a visionary business leader — tributes pour in following the death of ratan tata, who led one of india's biggest conglomerates. new record highs on us stock markets as more details over the fed's rate cut strategy emerge — all eyes now on inflation data out today. also on the programme, online fraud on the rise in australia — we speak to a victim who lost her life savings to an investment scam. plus the danger of toxic workplaces — why bad company culture can impact well—being and productivity. live from london, this is business today. and

this is business today. warm welcome to the programme. we start in india where ratan tata, who led one of india's biggest conglomerates, the tata group, has died at the age of 86. he was one of india's most internationally recognised business leaders and took over the family business as chairman in1991. he transformed it into a global corporation through a series of high profile acquisitions including jaguar land rover and corus steel here in the uk. india's prime minister narendra modi called him a visionary business leader, a compassionate soul and an extraordinary human being. mr tata died at a hospital in mumbai after a brief illness. our south asia correspondent samira hussain looks back at his life, and a warning that her report contains some flashing images. chairman of the tata conglomerate for more than two decades, ratan tata turned the company that bears his name into a global empire.

shy and often described as a loner, tata was raised by his grandmother in mumbai. educated in the united states, he came back to india at age 25, to work in the family business. under his leadership, he turned an indian company into an international success, buying quintessentially british brands tetley tea, jaguar land rover and anglo—dutch steelmaker corus — an acquisition that, at the time, was seen as saving the british steel industry. tata's most ambitious project, the tata nano, the world's cheapest car. it never was conceived of as being the cheapest car, it was conceived of as being a car that would give the people of india an opportunity to own a car that had not been within their reach before. but the indian consumer just wasn't interested. tata was also known for his

philanthropic work — animalwelfare, health and education, and, most recently, working with the elderly. ratan tata was one of india's most internationally recognised business leaders and has left an indelible mark on the country. samira hussain, bbc news, india. let's head live to mumbai now and speak to our india business reporter archa na shukla. tributes have been pouring in, tell us more.— tell us more. well, tributes have been _ tell us more. well, tributes have been pouring - tell us more. well, tributes have been pouring in - tell us more. well, tributes have been pouring in not. tell us more. well, tributes i have been pouring in notjust from within the country but across the globe, from prime minister narendra modi to the chiefs of business houses in india as well as global firms like google, they have been paying tributes and even the general public. the passing on of ratan tata is a conversation

in every home and every office because he was considered an icon of the country and an icon of the indian industry. the state government here has declared a day of mourning today. ratan tata would be accorded state funerals today in the evening and the indian flag is flying at half mast in all government offices. all government events have been cancelled today to pay respect to the indian industrialist. he was born _ to the indian industrialist. he was born in 1937, his life spanned a period of enormous change for india, from winning independence from the uk, from great britain, to becoming india, one of the world's largest economies, the fifth—largest in 2022. he had quite a role in that, didn't he, and huge influence. absolutely. he took over as chairman in 1991, when india liberalised its economy and opened doors to the market. the

tata group, the way it has grown has mirrored india's progress, as well. with this business acumen, the bold accusations he made during his tenure as static group. —— as tata chemical group. he also put india on the global map. look at some of the bold accusations he made, snapped up tetley tea, chorus steel, and even jaguar land rover. tetley tea, chorus steel, and evenjaguar land rover. all of that brought india on the global map. his sharp focus on building the it services in india made india one of the big roles, an instrumental role in making india a big it superpower and tata consultancy services of one of the largest

it support across the globe. these are some of the examples. most indian industrialists even today seek ratan tata as a leader and amend to a mental because based on hisjourney as a chairman and the way he led the group made the group and the group made the group and the country come on the global industries platform is what people look for and that is why the entire country is seeing this loss. the entire country is seeing this 1055-— the entire country is seeing this loss-— this loss. thank you for “oininu this loss. thank you for joining us- _ to the us now where major stock markets rose for a second day in a row, rising to new record highs. we can see the closing numbers for the us markets now on the screen. that's despite the minutes from the federal reserve's september meeting showing a divide among officials over the size of their recent 0.5% rate cut. looking ahead, investors are now turning their attention to thursday's inflation report for signs of the economy's resilience. for the latest from new york,

