live from london. this is bbc news. big tech to the rescue. microsoft and google owner, alphabet, bank bumper profits from al, easing frazzled nerves on wall street. also coming up, double whammy on the us economy. growth slows sharply. but inflation jumps, dashing hopes of interest rate cuts from the federal reserve. plus, poll position. as half the world prepares to vote in the biggest election year in history, we'll be speaking to the boss of online research giant, yougov. we start with big tech, and what a difference a day makes. this time yesterday, meta, the owner of facebook, instagram and whatsapp,

rattled wall street with disappointing forecasts, making it clear that the billions it's spending on artificial intelligence could take years to pay off. well, in the last few hours we've had news from two more tech giants that has certainly calmed those nerves. microsoft, now the world's most valuable company, and alphabet, which owns google, have both seen their profits jump thanks to demand for al. let's show you the details. in the three months to the end of march, microsoft made almost $22 billion. that's up 20% on this time last year and alphabet made more than $23 billion over the same period. that's a jump of 57% on last year. erin delmore has more from new york. among the dozens of companies

reporting first—quarter earnings on thursday, alphabet and microsoft took centre stage. both beat expectations on earnings and revenue, thanks in no small part to investments in artificial intelligence. one stand—out spot for alphabet was google cloud revenue, whichjumped 28% in 01. a lot of generative ai tools that rely on the cloud to reach customers. alphabet announced some good news for investors, its first—ever dividend of 20 cents per share, and an additional $70 billion buy—back. that initially sent shares into double digits after the bell. and for microsoft's part, its intelligent cloud division delivered greater revenue than expected — thanks to microsoft partnership but with openai, the creator of chatgpt. shares rose on the news. and together, they should go some way through restoring confidence in the tech sector which was shaken wednesday after meta's stock fell after its own earnings report and after the market was rattled by slowing us gdp and stubborn

inflation. rick munarriz is senior analyst at the investment advice company, the motley fool. alphabet and microsoft both focused on their ai capabilities during their earnings calls, in what ways is al being used by each and how is it making them money? microsoft were early, and invested in chatgpt, openai, they are in al leader because of that. alphabet through google have been slow but the ai process has not necessarily hit it out but able to invest in artificial intelligence and doing in way that is when the reports, earnings are growing faster than revenue. not spending a lot of money and

money has not been productive, finding ways to still make big investments in the future which both companies have to be in a way that increases profit margins and deliver a stronger bottom line. ~ . ., , ., line. when it comes to alphabet. _ line. when it comes to alphabet, they - line. when it comes to alphabet, they are - line. when it comes to | alphabet, they are still line. when it comes to - alphabet, they are still very heavily reliant on the advertising model, they? more than three _ advertising model, they? more than three quarters _ advertising model, they? more than three quarters of- advertising model, they? more than three quarters of the - than three quarters of the revenue. you mentioned google cloud was up 28%. operating profit, google cloud was up fivefold. these small figures are still growing but largely an advertising company at the whims of ups and downs 53% earnings growth is something no—one was expecting a double what analysts were targeting. very exciting and a good reason why the stock is doing well and a good reason why alphabet said now is a good time to stop paying that dividend people are talking about this along. microsoft affair example, maybe to the likes of my generation

and we instantly think of the pc market, office, windows, take us through very quickly how they have done it. the offers, how they have done it. the offers. or _ how they have done it. tue: offers, or productivity software, windows, 70% of the installed commuters around the world, big part of the business but not much of a growth business, growth is coming from microsoft is your come at their insulting cloud hosting platform which in early in the programme is doing well. there are xbox, stronger part of the business. doing a lot of things beyond office and the old clip the paperclip on the mascot of the paperclip on the mascot of the old office. they are moving beyond that to become a full—fledged technology company. trying to become alphabet in some ways with their browser, online advertising, not there yet but still a complete company under

