the bond market sell—off accelerates. the pound tumbles as uk borrowing costs surge to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. in the us, fed officials express concern over persistent inflation and indicate that the pace of rate cuts could start to slow. also on the programme: rebuilding syria. can the country's new leaders fix the broken economy? and sustainable transport. we hear from the boss of volvo group on why higher public infrastructure investment is needed to support greener transport. live from london, this is business today. i'm sally bundock. we start in the uk where alarm bells are sounding off again in financial markets as concerns mount about the economic outlook.

the pound has fallen to its lowest level for nine months as uk government borrowing costs continue to rise, surging to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. this comes after the cost of borrowing over 30 years hit its highest level since 1998 on tuesday. economists are warning that the chancellor, rachel reeves, could be forced to cut spending or hike taxes even further in order to meet her fiscal rules. servicing the current national debt in the uk is forecast to take up 7% of total public spending and interest payments already exceed £100 billion a year. i'm joined by fiona cincotta — market analyst at city index may send a shiver down the

spines of many but i am sure it is concentrating the minds of the people at the treasury. completely. we see the cost of borrowing go up globally but for the uk it has wafer thin marge�*s and that means there is a lot of pressure here. the increase in borrowing cost is running the risk of wiping out rachel reeve�*s buffer of 9.9 billion that she had set aside in the budget. the problem being that there is the potential need to take action. we have a budget coming up in march and that could mean that we would either need to see tax hikes or spending cuts or even both. what we end up seeing will depend on how far sell—off in the bond market actually goes. as i mentioned it is coming back globally but it is here in the uk where there are concerns of persistent inflation and fears that the bank of england may not be able

to cut interest rates as much as initially thought, combined with concerns over tax hikes from the government. what is going on in march is the office for budget responsibility will release its latest numbers in terms of the debt that the uk is holding and the payment on that and also what the outlook is for the economy.— is for the economy. that may cause rachel _ is for the economy. that may cause rachel reeves - is for the economy. that may cause rachel reeves have . is for the economy. that may cause rachel reeves have to | cause rachel reeves have to change things.— cause rachel reeves have to change things. exactly. at the moment there _ change things. exactly. at the moment there is _ change things. exactly. at the moment there is a _ change things. exactly. at the moment there is a lot - change things. exactly. at the moment there is a lot of - change things. exactly. at the i moment there is a lot of nerves displayed on the market. we see that as well being reflected in the sell—off in the pound which is down to the lowest level since april. obviously we are not where we were when we saw the reaction in the market with liz truss in 2022 but obviously there is a lot of comparisons being drawn and i think it is fair to say that we are not at the same level but there is a level of concern and that is being reflected. there are a few months to go but the government will need to think

about moving and acting in order to calm the market. part ofthe order to calm the market. part of the problem _ order to calm the market. part of the problem as _ order to calm the market. part of the problem as well - order to calm the market. part of the problem as well as the fact that the bank of england is reluctant to reduce interest rates because inflation is proving to be pretty sticky which is what we are seeing in the united states. and that does not help roof —— boost growth either or alleviate the cost of borrowing does it? it is a difficult situation where, as you said, inflation started to cool and cooled relatively quickly, we got down to about 2% but it has since been revived and service sector inflation in the uk, that is the dominant part of the economy, that remains sticky. wage growth also remains sticky and those are terms that the bank of england watches carefully. growth is stagnant. we're seeing anything come through there yet. so there is sticky inflation, low growth, concerns over borrowing cost. it makes for a gloomy start to

2025. ., ., ., ., ., , it makes for a gloomy start to 2025. u, a, u, , _, 2025. fiona, good to see you and thank — 2025. fiona, good to see you and thank you _ 2025. fiona, good to see you and thank you for _ 2025. fiona, good to see you and thank you for your - 2025. fiona, good to see you and thank you for your time. | now part of the uk's bond issue is due to investors fears over us president—elect donald trump's tariff proposals. and the impact they could have on inflation, forcing the us federal reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer. trump's tax—cutting plans could also drive up the national debt, adding to the supply of us treasury bonds. interest rates on us 10—year government bonds also surged on wednesday, before dropping back at mid—day to more than 4.7% which is still the highest level since april. on wednesday the latest minutes from the federal reserve's december meeting were published showing officials expressing concern the rate of inflation and the potential impact that donald trump's policies could have. the minutes indicate they would be moving more slowly on interest rate cuts because of the uncertainty. here's our north america business correspondent ritika gupta.

