the us central bank chief hints an interest rate cut could be on the table as soon as september, sending wall street higher, but what's in store from the bank of england? shares in meta jump as the owner of facebook reveals bumper profits and says it will make money soon from al. and plugging in: as demand for electric vehicles grow, is the infrastructure in place? we have a special report on the race to fit chargers across the uk. live from london, this is business today. we begin in the us and the party on wall street as the most powerful central bank in the world wrapped up its

rate setting meeting. the federal reserve decided to keep the cost of borrowing on hold for the eighth month in a row at between 5.25 and 5.5%. that's a 23—year high. but it was what the fed chair had to say that gave investors a boost. jerome powell gave the biggest hint yet that a september interest rate cut could be on the table. here's what he had to say. if we were to see, for example, inflation moving down quickly or more or less in line with expectations, growth remains, let's say reasonably strong and the labour market remains consistent with its current condition, i would think a rate cut could be on the table at the september meeting. joining me now is wei li, global chief investment

strategist at blackrock. no surprise that wall street was chairing this direction, clear communication from jerome powell. ~ , ,., , ., powell. absolutely. he made it very clear _ powell. absolutely. he made it very clear the _ powell. absolutely. he made it very clear the bow _ powell. absolutely. he made it very clear the bow is _ powell. absolutely. he made it very clear the bow is quite - powell. absolutely. he made it very clear the bow is quite lowl very clear the bow is quite low now for a september rate cut and importantly, he made it clear he characterised labour market development as normalisation rather than weakness, which means when they cut it will be because better behaving inflation rather than a weaker labour market which is a weaker labour market which is a good combination for risk inaudible assets which is why markets rallied yesterday, but the big picture remains we are talking about an environment that fundamental matters a lot as well, people pay a lot of

attention to earnings, and you talked about meta reporting better earnings inaudible raising the pattern. it is raising the pattern. it is interesting. _ raising the pattern. it is interesting. when - raising the pattern. it is interesting. when we i raising the pattern. it is l interesting. when we saw raising the pattern. it is interesting. when we saw last week the consumer confidence figures and you mentioned earnings. there have been a few companies warning about demand softening, signs the us consumer is feeling the pinch right now. would that have played into this thought process with jerome played into this thought process withjerome powell and his team? process with jerome powell and his team? ~ ., , , his team? i think so. consumers have been _ his team? i think so. consumers have been in _ his team? i think so. consumers have been in the _ his team? i think so. consumers have been in the bright - his team? i think so. consumers have been in the bright spot - have been in the bright spot for the us economy, but the gdp print last week actually shows consumers are passing the baton to ai investment as the driver for growth, so for the first time it was quite clear ai equipment, information processing equipment was what was driving the inaudible to

growth, so consumers are wearing down there pandemic savings and puff about the ai theme has a longer runway to play out and that is why when we are talking about inaudible... we are talking about inaudible. . .- we are talking about inaudible... , , , inaudible. .. very briefly, what did ou inaudible. .. very briefly, what did you make — inaudible. .. very briefly, what did you make of— inaudible. .. very briefly, what did you make of donald - inaudible. .. very briefly, what did you make of donald trump i inaudible. .. very briefly, what| did you make of donald trump 's did you make of donald trump �*s comments they should not be a rate cut before the election? jerome powell indicating they'll possibly be cutting interest rates in september. the central bank is independent of politics but donald trump is weighing in on that, trying to make an influence. i weighing in on that, trying to make an influence.— make an influence. i think jerome powell _ make an influence. i think jerome powell made - make an influence. i think jerome powell made it. make an influence. i think. jerome powell made it clear make an influence. i think- jerome powell made it clear he would like the central bank process to be as apolitical as possible, as he said at the press conference. in terms of the election outcome, though, right now they are not budgeting that in their forecast, but no matter who gets in the white house, we're talking about greater fiscal spend so we expect the election outcome to start getting budgeted and considered end

their scenario analysis. goad their scenario analysis. good to have your _ their scenario analysis. good to have your take _ their scenario analysis. good to have your take on - their scenario analysis. good to have your take on what i their scenario analysis. good | to have your take on what the fed decided and what is ahead. thank you for your time. meanwhile, here in the uk, a decision by the bank of england to cut interest rates is "on a knife edge", according to analysts. andrew bailey and his team meet today. traders have bet on a 60% chance the central bank will lower rates from 5.25% to 5%, but others believe another hold is on the cards. borrowing costs are currently at a 16—year high here, putting pressure on household finances and businesses, although of course it's been a better time for savers. let's discuss this with swetha ramachandran, fund manager, artemis investment management.

