the uk, it'll be difficult to justify spending a lot more money growing the business. it is now all about that clarity — clarity on any deal with the eu, and clarity on the future of the uk economyal ahmed, bbc news. for the first time in its history, the european commission has threatened a member state with the loss of its eu voting rights. it has started disciplinary measures against poland, accusing the government of undermining the independence of the country's judges. polish ministers have dismissed the commission's actions as politically motivated. police are continuing to search two properties, including a community centre, following anti—terror raids in sheffield and chesterfield. four men have been arrested and held over an alleged islamist terror plot that officers say could have been carried out this christmas. saudi arabia's crown prince, mohammed bin salman, is to visit britain next year, according to a statement from downing street. it said the prime minister is looking forward to welcoming the crown prince to the uk in the new year. the headlines on bbc news: the first secretary of state, damian green, is forced to resign after an inquiry finds he breached the mi

in a world of growing global growth, the uk economy has suffered since the referendum.e first nine months of the year was lower than in 2016. it said that prices had risen because of the fall in the value of the pound, causing a squeeze on living standards. and called for a quick agreement on the transition phase of the brexit talks to ease uncertainty and avoid crashing out of the eu. around the corner in parliament, it was the turn of the governor of the bank of england, also pushing for a free—trade deal, this time in financial services, despite grumbles from the eu that such a thing had never been achieved before. i don't accept the argument that just because it has not been done in the past it cannot be done in the future. we would just walk away from progress if that were the approach we took to issues. the hunt for an agreement goes on, and firms like this gin manufacturer in london are keeping plans on ice until there is greater clarity. it clearly helps that the pound is not really strong and becoming more expensive, but it is not a major factor. until it is cl

are you ready for another set of figures on the uk economy? all before that's because in the first two weeks of this month alone 22 independent surveys on the future of the uk economy, were published. economy were published. they came from international bodies like the imf, and major players like banks including credit suisse, and ba rclays international. but with so many pages of figures and predictions to get through, where should you start? well, helpfully, this morning the uk government published a comparison of all of these forecasts. let's find out more. joining us now is laith khalaf, senior analyst, at hargreaves la nsdown. thank you very much forjoining us this morning. 0verall, what do all these surveys say about the uk economy? well, i mean if you look at the overall picture we are expecting growth in the economy next year, 1. 4x, growth in the economy next year, 1. 4%, not particularly spectacular, but it's chugging along largely in line with what we have this year where expectations are 1. 6% so lower than that. probably the big ch

between wage growth and inflation is a real problem for the consumer side of the economy and of course, that's a big, and important part of the uknt part of the uk economy and of course, you know, hanging over everything is the uncertainty of the brexit negotiations. you know, so we had some good news last week, you know, we maybe edging towards a deal, but for the next year, at least, there is going to be a lot of uncertainty. tom, a quick word on oil. it is a long time since we've spoken about oil. $65 for brent, up 2.a% and that's because of the explosion? yes, well, there are two things. there is the shutdown of the fortes pipeline which caused a short—term spike, the direction of travel for oil is upwards. there is discipline from 0pec and russia in terms of curbing production. that's keeping a floor on the oil price and i think that's likely to continue. i think that oil will stay in the $60 to $70 range. you say it is a while since you talked about oil. we talked about it yesterday! ben wasn't listening. we have got that story we just talked about, we had other issues regards with supply from gas from italy to russia. gas

the uk's economic growth this year. the head of the imf, christine lagarde, said the impact of the uk's decision to leave the eu had "weighed heavily" on the economy and stagnant wages were squeezing spending power. here's our economics editor kamal ahmed. she came before the referendum with a warning. if britain voted brexit, then the economic risks were clear. it is going to be pretty bad to very, very bad. that is what we see. today she was back for the first time since that brexit vote, to give her analysis of where we are now. since the start of this year, growth has slowed notably. the significant depreciation of sterling that followed the referendum has pushed inflation over 3%, squeezing real incomes. how do you respond to those critics who suggest the imf is simply too gloomy on the uk economy? regrettably, the numbers we are seeing the economy delivered today are actually proving the point that we made a year and a half ago, when people said you are too gloomy, and you are one of those experts. christine lagarde came here to the treasury to deliver her report, and let's be clear, she was not all gloomy. she said that employment was at re

