Just had the latest reading on the economy there for the first three months of the year. Official figures revealed the economy expanded at an annualised rate of 1. 6 , far below expectations and also less than the growth seen in the final months of 2023. Meanwhile, inflation, which measures the pace of price rises, has increased. At the start of the year, experts had been forecasting a series of Interest Rate cuts in the us so how do these figures play into that crucial decision . Lets talk to our north America Business correspondent now, erin delmore. Erin, the economy is growing but those figures arent as good as expected. It is inflation that is still a big issue . W , it is inflation that is still a big issue . , , ~ , issue . Exactly. Numbers like this like gdp give issue . Exactly. Numbers like this like gdp give us issue . Exactly. Numbers like this like gdp give us a issue . Exactly. Numbers like this like gdp give us a good issue . Exactly. Numbers like this like gdp give us a good thing issue . Exactly. Numbers like this like gdp give us a good thing on | issue . Exactly. Numbers like this i like gdp give us a good thing on the pulse for how the us economy is doing but it isnt a forward looking measure, it looks backwards and that is what leaves a couple of . For us. The question is where are we headed . What we know as the Federal Reserve is holding off on cutting Interest Rates, something long anticipated by investors and everyday consumers that could stand to see their Borrowing Costs go down and what they have been trying to do is keep Interest Rates higher for longer so that they can try to call these price rises, inflation, without cooling the general economy. When we get a number like this today, 1. 6 of gdp, it is about half of what we saw in the last quarter. The growth there was a 3. 4 in the Fourth Quarter of 2023. So you do see this slowing down full stop it prompts the question, whats changed . Consumer spending is still strong, propped up by a strong jobs market with a low unemployment and rising wages. What we are seeing is some of the more volatile measures, the things that do fluctuate from quarter to quarter like Business Inventory is or International Trade or Business Investment in new facilities and that makes us wonder whether businesses are feeling more reluctant about the path of the us economy ahead. Reluctant about the path of the us economy ahead. Erin, it is that old adaae economy ahead. Erin, it is that old adage that economy ahead. Erin, it is that old adage that elections economy ahead. Erin, it is that old adage that elections are economy ahead. Erin, it is that old adage that elections are won economy ahead. Erin, it is that old adage that elections are won back| adage that elections are won back and lost on how the economy is faring but President Biden faces a problem that actually the economy is doing 0k problem that actually the economy is doing ok but people dont really feel it in their pocket so there is a real mismatch in what the economic numbers are telling us and how people actually feel. Absolutely. It is a paradox people actually feel. Absolutely. It is a paradox that people actually feel. Absolutely. It is a paradox that could people actually feel. Absolutely. It is a paradox that could really people actually feel. Absolutely. It| is a paradox that could really stand to hurt President Biden� s re election efforts. I have been covering politics for more than a decade at this point and i always say that when come back down to that tuesday in november, you have to look at the price of gas and the cost of a gallon of milk and people are voting on the bottom of for budgets and their own wallets. Broadly, the Labour Market has been kind to americans. We havent seen an appointment under 4 and a stretch like this more than 20 months in many many years and it is a really interesting feat when you think about how many losses ofjobs have occurred during the pandemic but it isnt something people are feeling day today because they still see the prices of everyday Household Items larger, they dont feel like their wages are keeping up with inflation and high Borrowing Costs are putting off big purchases. When they get asked are you better off today than four years ago, a lot of americans say no, economically, i dont think i am. Americans say no, economically, i dont think i am. Interesting to see how that will dont think i am. Interesting to see how that will play dont think i am. Interesting to see how that will play out dont think i am. Interesting to see how that will play out in dont think i am. Interesting to see how that will play out in this how that will play out in this election campaign. Erin, for now, thank you. We will talk more soon. Erin delmore live in new york. Lets turn our attention to the Mining Industry now Mining Companies carry huge weight on Stock Markets and a huge employers around the world. A metal thats in focus at the moment is copper because its a crucial part of the drive towards clean energy. Its needed everywhere from electic vehicles to the wires that carry electricty from Power Stations to where its needed. And thats why its prompted the Australian Mining giant bhp to make a nearly 40 billion offer to buy