The World of Business

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Global Business: Growing Malawi May 26, 2016

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Malawi, in Sub-Saharan Africa, is one of the world’s poorest countries with its GDP nearly at the bottom of the global league table. Successive governments have been riddled with corruption scandals, state-run services are in disarray and Malawi’s population is booming. It hit 17.6m this year, which the Finance Minister described as "scary" and is set to more than double over the next two decades.

If Malawi is struggling to feed its people now - how bad could things be in the future? It’s a ticking time bomb of poverty and starvation.

Malawi desperately needs economic growth yet despite hundreds of millions of dollars of donor money which has poured into the country for decades the overall the impact on the ground has been disappointing - poverty levels remain stubbornly high, education standards and job opportunities pitifully low.

But there is a rare piece of good news from Malawi: a new alliance between the private sector, a group of smallholder farmers and one of the country’s biggest international donors - the European Union, is helping to run a sustainable sugar cane business and turn lives around.

Could this new partnership with the private sector finally unlock Malawi’s potential for growth?

Reporter: Charlotte Ashton Producer: Jim Frank

In Business: Steel in the UK May 19, 2016

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Amid concern about the future of the Port Talbot steel works - and fear for the jobs of workers there - Peter Day looks at the history of the industry in Britain. When was the heyday of British steel, and what went wrong? Peter visits Port Talbot and also delves into the archives to hear stories from a time when manufacturing dominated the British economy. Presenter: Peter Day Producer: Caroline Bayley.

In Business: Turnarounds May 12, 2016

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Imagine you run a company and it's failing. What do you do? Matthew Gwyther speaks to leaders who've turned around businesses in difficulties and finds out how they did it, what inspired them and what lessons they can pass on.

Produced by Nina Robinson.

In Business: Recruiting by Algorithm May 08, 2016

Show notes

Can a computer programme choose the right applicant for a job? Online assessments, scanning programmes, computer algorithms and the number crunching of social network data are all now part of the tool kit of the recruitment industry. As Peter Day discovers, to get through to an actual interview, you often have to impress a computer algorithm first. Traditionally a subjective process, Peter looks at this huge change in the way people are selected for jobs and asks whether technology can achieve the recruiters' aim of eliminating bias from hiring.

Producer Caroline Bayley.

In Business: Colorado's Big Marijuana Experiment Apr 28, 2016

Show notes

Marijuana is now legal in some US states and a fast-growing industry has emerged, especially in Colorado which was the first state to embrace the drug. But according to federal law marijuana is still illegal. This means that many companies can't get banking services, advertise their wares or pay tax in the way that other companies do. So how do they survive and thrive? And in what direction is the US moving? Will marijuana soon become a legal drug, like alcohol, across the US? Or will law-makers decide that Colorado's big marijuana experiment has gone too far? And what is it like to run a company in one of the world's riskiest business sectors? Presenter : Peter Day Producer : Rosamund Jones.

Global Business: Selling Shakespeare Apr 23, 2016

Show notes

As part of the festivities for the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, Global Business asks how the Bard has had an impact on the corporate world. As well as being a profitable part of the British economy, particularly for the tourist sector in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s plays have been exported to almost every country there is. In Neuss, Germany, a replica of the Globe has stood since 1991. In Bollywood, Shakespeare’s stories have been retold since the dawn of Indian cinema, and become major money-spinners courtesy of movies such as Omkara (Othello) and Haider (Hamlet). In corporate America, his plays have been seized upon by executive training teams. And in China, Shakespeare’s works are being marketed to a new generation of domestic consumers, eager for a taste of historical culture. Author and critic Andrew Dickson goes on a globe-trotting journey to find out how the Bard is still very much in business – and discovers one of the most successful and flexible cultural brands there is. Produced by Nina Robinson.

(Image: An ice cream van with a picture of William Shakespeare on in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

In Business: European Unicorns Apr 14, 2016

Show notes

A Unicorn is a mythical animal. But it's also the name now given to private start-up companies, mainly in the tech or internet sector which are valued at a billion dollars or more. They're extremely fast-growing and are often keener to increase customers rather than make profits at this stage. They rely on private investors to fund their growth and those investors give the companies their valuations. Through interviews with European unicorns including Blah, Blah Car, a ride-sharing service and Hello Fresh which delivers measured fresh ingredients and recipes to your door, Caroline Bayley asks how "real" the tech unicorns are and whether the billion dollar plus valuations are fuelling another tech bubble which could be in danger of bursting. Producer Anna Meisel.

In Business: Tax transparency - Norway's model Apr 08, 2016

Show notes

The Panama papers reveal tax evasion is a huge international problem. But how can governments clean things up? One way might be by opening things up. In the UK, it is a criminal offence to reveal someone else's tax affairs, but in some countries you can easily discover how much anyone earns and how much they pay in tax, from the prime minister and the richest business leader to the poorest pensioner. It can have a profound effect on business practice and wider society, as business correspondent Jonty Bloom discovers, travelling to Norway. Producer: Ruth Alexander With special thanks to Bill Lomas, Leek Town Crier.

Economic Rebellion Mar 31, 2016

Show notes

Why is there so much dissatisfaction about how economics is taught at universities? Since the financial crash, many students have been in revolt in the UK and overseas, determined to change the content of their courses. They are not alone. Employers and some economists share many of their concerns. Peter Day explores why the subject has changed over a generation and why that might matter. Producer: Rosamund Jones

Going Online the Cambodian Way Feb 27, 2016

Show notes

If you come from a country with few internet users and even fewer smartphone owners, why would you set up an internet shopping business? “I wanted to buy a present for my then girlfriend,” says Vichet In, who is the founder and CEO of one of Cambodia’s first and most successful forays into e-commerce. In 2013 only around 6% of Cambodians used the internet. But there’s been a rapid rise in internet usage and in smartphone ownership. Which is good news for Vichet and his siblings, who have become involved in his business. John Murphy is in Phnom Penh, where he has a tour of Vichet’s showroom, to get an insight into the setting up of his company, Little Fashion. He hears the secrets of Little Fashion’s success and plans for expansion - just as long as the company can satisfy its demanding Cambodian customers.

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