The World of Business

Still in Business

24 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 sho...

Building Back Better

17 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Wine, Widgets and Brexit

10 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As Brexit talks between the European Union and the UK got under way earlier this year, before anyone was using the word “pandemic”, Caroline Bayle...

The Tree Trade

03 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Politicians keep promising more trees – seen as good for the environment and for fighting climate change. Trees are also big business sustaining vit...

The March of Robots

27 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Robots and Artificial Intelligence have been moving into our workplaces for years. But is now the time that they will become fully established and tak...

Black Business Matters

20 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sparked by the Black Lives Matter protests around the world that followed the death of George Floyd, companies are wading into the conversation on rac...

Keep up at the Back!

13 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The UK fitness industry employs twenty thousand people and is worth an estimated £5 billion to the economy. But - like most other industries - it shu...

The Gatwick Effect

06 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The coronavirus pandemic and the associated global economic lockdown have had a dramatic impact on businesses across the UK, perhaps none more so than...

The Jobs Challenge

30 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As the UK emerges from the coronavirus lockdown, millions of employees are still furloughed – either fully or part-time – with most of their salar...

Oil Shock 2020

24 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 b...

Adapt to Survive

14 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 h...

Economic Recovery in the USA

07 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With the highest Covid19 death toll in the world, and 26 million Americans claiming unemployment insurance, the US economy has taken a massive hit. Bu...

Economic lessons from pandemics past

23 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ar...

Working From Home

16 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Since the Covid-19 ‘lockdown’ began, vast numbers of people have been toiling away at home for the first time: converting living rooms and bedroom...

Could carbon offsetting save the world’s forests?

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Honey bees, cow dung and mulch - the company in Zimbabwe that is protecting the forests in order to offset carbon emissions. As Charlotte Ashton wrest...

Supply Chains vs Covid-19

02 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ruth Alexander examines whether the complex global web of supply chains can hold up under the enormous pressure of the coronavirus pandemic. Looking f...

Indonesia’s new capital

25 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is sinking, and struggling with traffic and pollution. The government’s solution? To build a new capital on the island...

Making fashion sustainable

23 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 syntheti...

Hydrogen: The answer to Climate Change?

18 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Is the UK up for sale?

16 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Australia’s Coalface

11 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Australia is stubbornly sticking to providing much of its power through coal. While many countries around the world are eschewing fossil fuels, (beca...

Zimbabwe's Food Crisis: Can Old Crops Fix New Problems?

09 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ha...

Germany’s Energy Transition

04 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Germany has long been considered a leader in renewable energy – a model even for others to follow with its subsidies for wind and solar. Householde...

Selling Britain

02 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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

Clean Cooking in Rwanda

28 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 conditi...

The Business of Beethoven

26 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"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...

The pub is dead! Long live the micropub!

05 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 smokin...

Keeping the Lights On

28 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

What is the value of women’s work?

26 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

Belarus: Harvesting the whirlwind

19 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The irradiated lands around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor were large, prosperous, and lively collective farms until the reactor exploded in 1986. Seve...

Can Liberian rubber bounce back?

12 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

How Politics Broke up with Business

29 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Flying Green

19 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

The Business of Clicks

08 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

India’s fashion industry

07 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 l...

Managing Volunteers: Free and Easy?

29 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 c...

Berries Galore!

06 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 wa...

Who are Huawei?

29 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Chinese technology company, Huawei, is the world’s biggest supplier of network telecoms equipment, and with a research budget of up to $20 billion, ...

Business Making an Impact

22 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Climate-change scientists have warned that the clock is ticking, environmental campaigners are blocking the streets, but until now the world of busine...

The Berlin Airport Fiasco

15 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

One thing Germany does well, you might assume, is infrastructure and transport. Think again. For Global Business on the BBC World Service, Chris Bowlb...

Plastic Backlash: The Business Response

23 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The last eighteen months have seen a global public backlash against plastic. Everyone talks about the huge impact that Sir David Attenborough and the ...

Guyana: Getting Rich Quick

18 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Getting Hired

02 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

Green Shoots: growing food in UAE’s deserts

25 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 incre...

Behind the Facades

18 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 reshap...

The Irresistible Rise of eSports

11 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 stadiu...

A Tale of Two Towns

04 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 Stronge...

Portugal’s Ocean Economy

09 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Light Bulb Moments and How to Have Them

02 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Uruguay: the World’s Marijuana Pioneers

23 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Brexit: Germany Gets Ready

16 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Hungary’s “Slave” Law

09 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hungarian politicians have been the focus of protest since they passed what many have called a “slave law” last December. This legislation allows ...

