And japan sign a limited get it resolved, so we can focus on trade deal we will be looking at what it covers the priorities that the british and what it means for global trade. People keep telling me when i travel and on the markets asia stocks gain as trump around the country that they want to focus on. Talks up china trade deal. We have just seen a little bump. The ftse up just a we have just seen a little bump. The ftse upjust a smidgen. Want to make the most out of your Airline Loyalty points . Well, theres a guy to help you do just that. The points guy and well find out his top tips. After amazon announced alexa will have an option for celeb voices we want to know would that make you more likely to buy a Smart Speaker . Whose voice . Do privacy issues worry you . Let us know just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. Hello and welcome to business live. We start with alexa love it or hate it, you could soon be hearing a lot more from amazons talking virtual assistant. The tech giant has unveiled a huge push to get more of us using it building alexa into a range of gadgets from glasses to earphones and even a ring. You will even be able to give it a celebrity voice. More on that in a moment. Artificial intelligence whether its alexa, or apples siri or Google Assistant is entering our homes and lives at a rapid pace. All the while gathering valuable data on our habits. By 2024, the global Smart Home Market could be worth as much as 151 billion dollars. One in six americans now have a Smart Speaker in their home a 28 rise since the beginning of 2017. And so far that industry is dominated by amazon. It has around 75 of the Smart Speaker market with its rival google lagging way behind. Its hoping to grow that market share even further by giving the devices a voice that we know and trust. Just like we practise, ready . I am all ways ready. Save by name. With us now is david coombs, the head of Strategic Services at cheil uk. We saw the first celebrity voice will be available on the Smart Speaker. Is this a way to make the speakers seem less alien, more soft, more friendly and make people feel more friendly and make people feel more comfortable about having one of these devices in their home . Very much so, i think they are trying to appeal with a range of voices to a wide audience and a lot of research has shown the more human a device sounds the more likely we are to interact with it. It is natural human behaviour. Everything they can do to make them appear more human, the conversation nature of the makes us the conversation nature of the makes us feel more comfortable. There is a battle now to be the device that dominates the market. Amazons offering ahead of the others. Google wa nts offering ahead of the others. Google wants this foothold, as do apple. The data they can collect is so valuable, everything from what you are listening to, watching, eating. I think certainly with the footprint amazon can put into the house with Smart Speakers, the security staff announced last night, a raft of ways of getting alexa into different rooms using flex. They are trying to put alexa everywhere. That is the strategy. Trying to take it out of home with the new earbuds announced. The more they can get people interacting with alexa, the more data they can collect from that they can data they can collect from that they ca n start data they can collect from that they can start to leveraged advertising and the emerson platform. If it moves into the space of wearables, talking about glasses and earphones, they will have to assure people on they will have to assure people on the privacy issue. We have seen concerns about that with speakers. All of the wearable Tech Companies are struggling with this. It is down to responsibility and acting responsibly in this space. They have had their share of listening in conversations in humans looking at transcripts. They have announced security measures. Ring have a home function where you can switch off the listening at home and you can ask alexa to delete conversations. It is acting responsibly. We have seen facebook where they have potentially not acted responsibly and now they are trying to put hardware into homes. People who build up trust will win in this space. Thank you. Whenever we talk about this story, everyone says dont say the name. It sets the devices offer at home. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news. The International Monetary fund has named Kristalina Georgieva as its new managing director. She takes over from christine lagarde, who is leaving to become head of the European Central bank. The bulgarian Economist Says she has a huge responsibility in taking on the job at a time of faltering economic growth, trade tensions and historically high debt levels. Japanese Investment Firm softbank is in talks with wework to increase a 1. 