BBCNEWS — Business Today
20260917 023000 UTC
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[00:00:03] Live from Singapore now on BBC
[00:00:07] News, Business Today. MUSIC
[00:00:14] MUSIC The The US Federal Reserve has raised raised interest rates for the first
[00:00:17] first time in three years as it tries
[00:00:19] tries to combat rising prices and
[00:00:22] and snap launches new augmented reality reality glasses as it targets the
[00:00:25] the next generation of wearable technology.
[00:00:33] technology. Hello and welcome to to Business Today with me Steve Lai.
[00:00:36] Lai. US interest rates have been been raised for the first time in
[00:00:39] in more than three years, with the the Federal Reserve lifting its benchmark
[00:00:42] benchmark rate to between 3.75 and
[00:00:45] and 4%. The decision was unanimous, unanimous, despite President Donald
[00:00:48] Donald Trump calling for rates to
[00:00:49] to be cut to 1 or 1% or less. Fed
[00:00:53] Fed Chair Kevin Walsh says inflation inflation remains too high and has
[00:00:56] has not improved enough. Yet. For
[00:00:58] For more than five years, inflation
[00:01:01] inflation has been running above above target. So our predominant
[00:01:04] predominant focus is on the price price stability side of our mandate.
[00:01:08] mandate. The plain fact is that inflation
[00:01:11] inflation is too high and has been
[00:01:14] been for too long. This summer's
[00:01:17] summer's inflation readings do not
[00:01:19] not tell me that underlying trends trends have meaningfully improved.
[00:01:22] improved. US stocks fell after the
[00:01:25] the decision, with the Dow dropping dropping more than 600 points. Markets
[00:01:28] Markets here in Asia, though, are are trading mixed as investors assess
[00:01:31] assess the implications of this latest
[00:01:32] latest hike. I spoke with Diane Swonk,
[00:01:36] Swonk, chief economist and managing managing director at KPMG. She says
[00:01:39] says the Fed's move marks the beginning
[00:01:41] beginning of a rate hiking cycle.
[00:01:43] cycle. It's exactly the right decision decision and it's the beginning of
[00:01:46] of a rate hiking cycle, which I think think is very important to take in
[00:01:50] in context as well as we saw, not
[00:01:52] not only was this decision there,
[00:01:55] there, but the larger participants participants at the meeting, the
[00:01:58] the larger group of participants participants actually had marked
[00:02:01] marked up another rate hike for the
[00:02:03] the end of this year. And in another
[00:02:06] another 1 in 2027. So that's three three quarters of a percent, which
[00:02:09] which I think it will take at least least that to derail the inflation
[00:02:12] inflation that we've got, which has has persisted for more than five
[00:02:15] five years now. We thought we got got close to a soft landing, but
[00:02:19] but that was not the case. It's unclear
[00:02:21] unclear we'll able to actually manoeuver
[00:02:24] manoeuver that elusive soft landing
[00:02:26] landing again. And I think another
[00:02:28] another important point right now
[00:02:30] now is that the vote was unanimous. unanimous. That's important for the
[00:02:33] the Fed's credibility that they acted acted independently and together
[00:02:37] together to shore up not only the the Fed's credibility, which has
[00:02:41] has been damaged by the persistence persistence of inflation, but also
[00:02:44] also in the context of the political political pressure on The Fed to
[00:02:47] to cut rates right now. Yeah, we'll we'll get to the political pressure pressure in just a moment. I just
[00:02:50] just want to get your take on what what this these series of rate hikes,
[00:02:54] hikes, rate hikes will mean for us us consumers, for mortgages, for
[00:02:57] for businesses, for hiring. Well,
[00:03:00] Well, if we only get three quarters quarters of a percent increase in
[00:03:03] in interest rates, we could see a
[00:03:07] a modest slowdown. But the economy economy is currently accelerating accelerating a point that Chairman
[00:03:10] Chairman Morris actually made today. today. And so you're really starting
[00:03:14] starting to have to lean against against the wind a little bit heavier.