here's our north america business correspondent michelle fleury. officials inside america's central bank were divided at their meeting last month over how much to reduce interest rates. minutes released on wednesday show a substantial majority wanted to cut by half a percentage point, but a small number wanted a smaller rate cut. the federal reserve said it wanted to reduce the cost of borrowing to bolster the labour market. i think what the fed did very well last month was communicate a 50 basis point cut, mostly as an adjustment. they were too high relative to some of the weakening we saw in labour markets and concerns about the economy. since that time, we've gotten a stronger labour market, but we still expect them to go to a 25 basis point cut for the next cuts. and the market has reacted positively to that. if last month's strong jobs report showed the labour market was perhaps in better shape than those pushing for a half a percentage cut move had expected, investors appeared unfazed. the dowjones industrial average jumped more than 400 points on wednesday to a record close. the s&p 500 hit an all—time

high, while the nasdaq finished up six tenths of a percent. rather, wall street is looking ahead to september's consumer price index — due out later this thursday. a positive report would provide reassurance that inflation is under control. let's discuss this in more detail withjoe brusuelas, global chief economist at rsm. hello to you. this is the big concern, isn't it? is inflation really under control or not in the us? ~ really under control or not in the us? . really under control or not in the us? ~ ., the us? well, good morning, thanks for— the us? well, good morning, thanks for having _ the us? well, good morning, thanks for having me - the us? well, good morning, thanks for having me on. - the us? well, good morning, thanks for having me on. in i thanks for having me on. in september us inflation report, consumer price index, you are going to see further evidence of disinflation primarily due to lower oil and gasoline prices in the us and that will likely convince markets that

the us central bank has re—established price stability. we only expect a 0.1% increase on the month and settle in at 2.3%, just above the 2% long—running target. that is why the markets are seemingly floating higher and i think you are going to get additional rate cuts by the federal reserve this year, likely 2—macro 25 basis point cuts. the fact that federal reserve officials were at odds at the last meeting does not worry you at all? , ., ., , ., at all? they were at odds over the size of— at all? they were at odds over the size of the _ at all? they were at odds over the size of the cut, _ at all? they were at odds over the size of the cut, not - the size of the cut, not whether to cut. the truth is the us economy is growing likely at a greater than 3% pace right now but here is the thing, we are doing so with hiring at very good at levels that keeps employment stable, 4% unemployment. 0ver average

work has been flat which means we are becoming more productive. why margins, greater profits. we will not be laying off people so you have the strongest economy in the g7 and the financial markets are fully reflecting that. mil fully reflecting that. all ri . ht, fully reflecting that. all right, thank _ fully reflecting that. all right, thank you so much indeed. joe brusuelas from rsm. needless to say a lot of attention on the us right now because of hurricane milton hot on the heels of helene and what that means for the cost of recovery and all that we shall cover on the programme. to australia now, where authorities are warning that more people are falling victims to online and other fraud. the australian securities and investments commission says it is making progress in its efforts to stem the seemingly never—ending tide of scammers, taking down more than 7,300 phishing and investment scam websites in the past year. but nearly $2 billion us was lost to scams last year. bogus investment schemes remain the leading type of scam

affecting australians. from sydney, phil mercer reports. jo 0'brien was driving when she received life—changing news. she'd lost her life savings in a sophisticated investment scam. $340,000 disappeared. the melbourne mother blames herself, but also says she was let down by her bank for failing to identify and stop suspicious transactions. i pulled over and ijust cried my eyes out. ijust could not believe that this had happened to me. and i've neverfelt a feeling like that before. it's worse than when someone dies. because australian law is so slack, we have become a major target now. she wants tougher laws to prevent theft, and better security at the banks. unlike many other victims, she tracked down her alleged scammer, but is unlikely to get any of her money back.

