hello, i'm sally bundock with the top business stories. we are now focusing on the top business stories. starting in china, where the us treasury secretary is having what she calls "tough conversations" with counterparts in beijing. in recent days, janet yellen has been meeting senior officials, including the premier, li qiang. both china and the united states have a number of key concerns — much of it rooted in trade tensions which have been gathering pace for years. dr yellen�*s seeking to navigate these issues and smooth a few feathers in beijing. here's our business reporter david waddell. soon after arriving, secretary yellen addressed business leaders in guangzhou and promised to address the oversupply of chinese goods in key industries such

as electric vehicles and solar panels. on sunday she met the chinese premier li qiang and struck an emolient tone. we have put our bilateral relationship on a more stable footing. this is not meant ignoring our differences or avoiding tough conversations. it has meant understanding that we can only make progress if we directly and openly communicate with one another. china's xinhua news agency has accused the united states of fabricating a china threat and criticised washington for erecting trade barriers but the premier mr li seemed optimistic about dr yellen�*s visit. translation: i have read online reports about your visit _ and from the moment you touched down in guangzhou, chinese citizens have been enthusiastic and continually commenting. in fact, this reflects their expectations for the outcome of your visit.

china remains angry at us sanctions on its access to advanced semi—conductors. it says they're designed to suppress its technological development. also concerned us moves to force bytedance to divest the popular tiktok app. for its part, the us is concerned about tensions over taiwan and in the south china sea. china claims taiwan as an inherent part of its own territory and ownership of some disputed islands in the south china sea. we're witnessing something of a reproachment, but everything could change later this year if president trump is returned to the white house. joining me now is duncan wrigley, chief china economist at pantheon macroeconomics. good to see you again. let's talk about talent yellen and her visit so far, her second time she has been since she has been the treasury secretary. has she been getting on? she has one

has she been getting on? she has gone back, _ has she been getting on? sue: has gone back, meeting has she been getting on? sie: has gone back, meeting old contacts she has worked with before, i think she has established personal relationships with several people, including an architect of the previous round of china's capacity reduction five years ago. she is bringing a message, a blunt message perhaps, that the us has an election coming up and china's exports based on cheap goods, overcapacity, are starting or sort of continuing perhaps to create treat tensions with the us and other countries. this has gone — us and other countries. this has gone on _ us and other countries. this has gone on for _ us and other countries. this has gone on for decades, i us and other countries. this has gone on for decades, made in china, cheap goods flooding everyone else's markets, making life difficult for homegrown manufacturers. when she talks about this, the world would benefit by china reducing access industrial capacity, are they really going to listen? i

think the way to think about it is china has two sets of industries. there is a set of industry which other emerging, electric vehicles, green energy, solar, semiconductors, all that stuff china sees as the industries of the future and investing very heavily. loss of cyber disease for the us. china will keep doing that. there was also the more traditional one, steel, cement, many of these sectors have been hit hard by china's property construction woes and i think we will see some action there from china's onus of interest to try to rein in some of the excess supply and capacity in those traditional sectors. irate those traditional sectors. we have to mention this week, janet yellen is wrapping up her troop now and will be heading back to the us but in the meantime the japanese prime minister is headed to washington and joe biden is

already talking about the fact that he will be talking about china, their aggressive activity in the south china sea. that geopolitics is also going on at the same time pretty much?— going on at the same time pretty much? going on at the same time re much? . , , pretty much? that has been very much a feature _ pretty much? that has been very much a feature of _ pretty much? that has been very much a feature of president - much a feature of president biden and his administration, treating the relationship with china as multifaceted, there can be cooperation and competition in areas like economics but at the same time he has sought to strengthen the us's traditional alliances and geopolitics in asia, with nato, around the world and that is part of the strategy of the us with those interests.- with those interests. good to see ou with those interests. good to see you again- _ with those interests. good to see you again. see _ with those interests. good to see you again. see you - with those interests. good to see you again. see you againi see you again. see you again soon perhaps. food inflation has fallen sharply amongst advanced economies, hitting its lowest level since before russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine two years ago.

