welcome to business today, i'm taidgh enwright. shares in expedia have jumped by more than 7% in after hours trading after the financial times reported that uber has been considering a takeover bid. neither ercompany has commented on the reports. the ft reports that uber approched advisors after a third party suggested a tie—up with the world's second biggest online travel company. uber�*s chief executive, dara khosrowshahi, previously ran expedia, so he knows the company intimately. like most consumer app businesses, it's trying to find ways to sell more things to us. last week, he spoke to our business editor simonjack and had this answer to a question about moving into amazon's territory. think of how we started, we started _ think of how we started, we started with transportation, we moved — started with transportation, we

moved to— started with transportation, we moved to moving through the round, — moved to moving through the round, nowhere expanding beyond food, _ round, nowhere expanding beyond food, groceries, pet food, anything _ food, groceries, pet food, anything that you would want. those — anything that you would want. those products are available through _ those products are available through the uber marketplace but increasingly we allow merchants to offer on their own sites _ merchants to offer on their own sites the — merchants to offer on their own sites the ability to offer on demand _ sites the ability to offer on demand delivery for whatever they — demand delivery for whatever they are — demand delivery for whatever they are selling. so, pet food from — they are selling. so, pet food from your— they are selling. so, pet food from your local shop, to be delivered _ from your local shop, to be delivered with a courier from uber— delivered with a courier from uber eats in the next couple of hours. — uber eats in the next couple of hours. and _ uber eats in the next couple of hours, and we think that convenience can be better than amazon, — convenience can be better than amazon, and can support your local_ amazon, and can support your local business which, i think everybody wants to support the local _ everybody wants to support the local businesses in their town. dara _ local businesses in their town. dara khosrowshahi, of uber. russ mould is investment director at aj bell+. the ft says it's an early stage, no formal approach made. you can see how this could be a compelling combination.

you can. two very highly developed technology platforms with booking capability in the field of transport, you can see why uber would think they could get people there through flights and hotels, and with expedia driving the car rentals and services that they can provide to a global population, both of them lucky enough to be able to do so two people very keen to travel.— able to do so two people very keen to travel. one thing that is curious _ keen to travel. one thing that is curious about _ keen to travel. one thing that is curious about expedia, - keen to travel. one thing that is curious about expedia, it i keen to travel. one thing that is curious about expedia, it is| is curious about expedia, it is the second biggest travel booking website by sales but only the fourth most valuable. why is that, could it be undervalued, perhaps? expedia is a quarter _ undervalued, perhaps? expedia is a quarter below— undervalued, perhaps? expedia is a quarter below its _ undervalued, perhaps? expedia is a quarter below its all-time l is a quarter below its all—time high price, it has been through a difficult period, the chief technical officer and chief executive officer left, the turnaround plan seems to be working but that is in the early stages, and uber may well

be thinking that there was a bargain to be had here. lots of consumer— bargain to be had here. lots of consumer facing _ bargain to be had here. lots of consumer facing apps - bargain to be had here. lots of consumer facing apps are - bargain to be had here. lots of| consumer facing apps are trying to become so—called super apps, things that you all things for all things, elon musk thinks that he can do it with x. is uber well—positioned to do something like that? it is uber well-positioned to do something like that? it is a fairly young _ something like that? it is a fairly young company - something like that? it is a i fairly young company although it has $40 billion of revenue, not everyone is always wild to buy something that they already love, like twitter, so you have to be careful there, and regulators will take an interest in any company getting bigger and bigger and bigger as social media giants are finding out right now.— out right now. looking at this otential out right now. looking at this potential uber _ out right now. looking at this potential uber and _ out right now. looking at this potential uber and expedia i potential uber and expedia deal, no formal approach me, but you are a betting man, you're in the investment world, would you bet on this deal happening?— would you bet on this deal ha enin: ? . . ., happening? there are cultural and executive _ happening? there are cultural and executive links _ happening? there are cultural and executive links between l happening? there are cultural l and executive links between the companies, uber has a clear

growth strategy, it has made acquisitions in the past. but growth is not a strategy in its own right, it is what results from strategy, and price and money will talk so uber will have to post that satisfies expedia shareholders without upsetting its own shareholders, and expedia shares were up last night in new york, but uber was down. let's stay with tech — but move to asia, where chip—making giant taiwan semiconductor, or tsmc has reportd a 54% jump in third quarter profit, beating estimates. surging demand for advanced ai—grade chips has helped tsmc become the world's largest contract maker of semiconductors. it controls more than half the world's output of chips used in everything from apple's iphones to nvidia's cutting—edge artificial intelligence hardware. chip sector expert malcolm penn

