and adapting to change — howjapan's biggest brewer aims to attract a more sober gen z. welcome to business today, i'm sally bundock. we start in the us, where it's been another record—breaking day on wall street — with big tech very much leading the charge. both the s&p 500 and the nasdaq hit record closes on wednesday as the chip—making giant nvidia broke the $3 trillion valuation mark. overtaking apple and becoming the second most valuable public company in the us — behind microsoft. the meteoric rise of nvidia is driven by the artificial intelligence boom as investors bet big on its ability to provide the nuts and bolts behind the latest tech. to gauge just how far and how fast they've come it's worth looking at their share price,

which started the year at under $500 a share and closed on wednesday at over $1,200 a share. that is just such a huge jump in a short time. it rose over 5% in value on wednesday alone, giving it the market cap of just over $3 trillion. let's hear more from our north america business correspondent erin delmore. wall street's on a record—breaking run. the latest — all—time—high closes for the s&p 500 and the nasdaq. the latter powered by — you guessed it — nvidia. the chip—makerjoined the $3 trillion club on wednesday, overtaking apple as the world's second—most—valuable company. microsoft is still the world's number one. nvidia is only the third company to ever exceed $3 trillion in market value. it's leading in the race

to develop the chips needed to enable new artificial—intelligence applications. and that's where the other tech giants and a lot of companies are spending big bucks right now. nvidia shares ended the trading day up more than 5%. alphabet, amazon, apple, meta, and microsoft all ended the day up, as well. the major indexes have been hitting high watermarks over and over in 202a. this marks the nasdaq's 13th record close this year, and the 25th for the s&p. erin delmore there. we will look at financial markets in a moment. but first let's go to the live pictures of the beaches in normandy because we are keeping across today's events as they mark the 80th anniversary of the d—day landings. just keeping you in the loop all the time as the sun rises and the day gets under way. also, for your

information, let's show you those numbers on financial markets. in asia today we are seeing the mood still positive. not that strong gains for the main markets in asia but they are riding this wave that we are riding this wave that we are seeing on wall street the night before. let's show you the close in the us so you can see those record highs. let's talk this through with markets analyst anna macdonald. good morning to you. this was a matter of time for nvidia. really, i am amazed by the figures. they are mind—boggling but i'm not surprised. figures. they are mind-boggling but i'm not surprised.— but i'm not surprised. yeah, nothina but i'm not surprised. yeah, nothing comes _ but i'm not surprised. yeah, nothing comes close - but i'm not surprised. yeah, nothing comes close to - but i'm not surprised. yeah, i nothing comes close to nvidia's dominant when you start thinking about artificial intelligence. the ceo has talked about it being the new, the next industrial revolution and i think it is astonishing. we have had microsoft, apple,

such stalwarts and then nvidia seems to have come out of nowhere over the last few years having been a computer gaming chip company and now here it is just delivering huge revenue increases and becoming more profitable while it's doing it. so it has been an astonishing ascent. iii so it has been an astonishing ascent. , ., _, , ., so it has been an astonishing ascent. , ., ascent. if you combine that, as well, with _ ascent. if you combine that, as well, with the _ ascent. if you combine that, as well, with the latest _ ascent. if you combine that, as well, with the latest data - ascent. if you combine that, as well, with the latest data out l well, with the latest data out of the us about the jobs market, etc, that is kind of fuelling this expectation that the fed will be able to make its move soon in terms of cutting interest rates. yeah, the 'obs cutting interest rates. yeah, the jobs market, _ cutting interest rates. yeah, the jobs market, we - cutting interest rates. yeah, the jobs market, we have i cutting interest rates. yeah, i the jobs market, we have some thejobs market, we have some information yesterday showing that the number of openings to the number perjob was actually not quite the —— as strong as expected so the market got a bit keener that the fed might be putting rates. it is a different picture than the beginning of the year because the economy has stayed so much stronger. it looks like markets

are now pricing in towards the end of the year, a drop, every 25 to 50 basis point but it will depend on new data. are will depend on new data. are ou will depend on new data. are you concerned _ will depend on new data. are you concerned when it comes to ai that we have a bubble that is going to burst on markets at some point?— is going to burst on markets at some oint? �* , ~ ., ., ,, some point? any kind of massive rise in share _ some point? any kind of massive rise in share prices _ some point? any kind of massive rise in share prices will _ some point? any kind of massive rise in share prices will lead - rise in share prices will lead to that but i suppose i would say that nvidia is actually selling these chips, this is not some kind of story that is being pushed out further and further and some kind of promise for the future. they are actually delivering revenue and profit growth.— and profit growth. good to get our take and profit growth. good to get your take on — and profit growth. good to get your take on all _ and profit growth. good to get your take on all of _ and profit growth. good to get your take on all of this, - and profit growth. good to get your take on all of this, thank| your take on all of this, thank your take on all of this, thank you forjoining us so early. so as we've touched on, part of the reason markets in the us are so strong is because investors are betting on the likeliness of interest rate cuts down the line.

