the ldp will navigate the upcoming leadership change. we've seen the interesting period in the last 12 years when the liberal democratic party has been in power and promising big reforms. the prime minister took power in 2012, pledging to become japan's version of margaret thatcher and ronald reagan for the was a very little structural change the yen falling 30%, we did not see enough forform in falling 30%, we did not see enough for form in terms of shaking up markets in terms of increasing elevation and empowering women. the next leaders to going to have to figure out how to reinvigorate the process for them at a moment when china is slowing, the us labour market is showing signs of strain and it's not really clear what it will establish here injapan as an appetite for big risk, if you will. ., ., ., ., will. two women have thrown their hats _

will. two women have thrown their hats in _ will. two women have thrown their hats in the _ will. two women have thrown their hats in the ring - will. two women have thrown their hats in the ring for - will. two women have thrown their hats in the ring for pm l their hats in the ring for pm as well as to men. is there an obvious candidate?— obvious candidate? you got current economic _ current economic security minister who's certainly throwing her hat into the ring. you also have the long time female lawmaker. it's an interesting wrinkle, i've argued for a long time that japan needs a female prime minister. if you are liberal democratic party and you are talking about empowering one half of the population, what better moment to name a female prime minister than today? i think we've seen having two women who have a decent chance of becoming prime minister certainly next year, next month, next is the general election. it's an interesting moment forjapan. turning to china now, where we'll get a slew of economic data this morning — including if consumers have been spending money, and how the property sector is faring amid its debt crisis. analysts are calling for more stimulus measures after a widely expected

post—pandemic recovery failed to materialise last year. still, the government is targeting economic growth of around 5% this year. economist katrina ell joins me now. what is the main thing to understand about consumer demand in china — the anecdotal line is that travel, spending and other domestic drivers are all down? i think the main thing we're concerned about is the fact that consumers have knock at the groove back in the post—pandemic environment. we seen repeatedly that household spending has disappointed. were looking at consumer sentiment, it's incredibly weak. the retread were expected forjuly is expected to remain around that week 2% year end growth. there hasn't been that post—pandemic recovery that we've seen in other markets. what do you think it will take to get consumers spending again instead of saving?— instead of saving? that's a really good _ instead of saving? that's a really good question. - instead of saving? that's a - really good question. we need to see more effective targeted stimulus to live household from the government for that if we're looking at the labour

market the labour market indicators are telling us that households are not feeling secure in their employment. also not getting good wage growth. they also don't have a comprehensive social safety net. that precautionary savings is remaining elevated. we need to really focus on those structural reforms to really help households, rather than just the more recent 20 point plan we saw from the state council, which superficially suggested that lets provide households with better restaurants to spend. it really needs to come back to improving the economic backdrop for them. government policy and the third plan and talked about youth unemployment but it did not offer any new programme. does china have the bandwidth for a fiscal stimulus? i china have the bandwidth for a fiscal stimulus?— fiscal stimulus? i think it does have _ fiscal stimulus? i think it does have the _ fiscal stimulus? i think it does have the physical . does have the physical bandwidth. what you mentioned right there is the underlying problem that we see when it comes to the government providing households with

stimulus. they can recognise that there is an issue, they've highlighted, look, we see youth unemployment is a big concern but then they don't take that next step to provide concrete measures and how they're going to address that. to be fair, addressing youth unemployment is a difficult thing. butjust highlighting it is an issue isn't enough and that's all we've seen from china at this stage. we've seen from china at this staue. ~ ., , we've seen from china at this staae.~ ., , ~ we've seen from china at this staae.~ . , ~ ,u, stage. what is the knock on effect of — stage. what is the knock on effect of what's _ stage. what is the knock on | effect of what's happening to china on the rest of the world? i think what we're seeing is fiscal and monetary stimulus has really focused on lifting the manufacturing equation out of china with her as a result we see increased goods being shipped overseas that's obviously created geopolitical tensions with increased resistance from europe and the us to receive those goods. at the same time, because we're not seeing chinese consumer demand pick—up, that's having flow on effects to other goods produces across the globe.

katrina ell, economist speaking to us they are. chinese tech giant, tencent, has announced a quarterlyjump in profits of eighty— two percent. the surge is credited to tencent�*s gaming business. the blockbuster summer release of "dungeon & fighter mobile" has helped to lift china's most valuable company out of a gaming slump. �*dnf mobile' as its commonly known, has been dominating the top grossing game charts in china. investors suggest the company could reap the benefits of its popularity for years to come. apple supplier foxconn reported stronger—than—expected quarterly earnings. for april tojune the taiwanese company's net profit rose 6% to over a billion dollars. the company attributed much of that success to the artificial intelligence wave, where it currenty controls 40% of the global ai server market. foxconn expects the technology will be a major revenue stream in the future. here in southeast asia, thailand's constitutional court voted five to four to remove prime minister srettha

thavisin from office. the court's ruling is final and cannot be appealed. ex—senators appointed by the former military government filed a complaint that mr srettha gave a cabinet post to a former lawyer who was once jailed. parliament will now need to choose a new leader, potentially creating uncertainties around thailand's prospects. kirida paopichit sheds light on the potential economic implications. no one expected the ruling yesterday. the economic prospects in thailand will probably look a little bleaker this year because there were uncertainties around who will be the new prime minister. of course if the prime minister comes from the current party, then i think the economic platforms or policies will continue, including the digital wallet. if the new prime