[00:03:17] heavier. And I think the next discussion
[00:03:20] discussion will be not how many just just whether it's, you know, a couple
[00:03:23] couple of more rate hikes, but whether whether or not it might require more
[00:03:26] more than that to actually derail derail this inflation now. And just
[00:03:30] just coming back to the politics politics of it, then, President Trump Trump blamed the decision on The
[00:03:34] The Fed board and not on his appointed appointed fed chair Warsh, which
[00:03:37] which is quite a different from singling singling out his predecessor, Jerome
[00:03:40] Jerome Powell. That is different. different. But at the end of the
[00:03:44] the day, this was a unanimous vote. vote. And Kevin Warsh was quite clear
[00:03:48] clear today that he voted in favour favour of this as well. And I think
[00:03:51] think that was an important statement statement for the Federal Reserve
[00:03:54] Reserve to make at this time. And
[00:03:57] And at this juncture, given the extraordinary extraordinary pressure that they
[00:04:00] they have seen publicly, it's not not that politically a lot of politicians
[00:04:04] politicians do not like what central central banks do, and that is not
[00:04:08] not uncommon. But the extraordinary extraordinary public pressure on
[00:04:11] on the Federal Reserve to cut it
[00:04:13] it was important that he look aligned
[00:04:16] aligned with his leadership within within The Fed system, and they are
[00:04:19] are aligned with him. They spoke spoke as one today. The US is not
[00:04:23] not alone in facing pressure from from higher inflation. The European European Central Bank raised rates
[00:04:27] rates last week, while the Bank of of England is due to make its decision
[00:04:30] decision on Thursday. Here in Asia, Asia, the Bank of Japan will unveil
[00:04:32] unveil its policy decision on Friday.
[00:04:36] Friday. Food security risks across across South and South East Asia
[00:04:38] Asia are rising as the Gulf conflict conflict pushes up fuel and fertiliser
[00:04:42] fertiliser costs, while a potentially potentially record breaking El Nino
[00:04:45] Nino threatens harvests. New analysis
[00:04:48] analysis from Verisk Maplecroft warns
[00:04:50] warns these pressures could be particularly particularly serious for countries
[00:04:53] countries including India, Indonesia Indonesia and the Philippines, where
[00:04:55] where food insecurity and civil unrest unrest risks are already elevated.
[00:04:59] elevated. Now for more on this. Reema Reema Bhattacharya, head of Asia
[00:05:03] Asia research for various Maplecroft Maplecroft global global risk data
[00:05:06] data company. She joins me here in in studio. Reema, always good to
[00:05:09] to speak to you. What I thought interesting interesting about this report though
[00:05:12] though was that you see this see
[00:05:14] see 2027 as being even worse than
[00:05:16] than 2026. Yeah. Thank you for having
[00:05:18] having me. So yes, 2027 is shaping
[00:05:21] shaping up to be a pretty crucial
[00:05:24] crucial year for Asia. And honestly, honestly, we thought this year was
[00:05:26] was bad. I think there is a scope
[00:05:29] scope for situations to get a lot lot worse before things get better,
[00:05:32] better, because our data clearly clearly shows that food security,
[00:05:35] security, heat and water stress and and geopolitics are converging across
[00:05:39] across South and South East Asia Asia in a way that could seriously
[00:05:42] seriously destabilise key agri exporters. exporters. Now we are several months
[00:05:46] months into the Gulf crisis, so a a lot of the early disruption has
[00:05:49] has been sort of priced in, but I
[00:05:52] I really don't think that regional regional governments are prepared
[00:05:55] prepared for what a record breaking breaking El Nino can add on top of
[00:05:59] of that. So the real test, I think, think, will be whether farmers can
[00:06:02] can afford inputs for the next planting
[00:06:05] planting season and also what that that geopolitical and the sort of
[00:06:09] of socio economic fallout would be be in case they're not able to. Yeah. Yeah. And I suppose you're connecting
[00:06:13] connecting the dots here between between what's happening in the Middle Middle East with how it's affecting
[00:06:16] affecting fertiliser supplies around around the region, and then extrapolating extrapolating that into what happens
[00:06:20] happens if it coincides with other other factors like climate. Yeah,
[00:06:23] Yeah, it's already coinciding. And And our data is saying that, no,
[00:06:26] no, this is an early trend which which is going to intensify next
[00:06:29] next year. Yeah. So which of the the countries most at risk and why
[00:06:32] why are they so vulnerable. So South
[00:06:35] South Asia I think is probably going
[00:06:37] going to take the hardest hit. So
[00:06:40] So whether it's Pakistan, India, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, the I mean,
[00:06:44] mean, they're as I said, they kind kind of have compounding risks. They're
[00:06:48] They're you know, they're in the the extreme risk category for a lot
[00:06:51] lot of these issues. I would watch
[00:06:54] watch Bangladesh and Nepal most closely. closely. If you remember, you know,
[00:06:57] know, they kind of went through their their own violent protest movements.