the federal reserve is expected to hold firm at its meeting next week. but elsewhere the tide is turning. canada became the first of the world's richest g7 economies to lower its main lending rate on wednesday — shaving off a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75%. today it's the turn of the ecb — the european central bank to make its move. many are predicting a similar drop from the current 4% main interest rate. that would mark the first cut for the eurozone since 2019. joining me now is azad zangana, senior european economist from schroders. i'm good morning. do you believe that will happen today from the ecb, that they will cut rates?— from the ecb, that they will cut rates? absolutely, this is -robabl cut rates? absolutely, this is probably slightly _ cut rates? absolutely, this is probably slightly overdue. i cut rates? absolutely, this is i probably slightly overdue. they could have started cutting interest rates from about april onwards. but they have had to wait to get more confirmation that the data was going in the right direction and that they

could start their interest rate cutting cycle. i could start their interest rate cutting cycle-— cutting cycle. i know, of course. _ cutting cycle. i know, of course, each _ cutting cycle. i know, of course, each economy l cutting cycle. i know, of| course, each economy is different, especially for the euro zone, such a diverse region so we cannot compare it necessarily to the uk, us, etc. is this showing in some way that the ecb and governments across europe have done a betterjob of managing better job of managing inflation betterjob of managing inflation or not? it betterjob of managing inflation or not?- betterjob of managing inflation or not? it is very difficult — inflation or not? it is very difficult to _ inflation or not? it is very difficult to compare i inflation or not? it is very i difficult to compare countries because in the last couple of years the rise in energy inflation was dealt with very differently by different countries. those countries that subsidised households and companies meant that the inflation rates could come down a little bit more quickly. in the uk's case, there was a delay to that passing on of inflation which is why it has remained higherfor inflation which is why it has remained higher for longer but it should also follow down fairly soon and the bank of should also be cutting robert around august time. just before

i let ou around august time. just before i let you go. _ around august time. just before i let you go, earlier— around august time. just before i let you go, earlier this - around august time. just before i let you go, earlier this week i i let you go, earlier this week we saw a spike in european gas prices because of a disruption to supply coming from norway. europe is still exposed to things like that going forward, that has to be on the minds of the central bank, would you argue? i the central bank, would you araue? ., �* , , argue? i wouldn't. this is tuite argue? iwouldn't. this is quite normal— argue? i wouldn't. this is quite normal use - argue? iwouldn't. this is quite normal use of- argue? i wouldn't. this is. quite normal use of natural gas. we get supply disruptions, closures for maintenance through the summer. that is all very normal. i through the summer. that is all very normal-— very normal. i understand that, but my point — very normal. i understand that, but my point is. _ very normal. i understand that, but my point is, in _ very normal. i understand that, but my point is, in terms i very normal. i understand that, but my point is, in terms of- but my point is, in terms of reaction on the markets, we saw a 10% spike in european prices. they came down fairly swiftly again but it showed, didn't it, that europe is still very reliant on certain places for its provision of energy and therefore could be a risk going forward. ., ., , ., forward. yeah. that is not auoin forward. yeah. that is not going to _ forward. yeah. that is not going to change. - forward. yeah. that is not going to change. the i forward. yeah. that is not i going to change. the important is where is the energy coming from. is it volatile regions like russia? not any more.

hopefully now a greater reliance on lng from parts of the middle east and north america should help improve the volatility we have seen in the markets and the impact on inflation. markets and the impact on inflation-— inflation. azad zangana, schroders, _ inflation. azad zangana, schroders, good - inflation. azad zangana, schroders, good to i inflation. azad zangana, schroders, good to talk| inflation. azad zangana, i schroders, good to talk to you, thank you. schroders, good to talk to you, thank you-— to russia now, where the economy continues to grow despite repeated rounds of western sanctions — thanks to help from china. it means the mood at russia's equivalent of davos — the st petersburg international economic forum — has been buoyant. our russia editor steve rosenberg went to look around. it is the world's most sanctioned country. but here's the thing — russia's economy is growing faster than the economies of britain, america or germany. at russia's showcase economic forum, even the robots are boasting about it. "i love the smell of economic success," he says. how's it doing it? well, beijing is helping.

