this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. a $85 billion media marriage gets the blessing — the tie—up between us pay tv giant at&t and entertainment behemoth time warner will sha keup the industry for years to come. and despite rising global trade tensions, the cost of borrowing in america is set to rise thanks to a buoyant us economy. and this is the state of play on financial markets as they get ready for the conclusion of the federal reserve meeting in washington. a usjudge has cleared a mammoth deal between at&t and time warner, announced 18 months ago, that could shake—up the global entertainment landscape. we're talking about the $85 billion marriage of the wireless and broadband giant and the media—entertainment

conglomerate time warner, home to cnn and hbo's hit ——hits such as game of thrones. the merged group would have a market value of some $286 billion. it is a blow for donald trump who wanted this tie—up blocked over worries it could harm competition and force up prices for consumers. but it paves the way for more deals in an industry being shaken up by likes of netflix as more of us streaming our entertainment online. from washington, kim gittleson has more. it is no secret that president donald trump does not exactly love much of the news media and no one company has taken more flak than cnn which is why it a lot of eyebrows we re which is why it a lot of eyebrows were raised when earlier this year

the us justice were raised when earlier this year the usjustice department under president donald trump started to block the merger of cnn parent company time warner with the telecommunication giant at&t. personally i was felt that was a deal that was not good for the country. i think your pricing is going to go up but i will not get involved in the litigation. the us government argued the merger could eventually raised prices for us consumers however at&t and time warner disagree saying they operate in different environments. at&t operate the pipes that time warner users. thejudge agreed operate the pipes that time warner users. the judge agreed with at&t and time warner which will allow the company to create a media giant that they hope will better compete with

they hope will better compete with the likes of google. already other mergers are being looked. 21st century fox and either disney or another major company. judge richard leon said the us government he hopes would appealed his ruling. it could fundamentally alter the us landscape the decades to come. shares in chinese telecoms equipment maker zte plunged by 39% as the company resumed trading after it reached a settlement with the united states over its handling of a sanctions violation. let's go to our asia business hub where rico hizon is following the story. nice to see you. zte shares dropping

like a stone? absolutely and that has wiped out about 3 billion us dollars off its market value as it resumed trading on the hong kong stock exchange after it agreed to pay up stock exchange after it agreed to pay up to one point four billion dollars in penalty to the us government. the company was crippled when a seven—year supply ban was imposed on the firm in april for breaking at 2017 agreement after being caught illegally trading with iran and north korea. the van stopped zte from buying key base components. confirming details of the deal saying it will replace the board directors before the orders

signed by the us. it has become highly politicised and a key focus of bargaining between washington and beijing as both sides look to avert a major trade wall. —— war. we will have to wait and see how this plays out going forward. thank you and lovely to see you and we will talk to you more about zte. later today, we expect the cost of borrowing in the us to rise for the second time this year. all the numbers point towards a buoyant us economy, despite rising trade tensions with some of its trading partners. let's take a closer look. the us federal reserve is set to raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percent to 1.75% to 2%. that's because the good health of the world's biggest economy, with unemployment at 3.8% — its lowest level since 1969.

paul blake has more from new york. economies like cars have the ability to overheat. the pull down a cart you have to pull over to cool down and economy central banks will often list rates that can mean squeezing small businesses and car dealers is a small industry that can feel the pinch. i frown upon the fact that interest rates have to rise. deals that ordinarily will be made, as interest rates rise, that same customer may not be able to afford the payment. this family has been selling cars in the bronx for 65 yea rs. selling cars in the bronx for 65 years. many of their customers have poor credit andy penn on so—called sub—prime loans to finance a new set of wheels. if the cost gets too high, fewer of those customers can

hop in the driver's seat. with any customer we deal with, we try our best to get the deal done but high interest rates could pose a threat in some instances. bankers charge high fees with interest rates so low in recent years, they have been a cash cow by lenders but that calculation is starting to change. as the us economy speeds ahead, the us federal reserve has been stepping in. low interest rates are a fuel for the economy and they have been providing that fuel to get out of the recession and get the economy going. now the economy is doing fine on its own and known only is it time to ta ke on its own and known only is it time to take the fuel away provided for a period of time, there are concerns that there is evidence of the economy overheating. donald trump says his policies, including a massive tax over all, a putting