Koreans in South Africa

26 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Chinese have long been involved – sometimes controversially - in Africa. But there’s another Asian economic powerhouse that is doing business ...

Beyond the Barbed Wire - Cyber Security in the UK

17 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Potholes - the road to the future

10 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 soci...

Home Truths

03 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Does the house building industry need to change? Manuela Saragosa meets the disruptors, the companies trying to transform how the vast majority of res...

On the Rails

27 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a challenging year on Britain’s railways with timetable chaos, over-running engineering works, cancelled trains and irate passengers, no...

Selling Sleep

20 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Golden Opportunity

13 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Will life sciences lead Britain towards a new economic future? Brexit's causing uncertainty. But as Ruth Alexander discovers, there's a dynamic 'golde...

The Business of Tutors

06 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Caroline Bayley delves into the booming industry of private tutoring.

Are Freeports the Future?

29 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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

Changing Realities

24 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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

Global Business: How Free are Hong Kong’s Media?

23 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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

The US Media: “Enemies of the people?”

10 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

With the media in the United States facing a period of unprecedented challenge - technologically, editorially and politically, Chris Bowlby travels to...

Is Tunisia’s Media Freedom in Danger?

03 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Recrafting Serbia's Economy

20 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 re...

Colombia’s Coffee Revolutions

13 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 rur...

Retail's AI Revolution

27 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Will artificial intelligence change how we shop and decide which retailers succeed? Senior retail executive, Jeremy Schwartz, meets chat bots, robots ...

On the Trade War Frontline

20 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As international trade tensions escalate, the US state of Wisconsin is a fascinating place to discover the consequences. Specialist producers like Wis...

How Sex Toys Became Sexy

06 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 produc...

Soft Power Seduction: China Lures Taiwan's Youth

23 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

Retiring Retirement

16 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Life expectancy is going up, pensions are declining. Meanwhile the official retirement age has been abolished, while the age at which you can draw you...

Banking on Change?

09 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 banki...

Failures, Flops and Flaws

06 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of new consumer products are launched every year, and most end in failure. These flops are rarely discussed, and quickly forgotten. The Muse...

Has Taiwan Lost Its Roar as an “Asian Tiger” Economy?

28 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Once known as a hugely successful " Asian Tiger" economy built on hi-tech manufacturing, Taiwan's recent economic growth has been relatively sluggish,...

The Neopolitan Tech Experiment

07 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Can tech entrepreneurs revitalise Southern Italy’s failing economy? Manuela Saragosa visits Naples – which has seen a huge exodus of its talented ...

Our 5G Future

23 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In just a couple of years, the fifth generation mobile network will be available. Like previous generations, 5G will offer consumers greater speed and...

Pop for Export in South Korea

16 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 - ...

How Much is Your Rubbish Worth?

24 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When you throw away rubbish, it can create an environmental problem – or a business opportunity.Your old newspapers, tin cans and plastic bottles ar...

Out of Office: The Rise of the Digital Nomad

03 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 an...

Confronting Sexual Harassment

26 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sexual harassment at work has become “normalised” according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. A recent UK survey by polling company Com...

The Economic Impact of America's Opioid Epidemic

12 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

Ireland's Brexit Challenge

09 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

The Global Trade Referee

07 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 critica...

Kenya's Basic Income Experiment

31 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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. ...

Belarus' Tractor Town

24 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 dow...

The Fish Farming Revolution

10 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 trav...

Can Frankfurt become Europe’s new financial capital?

03 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Putting the Fizz Back into Catalonia’s Cava

24 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 Ch...

The Transparency Detectives

25 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Many fees and charges in the investment industry - which, among other things, manages vast pension fund wealth - have been hidden for decades. Lesley ...

Mental Health at the Workplace

28 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Tanzania’s Second-hand Trade War

16 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Second-hand fashion is big business in Tanzania. Every year, it imports millions of dollars-worth of used clothes from richer nations and many ordinar...

Ryanair - a Change of Direction?

14 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 f...

Electric Cars

09 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

There is a motoring revolution underway: the fast accelerating switch from petrol and diesel cars, to electric vehicles. In Norway, almost 40% of new ...

Putin's Park

02 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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...

What Keeps the Chancellor Awake at Night?

30 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Diversifying Russia's Economy

25 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 ex...

American Jobs: The Ties that Bind

18 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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-compet...

Starting Up in Bulgaria

11 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Uganda’s Refugee Entrepreneurs

04 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...