trade with china is booming. russian shops are full of chinese electronics. on russian roads, more and more chinese cars. not that russia doesn't have its own. it's revived an old soviet brand — the moskvich. there's just one thing. this moskvich is russian in name only. the parts are chinese. basically, from tip to toe, this is a chinese car with a russian logo. another sign of how important china has become to the russian economy. and china, plus india, are now big buyers of russian oil. despite western sanctions, russia's oil revenues keep flowing, helping to fund increased military production, which is fueling the economic growth and bankrolling russia's war in ukraine. the oil revenue has been

critical in funding the war. russia got enough foreign exchange to support the domestic economy and, at the same time, to expand substantially the war economy. but for how long? russia may be bullish now about growth rates, but with western governments looking to remove loopholes and tighten sanctions, soon russia's economy may not be flying so high. steve rosenberg, bbc news, st petersburg. we are going live to normandy to keep you across events there. preparations are under way for the d—day 80th anniversary, a very important moment to remember. let's go live to moscow now — chris weafer is founding partner of eurasia consulta ntcy macro—advisory.

hello to you. as we talk about that economic forum taking place in saint petersburg, we were hearing from our russia editor how the russian economy is very buoyant at the moment, despite the fact that, globally, it is probably the most sanctioned country in the world. , ~ , , world. yes. absolutely right. the numbers _ world. yes. absolutely right. the numbers for _ world. yes. absolutely right. the numbers for the - world. yes. absolutely right. the numbers for the first i the numbers for the first quarter have been very strong, over 5% gdp growth, and trade is rising. when you look at a snapshot of the economy today you definitely can justify the message from saint petersburg, which is of strong economy. steve also said in his message, you know, there are pressures beginning to emerge as the g7, eu, start to tighten loopholes particularly on financial transactions and payment systems. it is becoming more difficult for russia to get

paid for the commodities, the oil commodities, exporting to china. unless that issue is resolved, we will see a very different picture in the economy by the end of this year. economy by the end of this ear. �* , economy by the end of this ear, �* , , ., ., economy by the end of this ear, �*, .,, economy by the end of this ear. m .,, ., economy by the end of this| year-_ yes, year. as soon as that? yes, because — year. as soon as that? yes, because we — year. as soon as that? yes, because we are _ year. as soon as that? yes, because we are already i year. as soon as that? yes, i because we are already hearing of banks in asia and the middle east, turkey, and others, refusing to transact with russian counterparties because of fear of secondary sanctions from the us in particular, so you can set whatever price you like, but if you are not getting paid or cannot get the money back to pay for goods, then clearly problems are going to emerge. it is expected that the workaround will be found, but it is right now a cause of concern. but it is right now a cause of concern-— concern. obviously at this event in _ concern. obviously at this event in saint _ concern. obviously at this event in saint petersburg| event in saint petersburg taking place at the moment, you assume the narrative will be pretty positive about russia and its outlook, but outside of those corridors, what is the

mood light about the economy? well, as i said, the numbers look good. the country is stable. all of the indicators, anecdotal as well as others, suggest that people are relatively happy. incomes are growing, unemployment is low, so the snapshot reflects the accurate position of the economy today but the main discussion will be about how to bring the economy forward. again as steve mentioned, there is a lot of spending in the industrial complex which is a key driver of economic growth but clearly it is not sustainable long term. a lot of discussion this week, and continuing, is about, how does the economy evolve from military industrial complex? how does spending, how does it use that as a platform for expanding the economy later for

developing, say, technology sectors, equipment manufacturing, that previously russia has been reliant on from the west? how does it grow its own industry and its spending in the military sector to establish those localised industries? there is a lot of that discussion and you hear a lot more about that in partnership with countries, mainly african, asian, south american, who will attend this week. , ., ~ , ., week. interesting, thank you. chris weafer _ week. interesting, thank you. chris weafer of _ week. interesting, thank you. chris weafer of the _ week. interesting, thank you. chris weafer of the eurasia i chris weafer of the eurasia consultancy macro—advisory. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news now. toyota and mazda have paused production of five vehicle models amid a growing scandal affecting japan's car industry. both firms are being investigated over incorrect data on safety certification tests. toyota's headquarters was visited by officials from japan's transport ministry on tuesday. the certification breaches came to light after the toyota subsidiary daihatsu admitted safety test irregulates last year.

