with just hours to go before article 50 is triggered we find out how prepared businesses are for this seismic change. and back in the race, samsung gears up to show off its latest smartphone, but can it regain consumer's trust after its massive recall last year? i'm sally bundock. also in the programme, we'll be finding out how exporters are getting ready ahead of the uk breaking away from the world's biggest trading bloc. today is the day. after nine months of anticipation the uk is set to become the first country to formally tell the european union it wants to leave. it means the two year negotiation process formally begins. for businesses across the continent it is time to sharpen their focus on how to deal with what, for some, will be some pretty drastic changes. here in the uk companies large and small have been coming up with contigency plans, something that is quite difficult to do given the level of uncertainty. and in the case of the big banks some have threatened to move staff to the continent if they don't get the brexit deal they're looking for. if we focus on the case for the city of london. in 2014, financial and insurance services contributed $159 billion to the uk economy, that's about 8% of the total. it employs almost 1.2 million people in uk. it also contributes a trade surplus of approximately $73 billion dollars to the uk's balance of payments, meaning it brings lots of money into the country. but the eu also relies on the uk. $6.6 trillion worth of financial assets are under management here in the uk. that's 37% of the european total. with me is dr angus armstrong, senior fellow from the group, the uk in a changing europe. thank you for coming in. we have highlighted the city of london because it is such a huge part of the uk economy. but for the whole, in terms of businesses, services, whatever, this is huge news. you are exactly right. this is a momentous day, perhaps even the most momentous since the second world war economically. we will change our economically. we will change our economic relationship with the biggest economic partner so far. that will change everything in the economy. the city in particular will be affected because of the prime minister's insistence to leave the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice. jurisdiction of the european court of justice. finances jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice. finances defined by laws. the person who oversees does is the european court ofjustice. outside of that and services will be affected. that is why contingency plans have been mentioned. financial services and sectors are watching closely. so is everyone else. the uk has said from the beginning we want to discuss trade in parallel with discussions about the actual divorce terms as well. but brussels does not wa nt to terms as well. but brussels does not want to do that, does it? it does not want to talk trade initially. article 50 itself says the final agreement must make reference, only reference, to the future trade agreement, not a detailed plan. and of course it is in the interest of the eu to some extent get everything else sorted out first and leave the trade until later because the uk has more at stake than the eu. to leave it later to some extent is playing a tough bargain. will have to wait until 2018 unfortunately until we get real clarity about what the real arrangements will look like. for businesses, whatever they are, financial, import and export, they have had to make contingency plans anyway. many are planning for a hard brexit. there will be winners and losers. give us your take on that you are right. yesterday the prime minister said she wanted a brexit for anyone. old trade deals by definition have winners and losers. who could be the most exposed? those in the agricultural sector, manufacturers, carmakers, textiles, food and beverages, and of course, these are not even located across these are not even located across the whole of the uk. the north of england which predominantly voted for brexit and scotland as well are especially exposed. there will be winners and losers and we will see how the politics play out. 0k, doctor. thank you for coming in. i am sure you have many questions about brexit and article 50. and if you have any questions about article 50 then do get in touch. use the hashtag bbc biz live. we'll answer your questions on this friday's edition of business live. we will be leaning on our expertise within the business union to give you a nswe i’s within the business union to give you answers to your questions. leaving the european union will potentially have a huge impact on companies here in the uk which produce and export goods. we've been talking to firms in the north of england about how they are getting ready. iam simon, i am simon, the managing director of this company, which makes products like this. we make about 6 billion a year, 4 million of which are exported all over the world. we are looking east. things will get harder in europe. the free market will no longer be for us. the tremendous sporting goods market is a massive, almost another world, opening up, as they get richer. there is potential, though it will be difficult. they get richer. there is potential, though it will be difficultlj they get richer. there is potential, though it will be difficult. i am the managing director of this company. we are an old established company. we are an old established company. we are an old established company. we predominantly provide wattles to the spirits industry all over the world. products go to europe. we have put a lot of effort over the last 6—9 months into looking at the usa is a real business growth opportunity. hopefully the free trade agreement going forward will benefit us in this. we are a specialist flooring manufacturer. we exports all over the world. it is a large market in the world. it is a large