it s all being driven by wall street optimism about the state of the world s biggest economy, and, despite all the controversy in the white house, the pro growth policies of president trump. on thursday, a report showed the us private sector created 250,000 newjobs in december a third more than was expected. that could bode well for official us jobs numbers out later today. earlier this week, the federal reserve revealed it has boosted its growth forecast for the us economy this year to 2.5% keeping up the pace seen in 2017. those fed minutes also showed this was, at least partly, down to the $1.5 trillion worth of tax cuts president trump signed into lawjust before christmas. and these graphs speak for themselves. us shares setting record after record since the president was inaugurated a year ago. despite all this, millions of working americans have yet to feel the benefit. average earnings have been stagnant for the past decade. but that could change this year as 18 st
between the two sides. so, for the first time, prime minister theresa may will welcome european business leaders to downing street later. she wants their input on how to minimise disruption after march 2019. 15 leading business organisations from across the continent, including experts from the confederation of british industry and institute of directors, will be there. last year, the uk exchanged about $730 billion worth of goods and services with the other 27 eu countries. that amounts to 43% of total uk exports. the export of cars and chemicals take the biggest share. mrs may had a bit of a torrid weekend, with some of her party allegedly preparing for a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. but her defence secretary came out in her defence, and said that, with brexit, she is towing a straight line. the prime minister in her florence speech made absolutely clear the generous offer that reason is putting forward. we want to have a cooperative relationship with europe
zooming exports and crumbling classrooms. the paradox of germany s lopsided economy. plus will iran stay open for business? conservatives pledge to roll back rouhani s reforms, as companies nervously await next week s presidential election. welcome to world business report. i m tanya beckett. also coming up, playing for big steaks. china agrees to buy us beef as trade talks continue. but first: we start in europe s economic powerhouse, because in a couple of hours‘ time, germany will release its latest gdp figures. growth is expected to have accelerated in the first three months of the year, fuelled by global demand for the country s exports, like cars and machinery. but it s not all cause for celebration. let me show you why. last year, germany clocked up its biggest ever trade surplus. that s how much more it exports than it imports. at $275 billion germany has one of the biggest trade surpluses in the world. it s a source of tension with its neighbours and allies. look
it s been a long week for barclays‘ ceo jes staley and it ends with him fooled into replying to an email he thought was sent by the bank s chairman but was actually from a prankster. we ll tell you what he wrote later, but first we want to know have you ever sent an email to the wrong person? just use #bbcbizlive. hello and welcome to business live. we start in europe s economic powerhouse, because in the last half hour germany has released gdp figures for the first three months of the year, and they show an economy that s accelerating. it grew 0.6% on the previous quarter. that translates to an annual rate of 1.7%. it s being fuelled by global demand for the country s exports, like cars and machinery. but it s not all cause for celebration. let me show you why. last year germany clocked up its biggest ever trade surplus, that s how much more it exports than it imports. at $275 billion, germany has one of the biggest trade surpluses in the world. it s a source of tension wi
protesters. remember, always wash your hands before you eat. texas sounds the alarm over the spread of ebola, as a victim of the virus receives treatment in dallas. aaron s here with all the business, including a look at the impact of that ebola virus on african tourism. yeah, absolutely. needless to say, it s been hit extremely hard. but here is the problem for the continent. because even thousands of miles away from that outbreak in west africa, countries like south africa are now reporting a drop in foreign visitors. so we ve got a special report from freetown in sierra leone. a very warm welcome to gmt. it s midday here in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 7:00 p.m. in hong kong, where the pro-democracy street protests seem to be at a crossroads. do they take seriously the authority s offer of talks, or do they continue to put bodies on the streets and demand the resignation of the chief minister? well, right now, as you can see from these live pictures, th