all of that with these two there they are. one of germany s leading business groups tells me it s important that consumers start splashing the cash again and how problems abroad are hurting his members. also, the chairwoman of the german startup association, herself a successful entrepreneur, tells me why a different way of thinking is needed. and it s the younger generation that are going to deliver it. also, i catch up with the big boss of germany s most valuable company, the software giant sap, about why he s worried the rise of the far right could harm his country s economy, but he s still confident about the year ahead. wherever you rejoining me from around the world, once again, a big hello and a warm welcome to the show. you know, this week we re taking a look at germany. the world s fourth biggest economy is europe s number one and probably its most influential. but last year, even though it avoided a technical recession, it was the worst performing of the g7 group
to avoid a wider conflict in the region. we will take all necessary actions to defend the united states, our interests and our people. and we will respond when we choose, where we choose, and how we choose. earlier i asked our north america correspondent would any us attack may take place? we don t know us attack may take place? - don t know exactly when this military action will be lost, it apparently depends on the weather and on intelligence, but we understand that these strikes will take place over a number of days and today will include a range of targets. they include iranian personnel and facilities in iraq and syria. now, it is those two countries from where these militant groups, the iran backed militant groups have been operating and it is those groups that washington has accused of being responsible for the deadly drone attack on the us base injordan on sunday. that was when as you said, three us service members were killed, dozens more were injured and ever sinc
here s where the bank s base rate stands at the moment at 5.25% it is the highest in 15 years. the bank has raised the cost of borrowing fourteen times to try and tame soaring prices but inflation has eased sharply in recent months and the expectation now is that rates may soon start to come down. however, for those in the uk hoping for cheaper mortgages and loans there was something of a bad omen in the us, where the chair of the federal reserve seemed to dash expectations of a rate cut next month. as michelle fleury reports. the fourth meeting in a row, the federal reserve did not raise interest rates. this is the longest pause since policymakers began their aggressive rate campaign to tame inflation back in march of 2022. but for rate weary americans, well, they will likely have to wait a few more months to see any relief, given these comments by the federal chair. based on the meeting today, i would tell you that i don t think it s likely that the committee will reach a
trade barriers between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. it s not clear yet what s in the deal, but it won t reverse the basic settlement between the uk and the eu. speaking in the last hour or so, dup leaderjeffrey donaldson said the deal vindicated his strategy of boycotting the assembly. thoses who said there will be no legal change, who were protecting all kinds of outcomes, what things would fall short well, i simply have asked people to wait and see the outcome. we at and see the evidence and judge for yourself what this deal does, what it delivers, the change that it secures. and i believe we are now beginning to see on day one that delivery coming through. there will be more to come. tomorrow, the government will publish the proposals so everyone in northern ireland will be able to see clearly what has been agreed, what is proposed, what change will come, what difference will it make for all of us in northern ireland? and i look forward to the publication so