Main markets in europe, all eyes are on the bank of england later for its decision on Interest Rates. And well be getting the inside track from one of the worlds biggest Computer Software companies on how it keeps everything from banks to transport systems and the internet running despite offering its products for free. Today, we will be speaking to the boss of one of the worlds biggest softwa re boss of one of the worlds biggest Software Companies. We want to know if you are willing to pay extra for technical support, or even for the knowledge that you are secure . Get in touch, use the hashtag. Hello and welcome to business live. Welcome to the programme. We start with the worlds Biggest Social Network it keeps getting bigger, more profitable. And more controversial. Facebook has announced record profits and another big jump in the number of people using it. That will only fuel the debate about the power of the network and the content that appears on it. Mark zuckerbergs company made a profit of 1i. 71bn in the three months to september thats up 80 same time last year as advertisers spend ever more cash. Theyre doing that because well over two billion people log on now at least once a month more than a quarter of the worlds population. Its up 16 over the past year. With this vast reach of course comes growing scrutiny for example over its role in the us election. Earlier in the day facebook admitted to a congressional hearing that political content originating from russia was seen by 126 Million People a huge chunk of the electorate. With me is tarek nseir, a Founding Partner at the digital agency, th nk who help Big Companies including nandos and Warner Brothers to grow their online presence. Thank you for coming in. Give us your take on these earnings. It would seem that facebook is going from strength to strength in terms of its core business but this extra added new scrutiny is quite a big headache for it . It must be. Putting scrutineers side for a second, this isa scrutineers side for a second, this is a great quarter. Two years ago, they invested heavily in mobile, they invested heavily in mobile, they were behind the curve but now 80 of their revenue has come from mobile advertising. Advertisers love the platform and the degree of targeting that you can get. The data facebook olds is incredible but advertisers are beginning to question the responsibility facebook ta ke question the responsibility facebook take on. It is a tricky one, if we talk about it in more detail, looking at the last two days of lawyers confessing to congress about what was going on at facebook before, during and after the us election, which Mark Zuckerberg himself said weeks or months ago, this is crazy talk. It isnt crazy talk, it is the reality. It is, the mixed news of this Earnings Release this morning is that next quarter will be a softer quarter because marks moving the team, there are 10,000 people at facebook who look after the community and are trying to stop these things from happening. He is upgrading it to 20,000 people. Considering there are 20,000 people there already, its a big move. Considering the platform size, its a tiny number. Its a big and expensive move, over 2 billion people are logging in monthly, many would argue that this is impossible, isnt it . Pretty much, its about having smarter and smarter technology and is definitely about applying more and more Human Capital to the problem. Facebook havent been doing enough fast enough. What will happen, will they be regulated in future and what impact does it have on facebook, google and twitter, some of its rivals . A good question, for it to be regulated it would need pressure from many corners and many nations for it to be the case. That is probably quite unlikely but i do think that facebook will continue to take their responsibility more seriously. Im interested to see how this upgrading of their resources go. And in terms of their resources go. And in terms of their resources go. And in terms of the core business and growth, talking of great month on month, how will it continue . When we think about the younger people who arent really on facebook at all . There is plenty of fuel left in their tanks. Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger are not really monetised but the leading social network in china, you can get taxes on it, you can buy clothes on it, facebook is taking those moves. There are over1 billion users on these two platforms which is a great opportunity for facebook. We will talk about it again and again. It will not be off my agenda. Thank you. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news. The leading electric car maker tesla has said its car production is behind schedule again. The company has been struggling to incease the number of model 3s that are rolling off the production line. It now aims to make 5,000 a week by early next year off. The vehicle is key to its ambition because it is more afforable than others atjust 35,000. Tesla also announced its biggest ever quarterly loss of more than 600m. The Anglo Dutch Oil giant shell has announced a big rise in profits for the three months to september. It made just over 4bn and was well ahead of expectations. It reflects growing optomism in the oil business as well as the impact of cost cutting measures. The chief executive said it was evidence their turnaround strategy was working. A new study claims women around the globe may have to wait more than a century to achieve equality in the workplace. According to the poll by the World Economic forum, the Global Gender Gap has widened in the past decade and will take 100 years to