it does look like we have turned the corner. that is encouraging. the bank of england governor sounds an optimistic note on interest rates as the bank leaves them on hold yet again. without those international students, many of those ma courses and masters courses would not be feasible, would not exist. a former president of the confederation of british industry slams the government for moves to do away with post—graduate work visas. does this represent the �*destruction of the human experience�*? the new apple advert leaves a bad taste.

and we'll be looking ahead to the eurovision song contest with a special report from the host city — malmo. live from london this is business today — i'm lukwesa burak. later this morning the uk's first quarter growth figures will be published. the uk economy grew slightly in february increasing hopes it is on its way out of recession, just. the economy grew by 0.1% boosted by production and manufacturing in areas such as the car industry. on thursday, the bank of england boss said the monetary policy committee needs to "see more evidence" that price rises have slowed — before cutting interest rates. governor andrew bailey said, he was "optimistic that things are moving in the right direction" as rates were held at 5.25%.

i think it is. i am encouraged by all of this. very encouraged that again we have to achieve an inflation target that is sustainable. that is ourjob and what we do. the news is encouraging. and what we do. the news is encouraging-— and what we do. the news is encouraging. clearly you expect that tomorrow _ encouraging. clearly you expect that tomorrow we _ encouraging. clearly you expect that tomorrow we have - that tomorrow we have confirmation with come out of the mild — confirmation with come out of the mild recession. is the economy— the mild recession. is the economy in general turning a corner? — economy in general turning a corner? . , , ., economy in general turning a corner? . ,, ., , corner? the recession was very mild last year. _ corner? the recession was very mild last year. in _ corner? the recession was very mild last year. in fact - corner? the recession was very mild last year. in fact we - corner? the recession was very mild last year. in fact we have l mild last year. in fact we have records going back to the 1970s and it looks like our mildest recession. it does look like we will turn a corner and we will know tomorrow when the official data. i think that is encouraging. we do get, i must say, different interpretations. we get one interpretation from surveys that are done and our around the country we have had

around the country we have had a cautionary note in saying that when we talk to business and i do a lot of that. i'll be in scotland tomorrow doing that, it is not quite as positive as surveys suggest that it positive as surveys suggest thatitis positive as surveys suggest that it is still a story. the economy is now growing into a gradual growth phase. we've seen an historic fall in living standards that is extraordinary and has not worked its way out. not turned that around. household real income is growing strongly in the country. that is good news, obviously. i was have to say, because it is important, it is not evenly distributed. it is more concentrated at the upper end of the income distribution than the lower end and that is a concern obviously. we should be alert to that. in aggregate we see household income turnaround. see a strong increase in the saving rate in the second half of last year.

interestingly we saw a mild recession in the second half of last year and household real income increase but we also saw a shopper turn on the savings rates. seeing some change in that pattern now i think. live now to simon french, chief economist, at panmure gordon. hello to you, simon. first off, what are your expectations of what are your expectations of what could be released today? we are confident of a rebound in uk growth from a poor fourth quarter whether economy contracted. markets are looking for 4% which takes us back, basically, to a uk economy that existed in the middle of last year. the key is whether the economy can then kick on through the year and the end of the year because as we found out yesterday, they expect the economy to only grow 0.5% for the whole of 2024 which is about one quarter of its normal pace of growth. the

about one quarter of its normal pace of growth-— pace of growth. the bank of encland pace of growth. the bank of england say _ pace of growth. the bank of england say they _ pace of growth. the bank of england say they need - pace of growth. the bank of england say they need to i pace of growth. the bank of. england say they need to see more evidence and more data. there are one or two datasets they are concerned about and one of those is the job figures. take us through that. there is concern at the bank of england that the labour force survey used in the uk to calculate the unemployment rate is struggling for from a poor response rate. that sounds quite technical but what that, the problem is that does not give a great message to the bankers as to what the appropriate interest rate is. is the economy going up or is it steady or is it declining? there is uncertainty on that and similarly on the wages picture. it is a volatile figure. essentially a bit more weight, not so much onjobs data but on services inflation which is a decent proxy because services is composed of prices and composed by wages. that may

