we do need to see further progress but what i do want to say strongly is we've had encouraging and good news so i think we can say we are on the way. plus: wall street euphoria. us shares close at new record highs for the second day in a row — on hopes of lower interest rates — and big profits from al. loot social! donald trump eyes a $3 billion payout — as his online platform prepares to join the stock market. and liquid assets. we meet a uk entrepreneur who has helped bring clean water to 5 million people over the last two decades welcome to our look at the business news this morning.

we start in the us, where apple is being accused of monopolizing the smartphone market — crushing competition and driving up prices for consumers. the us department ofjustice and 15 states have filed a landmark lawsuit against the tech giant — claiming it violates antitrust laws — abusing its control of the app store to �*lock in' customers and shut out rivals. apple denies the claims and says it will vigorously fight the lawsuit. our north america business correspondent, michelle fleury has more. more than a billion of us around the world own an iphone. the appeal is how easy it is to use features like imessage, apple pay and the apple watch. for me apple works better than android, i had an android before. it didn't do too well with me. before. it didn't do too well with me-_ before. it didn't do too well with me. �*, ., , , with me. it's not my parents alwa s with me. it's not my parents always corny _ with me. it's not my parents always copy and _ with me. it's not my parents always copy and it's - with me. it's not my parents always copy and it's easy - with me. it's not my parents always copy and it's easy to | always copy and it's easy to stick— always copy and it's easy to stick with it but i've never really _ stick with it but i've never really looked into anything

else — really looked into anything else. that's the main reason i never— else. that's the main reason i never switched.— never switched. having an iphone is _ never switched. having an iphone is practical- never switched. having an | iphone is practical because never switched. having an - iphone is practical because the rest of— iphone is practical because the rest of my— iphone is practical because the rest of my family _ iphone is practical because the rest of my family also - iphone is practical because the rest of my family also has - iphone is practical because the rest of my family also has an l rest of my family also has an iphone — rest of my family also has an iphone so_ rest of my family also has an iphone so they _ rest of my family also has an iphone so they are _ rest of my family also has an . iphone so they are compatible. all of— iphone so they are compatible. all of which— iphone so they are compatible. all of which makes _ iphone so they are compatible. all of which makes it _ iphone so they are compatible. all of which makes it one - iphone so they are compatible. all of which makes it one of. all of which makes it one of the most successful companies, last year sales of just the iphone made it more than £150 billion in revenues. that much profit as well as the many customers tends to attract the attention of government officials. and now the us department ofjustice along with 16 different states has filed a lawsuit against apple. apple charges as much as nearly $1600 for an iphone. but as our complaint alleges, apple has maintained monopoly power in the smartphone market, not simply by staying ahead of the competition of the merits by violating federal and anti—trust law. it violating federal and anti-trust law. , , anti-trust law. it accuses the company _ anti-trust law. it accuses the company blocking _ anti-trust law. it accuses the company blocking rival- anti-trust law. it accuses the company blocking rival tech i company blocking rival tech firms from accessing hardware and software features of the

iphone. thus gaining an unfair dominance of the smartphone market. apple denies the accusations. leaving apple and the us government headed for a lengthy argument in court over whether the tech giant is protecting its customers or making it difficult them to leave. even --oular difficult them to leave. even popular companies - difficult them to leave. even popular companies that - difficult them to leave. even | popular companies that make stuff that we carry about have to compete for that loyalty that we have. and apple is not doing that and i think this is the last and four major losses we are seeing against major tech companies in america and it's a deliberate attempt to reinvigorate anti—trust law enforcement in america. reinvigorate anti-trust law enforcement in america. apple arc ues enforcement in america. apple argues the _ enforcement in america. apple argues the case _ enforcement in america. apple argues the case will _ enforcement in america. apple argues the case will hurt - enforcement in america. apple argues the case will hurt its - argues the case will hurt its ability to create the count of

technology people come to expect from it. the court will now decide. let's speak to taylor lorenz, tech columnist for the washington post and host of the power user podcast — which looks at how big tech and the internet are changing our lives. hello there to you. timing what do you make of it? we are in an election _ what do you make of it? we are in an election year _ what do you make of it? we are in an election year and - what do you make of it? we are in an election year and you - what do you make of it? we are in an election year and you see l in an election year and you see or make is increasingly trying to crackdown on big tack, the anti—trust lawsuit comes a got to the house passed the tiktok band bill and there has been increasing rhetoric against matter, google as well. that is not been a lot of legal action in last 20 is, the light anti—trust lawsuit was around 1998 and it was playing very well with voters. this 1998 and it was playing very well with voters. as president for governments _

