World Business Report

Update: US Senate Grills Tech Executives

September 05, 2018 23:24 - 12 minutes - 5.78 MB

Senior executives from Twitter and Facebook have been grilled by the US Senate Intelligence Committee answering questions on how they plan to prevent disinformation and meddling in the run-up to mid-term elections in November. Google was also invited - but did not attend after declining to send its chief executive, Sundar Pichai. We get an analysis of what was said today on Capitol Hill from Sarah Frier, Tech Reporter for Bloomberg, who had to cross the nation from her San Francisco base to b...

Update: Argentinan Finance Minister To Meet IMF Chief

September 04, 2018 23:16 - 15 minutes - 7.06 MB

Argentinian Finance Minister Nicolas Dujovne is meeting IMF Chief Christine Lagarde in Washington DC today to request early release of a $50bn loan. We get the latest on Argentina's economic crisis from the BBC's Daniel Gallas in Buenos Aires. NFL fans in the US and beyond haven't seen Colin Kaepernick on the gridiron since he opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers back in March 2017 over the Take A Knee protests. He is now one of the high-profile faces of Nike's new campaign...

Update: Argentinian Austerity Measures Announced

September 03, 2018 22:55 - 11 minutes - 5.17 MB

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri has announced austerity measures, including the elimination of government ministries and stiff taxes on exports, in an effort to stabilize the economy. Luc Cohen of the Reuters news agency explains exactly what the measures are designed to do. Microsoft has reversed its redesign of Skype, it's internet calling software. It had changed the service in an attempt to take on younger and trendier apps likes Snapchat. It introduced animations and bright colours....

Argentina Reportedly Musing Ministry Merger

September 03, 2018 00:37 - 22 minutes - 10.5 MB

Reports say Argentine President Mauricio Macri is planning to eliminate or merge as many as 13 government ministries to save money. Urgent cutbacks are required to cut the budget deficit and quell a run on the peso, which is currently the world's second-worst performing currency, behind the Turkish Lira, once the near-worthless Venezuelan Bolivar is removed from the equation. At the same time as that, the country is sending its finance minister to Washington DC today to try and speed up the r...

Federal Reserve to Decide US Interest Rates

June 13, 2018 15:25 - 41 minutes - 19 MB

With US interest rates expected to rise, we look at the impact on the global economy. Our regular economic commentator, Irwin Stelzer of the Hudson Institute, gives us his take. Also in the programme, the Japanese car giant Toyota is investing $1bn in the Singapore-based ride sharing firm Grab. Vivek Vaidya is vice-president of technology at management consultants Frost and Sullivan, and tells us more about the deal. Following a dispute with Greece, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia h...

Spain 'Will Accept' Disputed Migrant Ship

June 11, 2018 15:11 - 26 minutes - 12.1 MB

Spain says it will accept a migrant rescue ship that Italy had rejected. Cesare Pitea is professor of international law at Parma University, and tells us whether Italy was legally able to refuse the migrants permission to land. Also in the programme, as Singapore prepares for Tuesday's historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, we hear about the likely economic impact of the meeting. Egypt has been raising concerns over an Ethiopian dam on the River Nile....

Polish Premier Appoints New Cabinet

January 09, 2018 16:31 - 26 minutes - 12.1 MB

Law and Justice leader Mateusz Morawiecki fired a number of ministers in the wake of EU legal action. The EU has said judicial reforms threaten the rule of law in the country. The BBC's Mark Easton reports. Also in the programme, as the Consumer Electronics Show gets under way in Las Vegas, our reporter tells us what is catching people's attention. We hear about the hopes for 2018 for India's economy, and get reaction from our regular economic commentator, Roger Bootle of Capital Economics. W...

'Breakthrough' Deal in Brexit Talks

December 08, 2017 16:29 - 25 minutes - 11.7 MB

UK prime minister Theresa May has struck a deal to move Brexit talks forward. We gauge reaction to the day's developments from the UK and across the European Union. Also in the programme, Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation tells us how providing contraception can improve economic performance, by allowing more women into the workplace. Plus we look back at the rest of the week's big business stories with Lisa Abramowicz of Bloomberg Radio in New York, and Rebecca Byrne of t...

Zimbabwe Budget Outlined

December 07, 2017 16:42 - 26 minutes - 12.1 MB

Zimbabwean finance minister Patrick Chinamasa has presented his budget. Nelson Banya is editor of the Financial Gazette in Harare, and assesses the country's spending plans. Also in the programme, Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made the first visit of a Turkish head of state to Greece in 65 years. The BBC's Ed Butler reports from Athens. We have a report from South Africa about how a drought is causing significant problems for many businesses. Plus we find out about the enduring ...

Finland at 100

December 06, 2017 17:03 - 26 minutes - 12.1 MB

Finland is celebrating the centenary of its independence from Russia. We assess the country's economic significance with Finland's prime minister, Juha Sipilä. Also in the programme, environment ministers from around the world have agreed that the flow of waste plastic into the ocean must be stopped. We report from a meeting of UN environment ministers in Kenya. The European Commission has outlined plans for greater integration for countries using the euro. Our regular economic commentator Ro...

EU Unveils Tax Haven Blacklist

December 05, 2017 16:34 - 27 minutes - 12.5 MB

We reveal the countries added to a European Union blacklist of tax havens. Alex Cobham is chief executive of the Tax Justice Network, and explains the background. Also in the programme, we try out the new hybrid petrol-electric London black taxi. We hear from South Africa about the runners and riders to take over the governing African National Congress. Nebert Rugadya of Radio One Kampala tells us why Uganda is falling down the global entrepreneurship rankings. Plus as a deal for Cineworld to...