give a better view of what the underlying inflation is in the uk. ., ~ underlying inflation is in the uk. ., ~ , underlying inflation is in the uk. . y . underlying inflation is in the uk. thank you very much. those gd pickers _ uk. thank you very much. those gd pickers are — uk. thank you very much. those gd pickers are being _ uk. thank you very much. those gd pickers are being released i gd pickers are being released later today. gd pickers are being released latertoday. —— gd pickers are being released later today. —— gdp figures. a former president of the cbi — the cross—bench peer lord bilimoria — has slammed the government for moves to do away with two—year post—graduate work visas. lord bilimoria told bbc business today that the threat of these visas being taken away would be "hugely damaging". the review was announced by the home secretary james cleverly in march. lord bilimoria also urged the home office to take international students out of net migration figures, which have soared in recent years to record levels. speaking to the bbc�*s david waddell he explained his concerns. the whole of the university sector is extremely concerned that there has been this rushed review by the migration advisory committee on the graduate route. we are

competing with america and canada, with australia and with european countries, many of whom offer very attractive post— graduation work opportunities and is a former international student myself i know how important it is to have the opportunity to work for two years, to be able to help pay for the education in the uk which is the best in the world along with america, universities are ranked best in the world, that it is expensive. any threat of it being taken away will be hugely damaging and, already, this government's negative, hostile immigration soundings have had a hit on applications. according to the migration advisory committee a number of international postgraduate students attending institutions with the lowest new cash requirements increased by 250% in the four—year period leading to 2022. that points to a systemic problem, doesn't it? there is a perception that

foreign students take away places from our domestic students. when it comes to undergraduate degrees, foreign students, international students, international students, only make up 15% of our undergraduate student population. they do not take away places from domestic students. when it comes to postgraduate students international students make up more than 40, four 0% of the students in our postgraduate courses. without those international students, many of those ma courses, masters courses would not be feasible, would not exist. i'm the chancellor of the university of birmingham and we are fortunate to be in a strong financial position. not every university is in a strong financial position and have something like this happens it will be hugely destabilising to the whole university sector and i am sorry to say this, i think that the government takes the university sector for granted. home office figures suggest need recent net migration has been at record levels. how does

the government tackle without without dealing with all streams of immigration? the -ublic streams of immigration? the public are — streams of immigration? the public are being _ streams of immigration? tue: public are being scared streams of immigration? tt;e: public are being scared by these high net migration figures, as high as 700,000 net migration figures. the government willjust not listen. i have brought this up on the floor of the house of lords with cross—party support. unanimous support in many cases to take the international students out of the net migration figures. many of our other competitor countries including the united states and australia exclude international students when they present the net migration figures. they are temporary migrants and that is why other countries exclude them. if we excluded the international students from the net migration figures, that 700,000 figure would plummet. in a statement to the bbc the home office said we are fully focused on striking the right balance between acting decisively to tackle net migration and attracting the best and brightest students to study at our universities. recognising the significant

contribution they make to the uk. that is why in march the home secretary commissioned an independent and expert review of the graduate route to prevent any abuse and insurer continues to work on the best interest of the uk and retracts that make attracts and retains the talent our economy needs. today marks the end of china's president xijinping's first tour of europe in 5 years. president xi says he wishes to repair ties with western europe but his stance on russia's war in ukraine as well as economic constraints between beijing and brussels have overshadowed trade efforts. live now to zsuzsanna vegh, who's an analyst at the european council on foreign relations. welcome to the programme. he has travelled five days and three nations. how would you sum up his tour of europe so far? ., , ,

