Of the Global Economy given so many countries do so much trade with china. Chinese Government Data shows that the value of exports fell 14. 5 compared to the same month a year ago. That suggests the rest of the world is buying less stuff. The value of imports also fell by more than expected, down 12. 4 onjuly a year ago. But that partly reflects a fall in the price of commodities such as crude oil. The figures will concern chinas government, who are grappling with economic growth. The quarterly Growth Figure was just 0. 8 in the april tojune period, as the country continued its post covid recovery. And last month, chinas struggles were cited as a key concern for the Global Economy when the International Monetary fund updated its Global Growth forecast for this year to 3 . David woo is a former imf economist and wall street strategist and has been telling me what he makes of the numbers. You know, like some people are going to say, well, this is just basically a reflection of the current Global Manufacturing slump. But i suspect there is a lot more going on here. I think whats really going on is the impact of the reshoring of manufacturing back to the us and europe. Right now its difficult to prove this, but the fact is that while chinese exports are down, mexican exports are up, indonesian exports are up. I suspect china is hurting more from the relocation of Supply Chains than beijing would like to admit. And honestly, i suspect also that many people in washington will probably see todays numbers as a reason for celebration. Not in china, with imports down there as well. What does it do . Ithink, you know, obviously, this is hurting countries that are very dependent on their export to china, right . That is, of course, japan, south korea, taiwan and germany. Lets not forget, you know, china is germanys largest Export Destination Outside europe. And all these countries are also under pressure to reduce their trade relationship with china. You know, basically pressure coming from the us. So this is clearly a problem. But i think what this number today really highlights is the need for china to reduce its dependency on exports even more quickly. And this means that they have no choice but to undertake real Economic Reforms and deregulation to stimulate investment, domestic consumption, something that xijinping has been reluctant to do. But i think now this crisis literally risks burning down the house. I think finally, perhaps the reformers basically have a chance to basically push through some of their agenda they havent been able to do for the last ten years. Yeah, they havent enacted any major stimulus, have they, since covid . Its really struggling internally, also in the property sector, arent they . Exactly. But i think theres a difference between stimulus and reform. Like, you know, they havent done stimulus because stimulus hasnt been really working. As you probably know, china now is sitting on more debt than the United States and even europe. Thats the result of over stimulus of the last ten years. So from that point of view, they dont want to basically pump more fiscal stimulus in the economy. They dont want to give out more loans. What they need to do now is to basically open up the economy for competition, trying to basically level the Playing Field between state owned enterprises and private industry to unleash basically the private entrepreneurship. And this is where there is some good news out of todays numbers. If you look at chinese car exports, they actually hit 437,000 units last month. This represents more than a 50 increase from a year ago. And this is because china, of course, is now emerging as a leader of electric vehicles. And what were seeing is very, very strong overseas demand for dependable, Affordable Evs from china. The only question now is what the us is going to do next to stop chinas basically, you know, export of evs. And i think this is going to be the Million Dollar question in 202a. The share prices of italain banks have taken a battering the share prices of italian banks have taken a battering after they were by a 40 windfall tax on their profits for this year. The biggest, intesa sanpaolo, is down almost 9 and number two unicredit is down nearly 6 . The government says that collectively the banks have been making billions in extra profits, as Interest Rates have risen in the battle against inflation. The tax could bring in around 3 billion for the government, which it says it will use to help those who are struggling with the cost of living crisis, as our Business Editor simonjack explains. King at its root is a pretty basic business. Banking at its root is a pretty basic business. Banks make money on the difference between what they charge their borrowers in loans and mortgages and what they pay their savers. That difference is called the net interest margin, and thats banking 101. Now, as Interest Rates have risen around the world in the battle against inflation, theres been a lot of countries whove said that banks have been quicker to charge more to their borrowers than they have to pay more to their savers. So that margin has increased, and weve seen big increases across europe and in the us of bank profits. So italy has taken the move, surprise move, which is why you saw those big share price falls in some of the italian banks, to tax some of that excess profit, as they put it. So they think itll raise around 3 billion euros, which theyll use to try and fund the cost of living crisis to those who are harder pressed. So theyre not the first country to this. Hungary has done it. There have been calls in other countries to do it as well. But it was a bit of a surprise, which is why