what do you think the bank of england will decide today? the markets are — england will decide today? tue: markets are pricing england will decide today? he markets are pricing in england will decide today? tt2 markets are pricing in as you say a greater than 50% chance of a rate cut today. we have now seen the preconditions for rate cuts to materialise having been met in the last two months where we have had two consecutive monthly readings at cpi at or below 2% which is what the bank of england has been targeting. services inflation has remained stubbornly high but stripping out things like accommodation, for example, that is trending down, we are increasingly seeing signs of slack in the labour market where unemployment has been picking up unemployment has been picking up so this means the conditions are ripe for a 25% —— point basis cut. we have not heard the governor talk about the outlook for rates as well as the economy since the election campaigning started in may, so this will be the first time since the elections we also hear about what the outlook for that in the medium term is

which will be important to watch. tt which will be important to watch. , , , watch. it will be because something _ watch. it will be because something that - watch. it will be because something that andrew i watch. it will be because - something that andrew bailey warned about quite some time ago was higher wage deals. he was trying to say a cautionary note to business leaders and governments who are negotiating pay they should keep a limit on it. rachel reeves has not saying that. she has announced higher deals for public sector workers. ~ 2, 2, higher deals for public sector workers. ~ . ., , ., higher deals for public sector workers. ~ . ., 4, workers. what are you thinking? that will not _ workers. what are you thinking? that will not materially impact i that will not materially impact inflation in the short term which is why the data the bank of england has to arrive at the decision will be date that has accumulated, has occurred in the recent past which could allow them a window of opportunity to reduce rates before wage inflation takes up again. mt; before wage inflation takes up aaain. ~ , ,., before wage inflation takes up aaain. y , before wage inflation takes up aaain. g , , again. my point is it will be interesting _ again. my point is it will be interesting what _ again. my point is it will be interesting what he - again. my point is it will be interesting what he has - again. my point is it will be interesting what he has to | interesting what he has to say interesting what he has to say in terms of looking ahead, the long—term forecast given that new change.

long-term forecast given that new change-— long-term forecast given that new change. absolutely and if that is sufficient _ new change. absolutely and if that is sufficient to _ new change. absolutely and if that is sufficient to more - new change. absolutely and if that is sufficient to more than i that is sufficient to more than offset this like emerging elsewhere in the labour market as well as the fact wages elsewhere are not rising as much as they were this time last year, that would be a factor to consider.- last year, that would be a factor to consider. lovely to see you- — factor to consider. lovely to see you. thanks _ factor to consider. lovely to see you. thanks for - factor to consider. lovely to see you. thanks for your - factor to consider. lovely to i see you. thanks for your time. have a good day. now let's head to japan, where the country's stock market is down some 2.5% today. we mentioned rates decisions by the fed and the bank of england, and the nikkei is down partly because of the bank ofjapan's decision to raise interest rates yesterday which sent the japanese yen rallying. who else but the bbc�*s resident yen geek to explain? mariko oi joins us live from our asia business hub.

