let's go live to the british chambers of commerce conference, where shadow brexit secretary sir keir we said that out, and unfortunately, rather than engage with that set of proposals, the prime minister has, as you know, ploughed on with the same deal that she first agreed way backin same deal that she first agreed way back in november, and for all the toing and froing, all the number of times the prime minister said i'm going to have further discussions across the house with brussels, not one word of the withdrawal agreement or political declaration has been changed. those two documents were first published on the 14th of november and first agreed on the 25th of november, and not one word has changed. they have been put up ones, they have been put up twice, and now it is anticipated and rumoured that the prime minister is going to have another go tomorrow. to put the same package again takes the meaning out of a meaningful vote. i do not think it is going to work. the deal has been widely rejected. and the reason we have rejected. and the reason we have rejected it is primarily beca

the british chambers of commerce says this new tariff regime, if it comes into effect, would be, an unwelcomeor—general saying that the abruptness director—general saying that the abru ptness of changes director—general saying that the abruptness of changes would create winners and losers across uk industry overnight. that is the regime of tariffs that we heard sally talking about in westminster a little earlier. you can read more on that. you're watching business live, our top story: tariffs on a range of goods from outside the european union will be cut if britain leaves the eu without a deal. those plans have been published after the british parliament again rejected thersea may's deal for leaving the eu. so, what's the reaction in the rest of europe been to yesterday's vote? arnaldo abruzzini, chief executive of eurochambres, the association of european chambers of commerce and industry. he joins us from brussels. what are people saying to you there? we are coming down from the storytelling of politics to the reality of the economy. and the reality of the economy. and the reality is about

the head of the british chambers of commerce is today accusing politicians of ‘letting business down‘ption‘. he‘s not alone. on wednesday the institute of directors warned there was "deep frustration and anger among companies" over the government‘s handling of brexit so far. the iod also published a survey of m00 of its members on their preferred brexit option. 6 out of 10 want to keep eu single market trading arrangements. on monday the confederation of british industry called brexit a "national emergency". it‘s among business groups across europe that have warned that nobody is ready for a possible no—deal brexit —which could mean disruption to flights, drug supply shortages and interruptions to vital data—sharing. there are ways of improving no deal a little bit more. know what is ready, not the uk, not the eu. no—one is going to be ready for no deal but there are ways we can make sure the costs for citizens on the uk and eu side are lower. tim martin is the founder and chairman of thejd wetherspoon pub chain and a vocal brexit supporter who gave financial backing to vote leave cam

we start with some economic forecasts from the british chambers of commerce — it doesn't think the uk growth ofjust1.2% in 2019 down from 1.3%, and 1.3% down from 1.5% for 2020. it blames in part the uncertainty around brexit. suren thiru is head of economics at the british chambers of commerce you do mention broader factors aswell like given all the uncertainty around brexit, how valid are the forecasts? how can you forecast a lower growth? we ta ke how can you forecast a lower growth? we take a view back from businesses across the uk, but there is a great deal of uncertainty. our view is based on a smooth exit from the eu. what we are seeing is that more brexit uncertainty is one of the key factors driving weaker outlook. it is hitting key markets like the eurozone, having and impact on the uk's prospects. giving stark warnings were given prior to the referendum, george osborne warned of unemployment soaring, a shock to the economy, on a permit is doing quite well at the moment and the economy hasn't contracted. —— unemployment is doing quite well. we are seeing growth over the next

the british chambers of commerce warns. . . he ads group, the uk trade body for aerospace, defence, security and space sector, strikes a similar tone. he says... i am joined by ann francke, chief executive at the chartered management institute. nice to see you. we are getting regular updates on what you think about all of this. give us your take on how this week has gone so far, and what it means for people who are trying to run businesses are. ride, firstly, the great irony is that all of this was about taking back control and now we have a total loss of. businesses are fed up with pushing the cliff edge to the right. if we do have a delaet needs to be a meaningful delay that comes up with a destination, with a businesses have always favoured a softer form of brexit. the chancellor hinted at this yesterday when they said they might do something sensible, like build a cross—party coalition and consensus of reasonableness. that, i think, is what businesses would welcome. when we talk about a delay, what we are most are discussing