close. The research ranked 144 countries on the gap between women and men based on economic, health, education and political indicators. If you watch the show regularly, its a big day for you today. Theres a widespread expectation that the bank of england, one of the worlds most important central bank, will raise Interest Rates in a few hours time. If they do that. It would be the first rise for ten years, in which time the uk as been recovering from the Global Financial crisis. Simon gompertz reports. This could be a shock for people in millions of homes which are saddled with a variable rate mortgage, homes like this one in oldham. The owner, lynn, has struggled financially ever since a car accident stopped her working. I am literally living i wouldnt say on the bread line, but very, very close, and any hike in interest or supermarket bills affects me instantly. The bank of england has to decide whether, with the economy growing, there is a case for keeping Interest Rates low. The governor, mark carney, has already given hints that a rise is on the way. The banks base rate was cut to 0. 5 in the midst of a financial crisis, then to 0. 25 after the Eu Referendum last year. The speculation is that it will be put back up to 0. 5 again. I think, whether you are a saver or a borrower, i dont think the increase will be that significant now. But the likelihood is well get a series of increases, maybe two more over the next two to three years, so it will start to have a more Material Impact on our everyday lives. In the financial world, they are so convinced that a rate rise is on the cards that the pound has gone up, in the hope the money kept in the uk will give higher returns. So, if that doesnt happen, the markets will be caught on the hop. You will be all over that later, wont you . Yes, i will be in the city to gauge the reaction is to that, and how it will affect the pound and peoples pockets. that, and how it will affect the pound and peoples pockets. If it happens. Indeed. China is taking steps to boost foreign imports ahead of president trumps visit next week. The trade relationship between the two heavyweights is expected to be a major topic of discussion. The us president has been strongly critical of chinas massive trade surplus with america, blaming unfair trade practices including heavy tariffs. Our beijing correspondent, john sudworth, joins us. Talk us through what china has announced ahead of Donald Trumps visit . These reports are coming from the Chinese Ministry of commerce. Basically saying that they are going to cut tariffs on a range of Consumer Products and boost bank lending for imports. The reason that the Commerce Ministry suggests is nothing to do with concern about what chinas huge trade surplus is doing to other markets but there is concern about what the trade surplus means for its own consumers. There isa means for its own consumers. There is a knock on impact here, and an impact on inflation and they say that they are acting in the interests of allowing chinese consumers to share a greater portion of national wealth. John sudworth, many thanks. Asian shares inched higher. A relatively weak yen, a positive factor for japanese exporters, helped lift the nikkei. Sony shares added another 2. 8 as the firm raised profit forecasts and announced plans to revive its robot pet dog. Chinese internet giant alibaba was due to release its Third Quarter earnings after asian markets closed, with investors watching closely to see if heavy investment has yielded further rapid revenue growth. Meanwhile, investors are braced for what many of them expect will be the bank of englands first interest hike in more than ten years. On equities Oil Giant Shell has reported a large rise in Third Quarter profits after the energy giant was boosted by Higher Oil Prices and increased production. It comes as the price of crude rose above 60 per barrel this week, its highest price forfive months. Teslas Share Price Fell after it admitted production of its new model 3 car is months behind schedule. In the us the fed, as expected, kept Interest Rates unchanged. But all eyes will be on the confirmation of the next fed reserve chair widely expected to bejerome powell. Tech giant apple will be reporting earnings on thursday. We could hear more details about pre orders for the new iphone x that begins shipping on friday. Investors will wa nt to shipping on friday. Investors will want to know about the companys outlook for the upcoming holiday season. Outlook for the upcoming holiday season. Coffee giant starbucks will be reporting their earnings, they face stiff competition from low priced food chains like mcdonalds and more upscale food chains like bluebottle. They are grappling with calling growth in the dominant market here in the usa. Finally, canadas Aerospace Market here in the usa. Finally, ca nadas aerospace pacemaker bombardier will be reporting earnings, analysts are looking at more details for the decision to give a majority stake to yours airbus, the news came after us officials slapped bombardier with a 300 tax for any c series plane coming into the usa. It is such a busy day today, i cannot stress that enough joining us isjessica ground, uk Equities Fund manager at schroders. I say that because we have the central bank news, john Rovman Powell as a possible nominee and aunts today and all of the earnings, apple to come later. What are you watching . What are you most interested in today . The expectations are key on all of these things, the expectation is that we have a 25 point bass rise from the bank of england but people are not expecting Interest Rates to rise significantly