asia in 2025. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. shares of big us tech companies rallied on wednesday after the latest inflation report boosted hopes of an interest rate cut next week. the latest data showed that prices rose 27% in november compared to the year before in line with what analysts were predicting. the market reacted positively to the news with the nasdaq topping 20,000 points for the first time. inflation generally has cooled throughout 2024—bit concerns around the cost of living have been a hot button issue. economist paul grunwald gives his reading on the latest data. we are going sideways right now. maybe the one piece of good news was the shelter

inflation went down a bit but basically in line with expectations, no big surprises as the market is concerned. looking back over the last year how would you say the fed has managed inflation? we how would you say the fed has managed inflation?— how would you say the fed has managed inflation? we have the oli managed inflation? we have the policy mistake — managed inflation? we have the policy mistake a _ managed inflation? we have the policy mistake a few _ managed inflation? we have the policy mistake a few years - managed inflation? we have the policy mistake a few years ago l policy mistake a few years ago but inflation has been coming down to a target. we have a split now between goods and services, goods inflation is actually close to zero but as we know services inflation in particular the super core has been stuck above three so that will give the fed a little pause going into 2025. find will give the fed a little pause going into 2025. and got outlook for _ pause going into 2025. and got outlook for 25? _ pause going into 2025. and got outlook for 25? more _ pause going into 2025. and got outlook for 25? more rate - pause going into 2025. and got outlook for 25? more rate cuts| outlook for 25? more rate cuts but we think — outlook for 25? more rate cuts but we think the _ outlook for 25? more rate cuts but we think the fed _ outlook for 25? more rate cuts but we think the fed will- outlook for 25? more rate cuts but we think the fed will start | but we think the fed will start to go easy. if we get a cut next week which is largely priced in we will maybe get three or four next year. we have the fed stopping at about 3.5 but we would put upside risk around that given the policy intentions of the incoming trump administration. speaking of that incoming administrationjanet

speaking of that incoming administration janet yellen has said that donald trump �*s tariff plans could be inflationary.- tariff plans could be inflationa . ., ., . inflationary. your thoughts? we a . ree inflationary. your thoughts? we aaree but inflationary. your thoughts? we agree but not — inflationary. your thoughts? we agree but notjust _ inflationary. your thoughts? we agree but notjust the _ inflationary. your thoughts? we agree but notjust the tariffs - agree but notjust the tariffs which will obviously raise the cost of import but we have a large tax—cut bill and more fiscal stimulus under trump potentially under harris and thatis potentially under harris and that is inflationary and the immigration policy, if we start to take workers from the labour force and shrinking the labour supply that will push up wages and inflation. so on all three of those policy fronts it looks like we have a positive inflation impulse intentionally coming out of the new administration. the nasdaq hitting 20,000 points wasn't the only record broken on wednesday. elon musk�*s net worth surpassed the $400 billion mark — a historic first — as the value of his companies tesla and spacex surged. 0ur north america business correspondent michelle fleury has the latest from new york. the richest purses in the world just got richer. elon musk now boasts a net worth of $400 billion, making him the first person in history to ever hit that milestone. shares in tesla, his electric

vehicle, rose to a new record high on the same day the tech heavy nasdaq index had 20,000 points for the first time in its history. tesla shares have rallied 69% since the election of donald trump but it was a sale of shares at his privately held firm spacex valuing the company at $350 billion that supercharged his wealth. the move boosted the founder's net worth to $439 billion according to bloomberg. last week a delaware judge rejected musk�*s multibillion—dollar pay package but even if it is remote, he will still be the world's richest person and as musk prepares to lead efforts to streamline government operations it is perhaps a sign wealth and power in america have become even more closely intertwined.

the south korean president has defended his decision to impose martial law. in an address on thursday morning he hid out of the opposition party accusing them of creating a national crisis. the bench mark index dropped on the news but has recovered. that is up now along with other major stock markets in the region getting a lift from the higher close on wall street. in india the world's fastest—growing major economy will report inflation numbers on thursday. prices are likely to have moderated due to higher food that might lower food costs but they are still coming in at the upper levels of the comfort band. the growth in the other hand has been slowing down sharply. what is going on? we will unpack it all. from soap to instant noodles and even chocolate. indians are cutting down on buying these basic things. india's middle class is shrinking says the boss of nestle india. the country's largest food and beverage company reported its lowest quarterly growth in

eight years. it is the same story with other consumer companies as well. and that is not good news. consumption makes up some 60% of india's gdp and 5.4%, the latest figure was a bit of a shocker. a shadow of the eight plus % growth that india clocked last year. so what has gone wrong? pent—up demand is gone, there is regulation ore tightening on unsecured lending plus incomes have _ unsecured lending plus incomes have not— unsecured lending plus incomes have not really grown much and employment has not grown much. even _ employment has not grown much. even india's chief economic advisor has raised concerns about wages and employment. he said the staff cost of privately listed companies has been coming down and not paying workers enough will end up being self—destructive for the corporate sector as there will not be adequate demand for their own product. there are also other temporary factors driving growth down. government

spending, especially on things such as roads and trains which has been a big driver of the economic growth of india has dipped. along monsoon has disrupted industrial activity in sectors such as construction and mining. consistently high food prices meanwhile has left less money in the pockets of people and prevented the central bank of india from producing the track reducing the cost of borrowing. with the economy now stuttering interest rates are likely to start to come down in the next year. the rbi will cut _ come down in the next year. the rbi will cut by — come down in the next year. tue: rbi will cut by around come down in the next year. tte: rbi will cut by around 1% come down in the next year. tt2 rbi will cut by around 1% so it rbi will cut by around i% so it is six and a half %, that is the policy interest rate and we expect that will be brought down 5.5% by the middle of 2026. ,., ., ., down 5.5% by the middle of 2026. ., ., ., 2026. going forward and exoected _ 2026. going forward and expected bumper - 2026. going forward and | expected bumper harvest 2026. going forward and - expected bumper harvest will mean some sectors will pick up but it will not be enough to take overall growth back to the

