kamal ahmed, thank you very indeed, economics editor. removing an egg from an omelette?ter ana cuddeford is investment director at m&g. welcome. we were all listening to kamal ahmed and it's a very significant day in this brexit saga. at how helpful is it, do you think, for businesses or individuals to have this kind of go to document to tell them what to do if there isn't a deal? i think the government has to do something. clearly as we know from financial markets' perspective people don't like uncertainty. markets don't like uncertainty so it isa markets don't like uncertainty so it is a good thing there is some kind of guidance out there. the focus is on the fact we still don't know what is going to happen so a lot of these trade talks and sort of negotiations quite often don't come about until right at the very last moment. there isa right at the very last moment. there is a lot of brinksmanship and it is absolutely necessary to be prepared, but at the same time i think we have to continue to watch developments. let's talk about the fed because we had the minutes fro

we'll get into the nitty gritty with our economics editor kamal ahmed.s the british government weighs up the health benefits of vaping — we want to know do you think e—cigs help people quit? are you worried about the health risks? let us know — just use the hashtag bbcbizlive hello and welcome to business live. we start here in the uk where there's been a major boost for the e—cigarette industry. a report by parliament's science and technology committee says vaping is far less harmful than smoking and should be subject to lighter regulation. this could mean rules being relaxed on the advertising of e—cigarettes and taxes on them being cut. which would further boost an already booming industry. the global market was worth around $15 billion last year. that's just a fraction of the market for regular cigarettes, but it's growing fast. it's a trend big tobacco is well aware of. european market leader british american is investing more than $600 million in ‘next generation‘ vaping products and others in the industry are following. but it's a hugely controver

kamal ahmed there.ark one year since a terrorist attack which killed 16 people and injured more than 150. the country's prime minister and the spanish king will attend a gathering to honour the victims on friday. so—called islamic state claimed responsibility for the 2017 attack. andrew plant reports. flowers and messages of remembrance played in the place the attack began flowers and messages of remembrance layed in the place the attack began here on 17 august last year. it happened in the height of summer. a van driven through the crowds on this busy spanish street. by the time it stopped, dozens were seriously injured. translation: i remember the sound of the engine as it hit against the people. the van was only a metre away from me, less than a metre, and it didn't touch us, and then it left that trail of death and pain. now survivors and relatives of those killed are returning to las ramblas to remember the lives lost one year ago. we wanted to come of course and remember my father and also remembe

kamal ahmed, bbc news. some idea of what a no—deal brexit could mean for business.ndividuals? judith moritz has been trying to find out. time keeps on ticking towards brexit day. seven months till the 29th of march, but what would a no—deal brexit look like for you and me? in the event of that happening, it could prove more expensive for brits to shop within the eu. whether you're going there on holiday or shopping here online, if you use your cards to make a payment, the chances are the bill could go up, because at the moment there's a ban which stops you being stung with a surcharge for using your cards. but that will stop. and if you're receiving a parcel in from the eu there could be further costs, because goods wouldn't be eligible for vat relief. what if you've decided to escape this weather and move abroad? there are warnings for expats who live in the eu but do their banking or have pensions orfinancial products in the uk. under a no—deal scenario, moving their money and getting access to funds will be even harder. adam colbeck lives between london and prove

kamal ahmed, bbc news. salisbury nerve agent attack. he has been giving his first speech in the united states as foreign secretary, and said unity among allies was crucial. today, the united kingdom asks its allies to go further. by calling on the european union to ensure its sanctions against russia are comprehensive, and that we truly stand shoulder—to—shoulder with the us. that means calling out and responding to transgressions with one voice, wherever and whenever they occur, from streets of salisbury to the heart of crimea. the home secretary has apologised to 18 members of the so—called windrush generation, after a review found that they may have been wrongfully removed from the uk or detained. the windrush generation refers to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants, who moved to the uk from the caribbean and other commonwealth states, between 19118 and 1971, but they were never given proper documentation. almost 12,000 cases have been re—examined. sajid javid says he's committed to "righting the wro

