bankruptcy protection in the us under chapter 15 which governs foreign companies in the us, protecting them from creditors that might want to sue them. you have probably heard of chapter 11. that typically governs american companies but it is chapter 15. according to court filings these negotiations are ongoing in hong kong, canaanite and british virgin islands. we have reached out to evergrande that have not had conversation. to those who have wondered if they have ever thought of evergrande before it is china's huge property giant. they have about 1300 projects across 280 different cities in china and they invest in everything, not just property. they have an electric vehicle maker and a football club, but as i mentioned, 2021 was when we saw the company default on its debts, sending shockwaves across the global financial system and triggering a string of defaults from builders who owed money to evergrande or expected them to complete some contracts. we have seen 40% or the companies that make up 40% of china's housing sector defaults and as we understand it evergrande has about $300 billion in debt. it has lost $80 billion in the last two years and has even been in a trading halt since last year. indeed. and as we have been saying the property market very much in the focus in china right now. saw house prices dip for the first time since the ending of pandemic restrictions. worth stressing, though, evergrande is a different company to the other one in headlines a lot in recent weeks and months. that's country garden. any bring us up to speed on what is happening with that company? if to speed on what is happening with that company?— with that company? if country garden was — with that company? if country garden was to _ with that company? if country garden was to go _ with that company? if country garden was to go under- with that company? if country garden was to go under that l garden was to go under that would be far, far greater than it evergrande. it is a much larger company. it warned in the last couple of weeks it was going to make an $8 billion loss in the first half of this year and for any of you remember the trials and tribulations you might have ptsd. they told bondholders they might not be able to service the bond repayments. this was the start of evergrande's troubles. we have seen the shares up but they have a lot their value in the past month and the issue is the unfinished projects that you mention. basically, people buying properties of the plan, seen construction falter and buyers stopping paying the mortgages and that further causing financial stresses for these developer countries that it must be set as well that these developers and the property sector makes up about one third of the chinese economy so it is a really pivotal sector, creating fears of contagion on what these potential collapses and defaults may mean for the rest of the economy and china's economy is struggling at the moment. we have talked about that they have hit deflation — prices going down rather than “d prices going down rather than up which is unusual considering the rest of the economy. growth is down, traders down and the central bank having to interest rates. unexpected as the world's second—largest economy struggles to get back after the pandemic. struggles to get back after the andemic. . ,, ., pandemic. katie silva in singapore. _ pandemic. katie silva in singapore, thank - pandemic. katie silva in singapore, thank you i pandemic. katie silva in l singapore, thank you very pandemic. katie silva in - singapore, thank you very much. we have been watching developments out of china. lots of disappointing economic data, not least the fact that they stopped reporting youth unemployment after it reached a record high injune of this year. let's talk about the market implications now. live now to mike coop, morningstar investment management's chief investment officerfor the emea region. thanks for being with us. good morning- _ thanks for being with us. good morning. what _ thanks for being with us. good morning. what is _ thanks for being with us. good morning. what is going - thanks for being with us. good | morning. what is going through the minds of— morning. what is going through the minds of the _ morning. what is going through the minds of the people - morning. what is going through the minds of the people you - the minds of the people you work alongside when they see these slow—moving car crash happening in china? figs these slow-moving car crash happening in china?- these slow-moving car crash happening in china? as you are coverin: happening in china? as you are covering earlier— happening in china? as you are covering earlier this _ happening in china? as you are covering earlier this morning, | covering earlier this morning, it is something that has been going on for so long now that people might be thinking "is this still happening?" but what is interesting about the way the story is evolving is the scale of it and how the chinese government have chosen to deal with the issue. you might recall previously the chinese government got much tougher on developers a few years ago. and this is really a response to excessive use of debt. they then wanted to crack down on that and, of course, we also saw the crackdown on the technology, education companies, but now the pendulum is swinging back the other way. so, the issue is how to read the way the government is dealing with this. we know the script of how this works. property lending has been going on for centuries. the issue is how the government allows this to play out — whether it is an american—style crunch or a japanese—style long play out. here we have further evidence of a heavily intervened and slower play out.