he had himself down as the director with an address in western melbourne. so i was so angry and i had nothing to lose, so ijumped in my car and drove over and knocked on his door. australian academics have identified key psychological factors that cause people to fall for scams. emotions can be manipulated to create a sense of urgency, fear or excitement, especially when it comes to money. for almost everyone, financial desire and, uh, in tough economic times, financial vulnerabilities. so it's usually a scam that says, you know, if you don't do something, you will lose your money, or if you do something, you'll gain a lot. scams are costing australians more than $3,500 every minute. older people are most vulnerable, but it can happen to almost anyone. the banking industry says it has some of the strongest

anti—scam measures. the government wants australia to become a global leader in stopping this type of financial crime. but legal experts believe that victims need more support. i think it's incredibly prevalent, the shame that people feel, that they feel like it was their fault. i think the system is set up at the moment to kind of blame the consumer, that you fell for something that maybe you shouldn't have. jo 0'brien is still fighting. she has successfully sued her alleged scammer in court for breaching his duties as a company director, but she concedes she has almost no chance of getting all her money back. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

hello again. let's head to france now, where today the government will unveil its budget, and the stakes are high. it's estimated that finance minister antoine armand is going to have to find around 60 billion euros worth of savings. many are expecting tax rises for the most well off in the country as well as spending cuts for public services as paris tries to keep its budget within the fiscal rules of the euro area 7 something it has recently struggled to do. speaking on monday, antoine armand said france is serious about reining in its ballooning deficit and complying with the eu's budget rules. our aim is to reduce the french deficit to 5% by 2025, and below the 3% threshold by 2029. this is a serious, credible and ambitious trajectory for our country in order to respect the european budgetary rules.

let's speak now tojerome creel, associate professor of economics at escp business school. welcome to bbc news. took us through the scale of the challenge here for this government.— challenge here for this covernment. ., , government. good morning. yes. this is a large _ government. good morning. yes. this is a large fiscal _ this is a large fiscal contraction that the government has tried to implement. maybe it is worth discussing where we come from, if i may. if it is worth discussing where we come from, ifi may.— come from, ifi may. if you could keep _ come from, ifi may. if you could keep it _ come from, ifi may. if you could keep it brief? - come from, ifi may. if you could keep it brief? yes, . come from, if i may. if you i could keep it brief? yes, yes, es. could keep it brief? yes, yes, yes- we _ could keep it brief? yes, yes, yes- we are — could keep it brief? yes, yes, yes. we are coming _ could keep it brief? yes, yes, yes. we are coming from - could keep it brief? yes, yes, yes. we are coming from a i could keep it brief? yes, yes, l yes. we are coming from a very sharp crisis that we share with the others, of course, covid—19, the inflation surge, but we also have seen kind of errors in the estimates of economic growth for 2024 and

also many tax cuts that did not deliver the increase in activity that was expected so that these days we are having a very high public deficit, way higher than the fiscal rules are accepting. we are at six, we should be at three. hence the tough day for our minister of finance today. it is interesting _ of finance today. it is interesting because l of finance today. it is i interesting because you say that tax cuts did not deliver at the economic growth it was hoped for and that is the gamble which didn't work for france this time. does that mean they will have to increase taxes in this budget? unpopular moves at a very sensitive time politically. moves at a very sensitive time politically-— politically. yes. they should think about _ politically. yes. they should think about also _ politically. yes. they should think about also raising i politically. yes. they should l think about also raising taxes. the reason being that we need to gather 60 billion worth of euros of improvement in our public deficit. it cannotjust

come from spending cuts, so tax rates must also increase in order to kind of share the burden between different varieties of the population. those that have access to spending schemes, and the wealthiest that are in a position to be able to pay a large amount of taxes and in the past most of many people were having large incomes and were having large incomes and were able not to pay any taxes on the income so maybe having a minimum tax rate should be part of the solution.— of the solution. jerome creel, thank you. — of the solution. jerome creel, thank you. we _ of the solution. jerome creel, thank you, we will— of the solution. jerome creel, thank you, we will keep i of the solution. jerome creel, thank you, we will keep a i of the solution. jerome creel, l thank you, we will keep a close eye is today progresses. budget day in france. over here in the uk, the chancellor rachel reeves will be delivering her budget later this month. and today a warning from the influential think tank the institute for fiscal studies that she will need to come up with billions of pounds more to meet the government's pre—election promises.