far? out of these five days, xi jininu far? out of these five days, xi jinping spent _ far? out of these five days, xi jinping spent three _ far? out of these five days, xi jinping spent three in - far? out of these five days, xi jinping spent three in hungary jinping spent three in hungary in border pest and meeting with the hungary and government officials and especially with the government. this was a tour to deepen tyres with certain european partners and hungary had a key role in this. hungary plays the role of a gateway of china towards the european union. both in logistical and also industrial terms so this visit also ensured that such ties can be further developed and deepened and particularly with hungary. taste and deepened and particularly with hungary-— and deepened and particularly with hungary. we her president xi talk quite _ with hungary. we her president xi talk quite a _ with hungary. we her president xi talk quite a lot _ with hungary. we her president xi talk quite a lot about - with hungary. we her president

xi talk quite a lot about the - xi talk quite a lot about the new era, the new era. he mentioned it certainlyjust before travelling to see mr 0rban. what is china's new era? what is it tells about his plans for the country? in what is it tells about his plans for the country? in the case of hungary _ plans for the country? in the case of hungary he - plans for the country? in the case of hungary he is - plans for the country? in the case of hungary he is also i case of hungary he is also signing a new all—weather strategic partnership in the new era. this is around the highest forms of cooperation agreements between china and other countries. i believe that xijinping and prime minister 0rban ci to y on how they view —— see eye to eye on how they view developments and the hungarian prime minister is also seeing to build close

cooperation with the growing international partner. tt t international partner. if i could jump _ international partner. if i could jump in _ international partner. if i could jump in quickly, the number of development taking place at the moment and tariffs set the us i think at some point, we also have a number of economic agreements being signed as part of mr xie's trip. some people are saying the only thing that this trip is done is to widen divisions between eu and nato and that was his intention to dig in the case of hungary i believe some of the agreements and directions could potentially become the overall position of the eu. ., , the eu. some of the investment agreements _ the eu. some of the investment agreements that _ the eu. some of the investment agreements that were _ the eu. some of the investmentl agreements that were announced in terms of development of logistical roots such as railways and also investment

into battery and ev sectors primarily serve the interests of china and china's access to the european market. that can put the eu at a disadvantage. and we have seen that over the past years. the hungarian government has been a partner to china in this rather than protecting common european interest. . ., protecting common european interest. ., ~ , ., , protecting common european interest. ., ~ , . interest. thank you very much indeed. an advert promoting apple's new range of ipads has received widespread criticism. the video shows a giant hydraulic press crushing books and musical instruments. the actor hugh grant accused the firm of destroying the human experience. for more on why it has sparked such a backlash, here's the bbc�*s north america business correspondent, michelle fleury.

the ad has only been out for a few days butjudging by their reaction online it hit a nerve to indies spot, objects ranging from a trump, a piano to a turntable, a sculpted bust and lots and lots of paint are all shown being squashed by an enormous metal rubbish compactor into the size of apple's thinnest product ever, the 13 inch ipad pro. critics say the ad celebrates the stifling of creativity rather than encouraging it. even british actor hugh grant weighed in on the social media platform can x labelling it the destruction of the human experience courtesy of silicon valley. justin bateman, a vocal critic of the use of ai in the film industry said the ad was

crushing the arts while songwriter crispin hunt called the act of destroying musical instruments evocative of burning books. the criticism is particular pointed because of concerns, especially in creative industries about artificial intelligence taking people's jobs. artificial intelligence taking people'sjobs. it is artificial intelligence taking people's jobs. it is a rare misstep by the con benee which was behind the famous super bowl advert for its macintosh computers, directed by ridley scott. it featured a dystopian world where conformity dominated and a single individual, representing the apple brand at the time, was seen as resisting. the ad today, well, that conveys the opposite message, according to its critics. which is why it is getting crushed by creatives and consumers. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

artificial intelligence and tech are shaking up the music industry, from songs written by robots — to live performances by avatars. but who stands to profit? the artists, the record labels or the tech giants? my colleague, aaron heslehurst, has been speaking to the boss of the swedish entertainment company behind �*abba voyage�*, per sundin, who started by explaining his instrumental role in the rise of streaming giant spotify. if you go back to 2000, the heydays of selling cds and the music industry had a peak. napster came and eventually pirate bay and into thousand and eight pirate bay was the fifth biggest site on the internet. people who were