market in the uk. brexit leaves our strategy unchanged. we will carry on exporting to europe, exporting to the states, and dealing with the uk. with the sterling devaluation, we have become so much more competitive that our sales into europe have become better. we will stay unchanged. and we will talk some more about brexit in the next half—hour. but now some other stories to talk about. samsung is due to unveil its latest smartphone later today, but can it regain consumer's trust after it was forced to recall the note7 last year over fire issues. we will go to rico hizon. sally bundock! an important day for samsung. absolutely. with the launch of the galaxy s8, the hope is they will regain the trust of consumers once again after the de bakker will of the galaxy note 7. —— debacle. this will carry greater expectations and has to prove a lot more than usual. samsung's mobile credibility will also be under scrutiny after being shaken by that scandal. it now needs to reassert its reliability while also rebuilding its technology called advantage. the first thing eve ryo ne called advantage. the first thing everyone wants to see from samsung isa everyone wants to see from samsung is a mobile phone they can trust and not one that will spontaneously combust in their pockets and hands. and their stock was up by 1% today, sally bundock. thank you. we will see you soon. toshiba has approved a plan to put its troubled nuclear section in the us under protection. it has given westinghouse the green light to make it at 11 filing court with struggling firms as they try to restructure their affairs. president donald trump signed an executive order rolling back barack obama's plans to curb time a change. —— climate change. president trump said it would put an end to the "war on coal" and end job—killing regulations. a quick look at the markets. it has been pretty flat in asia today as you can see. the price of oil edging above $51 a barrel. keep an eye on the pound sterling today. we will wrap this up now. i will be back in a couple of minutes as we review the big stories in the news. i will see you then. supporters of a royal marine who was jailed for murder, after killing a wounded taliban fighter, are celebrating the news that he could be free within weeks. alexander blackman has been given a reduced sentence of seven years for manslaughter. our correspondent, duncan kennedy, reports. cheering it was the news fellow marines had been waiting four years to hear. and, moments later, their euphoria was shared in the reaction of alexander blackman's wife. we are overjoyed at the judge's decision to significantly reduce our sentence such that he can be released imminently. this is the moment we've all been fighting hard for. as a marine sergeant, alexander blackman had been a decisive, accomplished leader of troops, someone who'd killed 30 times for his country. but on this tour of afghanistan, in 2011, he and his men went through what was called a tour from hell. they were provoked and violently targeted incessantly by the taliban. in this field, they found an injured taliban insurgent, sergeant blackman was recorded saying this. anybody want to do first aid on this idiot? no. he then pointed his gun at the insurgent. shot fire. he then added. shuffle off this mortal coil. in 2013, sergeant blackman was found guilty of murder, a decision that angered thousands of military colleagues. but earlier this month that conviction was reduced to manslaughter because new evidence showed the mental strains on him had badly impaired his judgement. claire blackman is nowjust a few days away from being reunited with her husband, but although she and their supporters see this as a day ofjustice, the message from the judges is clear — killing in war must always be covered by the rule of law. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in wiltshire. and there will be more on that story with breakfast later on. the top stories. britain's set to begin its historic break with brussels. a letter, signed by prime minister theresa may, will be delivered to european council president donald tusk within hours, triggering years of intense negotiations. a passengerjet has caught fire while landing in central peru. all 140 people were evacuated safely. officials say the fire probably started when the plane's wing scraped the runway. australian officials are beginning to assess the damage after the "monster" cyclone debbie pummelled the northeast coast. only one fatality has been reported, but some areas remain difficult to access because roads are blocked. president donald trump has signed an executive order scrapping the us's green energy targets and boosting its troubled coal industry. us environmentalists say the move will hinder efforts to curb climate change, and have vowed to challenge it in the courts. sally is here, we have the papers. time for the news review. we will ta ke time for the news review. we will take a look at the headlines from around the world. —— news. first, we have the daily telegraph, with a picture of theresa may signing the letter that will formally begin the brexit process. that story dominates the uk front pages. the letter is due to be hand—delivered to the eu council president today. the largest us oil group has urged donald trump not to scrap participation in the paris climate agreement. the financial times reports exxonmobil as the latest big business to oppose the us president's move away from efforts to tackle global warming. the copenhagen post says uber has decided to switch off its engines in denmark, referring to the company's announcement it will stop operating in the country next month because of a new taxi law requiring cabs to be fitted with seat sensors and fare meters. amazon has reached an agreement to buy the middle east's largest online retailer, souq.com, for an undisclosed value. that's a story in gulf news.