Business Daily

We look at the record-breaking sale of the Los Angeles Lakers which has just been approved by the board of the NBA - or National Basketball Association.The Buss family had owned the team since 1979.The new majority owner of the franchise is TWG Global CEO Mark Walter.Mr Walter also has a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers, the professional US baseball team that won the World Series last year, as well as investments in Chelsea FC.Produced and presented by Guy Kilty Edited by Helen Thomas(Image: Los Angeles Lakers star player LeBron James drives to the basket during the game against the Utah Jazz during the game on 23 November 2025. Credit: Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

Can Europe be weaned off cheap chocolate? EU efforts to block cocoa linked to deforestation were due to come into force at the end of this year – but have faced multiple delays. Another vote is due to take place soon. Some parties are pushing for further delay and modifications, but others are keen to see the rules come into force as planned. They apply to a number of raw materials, including cocoa. There’s a big challenge facing the world’s biggest market for chocolate: balancing sustainability goals and the price consumers are willing to pay. If you'd like to get in touch with Business Daily, you can send us an email at businessdaily@bbc.co.uk Presented and produced by Hannah Bewley Additional reporting: Matthew Kenyon (Picture: Close up of three cocoa beans hanging from a cocoa tree. Credit: Getty Images)

It’s one of the biggest human trafficking operations of modern times. Scam centres across South East Asia have been making hundreds of billions of dollars annually, it’s estimated, conning people into fake crypto-currency investment schemes. But now these centres could be coming under threat, with both military and legal moves by global enforcement challenging their apparent impunity.Presented and produced by Ed Butler(Picture: An aerial photo showing the KK Park complex in Myanmar, taken in September 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

Peru is home to Machu Picchu - the ancient Inca city in the Andes mountains. It's one of the seven wonders of the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The popular tourist destination attracts millions of visitors, making it very lucrative for the government, local and international businesses.But Machu Picchu is in trouble. Social conflicts, fights over who benefits from the money being made through ticket sales and transport are just some of the problems its facing. Jane Chambers visits Peru to find out what's going on and if there are other local sites for tourist to visit instead.Produced and presented by Jane Chambers Editor: Helen Thomas(Image: A group of tourists waves while leaving on foot due to a protest by residents in Machu Picchu on 16 September 2025 over which bus company should run the local route. Credit: Getty Images)

In the second of our two-part series on tightening aid budgets, Sam Fenwick explores what shrinking donor support means for global health — from the sudden halt to major US-funded projects, to the pressure on low-income countries to increase their own health spending.As G20 leaders gather in Johannesburg for the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment Summit, we hear from Zambia’s minister of commerce on how his country is trying to plug the aid gap through investment in critical minerals, and from Peter Sands, head of the Global Fund, on why he believes wealthy nations must keep funding global health even as more countries take on greater responsibility for their own systems.With global aid budgets under strain, we examine what’s at stake at today’s summit — and what the future of funding for essential health programmes might look like.Produced and presented by Sam Fenwick(Image: An anonymous woman looks out over her local fishing community near the Zambezi River in Zambia. Credit: Action Aid)

We examine the fallout from the cuts to US foreign aid.We meet projects in Rwanda and Nepal that were close to shutting down - and hear the story of a mystery donor who stepped in to keep them going. But how long will the support last? Presented and produced by Sam Fenwick (Image: Beatha making soap in Rwanda as part of one of the projects funded by USAID. Credit: Village Enterprise)

One of world sport's biggest rivalries gets underway this week, with England and Australia going head to head in the Ashes. Most matches will last around four or five days, but it's actually the short form of the game that is growing the fastest - and bringing in big audiences and revenues. The IPL or Indian Premier League, has recently been valued at $18.5bn - that's a T20 format played over a few hours. So has the sport now changed irreversibly? And does the longer form of the game have a future?Presenter: Will Bain Producer: Matt Lines(Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli, along with his former teammates AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, celebrate with the trophy after winning the Indian Premier League T20 final in June 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

We speak to the tech executive leading Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc. Sundar Pichai gives us his take on the 'AI bubble', saying no company is immune if the bubble bursts on the "irrational elements" of the boom. He says AI will cause "social disruption" for jobs, even replace CEOs, and says people will have to adapt. Is the world ready?If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Faisal Islam Producers: Priya Patel, Elisabeth Mahy, Hannah Bewley(Picture: Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. Credit: Getty Images)

After the collapse of a landmark deal, with opposition from both the US and Saudi Arabia, we hear from those in the industry. What's next for a sector responsible for 3% of global emissions?We also find out what it means for shipping's path to net zero. And ask whether technology and innovation are the answer. Presenter: Will Bain Producer: David Cann(Image: A cargo ship loaded with foreign trade containers heads towards Qingdao Port in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China, on 5 November 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

As war becomes more high tech than ever, artificial intelligence companies are making software which is increasingly being used on the battlefield. Will Blyth served in the British military as an army major and has used this experience to build his own company, connecting hardware systems from different manufacturers deployed by armed forces.Presented and produced by Rob Young(Picture: Will Blyth. Credit: Arondite)

