tesla powers up in china — following a whirlwind trip to beijing, has elon musk won crucial backing for the compa ny�*s self—driving technology? and a roller—coaster ride for the yen — after falling to an over 30—year low, the japanese currency surges against the dollar following suspected intervention. welcome to world business report. let's start with tesla — the company's boss, elon musk, has left beijing, where he was on 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 co—operation. mr musk said tesla is looking for "more win—win results". according to reports, he has won approval from the chinese authorities for the enabling of a self—driving feature on tesla

cars in the country. that has been enough to push up shares by 11% in early trade. the electric car giant faces falling sales and increased local competition in china. so this could be a big move. let's talk about that with michelle, who is standing by in new york. give us a sense of how significant this could be, just some reports at this stage, but it is what elon musk wanted? ., ., , , , wanted? you are seeing the response from investors — wanted? you are seeing the response from investors with _ wanted? you are seeing the response from investors with the _ wanted? you are seeing the response from investors with the share - wanted? you are seeing the response from investors with the share price i from investors with the share price p°ppin9 from investors with the share price popping at the open because of that sort of shot of good news. the reason for that is it comes off the back of a difficult couple of months for the car—maker. the electric car company released some pretty disappointing quarterly sales, its worst in several years, a a few weeks ago. the key market they have been looking out for tesla is china,

and there was concern that because of increased competition there, it would struggle. so the news of his surprise visit over the weekend, where he met with the vice premier, was seen as significant, coming with this expectation that the company will be able to sell its full self driving technology that, or at least is moving a step closer. that is why we are seeing this sort of pop in the share price because the expectation is this will lead to higher sales in china, help it differentiate itself.— differentiate itself. that differentiation - differentiate itself. that differentiation is - differentiate itself. that differentiation is an - differentiate itself. that differentiation is an important point because it described itself as being hamstrung, but it has all of these facilities at once to offer but it is not allowed to, and at the same time is the competition from cheaper chinese made electric vehicles. ., ., ., ., ., vehicles. not that long ago, we were talkin: vehicles. not that long ago, we were talking about — vehicles. not that long ago, we were talking about b _ vehicles. not that long ago, we were talking about b y _ vehicles. not that long ago, we were talking about b y d _ vehicles. not that long ago, we were talking about b y d being _ vehicles. not that long ago, we were talking about b y d being the - vehicles. not that long ago, we were | talking about b y d being the number one top seller, it slid back and handed the crown back to tesla, but

it gives you a sense of how tough the market is white now. any little thing that can make a difference is seen as a positive. previously, tesla was already selling its autopilot system, it was selling a version of its full self driving technology, but it had limits on, so what it is doing now, partnering with a local company to access china's mapping system, because data and security is a big concern in the electric car market, certainly for some governments, this lets it get a step closer to being able to offer that to chinese user.— now, a bit of a roller—coaster for the japanese yen. the value of the currency fell against the dollar to its lowest level in over 30 years. it slipped past 160 yen to the dollar for the first time since 1990, before rebounding in a move currency traders suspect was a result of official intervention. japan's top currency diplomat, masato kanda, declined to comment when asked if authorities had intervened.

joining me now is kathleen brooks, research director at xtb. nice to see you. just looking here, reported the wall streetjournal saying that the financial in japan did intervene. is that how you see it as well?— it as well? absolutely. it has all the hallmarks _ it as well? absolutely. it has all the hallmarks of _ it as well? absolutely. it has all the hallmarks of it. _ it as well? absolutely. it has all the hallmarks of it. it _ it as well? absolutely. it has all the hallmarks of it. it is - it as well? absolutely. it has all the hallmarks of it. it is a - the hallmarks of it. it is a national holiday injapan today, so there were no fundamental drivers of this, no economic data, we had the bank ofjapan meeting on friday where they said they were not hike interest rates for some time. that is what is driving the weakness in the get, so this has the signs of intervention all over it.- intervention all over it. even thou:h intervention all over it. even though that _ intervention all over it. even though that currency - intervention all over it. even though that currency official| though that currency official declined to comment, they said that the declines were volatility given by speculation. it seems they have done something about it. the ten throw down about 11% so far this