economy phenomenon. the international monetary fund is sounding the alarm on the british economy have brexit. on wednesday imf chief christine lagarde presented the agency's first assessment of the uk economy since the vote to leave the european union. he says britain is already suffering the effects of uncertainty over future trade arrangements with europe. the uk economy set to grow just one point five percent in twenty eighteen well behind most other advanced economies. but ours is britain may need to raise taxes to bring down public debt rather than squeeze public spending at the tory government has been doing. and she urge britain and the easy to reach an agreement on a break the transition as soon as possible hears abou. the sooner there is. . a clear position as to what the outcome will be. the better that's point on one so legalization that drugs on own with massive uncertainty continuing is simply going to delay. the the plans the strategies and the investment decision making process of the whole corporate sector. one of the most important economic engines for the u. k. is the city of london and its global banking industry. bank of england said wednesday that it hopes euro

well, i think what this shows, reeta, is the disconnect between the real uk economy and these giant uke but the vast majority of their profits are earned overseas, and overseas is undergoing a boom. the united states, the far east, even the eurozone is having pretty robust growth, so it means that companies that are here can sell more goods overseas, and a knitting a stronger currency because the pound is that little bit weaker, so they repatriate the property and stronger currencies and that boost their profits. the ftse 100 stronger currencies and that boost their profits. the ftse100 is not a great benchmark for the health of the uk economy, but a pretty good yardstick for the health of the global economy. joe, thank you. the nhs in england is considering the routine use of so—called drunk tanks — dedicated units for people to recover from excess alcohol — in order to reduce hospital admissions. up to 70% of visits to a&e departments on friday and saturday nights are by people who've drunk too much. adina campbell reports. at this time of year, britain's binge thinking culture is ex

>> the uk economy is again also going through a cycle. but that, if you read the news, it would look like the only thing going on in the uk economy is brexit. of course it's not they're doing well on the job front, though perhaps not so well in terms of remunerations and quality of jobs. but the uncertainty that is -- well, that's creating costs. because, as we have seen, a number of investment decisions are being deferred, if not canceled a number of companies are moving elsewhere or at least partially moving elsewhere and of course this is going to continue in the next few months, couple of years until the exit takes place. most importantly until we know what is the final trade deal, final investment rules, final rules about the movement of people, the movement of capital. so you still have a lot of homework that the negotiators have to go through >> that was the secretary-general of oecb speaking about a month ago >>> we're coming to the end of 2017 it's worth looking at u.s. hedge funds. leslie picker looked at what's in store for the

. —— would affect the uk economy. taken any impact assessments on implications for leaving the eu for different sectors of the british economy? so there isn't one, for example, on the automotive sector? not that i am aware of. is there one on aerospace? not that i'm aware of. one on financial services? i think the answer would be "no" to all of them. no to all of them. doesn't it strike you as rather strange, given the government undertakes impact assessments on all sorts of things all of the time, that on the most influential change we are taking as a country, you've just told us the government has not taken any impact assessments at all looking at the impact on individual sectors of the economy? the first thing to say, mr chairman, is when these sectoral analyses were initiated, they are done to understand the effect of various options, what the outcome would be. you don't need to be an impact assessment, a formal impact assessment, to understand that if there is a regulatory hurdle between our producer and a market,

the uk economy ona number of gave us his opinion. y in the jobs market, unemployment at about a 40 year low. since the financial crisis in 2008-2009, year low. since the financial crisis in 2008—2009, there has been quite a bit of get paid down as a proportion of gdp. we go into this potential slowdown in 2018 in fairly decent health. the fly in the ointment is that we still don't know what that trading relationship will look like going forward. we also don't know whether a lot of the debt which is being accrued because of the generosity of international investors, whether their confidence is going to be retained against the backdrop of quite difficult political messages. as we mentioned earlier, mps are calling for ‘urgent action' on bottle and packaging waste. mps in the environmental audit committee say people should be made to pay a deposit for using plastic bottles all in an attempt to protect the seas from the "devastating effects" of plastic pollution. while firms using plastic packaging should pay more for the waste they creat

growth slowing to 196 to see consumption growth slowing to 1% per year, so that main engine of the uk economys at the minute. we are seeing that shifting down in gear, in growth across the uk. some businesses have done well out of the weak pound? so, it is true, one of the things that will be boosting the economy over the next couple of years is net trade, so the wea ker couple of years is net trade, so the weaker sterling is supporting our manufacturers, it is making our exports more competitive and it is also really important to remember the global economy is doing really wet at the moment. that is providing a boost to our exports so that will be one of the engines of growth in the economy. but it is set against the economy. but it is set against the weaker picture on cost stick demand so household spending and business investment. thank you very much. let's mention a couple of movers on the ftse 100. let's mention a couple of movers on the ftse100. rio tinto shares doing well on the news of a new chairman, simon thompson. sky's shares up 2% as well. you're watching business live. our top s

