LiveBusiness live: Volkswagen boss resigns

Summary

  1. Outgoing VW boss Winterkorn says "fresh start" needed
  2. Diageo warns on £150m currency hit
  3. 'Happy Birthday' ruled out of copyright
  4. US drug company to cut 5,000% price rise after backlash
  5. George Osborne sets UK-China trade target

Live Reporting

By Ian Pollock

All times stated are UK

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Good night

That is it for another busy day in the business world. We will be back tomorrow at 06:00 sharp. Sleep tight.

Wall Street

BBC

On Wall Street the Dow Jones average fell 51 points to 16,279. The S&P 500 dropped four points to 1,939. And the Nasdaq ended just three points lower at 4,753.

On the foreign exchanges the pound currently buys you 1 dollar 52.4 and 1 euro 36.3.

VW scandal: A reader comments on Winterkorn's resignation

Colin Meades writes...

VW scandal: 'Bigger threat to Germany than Greece'

VW sold 600,000 cars in the US last year.

"All of a sudden, Volkswagen has become a bigger downside risk for the German economy than the Greek debt crisis," ING chief economist Carsten Brzeski told Reuters. 

"If Volkswagen's sales were to plunge in North America in the coming months, this would not only have an impact on the company, but on the German economy as a whole," he added.

VW scandal: Mexico starts a probe

Mexico is checking to see if Volkswagen has complied with its emissions standards and will act if it finds anomalies, Mexico's environment minister said on Wednesday. 

Rafael Pacchiano told Reuters that the agency hoped to have results from the review in the "coming days." 

So what? The VW plant in Puebla is the largest car factory in Mexico and along with an engine factory at Silao employs more than 15,000 workers.

Reuters

VW scandal: A reader suggests the fraud is commonplace

David Paxton offers this opinion.

EPA

Winterkorn resignation 'inevitable'

Jim Holder of publishers Haymarket Automotive on the BBC World Service:

Getty Images

The end of Martin Winterkorn's "glittering career" as VW chief was inevitable, Jim Holder from publishing company Haymarket Automotive tells World Business Report. He said that for damage limitation, the situation demanded a head-roll. "There are too many unanswered questions at the moment - is this an industry-wide problem? Where are the 11 million affected cars? And then there's the obvious question: why did VW cheat?"

VW scandal: German economy minister demands swift clean up

Getty

The German vice chancellor and economy minister Sigmar Gabriel said after the resignation of Volkswagen's boss, Martin Winterkorn, that it was important for the scandal to be cleared up completely: "By the company itself, as well as through cooperation by Germany and the company with American prosecutors and the American authorities. I think we owe that to the Americans.'' 

Gabriel added: "Ultimately, this must happen quickly. We must not allow the impression to arise that this is a problem for the whole auto industry or that it raises questions over the integrity of Volkswagen overall. The 600,000 employees of VW cannot help it that individuals carried out criminal actions on whatever scale.'' 

The VW saga: Another reader writes...

From Steve Clarke.

Volkswagen scandal: 'Unprecedented scale'

BBC Radio 5 Live

The VW scandal was on an "unprecedented scale" says, Martin Leach, chairman of car industry consultancy Magma Group and former president and chief operating officer of Ford Europe. Speaking to BBC 5 live, Mr Leach said he expects the crisis to affect the premium which VW can attract for its cars, putting prices and sales under pressure - with strong repercussions for the North American market it was just beginning to break.

VW scandal: 'Over-aggressive targets'

Roger Hill, a Livepage reader, asks...

Financial markets

BBC

In London the 100 share index closed up 96 at 6,032.

In Frankfurt shares in Volkswagen rebounded and rose by 5%. The Dax index closed 42 points up at 9,613.

In Paris the Cac-40 index rose 4 points to 4,433.

On the foreign exchanges the pound fell a cent to 1 dollar 52.6, and was down nearly two cents to 1 euro 36.5.

VW scandal: 'No general suspicion please' says German auto industry

Reuters in Berlin says the head of Germany's VDA auto industry association has warned against calling into question all diesel technology because of the crisis at Volkswagen.

One shouldn't make the mistake of using this case where software was manipulated to produce better test results to call into question all diesel technology," VDA chief Matthias Wissmann said. "The diesel that is used by the German auto industry in many configurations is a major driver of the reduction in CO2 emissions worldwide. Therefore we need a clear separation here," he added. "My plea is, no general suspicion towards the German auto industry."

VW scandal: Chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigns

Artur Fischer, who is the joint head of the Berlin Stock Exchange, says Mr Winterkorn had no other option.

VW is somewhat the emblem of "Made in Germany" and that brand has been damaged by what happened. It was the right step for Mr Winterkorn to step aside, so there is a neutral party who can analyse what really went wrong."

VW scandal: Big shareholder predicts costs of 10bn euros

Gilles Guibout, european equities fund manager at AXA, tells the BBC....

“We think that the bill could be 10bn euros, more than the 7bn euros they have planned for. This raises question for the whole industry - everybody knows that all the emissions tests are done in laboratory conditions - they do not show the real emissions from the car. It could put the whole sector under pressure to reveal the real emissions. The costs to meet the new emissions targets were already big - the costs will now be even higher and they will be even more severe.”

EPA

VW: A big shareholder responds to Winterkorn's resignation

The BBC has spoken to Gilles Guibout, european equities fund manager at AXA, VW's ninth biggest shareholder.

There was no alternative - it is an attempt to keep the fire under control. He has tried to take all the responsibility but it is not easy to say if this will be enough." On the allegations: “It has been a real shock. We are a long term shareholder and we put a lot of emphasis on management credibility. The fall in the share price was too big for us to sell - it would not be in our clients’ interest to sell."

The Brazilian currency, the real, falls even further

From Daniel Gallas, the BBC's South America business correspondent

Reuters

VW bosses issue rallying call to their staff

The executive committee adds...

Volkswagen is a magnificent company that depends on the efforts of hundreds of thousands of people. We consider it our task that this company regains the trust of our customers in every respect.

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