Summary
The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. The programme is broadcast first on BBC Radio 4 and later on BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News TV and BBC News Channel TV.
As the mood on Europe swings from doom to gloom, Evan Davis asks his executive guests about the outlook for the Euro. What will it take to save the single currency? And what are the prospects for business more generally in 2012?
Joining Evan in the studio are Warren East, chief executive of FTSE 100 microchip designer ARM Holdings plc; Dr Carol Bell, energy industry executive with particular expertise in investment and financing in the oil and gas sector and a board member of three energy companies, including Salamander Energy plc; Michael Morley, chief executive of private bank Coutts.
Producer: Ben Crighton Editor: Stephen Chilcott.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thank you for downloading this podcast from the BBC. In this edition of the bottom line, |
| 0:04.9 | Evan Davis and his guests take a big picture look at the global economy. |
| 0:10.1 | Hello, we're back with a brand new series of business conversations. And of course, |
| 0:15.0 | Europe is on all our minds still. We'll talk about the risks and opportunities in the global |
| 0:20.7 | economy with, I expect, more of the former than the latter. And we'll talk about the risks and opportunities in the global economy, with, I expect, |
| 0:22.4 | more of the former than the latter. And we'll also talk about how companies cope with unpredictable |
| 0:27.5 | events, like, for example, a messy breakup of a single currency. But before we delve into Doom, |
| 0:33.9 | let's first meet our guests. And first up is Warren East, who's chief executive |
| 0:39.3 | of the Cambridge-based microprocessor company, arm holdings. And Warren, you make money from |
| 0:45.5 | silicon chips, but designing them rather than manufacturing. That's correct. We say more than 95% |
| 0:50.1 | of mobile phones have at least one arm microprocessor. The interesting thing about your business model is that horrible competitors who hate each other are still doing business with you, aren't they? |
| 1:00.5 | They all come to you. Ultimately, you've not fixed yourself to just Apple or just Google. |
| 1:05.0 | Correct. You know, that's our philosophy. Don't pick winners. Neutrality, Switzerland, all these sort of terms. That's how we describe our business. |
| 1:14.6 | Share price hasn't been doing that well, though. It's been a bit of a lull period. Well, of course, Arm is a very, very highly valued company. We trade on a large multiple with high levels of operating profit. You know, last year we were in the mid to late 40s for operating profit. |
| 1:29.4 | That does lead to high multiples. |
| 1:31.3 | But it means that when the market gets volatile, you tend to react a bit more than the market in either direction. |
| 1:37.6 | So it's not something that concerns us. |
| 1:39.9 | It's ours is a very long-term business. |
| 1:42.6 | Okay. |
| 1:42.9 | Also with us is Dr. Carol Bell, who has, well, over 30 years of experience in the energy industry, |
| 1:49.3 | with particular expertise in investments and financing in the oil and gas sector. |
| 1:53.8 | Having worked at several investment banks, she now serves on the boards of three energy companies, |
... |
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