well with voters. as president for governments taking - well with voters. as president for governments taking on - for governments taking on organisations whether it is tech or online. how do you think apple is likely to handle this? particularly comes to any particular penalties?— particular penalties? well, there are _ particular penalties? well, there are certainly - particular penalties? well, there are certainly in - particular penalties? well, i there are certainly in arrears right now. they lost $114 billion or they had the stock price today basically. they're taking an aggressive stance and trying to get out there and respond to this case, they put out a statement saying that it is all dubious, we don't engage in this behaviour. they are also going to appeal to consumers, is even saying if you want the iphone but you know and love and you want to continue to use the apple products and for us to be competitive you need to defend us as well. they are going to try and leverage the consumer base as well in fighting this. they lock you in, don't they? whether it is i suppose the argument that it is intentional, that's what they are trying to decide. they make

your life easy. are trying to decide. they make your life easy-— your life easy. theoretically, ri . ht? i your life easy. theoretically, right? |think_ your life easy. theoretically, right? i think there - your life easy. theoretically, right? i think there are - your life easy. theoretically, | right? i think there are these good examples of may be times when it could be izyum for apple to work with other companies. this smartwatch thing is a good example, it's hard to use an apple iphone with an android smartwatch or with an android smartwatch or with apple pay apple has been accused of blocking services to prioritise apple pay. i'm an apple user and i love my apple products but i do think it could be nice to have an easier time to have products work with non— apple products. you time to have products work with non- apple products.— time to have products work with non- apple products. you put up a coule non- apple products. you put up a courale of _ non- apple products. you put up a couple of other— non- apple products. you put up a couple of other competitors - a couple of other competitors there. let's look at the wider smartphone market. the attorney general when he was speaking says that they are leaders at the moment and it is not necessarily on merit. the smartphone market, who are the competitors and when it comes to the actual tech capabilities, how are

competitors looking compare to apple? competitors looking compare to a- le? , ., competitors looking compare to a. le? , ., ., competitors looking compare to a.le? , ., ., apple? they are not looking areat. apple? they are not looking great- itut — apple? they are not looking great- itut i _ apple? they are not looking great. but i will— apple? they are not looking great. but i will say - apple? they are not lookingl great. but i will say samsung is a quite strong competitor and i think stands to benefit from the lawsuit. android phones are not quite as popular in america but there are better and better android smartphones every year. i think if people were forced to give some of them a try they may enjoy them but i think when you think of you are the major players, samsung is i would say one of the biggest beneficiaries of this. ., ., ., ,, this. taylor lorenz, thank you very much _ this. taylor lorenz, thank you very much indeed. _ let's turn to the uk now — because traders are ramping up bets that the cost of borrowing could soon be coming down from its 15—year high. that's after what they see as a change of tone, from the bank of england at its meeting on thursday. the bank left interest rates unchanged at 5.25% as expected. but no committee members voted to raise rates this time around as two had done at the last

meeting — and one voted for an immediate cut. it comes after the uk's inflation rate fell to its lowest in 2.5 years in february. the bank's governor, andrew bailey, struck an optimistic tone when he spoke to our economics editor, faisal islam. inflation has come down. it's come down as we expected but we still have some way to go, particularly with what i call the more persistent bits of inflation, particularly the services element, that's about half the total basket of prices, that's still about 6%. we don't need to see it come all the way down to a sustainable level consistent with the target but we do need to see further progress. but i do want to give this message very strongly, we have had very encouraging and good news, so i think we can say we're on the way. but not quite yet? not quite yet, we've got to see more evidence that this is sustained and particularly sustained across the whole mix of things that

form the inflation basket, but it is good news. let's stay with that optimistic tone, because it's certainly being felt on financial markets — with another big day of gains on wall street. all 3 main share indices — the dowjones, snp 500 and nasdaq — closed at record highs for the second day in a row. on wednesday the us federal reserve signalled it's on track to cut interest rates three times this year — but also played down concerns the us economy could fall into recession. that's the �*goldilocks' scenario investors want — not too hot and not too cold — in other words, a healthy economy but not to the extent the fed needs to keep interest rates high. there is also that ongoing excitement about the profits to be made from artificial intelligence — that's seeing money pour into shares.

