in around an hour and a half, outlining the state of the uk economy. concerns escalate about the state of japan's economy as it unexpectedly slips into a recession. it seemed like a good idea at the time... but now tattoo removal has turned into a big business, forecast to reach almost $800 million by 2027. official figures on thursday will show whether the uk went into recession at the end of 2023. that is the term used for two consecutive quarters — that's three month periods —

of negative growth or shrinking. the office for national statistics is publishing its economic health check for the final three months of the year. prime minister rishi sunak said growing the economy was one of his five key priorities. if the economy grew in oh, then the uk avoided recession. joining me now is guillermo felices, global investment strategist at pgim fixed income. welcome to the programme. what are we expecting? 50. welcome to the programme. what are we expecting?— are we expecting? so, we expect the uk gdp — are we expecting? so, we expect the uk gdp to — are we expecting? so, we expect the uk gdp to stay _ are we expecting? so, we expect the uk gdp to stay flat _ are we expecting? so, we expect the uk gdp to stay flat in - are we expecting? so, we expect the uk gdp to stay flat in 04. - the uk gdp to stay flat in 04. that essentially means that the growth rate will be 0%. given

the contraction that we saw in the contraction that we saw in the previous month, in the previous quarter, essentially what that would mean is that we avoid a recession in the uk. what does that tell us about the general health, then, if it is flat and we have just avoided the recession, should we be happy with that, breathing a sigh of relief? we are going to talk aboutjapan in a moment, still a very strong economy but in recession.— strong economy but in recession. , ., ., , recession. yes, unfortunately, like much _ recession. yes, unfortunately, like much of _ recession. yes, unfortunately, like much of europe, - recession. yes, unfortunately, like much of europe, these - like much of europe, these numbers would mean that the uk is basically facing a stagnant economy, one that is not growing very rapidly, and that means that opportunities in the future are likely to be plentiful for activity —— but activity remains weak so it is not a great picture. if it

activity remains weak so it is not a great picture.— not a great picture. if it is not a great picture. if it is not a great picture. if it is not a great _ not a great picture. if it is not a great picture, - not a great picture. if it is not a great picture, do i not a great picture. if it is| not a great picture, do we not a great picture. if it is - not a great picture, do we have false hope in that the bank of england will start to cut interest rates? because that is so many of us are waiting for. inflation, as we saw yesterday, is actually starting to come closer to the target. it stayed flat at 1t% but it is a lot closer to do percent than we were last year, —— to 2%, and that would mean that eventually the bank of england will start to think about cutting interest rates. we probably think it's a bit mature for that sash. eventually, we should get there towards the end of the year. guillermo felices, thank you, we will be watching that announcement later today. turning to japan, where in the last few hours, we've found out that the country has

slipped into a recession. the latest data showed that for the final three months of last year, the economy shrunk 0.4% compared to a year earlier. this could meanjapan has lost its spot as the world's third largest economy. the imf had predicted this last year — saying the value of japan's output would fall behind germany's in us dollar terms. let's cross over live to our asia business hub and speak to mariko oi who's been crunching the numbers for us. a disappointing data, but it came as a surprise, why? absolutely. many had actually expected the economy to have grown by more than i% at the end of last year said the news of a contraction did come as a surprise and also the economy shrank in the previous quarter so that is what is called a

technical recession, the economy is shrinking two quarters in a row. it also means the country may have lost its position as the world's bird biggest economy to germany. —— world's third biggest economy. the imf will only change the rank is once both figures are published. the latest figures show japan for mac economy was worth about $4.2 trillion last year while germany were back was 4.4 trillion. japan lost its number two spot to china back in 2010 but the big difference this time is that the main reason is the weakness of the japanese currency against the us dollar and as we have been reporting, the yen fell about 9% against the yen fell about 9% against the us dollar last year so if the us dollar last year so if the yen manages to recover, the country could actually regain the number three spot again. also on the flip side, the weakness of the yen has helped

to boost their share prices of japanese exports because it makes their products cheaper abroad, so ironically, this disappointing news is crossing the 38,000 mark for the first time since 1990 this week and it is now flirting with its all—time high. later today, the european commission will release its winter forecast for 2024. on wednesday, it was confirmed the euro zone avoided recession. euro zone economic growth was flat in the last three months of the 2023 against the previous quarter and up 0.1% against the same period of 2022, according to eurostat, confirming its earlier preliminary estimate. the euro zone's biggest economy germany contracted 0.3% quarter on quarter. live now to andrzej szczepaniak, senior european economist at nomura.