told us about the company's phenomenal success. there are not superlatives invented yet to describe it, it is like — invented yet to describe it, it is like walking on water, superlatives, juggernaut, these results — superlatives, juggernaut, these results are spectacular. it is also — results are spectacular. it is also the _ results are spectacular. it is also the timing. the third quarter— also the timing. the third quarter is always traditionally strong, — quarter is always traditionally strong, for tsmc, quarter is always traditionally strong, fortsmc, because quarter is always traditionally strong, for tsmc, because this is a period _ strong, for tsmc, because this is a period when they will be putting — is a period when they will be putting out all of the chips for the _ putting out all of the chips for the new iphone, so i'm not just— for the new iphone, so i'm not just for— for the new iphone, so i'm not just for nvidia with their ai chips. _ just for nvidia with their ai chips, but for apple with the new— chips, but for apple with the new chips for the iphone 16. you — new chips for the iphone 16. you said _ new chips for the iphone 16. you said in the opening that they— you said in the opening that they have over half of the market. _ they have over half of the market, probably closer to 60% now, _ market, probably closer to 60% now, there is the bread—and—butter side of their business. _ bread—and—butter side of their business, which has 60% of the market— business, which has 60% of the market but at the leading edge, the al _ market but at the leading edge, the al in— market but at the leading edge, the ai in smartphones, they pretty— the ai in smartphones, they pretty much have a monopoly there —

pretty much have a monopoly there. there are not many other suppliers— there. there are not many other suppliers that you can go to. so it— suppliers that you can go to. so it has— suppliers that you can go to. so it has been and a little bit of a — so it has been and a little bit of a down _ so it has been and a little bit of a down cycle, but that is turning _ of a down cycle, but that is turning around, so you can expect— turning around, so you can expect to _ turning around, so you can expect to see that recover, over— expect to see that recover, over the — expect to see that recover, over the next 12 months, and the leading edge, the owner, you can — the leading edge, the owner, you can never make enough of that— you can never make enough of that stuff— you can never make enough of that stuff so both sides of their— that stuff so both sides of their business are looking pretty— their business are looking pretty good for the next few months _ pretty good for the next few months. the big issue is the geopolitical issue. will china nationalise it, will it not, all of— nationalise it, will it not, all of those issues and china has to— all of those issues and china has to tread carefully because 'ust has to tread carefully because just like — has to tread carefully because just like the rest of the world it depends on the tsmc, and the doomsday scenario is that they invade — doomsday scenario is that they invade and we lose it but that is unlikely to happen because that would affect china, as well, — that would affect china, as well, notjust simply that would affect china, as well, not just simply for that would affect china, as well, notjust simply for their output — well, notjust simply for their output but the political backlash of that would be enormous. it could be the nuclear— enormous. it could be the nuclear equivalent. new data out today shows that inflation in the eurozone was even weaker than first estimated last month.

consumer prices in the countries that use the euro rose by 1.7% in september, down from 2.2% in august. it underlines the case for another interest rate cut by the european central bank and that's exactly what we expect to hear later today. markets are expecting a 25 basis—point cut following comments from the ecb s chair — christine lagarde. joining me now luca pennarola, european economist at bnp paribas. few doubt that the ecb will cut today. are you in agreement? after the first drop injune, a pause injuly and another cut in september today, we expect it to be the first time in the cycle that the ecb will cut four two meetings in a row, effectively accelerating the pace of monetary policy. when you consider how lacklustre european growth has

been, not least in germany, why would the ecb not consider a bigger cut? let's not forget that the fed cut half a percent. the european economy has been a bit weaker than expected but there are good reasons to believe that it will continue to grow. not forget that the purchasing power of households will improve, thanks to inflation going down, and at the same time as the ecb continues to cut interest rates, we expect them to continue cutting even after today, this should help the most interest rate sensitive parts of the economy, so, even though some data at the beginning of september and in the later weeks has been a bit weak, it does not necessarily mean the recovery won't continue. what is the market expectation of the likely path of interest rates cuts from the

