Business Daily

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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