This is the Business Briefing. Im samantha simmonds. Oil Companies Going green. Sounds like an impossibility, but thats the buzzword for the oil majors nowdays and today bp will outline its strategy. Samsung takes another stab at a foldable smartphone we get a closer look at the z flip. And on the markets, Asia Pacific Rose on wednesday following another positive lead from wall street the dowjones ending the day neutral, though. In an increasingly environmentally aware world, oil and Gas Companies have something of an image problem. In a few hours time the new chief executive of bp, bernard looney, is to make a speech where he is expected to set out new targets for making the Company Greener and more sensitive to climate change. Bp is already investing in solar power, wind and hydrogen. The Company Wants to reduce its carbon footprints at the same time as continuing to produce oil and gas. What about other oil firms . Shell has been buying up Battery Technology businesses and firms that deal with matching power demand with supply. Meanwhile, exxonmobil says it has been investing in Biofuels Research programmes for new energy sources. However, a study by the financial think tank, carbon tracker, estimates that oilfirms risk wasting 2. 2 trillion by 2030 if governments take a tougher stance on carbon emissions. Dr charlie donovan, director of the centre for climate finance and investment at Imperial College business school, joins me now. Welcome joins me now. To you and good morning, welcome to you and good morning, thanks for coming in. Lets talk about bp, currently trying to reposition itself as a champion of climate change. How doable is that . Today is a big day for bp shareholders because they got a new ceo facing huge pressures about a low oil price, falling share price and questions from investors about how it navigates this world, so a big moment and a big stage for him today. Oil Companies Make their money from drilling oil, how strong an incentive is it for them to look for alternatives . This time its different, because weve been here before ten yea rs because weve been here before ten years ago before the financial crisis, a big ramp up by shell and bp and others and then subsequent decline. This time it is different because were ina time it is different because were in a different with
technology costs, so its not just the desire to be green or pressure from society but suddenly theres a market pressure about Falling Technology costs for solar, wind and other renewables and that means these companies have to get in the game to be releva nt to to get in the game to be relevant to that in the future. How are they going to get into the game when their history and business is drilling for oil . That history is a complex one, and theres a lot of skills are sitting within a company like dp that can put to work in these new sectors. The question is whether thats a commitment they want to take. Its a difficult translation to go from articulating to shareholders, putting out a dividend associated with the oil price, something made up of a mix of different kinds of businesses and really the task todayis businesses and really the task today is for the new ceo to articulate how hes going to do that and exactly how shareholders can buy into that story. What do you think the oil industry and an oil company like bp will look like in ten yea rs . Like bp will look like in ten years . It has to look different
to today. As we go forward, the Big InternationalOil Companies have started to take different strategies. As you said, shell has been very aggressive and some of the us majors, exxon and chevron, continue to have ahead in the sand about what the future is bringing. Bp is in an uncomfortable middle at the moment and it will have to break one way or the other. What way can it go to survive in the long term . What way can it go to survive in the longterm . It has to survive in the long term, theres lots of people around this country and around the world want to bp survive ultimately because theres a lot of great people in these businesses that have the capability to four their minds to this challenge and we cant do it without these people. Thanks for your analysis in. My pleasure. Thanks for your analysis and. Boeing has scored no orders for its planes injanuary. This is the First Time Since 1962 that that the us plane maker didnt sell any of its planes in a month. And boeing had more
bad news today. Monica miller is following the story from the singapore airshow. The american air plane maker came up empty forjanuary, with zero orders. This has everything to do with the future of the 737 max air plane they have created that was grounded by the faa about a year ago. The fact these planes are not in the sky has hit not just the bottom line of boeing but also its suppliers and airlines, which now have these planes out of commission. They are looking at a debt to the tune of 27 billion for 2019, and when you look at its rival, airbus, theyve seen an increase in orders. In fact, they saw some of the best numbers in january for at least 15 years. There might be a real hope for boeing. They were saying the faa last week said they may actually approve the air plane to get back in the sky by midyear, which was earlier than they expected. We spoke to a spokesperson yesterday who said even if that
happens, these planes will take months to get back into because theres lots of checks that need to take place. Its not like buying a car, where you drive an air plane off the lot, you need to get it to where it needs to be and fuel it. They also got tricky news about the coronavirus, they said cargo shipping numbers are going to drastically plummet as the virus continues. Monica miller at the singapore airshow, thank you. Samsung has unveiled a folding flip phone and a range of 56 devices all with price tags of 1,000 or more. The worlds leading mobile phone maker held its major launch event in san francisco, ten days before the industrys annual get together mobile World Congress is due to take place in barcelona. Many firms have pulled out of that event because of concerns about the coronavirus. As Rory Cellan Jones reports, samsung is now looking to move ahead of its chinese rivals. Heres the new normal for major
events. Outside, a temperature monitor to screen possible coronavirus victims. Inside, facemasks for anyone who is worried. But, at its biggest event of the year, samsung wa nted event of the year, samsung wanted us to focus elsewhere, on 56, photography and a folding phone. When im ready to use it, all i have to do is flip it open. The star of the show was the z flip, a smaller but more convincing and elegant folding device than last years galaxy fold. Weve engineered new 56 chipsets. Far more important for the Company Bottom line is the new flagship galaxy s 20 with all the asians now capable of using the asians now capable of using the new 5g networks. Although few people can get 5g yet, samsung believes they will want to be ready. I would encourage anyone looking to buy a flagship smartphone, or any smartphone really, that 5g technology is going to be the future so better to get on board from the beginning and make sure that
