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As a giant container ship gets stuck in the Suez canal, we examine at the vital role the waterway plays in global shipping. We also hear from Chicago, where reparations are being made to black residents after years of segregation. African Americans have lost thousands in personal wealth due to the policy of redlining. Our chief environment correspondent investigates a leaked letter from China - suggesting it's preparing to embark on greener policies. And we’ll be talking space junk with astrophysicist Becky Smethurst. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Szu Ping Chan.

Since December, more than 600 students have been abducted from schools in north-west Nigeria, highlighting a worrying development in the country's kidnap-for-ransom crisis. We'll hear from the father of a returned schoolgirl, about the agony of not knowing what's happened to them. But it's not just schoolgirls. Nigeria is subject to a full-blown kidnapping industry, as Ikemesit Effiong of SBM Intelligence explains. And as the government denies it is paying ransoms, and calls grow for the crisis to be brought under control, Bulama Bukarti of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change explains just why it's so hard to combat the kidnappers. Producer: Frey Lindsay (Picture credit: A woman whose 2 daughters were kidnapped by gunmen cries at her home in Zamfara State, northwest of Nigeria, February, 2021. Image Credit: KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

Josephine is a single mother of four in Kibera, the sprawling slum in Nairobi, Kenya. At the beginning of the pandemic she was working as a cook, but soon lost her job, and when the BBC's Ed Butler spoke to her a year ago her situation was dire. In this episode, the third of a short series about Josephine and Kibera, we'll hear how Josephine's efforts to feed her family during the Coronavirus pandemic were further imperilled by a different virus, malaria. We'll also hear how the cost of her food stall, hospital bills and her children's needs sent Josephine further into debt. Local organiser Kennedy Odede describes how in fact consumer debt has rocketed in Kibera during the pandemic, and Judith Tyson of the ODI explains what impact that will have long-term. After all that, a final calamity befalls Josephine's small business. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Picture: A local artists makes and sells face masks made from cloth in the Kibera slum, Nairobi, on April 14, 2020. Picture credit: TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)

How the growth in food delivery apps could change the restaurant industry forever. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Moe Tkacik from the American Economic Liberties Project about threat posed to restaurants by the dominance of platforms like DoorDash, Uber Eats and Deliveroo. Collin Wallace, former head of innovation at GrubHub, explains why these platforms continue to expand despite never making a profit. Food writer Jonathan Nunn discusses the breakdown of the relationship between customers and restaurants, and what that could mean for the future of the industry. And restaurateur Charlie Mellor tells us why his experience with delivery apps led him to set up his own rival platform. (Photo: an Uber Eats delivery rider, Credit: Getty Images)

A letter sent to the Bangladeshi government suggests that Beijing may be clamping down on the biggest source of carbon emissions. Justin Rowlatt speaks to the journalist who got the scoop - Jagaran Chakma of the Daily Star newspaper in Bangladesh. His nation is one of dozens of developing countries that need to build up their power sector, and had been looking to China to finance new coal-fired power stations under the Belt and Road initiative - something the letter pointedly said that Beijing would no longer do. So could China be preparing to take a much harder line against coal than advertised - at home as well as abroad? And what does it all mean for the big Cop 26 climate negotiations due later this year? Justin speaks to researcher Rebecca Ray of Boston University, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and former United Nations climate negotiator Christiana Figueres. Producers: Szu Ping Chan; Laurence Knight (Picture: Street vendors and customers gather at a local market outside a state owned coal fired power plant in Huainan, China; Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

As rows continue in Europe over the safety and supply of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid 19 Vaccine, on Business Weekly we ask how much of the argument is over genuine safety concerns and how much is political? We also take a look at the pandemic within a pandemic: obesity. It’s the second highest risk factor for Covid mortality. But, how much of the blame should lie at the door of the food industry? Will a renewed focus on health change what we eat and drink? Plus, governments around the world are trying to build back better and greener from the Coronavirus pandemic. We have a special report on the steel industry, which is being pressured to become more environmentally friendly. And the Oscars are #notsowhite this year – we take a look at the nominees. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Why is it that the boss never seems to know what they’re doing? The famous “Dilbert principle” asserts that companies promote incompetent employees into middle management to get them out of the way. But Professor David Dunning, co-creator of the competing “Dunning–Kruger effect”, says there’s more to it than that, specifically that the more incompetent a person is, the more confident they can be. Meanwhile, Kelly Shue, Professor of Finance at Yale, says an even simpler idea, the “Peter Principle” helps to explain why people get promoted beyond their level of competence. And entrepreneur Heather McGregor explains why the incompetence of a former boss led her to buy her own company Presented by Ed Butler, This is a repeat of a programme first broadcast in June 2020. (Picture: A woman at her desk. Getty Images)

In the sprawling Nairobi slum of Kibera in Kenya, a single mother of four struggles to survive lockdown. At the beginning of the pandemic, Josephine was working as a cook, but soon lost her job, and when the BBC's Ed Butler spoke to her a year ago her situation was dire. In this episode, the second of a short series, the small business Josephine started to help feed her family sees faltering success before life in a pandemic gets more complicated again. Also in the programme, we hear from Kibera radio journalist Henix Obuchunju, reacting at the time to the confusion and suspicion of early lockdown measures in Kenya. And Dr John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, looks back and reflects on how those early measures played out. Producer: Frey Lindsay (Image: A woman with a face mask walks past graffiti that promotes social distancing, to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Kibera, Nairobi, on July 15, 2020. Image credit: YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

The Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch is 90 years old this month. Is it time for him to hand over News Corp to the next generation, and will it survive when he does? Ed Butler speaks to leading international media analyst Claire Enders about the financial state of News Corp. Jess Todfield, a former Fox News producer from the early days of the network, explains why he thinks the US channel still has a bright future despite losing viewers. And we hear from the former editor of The Sun and the New York Post, David Yelland, on what it was like working for Rupert Murdoch, and why there may never be another media mogul like him. (Picture: Rupert Murdoch arrives at the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference; Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images).

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we behave on the internet. Online trolling is on the rise as people turn to social media to take out their lockdown frustrations. Marie Keyworth hears from Lisa Forte, who used to work for the UK police's Cyber Crime Unit and has faced online abuse herself. Virginia Mantouvalou says that a social media platform shouldn’t be viewed as “safe space” to express whatever views we wish. But isn't one of the points of social media to connect with like-minded people freely? Marie puts that to Will Oremus, a senior writer for tech magazine OneZero. Our posts and comments can incur the wrath of not just online mobs, but of our employers too. And, as journalist and author Jon Ronson explains, the collective online herd mentality leaves no room for forgiveness, or redemption. Producer: Sarah Treanor (Picture: a man holds his head in his hands and looks at his computer in despair. Credit: Getty Images.)

Obesity is a major factor in which countries have the worst Covid-19 death rates, a new report suggests. So could this be a moment of reckoning for food and beverage businesses? Manuela Saragosa hears from John Wilding, president of the World Obesity Federation, which produced the report. She asks Kate Halliwell, chief scientific officer of the UK’s Food and Drink Federation, what responsibility the industry bears. Sophie Lawrence of fund managers Rathbone Greenbank explains how important obesity is to investors in food and drink companies. Plus, a Covid survivor who was morbidly obese when he went into hospital in March last year, and spent seven weeks in an induced coma, tells us how he has now dramatically changed his lifestyle. Producers: Laurence Knight, Benjie Guy (Photo: A tray of fast food - a burger, fries and a drink. Credit: Getty Images)

On this edition of Business Weekly, we look at an alternative view of the economic future, a year on from the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. We hear from musicians on different continents who have found different ways to pay the bills when the live venues closed. And we head to Nairobi to meet Josephine, a woman living in an informal settlement, who has recorded a pandemic diary for us. We will also hear from the fishing villages around the Indian Ocean where people in the Seychelles and Maldives are worried the yellow fin tuna stocks are fast depleting. It’s being blamed on a love of sushi in the west. And to finish off, we’ve an insight into a very unusual career that has brought someone a great deal of happiness. Business Weekly is presented by Sasha Twining and produced by Matthew Davies.

As women begin to speak out against sexual violence and harassment, does the music industry face a #metoo reckoning? Manuela Saragosa speaks to her colleague Tamanna Rahman about her investigation for BBC television into numerous claims of abuse, assault and rape, as many women finally break their silence. They discuss the cases of grime artist Solo 45, who was sentenced to prison for multiple counts of rape, and the superstar DJ Erick Morillo, who died last year shortly after being accused of drugging and raping a colleague. But Tamanna says there are numerous other women she has spoken to who are still afraid to go public with their stories, in many cases because they fear destroying their careers. So what can be done, and what should the big record labels be doing in particular? Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Lone female street artist holds head in despair next to a guitar; Credit: JoseASReyes/Getty Images)

Josephine is a single mother of four in Kibera, the sprawling slum in Nairobi, Kenya. At the beginning of the pandemic she was working as a cook, but soon lost her job, and when the BBC's Ed Butler spoke to her a year ago her situation was dire. In this episode, the first of a short series about Josephine and Kibera, we hear how she struggled to start a small business to help feed her family. Also in the programme, Kibera community organiser Kennedy Odede explains how those first few months of desperation impacted the slum's residents. And economist Edward Kusewa, explains how those early months of lockdowns in East Africa are still affecting lives. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Image: A woman walks home through empty streets after the 7pm curfew in Kibera, Nairobi; Credit: Kabir Dhanji/AFP via Getty Images)

Are chicken nuggets grown from animal cells the ultimate innovation, or a flash in the pan? As Singapore allows the sale of cultivated chicken nuggets, Elizabeth Hotson speaks to Josh Tetrick, whose company Eat Just brought the innovative snack to market. Colin Buchan, executive chef at the exclusive club 1880 in Singapore, tells us what it's like to cook the nuggets, while two vegan friends in London talk about the ethics. Plus, the BBC's Regan Morris tells us why bringing lab grown meat to market in the US may be a tricky task, and Kelly Laudon, an attorney with law firm Jones Day takes us through the legal implications. (Picture: Lab-grown chicken nugget; Credit: Nicholas Yeo/Getty Images)

Central banks and many companies are rushing to develop their own digital currencies. Why are they doing it? What are the risks? And how might it upend our relationship with money? Ed Butler speaks to Jay Joe, who runs a company providing some of the tech behind the Bahamas’ new digital currency, the Sand Dollar. Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center, explains what central banks in the Bahamas and elsewhere hope to gain from digitisation. Samantha Hoffman, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Unit, explains how China might use its new digital version of the Yuan to snoop on people. And David Birch, author or The Currency Cold War, hopes digital currencies may soon allow our fridge and car to manage our finances for us. Producers: Edwin Lane, Benjie Guy (Picture: currency symbols. Credit: Getty Images.)

On International Women's Day, we ask what Covid-19 lockdowns have done to gender equality at work - and at home. Mum Leslie Chiaramonte was forced to quit her nursing job amid the demands of juggling childcare and work. British politician Stella Creasy fears the pandemic will lead to a "tsunami" of unemployed mothers. But Holly Birkett, co-director of the Equal Parenting Project at the University of Birmingham, says it has helped to remove the stigma attached to flexible working. Producer: Szu Ping Chan (Photo: Stock photo of a mother multi-tasking with her young son; Credit: Getty Images)

Next week marks the first anniversary of the World Health Organisation officially labelling Covid-19 a pandemic. In the year since that announcement was made over two and a half million people have died from the disease. Global unemployment rose by 33 million, social gatherings have been largely forbidden and millions of children have had their education disrupted. On this episode of Business Weekly we’ll be looking at the cost of the coronavirus on our jobs, lives and wellbeing. We’ll hear from women forced out of the workforce, young people who had to grow up in lockdown and health workers who battled to save lives at the expense of their own mental wellbeing. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Marie Keyworth.

New York rat-catcher James Molluso has been dealing with vermin since he was a teenager. The pay isn't brilliant, the hours are long and the chemicals are toxic. So why does he love his job so much? We hear from John Bowe, who recounts surprising tales of happiness from his years interviewing crime scene cleaners, lawyers and taxidermists in the book Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs. And with Covid-19 blurring the lines between work and home life, Laurie Santos, professor of Psychology at Yale University, tells us what we can all do to break the daily grind. Photo: Stock photo of a businessman holding a picture of a happy face (Credit: Getty).

A year of crisis has taken a toll on those tasked with caring for the sick and elderly. It’s almost a year since the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic. Manuela Saragosa revisits three frontline health care workers who she spoke to last year, about how they have coped. Dr Ma, a geriatrician in Hong Kong plus a care home worker in Spain and Dr. Laura Hawryluck, Associate Professor of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Toronto and an ICU doctor herself. Laura tells us of the strains and physical scars of the past year. And Elena Rusconi, Professor of Psychobiology and Physiological Psychology at the University of Trento, explains the results of a survey she and colleagues conducted on care workers in Northern Italy last year, which found that almost half had symptoms of moderate-to-severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Remember if any of the issues in today’s edition affect you, do seek the help of a professional mental health body if not a doctor or friends and family. Producer: Frey Lindsay (Picture: Dr. Laura Hawryluck in her ICU equipment. Picture credit: Laura Hawryluck)

How has mental health in the South American country been affected during lockdown? According to the World Health Organisation Guyana has for years had one of the highest suicide rates anywhere in the world. So how has the country fared during the pandemic? Ed Butler speaks to Supriya Singh-Bodden, founder of a non-profit organisation The Guyana Foundation, set up to foster development in the country, to Meena Upeachehan who works as a councillor for The Guyana Foundation, and to women in the country who have been suffering depression and domestic abuse. Plus he speaks to Dr Christine Moutier, Chief Medical Officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention who says early data shows that suicides have not gone up globally during the pandemic but may rise in the second or third waves. (Picture: Traditional wooden house on stilts in rural Guyana. Picture credit: Arterra/Marica van der Meer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the lives of billions of people around the world, and with many countries still in lockdown the impact will continue to be felt for many years. Not least for teenagers, whose education, family and social lives have been profoundly disrupted. Today we meet such teenagers: Ayushmaan in New Delhi, Emma in Hamburg, Pelumi in Lagos and Gracie in Auckland talk to host Tamasin Ford and each other about the challenges of nearing adulthood in a world under lockdown, and how the extra pressures have impacted their mental health. Remember if any of the issues in today’s edition affect you, do seek the help of a professional mental health body if not a doctor or friends and family. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Image credit: Getty Creative.)

It’s almost a year since the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic. Many embraced working from home to start off with. But has it lost its lustre? We look at the toll it’s taking on people’s mental health. We hear from Matthew Cooper, the co-founder of a start-up called Earn Up, a San Francisco-based financial technology platform that helps people automate their loan payments. He explains why the pandemic contributed to a breakdown at the end of 2020. We also speak to Margaret Heffernan, from the University of Bath, former CEO of five companies and author of several books including Uncharted, who tells us why checking in with staff must be done properly and personally, and hear from Mark Simmonds, the author of the memoir Breakdown and Repair: a fathers tale of stress and success; His own mental health issues led him to completely re-evaluate his career and working practices, and he offers some tips on coping with stress. Remember if any of the issues in today’s edition affect you, experts agree that it’s important to talk to someone and get support. Do seek the help of a professional mental health body if not a doctor, or friends and family. Picture: A stock picture shows a woman perched on the end of a bed with a laptop (Credit: Getty)

As the global Covid-19 vaccination drive slowly gathers pace - on Business Weekly we’ll be looking at whether vaccine passports will help us return to life as we once knew it. While the travel industry is keen to use them, scientists warn that not only will they not work properly but they could pose serious ethical dilemmas. We’ll also hear from the people scooping facemasks out of the ocean - who are warning that Covid-19 has caused a pandemic of plastic waste. In the effort to save the planet from climate change, US President Joe Biden has promised to reduce the US’s carbon emissions. We’ll hear from the American coal workers who are worried for their jobs. Also, the pandemic has thrown the global wedding industry into disarray. We’ll meet the couples who got married during the pandemic in really quite extraordinary circumstances. And we’ll look at the history of hairstyles in the workplace. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Szu Ping Chan.

As Bitcoin's price hits a new all-time high, it's now estimated to use as much electricity as the whole of Argentina But is this remotely sustainable? Justin Rowlatt speaks to cryptocurrency expert and University of Chicago economics professor Gina Pieters about why such heavy energy consumption is an intrinsic feature of Bitcoin, and why the higher it's value rises, the more its energy footprint expands. But what about it's carbon footprint? That's a debate we get to hear both sides of, with crypto evangelist Ethan Pierse saying that Bitcoin miners are helping to finance the expansion of renewable energy sources, while the more sceptical data analyst Alex de Vries says they are burning plenty of fossil fuels to compete in an expensive and pointless lottery. Plus Kenneth Rogoff, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, compares Bitcoin to a work of modern art, and wonders whether its future may be as a curiosity at a Star Trek convention in the year 2100. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Blue Neon light, Bitcoin shape; Credit: Getty Images)

Poorer countries in search of Covid-19 vaccines are looking east. Agathe Demarais, global forecasting director at the Economist Intelligence Unit, describes how China and Russia are stepping in to provide vaccines where Europe and the US aren't. Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, explains how this feeds into China's soft power aspirations. Yuan Ding, dean of the China Europe International Business School, and David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, discusses China's efforts at soft power so far. (Photo: A nurse in Brazil holds a sample of a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine)

Covid-19 has ruined millions of wedding plans. Will 2021 spark a race to the altar for those unable to tie the knot? California couple Lauren and Patrick Delgado tell their story. We also hear from Jordie Shepherd, host of the Corona Brides podcast, and the bride tear-gassed on her wedding day. Also, has Covid-19 put an end to the Big Fat Indian Wedding? We ask Lalita Raghav at the wedding planners Ferns N Petals. Picture: Bride and groom figurines are pictured wearing face masks (Credit: Getty)

The pandemic has brought with it a massive rise in plastic waste. Tamasin Ford looks at how the demand for hygiene along with plummeting oil prices boosted our use of single use plastics. In some countries, it has increased by 50 percent. In other countries, the increase has been even six or seven fold. She speaks to Gary Stokes, the Founder of Oceans Asia in Hong Kong, a marine conservation organisation. And to Amy Slack, head of campaigns and policy at Surfers Against Sewage, an ocean conservation group in St Agnes in Cornwall in the South West of England. Plus Jacob Duer, the CEO of the Alliance to End Plastic waste, based in Singapore - an organisation supported by the private sector. And Elsie Mbugua, an energy trader and founder of Elcy Investments.

The "hydrogen economy" has received a lot of hype, but could this explosive gas fill some critical gaps in a future zero-carbon energy system? Justin Rowlatt looks at Australia's plans to use its huge solar and wind resources to generate hydrogen from seawater. Miranda Taylor of the government-sponsored agency National Energy Resources Australia lists some of the many potential applications for the gas that the country is taking a punt on. But how many of them will actual prove commercially viable? Clean energy consultant Michael Liebreich says that despite hydrogen's versatility, in most cases it's likely to prove far less efficient than other technologies. But there are a few key exceptions, some of which could be life saving. Plus, chemistry professor Andrea Sella blows up a balloon, zaps some water, and nearly gives Justin a hernia. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Hydrogen pipeline with blue sky background; Credit: Getty Images)

They’re the technical bits of genius businesses cannot do without. On this edition of Business Weekly, we look at the world of semiconductors and why a shortage of them is holding up industries the world over. From consumer electronics to cars, the squeeze on semiconductors affects the supply of everything with a computer chip. Also, Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela becomes the first African and first female director general of the World Trade Organisation. We hear from the woman herself about the task ahead. Plus, should children be learning about bonds, shares and savings accounts as well as algebra and geometry? We speak to pupils around the world keen to learn about finance and money.

To some it may sound absurd to consider hairstyles a workplace issue, but for millions of men and women with African and Afro-Caribbean hair, it is just that. For decades, some hairstyles have been discouraged at work. But things are finally starting to change. This month, the US Airforce is changing its hair code to be more inclusive. We explore the historic racism behind hair-based discrimination and hear from the women who have united to change attitudes and laws. We speak to businesswomen, historians and those in the arts – from the UK, the US and East Africa – to find out what hair has to do with it all anyway. Presenter: Vivienne Nunis Producer: Sarah Treanor (Image credit: Getty)

How the biggest start-up acquisition out of Nigeria is resonating across Africa. Last year Nigeria saw its biggest ever start-up acquisition - a multi million dollar deal for digital payments company Paystack. The result was a massive shift in the minds of entrepreneurs and investors in Africa’s Fintech scene. The company which processes more than half of all online payments in Nigeria, was started by two graduates in their 20s five years ago. It ended in a $200 hundred million dollar deal with Stripe, the US-based payments software company. Tamasin Ford speaks to Chilufya Mutale, the co-founder and CEO of PremierCredit in Lusaka, an online micro-lending platform operating in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Plus Chijioke Dozie, the co-founder of Carbon, a PanAfrican digital bank operating in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana who says the Paystack acquisition is not only inspiring for existing entrepreneurs, it will encourage more people to join the Fintech scene. And to Katlego Maphai, the co-founder and CEO of Yoco in Cape Town, a digital payments company for small businesses in South Africa. Plus Maya Horgan Famodu, the founder and Managing Director at Ingressive Capital, a Venture Capitalist Fund based in Lagos in Nigeria which targets early stage start-ups across Sub-Saharan Africa and were an early investor in Paystack. And to Amandine Lobelle, the head of business operations at Paystack. (Picture credit: Getty Creative)

Why Taiwan isn't making enough computer chips. Ed Butler speaks to Jan-Peter Kleinhans, head of technology and geopolitics at SNV, a German think tank, about the central role of Taiwan in the complex global supply chain of semiconductors. The BBC's Theo Leggett explains why the car industry has been particularly hit by the shortage of chips. And Shelley Rigger, professor of East Asian politics at Davidson University in the US, discusses the growing significance of Taiwan in the technology war between China and the US. (Photo: A man walks past a company logo at the headquarters of the world's largest semiconductor maker TSMC in Taiwan, Credit: Getty Images)

Though children will usually learn how to add, subtract or multiply in school, very often they are not taught the skills they need to manage their money in older life. We’ll hear from children around the world about their understanding of, and relationship with, money. Then, Lily Lapenna MBE, of MyBnk, describes her decades long campaign to improve financial education in UK schools, and how a gap still remains between boys and girls in financial literacy. Eddie Behringer, CEO of the fintech firm Copper, explains how their bank accounts for teenagers can help build skills from early on. And Dhruti Shah, author of the illustrated business dictionary Bear Markets and Beyond, recounts how she wishes she’d realised sooner just how much finance and business would factor in her life, and how a basic business vocabulary can help you understand your world better. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Eliminating carbon emissions in the next 30 years would be "the most amazing thing humanity has ever done". In an exclusive interview, Bill Gates tells Justin Rowlatt why he has set his sights on tackling global warming, and how the challenge compares to efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic - which he is also taking a leading role in, with the funding of vaccine rollouts. The Microsoft founder and world's most influential philanthropist is particularly focused on the parts of the economy that are the toughest to decarbonise - things like cement, steel and aviation. His thinking is strongly influenced by the energy historian Vaclav Smil. Gates says he has read every one of the Czech-Canadian professor's 40-odd books on the subject. But in a rare interview, Professor Smil tells Justin that he has a decidedly more pessimistic view of how quick and painless the energy transition can be. (Picture: Justin Rowlatt interviewing Bill Gates at the Natural History Museum)

On this episode of Business Weekly, we examine the world of amateur traders. One in five Americans now play the stock market, but there are warnings that inexperienced traders could be caught out. Also, we take a look at the new space race. Commercial enterprises are vying to see who can get the most satellites into orbit in order to provide internet connectivity to some of the world’s poorest and most rural regions. In the week when Bumble made its market debut, we hear how dating apps are faring during the pandemic. And we chat to the man who provides books for home offices so his clients can seem well-read on video conferencing calls. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

After years of planning and delays, Africa’s new trade bloc, the African Continental Free Trade Area, opened in January with the promise of transforming the continent’s economies. Amandla Ooko-Ombaka of McKinsey and Company in Nairobi explains the enormous poverty-reducing potential the bloc represents. But some are calling for the agreement’s terms to more directly benefit women, by helping facilitate trade in their wares across borders. Caroline Gethi of the Organisation of Women in International Trade and Gloria Atuheirwe of Trademark East Africa say the agreement hasn't gone far enough to promote gender equality, and that it as yet doesn’t even recognise the role of women in informal trade which is the backbone of Africa’s economies. (Image credit: Getty Images.)