ecb after today? put it this way. we don't think that the ecb will change its communication style after today's meeting even though it is accelerating the path of interest rates cuts. we think they will try to stick close to their usual line of data dependent meeting by meeting approach, effectively, christine le guard says that decisions are taken at each meeting rather than predetermine so although there will be no commitment to another cut in an explicit manner the implicit message could be that a cut in december is justified, could be that a cut in december isjustified, unless could be that a cut in december is justified, unless the data improves substantially. isjustified, unless the data improves substantially. luca pennarola — improves substantially. luca pennarola from _ improves substantially. luca pennarola from bnp - improves substantially. luca | pennarola from bnp paribas, thank you. staying in the world of technology, amazon is the latest silicon valley giant to announce significant investments in nuclear power to meet its growing energy needs for cloud computing

and artificial intelligence. itjoins other big tech names in announcing plans to lean into atomic energy. the international energy agency expects global electricity demand to double by 2050 and the challenge is to meet that demand while cutting carbon emissions sharply. our north america business correspondent, ritika gupta has the details.. amazon has signed just make agreements to support the development of these reactors which are more compact, cheaper and easier to deploy than traditional music —— nuclear matters. aws, the cloud computing subsidiary has a massive need for clean energy as it expands services into generative ai. it is part of the company's party net zero carbon emissions. amazon is leading a $500 million funding round. a company that develops smrs and fuel. it is looking at washington state and virginia

for potential smr project. it is evidence of the growing links between tech companies and nuclear energy. according to goldman sachs, data centre power demand is expected to grow 160% by 2030, with 19% of that demand coming from al, by 2028. ., ., 4' that demand coming from al, by 2028. ., ., ~ ., that demand coming from al, by 2028. ., ., ~ , 2028. looking at the markets, the big drive — 2028. looking at the markets, the big drive of— 2028. looking at the markets, the big drive of sentiment - 2028. looking at the markets, the big drive of sentiment is i the big drive of sentiment is that ecb rate decision, mostly already priced in by investors, you can see that with the ftse 100 in london up by half a %, and stronger gains by the cac in paris. oil up marginally per barrel, its recent fluctuations have been tempered by folding expectations of israel targeting iranian oil

production facilities as a result, in retaliation, for iran's attack on israel in recent weeks. asian shares ended the session on thursday, both of them down, the hank sensing the worst losses of just over 1%. —— the hang sen facing the worst losses.

pakistan have taken their lead beyond 200 on day three of the second test against england on a turning pitch in multan. after their late collapse on the second day... england were bowled out for 291... sajid khan finishing with seven wickets to hand pakistan a 75—run lead. england's spinners have responded to the favourable conditions. shoaib bashir taking three early wickets. jack leach trapping first innings centurion kamran ghulam lbw to try and limit

pakistan's advantage. england have gone on to take more wickets. pakistan currently 168—8. meanwhile in bangalore... india have been bowled out forjust 46 on day two of the first test against new zealand. their lowest total at home. after an opening day wash—out india chose to bat. it proved to be the wrong decision as only two players got into double figures. matt henry and william o'rourke doing the bulk of the damage for new zealand, who have since passed india's total. while thomas tuchel�*s appointment as the new englnad manager created some outrage in parts of the english media, the reaction in his home country of germany has included a joke or two. the rivalry of the two teams stretches back decades. newspaper bild said "the motherland of football gets a german dad. madness!

now they're banking on — of all people — a german coach to finally deliver the ultimate prize of football. but kicker magazine was actually quite complimentary: "of course, some fans in england will howl." but they tuchel provides a "thought—out solution that means winning the 2026 world cup does not have to remainjust a dream." the man himself is hoping to win his new fans over. yes, a group of young, hungry players, we are desperate to win a title so we have all of the ingredients, and i think we should try to implement this into our style of play. i think we should play an attacking style of football, we should try to emphasise the physical side of the game, because this is what english football is all about and this is what excites our supporters. voting is open for the bbc women's footballer of the year 2024. five global players have been shortlisted based on their performances over the last year and the public

will now decide the winner. you?can now vote at bbc.com/womensfootball today we hearfrom spain and barcelona's aitana bonmati. who was part of the barcelona team which created history by winning the first ever quadruple. bonmati has now won three champions league titles and scored the opening goal in the 2024 final against lyon. i have been lucky to play with great teams, barcelona and the spanish team, because i am playing with a lot of good players and that makes you the best player, no? in the past at barcelona we had the talent, the skills, but maybe we didn't have the physique, the mentality, the winning mentality, the winning mentality, and putting these test mappings together, i think, we became a winning team —— putting these three things

together. being so ambitious, being ambitious every year, and every year, more than the first year. you can have the talent, but if you don't compete against the best teams like chelsea and lyon you have nothing, but now, i think spain can dominate the world, of course, we can dominate the world, of course,