Got a TV Licence?

You need one to watch live TV on any channel or device, and BBC programmes on iPlayer. It’s the law.

Find out more
I don’t have a TV Licence.

Live Reporting

Chris Johnston

All times stated are UK

  1. Good night!

    That's all from Business Live for today - thanks for reading.

    We're back on Friday at 06:00 so do join us then for all the day's business news and views.

  2. 2 Sisters chicken supplier 'sent MPs Christmas biscuits'

    Biscuits

    MPs investigating food safety breaches at chicken supplier 2 Sisters Food Group have revealed they rejected Christmas gifts sent from its boss.

    The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said festive packages of biscuits were sent to several members.

    Its chairman said the unsolicited gifts were "inappropriate" and they had been returned or given to local food banks.

    2 Sisters disputed the amount and said it was a "goodwill gesture", which they send to many external stakeholders.

    Read more here.

  3. Alexa fights crime

    Amazon Echo

    Thought you could only use Amazon's Alexa assistant to buy stuff you don't need or listen to music?

    Lancashire Constabulary is here to prove you wrong: users can sign up to receive the latest news and information from the force directly to their Echo smart speaker.

    The free app - available from the Amazon store - will provide hourly updates and also sends pictures of wanted and missing people to the device.

    The project is the brainchild of Pc Rob Flanagan, Lancashire Constabulary's innovations manager, who worked with developers from Amazon.

    Lancashire Constabulary says it is the first police force in the UK to use smart speaker technology to engage with the community.

  4. Spotlight on Spotify

    Spotify

    Spotify has launched a feature allowing listeners to see stories, news and other content on its platform.

    The "Spotlight" feature will include news, pop culture, sports and politics content from publishers including BuzzFeed News, it said in a blog post and will be available through a play list.

    Spotify has filed confidentially with US regulators for an initial public offering and hopes to finalise a direct listing in the first half of the year, Reuters reported last week.

  5. Should Google and Facebook fund local reporting?

    Google logo

    Google and Facebook have been asked to help fund local journalism to cover courts and councils by Tory MP John Whittingdale.

    Speaking at a Society of Editors event to launch a HM Courts and Tribunal team dedicated to promoting press coverage of courts, the former culture secretary said it would be "in the interests of Google and Facebook to support local journalism".

    He said the venture could mirror that set up as part of the last licence fee settlement, where the BBC agreed to provide £8m a year to fund 150 reporters working in local newspaper newsrooms.

    "I have suggested that Facebook and Google could contribute into the existing scheme to support public service reporting and courts would be a very good place in which that contribution would be used to employ professional journalists."

    However, Mr Whittingdale had not found the internet giants to be "immediately enthusiastic" in preliminary talks about his idea.

  6. U-turn on HIV-positive pilot

    Pilot

    An HIV positive man who was told he could not train as a commercial pilot will be allowed to begin training after a U-turn by aviation officials.

    The man, from Glasgow, had been offered a place on an EasyJet training programme.

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has now reversed a decision not to grant him a medical certificate.

    The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he was "overwhelmed, shocked, elated and humbled".

    More on the story here.

  7. SoftBank closes Uber investment

    Uber app

    A group of investors led by SoftBank has closed a deal with Uber, making the Japanese group the largest stakeholder in the ride-hailing firm with a 15% stake.

    The SoftBank-led deal includes a large purchase of shares from existing Uber investors and employees at a discounted valuation of $48bn - about a third lower than Uber's most recent valuation of $68bn.

    These secondary stock sales will be completed by the end of Thursday on the Nasdaq private market, an Uber spokesman said.

    The SoftBank investment also triggers a number of governance changes at Uber, including the addition of new board members.

  8. Macron's single market vow

    Macron

    More on that summit between Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron.

    The French president warned that he would not allow the UK finance sector to have privileged access to the EU single market after Brexit:

    Quote Message: I have one demand and that is that the single market is preserved. It is one of the basic principles of the European Union. Now the choice in on the British side. There can not be a differentiated access to the single market of which financial services are part."
  9. Times outsells the Telegraph

    View more on twitter

    The Times outsold arch rival the Daily Telegraph for the first time in December, according to monthly ABC figures reported by Campaign.

    The Rupert Murdoch-owned daily sold an average of 446,204 copies a day between Monday and Saturday last month, an increase of 1.3%, compared with a 14.2% slide for the Telegraph to 393,310.

    It is understood that the sharp slide for the Telegraph is due to ending discounted or free "bulk" copies - a tactic still used by the Times.

    Mr Murdoch first launched a price war with the Telegraph in 1993, when the broadsheet sold a million more copies. The Times is still 20p cheaper than its rival at £1.60 on weekdays.

  10. Aldi and Asda restrict energy drinks

    Energy drinks

    Asda and Aldi have joined Waitrose in banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16.

    Asda is the first of the "big four" supermarkets to announce an age restriction, which will apply to 84 products from 5 March 5.

