The World of Business

For the final programme of the series, John Murphy returns to a selection of businesses that have come through this far. A fabric and haberdashery shop, a fruit farmer and a micro-pub. What’s their story of survival, what did they change and what of the future? The potential difficulties and pitfalls, are not over.Presenter: John[...]

The pandemic and the resulting recession have led to widespread calls to recognise that we now have a once in a generation opportunity to re-think how we put the economy back together again. Research shows we can help our economy flourish again by prioritising spending on environmentally friendly initiatives. From electric bikes, to eco-friendly cement,[...]

As Brexit talks between the European Union and the UK got under way earlier this year, before anyone was using the word “pandemic”, Caroline Bayley began following two companies which both export to Britain– one in France, one in Germany – to see how they were planning for trade with the UK outside of the[...]

Politicians keep promising more trees – seen as good for the environment and for fighting climate change. Trees are also big business sustaining vital rural jobs. So will lots of new planting keep everyone happy? Chris Bowlby explores forestry’s future in one of its key locations – Northumberland. He visits the huge forest at Kielder,[...]

Robots and Artificial Intelligence have been moving into our workplaces for years. But is now the time that they will become fully established and take over some jobs entirely? Is the march of the robots going to get louder now that everything seems to be changing ? David Baker investigates. Presenter: David Baker Producer: Sandra[...]

Sparked by the Black Lives Matter protests around the world that followed the death of George Floyd, companies are wading into the conversation on racial inequality. With a focus on diversity in business, there was also interest and investment in a lot of companies run by black people in the UK. Tobi Oredein, founder of[...]

The UK fitness industry employs twenty thousand people and is worth an estimated £5 billion to the economy. But - like most other industries - it shut down overnight in March. Some teachers and trainers made swift decisions to move online. Some businesses closed permanently. Will people want to return to busy gyms, even with[...]

The coronavirus pandemic and the associated global economic lockdown have had a dramatic impact on businesses across the UK, perhaps none more so than on the aviation industry and airports like Gatwick, usually the UK's second busiest.The consequences, though, go far beyond the confines of the airport. Tens of thousands of jobs in the wider[...]

As the UK emerges from the coronavirus lockdown, millions of employees are still furloughed – either fully or part-time – with most of their salaries paid by the government. But how many of them really have jobs to go back to? Already companies including British Airways, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Jaguar Landrover and Centrica, to name[...]

The oil price has crashed - for a while some producers were even paying customers to take it away. It's like no oil shock the industry has ever seen before. Lesley Curwen sets out to discover what difference cheap oil will make to our lives. Which jobs are at risk? Will there be a knock-on[...]

2020 hasn't been good for British business - certainly not since Covid-19 showed up. The global pandemic and the lockdown imposed to try to fight it have affected individual livelihoods and those of many companies. John Murphy talks to some business owners from different sectors of the economy - a family-run pub, a fruit farm,[...]

With the highest Covid19 death toll in the world, and 26 million Americans claiming unemployment insurance, the US economy has taken a massive hit. But how quickly can it bounce back?Will America’s economy will be strong enough to pull its weight in the global economy? Economist Jim O’Neill explores the current scale of the problem[...]

In the 14th century the world was devastated by plague, known as 'The Black Death', in the 20th century a deadly form of influenza struck infecting around a quarter of the world's population. Since then HIV, Ebola and more have stricken nations. With each epidemic and pandemic comes a huge human cost but each also[...]

Since the Covid-19 ‘lockdown’ began, vast numbers of people have been toiling away at home for the first time: converting living rooms and bedrooms into makeshift office space, wrangling with technology, and juggling family life with working hours. How are we doing? Caroline Bayley explores the delights and challenges of "WFH". Produced by Beth Sagar[...]

Honey bees, cow dung and mulch - the company in Zimbabwe that is protecting the forests in order to offset carbon emissions. As Charlotte Ashton wrestles with ‘flight shame’, she wants to find out where her money goes if she chooses to offset her flight. She lives in Zimbabwe, but is from the UK and[...]

Ruth Alexander examines whether the complex global web of supply chains can hold up under the enormous pressure of the coronavirus pandemic. Looking further into the future, she and Jonty Bloom ask whether this global shock has shown that the days of the speedy delivery of a huge choice of cheap goods from all over[...]

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is sinking, and struggling with traffic and pollution. The government’s solution? To build a new capital on the island of Borneo instead, better known for its jungles and orangutans. How will this work? Former BBC Indonesia correspondent Rebecca Henschke travels to the proposed new capital site and meets families, environmental campaigners, and[...]

Fashion is a hugely polluting industry and is under enormous pressure to become more sustainable. From the way cotton is grown, to the use of synthetic materials and the conditions in factories where our clothes are made - these are all challenges facing the sector. In this programme Patrick Grant, the British menswear designer, factory[...]

Hydrogen is a volatile gas with an image problem, but hydrogen evangelists think this could be the ‘magic molecule’ which will solve the world’s air pollution and cut carbon emissions dramatically. Manuela Saragosa presents the final part of this special series on energy from Italy, where hydrogen has been pumped into the existing gas network.[...]

Jaguar Land Rover, Cadbury, Weetabix are but some of the many British brands now owned by foreign corporations. The UK has one of the highest rates of company takeovers by new overseas owners. Sometimes these deals rescue a struggling business and save jobs. And sometimes they provide welcome investment for fast growth. But is there[...]

Australia is stubbornly sticking to providing much of its power through coal. While many countries around the world are eschewing fossil fuels, (because of their environmental impact), the Australian government continues to give the all-clear to new coal mines, including one called the Carmichael mine. It’s being constructed by the Indian company, Adani. Much of[...]

Every day people dig into sadza, a maize based meal, but there’s a problem. Zimbabwe’s getting much drier and maize can’t cope. Crop failures have partly contributed to food shortages this year leading to more than 7 million people needing food aid. The economic crisis has made the situation more serious and things will only[...]

Germany has long been considered a leader in renewable energy – a model even for others to follow with its subsidies for wind and solar. Householders were encouraged to put solar panels on their rooves as early as two decades ago. But its so-called “Energiewende” or “energy transition” from fossil fuels to renewables is facing[...]

Whatever happens in British politics, Britain's reputation has changed. What does this mean for its global business image? Chris Bowlby discovers what's ahead for Brand Britain.

More than seventy percent of households in Rwanda cook over wooden and charcoal fires. This means women often sit for hours every day in smoky conditions which can damage their health, increasing the risk of respiratory infections, heart disease, strokes and lung cancer. These traditional cooking methods are also the cause of widespread deforestation. The[...]

"Beethoven's arms were bigger than the piano" says concert pianist Stephen Hough at his Steinway. "I sense him pushing at every moment - as if he's in a cage saying 'Let me out'". To mark the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth in 2020, Clemmie Burton-Hill looks, not at Beethoven the composer, but at a[...]

Since 2001 the UK has lost a quarter of its pubs. They've shut their doors for good. High taxes, high prices, supermarket competition, even the smoking ban have all been blamed. But there are new types of pub, the micropub, and community-owned pubs, which are bucking the trend. While larger, traditional establishments have been under[...]

As Britain’s sources of electricity change, along with significant changes in demand, how will the lights stay on? The major power blackout that hit the UK in early August – the worst in more than a decade – was an indication of how increasingly complicated our electricity grid is becoming. Hundreds of thousands of people,[...]

Iceland has taken radical measures to reduce its gender pay gap. These aren't just about equalising pay when men and women do the same job but when they do different jobs of equal value. That's proved to be quite a sticking point in many countries around the world; ensuring that the jobs routinely occupied by[...]

The irradiated lands around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor were large, prosperous, and lively collective farms until the reactor exploded in 1986. Seventy percent of the toxic radiation fell in Belarus – a small, agrarian country in which most people lived on the land. Hundreds of villages were evacuated, but much of the population has since[...]

A victim of the “resource curse”, Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world, in spite of being rich in natural resources. Rubber is one of the country’s biggest exports but few Liberians have benefitted from this multimillion dollar business. In this Global Business, Josephine Casserly meets a retired Californian policeman, James Cooper,[...]

Why have politicians gone from cosying up to businesses, to turning a deaf ear to their concerns? Jeremy Schwartz – a CEO himself – finds that the love affair was starting to become toxic long before Brexit, and asks whether it’s really such a bad thing if governments no longer care what business leaders think.[...]

Flying, for many of us, is now routine. For a few of us it is a weekly, maybe even daily, event. At the same time global protests, concerned with the pressing danger of climate change and the need to reduce CO2 emissions, are gaining attention and causing alarm. So, will we ever get to a[...]

Online retail spending has increased more than four fold in the last ten years - it now accounts for almost one in five pounds we spend shopping. But whilst times are tough for our high streets, e-retailing is far from a licence to print money. With widespread discounting and a growing cost of delivery and[...]

India has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing fashion markets and is expected to touch $60 billion by 2022, which will make it the sixth largest in the world. This is due to its rapidly growing middle class and tech savvy consumers, who are buying online, as well as from a plethora of shopping[...]

Twenty million Brits give their time for free each year. From the National Trust to the hospice coffee morning, the Samaritans to the local football club, huge parts of our world rely on volunteers. But how easy is it to manage a workforce who can walk out at a moment's notice? How can you ensure[...]

Strawberries at Christmas? No problem! And as cheap as ever? Yes, of course! Many of us have become used to buying whatever fruit and vegetables we want, whenever we want, no matter the season. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are available in supermarkets all year round. Until recently that was not the case. So what[...]

Chinese technology company, Huawei, is the world’s biggest supplier of network telecoms equipment, and with a research budget of up to $20 billion, its ambition is to be even bigger still. However, it’s also one of the most controversial businesses of our time. The United States and others have banned its involvement in their critical[...]

Climate-change scientists have warned that the clock is ticking, environmental campaigners are blocking the streets, but until now the world of business has kept itself out of the fray. That is changing. From multi-billion dollar investors, to leaders of international companies, to banking bosses, the call is going out for business to take more responsibility[...]

One thing Germany does well, you might assume, is infrastructure and transport. Think again. For Global Business on the BBC World Service, Chris Bowlby’s had a rare behind the scenes tour of Berlin’s new airport. It’s billions over budget, already seven years late in opening, and is still being rebuilt before a single plane’s landed.[...]

The last eighteen months have seen a global public backlash against plastic. Everyone talks about the huge impact that Sir David Attenborough and the BBC's Blue Planet series has had in raising public awareness about the damage that 8 million tonnes of plastic which enter the ocean every year is having on sea life. It[...]

Guyana, a country of just 750,000 people wedged between Venezuela and Suriname on the north-east coast of South America, has never had an oil industry. But a series of recent discoveries in its waters has revealed billions of barrels of oil beneath the ocean, potentially one of the world’s biggest reserves. Next year, the oil[...]

The face-to-face interview can be life-changing. But it comes with risks attached, of bias on the part of the interviewer, or nerves on the part of the candidate. Lesley Curwen looks at the fast-changing process of getting hired in companies, big and small. Large companies are increasingly using recruitment tools including artificial intelligence to weed[...]

Can the United Arab Emirates grow its own food? The Desert kingdoms today import 90% of their own food, at great cost. And each year consumption increases by 12%. This raises issues of food security, price and environmental damage – flying in fruit from California is not environmentally sustainable. This is a region with little[...]

The relationship between landlord and tenant is an important, often unseen, dynamic that most of us don’t give much thought to. And yet, it's reshaping high streets up and down the country. High rents are blamed for the collapse of so many retailers - they appear unsustainable yet they are the vehicle through which much[...]

Its top stars can earn millions of dollars a year, without breaking into a sweat. They train for hours a day and have legions of fans, who fill stadiums to watch them. But these aren't normal sports stars. They're part of one of the fastest growing industries - known as Esports. And, as John Murphy[...]

Much has been made of the death of the high street, but some places are staging a comeback. The government has announced this Spring a £1.6bn Stronger Towns Fund to help less well-off areas. Six hundred million pounds of that will be shared out to towns which can come up with credible plans to help[...]