downloading across the world and stealing music, stealing video, stealing movies and series like crazy. it was terrible. i had to fire 250 people in the music business. people say no—one cares about you, no—one cares about the corporation, you are dinosaurs and you will cease to exist in the future. and you can see the full interview with per sundin — the pophouse ceo — along with a wider look at the future of the music industry, in this week�*s �*talking business weekly�* here on bbc news. after sweeping to victory in liverpool last year, this week sees sweden stage the eurovision song contest. with 37 countries taking part, and millions of viewers — this is the world�*s biggest singing competition. for musicians it�*s a huge moment in the global spotlight. meanwhile, for the host city malmo, there�*s hope of a long—lasting boost to business. from sweden�*s south coast, adrienne murray reports.

# waterloo, promise to love you forever more. eurovision is a non—profit event — competitors from 37 nations are in the southern city of malmo where only one winner can take it all. months of preparations have gone into staging this huge event. and malmo is hoping to draw in 100,000 visitors for what is billed as a week—long celebration of pop. fans from more than 90 countries are attending three sell—out shows, culminating with the grand finale on saturday.- culminating with the grand finale on saturday. going to the rehearsal _ finale on saturday. going to the rehearsal on _ finale on saturday. going to the rehearsal on thursday, | finale on saturday. going to i the rehearsal on thursday, and the rehearsal on thursday, and the grand jury on friday as well as an event tonight. tt is well as an event tonight. it is the biggest — well as an event tonight. it is the biggest show _ well as an event tonight. it is the biggest show of - well as an event tonight. it is the biggest show of its kind and last year more than 160 million viewers tuned in to watch as sweden took victory.

the glitzy showcase is known for i—hit wonders. but it can be a path to stardom. for1-hit wonders. but it can be a path to stardom.- for 1-hit wonders. but it can be a path to stardom. you reach millions of— be a path to stardom. you reach millions of people _ be a path to stardom. you reach millions of people who - be a path to stardom. you reach millions of people who probably | millions of people who probably would not have listen to your music otherwise. tt would not have listen to your music otherwise.— music otherwise. it is an amazing _ music otherwise. it is an amazing opportunity. i l music otherwise. it is an i amazing opportunity. i started listening — amazing opportunity. i started listening to _ amazing opportunity. i started listening to music— amazing opportunity. i started listening to music a _ amazing opportunity. i started listening to music a few - amazing opportunity. i started listening to music a few yearsl listening to music a few years a-o listening to music a few years ago and — listening to music a few years ago and i_ listening to music a few years ago and i grew— listening to music a few years ago and i grew 1500 - listening to music a few yearsj ago and i grew 1500 followers in three — ago and i grew 1500 followers in three years _ ago and i grew 1500 followers in three years and _ ago and i grew 1500 followers in three years and now- ago and i grew 1500 followers in three years and now that i i in three years and now that i am at — in three years and now that i am at your— in three years and now that i am at your revision - in three years and now that i am at your revision and i in three years and now that i am at your revision and it i in three years and now that i am at your revision and it isi am at your revision and it is all going _ am at your revision and it is all going straight— am at your revision and it is all going straight up. - am at your revision and it is all going straight up. i- am at your revision and it is all going straight up. i think the music— all going straight up. i think the music industry - all going straight up. i think the music industry changes | all going straight up. i thinkl the music industry changes a lightning pace and there are a few opportunities to really get yoursong few opportunities to really get your song out there and get that kind of exposure to hundreds of millions of people in one go. that does not come around very often.— around very often. sweden's national broadcaster - around very often. sweden's. national broadcaster together with the city has spent around $12 million, or £10 million on the event. $12 million, or £10 million on the event-— the event. svt is putting on about the — the event. svt is putting on about the same _ the event. svt is putting on about the same amount i the event. svt is putting on | about the same amount that the event. svt is putting on i about the same amount that we put in last time we did it. and then there is a contribution from the ebu each yearfor the host broadcast and revenue from sponsors and also ticket sales. local businesses are getting