kamal ahmed, bbc news. so, what does a no deal brexit mean for ordinary people across the uk?moritz reports. time keeps on ticking towards brexit day. seven months until the 29th of march. but what would a no—deal brexit macro look like for you and me? in the event of that happening it could prove more expensive for brits to shop within the eu. whether you are going there on holiday or shopping here online, if you use your card to make a payment, the chances are the bill could go up. at the moment there is a ban which stops you being stung with a surcharge for using your cards. but that would stop. if you are receiving a parcel from the eu, there could be further costs because goods will no longer be eligible for vat relief. what if you have decided to escape this weather and move abroad? there are warnings for ex pats abroad? there are warnings for expats who live in the eu but do their banking or have pensions and financial products in the uk. under ano financial products in the uk. under a no deal scenario, moving their money, getting access to funds, would even harder. ada

kamal ahmed, bbc news.uld mean for british businesses, but what impact could it have on individuals? judith moritz has been trying to find out. time keeps on ticking towards brexit day. seven months till the 29th of march, but what would a no—deal brexit look like for you and me? in the event of that happening, it could prove more expensive for brits to shop within the eu. whether you're going there on holiday or shopping here online, if you use your cards to make a payment, the chances are the bill could go up, because at the moment there's a ban which stops you being stung with a surcharge for using your cards. but that will stop. and if you're receiving a parcel in from the eu there could be further costs, because goods wouldn't be eligible for vat relief. what if you've decided to escape this weather and move abroad? there are warnings for expats who live in the eu but do their banking or have pensions orfinancial products in the uk. under a no—deal scenario, moving their money and getting access to fun

here's our economics editor kamal ahmed.on economic strength — which countries have it, and which could be at risk. economically, america looks attractive to many investors — who move billions of dollars around the globe. us growth is strong — 4.1% — the highest since 2014. interest rates are also rising — to 2%. higher interest rates mean higher returns. and the dollar is strong — at a 13—month high against the main world currencies. this man is lapping it up. once again, we are the economic envy of the entire world. when i meet the leaders of countries, the first thing they say, invariably, is, "mr president, so nice to meet you, congratulations on your economy". america is winning again because we are finally putting america first. everywhere we look, we are seeing the effects of the american economic miracle. not all the effects are positive. turkey has been a recent victim. it has high levels of debts, there are fears over its economic strength, and it is engaged in a trade war with the us. its currency has been under r

as the chancellor comes under pressure to spend more on public services, our economics editor, kamal ahmedow november's budget could be affected. the requests for more money are already rolling in. from a prison service under pressure, for more police officers to fight crime, for high spending on defence, and a multi—billion pound commitment for hospitals. yes, better borrowing figures mean the treasury has more wiggle room on spending, but caution is still the order of the day. we had great figures today for the public finances, but, at the same time, the government is already committed for additional spend on the nhs, which means that, overall, the chancellor is more or less where he started and there is not a lot of extra spend that he could use in the autumn budget. the story of government borrowing over the last 18 years is a story about our economy. if we go back to 2000, the government was actually raising more in taxes than it was spending on public services. that is what is called a surplus down here on the graph. then the financial crisis hit, followed by recession, and borrowing

0ur economics editor kamal ahmed reports growing three times as fast as britain, the young and dynamica's economic story in microcosm, a small economy fighting poverty and allegations of political corruption, but with big ambitions to trade confidently with britain and the rest of the world. the message that we have is, all we are interested in our win—win proposals that actually unable all of us to take advantage of the opportunities that exist to create mutually beneficial prosperity. so what is the value of the uk's trade with africa? let's ta ke the uk's trade with africa? let's take the top five economies in africa for britain's exports for goods. 0ver africa for britain's exports for goods. over the last ten years and has not been a huge amount of change, between five and £7 billion a year. that might sound like a lot, but it is less than we export to for example spain. in total, we export 8.4 billion pounds of goods to africa every year. it sounds pretty good. the total amount we export to the european union, £164.1 billion. and what about the pm's pledge to be the biggest forei