corporate and for individuals right now. corporate and for individuals right nova— corporate and for individuals riaht now. ., , ., right now. who is leading when it comes to _ right now. who is leading when it comes to ai? _ right now. who is leading when it comes to ai? ai _ right now. who is leading when it comes to ai? al on _ right now. who is leading when it comes to ai? al on the - right now. who is leading when it comes to ai? al on the tech | it comes to ai? al on the tech side maybe — it comes to ai? al on the tech side maybe microsoft - it comes to ai? al on the tech side maybe microsoft has - it comes to ai? al on the tech | side maybe microsoft has elite but don't underestimate alphabet, they are the head of market share in search and that is something you figure when chatgpt came out, ai in general took off and everyone figured other but will be in trouble because we won't need to use search engines and another openai can basically write estimates for eskimo joe anything we need but we saw double—digit growth for alphabet and microsoft also doing well on that front. by doing well on that front. by doing so well on cloud right now that makes you wonder both gaining market share, mean when amazon reports next week, aws a leader in cloud computing, or that take a hit? we find it next week. ai is an important part of the story but both being able to continue to do well in the corporate as ai benefit stock to pay off. thank

ou ve benefit stock to pay off. thank you very much- _ to the us economy now, because markets were rattled on thursday by a double whammy of bad news, a big slowdown in growth and a jump in inflation. us economic growth slowed sharply between january and march, to an annual rate of 1.6%. that's down from 3.4% at the end of last year, and much weaker than expected. in fact it was the slowest pace in two years. perhaps more worrying, is the surge in inflation. the personal consumption expenditures index or pce, which tracks prices of goods excluding food and energy, was up 3.7% betweenjanuary and march, sharply higher than the 2% rise seen last quarter. the index is closely watched by the federal reserve, which wants to see it at 2%. that's severely dented hopes of interest rate cuts any time soon. jane foley is head of foreign

exchange strategy at rabobank. lovely to have you with us. almost stagflation but not quite. where are we? probably not quite- _ quite. where are we? probably not quite- a — quite. where are we? probably not quite. a phrase _ quite. where are we? probably not quite. a phrase you - quite. where are we? probably not quite. a phrase you can - not quite. a phrase you can contribute to some european countries. we have to remember growth for the us is still running at a faster clip than most european countries. what significantly compared with countries such as germany for instance. we did get the downward surprise gdp coming in atjust i.6% downward surprise gdp coming in atjust 1.6% which is an annualised number but still about half of what we saw in the fourth quarter. there are some f's and box. —— ifs and buts. one of the reason they missed estimates is because firms moved up stocks rather than using more. also there was a lot of imports, people consuming imports which actually detracts from that headline gdp number. we are

still seeing signs of a slowdown. the price aspect that really did it the market, inflation numbers coming in much permanent than expected. today we got some really important inflation numbers from the us and other market is thinking we're going to, stronger than they thought they would have done. that is what is pushing up these hopes for a interest rate cut. speaking of hopes and hopes and jitters. president biden was hoping for a record before november that. is it likely to see rattle other central banks? will they be watching things costly? have they essentially donned their own path now? it they essentially donned their own path now?— own path now? it does really im act own path now? it does really impact lots _ own path now? it does really impact lots of _ own path now? it does really impact lots of other - own path now? it does really impact lots of other central l impact lots of other central banks and it is because when interest rates in the us they hire for longer, but the market is now thinking, that tends to give a boost to the dollar and when the dollar is strong, that means other central banks are looking at their currencies being a lot weaker. instance we

had a central bank intervening in asia to support currency. in the other instance one of the central banks. we had this week a shop interest rate hike from indonesian central banks. this is affecting g ten central banks to and the market today is really looking at the value of the dollar yet. that is really weak and the market is wondering whether the authorities there will have to come in and intervene. it does have a follow—through impact with a lot of different central banks around the world. what is the talk about _ banks around the world. what is the talk about a _ banks around the world. what is the talk about a possible - banks around the world. what is the talk about a possible rate i the talk about a possible rate hike? tn the talk about a possible rate hike? , ., , hike? in terms of most g ten central banks, _ hike? in terms of most g ten central banks, that _ hike? in terms of most g ten central banks, that is - hike? in terms of most g ten central banks, that is not - hike? in terms of most g ten central banks, that is not on | central banks, that is not on the cards all the people are beginning to think maybe in australia they need to fight —— hike interest rates go because that inflation is ticky fullerton in terms of the us, but is not on the cartright now but is not on the cartright now but only the market is thinking