minister is from a new party then of course, the digital wallet is up in the air. and there might be new policies by there might be new policies by the prime ministerfrom a new party. in any case, i still think that most of the long—term policies that has to do with energy transition, going lower carbon, fuel—efficient vehicles and things like that will continue regardless of who becomes the prime minister. in regardless of who becomes the prime minister.— prime minister. in the short indications _ prime minister. in the short indications of _ prime minister. in the short indications of that _ indications of that budget given we don't know who will be leaving the country, a countries budget much determines the focus that the country is going be moving towards. u, ., country is going be moving “awarde— country is going be moving towards. ., ., towards. the indication on the bud . et is towards. the indication on the budget is it's _ towards. the indication on the budget is it's going _ towards. the indication on the budget is it's going to - towards. the indication on the budget is it's going to be - budget is it's going to be delayed. i don't think there will be major changes, even if a new prime minister comes. except for the digital wallet scheme, which could be scrapped

if there is a new prime ministerfrom a new if there is a new prime minister from a new party. if there is a new prime ministerfrom a new party. i think that's the main indication. 0therthan think that's the main indication. other than that it would be the delay of the budget that will actually impact the economy. the delay of the budget means that government investments that is in the pipeline will be delayed while current expenditures for salaries, maintenance or utility bills, that will continue. i think it's delay of the budget that will will will actually impact the tyee economy. —— tyee economy. inflation in the us has fallen to its lowest level in the country for more than three years. the consumer prices index dropped slightly to two—point—nine percent injuly compared with a year earlier. the better—than—expected data mean that the us central bank remains on—course to cut interest rates when it meets in september. the cost of borrowing rate peaked just over two years ago, when it climbed to more than nine percent. confectionery giant mars has struck a deal to snap up

pringles and pop—tart—maker kellanova for nearly $36 billion. despite being the biggest snacking buyout this year, legal experts are not expecting too much regulatory scrutiny. mars says the acquisition could close in the first half of 2025. shares of kellanova popped nearly 8% after the news. an annual subscription service is now possible if you're flying european budget carrier wizz air. the airline is offering an "all you can fly pass" that will allow passengers to book unlimited flights in a year, at the cost of $550. passengers will still have to pay a transaction fee of around 11 dollars per booking and check—in luggage will cost extra. the airline is currently offering 10,000 subscription memberships as part of its initial plans. let's take a look at the closing numbers on wall street now — all the three major indices ended the wednesday session in the green, with the s&p 500 continuing its winning streak for the fifth straight day. that cooler inflation print

forjuly raising the prospect of an interest rate cut from the federal reserve in september. and that's it for this edition of business today. thanks for watching.

hey, i'm zof with the catch up. tonight, molly—mae announced his shock split from tommy fury. ed sheeran gets saucy and banksy finishes his drawing trail. our top story tonight — molly—mae has announced her and tommy fury have split up after five years together. she shared the news on her instagram story, saying that she'd be taking some time away from social media. next — adverts for nutrition products promoted by stephen bartlett have been banned after a watchdog said they were misleading.

you'll probably know him from his diary of a ceo podcast and also as one of the dragons on dragons den. he's been promoting products for huel and zoe, but without making it clear, he has business interests in both companies. and ed sheeran broke off from his tour to sign autographs at a supermarket on tuesday. but there's a very fun catch here. he signed them using his own hot sauce brand called tingly ted's. hundreds of fans went to the sainsbury�*s in hertfordshire to get a bit of the tingly ted. i bet that tastes really good and good luck if you're receiving your a—level results tomorrow. there's been a spike in top grades since 2019, so hopefully that continues for you. and time now for 10s of banksy. safe to say he's been very busy recently. after nine days of pop up artwork around london, he finished his animal trail with a drawing of a gorilla on the shutters of london zoo. just look how amazing that looks. you're all caught up now.

see you later. hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm 0llie foster. 0ne game, one goal, one trophy, kylian mbappe's real madrid career is up and running. will this be the season where the premier league finally gets it right wirth var? they have ambitious plans. and the best tennis players in the world are in cincinnati although the world number one jannik sinner has a bumpy ride into the third round.

hello there, kylian mbappe couldn't have asked for much more on his real madrid debut, scoring for the champions league winners in the uefa super cup as they beat the europa league champions atalanta 2—nil in warsaw. the french forward, who left paris st germain after seven seasons over the summer led the line, flanked by viniciusjunior and rodrygo, and that saw last season's stand out starjude bellingham drop a little deeper in midfield. it was goaless at halftime but with federico valverde opening the scoring with a tap in on the hour mark and mbappe's moment came soon after, bellinggham picking him out inside the box and he finished in the top corner. carlo ancelotti admitted that his team didn't quite have the right balance, something that he will have to get right as they start the defence of their la liga title on sunday, but they have won the super cup for a record sixth time. the premier league starts

on friday, it will be the sixth