thank you forjoining us here. so, the eurozone avoiding recession, but generally, how healthy is the zone?— healthy is the zone? good morning- _ healthy is the zone? good morning- i _ healthy is the zone? good morning. i think— healthy is the zone? good morning. i think other - healthy is the zone? good l morning. i think other areas have avoided a recession so far, and essentially outlook is pretty weak so growth was flat in queue for, as you said. in terms of the underlying detail, we don't have that yet. we should see negative consumption and negative fixed investments in any positivity really comes from either inventories or net trade which were not a great outlook, really.— outlook, really. germany, though. — outlook, really. germany, though, which _ outlook, really. germany, though, which is - outlook, really. germany, though, which is the - outlook, really. germany, though, which is the giant within the eurozone, contracted not .3%? , ~ ., not .3%? exactly. ithink from that perspective, _

not .3%? exactly. ithink from that perspective, as _ not .3%? exactly. ithink from that perspective, as we - not .3%? exactly. ithink from that perspective, as we have i that perspective, as we have seen manufacturing there has been weak, even the services sector now is turning over. germany has a number of structural problems, as a result of, which we have obviously seen, as a result of the gas crisis, and they are trying to transition through that. going forward, the challenges what we see in manufacturing production, we expect german growth to be fairly weak and underperform versus its peers in the big four. it is still negative. very quickly turning to what we can expect from the central bank? ., ., ~' can expect from the central bank? ., ., ~ �* can expect from the central bank? ., ., 4' �* ., bank? look, the ecb at the moment. — bank? look, the ecb at the moment, they _ bank? look, the ecb at the moment, they are - bank? look, the ecb at the moment, they are very - bank? look, the ecb at the i moment, they are very clearly focused on a wage growth and inflation. we have seen the recent inflation data, there was an acceleration of underlying momentum. the earliest they can cut isjune, we think. people are betting on the ability of april the 15th

orjune almost a given but april is far too soon. we think there will be little change. in terms of services inflation, we are forecasting 4% by and march. for percent service inflation is far too high for the ecb to begin thinking about cutting rates.— cutting rates. andrze' szczepaniak, i cutting rates. andrze' szczepaniak, thank i cutting rates. andrzej i szczepaniak, thank you cutting rates. andrzej - szczepaniak, thank you very much indeed. thousands of ride—hailing and delivery workers in the us and the uk went on strike on valentine's day, calling for higher pay and other changes to their working conditions. in america, uberand lyft drivers planned a day long strike at airports in a number of cities including chicago and miami. the effort comes after a typo in lyft�*s earnings report triggered a jump of more than 60% in its share price. for more on all of this, here's the bbc�*s north america business correspondent michelle fleury in new york. this past valentine's day, if you were heading out of town and needed a ride,

or if you had plans to get food delivered in the us and uk, well, you might have been affected. in america, uberand lyft drivers were refusing to pick customers up in ten cities. that's according to justice for app workers, the group behind the action. in the uk, delivery drivers for uber eats, deliveroo, just eat, and stuart said they would turn off their apps and refuse deliveries between 5pm and 10pm. the big reason is pay, they want fairer wages. take uber, it says it pays its drivers an average of $33 an hour, while lyft drivers make $30.68 an hour. but this is for active driving time, and that's significant because it doesn't account for time spent waiting to pick up a passenger. when you take that into account, the hourly pay drivers say can be a lot lower. now, the valentine's day strike comes after the ceo of lyft was forced to apologise for an accounting error. shares of the ride hailing app

soared more than 60% after it predicted it would grow by 5% this year, a huge amount for a company that has struggled to turn a profit. it later admitted that there was a typo and that the real increase would be ten times lower. the incident was viewed as an honest mistake rather than a case of securities fraud, with its shares closing up 35%, despite that typo. the surge in shares is not all good news for lyft. some analysts say the company's forecast error could invite regulatory or legal scrutiny. lyft�*s boss has since apogised for the mistake in an interview, calling it a "bad error", while adding that it was "one zero in a press release". let's get some of the day's other news now. police have fired tear gas at protestors at one of the state borders north of new delhi, as clashes with indian farmers escalate.