the uk's economic growth this year. the head of the imf, christine lagarde, said the impact of the uk's decision to leave the eu had "weighed heavily" on the economypending power. here's our economics editor, kamal ahmed. she came before the referendum with a warning. if britain voted brexit, then the economic risks were clear. it is going to be pretty bad to very, very bad. that is what we see. today she was back for the first time since that brexit vote, to give her analysis of where we are now. since the start of this year, growth has slowed notably. the significant depreciation of sterling that followed the referendum has pushed inflation over 3%, squeezing real incomes. how do you respond to those critics who suggest the imf is simply too gloomy on the uk economy? regrettably, the numbers we are seeing the economy deliver today are actually proving the point that we made a year and a half ago, when people said you are too gloomy, and you are one of those experts. christine lagarde came here to the treasury to deliver her report, and let's be clear, she was not all gloomy. she said that employment was at record levels, and she welcomed progres

the uk and european neighbors. for the us moreover the value of an fta with the uk alone is negligible. it would provide 0.2%, percentage points of gain for much larger us economy. the only truly beneficial trade scenario that we found would be a trilateral uk eu agreement. we found for the uk the t tip scenario is 7 percentage points of gdp better than the wt no baseline better than continued eu membership alone, since through it the uk would get preferential access to the us and eu marketplaces. one reason for this outcome being so good is in addition the eu and the us themselves benefit economic and the pool effective enhanced growth from these two larger economies would help the uk. however, we fully recognized the arrangement is seen as very unlikely to occur in political environments on both sides. we assessed other scenarios including transitional arrangements, norway, swiss and turkish. transitional arrangements would be good as long as the nation remained in single markets but economic uncertainty would hurt investors. the norway, swiss and turkish models, with lower trade barriers good for economic growth, with a significant loss of uk sovereignty ove

we have at the moment is the ftse 100 have at the moment is the ftse100 is not a barometer of the uk economym 150 to 120 in a heartbeat. up went the ftse100 because 60% of the stocks are dollar related. we've seen the pound goes stronger. therefore, the ftse100's performance has been abysmal. it is up1.7%. we are performance has been abysmal. it is up 1.7%. we are getting rich valuations your fee would be that the market is going to turn? he has achieved nothing in 13 months after being in office despite a significant improvement in unemployment but you mentioned how much the dowjones had gone up. the nasdaq is up 29%. the ratio, the profits to earnings, over 45%. that 2496 profits to earnings, over 45%. that 24% of the dowjones and the s&p. can us companies deliver profits to guarantee those things? i have extreme doubts. the main indices that i feel supremely confident about is probably germany and france. and also in the far east, japan, even though to sit a 12— year high, it might have a bit more to go u nless high, it might have a bit more to go unless interest rates go up and you will

the uk is slowing due to uncertainties weighing on the capex plans. joining us is brian coulton. a lot of news out of brussels this morning what does that mean for the uk economy in the next two, three, 12 months? >> you have to remember, this is just a preliminary this is the negotiations before the negotiations that's all we've seemed to achieve today. none of the naughty problem of ireland has been solved, the can has been kicked down the road. we don't have a lot of time in 2018 to agree on all these things we need to agree on the longer we go on without significant breakthroughs on how the future relationship will look, we think that will create more and more uncertainties for firms, a bigger risk of a cliff edge and they'll be cautious we think business investment will decline in the uk in 2018 >> it seems the uk is the only advanced economy not seeing positive numbers going into the next year. we've seen some moves today as the deal is struck on phase two. there's a long way to go what do the next 15 months look like in the uk and how heavily will you be tracking these talks on trade >> it's the business investment numbers are the ones we're looking at

the economy. the question was about the impact of leaving the eu on the uk economy. the answer is admitting the basis of the answer is admitting the basis of the question. he could have corrected it. in his response he clearly says "sexual assessments". not impact assessments, you are jumping by assuming what was said by mr gethin ‘s was the same as the reply by mr davies. in all honesty i'm trying to rely on the clips i've taken from hansard, the record of parliamentary proceedings. you've made your point very clearly. do you think that voters have the right to know what kind of impact brexit would have on the economy, according to the government's best destination? i think all of these attem pts destination? i think all of these atte m pts to destination? i think all of these attempts to assess it are wrong but if you look at the rubbish put out by the treasury, before the referendum when they said we would lose between 500000 and 800,000 jobs, simply on the basis of voting to leave the eu, i'm glad there are not these impact assessments because they are no better t

a warning that uncertainty over brexit is affecting the uk economy, as the imf downgraded its growthr. the first big legislative achievement of the trump presidency, as congress approves his sweeping tax reforms. it is the largest... i always say the most massive, but it is the largest tax cut in the history of oui’ largest tax cut in the history of our country, and reform, but tax cut.