the government has promised no return to "austerity" for public services and a boost to government investment, designed to kickstart growth. but to honour those commitments the chancellor must come up with £16 billion more on top of £9 billion tax rises set out in the labour manifesto, according to calculations from the ifs. let's speak now to the independent markets analyst craig erlam. hello to you. it doesn't surprise me that we are hearing from the institute for fiscal studies that she is going to have to find more money than perhaps we first thought. yeah, the have perhaps we first thought. yeah, they have kind _ perhaps we first thought. yeah, they have kind of— perhaps we first thought. yeah, they have kind of echo - perhaps we first thought. yeah, they have kind of echo the i they have kind of echo the sentiment we have had quite a lot over the last few months, which is how do you balance her commitments on the budgets and on the deficit and debt reduction over the medium term with plans to raise taxes but not in many areas that affect

public life and also deliver the kind of growth and ambitious plans they promised prior to the election? a lot doesn't add up so you do assume, especially given the afs analysis you have referenced, that we will see someone disappointed in one area because otherwise it is just going to be very difficult to deliver on those pre—election promises. to deliver on those pre-election promises. there has 'ust pre-election promises. there has just been _ pre-election promises. there hasjust been so _ pre-election promises. there hasjust been so much - has just been so much conversation and speculation about what will be in this budget, what she can and can't do, what she should deliver, the pre—election promises they made. it is really critical for this new government, isn't it? it is but in a way this is a time to be ambitious. the issue she has isn't in the area you imagine they will be more ambitious is to accept higher levels of debt and almost a break that pre—election promise in the short term in order to deliver longer term growth and productivity, something the uk has lagged in for a number of years and is desperately in

need off but the warning signs come only a few years ago from the ambitious plans set out by liz truss. they have to be shown to be funded, to be calculated and backed up by evidence and therefore you are walking the tightrope between wanting to deliver the growth and productivity of the uk desperately needs but doing so in a manner that doesn't mean we see a massive drop off in the pound and turmoil in uk at markets. . . the pound and turmoil in uk at markets. ., ., ., ~ markets. craig erlam, thank ou. markets. craig erlam, thank yon we _ markets. craig erlam, thank yon we will _ markets. craig erlam, thank you. we will see _ markets. craig erlam, thank you. we will see you - markets. craig erlam, thank you. we will see you soon . markets. craig erlam, thank. you. we will see you soon and you. we will see you soon and you can be sure we will return to that a subject in the days and weeks ahead. today is world mental health day, and this year the focus is on mental health in the workplace. according to experts, workplaces where the culture becomes toxic often breed stress, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness, and low self—esteem among employees. this is bad news notjust for employees' personal lives but it can also significantly impact productivity and retention within organisations.

this i'm joined now by dr audrey tang, psychologist and author of the leader's guide to wellbeing. good to talk to you. what should managers be doing to reduce stress in the workplace? we need to recognise that working with the individual is only part of the issue because so often if somebody is feeling burnt out we think, well, give them some sessions, ways of dealing with it, what is actually it might be the whole system that needs to be change. bosses need to recognise what are the issues? lack of boundaries, rudeness, people feeling overwhelmed? do they have the technology, other procedures and policies in place a? another thing they don't always realise it sometimes if somebody has a neurodivergent, which isn't being supported, they may be masking at issue and they might

need a bit of extra help, or someone even going through a domestic abuse situation may be very good at masking, as well. not to take things at face value is the first thing that really find out what is wrong. is the issue of mental health in the workplace improving or getting worse? it is something openly discussed in many organisations, certainly in my career. ~ , , career. when i did my phd in 2008 on _ career. when i did my phd in 2008 on burnout _ career. when i did my phd in 2008 on burnout i _ career. when i did my phd in 2008 on burnout i was i career. when i did my phd in| 2008 on burnout i was talking about the same thing. it is great is being talked about more and also with gen—z in the workplace, they are not willing to have their boundaries pushed as much and just because we put up as much and just because we put up with something doesn't make it right. these opinions are being voiced a lot more. it is being voiced a lot more. it is being talked a lot more. it doesn't mean it is definitely bigger but certainly at hybrid working and the changes that the pandemic brought, they need a bit of a period of

adjustment. there are things that bosses can do and the cip d suggests a workplace mot, looking particularly at health, mental and physical, work, whether someone is still on the right track and aligned with what they want to do, values, are they in alignment with the organisation? social support is also very important and personal development. all of those aspects need to be taken into account. it those aspects need to be taken into account.— into account. it is really interesting _ into account. it is really interesting because i i into account. it is really i interesting because i was listening on a bbc news programme, one of our statistics people who look at all the data and at the moment, among the economically inactive there is quite a big proportion of those who are off work because of mental health issues. that is quite a big deal these days, apparently. it is huge. six days due to mental health issues are costing the employer a lot of money. —— sick days. work is positive if it can be that supportive environment. it can be the place where you can talk about aduu place where you can talk about adult stuff if you are a parent, the place you can get support, a place where you can