the minutes from the fed meeting in december show officials have adopt today new stance when it comes to interest rate cuts amid upside risks to inflation. illicit makers are in no hurry to cut rates and would like to see more evidence that price increases are settling down. inflation readings continue to strengthen spending along with reduced downside risk to the labour market outlook and activity. officials also expressed concern about the impact the president—elect tom's policies could have on efforts to reduce inflation. without calling out trump by name the meeting summary featured at least four mentions about the effect that changes in immigration and trade policy could have on the united states economy. in december, us central bankers cut the benchmark lending rate by a quarter point to a range of 4.2 5- 4.5% quarter point to a range of 4.2 5— 4.5% for the third time in a

row. new forecasts released after the december meeting showed a medium —— median estimate of two cut in 2025. joining me now is dr sean snaith, director of the institute for economic forecasting at the university of central florida. good to have you on the programme. your thoughts on what the minutes revealed? i think they cut interest rates prematurely when they began in september. they were in fear of a recession that there was scant evidence that that was on the horizon so in part i think these minutes reflect a backpedalling on that aggressive move that began in september that was premature. we never did get to our 2% rate and we still have a tight labour market in the united states as well. wage and salary growth continues to be at a strong clip of four % year over

year. so the mention of the incoming administration and the policies that may or may not be implemented, i think is a diversion from what they should have been doing all along, the fact that it is almost three years now that they have not achieved their 2% inflation target. {iii achieved their 296 inflation taruet. , , achieved their 296 inflation taruet. , ., target. of course they say now that they will _ target. of course they say now that they will have _ target. of course they say now that they will have to - target. of course they say now that they will have to hold - target. of course they say now that they will have to hold forl that they will have to hold for several months to see what the new trump administration means, tariffs and the impact that will have. wait and see if there is an inflationary effect, et cetera. are you along the lines of thinking the next rate cut may come injuly, some of this year? next rate cut may come in july, some of this year?— some of this year? there is significant _ some of this year? there is significant uncertainty - some of this year? there is significant uncertainty on . some of this year? there is i significant uncertainty on the fiscal policy side not necessarily reflected in the minutes is the realisation that the job was not completed, that

they did not get there inflation target and they started cutting sooner than they should have stop they were not copter that and so the change in administration and uncertainty there is a good sort of cover for the decision that, hey, we began cutting too soon, the inflationjob is not yet finished, the let's put our foot on the brake. to yet finished, the let's put our foot on the brake.— foot on the brake. to be fair to jerome — foot on the brake. to be fair to jerome powell _ foot on the brake. to be fair to jerome powell and - foot on the brake. to be fair to jerome powell and his . foot on the brake. to be fair. to jerome powell and his team tojerome powell and his team they were under pressure to cut way before. they were holding back for quite a while. the? back for quite a while. they are sunposed _ back for quite a while. they are supposed to _ back for quite a while. they are supposed to be - back for quite a while. they are supposed to be free - back for quite a while. they are supposed to be free ofl are supposed to be free of political pressure, whether thatis political pressure, whether that is true or not, you know, i think there was a lot of cherry picking of the us data the softness, and it is really not there when you look at the larger picture. i think we should not pursue with rate cuts until we see what progress we make in the months ahead. doctor sean snakes, thank you.

donald trump's tariff policies are likely to have a significant impact on asia. in his previous term the picture wasn't entirely bleak — with some countries benefitting from us—china tensions. but the stakes are higher this time as the president—elect has promised a 20% tax on all us imports. katie silver takes a look at how businesses in the region are adapting. when it comes tojohn's tariffs for asia there are pros and cons. during his last presidency was reallyjust china and the firing mark line and other countries in the region and are fitted such as vietnam and india as they became alternative destinations for american companies to make their products. look at how the us trade balance with vietnam has changed over the last ten years. there are good years and bad but there does seem to be a trend in general. something known as friend shoring where countries trade with other countries trade with other countries who are their friends rather than their foes. this