vitriol that from adam marshall he's the director general of the british chambers of commerce which is made up of fifty three local business groups in britain he says business is of him failed over and over again by westminster in recent months but allowing a messy and disorderly exit on march the twenty ninth would take political negligence to new extremes he says this must not be allowed to happen whether by default or by design that's pretty strong words there from the business little business leaders really in britain the pound is also in a bit of a rollercoaster these days isn't it yeah it's had a really turbulent couple of days i mean first of all at the start of the week it rose quite high actually because the optimism surrounding what it seemed like was a legally binding concessions from the you for to resume a bit yesterday when there was this official u.k. legal advice saying actually not that much has changed as a result of those concessions most of those gains were wiped out because investors saw that this vote was going to once again reject to reason may's deal it's been s

exactly to prepare for they are not alone a new report by orders a k p m g and the british chamber of commerce in germany suggests businesses elsewhere of the e.u. are too struggling to get ready in time or whatever breaks it will look like. putting aside talk of having one's cake and eating it german confection is it just some of the european traders who want they could struggle with a disorderly breck's it the result of a survey published on thursday suggests forty seven percent of german firms with interests in the u.k. are under prepared for what its departure from the you could bring. with us is physical and that's alarming certainly it also reflects the uncertainty of a situation in which all scenarios is still on the table as of today and that it is difficult for companies to prepare for all of those scenarios and therefore hoping for a political solution and in particular that there will be a long a transition period in which companies can prepare for specific scenarios you go as far as the quality is it will move forward. not one of the one hundred one companies question for the surve

let's turn to brexit now — because the head of the british chambers of commerce has launched an attackg of the issue — accusing them of letting business down — and urging them to stop "chasing rainbows". adam marshall told business leaders at their annual conference in london that the uk is not in any position to leave the eu without a deal or a transition period. 0ne one thing is very clear. the uk is not ready for abrupt change. government and many of its agencies are simply not ready. many businesses are not ready. nor is the general public. some of our business communities, particularly in places like kent and northern ireland would be acutely affected overnight. too many radical questions remain unanswered. no—one would run a business like this. and it is no way to runa business like this. and it is no way to run a country. let's go to asia now, where china's tech giant huawei says it made record revenues last year, despite controversy around the world over the security of its products. sales of its smartphones soared — it may be on track to leapfrog apple and samsung to become th

claire walker from the british chamber of commerce thank you very much. ing on as a separation of uk domestic law and european law set done by the council last week. exactly. the eu said it would give the uka exactly. the eu said it would give the uk a longer extension of the article 50 period the 22nd of may if mps approve the withdrawal agreement by the end of this week. so far what we have been having votes on is the divorce issues alongside the political declaration. what the government is trying to do and what it is doing tomorrow is holding a vote exclusively on withdrawal and hoping to try and settle their disputes over the relationship over the next couple of weeks. looking at that withdrawal act today there a line in it that says both parts of the deal have to be ratified. if they are not going to ratify a political declaration because they can‘t come to an agreement or coalesce around a future way forward they would have to change the law and reflect that in with the withdrawal act. you have to approve both to ratify the withdrawal agreement beca

citizens, european citizens here and brits abroad who have no idea about this stop with the british chambers of commerceembers there. about how they were unable to conduct their business. john we mentioned their business. john we mentioned the ft and we mentioned there front pages... it's interesting and if we we re pages... it's interesting and if we were living in normal times these sort of stories would have a lot more attention. earlier this week, there was a summit in paris hosted by president emmanuel macron with the chinese president chichi payne and angela burkett was there. and you have —— angela merkel was there along with china's xi jinping. you see multilateral discussions going on. but there is a serious and shoot —— issue where the chinese have bought out the italians, the italian far left and far right government have sold off their country to the chinese by signing up to this belgian road crate —— trade complex which subjugates them to chinese interests. and huawei, a huge toco provider, the americans particular services and the brits are worried about the security of our telecom system

