welcome to business today. i'm sally bundock. we start in the uk where the bank of england has given its strongest hint yet that interest rates could be cut this summer. ben broadbent, the number two at the central bank said earlier today in a speech that a rate cut at sometime over the summer was possible. his comments come as markets get ready for the latest inflation figures out on wednesday that are expected to show a sharp drop in inflation. let's discuss this with yael selfin — chief economist at kpmg in the uk. yael, nice to see you. so, what do you make then of mr broadbent�*s comments? you make then of mr broadbent's comments?— you make then of mr broadbent's comments? ~ ~ , comments? well, i think they were encouraging _ comments? well, i think they were encouraging to _ comments? well, i think they were encouraging to some _

comments? well, i think they were encouraging to some degree - comments? well, i think they were l encouraging to some degree because ultimately, we are expecting inflation to go down significantly, especially headline inflation. and there is a recognition that voluntary policy is relatively tight at the moment and there is potentially room for the bank of england to start easing rates this summer. so, this is all in line with expectations and probably welcome news for many households and businesses.— news for many households and businesses. , ., ., ., businesses. interesting to note that at the last meeting, _ businesses. interesting to note that at the last meeting, he _ businesses. interesting to note that at the last meeting, he voted - businesses. interesting to note that at the last meeting, he voted with l at the last meeting, he voted with the majority to keep borrowing costs on hold at the 16 year high. also, next month's meeting injune will be his last one actually before he leaves the bank.— his last one actually before he leaves the bank. yes, so, we are exnecting — leaves the bank. yes, so, we are exnecting them _ leaves the bank. yes, so, we are expecting them to _ leaves the bank. yes, so, we are expecting them to vote - leaves the bank. yes, so, we are expecting them to vote in - leaves the bank. yes, so, we are expecting them to vote in terms | leaves the bank. yes, so, we are i expecting them to vote in terms of rate cuts either injune or august. it is probably a little bit more

likely to be august given that we have had relatively sticky numbers, if you like, recently in terms of the more immediate numbers but we still have quite a few data points left before thatjune meeting so it could be that they decide to go for ajune cut could be that they decide to go for a june cut or they may decide to wait a little bit longer until august. wait a little bit longer until au . ust. , wait a little bit longer until au~ust. , august. 0k, well, we will be across every twist — august. 0k, well, we will be across every twist and _ august. 0k, well, we will be across every twist and turn. _ august. 0k, well, we will be across every twist and turn. yael, - august. 0k, well, we will be across every twist and turn. yael, thank. every twist and turn. yael, thank you for your analysis. yael selfin, chief economist at kpmg. all eyes will be on microsoft later today as it becomes the latest big tech company to reveal new ai products. last week, openai and google both announced their latest tools as the ai race intensifies between the big tech companies. let's go live to our north america business correspondent michelle fleury, who's in new york. michelle, what can we expect from microsoft later? i michelle, what can we expect from microsoft later?— microsoft later? i think after the excitement _

microsoft later? i think after the excitement of _ microsoft later? i think after the excitement of last _ microsoft later? i think after the excitement of last week - microsoft later? i think after the excitement of last week with - microsoft later? i think after the - excitement of last week with chatgpt and their assistant and then google announcing their ai initiatives, or focus now turns to microsoft. we are expecting initially for them to unveil products for their tablet computer that has ai aspects to it but then perhaps it is the build conference, developers conference, which often can be quite a dry affair but this year obviously they were quite excited about it and that is because there they are expected to talk about how they are going to incorporate ai into more things like their operating system which so many people have on their computers, especially in the workplace. and i think that is the development that people are keeping a close eye on to see what new things they're going to announce there. for example, one item that has been described as may be your computer keeping track of the work you do so that in a couple of weeks' time, you can go back, open a document for example and ask

it, how can i improve on what was i working on then? that is the type of innovation. the other area we are expecting to hear some news on is on chips, whether or not they will use more high—powered chips to make all of this work. qm. more high-powered chips to make all of this work-— of this work. ok, but when it comes to the environment, _ of this work. ok, but when it comes to the environment, there - of this work. ok, but when it comes to the environment, there is - to the environment, there is concerns about the impact of all of this, isn't there?— concerns about the impact of all of this, isn't there? yeah, microsoft's sustainability _ this, isn't there? yeah, microsoft's sustainability report _ this, isn't there? yeah, microsoft's sustainability report came - this, isn't there? yeah, microsoft's sustainability report came out - sustainability report came out recently and it showed this worrying thing that its carbon emissions had increased to 30% in 2023 from three years prior and a lot of that was driven by building new data centres which are needed for things like artificial intelligence. they are a critical piece of infrastructure. that is true for all of the tech companies right now. so, it is a challenge for microsoft because it is considering how to balance some fairly ambitious climate goals it has and whether or not that is going to be derailed by this. take a listen, i was speaking earlier to tech journalist, listen, i was speaking earlier to techjournalist, here is what listen, i was speaking earlier to tech journalist, here is what he told me.