america into prosperity but that only works if everything under the bonnet is running smoothly. as soon as we get news from the fed is we will update you. now let's brief you some other business stories. tesla said it plans to cut 9% of its workforce, that's 3,000 jobs, as part of a restructuring as it tries cut costs and boost profitability. the layoffs at elon musk‘s electric car company come as it tries to increase production of its model 3 sedan and turn a quarterly profit this year. wpp is reviewing the way it implements its codes of conduct following allegations about the behaviour of the group's former boss martin sorrell. the review is ahead of a potentially stormy annual meeting on wednesday and follows publication of a ft investigation into the circumstances surrounding sir martin's departure from wpp. it's the game everyone's talking about — good and bad.

since fortnite was launched last july, the shoot—em—up has gripped millions of children and been downloaded more than 45 million times. dave lee has been at the e3 gaming industry event in la and tells us what all the fuss is about. the idea with fortnite is there up 100 players all online and they fly in and it isn't basically —— and it is basically last person standing wins. it sounds simple but it has many people absolutely hooked. the best game right now. all my friends play it and it is really fun. it is everything, like the way... just everything. all the stuff is consta ntly everything. all the stuff is constantly going on in my head, they are all talking about it.

up up on the stage around 100 players playing the game and what they are doing is it's been shown on the big screens and all around them are fans, absolutely transfixed. the makers of fortnite epic games are making hundreds of millions of dollars every single month. when you come to an event like this, it is easy to see why. my

my two eldest sons i must consent are hooked and they do the floss and if you do not know what it is, he will learn later on. . one in five of the uk's mammal species face a high risk of extinction according to a new report by the mammal society and natural england. the red squirrel, the water vole, and the wildcat are all listed as facing severe threats to their survival due to climate

change, loss of habitat or the use of pesticides. 0ur correspondent claire marshall reports. the water vole, and inspiration for wind in the willows, it has put high in the red list of endangered species. we have come to perfect water vole country. we are going to try and catch a glimpse for ourselves. brilliant, we have borrowed here. the list has been put together using international standards of serving more than 1,000,000.5 biological records and they are at the top of the red squirrel. we are living in a country thatis squirrel. we are living in a country that is changing enormously, houses, roads, agriculture is changing and so it is important we have up—to—date information so we can plan how to conserve wildlife. the

scottish wildcat is in even more peril. climate change, disease and lost of habitat is to blame. an extension of the m4 is planned to go through here. they are starting to thrive again in this landscape but already we are up against another thread and that is in the form of a new motorway. this is a precious little pocket of nature and what the creators of these endangered species hopeful is that while apple not be valued just in places like these but across the country. —— wildlife. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: north korea claims president trump agreed to lift sanctions

at tuesday's summit with kim jong—un. and both leaders have accepted invitations to visit each other‘s capitals. after avoiding one damaging defeat over brexit, the british government faces a fresh round of challenges. there'll be a series of key votes today in a deeply divided westminster. now it is time look at the stories that are making the headlines in media across the world. we begin with the times world pages and us president donald trump who applauded kim jong—un for taking "the first step towards a bright new future" for north korea. trump rebuffed sceptics who suggested he had gained few concessions at their historic summit. meanwhile, in a fox news opinion piece, former republican speaker of the united states house of representatives, newt gingrich says trump has accomplished more on north korea than previous presidents clinton, bush, and 0bama combined, and that this is onlyjust the beginning. the independent says rebel uk conservatives have forced prime minister theresa may to agree

to handing parliament greater control of brexit if she fails to seal a deal with the european union. she promised the key concessions in dramatic last minute talks with pro—eu rebels. the ft reports on electric car maker tesla who are to cut 9% ofjobs across the company in a major restructuring exercise. elon musk, chief executive, tweeted on tuesday that the move was "difficult but necessary" finally the guardian looks at how britain's banks and otherfinancial firms are being urged to tackle their alpha male culture.