what is going on? i was so disappointed _ what is going on? i was so disappointed i _ what is going on? i was so disappointed i did - what is going on? i was so disappointed i did not - what is going on? i was so disappointed i did not getl what is going on? i was so i disappointed i did not get to talk to you yesterday. i know you had breaking news, buti was so excited the bank of japan decided to raise rates, not the fact they raised rates but it shows the bank of japan is trying to return its monetary policy to something closer to global norms and it also shows they think the economy is ready for higher rates. i was actually playing this, her gong across bbc radio. can i play this? there you go. a gong. the n has been rallying, especially after the central bank governor said he was ready to raise rates even further. the currency hitting 148 against the us dollar. —— yen. not long ago we were

talking about 160 against the dollar. this is what authorities and business leaders wanted because the yen was getting too weak but as a nation of exporters a strong yen makes their products more expensive abroad and that is why we are seeing shares falling. meanwhile, japanese authorities confirmed they have spent an additional $36 billion to intervene in the currency market to prop up the value of the japanese yen and this means they have spent almost $100 billion, not million, billion dollars since the end of april. 0ne dollars since the end of april. one could argue all it needed was a rate hike or maybe their combined actions resulted in the rally. combined actions resulted in the rall . �* 2, combined actions resulted in the rall . �* ., combined actions resulted in the rall. �* ., ., ., the rally. i'm glad you are on this morning _ the rally. i'm glad you are on this morning with _ the rally. i'm glad you are on this morning with that - the rally. i'm glad you are on this morning with that gong. | the rally. i'm glad you are on i this morning with that gong. we appreciate it. thanks for explaining and making sense of what is going on injapan. we will see you again soon. now let's take a look at the latest earnings news, and in the us the tech giant meta was among those reporting after the closing bell on wall street. the company behind facebook, instagram and whatsapp beat expectations, sending shares up

in after—hours trading. the firm's big bets in al were in focus. erin delmore has the details. the big story in technology lately is how investors want to know when they make investments we have been seeing especially in artificial intelligence, start a pay out more than they are taking on. in a lot of cases these investments are looking like they will be a slow burn and a bit of a cash burn. here is one example. met announced its reality lab is posted and nearly $4.5 billion loss in the second quarter of the year. —— meta. it is like what we see use in the quest vr headsets and the smart glasses. the news on wednesday brings the total losses from the reality lab unit since the end of 2022 around $50 billion. those are some hard numbers behind meta's big that sound

the metaverse. the plan plans to continue building out its labs unit and sees more operating losses ahead this year. meanwhile, the company is advancing its crew to ai technology throughout its offerings like facebook, instagram and what. mr zuckerberg forecast a payoff in sight. he said matter ai is on track to be the most used ai assistant in the world by the end of the year. joining me now is jasmine enberg, vp and principal analyst. so, where you pleasantly surprised? what was your reaction to what mark zuckerberg and the team at meta said? t zuckerberg and the team at meta said? 2, , zuckerberg and the team at meta said? . , , , , zuckerberg and the team at meta said? , , , ., said? i was surprised and investors _ said? i was surprised and investors were. _ said? i was surprised and investors were. i- said? i was surprised and investors were. i think i said? i was surprised and i investors were. i think meta was able to restore investor confidence it can deliver on its core moneymaking and business while continuing to

spend ready heavily on its money—losing initiatives, which are the metaverse and ai which were the focal point again this quarter and this was something it needed to do after the market reaction in quarter one. i think it also helped meta could pinpoint specific ways in which ai is translating to revenue today rather than focusing only on how it will bring in more revenue in the future and i think that really helped to allay a lot of the investor concerns and gave them a little bit of a pause on some of the spending on the metaverse, which is still a pretty murky concept and something they haven't really been able to show much forjust yet. been able to show much for 'ust et. ., ., yet. he did, though, admit it will take years _ yet. he did, though, admit it will take years for _ yet. he did, though, admit it will take years for the - will take years for the monetisation of any of these things by themselves, in other words, the chat box and the ai bits and bobs?— bits and bobs? absolutely. we had before mark _ bits and bobs? absolutely. we had before mark zuckerberg i bits and bobs? absolutely. we l had before mark zuckerberg said he expects meta ai is on track