From Ukraine and Russia to Gaza and Sudan, drones have become a key weapon of war. Which companies are making them, and profiting from this rapidly expanding but controversial sector within the defence industry? We hear from a woman in Ukraine who used to own a flower shop in Kyiv, but who is now making drones to send to the front-line; and we hear from a Russian who left his homeland as a teenager and now, from Australia, is developing the technology that helps protect Ukraine from Russian attack. And a former Norwegian paratrooper tells us how he can help protect soldiers from drones. Produced/presenter: Gideon Long(Photo: Participants in the 'Wild Drones' tournament, organised by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the city of Kamianets, Ukraine, 5 October, 2025. Credit: Maria Senovilla/EPA/Shutterstock)

The superfan culture involves doing everything you can to be closer to your idols - often through concerts, merchandise, and streaming support.And now oshikatsu is being praised by some economists for helping pull Japanese retail sales out of a long slump. Figures suggest the role of fan purchasing power has boosted Japan’s annual retail turnover by 2%. But what is so different about the way of supporting our heroes that has created such growth?Produced and presented by Rick Kelsey(Image: Anime and game fans attend the 105th ComicMarket Show in Tokyo, Japan, December 2024. Credit CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

We find out whether new rules could allow it to move away distance itself from previous accusations of "greenwashing" and fraud? There have been previous false starts for a system which in theory allows for companies and countries to offset their carbon emissions by paying for projects which reduce or mitigate emissions elsewhere. But new UN legislation - which has been a decade in the making – now clarified and ready for use those in the sector hope that the next few years will prove fruitful for the industry. However, questions remain about whether overall the system will help to reduce global emissions. Produced and presented by Hannah Bewley(Image: Renwick Drysdale, managing director of akre)

As the country shifts away from fossil fuels, thousands of homes and businesses have been left on waiting lists to connect to its electricity grid. Has the Netherlands moved too fast in its switch to renewable energy, like solar, wind and hydropower?Some commentators are calling it a “grid crisis” – so, could this affect economic growth?If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, you can email us at businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by John Laurenson(Picture: A line of wind turbines in a field in the Netherlands. Credit: Getty Images)

Tim Brown is a former footballer who went on to co-found Allbirds, a billion-dollar brand known for its woollen shoes. We hear how Tim balanced his passions for football and shoe design, while growing up in New Zealand.The challenges that came when making a career changeAnd how his brand was inspired by a dream to rescue New Zealand's declining wool industry.Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Amber Mehmood(Image: Tim Brown, co-founder of the shoe brand, Allbirds. Credit: Getty Images)

We go to the heart of street photography in Berlin, Germany, to visit an independent camera shop where sales of analogue cameras are flying because of celebrities opting for old school tech. And we go behind the lens to the development labs to discover the rising demands and rising costs as equipment is sparse. What is the price of taking a good photo?If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Sean Allsop(Picture: Staff member at Safelight Photography lab in Berlin, Germany, checking the camera negative reel that is ready to be processed. Credit: Getty Images)

We find out why the country Japan ranks so poorly in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index and hear about what’s being done to change thingsFrom bottom-up initiatives to raise the next generation of female entrepreneurs and businesses leaders and to the work being done by one of the country’s top educational institutions as it tries to shake off its men–only image. And will the country’s first female prime minister be the catalyst for change?If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, you can email us at businessdaily@bbc.co.ukProduced and presented by Phoebe Amoroso(Image: Yumiko Murakami, co-founder of the WPower fund, the first in Japan to focus solely on supporting female founders and women-empowerment businesses)

When is a bubble a bubble? When is hype around a new technology signalling the dawn of a new industrial revolution? We assess the arguments for and against AI and its inflated valuations. AI firms and their stocks have surged in the last year, accounting for more than 80% of America’s economic growth. But is there real demand underpinning this?To get in touch with the programme, you can email us at businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Ed Butler Producer: Gideon Long(Picture: The Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, US, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

New York City is in the midst of a cost of living crunch. As a result, the race to become its next mayor this week has been dominated by how to make the city more affordable.We hear about radical plans and ask whether they add up, and look at what the race to run the capital of capitalism might teach other cities about how to fight an affordability crisis.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, you can email us at businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Will Bain Producer: Matt Lines(Picture: The sun sets on the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on October 24, 2025, as seen from Jersey City. Credit: Getty Images)

We speak to the American founder and CEO of Stine Seed, the largest private seed company in the world, Stine Seed Company. Harry Stine recalls working in a field on the family soybean farm at the age of four, and says he was soon driving tractors before officially starting work with his father. It was then that he realised the potential of plant breeding and seeds, leading him to start his own company. Stine Seed Company now has 1000 patents, and receives fees on about 85% of the acreage in the United States. Presenter: Ed Butler Producer: Amber Mehmood(Image: Harry Stine. Credit: Stine Seed Company)