Is one of the world's mighty financial centres under threat from the damage done by the UK's departure from the EU? Six weeks after the final Brexit divorce, Katie Martin of the Financial Times explains the short-term impact, and long-term implications. One winner is Amsterdam. Michael Kent, co-founder of Azimo, a digital payments firm, tells us why he's opened an office there. And if the City of London is losing its allure, why are bankers so optimistic? We hear from the boss of Barclays. Photo: A man wearing a traditional bowler hat looks over at London's financial and business district known as the Square Mile (Credit: Getty).

When shares in the apparently declining games company Gamestop soared almost 2000% in less than a month, the world’s attention was drawn to an army of amateur investors on new mobile trading platforms such as Robinhood. Investment author Ann Logue breaks down what makes these amateur traders different from regular day traders, and we’ll hear from one such amateur on the ups and downs of playing the market. Professional investor Bill Brewster speaks about what responsibilities the new investing apps have in making sure their users are informed both about the risks and how the apps actually work, and Barbara Roper of the Consumer Federation of America suggests where regulation can play a part. We’ll also hear from day trader and YouTuber HumbledTrader, who cautions people from getting into the game without doing their own research. Producer: Marie Keyworth. (Image credit: Getty Images.)

Bridging the global digital divide, using satellites in space, is the dream of the world's richest men like Elon Musk of SpaceX and Jeff Bezos of Amazon. They're joined in a new space race to carpet the earth in satellite constellations with national governments, private companies and the recently rescued OneWeb, under the new ownership of the British government and Bharti Enterprises. Sunil Bharti Mittal, the executive Chair of OneWeb tells us why firing hundreds rockets skywards makes business sense, even in a crowded market. And he's promised to leave no-one behind. We also speak to Caleb Henry of Quilty Analytics who tells us about the players in the market and Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation warns of the dangers of a crowded Lower Earth Orbit. Presented by Ed Butler and produced by Clare Williamson. (Image: Lift off Vr, Credits: Roscosmos and Space Center Vostochny, TsENK)

We explore the twin crises affecting the shipping industry. First, thousands of seafarers are stranded far from home, unable to travel because of the coronavirus. Add to that congestion at ports across the globe and sky-high freight rates. The result? Unprecedented pressures on an industry that’s usually far from the public eye. We hear from stranded ship-workers and those trying to help them return home. And we speak to the importers and exporters struggling to stay afloat as shipping rates go up and up. (Image credit: Getty Images.)

As protests continue against the military coup in Myanmar, Business Weekly hears how the army controls the country’s economy. Jeff Bezos has announced that he’s stepping down as Amazon chief executive so he can concentrate on other projects. We think about the good he could he do if he really put his mind - and his money - to it. And it’s a dog’s life - we hear how the trade in lockdown pets is booming. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Manuela Saragosa speaks with economist Mariana Mazzucato, who argues that America’s Apollo programme, which landed people on the moon in the 1960s, has a lot to teach us about tackling some of the biggest economic challenges on earth today. Mazzucato is calling for a bolder, more visionary and interventionist state which would take on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, among others. But would that work at a time of declining trust in government institutions and competence? And don't the UN's goals encompass societal challenges that are far more politically complex than Apollo's technological mission? (Image credit: Getty Images.)

Music streaming services have changed the game. We hear about their impact on artists' income from Tom Gray of the 90s British band Gomez. Plus, Merck Mercuriadis, whose music investment company Hipgnosis is spending billions of dollars buying the copyright to some the biggest music hits of the past 50 years. (Picture: dollar bills rain down on US pop star Miley Cyrus. Credit: Getty Images.)

Uncertainty continues to mount over this summer's delayed Tokyo Olympic Games, as Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announces he is extending a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and nine other areas through March. Last year's unprecedented postponement was arguably the biggest peacetime decision ever taken in sport. But that would be completely overshadowed by an actual cancellation. Seijiro Takeshita of the University of Shizuoka gives the view from the Japanese business community. Sports sponsorship expert Tim Crow explains how a potential delay would impact sponsorship revenue, while US economist Andrew Zimbalist takes on the larger overall costs to Japan. And we’ll also hear from Olympic medallist Kristian Thomas about what it means for players. (Image credit: Getty.)

Myanmar's military has announced it has taken control of the country, a decade after agreeing to hand power to a civilian government. Tin Htar Swe OBE, Myanmar analyst and former editor of the BBC Burmese Service, recounts the history leading up to this emergent coup, and where it might lead. Meanwhile, Vasuki Shastry, Associate Fellow at Chatham House's Asia-Pacific Programme, explains how the military have shaped Myanmar's economy and what effect international sanctions might have on their continued hold on it. And Rocco Macchiavello, lead academic with the International Growth Centre Myanmar, explains how, or if, Myanmar can continue its high economic growth seen over the last decade. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Image credit: Getty Images.)

What is Wall Street's role in the surge in Gamestop's share price? It’s been billed as a populist revolt against the financial behemoths of Wall Street: a global gang of small investors driving up the price of Gamestop shares, forcing losses on hedge funds. But is there more to this David versus Goliath story than at first meets the eye? Manuela Saragosa speaks to Alex Patton who trades in his spare time when he’s not at his day job in cybersecurity. She also speaks to former Wall Street professional Alexis Goldstein who now advocates for financial regulation and to Elizabeth Lopatto from the US technology website The Verge. (Correction: in the programme it was said that shares had risen 70% this year when in fact they rose 70% on Friday 29 January 2021)

The UK has said it will impose strict restrictions on people travelling to the country in order to help stop the spread of Covid-19. Travellers from a list of countries deemed 'high risk’ will be put into hotels to quarantine. It’s a scheme used in Australia, where cases are now low. On Business Weekly, we hear how the economy there was able to open up after the first wave of infections. We get the latest on the farmers’ protest in India after this week’s rally turned violent. The end of the Google Loon project means very little in practical terms to people in rural Africa who need internet access. It never managed to deliver on its promise to connect up more of the continent. So, what’s next? Will Elon Musk’s Starlink project be the answer? And the director of the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo tells us how he had to protect the area from exploitative companies as well as armed militias. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Homeworking has led to booming pet sales. What happens when people head back to the office? Sales of dogs, cats and all sorts of other pets have soared in the developed world over the past year amid lockdowns. It’s great news for pet care businesses. But animal rescue centres are braced for the worst when and if people start heading back into work again. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

The economic costs of school closures amidst the pandemic could be huge. 2 billion school days have been missed so far around the world, and millions more are to come. Experts are warning of a lost generation with many children losing key skills to earn their way out of poverty. Even in the rich world, this cohort could see their future incomes fall considerably. So are governments paying enough attention? Does education have to be the trade off for public health and the economy in the pandemic? We hear from Stefania Giannini Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO who tells us that disadvantaged children will suffer the most, whilst Dr Randa Grob Zakhary, CEO, Insights for Education says that different countries have taken different approaches to education during the pandemic with starkly different results. Nisha Ligon is the co-founder of Ubongo, Africa’s biggest EdTech non-profit, who has had a busy year filling the demand for home learning in African countries with limited access to modern technology. Plus educational economist Eric Hanushek, a fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University has been crunching the numbers on the impact on GDP and personal earnings for the current cohort of school children being locked out of school. (Image: School gates with closed sign. Credit: Press Association)

Is there a new piracy crisis afflicting Africa's shipping lanes? And should the merchant ships in the region now be armed? Four men boarded a Turkish-crewed container ship out at sea in the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa on Saturday - they killed a crew member and took 15 hostages. Robert Peters, a senior analyst for west Africa at Ambrey, a company which boasts the largest number of maritime security personnel in ports across the globe, tells Ed Butler what happened. Ed also speaks to Munro Anderson, who works for Dryad Global, another security firm that specialises in shipping in the area who says he doesn't think the Nigerian government is doing enough to stop kidnappings in the region. But Amy Jadesimi who is the MD of Ladol, a free trade area within Nigeria's largest port in Lagos, says they are doing quite a good job. And Professor Anja Shortland is a lecturer in political economy at Kings College London. She's also written a book, Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business, in which she analyses how the problem of piracy around the east African coast off Somalia was effectively contained. Ed asks her if there are lessons to be learnt from that experience. (Photo: Nigerian special forces sail to intercept pirates as part of an operation in 2019, Credit: Getty Images)

Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s oldest and largest wildlife park. Since 1925, it’s been home to some of the last mountain gorillas on earth. But it’s also home to armed militia groups and an ongoing battle for natural resources. The park’s rangers regularly put their lives on the line protecting the precious wildlife and the Congolese communities who live within the park’s boundaries. Two weeks ago, six rangers were killed. Emmanuel De Merode, the park’s director – who also happens to be a Belgian prince – tells us his extraordinary story. Despite huge challenges he remains optimistic that renewable energy and job creation can help steer the region’s next generation of Congolese away from a cycle of violence that has caused so much damage. (Photo: A mountain gorilla in Virunga National Park. Credit: Thierry Falise for Getty) Presenter: Vivienne Nunis Producer: Sarah Treanor

How the Covid pandemic is changing the way we see wealth and economic fairness. The Covid pandemic has not only changed the way we work. It’s also exposed how little we value the kind of work that’s kept economies afloat amid lockdowns. We hear from a panel of guests about how that’s altered our view of the relationship between wealth and fairness - and ask whether it will lead to fundamental change. (Pic of carer with patient via Getty Images).

As Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th US president, business owners wondered what the new administration would do for them. We hear from some of them who tell us what they need from the President. We also look back at Donald Trump's economic legacy - will history look kindly upon his jobs and immigration policies? The director of hit Netflix series Lupin tells us why non-English language dramas are in vogue at the moment. Plus, why does honey taste different now compared to 60 years ago? Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

The new US president's plan to introduce a $15 minimum wage has sparked debate. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Allynn Umel, campaign director at the Fight for $15 campaign, about why a federal rise in wages is overdue. Jacob Vigdor, professor of public policy and governance at the University of Washington in Seattle, discusses the pros and cons of a wage hike during a pandemic with Jack Kelly, founder of recruitment firm WeCruitr. (Photo: Demonstrators participate in a protest calling for a $15 minimum wage outside of McDonald's corporate headquarters on January 15, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Credit: Getty Images)

The UK is three weeks out of the European single market and there have already been some teething problems. We hear from wine importer, Daniel Lambert and David Lindars of the British Meat Processors Association. Victoria Prentiss gives the government's view and we cross over to Belgium to hear from flower importer Kaat Baertsoen. Meanwhile, Sally Jones, Brexit lead with the consultants Ernst and Young picks through the fine details of the EU/UK trade deal. (Picture of Scottish seafood lorry by Tolga Akmen via Getty Images).

How the US is set to return to the fight against global warming. Justin Rowlatt speaks to Todd Stern, the US special envoy for climate change under Barack Obama, and to Rache Kyte, dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University in the US, about plans to reverse the environmental policies of the Trump era. Christiana Figueres, who negotiated the Paris Agreement on climate change for the UN, tells us why she's excited by the return of the US to the global stage. (Photo: Wind turbines near Palm Springs, California, Credit: Getty Images)

Amidst rising Covid infection levels, we're looking at one alarming threat to health services from Brazil to Egypt - a lack of medical oxygen. Hospitals have been reporting running out altogether, with some critical care patients dying as a result. Where does medical oxygen come from and what is the problem with its supply? Ed Butler hears from Mike Grocott, professor of anaesthesia and critical care at the University of Southampton, as well as gas industry consultant John Raquet. Also in the programme, Pakistani comedian Shafaat Ali tells us what it’s like for patients forced to source their own oxygen to survive. (Picture: A man holds an oxygen tank in Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. Credit: Getty)

Covid-19 vaccine rollouts across the world demonstrates huge global health inequalities. We hear from Astra Zeneca, one of the makers of a covid-19 vaccine. (Photo: an Israeli healthcare worker prepares a dose of the covid-19 vaccine. Credit: Getty Images.)

It’s been a week in which the US president, Donald Trump, was suspended from his social media accounts and the social network Parler was taken offline. On Business Weekly, we explore the role these companies have in society and whether they facilitate free speech and cohesion, as they claim. Plus, the BBC’s Justin Rowlatt speaks to Tesla founder Elon Musk about money, electric cars and populating other planets. And it probably feels like a lifetime ago that any of us went to a cinema to watch a film, popcorn in hand. Will they ever return? Our reporter Vincent Dowd hears from the world's most northerly movie theatre about its struggles during the pandemic. And should you do what you love, or love what you do? We speak to pianist who ditched his passion to become an accountant. Business Weekly is produced by Matthew Davies and presented by Vishala Sri-Pathma.

Scientists, artists and some of the world’s biggest companies are carving up the visual spectrum, and claiming certain colours as their own, so who does have a right to use the colours of the rainbow? We explore the ongoing rift over the worlds “blackest black” Vantablack, which was created by engineering firm Surrey Nanosystems, and can only be used by the artist Anish Kapoor. Contemporary British artist Stuart Semple argues that creativity should not be limited by commercial agreements, while Surrey Nanosystems executive Ben Jensen explains that the material is not suitable for general use. Author Kassia St Clair explores the meaning and history of colour, and we hear how interpretations of colour have changed from Julie Irish, an assistant professor specialising in colour, at the College of Design in Iowa. Note: Surrey NanoSystems has clarified their material Vantablack isn’t toxic, as described by one speaker in this programme, but can be an irritant.(Picture of a colour splash via Getty Images).

Will it last and why have stock markets been shrugging off political developments? A slew of companies have cut off all funding to political parties in the wake of Trump-supporting mobs storming Capitol Hill after the President and other Republican politicians claimed the US election had been stolen. The list of firms who’ve halted funding through their political action committees - or PACs as they’re known - is long. JP Morgan Chase, Citigorup, Facebook, Microsoft, American Express, Morgan Stanley, the chemical company Dow, the hotel chain Marriott and the card company Hallmark which went a step further, admonishing their local senators. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Jason Karaian from the New York Times newspaper who says his paper has run an editorial calling on the country to look again at how corporate America funds the country’s politics. Plus Mohamed El Erian tells her why the share markets were unfazed by all of this. (Picture: US President Donald Trump. Credit: BBC.)

President Trump's ban from various social media raises the question of their regulation. Are they right to ban him, and what are the implications? We ask Nancy Mace, a newly elected Republican representative of South Carolina. Cory Doctorow, blogger, author and activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws, says that Apple and Google can't blame inadequate moderation for their banning of social network Parler on their platforms. And we hear from Professor Shoshana Zuboff, author of a book The age of surveillance capitalism, who thinks the law will bring the beginning of the end of 'Big Tech'. . (Picture: Trump's Twitter profile showing the account is suspended. Credit: Getty Images.)

China is forcing hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other minorities into hard, manual labour in the vast cotton fields of its western region of Xinjiang, according to BBC reports. As a result, apparel companies are facing mounting pressure to withdraw from economic ties with the region, and certainly to stop buying cotton from there. Chloe Cranston of UK-based Anti-Slavery International lays out the case for why companies need to avoid Xinjiang. But as we’ll hear from Andrew Morgan of veteran thread supplier Coats, even though the moral imperative is there, the apparel industry is not completely unified in motivation for change. And we’ll hear from two companies, boutique fashion brand Eileen Fisher and global furniture mainstay IKEA, on their efforts to have an ethical supply chain. (Picture credit: Getty Images)

When it comes to choosing a career, should you do what you love or learn to love whatever you do? (Picture: Farid Gasanov playing his piano. Picture credit: Farid Gasanov.)

In the week when a mob stormed the US Congress, Business Weekly examines the enormous task now facing President-elect Joe Biden. How will he unite the country and how will the new balance of power in Congress affect his economic agenda? Mr Biden’s campaign slogan was “Build Back Better” - we’ll ask whether the world will rise to the task of creating more equal societies once the pandemic is over. Nobel Prize winner Sir Angus Deaton says it’s possible. We’ll also get the secret to a good night’s sleep and hear why women are once again allowed to drive Moscow’s subway trains. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Elon Musk, the space pioneer and electric car guru, now ranks as one of the world's richest men, thanks to a surge in the value of shares in his company Tesla. In an interview from 2014, he tells the BBC's chief environment correspondent Justin Rowlatt what drives him to take on some of the world's most technologically challenging projects, and how he feels about the wealth he's accumulated over the years.

The Democrats and President-elect Biden have won control of the US Congress after results came in from two elections in Georgia. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff defeated Republican incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue respectively. Mr Biden will have a much better chance now of pushing through his legislative agenda. We'll hear from former President Obama's top economic adviser Jason Furman, about how this might shape the country's economic future, while Chris Low of FHN Financial in New York gives us Wall Street's reaction. We'll also be joined live by entrepreneur and former economic adviser under President Bush, Pippa Malmgren to discuss the night of violence seen in the country's state capitol. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Image: A voter leaves a polling station on January 5, 2021 in Marietta, Georgia. Image credit: Getty Creative.)

With much of the world going back into stringent lockdowns and people warned away, or even outright banned, from physical stores and malls, some observers are suggesting this might be the moment online retail takes the dominant position. Others, however, say this is just the last of a long line of challenges for high street retail, and they’re not giving up without a fight. We’ll hear from branding consultant and futurist Karinna Nobbs as well as the self-styled “Retail Prophet” Doug Stephens. (Image credit: Getty Creative)

Pip Hare is currently sailing solo round the world in the Vendee Globe race, one of only a handful of women to attempt it. She speaks to the BBC’s Zoe Kleinman from the middle of the Indian Ocean, while preparing for a storm. We’ll hear about coping with isolation, the challenges of sleeping in 30 minute bursts, and why Pip was so committed to her teenage dream of becoming a professional sailor. (Picture credit: Pip Hare)

Lessons in rethinking the climate emergency from Sierra Leone and the US. We hear from mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr on her plans to plant a million trees, and make climate change relevant to the citizens of the rapidly urbanising capital city. Harvard’s Rebecca Henderson argues that capitalism can provide at least part of the solution, and companies need to price in climate damage, making them financially accountable. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The UK has given the green light to the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid19 vaccine. It’s cheaper and easier to store than some of the alternatives - and the hope is that will make it easier to distribute globally. However, there are worries that production capacity and an unwillingness to share intellectual data might mean the poorest in the world won’t get the immunisation. We speak to Anna Marriott of Oxfam. Also on the show we’ll be mulling over the Brexit deal. We get the view from businesses both sides of the Channel about what the future will bring now the UK and EU have a new trade relationship. We also hear from former EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom who tells us what effect the divorce will have on the rest of the union. As the rest of the world continues to struggle with Covid 19, China is getting back to normal. We hear from Wuhan and Shanghai. Plus, food businesses discuss how they’ve adapted to survive during the pandemic. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Clare Williamson. (Image:University of Oxford researcher in a laboratory at the Jenner Institute, working on the coronavirus vaccine. Image credit: John Cairns/University of Oxford/PA Wire)

A new era has begun for the United Kingdom after it completed its formal separation from the European Union. The UK stopped following EU rules, as replacement arrangements for travel, trade, immigration and security co-operation came into force. On today's programme, we'll hear how we got to this point with Marie Keyworth, and then Vivienne Nunis will tell us what's happening today. Then, Dr Anna Jerzewska, Director of the trade consultancy Trade and Borders and Allie Renison with the Institute of Directors will discuss the UK's trade opportunities in the future. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Picture credit: Reuters.)

What are the realities and responsibilities of young people when it comes to financial planning in a pandemic? Elizabeth Hotson talks to millennials who are trying to manage their money in one of the toughest economic periods since the financial crisis. We hear from Gaby Dunn, host of the Bad with Money podcast; journalist Ebony-Renee Baker who’s planning for herself and her family and Nick Hatter, a life coach who says younger people are far more fiscally responsible than they’re given credit for. (Picture of cash via Getty Images).

Necessity is the mother of invention and Elizabeth Hotson finds out how restaurants and other food outlets - some of the most obvious casualties of the pandemic - have adapted to survive in 2020. We hear from Michael Ward, managing director of Harrods department store on how it’s looking to a domestic clientele to make up for the lack of overseas tourists, whilst JP Then, co-founder of Crosstown Doughnuts tells us how companies are incentivising their workers with his sweet treats. Briony Raven, Pret’s UK Food & Coffee Director explains how the high street chain had to learn new tricks and Thom Elliot from Pizza Pilgrims describes sending his products by post. Nicole Ponseca, founder of Jeepney in New York tells us about the ups and downs of a fraught 2020 and Dominic Allport from the NPD Group gives us the cold, hard figures. Produced by Sarah Treanor. (Pic of Regent Street in London by Elizabeth Hotson).

How have our eating habits changed during a year when lockdowns have seen more of us cooking from home and fewer of us sharing meals out with colleagues? And can Zoom calls replace the networking coffee or dinner? Elizabeth Hotson speaks to one-time office workers for whom eating out was just part and parcel of life. Justin Urqhuart-Stuart, co-founder of Regionally casts doubt on the ability of remote working to replicate a true deal-making environment and Dominic Allport, an insight director at the NPD group tells us about the financial impact of the shifts in eating habits. Produced by Sarah Treanor. (Picture of takeaway food via Getty Images).

