We start with brexit, because the uks brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, is holding talks in brussels later with the eus chief negotiator, michel barnier, amid some renewed optimism a deal can be done. Late on thursday, the pound surged following comments from European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker that a new brexit deal is possible. Sterling hit its highest in two months against the us dollar when the comments were broadcast, around 6 00pm uk time. The uk government says it has shared confidential documents with the eu that reflect the ideas the uk has put forward on brexit. The eu says technical talks are now taking place. It is all about finding an alternative to the controversial backstop that would keep the uk tied to eu rules unless a solution to the irish border is found. Here is what mrjuncker told sky newss sophy ridge. Brexit is now less than six months away. Six weeks away. How do you rate the chances of britain leaving with a deal . I had a meeting with borisjohnson, the prime minister. This was a rather positive meeting, although the British Press was reporting it in the other way. We can have a deal. You think we can get a deal . I think. You think the chances are more than 50 50 . get a deal . I think. You think the chances are more than 5050 . I dont know, but i am doing everything to have a deal, because i dont like the idea of no deal, because this would have catastrophic consequences. Would have catastrophic consequences. It is better for britain and for the European Union to have an organised deal. Britain and for the European Union to have an organised dealli britain and for the European Union to have an organised deal. I wonder what was on that bookshelf. Home rentals site airbnb plans to list on a Stock Exchange next year, in what is expected to be one of the highest profile share sales of 2020. Airbnb was founded in 2008, in san francisco, and says it now offers 7 million unique places to stay in 191 countries and regions. Unlike other internet start ups, it has made a profit for the past two years. Going by recent private investments in the company, airbnb could be valued at 40 billion. But, as Vivienne Nunis in new york explains, there are questions that potential investors may want cleared up. It has run up against city authorities and some of the bigger cities in the world, like paris, berlin, amsterdam. They say that airbnb has brought up house prices, it has taken away Housing Stock or brought up rental prices and so there is also a debate going on in new york, actually, between city authorities and airbnb. Investors will want to see that cleared up before airbnb list, presumably on one of the Stock Exchanges here in new york. Lets talk about amazon now, and its environmental impact. On thursday, founder and Ceo Jeff Bezos promised to make the internet giant Carbon Neutral by 2040. He said amazon has ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans, the first of which will Enter Service in 2021, and he promised 100 of its energy would come from renewable sources by 2030, up from 40 at the moment. But some of the companys staff believe amazon is not doing enough to reduce its carbon footprint, and hundreds are planning to walk out of the firms seattle headquarters in protest later today. The bbcs dave lee has more. If amazon had hoped that thursdays announcement would dampen the energy of the walkout, that doesnt seem to have been the case. 0rganisers have told me that the firms pledge to meet the spirit of the Paris Agreement is proof that their concerns are being listened to, and they feel invigorated. But in others view, it doesnt go far enough. One of the organisers of the walkout is emily cunningham, a User Experience designer from amazon in seattle and says amazons impact on Climate Change goes well beyond its own goals and sustainability. If amazon truly wants to be a climate leader, we absolutely cannot be in bed with fossil fuel companies. Currently, were selling our Artificial Intelligence to big oil and gas to help them extract oil more quickly, and thats the exact opposite of what we need right now. Scientists say absolutely, to avert catastrophic warming, we must keep fossil fuels in the ground. 0rganisers have said they hope as many as 1,700 amazon workers will choose to walk out at their offices around the world. They have said they dont expect there to be any personal repercussions from amazon about their decision. Dave lee, bbc news in san francisco. Lets go to asia now, and japan is expecting a financial boost from hosting the Rugby World Cup, that gets under way later today. Rico hizon is following the story. Hello. Do you have world cup fever today . Absolutely world cup fever. Russia versus japan tonight at the tokyo stadium. Everyone is excited for the very first game. And of course, organisers are excited as well, victoria, because they are forecasting a potential windfall from this Rugby World Cup, which can bring in around 4 billion to the economy. And that will mean nearly 500,000 foreign visitors visiting japan during the six week tournament. And they think, victoria, rugby fans will spend an average of 200 us Dollars Per Day giving their time average of 200 us Dollars Per Day giving theirtime in average of 200 us Dollars Per Day giving their time injapan a sizeable economic impact. And it is not just sizeable economic impact. And it is notjust big sizeable economic impact. And it is not just big cities sizeable economic impact. And it is notjust big cities like tokyo and 0saka which will experience a boost. The matches are spread out over 12 venues in 12 different cities, and one of the key factors observers are looking out for is whether the japanese can offer Convenient Services forforeign japanese can offer Convenient Services for foreign travellers due to the language barrier. And they say this will certainly be a good dry run ahead of the tokyo 0lympics which is taking place in less than ten months. And victoria, one of the tournament sponsors is worried about the capacity of stadiums to sell beer. Japanese stadiums are usually, forefoot ball or baseball games, but did you know that rugby fans drink a lot more beer than them . During the by lot more beer than them . During the rug by world lot more beer than them . During the Rugby World Cup in 2015, rugby fans consumed 1. 