come. and british banking to come. and british banking giant natwest continues to remain under pressure over an inaccurate bbc story about the closure of nigel farage�*s current account. welcome to asia business report with me mariko oi. our top story for you this morning, the us federal reserve has moved to hike the cost of borrowing once again. the central bank raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, bringing it to the highest level in 22 years. and as my colleague michelle fleury explains, they have left the door open for more. . , ., , more. the federal reserve has moved with _ more. the federal reserve has moved with unprecedented - more. the federal reserve has i moved with unprecedented speed to get inflation under control. since march of last year, it has raised its benchmark rate by five at a quarter percentage points. its latest move is likely to pick up the cost of borrowing for american businesses and consumers even

further, with inflation showing prices rising more slowly than a year ago, the key question at the press conference was whether this rate increase was the last or would it hike again later this year. fed chair jerome powell would not be drawn. i jerome powell would not be drawn. ., , drawn. i would say it is certainly _ drawn. i would say it is certainly possible - drawn. i would say it is certainly possible we i drawn. i would say it is - certainly possible we would raise — certainly possible we would raise funds again at the september meeting of the data warranted, and i would also say it is possible that we would choose _ it is possible that we would choose to hold steady at that meeting. mr choose to hold steady at that meetinu. ~ ., ., , choose to hold steady at that meetinu. ~ ., .,, . ., meeting. mr powell was clear however that _ meeting. mr powell was clear however that the _ meeting. mr powell was clear however that the fight - meeting. mr powell was clear| however that the fight against inflation is not over. policymakers inside america's central bank remain concerned that the world's biggest economy, well, that it is still growing too fast for inflation to fall back to its 2% target. everything from travel bookings to the sale of concert tickets, and even the success of the barbie movie's opening weekend at the box office were all signs that americans are still spending. the latest us growth figures, due out on thursday, are likely to confirm a moderate expansion. so for now, the fed is still hoping it can get inflation under control without triggering a recession.

earlier i spoke to frederic neumann from hsbc, who gave us his assessment on whether the fed's language was clear on the next step. fed's language was clear on the next step-— next step. well, not 100% clear, because _ next step. well, not 100% clear, because the - next step. well, not 100% clear, because the chair i next step. well, not 100% i clear, because the chair left the door open. they could hold the door open. they could hold the next time round or they could raise rates again, and we usually see that prevarication at the end of a tightening cycle, but as the central bank says, you know what, we've done a lot, we need to see how the previous interest rate hikes affect the economy, so we're watching the data. so we are not 100% certain what's going to come next. not100% certain what's going to come next.— not 100% certain what's going to come next. opinions seem to be slit, to come next. opinions seem to be split. in _ to come next. opinions seem to be split, in terms _ to come next. opinions seem to be split, in terms of— to come next. opinions seem to be split, in terms of the - be split, in terms of the european central bank, and what they are going to do next as well. what is your assessment on that? ~ ., ., on that? well, here we have a fairly clear _ on that? well, here we have a fairly clear signal _ on that? well, here we have a fairly clear signal actually - fairly clear signal actually that the ecb is raising, but here too in europe going forward, we are probably closer

to the end of the tightening cycle than the beginning, because you see the economy is starting to early interest hikes, and eventually inflation will drift lower, and of course central banks look forward six to nine months, so we have to think about where will inflation be early next year, if we change interest rates now so that's what we are getting closer to the end of cycle there as well. in closer to the end of cycle there as well. in terms of the bank ofjapan. _ there as well. in terms of the bank ofjapan, which - there as well. in terms of the bank of japan, which has - there as well. in terms of the bank ofjapan, which has a i there as well. in terms of the i bank ofjapan, which has a new governor of course since april, there were some expectations among investors and traders that they might actually start to change its monetary policy, but they haven't really done that, so what are you expecting there? ~ , ., ., there? well, they meat a day later, there? well, they meat a day later. on _ there? well, they meat a day later, on friday, _ there? well, they meat a day later, on friday, and - there? well, they meat a day later, on friday, and here, i there? well, they meat a dayl later, on friday, and here, as you rightly say, there was an expectation that they might nudge out long—term interest rates just a little bit. those expectations have faded a bit. it is not clear whether they will do it now or may be later in the year, but it looks quite likely they will do this as well before the end of the year, becausejapan, well before the end of the year, because japan, like the us and europe, has seen