i was talking with the british chamber of commerce about how worrying that is. s that meaning for investors? do they see a spill over to other parts of the market, or a very idiosyncratic u.k. story? >> now that the risk of a no deal is kind of reduced, and the prospect of a soft brexit is climbing, i think market reaction to any brexit-related has littlend of, impact on the market. the little impact on sterling this week, one example of fatigue from the market. is becoming increasingly a u.k.-focused political issue. nejra: it is interesting, because that sort of lack of movement we have seen in cable could be attributed to fatigue, but also just uncertainty of where we go from here. one thing i find interesting. you pointed out that we have seen inflows into u.k. focused etf's. why is that? morgane: investors are seeing compelling valuations in the u.k., outweighing the political risk in the u.k. so we are seeing net inflows year to date into u.k. focused etf's, contrasting with what we saw last year, net outflows on the year for u.k. etf's. nejra: that is inte

the head of the british chambers of commerce is today accusing politicians of "letting business down"ss disruption". he's not alone. on wednesday, the institute of directors warned there was "deep frustration and anger among companies" over the government's handling of brexit so far. the iod also published a survey of m00 of its members on their preferred brexit option. six out of ten want to keep eu single market trading arrangements. on monday the confederation of british industry called brexit a "national emergency". it's among business groups across europe that have warned that nobody is ready for a possible no—deal brexit — which could mean disruption to flights, drug supply shortages and interruptions to vital data—sharing. with us is nicole sykes, head of eu negotiations at the confederation of british industry. welcome. last time i saw you we were outside parliament on college green and it doesn't feel like we are any further forward. businesses are looking on with a bit of despair right now. politicians are running round in circles and the economy isn't doing as well as it sh

deadlock, businesses from around the uk are in london today for the annual meeting of the british chambers of commercee bcc has accused politicians of letting business down and risking mass disruption over brexit and he's not alone. on monday the confederation of british industry, the cbi, called brexit a national emergency. nicole sykes is the head of eu negotiations for that organisation. i think the majority of business leaders disagree with the position that they have nothing to fear and they have asked for certainty throughout the process and they still haven't got it, have they? that is right. businesses are shaking their heads this morning saying when we going to make some progress? you have got to remember that what is happening in westminster is having an effect on businesses right now. we have heard from financial services this week saying that confidence is at its lowest level since the financial crisis. figures from the automotive industry show that production is down for the ninth month in a row, down for the ninth month in a row, down 15%. it is having an effect right now on businesses a

vote sayinger the enough is enough to the british chambers of commerce saying businesses have been failing again. this putting a damper on growth, curbing investment, causing trouble for the bottom line. >> what about the possibility of a second referendum step? this in choices she says parliament may face. take a listen. will have to answer that question. does it wish to revoke article 50? doesn't want to hold a second referendum? does it wants to leave with a deal? -- on enviable choices. they are choices that must know be fixed. passionate cheers and boos at the mention of a second referendum. those in favor who will see a boost, the threat of brexit may make the hardliners back her deal. many did not end up doing that. it seems they fear her deal more than another vote. they may be justified in that respect. noing herself she sees evidence people have changed their minds. if we get a second referendum, return. get a similar the british people saying they want brexit and that leads us no closer to a resolution. >> thank you so much for the latest on brexit. presidentw, the vice -- great

british chambers of commerce at its members were frustrated and angry and felt they had been let down by the government. we in business must make it clear that our elected represenentativess cannot k keep chasing rainbows. like all of us in business they need to start making tough decisions however personally orr politically diffificult. day may be. because all of us in business want to move on from this and get back to talking about creating the best possible environment for businesses to thrive. in every part of this united kingdom. the town has been dropping since the inconclusive results of those votes on wednesday evenin. sterling had been trading fairly steadily around a dollar thirty two cents for the last week or so. yeah it has now dropped to a dollar thirty it's down 1% as you can see there against thehe dollar i stand against the euroo as well trading at about one your of sixteen anil saying there is still a certain amount of resistance. to what could be a very volatile situation in the coming weeks. now that we can boost at london's footsie one hundred a weaker currency te

