the core rate, stripping out those volatile elements such as fuel and rents, fell to 3.8% from 3.9% injanuary, but that was still higher than the 3.7% expected. this latest data suggests there is still some stickiness with inflation that will be scrutinised by the federal reserve as it weighs up a highly anticipated interest rate cut injune. let's head over to new york and speak to our north america business correspondent michelle fleury. not michelle fleury. a huge rise but not heading in the not a huge rise but not heading in the right direction?— the right direction? people were hoinu to the right direction? people were heping to see — the right direction? people were hoping to see more _ the right direction? people were hoping to see more evidence - hoping to see more evidence that prices were cooling and moving in the direction they wanted, this probably goes in the negative column, inflation is a bit hotter than people would like to see, and it does not necessarily mean a different outcome when it comes to thinking about the direction of interest rates at this stage and we need to talk about housing because a lot of this is being caused by housing. a sector that is very interest rate sensitive, and what we have seen is, because of a lack of supply, have seen is, because of a lack of supply, prices have continued to remain high and have gone up over the last year or so, despite the fact that you had the central bank in the us rising isil raising interest rates, which has put pressure on the rental market —— in the us raising interest rates. on an annual basis, the report shows inflation when it comes to shelter and housing is 5.7% up on an annual basis, accounting for two thirds of the core number so that is the key thing at the moment driving this up and we hope this will ease down in the months to come. for and we hope this will ease down in the months to come.— and we hope this will ease down in the months to come. for now, thanks for “oininu the months to come. for now, thanks forjoining us- — kathleen brooks is research director at the brokers xtb here in london. it is fairto it is fair to say that normally at this time of year prices rise a little bit but is this a blip or something that the fed should be worried about? the? something that the fed should be worried about?— worried about? they will be very worried about? they will be very worried about _ worried about? they will be very worried about super _ worried about? they will be very worried about super core - worried about? they will be very l worried about super core inflation and it is very sticky so this is what everyone is looking at at the moment and it is dripping out more of the volatile elements. it was lower than the figure injanuary but to reach the target rate which is a 2% annual increase in inflation, that needs to be coming in at about 0.2% every month, so it is much higher than what the annual inflation rate needs to be to reach that annual inflation target, and i think they will have a tricky meeting when they meet next week. the other issue, aside from the factors you mention, service price inflation remains stubborn, and that is a problem because we talk about product inflation and the price of goods going up but service inflation is an issue as well.— is an issue as well. absolutely. that has been _ is an issue as well. absolutely. that has been the _ is an issue as well. absolutely. that has been the bane - is an issue as well. absolutely. that has been the bane after . is an issue as well. absolutely. i that has been the bane after the pandemic, it had very high levels of service inflation and even with interest rates at decade highs, that has not weighed on it, that is why the fed is calling for patience when it comes to the interest rate cuts and what we are seeing is a recalibration, will they actually cut interest rates in the first half of the gear or push it back into the second half of the year? they might signal that in the meeting next week. , ., .,, signal that in the meeting next week. , ., , , week. the minutes of those meetings will be very interesting, _ week. the minutes of those meetings will be very interesting, what - week. the minutes of those meetings will be very interesting, what is - will be very interesting, what is your best guess on whether they make a move? fix, your best guess on whether they make a move? �* , . ., your best guess on whether they make a move? �* , ., ., your best guess on whether they make amove? �* , ., ., a move? a second month of above taruet a move? a second month of above target inflation _ a move? a second month of above target inflation is _ a move? a second month of above target inflation is going _ a move? a second month of above target inflation is going to - a move? a second month of above target inflation is going to be - a move? a second month of above target inflation is going to be ok i target inflation is going to be ok for the federal reserve and they will not commit either way but right now with the strength of the economic data along with these hotter than expected inflation figures, the second half of rate cut seems more likely at the moment than a first half and that is what the market is just about pricing in now. always good to see you. thanks for joining us. the value of the crypto currency, bitcoin, is trading at an all time high. the price is above $72,000. earlier this year, us regulators made it easier for investors to trade the currency. that's helped fuel the record breaking run. and now the uk's financial watchdog says it will loosen some of the rules. here's the bbc�*s cyber correspondentjoe tidy. for the last two years, lines charting the value of bitcoin have mostly been in one direction. but in the last few weeks it's all changed. almost hourly now, this virtual currency is hitting new all time highs. the reason? well, it's mostly down to this place. injanuary, traders from us investment giants were given the green light by us watchdogs to start selling products linked directly to bitcoin. as a result, they've spent billions buying up coins. further stoking the fire, uk financial authorities say they too are open to allowing some trading based on crypto assets. some are now wondering just how far this virtual currency can go. some people think that the potential of bitcoin is to replace all other currencies and there are shops and restaurants like this one in london that accept bitcoin. ijust bought this £7 burger, for example, which was 0.00009 bitcoin. but the way prices are going now, who knows what it'll be worth tomorrow? i don't think we're going to see bitcoin becoming a genuine currency, what i think we're seeing it become is a recognised and potentially widely used investment asset. people buying it to save for the longer term and to benefit from the price rises. bitcoin was created by an anonymous internet user in 2009 to make sending money as easy as sending an email, all without needing any financial institutions. bitcoin transactions are processed by a huge network of volunteers who use computers to check transactions. as a reward, they're automatically given new coins. right now, the demand for those coins seems to be higher than ever, and many bitcoin fans are celebrating their new—found riches. others, though, are wondering with caution which way the notoriously unpredictable line will go next. joe tidy, bbc news. let's go to denmark now home of lego because the plastic brick maker hung onto its place as the world's top toy firm last year. that's despite a slump in china and what it called the most downbeat toy market in 15 years. global toy sales fell 7% last year but sales in lego were up 2% driven by strong growth in the united states and central and eastern europe. lego boss niels christiansen told me new stores and a range of new products