— slower play out. took us through _ slower play out. took us through what _ slower play out. took us through what you - slower play out. took us through what you see i slower play out. took us - through what you see happening in the months and years ahead? some of those measures you talked about already — limiting the ability of these developers to borrow. some of them seem to have come quite late in the game. have come quite late in the name. ., have come quite late in the iame. ., , have come quite late in the name. ., , ., ,, game. so, what is happening in the last 18 _ game. so, what is happening in the last 18 months, _ game. so, what is happening in the last 18 months, of - game. so, what is happening in the last 18 months, of course, l the last 18 months, of course, globally, is a huge rise in interest rates. so, this is a race against time if you are heavily indebted and particularly if you are heavily indebted at a period of economic weakness when asset prices start to fall. so, this is i think one of the reasons why the government's attitude to dealing with the crisis has changed. the wider fallout, to dealing with the crisis has changed. the widerfallout, the knock—on implications to the financial sector, the economy in terms of asset prices and people's wealth, means that it is imperative to prevent this escalating, and so a longer, slower work out — as i say with possibly a more japanese—style rather than a us style treatment and it could go on for quite some time and there will be heavy intervention all along the way.— will be heavy intervention all along the way. thank you very much for _ along the way. thank you very much for that _ along the way. thank you very much for that analysis. - us presidentjoe biden is hosting the leaders from south korea and japan at camp david. this will be biden's first meeting of foreign dignitaries at the historic site since coming to power, as well as the first official meeting between the three leaders. holding the talks at camp david is very symbolic, and it is a way of showing how important the us government treats these talks. the discussions between the us, japanese prime minister fumio kishida and south korean president yoon suk—yeol are expected to focus on the nuclear threat from north korea, cooperation on military and economic security, as well as a possible new crisis hotline between the three allies. this meeting has the potential to help the us counter china's ambitions by shoring up its alliances in the indo—pacific. joining me now is weifeng zhong, senior research fellow, mercatus centre at george mason university. thank you very much for being with us today. what's the economic backdrop to this summit? clearly, lots of political strategic defence considerations there, but what about the economics of it all? good morning to you. thanks for having me. that is a very good question because china, you just talked about in your programme, the downward spiral of the chinese economy. i think it has a lot of foreign policy implications because often times when the domestic economy is not doing well, leaders, especially authoritarian regimes, they look outward for political points and so forth china, i think number one on the list is to reunify taiwan. so, i think actually the chinese economy not doing well is actually bad news in many different ways, including the possibility that conquering taiwan or taking back taiwan could be prioritised now by the chinese president because he just could not figure out the domestic economy. so, i think now is the perfect timing for us and other western leaders to work more closely with japan and south korea. 50. work more closely with japan and south korea.— and south korea. so, that is the case. — and south korea. so, that is the case. you _ and south korea. so, that is the case, you are _ and south korea. so, that is the case, you are saying, i and south korea. so, that is i the case, you are saying, that the case, you are saying, that the decline in the chinese economy raises the stakes when it comes to taiwan, even though we have seen a warding of sorts with russia's invasion of ukraine as to the scale to which the west is willing to act in response to this kind of incursion?— incursion? yeah, i think the calculation _ incursion? yeah, i think the calculation there _ incursion? yeah, i think the calculation there is - incursion? yeah, i think the calculation there is actually| calculation there is actually quite complicated because we did see huge support financially from western countries, including providing weaponry to ukraine in defence of the russian invasion, but it is not as clear what the chinese reasoning is after seeing that, right? because if they did the same with taiwan, had china decided to take back taiwan, just providing weaponry support to taiwan is probably not going to be enough for taiwan's defence of the chinese invasion, so, if that is what they will do, i think china might actually take that is good news. i might actually take that is good new-— good news. i am sorry for interrupting, _ good news. i am sorry for interrupting, but - good news. i am sorry for interrupting, but i - good news. i am sorry for interrupting, but i will. interrupting, but i will continue on — what about what it says about the south korea japan relationship? what greater allegiance could they forge at this meeting which might help counteract the chinese threat?— might help counteract the chinese threat? the historical backdrop i — chinese threat? the historical backdrop i think _ chinese threat? the historical backdrop i think - _ chinese threat? the historical backdrop i think - i _ chinese threat? the historical backdrop i think - i think- chinese threat? the historicalj backdrop i think - i think both backdrop i think — i think both japan and south korea are having a little bit of ptsd from the second world war because of the japanese invasion of south korea, among other places in asia, and so there has been all the years an easy relationship, but i think in comparison to the potential for geopolitical disruptions china might bring to the table to the indo—pacific, i think now is a better time for the two countries to work out their differences and to figure out what to do about a potential chinese invasion or even china being more aggressive in the south china sea, which will bring in huge impacts to the pacific trade with japan and south korea are. the pacific trade with japan and south korea are.