british business. well, today we had one of the starkest warnings yet. the head of the british chambers of commerceall, couldn't have been clearer when he took aim at politicians. "you have let british business down," he said. our business editor simon jack reports now on the impact brexit is having on some firms. where do you go to escape from brexit? how about this caravan and camping site in dorset? hello. hi there. pat and john headed back from spain in time for the original brexit date because they had so many unanswered questions. insurance, motor home travelling insurance, our private medical. a big thing for us is our mobile phone roaming charges, because that's the only communications we have when we are abroad. there is also the delays on the other side of the channel. there's also things like our driving licences. we don't know if they stack up. and the dogs? we don't know about how their passports stack up. we don't know about blood testing, the rabies jab. real questions that are affecting real life choices and creating some business winners and losers. all the quality ones are german.

the head of the british chambers of commerce said mps needed to stop "chasing rainbows".nnual conference that uncertainty is causing "real world damage" to the uk economy. our business editor simon jack looks now at the daily pressure on british companies. where do you go to escape from brexit? how about this caravan and camping site in dorset? hello. hi there. pat and john headed back from spain in time for the original brexit date because they had so many unanswered questions. insurance, motor home travelling insurance, our private medical. a big thing for us is our mobile phone roaming charges, because that's the only communications we have when we are abroad. there's also the delays on the other side of the channel. there's also things like our driving licences. we don't know if they stack up. and the dogs? we don't know about how their passports stack up. we don't know about blood testing, the rabies jab. real questions affecting real life choices, and creating some business winners and losers. all the quality ones are german. campsite owner dave is one of the few wi

the head of the british chambers of commerce said mps needed to stop "chasing rainbows".erence that uncertainty was causing "real world damage" to the uk economy. our business editor simon jack looks at the daily pressure on companies. where do you go to escape from brexit? how about this caravan and camping site in dorset? hello. hi there. pat and john headed back from spain in time for the original brexit date because they had so many unanswered questions. insurance, motor home travelling insurance, our private medical. a big thing for us is our mobile phone roaming charges, because that's the only communications we have when we're abroad. there's also the delays on the other side of the channel. there's also things like our driving licences. we don't know if they stack up. and the dogs? we don't know about how their passports stack up. we don't know about blood testing, the rabies jab. real questions affecting real life choices and creating some business winners and losers. all the quality ones are german. campsite owner dave is one of the few winners. we're having a f

the british chambers of commerce has been holding its annual conference just the other side of parliamentstanding. its director—general is pleading with politicians to stop chasing rainbows. simon gompertz is here. it is the not knowing which is driving them mad, and they say they are angry and frustrated, but it is basically two things: still the possibility people are talking about of no deal, but also all these new ideas people are talking about, mps are talking about, of doing brexit, and that is what is worrying them and that is what is worrying them and what they say is killing them, the uncertainty. this is what the director—general of the chambers of commerce had to say. businesses are trying to operate in an environment of extreme uncertainty. some are making a good fist of it, but some are having real difficulty is, either getting their goods to where they need to be, getting contracts signed or getting investments through, and the system isjust gummed up for too many businesses. just a few hundred yards up the road here, they have had ministers coming in to try and reassure the

points, lobbying groups coming out with fiery language saying enough is enough very of the british chambers of commerce saying businesses have been .ailed over and over again these guys are exhausted by this process because you have all this uncertainty that has been escalating. it has put a lid on growth and none of that is good for business. tell me about sterling and what it is pricing. it seems like people are looking at discounting the possibility of a no deal and britain crashing out of the eu. >> one of your charts earlier showed the pound is the best-performing currency this year. it is up almost 3%. so traders in the pound must like something going on. i think what they like, most of all, is this sense of gridlock or stagnation. whatever form brexit takes, it will create uncertainties and changes for businesses that they may not be ready for. delays it or kicks the can down the road i think from the point of view of the pound investor is good news. the latest readings i have heard there is anis that increased chance of a delay, and there is an increased chance of referendum that might make all

