i'm babita sharms with bbc news. our top story. thailand continues five days of funeral ceremonies for its revered king bhumibol adulyadej, a year after his death. the day's rituals began with king maha vajiralongkorn lighting candles inside the grand palace in front of his father's coffin, in a ceremony attended by buddhist monks chanting prayers. later he'll light the royal pyre to cremate his father. an army of builders and artisans has spent the year constructing a huge purpose—built crematorium beside bangkok's grand palace. and these images are trending widely. they show thousands of mourners camping on the streets of bangkok ahead of the funeral procession and cremation. many arrived in the city days early in their determination to pay their last respects to the revered monarch. more on that to come, stay with us. a rise in interest rates next week is looking increasingly likely, after the economy performed better than expected between june and september.

gdp rose by 0.4%. now on bbc news all the latest business news live from singapore. the us dollar is on the rise, boosted by speculation the federal reserve may get a new caucus chief. let's cross over to thailand where the funeral procession is underway. we are witnesses live pictures inside the grand palace as the funeral proceedings for the late king bhumibol has begun. good morning, asia. hello, world. glad you could join us. anticipation over who might be head of the federal reserve is keeping the us dollar near its three—month high. president

trump has not said whether he will reappoint janet yellen, but has floated other possible contenders for the topjob. we floated other possible contenders for the top job. we asked inexpert how this is impacting the markets. you could say there is a lot of speculation over us bank policy. if the federal reserve raise interest rates, but should weaken the asian currencies. we have seen significant declines in the dollar over recent months. what we could be looking at isa months. what we could be looking at is a technical correction. there are several other factors, economic data is strong, it looks positive for the dollar. pressure in asian currencies, pressures in matters like gold as well. a lot of factors tojuggle. let's like gold as well. a lot of factors to juggle. let's take a look at presidentjean ping, a five—year term. economic policies, what does

this mean going forward? the conference itself hasn't meant that much in the near term. but there is so much in the near term. but there is so much uncertainty right now when you look at catalonia, the ongoing eu negotiations. but the agenda has been on china. everybody wants to find out over the next five years of the leadership, will we see a liberal? we could say china is moving forward with progress, liberalisation and prospects over the longer term look very good. liberalisation and prospects over the longer term look very goodm japan it is a winning situation for investors. by week yen which benefits exporters and of course, we are seeing more than two highs for the japanese stock market. is it sustainable? we have seen weakness

in the japanese yen because of the strength of the us dollar. the japanese yen remained negative over the near—term and it depends on whether investors look at the yen as a safe haven asset. par from the us dollar, which other currencies do you favour? there is strength in the emerging markets. the expectations will probably put interest rates up in december. by the end of this year we could see a rebound in the emerging market currencies across asia. us earnings season is underway. coca—cola is the latest to beat expectations. they reported earnings of 50 cents a share in the third quarter, operating revenues came in atjust over $9 billion. looking at those numbers, were

helped by the relaunch of coke zero in america as it looks to offer healthier, lower calorie drinks. nike wasa healthier, lower calorie drinks. nike was a top performer on the dow index overnight. shares rising by 3% after the company gave an upbeat profit outlook for the next five yea rs. profit outlook for the next five years. nike said it expects digital reve nu es to years. nike said it expects digital revenues to grow from 15 to 30% over that period. the firm is seeing strong sales in china, offsetting slow growth in the us. south korea's economy has expanded at the fastest pace in seven years. gdp expanding by1.4% pace in seven years. gdp expanding by 1.4% beating the forecast by 0.8% gain. due to a strong rise in exports and construction investment. sometimes referred to as middle earth, new zealand is the hotspot for property buyers around the world, it is such an extent that new zealand's prime minister elect has declared no more and is closing the

gates. the country is banning foreign buyers purchasing homes in the country to cool soaring property prices. for the latest new zealand properties, we are joined prices. for the latest new zealand properties, we arejoined by my colleague. who is buying them?‘ properties, we arejoined by my colleague. who is buying them? a lot of people are buying, but who wouldn't want to loan a beautiful property on someone's site mountain middle earth, which is the vision of new zealand people have thanks to the movies. but the prime minister elect has said no more, no more nonresidents buying property in new zealand, because it has led to a huge housing crisis and soaring prices as well. you mentioned who is buying. it is the chinese, the largest buyers of property in new zealand. new have in australia, they

are coming over and buying property. we have a lot of tax residents like the uk, the us and hong kong also buying. lots of reports saying hedge fund menaces are snapping up things like farms and airstrips even. even silicon valley futurists, who are preparing for doomsday, would you believe, buying real estate in new zealand. who can forget the surge on the new zealand immigration website just after donald trump's election, by americans trying to go there in d roves by americans trying to go there in droves to settle there instead. this ban is essentially follows housing prices have escalated, according to experts they are up 10% in new zealand in the last year. there is a shortage of housing stock and the low interest rates. this led to a huge rush to buy property there. also, frightening statistics that