As the global economy slows and the search for new areas of growth becomes more intense, many countries are looking beyond their coastline to the vast, untapped potential of the sea. The “Ocean Economy” is now attracting attention from governments, businesses and investors, not only in traditional industries like fishing and shipbuilding but also in[...]

There’s more money spent on innovation today than ever before. Yet the process by which we come up with ideas is still poorly understood. If only we had a better grasp of how great ideas are generated, we would have the key to unlock huge new waves of innovation and productivity. Adam Shaw looks at[...]

Five years after Uruguay became the first country to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, what does a legal cannabis industry look like? When the small South American nation of Uruguay made it legal to grow and buy marijuana for fun, an entire industry had to start from scratch. For producers, regulators, investors, and consumers,[...]

Caroline Bayley reports from Hamburg in Germany on how companies there are preparing for Britain's exit from the European Union. The UK is one of the port city's most important trading partners and one thousand firms in the area have business links with Great Britain. So it's not surprising that there's a flurry of activity[...]

Hungarian politicians have been the focus of protest since they passed what many have called a “slave law” last December. This legislation allows companies to ask their workers to do more overtime – and to delay payment for up to three years. But the government says the law gives businesses flexibility and employees the freedom[...]

The Chinese have long been involved – sometimes controversially - in Africa. But there’s another Asian economic powerhouse that is doing business there. Using South Africa as a springboard, South Koreans are seizing control of some of the key markets on the continent. There are four thousand Koreans living in Johannesburg, creating new businesses and[...]

Since Bletchley Park and the enigma machine, Britain has been at the forefront of what would become cyber security. In GCHQ we have a world leader in threat detection and yet our industry lags far behind both the US and Israel.Jonty Bloom looks at what we could do to make this Brexit proof industry bigger[...]

Potholes are a national obsession. But there's much more to them than you might think. Ruth Alexander digs deep into their costs for business and society - where fixing two holes in a motorway can cost half a million pounds. But she also finds all kinds of entrepreneurial imagination going into solving the problem. Everything[...]

Does the house building industry need to change? Manuela Saragosa meets the disruptors, the companies trying to transform how the vast majority of residential property is built. Across the country new factories are springing up - in a bid to manufacture our homes in much the same way as we do our cars. The risks[...]

It’s been a challenging year on Britain’s railways with timetable chaos, over-running engineering works, cancelled trains and irate passengers, not to mention a private operator handing back control to the government. The transport secretary, Chris Grayling has announced yet another review of the industry. Meanwhile, Labour and many of the public want to see rail[...]

From innovative mattresses to personal sleep consultants, business is moving in on our nights under the covers. The sector is booming, thanks to a new understanding of the importance of sleep, with annual sales in the billions of pounds. And it’s not only our homes that businesses are targeting. In the workplace, managers are becoming[...]

Will life sciences lead Britain towards a new economic future? Brexit's causing uncertainty. But as Ruth Alexander discovers, there's a dynamic 'golden triangle' now linking medical and other cutting edge research at Oxford and Cambridge universities with London's political and financial power. The government's putting this at the centre of its vision for a transformed[...]

Caroline Bayley delves into the booming industry of private tutoring.

Can 'freeports' spark a post-Brexit manufacturing boom?

Aleks Krotoski explores new ways that we are watching and listening to content.

How much influence does China have on Hong Kong’s media?

With the media in the United States facing a period of unprecedented challenge - technologically, editorially and politically, Chris Bowlby travels to New York to assess the impact of the huge changes sweeping the industry. Some traditional print titles such as The New York Times are enjoying a "Trump Bump," with its digital offer attracting[...]

Tunisia has seen huge changes in its media industry in the seven years since its revolution and move to democracy. Before 2011, the country’s TV and radio were tightly controlled by the regime of President Ben Ali, one of the most restrictive in the Arab world. Now the media has opened up to a whole[...]

Across Serbia, age-old traditions passed down through the generations are dying out. Those hit the hardest are people living in the rural areas who rely on skills like weaving, wood-cutting and pottery to make an income. Realising the potential, the Serbian state is now turning its attention to these micro-enterprises to bolster its economy, offering[...]

Can the fashion for high-end coffee save Colombia’s struggling farmers? It’s not been easy growing coffee in recent decades in Colombia, where rural life has been dominated by the conflict between guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug traffickers. Now, two years on from the historic peace deal here, how is business benefiting? And with global market prices[...]

Will artificial intelligence change how we shop and decide which retailers succeed? Senior retail executive, Jeremy Schwartz, meets chat bots, robots and the humans behind them, to find out. He explores the impact that the AI revolution may have on jobs - not just the number of them but their nature too. As algorithms take[...]

As international trade tensions escalate, the US state of Wisconsin is a fascinating place to discover the consequences. Specialist producers like Wisconsin's ginseng growers are directly affected by the new trade war between the US and China. Traditional cheese makers meanwhile see all this as the latest round in an endless battle for freer trade[...]

Do you own a sex toy? And if so, would you admit it to your friends? Increasingly, the answer to both questions is yes. Once a seedy mail-order product advertised in the back pages of porn magazines, sex toys today are marketed as a fun way for couples to enhance their relationships. And in the[...]

Young Taiwanese entrepreneurs working in a start-up hub are offered attractive sweeteners. But this isn’t in California or even Taipei, it’s on the outskirts of Shanghai. The People’s Republic of China is setting its sights on Taiwan’s youth by encouraging them to relocate to the ‘mainland’. Wages in Taiwan have stagnated as its economic growth[...]

Life expectancy is going up, pensions are declining. Meanwhile the official retirement age has been abolished, while the age at which you can draw your state pension is rising. As a result, more and more of us will have to work until our 70s, or even our 80s. So, asks David Baker, is this the[...]

Online banking has grown massively, and some new banks don't bother with a branch network at all. But as Ruth Sunderland discovers, some in the banking business still think high street branches and personal service have a bright future. So how far will this financial revolution go? Talking to leading players in the business, Ruth[...]

Thousands of new consumer products are launched every year, and most end in failure. These flops are rarely discussed, and quickly forgotten. The Museum of Failure in Sweden is taking a different approach, showcasing some of the world's most flawed products and services. Ruth Alexander talks to curator Samuel West, and some of the product[...]

Once known as a hugely successful " Asian Tiger" economy built on hi-tech manufacturing, Taiwan's recent economic growth has been relatively sluggish, wages have stagnated and young people are leaving for better paid jobs in China and elsewhere. So what does the self-ruled island need to do to start roaring again? Caroline Bayley reports from[...]

Can tech entrepreneurs revitalise Southern Italy’s failing economy? Manuela Saragosa visits Naples – which has seen a huge exodus of its talented young people – to explore if a change of direction might be possible. She meets Neapolitans starting up high-tech businesses against the odds and explores why, rather surprisingly, in recent years the city[...]

In just a couple of years, the fifth generation mobile network will be available. Like previous generations, 5G will offer consumers greater speed and capability when they use their smartphones and tablets. Advocates argue it is more than just the next step in that evolution. Lightning fast speed, greater bandwidth and more reliability have the[...]

As K-pop and K-drama go global, what are the secrets of their success? The Korean Wave - South Korea’s pop culture exports of music and TV dramas - has already swept across much of Asia, including the giant markets of China and Japan, bringing billions of dollars into the country’s economy every year. Now, with[...]

When you throw away rubbish, it can create an environmental problem – or a business opportunity.Your old newspapers, tin cans and plastic bottles are someone else’s valuable harvest. Just like gold, steel, sugar or coffee, rubbish is traded all over the world as a commodity. If it can be recycled, it’s worth money. Until recently,[...]

What do digital nomads mean for the world of work? A new army of digital nomads is wandering the world. Equipped with a laptop and willing to work anywhere that has Wi-Fi and a low cost of living, they are changing the way millions think about the world of work. But how do firms and[...]

Sexual harassment at work has become “normalised” according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. A recent UK survey by polling company ComRes found that half of women and a fifth of men have experienced it during their careers.From unwanted comments and jokes to inappropriate touching, actions that go beyond office banter seem to have[...]

Ohio is one of the worst hit US states for opioid addiction rates and deaths. Huge numbers of people have dropped out of the workforce and employers say they struggle to recruit the people they need. If automation increases as a result, will unemployment, despair and addiction get even worse? And is drug testing workers[...]

Ireland’s economy is hugely interlinked with its next-door neighbour, the UK, in everything from energy to transport to finance. Can those links be kept after the UK leaves the EU, or will Irish business have to change direction? Ruth Alexander travels to Ireland to find out how businesses large and small are preparing for Brexit,[...]

The WTO has facilitated global trade since the 1990s but is now under threat. Ever since he was elected, US President Donald Trump has been critical of the World Trade Organisation, which he has described as a “catastrophe”. Also known as the WTO, the organisation was set up to facilitate global trade and act as[...]

What happens if you give every adult in a village $22 a month, no strings attached, for 12 years? In rural Kenya, researchers are trying to find out. They're conducting the world's largest study of 'universal basic income' - giving 'free money' to nearly 200 villages, to see whether this could kick-start development and bring[...]

The vast Minsk Tractor Works in Belarus was famed all over the Soviet Union. And it's still making tractors. Raging capitalism in the 1990s closed down hundreds of state-owned factories. But Belarus kept open this complex providing not only work but cradle to grave care for tens of thousands of Belarusians. Clinics, nurseries and holiday[...]

By 2050 the world needs to produce 70% more food and we need to do so using fewer resources and with less damage to the environment. Peter Morgan travels to Skjervoy in Norway to find out how technologically sophisticated fish farming businesses are increasing the availability and lowering the price of the fish we consume[...]

A small German city with a population of under a million has big ambitions. It wants to beat Paris to the top spot of financial centre of Europe. But can the city of Frankfurt attract the international bankers and their support work force when the UK leaves the European Union next year? Several international banks[...]

Why Spain’s sparkling fizz, Cava, is seeking to re-invent itself. If you think of sparkling wine what probably comes to mind is popping corks and Champagne. But what about Cava from Spain? In terms of exports Cava is as big as Champagne, and it is made in the same expensive, time-consuming way. Yet its image[...]

Many fees and charges in the investment industry - which, among other things, manages vast pension fund wealth - have been hidden for decades. Lesley Curwen meets the transparency "detectives" intent on bringing reform to a sector that has long shunned it. She asks why the investment industry has been so slow to embrace change[...]

Why can you phone in sick with flu but not with depression? Mental health is a big deal in the workplace at the moment. Following recent celebrity and Royal disclosures about their own mental health issues, it's become a hot topic. But away from the glare of publicity what's actually going on - what are[...]

Second-hand fashion is big business in Tanzania. Every year, it imports millions of dollars-worth of used clothes from richer nations and many ordinary Tanzanians have come to rely on these - known locally as 'mitumba' - as a reliable source of affordable outfits. Now the Tanzanian government want to phase-out these imports, which they say[...]

In September Ryanair was headline news and in crisis, having had to cancel many thousands of flights at very short notice. By offering extremely low fares to flyers, the company has become one of the world's biggest and most profitable airlines. Matthew Gwyther traces Ryanair's history and explores how its business model differs from its[...]

There is a motoring revolution underway: the fast accelerating switch from petrol and diesel cars, to electric vehicles. In Norway, almost 40% of new car purchases are now fully electric or hybrids. Other countries are starting to catch up, and are setting ambitious targets. Britain wants to ban the sale of all petrol and diesel[...]

President Vladimir Putin has gifted Moscow with a new park – a free public space right next to the Kremlin. Designed by the US architects behind New York’s High Line, Zarydaye Park is a bold step in city branding, aiming to demonstrate that Moscow is open to the world and to innovation. But does it[...]

