on a surprise trip to china. breaking records: can the uk stock market keep on climbing on the back of last week's highs? and counting the cost of your favourite cuppa: we take a look at the impact of soaring tea and coffee prices. hello. i'm sally bundock with all your latest business news. we start in beijing where tesla boss elon musk landed on sunday on something of a surprise visit. in his second trip in less than a year, the tech billionaire met with china's number two official, premier li qiang, who is reported to have described tesla's business in the country as a "successful example" of economic cooperation. mr musk said tesla is looking

for "more win—win results". he's expected to be making the case for the enabling of a self—driving feature on tesla cars in china as the electric car giant faces falling sales and increased local competition. for more on this, we can go live to our china correspondent stephen mcdonell in beijing. it was quite a few are when he arrived. he wasn't expected and he showed up in china. figs arrived. he wasn't expected and he showed up in china. $5 a arrived. he wasn't expected and he showed up in china.- he showed up in china. as a bit of a mystery — he showed up in china. as a bit of a mystery as _ he showed up in china. as a bit of a mystery as to _ he showed up in china. as a bit of a mystery as to what - he showed up in china. as a bit of a mystery as to what this - of a mystery as to what this trip is really all about. if you have a look at elon musk�*s feed on his own acts formally twitch our social media site and just scroll through the last 2a hours, it is all the right wing conspiracy theories and various subjects relaxed to post on, and only one thing really concrete about the china trip, which is a photo of him

meeting china's number two leader and saying they go back quite a long way. that is true, they do because when lee chung was the party secretary in shanghai, he was in charge at the time when tesla started up there —— li qiang. it has a mystery. nothing in detail. what it seems to be all about is tesla trying to find a way to keep competing in this market with all these new chinese models coming on stream. i mean, they are locked in a big price war in china and tesla has said they will come out with some cheaper models to compete with the chinese models, but what it is all about is data in a way, and it is a bit of a reverse of the tiktok debate. so tesla says we don't send our chinese users data out of china back to the us, we have got this data in

shanghai. elon musk would be able to do that because he wants to teach his cars to be able to automatically drive on china's roads whether conditions are different, there are more bicycles for example, or scooters, different types of roads, and to teach the algorithm how to operate, it wants to send the data to the us. the chinese government has said, no, we don't want you to do that because we don't want this data leaving china. if that has been discussed, again, we don't have any detail over this, except that late on sunday this chinese auto association announced, we have had a look at these various cars, they have all passed the test in terms of data protection, and guess what, two tesla models are on the list. 0k, interesting, very interesting. thank you so much. it is interesting as well, the surprise trip to china, elon

musk a scheduled trip to india that he cancelled. this trip to china comes hot on the heels of the worst quarterly results from tesla for some time with profits plunging by 55% in the first quarter and sales sliding. as we've just been hearing, the fierce competition in china is a key reason why, but elon musk has also been pointing to the high us interest rates impacting spending on big—ticket items such as a tesla car. joining me now is victoria scholar, head of investment at interactive investor. good morning to you. this is so interesting how elon musk has suddenly arrived in china, he is really trying to renew investor confidence, isn't economic in tesla and its direction?— economic in tesla and its direction? , ., direction? yes, you are right, interesting — direction? yes, you are right, interesting because _ direction? yes, you are right, interesting because he - interesting because he cancelled the trip to india now he has turned up in china. it does coincide with a 2024 beijing airshow, even though he hasn't got any new models to

display, that is not to say tesla doesn't have significant ties with china. tesla has a major factor in ties with china. tesla has a majorfactor in shanghai and it is developing its most cutting—edge driving technology there. also, china is a key market for tesla, its second—largest market, but market has been dropping to about 7.5% because of intense competition from rivals like vy d, which is backed by warren buffett and has about 33% market share. but, clearly, elon musk is trying to drum up support by investors, trying to convince them it is a wedding proposition by existing ev market is a ai company and with talk of a plant oboe taxi service as well —— byd. talk of a plant oboe taxi service as well -- byd. and also he _ service as well -- byd. and also he has _ service as well -- byd. and also he has on _ service as well -- byd. and also he has on many - service as well -- byd. and i also he has on many occasions in his conversation with investors after earnings are released at the high interest rates the us are really hitting tesla sales. we have got the fed meeting this week, and now

