more dry weather and more sunshine. some showers and again on the hills they are likely to be wintry in nature. a breezy day, but light winds. temperatures 8—13 c, north to south. that leads us into the easter weekend itself. fewer showers around on saturday. sunday looks like we could see some rain later in the day coming into southern england, pushing north overnight and getting into scotland on easter monday. relief in store — better news on the cost of living, as uk grocery prices rise at their slowest pace in over two years. but when, if ever, will they start to fall? plus, a roller—coaster ride — why the cost of your day out could be going up, and down, and up again, as surge pricing comes to a theme park near you. welcome to world business report. i'm ben thompson. we start with the economy here in the uk — because there is some better news on the soaring cost of living. a retail industry report has found that grocery prices are rising at their lowest level in more than two years. let's show you the details. according to kantar — the price of groceries rose at an annual 4.5% rate in the four weeks to march 17. that's the lowest since february 2022, and a fraction of the i7% inflation rate it recorded this time last year. however, that doesn't mean prices are coming down — they just aren't rising as fast. and kantar reports many people say they are still struggling to afford their groceries. tom steel is strategic insight director at kantar. what do these numbers tell us? whilst people are struggling, there is a little bit of relief, isn't there? i is a little bit of relief, isn't there? , , . ., there? i believe it will be welcome news for those _ there? i believe it will be welcome news for those watching _ there? i believe it will be welcome news for those watching today. - there? i believe it will be welcome l news for those watching today. what we are currently seeing at the moment is that right at 4.5%, and thatis moment is that right at 4.5%, and that is down from 17.4% at this time last year, which was the peak grocery inflation and that we had recorded. as you havejust grocery inflation and that we had recorded. as you have just mentioned we are able to survey shoppers based on the kind of financial sentiment. 20% of shoppers still identify as struggling, and that is the same now as it was in november. although we have seen that inflation rates come down in the last few months, shoppers are still feeling the pinch and it has not alternately dial on them feel more comfortable just yet. these figures underline that it takes time for people to feel better off giving a litter of double—digit price rises we have in recent years, doesn't it? it price rises we have in recent years, doesn't it?— doesn't it? it does indeed. ithink one thing shoppers _ doesn't it? it does indeed. ithink one thing shoppers will _ doesn't it? it does indeed. ithink one thing shoppers will welcome | doesn't it? it does indeed. i think. one thing shoppers will welcome are the promotions and support we are seeing coming through from retailers. justin at the last four weeks alone, £605 million more was spent on promotions this year compared to last year. we are in lead up to easter as well and we are seeing those sorts of easter categories being supported by promotions, particularly easter eggs. so there are lots of things retail to are doing to get shoppers back into their stores and a money back into their stores and a money back into their wallets. your fi . ures back into their wallets. your figures suggest _ back into their wallets. your figures suggest that - back into their wallets. your figures suggest that people | back into their wallets. your figures suggest that people are still willing to spent on some things, such as branded and premium goods. why? things, such as branded and premium goods- why?— goods. why? what we to believe the sea and the — goods. why? what we to believe the sea and the to _ goods. why? what we to believe the sea and the to big _ goods. why? what we to believe the sea and the to big events _ goods. why? what we to believe the sea and the to big events like - sea and the to big events like easter and christmas, logically allows premium own label lines and brands are doing quite well. in a large part because we come together and celebrate at these events, which gives more inclination to buy the sorts of products as we are hosting loved ones. sorts of products as we are hosting loved ones-— loved ones. also a surprise that ocado, the _ loved ones. also a surprise that ocado, the fastest _ loved ones. also a surprise that ocado, the fastest growing - loved ones. also a surprise thatl ocado, the fastest growing retail loved ones. also a surprise that. ocado, the fastest growing retail in march, that might surprise people who might think it is the discount retailers who might be doing quite well right now.