hello, everyone. this is the business briefing. the us federal reserve is expected to cut its main interest rate for the first time in more than a decade. then the us was in recession. apple beats expectations. the technology giant's sales rise even as iphone revenues dip. and on the markets, asian stocks lower as investors were put off by us president donald trump's negative tweets on china as the world's two biggest economies resume trade talks in shanghai.

the federal reserve is widely expected to trim interest rates today for the first time since 2008. the only question is by how much. some believe in a 50 basis point cut, as fed chairmanjerome powell has voiced growing concerns about the us economy. especially inflation, which has remained stubbornly below the fed's 2% target, despite unemployment being at the lowest in nearly 50 years. but lately a majority of economists seem to favour a 25—point cut, with another one following in the coming months. and maybe as many as three next year. so why cut at all? lowering borrowing rates makes it easier for businesses to get loans to invest in new projects, and for consumers to buy homes, cars and other items, which creates demand that keeps the economy humming. michelle fleury reports from washington.

jerome powell was donald trump's pick to run america's central bank, yet he frequently berates him. we don't have a fad that knows what they're doing. the federal reserve raise the rates to fast. he was the chairman to cut rates to boost the economy. if we had a fad that would lower interest rates we would be like a rocket ship. he is unlikely to be satisfied by the anticipated quarter percentage point cut this week. already complaining in a tweeted it will do little in comparison to europe and china. you'd make no mistake this is a significant shift by those inside this building. america is enjoying its longest expansion in history. us unemployment is low and the stock market is at record highs. but rather than celebrate, policymakers here want to act to prevent the next downturn. so there's some broad

concerns that a recession is looming. there are concerns with growth, whether from a looming. there are concerns with growth, whetherfrom a global slowdown or from the president's trade was by reason of, according to the strategist, for the fed to act to keep the economy chugging along. it is not unlike opening up nitrous oxide onto an engine, you keep the engine rolling as long as you can. but is this what the world's largest economy needs? take the housing market, with mortgage rates already at historic lows this estate agent is ensure that lowering rates will help. at this point in time i don't think a rate cut is going to help our housing market. i think right now buyers are already feeling like the rates have been so historically low for so long but that is not really a factor in purchasing their next home. after raising interest rates last year, there now seems almost no doubt that the central bank's x move will be to cut rates. the question is how many more will follow? grow —— next move.

apple has reported quarterly profit and revenue that beat wall street expectations. that's sent the company's shares almost 4.5% higher in after—hours trade. but the figures also show iphones represented less than half of its overall sales for the first time since 2012. apple also said sales in china fell 4% as the trade war with the us drags on. but that's an improvement on the 22% slump seen in the previous quarter. that graphic is wrong. kevinjoyner, director of planning & insight at croud joins me now. even china brought somewhat good news for apple this quarter. the way apple is moving us away from iphones. the general trying to see iphones. the general trying to see iphone will continue to be borne by apple. we're seeing a rebalancing apple's business, towards a more diverse set of wearable hardware, but also towards services, key

services like we have seen the launch of premium news, tv services, gaming, and a credit card is coming soon as gaming, and a credit card is coming soon as well. that is difficult because to go into services means not only are you widening what you do, but you are widening the number of rivals you have to content with. that's right. it is important to maintaina point that's right. it is important to maintain a point of distinction and a brand identity, even in these new business areas. with hardware is straightforward or easy to understand that apple should stand for stylishness and premium quality, but with software and services, you know, you have to ask yourself where is the apple that we know and love? what is the difference between hardware and software in terms of that level of marketing and what you do with it? i think software stands for all the services that support the wearables, it stands for

financial services, media services, and, you know, it is important for apple to stand for something other than stylishness and quality. it needs to stand for, perhaps, privacy and security is what we have seen. that is a key thing. so important these days, privacy and security are these days, privacy and security are the buzzwords. it puts people off. exactly. apple has almost in facebook and google and privacy is a key distinction. we have seen in this last quarter a new release of apple's intelligent tracking prevention technology. attracts safari users. we have seen apple service launch, which undermines the tracking technology that powers the technology industry. so it is... it is key for apple to stand clearly for something different perhaps from google. and apple executives will

wince when there are problems in this area. we have seen recently that phone conversations are casually listening to. that is the kind of news coverage that will really concern apple when it is trying to grow in this direction. lovely to talk to you, kevin. samsung electronics has posted a 56% drop in second—quarter operating profit. that's as it was hit by continuing falls in memory chip prices. let's go to our asia business hub where shara njit leyl is following the story. sharanjit, a different story for samsung compared to apple? very different in terms of its operating profit. you heard about how apple's iphones represented less than half of overall sales for the first time since 2012. and that seems to be symptomatic of smart phone penetration across most brands. the fa ct penetration across most brands. the fact that people are hanging onto their smart phone models for longer