maybe the federal reserve won't be able to cut interest rates until next year although right now the market is 22 december move. �* ., ., ~' now the market is 22 december move. �* ., . ~ ,, now the market is 22 december move. ~ . ., ~ _, , move. again, thank you very much. let's go to france now, where president macron has warned that europe must react fast if it is to survive in a changing world. in a speech at the sorbonne university he urged european leaders to make the bloc more self sufficient in terms of energy, defence and the economy, warning that our europe is mortal. it can die. it all depends on the choices we make, and those choices need to be made now. translation: everything that is strate . ic in translation: everything that is strategic in our _ translation: everything that is strategic in our world _ translation: everything that is strategic in our world we - translation: everything that is strategic in our world we have i strategic in our world we have delegated. other energy to russia, security to several of our partners, not france but several others, to the united states and other critical

interests also to china. we must take them back. well, closer to home president macron is also facing challenges, not least soaring levels of government debt and the worsening state of the public finances. his party is trailing in the opinion polls ahead of european elections. and two top credit ratings agencies, moodys and fitch, are due to review france later today, amid concerns a downgrade to its credit rating could be on the way. olivier redoules is head of studies at rexecode, an economic studies institute in paris. before we go to the state of the economy, what is the feeling when it comes to moody's and fitch and what they will announce?— will announce? what we know is a few weeks _ will announce? what we know is a few weeks ago _ will announce? what we know is a few weeks ago both _ will announce? what we know is a few weeks ago both agencies l a few weeks ago both agencies at a constant message when the

fiscal deficit in the figure may predict by the financial institute just remember the figure turns significant higher. 5.6 gdp expected was for .9. and the debt level was 110% from six gdp instead of 109.6. both were significantly higher and both agencies, the outlook looks not so probable. what do you make of the timing of this intervention? would you

expecting something like this? actually we have a number of things coming around now with the election and saw a lot of debate on the political situation in france. if you go back to the fiscal situation, what we see is both agencies should say the french public financial situation is deteriorating and this is one of the most deteriorated area with the highest public that, highest behind spain, italy and greece and one of the highest deficit figures. with deteriorating growth figure for the future. deteriorating growth figure for the future-— the future. how are the world 's biggest _ the future. how are the world 's biggest investors _ the future. how are the world 's biggest investors deciding l �*s biggest investors deciding to act around france's

government debt? what are they doing? government debt? what are they doinu ? ., government debt? what are they doin a ? . . . , government debt? what are they doinu ? ., ., . , ., government debt? what are they doing? rating agencies are a bit like government. - doing? rating agencies are a bit like government. you - doing? rating agencies are a i bit like government. you don't need them tonight if the weather is cold at sight, but they can tell you there is ice on the floor and should more careful. we have not seen any effect of rating agencies move or expectations. still around but they sent a constant message. some may look with a more prudent view on the future. ., ~' , ., around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

to asia now, where the chinese firm that operates tiktok has denied media reports it's planning to sell the social media app. the statement from bytedance comes after president biden this week signed into law a bill that could see the app banned in the united states, unless it agrees to sell up. suranjana tewari is following this for us in singapore. take us through the latest. this statement was in response to us media reports that bytedance is looking for scenarios to sell tiktok without having the powerful secret algorithm that recommends videos to its more thani billion users recommends videos to its more than 1 billion users around the world. posting on a chinese social media platform it owns, my dad said formula reports about my debts exploring the sale of tiktok are not true. i debts does not have any ——

bytedance has no plans to sell tiktok. that has been applicable to be used. the us is concerned it would hand user data over to the chinese government although tiktok says it has not and will not share us is data with beijing for the critics say the algorithm is also a problem and its ability to influence americans. the latest development being dispelled presidentjoe biden signed into law this week: for a sale or a nationwide ban. tiktok plans to sue and could take the case all the way to the supreme court that could take years. but there are a lot of issues with a potential sale as well. finding a buyer for such a valuable company would be a challenge and anyone with a deep enough pockets like facebook parent meta or google would prompt competition concerns. also there is a great area overly powerful algorithm. beijing's at the is protected

