Catalonia is hugely important for spain. It represents a fifth of the national economy. But it already has one of europes worstjobless rates at over 17 . Since the independence referendum back in october, the vital tourist industry has taken a big hit. And almost 3,000 firms have moved their legal headquarters out of catalonia, including the regions biggest banks caixabank and sabadell. Professorjavier diaz gimenez is professor of economics at Iese Business School in madrid. Thank you forjoining us. The aim of this election was to try to clear things up but itjust caused more uncertainty. Absolutely. Things are muddled up. It is true the not Independence Party got the most votes, but they do not have a majority in parliament. Pretty much it is going to be more of the same, with added uncertainty of having some politicians in jail and with added uncertainty of having some politicians injail and others exiled from spain according to the way they tell their story. It is ha rd way they tell their story. It is hard times for catalonia, which means hard times for spain in the near future. As he said, when it comes to separatist leadership, some are in exile, some behind bars. What will happen after the election . Will catalonia be able to govern . Yes, i guess so. Catalonia be able to govern . Yes, i guess so. In past experiences, they have been able to. The new elected mps will be able to show up for the constitution of the parliament and so on. Constitution of the parliament and so on. There are constitution of the parliament and so on. There are some constitution of the parliament and so on. There are some wrinkles on it, but i am pretty sure it will be solved, and we will have an independent parliament. It is unclear what plans will be as we move into the future, as part of the independence process, as they call it. Ok. Thank you very much for your time. For investors around the world, there may be more reason than usual for christmas cheer. As we head into the last trading day before the break, its clear that, for many, 2017 has been the best year in almost a decade, certainly since the end of the financial crisis in 2009. Lets give you an idea of some of the numbers. Take the dowjones industrial average, after 70 odd record closes, its up by around 5,000 points, or 25 , this year. Its the same story on the other us indices. The big winners have been the technology giants. Facebook is up 54 this year. Apples not far behind on 51 . And its notjust the us. The gains have been global. Mscis all world index tracks 47 stock markets. Its seen gains of 20 . Emerging markets have been the big winners. Chinese shares, leading the way. They are up 48 . The big story for many Top Companies of course has been president trumps Corporate Tax cuts. When they finally cleared congress this week there was surprisingly little fanfare on the markets. I think itd been priced in for so long. People felt it was coming. Its clearly been a contributor to this great bull market that weve had this year. And ijust think you see a claming down now that the bill is passed. And also a calming down as were getting into the end of the year. You know, people starting to go away for vacation, take the rest of the year off. And also harvest some gains that theyve achieved this year. With me isjustin urquhart stewart, director, seven investment management. Everything came together in a perfect moment. We are 10 years on from the crash we forget how bad it was a decade ago. Since then, we have had huge quantitative easing. Banks pumping money into the system and purchasing assets, so they rose. The Global Economy has picked up and is doing well, not individually, but over the globe. 0n is doing well, not individually, but over the globe. On average, 3 . That may not sound exciting, but comparatively, it is brilliant. Every single area, russia, latin america, who have been lacking, emerging markets, all of them are doing well. As you report said, it looks fantastic. You did not need stockbrokers, you could have done it yourself. Doing nothing, you would have been fine. , these figures were huge. Chinese shares up 48 . The dow jones in the us, at a quarter. Can they continue . They cannot. Things are not a straight line. They will shake. That is why investing in the stock market is not short term. This forthcoming year will be much more difficult. Interest rates are going up. You will see support from the Central Banks being withdrawn. Concern over growth, although we have seen good growth in the us, could a beach sustained . Could it be. It will not be a disaster, but be. It will not be a disaster, but be wary of more volatility. That is what you are likely to see. You will join us again to do the papers. Thank you. Theres an early Christmas Present of sorts for struggling toy retailer toys r us here in the uk. Its struck a deal with creditors to stay in business. Like its us parent company, its been hit by the huge growth in on line shopping, as our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, explains. 26 of the stores in south london and london will have to close from next spring. The company itself can carry on under a special insolvency arrangement. But part of that is they have guaranteed they will try and seek support from toys r us in the United States to shore up the uks Pension Scheme as well. Whether that will happen is not clear at the moment because the us company is in ba n kru ptcy moment because the us company is in bankruptcy proceedings at the moment, with nearly 900 stores of its own, and planned closures themselves. All of these toy businesses are under pressure at the moment. They face the heat of competition from Companies Trading on the internet, and offering toys at the convenience of being delivered in peoples homes, and at lower prices. Lets go to asia now, because a court in south korea is due to rule shortly on the fate of this man. Shin dong bin is one of the countrys top business leaders, head of the 100 billion retail and hotel conglomerate lotte. Hes charged with embezzlement and breach of trust. Rico hizon is following the story. What are we expecting to hear from the court . It could be a happy or a gloomy christmas for him. Prosecutors are seeking at least a 10 yearjail