google must face a $16 billion lawsuit alleging it has too much power over the online advertising market, a court has ruled. the case, brought by a group called ad tech collective action, alleges the search giant behaved in an anti—competitive way which caused online publishers in the uk to lose money. google described the lawsuit as "speculative" and said they will "oppose it vigorously". flight attendants in the united states have rejected a 17% pay rise proposal from american airlines. the union, which represents 23,000 air stewards, says workers have not had wage increases for more than five years, and have asked for an immediate raise of 33%. the carrier's ceo says he is committed to reaching an agreement. and coming up — adapting to a new generation — we speak to japan's biggest brewer about a more sober future.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

to japan now, where the latest stats show the country's fertility rate dropped in 2023 for the eighth year in a row. hitting the lowest level since records began in191l7. japan's shrinking young population means brands have to rethink how they target customers. mariko oi caught up with the boss of the country's biggest brewer, asahi, to find out more. translation: alcoholic beverages sales in japan will continue to decline because we cannot go against the shrinking population, which means we cannot expect the japanese market to grow massively. so our growth opportunities are overseas. the simplest market to tackle is europe. another market which many have

called our missing piece is the us, so we are keen to increase our presence. i want to ask you about the weakness of the japanese yen — which has pros and cons, i guess, for your company. has the weak yen forced you to change your strategy already, or are you concerned that, if this persists, it would force you to change your strategy? our overseas sales account for 51% of our overall sales. our overseas profits account for 65% of our total profits. so the weak yen is welcoming news, but it means the strong dollar — and that's the fact that the cost of raw materials. i also don't think the current situation of extremely weak yen ——dollar — and that's affected that the cost of raw materials. i also don't think the current situation of extremely weak yen is good for the japanese economy, so i hope it will settle at an appropriate level soon.

generation z, they are set to drink much less alcohol than previous generations, so what are your strategies as consumers are increasingly choosing to stay sober? we have realised that younger people are increasingly choosing not to drink as much alcohol. we see this as a risk, but also as an opportunity. ourfirm is quite unique because while the majority of our sales comes from beer and alcoholic beverages, we also have the capability to produce non—alcoholic beverages or soft drinks. injapan and australia, 30% of our sales comes from soft drinks. our ability to produce both gives us a competitive advantage. the ceo of asahi there. now before we go, one for all you exercise lovers — are you watching us now in the gym? well, you may well know the brand lululemon — an atheltics clothes maker that rose to fame as the go—to shop for your stretchable yoga gear and sportswear. something of an underperfomer on the us stock market of late, their latest numbers

saw the share price jump over 10% in after—hours trade on wednesday. impressive or not? i'm joined by poonam goyal — senior research retail analyst at bloomberg. welcome to the bbc. lululemon, i have read various analyst reports offer the back of their earnings, some positive, some negative. what do you make of the numbers? i negative. what do you make of the numbers?— the numbers? i think the results are _ the numbers? i think the results are quite - the numbers? i think the results are quite positive j the numbers? i think the i results are quite positive but i think what was most encouraging about the results was that some of the missteps of the reason growth slowed in the first quarter from the fourth quarter, so it gives opportunity to believe in correcting these missteps especially in apparel and the americas, some things could get better in the back of.— better in the back of. what were the — better in the back of. what were the missteps? - better in the back of. what i were the missteps? combination of thins. were the missteps? combination of things. first _ were the missteps? combination of things. first and _ were the missteps? combination of things. first and foremost, i of things. first and foremost, the fact that they didn't have enough inventories so it is

getting the right size is back in stock, and just expanding the colours they have in store is because what we saw in the quarter was that traffic was actually up at the stores, which was an encouraging sign, which was an encouraging sign, which means that conversion is what we needed to increase and that had a direct impact and part of the reason our sales dipped. part of the reason our sales di ed. . , part of the reason our sales di- -ed. ., , , dipped. have they seen quite significant — dipped. have they seen quite significant growth _ dipped. have they seen quite significant growth in - dipped. have they seen quite significant growth in china, . significant growth in china, which has helped them overcome the problems they were seeing in north america?— in north america? absolutely. the growth — in north america? absolutely. the growth in _ in north america? absolutely. the growth in china _ in north america? absolutely. the growth in china was i the growth in china was spectacular, up about 45%. remember that mainland china is about 10% of lululemon's business so it continues to grow in china and that will help offset some of the lows in the americas but the americas are still the lion's share of their business, about 80%, and very important to the lululemon