time around the president—elect has suggested he may place a 20% tariff on all goods from abroad when he takes office again. abroad when he takes office a . ain. ~ abroad when he takes office aaain. ~ , ., ., , , again. when you have these very larae again. when you have these very large players _ again. when you have these very large players who _ again. when you have these very large players who are _ again. when you have these very large players who are clearly - large players who are clearly deciding that the rules no longer apply, the rules that we have been used to no longer apply, that sets up a law of the jungle apply, that sets up a law of thejungle and apply, that sets up a law of the jungle and that will be problematic for the rest of the planet as well, especially for small developing countries because when you have law of the jungle, because when you have law of thejungle, small because when you have law of the jungle, small players tend to be eaten.— to be eaten. and for china, thins to be eaten. and for china, things look— to be eaten. and for china, things look even _ to be eaten. and for china, things look even tougher. i things look even tougher. donald trump is threatened tariffs of 60% on all goods from there. deborah elms says it keeps her up at night. i think people are much too calm about that. if you learned anything from trump one it is that trade and tariffs matter to him, personally. and you should expect him to do what he says, especially in the trade and tariffs space. the replications _ and tariffs space. the replications are - and tariffs space. the

replications are felt i and tariffs space. the - replications are felt across asia. anthony chow runs a company that makes digital smart locks for homes so people do not need to use keys. it is headquartered in singapore that has an office in the united states and factories across asia including in china. with the pandemic and supply chain shocks they opened up companies that make factories in malaysia vietnam and south korea but most production still comes from china. would you move any manufacturing to the united states? ~ , ., ., states? we saw before about mexico but — states? we saw before about mexico but the _ states? we saw before about mexico but the tariffs - states? we saw before about mexico but the tariffs will. mexico but the tariffs will probably rise in mexico as well so we're at a couple of manufacturing partners in the region. are you nervous about this? for us it is always important to plan for the future, plan for the western hope for the best. we are not the only company facing this challenge. every other manufacturing company around the world is thinking about this and... ._

the world is thinking about this and... . they are trying to diversify _ this and... . they are trying to diversify manufacturing i to diversify manufacturing outside china or scrambling to unlock with a second trump presidency will bring. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

to the world's second biggest economy now. china has released its latest inflation data this morning and unlike many other parts of the world, it's not a cost of living crisis that the authorities there are worried about — it's actually prices not rising fast enough. mariko oi has been crunching the numbers for us in our asia business hub. tell us more. as you know there are two types of inflation data that we are looking at. one is the consumer price index, basically how much ordinary consumers paid which showed a very modest gain in price of 0.1% last month compared to

last december. if you compare that to november, prices did not rise orfall that to november, prices did not rise or fall because the data base came in flat so that is news because between october and november prices fell by 0.6% and when prices fall, deflation, consumers tend to wait even longer before spending money. but if you look at the other inflation measure, the producer price index which is how much producers at factories pay, prices fell for 27 months in a row and the decline in december was 2.3%, quite steep. that is just one of many challenges facing the world's second biggest economy including the prolonged housing crisis that we have been talking about hitting demand despite baiting's ramping up a stimulus to try and revive the consumer sector. interestingly there was a report on the most wall street journal this week has that make about the disciplining of an economist who questioned the chinese rate

of growth. he says to .5% instead of 5% as the official data states. this goes to show how sensitive this topic of a chronic troubles are.- chronic troubles are. talk is throuuh chronic troubles are. talk is through some _ chronic troubles are. talk is through some ways - chronic troubles are. talk is through some ways the - through some ways the authorities are trying to get consumers to spend more? it is a fascinating — consumers to spend more? it 3 a fascinating scheme. the chinese government basically has a list of products that people can trade in to get a discount of as much as 20% on a new product. so if you are thinking of maybe buying a new television, you get encouraged because you may get a discount by bringing in the old product. the scheme began in march and initially it included expensive items like notjust a tv but phones, tablets, smart watches as well as cars but now the list includes kitchen items like microwave ovens,

dishwashers, rice cookers and world purifiers. not exactly expensive items at beijing's has put aside $11 billion for the scheme and china's planning body has said the schemes have already produced visible effects but some economists have questioned whether that is enough to significantly increase consumer consumption. we shall keep a close eye. thank you and we will see you again soon. the us secretary of state anthony blinken is set to meet france's foreign minister jean—noel barrot in paris today to discuss relations between syria and the west. rebel forces toppled longtime ruler bashar al—assad last month and while syria's leadership has high hopes of building a better future for the country, sanctions imposed under the previous regime, are hindering progress. jean—noel barrot told french public radio on wednesday that there were ongoing discussions with eu partners about the possibility of lifting some sanctions. it comes as international flights resumed at damascus airport on tuesday for the first time since the fall of bashar al—assad, including the first direct flight from doha in 13 years.

