Few brighter skies but some heavy showers moving through. Milder in the south at colder still further north. Bye bye. This is bbc news our latest headlines. Motorists are being warned of treacherous driving conditions across large parts of the uk, with sub zero temperatures. Hundreds of people have spent the night at Stansted Airport after flights were cancelled or delayed. The uns special envoy to syria says he fears children who desperately need to leave a rebel held area of damascus are being used as bargaining chips. The Health Secretary has told bbc news he would like nhs funding in england to be planned much more in advance. Jeremy hunt said ten Year Spending reviews would be better for those working in the health service. At least a0 people have been killed and more than 30 others injured in a bomb attack in afghanistan. It happened at a shia Cultural Centre west of the capital kabul. A spokesman for the Afghan Government said the suicide bomb was followed by two other explosions in the area. Now on bbc news, rachel horne looks back at the big business stories this year, and asks what we can expect in the coming twelve months in review 2017 the business year. It was a year of crucial negotiations. No dealfor britain is better than a bad dealfor britain. We would all love to have europe a la carte and a year of bold promises in the Worlds Largest economy. And i can think of no better Christmas Present for the American People than giving you a massive tax cut. It was a year where some of the worlds most Influential Companies hit a bump in the road. The taxi app uber will not have its licence renewed by transport for london. It says the firm is not fit and proper to operate. But others defied the critics to post record breaking results. Welcome to review 2017 a year in business. We have all that to come, but we are starting here in westminster, the home of the British Government, where big ben isnt the only thing under construction. What about that brexit deal . Back in march, the uk Prime Minister, theresa may, triggered article 50, and negotiations began. Shoulder to shoulder but not eye to eye. Just two years to negotiate britains departure from the eu. But brussels would not even begin trade negotiations before sorting out three key issues the irish border, the divorce bill and the rights of eu migrants living in the uk. The clock was ticking and it was making businesses nervous. Rhian newton smith is the chief economist at the lobby group which represents businesses here in britain. It has been challenging for business and led to confusion, we have not had clear leadership across the cabinet. And in a sense i think it was helpful to have the florence speech where the Prime Minister set out what the government was hoping to achieve, but sometimes we have seen the cabinet not always united behind that position. With no clarity on the uks future trading relationship with the European Union, some sectors started to trigger their contingency plans. The big Service Sector that was affected, or thought it might be affected, by this article 50 process was, of course, Financial Services. Britain has a big trade surplus with the rest of the European Union on Financial Services so banking, for example, a huge amount of trade in the European Union, a lot of trade from the European Union into london, london is the Financial Capital of europe. Those sectors that are most intertwined with europe were those that were most concerned. Uncertainty was rife, but there were further complications to come. I have just chaired a meeting with the cabinet, where we have agreed that the government should call a general election to be held on the 8th ofjune. The conservative party thought this would give them a bigger majority in parliament, and a stronger hand going into negotiations with the eu. The gamble didnt pay off. Big ben chimes. And what we are saying is, the conservatives are the Largest Party note they dont have an overall majority at this stage. In the past half hour, the Prime Minister has apologised to colleagues after losing her parliamentary majority and having to depend on support from the democratic unionists. I obviously wanted a different result last night, and i am sorry for all those colleagues who lost their seats, who didnt deserve to lose, and of course ill reflect on what happened. It is a hung parliament. So the conservatives have 309 seats, labour 258, theres no way the conservatives can go to 326. Sterling was already significantly down against the dollar following the brexit vote, then injune it took another hit of more than 2 after theresa mays government lost its majority. The fall in sterling raised the cost of imports and led to a steep rise in prices. With inflation above target, the uks central bank was forced to take an unprecedented step. So for the first time in a decade, the bank of england raised rates. So the really extraordinary period we had of cheap money that started with the financial crisis was coming to an end. Raising rates after ten years for a whole generation of borrowers is quite significant thing, when you think about the implications, particularly on Mortgage Rates and borrowings like that. So a small step in absolute terms, but very much the first of a journey. This year, the big story has been around two numbers firstly that inflation number, which is 3. 1 , and the other important number for how people experience the economy is the increase in incomes, and they have only been increasing at 2. 