China is bucking a global trend and its economy is growing again. We hear from Wuhan and Shanghai, where restrictions have been lifted and companies are back in business. But the scars left by Covid-19 are still evident. We’ll also ask how ready China is for the challenges of 2021. The world’s second biggest economy is spending huge amounts on green technologies and clean power. Presenter Fergus Nicoll talks to Dr Sha Yu, Co-Director of the China Programme at the University of Maryland’s Centre for Global Sustainability, and Stefan Gsänger, Secretary-General of the World Wind Energy Association. Fergus is also joined by Yuan Yang, deputy Beijing bureau chief at the Financial Times and independent economist Andy Xie in Shanghai. (Picture: A worker in North China's Hebei Province, Dec. 17, 2020. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

This week the roads running to the ports in the South East of England turned into a lorry park when continental Europe blocked arrivals from the UK– so Business Weekly takes look at trade and the travails of the global shipping industry. How has this vital sector fared during the pandemic? As France bans discrimination against regional accents we’ll ask whether the way you talk really affects your job pospects. The Chief Executive of the Royal Albert Hall tells us how this historical London venue is coping without box office sales - and we'll hear from the entrepreneurs who set up new businesses in the middle of a pandemic. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Clare Williamson. (Image: Lorries parked at Manston airpot while port of Dover closed Credit: Getty Images)

This year has seen our cities coming under pressure as they struggled to withstand the impact of the coronavirus. City centres were deserted as shops shut and people stayed away. But in some city streets there was a new community spirit as people faced the pandemic together and supported neighbours they'd never met before. In this programme, Tamasin Ford investigates what the future could be for our cities, and asks how they need to change if they are to survive, and even flourish. We hear from architect Siri Zanelli; the mayor of Bristol in the south-west of England, Marvin Rees; transport planner Susan Claris; Singapore-based Lauren Sorkin, the head of the Resilient Cities network; Liu Qian of Greenpeace in Beijing, and Rosamund Kissi-Debrah who has been a campaigner for better air quality since the death of her daughter from asthma in 2013. (Image: Mumbai skyline in lockdown March 2020. Getty Images.)

Talks between the UK and the EU on a post-Brexit trade agreement continued during the night, but a deal is expected to be unveiled on Thursday. Negotiators in Brussels are said to be trying to finalise details on fishing quotas, which have proved an obstacle to an agreement during months of talks. On the programme we'll hear from Sally Jones, Brexit lead at Ernst and Young, Charles Grant at the Centre for European Reform, as well as the BBC's Political Correspondent Rob Watson. (Picture credit: Reuters)

How the shipping industry has fared in 2020. Ed Butler speaks to Lars Jensen from SeaIntelligence Consulting about the ups and downs of the shipping industry during the pandemic, in a year that has seen a collapse in economic activity, but a boom in online shopping. And Bridget Rosewell, commissioner for the independent National Infrastructure Commission in the UK, explains why disruption to supply chains could cause businesses to rethink the way they ship goods around the world. (Photo: A cargo ship is unloaded at the UK port of Felixstowe, Credit: Getty Images)

Unilever in New Zealand is the latest firm to trial a 4-day week without cutting pay. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Paddy Gamble, the CEO of Perpetual Guardian which manages trusts, wills and estate planning. A couple of years ago they put its 240 staff on a four-day week but paid them for five. He says productivity has gone up since they introduced it. Charlotte Lockhart runs a global campaign for a 4-day week and she says its easy to do and its doesn't cost very much. But Marc Efforn, president of The Talent Strategy Group, a global human resource management consultancy firm says a four day week doesn't actually improve productivity. (Picture credit: Getty Creative)

How do brands strike the right tone in their Christmas adverts when many consumers have taken a financial hit? Elizabeth Hotson goes on an advertising odyssey and talks to Sarah Traverso, Group Director of Integrated Marketing and Content for Coca-Cola in the US, a company so central to Christmas advertising that some think Coca Cola invented Santa Claus. A myth quickly debunked by Ann Christine Diaz, the creativity editor at Advertising Age. What is the secret behind a successful Christmas campaign? A question for Simon Lloyd from DentsuMB, who was until recently the creative director of the advertising agency behind the John Lewis department store Christmas adverts. Global advertising spend is expected to contract by 10% ( $63bn) this year and with people spending so much time at home during the pandemic, the focus has gone to online advertising and social media, as James McDonald, Head of Data at the World Advertising Research Center, explains. (Photo: socially-distanced Santa Claus in a mask in New York City, Getty Images)

On Business Weekly this week, we examine the potential big trouble for Big Tech. Regulatory bodies around the world are looking to tighten the rules that govern the digital world. Concerned by issues relating to both the web content and the business conduct of some of the big technology companies, legislators from the US to the EU are trying to re-write the digital laws. We look at what this could mean in practice for Silicon Valley. We also look at dry ice – how it works and the important role it will carry out in the distribution of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, as well as the possible implications that could have for drinks industry. Plus, while Zoom business meetings are all the rage now, how long before virtual reality takes them to the next level? And we discuss the joy of traditional Christmas correspondence and find out why young people are starting to send greetings cards again. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

America’s cannabis industry is worth tens of billions of dollar and it generates tax revenues and jobs. But it is barred from accessing most financial services. This is because, while legal in an increasing number US states, cannabis remains illegal at a federal level. We hear what it’s like running a cannabis business from Ken Churchill of the West Coast Cannabis Club in California. Emily Dufton, author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America, explains how the US went from "Just Say No" in the 1980s to yes now. And Robert Hoban, a lawyer who specialises in cannabis, explains why two currently empty Georgia Senate seats could determine whether the Biden administration can fulfil its pledge to decriminalise cannabis. (Picture: purchasing legal marijuana at a dispensary. Credit: Getty Images.)

Why US regulators want to break up the social media giant. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and dozens of US states are arguing that Facebook is a monopoly that harms consumers. Ed Butler speaks to tech and anti-trust researcher Dina Srinivasan about why data privacy is at the centre of the arguments over Facebook's monopoly power. Former FTC chairman Bill Kovacic explains why breaking up the social media giant is still a distant possibility. And the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones discusses the rising anti-tech sentiment among both US and European regulators. (Photo: Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram logos. Credit: Getty Images)

Could virtual offices provide an alternative to endless Zoom calls? Ed Bulter speaks to Jeremy Bailenson, director of Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, about the phenomenon of 'Zoom fatigue', and why virtual reality could provide a solution. Phillip Wang, CEO of the startup Gather, shows us round his virtual office platform that combines video conferencing with old-school video game graphics. Ed tries out a meeting in virtual reality with Anand Agarawala, CEO of the VR platform Spatial. And Marc Bena from PwC explains why interest in virtual meetings is growing among businesses. (Photo: A virtual meeting on VR platform Spatial, Credit: Spatial)

Artificial intelligence is increasingly part of our daily lives - in health, in transport, entertainment and much more - but how many of us actually trust the algorithms that drive it? Rolls-Royce says it’s now developed a system, called the Aletheia framework, that gives IT engineers in any sector a way of testing whether their AI systems are making decisions that are safe and trustworthy. The aerospace company says it's making the framework available for free to all. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Caroline Gorski from Rolls-Royce who helped develop the Aletheia framework. She also speaks about AI's trust issues with Dame Wendy Hall, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton in the UK and Chair of the Ada Lovelace Institute. Plus Pag Miles from the global recruitment company Alexander Mann Solutions, explains how the Aletheia framework might help his industry which is increasingly relying on AI to select and match candidates to jobs.

Negotiators from the UK and EU are to begin a new push to reach agreement on post-Brexit trade after both sides agreed "to go the extra mile". A UK source said the "process still has some legs" but Boris Johnson has warned a no-deal is the "most likely" outcome. Sophie Pornschlegel, a senior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre, explains how much room there may be in Brussels' position, while the BBC's Rob Watson talks through what will be needed to get any deal over the line in the UK parliament before the 31st. And we'll hear from a UK coffee exporter, Dan Webber of Chimney Fire Coffee in Surrey, about what the prolonged uncertainty means for his business. (Picture: Getty Images)

On this edition of Business Weekly, we ask whether Covid vaccines are the shot in the arm the pharmaceutical industry needs to rescue its reputation? Plus, as the world looks ahead to life after the pandemic will our transportation systems be there to help us get around? There’s a financial crisis in New York’s mass transit system. What does that mean for the city it supports? Airbnb finally packs it bags and heads to the stock market. The holiday accommodation company’s shares boomed on its first day of trading this week. We speak to Airbnb’s chief executive, Brian Chesky. Also, in China, over 15m tonnes of food is wasted every year. The government has a new plan to tackle this, but how will it convince its citizens not to throw food away? And we’ll be talking about that nine figure deal reached by Bob Dylan to sell off his back catalogue. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Britain is looking to ban the export of live animals for slaughter and fattening after its existing trade arrangement with the European Union lapse at the end of this year. Natasha Smith of Compassion in World Farming, who have campaigned on this for decades, explains why they’re against the practice. Meanwhile UK minister Craig Mackinlay says leaving the EU’s trade rules after Brexit is key to getting the ban implemented. But will the ban run afoul of WTO free trade rules? Emily Rees of consultancy Trade Strategies breaks down the rules and whether the ban fits. But what do UK farmers think? Phil Stocker of the National Sheep Association says this ban overshoots, and puts farmers already in an unclear position because of Brexit, even more on the back foot. And Francesca Porta of the Brussels-based Eurogroup for Animals explains what changes might be coming in the EU itself on live animal transport. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Boris Johnson's dinner with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen - aimed at breaking the Brexit trade deadlock - has ended without agreement. The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said the evening had "plainly gone badly" and the chances of the UK leaving the post-Brexit transition period at the end of the year without a firm arrangement was a "big step closer". What would that mean for the UK, and the rest of the world? Joining the programme live will be BBC World Service political correspondent Rob Watson, and Dr Anna Jerzewska, Director of the trade consultancy Trade and Borders.

A UK grandmother became the world’s first recipient of the Pfizer Covid vaccine this week. What does this mean for the pharmaceutical industry? This could be seen as a moment of victory for the industry, which has received a lot of bad press in the last few years. But the prices set by the vaccine makers could also provoke accusations of profiteering. We’ll hear from former Pfizer executive John Lamattina, Thomas Cueni of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, Tahir Amin of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, as well as Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. (Image credit: Getty Images)

It was grounded worldwide after two tragic accidents. Now, regulators in the US have given it permission to fly again – but will it really be safe? Theo Leggett speaks to Mark Pegram whose son Sam was killed aboard the flight which crashed after take-off from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in March last year. He also spoke to Ed Pierson, a former senior manager on the 737 production line at Boeing’s Renton factory, just outside Seattle, who gave testimony to the House of Representatives saying how months before the first accident, he had emailed his bosses, warning them how the pressure to produce new planes as fast as possible was undermining safety. In response to Mr Pierson’s testimony, Boeing insisted that the suggestion of a link between his concerns and the Max accidents was completely unfounded. It added that none of the authorities investigating the accidents had found that production conditions in the 737 factory had contributed in any way.The US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, has also come under fire. Barry Valentine, a former assistant administrator at the FAA who now works as a consultant for the Wicks group, says lessons have been learnt. Also in the programme is attorney and former inspector general of the US department of transportation, Mary Schiavo. And Bjorn Fehrm, of aviation consultants Leeham, who insists the 737 Max will now be safe.

How passenger fears and remote working are prompting a crisis in public transport. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Pat Foye, chairman of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is facing a multi-billion-dollar hole in its finances. Mohamed Mezghani, secretary general of the International Association of Public Transport, describes the challenge of getting commuters back onto trains and subways. Nicole Gelinas, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, explains why transport systems like New York's are so central to a city's economic success. (Photo: Passengers on New York's subway system, Credit: Getty Images)

On this edition of Business Weekly, we analyse the court battle between Shell and the environmental groups which claim the oil giant remains too focused on fossil fuels. We look at a different approach to tackle deforestation, and hear how an economic argument could help the Amazon rainforest. We also get an expert view on floundering UK clothing stores, doubly hit by the pandemic and our changing shopping habits. Could in-store cafes and leisure concessions be just the therapy the retail industry needs? We head to central London to hear the tales of a tailor - a master craftsman who cutting his cloth to suit the future of high-end business wear. And we’ve a lesson in why ‘email etiquette’ needs to be applied to even the shortest message. Business Weekly is presented by Sasha Twining and produced by Matthew Davies.

Sarah Frier, author of No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram, talks about the corporate drama behind the app. The photo sharing app Instagram has transformed business, culture and even our everyday lives. Manuela Saragosa finds out why Instagram sold out to Facebook, and how Kevin Systrom (one of the founders of Instagram) found his values soon collided with those of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. (Picture credit: Getty Creative)

In November Virgin Hyperloop trialled its first ever journey with passengers, in the desert of Nevada. The futuristic transport concept involves pods inside vacuum tubes carrying passengers at high speeds. So with this proof of concept, are certified Hyperloop transport systems on the horizon? On today’s programme, we’ll hear from Mars Geuze, Chief Commercial Officer of Hardt Hyperloop, who have raised $10m to develop the technology in Europe, as well as Bibop Gresta, founder of Hyperloop Italia, who hints that a big announcement may be imminent. And we’ll also hear from Roseline Walker, Senior Safety and Risk Researcher for the Transport Research Laboratory, who outlines for us some of the concerns and obstacles the new technology faces. (Image Credit: Getty images.)

Is the era of the suited office worker at an end? Is the era of the suited office worker at an end?With so many people working from home because of the pandemic, there is far less demand for formal work attire. This is impacting those that make it all over the world, as we learn from Richard Anderson, a tailor on Savile Row - the street in London synonymous with suits - and Raja Fashions in Hong Kong, whose tailors usually travel the globe fitting their clients. We hear that while some office workers can't wait to dress up after the pandemic, others have embraced and even expanded their pyjama collection. Plus, Heather MacGregor, Executive Dean of Heriott-Watt Business School, tells us how her work wear has been impacted by working from home. (Picture: a tailor adjusts a customer's suit in the fitting room at Henry Poole's in Savile Row, London, 1938. Credit Getty Images.)

A showdown looms between Hungary and Poland and the rest of the EU over the bloc's latest budget, which includes a Covid economic recovery fund worth nearly $900bn. Hungary and Poland blocked approval of the budget earlier in the month over a clause that ties funding with adherence to the rule of law in the bloc, something both countries have been accused of undermining. With the fate of businesses and livelihoods hanging in the balance, the two sides will meet in mid-December at a summit to discuss how they can break the impasse. We hear from Brussels-based reporter Beatriz Ríos, Zoltán Kovács, a spokesman for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and German MEP Dennis Radtke. (Picture credit: Getty Images) .

Economics has a solution to halt rapid deforestation but can it be implemented? This year has seen some of the worst-ever fires destroy vast tracts of the Amazon rainforest as land there is cleared for farming. We hear how the field of economics may have come up with a solution to halt the Amazon’s rate of deforestation - and what’s needed to set that in motion. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Michael Greenstone, Professor of economics at the University of Chicago and to Professor Luciana Gatti, a researcher at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research which monitors greenhouse gas emissions in Amazon.

On this edition of Business Weekly, we look at the third Covid vaccine and ask whether the jabs will be the shot in the arm the global economy needs. We hear the story of a 30-year old man evicted by his parents from the family home after he didn’t pay towards his upkeep. But we also ask what happens when parents rely on their children for money. Plus, we hear from the musicians who want more money when we stream their songs. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

How prepping or survivalism has gone mainstream, with Silicon Valley leading the way. Tech entrepreneur Julie Fredrickson tells Manuela Saragosa how she became a prepper after the electricity went out for days in New York after hurricane Sandy hit back in 2012. She also speaks to serial entrepreneur John Ramey, founder of an online community called The Prepared who told her it's the failure of our institutions that has led so many more people to become preppers. And to Bradley Garratt, a social geographer based at University College Dublin in Ireland. He’s just published a book about prepping called Bunker: Building for the end of times. He told her that preppers are everywhere from the US to Germany to Thailand. (Picture: Emergency preparation, natural disaster supplies. Picture credit: Getty Images)

Are NFL players being denied compensation because of racial-norming? Thousands of former American footballers claim they suffered brain injury as players, but are being denied compensation on racial grounds. Ed Butler speaks to Roxanne Gordon, the wife of Amon Gordon, once of the Cleveland Browns, who is one of hundreds of ex-players now claiming compensation from the NFL for brain injury sustained on the field of play. She says that race-norming was used in the testing of his concussion settlement. New York Times journalist, Ken Belson, who's pioneered a lot of the reporting on this story, told him what race-norming is. And Cathy O Neill, author of a book, Weapons of Math Destruction, who also runs Orca, a software auditing company, says race-norming applies in lots of areas of modern life particularly with the increased use of algorithms that can easily dominate and distort the way companies market to consumers, frequently on racial grounds. The NFL says it “remains fully committed to paying all legitimate claims and providing the important benefits that our retired players and their families deserve.”

With Covid-19 vaccinations preparing to roll out, how do we make sure everyone gets it? John Johnson, a vaccine programme co-ordinator for Doctors without Borders, outlines just how much is involved in getting vaccines, by truck, motorbike and even foot, to every town and village in the developing world. The Covid-19 vaccine, like others, needs to be transported below a certain temperature, adding an extra layer of complexity, as Toby Peters from the University of Birmingham explains. But David Elliot, of Dulas Solar, says technology like their solar-powered refrigerators can help solve the problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Rebecca Weintraub, Faculty Director of the Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard University, is enthusiastic that the world’s institutions can come together to co-ordinate the task. Producers: Frey Lindsay and Joshua Thorpe. (Picture: A Malaria vaccine implementation pilot programme in Malawi, April 2019. Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

After Pfizer and Moderna vaccines earlier in the month, a third arrives from the University of Oxford. The question now becomes when the vaccines will be distributed and to whom. We’ll hear from Bruce Y Lee, professor at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health, about just how daunting a task a global inoculation programme will be. Meanwhile, Alex de Jonquieres, the head of the Vaccine Alliance Gavi, explains how they’re trying to make sure every country can afford enough of the vaccine to protect their country. But Kate Elder, senior vaccine policy advisor at Doctors without Borders, says there’s nothing to stop richer countries jumping to the front of the queue. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Image credit: Getty Creative)

Is it up to children to support their parents financially? Manuela Saragosa hears from Lamees Wajahat in Canada, who has been supporting her parents to pay the bills since she had her first part-time job. But is it the duty of the family, or the state to provide? Manuela speaks to Professor Sarah Harper of Oxford University, who argues that opportunities for younger generations are better than ever before, and that family obligations have always been a part of life. (Pic of piggy bank via Getty Images).

In this edition of Business Weekly, we look at Britain’s drive to go green, and how effective the proposed ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars might be. The Chief Operating Officer of the electric vehicle maker Polestar tells us what help the automotive industry needs from the government to persuade people to buy electric. Plus, we meet the first British Royal Air Force officer to openly transition from male to female and chat to her about transgender rights in the workplace. We also look at the digital afterlife and hear from some of the companies promising to manage our online affairs once we’ve passed away. And we discuss why the British Royal Family are still seen as fashion icons. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Many African countries have been praised for waging effective campaigns against coronavirus, and the region has a relatively low case count compared to Europe and the US. African economies have likewise been hit less hard, and Amandla Ooko-Ombaka of McKinsey and Company explains how a mix of a youthful population, hot climate and swift government response helped many of these economies stay resilient. But Lisa Owino, of the Kenyan human rights organisation KELIN, says in some cases government intervention over-stepped and was overly punitive to ordinary people. And Tosin Eniolorunda, founder & Chief Executive of Nigerian financial services company TeamApt says digital finance tools helped people maintain social distancing while conducting business. (Picture: Kenyans walk past a mural about the Coronavirus in Nairobi. Picture credit: Getty Images)

2019 was a landmark year for investment into digital financial services, or Fintech, across Africa. Despite the pandemic, the Fintech scene is not only still thriving; it’s poised to play a key role in Africa’s economic recovery. Uzoma Dozie, the head of Nigerian startup Sparkle, says with Covid limiting our ability to handle cash, the cashless revolution in Africa is moving along rapidly. But Viola Llewellyn, president of Ovamba Solutions, which helps finance small businesses across Africa, says some sectors of African banking still lagged behind in digital services provision. Barbara Iyayi of Unicorn Growth Capital says Africa has a “perfect storm” of a young population, prevalent mobile services and a low rate of bank account holding, means Fintech will thrive across African economies but the infrastructure needs to be built up more. (Image credit: Getty Creative)

The companies managing your online life after death. Ed Butler speaks to Tom Ainsworth, CEO of Memories, an online memorial service that provides messages from beyond the grave, and to Rikard Steiber, founder of startup GoodTrust, which aims to help people take control of their digital legacies. Pyschologist Dr Elaine Kasket discusses the phenomenon of online death in the age of the pandemic, and why online legacies may be less permanent than we think. (Photo: A funeral is livestreamed in Austria earlier this year, Credit: Getty Images)

With Covid rampaging and many economies on life-support, some say we need to look beyond capitalism. A blue-sky thinker, the outspoken former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, gives his thoughts on a radical alternative to standard market economics, including making all employees shareholders in corporations. And Miatta Fahnbulleh, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, imagines how this might ever be seriously attempted in practice.

A lack of legal protection in many parts of the world leaves many transgender employees vulnerable. Few countries offer legal protection against discrimination of transgender people. This week is transgender awareness week - what role do companies play in the rights of transgender people? Manuela Saragosa speaks to Caroline Paige, joint chief executive of a UK pressure group called Fighting with Pride. In 1999 she became the first transgender officer to transition openly while serving in the UK Armed Forces, some 19 years after she’d first joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot. South African author of The Pink Line, Mark Gevisser describes the fight to get laws to protect transgender people from discrimination as a new culture war along a human rights frontier. He says one of the most significant markers is which countries allow people to legally change their gender on official documents. Manuela also speaks to Lily Zheng who is a diversity consultant to businesses and organisations and is herself transgender and to Thai university lecturer Kath Khangpiboon, living and working as a woman in Thailand although official documents only recognise her as male. Pic of Kath Khangpiboon, via Kath Khangpiboon

Excitement and hope this week as the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said it believed that its Covid-19 vaccine is 90% effective. On this edition of Business Weekly we’ll look at the logistical challenges of rolling it out. How will it be transported? Who will get access to it - and how much will it cost? Also at a high level climate change conference in London our correspondent chats to chief executives who say capitalism can help the planet - but will they put their money where their mouth is? Plus, what, if anything do parents owe their children? We have the intriguing story of the man who sued his parents because they couldn’t afford him. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Vishala Sri-Pathma.