and would oppose any forced sale of tiktok. thank will take all necessary measures to protect chinese companies. thank you very much indeed. finally, this year is set to be the biggest election year in history. around half the world, some four billion people, will go to the polls during 2024 to vote in elections in 76 different countries. but it's going to be an election year like no, because of advances in technology. social media is now an established part of the campaigning process, but there is growing concern about misinformation, that could be supercharged by ever more powerful artificial intelligence. the bbc�*s been speaking to canadian computer scientist yoshua bengio, whose work on al has won him the nobel and turing prizes, and earned him the nickname godfather of ai. he told us he's concerned about its role in

elections this year. the technology is changing and these ai systems are becoming more capable and one of the things i am worried about especially in the context of political disinformation is when i have ai systems that muster language. one concern scientists have is bad actors to them, which might not require a lot of effort, so they can really make you change your mind, persuasion. you can see how that would be dangerous in the context of elections. steve hatch is ceo of yougov, which is ranked as one of the world's top opinion polling companies, canvassing opinions from some 26 million people around the world every day. and the like of us at the bbc know yougov very well.

election years are key years for pollsters to test themselves. what are the main challenges you face. this what are the main challenges ou face. �* , what are the main challenges ou face. ~ , ., you face. as you mentioned, certainly _ you face. as you mentioned, certainly the _ you face. as you mentioned, certainly the biggest - you face. as you mentioned, certainly the biggest year - you face. as you mentioned, certainly the biggest year for democracy on record. that means we have a responsibility to make sure the data we are providing is as accurate as possible. some of the challenges we have is about making sure the representation of panels, the millions of people around the world that use the services reflecting the communities of each individual country and we make sure underrepresented groups are included and are also including using technology to make sure groups for whom accessibility might be an issue is also employed. an example might be for those people that are blind or partially sighted and we have surveys now through audio rather than britain. we always

make sure the panel is as representative as possible. it is through that combined with different technologies such as machine learning techniques, we have been able to be the most accurate. over the last seven national elections and referendums around the world. the state of democracy at the moment, you probably are watching this very closely at the perception of it, how would you describe it?— you describe it? what we are certainly seeing _ you describe it? what we are certainly seeing and - you describe it? what we are certainly seeing and we - you describe it? what we are certainly seeing and we do i you describe it? what we are i certainly seeing and we do see particularly when there are years of political events, people �*s engagement really increase. when we look at the yougov public platform, at times of elections and referendums, and where we see a significant increase, what i would suggest is from our perspective, the data we are seeing is people are not really engaged. they want to see incredible and accurate information from sources that they can rely on.—

they can rely on. women fork about sources, _ they can rely on. women fork about sources, the _ they can rely on. women fork about sources, the younger, | about sources, the younger, where on earth are they getting their information, boundaries, how are they making their decision? —— bad news. we how are they making their decision? -- bad news. we put a lot of effort _ decision? -- bad news. we put a lot of effort into _ decision? -- bad news. we put a lot of effort into making - decision? -- bad news. we put a lot of effort into making shop - lot of effort into making shop panels are representative of young people as well. we are in an era where people are getting information from a number of different sources and we heard brother programme today the role of generative ai and how people are thinking and feeling about that in terms of campaigning. interestingly, when the campus people and pull people, a number of social issues or technology issues, two things come across really clearly. one is people are actually quite negative towards the use of ai technology and political campaigning. it is something perhaps people are thinking about campaigns this year to consider what is public