the conversation is about the fact that the fed might not cut rates this year at all. what are you hearing about this? yes, absolutely, the conversation is extremely dynamic when it comes to the outlook for interest rates. at the start of the year investors were expecting many cuts from the fed, which would support companies including tesla, like you say, high interest rates has been a key headwind that tesla has discussed as well as competition from china and slowing ev demand, but now it looks like investors and markets and fed members as well are all peering back their forecast for how many cuts to expect this year. some even talking about the next move potentially being higher on interest rates. the being the basecase butterfat that is being discussed shows how much the outlook for rates really hangs in the balance. thank you so much was — hangs in the balance. thank you so much was you _ hangs in the balance. thank you so much was you again - hangs in the balance. thank you so much was you again soon. i so, it is a big week forfinancial markets

with investors worldwide on fed watch again — the us central bank begins its two—day meeting tomorrow. but here in the uk, traders are wondering if the bull run seen on the ftse 100 will continue this week. the index closed at a record high on friday, gaining some 3% across the week. investors have apparently been buoyed by the hope of potential upcoming interest rate cuts as inflation slows and some strong company results. all of this marking something of a shift from the recent gloom surrounding the uk stock market as international investors return. let's get the view of bob parker, senior adviser at icma asset management and investors council, a market veteran who has been watching the rise of and fall of the ftse for some time. give us what your takers. if you look at the last year, the

last three years, the last ten years, the ftse has underperformed global equity markets. what we are seeing in the last month or two to some extent is a catch up, and against the background of long—term underperformance just recently the li qiang —— ftse has underperformed and is one of the best equity markets recently. 0ne also needs to add that the ftse was very under owned just by domestic investors but by global investors, and therefore it is extremely cheap compared with the number of other markets and if you look at the ftse against the american markets and the snp, the snp, the valuation is around 20 on a price—earnings ratio in the ftse was around 11. that valuation is now starting to pull farms into the uk market, and as you havejust referred to, macroeconomic which was obviously negative

last year, the macroeconomic picture is now improving with inflation trending lower growth is starting to pick up and eventually we will get interest rate cuts and potentially we will get interest rate cuts aligned with the ecb and the head of any eventual cut by the federal reserve. [30 head of any eventual cut by the federal reserve.— federal reserve. do you think this is turning _ federal reserve. do you think this is turning the _ federal reserve. do you think this is turning the tide - federal reserve. do you think this is turning the tide on - federal reserve. do you think this is turning the tide on the | this is turning the tide on the negative narrative about the city, about london, pose brexit, for example, the concern that there would be less attractive place to do business, also today we have got the news that chief executives in the us are paid a lot more than they are in the united england, the latest statistics coming out to show that, and therefore, this could attract out of bosses over to the united states, there is always the conversation, isn't there? , ., , ., there? yes, there was one long-term _ there? yes, there was one long-term worry _ there? yes, there was one long-term worry in - there? yes, there was one

long-term worry in fact - there? yes, there was one long-term worry in fact for long—term worry in fact for capital markets here in the uk in london, which is that given that cheaper valuation of the uk relative to america, we are increasingly seeing uk companies or companies which would want to quote or list on the london stock exchange are very much motivated to switch their listing to new york, and in addition, we are seeing increased merger and acquisition activity, whether it be from private equity or from overseas companies wanting to buy a cheap uk assets, and two examples over the last few days have obviously been the bhp bid for anglo american, we've also seen dark trays being bought by a private equity firm, and one long—term factor, which is of concern, is this cheaper valuation here in

the uk means that companies are not motivated to list in london because they can get a higher valuation elsewhere.- because they can get a higher valuation elsewhere. thank you for exolaining — valuation elsewhere. thank you for explaining all— valuation elsewhere. thank you for explaining all of _ valuation elsewhere. thank you for explaining all of that. - for explaining all of that. have a good weekend we will see you again soon. to ireland now, where the latest figures for economic output — gdp — are due out this morning. now, ireland has managed to attract many of the tech giants, the likes of apple, google and facebook parent meta to base their regional headquarters there, drawn in by low taxes and some of the most productive workers on the planet, all helping bolster ireland's finances and the government coffers. but critics warn of a twin—track economy — overreliant on a small number of companies as the country struggles with a housing shortage and lack of investment in infrastructure. plus, a very recently appointed prime minister simon harris following the abrupt resignation of leo varadkar.