rather than trading it in for every shiny new unreleased. that impacts firms like samsung, crucially, it ma nufa ctu res firms like samsung, crucially, it manufactures the memory chips that go into smart phones and that is still its top owner and once demand for new phones. soders to matt everitt chips, wet experiences deep bowl of 71% ——so to does demand for its chips. it is a notoriously cyclical industry and is seeing a downturn after a two—year boom, mainly due to slowing demand for gadgets such as smartphones. they have also previously blamed the us china trade before a drag on earnings and may be facing a more challenging humans are south korean chipmakers are being hit byjapanese curbs on exports of key materials is that diplomatic row worsens. sharanjit, thank you very much indeed. now let's brief you on some other business stories. authorities has confirmed they have located the body of indian coffee

baron vg siddhartha from near the netravathi river, in the southern indian state of karnata ka. mr siddhartha, the founder of the cafe coffee day chain, which has 1,700 outlets in india, went missing monday. the us has urged south korea and japan to consider signing a "standstill agreement" on a serious diplomatic dispute to buy time for the countries to negotiate. tokyo reined in exports of high—tech materials to south korea over differences that date back to the second world war. all this week, we're looking at social media influencers. today, we head to ghana where clothing designers are increasingly making a mark, and one fashion influencer who's made it her mission to showcase their work to the world. iama i am a fashion and lifestyle influence. my main platforms are on

instagram and facebook. if you want all the great fashion looks coming out of africa you need to come onto my website. i became and influence are sorted by mistake. initially i was working as a fashion stylist. they realised there weren't really enough platforms showing what the designers and artists were putting out there. they decided why don't i would be close on myself and take pictures and take pictures. and then when i got comfortable with instagram and facebook i've put the pictures out there. before a new at i was and influence. the whole idea of being an influencer is quite new in my country, first and foremost, guyana and then the rest of africa —— before i knew at i was an influencer. usually it takes a couple of years of being an influencer before you can fully say that you can 100% full—time workers

influencer and make your money. —— ghana. a lot of people come into the job after a year and think they can make money, or a job after a year and think they can make money, ora ioannidis. job after a year and think they can make money, or a ioannidis. that is not how it happens. you need to pay your dues, work hard, prove yourself to the brands. and hopefully it works out. coming up next is the news briefing. all the stories making headlines in the media. stay with us. a "social emergency" which the prime minister must take "personal responsibility" for — that's how a group of mps is describing the increase in violence among young people in england and wales. the number of people aged 16 to 2a who've been violently killed went up by 50% in the year to march 2018. the home affairs select committee is calling for youth service funding to be ringfenced. here's our home affairs

correspondent danny shaw. a young life cut short. from greater manchester he died in march after being stabbed in the heart. he was only 17. the knife violence which led to his death and a growing number of other teenagers is described in a new report as an epidemic. the home affairs committee says young people are being failed by those who are meant to keep them safe. teenagers are dying on our streets. the government's response is completely inadequate. we have had a perfect storm of youth service cuts, police cuts, county lines drug networks and school exclusions and the government isn't taking strong enough action on any of them. in april, theresa may held a summit on youth violence and set up a

ministerial taskforce. but the committee is concerned that momentum is being lost as is the new prime minister must take the lead. the report says boris johnson minister must take the lead. the report says borisjohnson must drive activity to reduce youth violence. it says schools in the worst affected areas should have dedicated police officers and ecole three youth service guarantee to ensure funding is provided for outreach workers and community projects. it is designed to steer young people away from gun culture, knife crime, and gun violence. the home office dispute some of the committee's findings as is the government taking urgent action to keep community safe. da n ny urgent action to keep community safe. danny shaw, bbc news. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: north korea has launched two short—range ballistic missiles from the hodo peninsula on its east coast. the south korean military says the missiles flew about 250 kilometres before landing

in the sea ofjapan. last week, pyongyang fired two missiles from the same area. detroit has hosted the second of the democratic party's debates to choose a presidential candidate for 2020. the two most progressive candidates, elizabeth warren and bernie sanders, came under attack early on. the debates will whittle down the crowded field of contenders to challenge donald trump next year. now, it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. let's begin with north korea firing two short—range ballistic missiles on wednesday. the korea times reports that this is the second such launch in less than a week. the financial times reports that the prospect of further inflation will not stop the bank of england from cutting interest rates. the irish taoiseach, leo varadkar, will not renegotiate the brexit agreement. the independent says that mr varadkar will not allow the so—called irish backstop from being dropped from the agreement.

the japan times reports that more women than ever are working in japan. the paper says that this is due to the ageing population increasing the number of open positions, therefore giving more women opportunities. and children prefer city life to country living according to a new report in the times, but they say that it is still better for children to grow up in the countryside. with me is david buik. did you grow up in the city or country? urban dweller. me too. south london through and through. let's talk about north korea first of all, because of the course donald trump is very keen to give this impression that everything is ok, it is settled. this is giving a different impression. is settled. this is giving a different impressionlj is settled. this is giving a different impression. i thought 20 minutes ago when laura gave her assessment on north korea, there is not an awful lot i can add apart

from the fact that i think he is