If you're the Chancellor of the Exchequer, worrying about where the next financial crisis might come from, what keeps you awake at night? Jonty Bloom hears about the potential problems which might induce insomnia; including car loans, High Frequency Trading and the threat of Cyber attack. Producer: Phoebe Keane

Oil and gas are the backbone of Russia’s economy and swings in energy prices can push the country from boom to bust. 80 per cent of the country's exports are directly related to hydro-carbons. So how successfully is Russia diversifying into new areas? As Caroline Bayley discovers, government money is supporting hi-tech start-ups and counter[...]

Why are so many US workers forced into job contracts that make it hard for them to leave? Employers routinely ask new recruits to agree to "non-compete" clauses when they start work. This means they might be unable to work for a competitor company, or to set up on their own. Is this a good[...]

Can entrepreneurs at Sofia Tech Park kick-start one of the EU's poorest countries? Ruth Alexander meets the tiny companies growing fast at Sofia Tech Park, Bulgaria's first technology business centre. Start-up culture is a new phenomenon in the former communist state, which has an unfortunate reputation for corruption; but does it now have what it[...]

Uganda has taken in more than a million South Sudanese refugees. Many have lost almost everything. So how do they get back on their feet? For some of them the answer is to set up a small business. But doing that in a refugee settlement, when you have no capital and many of your customers[...]

With food waste a huge global problem, can business find new, profitable solutions? Tanya Beckett delves into pizza bins, visits larvae breeders and talks to everyone from bankers to hummus-makers as she investigates why this fast-changing business scene. How can new technology help tackle the problem? And are wasteful food consumers ready for radical change?[...]

From the film Wall Street, to the play Enron, finance workers and bankers tend to be portrayed negatively in works of fiction. Andrew Dickson traces the history of these depictions, asking if they're fair - and if more positive portrayals would enhance the reputation of the City He speaks to playwrights, a bond trader turned[...]

What red lines need to be crossed before companies retreat from foreign markets? As political turmoil engulfs Turkey, total economic collapse threatens in Venezuela and other global threats emerge, In Business explores the point at which businesses decide that enough is enough. Does it depend on the size of the investment and do companies in[...]

Twenty five years after Britain opened its first privately run prison, Matthew Gwyther explores whether private jails in the UK have delivered on the promise of a cost effective, safe, and reliable service. And he looks to the US, the pioneer of the private prison system. Does incarcerating people for profit work? Or does it[...]

From sick man of Europe to world's richest exporter - how did Germany do it? At the turn of the century, Germany's economy was weak and its unemployment high. Fast forward to today and the country has overtaken China as the world's richest exporter. To find out how, Caroline Bayley travels to rural South Germany,[...]

What role can the community play in rejuvenating their local economy? Globalisation often results in a big geographical divide between where profits are made and where they are spent. Anu Anand visits two communities trying to reverse that trend and keep investment, jobs and profits close to hand. In Frome, in Somerset, she meets local[...]

Many British fishermen rejoiced after the UK vote to leave the European Union. They hoped it would mean fewer EU boats fishing in UK waters. Business reporter and sailor Lesley Curwen visits ports and harbours at both ends of Britain to talk to fishermen about their hopes and fears, and hears from a group of[...]

Tower blocks are under intense scrutiny. So what's the best way to run them? Matthew Gwyther visits Manchester and discovers this is not just about architecture. These blocks are also complex communities of people. So what's the future now for this key sector in our housing and commerce? Producer: Chris Bowlby Editor: Penny Murphy.

Why do so many economic and business forecasts fail to correctly map the future? Adam Shaw asks why so many recessions take us by surprise and why the failure of certain forecasts should be a cause of celebration, not despair. He examines the role of complexity and groupthink and how technological advance can scupper the[...]

Nina Robinson looks at how India’s digital payments industry is mushrooming after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation ‘shock doctrine’ tactic to rid the country of 500 and 1,000 rupee bills last November. It had an unimaginably huge impact on India’s digital payment and banking systems. The sector now has to cope with an enormous increase[...]

For decades the UK has not produced enough engineers. What's been going wrong? Is education at fault or does engineering have an intractable image problem? Engineering is a very male world. If that changes, might its recruitment problem disappear? Ruth Sunderland visits businesses with innovative schemes aimed at reversing the trend, and meets students, teachers[...]

McDonalds has long dominated the burger market and continues to do so in the UK. But the US owned, giant fast food chain is in the midst of a make-over. Posher burger chains are springing up everywhere and McDonalds is now offering table service and new-look restaurants. Matthew Gwyther, Editor of Management Today, asks how[...]

We spend hours in meetings at work so what can we do to love them more? Tanya Beckett looks at the art of the meeting and asks how can we make them more productive & enjoyable. How do you deal with the person who never stops talking, or someone who spends an entire hour on[...]

The Kremlin has been flexing economic and political muscles on the world stage but the Russian economy is struggling to keep up. Plunging oil prices, U.S. and European sanctions over Ukraine and military operations in Syria have all taken their toll. People across the country are feeling the pinch but rural areas are the hardest[...]

How have private businesses fared in Greece since the crisis began? The economy has shrunk by nearly a third and unemployment has soared. So what have companies had to do to survive? And have any managed to actually thrive? Louise Cooper meets hopeful entrepreneurs, embattled importers, and a few small companies going underground in a[...]

The number of women in prison globally is rapidly increasing. The Institute for Criminal Policy Research has calculated that between 2000 and 2015, the female prison population around the world grew by 50%, compared with an 18% rise in male prisoners over the same period. Re-offending rates are high, and overcoming the stigma of a[...]

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with the European Union. It voted to stay in the EU in last year’s referendum. Tens of thousands cross between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland every day to work. Matthew Gwyther, the editor of Management Today, travels across Northern[...]

Productivity, or the lack of it, is one of the great puzzles of the British economy at the moment.Productivity is not about how hard we work, but how much value we get for each hour of graft. And the French seem to be better at that than the British.Jonty Bloom explores how workers in France[...]

Why are Mexicans working abroad sending more money back home? Last year total remittance payments for Mexico reached a record of nearly $27bn – most of that came from Mexicans working in the United States. But it’s a sensitive time with President Trump determined to clamp down on illegal immigrants and build a wall along[...]

Denmark is on course to generate 50% of its electricity from wind power in the next three years. The move towards clean energy and self sufficiency stands in stark contrast to the situation the country found itself in after the 1973 oil crisis when street lighting was reduced and people were told not to drive[...]

Since its inception, the National Health Service has always relied on doctors and nurses who have been trained overseas. How does it plan for the workforce it requires? In the second of two programmes exploring today's health service, doctor-turned-journalist Smitha Mundasad, asks why the NHS is currently facing a recruitment crisis on so many fronts.[...]

The NHS is facing a sustained squeeze. An ageing population, the rising cost of new treatments and increasing patient demand on the one hand, and the impact of continued austerity on the other. What can it do? One answer might lie in improving productivity. In the first of two programmes on the NHS, Louise Cooper[...]

How is Mexico preparing for the presidency of Donald Trump? During the election campaign Mr Trump promised to tear up trade agreements with Mexico, build a border wall and send back millions of illegal Mexican immigrants. Caroline Bayley travels to Mexico to find out how the country feels about the US's new president and what[...]

Work on HS2 is finally due to start next year. And those whose housing will be affected have dominated the headlines. But what will it mean for business? For some it seems a huge opportunity if high speed rail kick starts much broader regeneration. Other businesses face major challenges during construction, or fear they'll lose[...]

Who pays for the arts, who should pay for the arts? In the UK, there is controversy about corporate sponsorship of arts organisations - particularly oil companies. In the US, there is a very different approach and state funding is much lower. Andrew Dickson examines the funding models and speaks to BP as well as[...]

What will Brexit mean for the future of British farms? The EU has been subsidising agriculture - via the Common Agricultural Policy - for decades, and there is a tariff-free market for produce. Jonty Bloom looks at the challenges that lie ahead.Producer, Ruth Alexander.

Last year, the UK became the first place where spending on digital ads exceeded that spent on all other forms of advertising combined. In this new world, what are ad agencies doing to square up to the challenges they face? Management Today's Matthew Gwyther presents. The producer is Nina Robinson.(Image: A visitor looks at old[...]

Why are Italy's banks in crisis and what's the impact on business? The country's banks have huge numbers of non-performing loans, the result of nearly a decade of recession. The economy has shrunk by nearly 10% in that time. Some small banks have already failed, others may follow. What has it been like to do[...]

Estonia is one of the smallest countries in Europe, with only 1.3 million citizens. But it is hoping to become much bigger – by attracting what it calls e-residents. A scheme was started two years ago to give citizens of any nation the opportunity to set up Estonian bank accounts and businesses – and to[...]

When it comes to business, much of the focus in Sweden is on its successful tech start-ups. But its traditional industries are still a cornerstone of the economy. Global Business' Keith Moore takes a look at Sweden's forestry industry by following the journey of a tree, from the forest, to the sawmills and through to[...]

How has London's French community fared since Brexit? Caroline Bayley explores why so many entrepreneurs have chosen to start businesses on this side of the channel. And what is the capital's attraction for so many of France's young people? After the vote to leave the EU, the response of many French ex-pats was deep shock.[...]

Brexit, a global slump in oil prices, and political uncertainty around a second independence referendum; these have combined to place the Scottish business community in uncharted waters. Additionally, Scotland has longer term historical structural issues, particularly when it comes to successfully starting and growing new ventures. It is widely recognised that the Scottish economy needs[...]

The business of making babies is booming, both in the UK and globally, as recent research suggests the world’s fertility industry is set to be worth an estimated 15 billion pounds by the year 2020. One in six couples in the world are thought to experience fertility problems. There's a huge range of treatments available[...]

Peter Day takes a close look at the progress of 3D printing in manufacturing 5 years on from the first programme he made about this new way of making things. Back then there was much hype and excitement about its potential to revolutionise traditional manufacturing. From aircraft parts to cartilage in knees, Peter discovers 3D[...]

According to Sheryl Sandberg – Chief Operating Office of Facebook and one of the most powerful people in the world - the most important career choice you’ll make as a woman is who you choose to be your life partner. Whilst men tend to assume they can have it all – a great career AND[...]

A new technology is emerging which could change the world as significantly as mobile phones or the Internet. That technology is Virtual Reality. Up to now it’s mainly been used for fun - but things are changing. Adam Shaw investigates how VR could change our lives and revolutionise the world of business. Enabling us to[...]

Companies don't often like to admit it, but we know the spies are out there, attempting to infiltrate almost every sector of industry, eager to winkle out the most valuable corporate secrets. And they sometimes succeed, passing on the information to rivals whether at home or abroad. So what can be done to pursue the[...]

Trinitas Mhango is one of a new generation of young, would-be entrepreneurs in Malawi. She has a dream of making it big in business and she has a great idea - to mass produce and sell sanitary pads in one of the poorest countries in Africa, where millions of girls and women cannot afford proper[...]

Job losses have plagued Teesside for decades and the area still has a stubbornly high unemployment rate. Ruth Sunderland grew up in Middlesbrough where her father worked as an engineer. In 1987 the company, where he'd been employed since he was a teenager, collapsed and he never worked again. Believing there was no future for[...]

Chattanooga has been re-inventing itself for decades. In the late 1960s Walter Cronkite referred to the city as "the dirtiest in America." Since then heavy industry has declined and, to take its place, civic leaders have been on a mission to bring high-tech innovation and enterprise to Chattanooga. In 2010 the city became the first[...]

Malawi, in Sub-Saharan Africa, is one of the world’s poorest countries with its GDP nearly at the bottom of the global league table. Successive governments have been riddled with corruption scandals, state-run services are in disarray and Malawi’s population is booming. It hit 17.6m this year, which the Finance Minister described as "scary" and is[...]

Amid concern about the future of the Port Talbot steel works - and fear for the jobs of workers there - Peter Day looks at the history of the industry in Britain. When was the heyday of British steel, and what went wrong? Peter visits Port Talbot and also delves into the archives to hear[...]