5 billion investment its agreed to put into the Office Leasing company next year thats according to the financial times. The renegotiation of investment comes as wework reworks financial plans in the wake of its initial Public Offering delay. Softbank owns about 30 of wework. Tobacco giants Philip Morris and altria have abandoned talks over a 187 billion merger amid growing scrutiny of the vaping market. E cigarette makerjuul 35 per cent owned by altria also announced its ceo is stepping down. The us and japan have outlined initial details of a new trade deal what does it cover . And will it stop an escalation in the trade war between the countries . Rupert Wingfield Hayes is in tokyo what does this cover . It covers mainly Agricultural Products on both sides say it is a preliminary agreement and the american side say there are further negotiations down there are further negotiations down the road but in 2016, President Trump pulled out of the Trans Pacific partnership, which was a huge trade deal between the us, japan and other pacific nations and instead said he wanted to negotiate Bilateral Agreements in particular with japan because the us has a huge trade deficit with japan. This is the first result. We are seeing the us getting japan to drop tariffs on a host of Agricultural Products. Beef, pork, wheat. But they had already agreed to do that in the tpp so already agreed to do that in the tpp so he has not got anything more than he would have got under the tpp. He has nothing on rice. In return, japan has not got much except a verbal assurance that President Trump will not raise tariffs on japanese cars. Japan is relieved. No doubt mrtrump japanese cars. Japan is relieved. No doubt mr trump will say it is a victory. Thanks. A quick look at the markets. Generally the markets have been a little bit optimistic over the us china trade talks. President donald trump suggested a deal could be close. Singapores manufacturing output slumped during august the latest evidence of how the island states economy is being buffeted by headwinds ranging from trade wars to sluggish global growth. Here in the uk the British Airways parent iag has warned that its full year profits will be 6 per cent lower than last year after the pilots strike earlier this month wreaked havoc and became one of the most serious industrial disputes in its history. And theres been a deal covering the pensions of 39,000 people. Rothesay life has signed the uks biggest ever pension transfer deal, taking on the massive £4] billion former gec scheme. Vivienne nunis has the details of whats ahead on wall street today. There is a key piece of Economic Data that investors will be watching for on thursday the latest reading of americas Second Quarter gross domestic product. Its expected to confirm the us economy grew at a solid if unspectacular annual rate of 2 . With President Trumps political woes commanding the news agenda, its worth remembering that, so far, hes built a lot of his boasts of success on the us growth rate. A reversion to 2 after only a brief period of 3 growth is not a helpful message for next years campaign. In corporate news, micron technology, the semiconductor company, has already suffered from a slump in sales caused by the us china trade war. Investors will look closely at its Fourth Quarter Earnings Report for any signs that that is still a problem. And the grain trader cargill has also been caught in the trade war fallout and it, too, is scheduled to release Quarterly Earnings on thursday. Fiona cincotta, market analyst at city index is here. The market board is a sea of green. It looks like a move towards risk on sentiment despite political turmoil. The latest donald trump scandal, he seems to have slipped through this one again. The fact is that the markets, their main focus is trade. That is what they are focused on. The impeachment scandal appears to be settling for the time being. With donald trump saying a deal could happen sooner than we think, that has given investors reason to jump on board. I was interested in the graph that came about yesterday of global debt. Global debt surging to the highest level in peace time. Worlds Major Economies having debt on average of 7 of gdp. Should be be worried . It is an eye opener. Debt levels at 70 of gdp. These are shocking numbers. It is not sustainable. This is where the concern comes in. Post war, you had demographics helping the situation and post war reconstruction that meant debt level is reduced. Now we dont have that at the moment. Instead the Central Banks are being involved with monetary easing which is almost helping the government with taking on more debt. At the moment we seem to back ourselves into a corner where we are not going to be able to get out of it easily. We will go through the papers later. Still to come do you feel rewarded . Most of us rack up points on Loyalty Cards but are we getting the best deals . One website can help you find outjust that well meet the founder. Youre with business live from bbc news. After a dramatic few days in westminister, ben thompson is getting reaction in stoke on trent this its the city with the highest number of leave votes in the uk. The pm has returned from new york unrepetent and defiant. Does he have the support of the people of stoke . Ina rainy in a rainy stoke. How is it coming across to you . I tell you what is coming across, the rain, we are drenched. A gust of wind and i am covered. Welcome. Bear with us while we cope with the rain. Let me show you the view of where we are. We are in one of the former kilns in stoke on trent. This place is known for its ceramic history but it is 110w for its ceramic history but it is now about much more than that. It is all about tech, innovation, now about much more than that. It is allabout tech, innovation, new start ups. Let me introduce you to mow. This is good english weather. Lets talk about the implications of what we have heard over the past 2a hours. It was brought in the commons. Talk to me about what it means for people running businesses ina means for people running businesses in a place like this. It is unnerving. We need stability and confidence. And reinvesting growth. You have a number of businesses and