3 . That gap has created this Living Standards squeeze, real incomes are actually falling. Inflation affects us all, because that means higher prices, and that our wages go less far. With inflation above target and brexit uncertainty weighing on businesses, growth forecasts were revised down by several organisations, including the International Monetary fund and the governments own independent economists. But in december, a breakthrough. There would be no hard border for Northern Ireland, britain and the eu had come to sufficient agreement on the three separation issues, and talks could move on to trade. I think the agreements that we came to in december has increased confidence, that at least progress is being made, and it has probably given business a better understanding of how we are going to leave the European Union. At least, there is now a deal on the money that britain will pay into the European Union, on citizens rights, i think the one big area where there is still concern is over the irish border. The only land border between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and the republic of ireland. And the fact is, the British Government has said it wants that border to remain open. How will we do that, if we are going to leave the Customs Union and the Single Market . That is the big challenge now, what type of relationship will we have with the rest of the European Union in order to be able to keep that frictionless trade going, which is what theresa may has said she wants . I think what businesses want to see as soon as possible in 2018 is a time limited transition agreement, and then its about being clear around what our final relationship will be with the eu, getting a good agreement on our trading relationship that works across all sectors and all regions of the uk. And then it is certainly about people and having clear guarantees for eu citizens who are here and contributing to our economy, but also for uk citizens who are working abroad, we have made Good Progress on that in 2017, but we need to go a lot further on that. Brexit and the general election made a pretty eventful 2017 here in the uk, and across the atlantic in the us, they have been dealing with their own unexpected political results. At the beginning of the year, billionaire donald trump took control of the white house, and he had some pretty bold ideas about the future of the Worlds Largest economy. 2017 started off with a Major Political shift in washington. The election of us President Donald Trump took many by surprise, including us markets. Jitters were felt across the board at the prospect of a president with very little political experience. But the day after his election, stocks were trading higher, because of mr Trumps Campaign promises. The market has stormed up based on tax reform and infrastructure, those have been the two drivers. So if we can get those in place, maybe the market can finally settle and justify some of the valuations. It was the legislative promises of this administration that brought some of the euphoria on us markets, breaking records 70 times this year alone. But in terms of actual laws on the books, tax reform has onlyjust made it to the president s desk, squeaking in at the tail end of 2017. We have created 2. 2 million jobs since the election, unemployment is at a 17 year low, the Unemployment Rate in the Manufacturing Business is the lowest in recorded history. Consumer confidence is a 17 point high, pensions and retirement accounts are soaring, as the stock market hit 85 new record highs since the election. How are we doing . Are we doing 0k . Not bad, right . The us economy has also had consecutive quarters of 3 growth. But how much credit can the president take for what has happened this year . Some would argue, not very much. The Current Administration has inherited a rather strong economy. The economy has been chugging along through 2017 and even 2016, and we think President Trump is very lucky in that he has been able to inherit such a relatively nice economy. How does the president plan on keeping the us economy on this path of growth . 0ne assumption is that giving corporations big tax cuts will create jobs. But earlier this year at an event with white house chief economic adviser gary cohn, ceos in the audience were asked what they would do with the money they would no longer be putting towards taxes. If the tax reform bill goes through, do you plan to increase investment, your compa nys Capital Investment . Just a show of hands, if the tax reform goes through. Why arent the other hands up . Well, so much for that theory. And the tax bill comes with other problems. This tax package is not debt neutral. You are looking at maybe about 400 billion in Economic Activity generated from the package, but it will cost close to 1. 5. That means for every dollar spent by the us government, we are only getting 30 cents back. If youre counting accomplishments, the president was handed a healthy economy and has onlyjust now been able to pass a tax bill. But there is something that contributed to us growth this year that the president can take credit for. Within our first 11 months, we cancelled or delayed over 1500 planned regulatory actions, more than any previous president by far. Under the trump administration, the Environmental Protection agency has rolled back more than 60 rules, the us security and Exchange Commission has been enforcing rules less, and the incoming chair of the Federal Reserve has said some of the banking rules in place after the financial crisis should be pulled back. One, two, three. All of this has helped the economy in the short term, but the long term impacts could be unpleasant. The pendulum swings every eight years or so, and that is a common thing. This swing is more radical than it has been at any time back to reagan. It is more than the traditional pendulum swing. Now the question is, what can we expect from the economy Going Forward . Well, the Financial Markets seem like they will stay strong for now. I would think the first half of 2018 should be pretty positive, i think this has room to go. Is it going to be up 20 again in 2018 . Probably not. Strong markets mean mr trump will still have one of his favourite Economic Indicators to boast about. If, however, some of his other economic aspirations dont pan out, that could pose problems for what could already be a tricky mid term election. Still to come will 2018 be the year of the electric revolution . 