we have also seen through the other economic data is the strength of the uk's economy. we were the fastest major growing economy. we had figures which showed onceloyment coming down again. we see a fundamental strength in the u.k. economy. i believe it's an economy people want to invest in. since the brexit vote we have seen major companies like google, facebook, making investments. a cheap currency was part of the incentive. was there a point where the cheap currency becomes a vulnerability. >> i think what people will look at is the fundamental strength of our economy and opportunities in the united kingdom. looking at the economy for the future, looking at how we can ensure the environment in the u.k. is the right environment, the best environment to do in -- to do business and invest. i look across the atlantic who takesnald trump, a protectionist attitude towards trade. what we say to him on that? >> if we look around the world generally, there is a question about free trade. it has been questioned. it goes to what i was saying earlier, people feel globalization has

the uk. it's clear that no deal is the worst deal or the british economy post brexit. r analysis of this scenario shows trading under wto rules would reduce the uk's future gdp by about five percent after 10 years which is a loss of $140 billion in lost growth. this would be approximately 45 percent of the uk's expected economic growth over the decade. under no deal, the eu would also lose out economically but by nowhere near the same proportions as the uk. that economic loss to the eu after 10 years would be 0.7 percent of its overall gdp which is a loss of $97 billion so the uk would lose more proportionally and more absolutely than the eu under a no deal scenario why would the no deal scenario be so damaging? because the uk would face terrace at wto levels on its goods exports to the eu and would in turn apply them to britain although the correct levels themselves are so high we determined the uk would have to inspect and evaluate all cross-border trade as with the eu countries and we assess the uk would move away from eu standards over time, resulting in significant

obr growth and productivity forecast that came out of the uk budget that sent some shockwaves through the system what hope is there for the uk economy if the obr is saying the growth will be lower the next few years and that's why the uk is still in the transitional deal with the eu >> it's worth saying these low growth rates were accomplished while we were in the european union. it's not entirely a brexit issue here i think the british economy is unbalanced but one factor in the negotiations with the eu 27 which is critical and doesn't get remarked on much is that if you take the whole country's balance of payments deficit, almost all of it is with the eu 27, not the rest of the world. we have a balance of over 120 billion pounds with the european union. what's happening with that >> how do we reduce it >> the exchange rate is too high we need to sell more goods the amount of services we sold to the eu has hardly gone up over the last five, six years. the balance of payments in goods has gone down and down that's what we need to rectify we need to produce more goods, industrialize and rebalance the economy. >> you say the exchange

the uk after brexit. and the sunday express claims the upcoming royal wedding will lift the economy by half a billion poundsdiplomatic relationship with the united states so let's begin. will you start us off, the observer and this front—page story. remind us, social mobility, what does that mean? it means you start in one place and can you end up better off than your beginnings suggest. to be honest, this is alan milburn, it's not just honest, this is alan milburn, it's notjust him. he's saying all three of his fellow commissioners are quitting because they feel frustrated. not enough is being done and it is being sidelined because of brexit. ironically they say the people who they should be focusing on the people who aren't seeing social mobility and are disproportionately located in areas who voted for brexit and they are missing out. the statistics are pretty bleak. if you look at someone born in the 1980s, the first generation who aren't expected to be better off than the generation before them. real earnings are going to flat line in the next 20 years. one wonders if this is more because they have so

you can say what will the uk economy look like? what will the eu economy look like if service is frictionless? and in general what we find or what you will find is the you recollect -- the uk is slightly worse off than it would be under full eu membership. >> now, i know many of you in the audience have questions. i know some of you to be very good questioners and talkers. i will open it up to the floor. i warn you, i start asking questions myself and then you're just hostage to me but i would rather that you all be engaged in this since we have our experts here. i will take a coupleov of questions at a time. wait for the microphone and identify yourselfme. we want to know where you're coming from. okay. so i open it up for you all. okay. gail. >> i'm gail maddox and i'm at the u.s. naval academy. i look at the security issues than the economic issues. there is an area that is overlap. i would be interested to hear your reactions. that is the ed ff, the european defense fund. i thought oh, yeah, here is another attempt. i don't know