year? throw down about 1196 so far this ear? �* , ,., , throw down about 11% so far this ear? �* , ,., , ~ , throw down about 11% so far this year? absolutely. whilst the bank of ja an year? absolutely. whilst the bank of japan played — year? absolutely. whilst the bank of japan played down — year? absolutely. whilst the bank of japan played down the _ year? absolutely. whilst the bank of japan played down the yen _ year? absolutely. whilst the bank of| japan played down the yen weakness, because it has benefits for the country, it is a good time to visit japan, exports are doing well as well. they were not officially comment, and that is a comment in itself. the general weakness of the yen is probablyjustified, there is a big interest rate differential between japan and a big interest rate differential betweenjapan and the us. when you see moves of about 1%, it doesn't sound like a lot but it is huge in fx terms. if the market test the bank ofjapan's fx terms. if the market test the bank of japan's resolve again and actually tries to push that yen up... it actually tries to push that yen u - . .. , , ., , up... it is interesting to see it -la out up... it is interesting to see it play out in — up. .. it is interesting to see it play out in real— up... it is interesting to see it play out in real time. - up... it is interesting to see it play out in real time. the - up... it is interesting to see it i play out in realtime. the policy play out in real time. the policy responses limited, because tell us about the state of the economy.

heavily in debt, so they have to be careful, so the options are few and far between. careful, so the options are few and far between-— far between. absolutely. you are dead riaht far between. absolutely. you are dead right there. _ far between. absolutely. you are dead right there. their _ far between. absolutely. you are dead right there. their interest l dead right there. their interest rates are between 0% and 0.1%, we can barely believe it over here, but ijust can barely believe it over here, but i just exited can barely believe it over here, but ijust exited negative interest rates. higher interest rates are unlikely because inflation is weakening. they are unlikely to hike interest rates any time soon, and that won't bolster the yen in anyway. what they do have is over $1 trillion in fx reserves, so they could go in and physically by the currency to support it in the market over the next few months. they have the firepower to do that, but it is whether it has the big influence, because the fx market is huge, it is well over $4 trillion a day in turnover, so the market can always fight the bank ofjapan. it might not be fighting the fed any more, it might turn its attention to the bank ofjapan for now.

might turn its attention to the bank of japan for now. we might turn its attention to the bank ofjapan for nova— ofjapan for now. we will talk about this i'm ofjapan for now. we will talk about this i'm sure- _ ofjapan for now. we will talk about this i'm sure. thank _ ofjapan for now. we will talk about this i'm sure. thank you. _ so it is a big week for financial 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, and is trading higher again today. let's have a quick look at the latest numbers. keep an eye on brent crude, we will talk about that more in a moment. joshua mahoney is chief market analyst at scope markets. he explained what is driving that number. we have seen five consecutive record highs for the ftse100, so we have seen five consecutive record highs for the ftse 100, so things at the moment seem relatively hunky—dory with this comes at a time when everyone has been very fearful about exactly how the first quarter

earnings season over in the us might play out. it feels like the uk has almost taken the role of a safe haven where there are concerns around those tech stocks that have been driving gains in the us. that money has started to come to the uk, where we have a heavy focus on the likes of oil prices, which have done very well recently, we have seen that commodity focus really playing out with the likes of precious metals strengthening, copper strengthening, so some of the main factors that make up the ftse100 appeared to be really in the limelight and a positive limelight at a time when people are raising questions over the valuations seen in us equity markets. joshua mahoney speaking to me earlier. staying in the uk, 2024 continues to be a difficult year forjob seekers. new data released today by the job search engine adzuna show vacancies continuing to fall during the month of march, the fifth consecutive month of delcine. unemployment, meanwhile, is continuing to rise, now standing at 4.2% according to adzuna's figures.