Is the polling industry the real loser in the American presidential elections? Pollsters have come in for criticism that they misjudged President-elect Biden’s support, and did even worse in the state senate elections. Andrew Gelman, professor of statistics and political science at Columbia University explains why some of the errors were made. Zeynep Tufekci, associate professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, argues that polling can have a distorting effect on democracy itself, changing how people vote or whether they do at all. Meanwhile, Anthony Wells of UK research firm YouGov explains how the polling industry functions outside of the electoral spotlight, and why political forecasts are just a small part of it. (Image credit: Getty Creative.)

Ahead of the 2021 Climate Change Conference, big names in the world of finance are banding together to create ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With new improved carbon offset markets, monitoring and standardisation of emissions goals and an emphasis on channelling capital to projects based on renewable energy, evangelists of so-called “Green Finance” believe capitalism can reinvent itself to the benefit of the planet. Rhian-Mari Thomas, chief executive of the Green Finance Institute and convenor of the just-finished Green Horizons Summit, outlines the vision. May Boeve of the environmental group 350.org says much of capital is still directed towards climate-damaging industries. And Bill Winters, chief executive of Standard Chartered, explains how an effective carbon offset market would work. Produced by Frey Lindsay. (Picture credit: Getty Images.)

Ukraine is in the midst of a constitutional crisis. The President Volodymyr Zelensky says the judiciary are blocking anti-corruption reform. The top judges won't budge and can't be sacked. So what do we know about the President's reform credentials? In this episode, we hear from the former central bank governor Valeria Gontareva who says she’s been a victim of a campaign of harassment that has left her fearing for her life, ever since she introduced anti-corruption reforms. Former economy minister Tymofiy Mylovanov, who resigned from government this year following a disagreement with President Zelensky, gives his view on what more needs to be done to combat corruption in Ukraine. And we hear from President Zelensky’s official spokesperson Iuliia Mendel. (Image: President Zelensky. Credit: Getty Images)

Stock markets have rocketed on hopes of a Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough. The BBC's Business Editor Simon Jack explains who the winners and losers have been on the markets so far, and what this could mean for future stimulus packages and inflation. The drugmakers responsible for the vaccine claim it can prevent more than 90% of people from getting Covid-19. We'll hear from Mikael Dolsten, Global Research Chief for one of the drugmakers Pfizer. And epidemiologist Peter Horby of the University of Oxford expresses guarded optimism for the world opening up again. (Image credit: Getty Images.)

US President-elect Joe Biden is to make tackling the coronavirus pandemic his top priority following his win over Donald Trump, his team says. Larry Summers, former director of the National Economic Council under President Obama says the country can’t have a healthy economy without a healthy population. But before the President-elect can get to work, he and his team have a slew of legal challenges from President Trump to fend off. Barry Richard, veteran Florida lawyer who represented then candidate George W. Bush in the 2000 election Supreme Court battle, runs down the merits of those challenges, as well as their flaws. Produced by Frey Lindsay and Joshua Thorpe. (Image credit: Getty Images)

After a nail-biting week, the Oval Office is within Joe Biden’s grasp - on this edition of business weekly we’ll ask what this means for US economic policy. We’ll find out why the markets rallied and ask a former climate negotiator what a Biden presidency could mean for the environment. We’ll also hear from the sailors stuck at sea thanks to covid restrictions. There are concerns that that the plight of the 400,000 sailors unable to go ashore and home could become a humanitarian catastrophe. Plus, we take a closer look at the little Ant that grew into a financial giant as Jack Ma’s financial company is prevented from listing on the stock exchange at the last moment. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

When they cast their votes for US president, Californians also approved a change to the law allowing gig economy companies like Uber and Lyft to keep treating their drivers as contractors, not employees. The move could have major consequences for the gig economy. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Geoff Vetter from the Yes to 22 campaign, which fought for the law change, and to Veena Dubal, law professor at the University of California, who argues the vote is a disaster for workers' rights. Dave Lee, Silicon Valley correspondent for the Financial Times, tells us what it means for the future of companies like Uber. (Photo: Uber and Lyft logos, Credit: Getty Images)

Vote counting continues in a handful of key battleground states which will determine the outcome of the US presidential election. Democratic candidate Joe Biden has been projected to win Michigan and Wisconsin. He also holds narrow leads in Nevada and Arizona. If he's able to hang on in all these states as final votes are counted, Mr Biden will be almost certain to win. We take a look at what this means for the US economy. International economics policy analyst Pippa Malmgren joins the show to get us up to speed, and then we’ll hear from Jason Furman, the former chief economic adviser to President Obama, who says Biden’s focus will be on trade policy and manufacturing. Meanwhile, Trump’s own former chief economic adviser Tomas Philipson says the president’s economic achievements have been undervalued. And Mohamed El-Erian of Allianz says the balance between a Democratic executive and a Republican senate will not be the kind of stabilising influence economists usually expect. Producers: Joshua Thorpe and Frey Lindsay (Image credit: Getty Images)

The world's richest people have become even richer this year, despite an economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Manuela Saragosa speaks to John Matthews, chairman of private jet company AirX, about the surprising resiliance of the private aviation industry despite global travel restrictions. Chuck Collins from the Institute for Policy Studies - a think tank in Washington DC - explains how the richest people in the world have added to their wealth in the pandemic, and what it reveals about inequalities in the US economy. (Photo: Jess Bezos, Amazon founder and the world's richest man, poses with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez, pose outside the Taj Mahal in India in January 2020. CredIT: Getty Images)

Manuela Saragosa finds out what happened when fifty homeless people were gifted thousands of dollars each. The gifts were part of a social project in Canada and the results were unveiled this month. The results were described as ‘beautifully surprising’ by the project’s leaders. (Pic of pregnant homeless woman on the corner of a busy street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd via Getty Images).

The new Japanese prime minister has pledged to make his country carbon neutral by 2050. On this edition of Business Weekly we ask how he’s planning to do it. We also take a closer look at nuclear energy to find out whether mass production of smaller reactors could be the way forward for the industry. And what can be done to get more medical grade oxygen to the countries that desperately need it? Plus, as the coronavirus pandemic forces Hollywood to delay the release of big budget movies, how are cinemas being affected? Business Weekly is produced by Matthew Davies and presented by Lucy Burton.

We speak to those who argue parents should give their children money long into adulthood - and others who say the whole of society should be responsible, not just parents. Raphael Samuel is a 28 year old businessman in India who tried to sue his parents for giving birth to him - without his consent. An Indian court threw out the case on grounds of absurdity, but Raphael isn’t giving up. He’s now filed a case demanding that all parents prove - before they give birth - that they have the ability to give their child the ‘right to life’ - something he thinks should include being able to provide an education, proper food, and healthcare. He believes parents’ financial responsibility for their children doesn’t end when the child hits 18 years of age. In Italy, where almost two thirds of 18-34 year olds live at home, we hear from Tobia della Puppa, who explains why it can be hard to explain to the older generation why this is the case. We also get the perspective of Nina Bandel, a sociology professor at the University of California Irvine, who tells us how children went from being economically useful, to “priceless”. (Picture: Older person’s hand giving coin to young person’s hand; Credit: utah778/Getty Images) Producer: Sarah Treanor, with extra production in Italy from Vera Mantengoli

Has one the biggest slums in India escaped the worst of Covid-19? Dharavi is one of the biggest slums in India, if not the whole of Asia. Ed Butler hears from Dharavi residents about life in the slums back in April, and now. Radhika Kapoor, a Delhi economist who's been focussed on the Government response to the crisis, says efforts to protect ordinary workers have been very limited. But the Government rejects that argument. Sanjeev Sanyal, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chief economic advisor, says the Government has done all that it can to stem the tide of the disease. (A BMC health care worker collect swab sample of a resident at Dharavi. Photo by Satish Bate via Getty Images)

Could the future of nuclear power be the mass production of cheap small modular reactors? Justin Rowlatt visits a UK-based consortium led by Rolls Royce that is trying to develop these factory-produced miniature power stations. But how much funding does their chief executive Tom Samson think they need from the UK government to get started, and how long will it take them to deliver their first reactor? Nuclear power has long had its sceptics. Greenpeace chief scientist Doug Parr explains why they continue to oppose nuclear on safety grounds, even as the need to find carbon-free sources of energy has become more urgent. Meanwhile, nuclear physicist M V Ramana of the University of British Columbia questions the business case for small reactors. Plus, clean energy consultant Michael Liebreich gives his view on how big - and competitive - the market for small modular reactors could be. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Small modular reactor; Credit: Rolls Royce)

Delays to Hollywood blockbusters are prompting a crisis in the cinema industry. Movie studios are putting their biggest releases on hold while the pandemic is still affecting audience numbers. Mooky Greidinger, boss of cinema giant Cineworld, tells us why this has forced him to close all his screens in the UK and US. Shawn Robbins, senior analyst at BoxOffice Pro, explains why the global success of Christopher Nolan's Tenet wasn't enough to convince the studios to take the risk. And Penn Ketchum, founder of Penn Cinemas in the US state of Pennsylvania, describes the impact that's having on independent cinema operators. Presented by Ed Butler. (Photo: A reopened cinema in Wuhan, China. Credit: Getty Images)

A former CIA analyst shares her tips on separating what’s true from what’s false. There’s been a lot of nervousness about the role of social media in the run up to next week’s US presidential elections with concerns over voting interference and disinformation campaigns from foreign actors. Cindy Otis was an analyst at the CIA for ten years and her job was to filter through information and weed out fake and misleading news. She has now written a book aimed at young adults called True or False: A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News and tells us how fake news works.

How successful has President Trump's America First policy been? On Business Weekly we assess the legacy of his first term and ask what the world wants from the next resident of the White House. We take a look at how effective Covid-19 tracing apps are in tracking and stopping the spread of the disease. Could technology like this be the silver bullet the world is waiting for? As the Hindu festival of Durga Puja begins, we consider how those businesses that rely on the celebrations for the income will cope this year. And we examine the sharp rise in the price of pets during lockdown. Presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Is the fossil fuel industry being too complacent about the speed at which renewable energy will disrupt their business in the next three decades? That's the contention of Spencer Dale, chief economist at BP. In an extended interview with Justin Rowlatt, he explains the thinking behind his company's plan to cut its own oil and gas production by 40% before the end of this decade. And it's not just about heading off the threat of catastrophic climate change. As Spencer explains, even in their business-as-usual scenario they expected an unprecedentedly fast shift towards solar, wind and biomass energy, thanks to steep learning curves and stiffening competition. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: BP logo at night; Credit: NurPhoto/Getty Images)

Why contact tracing technology has been slow to make an impact. Ed Butler speaks to Jenny Wanger from the Linux Foundation Public Health in the US where many states are only now rolling out contact tracing apps, months after many countries around the world. We hear from Colm Harte, technical director at NearForm, the company behind Ireland's app, which has been downloaded by about a quarter of the population. Chan Cheow Hoe, the chief digital technology officer for the Singapore government, talks about the success of digital contact tracing in his country. And the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones explains why contact tracing apps are no longer being seen as the silver bullet in the fight against Covid-19. (Photo: The National Health Service contact tracing app rolled out in England and Wales. Credit: Getty Images)

The US government has filed charges against Google, accusing the company of violating competition law to preserve its monopoly over internet searches and online advertising. As the Department of Justice sues the search engine google for being a monopoly, could all tech giants be under threat? We hear from Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and Jack Poulsen, a software engineer and former Google employee. We also get the view of Sally Hubbard, a former New York anti-trust attorney and current director of enforcement strategy at the Open Markets Institute. (Pic of Google logo by Jakub Porzycki via Getty Images).

When President Trump came to power in 2016 he vowed he would scrap the international trade agreements he believed had cost a huge number of US jobs, and declared his intent to tip the trade balance back in America's favour. He wanted to take on China and what he saw as its dominance in the global marketplace. How has this 'America First' policy worked out in the ensuing four years, and what has it meant for the US's trading partners? As part of our look at the US elections 2020: and What the World Wants, Manuela Saragosa examines whether President Trump has succeeded in his aim, and she finds out what companies from China to Canada hope will come out of the next presidency. Manuela talks to Herbert Lun, managing director of Wing Sang electrical, whose factory is in China's Pearl River Delta. He produces electronic hair products for the American market - how has his business coped with the threat of US tariffs? While Mark Rowlinson, counsel at the United Steelworkers of Canada, tells Manuela that tariffs have brought some Canadian steel and aluminium producers - operating in an already very tight market - to the edge of bankruptcy. The BBC's economics correspondent, Andrew Walker, is on hand to provide context and analysis throughout, and you can read more on the BBC website and hear more about the USA and the rest of the world, across the World Service this week. Manuela and her guests also consider the alternative to President Trump - a Joe Biden presidency - and whether that would make it any easier to do business with the US. There might be a change of tone, but would he actually dismantle the protectionist policies of the last four years? Picture: Trump Tower in New York. Credit: Getty

A commodity associated with the destruction of tropical rainforest in South East Asia may soon have a synthetic replacement. But can it match palm oil's magic properties? Will consumers accept it in their food? And what will it mean for the farmers whose livelihoods depend on palm oil plantations? Manuela Saragosa speaks to Shara Ticku, co-founder of the biotech firm C16 Biosciences, which is pioneering the new plantation-free product, as well as Anita Neville of Indonesia's largest privately owned palm oil grower, Golden Agri-Resources. Plus Veronika Pountcheva of the international food wholesalers Metro Group explains why they are actively looking at the synthetic alternative. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: A tub of palm oil; Credit: Edwin Remsberg/Getty Images)

Golden passports and cash for citizenship - a legitimate way to for countries to get investment or a scheme open to abuse and corruption? That’s the big question we’ll be looking at on this episode of Business Weekly. We look at why the wealthy want to acquire them. We also hear from Cyprus where a passport corruption scandal has rocked the nation. Meanwhile, the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Economics tells us about the unusual way in which he discovered he'd won, and of course, about the game theory that netted him and a colleague the award. And we hear from the African animators who are taking on the world. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

As talks between the EU and the UK enter their final stretch, what sort of Brexit are businesses preparing for? Manuela Saragosa speaks to Chayenne Wiskerke of the Dutch onion growing company Wiskerke Onions which exports to the UK. She also speaks to Martin Bysh the founder of Huboo, a UK fulfilment company which works mostly with the e-commerce industry and exports all over the world. They tell her how they've been coping with the years of uncertainty around the Brexit negotiations. (Picture credit: Getty Creative)

It’s been a tough year for much of the entertainment industry, with the pandemic causing production to be halted on all but a few projects. Filming bubbles and closed sets have been costly and time consuming. But one sector is booming – animation – especially in Africa. We hear from animators and producers across the continent about why demand for their work has never been higher. Vivienne Nunis speaks to Chris Morgan of Fundi Films, which recently produced the animation series My Better World. She's also joined by award-winning Kenyan animator and artist Ng’endo Muki and Nick Wilson, founder of the African Animation Network. Self-taught Nigerian animator Ridwan Moshood tells us how his passion for the craft took him from watching video tutorials in the internet cafes of Lagos to his own production company. (Picture credit: A still from the animated series My Better World. Picture Credit: My Better World/Chris Morgan)

What's it like for older people losing their job during the Covid pandemic? Tamasin Ford speaks to 59 year old lighting crew chief Michael Heggett. He's worked on events like Princess Diana’s funeral, the London’s Olympic games and Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday concert. He had a fantastic career until Covid hit and he lost all his work. He fears he might never be employed again. Patrick Button, an assistant economics professor at Tulane University in the USA says his research shows that older workers are being disproportionately impacted by Covid. And Yvonne Sonsino from Mercer, a global human resources firm, says that the long term outcomes for older people are not good, particularly for their pensions? (Picture credit: Getty Creative)

Why do female entrepreneurs in Africa not get the investment capital they need? When women are navigating the male dominated finance and start-up scene in Africa, sexism can be a daily occurence. Efe Ukala is the founder of Impact Her - an organisation to help female entrepreneurs in Africa get access to finance. She says at one meeting she went to she was the only woman in the room and when one man joined them he went round the table to introduce himself to everyone except her. Mélanie Keita is the co-founder and CEO of Melanin Capital, a financial advisory firm that connects social impact entrepreneurs in Africa with investors. She tells Tamasin Ford that on a number of occasions she has set up meetings with potential investors only for them to hit on her. Manka Angwafo, the founder and CEO of agribusiness company, Grassland Cameroon, says women just aren't listened to on the continent. And Tokunboh Ishmael is the co-founder and MD of Alithea Capital, a private equity fund management firm based in Nigeria which has set up a fund aimed at proactively seeking out female founders and diverse management teams to invest in their businesses. (Picture credit: Getty creative)

Can Hong Kong retain its position as Asia's financial capital? The National Security Law passed in Hong Kong saw violent protests in the middle of 2020. The BBC’s Karishma Vaswani takes us through how businesses have changed the way they work to avoid getting in to trouble with Beijing. Edward Yau, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce says the new law won’t change the basic pillars of Hong Kong’s society, and that it will continue to attract big corporate names to hold on to its place as a key financial hub. But it’s not ‘business as usual’ by any means, says Tara Joseph, the president of the American Chambers of Commerce for Hong Kong, saying the worsening relationship between the US and China, coronavirus and the new law means some business people are holding back from their usual activity. And two key business figures, Weijan Shan, CEO of private equity firm PAG, and Curtis Chin, former US Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, try to unpick the difficulty of the ‘one country, two systems’ approach which China has historically promised in its governance over Hong Kong. (Image: A silhouetted figure looks pensively over Hong Kong's famous Victoria Harbour and the cityscape, lit up at night time. Credit: Tse Hon Ning / Getty Images)

Are big technology companies the modern versions of monopolistic oil barons or simply innovative companies that provide a service to enthusiastic consumers? That's the question we'll be looking at on this edition of Business Weekly as Democratic lawmakers in the US release a report detailing uncompetitive behaviour. We also look at the allegations made by a former Facebook employee who says she feels she has blood on her hands because the company failed to adequately act on political misinformation and propaganda she reported on the site. We head to Venice where we hear from workers in the tourism sector who are desperate for cruise ships to return; meanwhile environmental campaigners want them to stay away. We get to hear how human beings need to adapt to working in extreme heat and why musicians want the British government to support them during the pandemic. Presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Clare Williamson. (Image: Social network icons on phone screen, Image credit: Press Association)

How will the energy transition transform geopolitics? Which countries will be the winners and losers? The answers may not be as obvious as you might think - not at least according to Jason Bordoff, a former energy advisor to President Obama, and director of Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. In a long interview with Manuela Saragosa, he explains why the future may not be so bleak for oil producers, how the transition could be bumpy and last decades, and why even once the world has finally weaned itself off fossil fuels, a future energy based on clean renewable energy could bring a whole new series of risks with it. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Old oil tankers; Credit: timnewman/Getty Images)

Can the cruise ship industry survive? Once a lucrative market, with giant vessels boasting 100% occupancy, cruises have been all but wiped out since the coronavirus. Manuela Saragosa hears from reporter Vivienne Nunis in Venice. Pre-covid, Venice was the poster city for over-tourism. Cruise ships navigated its narrow canals and waterways, towering over the city’s fragile, historic buildings. Many campaigners wished to see the back of them. The pandemic has granted those campaigners their wish. But it’s come at an economic price. And it’s highlighted the cruise ship industry’s precarious future. Manuela also speaks to Simon Calder, travel expert, about the prospects for this hard-hit sector of the industry. (Image: Two luxury cruise ships being dismantled at Turkey's shipbreaking yard. Credit: Chris McGrath/ Getty Images)

A leading Silicon Valley boss says big tech companies need more empathy and diversity. Maelle Gavet, is a French-born tech entrepreneur with experience in building firms in her native France, India, Russia, South Africa, and now as chief operating officer of online real-estate broker, Compass.Inc. She's been listed as one of the most influential women in US tech. In her new book 'Trampled by Unicorns' she critiques what she sees as the cultural deficits of Silicon Valley and says that these companies cannot be relied upon to self-regulate. This comes as a report backed by Democratic lawmakers has urged changes that could lead to the break-up of some of America's biggest tech companies. But James Ball, an award-winning investigative reporter, and author of a new book himself, 'The System: Who Owns the Internet and How it Owns Us' says we shouldn't be too quick to do this as it won't actually fix the real problems. (Image: A friendly robot is seen through a shattered phone screen. Credit: SimoneN / Getty Images)

How the social media platform is poisoning politics around the world. A former Facebook employee says she has "blood on my hands" after struggling to contain the misinformation and manipulation conducted through the platform. Azerbaijani journalist Arzu Geybulla describes the coordinated Facebook campaigns against activists and politicians in her country. Berhan Taye, Africa policy manager at digital rights group Access Now, tells us why Facebook isn't doing enough to prevent the spread of hate speech in Ethiopia. And Siva Vaidhyanathen, author of a book 'Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy' explains why Facebook can't stop the spread of toxic content without undermining its business model. (Photo: A mobile phone advert featuring Facebook in Myanmar, where Facebook has been blamed for helping spread hate speech. Credit: Getty Images)

Are our century-old grids fit for the era of solar and wind power, or is a completely new kind of electricity transmission needed? Justin Rowlatt looks at the mess in California, where President Trump has blamed rolling blackouts on the state's rush to embrace renewable energy. But former regulator Cheryl LaFleur says one big reason is California's poor integration with neighbouring electricity grids. A US government report recommended linking all the nation's grids together, but then the report mysteriously disappeared - investigative journalist Peter Fairley explains why. Meanwhile Britain is looking to integrate its own National Grid more closely with the rest of Europe, according to the director of the UK Electricity System Operator Fintan Slye, so that it can handle a glut of new wind power. But why not go one step further and build a global electricity grid? It's a possibility discussed by energy consultant Michael Barnard. (Picture: Stork on an electricity pylon at sunset; Credit: James Warwick/Getty Images)

This week saw the rather unedifying spectacle of the first 2020 US presidential debate. Did either of the candidates offer solid policies on the economy or the environment? As further investigations shed more light on Donald Trump’s financial affairs we’ll ask why he has been so reluctant to make them public. We’ll also find out why Facebook is threatening to ban all news on its Australian sites and ask whether clubbing can survive during a pandemic. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Joshua Thorpe.

