Business Daily

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

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

Covid-19 vaccine rollouts across the world demonstrate huge global health inequalities. Many countries in the global south are struggling to access one of the vaccines currently available around the world. That's despite a global facility called COVAX, set up under the auspices of the world health organisation, tasked with helping low and middle income countries access vaccines. While rich countries have accumulated extensive supply deals some countries may have to wait until 2022 or later before supplies are widely available. We hear from Mesfin Teklu Tessema, head of the Health Unit at the International Rescue Committee and Fatima Hussein, a human rights lawyer and founder of the Health Justice Initiative in South Africa. Plus Sir Mene Pangalos. the executive vice president of biopharmaceutical R&D at AstraZeneca which developed its Covid-19 vaccine in conjunction with oxford university and has made it available on a not-for-profit basis.(Photo: an Israeli healthcare worker prepares a dose of the covid-

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

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

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

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

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

When it comes to choosing a career, should you do what you love or learn to love whatever you do? A clip of Professor Scott Galloway of NYU Stern Business School saying "don't follow your passion" recently went viral. He tells us why you're better off finding something you're good at - and getting very good at it. Someone who did just that is Farid Gasanov. Instead of becoming a professional pianist and composer, he chose accountancy. But he now has his own firm and has time to compose pieces, and play them on the piano he has been able to afford.(Picture: Farid Gasanov playing his piano. Credit: Farid Gasanov.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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