the central bank has been trying to cool inflation in the world's largest economy, that is still above it's 2% target. the bbc�*s erin delmore has more from new york. to hear chairmanjerome powell tell it, the federal reserve is looking for its goldilocks path forward, making sure the bank doesn't reduce interest rates too much too soon or too little too late. officials decided wednesday to keep the benchmark interest rate at between 5.25% and 5.5%. it remains unchanged sincejuly. and while the suspense lies around when the fed will cut interest rates, powell didn't give any hints. he did say that the fed wants to see inflation falling sustainably toward the 2% goal before going ahead with any rate cuts. he made the case for a cautious path forward. inflation has eased substantially, while the labour market has remained strong. and that is very good news. but inflation is still too high.

ongoing progress in bringing it down is not assured, and the path forward is uncertain. chairman powell said that if all goes as expected this year, rate cuts will be appropriate, and the fed will continue to make decisions meeting by meeting. what does this decision mean for asian economies? stock markets are likely to see a boost, says peter mcguire, chief executive at trading—point. com we've a 67% chance as far as a rate cut injune — that's where the analysts are supporting it — that's where the analysts are putting it — and i think overall, momentum to the upside. so, there could be a good little rally as far as asia. and rolling across the whole fabric of asia into australia as well. so, i think it could be a good news story. and the way the fed is handling this, does a soft landing looks like it could be on the cards. you know, everybody wants sort of certainty when it comes to markets and how things are progressing. that's also a positive outlook for asia, isn't it? well, exactly right.

i think that's what they're after. i mean, naturally, you're looking at three rate cuts this year, that's what jerome powel is saying. the next part of it is whether you're going to see central banks in asia copy that sort of movement later in the year as well. and the whole theme is one of a very soft landing as long as inflation remains or gets to that 2% to 3% target range. that is what the fed is always targeting, that 2% inflation rate. a lot of the discussions of where this is going is based on the strength of the us economy. can you give us an idea of why the us economy is so strong? you've only gotta look at it as far as equity markets, they've been extraordinary of the last 1a or 15 months. that's been strongly bid up. you've got recently good unemployment in the sense that it is low. that's been strong. and the inflation side, with higher interest rates, is certainly fighting the consumer, but the overall momentum of the economy has been relatively bulletproof. so, as it rolls forward, we've gotta see how that maintains over the northern hemisphere summer. and it mightjust happen to be

a relatively good roll—up as far as an election year as well. staying with the us, intel has received nearly $20 billion in grants and loans from the us government, in one of the largest investments made in the american semiconductor industry. it's part of the chips act, which is aimed to boost production in the domestic chip industry to reduce reliance on china and taiwan. the tech giant's plans for the money include building the largest ai chip plant in the world in ohio, starting in 2027. social media platform reddit has priced its initial public offering at the top of its targeted range, ahead of making its stock market debut. the price is set at $34 a share, giving reddit a valuation of around $6.4 billion. this offering comes as the tech sector is seeing a big slowdown in ipos. to india now, where china—owned mg motors and indian conglomerate jsw group have entered into a newjoint venture. the companies have charted

an ambitious roadmap for electric vehicle production. it comes days after the indian government announced more support for the industry. nikhil inamdarjoins us now from mumbai. nikhil give us the details. that's right. if you remember, sz that's right. if you remember, jsw group have required a 35% in mg motors in december 2023 and now they have announced this massive, massive ev push. they want to rule out i this massive, massive ev push. they want to rule outi million electric vehicles by 2030 and have a one third market share and have invested $600 million already and this joint venture and they want to focus on the premium segment of the electric vehicle, roughly one or two variants every year. they also say they want to help mg motors india two triple production in india. this comes off the back

of that big policy change with the indian government essentially slashed import duties from as high as 100% to 15%, conditional on a $500 million investment by ev makers and setting up and rolling out and setting up and rolling out an easy factory base in the country. a sector that seems to be buzzing. and from ev�*s return to the aviation industry. boeing is struggling to meet its financial goals as it faces ongoing safety issues with its line of 737 max airplanes. the company's finance chief says fewer deliveries, lower production volumes and pressure on working capital is affecting its cash flow. us regulators have limited boeing's 737 production to 38 plane a month after a door plug dislodged midflight on a max aircraft in january. midflight on a max 9 aircraft injanuary. staying with the aviation industry, and here in asia carriers are grappling with skyrocketing demand but they're also having

to face jet safety concerns and a shortage of labour. the bbc�*s suranjana tewari caught up with the boss of budget carrier, cebu pacific, and started by asking him why the philippines has such potential as an aviation market. one of the problems that the philippines had for so many years has been on infrastructure. that infrastructure is improving but specifically, if we look at the airfields, we're starting to see real opportunity there. first of all in the short to medium—term. manila airport, naia, as it's called, that's just been privatised, so what we expect to see there now is that there will be some investment goes in that will improve the services. it will also increase the capacity. we clearly need to increase our commitment in terms of the capacity we're putting into the market. we're currently 55% domestic market share. if we want to maintain our relevance, we've got to get a fleet that will go and populate those roadways — because it will be runways — so hence we're looking at an order of about 100 aircraft