this is kind of the big unspoken thing about the generative ai of chatgpt in november 2022, which is that every time that you have a seamless, seemingly interaction with an ai tool on your phone, on your computer or elsewhere, actually what is happening is an awful lot of data is being transferred. so your query is being sent to a data centre, a kind of collection of computer servers in a remote space which requires cooling, requires energy. and so a conversation between an ai chat bot of 20 questions or so is sort of equivalent, we believe, to pouring a 500 millilitres bottle of water down the drain. we will update you on microsoft when we get their news later. but now to ryanair, europe's biggest airline by passenger numbers, has reported a 34%jump in full year profits after tax. that's just over $2 billion. ryanair has benefitted from a 9% increase in passenger numbers over the year despite delays to its orders of a number of boeing aircraft

as higher demand offset increased fuel costs. let's speak now to the travel expert simon calder. simon, lovely to see you. ryanair shares not doing well at all today, down over 4% and also in the us as well? why are investors not happy about it today's news?— well? why are investors not happy about it today's news? sally, there was 'ust about it today's news? sally, there was just one _ about it today's news? sally, there was just one line _ about it today's news? sally, there was just one line in _ about it today's news? sally, there wasjust one line in the _ about it today's news? sally, there wasjust one line in the figures - about it today's news? sally, there wasjust one line in the figures out| was just one line in the figures out today which worried people which was demand is soft. we previously heard, backin demand is soft. we previously heard, back in march, i was told by michael 0'leary, the chief executive of ryanair, that he was expected fair rises of between five and 10%, now they are saying actually they will be flat, about the same as last year, or maybe a little bit improved. i have actually had a look at where you could go tomorrow from manchester and you can fly to paris for £15. so, less than $20. that is to travel 400 miles. a couple of

catches of course, this is ryanair. it is not exactly paris, you will spend the same again on the bus to the french capital and also, that is just the starting price with a very small piece of cabin baggage. but it just shows you and i have looked ahead to a month from now, two months from now, three months from now, going into peak summer, the fare is still around about £25, about $30. what makes oh, some bargains out there for people who might want tojump bargains out there for people who might want to jump on a ryanair might want tojump on a ryanair flight but might want to jump on a ryanair flight but what about the outlook for the u, , flight but what about the outlook forthe , , ., for the company in terms of the boeina for the company in terms of the boeing fleet. — for the company in terms of the boeing fleet, any _ for the company in terms of the boeing fleet, any update? - for the company in terms of the boeing fleet, any update? this| for the company in terms of the - boeing fleet, any update? this was actually one — boeing fleet, any update? this was actually one reason _ boeing fleet, any update? this was actually one reason on _ boeing fleet, any update? this was actually one reason on why - boeing fleet, any update? this was actually one reason on why they - boeing fleet, any update? this was l actually one reason on why they were confident there would be an increase in fares and that is simply because there were a couple of boeing 737 max aircraft short of where they thought they would be and that is because boeing is having all sorts of problems with quality control. it

has been told to slow down deliveries and so effectively, ryanair planned its summer on the basis it would have a couple dozen more aircraft than it does. that is having an effect, it is also keeping the passenger numbers down and so in the passenger numbers down and so in the next financial year, they believe they mightjust reach the magic number of 200 million passengers, effectively flying three times the population of the uk, but it might be a little bit off and that would be because they simply can't get the aircraft. the planes which are flying off like incredibly full. 94% load factor, translating to a typical flight, a full. 94% load factor, translating to a typicalflight, a dozen full. 94% load factor, translating to a typical flight, a dozen seats being empty. that is the sort of figure which is simply unparalleled elsewhere which helps to explain why ryanair is the most profitable airline in europe as well as the biggest one in terms of passengers carried. �* , , , ,, ., carried. and 'ust briefly, simon, ou and i carried. and just briefly, simon, you and i are — carried. and just briefly, simon, you and i are covering _ carried. and just briefly, simon, you and i are covering travel - carried. and just briefly, simon, i you and i are covering travel news all the time, we know about boeings