elections there soon. there is a lot going on. in the last ten minutes we were talking about the migrant prices, impact on island. —— ireland. for more on this, live now to dublin with the independent economist david higgins. tell us about the growth figures. tell us about the growth fiaures. ~ ., ., ., figures. we are going to get the quarter— figures. we are going to get the quarter one _ figures. we are going to get the quarter one number - figures. we are going to get the quarter one number this morning. to give you a sense of what last year look like in the fourth quarter, we were down 3% of gdp compared to the prior quarter of the same year and down 2% for the full year. it was mainly due to a slowdown in the tech and pharmaceutical sector, but the quarter release coming up today suspected to be a return to growth. in the first two months of the year where we have exported numbers, we have seen the tech and pharmaceutical figures rallying back. in february we had 15% increase in the pharmaceutical

side and accounts for 40% of the exports. the domestic economy continues to be strong at this time. economy continues to be strong at this time-— at this time. where are you out, at this time. where are you out. david. _ at this time. where are you out, david, in _ at this time. where are you out, david, in the - at this time. where are you out, david, in the debate . at this time. where are you - out, david, in the debate about how ireland is doing? the finance minister says we are in good shape, a good place. are you in agreement with that? yes, the outlook for this year is that return to growth will hold and then you will have i% growth in gdp for the year, but 2% growth in what we call modified domestic demand, which strips out of that international, multinational sector that we have. when we look at the budget which is going to be set later this year, we are accepting a surplus of over 8 billion euros, that is the equivalent of around 3% of national income. that will give the government flex ability going into a general election to be able to address issues like housing prices, issues like migration and to be able to keep overall living standards relatively buoyant. qm.

keep overall living standards relatively buoyant.— keep overall living standards relatively buoyant. 0k, we will kee an relatively buoyant. 0k, we will keep an eye — relatively buoyant. 0k, we will keep an eye on _ relatively buoyant. 0k, we will keep an eye on those - relatively buoyant. 0k, we willj keep an eye on those statistics when they do come. let's get some of the day's other news now. we must look at the value of the japanese yen. it has plunged today versus the us dollar to its lowest value in over 30 years, going past 160 yen to the dollar for the first time since 1990. the devaluation of the currency has seen a drop in the level of outbound travel from japan, while the number of inbound tourists has hit record highs. manufacturers will have to follow stricter rules if they want to sell smart gadgets in the uk after a new law came into effect. the rules are designed to ensure there is better security around devices such as baby monitors, televisions and speakers that are linked to the internet. these gadgets can pose a hacking risk. the government said the new law should give consumers peace of mind.

still to come: counting the cost of your favourite cuppa. we take a look at what's behind the recent surge in tea and coffee prices. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

hello again. we are looking at the top business stories. to energy now, and the boss of one uk company who has gone from being a new—age traveller to a green energy business tycoon. he's the founder of ecotricity, which is one of the uk's leading suppliers of green energy. it's a not—for—dividend company, which means it reinvests its customers payments in what they dub from �*bills into mills', building solar parks and wind turbines. earlier, i spoke to ecotricity�*s chief executive and founder dale vince

it all started. i spent ten years living on the road off the grid in trucks and trailers, an alternative lifestyle, and towards the end of the decade i had some power in my trailer, we are talking about 1990, and the first big windmills appeared in the world and i was conscious of the climate crisis and the way we made electricity in our country was the vehicle —— biggest single cause, and i decided that i should drop back in and try to change how that happened, i could spend another ten years living a low—impact last myself and build windmills and change the way electricity is made in our country.- is made in our country. yes, ou is made in our country. yes, you have — is made in our country. yes, you have done _ is made in our country. yes, you have done that - you have done that successfully, for example, you are providing power via 75 windmills to something like 117,000 homes, was statistics that i have read, correct me if i'm wrong, but what needs to

happen across the country? we have a legally binding carbon and emissions targets. how do we reach those? this and emissions targets. how do we reach those?— and emissions targets. how do we reach those? as soon as we don't have _ we reach those? as soon as we don't have a — we reach those? as soon as we don't have a conservative - don't have a conservative government that have banned onshore wind and made it difficult for solar, some as we don't have that, then we have an abundance of resource and another wind and sun to power the country ten times over. it needs no public money, so within a decade we can go from where we are now it is 50% to 100%. ., ., ., 100%. you have faith in the labour party. _ 100%. you have faith in the labour party, you - 100%. you have faith in the labour party, you are - 100%. you have faith in the - labour party, you are investing in the labour party, you believe they will deliver on this if they are in government? i don't see it as an investment. i have been giving money to them for ten years and the greens, the lib dems and greenpeace and all kinds of good causes, trying to good in the world. 50 good causes, trying to good in the world-— the world. so what is next as far as ecotricity _ the world. so what is next as far as ecotricity is _ the world. so what is next as| far as ecotricity is concerned? you have really pushed through