you saw those share prices fall. We havent made much money out of this for the last decade or so. Since the financial crisis, Interest Rates have been close to zero, so theres been almost no margin. If you start taxing us the minute we start making money, then that will impair our ability to lend money into the economy. But it is a popular move in many countries and weve seen it, as i say, in spain as well. And there are calls in some other countries to do it. But this was a surprise. They talked about it for a while, then we thought it had gone cold, and then they popped it in just before the Italian Government goes on their summer recess. Are we losing our appetite for Meat Alternatives . Thats the worry for beyond meat as the leading maker of plant based burgers and sausages says its seen a 30 fall in sales in the april tojune period compared to a year ago. The New York Stock Exchange has just opened and beyond meat� s shares are down about i7 . I remember covering it when Beyond Meat First came to the market and its share price popped on the first day of trading at the nasdaq stock exchange. And there was a lot of excitement around the idea that here was a product that not only was great for vegans, but also for meat eaters who perhaps wanted to do their bit to try and kind of reduce the emissions related to sort of the production of meat and switch to something that was plant based. Now, you fast forward a couple of years and here is this company thats reporting a 30 drop in sales. You know, i mean, a third of their sales have fallen. And so there is concern, is this unique to this company or does it reflect a bigger trend . Are we seeing peoples appetite change . And if you listen to what the ceo said, he talked about the fact that you have high inflation, which has meant that people have cut back. That is some of the reason they have switched in some cases. If youve got to choose, if youve got a limited budget, people are choosing meat instead of the kind of plant based alternative. But there is another thing at play here also, and that is perception. There is a sense that perhaps, you know, the Health Benefits of these plant based alternatives are not so great because they contain high levels of saturated fat, but they also contain very elevated levels of sodium. And so that also, i think, has turned people off. And then there is the question that maybe some people just arent interested. So perhaps we have seen the last of the kind of growth in a sector that really has been exploding. That being said, if you look at other areas like plant based Dairy Products and milks, theyre still doing very well. So this does seem very specific to the to the kind of alternative meat section. Yeah, certainly seems it. Michelle, theres another story that i know youre keeping your eye on. 11 Wall Street firms have been paying fines of nearly 300 million between them because of poor recordkeeping. Whats that about . Yeah. So weve all seen the rise of things like whatsapp or other messaging systems, whether its imessage or signal. Increasingly, thats creeping into the workplace and that is opening up employers to legal liability as these 11 banks have just found. Now, part of it is specific to the industry. It is governed by the Securities Exchange act from 193a, which governs kind of Record Keeping for the industry. And so what these 11 banks have been found or have had to pay this penalty for is the idea that their employees were basically engaged in work chat, where there was kind of significant information shared on these Messaging Apps that then were not kept as records because by their nature they are more private and the employers dont necessarily have sight of that. So i think it goes to the sort of bigger question. Obviously, there is legaljeopardy here for these firms, but it raises a broader question for employers and for employees about how we use these apps in the workplace and to discuss our work. One of the worlds biggest Computer Chip Makers says its going to open its First Factory in europe. Says its going to open its First Factory in europe. Taiwans tsmc says its board has approved plans for a 3. 8 billion facility in germany. The company said it had strong support from the germany government and the eu, both of which have been pouring money into Computer Chips so that they become less reliant on china for supplies. Tsmc� s invesment in germany follows a similar announcement by us rival intel a few weeks ago. The Video Conferencing firm zoom has updated its Terms Of Service because of concerns that it was training its Artificial Intelligence models on customer calls. In a blog post, the firm stressed that audio, video and chats were not used for al without consent. The video calling app acted after users noticed changes to the firms Terms Of Service in march, which they worried enabled ai training. Zoom launched new ai powered features injune, one of which lets clients summarise meetings without having to record an entire session. Around the world and across the uk. This is bbc news. Lugging the weekly shop the long way round. No one will deliver here so sarah rogers and the other residents have to take this route every time they want to get from their cars to their homes. I do the shopping for my next neighbour who is disabled. If i didnt do his shopping, then he wouldnt have any stuff. For two years now, its been like this. The bridge was closed in 2021 because of the concerns that it might collapse under its own weight. Some repairs meant it could be reopened to pedestrians 18 months ago but Newport Council has no date for when things will be completely back to normal. All we get when we try to contact them is the fact that they are monitoring the bridge. I mean, how long does it take to monitor a bridge . Newport council said work had proved complex and technically challenging. It said repairs were ongoing and thank the residents for their patients. It said all the Emergency Services had been given the code to the gate. Youre live with bbc news. To ukraine now, where at least seven people have been killed in a Russian Missile attack on the eastern town of pokrovsk. Dozens of others were injured in the strike. The head of the Donetsk Region said it damaged a hotel as well as shops and office buildings. 