0ur gadget guru Rory Cellan Jones gets a sneak peek at the new nissan leaf as he gives us his top tech predictions for the year ahead. But first, it is the poster child for the gig economy, the worlds biggest taxi provider, although technically it doesnt actually employ any drivers. Uber has transformed the way we move around our cities. But in a year when the chief executive was forced out, three uk cities suspended licences, and a huge data breach was revealed, i decided to ask a driver for his story, and guess who i found in my uber. Simon jack, what are you doing in my uber car . Well, james corden turned down my application for his programme, so here we are. Fabulous gareth, you are our uber driver, thank you for picking us up. How long have you been driving for . The firstjourney i made in an uber, i picked some kids up from school, and i got chatting to the drivers, i wanted to find something i could fit in between it contracts and pursuing my passion, which was a more creative field, i wanted to do a bit of acting. Is uber the new waiting tables in hollywood . I think it is. I tell people that. This beats waiting tables, because i dont have to go to the bar manager and say, my grandmother, she is ill, that type of stuff. The flexibility of uber obviously works for you, but not all the drivers agree we had that tribunal in the uk where it was recently upheld that uber drivers should be classified as workers, not as self employed. Lets listen to one of the guys who brought that appeal. The gig economy model like uber relies on workers they can exploit, in the case of uber, i was working due to desperation. Finance, insurance, licence fees and the list goes on. We have sweated labour, and workers feel exploited on the streets of london today. Gareth, do you see yourself as self employed or as a worker . I view myself as self employed, because that is what i signed up to. That is what you are told. It is kind of extreme that drivers are being exploited. I mean, you could say, we are all exploited when we do a job. But one thing i dont feel exploited about is working nine to five. It is that desire for flexibility that runs this gig economy, and uber is the embodiment of that gig economy. Uber is the poster child for the gig economy. It is the Biggest Company by far, last time someone bought a share in it, it was worth 68 billion. I think there is a wider question here, which is, what does the uberisation of the economy mean . The chancellor tried to future proof the economy against the growth of the gig economy. He tried to increase the National Insurance on self employed workers, there was a massive revolt, he had to climb down, it was embarrassing, but it is a massive problem for governments around the world how do they deal with changing nature of work . Do you pick up any of the kind of anger and fear that they have been disrupted by black cab drivers here in london . I talk to cab drivers about uber, they give a very different opinion, what do you make of that . When tractors were invented, people that were pulling ploughs not that people pulled ploughs but they were up in arms, these tractors, theyve come and taken our jobs. Every industrys been disrupted at some point. Are you worried that self driving cars could come and take yours . Yeah, exactly i was about to say that i have to just accept that and hope that we will rise against the machines and people will be like, no, i need a human person to speak to. Luckily for gareth, driverless taxis are still some way off, but what other developments can we look forward to in 2018 . Who better to ask than our tech guru, Rory Cellan Jones . Hey, siri turn on the christmas tree. Done. Alexa, play some christmas carols. Music plays. Hey, google, what are your tech predictions for 2018 . Sorry, i dont understand. Luckily, ive invited two top pundits to help me look into our technology future. Come in hi great seeing you hello go straight on through. Rhiannon, where is social media going in 2018 . Is snapchat finally going to reach old people like me . Thats a good question. What are you wearing, by the way . Ive got your snap spectacles, rory, so i can snapchat on the go, take my pictures and upload them. That proved pretty, uh, unsuccessful, didnt it, in 2017 . As far as we know, snapchat didnt sell half as many of their spectacles as they were expecting to, so i think they are still making a really big play for a more general audience at the moment, it is still very much heavily weighted towards teenagers, kind of like the under 24s that are using snapchat. But on the sort of reverse side, facebooks membership isjust going up and up and up Something Like a third of the world is now on facebook. Now, how good is it at animating us . Im sure this will catch on, but maybe not with my demographic. Stuart, how are we going to entertain ourselves in 2018 . Well, its a really exciting time. Theres lots of money is being thrown into it from a traditional sense, and then a future sense as well. Traditionally this year, netflix and amazon prime and even apple are getting into the streaming game, putting billions of pounds into creating amazing shows, and trying to convince us of that. We have had a huge explosions in the games market, weve had refreshes from xbox, from playstation, the switch from nintendo has pretty much turned that company around, whether its mario and zelda. But what were not seeing is the evolution of and the sort of the creation of vr, mixed reality and ar, so theres virtual reality, mixed reality, augmented reality. Im going to pause you there. So one application of augmented reality, i can put furniture in my kitchen. Lets have a go. Im going to buy the stool. Lets see if that stool would look good there. Ah, yeah, i think thatll work. I have bought myself a new stool. There it sits. Rhiannon so, rhiannon, i cant help noticing youve brought a little robot with you. Does that Say Something about your big theme for next year . It does my big theme for 2018 is going to be robots and artificial intelligence. Rhiannon so whats an example of his ai . Whats he got in him . Cosmo has got a little front facing camera just there, at the bottom of his face, which enables him to see everybody and also pets that sort of cross his path. So you can programme him to remember you. So, for example, we have programmed him to remember my name so he can say rhiannon, he can look at you and say rory, he can look at you and say stuart. Or you can teach him to recognise the family dog and when he sees the dog, he will go woof so amazon