passengers were met by a party atmosphere in the arrivals hall. staff from the country's airlines syrianair and cham wings, both of which are still under us treasury sanctions for transporting mercenaries and weapons, and for other forms of trafficking under assad, told reporters they are optimistic that new flight routes could soon open up. so is this an early sign that the country's economy can be rebuilt post—assad ? dr shamel azmeh is senior lecturer in international development at the university of manchester welcome to bbc news. now as we mentioned there the new government, the new leadership which in itself is forming has an enormous task ahead. huge challenges. talk us through what that looks like.-

challenges. talk us through what that looks like. thank you for having _ what that looks like. thank you for having me. _ what that looks like. thank you for having me. the _ what that looks like. thank you for having me. the first - what that looks like. thank you for having me. the first point i for having me. the first point to note, maybe is that this is an unlikely political situation in the sense that this is an interim government that is leading to a transitional government that the economic challenge in the social challenge in the social challenge cannot really wait or will have to take priority as these processes go forward. so these processes go forward. so the scale of the challenge is enormous in terms of the economic situation of the country, that is dire in terms of basic infrastructure, food, welfare, social services et cetera. especially the case now that there is an expectation that there is an expectation that syrian refugees, especially from neighbouring countries, from turkiye and lebanon, from jordan and from refugee camps in the north—west of syria will start to go home which will create more demand for services but also more demand forjobs and economic opportunity. the estimate of refugees in those countries, 5 million or more. so the scale

of the challenge is huge in terms of meeting basic needs and creating an economy that can support the population, especially with expectations of syrians rising today as they expect improvement in living standards. in expect improvement in living standards-— standards. in terms of the money required _ standards. in terms of the money required to - standards. in terms of the | money required to rebuild, standards. in terms of the - money required to rebuild, as you have explained, it is a huge task that will cost a lot. where will that money come from and what is the situation at the moment in regard to sanctions?— the moment in regard to sanctions? ~ , ., sanctions? as you pointed out we started _ sanctions? as you pointed out we started hearing _ sanctions? as you pointed out we started hearing about - we started hearing about sanctions relief and that is one way to think about removing barriers to aid or investments but there is also a need for a broader effort around providing assistance and aid. so far we have seen some efforts by some regional powers and economic powers such as saudi arabia and qatar but there is a need for broader international effort around this issue and it is important to may be noted that it does not necessarily have to come in the form of aid or

assistance there are also opportunities for other types of assistance. see the eu was a huge consumer market, close to syria. there is a possibility of having some sort of market access could have emerging industries to expand and export to the eu especially with many syrians now who live there. these kind of ideas can also come into play.— come into play. and 'ust briefly. i come into play. and 'ust briefly, doctor, �* come into play. and 'ust briefly, doctor, howh come into play. and just - briefly, doctor, how hopeful are you that the outlook for syria? it are you that the outlook for s ria? , ' . are you that the outlook for s ria? , , . ., are you that the outlook for sria? , '. syria? it is difficult to say. i think most _ syria? it is difficult to say. i think most people - syria? it is difficult to say. i think most people are i i think most people are relatively hopeful with the change that we have seen, not necessarily about who was in power or who is capturing power now but the fact that there is a new political process and people are going back, there is a new debate emerging around the country and hopefully with support from broad this canned shape the future for a more

broad base and inclusive political and economic system in the country but it is difficult to say at the moment. something that we are keeping a close eye on. thank you. the boss of volvo group — one of sweden's biggest manufacturers — has called for higher public infrastructure investment to support more sustainable transport. volvo — not the volvo car manufacturer — builds lorries, buses, construction vehicles and marine transmission systems. speaking to our business reporter david waddell from ces in las vegas, ceo martin lundstedt argued that thriving societies depend on transport and infrastructure we know that transporting is a key factor for wealth creation i.e. the growth of gdp per capita. but to do that continuously we need to make sure that we are getting rid of the side—effects of congestion and pollution and all of this. if we can drive that together