0ur correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse, told us more about the attack and the town where it happened. Rescue efforts are continuing today after having to be paused overnight because of the risk of shelling, were told. But pokrovsk is one of many Frontline Towns where, after the population was hollowed out in the full scale invasion of last year, people in their thousands have been returning to cities like pokrovsk, despite the very real dangers. Youve got authorities there saying, stay away. Its still not safe. There are reminders of the threat with damaged buildings dotted about. And this is the worst weve certainly seen for a while in the area where you have the Hotel Druzhba and the mafia themed corleone restaurant. Why do i know so much about it . Well, me and countless other journalists, as well as civilians and soldiers, its where you go and stay and eat when you go to places like this, there isnt much in the way of choice. But the people there are very friendly. It is a city that somehow learnt to cope, learnt how to live despite being around about 20 miles from the front line. And the reality is when youre that close to the front line, you are within range of more russian weaponry, such as grad missiles, such as artillery fire. So the risks really do go up. And theres no doubt that russia targeted it because lots of ukrainian soldiers go through there. But this is nevertheless a civilian location. It is a town, it is a small town. And here we are again with the familiar sight of two rescue teams lifting to through the rubble and trying to find who they can. And i think the fact that so many of the injured are made up of police officers, i think that reflects the strikes occurring within a0 minutes of each other. It suggests whats called a double tap, where weve seen Russian Forces do this before, where they hit a specific area, they let rescue teams come in and then they hit it again in a very deliberate act. In ireland, thousands of mourners have gathered for the funeral, of the singer Sinead Oconnor who died last month at the age of 56. There was a huge turn out in the coastal town of bray, near dublin, to say farewell to the star. The procession passed her former home. From there heres our reporter sara girvin. They have been singing, sharing memories of the singer. 0ne fan said she got up at 2am this morning to travel here. Another couple have just stopped us to show us pictures of their grandchildren with the staff. This is how important it was for people to be here today. After a private service this morning, just after an hour ago, they pass through this coastal road, past her home. Music had been playing up until that point. People had been singing. But when the car got here, you could have heard the pin drop after rounds of applause. People were throwing flowers at the vehicle. Really emotional scenes. Then the vehicle went all down this road. We know it went all down this road. We know it went on to a private burial. This was the only public part of the service. We know one of the attendees at the private part was the irish president. He has said sinead 0connor� s contribution to music was phenomenal but he said it came from incredible pain, perhaps too much for one to bear. People who have been really grateful that they got to say their final goodbyes. It was a day are very mixed emotions, of morning but of celebration two. Its been another big day at the womens world cup with two more Teams Colombia and france making it through to the quarterfinals. Earlier i spoke to our reporter mimi fawaz about frances comfortable win over debutants morocco. Debbiejens Marco Debbie Jens marco Flashing Debbiejens Marco flashing them in that match by four goals to nil. Morocco is the first arab country to qualify in this competition. The first time theyre making afraid the last 16 in france just proved too much for them to deal with. They had lots of defensive errors. Lets not forget, this is a fourth consecutive time that france have reached the quarterfinals of the womens world cup. Quarterfinals of the womens world cu. � , quarterfinals of the womens world cu, � ,. ,. ,y cup. And they are oined by colombia. H cup. And they are oined by colombia. That cup. And they are joined by colombia. That much cup. And they are joined by colombia. That much was l cup. And they are joined by l colombia. That much was cup. And they are joined by colombia. That much was that colombia. That much was that match was much tighter, wasnt it . Indeed, colombia went through getting one goal againstjamaica. Getting one goal against jamaica. Jamaica getting one goal againstjamaica. Jamaica were very strong defensively in the group stages, not conceding any goals, but colombia in a second half of the match, were able to break through the defence and get a goal. Colombia looking very good. They had a shock win against the two time champions germany in the group stages. So they will definitely be a very tough opponent for england who face the next in the quarterfinals on saturday. Quarterfinals on saturday. Talking of england. Quar