into the spirit in this rural areas marking the occasion with areas marking the occasion with a special beer. taste areas marking the occasion with a special beer.— a special beer. we want to be a art of a special beer. we want to be a part of what — a special beer. we want to be a part of what is _ a special beer. we want to be a part of what is happening i a special beer. we want to be a part of what is happening in i part of what is happening in malmo and being involved in our local community. we need the city to do events like this, to have people come here. they ho -e it have people come here. they hope it will— have people come here. they hope it will attract _ have people come here. they hope it will attract more i hope it will attract more visitors. we have a lot of uk, a lot of southern european countries as well and people as far away as australia stay with us. it is bigger and it puts a small town like malmo on the map. it is the third time malmo is hosting but you revision is now much bigger and officials here are betting on a lasting legacy. tt here are betting on a lasting lea . , . here are betting on a lasting [era _ , ., , here are betting on a lasting lea . , ., , ., . legacy. it is a big deal. we know from _ legacy. it is a big deal. we know from 2013 _ legacy. it is a big deal. we know from 2013 that i legacy. it is a big deal. we know from 2013 that made j legacy. it is a big deal. we i know from 2013 that made a legacy. it is a big deal. we - know from 2013 that made a huge difference for the city. the c onwards has been very good for us. malmo arena has been able to refer to the eurovision song contest when they bid for other events. ., ., ., , ., events. not all hotel rooms are fully booked — events. not all hotel rooms are fully booked and _ events. not all hotel rooms are fully booked and many - events. not all hotel rooms are fully booked and many fans i events. not all hotel rooms are fully booked and many fans are j fully booked and many fans are staying in nearby copenhagen.

and with the war in gaza, some of protesting the inclusion of israel at the event and security is on high alert. how that affects turnout remains to be seen. for many fans here, though, it is all about the pop music and the show must go on. adrian murray, bbc news, malmo. live now to pauljordan who�*s an expert on the song contest and is known as �*dr eurovision�*. a fantastic title there. could you start off by looking at the vitals of the eurovision song contest? it costs a lot of money. can countries afford it? that is a very good question. it does cost a lot of money but it also attracts a lot of investment. thinking about tourism, advertising of the your city and your country, any countries cannot afford this airtime that you revision

affords them and the fact that host cities, that there is a host cities, that there is a host city bid and the fact that people actively try to host this event including liverpool last year, they want to hosted and that shows you what is probably something that countries and cities want to do. ,, , , ' ., , do. sweden spent 12 million, is that right? _ do. sweden spent 12 million, is that right? on _ do. sweden spent 12 million, is that right? on this? _ do. sweden spent 12 million, is that right? on this? really, i that right? on this? really, you do not want to win eurovision.— you do not want to win eurovision. ., ., eurovision. the old father ted e - isode eurovision. the old father ted episode of— eurovision. the old father ted episode of ireland _ eurovision. the old father ted episode of ireland not - eurovision. the old father ted | episode of ireland not wanting to win so many times in a row isa to win so many times in a row is a good investment. it is cheap for your city, for your country. if you think about television, it is expensive and most countries could not afford this airtime that you revision affords them. so, yes, it is expensive, there is investment but in terms of the amount of money spent, a lot more money is spent on the world cup and the olympic games.— is spent on the world cup and the olympic games. good point. do ou the olympic games. good point. do you see _ the olympic games. good point. do you see it _ the olympic games. good point. do you see it evolving _ the olympic games. good point. do you see it evolving into i do you see it evolving into something else, maybe? to try and absorb these costs and