7-8% that take overall growth back to the 7—8% that india has come to expect. that is the new reality. washington has moved increased tariffs on imports of chinese solar products as trade relations continue to deteriorate between the world's two biggest economies. the new taxes target solar wafers and poly silicon as the biden administration looks to protect the domestic clean energy industry from cheaper foreign imports. new measures will take effect at the start of 2025. asian economies are bracing for the impact of the latest tariffs along with the new taxes that president elected donald trump is set to impose. a new report by the asian development bank says the impact on the region the short term is minimal. the chief economist albert part gave his reaction to these latest tariffs. ., ~ , ., . tariffs. for the asia-pacific re . ion tariffs. for the asia-pacific region whenever _ tariffs. for the asia-pacific region whenever tariffs - tariffs. for the asia-pacific region whenever tariffs are going up globally it is bad news, headwind for growth because asia is the centre for

manufacturing exports and that creates a headwind but i think the intended trump tariffs and the intended trump tariffs and the threat to raise tariffs on china by 60% and on other countries i 10— 20%, one byproduct of that will be that some countries in the region could benefit from that as they did in the first trump administration if they can replace chinese exports to the united states and fill in those gaps. d0 united states and fill in those .a s. , ., united states and fill in those “as. y., , united states and fill in those “as. , ., united states and fill in those as. , ., , gaps. do you see that as being the way things _ gaps. do you see that as being the way things will _ gaps. do you see that as being the way things will head? - gaps. do you see that as being the way things will head? that| the way things will head? that other countries will just start avoiding doing business with the united states?— the united states? every country will _ the united states? every country will have - the united states? every country will have to - the united states? every| country will have to make the united states? every - country will have to make its own calculation. as you noted, we think the overall effectiveness may be mitigated than in the first trump administration. partly because china has already spread its trade to other parts of the world in response to the first set of tariffs from the united states and then as well the chinese economy as it has grown

has become less and export dependent. so overall exports and exports to the us are a lower share of its gdp than before. of course, high tariffs will still hurt china in terms of its ability to export goods to the united states and that will have knock—on negative effect to countries in the region that are supplying inputs to china and those tend to be some of the east asia high—tech countries but it could benefit the countries where chinese tends to supply inputs and then they process those inputs and export those to the united states. those opportunities could increase. 0verall opportunities could increase. overall we think the effects on countries in the region will be mixed. the usjustice department has asked a court to reject a request by tiktok owner bytedance to delay a law which could result in its ban next month. this came after the company requested for an emergency injunction to prevent it from becoming unavaliable in the us. a law taking effect on the 19th of january demands that the app be sold because of alleged

links to the chinese state — links that tiktok has denied. whatsapp and instagram are back online after a global outage hit several meta—owned apps. some users were unable to access the apps at all, while others reported problems with refreshing their feeds. facebook has yet to confirm whether all of its issues have been resolved. doughnut chain krispy kreme says it has been hit by a cyberattack which disrupted its online systems. some customers in the us have been unable to make online orders as a result of the hack, which occurred in late november but has onlyjust been disclosed. that is it for this edition of business today. thank you for watching.

hey, it's lucy with the catch—up. tonight, we remember sara sharif, a world cup announcement and a dream come true.

we start tonight by remembering sara sharif and you may find some parts of this report distressing. she endurd more than two yars of abuse before her body was found in surrey. today her father urfan sharif on the left and step mother beinash batool have been found guilty of her murder. her uncle was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child. here is a bit of what police said outside court. the murder of a child is shocking, the horrific nature of the abuse sara sharif suffered in her short life has made this case particularly disturbing. todayjustice has today justice has been todayjustice has been served. ten—year—old sara has been described as caring, cheerful and a chatterbox. sings she loved singing and dancing and wanted to win the x factor.

no big surprises here but fifa confirmed saudi arabia will host the the men's world cup in 2034. there was concern over a lack of clarity in the process. the decision has been criticised because of its treatment of women, treatment of lgbt people and involvement in the oil industry. she says winning the bbc three show is a dream come true and hopes to inspire other women. that's it for tonight. have a good night. hello and welcome to sportsday from the bbc sport centre with me chetan pathak. coming up on the programme:

a seventh defeat in ten matches. manchester city's hopes of progressing in the champions league hang in the balance. but no problems for arsenal as bukayo saka edges them closer to the knockout stages. and as fifa confirms the 2034 world cup is heading to saudi arabia, we'll bring you all the reaction to a contentious decision. welcome along. thank you forjoining us. we start with the uefa champions league and more problems for manchester city — pep guardiola's side now have just one win in their last ten matches in all competitions after a 2—0 defeat tojuventus in turin. both goals coming in the second half — dusan vlahovic heading