— pacific trade with japan and south korea are. the old adage is true - "my — south korea are. the old adage is true - "my enemy's - south korea are. the old adage is true - "my enemy's enemy . south korea are. the old adage is true - "my enemy's enemy is is true — "my enemy's enemy is my friend." thank you very much forjoining us today. my friend.�* thank you very much forjoining us today.— for “oining us today. thank you forjoining us today. thank you for having _ forjoining us today. thank you for having me. _ mortgage rates in the us have hit their highest level in 21 years. on thursday, the average interest rate on a fixed 30—year mortgage went above 7%. a year ago it was at around 5%. rising mortgage rates have seriously disrupted the us housing market, and mark a long—term shift in one of the biggest underlying forces in the us economy. michelle fluery has more from new york. fought the past year, economists have been fretting about the end of the low rate economy in the united states and its in housing, particularly the mortgage market, where rising interest rates directly hit home owners, which is to say many us consumers and voters. when mortgage rates rise sharply and i average they are now at over 7%, and the highest since 2002, then the housing market, well, it tends to slow down. it suddenly cost more to borrow and people who already have a mortgage on the older, lower rates, well, they don't want to move. that is what had nothing in the united states. less than 20% of new homes were sold in june than at the same time last year. mortgage lending companies are struggling and as a result they are laying off workers and it will weigh on economic growth more broadly as people take on fewer, smaller mortgages and don't feel they are getting wealthier thanks to their home at rising in value. so far, the overall us economy has withstood the shock. growth remains strong but the return to a higher rate economy may onlyjust have to a higher rate economy may only just have started. let's get some of the day's other news now. elon musk—owned spacex's surging revenue helped it turn a small profit in the first quarter of 2023 after two annual losses, according to the wall streetjournal, citing documents. the company generated $55 million in profit on $1.5 billion in revenue during the january—to—march period, says the report. we've been talking about the impact of high interest rates on the us property market. well, amid strong growth and low unemployment, there's growing fear that interest rates will stay higher for longer. that has caused yields on the 10—year us government bond to flirt with a 15—year high. also known as treasury notes, such bonds are considered to be an especially safe investment, and are closely scrutinized due to its use as a benchmark for pricing everything from home mortgages to commercial loans. and by now, even if you are not interested in football, i'm sure you've been hearing all about the women's world cup from at least some of your friends. with england in the final, the tournament has become so popular that the uk government is encouraging councils to get pubs open earlier on sunday ahead of the match. it comes after pubs called for licensing laws to be relaxed to allow venues to serve alcohol before kick—off. under current rules, pubs can open when they choose on sundays, but when they can start selling alcohol depends on their licence. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. we all see the beauty of the natural world, but sometimes it takes a unique eye to appreciate its hidden potential. leaf cuttings and berries found at a nearby hedge, plus a vision and some determination, can create something truly wonderful. hello there, my name's winston plowes, i'm an environmental artist — or land artist. so, whereas another artist might use paint and a brush, i use natural materials. in a nutshell, i pick something up and move it from one place to another. so today, i didn't know what i was going to make at all, but i picked up some of these. so these are from a chestnut tree — that's actually where we're under under now. but i was just looking at these and, the more closely i looked, i just thought that they were amazing colours. it's quite a simple design, but it'll take a little bit of application to make it look nice. you're live with bbc news. now, sometimes we can get very hung up on qualifications, when it comes to building our careers but should we be looking beyond that? we've been speaking to one successful entrepreneur who has some advice to share on the matter. it was my mother who gave me the five most important words for my life. the five most important words my mum said to me were learning how to do something. she was widowed at age 38 with four girls debate and knew she had a skill set as a nurse and that kept ourfamily skill set as a nurse and that kept our family together. i am the youngest of four girls, all of us went into skill set training, i became a professional skin therapist and changed the industry i work in. when you have a skill set in your hands, in your heart and in your head and you have trained to do something really well, you know you have got a ticket to work. i can get a job in the salon industry pretty much anywhere in the world and thatis much anywhere in the world and that is deeply comforting to me. even when i'm in a meeting with very attorneys are legal experts for tax and finance people, i can sit there and and say to myself, i can wax a bikini line in four minutes, you cannot. it is not how smart you cannot. it is not how smart you are, it is how are you smart. that led