meghan's wedding president will boost the uk economy by £500 million.ovely feel good story. i find this funny, million. it's a lovely feel good story. ifind this funny, think million. it's a lovely feel good story. i find this funny, think of the number and put a couple of zeros on the end and that's how much better we are feeling. this is something that is going to run and run but when you look at the stories across the rest of the pages... the americans will come over for that. the hotels are already booked up in windsor! laughter thank you both. that's it for the papers this hour. thank you dharshini and charlie, you'll both be back at 11.30 for another look at the stories making the news tomorrow. coming up next — meet the author. fiona mozley‘s elmet is a story that you might describe as contemporary gothic, raw and dark and lyrical with a rich bit of melodrama. a debut novel powerful enough to take it to the man booker shortlist in the autumn, told by a iii—year—old, it sets the here and now against a brutal and more elemental past, and explores a

a canada—plus deal would also include financial services, a vital part of the uk economy, and could well too. if you look at any free—trade deal, what you see is agreement on where product standards normally comply. that's what it comes down to. sometimes, you see other things. in the free—trade deal between europe and canada, they say on labour standards, they will not go below the ilo, the international labour 0rganisation minimum. but he made clear that paying a divorce bill to the eu would be dependent on getting a good deal. i don't expect to see an awful lot of seasonal goodwill when ministers finally discuss what kind of deal they want to do with the eu just before christmas. already, for example, the brexit secretary and the chancellor seem to disagree over whether we should pay a divorce bill under all circumstances. but one thing has become clearer today — what labour would do ifjeremy corbyn moved in here to number ten. the shadow brexit secretary signalled an unwillingness to move too far away from eu rules and regulations. do we see europe as our major trading partner in the

come out and said that under no circumstances is the uk going to get financial services as a bolt on to a trade deal, services make up 80% of the uk's economy having free trade and goods is no good for us. i think we need to take his point of view with a pinch of salt. the eu 27 member states at the beginning of this process are speaking about what they want, he is going and hard which is to be expected. the mood music i am hearing coming out of brussels is that there is a lot of concern among the eu 27 that the uk if it was cast adrift and have the ability to use state aid, that could be pretty disastrous for some of the sectors like the rest of the eu. there will be more compromised than is being suggested here. absolutely. if this is a negotiation, he's setting out his position, david davis has set out the uk position which is that they want a canada deal, which is mostly goods, and we wa nt deal, which is mostly goods, and we want to add things to that. michel barnier says you can add justice on defence and criminal cooperation, but you can't add financial services. we will see about that. we british do like to beat ourselves up about w

the weak sterling is going to be very good for parts of the uk economy, 7% of the ftse 100 for parts er currency helps. clearly we have issues like north korea which will never quite go away so there is this mix of mostly of what we heard this year and also not as important and is lied in 2017. thank you for your thoughts. lawrence gosling, thank you. for nearly 30 years, britons have been carrying these burgundy passports, the common colour of the eu. but it's been confirmed this will change when britain leaves. the home office has announced that the covers will revert to blue from 2019. the new design won't carry the eu insignia and for some brexit campaigners the colour blue has become a symbol of independence. earlier i spoke to the journalist and editor of standpoint magazine, danieljohnson, and ash sarkar, senior editor at novara media, to hear their views on the announcement. it will be a modern, high—tech passport with biometrics and all that stuff. we have not yet been told what the wording will be, whether it will still be her britannic majesty and all that, i imagine it wil

the digital skills gap costs the uk economy around £63 billion a year in lost income, according to a ue — 8,300 students studied computing at a—level in 2017. that's up on last year. but when compared to the 34,600 pupils who studied sociology, the scale of the challenge is clear. so what can be done? geoff smith is the managing director in the uk and ireland of recruitment firm experis when you see figures like that showing how few students are actually taking up these courses, i suppose it begs the question why it is not more attractive? that is an interesting question. we are staring ata interesting question. we are staring at a skills crisis. it has been proven pretty difficult to encourage individuals, young and old, the importance of digital skills. for me, it is a four pronged approach we need to take. we need a little bit more from the government. there needs to be more coordination and more publicity. equally, we need to see businesses take an interest in the short and long—term skills agenda. and we need to look at schools as well the judge technology is more important as ma