Why state aid may be the sticking point for a Brexit trade deal (Image: Two boxing gloves punching each other, one with the UK flag, one with the EU flag. Credit: Getty Images Stock)

What can the New York Times' revelations can tell us about the President's financial affairs? President Trump paid only $750 in tax federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, and paid none in 10 of the past 15 years. That's according to an investigation by The New York Times earlier this week. The President says its all fake news. He's for years refused to publish his income tax returns. David Cay Johnstone, an investigative journalist and editor with DCReport.org, says the Times revelations show why he's keeping them hidden. Adam Davidson who's written extensively on the President's business ties, says the only way to join up the dots since the death of his father, who was continuously propping up the President's finances, and the end of his lucrative appearances on the reality TV show, The Apprentice, is to work out who's bankrolling Trump's businesses. But Dan Alexander, writer for Forbes magazine and author of White House Inc: How Donald Trump turned the Presidency into a Business, says that the President does have more assets than debts but he could come across conflicts of interest when he tries to re-finance these debts. (Image: Novelty US dollar bills printed with Donald Trump's image on. Credit: Joel Forrest / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Simulmatics Corporation pioneered data analytics in the 1960s - raising the same qualms then as fake news and social media manipulation do today. Manuela Saragosa speaks to historian Jill Lepore, whose book "If Then: How Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future" charts the company's rise, and it's role in helping John F Kennedy get elected US President in 1960. At the heart of their work was using mainframe computers - a novelty at the time - to crunch polling, census and electoral data on voters in order to figure out the best targeted messages for their candidate to voice. It foreshadows the far more sophisticated modern use of data to target voters on social media. So what lessons from history are there for us today? (Picture: Two men work at a console in a Univac computer room in 1960; Credit: H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images)

Should Facebook and Google pay for news that appears on their platforms? The Australian government thinks so. It’s drafted a law that would force them to pay - and Facebook is now threatening to ban all news from its Australian site. It’s a high stakes stand-off with potential global repercussions. Veteran local newspaper publisher Bruce Ellen tells Manuela Saragosa how his business has suffered the past decade as articles are shared online for free. Journalist Zoe Samios of the Sydney Morning Herald says the pushback from Facebook has been especially forceful, while Belinda Barnet of Swinburne University in Melbourne says she thinks they are unlikely to back down. But consultant Hal Crawford has little sympathy for the news companies, which he says get a lot more value from social media platforms than vice versa. Plus, Peter Lewis from the Centre for Responsible Technology worries that if Facebook follows through with its threat to remove news altogether from its platform in Australia, what will fill the void? (Image: Facebook logo seen displayed on a smartphone with 100 dollar bills in the background. Credit: Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

President Xi Jinping made a big surprise announcement on Tuesday - that China is committing to cut its net carbon emissions to zero by 2060. But why has President Xi decided to take such a bold unilateral step? Will China's actions match his words? And how will other countries respond, not least the US? To answer these questions, Justin Rowlatt speaks to two people who have been at the top table of international climate diplomacy. Todd Stern was US President Barack Obama's representative in the Paris Agreement negotiations. And Rachel Kyte was an advisor on sustainable development to the United Nations Secretary General. Plus, Li Yan of Greenpeace in China explains what to look out for next year in the country's new five-year plan as proof that Beijing is serious about tackling carbon emissions. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: China's President Xi Jinping; Credit: Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

What will get the swing states swinging? That’s the question we ask on this edition of Business Weekly as we take an in-depth look at Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas and Ohio. We find out what business leaders, activists and environmentalists in these places want from their new leader and ask whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden can deliver. We hear from Puerto Ricans and Cubans in Florida, young people in Texas and a farmer in Ohio. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

How some of the world's biggest banks are helping criminals launder money through the UK capital. The BBC's Andy Verity describes what a major new leak of documents tells us about the flows of dirty money through financial centres. Dr Susan Hawley from the charity Spotlight on Corruption tells us why banks and regulators aren't doing enough to stop it, and Tom Burgis, author of a new book Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World, explains why money laundering is a threat to democracy and freedom. (Photo: London's financial district, Credit: Getty Images)

Funding for African tech start-ups is booming. But only if you’re not African. Odunayo Ewiniyi, is the co-founder of the first online savings and investment app in West Africa, Piggyinvest. She tells Tamasin Ford about how hard it was to convince Western based Venture Capitalists to invest in them. Jesse Ghansah, the Ghanaian Founder of the Fintech company, Swipe says as an African founder he’s still judged differently. Iyinolowa Aboyeji, who’s from Nigeria, set up a financing initiative called the Fund for Africa’s Future. He says rather than looking at the problem of foreign founders in Africa receiving more investment than African founders, people need to look at why it’s happening. And Adaeze Sokan, also based in, Nigeria, is the Director of Design and Strategy at Ventures Platform which is a funding initiative focused on Africa. She says that more start-up money needs to be aimed at women.

Making designer fashion more sustainable has been a cause célèbre for decades, so why hasn’t it happened yet? At the close of London Fashion Week, and just before the beginning of Paris, Tamasin Ford has been looking into why the industry hasn’t made the changes it needs. Kevin Bailey of the VF Corporation, one of the largest apparel and footwear retailers, says the industry has made great strides, while Roger Lee, of TAL apparel in Hong Kong, says a vague standards system for what counts as “sustainable” makes further progress difficult. But Christina Dean, founder of the Redress sustainable fashion awards as well as the upcycled fashion brand, the R-Collective, says companies could have already done a lot more to use re- and up-cycled materials in their new lines. (Picture credit: Getty Creative)

Brewing, like many industries, has had to adapt during the coronavirus pandemic. And whilst this can be a logistical nightmare, the current crisis might also present some new opportunities. Elizabeth Hotson talks to beer writer, Pete Brown about the impact so far of coronavirus on craft beer. We take a socially distanced trip to East London to hear from Jon Swain, co-founder of Hackney Brewery and then cross over to Maryland in the US where Julie Verratti from Denizens Brewing explains how an aluminium can shortage is making it tough to ship her products. And in Mexico City, Jessica Martinez from Cerveceria Malteza explains how lockdown gave an unexpected boost to craft beer. (Picture of beer cans by Elizabeth Hotson).

Nightclubs around the world are struggling to survive with social distancing guidelines. The social effect is palpable, especially for the younger generation who have grown up with club culture. BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Jamz Supernova tells Ed Butler about everything she's missing from the club scene. Meanwhile, the Night-time Industries Association's Michael Kill says they and club owners are working to convince the government to help them open up. But how would that work? Lutz Leichsenring, an advocate for Berlin nightlife says any way forward will be difficult, but this crisis should be a wake up call for cities to value their nightlife more. (Picture: A Berlin nightclub. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

There are less than two months to go until the presidential election in the United States. Both candidates and parties have framed it as something of an existential fight. So, on Business Weekly we look at the big issues framing the debate. We examine the economy, immigration and healthcare and find out what a Biden Presidency or a second-term of office for President Trump could mean for these key policy areas. Plus, as the Zimbabwean government hands back some land to some evicted farmers, our reporter in Harare tells us why this is happening now and how the move has been received. And what has Covid-19 done to the Asian wedding industry? Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

The West Coast wildfires have lifted climate change to the top of the campaign agenda, but will it actually shift any votes? It highlights one of sharpest policy contrasts between the two presidential candidates - with Donald Trump questioning whether global warming is even a threat, while Joe Biden has a detailed $2.5 trillion plan to decarbonise the economy. Justin Rowlatt speaks to David Banks, a former energy advisor to both President Trump and George W Bush, as well as Cheryl LaFleur, who served as an energy regulator under Barack Obama. Plus the BBC's North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher discusses electoral calculations behind each candidate's stance. (Picture: A firefighter watches the fire burning in Monrovia, California; Credit: Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images)

Will the elections usher in a sea-change in economic thinking, after 40 years dominated by small government conservatism? Manuela Saragosa speaks to one small government conservative - Ramesh Ponnuru of the American Enterprise Institute - who says people like him no longer have a home in either of the main political parties. Economist James Galbraith says the scale of the economic challenge posed by the pandemic could compel a much greater role for the Federal government in reviving and restructuring the economy. But could this election prove as significant as the victory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his economic New Deal in 1932 - assuming that President Trump even loses? Political scientist Julia Azari says despite Joe Biden's reputation as an unassuming moderate party stalwart, there are parallels with his illustrious Democratic predecessor. (Picture: A poster of a Ronald Reagan commemorative postage stamp on display as people pass by; Credit: Stephen Osman/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

President Trump's crackdown on immigrants is popular with his core voters, but less so with corporate America. Manuela Saragosa asks whether this nation of immigrants is about to vote to close the door to the American Dream for millions of foreigners. Among them are Indian IT workers who have been left in limbo by the sudden suspension of H-1B visas, as relayed by immigration lawyer Poorvi Chotani of LawQuest. Theresa Cardinal Brown of the Bipartisan Policy Center says there is widespread agreement among voters that the immigration system is "broken", less so on what needs doing. Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies think tank says President Trump hasn't gone far enough. In contrast, Britta Glennon of the Wharton business school says that even the lighter restrictions under the Obama administration drove high value jobs out of the US. (Picture: Barbed wire on the US-Mexico border; Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Voters will soon decide who will be the next President of the United States, with healthcare – both the Coronavirus response and health coverage in general - being one of the most important issues. We'll hear from one American cancer survivor who lost their coverage during the crisis, and the director of a Missouri hospital on the challenges they've faced during the pandemic. Then, Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News explains the current state of US healthcare and the differences between candidates Trump and Biden on the future of it. Though Doug Badger of the Heritage Foundation cautions that those pressing for universal healthcare in the US will be under served by a Biden presidency. (Photo: a vigil in memory of healthcare workers who have died of Covid-19 in Alhambra, California. Credit: Getty Images)

Tensions with China have simmered for the past three years ever since President Trump initiated the so-called trade war. As Ed Butler hears from tech analyst Dan Wang, the trade war could prove a death sentence for Huawei, one of China's highest-profile firms. So what is likely to change after the US election, depending on who wins? Not much, says China analyst Rui Zhong, as Beijing's priorities under President Xi appear far more domestic. And Daniel Russel, former adviser on Asia to President Obama, agrees, saying the world looks very different from that previous administration. But Ian Bremmer, chair of the Eurasia Group, counsels that the election still has huge potential for the global balance of power. (Picture Credit: Getty Images.)

Would you feel better tucking into a juicy steak knowing that the cow it comes from is still happily living out its life in a field somewhere? Biotechnology could make that possible. Manuela Saragosa hears from Shannon Falconer at pet food maker Because Animals, who grows real meat in a lab. Jon McIntyre at Motif FoodWorks explains how new technology has made his plant-based products tastier. We also hear from Tony Seba at the think tank, Rethink X. He believes we'll be designing food like software in the future. Producer: Laurence Knight. (Picture: Raw meat in a lab petri dish. Credit: Getty Images)

Business Weekly hears from the industry that brings viruses back from the dead. The world of biotechnology is rapidly evolving - it recreates the stuff we can’t necessarily touch and feel, like smells and bacteria. Can it help contain future pandemics? Manuela Saragosa explores the risks and opportunities. We also head backstage at the theatre - many shows are having to come up with novel ways to perform productions, but are they able to sustain a business under social distancing rules? Rob Young speaks to the artistic director of the world famous Royal Albert Hall in London’s West End about their plans to ensure shows carry on.

Can spider silk and grasshopper rubber, brewed by vats of genetically modified microbes, wean us off our addiction to oil-based plastics? Manuela Saragosa explores what sounds like an environmentalist sci-fi utopia. She speaks to Daniel Meyer, head of corporate planning at Spiber, a Japanese company that is already trying to commercialise clothes and car parts made of synthetic spider silk. Meanwhile Christophe Schilling, chief executive of California-based Genomatica, is using a similar biotechnology to manufacture good old-fashioned nylon. But there is one potential problem: The microbes that make these fantastic new materials need to be fed lots and lots of sugar - but where will it all come from? Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot of Imperial College in London thinks she has an answer, and it involves that most sugary of substances - wood. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Close up of a Furrow Spider on its web in a Pennsylvania meadow in summer; Credit: Cwieders/Getty Images)

Genetically modified microbes could herald a new industrial revolution - but the technology also poses new dangers. Manuela Saragosa speaks to someone who used it to recreate the horsepox virus - a close cousin of smallpox - from scratch three years ago. Virologist David Evans explains why he did it, and what aspects of this rapidly evolving technology worry him most. One of the companies on the cutting edge is Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks. It redesigns the DNA of bacteria and yeast in order to create everything from perfumes to fertilisers. Ginkgo's Patrick Boyle tells Manuela what they are doing to ensure that the microbes and DNA they create remain harmless. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Anonymous vial containing a clear liquid; Credit: MirageC/Getty Images)

After several countries banned alcohol as part of their lockdown measures, we ask if prohibition ever works? Ed Butler reports from South Africa, where a recent ban on alcohol was welcomed by some healthcare professionals and those fighting violence in the country. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron and University of California criminologist Emily Owens discuss whether limits on alcohol are ever really effective. (Photo: A man takes beers from a fridge inside a liquor shop in Soweto, Johannesburg, on June 1, 2020; Credit: Getty Images)

Journalist Peter Geoghegan describes the many ways in which private money is corrupting democratic politics, encouraging chaos and fuelling public cynicism. In an extended interview with the BBC's Ed Butler, the Irish author and broadcaster explains a Brexit campaign advert that he happened to come across in a local newspaper while visiting the city of Sunderland in the north of England led him to investigate where the money funding the Leave campaign was coming from. It led him to explore how business and political interests - often from foreign countries - were able over decades to shift the political discourse in Western liberal democracies in their favour. (Picture: US flag made out of one dollar bills; Credit: Matt Anderson Photography/Getty Images)

Many women feel they are ignored by the larger economy after they reach a certain age, and some of them aren't willing to accept that. Tamasin Ford speaks to Bonnie Marcus, host of the Badass Women at Any Age podcast, who explains how women over 60 can deal with the double-whammy of sexism and ageism in business. Meanwhile, Tricia Cusden tells us about how she started up the cosmetics retailer Look Fabulous Forever - a business run by and for women in their older years. And Ruth Saunders, author of Female Entrepreneurs: The Secrets of Their Success, explains why the larger business community would be smart to think more about older women in the economy. Producer: Frey Lindsay (Picture: Older woman looking fabulous; Credit: Getty Images)

As evidence mounts that Chinese authorities are continuing to incarcerate Uighur Muslims in work camps in the North West of the country we discuss the steps foreign companies should be taking to ensure their businesses don’t benefit from enforced labour. We also have a report on what could be the most severe housing crisis in the recent history of the US. In yet another consequence of the coronavirus pandemic; tenants are struggling to keep up rental payments and risk eviction. As lessons resume across many parts of the world we hear how some countries are managing to teach children who can’t go back to the classroom - and don’t have access to computers or the internet. Plus, as facemarks become compulsory in shared workplaces in France we hear from a top health expert who says mask wearing should be non-negotiable. Business weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Clare Williamson. (Image: T-shirts hanging on a garment rail, Image credit: Getty Images)

Many Africans are buying Chinese-made smartphones that steal their information. Investigations have shown that the cheap devices are pre-installed with a kind of malware that drains the data allowance and in some cases signs the user up to subscription services without their knowledge. Nathan Collier, from security firm Malwarebytes explains how it works. But David Li of Shenzhen Open Innovation Lab says he's not convinced Chinese manufacturers are to blame for the problem. Meanwhile, with data literacy a big problem in Africa, Kenneth Adu-Amanfoh, Executive Director of ACDRO in Ghana says better consumer education is needed. (Picture: A woman on her phone in Nigeria. Picture credit: Getty Images)

China is accused of detaining millions of people from the Uighur ethnic minority and forcing them to work in factories. Pressure is mounting on foreign businesses to ensure material they source from China does not benefit from that forced labour. Alison Killing, an architect and investigator has found that 268 detention facilities have been built in the Xinjiang province in North-West China in just the last few years. Supply chain expert Kate Larsen says companies are often more at risk of exposure to forced labour than they might realise. But Craig Allen of the US China Business Council says US protections already exist to keep companies away from Uighur labour. And Max Zenglein of the Mercator Institute for China Studies says there are substantial incentives for companies to look the other way. (Picture: An alleged Uighur detention facility. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

Some universities fear they have become too financially dependent on fee-paying Chinese students - and thanks to Covid-19, many of them are staying away this year. Salvatore Babones, an associate professor at the University of Sydney, says Australia is particularly vulnerable to this, while Vivienne Stern of Universities UK says it’s just one of a number of serious concerns for UK and US universities. We also hear from Chinese students already in the UK about whether they think it’s worth continuing. (Picture: An empty classroom at an Italian University; Credit: Getty Images)

Catering and hospitality are among the sectors worst hit by the global coronavirus pandemic, with many governments banning in-house dining. Manuela Saragosa speaks to New York Chef Anna Klinger, who owns and manages Al Di La, a Trattoria in Brooklyn. Ka Yi Ong who runs Mini Star, a Singapore eatery that specialises in stinky tofu tells us about its new and very successful delivery service. Michelin-starred chef Kevin Meehan of Kali restaurant in Hollywood explains how a creative make-over for his parking lot is helping business tick over and Elizabeth Hotson visits Coupette, a high end cocktail bar in London where manager Andrei Marcu is delighted to be mixing champagne piña coladas for drink-in customers. Plus, we hear from Richard Vines, chief food critic at Bloomberg News in London. (Picture description: A food vendor wearing a face mask at a hawker centre in Singapore by Roslan Rahman).

Why being bored might be good for us. Ed Butler speaks to Kate Greene, a science writer who experienced months of isolation as part of a project to test how astronauts might cope with the boredom of a long trip to Mars. John Eastwood from the Boredom Lab at York University in Toronto and Erin Westgate from the University of Florida discuss the impact boredom can have on our ability to work. Dr Sandi Mann, author of The Upside of Downtime argues that boredom can be the secret to creative thought. (Photo: A woman bored at work, Credit: Getty Images)

Two ancient and archeologically priceless rock shelters in Western Australia were destroyed earlier this year by the mining company Rio Tinto. On this episode of Business Weekly we ask whether the punitive measures imposed on senior executives this week are tough enough. Could biotechnology transform the way we eat and the way we treat animals? We investigate the future of food and find out how a cat food made from mouse meat could be made without harming any mice. As workers in the UK are seemingly unwilling to return to city centre offices during the Coronavirus pandemic, we wonder what these spaces will look like in the years to come. And we look at the romance scammers who are conning lonely hearts on social media. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Does farming as we know it have a future? We hear from those who argue biotechnology is about to disrupt agriculture for good. Shifting diets and food sources will put one million US farming jobs at risk, according to futurist Tony Seba of the think-tank Rethink X. But cattle farmers are not about to give up their livelihoods so easily. We hear from British farmer Andrew Loftus and Danielle Beck of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in the US. Manuela Saragosa also speaks to Henning Steinfeld at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. Producers: Laurence Knight and Szu Ping Chan. (Photo: a cow in a field. Credit: Getty Images)

Many of us will have noticed 'friend' or 'follow' requests on our social media from strangers with profiles which don’t quite ring true. They mainly use cloned pictures, often taken from accounts of those in the US military. Zoe Kleinman investigates the global industry of romance scamming, which can have tragic consequences. Zoe hears from Lisa Forte, a cyber security expert from Red Goat Security, Professor Alan Woodward from Surrey University, and she goes into the tragic story of Renee Holland, as investigated by Jack Nicas of the New York Times. With thanks to the New York Times for their material. Producer: Sarah Treanor. (Photo: Mobile phone display. Credit: Getty Images)

Is the continent looking at a lost generation of students as Covid-19 forces the majority of education ministries to scrap the entire 2020 Academic year?Tamasin Forde speaks to Folawe Omikunle the CEO of Teach for Nigeria, a charity that places leaders into under-served primary schools as teachers. She says Covid has shone a light on their already crumbling education sector. Professor Lilian Salami is the Vice Chancellor of Nigeria’s University of Benin in Benin City. They closed in February like many across the country and she tells Tamasin they weren’t able to offer any remote learning for their students because of a lack of infrastructure in their area. And Philip Pleiwon is the founder of Imano, an online platform that aggregates open source free content from around the world as well as individual university syllabuses. He says higher learning institutions are now finally clamouring to get online. (Picture description - students chairs and desks are arranged in order to maintain social distancing at Agidingbi Senior Grammar School, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Photo by Adekunle Ajayi via Getty Images).

Can a simple nudge change behaviour for the common good - even in potentially life and death situations? Elizabeth Hotson talks to Helena Rubenstein, Head of Behavioural Science of Innovia Technology, about a successful experiment to stop drink driving and Martine Visser, economics professor at the university of Cape Town, explains how nudging the inhabitants of South Africa’s most populous city to use less water, averted Day Zero. Plus Erez Yoeli, a research associate in altruism at MIT tells us how selfish people can be persuaded to act in everyone’s best interests. And Ravi Gurumurthy CEO of charity, Nesta, explains how the Behavioural Insights Team applies behavioural science to public policy. Produced by Sarah Treanor. (Picture of bing soo by Elizabeth Hotson).

Protests have continued in the former Soviet country of Belarus this week and workers have started to strike. How will that affect the struggle for reform and what does it mean for the future of the economy? We hear from businesses there trying to plan for the future. We also hear how women have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Some analysts say the fight for gender equality has been put back 50 years. In Beirut, business owners are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and livelihoods, following the explosion which tore through their city. They tell us their stories. Plus, how does a socially distanced concert work? We hear from the organisers of the first of these new type of gigs in the UK. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

President Trump has given the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok a deadline to sell off its US operations, or else he will have it shut down in the country. Microsoft and Oracle have been rumoured to be interested. Russell Brandom of tech site The Verge tells Ed Butler that the extent of what's on offer is over-hyped. But Jason Davis, associate professor of entrepreneurship at Insead says a US-only version of the app would still have considerable merit. In any case, Sandra Wachter, associate professor at the Oxford Internet Institute, says the threat President Trump thinks TikTok represents won't go away simply by shaving off its US operations. Producer: Edwin Lane (Picture Credit: Getty Images.)

Efforts to get healthcare and support materials into Sudan to assist their battle against Coroniavirus are being impeded by sanctions on the country. Although many sanctions have been lifted, Sudan is still listed as a state sponsor of terrorism by the United States, meaning many companies are barred from dealing with the country. Dr Husain Abuakar, head of the emergency department at Omdurman Teaching Hospital in Khartoum, tells us how they've had to make do without vital medical equipment, and his concerns about a second wave. Meanwhile, Dr Sara Abdelgalil of the Sudanese Doctors Union explains how difficult it is for her and other diaspora Sudanese healthcare workers to support their colleagues in Sudan, financially as well as in terms of information-sharing. And Madeleine Crowther from the UK-based charity Waging Peace explains how Sudan ended up on the state sponsor of terrorism list to begin with and why it might soon be off it. (Picture: A man wearing a face mask in Khartoum. Picture credit: Getty Images)

President Lukashenko has remained defiant in the face of growing protests at his disputed re-election, threatening striking workers with being fired, in a stand-off that could last a long time. Even state broadcasters are raising their voices, as former state TV presenter Dmitry Kohno explains. Ed Butler hears from two leaders in Belarus’ burgeoning tech sector, who worry both for the sector’s continued growth, and their own safety. And economists Anders Aslund and Sergei Guriev question whether Belarus can ever compete as a market economy, or move away from its reliance on Russia. Producer: Frey Lindsay (Picture: Protesters stage a rally in Independence Square, Minsk; Credit: Getty Images)

Coronavirus has impacted economies in every corner of the globe but there’s a fear it’s hitting women’s economic opportunities hardest. Tamasin Ford explores how women in Africa are affected. Lisa Kolovitch is an economist at the IMF which is warning the pandemic threatens to roll back gains in women’s economic opportunities despite decades of progress. South African feminist and activist Shamillah Wilson says women’s voices are not being heard at policy level. And Tennen B Daliah, a government worker and a feminist in Liberia says women and girls are bearing the brunt of the country's second pandemic in a decade.