the ai demand and boom has been absolutely incredible. if we go back a few decades during the internet bubble we did see some pretty interesting comments and one of them was not even from an investor. it was from david elliott of all people but he sat regarding the rally back then and the potential impact of the internet he said i think we are on the cusp of something exhilarating and terrifying. i think if you pull that quote forward it is perfect for today. it is perfect for al because it really is, when you hear about the capacity and what it may be able to do it is both exhilarating and terrifying. one big beneficiary of that excitement on wall street is reddit. the social media firm's shares began trading on the new york stock exchange on thursday, after its initial public offering or ipo. the shares soared from their opening price of $34 — to close at more than $50 — a gain of more

than 48%. that gives reddit a stock market value of $8 billion. it's a modest start when you compare it to facebook and instagram owner meta — which is now worth $1.2 trillion. but it has raised hopes that a slump in new companies coming to the stock market could be over. let's bring in susannah streeter — head of money and markets at hargreaves lansdown. hello there to you. i think mostly good news, let's start off with that positive mood on both sides of the pond.- both sides of the pond. yes, certainly- — both sides of the pond. yes, certainly. as _ both sides of the pond. yes, certainly. as you _ both sides of the pond. yes, certainly. as you say - both sides of the pond. yes, certainly. as you say there l both sides of the pond. yes, l certainly. as you say there are two factors really causing this wave of positivity alsop first of all we are now really spying interests great cuts on the rise and even though the federal reserve, european

central bank and the bank of england are saying we still need to assess a bit more data to make sure that all of the prices are really heading to where we want them to be. but the door is certainly now open for rate cuts and we had a surprise rate cut yesterday from switzerland. that was the spring started before a summer mean course of rate cuts. that's lifted markets and at the same time you have this wave of ai enthusiasm backed up, micron is example shares rose 14% after sales beat expectations again and it is in the solutions for storage and memory and so there is a lot of demand for its services, as companies around the world gear up companies around the world gear up to try and integrate ai into their companies. tell up to try and integrate ai into their companies.— their companies. tell me a little bit — their companies. tell me a little bit about _ their companies. tell me a little bit about reddit - their companies. tell me a little bit about reddit and l little bit about reddit and their appearance on the stock market but a quick background?

reddit, as many people know is a social network that has been finding it hard to get monetised because multiple, millions and millions of conversations had on that site every day. it's gone to market and part of the reason why you see this huge surge is because of it being on an ai bandwagon and that's because the founder of open ai is a big voting member in the company. he has about 9.2% share of the votes, imagine investor and is and that this deep well of information and conversations on reddit could be many —— monetised in this revolution as training sets for these ai models. that's partly why you see so much excitement and the expectation is there is a brighter future ahead for reddit despite some governance issues concerning the fact that new shareholders will not get so much of a say in the future

direction of the company because of the way that company is structured.— is structured. thank you very much indeed, thank you. - let's stay in the us, because former us president donald trump — who of course is hoping to get thejob back later this year — could be in line for a multi—billion dollar windfall. trump media, which runs the social media platform truth social, is planning to become a publicly listed company through a merger deal with anotherfirm that will be voted on later today. that could leave mr trump with a majority stake worth around $3 billion. joao da silva is following this for us in singapore. joao, how would this work? does he have enough followers? well, this is quite an astonishing dealfor a number astonishing deal for a number of astonishing dealfor a number of reasons. first we are talking about a huge windfall for donald trump in exchange for donald trump in exchange for a business whose own auditor warned it was at risk

of failure. then there's the problem of share scale. the deal implies trumpet media, the owner of truth social has a value of billions of dollars but we know this business brought in just $3.3 but we know this business brought injust $3.3 million in the first nine months of last year and lost nearly $50 million. why is this merger happening at all? that isn't too hard to guess. we know the backers of digital world, the potential buyer trump media are mostly individual investors, many are apparently trumpet loyalists. it looks like if the sale is allowed to go ahead then these supporters will be taking on any risks involved and really putting their money where their loyalty really is. the steel is not likely to immediately resolve. donald trump's current financial issues such as the $460 million fraud penalty in new york, the former president would be

barred from telling his shares for at least six months though the new company could grant him an exemption. he could try to get a loan back by the value of the shares but in this case analysts say a bank would probably lead him significantly less than the shares are worth on paper living obvious risks to the business.— on paper living obvious risks to the business. thank you very much indeed. _ to the business. thank you very much indeed. this _ to the business. thank you very much indeed. this is _ to the business. thank you very much indeed. this is bbc - to the business. thank you very | much indeed. this is bbc news.