difficult year, is it impacting travellers at all? to hear from travellers at all? to hear from travellers being concerned about the kind of plane they are climbing on or not? fix, kind of plane they are climbing on or not? �* ., , ., ., , ., or not? a really good question. i have had exactly _ or not? a really good question. i have had exactly one _ or not? a really good question. i have had exactly one question i have had exactly one question saying, how do i avoid boeing aircraft? i answered it by saying, well, you kind of could do, there is ways you can just go for companies with only air bus fleets, but frankly the safest airline in the word in terms of passengers flying without a fatal accident is ryanair and they only have boeing 737 aircraft. fir and they only have boeing 737 aircraft. ., , ., , aircraft. or right, lovely to see ou aircraft. or right, lovely to see you simon. — aircraft. or right, lovely to see you simon, see _ aircraft. or right, lovely to see you simon, see you _ aircraft. or right, lovely to see you simon, see you again - aircraft. or right, lovely to see. you simon, see you again soon, aircraft. or right, lovely to see - you simon, see you again soon, thank you simon, see you again soon, thank you for your time today. simon coulter, travel expert. from planes to ferries — we're heading to the orkney islands in the north of scotland where the communities there have established themselves as a hub for clean energy. there's plentiful wind power, and an array of prototype wave and tidal power projects. and now there are plans to focus that same pioneering spirit in another area — clean and cheap sea transport. theo leggett reports.

for the people of the orkney islands, ferries like this one offer a vital lifeline. the islands lie some ten miles off the north coast of scotland. they are connected to one another and to the mainland by a network of ferry routes. absolutely vital. ships like this, this is the only means of transport to certain islands in 0rkney, so if the boat isn't going, there is no way of getting goods and services off the island, so they have to be very robust and reliable to maintain the service and the range of weather conditions we do experience in this area. but many of the ferries serving the islands are ageing and costly to run. they also burn diesel, producing a significant amount of carbon emissions. now people here are looking to the future and thinking of ways to make the network leaner and more efficient. it is a 25 kilowatt turbine. this is one of them. andrew banks runs a ferry service to and from the islands. this wind turbine provides his vessels with all the power they need when they are moored

up between services. he is also invested in modern catamaran ferries but he thinks in the future more radical technologies will be needed. for me, i think the way forward is hydrogen, because in orkney we produce so much electricity and we are well placed to produce hydrogen. it is not the only possible solution. a trial of two fully electric hydrofoils is due to start on interisland services from next year, backed by £15.5 million of government money. ferries like these offer vital economic and social links to the island is here in 0rkney but the lessons learnt here about making them cleaner, more efficient and cheaper to run will notjust be relevant for the orkney islands, but also for other remote communities across the globe. theo leggett, bbc news, 0rkney.

lets take a look at the markets... as you can see, all the markets in europe were just ending the day at marginally higher, the trading day in europe is now officially finished. if we look at the us next, the next board, you can see how the trading day is developing on wall street. i'm hoping we can bring you those numbers but it looks like we do or not, we can't. never mind. they will be a little later here in bbc news but from me for now, it is goodbye.

you are live with bbc news. the high court in london has, at least for now, blocked the extradition of the wikileaks founder, julian assange, to the united states. it granted him permission to appeal against the order that he should stand trial for leaking military secrets that endangered lives. the court had previously sought assurances from washington that mr assange's free speech would be protected and that he would not face the death penalty if convicted.

during the hearing, mr assange's lawyer said us promises given so far were inadequate. julian assange has spent more than a decade resisting deportation and facing the esponiage charges. our legal correspondent, dominic casciani, has been telling us about the key points from today's ruling at the high court. i think the key point is it's very, very noisy down here because hundreds of people have turned up to supportjulian assange and to show solidarity with him because they believe he's been appallingly, unjustly treated over the last few years, since 2019, when he's fought this us extradition. and there has been, i think, in fairness, a sense of legal inevitability about the direction this was going in a succession of court rulings. but this morning, two seniorjudges here at the high court have actually put the legal blockers on the whole thing for now, at least, because they accepted a very narrow argument thatjulian assange says he has in effect, when he, as part of the wikileaks