in wind power. what are your thoughts on what you might do next? , ., next? giving to green electricity _ next? giving to green electricity on - next? giving to green electricity on the - next? giving to green electricity on the grid | next? giving to green l electricity on the grid is next? giving to green - electricity on the grid is half the challenge. we have to replace fossil gas in our lives and we introduced the concept of green gas to britain in 2010 and we built ourfirst of green gas to britain in 2010 and we built our first green gas meal last summer, which turns grass into mains gas, and there is a huge piece of work to to create a national programme. we were involved in the education sector, we run the education sector, we run the ministry of ego education, we reached 4 million schoolchildren in the last year with lessons and whole school curriculum themed on sustainability, we make school dinners and atmospheric carbon, small windmills as well land and other stuff in r&d. there is a lot of stuff to do of the most exciting things is title luke jones most exciting things is title lukejones which is a way of making power that has not been done before that in the world. and we are making proteins from grass as well, human edible

proteins. grass as well, human edible roteins. ., grass as well, human edible proteins-— proteins. from your perspective, - proteins. from your perspective, are - proteins. from your| perspective, are you proteins. from your- perspective, are you hopeful about the future? there is so much gloom and doom out there about the climate and the challenges facing the planet, etc. from a global point of view, your thoughts? i etc. from a global point of view, your thoughts?- view, your thoughts? i am excited and _ view, your thoughts? i am excited and optimistic - view, your thoughts? i am - excited and optimistic because of this fact, a very recently i would say within the last two or three years these two worlds have collided, the world of the environment and the will of the economy. they used to be quite separate and we used to have to pay for one with the other, we paid for the environment with money from the economy. today it is completely different. they have overlapped completely and the environment is the way that we power our economy. the economic argument for what we need to do is overwhelming and fighting the climate crisis and all the other problems that we build up through burning fossil fuels, they become the icing on the cake. the argument is this is the most economic thing we can do, the biggest opportunities and first industrial revolution and that

makes me very positive. interesting. i'm sure you will agree. the chief executive and founder of ecotricity. it is a huge debate. what is the right mix in terms of providing power as we try and transition to a greener, more ego friendly future? well, while we are on that sort of subject, this is kind of related... we've nearly reached the end of the programme now, and for me, it'll be a quick cup of tea before the next bulletin. but you may have noticed of late the cost of our regular refreshments has been on the up, with our most popular staples — namely tea and coffee — hit by surging prices. the price of wholesale coffee is up over 20% since the start of the year, and the price of tea up over 30% in the last month alone! the culprits — our changing climate and disrupted trade routes. to find out more, i'm joined now byjeffrey young, managing director of allegra strategies, a consultancy specialising in the coffee and food service industry.

welcome to you. what do you reach for first thing, tea or coffee, what kind of coffee? coffee for me, definitely a flat white if i can, but anything that has some caffeine at the beginning of the day is very much needed for me. i don't like coffee so i drink bucketloads of tea, but anyone who is into coffee, it really is an expensive treat for many now, isn't it, because it is the flat white or whatever, and there are so many different quys there are so many different guys out there but the price just goes up and up.- guys out there but the price just goes up and up. yes, there are a number— just goes up and up. yes, there are a number of— just goes up and up. yes, there are a number of factors - just goes up and up. yes, there are a number of factors why - just goes up and up. yes, therej are a number of factors why the prices of coffee are going up. coffee yourself as a commodity has increased 25% just in this last quarter. there are so many reasons for that and a lot of it does, as dale vince pointed out, a lot of it does, to his points about the environment, it does go back to climate change, i'm afraid. certainly

this recent demand in a rabbitoh coffee, 25% on the marketjust rabbitoh coffee, 25% on the market just this quarter rabbitoh coffee, 25% on the marketjust this quarter is partly because of unstable weather conditions in brazil and vietnam, the two biggest coffee producing countries in the world. it is very unsettled weather patterns.— the world. it is very unsettled weather patterns. that will not chan . e, weather patterns. that will not change. and — weather patterns. that will not change, and it _ weather patterns. that will not change, and it is _ weather patterns. that will not change, and it is interesting i change, and it is interesting because we have been tracking the price of coffee going up for many, many months now. what is the solution, because of course the coffee farmers having such a terrible time, and then if you add to that the disruption in the red sea and elsewhere in the war in ukraine and everything else, itjust exacerbates this, doesn't it? yes, i'm afraid also it is even deeper than climate change. climate change and the rising prices are related, they do impact upon farmers much more than ourselves with our daily cup of coffee or cup of tea.