it will mean good economic growth and also a good sustainable society for tomorrow.— sustainable society for tomorrow. ., tomorrow. and you are calling for public _ tomorrow. and you are calling for public investment, - tomorrow. and you are calling for public investment, more i for public investment, more public investment. what kind of infrastructure investment would you like to see? if infrastructure investment would you like to see?— you like to see? if we are serious — you like to see? if we are serious about _ you like to see? if we are serious about the - serious about the transformation or transportation we need to have a co—ordinated effort. there are many different variables in this equation. we have availability of products and solutions today but we need also to have a comprehensive network of charging stations and grid capacity and generation of green energy. how does artificial intelligence way on your product line up in 25? we have two, almost 2 million connected vehicles and machines around the globe and we are collecting enormous amounts of data and thereby also in able to synthesise and

understand different patterns when it comes to proactive maintenance, when it comes to further optimising fuel consumption and safety et cetera. we topped that of course and what we are seeing other different levels of self learning when it comes to both autonomous in terms of behaviour but also when it comes to safety patterns et cetera. what do you see is the most promising energy drive system for the vehicles you specialising? it system for the vehicles you specialising?— specialising? it is difficult to say because _ specialising? it is difficult to say because it - specialising? it is difficult to say because it is - specialising? it is difficult to say because it is not i specialising? it is difficult i to say because it is notjust about technology in itself as we have discussed it is about the charging and refuelling infrastructure, about grid or energy capacity et cetera and it is a regional difference. so we have a 3—part approach, battery electric, we are going hydro and power self fuel electric with the same electric drivetrain and we are

continuing to invest in the combustion technology but with renewables such as biogas and also hydrogen for combustion technology. how concerned are you about the potential impact of tariffs on your business especially from the united states? from a global perspective we have a strong regional end to end footprint in north america and the united states in particular. the total sales for the group in north america accounts forjust north of 30% of our total top line so we have a fully fledged and when value chain in north america. primarily we are building our trucks in the united states. so the direct impact is low there but obviously we are following, as everyone else, what type of influence that will have on global trade. stay with us here on bbc news

hello there. this cold, icy weather set to continue for the rest of the working week. we've also had some fairly disruptive snow across parts of southern england, areas that haven't seen any snow for during this cold spell so far. so we continue with the sharp overnight frosts, further snow and ice in places, mainly around coasts, but as we head into the weekend, finally start to see a change to something less cold. as that area of low pressure clears away from the south, which brought the sleet and snow to southern england, it will leave a legacy of ice here. but there will be further sleet and snow showers across northern scotland, northern ireland, some into north and west wales, and ice could be a problem here, as well, but for most, it's going to be a very cold, frosty start, with plenty of sunshine, as we head into the afternoon, most places staying dry. but despite the sunshine, after that very cold start, temperatures will struggle to get much above two or three degrees. we could reach four degrees, or maybe even five degrees

across the south west. these will be the warmest spots, but it's a cold day, generally. as we head through thursday night, temperatures fall like a stone under the clear skies. further wintry showers across northern and eastern coastal areas, and those temperatures really dip away. in fact, thursday night could be the coldest night of this spell so far, perhaps down to —17, or maybe even lower than that, across the snowfields of scotland. for most, though, these are the towns and city values. something a little less cold for the far south west. that's because we start to see a change. as we head into friday, this weather front will start to edge northwards and eastwards, very slowly pushing into this area of high pressure and it will tend to fizzle out. so it's the south—west of england, south wales will see the cloud, maybe some sleet and snow. for most, though, apart from a few coastal wintry showers, it's going to be a cold, dry, sunny day, and again those temperatures struggling, after that very cold start. friday afternoon, we're looking at freezing to around two

or three degrees, but something less cold there for plymouth, and then that's the theme as we head into the weekend. this area of high pressure will bring quite a bit of sunshine, but we start to see south—westerly winds pushing in across the uk. that'll start to bring this milder air across scotland, northern ireland, initially, and then gradually across parts of england and wales. here, it will be a slower change. as we head into next week, though, it will be evident. so we're into the low teens, as we head into next week, for scotland and northern ireland, and it'll be slowly getting less cold for england and wales, too. that's it from me.

good morning, welcome to breakfast with nina warhurst and naga munchetty. our headlines today. new wildfires in los angeles break out as the number of confirmed dead rises to five. more than 130,000 people have been evacuated. fires are now burning on hollywood hills close to the famous sign — a major disaster has been declared across the affected area. more snow brings disruption

to the south west of england — as ice grips parts of the uk for another night.