9 million litres of air, which is six times more beer than football fans. What an astounding statistic. That is kind of disgusting, isnt it . My husband is one of them, although i am going to kill him if he is spending 200 a day. Enjoy the rugby games. Thank you very much. See you soon. Now lets brief you on some other business stories a rescue of travel giant thomas cook is under threat after its banks demanded it find £200 million in extra contingency funding. The struggling Tour Operator was hoping to seal a rescue led by chinese conglomerate fosun this week. Without the deal, the firm is likely to collapse, leaving 150,000 uk holidaymakers stranded and threatening 20,000 jobs. The new York Federal Reserve says it will inject up to 75 billion more into the us money markets on friday to stop the Financial System running short of cash. It offered similar amounts on tuesday, wednesday and thursday, as overnight Interest Rates soared. A credit crunch like this foreshadowed the 2008 financial crisis. But economists say the current squeeze has more to do with Corporate Tax bills coinciding with some major bond sales, sucking money out of the system. Brazilian mining giant vale has been ordered to pay nearly 3 million to the family of several victims of the brumadinho dam collapse in january. The sentence by a court in the state of minas gerais is the First Successful individual claim against the company. More than 300 people died in the disaster. And now, what is trending in the Business News this morning . From the wall streetjournal, zuckerberg meets with trump, faces tough questions from senators. The facebook ceo was in washington, seeking to placate lawmakers scrutinising big tech. Wired has an angle on amazons environmental pledge, a huge boost for the startup electric vehicle maker rivian. The retail giant says it will buy 100,000 electric vans by 2030 from a company that doesnt yet have a single vehicle on the road. And cnbc has an insight into the confident personality of the founder of wework, which is meeting growing scepticism over its planned flotation. Adam neumann wants to live forever, be king of the world, and the first trillionaire. And dont forget, let us know what you are spotting online. Use the hashtag bbcthebriefing. Thats it for the Business Briefing this hour. But before we go, here are the markets. Japanese stocks were heading for a fifth consecutive week of gains. Bird populations in asia and the us are in crisis, according to two major studies. The first says there are 3 billion fewer birds in the us and canada today compared to 1970. The second claims that, on the island ofjava in indonesia, more birds now live in cages than in the wild. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill reports. Sold in their thousands every day, injava, indonesia, sold in their thousands every day, in java, indonesia, the sold in their thousands every day, injava, indonesia, the songbird trade is thriving. It is fuelled by a National Passion for birdsong. Singing competitions like this take place all over the country every weekend. But it is also driving an extinction crisis. Dozens of species caught from the forests to supply the trade are disappearing from the wild, and scientists studying this it has now reached a tipping point. Jarba is an island about the size of england, and we estimate that there is around 75 million birds captivity java. Is around 75 million birds captivity java. Thats is around 75 million birds captivity java. Thats probably is around 75 million birds captivity java. Thats probably more than there may be in the wild, which is a very serious issue for the island and its wild environment. This is one of two major studies published today that point to a global crash in bird populations. The other, a project carried out by scientists in the us and canada, examined 50 years of bird surveys in north america. It revealed that there are 3 billion fewer birds on the continent today than they were in 1970. Habitat loss driven by human activity has been blamed, but the researchers are actually optimistic that their conclusions could be a wake up call, triggering action to protect vital habitats and migration routes. And, in indonesia, the widespread love of the birds could provide a catalyst for them to be protected in the wild. This is the briefing from bbc news. The latest headlines students have joined Office Workers in sydney as part of a global Climate Change day of demonstrations and strikes. At least 1,000 people have been rescued in the southern us, as heavy rains cause widespread flash flooding. The Rugby World Cup gets under way in japan later, in what is considered the most open tournament for years. Now its time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. We begin with the telegraph and European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker who the paper says has hinted that the eu may be open to dropping the backstop insurance policy to prevent the return of a hard border in ireland. He also said that the eu could possibly agree a new brexit deal by oct 31. Meanwhile the independent focuses on comments made by brexit secretary Stephen Barclay who said the eu has set britain a test it cannot meet with its demands to see a replacement for the irish backstop. The ft leads with saudi arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman who they report is pressuring some of the wealthiest families in the kingdom to buy in to the initial Public Offering of its state oil group, saudi aramco. Many of the families targeted had members previously imprisoned in Riyadhs Ritz Carlton Hotel in 2017 in what the government billed as a crackdown on corruption. The guardian says ryanair suffered a significant pay revolt yesterday when almost half of the airlines shareholders voting against a pay package for michael 0leary that could result in the chief executive receiving a 99 million euro bonus within five years. And finally good news for all the jokers in the class. A girls school in sheffield is offering stand up comedy classes so they have the courage to boost their confidence and be able to have Difficult Conversations later in life. With me is mark davies, the ceo of Strategy Consultancy Firm camberton. We Consultancy Firm camberton. Will have to start witi we we will have to start with exit and we will work away to comedy. This is