inflation rise as well, but of course the bank of japan hasn't hiked at all yet, and so we are still waiting for that first tweak to policy, just to tap the brakes a little bit and help to call down the economy. and ijust want help to call down the economy. and i just want to ask you, it is easy to criticise those central banks, but they have a really tricky job to central banks, but they have a really trickyjob to do, and in terms of tackling inflation while not pushing the economies into a recession, so far at least, have they actually done a pretty decentjob? least, have they actually done a pretty decent job?— a pretty decent “ob? actually, es, we a pretty decent “ob? actually, yes. we need — a pretty decent job? actually, yes, we need to _ a pretty decent job? actually, yes, we need to give - a pretty decent job? actually, yes, we need to give credit i yes, we need to give credit where it's due, at least at the time being, it looks as if no central bankers have engineered a soft landing, after what was a soft landing, after what was a really stunning surge of inflation they had to respond to, and so it is easy to point the finger and say you shouldn't have let inflation out of the bag in the first place, but of course it was unusual circumstances, coming out of the pandemic. few people could have foreseen that, and so central bankers probably get a pass on this one. just having managed so far a fairly gentle interest rate hike, and not

really prompted a recession just yet. really prompted a recession “ust et. �* ., , ., just yet. and of course we are in the middle _ just yet. and of course we are in the middle of _ just yet. and of course we are in the middle of the _ just yet. and of course we are in the middle of the earningsl in the middle of the earnings season, and both airbus and boeing have stepped up their deliveries of commercial aeroplanes in the first half of this year. both manufacturers released their results earlier, and they reported a jump in revenue, but it was a bit of a mixed bag when it came to profits. greg walden is asia managing editorfor the managing editor for the industry publication managing editorfor the industry publication —— publication and he gave us his take on who is taking the lead. it is a very lively segment once again, aerospace and for the manufacturers. airbus i guess has a bit of a lead, especially in the narrow boat segment, because boeing had several issues with the 737 max, compounded by the pandemic. but both plan to increase production, but the problem is they still have supply chain issues, which have really bedevilled both our companies for some time. i want

to ask about _ companies for some time. i want to ask about zero _ companies for some time. i want to ask about zero commission i companies for some time. i want to ask about zero commission or| to ask about zero commission or low—carbon planes. there has been a lot of hype on it. where are we up with this? we been a lot of hype on it. where are we up with this?— are we up with this? we still have a long _ are we up with this? we still have a long way _ are we up with this? we still have a long way to _ are we up with this? we still have a long way to go. - are we up with this? we still have a long way to go. by i are we up with this? we still. have a long way to go. by far, it is still fossil fuels that are powering aircraft. sustainable aviation fuel is seen as the holy grail, over the next ten years, but there are simply not enough supply of sustainable aviation fuel for the industry, and even when more of it does become available, it is very expensive, so we're still a very long way from that zero unfortunately. the best way that airlines can improve this is to buy new aircraft, that burn smaller amounts of the existing types of fuel. speaking of earnings, facebook tarrant meta saw its second—quarter growth to $30 billion, beating estimates. those things in part —— that was thanks in part to add revenue of i2%, beating google. still the company forecast that expenses could rise over the next two years, as they continue to spend on

infrastructure, as the artificial intelligence race heats up. 0ver artificial intelligence race heats up. over to britain now, where former ukip leader nigel farage has called for further changes at natwest, following the resignation of the bank's chief executive, dame alison rose. she had stepped down after admitting she was the source of an inaccurate bbc story about the closure of his account at natwest�*s private banking arm, coutts. 0ur economics correspondent has more. dame alison rose, the natwest boss who has stepped down over the row about closing nigel farage's account. she admitted she told the bbc it was a commercial decision, but had incorrectly denied it reflected his political views, too. she was seen as a highly experienced banker, a safe pair of hands to handle the accounts of hands to handle the accounts of millions, until now. the first rule — of millions, until now. the first rule of— of millions, until now. the first rule of banking - of millions, until now. the first rule of banking is i of millions, until now. iia: first rule of banking is client

confidentiality, and she, over a sociable dinner with simon jack, the bbc business editor, clearly said some things that weren't very wise. since when is a bank a moral arbiter of who they deem to be suitable as a customer or not? fin who they deem to be suitable as a customer or not?— a customer or not? on 29th of june, a customer or not? on 29th of june. nigel— a customer or not? on 29th of june, nigel farage _ a customer or not? on 29th of june, nigel farage tweeted i a customer or not? on 29th of| june, nigel farage tweeted his accounts had been closed. the next week, the bbc�*s business editor stated that a senior source had told him that the former ukip leader had fallen short of coutts's financial requirements will stop mr farage obtained a document, revealing that coutts had said his views do not align with our values. two days later, dame alison apologised for the deeply inappropriate comments. six days later, the bbc apologised to mr farage. the business editor tweeted his senior source's information was incomplete and inaccurate. the next afternoon, dame alison admitted to being the source. the natwest board said it netted her error ofjudgment, but said it retained full