our economics editor kamal ahmed reports growing three times as fast as britain with a young and dynamics africa's economic story in microcosm, a small growing three times as fast as britain, with a young and dynamic population, kenya is africa's economic story in microcosm, a small economy still fighting poverty and allegations of political corruption, but with big ambitions to trade it with britain and the rest of the world. the message that we have is all we are interested in our win—win it will enable all of us to take advantage of the opportunities that exist to create mutual beneficial prosperity. so, what is the value of the uk's trade with africa? let's ta ke the uk's trade with africa? let's take the top five economies in africa for british exports of goods. over the last ten years there has not been a huge amount of change, between five and £7 billion a year. that might sound like a lot, but it is less than we export to, for example, spain. in totalwe is less than we export to, for example, spain. in total we export £8.1i example, spain. in total we export £8.4 billion of goods

our economics editor kamal ahmed has been looking at the numbers and joins me now.t is the value of the uk's with africa. let's take the top five economies in africa for britain's exports for goods — they include nigeria and south africa which the pm is visiting. over the last ten years, there's not been a huge amount of change — between £5 billion and £7 billion a year. that might sound like a lot — but it's less than we export to, for example, spain. in total we export £8.4 billion of goods to africa every year. again, sounds pretty good. but the total amount we export to the european union? — £i64.i billion. so, what about the pm's pledge to be the biggest foreign investor in africa amongst the g7 countries — those are the largest economies in the world. well, we are nearly there already. the us invests £44.3 billion a year. the uk invests £42.7 billion. and, france — the third biggest g7 investor in africa? £38 billion. but look at this — china is racing up the league table. in 2011 the country invested £17.8 billion in africa. in 2016 that figure had grown to £

as the chancellor comes under pressure to spend more on public services, our economics editor, kamal ahmed affected. he's with me now. thanks very much. the story of government borrowing over the last 18 years is a story about our economy. back in 2000, when the economy was stronger, the government was actually raising more in taxes than it was spending on public services. borrowing fell, creating what's called a surplus — here in green on the graph. but then the financial crisis hit, followed by recession — and borrowing ballooned as the amount of tax paid fell and government costs rose. then came austerity and a slow economic recovery — leading to today's better figures. but why was the chancellor philip hammond's reaction to these better figures this — "we must not be complacent"? because the overall debt of the government — the total amount it has borrowed over years and years, is this — £1.8 trillion. that's £1.8 million million. the government is committed to bringing that figure down. the figures at the moment are significantly better than expected. it still leaves the chancellor wi

joining us is our economics editor, kamal ahmed.ome in a bit late on this one. i think you might be right that some would say that. i have had little luck of world leaders who have visited africa over the past few months, and it is quite a long list. angela merkel is going from germany, the red rum odiete from india, xi jinping from china, emanuel mammana from france. theresa may is not the first leader to think that they could be opportunities. and in an economy like nigeria, population growth as well is very strong. the problem is that in terms of their actual size, these economies are pretty small. the whole of sub saharan africa's economy is about half the size in growth value as france, and that just half the size in growth value as france, and thatjust shows the contrast, so at the time that britain is leaving the european union, yes, some more trade with africa could be helpful, but it is not going to cover any gaps that might grow between british trade and european union trade. from africa's perspective, what can we offer, a

here's our economics editor kamal ahmed, with his analysis of what a no deal might mean for business.urance companies of the city of london, a sector that neatly sums up the challenges of a no—deal brexit. it's a sector that is closely intertwined with the rest of the european union. it's important economically and if there were no deal, it would be facing higher trade barriers. higher trade barriers mean one thing — higher costs. ultimately, they tend to be passed on to us, the consumer. just as it did for the financial services sector, the government today outlined the challenges for the food sector. new tariffs, new regulations, described as frightening. a concern shared by many businesses across the economy. only a third of iod members have ever actually done any active contingency planning, the rest have been waiting for more information to come out from the government. this is some welcome detail, long overdue, but what we would like to see more of in the future is what the government plans to do to really mitigate the impact of no deal. some firms have welcomed the fact that at