kiwis now own only a quarter, of kiwis now own only a quarter, of kiwis owned their own property versus 50% in 1991. there is a lot of concern this is leading to a housing crisis and hence this move by the new prime minister elect.l lot of speculation in property prices in the south pacific urges. thank you very much. we return to bangkok and the funeral proceedings of the late king bhumibol adulyadej, has begun. you are now looking at live pictures inside the grand palace. we can see the royal family in attendance. for the latest, let's go to jonathan head in attendance. for the latest, let's go tojonathan head who is on the

ground. jonathan, what are the scenes there around the palace? right around the central area, this grassy area , where right around the central area, this grassy area, where they built this very elaborate complex pavilions. there are crowds stretching along the roads coming in. ordinary traffic has been blocked. possibly hundreds of thousands inside the central area. these people are waiting for a chance to get in. although that seems very unlikely. these lines stretch too far. a lot of people just wanting to be here. when the moment comes when the king is cremated later tonight, they will all be together and they will share the moment when they are told it is happening. inside, this is inside the royal palace, the king's body has been moved. so there is this

separation of the actual body of the king. he didn't want to be put in the traditional earn. he wanted to be laid out in the coffin, but it is said to reside in this kotze, that has been blessed. there are buddhist rituals with monks. it is blessed before it is moved and is carried in this three possessions today. carried to a carriage, the carriage weighs 1a tonnes. then in a slow possession to the cremation site, it is then transferred to another gun carriage and goes round the cremation pavilion. it is very ornate. the actual pavilion, it is meant to represent the mythical hindu universe, centred with lots of mythical creatures around and they are all supposed to assist king

bhumibol‘s a sense, as they see it, back to heaven. jonathan head live from the is bangkok. we witness live pictures inside the grand palace as the funeral proceedings begin with the funeral proceedings begin with the royal family for the late king bhumibol adulyadej. thank you so much byjoining us. goodbye for now. you are watching bbc news. an independent review, has found that energy costs in britain are too high. the report commissioned by the government, says households aren't benefiting, from falling wholesale prices. the review is also critical, of the government's support of renewable energy policies, as our business editor simonjack reports. how do we make sure we have enough energy to keep the lights on while keeping bills down in a way that doesn't cost the earth? the author of today's

independent report commissioned by the government says customers are paying too much, and it doesn't have to be this way. the fossil fuel price has halved, the costs of renewables are tumbling. the costs of dealing with the intermittency from the wind, wind in particular, that's tumbling, too. you know, big problem for my report to look at is, why haven't we have the benefits of these substantial falls in cost in our bills? the dilemma, or trilemma, is this: fossil fuels like coal are cheap and reliable, but emit tonnes of carbon. renewables can't be relied upon all the time, and bills are on the rise. so, what's the answer? first, show the cost of existing policies to support renewables as a separate item on the bill. they can add up to 20% of the total cost. introduce a simple and lower charge to generators for emitting carbon and instead of an absolute price cap, have a cap on the profit margin excluding those other charges made by the suppliers.

providing energy which is secure, sustainable and affordable is a problem which has beset governments and regulators for years. there have been countless interventions and one of those three areas, including the recent proposal for an absolute price cap. but according to this review that kind of complex intervention is not the answer, indeed, it's part of the problem. what government should stop doing is tinkering. you cannot solve our energy problems by simply adding some more sticky plaster to the problems. what you have to do is stand back and say, we need to radically think about what kind of energy market and what kind of interventions are needed. the government said it was still digesting the report's findings, but the labour party offered it a cautious welcome. i think the framework that is being put forward, if it is followed, could actually produce both cheaper electricity, better decarbonisation over the next period, and, which is the most important thing, making sure that we've got secure energy suppliers

for the future. although commissioned by the government, this is just the view of one academic. it's not the first attempt to crack a stubborn problem, and is unlikely to be the last. simon jack, bbc news. stay with us for more coverage of the thai king's funeral in bangkok. that is all from me. hello, i'm sarah mulkerrins and this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: it's advantage dodgers in the world series, after winning game one against the astros on tuesday can they continue their home dominance in game two? caroline wozniacki thrashes world number one simona halep to make the final four at the wta finals in singapore. and a double for dries mertens sends napoli back to the top of serie a let's start with baseball's world

series, as game two between the la dodgers and the houston astros is not long under way at dodger stadium. the hosts won game one on tuesday. they will want to keep up their home advantage. we are at the bottom of the second innings and the dodgers are up to bat and it is scoreless. we will keep you updated on that. caroline wozniacki continued her great form at tennis's world tour finals in singapore on wednesday. she thrashed world number one simona halep to book her place in the last four, as austin halewood reports. caroline wozniacki is on a roll at the moment but next