to be the most used ai assistant by the end of the year and i take that with a grain of salt, butjust in terms of the potential distribution if you look at the size of facebook and instagram and what's up, it has a chance to be a big contender in the space. i think in terms of how they monetise that... those chat bots, that will play a really big role in how well they perform in this competition, but to your point, that seems to still be quite a ways a way. that seems to still be quite a ways a way-— that seems to still be quite a ways a way. that seems to still be quite a wasawa. ~ , ways a way. mark zuckerberg has been on a publicity _ ways a way. mark zuckerberg has been on a publicity tour - been on a publicity tour recently to try and push meta's position in al and among the things he is talking about is how he believes smart glasses will overtake mobile devices as in our phones.— in our phones. what do you think? he _ in our phones. what do you think? he has _ in our phones. what do you think? he has a _ in our phones. what do you think? he has a vision i in our phones. what do you think? he has a vision for l in our phones. what do you l think? he has a vision for the future and that is always really important for any company. i do not want to take a stand on whether i think

smart will replace mobile phones. what we know is today meta is still very much a social media company. facebook and instagram 0uthwaite makes its money so it can continue to invest in this version and these future clients mark zuckerberg has laid out for the company that include the metaverse and ai. interesting. thank you _ metaverse and ai. interesting. thank you for— metaverse and ai. interesting. thank you for your _ metaverse and ai. interesting. thank you for your time. i metaverse and ai. interesting. thank you for your time. good | thank you for your time. good to see you. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

let's get some of the day's other news now. let's stay with transport here in the uk. there are already around 60,000 public chargers for electric cars in the uk and plans for many more planned as the industry tries to keep up with demand. that's led to more thought about how to install that infrastructure. there's increasing interest in what design of chargers work best. here's alistair keane.

whenever we do a story about electric vehicles the question of charging them always comes up. it is especially a problem for people like me who live in apartments and cannot always get parked outside our buildings, so how do you do on street charging? we are on a way to dundee to see a potential solution to that problem. —— our way. potential solution to that problem. -- our way. how are ou. problem. -- our way. how are you- good _ problem. -- our way. how are you. good thanks. _ problem. -- our way. how are you. good thanks. this - problem. -- our way. how are you. good thanks. this is i problem. -- our way. how are you. good thanks. this is a i you. good thanks. this is a charger- — you. good thanks. this is a charger- it _ you. good thanks. this is a charger. it doesn't - you. good thanks. this is a charger. it doesn't look i you. good thanks. this is a| charger. it doesn't look like it is not being used. tt charger. it doesn't look like it is not being used. it keeps the streets _ it is not being used. it keeps the streets clutter _ it is not being used. it keeps the streets clutter free. i it is not being used. it keeps the streets clutter free. you | the streets clutter free. you need to use _ the streets clutter free. you need to use an _ the streets clutter free. you need to use an application. just like that. what are the benefits of the charge are actually going into the ground

and coming up when you need it? we need more charging infrastructure. i do not think we want permanent, unsightly pieces of infrastructure that stay there the whole time. this is the best of both worlds. it is the best of both worlds. it is hidden away were not in use. it doesn't impact people using the pavement but when you need to use it, it comes out of the ground. to use it, it comes out of the round. ~ , , ground. while this might seem like a fairly _ ground. while this might seem like a fairly simple _ ground. while this might seem like a fairly simple idea, i ground. while this might seem like a fairly simple idea, it i like a fairly simple idea, it has taken seven years of trial and error to get to this point and error to get to this point and the company claims it is the first of its kind in europe. tt the first of its kind in europe-— the first of its kind in euroe, , ., , the first of its kind in euroe. ,., , , europe. it is always the things that look simple, _ europe. it is always the things that look simple, but - europe. it is always the things i that look simple, but actually, it is so inaudible engineering has gone into this to make a reliable charging point that works in all weather conditions. when you're dealing with mechanical electrical components in variable weather conditions, that has been a huge challenge, making sure things do not get water in them, the mechanics can work reliably and all kinds of weather conditions, be it a nice sunny or windy day like