food prices, especially amongst staple products such as milk, bread, eggs and oil, have been a key driver of consumer price inflation but that's now easing off, to 5.3% among the oecd's 38 member countries. that's down from a peak of 16% in november 2022. live now to janet mui, head of market analysis at rbc brewin dolphin. good morning. we assume this is good news, do we?— good morning. we assume this is good news, do we? thank you for havin: good news, do we? thank you for having me- _ good news, do we? thank you for having me. from _ good news, do we? thank you for having me. from a _ good news, do we? thank you for having me. from a consumers - having me. from a consumers perspective, this is great news because he remember a year ago the inflation is almost 20% in the inflation is almost 20% in the uk and now we're down to about inflation and obviously prices are still going up, it isjust they are prices are still going up, it is just they are going up at a slower pace. that is good progress from where we came

from a since the war with ukraine. fix. from a since the war with ukraine-— from a since the war with ukraine. �* ., ., ,, , ukraine. a lot of issues in the food sector— ukraine. a lot of issues in the food sector that _ ukraine. a lot of issues in the food sector that will - ukraine. a lot of issues in the food sector that will keep - food sector that will keep prices high, the issues with agriculture, extreme weather, fertiliser shortages, cocoa prices are record highs. still a lot of problems out there? you are right, food prices are always influenced by supply factors which could be quite unpredictable, so we had a falls with the wheat prices because there has been a bumper harvest in russia and also good export from ukraine, which are one of the largest producers. that is good news but these cannot always be guaranteed, it is always influenced by weather. some of the commodities like vegetable oils, recently prices have picked up there and also cocoa prices, we know that prices have surged, double this year alone and tripled in the past 12 months. although this is not a stable product, itjust tells you how volatile these prices

can be. ,., ., you how volatile these prices can be. ., i. ., ~ can be. good to get your take and thank _ can be. good to get your take and thank you _ can be. good to get your take and thank you for _ can be. good to get your take and thank you for getting - can be. good to get your take and thank you for getting up | can be. good to get your take i and thank you for getting up so early. let's get some of the day's other news now. airline regulators in the us have begun an investigation after an engine cowling on a boeing 737—800 fell off during take—off and struck a wing flap. the southwest airlines flight was forced to return to denver international airport after originally departing to houston. the aircraft had 135 passengers and six crew members on board. no—one was injured. this latest incident comes as boeing grapples with the aftermath of another in january when a door panel blew out midair during an alaska airlines flight. since then, boeing has been at the centre of several safety investigations — the company's share price has fallen 27% and it's looking for a new ceo after chief executive dave calhoun's recent announcement he will retire towards the end of the year. here in the uk, a third day of rolling strike action by train drivers

will hit commuters today. these are the nine operators which will have services disrupted, including the gatwick express to and from london victoria. passengers are being advised to check what's running before they leave home and to make only necessaryjourneys. something we've said many times this year is it is a big one for general elections. well, campaigning is well under way in mexico with the first presidential debate taking place last night. the general election is in june. in a country renowned for its machismo image and its high levels of gender—based violence, it may come as a surprise that mexico's next president is almost certain to be a woman. the two women leading the polls are claudia sheinbaum, backed by the incumbent morena party, and senator sochital galvez, who is a fierce critic

of the current government. so, what can we expect? live now tojimena blanco, chief analyst and head of americas research for the global risk intelligence company verisk maplecroft. good to see you. this is really interesting, tell us about these women, what do you know? one of the certainties we have about the mexican election this year is that mexico is electing its first female president and for that matter, north america will get its first female president. security is of course top of the list for both candidates and anyone seeking office in mexico because it is not only the top concern for voters but it will be an issue that will play very strongly between the next mexican president and the next us president, whether that is right in ortrump. president, whether that is right in or trump. focusing on

that will be key throughout the campaign but, of course, the economy, they have very different views on how to develop the mexican economy and again a very strong component in there is a relationship with the united states. other social issues around healthcare and welfare programmes are key concerns for mexican voters moving forward.— concerns for mexican voters moving forward. the fact that it is two women _ moving forward. the fact that it is two women going - moving forward. the fact that it is two women going head . moving forward. the fact that | it is two women going head to head to become the next president of mexico, as you said, is historic on so many levels. what does it mean for mexico going forward? you say they have quite different ideas when it comes to the economy. talk us through them. ii when it comes to the economy. talk us through them.- talk us through them. if we look at who _ talk us through them. if we look at who was _ talk us through them. if we look at who was leading - talk us through them. if we j look at who was leading the polls, claudia sheinbaum, the current president protege and she of course would maintain the current economic policies. spending and sustaining welfare programmes, which sochital galvez also supports, it is

quite difficult for mexico at the moment and the gdp ratio is a three decade record at the moment. however comes in next will have to rethink about where they will get more revenue from, whereas ensuring less tax evasion or collecting more taxes through a tax reform. either one of those paths will be quite challenging to implement. the relationship with the us _ to implement. the relationship with the us is _ to implement. the relationship with the us is critical _ to implement. the relationship with the us is critical and - to implement. the relationship with the us is critical and it - with the us is critical and it has an election in november. we could see donald trump back in office possibly. talk us through what that would mean for mexico?— for mexico? i've course the personal— for mexico? i've course the personal relationship - for mexico? i've course the i personal relationship between whoever wins on both sides will be crucial and we could not see this more when we saw the current president and the former president trump together, their personalities were crucial in terms of how the relationship went ahead.

