if you have joined if you havejoined us, you are welcome and we are looking at the top business stories. we start here in the uk, where there is some relief for millions of people facing soaring housing costs. lenders have started the new year by slashing the cost of mortgages as financial markets bet the bank of england will soon begin to cut interest rates from their 15 year high. from today banking giant hsbc becomes the first major lender to bring back mortgages below 4% since last march. it comes as rival halifax slashed almost a percentage point off some of its mortgage rates this week. and it s raised hopes of a price war between banks. hsbc is offering a five year fixed rate mortgage at 3.94%. it s only available to people remortgaging their home not to first time buyers. but it s far below rates of almost 6.5% that borrowers were facing just a few months ago. and it will be a welcome development for many uk households as our cost of living correspondent kevin peach
Years winners ukraine who cant stage it because of the war with russia. Now on bbc news it is time for amol rajan interviewing Richard Branson. Hi. Yes. Hello. My goodness. Wow. The shy schoolboy who became a global celebrity. Sir Richard Branson is a very british bundle of contradictions. The dyslexic who set up a student magazine, the Record Label Founder who didnt listen to music, The 60s Hippie who became a multi billionaire. Today hes got his own island and his brand has dozens of companies to its name, from Virgin Atlantic to galactic. But after five decades in business, reinventing whole industries, sir Richard Branson has been tested as never before, both financially and emotionally. The pandemic left the 72 year old fighting to save his empire and his reputation. Hes faced questions over how hes used women to promote his brand. And sceptics have asked why someone who campaigns on Climate Change is sending rockets into space. The original Rebel Entrepreneur continues to grab th
politicsnation. tonight s lead, last-ditch effort. senate negotiators have been meeting this afternoon trying to hammer out a deal on immigration. president biden s homeland security chief met with lawmakers on the hill earlier in the day. majority leader chuck schumer delayed the holiday recess, hoping for a breakthrough on a bill that would also include military aid for israel and ukraine. if a bill cannot be made in the next several days, both chambers will have to take it up next year alongside a spending package to avoid a government shutdown. and in the house, there will be the matter of and impeachment inquiry into president biden. launched this week at the origin of that republican leadership. all this as the first presidential nomination contest is now less than a month away and iowa. and black voters across that south are literally so when the states that live in, over voting district maps that they contained designed to suppress the vote in 2024. an
counsel as we speak in a criminal probe. now, in just a moment, we will try to get some answers from trump s lawyer who will be joining me live. but first, a look at the brand-new information gathered by our cnn team. their sources say that there are 16 records of the national archives and what they are handing over to jack smith. they apparently indicate trump and his top advisors were made aware of the correct process to declassify material while trump was president, undercutting claims like this one. i took what i took against declassified. they become automatically declassified when i took them. and also this claim. it doesn t have to be a process. you are the president of the united states, you can declassified just by saying it is declassified, even by thinking about it. we are told the archives informed trump about its discovery yesterday in a letter. cnn has obtained a copy. it says, i am quoting, the 16 records and questionable reflect communication involving
on behalf of ukraine last year s winners. the pop band tvorchi is presenting this year s ukrainian entry entitled heart of steel. now on bbc news amol rajan interviews richard branson. hi. yes. hello. my goodness. wow. the shy schoolboy who became a global celebrity. sir richard branson is a very british bundle of contradictions. the dyslexic who set up a student magazine, the record label founder who didn t listen to music, the 60s hippie who became a multi billionaire. today he s got his own island and his brand has dozens of companies to its name, from virgin atlantic to galactic. but after five decades in business, reinventing whole industries, sir richard branson has been tested as never before, both financially and emotionally. the pandemic left the 72 year old fighting to save his empire and his reputation. he s faced questions over how he s used women to promote his brand. and sceptics have asked why someone who campaigns on climate change is sending rockets into