the british economy. a lot of the economic discussion is under the umbrella of the brexit issue, a big issue not just umbrella of the brexit issue, a big issue notjust politically but for the uk is the brand corporation, big think tank in america, largely funded, half of the funds come from the us government, and they have said that under most trading scenarios it can define that we may have with the european union, after we leave in march, 2019, most of those would have some form of detrimental affect on the economy. —— rand corporation. it only says that one could be an advantage, and that one could be an advantage, and thatis, that one could be an advantage, and that is, a really ambitious 3—way free—trade deal with the us, the uk and the eu. that would be betterfor the british economy than staying in the british economy than staying in the european union. the only problem with that analysis, it believes that isa with that analysis, it believes that is a very unlikely scenario to come to pass. there are some upsides in the report about what may happen, but in the main, it says that most trading relationship, hard or soft brexit, will have a detrimental effect on the growth

, he was stunned that there are no impact assessments on the effect of brexit on key areas of the uk economyld be a waste of their resources to start compiling the reports and they are trying to get some huge over arching trade deal so they don‘t want to get bogged down in individual areas. however, they don‘t want to get bogged down in individualareas. however, i guarantee you there will be plenty of brexit critics who will say this just goes to show the government hasn‘t got a clue what it is doing. it hasn‘t done work to see what the impact will be on major parts of the british economy. so i suspect there is going to be a right old row about this. cheers, norman, thank you. right, ok. back to our mini audience of voters, both leave and remain voters. a number of business people. how do you react to the news that there are no individual sectoranal sis on the car industry and on financial services, we don‘t know what the impact of brexit will be on those areas? well, of course, those sectors have been doing their own work and there is barely a business in the land that hasn‘t done come sinn

well, the uk economy is doing very well on a number of measures. d down, as a proportion of gdp. we go into this potential slowdown in 2018 in fairly decent health. the fly in the ointment, though is that we still don't know what that trading relationship will look like going forward. we also don't know whether a lot of the debt thatis don't know whether a lot of the debt that is being accrued because the generosity of the international investors, whether their confidence is going to be retained against the backdrop of quite difficult political measures. regardless of the outcome and cloud of uncertainty of those negotiations, normal people and business owners have to make decisions. where do they stand going into the next year? it varies business to business. the businesses we are speaking to ourfinding plenty of investable opportunities markets are open to it. we talked about some of the business metrics in the data this morning being quite upbeat. but, really, it's those companies that have been very reliant particularly on international labour a

the uk on an equalfooting. in and put all four countries in the uk on an equal footing. in the deeper consideration of the bill continues. the bridge economyonly damage and further, the view of alistair darling. it has been contributing to a general debate in the house of lords that followed the chancellor's budget statement at the end of last month. the darling said the latest economic forecast showed that almost one together from the great financial crash of 2008, the uk economy had still not returned to its growth levels experienced in the preceding years. the economic prospects that we thought by now would have been given a lot better at it to be stagnating at best, if not deteriorating, and, of course, that has indications for all of us. but i think there is a real problem in that our economy seems to be stagnating. i think it is fantasy to believe that if only we were free of the european union at the earliest opportunity that somehow things would get better. and indeed, i would get better. and indeed, i would argue that at a very time when the economy has been dipping a long, the economy has been dipping a long, the last possible th

, is key to helping the uk economye to perform miracles in science and technology... his trademark bow tie and hair, the german born inventor became known to british tv audiences in the 70s and 80s on the great egg race which encouraged teams to invent useful things out of every day objects. the headlines: police in canada say they're treating the deaths of the billionaire businessman barry cherman and his wife as suspicious. after a bitter campaign, south africa's governing anc is preparing to vote for a new leader to replace presidentjacob to vote for a new leader to replace president jacob zuma. and a leading brexit supporting mp says he's unhappy about the idea of britain staying in the single market and customs union during any transitional period. thousands of romanians are lining the streets of bucharest for the funeral of king michael the first. king michael was best known for the coup he staged in august 19114, switching romania from the nazi to the allied side in the second world war. he was however later for