Imagine you run a company and it's failing. What do you do? Matthew Gwyther speaks to leaders who've turned around businesses in difficulties and finds out how they did it, what inspired them and what lessons they can pass on. Produced by Nina Robinson.

Can a computer programme choose the right applicant for a job? Online assessments, scanning programmes, computer algorithms and the number crunching of social network data are all now part of the tool kit of the recruitment industry. As Peter Day discovers, to get through to an actual interview, you often have to impress a computer[...]

Marijuana is now legal in some US states and a fast-growing industry has emerged, especially in Colorado which was the first state to embrace the drug. But according to federal law marijuana is still illegal. This means that many companies can't get banking services, advertise their wares or pay tax in the way that other[...]

As part of the festivities for the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, Global Business asks how the Bard has had an impact on the corporate world. As well as being a profitable part of the British economy, particularly for the tourist sector in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s plays have been exported to almost every country there[...]

A Unicorn is a mythical animal. But it's also the name now given to private start-up companies, mainly in the tech or internet sector which are valued at a billion dollars or more. They're extremely fast-growing and are often keener to increase customers rather than make profits at this stage. They rely on private investors[...]

The Panama papers reveal tax evasion is a huge international problem. But how can governments clean things up? One way might be by opening things up. In the UK, it is a criminal offence to reveal someone else's tax affairs, but in some countries you can easily discover how much anyone earns and how much[...]

Why is there so much dissatisfaction about how economics is taught at universities? Since the financial crash, many students have been in revolt in the UK and overseas, determined to change the content of their courses. They are not alone. Employers and some economists share many of their concerns. Peter Day explores why the subject[...]

If you come from a country with few internet users and even fewer smartphone owners, why would you set up an internet shopping business? “I wanted to buy a present for my then girlfriend,” says Vichet In, who is the founder and CEO of one of Cambodia’s first and most successful forays into e-commerce. In[...]

Over a million migrants have arrived in Germany in the past year. But could this inflow of new potential employees form the basis of a new German workforce? The population of Europe’s largest economy is currently shrinking meaning in some industries there is a growing shortage of workers. Paul Henley investigates whether the new arrivals[...]

Peter Day chairs a discussion about the current low price of oil. He and his guests explore the reasons for the volatility in energy markets and examine the implications for the global economy.Producer Caroline Bayley

Norway isn't a member of the European Union, but does business with the EU. Is it a model for other countries? Jonty Bloom speaks to people working in a range of businesses - including Norway's vital fishing industry - and asks about the advantages and disadvantages of the arrangement. Produced by Ruth Alexander

In the Autumn of 2015 the German city of Munich found itself at the centre of Europe's refugee crisis. Everyday thousands of refugees arrived in the city seeking sanctuary. But what has been the effect on Munich's business community? Paul Henley has been to the city to speak to those companies benefiting from the huge[...]

A global industry is facing a staffing crisis, with tens of thousands of new recruits needed across Europe and the United States - yet many people would never consider the job, or even believe it's a job they could do. Why? Because it's truck-driving - an industry with an image problem, where the work is[...]

As the day when sanctions against Iran are lifted draws closer Global Business looks at the business prospects there for those inside, and outside, the country. Presenter, Caroline Bayley talks to Iranian entrepreneurs keen to see Western investment in their country and European companies eager to do business there. They discuss the needs of the[...]

Peter Day explores the rise of craft beer and how the big breweries are fighting back by buying up the competitionProducer: Rosamund Jones.

The revelation that Volkswagen cheated emissions tests is the latest in a line of scandals that have dented the public's faith in business since 2008's financial crisis. It was seen as a betrayal of trust. But just what is trust and how important is it in business? And, once it has been lost, can it[...]

The white collar worker has become a central figure in TV series and comic books in Japan. Ruth Alexander travels to Tokyo to explore the rise of the middle manager as cult hero, speaking to best-seller novelists, manga artists and TV directors about why the workplace makes such good drama.She finds out what the fictional[...]

Peter Day visits the Chinese city which makes most of the world's Christmas decorations

The former Barclays CEO, Antony Jenkins, talks to Kamal Ahmed

The executive personal assistant is a job that requires utmost discretion and an inbuilt ability to know what the boss needs before they need it. In an age where many administrative tasks are being delegated to computers, the human touch of the skilled executive assistant is gaining value in the corporate suite. Sathnam Sanghera finds[...]

Cremona in northern Italy is the original home of the Stradivarius violin and now - several centuries later - master craftsmen are still producing hand-made violins and exporting around the world. But how can such a niche industry survive in the modern world of mass production?

Peter Day asks whether companies really should still be built to last in today's hi-tech internet world. What are the characteristics of those that stand the test of time? Many do learn to change or even re-invent themselves while others, such as Woolworths, have disappeared altogether. In interviews with business leaders and entrepreneurs he discusses[...]

In some villages in rural China they're replacing the sounds of chickens and farm life with something very 21st century. In the village of Qing Yan Liu, four hours south of Shanghai, they've created a world of bubble wrap and sticky tape. The people here have embraced going online to become an internet shopping hub.[...]

China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Many Chinese dream of seeing blue skies and white clouds but rarely do because of the smog. Often the daily routine is to wake up and check the pollution levels to decide if it is safe for children to play outside, or if a filter mask[...]

Peter Day continues his reports from the drought stricken central valley of California. This week he visits two family farms. Both grow fruit and nut crops. Both reflect the central role of migration and water in Californian history. They were founded by incomers; one from Japan, the other Mexico. But that is where the similarities[...]

California has some of the world's most productive agricultural land. It puts fruit and vegetables on America's tables and exports huge amount of produce too; nearly all of the almonds we consume come from there. But the state is also enduring a severe drought, now into its fourth year. Farm land is being fallowed, farm[...]

For more than 150 years, Steinway and Sons have been building handmade pianos to please the ear of the most discerning musicians. Their sound fills concert halls around the world. Why? Is it simply because they're the best; the best marketed or is there another reason? Peter Day visits one of Steinway's two factories, in[...]

It would take an elephant balanced on the tip of a pencil to break through a sheet of graphene the thickness cling film. That's the description those promoting this new wonder material like to use to illustrate the strength of graphene. The atomic material was isolated by two scientists at Manchester University in 2004. Now,[...]

Who's your boss? Peter Day explores how three different companies, in three different countries, do business without managers. Who hires and fires? And how do you get a pay rise? He asks how these radical organisations emerged, and whether other companies may follow their lead. Producer: Rosamund Jones

Opera is an expensive art form. It receives millions of pounds of public money. Can that be justified? Peter Day gets a range of operatic experiences - from top opera companies, to pub performers and a country house summer festival. The first opera was performed 400 years ago in Italy; how does the future look?Producer:[...]

As the race to develop driverless cars hots up around the world, the UK is determined not to be left in the slow lane. Government money is being invested to help test vehicles and 'pods' over the next three years. It's not just the robotic technology which is being developed- building the trust of the[...]

Remarkable start-up stories of entrepreneurs from Saudi Arabia, Israel and New Zealand.

What exactly is economics? Science or art? An explanation of our society based on observable, demonstrable law or is it an attempt to systematise the unknowable: the mysteries of the human mind? Peter Day puts these questions to the economist and bestselling author of Nudge, Professor Richard Thaler, one of the founding fathers of behavioural[...]

As Dame Ellen MacArthur circumnavigated the globe she got first-hand knowledge of the finite nature of the world’s resources. When she retired from sailing she created a foundation to promote the concept of a 'Circular Economy' - where resources are re-used and waste reduced to zero. Many companies around the world - including some of[...]

Mohed Altrad was born in the Syrian desert, an orphan and in poverty. He does not know how old he is. He is now a French billionaire and he has just been chosen as Ernst and Young World Entrepreneur of the Year. In this week's Global Business he tells Peter Day about his extraordinary story[...]

An International Labour Organization report ranked Colombia second globally for the percentage of women in middle and senior management positions. Peter Day investigates why Colombian women have managed to advance in business and whether the figures are a true reflection of life for women in a country known for its machismo culture.

Over the past decade the Colombian city of Medellin has changed its reputation from murder capital to model of innovation. Peter Day investigates how the city’s transformation led by its public institutions might have lessons for other cities struggling with violence and poverty.

Medellin used to be one of the most dangerous cites on earth; with a reputation for kidnapping and murder, as well as a thriving drugs trade. Now Colombia's second city has become a top global tourist destination. Peter Day reports on a remarkable transformation.

New York City has its own Silicon Alley and Manhattan is fast becoming a hub for high tech start ups. Peter Day talks to the entrepreneurs trying to make it in the Big Apple by taking advantage of the brain power no longer locked up in banks and the advances faster and smarter computers can[...]

One of the most famous computer systems in the world is called Watson, developed by IBM. It's best known in for beating two human contestants to win the American game show, Jeopardy. Watson may now be leading a revolution in 'machine learning'. Peter Day reports from New York City, fast becoming a high tech rival[...]

Immigration is one of the key issues of the General Election campaign. Peter Day asks businesses, big and small, what they think about immigration. How dependent is Britain on workers from other countries in Europe, and beyond? What impact have tighter visa restrictions for migrants from outside Europe had on British business?

As Dame Ellen MacArthur circumnavigated the globe she got first-hand knowledge of the finite nature of the world's resources. When she retired from sailing she created a foundation to promote the concept of a 'Circular Economy' - where resources are re-used and waste reduced to zero. Many companies around the world - including some of[...]

Businesses in Argentina say they suffer from too much red tape, rampant inflation and import restrictions. Middle class Buenos Aires residents say the cost of everyday goods in supermarkets makes life difficult. Peter Day hears from business leaders with innovative solutions and a former government minister tells him how he is saddened by the country’s[...]

The Information Technology department used to be a mysterious backroom operation, but has become the vital component of a successful company. With relentless technical developments businesses are facing a constant risk of their computer systems being past their sell by date. Peter Day explores how companies are wrestling with the increasing demands of keeping their[...]

Business commentator and social philosopher Charles Handy speaks to Peter Day about his new book, The Second Curve, and asks if we should all plan on reinventing ourselves in later life to take advantage of new trends, innovations and ideas that will affect the future world of work

The growing freelance and micro-business economy is explored by Peter Day. Why are so many people setting up on their own and will it be a decision they'll come to regret?

Innovation is hard work, says the British-born author and entrepreneur Kevin Ashton. He was a pioneer of what is now called the Internet of Things, adding communications ability to millions of objects through his insightful work with sensors.

Peter Day talks to Gary Hamel, one of the best known management gurus in the world.

Ttip: Peter Day asks how the world's biggest trade deal, currently being negotiated between the US and the EU, may effect business, employment, the environment and democracy.

Peter Day talks with the record breaking yachtswoman, Ellen MacArthur, and Unilever CEO, Paul Polman, about their work promoting the circular economy – where resources are reused and waste reduced to zero and asks how businesses can put these ideas into practice.

Peter Day explores the future of money and payments and asks how "cashless" we may become.

Peter Day meets the vloggers who start off making videos in their bedroom and end up being courted by big brands. Can these new relationships disrupt the old ways of marketing?

New ways of doing business are making people think hard about how companies function. Peter Day hears how these alternative economies work, and what they might do.

Up in the air stuck in a metal tube for hours, can flying ever be a nice experience? Peter Day meets a clutch of British based experts trying to improve the way the world flies.

Random acts of kindness can help businesses grow in surprising ways. Peter Day talks with one woman who tells how the generosity of others made all the difference to her company.

Britain's cathedrals have defined the landscape for centuries but what's their role today? Peter Day hears about the business of running some of the country's most famous places.

Up in the air stuck in a metal tube for hours, can flying ever be a nice experience? Peter Day meets a clutch of British-based experts trying to improve the way the world flies.

On last week’s Global Business from the Drucker Forum we heard grim predictions for the future from management experts. This week we hear some younger, more optimistic voices.

Peter Day asks leading experts at the Drucker Forum how we can get out of the mess caused by the 2008 financial crisis and whether Capitalism is at breaking point.