after that. The key is we have the minutes and we understand better what people are thinking about in the future. John Rovman Powell is expected to be announced to leave the fed. Jerome powell. He has been there for a while and as we have learned with donald trump, until something is signed, sealed delivered. We will be watching his twitter feed and the Interest Rates, i was reading a take, because it is widely expected that they will raise those rates, a lot of it been priced in. If they dont, that is where we could see a bigger move in response . People would be surprised. On one hand it isa would be surprised. On one hand it is a doubling of rates to half a percent but the 25 base points were taken percent but the 25 base points were ta ken towards percent but the 25 base points were taken towards the end of last year in response to brexit and the bank wanting to support the economy into that. As you say, it is a sign of strength when the bank feels that they can return rates to a more normal rate but if they feel like it is weak, that will be a negative surprise. Shalls share prices have barely moved this morning inspired birth strong results shell. Barely moved this morning inspired birth strong results shell. The key thing is not only their oil price but they are digesting their acquisition of british gas. Bt. That will change your as is quite significantly. Its great that it seems to be going well. There are quite a lot of investors that would go well and it is quite in line with expectations. Thank you. Jessica willjoin us later on other stories like tesla, we will talk about that soon. Still to come we get the inside track on one of the biggest Software Companies in the biggest Software Companies in the world. How it keeps banks and transport systems running, despite Offering Software solutions for free. Bt Group Reports a 14 drop in Second Quarter adjusted earnings bt Group Reports a 4 drop in Second Quarter adjusted earnings to £1. 81 billion for the three months to end of september. But the companys earnings still came in ahead of target, despite struggles to turn around its Global Services unit. Our business correspondent, theo leggett, is in our business newsroom with more. Talk us through it. It is a mixed bag but generally disappointing results from bt. A key problem is in its Global Services unit, the unit that provides outsourced network it infrastructure for companies and it seems the trend away from outsourcing is affecting that the mission. It has been weighing on bts mission. It has been weighing on bts results for a while. In this quarter profits were down 40 and sales down 10 , so that is the weak area. Some concerns over bts tv business despite the fact it has invested in sports rights, premier League Sports rights. It only added 7000 new subscribers during the quarter, compared to 63,000 added last year. There is a bit of concern there. But on the other hand the eee Mobile Division has been doing well and that has offset business in other parts of the company. And talk this morning about bt considering what to do with its pension scheme. There were some people expecting bt to announce the closure of its pension scheme. That has not happened, it says it is still in discussion with its unions. But it still has a deficit that is a problem. What we are likely to see is some form of closure of its existing scheme, or restrictions to it, and a new scheme coming in. At the moment those talks are still ongoing. Thank you very much indeed. There is so much news coming out all the time and it is on the business live page. Also morrisons is stepping up its competitiveness and it has just released its like for like sales for the 13 weeks to the end of october. Its like for like sales represent 2. 5 , but it is talking about the impact ofa but it is talking about the impact of a lower sterling on its profits, making its margins really squeezed. It is tough out there for retailers on the high street, especially supermarkets. Our top story, facebooks profits soared in the three months to september, it brought in 10 billion from advertising. It says it will spend more on security over scrutiny over how big was exploited during last yea rs over how big was exploited during last years us election. Over how big was exploited during last years us election. A quick look at how markets are faring. Not giving as much direction, but those are the numbers. They are treading water ahead of that decision from the bank of england in london. Decision from the bank of england in london. Now, were going to be talking about open source technology. Put very simply, this is software which is free for anyone to use. Red hat provides products based around the worlds most popular open source platform linux. It offers Bespoke Software such as operating systems, Cloud Computing platforms and software development. And if this sounds like the sort of thing for small or startup companies, you may be surprised to learn that red hat helps more than 90 of fortune 500 companies. Jim whitehouse is ceo and president of red hat. Good morning, welcome. We have explained in a very simple way what you do, could you elaborate on that . We ta ke you do, could you elaborate on that . We take software that is often developed by google and facebook, things like alexa and hey, google, that those companies allowed to be open so the source code is freely available and we take that and apply that to a bank because the same technology can do fraud detection. We ta Ke Technology can do fraud detection. We take this open Source Software and make it secure and reliable for Large Enterprises to use. What you are sayi