this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. so, will they or won't they raise us rates? as the federal reserve deliberates, president trump steps in with another warning. shares in softbank‘s mobile unit tumble into the red as they make their debut on the tokyo stock exchange. and on the markets: look at that. we saw some gains on wall street the night before, just a little, which has caused the next day in asia, but softbank disappointing in japan. for financial markets worldwide, traders are watching one event today:

the federal reserve is due to wind up it's final meeting of the year later today, and it's widely expected to hike interest rates in the world's biggest economy. it last raised rates in september, the third time this year, the federal funds rate now sitting at between 2% and 2.25%. the us economy is doing well. unemployment is atjust 3.7%, the lowest rate in 49 years. ahead of the decision, president trump made a last ditch effort to influence the fed, as our north america business correspondent michelle fleury now reports from washington dc. donald trump doesn't want policymakers inside here, the us central bank, to apply the brakes to the american economy. he's made that playing in a series of tweets. first came this. he followed it up with this on

tuesday, urging the us federal reserve not to make another mistake by raising rates to keep inflation in check at its latest policy meeting. so why is the president doing this? higher interest rates can act as a brake on inflation, but they can also slow the economy and, at worst, typically into recession. for donald trump, who has boasted about his ability to create jobs, it could make that task that much harder. and it might hurt his chances for re—election in 2020. his comments are also a break from tradition where past presidents have avoided commenting on the fed's action to protect its credibility and its independence. in that context, donald trump's comments may prove counter—productive, because the man in charge of here the fed chairmanjerome the man in charge of here the fed chairman jerome powell might the man in charge of here the fed chairmanjerome powell might have to stick to his guns to avoid being seen as responding to an due

presidential pressure. —— undue. that is michelle on the fed watch with us. anna stupnytska, global economist at fidelity international, joins me now. you were listening to that. most people believe we are seeing rates going up again today in the us, the question is what willjerome powell say at the press conference and what will it tell us about next year? say at the press conference and what will it tell us about next year7m makes sense for him to talk a little bit about the weakness we have seen in economic data, the financial conditions we've seen in the markets, and he really has to acknowledge that the path of the fed in terms of the rate hikes going forward is not on autopilot, it is all about data independence and market dependent. in light of that, how many white —— rate rises will we

see? we are likely to see one today and maybe one more in 2019. i think the fed will have to pause, and many are calling for them to pause now, to pause and to reassess what the effect is having on the economy. this is the unwinding of unconventional stimulus. notjust hiking rates, but on the balance sheet. and actually that is largely unknown. so they will have to pause and reassess. so there will be a pause and reassessment. also at the same time the sentiment has really changed in the last couple of months with regards to the outlook for the us economy, notjust with regards to the outlook for the us economy, not just for with regards to the outlook for the us economy, notjust for next year, but in 2020. we have seen the stock market is really take a nosedive, certainly on wall street, on concern about what's ahead. there are several things happening here. one is that this year the us economy

benefited from a very big fiscal stimulus from president trump, so tax cuts for the corporate sector and for households, and that boosted growth well beyond the sustainable rate. so we had growth between three and 4% this year. this is not sustainable. the markets are realising the effect of the fiscal stimulus will fade over time. and growth in 2019 is likely to come back to two or below 2%. so below 296 growth back to two or below 296. so below 296 growth in 2019, that's nowhere near recession. some people are saying that 2020 people could be heading for a recession. what do you think about those predictions? 296 is far from recession and it is sustainable. i expect growth below 496 sustainable. i expect growth below 4% for longer. i think it's natural that people are worried about recession because the fed is close to the end of its hiking cycle. 0bviously to the end of its hiking cycle. obviously we have the markets worrying, tightening financial

conditions, the inversion of some time horizons and that usually signals a recession. it doesn't mean a recession is coming. we can have their late cycle for longer unless there is some big shock that might well push the economy into recession. but for now i think the probability of recession next year 01’ probability of recession next year or 2020 is relatively low. thank you for sharing your shorts on that and of course when we have a decision from the fed later we will update you. now, let's brief you on some other business stories. british businesses have criticised politicians for focusing on in—fighting rather than preparing for brexit, warning that there is not enough time to prepare for a no—deal scenario. with 100 days to go before the uk leaves the eu, the groups say firms have been watching in horror at the ongoing rows within westminster. they say the idea that no—deal can be managed is not credible. the uk government spending watchdog has criticised the bank of england over its spending and excessive desk numbers. the national audit office found that bank staff spent £5 million without following proper procedures

and had 800 empty desks at threadneedle street. the bank acknowledged that some systems and processes needed to be modernised. shares in fedex are falling in after—hours trade, following its earnings release. the stock is down more than 6% in after—hours trading and is on track for its worst month in nearly a decade. the package—delivery company says weakness in europe and signs that global trade are having a major impact on their bottom line. fedex said it's now offering voluntary buyouts to certain employees and cutting discretionary spending. it's been a disappointing start to one of this year's most highly anticipated initial public offerings, which made its debut on the the tokyo stock exchange today. shares in softbank‘s mobile business have fell by as much as 12% after trading started earlier.