its smaller uk based rival Anglo American. What is at stake . Ali i spoke to head of research at an Investment Firm specialising in mining. He explained what is so attractive about Anglo American. Bhp spent the last couple of years talking copper and its plans for copper. Just last year, they completed the acquisition of a Smaller Company in australia to step up their australian assets and Anglo American has a huge suite of assets in chile and peru, which would fit nicely with the rest of bhps portfolio. They have really hung their hat on copper as where they will play rather than lithium or these smaller minerals. A clear message from bhp they love copper and want to get bigger and this is clearly a major way of going about it. It would make them the largest copper producer in the world if this transaction was completed, overtaking others in the us. What would this deal give bhp access to . Physically what changes for them. What would a deal allow them to access they currently cant get hold of . They currently produce about 1. 5 Million Tonnes of copper a year. Anglo has aimed to get to one Million Tonnes of the next four or five years, so there is scope for them to significantly increase production immediately. Theres also some expansion potential, i think, within some of the Anglo American assets that bhp would be looking at. Some of the older projects, some of angles assets are 100 years old, and certainly Technological Advancements that bhp are looking at in their own portfolio, potentially leveraging that into some of these Anglo American assets as well to potentially grow copper beyond those targets. I said in the intro, demand for copper soaring given the push towards renewables. It is a concern that if power falls into the hands of the few key players, that gives Certain Companies to match power . The Copper Market is 25 Million Tonnes a year or more globally, so whilst bhp would be the largest player, they would only be 10 of the whole market. It is also a freely traded commodity every day on various exchanges around the world. In fact, copper barely stops trading from shanghai into the us so it is quite liquid and very difficult to control from a supply point of view, so i dont think there will be too much opposition from bhp moving from where they are to 10 or i2 of the global market. No great surprise that after 40 billion offered to buy, Anglo American shares are up. Around i6 , so investors encourage by that takeover bid. The Wider London Market is looking very positive at the moment, the ftse 100 is having a great week hitting new records after what seems like an age in the doldrums. Theres also been some interesting movement in the us, with Tech Giants Reporting Earnings at the moment. Lets take a closer look now with dani hewson, head of Financial Analysis at the stockbroker aj bell. Dani lets start with the ftse, breaking ground but a lot what is driving that . Dani, i think you may have accidentally muted yourself somehow. Is that possible . There is a mix of things driving that particularly today, you were just talking about that bid for anglo. It just talking about that bid for anulo. , just talking about that bid for anulo. I, anglo. It certainly seems you didnt read anglo. It certainly seems you didnt read yourself anglo. It certainly seems you didnt read yourself but anglo. It certainly seems you didnt read yourself but there l anglo. It certainly seems you | didnt read yourself but there is anglo. It certainly seems you i didnt read yourself but there is a strange delay on that line so were going to try again. Dani, if you can hear us, just explain what is driving that push in the ftse 100 driving that push in the ftse100 right now . I think we are going to have to call it a day on that. Dani, im really sorry, we can see you on to you but not at the same time which isnt very helpful for television. That was dani hewson explain to us by the ftse100 has been hitting those record heights. Some suggesting that undervaluing has gone on for too long and certainly in the london market, looking pretty cheap right now. We will try and re establish that line and talk some more with dani a little later. In other news. American airlines which is the worlds biggest by Passenger Numbers says its confident about the future thanks to the return of Business Travel and Strong Demand flights in the summer. The airline says it brought ina record 12. 6 billion in the first three months of this year, however it did make a small loss on that. The Chief Executive said he wasnt satisfied with that but expected things to improve this year. The results have helped the share price reverse some of its recent losses. The tech and Retail Giant Amazon is to spend 11 billion on data centres in the us state of indiana. It says the new faciltiies are needed to cope with the huge growth in demand for Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence services. The Midwestern State has been picked partly because of tax breaks its offered amazon as Many Companies race to build new data centres. The uks Opposition Labour Party says it plans to re nationalise the countrys rail Network Within five years if it wins the next general election. Labour wants to set up a publicly owned organisation