me to my career. interesting stuff. uk retail sales figures forjuly will be released later this morning. britain's hard—pressed retailers have faced the double whammy of dismal summer weather and ever—higher interest rates. live now to kate hardcastle mbe, consumer expert, insight with passion. thanks so much forjoining us today. what are you expecting forjuly�*s retail sales? thanks for having me. we are expecting a mixed picture because very much consumers are reactive to things like whether andindeed reactive to things like whether and indeed the emotion of the moment. something like the football this weekend could create some buoyancy in retail sales. we are still seeing consumers reacting to an ever—changing landscape when it comes to their budget. and there is this quandary going on all the time trying to do the best for theirfamilies. all the time trying to do the best fortheirfamilies. seeing best for their families. seeing a lot best fortheirfamilies. seeing a lot of consumers shop home brand, shop smartly, seeing the growth of the e—commerce market. the second time marketplace. also seeing spending quite neutral places that don't fit into that come. mixed picture. a slight drop in retail sales but that could quite easily renew for the peak at the end of the year.- at the end of the year. let's talk about — at the end of the year. let's talk about the _ at the end of the year. let's talk about the weather. - at the end of the year. let's talk about the weather. the j at the end of the year. let's - talk about the weather. the bad weather, not been a creature like, holding back consumer sentiment. historically i would have got people did not want to hit the high street and get wet. is it more about sentiment? about people �*s moods? it sentiment? about people 's moods? ., , , sentiment? about people 's moods? . , , ., moods? it it really is at the moment- — moods? it it really is at the moment. with _ moods? it it really is at the moment. with the - moods? it it really is at the i moment. with the pandemic, moods? it it really is at the - moment. with the pandemic, we saw the buyers of people using the internet and social media for sales. that is certainly where a lot of retailers are interrupting the consumer with their messaging. that means they are not even really getting to the story �*s before they make decisions about what they're going to buy or what doesn't they have done. when they do commit within the stories, a lot more of it is fought through that used to be. we don't see as much of on impact shopping that happens in the moment. yes, we are absolutely triggered emotionally about how we feel, whether we feel we need to bring morejoy in our lives and whether we want to stretch our budget to buy something that will bring more fun or excitement if we have disposable income to do so. that is again against that landscape we have seen for the last couple of years where consumers feel they have gone from crisis to crisis. what retailers are really feeling is consumers are putting them under so much more pressure for value and that is at any point, be it luxury or the value chain. ., ., chain. you mentioned the ongoing _ chain. you mentioned the ongoing battle _ chain. you mentioned the ongoing battle between i chain. you mentioned the - ongoing battle between online and real—world retail. here in the uk, the uk sector council told ministers this week competition laws needed to be reformed to support industry. what do you think about that, briefly if you can? it is what do you think about that, briefly if you can?— briefly if you can? it is to make sure _ briefly if you can? it is to make sure retailers - briefly if you can? it is to make sure retailers feel| briefly if you can? it is to i make sure retailers feel as fair, a fair marketplace, yet online or in—store. the beauty will always come with retail, working harmoniously together so the consumer gets a conjoined offer.- so the consumer gets a conjoined offer. so the consumer gets a con'oined offer. ., ~ , ., , conjoined offer. thank you very much forjoining _ conjoined offer. thank you very much forjoining us _ conjoined offer. thank you very much forjoining us today. - much forjoining us today. thank you. earlier this month china curbed the exports of gallium and germanium — two rare earth minerals widely used in our smartphones and many other devices, including high—tech weaponry. the move was seen as a tit—for—tat response to the us stopping china from snapping up advanced american microprocessors. global demand for critical minerals is expected to double by 2030, with growing demand from electric vehicles, along with wind and solar farms. this week, my colleague aaron heselhurst spoke to the person in the us government whosejob it is to secure a stable supply of these materials. jose fernandez is the us under secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment. he also leads the transnational minerals security partnership, or msp, a coalition of countries that needs these minerals, but a coalition that excludes china. jose told aaron about the importance of their work. we have a need for us to be able to achieve clean energy goals by the year 2050. we are going to have to increase the number of critical minerals we have available by six—eight times. some of those numbers, the growth is exponential, 42 times the amount of lithium used today you will need by 2050. two—thirds in some cases even more than that is being produced by the prc. we have to find an alternative source of supply. and the good piece of news is there are countries out there that are looking for our investment that would like to have the kind of investments that are environmentally sound, that are environmentally sound, that benefit communities and so they are looking for alternatives as well. this they are looking for alternatives as well. as you know, alternatives as well. as you know. in — alternatives as well. as you