security will be the main battleground in terms of not only its affecting the fentanyl crisis in the us but also migration patterns and the control of migration through the bilateral border. that is where we see a higher risk of tension arising from a clash of personalities, whether claudia sheinbaum or sochital galvez and donald trump, all three of them have strong characters, so them have strong characters, so the risk of tension is rising when handling security issues is highly likely. irate when handling security issues is highly likely.— is highly likely. we will watch with great — is highly likely. we will watch with great interest. _ is highly likely. we will watch with great interest. thank- is highly likely. we will watch | with great interest. thank you for your expertise on this. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

lets crack on with the business

stories. thailand is pushing an initiative for a joint visa program to support the asian tourist industry. it would involve six countries that together hosted about 70 million tourists last year. thailand is heavily reliant on tourism, an industry that supports about one in five jobs in the country. live now to suranjana tewari in our asia business hub. how would this work? what does it mean? ., ., ., it mean? you mentioned that fiaure of it mean? you mentioned that figure of 70 _ it mean? you mentioned that figure of 70 million _ it mean? you mentioned that figure of 70 million tourists i figure of 70 million tourists that the region saw in a 2023 with the goal is to beat those free pandemic levels. tourism suffered during those years when it borders were closed. now the government in thailand is pitching to target more long haul and a high spend travellers to boost the tourism industry, and this has been essential to the new mandate since the government took

office a few months ago. they have also promised to make thailand in aviation and logistic harbour as well as a leading ev manufacturer. the visa, the way it would work is something like the visa in europe, covering countries in the region like cambodia, malaysia, myanmarand the region like cambodia, malaysia, myanmar and vietnam, and thailand's pm says he discussed the idea with his counterparts in those countries and he says they are open to the idea. many of these countries have already announced visa free travel in the last few months and that would give a boost to the tourism industry and what they are really looking for is for the return of chinese tourists because they often travel in the south east asia region. in thailand, tourism accounts for 20% ofjobs and makes up around 12% of 20% ofjobs and makes up around i2% of the 20% ofjobs and makes up around 12% of the $500 20% ofjobs and makes up around i2% of the $500 billion economy, and with exports and global demand for goods,

traditional sectors like manufacturing are not doing so well, so thailand is really hoping this visa would boost the tourism sector and potentially business travel as well. ., ., potentially business travel as well. . ~ , ., now, here's a stat for you — just i% of textile waste is recycled into new clothes. the fashion industry is the second—biggest industrial polluter, accounting for 10% of global pollution, much higher than air travel emissions. when factoring in the entire lifecycle of a garment, 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions are released by the fashion industry every year according to the carbon literacy project. amongst others, the british menswear designer oliver spencer is zoning in on the issue and told me he wants to see the industry move away from fast fashion. so what we're trying to do is to encourage, and it is big piece of education, our customers to bring their clothing back to

us when they finished with it. and then we will decide on what the afterlife process is for that piece of clothing. the idea was to tell our customer, look, if you finished with something, you might have bought something you don't really wear that much or it might be threadbare and you've worn it to absolute death, because we use a lot of very pure fabrics, we can offer many different types of end—use for the clothing. so, yes, we're encouraging and educating, trying to educate, our customers that this is a really good idea. what will encourage them to make that move — to physically come to your shops to hand things back in or actually make the effort to post things back to you, what's the encouragement to do that? first and foremost, they're being responsible. so that in itself is going to be part, i hope it will become

part, of their everyday habits as far as clothing is concerned. and secondly we'll be offering them a discount on their next purchase. the fashion industry is a huge polluter and many organisations within it, big and small, such as yourselves, are extremely aware of that and trying to take action. to what extent do you think you can impact the narrative on that? well, i'm hoping to impact the narrative in a very — in a fairly major way. i'm definitely wanting to talk to especially online businesses that are sending out, perhaps, six or seven dresses to somebody and the customer is only taking one and then the dresses are not returned to the company, they're actually put directly into landfill. so that — there's two things here — there's the one thing is you need to say to the high street simply that's wrong. and secondly — we need to educate the customer