industries, how do you prepare for so industries, how do you prepare for so many potential outcomes from Different Industries . A big question and difficult and challenging. Lets ta ke and difficult and challenging. Lets take my stoke business water world, a water park. It does not stop me investing and transforming the business but we have concerns and tell the political situation is sorted out it is unnerving to plan and grow. You put money on the line. Long Term Investment that you do not know what they will look like in six months, maybe not even six weeks from now. That is true but the fact is entrepreneurs always take a risk and we have to believe in ourselves so and we have to believe in ourselves so the investment made is made irrespective of the brexit situation. We have confidence in the brand to invest in growth. Nice to see you and thank you for braving the rain. Some of the thoughts of business here but clearly a lot for business here but clearly a lot for business to content with. The debate will continue. Youre watching business live our top story amazon introduces alexa into more devices as the race for smart homes and smart gadgets heats up. Now how would you like to fly around the world in first class or relax in Luxury Hotels all for little or nothing thanks to your credit card points and bonus miles . Well, its all comes down to loyalty programmes. With a Global Market value of almost 7 billion so far this year expected to hit around 11 billion by 2024. But with more and more schemes fighting for your custom, getting the best deal isnt always obvious. Our next guest nicky kelvin says he has a solution to this problem. Hes part of the team that runs points guy a us travel website that gives advice on how to make the most of loyalty perks. Nickyjoins us now. How do we do it . There are lots of games to be played in the loyalty world and we are here to help people to earn the most air miles and spend them in the best way to gain value because there are points and benefits left on the table. Has it become more confusing and what you get for your loyalty has diminished . There are benefits to be hard to steal, but getting through the quagmire of information is the difficult thing. You have to attack it from all angles, to be earning from lots of places and understanding the value of what you earn to spend them in the best way. It is confusing because information is everywhere and to get to the important stuff is hard and that is what we do, we try to clear the way for people to understand. The reward seats, when you try to redeem points, if you know well in advance and exact dates of travel you might stand a chance of getting business class, first class at a bargain but leave it close to the time it is hard. I tell people diversification is super important. If you have loads of Different Air miles you open it yourself to different alliances and airline so the more options and dates and airlines, the more chance you have of the amazing redemption. Relying on one airline will not quite cut it. And knowing that one currency might apply for Different Airlines and understanding thatis Different Airlines and understanding that is important. Did Companies Make it deliberately difficult to find out how to spend your points in an efficient way . I think it is may be in some Companies Benefit to make you spend the points, may less value, but Companies Want your loyalty a nd value, but Companies Want your loyalty and they want to spend the points. It is the mass of information you have to get through thatis information you have to get through that is there. Companies dont hide it but you have to find your way through to the best of it from the different schemes and companies. What is the one best Points Redemption experience you have had . The most successful you have been in getting a great deal. This is crazy. An easy one, i am going to france this weekend and it cost me 8000 air miles and 35 quid in tax. That is a simple one. What is the crazy one . I did a very big redemption, iflew simple one. What is the crazy one . I did a very big redemption, i flew on Many Airlines went through china, hong kong, taiwan, australia, singapore and home and most of it on first class on incredible airlines. 0ne first class on incredible airlines. One of the schemes has a chart nobody knows about that is called the multi carrier award and i used that chart which is in the depths of the scheme to fly what was a £20,000 ticket. In cash i paid about 300 quid. Amazing. Did you have to spend £300 a day in a supermarket to get the points . I had to amass the points but did that from many different places in my day to day life from spending on a credit card, Online Shopping portals, supermarket loyalty, different places over months and years depending on how much you spend or want to get into this game. Do you have a mathematical mind . This game. Do you have a mathematical mind . If this game. Do you have a mathematical mind . If you are totting up the points and looking at what they are worth if you redeem it for car hire, an upgraded seat, is that the way your mind works . |j think that the way your mind works . think yes, i am obsessive with these things but there are benefits to be had if you are not obsessive. I like to look at the penny value i get from every point and try to squeeze out as much value as i can. And at the points sky we help people to squeeze maximum value out of points but you do not need to be that scientific points guy. But you do not need to be that scientific points guy. A