yesterday the british chamber of commerce told mps their members needed certainty — pleading with politicians today's vote made any difference? joining me now is iain anderson, executive chairman of cicero —britain's biggest independent lobbying consultants. what is your reaction to what has happened today? more horror from a business point of view. we are stuck. i think we are stuck in a maze. it is absolutely impenetrable and we heard we are having a deal, no deal, the flip—flopping on this from politicians is just no deal, the flip—flopping on this from politicians isjust driving business is absolutely crazy. the real problem is that nobody can plan in this environment. we do not know where we are heading and frankly, at the moment i cannot tell you or are businesses that i advise, where we are heading in the middle of all best politics. we need some certainty and we need some options to give major businesses and smes some idea as to where the politics is taking us. what has been the impact so farof is taking us. what has been the impact so far of the process we have been through because w

alix: the british chamber of commerce is having its annual meeting at westminster. spoke to london mayor sadiq khan, whose has the best thing to do is to revoke article 50. han: no matter what you feel about brexit, it is clear the process is been a complete and utter mess. what is clear is the option that got the largest amount of support from mp's was the one that gives the british public a so-called confirmatory vote, where whatever deal was passed by parliament, the british public gets to say whether they would accept the option or stay in the european union. what is clear is the partisan gridlock, and that is why the best thing to do is just withdraw article 50 to take the rush away, and give the british public a say with the option of staying. anna: you have been calling for that, for revoking article 50. it doesn't seem to be part of your party's policy. is it too late for that policy? mayor khan: reversing article 50 instead of extension after extension, we are rushing an agreement because of an artificial deadline because the prime minister decided to invok

uncertainty over brexit is already doing "real world damage" to the uk economy, according to the british chambers of commerceich represents some 75,000 businesses, says its members are "angry and frustrated", and that mps need to stop "chasing rainbows" when it comes to resolving the brexit deadlock. bbc news has learned that government officials never met the backers of seaborne freight, the company contracted to run ferries in the event of a no—deal brexit, despite not having any ships. a freedom of information request revealed no officials or ministers met with arklow shipping, the irish company which later withdrew its support for the route between kent and belgium. the government stressed that e—mails and calls were exchanged and called suggestions they should hold face—to—face meetings with contracted companies ridiculous. two weeks since cyclone idai devastated parts of mozambique, health officials are warning of an outbreak of cholera. tests have so far confirmed five cases, as communities struggle to deal with the aftermath of the storm, which has left more than 500 people dead. nomsa maseko reports

chambers of commerce declaring that the chaos is absolute. we saw some really frustrated take from the head of the british institute of directors keep business lobby. the merry go round continues to spend but the fun stopped a long time ago. we are running out of words to express how sick business leaders are of being stuck in this spirit stopping limbo. the inability to make any decision is doing lasting damage to enterprise. the pound is also slumped following that vote in parliament. it had lost about one third of 1% against the dollar today. now trading at about one dollar anand thirty cents still on trak for its biggest monthly loss in five months. turning to today's trading action marketing us trending upwardrd the s. and p. five hundred sett to post its best quarterly performance in more than n nine years. investors also reactcting to the us china trade talks which wrapped up earlier in the day in beijing. they're optimistic that an end maybe insight to the country's costly trade dispute. the twenty one hundred meanwhile monday also saw some sligight gains that section because a weaker pound mean stronger exports from any of the compa

chamber of commerce executive vice president. we have breaking news from the united kingdom. the britishmmons speaker has blocked theresa may's plan to put the brexit deal to another vote. the pound is lower and emma chandra joins us from london. a good day to be in london. emma: definitely in the right place. the pound is falling, hitting session lows as the speaker of the house of commons has said prime minister theresa may cannot bring her vote to another vote in parliament. he said she cannot bring it to parliament unchanged because -- he is blocking her plan to bring that deal back for what will be a third meaningful vote, saying it needs to be changed in order for that to be possible. we've mentioned the pound falling. also taking a look at gold. gold has been rising. a haven asset has been doing --ter as we have seen brexit. that is something was been talking about a great deal over the past few weeks and years. david: further uncertainty of her brexit. who would have thought it. more balance of power is next. this is bloomberg. ♪ david: and out the said note. noted economist alan

