World Business Report

The US president's pick Stephen Miran is nominated to serve as governor of the central bank. Will he cut interest rates?The Italian fashion designer and billionaire brand owner Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91. We hear from his former employee.Is it the end of the illegally streamed sport programmes? We look at the closure of Streameast - the world’s largest illegal sports streaming site.You can contact us on WhatsApp or send us a voicenote: +44 330 678 3033.

The Indian government has announced massive tax cuts on items ranging from snacks and biscuits to electronic products and cars. But how will it affect the world's fastest growing major economy, and the businesses operating there? In the wake of Giorgio Armani's death at 91, Hannah Mullane speaks to author and writer Pauline Brown about what this could mean for his business empire worth more than US$7billion. Elsewhere, we discuss why Nigeria's banned the export of Shea butter nuts - which are used to make beauty products around the world - in a bid to make the trade more lucrative, while some exporters are worried it could have the opposite effect. And does a 4am morning routine make you more successful? The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.

Nationwide protests have swept Indonesia this week, sparked by anger over police violence and government spending.In Jamaica, parliamentary elections are taking place. Roger Hearing finds out what's on voters minds.A Chilean drinks company is locked in a legal battle with actor Pedro Pascal over its brand name, ‘Pedro Piscal’.And in the US, artwork once owned by Leonardo DiCaprio and linked to the 1MDB scandal is up for auction.

As government borrowing costs and debts rise around the world, we take a closer look at Japan, the UK and the US, and ask why? Hannah Mullane speaks to New Zealand's minister of immigration Erica Stanford as the Antipodean country plans to open up their housing market to foreign investors as part of a golden visa programme. Elsewhere we discuss how TSMC, the biggest semi-conductor producer making chips for electronic products, has become the latest company to face restrictions from the US government as it looks to limit China's access to American technology. And amid its tariff war with the US, we find out why some grocers in Canada have been ticked off for falsely labelling goods as Canadian. The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.

President Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump have visited central Texas today to survey where flash floods killed 120 people last weekend. As search teams continue to search for more than 160 people still missing, Mr Trump and his wife met families affected by the floods and first responders.Dr Sam Brody, Director of the Institute for Disaster Resilient Texas and a Professor at Texas A&M University discusses how disasters like this might be avoided in the future.Also on the programme, what impact could the 35% tariffs for Canada announced by Trump yesterday have on businesses there and why the post-covid trend of converting office buildings to homes is gathering momentum in New York.

The big event of 2021 that will shape economies all over the world for decades to come was the COP 26 climate conference in Glasgow in November. The meeting saw a deluge of promises, but what was actually achieved? Martin Webber speaks to Tim Gould, chief energy economist at the International Energy Agency and economist Irwin Stelzer, from the Hudson Institute in the United States.It was another boom year for the pharmaceutical industry as it crafted the vaccines that have saved so many lives. Of the 8 billion coronavirus vaccinations worldwide, one billion have been delivered by the US logistics company, UPS. We hear from Wes Wealer, President of UPS healthcare.And small business owners have had a bleak time for much of the past year. But many of those that have survived now feel optimistic. We hear from the owner of the Aroma speciality coffee shop in Bologna in Italy, Cristina Caroli, about her year.

Covid-19 is set to prompt radical long term changes to how we live and work, so what lessons can be learnt when we eventually emerge from the pandemic? Could the changes in the way we work herald higher productivity and happier people in the future?We hear the stories of the people who managed to thrive during a very difficult year, including the milkman who saw a boom in deliveries and the dancer who found work in South Korea when the London stage went dark.Martin Webber is joined by Professor Devi Sridhar who holds the Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh; economist Roger Bootle, of Capital Economics; Robert Reich, former Labour Secretary under President Clinton; Tomas Philipson, who was Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors under Mr Trump; and actor Thomas Inge who is currentl starring in the musical Cats in South Korea.