friend of mine found out if you got bonus points on frozen pasties, stuck up the freezer. Eating pasties for months but got good holiday out of it. I did that with okra. Pity the person behind him. In the checkout. He is there again. Are you a fitness fan . You might be interested in peloton. They arejoining fan . You might be interested in peloton. They are joining the Nasdaq Stock Market later. Could value the company at 8 billion. Peloton sells high tech excercise bikes with screens to stream classes or take on your friends over the internet. Samira hussain has been finding out more. This stationary bike is unique with on demand classes that allows users to virtually ride with thousands of others. Ican i can understand the appeal but i really miss the communal aspect of going to the gym. There is a community element. You can see people on the leaderboard. In this weird way you feel part of a Community Even though you are spread over the world. Half a million have bought a peloton, but translating that popularity into success on the stock market is a different game. Peloton has not yet made a profit. The price tag 2000 plus a Monthly Subscription fee for live stream classes. People who get on a peloton, rarely get off. Users are loyal which might help the company succeed. There will always be alternatives. It seems to have established a brand and has a loyal user base. It is if that sticks. The company will need to keep growth growing, unlike peloton users, investors will not want to sweat. A double dose of ben thompson. First suited and booted and then in lycra. What more could you need . I thought they were going slowly compared to how fast we go. That is true, after the programme we will be down there, music pumping. Fiona is back to look through the papers lets do the spicy kfc, spicing it up. They have given him the ben thompson makeover. What do you make of it . They have given him a makeover, they are putting him into a video game that invites players to win his heart. This is a complete change to the kernel we know from previously. He has muscles. This is a really interesting take. We are seeing here they are trying to appeal to the younger generation. Is there an obsession with youth . That is something we have to ask ourselves. Will it turn into more sales, which is what they are looking for. To keep the brand current and get millennials more actively involved. I wonder if it is actively involved. I wonder if it is a misstep. Everybody knows the colonel. This feels slightly fraudulent. That bloke has never eaten a bucket of Fried Chicken in his life. Are you pointing at me . They have definitely strayed from the original recipe. They are not the original recipe. They are not the first. There have been other characters and personalities. For example larry has had a makeover. You mention the kind of what do we prioritise, the youthful image versus experience. That takes us nicely onto the other story featured in quartz. Respect for elders in the workplace. This is an interesting article and focuses on india. And respect for elders in the workplace. The article comments that there is an absence of codified laws against ageism in the workplace. There is this. There are Certain Industries where it is more prevalent. Information technology and media. They are saying this unashamed focus on the age of the new tech entrepreneur in india. That is fuelling this focus on youth and moving away from the older generation. Thank you. Thats it from business live today. There will be more Business News throughout the day on the bbc live webpage and on World Business report. Hello, we have more wet weather to come over the next few days. The satellite from the atlantic shows a bulk of cloud here. This is this weekends weather. The head of that, shower clouds today and tomorrow after this cloud moves away into the north sea. That is bringing heavy rain. It will clear. We will be left with sunny spells and showers. You can see the rain as it moves into the north sea, lingering in the north east of scotland. Showers feed infor north east of scotland. Showers feed in for many. Some sunny spells but blustery winds. Maximum temperatures today at 16 20. This evening and tonight, showers moving their way through. Late in the night, another batch of more frequent showers moving in across wales into North Western areas of england. A wet start to friday morning here. In the east and north, some clear spells. Temperatures staying in double figures. A wet start to friday particularly in wales, north west england with showers merging to give longer spells of rain. There is not going to be much in the way of sunshine but some sunny spells breaking through across wales, south west england, Northern Ireland and western scotland tomorrow afternoon. Temperatures down a little bit, 14 18. At the weekend, heavy rain and strong winds. There is uncertainty as to the northern extent. This is the bulk of cloud i showed you. It will move through. The low pressure system could be further north, further south, and it will have an impact on where the heaviest of the rain will be. On saturday, some showers in northern and western areas. Brighter weather towards eastern parts. Later in the day, rain spreading into the south west. And the rain will push north. That is the uncertainty. We think at the moment it will be across southern scotland, northern england, the midlands, eastern parts. Heavy rain and strong winds, making it feel colder. That is all from me. Have a 00 28 41,854 4294966103 13 29,430 good day. Goodbye