device over the next two years is going to work as fast as it can. These days, smart phones are all about cameras. Having seen huawei lingerie phone with a 50 times zoom, samsung showed off one that could zoom in 100 times. Samsung hopes to steal a march on its big rivals, the apple iphone certainly doesnt fold and Chinas Huawei has a problem with its image and its reputation over security and then theres the question of then theres the question of the coronavirus. Skyhigh prices, nearly 1400 for the flip phone, may put some consumers off Industry Analysts think samsung is well placed to fight back against the likes of huawei. The disadvantage samsung has at the moment is china, and i think the push with 5g might actually help them recapture some market share within the Chinese Market where they lost a lot of ground to chinese players. Coronavirus threatens to cast a shadow over the phone industry, but for samsung, which does most of its manufacturing outside china, it could be an
opportunity to pull ahead of its rivals. Rory cellan jones, bbc news, san francisco. Now lets brief you on some other business stories. Shares of softbank are surging by as much as 12. 5 after a merger between t mobile and sprint was given the green light by a usjudge. Remember, the Japanese Firm owns sprint. The deal is worth 26 billion, and the firms claim this will help reshape the us wireless industry, and build up americas 5g networks. But critics say its only going to lead to higher prices. Us Officials Say chinas tech giant huawei, which has been banned, can covertly access mobile phone networks around the world through back doors. Intelligence shows huawei has had this secret capability for more than a decade, the us officials said. Huawei has rejected the allegations. Staying with tech, and amazon, apple, alphabet, facebook and microsoft are facing fresh scrutiny over whether they stifled competition by buying up smaller rivals. The federal trade commission has asked the firms to hand over information about a decade of deals, warning it could lead to action being taken. The tech giants already face several government investigations into whether their practices harm competition. Thats it for the Business Briefing this hour but before we go, here are the markets. Asia pacific rose on wednesday following another positive lead from wall street. Not reflected in the dow. Investor sentiment mixed about the immediate and long term impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The largely positive morning following fresh record closes by the s p 500 and the nasdaq in new york on tuesday. We cant show you that at the moment, though. Traders reacted positively to cautious comments from the Us Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on the coronavirus. Up next, news briefing. Stay with us. One of the new competitions being introduced at the Olympic Games in tokyo this summer is sport climbing. The first member of team gbs climbing squad is Shauna Coxsey from cheshire, who has already won five british titles, along with other medals in the world championships. Sports correspondent Katie Gornall reports. Reaching for the top. Its set to be one of the most explosive sports at this summers olympics, and right now british hopes are in the fingertips of Shauna Coxsey. Fees the countrys most successful competitive climate and today she became the first ever sport climber selected for team gb. I started climbing when i was four, so i would watch the
Olympic Games and it was so inspiring but also i felt quite disconnected because my sport wasnt part of that, so now to be here talking about the games and im going to be there too, it is so crazy and really, really exciting. Climbing isa really exciting. Climbing is a sport on the rise stop it will make its olympic debut in tokyo this summer along with the likes of skateboarding and surfing, all sports popular with young people and all hoping to reach a whole new audience. Olympic exposure offers a huge opportunity for climbing, which has already experienced a surge in popularity. In 2017, its thought 1 in popularity. In 2017, its thought1 million in popularity. In 2017, its thought 1 Million People climbed on an indoor wall. By 2019, that number had grown to almost 1. 5 million. More and more people, it seems, are spending theirfree time hanging around places like this. Some people say, what are you doing on the weekend . And i say climbing. What . The adrenaline when you are up there is amazing. You get stronger and its fun. For Shauna Coxsey, this summer is not just about scaling a wall but lifting her sport to new heights and winning over a whole new set of fans in the process. Katie gornall, bbc news. Coming up at 6am on breakfast, dan walker and Louise Minchin will have all the days news, business and sport. This is the briefing from bbc news. The latest headlines the veteran left wing senator Bernie Sanders has won the New Hampshire primary, the latest stage in the contest to choose a Democratic Party candidate for the white house. China reports another 97 deaths in the coronavirus outbreak as the death toll climbs above1,100. Now its time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. We begin with the New York Times online, which, like many other media outlets, they are focussed the Us Democratic president ial
races first primary. Bernie sanders has won in a tight tree over centrist former mayor pete buttigieg. Meanwhile, vox says four lawyers who prosecuted political operative roger stone have resigned in protest after their sentencing recommendation was overruled and slashed by Donald Trumps justice department. The guardian leads with hs2, saying pm borisjohnson has staked his political reputation on delivering a new anatomy of british transport that will boost capacity and cut journey times. Downing street has now seized control of the hs2 project and promised massive new spending on infrastructure. The ft reports the federal trade commission has demanded information from the fivebiggest us tech companies, alphabet, amazon, apple, facebook and microsofton their purchases of smaller groups as part of a review into possible anti competitive behaviour in the technology sector. And finally in the times, with valentines day approaching fast you might not want
to bother with mood lighting or fancy food and wine but invest in a linen table cloth. Valentines day. A new study has found diners were more satisfied with their meal, lingered over it longer, and ate more when nice linen was used on a dining table. Who knew . With me is independent researcher and broadcaster stephanie hare. Is going on with this first story, the New York Times, the lead score two story in other American Press overnight. The New Hampshire primaries, the polls have closed and Bernie Sanders leads, what you make that . Is not entirely unexpected. He was expected to do quite well coming from neighbouring vermont but the same could be said of Elizabeth Warren who is from massachusetts who is coming for. As a very early primary, we had iowa and New Hampshire now. A very small, the big will be looking forward to is super tuesday on much bird, that is when 15 different states and democrats abroad, i think that makes it the 15th will have their pole and will get a
really good feel for how people are starting to suss out