has helped the company keep growing. usually that comes from taking market share. and we've taken market share very broadly globally in basically all different markets. we have a very strong brand. the brand stands really strong. we have a very well resonating portfolio of products. we increased it to 780 products, of which 50% were actually new. and that has, i think, done really well across. we've invested behind digitalization, we've opened new stores and we made good progress on sustainability. so all in all, i'm very satisfied. talk to me about opening new stores because you have more than, what, 500 in china, half of all your new openings were in china. you say that you've opened 147 new ones last year. why do you need your own stores? why can't you sell through other people? we are primarily selling through other people. i think that's the main kind of way of business. we need our own stores to build the brand. so typically, if we take china as an example, if we go out, i mean, there are lower tier cities in china with maybe a million or 2 million people living there where they did not play with lego bricks when they were children or the parents didn't, and they're not bringing it to their children. so we need to build the brand from scratch, basically, and putting a branded lego store in the centre of the city while we work with partners, while we start to market the brand is what's really working. so it's really for us to be on brand. it's less about opening stores for the transactions. as such, we have many partners that will do that, but it's important that people can really feel what it is to be in the lego brand universe. and for that, stores are really strong. and you talk there about people who didn't grow up playing with lego bricks. your customer base has changed. who would you say is your typical customer? who are you selling to? i mean, my core customer is a kid somewhere in the world really excited about that. but, you know, it's broad. we have fans of all ages today. mission critical to us is really getting legal play to as many kids as possible because we fundamentally believe in playing, particularly lego play, will give you access to acquiring some of the skills you need through your educational system and into an adult life. so kids are at the centre, but we will serve any fan of any age that really likes the lego universe and that gets just broader and broader. many economies around the world are facing recession and people have less money in their pocket and that is a problem because your stuff is not cheap. some of the lego creator sets are very expensive, several hundred pounds. it is sets are very expensive, several hundred pounds.— sets are very expensive, several hundred pounds. it is expensive but also ureat hundred pounds. it is expensive but also great value, _ hundred pounds. it is expensive but also great value, and _ hundred pounds. it is expensive but also great value, and there - hundred pounds. it is expensive but also great value, and there is - also great value, and there is something for everybody. we have 780 products at all kinds of price point in all kinds of different passions and that is one of the strengths we have, we can serve whatever you like, whatever your passion is, whatever your building skill level is, there is something that can inspire and challenge you and that works really well. the inspire and challenge you and that works really well.— works really well. the market has chanced a works really well. the market has changed a lot- — works really well. the market has changed a lot. i'm _ works really well. the market has changed a lot. i'm looking - works really well. the market has changed a lot. i'm looking at - works really well. the market has changed a lot. i'm looking at your rivals, there is hasbro, mattel, it is all about digital tie—ins, movies, immersive products, so can you play that game as well? how would you incorporate digital and video games and movies into what is a plastic brick company? i video games and movies into what is a plastic brick company?— a plastic brick company? i think we rovide a plastic brick company? i think we provide fantastic _ a plastic brick company? i think we provide fantastic play _ a plastic brick company? i think we provide fantastic play experiences l provide fantastic play experiences but you are right in saying, the way we think about this is competing for the time of children, being present and relevant with cool experiences, and relevant with cool experiences, and one of the things last year, in december we launched lego fortnight where we had a terrific digital play experience on the fortnight platform which allows kids to get into the lego universe also when they are playing digitally and we can provide them a really good experience that ties into the physical world and probably also excites them about what they can do when they are not playing digitally, and kids can do that seamlessly. we are very well positioned to be the one that bridges that gap and allows for the physical play that we know is so important for the development of children. ,.,, , important for the development of children. ,.,,, ., important for the development of children. ,.,, , ., ., important for the development of children. , ., ., , , ., ~ children. the boss of lego speaking to me earlier. _ more than a fifth of working age adults in the uk are deemed not to be actively looking for work, according to new figures. the uk's economic inactivity rate was 21.8% between november and january, marginally higher than a year earlier. it means 9.2 million people aged between 16 and 64 in the uk are not in work nor looking for a job. concerns have been raised over worker shortages affecting the uk economy. there is more on all of those stories on the website. i will see you soon. goodbye. drinking water bubbling up from underground. it's mid—morning on a street in red hill and teams have already located the problem. thanks to ai technology, which triggered an alarm just after 8am. you can see the flows going up and down. now we have a prediction as well that goes along here with the green line. and the prediction is saying, look, based upon the history, this is the kind of flows that we should be getting in that area at this time today. you can see over here it started to jump. it's changed. and as a result of that, the systems noticed that, it's alerted the control room and it's generated an alarm. the way the system learns that is by having gadgets in the ground. so we have 1,000 sensors like this scattered out across oui’ entire area. and because they're bringing back data every 15 minutes, it's allows us to find bursts very quickly indeed and get onto them before our customers are even aware that something's happening. they know already this leak is on a joint on a nine centimetre plastic pipe that was laid in 2007. according to the regulator, ofwat, about a fifth of all the fresh water running through our pipes in england and wales is lost to leakage. there'll be much interest in certainly surrey�*s annual leakage figures out later this year. hello and welcome. i'm jane dougall. arsenal lead the way in the premier league, but now they must turn their attentions to european competition. tonight, they host porto in the champions league, but they need to overturn a one—goal deficit if they are to advance. we need that noise from the crowd and we need the emotional control as well, to understand that the game can go through phases and we have to be really intelligent to push in the right moments to get what we want, but it is a great opportunity to have these nights because it has been 14 years and everything that we have put in here will be worth it. in the other tie tonight barcelona host napoli.

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