Great British railways which would inherit Rail Contracts held by private firms as they expire. Almost 70 of uk voters support bringing rail back into Public Ownership according to a recent poll. But the government has called the plan � unfunded and � pointless� and warns it will mean tax rises. Those are your business stories, you are watching bbc news. Israels war cabinet is meeting to discuss the Military Operation in rafah in southern gaza. Israel says its plans to launch an assault on remaining hamas battalions in rafah. Washington has warned israel not to carry out a full scale attack without a credible plan to protect civilians. More than a million displaced people are taking shelter in rafah. The white house has challenged israel to say how it could safely evacuate civilians from the area. Merlyn thomas from bbc verified has more. Israel has signalled its intention to carry out an offensive on rafah. But Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu hasnt specified when this will happen. Currently, there are estimated to be at least 1. 2 Million People living in rafah here on the border with egypt. Most of them have been displaced from other parts of gaza because of the israeli offensive. Many are in tents with limited essential services. Israel says they will evacuate them from rafah but havent given details about how this will happen. Weve been analysing Satellite Imagery to see where preparations are being made. Now, we dont know exactly where people are going to be moved to, but about seven kilometres north of rafah is the Southern City of khan younis. And these Satellite Images show what appear to be olive groves. Then, just over two weeks later, Hundreds Of Tents have appeared. And another example, this is the border city of rafah, the city that the israeli army have said theyll attack soon. Over the past couple of weeks, Hundreds Of Tents have been put up here on the outskirts of rafah. But this is just a fraction of whats already been put up here in the past couple of months. A city covered in tents and getting hundreds of thousands of people out of rafah will be a huge challenge. There are four main roads that lead out of rafah, covered in debris and damage from months of fighting. This is a video from the center of khan younis on one of the main roads. Cars are driving through a landscape of rubble. And on this road, you can see on Satellite Imagery a crater, one of the remnants of earlier bombardment. Cars could still technically go around it, but its damage like this that is likely to make evacuation extremely difficult. And the question of what awaits Palestinians Fleeing Rafah is still unclear. Israeli media reports say preparations are under way, including the purchase of 40,000 tents each designed to hold 10 to 12 people. So while the offensive of rafah hasnt begun, it doesnt mean its a safe place. The israeli army carried out several strikes overnight. This is a video that shows the aftermath of one of those strikes weve geolocated to the city by matching identifiable features in this video with publicly available images childrens toys, a carseat, whole lives scattered. And about 57 of gazas buildings have been damaged or destroyed. Thats according to satellite image analysis. Khan younis has borne the brunt of israeli strikes in the south since the war began. So even if people were evacuated to the city, theres little for people to return to. Netanyahu hasnt yet said when the attack will take place, but the israeli army has confirmed two Reservist Brigades have been called up for missions. Palestinians are already living in dire conditions in crowded camps in rafah, which had a population of around 275,000 before the war. Now, more than 1. 7 million will need to flee again. And where and how theyll do that is still unknown. Hamas has published a video showing an Israeli American hostage, Hersh Goldberg polin, in captivity. The short, undated video shows the man in his early 20s missing his lower arm. He was shown saying he had sustained serious injuries during the october 7th attack. Theres been anger injerusalem, with some gathering near Prime Ministers netanyahus official residence. Demonstrators have been calling on the Israeli Government to do more to secure an agreement to release the hostages. There were also clashes between police and protesters. Officers had to escort the far right Israeli National security minister Itamar Ben Gvir to his car through the crowd of chanting protesters. Hersh goldberg polin� s parents have responded to the video of their son pleading for Negotiating Parties to reach a deal. My name is rachel and this isjohn, and we are the parents of Hersh Goldberg polin, an American Israeli Civilian who was kidnapped into gaza 201 days ago. Seeing a video of hersh today is overwhelming. We are relieved to see him alive, but we are also concerned about his health and well being, as well as that of all the other hostages and all of those suffering in this region, and we are here today with a plea to all of the leaders of the parties who have been negotiating to date. That includes qatar, egypt, the united states, hamas and israel. Be brave, lean in, seize this moment and get a deal done to reunite all of us with our loved