Peter Day talks to companies affected by economic sanctions imposed against Russia, and by retaliatory sanctions imposed by Russia, and asks how they cope.

As Peter Day has been discovering, business people have much to learn from philosophers – whose insights could even boost a company’s profits.

Peter Day talks to the Professor Robert Cialdini, an expert in the scientific study of persuasion, about how little actions can make big differences in the way we live, work and shop.

They’re worth a staggering $5 trillion – and growing fast. Should we worry about the power of Sovereign Wealth Funds? Peter Day investigates

Insights from two home-grown marketing companies into a country emerging after decades of isolation

Peter Day meets the local entrepreneurs of the new Myanmar and discovers their priorities and pitfalls of doing business in an emerging economy

Peter Day travels to Myanmar, formally known as Burma, to find out how the country is trying to emerge from its undeveloped past into the modern interconnected world.

Peter Day ask Scottish entrepreneurs whether the referendum debate has changed the business landscape, in the run-up to the vote.

The internet creates the possibility of total recall forever for many of life's most significant moments. Peter Day talks to people building businesses around this new idea.

Peter Day visits Cremona in northern Italy to see how a centuries old centre of violin making can survive in a fast changing musical world.

Peter Days goes to Silicon Valley to discover the innovations that are promising to transform healthcare. Can the technology companies really help us live longer, healthier lives?

Can Silicon Valley's enormous success as the global centre of innovation continue indefinitely? Peter Day explores the Valley's past and present to find out about its future.

Peter Day reports on how the influence of UK motor racing is now reaching out into other businesses and our everyday lives inspired by the dramatic expertise of the pit-stop.

In the first in a three-part series about and from Silicon Valley, Peter Day talks to Steve Blank about a career path that has spanned several decades in the Valley.

Peter Day talks to business people who are being inspired by the great philosophers and finds out what company leaders can learn from their ideas and theories.

Peter Day talks with two authors, the business guru Lynda Gratton and the innovation expert Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg, about the benefits innovation can have for the company and for society and how to best let ideas flourish and grow.

Peter Day talks to Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank about the key issues facing the continent, which has some of the world’s fastest growing economies.

Peter Day hears from some of the leaders of tomorrow at the 44th St Gallen Symposium.

Modern living generates increasing amounts of packaging to wrap up the things we buy. That generates widespread criticism of an industry. Peter Day investigates.

Peter Day talks to Raghuram Rajan, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India

Modern living generates increasing amounts of packaging to wrap up the things we buy. That generates widespread criticism of an industry. Peter Day invetigates.

Rachel Botsman is a guru on the sharing economy. She coined the phrase ‘collaborative consumption’ and is the author of the influential book ‘What’s Mine is Yours’. In Global Business this week, Peter Day talks with Rachel about this movement: how it puts twentieth century consumerism in a whole different light, its economic implications for[...]

Manufacturers were banned by law from fixing retail prices 50 years ago, ushering in a revolution in British retailing. So what do prices mean now? Peter Day finds out.

Sharing your neighbour's car, tools and clothes: the sharing economy. But existing regulations and laws are set up for hotels and car hire companies, and that is causing problems.

What are businesses doing to reinvent the battery?

South Korea has gone through a huge transformation in the last sixty years. But as Peter Day reports it may be time for this driven country to change direction. Producer: Charlotte Pritchard

Amidst mergers, ebooks, and self-publishing the book business is in the throes of upheaval. From the London Book Fair Peter Day asks: Can books survive, and if so, how?

Peter Day looks at some of the big challenges facing cities around the world through the eyes of the people who tackle these problems for a living: engineers.

Cremona in northern Italy is the home of the Stradivarius violin and 280 years after the death of the venerated violin maker, Antonio Stradivari , the long tradition continues today. In some 150 workshops around the city dedicated craftspeople make several thousand violins a year and they sell at high prices. Peter Day asks what[...]

Peter Day reports from Britain's former steel capital, Sheffield, on what it takes for a manufacturing firm to survive and prosper in an intensely globalising world.

Peter Day reports from the Veneto region of Italy, where family owned businesses reach out to the rest of the world despite the economic turmoil at home.

John Howkins – Peter Day talks with John Howkins, an expert on the creative economy about how knowledge based industries are changing the way we live and work around the world.

South Korea has rapidly become one of the most advanced internet connected nations in the world, with the fastest connections. It is now thinking hard about a high technology future, investing in 5G or fifth generation mobile technology and robotics. Peter Day hears of their ambitious plans, and meets robots who might one day be[...]

Sixty years ago post war South Korea was one of the poorest nations on earth. Now it's one of the richest, and also one of the hardest working. Korean products are known all over the world. But --as Peter Day reports-- it may be time for this driven country to change direction.

Peter Day travels to Cork in Ireland to find out what life is really like in a country just recently realised from the constraints of an EU bailout.

The small spa town of Malvern is rapidly becoming a hub of science and innovation in the 21st century fight against cyber crime. Peter Day visits the historic town to find out why.

Peter Day asks how serious an option manufacturing in the UK is for the British fashion industry as retailers demand ever faster response times and costs rise abroad.

Peter Day investigates how much the music industry has changed in the past decade and asks how businesses, and musicians, have had to adapt as a result.

Peter Day talks with three experts in their fields about the trends that will be affecting our lives in 2014.

Pantomime time means weeks of lots of bums on seats for hardpressed theatres across the country. Peter Day goes behind the scenes in Nottingham.

Peter Day asks why office design has lagged behind the digital revolution and whether the days of the regular commute are finally drawing to a close.

Employers are now ultra sensitive to discrimination at work, but what does that mean for people with disabilities and the people they work with? Peter Day finds out.

Stories of business struggle and success – Peter Day interviews four country winners at the World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Monte Carlo.

The rich people of Newcastle live 11 more healthy years than the poor. Peter Day spends time at Newcastle University where they are trying to work out how to bridge this gap.

Peter Day learns more about global trends affecting one of the world's most precious resources: water.

Peter Day hears from Joe Pine about how his theory of mass customisation has developed and why many business still have to learn about what their customers really want.

Huawei, Shang Xia and Xiaomi may not be names you have heard of but they are examples of brands at the heart of key changes in the Chinese economy. Peter Day reports from China.

Zhang Ruimin transformed Haier from failing fridge manufacturer to one of the largest white goods companies in the world. He tells Peter Day how.

The music from Chairman Mao’s era and the sound of posh coffee being brewed are two very different ways to start the day in China. Peter Day explores two contrasting enclaves.

Peter Day argues that since he first presented In Business 25 years ago, the internet has led to a revolution that replaces mass production for mass markets with customised trading.

Peter Day talks to the author and economist Mariana Mazzucato who argues that the state has a huge part to play in bringing new goods and services to market.

The Chinese government plans to have 200 million graduates by 2020. But cracks in the plan are being shown by the class of 2013. Peter Day asks why these graduates can't find jobs.

In Peter Day's 25 years of presenting this programme, he has seen a succession of booms and busts, and heard from people who seem to know how to survive in business. He's been back to revisit a few of them, to find out what lessons they have learnt.

Techies are talking about the coming Internet of Things: 50 billion interconnected objects, from cars to coffee machines. Peter Day asks what it means and how it may happen.

Zambia has the potential to serve as a trade hub at the crossroads of southern Africa, but for now some truck drivers have to wait days to cross the border. How is the Zambian government hoping to change this? Peter Day reports.

Peter Day investigates the business use of what some call, with a shiver, drones. Could an unmanned aerial vehicle be delivering your pizza in the not too distant future?

Zambia is poised on the brink of success – so what key problems are holding the African nation back? Peter Day reports.

How come soft drinks can often be found in some of the most remote places in the world, but vital medicines are in short supply? Peter Day reports on a life-saving project.

Peter Day finds out about the concept of 'design thinking' and how designers are moving out of the lab and into the real world in some very unusual ways.

Peter Day explores the relationship between Commerce and Art in the seaside town of Margate. Will Turner Contemporary help to revive the town?

Peter Day talks to Scottish businessman, Sir Ian Wood, who tells us his fascinating story of transforming the family firm from a fishing company to a global energy services group.

A recent US Supreme Court ruling found that companies cannot patent things found in nature. Peter Day asks what this means for the biotech business.

Peter Day reports from Aberdeen where Britain's energy revolution began under the North Sea almost 40 years ago. Investment is up but production is down - so what's the future?

The Kenyan government has big plans to boost the country’s technology sector. Peter Day asks if they are feasible – and if will they deliver the growth the government wants.

Peter Day visits Nairobi’s high-tech incubators and talks to the innovators building on the success of the mobile money system M-Pesa.

The annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards brings together innovative talent from around the world. Peter Day talks to three of this year's winners to hear their start up stories.

Peter Day talks with economist and author Paul Ormerod about what is wrong with economics. Has keeping things too simple lead the world to the financial mess we are stuck in today?

Peter Day explores the new trend of Design Thinking to find out why it is becoming more important to the way organisations both public and private function.

Peter Day visits the Design of the Year Awards in London and finds how modern design is infiltrating many aspects of the way we live and work.

Peter Day attends the 43 annual St Gallen Symposium - a student organised gathering of business and political leaders - to hear about this year's theme: courage.

Peter Day hears from the pioneers of the rapidly-advancing world of digital manufacturing

The internet is fast becoming as important to firms as electricity or running water. Peter Day meets some of the broadband haves and have-nots in the business world.

Experts worry that Germany's economy is running out of steam. Where is German innovation, they ask and why do so few Germany universities rank among the world leaders?

Manufacturing is evolving for the 21st century. Peter Day hears from some pioneers in the field of digital fabrication about how it applies to the way we think about making things.

Peter Day asks a panel of experts how we ensure there is enough food to feed an expected world population of nine billion by 2050.

Millions of young people want to work but do not know where to find it. A clutch of them tell their stories to Peter Day, and a panel of experts.

Peter Day reports on controversial plans to dig for polyhalite - a type of potash that can be made into valuable fertiliser - underneath the North York Moors National Park.

Peter Day presents a debate about disrupting big finance at the annual Skoll World Forum.

Peter Day examines the rivalry between two Boston business schools - Harvard and MIT.

From next year a government-backed scheme will try to help ill people get back to work as quickly as possible. Peter Day finds out what's behind the changes, and why they matter.

The UK economy is in a quandry: employment is rising but the productivity of its workforce is not. Behind the numbers, Peter Day tries to explain this puzzle and why it matters.

Peter Day talks with the authors of the book Race Against the Machine and finds out what the rise of the robots is going to mean to all of our lives.

Peter Day talks to Anand Mahindra, the CEO of Indian group of companies Mahindra&Mahindra, about how M&M's story mirrors that of modern India, and how he led it to success.

India is attempting to give each citizen get an individual identity. It’s the world’s largest technological project. Peter Day investigates.

The Indian economy, once one of the world’s fastest growing, is stalling. This week’s Global Business examines the implications for the world’s largest democracy.

Japan is the fastest ageing country in the world. As Peter Day reports, this is putting a big strain on the country’s finances. Will the Japanese have to work long into old age?

As baby boomers turn 65, many countries are growing old. As Peter Day reports, this means big changes for the economy, healthcare, and our way of life.

Peter Day talks with the prominent investment manager Jeremy Grantham about managing progress in a world of finite resources.

Peter Day takes a walk through one street in Red Hook Brooklyn to find out how the community is recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Peter Day talks about business strategy with the former head of Proctor and Gamble, AG Lafley, and Dean of the Rotman School of Management, Roger Martin.

Peter Day travels to the British Midlands, the country's manufacturing heartland, to find out how businesses are coping with the New Normal, an economy with no growth.

Russia's giant energy company Gazprom has the biggest reserves of natural gas in the world, and much of the country's new-found prosperity has depended on its exports to Europe. But now global gas prices are tumbling as new supplies come on stream, and the EU has launched a top level investigation of the company's grip[...]