businesses are tearing out their hair, the british chambers of commerce will say today, westminster,some responsibility?” british business down. do you take some responsibility? i really wish we we re some responsibility? i really wish we were having the about what form of brexit parliament would like to see two years ago. do you take some responsibility? i think what needs to happen now, and this is when the spotlight is on politicians, is we've got to make compromises and work pragmatically to find a deal. there is no way around this. people can't be big headed, we are going to have to find compromises we can work around. definitely not mrs may's deal if it comes back for a third time? we know that the prime minister's party doesn't agree with her deal so that is dead in the water in el. thank you. i've had an e—mail that says, does borisjohnson think i've had an e—mail that says, does boris johnson think we i've had an e—mail that says, does borisjohnson think we are all stupid? now he sees the potential to become leader he is prepared to back her deal. revoke article 50 now but p

of talk about the way british business is going and coping with brexit. joining me now is sarah howard, the vice chair of the british chambers of commerce. he trees, and that is for three reasons. firstly because of the state of the pound, europeans not finding it so financially viable to come over anymore, they are unsure of their status and they are feeling particularly welcome. so what can you do about this sort of thing?” think we can give them some answers, it's as simple as that. as business, we need to plan ahead, notjust for next week or next year, we plan for five years ahead and that is what we would like to see, some proper planning so we can get on with business. what about a skills shortage, in some ways it has caused rages —— micro wages to rise up a little bit. that‘s not too bad, is it? where we have a massive skills shortage a veil, and as brexit continues we will have to provide our own skilled labour and that is lacking at the moment. there are so many places, i have one company i speak to, many places, i have one company i speakto, and many places, i have one company i speak to, and they have 22 skilled vacancies at th

the british chamber of commerce says brexit is doing "real world damage" and they've warned mps to stop "chasing rainbows" when it comes to breaking the deadlock. fallout from the grefnell tower fire could have contiminated the soil surrounding it. a report highlights fears of an increased risk of cancer and respiratory problems. the clear—up continues two weeks since a devastating cyclone hit parts of southern africa. the death toll is still rising. a 65—year—old british woman who doesn't feel pain is one ofjust two known cases in the world. she only found out recently when she didn't need painkillers after major surgery. good morning. i'm annita mcveigh at westminster where the government is intensifying efforts to rescue theresa may's brexit deal after a number of conservative backbenchers and the dup said they wouldn't support it. it comes despite the prime minister's pledge to tory mps that she'll quit if the withdrawal agreement is backed. into further disarray last night after mps rejected all eight alternatives to mrs may's deal. our political correspondent, alex forsyth reports

the british chambers of commerce met in london today. hey‘re annoyed about is the uncertainty and the fact they‘ve had to spend money preparing for a range of bad outcomes without knowing which course politica ns are eventually going to decide upon. some examples, the drug company astrazeneca spent £40 million stockpiling drugs in case of a no—deal brexit sony has of a no—deal brexit, sony has moved its european headquarters to the netherlands to avoid customs issues that might arise. and barclays has moved nearly $200 billion of assets from london to dublin in case it loses the right conduct investment activities in europe. this article by the bbc‘s economics correspondent darshini david going into more detail about the number ofjobs going into more detail about the number of jobs was potential with connection to brexit. the london didn‘t wordpad site mayor says it‘s likely to be over tomorrow. and we do not know howjobs will be impact was the uk leaves. let‘s hear from the british chambers of commerce again. one thing is for preclear. t

the head of the british chambers of commerce says the uncertainty surrounding brexit is causing "realo resolving the brexit impasse. he called the uncertainty over a potential no—deal scenario — the "brexit black hole" — and its gravitational pull has already sapped energy, investment and business confidence. with me is edwin morgan from the institute of directors. lots of them talking at the qe2 sent around the corner today just lots of them talking at the qe2 sent around the corner todayjust a few hundred yards away from the comments. there are so exasperated, aren‘t they? comments. there are so exasperated, aren't they? they are. completely and utterly fed up with what is going on. the fact that it is so late in the day and we are just stuck. we still don‘t know what is going to happen in the next couple of weeks let alone the next few months. let alone the final relationship with the eu which is the only thing that businesses care about. what i think of theresa may's withdrawal agreement generally?” don‘t think businesses are really thinking about it in the same way that mps are.