otherwise a lot of these businesses are finding it too expensive to recycle that unwanted product. that is embarrassing and shameful. do you think the consumer is becoming more climate conscious? shat consumer is becoming more climate conscious?- consumer is becoming more climate conscious? at a certain and, climate conscious? at a certain and. yes- _ climate conscious? at a certain and. yes- at — climate conscious? at a certain and, yes. at the _ climate conscious? at a certain and, yes. at the other - climate conscious? at a certain and, yes. at the other end, - climate conscious? at a certain and, yes. at the other end, i l and, yes. at the other end, i don't know, i think they think they are climate conscious phenomena comes to going out on a friday night. haifa phenomena comes to going out on a friday night-— a friday night. how much green washin: a friday night. how much green washing is _ a friday night. how much green washing is there _ a friday night. how much green washing is there when - a friday night. how much green washing is there when it - a friday night. how much green washing is there when it comes| washing is there when it comes to the fashion industry? the big problem _ to the fashion industry? tie: big problem right now to the fashion industry? ti2 big problem right now is the fact that the ceo of a big business wants to make the right decision but the financial controller of the business and probably a number of the shareholders look at the ceo is like he is absolutely

mad, because at the end of the day to recycle clothing costs money, and has to be part our responsibility. it will become a legislation in those companies that do not keep up with that legislation will get themselves into trouble over themselves into trouble over the long run. themselves into trouble over the long run-— the long run. oliver spencer there. the long run. oliver spencer there- a _ the long run. oliver spencer there. a huge _ the long run. oliver spencer there. a huge debate, - the long run. oliver spencer there. a huge debate, the l there. a huge debate, the fashion industry and sustainability, one that we cover many times on this programme. let's stay on the theme. small businesses are the lifeblood of many economies, representing nine in ten of the world's businesses and employing half of all workers. according to the world bank, there are around 400 million small businesses worldwide. technology has dramatically changed the lives of small businesses, helping to ease the burden of admin such as payroll, accounting and invoicing. the advancing in technology has

been a huge blessing. set up in new zealand, xero is a specialist in online accounting software, particuarly for small business. and the company's ceo, sukhinder singh cassidy, joins me now live from san francisco. welcome to the programme. my dad had his own business and i used to help with his account and i also did my late husband's account i have to say that technology is a huge blessing with accounts. i could not agree _ blessing with accounts. i could not agree more. _ blessing with accounts. i could not agree more. i _ blessing with accounts. i could not agree more. i also - blessing with accounts. i could not agree more. i also did - blessing with accounts. i could not agree more. i also did my| not agree more. i also did my dad's books when i was young. a built him a spreadsheet to help digitise something like 25 years ago, so thank the lord for xero and a cloud accounting which makes the process so much easier for which makes the process so much easierfor small which makes the process so much easier for small businesses in their accountants and bookkeepers. it their accountants and bookkeepers.- their accountants and bookkeeers. ., . , bookkeepers. it also eliminates human error— bookkeepers. it also eliminates human error and _ bookkeepers. it also eliminates human error and i _ bookkeepers. it also eliminates human error and i did _ bookkeepers. it also eliminates human error and i did make - human errorand i did make mistakes which were an issue at the time, fractions within the family. talk us through the

small businesses and the decisions on this because there are your company but many companies out there, it is knowing which one is right, which one will be the most effective for their business. talk us through you serve? shat talk us through you serve? git xero our core customer is small businesses with 1—20 employees. we also serve sole proprietors and larger businesses but that is a sweetspot and whether in the uk, australia, new zealand, canada or the us, south africa, 180 is around the world, we provide software you can get online or through your accountant that helps you to three or four rubyjobs. accountant that helps you to three orfour rubyjobs. your bookkeeping, your taxes and tax filing, getting the important insights on athletics on your cash flow, on your invoices, and invoicing is anotherjob we do for customers as well as payroll. the advantage is having all these differentjobs

