—term scenarios for the impact on businesses. companies deal with this ina businesses. companies deal with this in a very — it's all happening quite quickly, isn't it? events are taking place and businesses are being encouraged to work from home. obviously every business is individual, but how easy is it to adapt in a short—term scenario? but how easy is it to adapt in a short-term scenario? many businesses, the consulting sector for example, a very used to re m ote sector for example, a very used to remote working and agile working. they have the technology in order to do that. obviously it doesn't apply to all sectors and industries. so very much advice if you are thinking about staff, remote working, do you have the it and

infrastructure and connectivity and advice to staff to be able to do that? there is a huge amount of advice out there that is freely available both in terms of our member services, but also government advice and a huge amount of practical advice that companies can take. obviously, if there are more complex specialist requirements, then consultancy services are helping companies get through this period. there isa get through this period. there is a significant amount of work happening in europe and global, large businesses in the uk. for this was an overdue rethink on how businesses get their staff to travel around the world and also within the country when they work? there are many factors, climate change drives this as well, looking out our carbon footprint. many businesses already promote flexible working and remote working in order to get the

right staff working for firms but also to encourage international working as well. yes, it will increase the focus on working from home and the technology needed to do that and the policies and employment rules to go around that as well. thank you very much. now let's brief you on some other business stories. uk government plans for a multibillion—dollar road building programme could be challenged in court by environmentalists. thee plans, due to be published next month, don't take into account commitments on reducing emissions, the bbc has learned. on thursday, a court ruled that plans to expand heathrow had failed to take climate policies into account. shares in beyond meat slumped 10% after its quarterly earnings disappointed investors, and said its chairman, seth goldman, would step back from an executive role. the plant—based meat company has seen its stock rise four—fold since its stock market listing in may last year, but some now

see it as overvalued. that's it for the business briefing this hour. just a reminder of the markets now. we have heard from our correspondent in singapore, showing the new k there taking a massive hit, 4.32% the hang seng is down 2.78%. shares all around the world are heading for the worst week since the depth of the 2008 financial crisis as investors dig risky aspects on fears —— ditch risky aspects on fears —— ditch risky aspects on fears of the coronavirus. this is after we hear from goldman sachs saying knock—on effects could be huge and us firms could struggle to see any growth this year as a result. up next — news briefing — we'll take you through

the stories making headlines in the global news media today. goodbye for now. environmental activist greta thunberg will join a climate change protest in bristol later today, but police have voiced safety concerns over the size of the event. our reporterjohn maguire has been to meet the organisers. from a lonely protest on the steps of the sweetest parliament to the floor of the united nations in new york, greta thunberg has become a huge globalfigure. nowhere better illustrated than here, where an image of the teenager drowning in rising oceans stairs —— stares out on a bristol street. this was her profile picture for a number of

months. she got in contact with us months. she got in contact with us through me last thursday and we we re us through me last thursday and we were all very excited and she told us she wanted to have a stroke and she wanted tojoin us as a stroke and she wanted tojoin usasa a stroke and she wanted tojoin us as a striker on march. as they are held by younger children to prepare for today's demonstration, which they expect to be the biggest yet, the police have voiced concerns about safety if the crowd becomes too large. and schools are trying to strike the balance between encouraging stu d e nts to balance between encouraging students to act to prevent climate change while discouraging them from skipping lessons. by missing school, evenif lessons. by missing school, even if it is just one friday a month, you are putting yourself insta ntly month, you are putting yourself i nsta ntly o n month, you are putting yourself instantly on people's radars, you are not showing up, you are choosing to skip a day of your education because of something you feel so strongly and passionately about. it's kind of that little underestimation of that little underestimation of young people that suddenly makes more people listen and ta ke makes more people listen and take notice of it, i guess. to

the campaigners, it's important this is a strike, notjust a protest march. there way of signalling a commitment to protecting their and our future. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: both disney resorts injapan are to close for around a fortnight — the latest in a string of closures and cancellations caused by worries about the coronavirus. three quarters of new infections are now outside china. turkey has vowed to retaliate following the deaths of at least 33 turkish soldiers in air strikes least 33 turkish soldiers in airstrikes in least 33 turkish soldiers in air strikes in north—western syria on thursday. senior military commanders have gone to the syrian border to take charge of operations. police in hong kong say three high—profile pro—democracy figures have been arrested and charged in relation to an

anti—government protest last year. media proprietorjimmy lai and two politicians have been accused of illegal assembly. now, it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the mirror, who, like many others, are leading with the coronavirus. the paper says overstretched uk hospitals will be forced to treat only the patients most likely to survive if coronavirus takes hold in the country. meanwhile the japanese times reports prime minister shinzo abe has asked all elementary, junior high and high schools nationwide to close for over a month to limit the spread of the virus. according to the ft, the virus has triggered the worst run on markets since the financial crisis. the dow jones industrial average suffered its worst one—day fall as fears of a global pandemic hit investor confidence. in other news, the independent says the expansion of heathrow airport looks doomed after the government announced it would not challenge a devastating court ruling against the controversial project. the high court ruled ruled

the buidling of a third runway "unlawful" by failing to take into account the uk's climate change commitments. the daily mail says canada has refused to keep guarding the duke and duchess of sussex and baby son archie after they step down as working royals. the canadian government has confirmed it has been helping to guard the couple since they settled on vancouver island but would no longer pay for their security after march 31. and finally, on the independent‘s website, the pope has called on catholics to give up insulting each other during lent. he urged followers to stop being cruel to each other online, in response to a world "polluted by too much verbal violence". with me is eileen burbidge who's a technology entrepreneur and partner at passion capital. let's begin with the daily mirror. virus panics, pictures of people wearing masks on the london tube, and more details

of just how the london tube, and more details ofjust how the nhs, it