term. He is accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes and a Corruption Scandal bringing down president park. He is not the only one swept up in the scandal. In august, jy lead was sentenced to five years ofjail for corruption. Both men have denied wrongdoing. They both run conglomerates, massive family run companies that wield huge political power. In case of a guilty verdict, analysts say this could stop his drive to grow his domestic Oriented Company into a global group. There are major doubts about the outlook with a decade long reach into china lying in tatters. It is three sleeps until christmas. Are you ready . I am ready i am ready where is my hat . Merry christmas may christmas to everyone we will see you in the new year. Now lets brief you some other business stories. The us congress has passed a short term funding bill to keep the federal government running for four more weeks just a day before funding was due to expire. Without the budget deal Us Government departments would have been forced to shut down this weekend. The executive chairman of google owner, alphabet, will stand down in january. He has been with them since 2001 and will remain as a technical adviser. Shares in the brazilian playmaker, abuerra, soared after it held talks with boeing over a possible combination. Talks come after they announced an alliance with bombardier as well. And now, whats trending in the Business News this morning. In wired, more on our big topic of yesterday. Apple had way Better Options than slowing down your iphone. It says the company could have avoided the storm by supplying replacement battery kits to customers with older phones. In the wall streetjournal, judge dismisses lawsuit alleging foreign payments to trump businesses violate us constitution. And on bloomberg, disneys fox deal could slam movie theatres. It says cinema chains could end up squeezed by the increased power of the combined company. And dont forget, lets us know what you are spotting on line. Use the hashtag. The markets. Asian markets are up, following american markets which closed yesterday. That is on the back of strong growth figures out of the us. All ordinaries are doing well as well. It has been a great yearfor well as well. It has been a great year for the market is. Well as well. It has been a great yearfor the market is. That well as well. It has been a great year for the market is. That is well as well. It has been a great yearfor the market is. That is it from me. Iwill yearfor the market is. That is it from me. I will be back with the papers. Markets. Here in the uk, mps are calling for a National Plastic bottle deposit scheme in an attempt to tackle pollution. The Environmental AuditCommittee Want free Drinking Water to be provided on public premises and to make any firm using Plastic Packaging financially responsible for what they use. 0ur environment analyst, roger harrabin, reports. The uk uses around 13 billion plastic bottles every year. Nearly half are put into landfill, incinerated, or left as litter. Many ultimately find their way into the sea. The mps are urging the government to introduce a deposit and return scheme for bottles as 0011 and return scheme for bottles as 50011 as and return scheme for bottles as soon as possible. They want a new rule obliging all cafes, pubs, and restau ra nts rule obliging all cafes, pubs, and restaurants to provide free tap water so people can top up their own refilla ble water so people can top up their own refillable bottles. And they want many more public water fountains. The mps also proposed a sliding scale of charges on Plastic Packaging. So firms using easy to recycle material is pay least, and the others pay most. Materials. Ministers say they are consulting with firms to find the best solution is to what they are serious problem with plastic waste. Best solutions. Roger harrabin, bbc news. People travelling around the uk in time for christmas are being warned to expect delays in parts of the country. The rac says the christmas getaway will combine with the usual commuter traffic as well as rail disruption to create a frantic friday. Almost 400 miles of road works have been suspended by highways england to ease congestion. Coming up at 6am on breakfast. Charlie stayt and Naga Munchetty will have all the days news, business and sport. Plus, are you prepared for christmas dinner . Today is expected to be the busiest day of the year for food and drink sales as we stock up for the big day. This is the briefing from bbc news. The latest headlines the former separatist leader of catalonia says that what he calls the catalan republic has emerged victorious after elections in the North Eastern spanish region. A new migrant crisis is unfolding in greece, where the authorities are struggling to cope with thousands of Asylum Seekers now being held on islands close to turkey. Now it is time look at the stories that are making the headlines in media across the world. We begin with the spanish daily, el pais. Where a record high turnout in catalonias Regional Election is seen as underscoring the deep divisions in catalan society. The outcome, it says, is unlikely to heal these divides. El pais predicts the separatist parties willjoin forces in a governing coalition. The catalan online paper nacio digital. It emphasises that despite the triumph of the pro spain citizens party, the Independence Movement has kept an overall majority. It also says the results have rendered the prime ministers Popular Party irrelevant. The front page of the daily mail is about borisjohnsons moscow visit, where the first secretary said britain is prepared and able to launch massive retaliatory attacks if russian backed hackers target the uk. A top story in the Straits Times singapore looks at how the us Corporate Tax cut will prove a boon for singapore firms operating there. Finally, the New York TimesInternational Edition reflects on the tone of pop music in 2017, which, it says, has been too mournful and morbid. The article suggests that pressures on millennials and younger listeners are behind this rather bleak trend. Lets begin. With me isjustin urquhart stewart, director of seven investment management. The catalonia elections are all over the papers. The whole aim