The impact of the pandemic on gender inequality. Tamasin Ford speaks to Lauren Currie, CEO of Stride and founder of Upfront - organisations focused on getting women’s voices heard - and Gill Whitty Collins, author of Why Men Win at Work, about how the strains of the pandemic have disproportionately affected women. Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo, New Zealand’s equal opportunities commissioner, explains why having more women at the table when policy decisions are made is part of the solution. (Photo: A woman works from home while caring for a child, Credit: Getty Images)

In this week’s programme we’ll be looking at the family rift in Syria which threatens yet more turmoil for the war-torn country. Just why is the country’s richest man defying his cousin - the President? Is there still a free press in Hong Kong - and if not, what does that mean for its status as a financial centre? That’s one of the questions we’ll be trying to answer after the media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai was arrested. We’ll also be examining the UK’s latest GDP figures, which saw the country fall into the first recession since the financial crisis. Why has the G7 nation suffered a bigger fall than any other major economy? Plus, we’ll be chatting to a couple of millionaires who tell us how they are far more frugal than we might imagine. Presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

The businesses hoping to rebuild after Beirut's port explosion. Tamasin Ford speaks to Aline Kamakian, who's restaurant and office were both destroyed in the disaster, and to Joumana Saddi Chaya, managing partner at PSLAB, a design company, who was also caught in the blast. Julien Courson, head of the Lebanese Transparency Association, explains why corruption remains such a persistent problem in Lebanese life and business, before and after the disaster. The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams tells us the strange tale of the ship that delivered the explosive cargo to Beirut's port, and the failures that allowed it to stay there for so long. (Photo: Smoke rises above wrecked buildings at Beirut's port a day after the devastating explosion. Credit: Getty Images)

Conferences during Covid-19: Jane Wakefield explores the challenges that big international events have faced this year in moving events online. She speaks to Paddy Cosgrave, chief executive of the giant technology event Web Summit, and Chris Anderson from TED. Plus social scientist Elizabeth Dunn explains why there is true “magic” in meeting face-to-face. Producer: Sarah Treanor (Picture: Woman on a laptop with a headache; Credit: Getty Images)

Millions of Americans face loss of benefits and eviction, threatening to push the US into a deepening recession, after Congress failed to extend the Cares Act. Ed Butler speaks to Maryland resident Sifu about her eviction by an aggressive landlord, while Alieza Durana of the Eviction Lab at Princeton University explains the broader impact of the lapsing legislation on tenants throughout the country. Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute think tank gives his free-market take on the effectiveness of the Cares Act and President Trump’s intervention to keep some level of benefits going. Plus Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi says the political deadlock in Washington risks economic depression. (Picture: Banners against eviction in Washington DC; Credit: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images)

Why does the President of Syria seemingly want to destroy his cousin Rami Makhlouf? President Bashar al-Assad of Syria seems hell-bent on unseating his first cousin, and Syria's richest man, from his multi-billion dollar holdings. But Rami Makhlouf, is defying the President to his face. What's going on, what's at stake for Syria? Ed Butler speaks to the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen. Plus he asks Ayman Abdel-Nour, a former economic advisor to the Syrian ruling party who knew Bashar al Assad at university, what he thinks is going on. (Picture: Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf; Credit: Louai Beshara/Getty Images)

Why do some of the super rich describe themselves as frugal? Is it something about the inner psyche that makes us natural savers or spenders? Elizabeth Hotson speaks to Dolly Parton, who despite earning millions, doesn’t particularly enjoy spending it. We also hear from Karam Hinduja, banker and scion of the billionaire Hinduja family. Tech entrepreneur, Richard Skellett tells us why he sees being wealthy as a responsibility, plus we hear from big savers, Tim Connor and Francesca Armstrong. We're also joined by Sarah Fallaw, author of The Next Millionaire Next Door, Rachel Sherman, author of Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence and Elin Helander, behavioural economist, neurologist and Chief Scientific Officer at Dreams, a money-saving app. (picture of a piggy bank via Getty Images).

Lockdowns around the world has seen our energy usage plunge, but as restrictions ease will countries build back better? On Business Weekly we get the view of veteran scientist James Lovelock as he celebrates his 101st birthday. We ask him his predictions for planet earth. We also head to Ghana, where we take a look at efforts to reinvigorate the economy by attracting disillusioned African Americans to visit and start a new life there. Plus, if you’re missing watching you’re favourite bands, some artists are coming up with novel ways to get around bans on concerts.

In order to try and stem a wave of coronavirus-induced unemployment, governments around the world introduced job retention schemes. Many of these are being rolled back or withdrawn and Elizabeth Hotson asks whether the interventions got people out the habit of work or opened up new opportunities. We speak to three workers placed on furlough - gardening enthusiast, Carol Peett; single parent, Naomi Empowers and keen baker, Chinelo Awa. Plus New York law firm partner, Greg Rincke tells us about some of the unexpected consequences of the CARES act in the US and Sarah Damaske, Associate Professor of Sociology at Penn State University, tells us that furlough wasn’t necessarily a chance to relax. (Picture of Naomi Empowers via Naomi Empowers).

Environmental regulations are being systematically weakened and repealed by the US government. Justin Rowlatt speaks to someone trying to keep track of it all - Michael Gerrard of Columbia Law School. He also hears from Maria Caffrey, a climate scientist who lost her job at the US National Park Service after blowing the whistle about how her research was being suppressed - and she says she is not the only one. Climate sceptic Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute explains why the environmental rollback is good news for the US economy, while climate futurist Alex Steffen says humanity will be the living with the consequences of Trump's delay of climate action for generations to come. With Democratic challenger Joe Biden having unveiled an unprecedentedly ambitious climate plan, it means there is all to play for in the November Presidential elections. (Picture: Donald Trump holds up a "Trump Digs Coal" sign at an event in Huntington, West Virginia; Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

How easy is it to get around sanctions? The US has for some years used financial sanctions to target those it blames for corruption or supporting terrorism. But do these measures work? We hear the latest evidence that it may be quite easy to get round sanctions and asset freezes. (Picture: Suitcase full of cash; Credit: seyfettinozel/Getty Images)

Musicians tell us how they are finding innovative ways to get around the pandemic and perform live to their fans. It's a very real problem - the BBC's arts editor Will Gompertz tells Ed Butler of the frustrations of performers like Beverley Knight (pictured) having to perform to half-empty auditoriums in order to ensure social distancing. Two singer-songwriters tell us the novel methods they've taken up during lockdown. Dent May describes his first live-stream performance from his own home, while Laura Marling put on a live staged performance for a limited ticketed online audience. The brainchild behind Laura's, music promoter Ric Salmon of Drift Live, says he thinks the concept will prove more than just a quick fix for Covid-19. (Picture: Beverley Knight performing to a live audience at the London Palladium; Credit: Andy Paradise/BBC)

Veteran environmentalist James Lovelock reflects on his career and the planet's future, as he turns 101 years old. The independent scientist, Wollaston medal recipient and inventor of the Gaia Hypothesis sits down with the BBC’s Chief Environment correspondent Justin Rowlatt to talk about his humble upbringing between the two World Wars, his inventions that helped propel the green movement, as well as his thoughts on the over-specialisation of the university system, and the future of human life on Earth. (Picture: James Lovelock. Picture Credit: BBC)

It’s estimated that a quarter of a billion people could lose their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. On Business Weekly we ask whether governments need to rethink the way they deal with mass unemployment. We also head to the salt flats of Bolivia to find out whether the untapped lithium reserves there will be a blessing or a curse for the South American country. Plus, we’ll discover why you’ll need to bring a coat if you go out for coffee in France and find out why doctors are putting pictures of themselves in bikinis on social media. Presented by Lucy Burton.

Working from home could outlast the pandemic. But workers' experiences with homeworking in lockdown are not all positive. Manuela Saragosa speaks to some office workers who've struggled to adapt to home life, and to Dr Zofia Bajorek, research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies in the UK, who's been surveying workers on the pressures they've faced in lockdown. Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Manchester Business School, explains why face-to-face contact is so important for innovation in the workplace, and why flexible working with a mix of office and home will ultimately make us all happier. (Photo: A woman works from home, Credit: Getty Images)

The Salar de Uyuni is a stunning pristine salt flat high in the Andes - it is also the world's biggest lithium deposit, worth many billions of dollars. Ed Butler asks whether this as yet untapped resource will prove a blessing or a curse for the people of Bolivia. It has already played a role in the political instability that brought down the country's long-time socialist president, Evo Morales, last year. Daniela Sanchez-Lopez, an expert in the geopolitics of clean energy at Cambridge University and herself Bolivian, explains how the exploding demand for lithium batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, means that many powerful nations have their eyes on the salt flat. Among them is Germany. Ed speaks to Wolfgang Schmutz, founder of ACI Group, the clean energy company that had won a contract to develop the lithium deposit, before being dumped during the political unrest last year. We also hear from Gunnar Valda, head of the Bolivian state lithium company YLB. (Picture: Woman standing on the Salar de Uyuni; Credit: hadynyah/Getty Images)

Sweden, a nation of 10 million, has one of the highest death rates per capita in the world, far above its Scandinavian neighbours. A decision was taken early on in the coronavirus pandemic not to put Sweden into lockdown. Lena Einhorn, a Swedish virologist explains why she was opposed to that decision. The state health authority were pursuing a strategy they thought would benefit both the economy and public health, but Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics says that strategy didn’t do either. That said, Swedish companies, particularly those with domestic focus, have done better than expected, as Esbjörn Lundevall from the Nordic SEB bank explains. (Picture: The Swedish flag flying in Stockholm. Picture credit: Getty Images?)

US companies are spending around $8 billion a year on diversity training. Neal Goodman has been running “unconscious bias” training for decades, and explains to Manuela Saragosa how it works. But Pamela Newkirk, journalist and author of 'Diversity, Inc.' says diversity training is often more about box ticking than actually getting results. And Betsy Levy Paluck of Princeton University says such training may even backfire if not done right. (Picture credit: Getty Creative)

It’s estimated that the coronavirus pandemic will leave a quarter of a billion people out of work this year. Many of the jobs lost may never come back. Elisabeth Reynolds at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says governments must take more radical action. And with its generous benefits system and flexible jobs market, what can Denmark teach us about navigating the post-Covid jobs landscape? We ask Jacob Kirkegaard, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute. Photo: A man stands in front of the closed offices of the New York State Department of Labour (Credit: Getty Images).

After the second-longest summit in the bloc's history, EU leaders agree a deal between themselves for a coronavirus economic recovery plan worth hundreds of billions of euros. But will it keep the so-called Frugal Four satisfied? And is now the time to reassess the health insurance industry in the United States? Plus, why Kenyan farmers have been hit by a drop in Muslim pilgrim numbers for the upcoming Hajj.

It’s going to be more expensive for British firms to trade with the European Union after the end of this year. That’s when the real Brexit takes place. We ask Alastair Macmillian, a Brexit-supporting business owner, whether he thinks leaving the EU is still worth it. Alex Veitch, head of international policy at the UK Freight Transport Association, explains what the extra red tape means for the industry. And we hear from Peter Foster, public policy editor at the Financial Times. Photo: The flags of the UK and EU are pictured at the European Council headquarters in Brussels (Credit: Getty Images)

Can TikTok survive as a US-based social media platform? The social media app owned by a Chinese company, is prompting suspicion in Washington at the moment. Amidst rising US-China tensions, are suspicions that the company is using spyware justified? James Lewis, a veteran cyber-expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC says the administrations doubts are probably unjustified. Louise Matsakis, a staff writer for Wired magazine says all social media platforms in the US need to be more heavily regulated. Plus Zach King, currently the world's third best paid TikToker who has amassed a staggering 41 million followers worldwide tells Ed Butler about how he uses the site to make millions of dollars. (Picture credit: Getty Images)

The coronavirus pandemic is stretching the US healthcare system to breaking point, with tens of millions of people losing their employment-related coverage. One such person is Susan, a breast cancer survivor who has had to avoid vital check-ups after being made redundant as a bartender in New York. And there are many more like her. Kaiser Family Foundation Data Scientist Cynthia Cox explains how difficult it is to know how many people are actually without healthcare right now. Dr Adam Gaffney, a pulmonary and critical care doctor and instructor at Harvard Medical School says the insurance-led model already was in need of a drastic overhaul, while Mary Grealy of the Healthcare Leadership Council counters that the system does still work and offers greater choice to the consumer. And LaRay Brown, who leads the One Brooklyn Health System, describes how the pandemic is having a devastating effect on hospitals’ finances. Will the US health system stand up to the strain of Covid-19, and its economic disruption? (Picture credit: Getty Images)

Some people aren’t letting coronavirus put their plans on hold. On today’s Business Daily, the BBC’s Katie Prescott meets several people dealing with the uncertainty of change in a pandemic. We’ll hear from Sharon, who is considering switching employer, and Sandra who is seizing the opportunity of a coronavirus-related redundancy to start her own business. We’ll also hear from entrepreneur and author Margaret Heffernan how we all accept some amount of uncertainty when making changes. (Picture credit: Getty Images.)

Can the lessons learned during Coronavirus help make urban environments smarter? The BBC’s Jane Wakefield meets the people trying to find out. Guillem Camprodon of the Fab Lab in Barcelona explains how local city sensors can be used to measure noise pollution, while Professor Phil James, director of the Urban Observatory programme in Newcastle, discusses the potential and limitations of collecting data on all aspects of daily life. Richard Sennett, Senior Advisor to the United Nations on its Urban Initiatives Group, says post-pandemic, we might need to rethink how we use space, and Daniela Rus of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, suggests ways we can use task robots to reduce risk to humans. (Picture: An aerial view of Tokyo. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

In Business Weekly, we investigate racial discrimination in the banking system and find out how this affects the businesses owned by people of colour. We also ask why so few governments plan effectively for catastrophes. We hear about the impact that had on the ability to react to Covid-19 and what it might mean for future challenges. Plus, we hear from the Welsh choir who are longing to sing together once again. Presented by Lucy Burton.

Trade wars have blighted the global economy in the last four years. What will it take to restore order? Much will depend on who takes over the leadership of the World Trade Organisation, the institution tasked with guiding and policing the rules-based global trading system. There are eight official candidates for the WTO top job. We speak to Mexico’s candidate, Jesus Seade, about how - and what - needs fixing, with commentary from the BBC’s economics correspondent Andrew Walker. (Photo: WTO director general candidate Jesus Seade; Credit: Getty Images)

Huawei's expulsion from the UK's 5G network is the latest development in a growing US-China cyber cold war - but Beijing has bigger plans afoot. Cyber-security consultant Dominique Lazanski explains how the Chinese authorities are proposing to replace the data protocols that underpin the current flexible, open internet with ones that would enable national governments to exert much greater top-down control within their borders. Meanwhile US President Trump continues to focus his ire on telecoms equipment maker Huawei, and major Chinese tech firms. Laurence Knight gets the latest from the BBC's Asia business correspondent Karishma Vaswani. Plus, Justin Sherman of the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington DC fears that if the US doesn't start working with other democracies, then the free, open internet we have grown up with may struggle to survive. (Picture: Abstract Globe With Glowing Networks; Credit: imaginima/Getty Images)

The economic impact of the working-from-home revolution. Edwin Lane speaks to remote tech worker Heather May about why she's swapped the office and the big city for rural Alabama, and to Aaron Bolzle, executive director of Tulsa Remote - a programme to attract remote workers from around the US to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Manuela Saragosa hears from Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom about why a boom in working from home during the coronavirus pandemic could increase inequality, and digital economy researcher Sarah Bana tells us why some countries are better than others at home working. (Photo: A woman works on laptop at home, Credit: Getty Images)

Will the black lives matter movement bring change to an industry accused of being too white? Nick Kelly, a black entrepreneur who runs Axela Group, says VC funds would only consider a certain kind of business idea from black entrepreneurs. He didn't raise any money from them when he went asking yet his business is now worth around $10 million. Kenny Alegbe of HomeHero, another black entrepreneur says he only got investment from VC funds when he looked outside of the usual set of funds. Plus Manuela Saragosa speaks to Tracy Gray who runs the 22 Fund. She is a rarity in the VC community. She is female and a black investor. She says there has been no change in the VC world for the 20 years that she's worked in it. (Picture: Black businesswoman looking at male colleagues whispering; Credit: XiXinXing/Getty Images)

Covid-19 is showing up a general failure by most of the world's governments to prepare for the worst. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Dr Sylvie Briand at the World Health Organization, whose job is to get the world ready for new infectious outbreaks like coronavirus. What was it like for her exhortations to fall on deaf ears up until this year? How prepared was the WHO itself, and does she fear the consequences if the multilateral organisation is defunded? Meanwhile, author and risk consultant David Ropeik explains why human nature makes us so bad at taking action to ward of disasters that happen once in a blue moon. And Jens Orback, head of the Global Challenges Foundation, says pandemics are only one of a host of terrifying cataclysms that we disregard at our peril. (Picture: Asteroid striking the Earth; Credit: puchan/Getty Images)

On Business Weekly, we look at what's been the biggest corporate scandal of 2020 so far. Wirecard was one of the German stock exchange's largest companies, but it now finds itself embroiled in fraud and corruption claims. How did the technology star fall so quickly from grace? Fergus Nicoll investigates. The coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on the education sector and in the United States new rules say foreign students might face deportation if their courses have gone online, throwing their lives into disarray, Rob Young hears their stories. And what’s the formula behind a winning brand? We join Elizabeth Hotson on a quest to bring out a winning range of mushy peas. Presented by Vishala Sri-Pathma and produced by Matthew Davies.

The US Supreme Court has ruled that the US President's taxes cannot be withheld from a grand jury investigation - but what does it mean for his bid to keep his finances private and to get himself re-elected in November? Ed Butler asks John Coffee, professor of law at New York's Columbia Law school, which legal team and which political party should be celebrating more over this complicated ruling. Plus, New York Times investigative journalist Susanne Craig tells us what is already known about Mr Trump's tax affairs and the source of his wealth. And tax journalist David Cay Johnston explains why Mr Trump's finances were so little investigated before he became president. (Picture: US President Donald Trump in the cabinet room of the White House; Credit: EPA/Samuel Corum)

Could electronic voting help the US hold an election? Ed Butler speaks to Nimit Sawhney founder and CEO of Voatz - a US startup that provides voting through a smartphone app, and to Priit Vinkel, the former head of the state electoral office of Estonia where 50% of citizens now cast their votes online. J. Alex Halderman, professor of computer science at the University of Michigan explains why e-voting systems are so risky when it comes to election security. Lori Steele Contorer, former founder and CEO of e-voting company Everyone Counts, argues the case for electronic voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. Producer: Edwin Lane (Photo: Voters line up at polling stations in the US state of Wisconsin earlier this year; Credit: Getty Images)

Why does China seem to be upsetting countries around the world? Beijing's recent clampdown on Hong Kong with a new security law has led many countries to condemn the Chinese leadership. It's also put more pressure on the trade war with the US. So what's in it for Beijing to apparently spur international hostility over Hong Kong and a number of other regional border conflicts? George Magnus, an economist and an associate at the China Centre at Oxford University, believes the domestic unemployment issue is a big determining factor in Beijing's thinking. Yuen Yuen Ang, a political scientist and an expert on China and emerging economies at the University of Michigan, says it's all a symptom of President Xi's and Donald Trump's insecurities at home. And Ian Bremmer the President of the risk consultancy the Eurasia Group, says despite the Chinese always having been thought of long term, strategic thinkers they are now not even thinking six months ahead. (Picture: Cargo containers with US and China flags hoisted by crane hooks clash with each other; Credit: cybrain/Getty Images)

What's the secret to coming up with a brand name? Elizabeth Hotson goes on a mission to create a new line of mushy peas - also known as Yorkshire caviar. With their low fat, high fibre, vegan credentials, mushy peas should be a winner with health conscious millennials, but a great name is still essential to success. We negotiate legal minefields with Kate Swaine, head of the UK trademarks, brands and designs team at law firm Gowling WLG, and get some valuable branding insights from Simon Manchipp and Laura Hussey at design agency SomeOne. Eric Yorkston, associate professor of marketing at the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University, tells us why analysing the sounds of words can make or break a brand. Producer: Sarah Treanor (Picture: Queen Pea branding by Simon Manchipp of SomeOne)

Coronavirus has brought new opportunities to Africa's tech sector, despite the devastating blow it has delivered to economies around the world. Tamasin Ford speaks to one of Forbes Africa’s 50 most powerful women, Rebecca Enonchong, the founder and CEO of AppsTech, a global provider of digital solutions. Claud Hutchful, chief executive of Dream Oval, a technology firm in Accra, Ghana, tells us about payments app Slydepay. Plus we hear from Moses Acquah, chief technology officer of GreenTec Capital Partners, an investment firm that supports African entrepreneurs. He’s also the founder of the networking organisation, Afrolynk. (Picture: Woman using a tablet; Credit: Getty Images)

Big brands are turning away from Facebook over its so-called toxic content - so how will the social network cope? That’s the big question we’ll be asking on Business Weekly. We’ll also be investigating the changing face of make-up as Kim Kardashian West sells a stake in her cosmetics business to the beauty giant Coty. We’ll hear why traditional make-up brands are struggling to keep up with companies born in the age of social media and influencers. Our correspondent in France heads to the sparkling shores of Brittany to see whether businesses there are ready for summer tourists - and we have an interview with the film director, Gurinder Chadha. Presented by Lucy Burton.