develop and improve your skills and what we need to do is make sure that people are able to work in alignment with their own values, feel they are able to grow and also feel they have support when they need it. and too often what can happen is they can raise an issue and feel suddenly frightened that they have raised it because they have raised it because they are not sure of the repercussions. idr they are not sure of the repercussions. they are not sure of the re ercussions. , �* , ., repercussions. dr audrey tang, thank you _ repercussions. dr audrey tang, thank you for — repercussions. dr audrey tang, thank you for talking _ repercussions. dr audrey tang, thank you for talking to - repercussions. dr audrey tang, thank you for talking to us. i repercussions. dr audrey tang, thank you for talking to us. a l thank you for talking to us. a very important subject. let's show you live pictures coming from the state of florida where hurricane milton has made landfall. more than 2 million homes and businesses are without power across the state now. many neighbourhoods in darkness. we will keep you right up to date on bbc news. stay with us as we keep you across the latest. hello. 0ur weather has started to turn a little bit cooler. you might have noticed the change, and the trend is set to continue as well.

well, here in north yorkshire, we had signs of the change, waves being driven onto the beaches here by the strengthening north to north—easterly wind. temperatures on tuesday in rhyl got up to 17 degrees, but it was just 12 on wednesday, a drop of some five degrees celsius. the drop in temperatures came as these northerly winds worked in. now, over the next few hours, we've still got some patches of cloud and rain to come across england and wales, with clearing skies further north in scotland and northern ireland. and it's here where we'll have the chilliest start to the day on thursday. temperatures low enough even for a nip of frost in sheltered glens in scotland. so starting the day on thursday, expect a bit of damp weather for southern parts of england and wales. that should clear out of the way as we go through the morning, and then elsewhere, loads of sunshine draped around coastal fringes. there'll be a scattering of showers, and they'll tend to come and go, really, through the day. a chilly wind? yes. temperatures below where they've been over recent days, 10—12 celsius. although cooler, these temperatures are actually a little bit closer to average for the time of year.

now, the colder weather is still going to be with us into friday. indeed, we could have a touch of frost to start the day across southern portions of england and wales. further north in scotland, cloud will thicken on friday as a weather system moves in, bringing some outbreaks of rain. some of that rain could just about skirt into the far north of northern ireland, but further south in england and wales, it's going to be a beautiful day with barely a cloud in the sky. for the weekend, still some rain left over from this area of low pressure affecting northern areas. sunday looks to be the better of the two days of the weekend as high pressure builds in. so saturday, some rain around across northern ireland, scotland, northern areas of england, and accompanying that rain, there'll be some pretty strong and gusty winds. another blast of northerly air coming down, really dropping those temperatures, just seven or eight degrees for northern scotland. for northern ireland, england and wales, meanwhile, we're looking at temperatures around 11 to 14 degrees, which is pretty close to average. as that high pressure builds in, though, for the second half of the weekend, we're looking at a cold start to the morning, a few mist and fog patches,

but a mostly dry day with sunny spells coming and going. temperatures for most of us between around 10—13 degrees. bye for now.

good morning, welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty

and charlie stayt. 0ur headlines today. hurricane milton hits florida with wind speeds of up to 120 miles per hour. it's predicted to be one of the most devastating us storms in living memory. at this point it's too dangerous to evacuate safely so you have to shelter in place and just hunker down. a number of people have died after tornadoes hit the state, ahead of the hurricane's arrival. this is the scene at the university of tampa. across florida millions of people have been warned that the storm will be extremely dangerous and life threatening. hurricane milton is now a category two hurricane, it will continue to weaken — two hurricane, it will continue to weaken as— two hurricane, it will continue to weaken as we go through today, even when it— weaken as we go through today, even when it exits florida, it will be a powerful — when it exits florida, it will be a powerful hurricane one and we are looking _ powerful hurricane one and we are looking at — powerful hurricane one and we are looking at the risk of further tornadoes and storms surges on both