, is key to helping the uk economyesenting the bbc science programme the great egg race, has died. the german born inventor became well—known to british television audiences in the 1970s, encouraging teams to invent useful things out of everyday objects. a little earlier, my colleague lu kwesa everyday objects. a little earlier, my colleague lukwesa burak spoke to the professor's son about his father. the person people saw when they met him was the person that we knew at home. his sense of humour, his curiosity, his enthusiasm. that was our father too. he has been described by some of his colleagues at brunel university as a sparkling scientist. what was his background in science? he used to say it was his first experience was doing chemistry with his father in berlin as a four—year—old. holding sugar in a test tube over a bunsen burner. he encouraged that in us as well. we had workbenches. it will horrify those concerned with health and safety. we had a bunsen burner at six in our rooms! he was an extremely bright stu

is key to helping the uk economyg mp says he‘s unhappy about the idea of britain staying in the single market and customs union, during any transition period. police in canada say they‘re treating the deaths of the billionaire businessman barry sherman and his wifea ‘ wildfires in southern california continue to burn out of control — scorching an area larger than new york city and paris combined. sport now, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here‘s mike bushell. they‘re not very good. we seem to be saying this a lot. they‘re not looking very good for england in the ashes. no, not at all. you‘re right. another incredible batting display by australian captain, steve smith, has put his side in a dominant position, in the third test in perth. if they win they will regain the ashes. england had been a glimmer of hope, when moeen ali sent shaun marsh back to the pavilion. the trouble is, he has a brother, mitchell marsh, and he was the next to score a century, as australia eased past england‘s total into a

, is key to helping the uk economylff has died at the age of 89. bookmark this street was edition when we ask teams to perform miracles in science and technology using the sort of materials that you would find in your household. with his trademark bow tie and hair, the german—born inventor became known to british tv audiences in the ‘70s and ‘80s on the great egg race, which encouraged teams to invent useful things out of everyday objects. the person that people saw when they met him was the person that we knew at home. you know, his sense of humour, his curiosity, enthusiasm. that was our father too. i have to say, i've got an older brother as well. he's been described by some of his colleagues at brunel university as a sparkling scientist. what was his background in science? just take us through that. he used to say that his first experience of science was doing chemistry with his father in berlin as a four—year—old holding sugar in a test—tube over a bunsen burner and he encouraged that in us as well. we had work be

, is key to helping the uk economy. members of the public found seventy year old john nolan on the street in haringey and tried to save him, but he later died of severe burns following the incident, which happened in september. an inquest will open at barnet coroner‘s court on 13 march. more than one million homes and offices across the uk still struggle to get good broadband — according to the communications regulator. although coverage is improving, a report by 0fcom found that roughly 4% of properties in the uk were stuck with slow internet speeds. the situation is worse in rural areas, with 17% of homes having a poor connection. officials in california says one of the wildfires — which have driven tens of thousands of people from their homes — now covers nearly 400 square miles. a firefighter has died tackling the flames, north of los angeles. 0ur correspondent, james cook, sent this report from the town of fillmore. 12 days on and still it burns. more than 8,000 men and women are now battling this blaze, saving ho

, is key to helping the uk economylking down a london street say they haven't found out how the fire started. members of the public found seventy year old john nolan on the street in haringey and tried to save him, but he later died of severe burns following the incident, which happened in september. a spokesman for the metropolitan police said detectives have spoken to several witnesses but they are still treating his death as unexplained. an inquest will open at barnet coroner's court on 13 march. retailers are expected to make big discounts in the final week before christmas, to convince shoppers to keep spending throughout the festive period. there's fear among some on the high street that with rising inflation and stagnant wages, consumers may be more willing to spend big in the period after black friday in late november, rather than in the run up to december 25th. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. what could be more christmassy than the salvation army warming our hearts, and the hustle and bustle of s

, is key to helping the uk economysays he's unhappy about the idea of britain staying in the single market and customs union during any transition period. police in canada say they're treating the deaths of the billionaire businessman barry sherman and his wifea ' after a bitter campaign, south africa's governing anc is preparing to vote for a new leader to replace president jacob zuma. officials in california say the biggest of the wildfires which have driven tens of thousands of people from their homes now covers nearly four hundred square miles. a firefighter has died tackling the flames north of los angeles. our correspondent james cook sent this report from the town of fillmore. 12 days on and still it burns. more than 8,000 men and women are now battling this blaze, saving homes one by one. not far from here, the fire claimed the life of 32—year—old cory iverson, a firefighter, a father and a husband. he is survived by his wife, ashley, his two—year—old daughter, evie. cory and ashley are expecting a second daugh