today all the way through to snow, ice and rain.- snow, ice and rain. with different _ snow, ice and rain. with different parts _ snow, ice and rain. with different parts of - snow, ice and rain. with different parts of the i snow, ice and rain. with i different parts of the world setting targets to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel engines, the design race is on to come up with charges that are practical and can be ruled out —— rolled out widely. this idea from the netherlands carries the cable from someone's garden today, without blocking the streets. while in america these charging cables in melrose near boston come down from on high. you might learn the layout of the street and if it charger is not a make one moment and the next thing it is in the way you might walk into it and not know it was a mate. ., . , into it and not know it was a mate. ., ., , , into it and not know it was a mate. ., , mate. how many use cases overnight — mate. how many use cases overnight charging as i mate. how many use cases overnight charging as well. mate. how many use cases i overnight charging as well and so generally you will be plugging in at night, watching netflix, going to sleep, whatever it may be and waking up whatever it may be and waking up to a full charge. we are minimising the impact of charging infrastructure on the streetscape in the day when pedestrians are more likely to be using that piece of pavement

as it were. it has optical detection on it. it. rising. it will not lift any small buggies or children off the ground and when it rises, it makes an audible sound so those who are visually impaired can hear that. , , visually impaired can hear that. , _ ., , visually impaired can hear that. ., visually impaired can hear that. ,,. ., ., that. this is certainly a neat idea, but — that. this is certainly a neat idea, but as _ that. this is certainly a neat idea, but as more _ that. this is certainly a neat idea, but as more drivers i that. this is certainly a neat i idea, but as more drivers make the switch to electric, these charges could spend more time above ground than under it. we know we above ground than under it. 2 know we need more charging infrastructure, need to give people the confidence critically those who do not have a driveway or garage that they can make the switch and shout conveniently on the street where they live, so we have aspirations. we wanted everyone. —— want it everywhere. everyone. -- want it everywhere.- everyone. -- want it everywhere. everyone. -- want it eve here. ., crowdstrike is being sued by its shareholders, who allege that the company defrauded them by concealing how inadequate

software testing on its end could have caused the global outage earlier this month. chief executive george kurtz, though, believes the case lacks merit, and has vowed to "defend the company". the global outage caused crowdstrike's share price to sink 32% over nearly two weeks, wiping out $25 billion in market value. boeing has appointed a new chief executive, kelly 0rtberg. the former head of aerospace supplier rockwell collins will take over next month. he succeeds dave calhoun, who's stepping down, as boeing struggles to overcome a series of challenges relating to its safety record and supply chains. the announcement came as boeing reported deepening losses in the second quarter of the year, making a net loss of $1.4 billion. the price of freight shipping has doubled in value since may,

and some experts are warning that this will have a knock—on effect on consumer products. the world container index, which is published weekly by maritime consultancy drewry and measures the average price of shipping by sea, currently stands at $5,806 — the kind of figure not reached since the end of 2022. live now to stefan legge, economist, st gallen university. the cost of freight shipping has gone up significantly since may. in your opinion, why? economics teaches us that the price of any good or service goes up if the demand is increasing and/ or if supply is restricted and in the case of container shipping rate, we

have actually inaudible record levels of demand falling, a restricted supply. the supply is restricted because of the situation in the red sea but also because of the panama canal, another important waterway, is still not operating at full capacity and don't forget if you expect any delays or any constraints in the future, in terms of supply, you want to buy today, so we have a boost to demand because people and businesses expect disruptions down the road, so we have high levels of demand and restricted supply. that is why the price has gone up so much. , , . why the price has gone up so much. , ,._ much. this is a critical time ofthe much. this is a critical time of the year. _ much. this is a critical time of the year, isn't _ much. this is a critical time of the year, isn't it, - much. this is a critical time of the year, isn't it, for i of the year, isn't it, for shipping goods because it is all the stuff we will buy in the run—up to christmas that should be travelling around the world now, shouldn't it? exactly. how many businesses already think about shipping goods for christmas early to avoid the potential restrictions down the road? that would then mean they have to pay for higher shipping