UK and EU 'Close to Brexit Breakthrough'

December 04, 2017 17:40 - 26 minutes - 12.1 MB

There are indications an agreement on the first phase of Brexit talks could be struck. We get the latest from Brussels where British prime minister Theresa May has been meeting European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. Jennifer Rankin is Brussels correspondent for the UK's Guardian newspaper. Also in the programme, we hear about the challenging situation for youth unemployment in Mozambique, and discuss the causes with Antonio Francisco, director of research at the Institute of Socia...

Wall Street Update Edition 24/11/17

November 25, 2017 00:24 - 2 minutes - 1.28 MB

The BBC's Samira Hussain finds out how the Black Friday sales have performed in New York

Wall Street Update Edition 21/11/17

November 22, 2017 00:43 - 12 minutes - 5.53 MB

Robert Mugabe is due to be replaced by the man he sacked as Vice-President, Emmerson Mnangagwa. But he's not the only one who's got his eyes on the top job. Nkosana Moyo is a former Minister of Industry and he aims to run in the next elections as the candidate of the Alliance for People's Agenda. And, Joe Saluzzi, Co-Founder of Themis Trading in New Jersey, gives us an update on Wall Street.

Wall Street Update Edition 20/11/17

November 20, 2017 23:48 - 15 minutes - 7.29 MB

The last big procedural hurdle to the completion of Keystone XL pipeline was cleared on Monday - when five members of the Nebraska Public Service Commission voted 3 to 2 to approve an amended route through the state. May Boeve, executive director at the group 350.org in California tells us what options environmentalists have now. Also in the programme: what next for Europe's biggest economy? German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she'd rather have new elections than lead a minority government...

Mugabe defies demands to step down

November 20, 2017 02:02 - 22 minutes - 10.5 MB

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said he will preside over the next congress of Zanu PF. Judith Tyson, a research fellow with the Overseas Development Institute, says Zimbabwe faces serious economic challenges. Also in the programme, the BBC's correspondent in Brussels, Adam Fleming, has been following the fate of the two supervisory bodies in the banking and pharmaceutical sectors which are likely to find new homes away from London today. The latest phase of talks to revise the North Am...

Equal Pay Day: Are women harassed and underpaid?

November 10, 2017 23:44 - 10 minutes - 4.59 MB

Women in the UK and US talk to us about harsh workplace conditions, on Equal Pay Day. In the wake of shocking claims and admissions regarding public figures sexually harassing women in the workplace, expert and author Sarah Rutherford tells us about the fundamental problem with the way society views women in industry. Plus we hear from a senior female figure in the financial world, Sallie Krawcheck, chief executive of Ellevest, about her shocking experiences of sexual harassment on Wall Street.

BP Cuts CEO Salary

April 06, 2017 15:24 - 26 minutes - 12.1 MB

BP has cut the salary of its chief executive Bob Dudley by 40%, to $11.6 million, reacting to complaints from shareholders about lavish pay.

Toshiba Slumps on Nuclear Business Woes

February 14, 2017 18:10 - 26 minutes - 12.2 MB

Toshiba was once one of the shining jewels of Japanese global commercial dominance; a big name in electronics, cars, lifts and railways. Now, it is a business in crisis - the chairman has resigned and it has predicted a loss this year of $3.4 billion. The reason? An unwise investment in nuclear power generation across the world, especially in the US. We spoke to the BBC's Japan correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes. Meanwhile, Rolls Royce also posts huge losses after a fine for corruption pu...

Trump meets Trudeau

February 13, 2017 18:28 - 26 minutes - 12.2 MB

Canada's Prime Minister is in Washington for his first meeting with the new US president

Xi Jinping: 'No Winners' in Any Trade War

January 17, 2017 18:17 - 26 minutes - 12.2 MB

China's president has been discussing trade at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Daisy Guo is a Chinese entrepreneur who tells us she welcomes Mr Xi's stance. Meanwhile, Anthony Scaramucci, a senior adviser to Donald Trump, explains the president-elect's approach to trade. Also in the programme, businesses in the UK have been responding to prime minister Theresa May's vision for a "clean" Brexit, confirming that Britain will leave the European single market. We get the perspective of Christo...

Funding Gap Grows at Ailing Italian Bank

December 27, 2016 18:34 - 26 minutes - 12.2 MB

Italian lender Monte dei Paschi faces a capital shortfall of €8.8bn, higher than previously estimated. We get analysis from Ferdinando Giugliano, economic commentator at La Repubblica newspaper, and Deborah Ball, bureau editor for the Wall Street Journal in Rome. Also in the programme, following the death of singer George Michael, stories of his philanthropy have emerged, as the BBC's Benjie Guy reports. As the turn of the year approaches, our economics editor Kamal Ahmed looks ahead to the l...

Switzerland Puts Local Job Seekers Ahead Of Immigrants

December 16, 2016 18:15 - 26 minutes - 12.1 MB

The Swiss parliament has passed legislation aimed at limiting immigration, by putting people living in the country first in the queue when they apply for jobs. Immigration has been a divisive issue in the Alpine country and it had been feared Switzerland could have introduced restrictions on citizens of the European Union. which would have created a rift with Brussels. BBC Geneva Correspondent, Imogen Foulkes, explains why the government made the compromise. Human toilet waste is being used ...

Yahoo Reveals A Billion User Accounts Hacked

December 15, 2016 18:22 - 27 minutes - 12.4 MB

Yahoo has disclosed that it was victim to a massive data breach in 2013, in a cyber attack that compromised data of more than a billion users. It follows a disclosure from the internet company in September of a separate breach that affected more than 500 million accounts.User names, telephone numbers, passwords and email addresses were stolen, but not bank and payment data. Cynthia Brumfield, a Washington cyber security consultant, tells us what this reveals about security standards at Yahoo....

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