Leave college, start a business. That is the idea behind a high-powered new project called Entrepreneur First, taking 30 new graduates through the hazardous first stages of launching their own companies. Peter Day charts the progress of some of them … from initial idea to plausible proposition, and beyond. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Jeremy Skeet

After years of promise, voice recognition is at last becoming a significant method of using computers and accessing the Internet. Why now, and what difference does it make ? Peter Day talks to the companies at the forefront of developments in the field (including Massachusetts-based Nuance, one of the largest makers of voice recognition technology),[...]

Peter Day talks to three experts from the field of trends, technology and leadership to find out what we will be hearing about in 2013.

Random acts of kindness can help businesses grow in surprising ways. Peter Day talks with one woman who explains how the generosity of others has made all the difference to her company. Henrietta Lovell, the Rare Tea Lady, started her firm just before becoming seriously ill. Through the kindness of strangers she has managed to[...]

Random acts of kindness can help businesses grow in surprising ways. Peter Day talks with one woman who explains how the generosity of others has made all the difference to her company. Henrietta Lovell, the Rare Tea Lady, started her firm just before becoming seriously ill. Through the kindness of strangers she has managed to[...]

Britain's venerable Cooperative movement is 168 years old, and now it is poised to turn itself into a major force in banking. But what is the Co-op's appeal to 21st century consumers? Peter Day reports. Producer: Lesley McAlpine Editor: Jeremy Skeet

Big problems loom over the pharmaceutical industry which influences so many people's lives. Giant corporations are beset by scandal and their pipelines of new treatments are running dry. Peter Day looks at the future of the industry through the eyes of two Swiss pharma companies, one very big and one of them tiny. Both are[...]

Peter Day visits businesses struggling with slow web speeds and evaluates the government's ambitious targets to increase internet speeds across the UK within three years. Producer: Mike Wendling Editor: Jeremy Skeet

Turkey is rethinking its’ geographical position in the world. In the second of his programmes on Turkey, Peter Day looks at the country’s new business and diplomatic relations with its neighbours in the Middle East and Africa in the light of decades of so far unsuccessful negotiations to join the European Union. Producer: Julie Ball[...]

Big problems loom over the pharmaceutical industry which influences so many people's lives. Giant corporations are beset by scandal and their pipelines of new treatments are running dry. Peter Day looks at the future of the industry through the eyes of two Swiss pharma companies, one very big and one of them tiny. Both are[...]

Peter Day reports from Turkey which is fast developing into a significant economic power. In the past two years, growth has reached 8% on a par with the economic might of China. How have they done it and can it be sustained. Join Peter Day on Global Business to find out. Producer: Julie Ball Editor:[...]

Every city wants to become a high technology business hub, but ambitious entrepreneurs from all over Europe are rushing to set up shop in Berlin. So-called Silicon Allee is fast becoming a start-up rival to Silicon Roundabout in London. Peter Day finds out why. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Jeremy Skeet

Peter Day reports from the New York City borough of Brooklyn, that used to be the city’s industrial heartland, and home to companies like the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Brooklyn’s manufacturing base has been in long-term decline, but now artisan start-up companies are making the borough hip again, and bringing new employment. Ironically, some are housed[...]

Peter Day travels to the Midlands to find out how beleaguered manufacturers are coping with the most difficult economy in decades. The region used to be the metal bashing heartland of the country but now manufacturers, service providers and entrepreneurs starting their own companies are all struggling to find a way to keep profitable in[...]

Every city wants to become a high technology business hub, but ambitious entrepreneurs from all over Europe are rushing to set up shop in Berlin. So-called Silicon Allee is fast becoming a start-up rival to Silicon Roundabout in London. Peter Day finds out why. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Jeremy Skeet

Peter Day asks how you create a high technology hub exploding with entrepreneurial activity. In other words how do you replicate Silicon Valley in the United States, elsewhere in the world? He asks whether there is a secret sauce to a successful hub. In this programme he discusses the development of hubs in London, Israel,[...]

With innovation there are often unseen consequences. Managing what is expected and what isn't can make or break business leaders. This week Peter Day discusses the idea of the innovator's dilemma with celebrated business thinker Harvard Professor Clayton Christensen.

Peter Day talks to the US enterprise teaching young school students to be entrepreneurs. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Jeremy Skeet

This week in Global Business, Peter Day is getting fashionable. He talks to 3 family owned companies one as famous for its campaigns as its brightly coloured sweaters, the second for its warm coats and the third is hoping to achieve global brand status from its Colombian home. Join Peter Day as he talks to[...]

Cries have gone up from all corners of the working world that things have got to change, that capitalism is broken and that the system can’t go on in the same ways as before. Calls for change are coming from every direction. This week in Global Business Peter Day talks to some twenty first century[...]

Public spending cuts are putting a big squeeze on orchestras all over the world. Peter Day hears how musicians are trying to find new ways of ensuring that the bands play on. Producer: Ben Crighton

The Banking bubble in Iceland not only created a bust but it also took many of the bright young brains into its institutions. But when the banks crashed the jobs disappeared and this has now created a growing entrepreneurial sector. On this week’s Global Business, Peter Day meets some of the entrepreneurs who are creating[...]

It is less than four years since Iceland was plunged into financial disaster. But now country is growing again. Peter Day finds out whether Iceland's speedy recovery has lessons for the other countries engulfed by the European crisis. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day talks to three experts about a new wave of companies with multinational ambitions springing up from the developing world. Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In 2008 Iceland's three main banks went bust plunging it into financial disaster. In Business reported on the crash in early 2009. Three years later Peter Day returns to Iceland to look at, what many see as its remarkable recovery. New banks have risen out of the ashes of the old, tourism and fishing are[...]

Short of cash to start a business? More and more people are using the Internet to get customers or would-be investors to make their projects happen. Peter Day reports. Producer: Michael Wendling Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Amid economic turmoil and diminished public trust businesses are coming under great pressure to change the way they work. Peter Day hears from some of the disrupters who think need companies need to embrace radically different ideas to survive. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Britain is getting a new port on the River Thames near London, the first for many years. When London Gateway opens next year, it will be able to handle several million containers a year. Peter Day asks what impact this vast undertaking is likely to have on the way the country works and on the[...]

Public spending cuts are putting a big squeeze on orchestras all over the world. Peter Day hears how musicians are trying to find new ways of ensuring that the bands play on. Producer: Ben Crighton Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel and the dirtiest. With insatiable demand from growing emerging economies, it's here to stay. Peter Day asks if coal can ever go green. Producer: Arlene Gregorius Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Short of cash to start a business? More and more people are using the Internet to get customers or would-be investors to make their projects happen. Peter Day reports. Producer: Mike Wendling Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel and the dirtiest. With insatiable demand from growing emerging economies, it's here to stay. Peter Day asks if coal can ever go green. Producer: Arlene Gregorius Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In the second of two parts on the rapidly developing business of mobile gaming, Peter Day is in conversation with writer Naomi Alderman and Adrian Hon, co-founder of games company Six to Start. They talk about how they took advantage of powerful phone technology to make the fitness chase game Zombies Run!, and they give[...]

There's a new boom in English sparkling wine. It is taking on Champagne and (sometimes) beating it. But what's behind the bubbles? Peter Day finds out from some of the top English growers ... and a select group of world wine experts on a pioneering trip into unknown territory. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day looks at the business of mobile gaming and how smart phones have opened up huge new markets for the industry. Including an interview with Mikael Hed of the Finnish company, Rovio, whose Angry Birds app has become a global phenomenon, with over a billion downloads. Also featured on the programme are Silicon Valley[...]

Britain is getting a new port on the Thames, the first for many years. When London Gateway opens next year, it will be able to handle several million containers a year. Peter Day asks what impact this vast undertaking is likely to have on the way the country works and on the port's competitors. Producer:[...]

As the euro struggles for survival, continental businesses are caught up in the crisis. Peter Day asks what they make of their plight and what sort of future they see for the single currency and the euro zone. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Japan is ageing faster than anywhere else, and the population is shrinking. 2012 is the crunch year as many of their baby boomers reach retirement age. How will Japan manage an economy where their healthy pensioners might survive at least another 20 years and younger citizens don't seem to want to have children? So how[...]

Peter Day reports from the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Summit, where he meets two entrepreneurs, one German, one Portuguese, who saved their respective family businesses from failing. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

As the euro struggles for survival, continental businesses are caught up in the maelstrom. Peter Day finds out what they make of their plight and what sort of future they see for the single currency and the euro zone. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day finds out more about entrepreneurship in Africa by talking to three entrepreneurs who are tapping the continent’s vast potential. Producer: Michael Wendling Editot: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day finds out more about entrepreneurship in Africa from two men who took over failing local banks and turned them into leading financial institutions. Producer: Michael Wendling Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Japan has a very strict corporate culture which has been in place since World War II. In the 1970's and 1980's when Japanese companies were world beaters and manufacturing processes like 'just in time' were revered across the world companies like Sony and Nissan became household names. The world has moved on but Japanese corporate[...]

Peter Day talks with Anne Glover, an expert in spotting companies which excel at the process of frugal innovation and asks what this trend means for spotting successful ideas around the world. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day looks at the investment possibilities of diaspora bonds and how well off expatriates are trying to improve lives back home. Editor: Stephen Chilcott

This week Global Business is in Japan, a country that is growing old fast. In addition it’s population is shrinking too. Peter Day reports on Japan’s plans for dealing with the problem. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

The art of selling goes back centuries and can be the difference between a company surviving or dying on the vine. Peter Day talks with author Philip Delves Broughton about how people often don't understand the basics of making a sale and how fundamentally important it is in all walks of life. Producer: Sandra Kanthal[...]

The global Big Four accountancy groups are under sharp scrutiny from the authorities in Britain, Europe and the USA. Peter Day finds out why they are getting such close official attention … and why it matters to the rest of us. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day talks with the former CEO of Ikea about how the company's new ideas changed the way we all think about design and the impact it has on all our lives. Flat packs are now a standard feature in furniture shopping but how can the Swedish company which taught us how to assemble our[...]

The global Big Four accountancy groups are under sharp scrutiny from the authorities in Britain, Europe and the USA. Peter Day finds out why they are getting such close official attention ... and why it matters to the rest of us. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Stephen Chilcott

The Lancashire cotton industry, in the north of England, was at the heart of the world's industrial revolution and the main engine of the British economy. Peter Day finds out how it struggles to survive. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In the second of two reports from China, Peter Day looks at private financing. Until now a somewhat grey area of the financial market but crucial to the growth of their small and medium business enterprises. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Britain's big four banks are being challenged by newcomers. Peter Day asks what new arrivals on the high street have to do to prize loyal customers away. Producer: Lesley McAlpine Editor: Stephen Chilcott

This week on Global Business Peter Day reports from China where political strife is in the news. But behind the headlines cracks are appearing in the country’s long economic boom. Or is it just business as usual? Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Big companies may have lots to learn from the cheap and cheerful improvisation which is commonplace in the developing world, particularly India. Peter Day discovers some of the secrets of what is now being called Frugal Innovation. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day hears about 'reverse innovation' – innovation that is adopted first in the developing world. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In the 19th century the Lancashire cotton industry was at the heart of the world's industrial revolution and the main engine of the British economy. In the 20th century it started a long decline. Today a few remaining textile manufacturers are finding ways of surviving huge global competition. Peter Day finds out how they are[...]

After 30 years of tearaway economic growth, there are fears that China may be rapidly slowing down, putting great strains on the system. Peter Day reports on the bursting of the great Chinese housing bubble and the pressures on private businesses, and wonders if the Year of the Dragon is going be about hard times,[...]

The last twenty years in Japan look to have been abject grey economic failure. It seems that successive attempts to restart he economy have not worked. But if you look around Tokyo it's a country that still appears very rich. So what is going on here? Peter Day attempts to find out by hearing two[...]