the point is the real price of coffee has not gone up in over 40 years now. yes, we have seen a surge in coffee prices but we have got used to low prices for coffee and tea everywhere, and unfortunately, there are so many headwinds for coffee farmers, it is notjust about the climate change, but it is about rising prices in particular, fuel, fertilisers and i think one of your earlier guests was talking about the us dollar rising as well to major currency. the us dollar has a major, major impact on the lives of coffee farmers, they have to pay in us dollars and in their currencies, you can imagine how hard it is for them just to keep a coffee farm alive. , , , alive. yes, it is extremely tou . h alive. yes, it is extremely tough and _ alive. yes, it is extremely tough and something i alive. yes, it is extremely tough and something we. alive. yes, it is extremely i tough and something we will have to talk about again in the

future. thank you for getting up future. thank you for getting up early. i'm sure you've had quite a few strong copies already. quite a few strong copies already-— quite a few strong copies alread . . ., quite a few strong copies alread. . ., , already. have a good day. just one so far. — already. have a good day. just one so far, another _ already. have a good day. just one so far, another one i already. have a good day. just l one so far, another one coming. thank you very much. let's see how the asian markets are faring today. the japanese markets have closed today for a public holiday. just ignore that number, that would have been last week. what we are really interested in is the value of that again versus the dollar as we have mentioned it is plunging. there is a lot of conversation about whether the japanese central bank will be forced to intervene to try and bolster the end. we mentioned the fed, it started two day meeting tomorrow, is us central bank. most eyes will be on that as far as markets are concerned to see if there is any inclination from jerome powell and his team and what is ahead. i will see you soon. hello. expect a different feel to the weather

over the next few days. some warmer weather on the way this week, but with that, we will still see some outbreaks of rain at times, so don't be expecting blue skies and sunshine all the way. and certainly, low pressure in charge of the scene for monday, this frontal system pushing in from the west. that'll make for a really soggy start to the day across northern ireland. conversely, central and eastern parts of england and a good part of scotland starting with some sunshine. a touch of frost first thing across parts of scotland. outbreaks of rain spreading from northern ireland into southern and central scotland, northwest england, wales and the southwest as we go through the day. but for central and eastern parts of england, where we hold on to some brightness, temperatures could climb to 18 degrees. more generally, 11 to 14. now, through monday night, this first band of cloud and patchy rain pushes a little bit further eastwards and northwards. we'll see further heavy rain returning to western parts by the end of the night. some clear spells too, but temperatures between 7 and 11 degrees —

much milder than recent nights. we should be frost—free as we start tuesday morning, but still with low pressure in charge, this frontal system bringing another dose of rain to western parts. and this front creeping in from the east, that is going to bring a band of clouds and perhaps some heavy, thundery showers into parts of eastern england as the day wears on. but in between our rain bands, a slice of sunshine across central parts of england, up into southern and eastern scotland. the warmth a little more widespread on tuesday, highs of16,17,18 degrees. the odd spot may be up to 19. now, by wednesday, levels of humidity will be climbing a little. that'll mean more in the way of low clouds, some mist and murk, particularly for eastern coasts. outbreaks of rain also likely to develop across many parts of central and eastern england. those temperatures, 16,17 or 18 degrees. as we head towards the end of the week, low pressure still fairly close by, so there'll still be some bouts of rain, but the winds coming from the east will feed some rather warm air from the near

continent in our direction. now, the highest temperatures of all for the end of the week may be across western scotland — could be looking at temperatures up to 20 degrees. as we head into the weekend, looks rather mixed. some dry weather, some rain at times, but staying just a little warmer than it has been of late.

good morning. welcome to breakfast with sally nugent and jon kay. 0ur headlines today... a row is brewing between the uk and ireland over the rwanda deportation scheme. the irish government says it's bringing in emergency laws to stop migrants arriving via northern ireland. 0n the brink. the bbc understands that humza yousaf is considering resigning as first minister of scotland. plans to signifcantly change personal independence payments. people with less serious mental health conditions could no longer be eligible. good morning. eight years after voting to leave the eu, their checks and charges only being introduced tonight. we will look at what they might mean for input businesses and whether costs will go up again. arsenal remain on top in the title race, as mikel arteta's side

celebrate victory on derby day, but there's no shaking off