[00:06:59] movements. There are new incumbent incumbent governments in place who who are still kind of finding their
[00:07:03] their feet. So this is going to be
[00:07:06] be a test for political survival survival for them. Honestly. It really
[00:07:09] really is interesting that it ties ties in to as well with the pressure
[00:07:12] pressure that it puts on governments governments and how civil unrest
[00:07:15] unrest could also play a part in in this in the South East Asian region.
[00:07:19] region. Where do you see that as as being most mostly a concern? I
[00:07:22] I think Indonesia is quite vulnerable. vulnerable. We are seeing it's you
[00:07:26] you know, there's a lot happening happening in Indonesia. It used to
[00:07:28] to be I mean, it is the largest market
[00:07:30] market in Asean. But current executive
[00:07:33] executive overreach, the flight of of foreign capital again is is a
[00:07:37] a perfect storm of risks. So I think
[00:07:40] think Indonesia is definitely on on my list and I think followed by
[00:07:43] by Philippines. OK. Thanks so much much for coming in and shedding some
[00:07:46] some light on this and some of the the concerns that we should be looking looking at paying attention to going
[00:07:50] going forward. Rima Bhattacharya, Bhattacharya, the head of Asia research
[00:07:52] research at Verisk Maplecroft. Thank
[00:07:54] Thank you. Now snap launches its
[00:07:57] its new specs augmented reality glasses
[00:07:59] glasses are priced at over $2,000
[00:08:01] $2,000 as it bets on a new generation generation of wearable computing. computing. The glasses have built
[00:08:05] built in displays, hand tracking
[00:08:07] tracking and AI with apps for navigation, navigation, entertainment and live
[00:08:10] live translation. But their size size and high price could make them
[00:08:13] them a product mainly for early adopters.
[00:08:15] adopters. Let's bring in Anshel SAG SAG Vice President and principal
[00:08:18] principal analyst at Moor Insights Insights and Strategy. He joins us
[00:08:21] us from Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.
[00:08:24] Angeles. Thanks for joining us. First, First, tell us how these glasses
[00:08:27] glasses will separate themselves
[00:08:28] themselves from the competition. competition. Well, they're very different
[00:08:32] different in the sense that they
[00:08:35] they are a standalone AR headset. headset. So they have the ability
[00:08:37] ability to run completely independently independently of a computer or a
[00:08:40] a phone. OK. And with that in mind, mind, I suppose, does that add to
[00:08:44] to the size? Is that why we see them them so chunky? Because they just
[00:08:46] just have so much more hardware built built in? Yeah, I mean, that's part
[00:08:50] part of it. The batteries. The processors,
[00:08:53] processors, the cooling, everything's everything's in, in the glasses. glasses. So it makes it much more
[00:08:56] more difficult to actually build build something that's very thin
[00:08:59] thin and sleek. And the reality is is that someone needs to build something
[00:09:02] something like this in order to be be able to iterate to a product that's
[00:09:05] that's much slimmer. Yeah. And what what are the use cases for this product product then? I mean, who's it targeting
[00:09:08] targeting or who's it targeted at?