reduce them? broadcasting is changing- _ reduce them? broadcasting is changing. people _ reduce them? broadcasting is changing. people are - reduce them? broadcasting is| changing. people are watching television in different ways. they are streaming, they are downloading, eurovision is very different. it is one time of the year where we make a date with a television set and most people do not watch live television anymore. so i think it will have to evolve. i think it will have to evolve. i think it will have to evolve. i think it will have to change and you certainly see that in social media. eurovision certainly is almost like a second screen now. people are watching things online and we see that with songs that do not necessarily do well but become viral hits as we saw from an entry to or three years ago became a massive hit online but did nothing in the contest. who do ou think nothing in the contest. who do you think will _ nothing in the contest. who do you think will win? _ nothing in the contest. who do you think will win? it _ nothing in the contest. who do you think will win? it is - nothing in the contest. who do you think will win? it is very i you think will win? it is very 0 en. you think will win? it is very open- in _ you think will win? it is very open. in switzerland, i you think will win? it is very l open. in switzerland, croatia, ou are open. in switzerland, croatia, you are not — open. in switzerland, croatia, you are not helping! - open. in switzerland, croatia, you are not helping! it - open. in switzerland, croatia, you are not helping! it is i you are not helping! it is difficult _ you are not helping! it is difficult to _ you are not helping! it is difficult to predict i you are not helping! tt 3 difficult to predict because juries bow differently. last year the public vote went to finland. they had 18 sets of 12

points from the public with the juries did not vote for them. let�*s see. it is open and that is what keeps it exciting. that is what keeps it exciting. that is true, is what keeps it exciting. that is true. you — is what keeps it exciting. that is true, you never— is what keeps it exciting. that is true, you never know i is what keeps it exciting. that is true, you never know what to expect. it is eurovision. thank you very much. hello there. 0ur settled week of weather is set to continue. in fact, thursday, it was warmest day of the year so far. we reached a high of 24.6 celsius in st james�*s park, london. when you round that up to 25, that is 77 fahrenheit. we could see similar values over the next couple of days with high pressure staying with us, but this weak weather front will continue to bring some showery outbreaks of rain and a cooler feel across the northern isles. it�*ll be a relatively mild start to our friday morning. double digits, some early morning mist and fog quickly melting away, a lot of sunshine coming through. we�*ll get a little bit of fair weather cloud developing into the afternoon, but on the whole, a promising day. more sunshine as well for scotland in comparison to thursday. top temperatures here of 20 to 22 degrees. we could see 24 further south. into the start of the weekend, we continue with this warm, sunny theme. however, the risk of some sharp

showers will start to increase. now, as we go through the early hours of saturday morning, we could see some fog coming in off the north sea, anywhere from the vale of york down into lincolnshire, over into the southeast. again, double figures to greet us first thing on saturday morning. so, could be a pretty murky start across eastern england, but we�*ll expect that sunshine to get to work — it�*s quite strong at this time of year. a lot of sunshine coming through. risk of a few scattered showers anywhere north of manchester, up to the scottish borders, but top temperatures generally at around 23 or 24 celsius once again. now, as we move into sunday, we�*ve got this weather front which will enhance the risk of some sharp, thundery downpours and some showers moving up from the near continent. now, if we get some sunshine across east anglia and south east england, we could see temperatures

as high as 26 degrees. a lot of uncertainty about the detail for sunday, but at the moment, there�*s a greater chance of seeing some sharp thundery, downpours developing. and so out to the west, not quite as warm. then into monday, an atlantic influence is set to return, low pressure will start to push in from the west as the high drifts away, and that means that it will turn wetter and windier. and that is going to stay with us throughout the week, so it looks likely to see showers or longer spells of rain returning.

good morning, welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. 0ur headlines today. is the uk emerging from recession? we�*ll find out the latest gdp figure in the next hour. an important measure of how the economy�*s performing. experts think it�*ll show a return to growth for the first three months of the year, but they�*re not expecting a very big number. labour leader sir keir starmer sets out his policy to stop migrant boat crossings promising new powers to tackle people—smuggling gangs. from wireless earphones to electric toothbrushes, fire chiefs say there�*s been a dramatic rise in fires sparked by discarded batteries found in everyday items.

we spend the day with prince harry as he makes