tens of thousands of farmers have been marching to the capital to demand guaranteed crop prices for their produce. farmers also want the government to double their income, waive loans and withdraw cases against them lodged during the last protests in 2021. this comes just months before national elections where prime minister narendra modi is widely expected to win a third term. and if you're heading to bali anytime soon, it's likely you'll have pay a $10 tourist tax. authorities say any foreigners arriving into the popular resort island will have to pay the fee, with the funds going towards protecting the culture and environment. in recent years, locals have complained of a number of incidents of foreign tourists misbehaving or disrespecting their culture. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news bringing you different stories from across the uk.

alexandra moved into her parent's former home in saint day a year ago and in that time it's been damaged by vehicles four times. and this is the damage from the most recent. and i havejust had this house completely refurbished. and this is what happened. three of those times, she says, it's been buses reversing into the bollards her mum had installed 15 years ago because the house kept being damaged even then. so i'm in a constant anxiety state. i'm constantlyjust sitting there waiting for it to happen again. i can't relax. neighbours we spoke to say they saw this recent damage happening when a bus backed up to try and get round the corner. go cornwall bus have said they could find no evidence of this from their cctv. cornwall council told us it's open to discussing any potential practical solutions beyond the measures that are already in place here. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website.

you're live with bbc news. rocket company space x has moved its legal home from delaware to texas, according to a post by its founder and boss elon musk on his social media platform x. he also had a message for the founders of companies in delaware, saying he recommends moving to another state as soon as possible. live now to justin urquhart—stewart, founder of the investment platform regionally. hello, justin, great to see you. i wonder if you could give us the background to this latest saga for elon musk it appears he had been keen on paying money. 44 billion, quite a lot of money. but in

delaware, where they normally have fairly loose arrangements with regards to corporate control, the authorities in delaware have said this is too much, this is not an effective way of controlling corporate expenditure and therefore they shouldn't be allowed to pay that. on that basis, he has decided to move the company away from delaware to texas where you can pay yourself what you like, and texas always having a much more freewheeling ideas towards control, and he's recommended any other company that has that situation. there are many companies who need another $45 million. maybe they would have to move to singapore or something like that but certainly those income levels aren't really affecting at the moment. aren't really affecting at the moment-— aren't really affecting at the moment. ,, . , ., .. , moment. spacex, tesla, the case was tesla. _ moment. spacex, tesla, the case was tesla. but — moment. spacex, tesla, the case was tesla, but he _ moment. spacex, tesla, the case was tesla, but he is _ moment. spacex, tesla, the case was tesla, but he is moving - was tesla, but he is moving spacex to texas?— was tesla, but he is moving spacex to texas? that is true, it is tesla _ spacex to texas? that is true, it is tesia is — spacex to texas? that is true, it is tesla is the _ spacex to texas? that is true, it is tesla is the one _ spacex to texas? that is true, it is tesla is the one that - spacex to texas? that is true, it is tesla is the one that was i it is tesla is the one that was

in delaware and while they are both in delaware but it was tesla who was going to be paying that amount of money and thatis paying that amount of money and that is why they said we're going to try and stop that. he can move spacex anyway and get that across but actually telling everyone else, it seems really rather strange, there aren't going to be many countries —— companies where they have individuals like him earning so much money so it is a really rather strange wage of going about it. and all sway, the authorities in delaware have a reputation for being rather loose and relaxed with a corporate control are saying no, that is not an effective way of actually controlling your corporate behaviour. let's 'ust your corporate behaviour. let's just spend _ your corporate behaviour. let's just spend a — your corporate behaviour. let's just spend a moment _ your corporate behaviour. let's just spend a moment on - your corporate behaviour. let's just spend a moment on those others because many people around the world will not know the connection of delaware and these big companies, very wealthy companies. why have they relocated or why have they

located in delaware and what companies are we talking to or rather elon musk talking to in telling them to move to texas? well, really, delaware in the past has attracted corporate businesses and had fairly loose and lacks corporate control, we didn't have to pay much in the way of corporation tax and so it attracted more businesses going there. that's fine. and they didn't think they were going to have to have companies with much in the way of arguments with the authorities if they were paying themselves too much though this comes as a bit of a surprise. now, what elon musk is talk about his other companies in a similar area, those high cost of element areas, there's high—tech areas which also maybe exciting in terms of development but also high in terms of potential risk, they would see themselves wanting to go elsewhere where they can pay themselves more and get better returns so those sorts of