Coronavirus has brought one of the most prolific film industries to a virtual standstill. Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, is the third largest in the world after Hollywood and India’s Bollywood. Chijioke Uwaegbute from the entertainment desk at Price Waterhouse Coopers Nigeria explains the financial impact of the virus on Nollywood. Moses Babatope, co-founder of Filmhouse, the biggest cinema chain in West Africa, says that with all his cinemas closed, he’s having to pay furlough money out of his own pocket. Plus actress and screenwriter Alexendra Amon tells us that she has had projects cancelled. And we’ll also hear from Obi Emelonye on using smartphones to overcome restriction during the pandemic. (Image: Nollywood films at a market in Lagos. Picture credit: CRISTINA ALDEHUELA/AFP via Getty Images)

Coronavirus cases have been rising in two dozen states over the last 14 days. Of these, Texas, Florida, Arizona and California have emerged as the country's latest virus epicentres. And yet governors in many of these states are resisting efforts to close down economic and social activity, or a “second lockdown". Republican strategist Chris Ingram in Tampa, Florida, explains to Business Daily's Ed Butler the thinking behind allowing most Americans, apart from the most vulnerable, to get back to normal life. But some Floridians are not waiting for directions from the government. Ed Boas, owner of Lanes clothing store, describes the precautions he’s taking on his own initiative. Meanwhile Dr Cheryl Holder, at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University, says that while the state is better-equipped to deal with a second wave, she’s concerned many young people think themselves invulnerable. And Wendell Potter, former health insurance broker turned whistle-blower, explains how the US healthcare system is leaving tens of millions of people untreated, potentially worsening the public health crisis. (Picture: A pamphlet on how to stay safe from COVID-19 being distributed in Miami, Florida; Credit: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

Will a boycott by advertisers change the social network's handling of 'toxic' content? Big names like Ford, Starbucks and Unilever are pulling ads from Facebook starting this month. Ed Butler speaks to some of the companies involved: Damien Huang, president of outdoor clothing company Eddie Bauer, Mary Ellen Muckerman from tech firm Mozilla, and Ryan Gellert from Patagonia. As the campaign appears to gather momentum, how much will it hurt Facebook's business? Jordan Bucknell, founder and CEO of Upbeat Agency, a facebook and Instagram advertising agency, describes the draw of the platform for many small businesses. And Steven Levy, author of the book Facebook: The Inside Story, explains why the real pressure for change could come from Facebook's own workforce. Producer: Edwin Lane (Photo: Stop Hate for Profit campaign displayed on a smartphone, Credit: EPA)

The tech prophet founders of RethinkX explain why they believe the 2020s will be transformational for humanity. Tony Seba and James Arbib talk to Justin Rowlatt about their prediction that a confluence of new technologies - in energy, transportation, and food and materials production - could wipe out poverty and solve climate change in the next 10-15 years, and usher in a new "Age of Freedom" for our species. But while it sounds utopian, they also warn in their new book Rethinking Humanity that it could pose huge civilizational challenges for a planet that still clings to outdated concepts such as democracy, capitalism and the nation state. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Global communications Planet Earth graphic; Credit: metmorworks/Getty Images)

Mohamed Mansour is a household name in Egypt. The billionaire head of the multinational conglomerate Mansour Group has been involved in business and politics in Egypt and abroad for decades, as the BBC’s Mohamed El Aassar explains. Mansour himself sat down to speak with Manuela Saragosa about globalisation, the long-term impact of coronavirus and donating to the UK conservative party. (Picture: Mohamed Mansour. Picture credit: Mansour Group.)

On Business Weekly we’ll be asking why the boss is often the least skilled person in the room? Are incompetent people put into middle management to get them out of the way - or are they just more confident than their more proficient peers? We’ll also be looking at the future of meat and asking whether china will turns its back on pork and embrace plant-based alternatives. And we’ll hear from the pilots who have swapped aviation for empathy. Presented by Lucy Burton, produced by Benjie Guy .

With current World Trade Organization Director-General Roberto Azevêdo due to leave his post later in the year, the race is on for a new DG. Abdel Hamid Mamdouh, a former diplomat and candidate for the top job, tells Manuela Saragosa how he imagines the WTO of the future, while the BBC’s Andrew Walker explains how US opposition under President Trump to a global multilateral trading system is putting the organisation’s future in doubt. (Picture: A shipping freighter with cargo containers. Picture credit: Getty Images)

Why is it that the boss never seems to know what they’re doing? The famous “Dilbert principle” asserts that companies promote incompetent employees into middle management to get them out of the way. But Professor David Dunning, co-creator of the competing “Dunning–Kruger effect”, says there’s more to it than that, specifically that the more incompetent a person is, the more confident they can be. Meanwhile, Kelly Shue, Professor of Finance at Yale, says an even simpler idea, the “Peter Principle” helps to explain why people get promoted beyond their level of competence. And entrepreneur Heather McGregor explains why the incompetence of a former boss led her to buy her own company (Picture: Getty Images)

One of the long-run impacts of the coronavirus pandemic is dramatically worsened unemployment around the world, with millions of people suddenly unable to support themselves and their families. Aside from the obvious financial implications, Dr Stephen Blumenthal, a clinical psychologist in the UK tells Ed Butler about the tremendous impact this could have on mental health and human life. Meanwhile, some economists are discussing whether societies could, or indeed should, make sure everyone who wants a job can have one. Economist Pavlina Tcherneva lays out “The Case for a Job Guarantee.” (Picture credit: An unemployment line in Chile. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

Ever since governments first began trying to contain the coronavirus pandemic, economists and pundits around the world have debated the apparent trade-off between protecting public health, and minimising the economic harm that the containment measure would likely cause. But is the whole idea of health versus wealth wrongheaded? We hear from Jo Michell, associate professor in economics at the Bristol Business School, and from Laurence Boone, chief economist at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Meanwhile, businesses and workers around the UK are holding their breath for the end of lockdown, as the BBC’s Joshua Thorpe has been finding out. (Picture: Woman reopening her small business after Covid-19; Credit: FatCamera/Getty Images)

In today's programme, Elizabeth Hotson asks how supply chain issues in China’s pork industry could help home grown meat alternatives go mainstream. As pork prices rise and China looks to new forms of protein, we hear from David Yeung from Green Monday, the company behind popular mock-pork product, OmniPork. A rival for the synthetic pork crown, Vince Lu from Zhenmeat, tells us why he has high hopes that his meat free tenderloin will corner the hot pot market and Matilda Ho, founder of Bits x Bites, China's first food tech accelerator and VC fund explains why she's investing in the alternative protein market. We also hear from Bruce Friedrich, co-founder of the Good Food Institute which promotes plant-based alternatives to animal protein. And Shaun Rein, Managing Director of the China Market Research Group asks whether the sales match the hype. Picture: Soup dumplings with OmniPork filling via OmniPork

On Business Weekly we ask how international businesses based in Hong Kong are reacting to China’s new security laws. It is finally illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ people in the workplace in the United States, so, we hear from the man who took his case all the way to the Supreme Court. As the World Bank predicts that remittances will fall by 20% this year, we look at how that will affect communities in the developing world and speak to expat workers who send their wages home. Two big food companies are re-branding products that adhere to racial stereotypes - we consider the importance of this. Presented by Lucy Burton.

Companies are pledging support and money to the Black Lives Matter movement, and an end to systemic racism. Do they mean it? Ed Butler asks Pepper Miller, a market researcher who has campaigned for over 20 years for companies to realise the value of African-American consumers. One business that already has a long history of supporting black equality and other social justice movements is the ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's. But the company is based in Vermont, the second whitest state in America. Ed asks activism manager Chris Miller whether the firm's purported values are also reflected in their own personnel decisions. It's a pertinent question, according to Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at the NYU Stern School of Business. With the shift in demographics and purchasing power towards young educated liberal urban workers, and the increased scrutiny of company behaviour in the Google era, he says American businesses see commercial opportunity in taking a much more overt position on US politics than we have seen in the past. (Picture: Ben & Jerry's Justice Remixed ice cream brand ice cream tub; Credit: Ben & Jerry's)

China's plan to impose its new so-called security law in Hong Kong may flout the territories legal independence. Some say it may jeopardise Hong Kong's status as Asia's largest financial hub. Hedge fund manager Edward Chin tells Ed Butler that the new law will mean an end to the principle of "one country, two systems" and may lead to companies leaving the territory. Victor Shih, an expert in Chinese banking and finance based at the University of San Diego, says it could have a much more detrimental effect on China's banking system and the country's access to the world's financial markets. But James Crabtree from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, thinks Beijing has taken a cool headed decision and is willing to sacrifice some business for the sake of political stability. (Picture: A Hong Kong anti-government protester raises a hand; Credit: Anna Wang/Reuters)

China has been one of the biggest financiers of infrastructure projects in Africa, but many African economies have been hit hard by the Covid 19 pandemic. So will China prove to be a generous and understanding creditor? Can it even afford to be? In the edition of the programme we hear from Zhengli Huang, a freelance researcher in Nairobi, on what’s likely to happen to Chinese-financed projects in Africa. Deborah Brautigam, director of the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, looks at what sort of debt relief China can realistically offer; and Ben Cavender, managing director of the China Market Research Group in Shanghai, talks about whether China could cope with the economic hit of many countries suddenly defaulting on their debt repayments. Presented by Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Joshua Thorpe. (Image: a souvenir seller next to a Chinese operated construction site. Credit: Getty Images).

Tesla's Elon Musk plans to make some big announcements about batteries that could transform cars, electricity and the fight against climate change. Justin Rowlatt gets the inside scoop from Seth Weinbaum, journalist at the electric vehicles news-site Electrek. Meanwhile, battery chemist Paul Shearing of University College London explains how lithium-ion batteries made the smartphone possible, and are now set to revolutionise transport. But electrifying the world's one billion road vehicles is no small task, not to mention building even bigger batteries to stabilise renewable energy sources on our electricity grids. Where on earth will all the lithium come from? Justin speaks to another American tech entrepreneur who thinks he has the answer - Teague Egan of start-up EnergyX. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Battery charging icons; Credit: Iuliia Kanivets/Getty Images)

The Nigerian economist and former World Bank managing director talks about Africa, Covid-19, boardroom diversity, and her hopes to lead the World Trade Organisation. She is one of several candidates vying for the position, after the current managing director unexpectedly resigned a year early. But at a time when trade is suffering from the ravages of a sceptical Trump administration and a pandemic, is the job something of a poisoned chalice? And what would it mean for an African woman to take over? The former Nigerian finance minister now holds multiple jobs - on the boards of Twitter, Standard Chartered Bank, and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. They give her a unique perspective on many of the challenges now facing the planet. But Manuela Saragosa asks her whether she thinks the pool of Africans invited to these top positions needs to be widened. (Picture: Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Credit: Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Business Weekly continues the conversation around race and racism sparked by the death of George Floyd. We’ll be asking whether African Americans should be paid reparations for their ancestors' enslavement. We’ll hear from Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television. Mae Jamison, the first woman of colour in space, gives us her thoughts on how today’s protesters differ from those in the 1960s when she was a young girl in Chicago. Plus, the Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way that a lot of us work, so we’ll be asking whether office buildings ever be the same again. Presented by Lucy Burton.

As Greece prepares to reopen its beaches, tavernas and ancient monuments for the summer season, the country is anxious that few tourists will turn up, and those that do could bring the coronavirus back with them. Manuela Saragosa asks tourism minister Harry Theoharis whether his country is being reckless in opening up so quickly, having so successfully contained the virus within its own borders. Meanwhile Florian Schmitz reports from the island of Thassos, where many restaurants and cafes may not bother opening for the season as the demands of social distancing and the expected paucity of customers make it hardly worth the effort. Plus travel writer Simon Calder discusses how the coronavirus is likely to transform the character of tourism this season, and perhaps in the long-term too. (Picture: Empty sun chairs on a sandy Greek beach; Credit: mbbirdy/Getty Images)

Russia is ending its lockdown as officials congratulate citizens on a shared victory. But with infection rates still sky-high, some say it's premature, and that it's more to do with politics than the best interests of the nation. What's at stake for Russia and its strongman, Vladimir Putin? On this edition of the programme, we hear from Dmitry Nechaev who runs a bicycle workshop in Moscow on his fears for the future. Economist Sergei Guriev talks about the economic impact of the pandemic on Russia's economy and the country's small businesses; and Catherine Belton, author of Putin's People, explains the political fallout of Vladimir Putin's handling of the crisis. (Image: A commuter in a face masks on a Moscow Underground train. Credit: Getty Images).

This is an old idea gaining new currency amidst the latest Black Lives Matter protests. Should billions of dollars in damages now be paid to descendents of African-American slaves for the sins of the past. How would this happen? Why? And would modern white America ever agree to it? One man who's long thought so is Bob Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television and RLJ technologies and who became the first US African-American billionaire in the 1990s. Ed Butler also speaks to Professor William Darity, an economist of Public Policy at Duke University. He's written a book on the reparations idea, "From Here to Equality". He also hears from Caitlin Rosenthal, an historian at the University of Berkeley who has studied this era, and the enormous economic boon that slavery brought to the emerging industrial superpower, the United States of America. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Why are there so many conspiracy theories swirling in the online world about billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates? Jane Wakefield explores why people might seek conspiracy theories, and asks if they are just part of the online rumour-mill, or can cause actual harm. Jane hears from Rory Smith from fact-checkers First Draft News, from Marianna Spring from the BBC’s anti-disinformation team, and from Professor Joseph Usinski, who argues that these kinds of theories have always been a part of life, and most die away naturally. But Rory Smith and Bill Gates himself warn that they could harm vaccine uptake, and are more than a bit of online fun. Photo of Bill Gates, photo credit AFP/Getty

Does commuting into the office have a future? Manuela Saragosa speaks to Mike Hampson, chief executive of Bishopsgate Financial, which has permanently closed its office in London's financial district in favour of home working. Luke Philpott from the commerical property agents DeVono Cresa describes the steep drop in demand for office space during the lockdown, while Tom Carroll from the commercial property company JLL argues that the office still has a crucial role to play in company life. And urbanist Richard Florida from the University of Toronto explains why cities will continue to be vital centres of business and innovation, despite the impact of the virus. (Photo: The skyline of London's financial district, Credit: Getty Images)

Protests over the death of George Floyd have swept across the United States. On Business Weekly we ask what companies should be doing to help in the fight for racial equality. We hear from the National Black Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail federation in the US. Plus we get the point of view of a shop owner in Minneapolis who’s premises was destroyed by in the rioting after George Floyd’s death. This is happening against a backdrop of pandemic - we’ll find out why different US states are taking such radically different steps to defeat the coronavirus. Plus after weeks of lockdown in France bars and cafe’s have re-opened - but it’s not entirely business as usual. Lucy Burton presents.

Sex workers, like so many others, have seen their incomes disappear overnight since the start of the pandemic. While in some cities businesses are slowly reopening, the sex trade carries with it a high risk of transmitting the coronavirus. It’s an industry where regulations vary wildly across the globe, but sex workers everywhere are deeply anxious about their future and safety. Vivienne Nunis hears from the Daulatdia brothel in Bangladesh, where women and children have been trapped for months. She also speaks to an escort in Australia who has been forced to take her business online. Plus, Teela Sanders, criminology professor at the University of Leicester, explains how sex workers are facing added challenges accessing healthcare, leading to an innovative solution in Nairobi. (Image: Escort Estelle Lucas. Credit: Estelle Lucas)

Large corporations around the world are using their social media accounts and PR machines to announce support for those people protesting in the wake of the George Floyd killing. But are corporate expressions of support mere publicity exercises, and do they crowd out the space for more marginalised voices at times of crisis? Manuela Saragosa asks Dometi Pongo, MTV News Host, how he sees the role of corporate media and broadcasting. Also, what proactive steps could the wider business community take to address systemic racism in their society? John Harmon, Board Member of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, explains what can be learnt from the accumulated experience of black business owners. We'll also hear from Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation, and Jim Segal, whose shop in Minneapolis was destroyed in the rioting after George Floyd was killed by police. Producers: Frey Lindsay, Laurence Knight (Picture: Protestors in Manhattan,June 02, 2020. Picture credit: Getty Images)

Economist Nouriel Roubini predicted the 2008 financial crisis. Now he says a new Cold War could be on the way. The BBC's Karishma Vaswani spoke with him in-depth to find out why. Amongst other reasons, Roubini says America's failure in global leadership on coronavirus, trade tensions and the spat over Huawei and 5G could lead China to flex its muscle on the world stage, and he's not sure the US is up to it this time. At the same time, how much should we worry about one economist's predictions? Manuela Saragosa and Karishma discuss. (Picture: Dr. Nouriel Roubini. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

Students due to start university or college this autum are in the dark over what kind of education they can expect under social distancing measures. Many are choosing to defer their studies, and institutions may miss out on billions of dollars in fees. Student Jorge Beltrao tells us why he's planning to take a gap year instead of beginning his degree, and Zamzam Ibrahim, president of the UK's National Union of Students, explains why he's not alone. Kim Weeden, professor of sociology at Cornell University in the US, explains why college campuses are such a worry when it comes to the spread of viruses. Professor Professor Peter Mathieson, principle and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh in the UK, says students can expect a good education regardless of restrictions. Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at Oxford University explains why a shortfall in international students in particular could hit universities in the English speaking world. (Photo: High school students hold their graduation under social distancing measures in the US, Credit: EPA)

Coronavirus outbreaks continue in various patterns around the United States, even as some state governors press ahead with lifting lockdowns. Particularly in rural states, support for getting back to normal has intensified, as some Americans feel their liberties are being trodden on by an overzealous public health regime. For epidemiologists such as Tara Smith, professor at the Emerging Infections Laboratory at Kent State University, this is a worrying trend as many rural areas are yet to fully experience the impact of coronavirus. And the medical and cultural anthropologist Martha Lincoln of San Francisco State University fears coronavirus strategies may have been consigned to the culture wars that have been raging between the left and right in the US for decades. But Florida political consultant and Republican Chris Ingram says there needs to be a balance in the response to COVID-19 and that some parts of the media and public health authorities have lost perspective. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Picture: A protester holds a placard during an anti-lockdown protest in Michigan April 18th, 2020. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

In this episode of Business Weekly we’ll be looking a the idea of covid-19 immunity passports. Could they be a willy wonka-esque golden ticket that frees the owner from lockdown if they’ve had the disease? Some businesses and governments are certainly hopeful. However, the WHO warns that it doesn’t know how much immunity Covid survivors get. We will debate the pros and cons. With Hollywood halted, what will the future of film be after the pandemic? Will we stay happily streaming from our sofas, leaving cinemas obsolete? We’ll also take a look at some of the dubious cures for the Coronavirus that have been advertised on social media. Clearly none of them work, so why are people taken in? And we look back at the life and times of the King of Gambling, Macau’s Stanley Ho, who died this week. Presented by Lucy Burton.

The coronavirus epidemic has wreaked economic destruction across Europe but now the European Union has unveiled an ambitious recovery plan. It will involve all 27 member states working together as one like never before with a 750 billion euro plan to help the worst hit countries, funded by collective debt. Is this the defining moment for the EU that some are claiming? Former Italian PM Enrico Letta thinks that it's a turning point for the EU, but Northern neighbours in Sweden and the Netherlands urge caution. MEP Derk Jan Eppink calls it a 'coup', whilst Sweden's European Affairs Minister, Hans Dahlgren insists that money needs to be paid back. Manuela Saragosa presents. (Image: Ursula von der Leyen, Credit: Reuters)

Antibody testing to see if a patient has had coronavirus is becoming more frequent. Many are putting their hopes into using such tests as the basis for immunity ‘passports’ so people can re-emerge back into society without fear of infecting others. Chile and Estonia have begun work on such systems, and we’ll hear from Taavet Hinrikus, the tech entrepreneur who is helping design Estonia’s system. Individual companies are interested in the idea as well, as John Holland-Kaye, the CEO of Heathrow Airport, explains. Meanwhile, companies such as Onfido are racing to design apps to accommodate such a system, while other businesses are wary of whether immunity passports are the right way to get their staff back to work. (Picture: illustration of a SARS-CoV-2 virion. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

Countries around the world are working on ways for people to safely get back to normal, people like Pam in Scotland, who is navigating the world of app dating during coronavirus and wondering when, and if, to meet up. One answer is the idea of an immunity passport or certificate: something that shows you have had coronavirus and are now immune. Franz Walt, chief executive of Swiss firm Quotient, says antibody testing is so accurate it could be the basis for such a system. But Professor Robert West at University College London, says we don’t know enough about the illness to guarantee a passport system would work. And Stanford University historian Kathryn Olivarius explains how a 19th century yellow fever outbreak in New Orleans can help us think about it. (Picture: a testing vial. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

In today’s programme, we’ll be looking at how fake coronavirus cures are marketed and why people are buying them. We’ll also be asking if social media platforms need to do more to stop the flow of disinformation. Claire Wardle who leads strategy at First Draft News tells us why social media is a fertile ground for spreading rumours and disinformation. Stephen Lea, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Exeter University tells us why are people paying good money for unproven remedies. Plus, the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani tells us about a supposed herbal remedy being touted by the Madagascan government. (Picture: A bottle of pills, credit: Getty Images).

Plans for gigantic government investments to decarbonise the world economy are gaining traction, but they may hinge on the US election results in November. Justin Rowlatt speaks to Spain's deputy prime minister Teresa Ribera about how her government aims to make the country carbon neutral by 2050, as well as a one-trillion-euro EU green recovery plan expected to be unveiled by the European Commission this week. Meanwhile in the US, the signs are that Democrat Joe Biden will adopt a climate change plan similar in scale to the original 1930s New Deal as the central plank of his election campaign, according to Vox journalist David Roberts. But what about the world's biggest carbon emitter, China? Justin asks Li Shuo of Greenpeace East Asia whether President Xi will prioritise green investments as part of his country's coronavirus recovery plan, currently being fleshed out at the National People's Congress. And what difference would the US election outcome make to China's willingness to phase out fossil fuels? Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Chinese women hold a hoe and a basket and smile while standing under a solar photovoltaic panel array; Credit: Jenson/Getty Images)

On Business Weekly we be look at how our employers are going to keep us safe as we cautiously head out of lockdown and back into the workplace. But if our temperatures are taken and our movements recorded, how will they address that sensitive balance between safety and privacy? As soon as we’re back at work we might want a holiday - but will anywhere be open for tourists? We get the view from Spain the second most visited country on the planet. Plus, the food supply chain the the US is in crisis as a result of the Corona virus. We hear from farmers and unions who are worried for the future. And we find out why there’s a new boss at TikTok and hear from the managing director of a puzzle makers who tells us just why this old fashioned game is more popular than ever. Presented by Lucy Burton.

With cinemas closed, will our lockdown streaming habits change the film industry for good? Manuela Saragosa speaks to cinema owner Penn Ketchum about the draw of the big screen, and plans to bring audiences back to theatres. Entertainment consultant Gene Del Vecchio explains why we should expect more films to find their way directly to our living rooms after coronavirus, bypassing cinemas all together. And TV and film producer Brian Udovich describes the shutdown in Hollywood, and the challenges of running a film set under social distancing rules. (Photo: Cinema popcorn, Credit: Getty Images)

How much should employers know about their workers as people head back to the office? Companies have a duty of care to make sure their workers are safe, but how much monitoring is reasonable? Is this the end of privacy at work? Manuela Saragosa hears from Dutch privacy and employment lawyer Philip Nabben, as well as Sam Naficy the CEO of Prodoscore which makes software that monitors employee productivity, and Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of business psychology at University College London. (Image: A security guard checks the temperature of an employee inside an office building in Shanghai. Credit: Getty Images).