with options on top, with deliveries to start in the period 27 and 28, which will take us through to 2035. are you looking at the boeing max family, given everything that's going on? do you have any safety concerns about that generation of planes? none whatsoever. i mean, i'm concerned that the industry needs to make sure that it carries on doing what it's done for decades in terms of making sure that it looks after safety first and foremost, before anything else. boeing know this and they will sort this. there's no question that this will be resolved, in the months and certainly in the years ahead. our order is not until 2027, the first delivery. so absolutely, by the time it happens there, we will be sorted, boeing will be sorted. in terms of sustainability what is cebu pacific doing to try and meet the goals of the industry has set? first of all we have to accept that it's going to be a long road before we get to a net zero position. i think in the last couple of years there's been

lots of statements out there about we're going to do this and that and i think aviation has a real challenge on its hands to find a replacement for kerosene. sustainable aviation fuel is the way forward for the majority of what the industry needs to do, but frankly, there's just not enough of it. and it's too expensive at this point in time. what we've got to do is make sure we're working with everyone in terms of bringing that in so there's the development. whether that's us flying around with some sustainable aviation fuel, which we've done, we do it on our delivery flights, we've done it on commercialflights, carrier in asia to do that. anything we can electrify we are. ground handling equipment, that's been renewed with battery powered equipment. buses that we use are battery—powered. our staff buses are battery—powered as well. all those things we can do, even though it might not be as significant as the impact of an aircraft, we're doing already.

sura njana tewari. hermes has been sued by customers in the us who claim they couldn't buy birkin bags because they didn't have a sufficient purchase history of buying other items from the company. the lawsuit claims that associates at the french fashion house pushed customers to buy other products like scarves, jewellery and home goods to gain the opportunity to buy the exclusive item. the plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order barring the alleged anti—competitive practices. rich people do likes to be able to buy things, don't they! before we go, let's take a quick look at the markets. japan's nikkei 225 index is trading 4.5% higher after hitting a fresh all—time high earlier in the day. this comes after the us federal reserve eased investorjitters by keeping interest rates unchanged.

the central bank also reinforced expectations that borrowing costs could be cut as many as three times this year. hong kong's hang seng index is also making gains, on optimism after the fed meeting. we'll be keeping an eye on how markets are moving in asia in the coming hours. and that's it for this edition of asia business report. thanks for watching.

hey, i'mjulia with the catch up. tonight, a royal privacy breach, mental health in football, and an eco warrior dog. we'll start with the hospital where the princess of wales had surgery in january. they've said any breach of her privacy would be investigated. that's after the daily mirror reported that at least one hospital worker tried to access her medical records without permission. she spent almost two weeks at the london clinic and has stepped back from the public eye

while she's recovering, but her absence has led to loads of conspiracy theories and speculation online, which has only got worse since the princess apologised for editing a mother's day photo of her and her three kids. richarlison, the tottenham forward, has opened up about seeking psychological help. the brazilian footballer said he was at rock bottom, but therapy helped him to turn things around. he said he asked for help in september, after he was pictured in tears, being subbed out at the brazil world cup match versus bolivia. at a press conference, he urged anyone with mental health problems to do the same thing. translation: as a national team player who has had such an active voice, i want to tell people to seek help, and i can particularly say that because it saved my life. and we'll leave you with ten seconds of this eco dog. have a look.

this is gonzalo and his border collie, sam. they're known around chile's capital city for keeping the park litter free on their walks. in fact, sam is such a local celeb that his image has been used by park officials in their campaigns. you're all caught up now. have a good night. hello there and welcome along to sports day. i'm gavin ramjaun. wales take on finland in their crucial euro playoff semifinal as international football commences over the coming days. david warner is one of the big names to miss out on selection at the 100 draft. we'll bring you all the details. and owen farrell says he's still happy with his decision to step away from international rugby.

hello there and welcome along to sports day. we start with what's set to be a big week for international football, not least for wales, who face one of their final hurdles in qualification for this summer's european championship. they take on finland in their play off semifinal tie on thursday in cardiff. they are, of course, without their talisman, gareth bale, who retired over a year ago, as they look to make a third successive euros. thomas duffin reports. relaxed and relishing another chance of making it to a major tournament. the manager says his players will draw on the experience of recent world cup play off matches in cardiff, when wales made the most of home advantage. we've been there, we've been through it. so i think having gone through that as a player, it's certainly helped. in situations like this, pressures is pressure, whether you're a manager, whether you're a player.