echo has already been a very key example of the kind of early stages of a that people are playing into, then we had google home with the Google Assistant as well, apples going to try and do it with the siri assistant, which weve for years in our phones, and they re looking to integrate it homepod. Well, heres another example. Help me to speak russian. Good morning, my fellow technology pundits. Good to have you here. App speaks russian. You speak good russian, dont you, stuart . Spasiba. Yeah. So, but seriously, Amazing Technology in these things. We are not very impressed with them yet, though, are we, this kind of device . It is incredible that, you know, 30 years ago, we dreamt of Something Like the babelfish that could do instant translation, and weve got it. Or the universal translator from star trek, which is also, you know, a lot of people think. I think it is that sort of double guessing, people dont100 . The technology works, but people dont trust it, and therefore its more of a social thing that you dont want to be in that situation, Say Something and then start thermonuclear global war kind of thing because you have said something wrong. Well, my big theme is about the way more and more of us are going to get around next year. I think youre going to like it. I have a surprise for you. Right, whats the surprise . This is the latest in electric motoring. It is the new nissan leaf. It is going to be out next year, so, tesla, look out. You fans of electric motoring . Definitely. Absolutely. Here it is, parked outside my front door. Am i going to run an extension cable across the. . No, but i think, you know, a lot of people outside of cities have driveways to park on. Im going to need lamp posts with charging points well, thats a big part of the Budget Proposal last month, wasnt it . They wanted to create a nation of charging points, so people will get rid of the kind of fear about electric cars, which is running out of gas when you are halfway down the motorway, and you cannot charge it anywhere, so once people are sort of reassured that they will be able to charge them at regular intervals, that probably will be what it needs for electric cars to truly take off. I think its we are going to see start to see over the next three to five years a real push on electric, and once you start getting the charging system working, either through this amazing lamp post system that we have on most streets or in the sort of long term future, charging pads within the tarmac of the road, then, you know, it is the future, we are getting there, it is just were in that final stage of mass adoption. Well, your chariot awaits. Happy christmas and enjoy the ride. Thank you. Merry christmas. Cheers, thanks. Alexa, stop. Thats all we have time in review 2017, but we will be sure to bring you all the latest breaking news on brexit, trump, uber and electric cars in the new year. But for now, thanks for watching. Good morning, ice was a big risk this morning and will continue to be a risk tomorrow morning as well. But for many of us today we have had a lot of sunshine, that will continue in many areas, one or two passing showers like an greater manchester, a lovely shot of the cumulus cloud there, we will see showers in north west england, north wales, some of those could be wintry, wintry showers of the northern and western scotland this afternoon, but for most of us, dry, sunny and cold, a little less called the further south and west you are. This evening temperatures will fall away quickly, a widespread frost developing, ice a big risk to night into tomorrow morning, temperatures well below freezing, colder than last night. Rain in the west will turn increasingly into snow over north wales and Northern Ireland. The met 0ffice wales and Northern Ireland. The met office has just issued an amber warning, be prepared for snow tomorrow morning which could cause disruption, particularly in the pennine region of york towards leeds, bradford, harrogate. That area could see 10 15 centimetres of snow. Trans pennine routes will be affected, Leeds Bradford airport also. Still snow across Northern England, particularly to central scotla nd england, particularly to Central Scotland for the rush hour tomorrow. Tomorrow morning. There will be destruction over the northern half of england and into southern scotland. Elsewhere showers passing through southern areas, brighter skies, milder in the south, temperatures reaching double figures, cold air in place across northern parts. Into the weekend mild airwill northern parts. Into the weekend mild air will continue to feed in from the south west, weather fronts moving in across the uk for saturday, giving saturday they will be quite a bit of cloud, quite a bit of strong breeze coming from the south west, temperatures across southern areas into 12 13dc, still a bit chilly, rain, snow over the higher part of scotland, colder air, a bit of snow perhaps, again dry weather on sunday with sunshine, temperature again into double figures, and taking us to midnight 2018 some clear spells for fireworks, a chilly wind, some unlucky people may experience some passing showers with perhaps more rain in the far south. Amber warning from the met office for snow tomorrow morning across the pennine region of Northern England. A lot of parts of Northern England and southern scotland should experience snow. More details online. That is it from me. Bye bye. Bye bye. This is bbc news, the headlines at midday. Motorists are warned of treacherous driving conditions across large parts of the uk, the cold est across large parts of the uk, the coldest night of the year predicted tonight with further snow to follow. Hundreds spend the night at Stansted Airport after flights were cancelled or delayed. Used as bargaining chips the uns special envoy to syria speaks out about the children who desperately need to leave a rebel held area of damascus. Also. The Health Secretary tells bbc news he would like nhs funding in england to be planned much more in advance. If we could have a workforce funding settle m e nt if we could have a workforce funding settlement perhaps lasting ten years rather than three or four years i