confidence in her. however, just eight hours later, in the middle of the night, natwest announced she is stepping down. coutts prides itself on having served the brightest and best, it says, for over 300 years. once dubbed the queen's bank, 0nce dubbed the queen's bank, its a stranger to scandal. yet its a stranger to scandal. yet it finds itself embroiled in a crisis, not a financial one, but a reputational one, and one which has provoked a discussion about how banks should view their customers. the city minister summoned senior bankers to discuss whether line should be drawn between risk and freedom of expression. it was right that alison, the chief exec of natwest, resigned. the government has been clear throughout that it is wrong to remove someone's bank account because of their political views or something that they've said. yeah i certainly don't think anybody

should be refused banking services because of their political views, whoever they are — political views, whoever they are. ., ., ., , ., are. four nigel farage, it is a personal— are. four nigel farage, it is a personal crusade, _ are. four nigel farage, it is a personal crusade, and - are. four nigel farage, it is a personal crusade, and today | personal crusade, and today banks were told they would have to give customers more notice when they close accounts. there is relatively few complaints about accounts closures. ili00 reached the watchdog last year and those for many reasons. for the vast majority, it's business as usual. does she need a bit, bbc news. that is it for this edition of asia business report. i will be back next hour so dojoin us again if you can buffer now thank you so much for watching the programme. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. cows on crook peak, controlled by the collars around their necks. so controlled by the collars around their necks. so you can see, around their necks. so you can see. we've _ around their necks. so you can see. we've got _ around their necks. so you can see, we've got a _ around their necks. so you can see, we've got a solar - around their necks. so you can see, we've got a solar panel. around their necks. so you can| see, we've got a solar panel on the back here, which charges

the back here, which charges the battery. they are nice and lightweight and flexible so the cows have plenty of room to move around, and then there is a gps locator are the top there, so we can see exactly where the cows are at any one time, and that links to the virtual fence, time, and that links to the virtualfence, which is up behind us, but wherever we wanted to be, really. the collars mean _ wanted to be, really. the collars mean the - wanted to be, really. the collars mean the national trust can map out an area they want grazed on a mobile phone app. if a cow then approaches the invisible boundary, it first hears several music alerts. and if it doesn't turn back, instead trying to cross the virtual fence, instead trying to cross the virtualfence, the instead trying to cross the virtual fence, the cow gets a mild electric shock. all this tech ensures the whole of this beautiful limestone landscape is kept grazed.— is kept grazed. they can be uuite is kept grazed. they can be quite picky. _ is kept grazed. they can be quite picky. they _ is kept grazed. they can be quite picky, they will - is kept grazed. they can be | quite picky, they will choose the best grass that they want to eat, and sometimes what we want is for them to get into the scrub, some of the less delicious stuff, trample it down and create more sunlight for those species which small plants that live on the ground, is now we can force them to do

that, using the virtual fences. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. hey, iam hey, i am soft with the catch up. today, appellation and our health, a victory for wrexham and are right where it shouldn't be. struggling to find a place to rent? well, new stats show there are nearly three times as many people at flat or house viewings compared to 2019, and you are probably up to 2019, and you are probably up against 20 other people each time, 30 if you are in the north west of england. now, it's notjust people looking for a place that are struggling. for people already renting, no fault of actions on the rise, currently at their highest level since 2017. some other stories now, oscar—winning actor kevin spacey has been found not guilty of nine six offences. 64—year—old cried as the verdict was read out in court,

and said he was humbled the outcome. and new research has found the impact appellation is having on our health could be more than we thought. it is also costing the nhs. the project in bradford has looked at four years of data, and found that of everyone attending a&e they breathing difficulties, almost half were linked to appellation. and in sport, good and bad news for wrexham, as they beat man utd 3-1 wrexham, as they beat man utd 3—1 in the us, but their forward player paul mullin punctured a lung after a collision with my new�*s goalie. and little mix's leanne kiernan because received an honorary doctorate, which basically recognises people's achievements and contributions to society. she's been awarded this from bucks uni for her anti racism and racial equality work. time now for ten seconds of a musical wrap. shakira has released a music video for her new track, calcavecchia, and yes, that is a rat crawling right by her head. what a

nightmare, no thank you. you are all caught up now. see you later. hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm mark edwards. here's what's coming up on our show. sensational spain steamroll zambia in stunning style,

sailing into the last 16 at the women's world cup and japanjoined them after beating costa rica 2—0. england unchanged for the final ashes test, which means a0 year old bowlerjimmy anderson keeps his place. and a year and counting until the paris 0lympics begin as they prepare to put on the most sustainable games of all time. hello and thanks forjoining us. we begin at the women's world cup, where japan and spain have become the first teams through to the knockout stages of the tournament. both teams looking in impressive form.