    From this date customers wishing to buy these products, either in store or online, will need to be willing to show appropriate ID.

    Aldi has also announced that customers buying soft drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre from any of its UK or Ireland stores will be asked to prove their age from March 1.

    Earlier this month Waitrose announced a similar restriction on energy drinks from 5 March.

  11. May's City hopes

    Macron and May

    Theresa May says she believes the City of London will retain its importance after Brexit.

    "I think the City of London will continue to be a major global financial centre," the prime minister told a joint news conference with French president Emmanuel Macron on a visit to the UK.

    "That is an advantage not just for the United Kingdom - it's actually good for Europe and good for the global financial system."

  12. Primark 'set to overtake Next'

    Primark store

    Primark is set to become the UK’s second-biggest clothing retailer, overtaking Next, after reporting healthy sales so far this winter - and despite not selling online.

    The Guardian reports that Primark, which has a 6.9% share of the clothing market by value, is set to pull ahead of Next's 7.1% this year, according to GlobalData Retail analyst Kate Ormrod.

    M&S is still the UK’s biggest clothing retailer with 8.1% of the market.

    Analysts at Barclays estimated that Primark's like-for-like sales rise almost 4% over Christmas - far better than the performance of M&S or Next.

    Jason Bason, finance director of parent company ABF, said it would be wrong to attribute Primark's success solely to the squeeze on UK consumers' disposable income: "We've got great stuff in there and we're really good at engagement with our customers with social media and digital."

  13. Carillion collapse may delay Metro work

    A Midland Metro tram
    Image caption: Carillion was a key player in a number of major regeneration projects

    Bosses say the multimillion-pound Midland tram extension depends on other infrastructure projects.

    Carillion collapse may delay Metro work

    A Midland Metro tram

    Bosses say the multimillion-pound Midland tram extension depends on other infrastructure projects.

    Read more
    next
  14. Santander boss named in RBS scandal

    Nathan Bostock

    The boss of one of the UK's biggest banks has been named in Parliament as being responsible for RBS's scandal-hit Global Restructuring Group (GRG).

    Nathan Bostock (pictured), who is now head of Santander UK, was named by the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable.

    Mr Bostock was one of those responsible for GRG when it engaged in an intentional strategy that resulted in mistreatment of business customers, Sir Vince said.

    Santander declined to comment.

    Read more here.

  15. Told you so

    View more on instagram

    French financial regulators - including the head of the country's central bank - got rather upset recently when a French reality TV star, Nabilla Benattia, encouraged her fans to invest in bitcoin.

    The slump in the cryptocurrency in recent days has given them a "told you so" opportunity - and yes, they have seized their chance.

    "The followers of Nabilla who would have invested at the time she encouraged them to would have made a very substantial loss, about a third," Robert Ophele, head of the French financial markets authority AMF has said.

    "She's the proof one should not venture recklessly into these kinds of investments," he added.

    If you take your financial advice from someone described as the “Gallic Kim Kardashian”, we think you probably deserve to lose your cash.

  16. Apple's other tax bill

    Apple logo

    Still Stateside for a moment, it seems Apple is not off the hook for the $16bn tax it owes Ireland despite saying yesterday it will fork out $38bn in US tax on its overseas cash pile.

    "Nothing has changed," a spokesman for the European Commission said in regard to its 2016 ruling that Apple received illegal state aid in Ireland through sweetheart tax deals with the government.

    It ordered Apple to pay Ireland up to €13bn ($16bn) in August 2016 and has since taken Dublin to court over its delays in recovering the money.

  17. Fighting words? Copy that...

    Natalie Sherman

    New York business reporter

    Activist investor Carl Icahn in 2015
    Image caption: Activist investor Carl Icahn in 2015

    Carl Icahn, the US activist investor with a fearsome reputation, has revived his fight with Xerox.

    He is calling for new leadership at the firm, which was so successful in its early days that its name became synonymous with copying.

    Xeros is reportedly trying to revive its fortunes through a deal with Japan's Fujifilm.

    Mr Icahn, whose firm is Xerox's largest shareholder, said his firm is open to a deal with Fuji.

    But he wrote in an open letter: "One thing we are certain of, however, is that the current management team and the 'old guard' directors are ill-equipped to negotiate a major transaction with Fuji. Further, we do not believe this team is qualified to run Xerox, let alone some larger combination of Xerox and Fuji."

  18. FTSE falls - again

    Primark sign

    The FTSE 100 has lost ground for a second day, falling 0.3% to 7,700 points.

    Primark owner ABF was the day's biggest faller, down 3.6%, while the top gainer was Hargreaves Lansdown - up 4.3%.

  19. RBS to help Carillion suppliers

    RBS

    RBS has joined Lloyds in announcing tens of millions in funding to support small business customers affected by the collapse of Carillion.

    The bank will offer payment holidays and help with overdrafts to help manage any short-term cashflow challenges. "We have over £75m available and will make more finance available if required."

    RBS is encouraging affected customers to get in touch.