let's go to ireland now. it has long been established as a european hub for big tech attracting the likes of google, microsoft, meta and apple — who all have their regional headquarters there — as well as smaller names like airbnb and paypal. for us tech giants the appeal is clear — low corporate taxes, access to the eu market and business—friendly policies. it's helped make ireland rich — but also potentially very

dependent on a handful of us firms. now ireland is trying to diversify — courting chinese multinationals as well. tiktok set up its eu headquarters in dublin in 2020 and its beenjoined by fast—fashion platform, shein, and fashion app, temu. but some are warning ireland could find itself caught in the middle of growing tensions between china and the us. michael lohan is the chief executive of the irish development agency. hello to you. you operate in that space. how good has it been? ,., ., that space. how good has it been? , ., ., ., , been? good morning. the irish economy certainly _ been? good morning. the irish economy certainly is _ economy certainly is diversified over the last two decades, it is at the forefront of a modern economy in the sectors you mention such as technology, sciences, international financial services and high—value engineering and we have many

companies in our portfolio and they are from across the entire globe. the vast majority are investment comes from the us to 60%, the rest of the well at 5%. we identified sectors and jobs in the last sector. haifa jobs in the last sector. how much of — jobs in the last sector. how much of a _ jobs in the last sector. how much of a risk _ jobs in the last sector. how much of a risk is _ jobs in the last sector. how much of a risk is it - jobs in the last sector. how much of a risk is it bringing j much of a risk is it bringing on the chinese element? has much of a risk is it bringing on the chinese element? as we look at this, _ on the chinese element? as we look at this, we _ on the chinese element? as we look at this, we certainly - on the chinese element? as we look at this, we certainly have l look at this, we certainly have to take it at a global perspective. the context at the moment, the asia—pacific market is a growing market for fdi and ireland. we put on the market for probably over a decade at this stage, maybe 1.5 decades and we've been seeing investments but we had to balance that and in ireland we have been very clear and the union is de— risking that decoupling. we are continuing to work on those guidelines

with the european union. bill with the european union. all e es with the european union. all eyes this _ with the european union. all eyes this year are going to be on events in the united states. us entities did start to pull out a violent, because of those tensions depending of course on which president we have in the united states, do you think there would be companies that do leave? i there would be companies that do leave? ., �* , do leave? i don't believe so. the reason _ do leave? i don't believe so. the reason i _ do leave? i don't believe so. the reason i say _ do leave? i don't believe so. the reason i say that - do leave? i don't believe so. the reason i say that is - do leave? i don't believe so. the reason i say that is we i do leave? i don't believe so. i the reason i say that is we are 75 years in this business, we are celebrating our 75th anniversary. we are a trusted and proven location, we have a stable enterprise and environment and we have the talent necessary to bring these businesses to the fore. all of those credentials still remain the same so that is not changing. we know you get consistency and certainty in ireland and your key points for fdi investors across the globe because they will look across the globe at the best talent

and opportunity four surmising their business.— their business. michael, thank ou ve their business. michael, thank you very much _ their business. michael, thank you very much indeed. - finally — today, march 22, is world water day — an annual event started by the united nations in 1993 to raise awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. one of the un's sustainable development goals is to provide water and sanitation for everyone by 2030. the economic impact of lack of water access is huge — it can trap families in poverty as they are forced to spend up to four hours a day collecting water — at the expense of working or attending school. and the burden often falls on women and girls — who spend an estimated 200 million hours carrying water every day. duncan goose is founder of one water — which sells carbon neutral bottled water — but also funds water projects around the world.

hello, welcome to the programme. you sell the water and the water is then loud into your philanthropic work abroad, is it? , ., , your philanthropic work abroad, isit? , is it? yes, that is exactly correct- _ is it? yes, that is exactly correct. we _ is it? yes, that is exactly correct. we started - is it? yes, that is exactly correct. we started a - is it? yes, that is exactly - correct. we started a bottled water business number of years ago and we give where the profits from that to fund clean water projects predominantly in poorer countries, like the co—op or duty—free we've helped over 5 million people get access to clean water. 0bviously world water day was founded in 1993, have things improved since then or not in terms of accessibility? yes they have. the brand was one because there were 1 billion people in the world they didn't have access to clean water and the number has now reduced to have an hundred and 3 million. there been improvements but the big watch act is what is

happening around climate change and how that is affecting predominantly three parts of that cycle which is either too much water, not enough or the water that is available is often contaminated. it has a massive bearing on what is going on in the world around us today. going on in the world around us toda . �* ., , going on in the world around us toda.�* . , , today. and that is partly due today. and that is partly due to climate — today. and that is partly due to climate change? - today. and that is partly due to climate change? there i today. and that is partly due i to climate change? there must be areas now that are suffering a lack of access to water? exactly. february was globally the hottest february ever recorded and currently in the horn of africa there is over 40 million people that are suffering from the worst drought in 40 years. while in southeast asia you have floods and as you said on the news today, haiti is getting cholera outbreaks as well. it's a global problem and it is not going away unfortunately. effective is it delivering water? we see the large vans or is it more about digging the wells but is that dependent on