uncertainty is holding back the uk economy — according to the british chambers of commerce.t its forecasts for economic growth for each of the next three years, by a tenth of a percentage point. so from this year to 2019 growth they believe will run at 1.5%. then 1.1% and then 1.3%. then 1.1%. and then 1.3%. so let's look at the chamber of commerce's view of the economy over the next three years. the key to what it is saying is that it is being dogged by uncertainty. there's an old saying, not altogether true, that markets hate uncertainty, but businesses hate it even more — because you can't plan anything if you don't know what the rules, the taxes and the costs are going to be. that's why unstable exchange rates, uncertainty over regulations and customs duties are so inhibiting. joining us now is suren thiru, head of economics at the british chambers of commerce. it is the whole package, and i think it is about building relationships, if they are a strong relationship with the housing officer or their key worker, we have decent accommodation to move into, hopefully, that w

is key to helping the uk economytralia, since the country's marriage equality act was passed just over a week ago. marriage is the union of two people... lauren price and amy laker both wore traditional dresses as they became the first legal same—sex couple to marry at a ceremony in camden, south—west of sydney. all but 4 mps voted for australia to become the 26th country to legalise gay marriage, following 60% support from a nationwide postal referendum. the headlines on bbc news: police in canada say they're treating the deaths of the billionaire businessman barry sherman and his wife as "suspicious". the south african president, jacob zuma, has spoken of the enormous challenges facing the country and the governing anc as it chooses his successor. and a leading brexit supporting mp says he's unhappy about the idea of britain staying in the single market and customs union during any transition period. in sport, england's hopes of retaining the ashes are looking slim. crystal palace win away for the first time since

the eu took seven years to negotiate and didn't include the financial sector, which is key to the uk's economye brexit secretary says that isn't the only example he's looking at, and services would have to be included in any deal. what we want is a bespoke outcome. we will probably start with the best of canada and the best ofjapan and the best of south korea, and then add to that the bits missing, which is the services. but labour are looking towards northern europe as a model for the kind of deal it would be after. norway isn't in the eu but has access to the single market, and pays for the privilege. labour's brexit secretary revealed he would want a similar setup to retain the benefits of the single market and customs union, but that could come at a price. norway pays money in. they do it actually on a voluntary basis. would you accept it? there may have to be payments, that would have to be negotiated. the focus now is all on getting a trade dealfor britain, but with varying opinions of what that deal should look like, and the eu unlikely to want to give the uk a better deal outside than

a couple of sets of the uk economy will want something specific. particularly agriculture. bout brexit, thanks very much. —— mike came in to talk about. more throughout the day here on bbc world news, and the bbc news channel. and you can get everything we have been talking about all the bbc website. we will see again tomorrow. —— see you again tomorrow. this morning, some of us waking up to a covering of snow. storm caroline has cleared away to the east. as it has moved east we have these winds coming in from the north. that is why it is so much colder this morning and yesterday morning. travel disruption is likely throughout the morning and into the afternoon those showers across northern scotland, northern ireland, into wales will continue into the afternoon. further south, across south west england, you might the winter flurries. let‘s focus on the snow which will be heavy. there will be strong winds, blizzard like conditions in the far north—west of scotla nd conditions in the far north—west of scotland later on. the northern england, it should stay dry, there will be s

, is key to helping the uk economyining the streets of bucharest for the funeral of king michael the first. king michael was best known for the coup he staged in august 19114, switching romania from the nazi to the allied side in the second world war. he was however later forced to abdicate by the communist government in 19117. he died last week in switzerland at the age of 96. doctor mark almond is a lecturer in modern history at the university of oxford. he joins me now on webcam. thank you for being with us on bbc news. how important a moment is the passing of king michael? news. how important a moment is the passing of king michael7m news. how important a moment is the passing of king michael? it is a symbolic moment, he's the last surviving head of state from the second world war and in that sense, although our own queen was alive and active as a young person in the second world war, it marks the end ofan era second world war, it marks the end of an era and also marks the end of an era for the monarchy. we see why

him as an arch remainer, is campaigning against brexit because he thought it was a threat to the uk economyd batting for britain, as it were, will go down well. thoughts on other elements, the length of the transition period? michel barnier speaking today, christine lagarde talking about the state of the economy, so many elements to consider on a daily basis.|j economy, so many elements to consider on a daily basis. i was speaking to someone in the city who is quite influential and they were saying it could take three years, two years saying it could take three years, two yea rs is saying it could take three years, two years is good, but what we want to certainty, we don't want an open—ended transition period. that isa open—ended transition period. that is a big dilemma for the government about how they framed this. does seem about how they framed this. does seem like we are drowning in small brexit stories all the time. there are always 19 things to write about and hear about. because that is the whole thing, it is important, but it is weary to write and read and listen to. so let's not ta