story. very important to the lululemon sto . �* , ., story. briefly, did lululemon and its rivals _ story. briefly, did lululemon and its rivals in _ story. briefly, did lululemon and its rivals in this - story. briefly, did lululemon and its rivals in this side i story. briefly, did lululemon and its rivals in this side of l and its rivals in this side of retail, gym wear, did they get a big boost from the pandemic as more people were trying to get out and do exercise? absolutely, the pandemic not only helped lululemon but also many leisure brands as consumers shifted their wardrobes with more casual athletic wear as they work from home, spent more time outdoors. the wardrobe shifted. now they are shifting back to a more balanced approach so weak we are seeing what fashion. lululemon is a brand that you could argue is streetwear as well as performance, and can be dressed up or dressed down. poonam goyal, thank you for joining us from bloomberg. let's go live to normandy, where as you can see from the pictures we are receiving, preparations are well under way as western

leaders prepare to gather to mark the 80 years since the allied landings in normandy. 150,000 soldiers landed on five beachesin 150,000 soldiers landed on five beaches in northern france. it was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. many veterans from the us, canada, uk, elsewhere in northern europe will be there today to mark what many are describing as the most important international anniversary of this year. king charles will be there, as will us presidentjoe biden. uk prime minister rishi sunak. the prime minister rishi sunak. the prime minister rishi sunak. the prime minister of canada, justin trudeau will be among the global leaders gathered. we have a live page set up online which you can watch throughout today as the events unfold. our

europe editor has just added to this. she has been talking, as you can see, to us veteran, donald cobb, 99 years old, took part in the landing at omaha beach. we will be live with events today as they take place. if you are watching on bbc one you can join breakfast in four minutes. across the world, i will see you soon. hello there. having just had one of the wettest and dullest springs on record, i'm sure if you got 12 hours of sunshine, you'd take it. that's exactly what we had on wednesday through the isle of man. a chilly day, but a beautiful day in terms of sunshine. slightly different story further north and west — temperatures struggled in parts of scotland to get up into double figures, and there was a rash of sharp showers, as well. that's because scotland and northern ireland, you're closest to this area of low pressure, and a brisk northwesterly wind continues

to feed showers in around that low. so, we start off on a chilly note first thing on thursday morning. sunny spells and scattered showers through scotland and northern ireland — fairly widespread throughout the day. further south, after a cloudy start, the cloud should break up, some sunshine come through. there's always a risk of one or two isolated showers across england and wales, but hopefully they'll be few and far between. and with a little more shelter in the south east, we could see temperatures peaking at 18 degrees. fresher on those exposed north west coasts. only 1a degrees in northern ireland — cooler perhaps on the exposed north coast — and in scotland, we're looking at 10—14 degrees with those showers continuing on and off throughout the day. now, as we move out of thursday into friday, we see more of an organised line of rain developing, but that is where that cooler air is going to sit into the far northwest. temperatures just below par for the time of year further south, but there are indications of some warmer weather arriving over the next few days. but to start with, we're looking at single figures

first thing on friday morning in rural parts of scotland — low single figures not out of the question once again. and there will be some rain moving its way south and east out of scotland, down into the north of england and north wales. sunny spells and a few scattered showers ahead of it. still a rash of showers — particularly to the northwest of the great glen — where here temperatures will sit around 10 or 11 degrees. further south, we're going to see highs of 18 celsius once again, so the temperatures pretty much stuck in a rut. weak weather front bringing some cloud to begin with across the south for the weekend. that low pressure is gradually pulling away, so hopefully high pressure will tend to build, but we keep the risk of showers once again across scotland and northern ireland. somewhat drier and brighter, warmer further south.

good morning, welcome to a special edition of breakfast with me, charlie stayt, in normandy on the 80th anniversary of the d—day landings. our headlines today... the scene is set in ver—sur—mer,

the site of the british normandy memorial, where the king and queen will lead the united kingdom's commemorative event. at a vigil at the bayeaux war cemetery here last night, more than 4,000 gravestones were individually lit up — in a tribute to those who never returned. they're the men who changed the course of history, more than a0 british veterans have made the trip to normandy — i've been speaking to one of them. i was up on the bridge and i could see it all but i couldn't do anything, i couldn't get in the water to help them or save them. the sculpture of three trips

storming across the sand stands at the centre