let's speak now to andrew hunter, co—founder of adzuna. give us a sense about what these numbers tell us. i touched on that while the unemployed rate is ticking up, vacancies are falling, but wages are rising. make that link for us. that's right. we currently ch hundred 62,000 vacancies across the uk on our platform. the good news is that rate of hiring is no longer in precipitous decline, but we have seen five straight months of falls. so the labour market is definitely cooling, employers are trying to catch up with wages, inflation rising dramatically in the last 12 months and employers trying to keep pace with that. we are seeing a job market in flux, but a job market where hiring activity is down 17% year on year. it where hiring activity is down 17% year on year-— year on year. it is interesting to look at where _ year on year. it is interesting to look at where the _ year on year. it is interesting to look at where the jobs - year on year. it is interesting to look at where the jobs are - year on year. it is interesting to | look at where the jobs are being created and where they are being lost, because they give us a sense

of what the economy is doing and crucially what big businesses are thinking. yourfigures crucially what big businesses are thinking. your figures saying marketing and prjobs thinking. your figures saying marketing and pr jobs are thinking. your figures saying marketing and prjobs are hardest hit, suggesting that companies are scaling back marketing spend. does this feel like a warning of something coming down the line, that businesses are nervous about? essen; businesses are nervous about? every sector has is — businesses are nervous about? every sector has is own _ businesses are nervous about? every sector has is own story _ businesses are nervous about? every sector has is own story and _ businesses are nervous about? fe sector has is own story and you are right to point out advertising and marketing, we see it in construction and also in graduate positions, which are also down 8% month on month. but there are some bright sparks. 0vera month. but there are some bright sparks. over a third of the ads posted on our site and a third of the countries have seen some growth in the last couple of months. travel being the big one. travel hiring is “p being the big one. travel hiring is up 16% month on month and significantly year on year, and that speaks to industry gearing up and tour operators, airlines, all

anticipating high levels of travel this summer. but this is a tough, tough market, graduates, roles are down significantly, and something needs to give. essentially, a better job needs to happen around matching candidate to specific skilled vacancies. candidate to specific skilled vacancies-— candidate to specific skilled vacancies. briefly, there are re . ional vacancies. briefly, there are regional disparities - vacancies. briefly, there are regional disparities as - vacancies. briefly, there are regional disparities as well, | vacancies. briefly, there are . regional disparities as well, not only in where those vacancies are occurring but what people are getting paid. occurring but what people are getting paid-— getting paid. that's right. certainly _ getting paid. that's right. certainly we _ getting paid. that's right. certainly we are - getting paid. that's right. certainly we are seeing i getting paid. that's right. certainly we are seeing a| getting paid. that's right. i certainly we are seeing a lot getting paid. that's right. - certainly we are seeing a lot of regions around the country catching up regions around the country catching up when it comes to pay. the north—west and north—east have seen the most dramatic improvements in rates of pay, but the sector micro hiring in the locations influences on that front. the government set out to create millions ofjobs outside of london and they are following up on that, but the rates

of pay and preparedness to travel for that plate will be interesting to see in 2024. —— preparedness to travel for that page. to see in 2024. -- preparedness to travel for that page.— travel for that page. good to see ou. travel for that page. good to see you- thank _ travel for that page. good to see you- thank you _ travel for that page. good to see you. thank you for _ travel for that page. good to see you. thank you forjoining - travel for that page. good to see you. thank you forjoining us. i the chinese electric vehicle maker byd has reported its weakest quarterly profit growth since 2022 while its revenue growth slowed to the lowest level in nearly four years. the company has been hit by slowing ev demand and a bruising price war in the world's largest auto market. those are your top business stories this our. we will to you again soon. goodbye.

hello from the bbc sport centre. we start with the news that the england rugby union international billy vunipola has

apologised after being charged in spain, following an alleged incident on the island of majorca. vunipola called it a "misunderstanding" and said there was no violence, the bbc understands he was tasered by police who were called to a bar in the island's capital, palma. our sports news correspondent, laura scott, has more. we know that this incident involving billy vunipola happened at a club on majorca in the early hours of sunday morning. the number eight, who has played for england on 75 occasions, describe what happened as an unfortunate misunderstanding got out of hand. we know police were called to the club, we understand he was tasered and arrested, and he was later charged and appeared in court. however, he said in a statement released today that contrary to media reports, there was no violence, no fight, and i did not threaten anybody at any stage, with bottles or chairs or anything else.

i was charged with resisting the law