[00:09:12] at? The reality is that they're trying trying to target everybody. The way
[00:09:15] way they've designed this platform platform is very open source and
[00:09:18] and it's actually going to target target enterprise and consumers at
[00:09:21] at the same time, which I think a
[00:09:24] a lot of previous AR and VR companies companies have made the mistake of
[00:09:27] of doing, which was going for consumer
[00:09:29] consumer first like Magic Leap and and then realising that enterprise
[00:09:32] enterprise is actually where the the dollars are today. And with Snap
[00:09:36] Snap being able to do both and attract
[00:09:38] attract both audiences, they don't don't have to worry about consumer
[00:09:42] consumer adoption being slow because because of the price or developers developers being slow to develop
[00:09:46] develop apps. They can work with with enterprises to fill the gap
[00:09:49] gap that HoloLens and other AR glasses glasses have left behind. Yeah. So
[00:09:51] So tell us a bit more about enterprise enterprise then, and where you see
[00:09:54] see them being most useful. Yeah,
[00:09:57] Yeah, the enterprise space is vast.
[00:10:01] vast. There's a lot of places for
[00:10:02] for training. There's also enterprise
[00:10:06] enterprise for defence and there's there's a lot of training and remote remote service applications that
[00:10:10] that are already in use today that
[00:10:12] that are making serious impacts on
[00:10:14] on enterprise ability to actually actually grow their training and
[00:10:18] and fill gaps in their labour force. force. All right. Thanks very much
[00:10:22] much for that, Angela. I appreciate appreciate that and Chilsag Vice
[00:10:26] Vice President and principal analyst
[00:10:27] analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.
[00:10:31] Strategy. Now let's just remind you you of our top story today. US interest interest rates have been raised for
[00:10:34] for the first time in more than three three years with the Federal Reserve
[00:10:38] Reserve lifting its benchmark rate
[00:10:42] rate to between 3.75% and 4%. That
[00:10:45] That decision was unanimous, despite despite opposition from President President Donald Trump calling for
[00:10:49] for the rates to be cut to 1% or
[00:10:52] or less. I'll be back with more at at the top of the hour on Newsday.
[00:10:55] Newsday. Do keep it here on BBC News.
[00:11:09] MUSIC
[00:14:31] I was here at the very first
[00:14:33] protest. The Janta Party had organised
[00:14:35] organised about a month ago, and
[00:14:37] and this is so much bigger. We've We've been driving towards the site
[00:14:41] site of this wildfire, but we've we've just stopped at the side of of the road here because of what
[00:14:44] what we saw out the window. This This man has been pulled out successfully.
[00:14:48] successfully. It's taken a mammoth mammoth mammoth rescue effort. This
[00:14:51] This morning. You get very little little sense of the terrible scenes
[00:14:54] scenes that were witnessed here last last night. There when the story
[00:14:57] story breaks. BBC News. And on BBC
[00:15:03] BBC News, a round up of the day's day's sporting action plus talking
[00:15:06] talking points analysis and original
[00:15:08] original journalism. BBC Sport. Hello
[00:15:18] Hello there. Great to be with you you at the BBC Sports Centre. I'm
[00:15:21] I'm Ben Croucher. It's a memorable memorable return to Europe for Sunderland.
[00:15:25] Sunderland. We'll tell you about about another difficult night for for Manchester United in the League
[00:15:29] League Cup as well. Golf's DP World World Tour gets ready for Wentworth,
[00:15:32] Wentworth, but find out why one player player is not comfortable with where
[00:15:36] where the season is ending and the
[00:15:39] the British racing driver. Ollie Ollie Millroy, who crashed during
[00:15:42] during a race in China, calls his his Dutch rival Luke Hartog a super
[00:15:46] super hero for pulling him from the
[00:15:49] the wreckage.