know, in the _ alternatives as well. as you know, in the us _ alternatives as well. as you know, in the us there - alternatives as well. as you know, in the us there are l alternatives as well. as you - know, in the us there are many people calling for more domestic production of some of these key minerals. there is a suggestion as partnership may bring short—term wins at at the cost of domestic production. i am wondering here, do you have some of these 17 important minerals under us oil? i very much would _ minerals under us oil? i very much would reject _ minerals under us oil? i very much would reject that - minerals under us oil? i very much would reject that kind i minerals under us oil? i veryl much would reject that kind of a premise. we have been very clear, we are looking to find these minerals in the united states and also abroad. this is all sources are welcome. what has happened, we don't have 42 times the amount of lithium we have today. in order to meet our energy goals. no—one country can solve this issue and this problem by itself. we have to bring all references together. in the us, we will pursue mining and you have seen already the president and the number of legislative acts, executive actions, has actually been promoting domestic mining in the united states. haifa been promoting domestic mining in the united states.— in the united states. how is the us going _ in the united states. how is the us going to _ in the united states. how is the us going to manage - in the united states. how is the us going to manage to l the us going to manage to secure some of the key critical minerals that are thwarted by china and other big players? i will tell you what we're doing now. number one, we are sharing information with the countries that are members of the mineral security partnership. we're going share investments, share financing. we're also going to together on recycling. right now for electric vehicle batteries, we don't use many recycled materials in order to manufacture them but experts will tell you in 10—15 years, we will use as much as 50% of our batteries that will come from recycled materials. and you can see the full interview with jose fernandez on talking business weekly with aaron heslehurst here on bbc news. let's give you an update on where markets are trading right now. it's yet another gloomy day with the concerns, yet again, coming from china. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. we're going to have all sorts of weather on friday — from morning thunderstorms across the south of the country, to sunshine in the lake district and scotland. so a real mixed bag on the way. so let's have a look at the big picture. here's the satellite picture — jet stream pushing along this developing area of weather. multiple areas of low pressure and multiple weather fronts heading our way. and yes, there'll be some storms, too. so let's have a look at the early morning forecast — showers already breaking out across some southwestern parts of the country, possibly some rumbles of thunder, too. but further north and east, i think bright spells, if not cloudy skies across some of these north sea coasts. quite muggy in the morning. but let's have a look at the thunderstorms, then. so sweeping in from the southwest — this is around about 7am — the position of these storms very tricky to pinpoint, but we will see some downpours in places. frequent lightning, gusty winds, as well. some rain moving through northern ireland in the morning, too, then eventually, these thunderstorms will move into the midlands, move a little bit further northwards, and most of them should fade — so we're not anticipating any storms further north. now further north, it'll be a little bit cooler — around 17 in aberdeen, 19 in glasgow, further south across the country, around about 21—23 celsius. then friday night, the next era of rain sweeps across the country — this is a developing area of low pressure — with the risk of gales around some western and south—western coasts. so very blustery weather for a time in the morning, especially out towards the south—west. the rain will move north, and then later in the day on saturday, it's actually better — it's quite a breezy day, but plenty of bright, if not sunny weather, and just a scattering of showers. and the temperatures will rise a little bit, as well. now looking ahead to sunday, an area of high pressure is expected to build in from the south, extending all the way from these south—western portions. and i think a pretty decent day on the way, just a scattering of showers, really pleasant temperatures — 25 in london, about 20 expected in glasgow, and about 21 in belfast. and the outlook is looking warm for many of us, not necessarily sunny all the time — i think the low 20s further north, and comfortably into the mid—20s across some southern areas. that's it for me, bye—bye. good morning, welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. 0ur headlines. banks face being fined if they fail to provide free access to cash withdrawals within three miles of consumers. goodbye to a broadcasting legend — tributes are paid to sir michael parkinson after his death at the age of 88. pub owners ask for an extension to licencing laws for england's world cup final on sunday, but red tape means it may be too late for it to be granted. high energy bills and other things, night clubs across the country are struggling to survive. with the rugby world cup just weeks away, the row over, the participation of england captain 0wen farrell intensifies.. it all surrounds his sending off in a game last weekend. that red card was overturned, but world rugby is pushing for a ban. a dry but cloudy start. we have a band of rain coming in from the south—west pushing north—eastwards. that is heavy and thundery. there will be a lull and then the next band of heavy rain coming in from the south—west. all the details later. it's friday the 18th august.