sentiment around this technology and application. interestingly in the other areas and sources of information of new sources, people are also having relatively negative perspective ai generated news. it shows the need and desire for accurate credible information on organisations like yougov and others divide. t organisations like yougov and others divide.— others divide. i knew the end b ai? others divide. i knew the end by ai? -- _ others divide. i knew the end by ai? -- argue _ others divide. i knew the end by ai? -- argue threatened. | by ai? —— argue threatened. yougov is an innovative company, the first to introduce online polling. many years ago. the first to standardise the physical machine learning technique called mrp and it is that technology enabling us to the accuracy i mentioned earlier. when you look at the application of ai, you need to things. great computing power but also you need high—quality accurate data. while we're

excited about the implications, also perhaps a bit sceptical around this. not listenable about the data sources there. that is why we call good about our position is having to be able to have this daily refresh panel of accurate and reliable information.— information. the questions i want to squeeze _ information. the questions i want to squeeze in. - information. the questions i want to squeeze in. does i information. the questions i want to squeeze in. does al | want to squeeze in. does ai skew the results? it want to squeeze in. does ai skew the results?— want to squeeze in. does ai skew the results? it is not. we statistical _ skew the results? it is not. we statistical techniques - skew the results? it is not. we statistical techniques to - statistical techniques to ensure are actually able to improve, the capacity help. understand and elections in particular when they are very close what is happening at a granular level.— granular level. quickly and finall , granular level. quickly and finally, who _ granular level. quickly and finally, who have - granular level. quickly and finally, who have you i granular level. quickly and | finally, who have you found granular level. quickly and i finally, who have you found is the most trustworthy, politicians or businesspeople? we poll on a regular basis, it depends on the individual. if people want to know, they can access and take a look. irate

people want to know, they can access and take a look. we have run out of _ access and take a look. we have run out of time, _ access and take a look. we have run out of time, thank _ access and take a look. we have run out of time, thank you. i hello. there are signs that the weather might warm up a bit next week, but not just yet. we stay in the rather chilly air for friday, a mix of sunny spells and showers and, actually, across the south of the uk, a frontal system that will bring more in the way of cloud and some splashes of rain. low pressure generally in charge of the scene through the day ahead. so, after a cold start, most places will see some spells of sunshine and a scattering of showers. some wintriness in the showers over high ground in scotland. but that frontal system will bring cloud and rain across the channel islands and across southern counties of england. temperature—wise, well, about where we have been over the last few days, north to south looking at values between 8—13 degrees. now, as we head through friday night, we'll see this band

of rain in the south pushing its way further northwards. a lot of cloud with that, too. that will hold the temperatures up to some extent, but northern england, northern ireland and scotland holding on to some clear spells and it will get chilly again. we'll have a frost to start saturday morning, not as cold further south thanks to that extra cloud, those outbreaks of rain, which will be moving northwards as the day wears on. as the rain clears, it may brighten up a little bit towards the south coast but that could allow some sharp showers to break out. for northern ireland and scotland, it's a mixture of sunny spells and showers once again through the day. and those temperatures, well, maybe just creeping up a little bit in some areas, highs between 9—11; degrees. into the second half of the weekend, we see this area of low pressure drifting northwards. that's going to bring outbreaks of rain for some, especially across the eastern side of the uk. but it may well be that some of this rain comes a little bit further westwards, affecting quite large parts of england and wales, maybe clipping into eastern scotland. the further west you are, though, it's that mix of sunny spells and showers. some of the showers will be on the heavy side. temperatures between 9—12, maybe 13 degrees in the south—west.

but as we head into next week, it does look like things will slowly but surely warm up. we start to bring a feed of winds from the near continent. these orange colours on our air mass chart. temperatures are set to climb, perhaps up to 19 or 20 degrees celsius through the middle part of the week. but that doesn't mean sunshine all the way, still unsettled with some rain at times.

good morning, welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today. the world's first personalised cancerjab for melanoma is being tested on uk patients — researchers say it could be a game—changer. on the brink — scottish first minister humza yousaf fights for his political future. 30,000 bags of flour leave this mill in oxfordshire every day but the exceptionally wet weather has hit the amount and quality of wheat available. i will find out what that means for your daily bread. a—star manchester city hit top form — the destiny of the premier league title is very much in their hands after a dominant victory at brighton.

hello from the