Governments are spending billions paying wages to workers who are no longer able to work due to the coronavirus pandemic. How long can we keep this up? Are we storing up problems by offering this type of unprecedented state-sponsored handout long-term? We hear from an employee in the tourism industry who has been furloughed, a hotel owner in the North of England who has had to furlough most of his staff, as well as Torsten Bell from the Resolution Foundation think tank who originally proposed the scheme in the UK before it was adopted, and Eamonn Butler from the free-market think tank the Adam Smith Institute who argues that the system is open to abuse. (Image: stock photo of a woman reading in the park. Credit: Getty Images.).

A third of Venezuela's population is at risk of malnutrition, according to the UN and the latest gasoline crisis could weaken the country's economy further. Entire villages are said to have been cut off from food supplies because trucks can't get fuel to deliver to them. That’s the context a crisis which has made Venezuela the world’s weakest emerging economy, according to a recent review by the Economist magazine. Earlier this month the situation became even more volatile when two Americans were caught apparently trying to launch a coup attempt against the government. We hear from Adam Tooze, a professor of history at Columbia University and we get the views of Venezuelan opposition politician Manuela Bolivar. (Picture of a woman wearing a face mask walking next to graffiti reading Don't be a slave of the dollar in Caracas, photo by Federico Parra via Getty Images).

How do you feed a world in lockdown? We’ll be looking at the pressures on the global food supply chain in this episode of Business Weekly. As many choose to buy more locally produced food we’ll ask whether new habits will stick. Two renowned economists tell us that any governments handing out Coronavirus bailouts must learn the lessons from the financial crisis of 2008 and impose tighter conditions. ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus speaks to us about life in Sweden during the pandemic and gives us his thoughts on fellow countrywoman Greta Thunberg. Plus - has the coronavirus forever changed the workplace as we know it? Lucy Burton presents.

Coal has suffered the brunt of the huge slump in electricity demand as the world has gone into lockdown. It has highlighted the fossil fuel's Achilles Heel: When there is too much supply on the grid, it's coal-fired power stations that get switched off, not solar or wind. Justin Rowlatt speaks to the head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol, as well as analysts covering the two countries most central to coal's future. Delhi-based Sunil Dahiya says that India is already reckoning with renewable energy that is cheaper 24/7 than the cost of operating its existing coal fleet. Meanwhile Shirley Zhang of energy analysts Wood Mackenzie says that China's plans to build new coal-fired power stations is already baked in. Plus, Business Daily's favourite chemistry professor, Andrea Sella of University College London, explains why coal played such a central role in getting the Industrial Revolution started, with the help of an uncooperative steam engine. (Picture: Cooling towers at the decommisioned Willington Power Station in northern England; Credit: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

Some of the world’s richest people have been digging deep during the pandemic, donating their own money to help fight Covid-19. With some of the wealthiest 1% already funding medical research, we ask how comfortable we should be with billionaires taking on an even bigger role in public health. Vivienne Nunis speaks to David Callahan, editor of the website Inside Philanthropy and Rob Reich, Professor of Political Science and co-director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at Stanford University. Chris Anderson, the head of the ideas-sharing platform, TED, tells us philanthropy needs a shake-up. And, neuroscientist Dr. Christof Koch explains what it’s like to work at a medical research institute funded by private money. (Picture: a charity savings jar. Credit: Getty)

Lockdowns and the coronavirus pandemic have disrupted global food supply chains and limited the range of products on supermarket shelves in the rich world. Could new buying habits stick even after lockdowns end? Will less choice and seasonal produce become the 'new normal'? Manuela Saragosa talks to Guy Singh Watson of Riverford Organic Farmers in the UK, who welcomes the change in what's on offer, and Abdoul Wahab Barry of the International Fund for Agricultural Development in Cote D'Ivoire, who tells us what the disruption means for farmers in West Africa. And Professor Richard Wilding from Cranfield School of Management, a logistics and supply chain expert, gives us his take on what supply chains will look like in the future. (Image: Nearly empty pasta shelves in supermarket; Credit: Press Association)

Coronavirus is prompting the biggest government bailout effort of all time. Billions of dollars are being spent rescuing companies hit by the economic damage caused by the pandemic, but there are already criticisms that money is not going where it is most needed. In the US small and medium sized firms have been refused bailout loans, while larger firms have been borrowing millions; Ed Butler mulls the inequities in the system with Amanda Fischer of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and Amanda Ballantyne of the Main Street Alliance. Eric de Montgolfier, Chief Executive of Invest Europe, an umbrella body representing private equity firms argues that all companies should be treated the same and Carys Roberts at the UK’s Institute of Public Policy Research suggests that certain criteria should be adopted by governments when they step in and that businesses themselves need to be responsible. (Image: UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, Credit: AFP Getty)

On Business Weekly we hear from New York chef Gabrielle Hamilton who’s lost her life's work to the pandemic and is worrying about her future and that of her staff. What help are governments giving to small businesses like hers? As New Zealand announces that it has no new cases of Covid-19 we find out how businesses are adapting to a new way of working as the country begins to lift lockdown restrictions. Advertising mogul Sir Martin Sorrell tells us about the effect the pandemic is having on his industry - and we’ll hear from the editor of a newspaper who tells us how he’s coping with a fall in advertising revenue.Plus, as parents struggle with working from home and looking after children, we find out what life is like for single parents at the moment.Presented by Lucy Burton.

Why are stock markets so buoyant as the global economy slides into a possible coronavirus-induced depression? Some 33 million Americans have lost their jobs in the past two months of the pandemic, yet the Nasdaq market is now higher than it was at the start of the year. The financial markets and the economy have been described as two staggering drunks tied together by a rope. Manuela Saragosa explores this odd analogy and how it applies to the current disconnect between share prices and jobless claims, with the help of Jane Foley, financial strategist at Rabobank. Meanwhile emerging markets are experiencing unprecedented financial outflows that risk undermining their ability to limit the damage Covid-19 does to their economies, according to Martin Castellano of the Institute of International Finance. Yet in the US, the Federal Reserve had no problem staving off financial calamity by promising to do whatever it takes, says Fed economist Julian Kozlowski. (Photo: Drunken couple. Credit: Getty Images)

The English Premier League's plans to finish the season after weeks of shutdown. Almost all major European football leagues have been on hold since March due to coronavirus. Ed Butler speaks to BBC Sports journalist Emlyn Begley about missing live football and his new love for the Belarusian league - the only place in Europe still staging matches. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire explains why failing to finish the season could cost the Premier League more than $1bn. And football club chairman Mark Palios says the current plan of playing matches behind closed doors is not an option for less wealthy clubs in lower leagues. (Photo: Anfield Stadium, home of Liverpool FC, after the shutdown of the league in March. Credit: Getty Images)

Could economy minister Paulo Guedes be the next key ally to abandon embattled President Bolsonaro? A corruption scandal has already seen the popular justice minister walk away. Meanwhile Bolsonaro fired his health minister as he seeks to reverse his own government's lockdown on the economy. With the official number of Covid 19 cases in the country surpassing 100,000, we hear the frustration of a doctor on the frontline. As for the economy minister, the BBC's South America business correspondent Daniel Gallas explains how this proponent of spending cuts and privatisation is coming to terms with a hugely expensive income support programme backed by Bolsonaro. Plus economist Monica de Bolle of the Peterson Institute explains why she fears that despite these measures, her country could be on the verge of a depression. Presenter: Manuela Saragosa Producer: Laurence Knight (Photo: People using protective masks wait in line outside a Caixa Economica Federal bank branch in Sao Goncalo, Brazil, to receive urgent government benefit amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Credit: Getty Images)

New Zealand is seen by many as a great example of surviving coronavirus, but with such a tourism-heavy economy there are concerns a further shock is to come. One idea mooted to help alleviate this is the so-called “trans-Tasman bubble” in which travel restrictions between Australia and New Zealand would be reciprocally lifted, before all the world’s borders open up, to stimulate commerce between the two nations. This programme features Colin Peacock in Wellington, Maggie Fea from Gibson Valley Wines in Queenstown, Veteran New Zealand politician Peter Dunne and Pacific health policy expert Dr. Colin Tukuitonga. (Picture: The Australia and New Zealand flags. Picture credit: Getty Images)

Gabrielle Hamilton used to run the celebrated New York restaurant Prune. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. After being forced to shut the place that was her life's work, she wonders if there will still be a place for it in the New York of the future. (Picture: Gabrielle Hamilton preparing food in the kitchen of her now closed restaurant Prune; Credit: Eric Wolfinger)

The most compelling reports and interviews from the BBC's business programmes over the past week, examining the huge issues facing policymakers and asking what the future holds for our working lives. This week we ask a big moral question - will the deliberate shutting down of economies in an effort to slow Covid-19 kill more than the virus itself? Or as some have predicted will a recession actually save lives? We have a report from Brazil where conflicting messaging has sown confusion and fear. And we'll hear from small business owners, musicians and even horticulturalists. Presented by Lucy Burton.

Living under lockdown is challenging for everyone, but for hundreds of millions of single parents around the world, it can be a terrifying ordeal. It’s not only emotionally draining, but can also be financially crippling, as Tamasin Ford has been finding out. She speaks to Sarah Cawley who delivers lunches to people who can’t leave their homes; she's from One Parent Family Scotland. We also hear from single mums, Fatia Islam in Paris and New Yorker, Thea Jaffe. Victoria Bensen, CEO of Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families in England and Wales talks about the mental and financial strain on single parents and Neferteri Plessy, founder of the charity Single Moms Planet paints a picture of lockdown in Santa Monica, in the US. Picture of Neferteri Plessy and one of her children, cr Neferteri Plessy.

Governments around the world are planning to roll out contact tracing apps to help contain the spread of coronavirus. But will they work? Ed Butler speaks to BBC technology reporter Chris Fox about the technology that underpins them, and to researcher Natalie Pang from the National University of Singapore about the experience of Singapore's TraceTogether app, launched last month. But conventional human contact tracing has been around for decades. UK contact tracer Karen Buckley describes the challenges of the job, and John Welch from the non-profit Partners in Health describes his experience of contact tracing amid the Ebola outbreak in Africa and argues that apps are no substitute for an army of dedicated human contact tracers. (Photo: A man holds a smartphone showing a contact tracing app launched in Norway this month. Credit: Getty Images)

In today's Business Daily we're asking some awkward, often neglected questions - will the economic recession itself prove more fatal than coronavirus? How do and how should governments put a value on human life? To help answer these questions we speak to Bryce Wilkinson, a senior fellow at the New Zealand Initiative; US science journalist and biostatistician, Lynne Peeples and John Broome, a Professor of Moral Philosophy at Oxford University. (Picture of a wallet via Getty Images).

The World Bank has warned global remittances, which is the money migrant workers send home, will fall by around 20% in 2020 because of coronavirus. The bank predicts this will affect the income of at least tens of millions of families. One such family is that of Smitha in Kerala, whose husband is stuck in Dubai unable to work due to lockdown. But it’s not just about subsistence. Michael Clemens at the Centre for Global Development says remittance flows are a crucial resource for helping families and communities pull themselves out of poverty, and the effects of this sharp fall in remittances will be felt for many years to come. Meanwhile, Yvonne Mhango, Sub-Saharan Africa at Renaissance Capital, explains how the impact felt in Africa will differ across regions. And Michael Kent, CEO of digital payments service Azimo, explains how services like his could fill the gap left by the shuttering of brick and mortar transfer shops. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Picture: Smitha and her family. Picture credit: Smitha Girish.)

Coronavirus has derailed the global economy, closing entire business chains across the world. Big companies may have the collateral to withstand the storm, but what about smaller ones? We speak to three business owners to find out. Ramjit Ray in Calcutta in India, Victoria Brockelsby in High Wycombe in the UK and Mustafa Jaffer in Allentown in the US. (Picture description: Coronavirus calculator via Getty Images).

Countries in Europe are planning to scale back lockdown measures and reopen their economies. But what will the new normal look like? Ed Butler speaks to the BBC's China media analyst Kerry Allen about the experience of Hubei province in China, which ended its lockdown earlier this month, and to Markus Dulle, owner of several DIY stores in Austria, where some shops have begun trading again after a month of shutdown. Experts agree that a programme of testing for the coronavirus is needed before lockdown measures are scaled back - Oxford University economist Daniel Susskind explains why selecting specific groups of people would be more effective than testing everybody at random. And Michel Goldman, professor of immunology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, explains why a return to 'normal' could take generations. (Photo: A staff member hands out masks at a reopened DIY store in Austria, Credit: Getty Images)

A crunch meeting of EU leaders today aims to finally show Italy and others solidarity in the struggle against coronavirus. A plan is gaining momentum for the European Commission to raise a trillion-plus-euro fund to invest in the recovery of the European economy, something that could mark a major step towards federalism if it succeeds, but many fear could trigger the unravelling of the European project if it fails to win approval. Manuela Saragosa, herself half-Dutch and half-Italian, asks whether the plan can bridge the bitter divide between her two parent nations over how to handle the crisis. Dutch economist Esther Rijswijk says the Netherlands won't want to hand over money without conditions attached, but Italian MP Lorenzo Fioramonti says the very word "conditions" has become a taboo in an increasingly angry and euro-sceptical Italy. Meanwhile, one of the plan's co-authors, former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, explains why he thinks he's come up with a solution that avoids the usual messy EU fudge. (Picture: EU flag containing viruses instead of stars; Credit: muchomor/Getty Images)

With factories around the world shuttered during the coronavirus outbreak, we’re asking whether the world’s intricate global supply chains will come out of the pandemic intact. We’ll hear from garment factory workers in Bangladesh who are finding themselves out of work, and from David Hasanat, CEO of the Viyellatex group, which has seen its orders drying up. And David Simchi-Levi, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT, thinks the pandemic will lead to global supply chain restructuring, potentially meaning higher prices for consumer goods. (Picture: A garment worker in Dhaka, Bangladesh who has been laid off following cancelled orders at her factory. Picture Credit: Salman Saeed/BBC)

In many cities, pollution has reduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, but what will happen to the environment when economies get going again? The year after the financial crisis, global carbon dioxide emissions jumped by nearly 6% as nations put in place stimulus packages driven by cheap fuel and energy-intensive sectors like construction. There are also fears companies which had planned to invest in clean energy could put those plans on hold as market conditions change. Vera Mantengoli of the newspaper La Nuova Venezia tells us how nature has begun to reclaim its place along Venice's famous canals. We also hear from Lauri Myllyvirta, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Lucy Siegle, an environmental writer and journalist says that although the UN's climate change conference has been postponed to 2021, we can't lose sight of the urgency for action on climate. And we hear from the International Energy Agency's group executive director, Dr Fatih Birol. Picture: Clear waters in Venice's Grand Canal, where boat traffic has stopped during the city's lockdown to stop the spread of Covid19. Credit Getty Images

The daily drama of money and work from the BBC.

Amazon sees itself as providing an essential service during the coronavirus pandemic, but staff at its huge network of warehouses are worried they’re being put at risk. Ed Butler speaks to William Stolz, a picker at an Amazon fulfilment centre in Minnesota in the US, and to Christy Hoffman, general secretary of the UNI Global Union, about why some workers feel unsafe. Logistics analyst Marc Wulfraat discusses Amazon’s response and what it means for their reputation. And Frank Foer, author of World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech, explains why Amazon’s future beyond the pandemic remains uncertain. (Photo: A package is processed at an Amazon fulfilment centre in Sosnowiec, Poland. Credit: Getty Images)

Coronavirus has been slow to arrive in Africa but the continent has been warned the wave is coming. South Africa has so far been the hardest hit and it’s responded with some of the harshest lockdown restrictions in the world. Faeza Meyer lives in a township in the Cape Flats on the outskirts of Cape Town and is finding social distancing and getting enough food difficult in cramped conditions. Businesses have also been hit hard as we hear from Thato Rangaka-Maroga in Johannesburg who runs five family businesses - all but one of which are now closed. We also talk to Dr Mary Stephen, from the World Health Organisation’s Africa office in Brazzaville, Congo and Isaac Matshego, an economist at Nedbank in Johannesburg. (Picture: The South African National Defence Force patrols the streets of Cape Town during the national lockdown by Brenton Geach for Getty Images).

Demand for fuel has collapsed amid the coronavirus lockdowns, but the world keeps on pumping more crude and is fast running out of space to store it all. Justin Rowlatt finds that even his local petrol station is struggling, with streets of London - like every other city in the world - largely empty of cars. Alan Gelder of energy consultants Wood Mackenzie describes the lengths to which oil producers are going to stockpile all the unwanted fuel products. Meanwhile Opec and Russia agreed a major cut in production in recent days, but will it be enough to stabilise the market? Or will the Covid-19 pandemic prove the watershed moment in the history of mankind's consumption of oil? Justin speaks to Harvard professor and former US national security advisor Meghan O'Sullivan, and to clean energy consultant Michael Liebreich. (Picture: Crude oil spilling out of a drum; Credit: Moussa81/Getty Images)

From marauding goats to comedy dance routines in gardens, Business Daily’s Vivienne Nunis takes a look at the memes and videos helping many of us get through uncertain times. Why does seeing the lighter side of life matter? We hear from some of the content creators, such as Joe Tracini, whose dances – including the now infamous “sexy kitten” move - have been shared tens of millions of times, to stress management coach and advocate of laughter Loretta LaRoche, business expert and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan, and Business Daily’s old friend, comedian Colm O’Regan. (Picture: A man laughing at his smartphone. Picture credit: Getty.)

In the continued struggle to keep people clear of others infected with coronavirus, one tech company, ClearView, says its controversial facial recognition technology could help medical professionals clamp down on the virus’ spread. Indeed, technology has already been deployed in countries around the world to monitor the contact between its citizens. But researcher Stephanie Hare says this technology would be almost useless without increasing testing for the virus. And some, such as Gil Gan-Mor at Association for Civil Rights in Israel, are concerned the coronavirus emergency might be used as an excuse to increase the surveillance state. Though the BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones thinks a lot of people would trade some of their civil liberties in exchange for going outside again.

In one of the most densely populated areas in the world, the residents of Mumbai’s Dharavi slums have little recourse to practice the social distancing required to avoid coronavirus, as we hear from many residents of Dharavi in their own words, and from Vinod Shetty who runs Acord, a local aid agency. Meanwhile, many people around India are falling through the cracks in the government’s promised food scheme, as Radhika Kapoor from the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations explains. And India’s problems might be yours too. Stefan Vogel, international food strategist at Rabobank, describes how the coronavirus hit to India affects global agricultural supply chains. Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Picture: People carrying out food items in Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India. Photo credit: Getty Images)

Katie Prescott reports from Rwanda, where technology is central to the government’s economic plans. Katie sees the challenge of a sparse road network, and at the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo hears how technology might be able to cut waiting times for vital medicines and medical tests, at the first ever Lake Kivu Challenge. Katie hears from Temie Giwa-Tubosun, CEO of Nigerian company Lifebank, which delivers critical medical supplies such as blood across Africa, by road, boat and now air. Temie explains why the challenge of infrastructure costs lives, and how technology could help. At the inaugural African Drone Forum in Rwanda’s capital Kigali, Katie speaks to technology enthusiasts and those who caution whether Africa is ready. Katie hears from the World Bank’s Edward Anderson, from Wingcopter’s Selina Herzog, and from Uhurulabs’ Freddie Umbuya. Producer: Sarah Treanor (Picture: Temie Giwa Tubason. Picture credit: Lifebank.)

Governments are throwing trillions of dollars at rescuing their economies from the Covid-19 pandemic, but how can they afford it all, and whatever happened to austerity? How much debt are governments running up? How much will markets be willing to lend? Can central banks help with the financing without risking their independence or undermining confidence in the currency? Who will ultimately repay the debts? And having made such huge interventions to contain the virus, will governments continue to play a much bigger role in running the economy in the future? Manuela Saragosa follows the money with the help of the BBC's global trade correspondent Dharshini David, and economist and former UK Treasury official Richard Hughes of the Resolution Foundation think tank. (Picture: Benjamin Franklin on the 100 dollar bill wears a face mask against Covid-19 infection; Credit: Diy13/Getty Images)

As the deaths and economic damage from Covid-19 continue to rise, Italians are asking why the EU is doing so little to help in their time of need. The pandemic is reinfecting old wounds in the EU, reopening the divide between the wealthy north and the heavily indebted south. In Italy angry citizens have taken to burning the EU flag in viral YouTube clips (pictured). There are calls for "coronabonds" to finance a rescue package for the hardest hit nations, but Germany and the Netherlands remain reticent. Business Daily's Manuela Saragosa - herself half-Italian, half-Dutch - asks journalist Antonello Guerrera of Italian newspaper La Repubblica, whether the country could turn its back on Europe. Dutch political economist Jerome Roos of the London School of Economics says the EU's future is at stake. We ask Clemens Fuest of the IFO German economics think tank whether Chancellor Angela Merkel is prepared to make an act of historic European solidarity. Producer: Laurence Knight

A vaccine is the magic bullet that would end the coronavirus pandemic, but how many months will it take to find, and will it be available to all? Justin Rowlatt speaks to a pioneering researcher of coronaviruses - not just the one behind the current Covid-19 outbreak. Susan Weiss of Pennsylvania University says the fact it was such a neglected area was one of the things that first attracted her to study these microbes. Today we know much more, but still not enough about how to inoculate against it, according to Leeds University virologist Stephen Griffin. But with dozens of medical companies now racing to find a cure, the big question is whether governments will make it available to everyone who needs it on the planet - the only certain way to defeat the pandemic - and who will pay for it? Healthcare venture capitalist Peter Kolchinsky is positive that when a vaccine is found, the businesspeople behind it will do the right thing. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: A researcher in Brazil works on virus replication in order to develop a Covid-19 vaccine; Credit: Douglas Magno/AFP via Getty Images)

Researchers at universities and pharmaceutical companies are rushing to identify drugs that might help cut the number of deaths from Covid-19 and take the strain of hospitals. Justin Rowlatt speaks to Richard Marsden, the chief executive of one such company, Synairgen. He hopes that a medicine his company originally developed to help asthma and flu sufferers could also now be put to use in alleviating the lung infections of Covid-19 patients. Meanwhile virologist Stephen Griffin of Leeds University in the UK explains the three main ways in which existing drugs might be used to attack the virus. Plus Theodora Bloom of the British Medical Journal tells Justin about her night job at the online research sharing server MedRxiv, which has played a central role in helping researchers get immediate access to each other's work, accelerating their response to the pandemic. Producer: Laurence Knight (Picture: Medical worker wearing protective gear treats a patient infected with the Covid-19 at the intensive care unit in Prague; Credit: Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images)