wider environmental factors? how do you bring water to those in need? irate how do you bring water to those in need? ~ ., ., , in need? we do for things mainly which _ in need? we do for things mainly which is _ in need? we do for things mainly which is orbited i in need? we do for things i mainly which is orbited with humanitarian crises. we boys been there to support people in desperate times. we also look at the drilling of boreholes and putting them in, the repair of boreholes which is a more cost—effective way to get water into communities. more recently it has been putting in long—term sustainable infrastructure so we are building pipelines and putting in metre systems to get what into communities and getting into communities and getting into health centres and schools. ultimately into people's homes as well so that has been a lot of change over the past few years around systems change.- the past few years around systems change. the past few years around s stems chance. , .., systems change. duncan, we will leave it there _ systems change. duncan, we will leave it there but _ systems change. duncan, we will leave it there but thank - systems change. duncan, we will leave it there but thank you - leave it there but thank you very much indeed. that was the founder of one water, it is world water day and a quick look at the markets before i leave you.

things we are waiting for the us to wake up and here in london as well but yesterday closing up record highs, a record close the in the us. stay with us with more coming up stay with us with more coming up on bbc news. hello, there. it's going to be turning colder right across the uk, as we head through the rest of the week. sunny spells and showers through the day on thursday. lots of rainbows spotted by our weather watchers towards the north. that theme at least is set to continue, so more blustery showers, a brisk, northwesterly wind and just some chillier feeling air, with a possibility of some nighttime frosts in the more rural, sheltered spots. why? well, because this cold front will be sinking southwards and eastwards, as we head through the day on friday, introducing that colder—feeling air. already a chilly start to the day from north wales, across northern england, scotland and northern ireland —

some showers blowing in here. a cold front pushes more clouds towards the far southeast of england and some outbreaks of rain, and the hang—back of that rain is still across parts of kent, sussex into perhaps eastern areas of hampshire. as we head through the afternoon on friday, it will eventually clear. temperatures now round about the seasonal average, a few showers, particularly out towards the west, most frequent across northern and western scotland, a brisk, westerly wind blowing, and some of those showers are likely to be wintry over the high ground. gales across the northern isles and the far northwest of scotland. now, low pressure continues to push eastwards just to the north of scotland, as we head through friday and into saturday. saturday, a particularly cold start to the day. temperatures, for many, will drop back to low single figures, and in the shelter of that brisk westerly—to—north—westerly wind, we're likely to see a touch of frost, though gardeners beware. also some icy stretches out there, as well. saturday, a day of sunshine and showers again, the showers most frequent in the north and the west. some of the showers could be

wintry over the tops of the hills, just about anywhere across the uk. there will be some sunny spells in between, but a lot of added wind chill. these temperatures are below the seasonal average. it will actually feel colder than that because of the strength of the wind, too. but there will be some sunshine here and there, as well, and it does look like it's going to turn a bit sunnier through the day on sunday. a brief ridge of high pressure should keep us largely dry, but clouding over towards the west by the end of the day. low pressure always close by, as we head through into the start of next week, so it's going to be feeling colder. we'll see the drop in temperature and it will be quite showery. some longer spells of rain at times, too, as we head through next week, so unsettled and feeling cooler. bye— bye.

good morning, welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. 0ur headlines today. as pressure grows for a ceasefire in gaza, the us secretary of state, antony blinken, says talks between the two sides are progressing. progress is good, it's real. i can't put a timeframe on it, but we are, i think, getting close to a point where we'll have agreements. the blood test breakthrough which could offer lung cancer patients earlier

access to treatments. there are calls for the uk government to formally apologise to mothers who were forced to give up their babies for adoption. millions of women are waiting for a response from the government on whether they'll receive compensation for not being told about the rise in the state pension age from 60 to 65. a great night for wales, as they take a giant step, towards this summer's euros. they thrash finland in cardiff, and now have to beat poland next week to qualify for the finals. good morning. a change in the weather is colder air is moving across the british isles. it would bring some showers l —— or longer spells of rain. it will be quite blustery. details later. good morning. it's friday, 22nd march. our main story. us secretary of state anthony blinken heads to israel today, to push for an end to fighting in gaza, ahead of a un vote calling

for an immediate ceasefire.