As the EuroZone struggles for survival, France remains at the heart of Europe. Peter Day finds out how French business is faring in an era of huge European uncertainty. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Stephen Chilcott

As Baby Boomers start turning 65, many countries are quite suddenly growing old. The trend means big changes for the economy, healthcare, social life … and a challenge to the assumptions by which we have lived life for the past two centuries. Peter Day explains why. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day hears from Umair Haque about a new set of business ideals.

The investment possibilities of the money the African Diaspora sends to their own countries. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day hears from Alan Moore author of No Straight Lines: making sense of our non-linear world and asks him 'what next' for the industrialised world. In his book he argues that the industrialised world is facing the combined problems of social, organisational and economic complexity. In this edition of Global Business he tells Peter[...]

Peter Day hears from innovators keeping things simple and looking hard at what people really need. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Reid Hoffman is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of LinkedIn and has just written a book called The Start-up of You. It’s described as ‘A blueprint for thriving in your job and building a career by applying the lessons of Silicon Valley’s most innovative entrepreneurs.’ In this edition of Global Business Peter Day hears[...]

The global pharmaceutical industry is facing some difficult strategic choices. As the costs of Research and Development rise, other more reliable revenue streams look increasingly attractive. In this edition of Global Business Peter Day hears from three leading industry insiders who share their visions for the future of the pharma business, discuss the focus on[...]

In this programme you can hear from the author Duncan Clarke. His new book, Africa’s Future: Darkness to Destiny: how the past is shaping Africa’s economic evolution, aims to show how we can only understand Africa’s destiny by uncovering its history. And talking to Peter Day he puts forward his unique reformulation of Africa's economic[...]

Peter Day hears from far-apart places where the wine industry is changing the global balance of supply and demand. He visits China, a country with a fast growing, newly wealthy, consumer market rapidly developing a taste for imported wine, and a new domestic wine industry of its own. And halfway around the world in Argentina,[...]

Alexander Schey is just 26, and in the garage of a fairly ordinary house in west London where he, and a few other fellow London students, built a battery powered electric car. Then, to raise awareness of their new battery management system, they drove along 25-thousand kilometres of the Pan American Highway. But this was[...]

If times are hard, why not set up your own business rather than try to find a job somewhere else? Peter Day hears from young entrepreneurs who think that one way of beating recession is to start from scratch. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In nearly every country in the world, there's one sector that everyone seems to think is in crisis: education. America produces legions of Nobel laureates and has the best universities in the world - and yet faces an epidemic of failing state-run schools. India churns out vast numbers of engineers ready for the modern economy,[...]

If times are hard, why not set up your own business rather than try to find a job somewhere else? Peter Day hears from young entrepreneurs who think that one way of beating recession is to start from scratch. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Global Business hears from two authors about their recently published books. Books which are not about the world’s current financial crisis. Robert Guest works for the Economist magazine in London and his book, Borderless Economics, reveals how migrant networks create wealth, spread ideas and foster innovation. And Jim Clifton, Chief Executive of the Gallup polling[...]

In these tough times, are there better ways of doing business: worker cooperatives, for example? In crisis-battered Spain, Peter Day visits the world's biggest worker coop in Mondragon, to find out what makes it different. And, in the UK where the cooperative movement began, will 2012, designated the year of the cooperative see the rise[...]

It started off as a nice pat on the back for exceptional work. But then the bonus became some people's primal motivation first in the financial markets in the City of London, then in big business, and then in the way public services are run too. Peter Day traces the rise and rise of the[...]

In nearly every country in the world, there's one thing that everyone seems to agree is in crisis: education. America produces legions of Nobel laureates and has the best universities in the world - and yet faces an epidemic of failing state-run schools. India churns out vast numbers of engineers ready for the modern economy,[...]

It’s that time of year when Mark Anderson tells us which way the technology winds are blowing in the USA and he joins Peter Day for this edition of Global Business. Mark is a technology commentator and his trend spotting emails are subscribed to by some very influential people in the high tech industry. At[...]

It's the perfect time of year for a celebratory gin-and-tonic, and these days the tipple raised at Christmas may well have been made in London. After centuries of decline, the capital's distilling industry is picking up again, fuelled by small-scale producers and European rules changes that recognise 'London dry gin' as a distinct drinks category.[...]

It's the perfect time of year for a celebratory gin-and-tonic, and these days the tipple raised at Christmas may well have been made in London. After centuries of decline, the British capital's distilling industry is picking up again, fuelled by small-scale producers and European rules changes that recognise 'London dry gin' as a distinct category[...]

The American business guru Joe Pine thinks we have moved into an era of what he calls "Infinite Possibility". Peter Day finds out what he is talking about and what the ideas mean for conventional 20th-centuy-style corporations. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In this week’s Global Business Peter Day is back in Havana, Cuba for the third and final programme in this short series. This week he’s looking at the economic and social changes taking place since Raul Castro took over as President. Will they work? Peter Day reports. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

After 53 years of revolution, President Raul Castro is trying to change the state-controlled Cuban economy with moves to promote private employment, and an open market in second hand cars and home. Peter Day reports from Havana on an island where in many ways time has been standing still for half a century. Producer: Julie[...]

In this week’s Global Business Peter Day reports from Cuba in the second of three programmes on the Cuban economy. This week he is at the annual International Trade Fair speaking to some of the familiar industries associated with Cuba, Rum and Cigars as well as finding out how the economy has fared since the[...]

It started off as a nice pat on the back for exceptional work. But then the bonus became some people's primal motivation … first in the financial markets in the City of London, then in big business, and then in the way public services are run too. Peter Day traces the rise and rise of[...]

In the first of two programmes about Cuba, Peter Day reports from Miami. There are over 850,000 Cuban Americans in Florida more than half the total number in the United States. Peter Day talks to some of them about the reported changes taking place on the island and why some will never go back until[...]

Is there life after a sovereign debt default such as Greece is now facing ? Peter Day reports from Argentina, a country which went through a similar sort of crisis ten years ago. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Joe Pine's career as a business coach began at IBM when he brought business partners and customers into the development process of a new computer. Taking from this the lesson that every customer is unique, he wrote a book called Mass Customization on businesses that serve customers' unique needs. And later he would coin the[...]

As economic gales blow even harder, are there lessons to be learnt from previous recessions? Peter Day finds out from some veteran small business survivors. Producers: Sandra Kanthal and Mike Wendling Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Argentina is familiar with huge political, economic and social ups and downs, currency inflows and outflows, great wealth evaporating, unemployment soaring. But how does the country deal with huge uncertainties? In this edition of Global Business Peter Day continues his exploration of the Argentine recovery from the lows of the early 2000s, and takes a[...]

Nine years ago Peter Day visited Argentina at its lowest economic ebb. It had defaulted on its overseas debts. The country was in chaos with rampant unemployment and the banks had closed their doors to their customers, But today things appear better as a commodities boom raises Argentina’s boat. It was a crisis similar in[...]

Three businessmen tell Peter Day about doing business in Russia. William Browder was an investment fund manager in the country who campaigned, with some success, against corruption and left the country, having moved all his company’s assets out, in 2007. He tells Peter Day about his experiences. And two current directors of companies in Moscow[...]

When you buy a pair of trainers or that new mobile phone or laptop do you ever stop to think about the person on the other side of the world who made it? Many of them are in factories in China who live on site and work 12 hours a day with strict rules like[...]

Peter Day hears from Richard Florida, author of The Great Reset, who tells him about the patterns that will drive the next Great Reset and simultaneously reshape virtually every aspect of our lives — from how and where we live to how we work to how we invest in individuals and infrastructure, and how we[...]

Global Business hears from the man at the head of India's largest high tech organisation, Tata Consultancy Services - N. Chandrasekaran. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day visits a very unconventional business in the Basque country of Northern Spain. What can other businesses learn from the world's biggest worker cooperative in Mondragon? Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Hundreds of small companies have set up shop in East London. But could ‘Silicon Roundabout’ really rival Silicon Valley? Producer: Michael Wendling Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day returns to what was, until recently, a famous centre of excellence in the UK pharmaceutical industry. But now its owners, Pfizer, are closing it down. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day asks how safe is Cyberspace? Mobile phones and social Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have meant that we now readily give up personal information in public that not so long ago would have seemed intrusive. But this freedom is not without its’ downside. Threats to personal security and details as well as[...]

With big increases looming in the cost of going to university, the number of people choosing apprenticeships is rising fast. Peter Day finds what modern apprenticeship means …to apprentices and the companies who employ them.

Business leaders make a lot of fuss about corporate governance, but the scandals keep on coming. So, in this programme, Peter Day hears from some leading authorities and, with their help, makes a close inspection of two huge corporations that have been making headlines recently. Global Business asks: what does business mean when it talks[...]

Hundreds of small companies have set up shop in East London. But could ‘Silicon Roundabout’ really rival Silicon Valley? Producer: Michael Wendling Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In the past year several member countries of the European Union have been facing economic meltdown; Spain, Greece, Ireland. One country that is managing to buck the trend is Poland. In this week's Global Business, Peter Day is back in Poland reporting on the businesses that are fuelling the country's economic growth.

At a time of grave crisis, some of the world's top Nobel Prize winning economists have been meeting for a conference on an idyllic Bavarian island. Peter Day was there to find out if they had any ideas about how to get out of the mess we're in and what their predictions are for the[...]

As global economic confusion continues, maybe it is time to rethink the way the world works. Peter Day hears from three influential business gurus with change-making suggestions. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

How important is the brand today? Think of Apple, Coca-Cola, Burberry, Nike and the lifestyle choices they suggest. In this week’s Global Business, Peter Day talks to a man who shows CEO’s how to make the best of their brands and their companies. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In 1995, Peter Day visited India as it was just starting to take off, fuelled by deregulation and a huge pool of high-tech talent. He recently revisited the country to hear from the entrepreneurs who started the boom ... and the people who are setting up new businesses today. Producer: Mike Wendling Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day finds out more about 3D printing and its potential to revolutionise manufacturing. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Business leaders make a lot of fuss about corporate governance, but the scandals keep on coming. Peter Day asks what's wrong with the way companies are run. Producer: Ben Crighton Editor: Stephen Chilcott

3D printing may be poised to revolutionise the manufacturing industry. Peter Day asks if 100 years of mass production is running out of steam. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Stephen Chilcott

The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is closing most of its giant research facility at Sandwich in Kent, the place where Viagra was developed, putting two thousand science jobs at risk. Peter Day asks what the surprising decision means for an important UK industry. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In this week’s Global Business, Peter Day reports on the continuing crisis in the Eurozone. Whilst countries like Ireland, Greece and Spain are suffering some are managing to weather the crisis. Peter Day visits Spain and Poland two members of the European Union with very contrasting experiences of Europe. Producers: Julie Ball & Sandra Kanthal[...]

Three-D printing may be poised to revolutionise the manufacturing industry. Peter Day asks if 100 years of mass production is running out of steam. Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Bill Rhodes has worked with senior business leaders, statesmen, and strongmen and brokered immense financial deals while looking across the table at finance ministers. From these and other experiences, Rhodes has learned a lifetime of lessons about managing amid crises—and, more important, how to lead prudently, decisively, and effectively to prevent crises from ever happening[...]

The Euro crisis in Greece is creating effects that can be felt across the continent. Peter Day finds out how this turbulence is affecting businesses in Spain and Poland. Producers: Sandra Kanthal and Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day hears the success stories of internet entrepreneurs Brent Hobermann, Reid Hofman and Michael and Xochi Birch, founders of Lastminute.com, LinkedIn and Bebo respectively, as well as many other internet businesses. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Intellectual property sounds an innocuous enough idea, but patents and copyright have recently been stirring up a lot of strife. Peter Day finds out why copyright in particular is such a contentious issue in the Internet age. Producers: Sandra Kanthal & Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day is in Bangalore sixteen years after he first visited the city. He catches up with some of the people he met then, and discusses the changes they’ve seen. Producers: Richard Berenger & Mike Wendling Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In this week's Global Business, Peter Day is in St. Gallen, Switzerland where he hears from Dr. Eberhard Von Koerber, co-president of The Club of Rome. Established in 1968 this group of professionals from science, politics and industry, published their report 'The Limits to Growth', commissioned form a group of experts at Massachusetts Institute of[...]