businesses, he is saying, find somewhere else to invest as well, at least it is still in america, he's not saying go elsewhere but if it attracts other companies elsewhere around the world, because delaware has attracted lots of international businesses, sometimes not always with the greatest reputation so certainly some legal questions there. ., , , .,,.,_ certainly some legal questions there. ., , , , ., there. that is probably a good oint to there. that is probably a good point to leave _ there. that is probably a good point to leave the _ there. that is probably a good point to leave the interview. i point to leave the interview. thank you very much, justin, thank you. paints, textiles, inks, paper and plastics are all dyed to give richer colours. but the high demand comes at a price to the planet. paul carter has been to a company trying to find a natural solution to a man—made problem. colour is powerful. and it is so powerful it can even impact our emotions. colour is powerful. and it is so powerful it can even impact our emotions.

but to create those which pigments that textiles need, not only are chemicals left over in our water systems but industries need to take from the natural world. the industry as a whole is using upward of 5 trillion litres of water a year, 700,000 tonnes ofjust pigments and dyes, not to mention all the other chemicals that go into textiles and clothing. colorifix have developed a new way of dying fabric. and it takes its inspiration from nature. so, we start off by finding colours that are interesting in nature, we then look at the dna code for the message to make this colour. we then have to basically copy it to put it into our microorganism. but how do we get from the genetic code to the final dyed fabric? we can mix and match those pieces of dna sequence in different ways which ultimately come together to build nice colour. we move on to actually

building them and putting them into our microbe. with their dna to make a new pigment, the microbes are left to grow in a small scale before being sent off to the analytics team. meet scotty. it's a robotic machine that preps the dna samples. then the team will separate each chemical compound to check every detail of the pigment. once they have the final dna sequence, the microorganism then makes its way to fermentation. what we are looking at here is a fermenter. and what is inside is some of our lovely colourful bugs. our bugs are quite simple creatures, kind of like me and you. the essentials they need is they like lots of oxygen, they love food, again, just like us. that's what they need to grow and we hope make pigment as well. we will continue this growing until we are sure it has eaten all of the food in their and it has got as colourful as possible. we can take a sample. this is then what we will dye with. that will go onto the fabric.

and we wouldn't be too impressed in a shop if we were looking at a rack and everything was a slightly different colour, it is really important we get the same results every time. we measure out a specific volume, depending on how much fabric we are using. once the bugs have eaten all their food, it creates a lovely, rich pigment which makes its way to the coloration experts who put it in a special machine to diet evenly. ——to dye it evenly. over at the factory, everything is done on a much larger scale, where it is ready for a manufacturing level. many times you will find garments that per kilo of fabric you use 1.2 kilos of chemical to get to that end product. add a lot of chemicals, a lot of water, and you are bringing it to a high temperature, making it a somewhat toxic soup. it is not good enough to just make it greener. and what we do is reduce the use of chemicals by 65%, water use by 78%, and emissions

by 31%, so it makes a real difference to what is a very, very large volume industry. if you got a tattoo dedicated to your valentine yesterday and are already regretting it, don't worry, you're not alone. new research reports that four in ten people are rethinking their tattoos and considering laser farewells to their tattoos. the tattoo removal industry's global market value is forecast to reach almost $800 million by 2027, up from about $500 million in 2019, according to one analysis. helen quayle is the founder and owner of laserhq. she was awarded the young entrepreneur of the year in 2022 as a recognition of all her work within the laser industry, and joins me now.

huge congratulations, fabulous to have you on the programme. first off, what are the main reasons for people wanting to have their tattoo removed? 50. have their tattoo removed? so, the main reason _ have their tattoo removed? $57, the main reason that have their tattoo removed? 557, the main reason that we have their tattoo removed? 55 the main reason that we found was that people have fallen out over love with their designs so we do see quite a lot of trends coming in and out, especially social media and celebrities and trends cannot really be outdated but touches can be permanent so we are finding a lot of trends and falling out of love with the designs. the quality of the tatties as well, so a lot of the ink does blur and fade a lot so people aren't happy with the quality of the ink as well. and we do get a lot of exes names so if you get a touch yesterday, let's hope it is forever. and joint mistakes and peer pressure. what about tatties in the workplace? do primarily young people think actually this is going to work? i am entering