costs and these additional costs and these additional costs will be passed onto consumers. however, the impact will be relatively small because if we are talking $4000 extra for one container, it is a 40 foot container, so the 4000 is split among all the goodin 4000 is split among all the good in that container so the impact will be relatively small. 0n the other hand, if we see further protectionism policies that restrict national trade, not only will the price of shipping go up, but the price of the goods themselves will go up. price of the goods themselves will go urn-— will go up. what impact will this have — will go up. what impact will this have on _ will go up. what impact will this have on inflation? i will go up. what impact will this have on inflation? we i this have on inflation? we have just been speaking earlier about the federal reserve, predicting or saying it is likely to cut rates in september, we think the bank of england might cut rates today. your thoughts? england might cut rates today. yourthoughts? exactly. england might cut rates today. your thoughts? exactly. the shipping costs will be passed on but that will be relatively small, but if we see more protected thinking about the e0 introducing tarro sound electric vehicles, elections in the us with the concern a

donald trump administration might increased tariffs. that would have a massive impact on consumer prices and that is something the central bank have to keep in mind and the one issue raised and emphasised by the international monetary fund in its latest world economic 0utlook as a concern in terms of inflation. outlook as a concern in terms of inflation.— of inflation. thank you for exolaining _ of inflation. thank you for explaining all— of inflation. thank you for explaining all of— of inflation. thank you for explaining all of that. i of inflation. thank you for i explaining all of that. before we go, let's look at financial markets in asia. 0nce once again, shares are down in japan as investors react to the previous day's rise in interest rates and a strongerjapanese eon. if we look at the next ball we can see the clothes on wall street and a bit of a bounce back for the attack waited no state. we have seen a sale of many of the stocks listed in the last week or so, so following that third conference and comments from

jerome powell, as we mentioned, wall street rallied. you are up—to—date on all the business news. thanks for your company. see you soon. hello there. humidity levels are beginning to increase now, and we're starting to see a thundery breakdown take place across england and wales, certainly after this recent hot spell. so, a thundery day on thursday, some good sunny spells around. yes, it will continue to feel very warm and humid. if you catch some of these torrential downpours, you really will know about it. we'll start thursday morning with torrential downpours through central, northern and eastern parts of england. then, into the afternoon as a sunshine comes out, we'll see further thunderstorms developing — east wales, the midlands, southern and eastern england. scotland and northern ireland not doing too badly — variable clouds, some sunshine and comfortable conditions there, ranging from 17—23 celsius, but another very warm one across england and wales, 25—29 celsius. as we head through

thursday evening, those thunderstorms fade out across central and eastern england. it turns dry with clear spells, but the breeze picks up with more cloud developing across western scotland and northern ireland. a little bit warmer across scotland and northern ireland to start friday than we've had of late, but it will be another muggy one for england and wales. start to see some changes into friday — this new area of low pressure will bring weather fronts, outbreaks of rain, strengthening winds to western scotland and northern ireland through the day, winds also picking up through the irish sea. large parts of eastern scotland, certainly england and wales will have another sunny afternoon with a few thunderstorms across eastern england — but it's going to be another warm one again, 28—29 celsius in the warmest spots in the southeast, low—20s further north and west. and it will be turning fresher

here as this weather front starts to cross the country during saturday. eventually, it will reach east and southeastern england during saturday afternoon, clearing through, then allowing fresher air to move in across most areas, with sunny spells, variable cloud, scattered showers for western scotland and northern ireland. here, the high teens at best, further south, it's cooler as well, 21—25 celsius. the fresher air will be across all areas as we move into part two of the weekend. low pressure starts to dominate, bringing our air source from the atlantic. not a bad day in store for sunday — a lot of sunshine through central, southern, and eastern areas, more cloud further north and west. we'll start to see more persistent rain moving into northern ireland and western scotland with strengthening winds. high teens celsius again in the north and west, low—to—mid—20s further south.

good morning, welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. 0ur headlines today. a 17—year—old boy is charged with the murders of three girls in southport and ten counts of attempted murder. he'll appear in court this morning. it remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from lancashire police and counter terrorism policing north—west. protests continue following monday's fatal knife attack. more than 100 people are arrested in whitehall, while eight are detained after a night of disorder in hartlepool. questions for the bbc over its handling of the huw edwards case. the culture secretary demands an urgent meeting

with the corporation's director general.