In the aftermath of the credit crunch people are thinking about the way banks work, the way financial markets operate, and the values and purposes of the companies that use those markets. And some of the big management thinkers are beginning to put forward ideas that challenge many of the assumptions that have dominated the[...]

There is no reason why the words used in corporate communications should be pompous and jargon-ridden but that is how it often turns out to be. Peter Day goes into a huddle with a group of enthusiasts determined to improve the way business language works. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Paul Leinwand and Cesare Meinardi talk to Peter Day about their book - The Essential Advantage. It is an interesting thesis about core competence and how most companies don’t understand what they are actually doing. Global Business hears from them both about their ideas for turning companies around in difficult times and how management consultancy[...]

As the sovereign debt crisis continues what next for the Euro? What next for Europe? Peter Day asks the experts. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Information seems to be moving right to the heart of the 21st century economy but nobody really knows what it is or how it works. Peter Day talks to pioneers in the field of information management as well as corporate gatekeepers of this valuable commodity we call information to find out what advances are being[...]

Intellectual property sounds an innocuous enough idea, but patents and copyright have recently been stirring up a lot of strife. Peter Day finds out why copyrigtht in particular is such a contentious issue in the Internet age. Producer: Sanda Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In an age of high technology communications, two long-established companies in a single German city are still battling each other for supremacy in a global marketplace ... in pencils. In Nuremberg Peter Day asks Faber-Castell and Staedtler how they both stay sharp ... and finds out what light (and shade) they can throw on the[...]

There is no reason why the words used in corporate communications should be pompous and jargon-ridden but that is how it often turns out to be. Peter Day goes into a huddle with a group of enthusiasts determined to improve the way business language works. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

America’s space effort faces big upheavals as President Obama reigns in government spending and NASA is told to work in partnership with private enterprise. From the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida and the Mojave Desert, Peter Day asks what happens next on the USA’s journey into space. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

As pubs struggle to survive, Peter Day travels through villages in Yorkshire and Cumbria to talk to local activists and find out how easy it is to buy and successfully run one of the focal points for any community - the village pub. He looks at the successes and failures and asks whether sheer enthusiasm[...]

Charles-Edouard Bouée from strategy consultants Roland Berger tells Peter Day how Chinese management philosophy is quite different to that in the West. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Information seems to be moving right to the heart of the 21st century economy but nobody really knows what it is or how it works. Peter Day talks to pioneers in the field of information management as well as corporate gatekeepers of this valuable commodity we call information to find out what advances are being[...]

Peter Day is back in China to hear from some of the newcomers making a splash on the Chinese business scene. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

America's space effort faces big upheavals as President Obama reigns in government spending and NASA is told to work in partnership with private enterprise. From the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida and the Mojave Desert, Peter Day asks what happens next on the USA's journey into space. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day continues his look at the future of the world energy industry. And in this programme he hears more from three prominent figures in the oil industry: Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, former oil minister for Saudi Arabia, Daniel Yergin, author of The Prize, and Malcolm Brinded of Royal Dutch Shell. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor:[...]

In an age of high technology communications, two long-established  companies in a single German city are still battling each other for supremacy in a global marketplace ... in pencils. In Nuremberg Peter Day asks Faber-Castell and Staedtler how they both stay sharp ... and finds out what light (and shade) they can throw on the success[...]

Turmoil across the Middle East sent oil prices jumping and has raised big questions about the security of the energy supplies that have powered the world economy for the past 100 years. Peter Day investigates the future of oil and what the current upheavals might mean for other energy supplies. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen[...]

Brazil, Russia, Indonesia and China are the BRICs - the developing countries experts think are well on their way to the top of the world's economic league table. But now there's talk that the fourth most populous country, Indonesia, is heading there, too. From Jakarta, Peter Day finds out more. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen[...]

Peter Day has his 'thinking hat' on for this edition when he hears from two academics from the Rotman School of Management in Toronto, Canada. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Turmoil across the Middle East sent oil prices jumping and has raised big questions about the security of the energy supplies that have powered the world economy for the past 100 years. Peter Day investigates the future of oil and what the current upheavals might mean for other energy supplies. Producer : Sandra Kanthal Editor:[...]

Investment bankers are talking up Indonesia's chances of joining the BRICs nations. Indonesia's current main international significance is its exported raw materials: coal and oil and palm oil to China and other parts of Asia. But for this programme Peter Day has been hearing from two busy Indonesian women, both conservative Muslims, both mothers, who[...]

Brazil, Russia, India and China are the developing countries many experts think are well on their way to the top of the global economic league table But now there's talk that the world’s fourth most populous country, Indonesia, is heading there, too. Peter Day has been in Jakarta, the capital, to find out more. Producer:[...]

Peter Day hears from Lester Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute, about his new book "World on the Edge - How to prevent environmental and economic collapse".

New places are leaping to prominence in the pampered world of luxury. Peter Day hears from some of the people behind the extraordinary hunger for luxury in Asia. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

It's a long time since Britain ruled the maritime world, but ocean transport is still a vital activity in the UK and now wind and water power are making big waves around its shores. Peter Day takes the helm of a container ship to find out what British sea power means today. Producer: Jo Mathys[...]

The revolution in the operating theatre is only just beginning, but robotic surgery could change the way we think about healthcare ... and the way surgeons work. Peter Day looks at what surgeons are able to achieve with robots now and at the proto-types for healthcare in the future. He asks how significant these advances[...]

Peter Day hears from Chandran Nair, Management Consultant and Founder of The Global Institute for Tomorrow. Author of a book called 'Consumptionomics: Asia's role in Reshaping Capitalism and saving the planet.' In the book he argues that for years the engine of global capitalism has been fuelled by consumption … but that the world will[...]

This week on Global Business, Peter Day continues his reports from China this week looking at the country’s economic development …and what may happen next. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day makes a return visit to BYD in Shenzhen, in the Pearl River Delta to meet it’s founder, Wang Chuanfu the man with big ambitions to be the number one car manufacturer in the world by 2020. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

One of the world's most influential business professors thinks it is time for companies completely to redefine their relationship with society. Prof Michael Porter of Harvard Business School tells Peter Day about the radical changes in corporate operations and responsibilities he is calling for. Producer : Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

In the first of a short series of programmes, Peter Day reports from China. This week - the dispossessed. In the past 30 years China’s great economic modernisation programme has required many people to move – to provide a workforce for the thousands of factories producing goods for the global market and for big domestic[...]

It is a long time since Britain ruled the maritime world, and North Sea oil has peaked. But ocean transport is still a vital UK activity and wind and water power are making big waves around our shores. Peter Day takes the helm of a container ship to find out what British sea power means[...]

Britain's pharmaceutical giants invest millions in the search for better cures but has it worked? Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

The vast national urbanisation plan to take Chinese people out of poverty leaves behind many who are dispossessed of land and homes, or see their farms drowned by huge new water and power projects. Peter Day hears about some of the problems caused by China's rush for prosperity. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

The United States auto industry has just limped through the biggest industrial car crash in history. The Ford Motor Company has an industry outsider, Alan Mulally, at the helm as its new chief executive. He tells Peter Day how he changed the way Ford works and it is now back in the business of selling[...]

Peter Day hears a challenge to capitalism from one of the most influential business thinkers in the world. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Mark Anderson takes a look ahead at 10 of the key things he thinks will prove to be significant over the coming 12 months. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

New places are leaping to prominence in the pampered world of luxury. Peter Day hears from some of the people behind the extraordinary hunger for luxury in Asia. Producer: Sandra Kanthal & Neil Koenig Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day hears from the Chief Executive of Oxfam, Dame Barbara Stocking. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

As the Euroland crisis spreads from one country to another, In Business joins forces with The Report to examine what's happening and why it matters. The Report investigates the fallout from the Irish collapse on the British economy and then Peter Day is joined by a distinguished panel to discuss the future of the euro.

Why are they no really large not for profit organisations? Peter Day hears why from two Harvard Business School professors: Allen Grossman and Robert Kaplan. They argue that the non profit sector needs to adopt many of the features of the marketplace, so efficient organisations can grow, while less efficient ones dwindle, just like companies[...]

Britain's pharmaceutical companies have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in a search for new drugs and treatments which has not delivered the breakthroughs that were promised when the money was spent. It's a problem for the whole global industry, too. Peter Day asks if there are better ways of undertaking this quest for a[...]

Peter Day asks two expert witnesses to compare the two countries vying for the position of number one in the world economy: India and China. Is it a race, and if so, which of them will win? Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

The revolution in the operating theatre is only just beginning, but robotic surgery could change the way we think about healthcare ... and the way surgeons work. Peter Day looks at what surgeons are able to achieve with robots now and at the proto-types for healthcare in the future. He asks how significant these advances[...]

In the middle of a recession renewed economic growth is always considered the great panacea that will get us out of the mess we are in. However, is this really the way to tackle the problems of a finite world? Peter Day wonders if our reliance on growth is a snare and a delusion. Producer:[...]

In the middle of a recession renewed economic growth is always considered the great panacea that will get us out of the mess we are in. However, is this really the way to tackle the problems of a finite world? Peter Day wonders if our reliance on growth is not a snare and a delusion.[...]

The Singapore government is dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship. Peter Day takes a close look. Producers: Richard Berenger and Neil Koenig Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Peter Day hears about one of the world’s most buoyant movie industries from a someone right in the thick of it. Producer: Richard Berenger Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Many of us will pay a premium to live by water – whether it’s the sea, a river or a lake. It’s well known amongst property developers but Chilean entrepreneur Fernando Fischmann is unique amongst his peers in having discovered a technique to keep the water in lagoons clear and so attractive to live next[...]

In this programme Peter Day continues his investigation in to what makes a good chief executive. Leading an organisation is not an easy thing to do. And leading a 21st century organisation may be much more difficult than in the 20th century. “Globalisation” has led to the rise of new economies, new companies, striking new[...]

Global Business asks: are chief executives really up to the job in our top companies? Peter Day shines the spotlight on these much praised and vilified high profile leaders. Producer: Lesley McAlpine Editor: Stephen Chilcott

Outsourcing used to be something only big companies did to save money. Now small firms are learning how they can become global organisations from day one.

How do companies generate new ideas turn them into products? Peter Day hears from Professor Vijay Govindarajan. Professor Govindarajan tells him why established companies can innovate as well as start ups, and how they can implement ideas as well as generate them.

Huge hopes (and vast sums of money) are being pinned on the so-called Intelligent Grid: a new network of electricity systems feeding information about supply and demand across the grid all the time. Peter Day asks what's happening to our power supplies, and why. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

... comes what? Double dip or W-shaped recovery? Or something much more uncertain? Peter Day reports from the front line of indutsry. Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Stephen Chilcott

London-born Graham Hawkes is the man who has created a submersible vessel that flies through the deepest ocean like a plane. Peter Day reports from his workshop in California, where he wonders why space exploration makes decades of headlines while it is so hard to get backers for deepsea travel into a world no-one has[...]

Once upon a time, British computing led the world. In a mobile world, some people think it might be happening again. From Bletchley Park to Bristol, Peter Day reports on the past, present and future of computers UK. Producer: Julie Ball Editor: Stephen Chilcott

The story of the video company Ubisoft is pretty compelling ... five brothers in a small town in Brittany in the west of France rescued their parents’ ailing agricultural supply company by creating a new business based on the rudimentary computer games the brother splayed as teenagers in the late 1970s. Yves Guillemot, one of[...]

London-born Graham Hawkes is the man who has created a submersible vessel that flies through the deepest ocean like a plane. Peter Day reports from his workshop in California, where he wonders why space exploration makes decades of headlines while it is so hard to get backers for deep sea travel into a world no-one[...]