in and around operating your small business that they all integrate seamlessly with your core accounting system. i5 integrate seamlessly with your core accounting system. is it expensive? _ core accounting system. is it expensive? these _ core accounting system. is it expensive? these small- expensive? these small businesses, you are competing for their business, is it mainly about what it will cost them? , , ., ., ~' mainly about what it will cost them? , , ., ., ~ ., them? interestingly looking at small businesses _ them? interestingly looking at small businesses they - them? interestingly looking at small businesses they say - them? interestingly looking at. small businesses they say there price they pay is a fraction of a value they go back in time of release and things like being able to collect cash faster. tense, 20s, 30s, 40s of dollars or pounds a month, so a fairly affordable product and what it does is give back time.- does is give back time. we're almost out — does is give back time. we're almost out of _ does is give back time. we're almost out of time. _ does is give back time. we're almost out of time. people i does is give back time. we're l almost out of time. people are concerned about security and that be a big concern, for a small business that cannot afford, no big department to deal with hacking or anything like that? fit deal with hacking or anything like that? _, , . deal with hacking or anything like that? , . .,~ like that? of course. we take data and customer—

like that? of course. we take data and customer privacy - like that? of course. we take l data and customer privacy very seriously as well as cybersecurity, like any cloud accounting software company in the world we are vigilant and invest a lot to protect the customer. invest a lot to protect the customer-— invest a lot to protect the customer. ., ~ ., ., ~ customer. thank you for talking to us, customer. thank you for talking to us. good _ customer. thank you for talking to us. good to _ customer. thank you for talking to us, good to hear— customer. thank you for talking to us, good to hear about - customer. thank you for talking to us, good to hear about xero. that brings to a close the programme. have a lovely day and i will see you soon. hello, there. it certainly was a windy weekend, but the winds are going to be a lot lighter on monday, and that's because storm kathleen, to the north of scotland, is weakening and moving away. but we are seeing more cloud coming in from the south across england and wales, and this area of low pressure is taking a bit of rain northwards, as well. clearer skies, scotland and northern ireland, will mean a chilly start here. we've got the early rain in north wales and northern england moving northwards and largely petering out across southern scotland. later in the day, we'll see some rain arriving in northern ireland. this rain in the southwest of england pushes back into wales, and some showery bursts of rain arrive in southern england and later into the midlands. but ahead of that,

we'll get some sunshine for a while in the midlands and eastern england, so temperatures back up to a healthy 17 or 18 degrees. now, if you're hoping to get a view of the partial solar eclipse in northern and western parts of the uk, well, it could be spoiled by all this cloud that's coming in, and the outbreaks of rain, as well. now, we've seen the back of one area of low pressure, but there's another one arriving. this is one that's going to sit around overnight and into tuesday, and it's going to take the rain northwards, all the way into scotland by tuesday morning. the rain, curving back into england and wales around the low, turning to drift away eastwards into the north sea, allowing brighter, but more showery weather to come into southern and western areas, and the winds will be picking up, as well. we're looking at gale—force winds around some southern and western coasts of england and wales, and with the winds picking up, and that cloud and showery rain around, temperatures are going to be a lot lower. it's going to be a cooler day on tuesday. our top temperatures are only 11 or 12 degrees, and that's because we're seeing this northwesterly wind picking up on tuesday, into tuesday night.

but i don't think that cool air is going to last long. out in the atlantic, there is milder air, and that's following this weatherfront, which is going to bring cloud and rain in from the west. ahead of that, though, eastern areas starting dry on wednesday, with some early sunshine, but soon clouding over. rain in the west pushes eastwards, heavier rain for a while, northern ireland, the hills and northwest england and also into scotland, lighter rain as you head further south across the uk. but it's gradually getting a little bit warmer on wednesday despite all that cloud — 1a, maybe 15 degrees. but the wind direction is changing — we're getting a southwesterly wind. that is going to bring warmer weather back across the whole of the uk towards the end of the week, and temperatures could be back up to around 20 celsius at best.

good morning, welcome to bbc breakfast. the subpostmasters fighting forjustice return to the village hall where the campaign for the truth began 15 years ago. fenny compton. fenny? compton. just the place to start i really annoying the hell out of the post office.

a huge week for the post office inquiry as it resumes in london. we will bejoined by inquiry as it resumes in london. we will be joined by the post office minister answering the questions of sub—postmaster is in a special edition of bbc breakfast. in other news... a manhunt continues for the person suspected of fatally stabbing a woman in bradford, while she was pushing a baby in a pram. cheers ofjoy — after running from one end of africa to the other, the hardest geezer has finally completed his year—long epic marathon. the state pension is rising from today, but it will drag some into paying pension tax. could that be you? we take a look. witnessing history — millions of people in north america are preparing to experience a total solar eclipse. in sport, a mistake from liverpool in the most exciting title race in years as they draw with rivals manchester united, but should it have been a win at old trafford?