its parent company has asked for a whopping $23.5 billion for its telecom unit. why so much? our business reporter monica miller says, behind the huge valuation, there could be an even bigger global impact to come. what does this robot, saudi arabia, and yoda have to do with one another? they are all linked to softbank, a japanese conglomerate, huge cluster of companies, it is raising $23.5 billion by selling shares in one of its business on the tokyo stock exchange. now this makes it the world's second—biggest share sale after alibaba in 2014. but this isn't some eye—popping ipo or initial public offering. it could possibly be something that end up changing your life. here is how. 0ne

of the things softbank does with its cash is investing future technologies in artificial into it in. for instance it is making robots to help humans in their homes, shops and even in schools. hello, everyone. it also runs a $100 billion investment vehicle called the "vision fund" led by softbank founder, affecting many aspects of everyday life. masayoshi son is investing in self driving vehicles that might act as hospital shuttles, or even retail shops. he is also backing ai and healthcare to do things like predict disease outbreaks. but softbank is not without controversy. it is sticking without controversy. it is sticking with the saudi arabian government as an investment partner despite the outcry over the murder ofjournalist

jamaal khashoggi. and masayoshi son has a track record. softbank lost more than 90% of its value in the early 2000 dot com bubble. but he believes in going with his gut, much like yoda from star wars who he cites as an investment inspiration. feel the force. now masayoshi son has vowed to start a new $100 billion fund every two or three yea rs. billion fund every two or three years. and to bankroll ai in a big away. softbank‘s ipo mightjust be the start of all of that. monica miller. thats it for the business briefing this hour. up next: news briefing. we'll take you through ther stories making headlines in the global news media today. that is in just a that is injust a moment. the down's syndrome association of the uk says poor care and patchy

access is contributing to a significant decline in the wellbeing of adults with the genetic condition. 0ur disability news correspondent nikki fox reports. christian lives in his own place near his mum and dad. he is able to live as independently as possible in support of living. he has down syndrome and learning disabilities and requires 24—hour care. to pay for this he receives money from his local council. after a care review in april 2017 the family were told his night time support would be withdrawn, replaced with voice controlled assistive technology. but he struggles to hear and communicate. he became withdrawn, he obviously was very anxious about all of these bits of equipment that he didn't understand what they were for. the staff themselves got very

worried about his well—being and his mental health. christian is not alone. according to a survey of more than 1200 down syndrome members, 28% they were concerned about the level of overnight support, whereas 43% of carers said that adult child needed and assessment. there are all kinds of practices going on, cutting packages without consultation, making decisions about what's right for individuals without consulting them or theirfamilies. for individuals without consulting them or their families. the government says it has given local authorities 3—6p to social care funding this year and will set out plans in 2019 to reform adult social care, it took the family more than year but kristian's night—time support was finally reinstated —— £3.6 billion. devon county council admitted it hasn't listened and after the family has said the approach wouldn't work for their son. nikki fox, bbc news.

this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: the european union is set to advise businesses across the continent how best to prepare for a no—deal brexit. the uk government is to promise a post brexit shake—up of the immigration system, focusing on peoples' skills, not nationality. now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the financial times and it's concern that the prime minister will defy "business fears" to push through brexit based immigration curbs. it says the prime minister has "infuriated" cabinet colleagues and business leaders to cut eu immigration with tough visa requirements. the guardian looks at the implications of brexit too and says businesses are "watching in horror" as the government confirmed over £2 billion will be spent and 3,000 service

personnel put on stand by for a no deal brexit. for buzzfeed it's the politics at westminster which stands out. it says it knows why brexiteers have called a christmas truce with theresa may. the article outlines why — for leave—supporting tories — it's the season of goodwill. maybe getting behind herfor the first time. but remainers have stepped up their attacks on the prime minister. the japan times leads with a significant development in tokyo's defence policy. a new ten year policy will see a total spend of 27 trillion yen — over $200 billion — the deployment of aircraft carriers for the first time since the end of world war ii and more investment on cyber security. the gulf news business page focuses on prospects for the world economy — growth fears grip world stock markets. it has a negative outlook and says the drop in dollar and tumble in oil

prices — look set to force the us fed to deliver a fourth interest rate hike of the year. and for the independent, their lead sport story has to be the sacking ofjose mourhino by manchester united. after one of the team's worst runs — the paper says he was simply 0ut of time. he is on most of the front pages in the uk. with me is 0liver cornock — editor in chief with the oxford business group. welcome back. we start with the ft. the white paper is going to be published today on what immigration policy is