the working environment now. yes, we have actually found that a lot of young people, 10% of them have actually found it has affected their working environments. so we are seeing a lot of people being asked to cover up, men especially over women. now, ithink cover up, men especially over women. now, i think that is because of the placement of the tatties as well, so a lot of men get tatties along their arms and hands which will be more on shown in a working environment but employers are asking people to cover up. haunt asking people to cover up. how much does _ asking people to cover up. how much does it — asking people to cover up. how much does it cost? _ asking people to cover up. how much does it cost? i _ asking people to cover up. how much does it cost? i know that will depend on the detail on the size of the tattoo but how long can it take to remove a tattoo? , ., , , tattoo? so, usually with costs, it can take _ tattoo? so, usually with costs, it can take 250 _ tattoo? so, usually with costs, it can take 250 to _ tattoo? so, usually with costs, it can take 250 to 150 - tattoo? so, usually with costs, it can take 250 to 150 per- it can take 250 to 150 per session, again it depends on where you go who is doing it etc. an hour to attach to, something that is not quite deep into their skin, that can take one to five sessions and a professional that you can take five to 15 but we have had amazing results, especially with new technology these days.

that is pushing over £1000, rarely, a very costly mistake. helen, thank you very much indeed. do stay with us because we will be bringing you shots alive, hopefully, from florida, with the latest mainland launch, stay with me here on bbc news. —— the latest moon lander launch. hello there. some very wet, very mild conditions around at the moment. temperatures reached 16.5 celsius in hereford on wednesday and it could turn even warmer still, perhaps, as we head through thursday. but the focus for the day's highest temperatures will tend to be further east. there's a lot more rain to come in the forecast as well, all of these weather fronts just pushing northwards and eastwards as we head through into thursday morning. so temperatures rising unusually through the night across much of scotland. and we'll start the day off on 12 or 13 celsius towards the south

of england and wales. all of that mild air flowing in on that southerly wind from the azores. you can see all of that very mild air marked in the deep yellow. it's a very wet start to the day across scotland, heavy rain clearing northwards, being replaced by this batch of rain pushing away from northern ireland. a cold front sweeping eastwards, giving some more heavy rain where the ground is already saturated, but it should stay largely dry ahead of the front across eastern areas of england. now, these are the average temperatures for this time of year, just 8 or 9 degrees. you can see just how mild it's going to be through the day on thursday. in fact, across parts of essex, we could even see 16 to 18 celsius, perhaps, given any brightness. that's still well off the february record, but it will feel pleasantly warm, i think, for the time of year. now, as we head through thursday night, that cold front continues to sweep its way eastwards. and behind it, there's some slightly cooler—feeling air, but only a drop in temperature by a couple of degrees or so. we'll start off friday morning, then, with a legacy of cloud

out towards eastern areas of england. that's going to be clearing away. a few isolated showers, perhaps, in the wake of the front, but generally speaking, i think friday should be largely dry for most of us. the best of the brightness probably towards central areas at first and then out towards the east, but also some brighter skies, perhaps, further west. temperatures really around 9—12 celsius for the vast majority. on saturday, again, a largely dry day. the brighter skies really towards the east. it will cloud over from the west through the afternoon, with heavy rain by the end of the day across northern ireland. once again, temperatures will peak between 11 and 14 celsius, and that's where they'll tend to stay on sunday. that heavy rain clears eastwards as we head through sunday morning and the rest of the day should be largely dry with some spells of brightness. perhaps a few showers again on monday. bye— bye.

good morning. welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today... the uk at risk of recession. figures out in an hour will show if the economy is shrinking. good morning from shrewsbury market. a lot of experts are expecting bad

news at seven. if it is a recession, it is likely to be a short one. we will explain why it matters. a major surge in anti—semitic attacks in the uk since the start of the israel—gaza war, with incidents targeting jewish people at an all—time high. one person is killed and 21 others — including 11 children — are injured, after a shooting at the super bowl victory parade in kansas. a century of test caps now, for ben stokes, as england resume their series against india, while in the tightest of title races, rangers, go level on points with celtic at the top of the scottish premiership. good morning. today is going to be a very mild daily temperatures in some parts of the used reaching 17, 18. for all of us, fairly cloudy with outbreaks of rain. all of the details later on the programme. it's thursday the 15th of february.

our main story.