— retailers who might be doing quite well right now. what we have seen for ocado for— well right now. what we have seen for ocado for the _ well right now. what we have seen for ocado for the last _ well right now. what we have seen for ocado for the last five - well right now. what we have seen for ocado for the last five weeks i well right now. what we have seen for ocado for the last five weeks is j for ocado for the last five weeks is growth and 9.5%. a lot of that is driven by a big voucher campaign and there have been running through the start of the year up until now. naz met see more trips coming through with coupons being used and they are giving away more money. they are aiming to reach new shoppers that do not currently use that channel. what we're seeing across the retailers that you have an online platform is a strong growth coming out this year. we know that share for the amount within total gross is increasing year on year as well. always good to talk to you, thank you. farmers have been gathering with their tractors in brussels, once again, protesting at a meeting of eu agriculture ministers. farmers across europe have been taking to the streets for months, angry at low prices supermarkets pay for their produce, soaring fuel and fertiliser prices, and new eu environmental rules that they say will make it harder to earn a living. we spoke tojos ubel — a dutch cattle farmer who's also part of a farmers' pressure group. he said farmers should be allowed to concentrate on producing the food europe needs. they have to trust the capacities of the farms in europe. we have some of the greatest farmers worldwide and we have very effective produce. we are part of food security in europe. we saw what happens if you are dependent from your energy abroad, we saw what happened if there is a war or something else. it can really have a great effect on europe. and i think we should be aware if we go into a war or whatever it is very important to have food security and to have regionally produced food by your farmers. and we know what we're doing, we are not beginners. to boeing now — because the plane maker is on the hunt for new leadership as it tries to draw a line under a deepening safety crisis. the boss — chief executive dave calhoun — has said he will step down by the end of the year. the head of boeing's commercial airlines division will retire immediately and its chairman will not stand for re—election. this all part of the continuing fallout after an unused door blew out of a boeing 737 max injanuary shortly after take—off. chris roebuck is a business leadership expert from university college london. he says the company may need a fresh perspective at the top. this goes back at least five, six years where they've had leadership failures, they've had process failures, and then calhoun comes in and he's supposed to change it all, and it hasn't. and we get to the point where, you know, most of us, when we even get flatpack furniture, we know we have to put all the screws and bolts in the right places and do them up. you know, it's not rocket science. but he wasn't able to change it. and i think the point is that maybe he's been in boeing too long. and there has been this tension between the engineers who want to do the engineering right and the people on the management side who want to push the planes through the factory and make as much money as possible. and whoever comes in has to change the balance between those two. calhoun was supposed to do that, but he didn't. and there's all sorts of evidence that suggests that fundamentally it's still the money that's driving it. the person that has to come in, therefore, has to be somebody who has a different perspective from the boeing old guard, you might call them, and has the capability to make the change through engaging the employees, engaging the stakeholders outside, such as investors and regulators. but i think putting another long serving boeing person in the position isn't going to cut it. the owner of some of the uk's most popular theme parks is introducing what it calls "dynamic pricing". merlin entertainments — which owns attractions including alton towers and legoland — will use tech, including ai, to adjust prices according to factors such as weather and demand, allowing them to charge more, say, on a sunny day or public holiday. investment analyst russ mould told the bbc that the company is trying to maximise returns after the tough covid period — but customers could also benefit. merlin has got private equity owners, so there is probably quite a lot debt in there, some interest bill some interest bills that needs to be paid. and these parks are expensive to maintain. so, everybody wants to go they're notjust to have a good experience, but a safe one, and that will require a lot of investment. so merlin will be looking to raise extra revenue. scott o'neill, the boss, has been saying it is notjust about raising prices at busy times. it is offering lower prices at quiet times, so that is what they want to talk about dynamic pricing and not just surge pricing. but equally what is going to be really important for the customer is that they still get a great experience and they have transparency on what the prices are and it's easy for them to work out what is going on. let mejust show let me just show you the numbers. after those record numbers last week, the ftse 100 pretty much yo—yoing week, the ftse100 pretty much yo—yoing between positive and negative territory throughout the morning. keep an eye on brent crude, still moving, $87 a barrel right now. concerns about demand from around the world. we will talk some more later. bye—bye. hello from the bbc sport centre. it'll be a nerve—shredding night in cardiff as wales take on poland with the winners going to this summer's european championship. both endured difficult regular qualifying campaigns up to the playoffs, but last week wales comfortably dispatched finland 4—1, while poland thrashed estonia. the wales manager had been under intense pressure, but his side has responded well and they now stand on the brink of their third successive euros. it would be a great achievement for us to qualify, and in the manner in which we have done. what ever you go through to a campaign you're always going to get bumps on the route, especially the transition we were in front the summer. what pleases me is the reaction we have had

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