Business Matters

Voters are going to the polls in Australia to choose their next government following a hard-fought campaign during which living costs, climate concerns and the impact of Donald Trump's trade tariffs have featured strongly. Shares of Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, tumbled by as much as 8% on Friday morning after it announced that it has delayed the launch by a year – to May 26, 2026. With the company being valued at around 40 billion US dollars, that is a lot of money being shaved off. The U.S. President Donald Trump repeated that he will revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status, saying that "We are going to be taking away Harvard's tax-exempt status. It's what they deserve!" Harvard, which is already suing the Trump administration, said that this is unlawful. And Skype Will Shut Down on Monday, May 5, As Microsoft Shifts to Teams. Davina Gupta will hear from one of the creators of the Skype ringtone. Throughout the programme, we’ll be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Peter Ryan, ABC's senior business correspondent who is in Australia, and Diane Brady, Executive Director of Fortune Live Media and Editorial Director of the Fortune CEO Initiative.

President Trump has sacked Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. The US and Ukraine signed a minerals deal which President Zelensky says is an "equal partnership". As trade wars continue, we explore how businesses of all sizes are surviving. Will tariffs dominate Apple and Amazon's earnings? And how are small businesses staying afloat? Plus, why have Australian wine exports hit a record low? Andrew Peach speaks to a wine maker in Melbourne.

On the programme we are looking at Donald Trump's first 100 days in power, during which he has talked a lot about tariffs, and there have been many changes to trade policies. Rahul Tandon looks at the key important economic events of the initial 100 days and the way they have upended global trade. Also, Mark Carney is celebrating his election victory in Canada, although Canadian broadcaster CBC projects his party will fall just short of the 172 parliamentary seats needed for a majority. Throughout the programme, we’ll be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Rebecca Choong Wilkins, Senior Asia correspondent for Bloomberg, and Tony Nash, CEO of Complete Intelligence.

Canadians are voting in a general election which has been dominated by Donald Trump's trade war and threats to annex the country. The leaders of the two main parties rejected a renewed assertion by Mr Trump on election day that Canada should become the fifty-first US state. Devina Gupta hears from the BBC’s economics editor Faisal Islam, who is in Ottawa, and Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses. And the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has urged people not to speculate over the cause of a massive power cut that's affected millions of people across Spain and Portugal. Also, the Chinese online retailer Temu, known for its cheap products, adds ‘import charges’ of about 145% in response to President Trump’s tariffs on China. Throughout the programme, we’ll be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Jessica Khine, a business development consultant based in Malaysia but now joining us from London, and Sergio Guzmán, director of the Colombia Risk Analysis company.

A new survey by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research has revealed that consumer confidence in the United States has seen its largest drop since 1990. While the Governor of Mississippi believes rising tariffs will lead to more capital investment, we hear from a retail business in Indiana on the impact of the ongoing trade war. Rahul Tandon speaks to prominent Canadian automotive figure Flavio Volpe on the state of the country's economy ahead of Monday's general election. And a Californian government figure discusses how the state has overtaken Japan to become the fourth largest global economic force behind Germany, China and the US as a whole.

China has said no to any trade talks until the US withdraws its tariffs, but which of the World's two superpowers will blink first and bring the growing trade war to an end? Rahul Tandon speaks to the President of the American Toy Association on how children's Christmas presents, including Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels cars and Jellycats toys, could fall victim to the US-China trade war. Meanwhile, how will the higher education sector in the US be affected by the fall out? We enter the World of the ‘workfluencers’, where the personal meets the professional, and how corporations are increasingly putting employees in front of the camera in order to humanise the working environment. Elsewhere, as the situation in Kashmir develops and Pakistan suspends all trade with India, we find out about the growing tension between the two countries. And there's concern for the survival of Africa's shea nut tree which provides an income for millions of women. Global business news, with live guests and contributions from Asia and the USA.

With China open to talks and the US Treasury secretary hinting at a deal, Rahul Tandon talks to economists and trade specialists about the likelihood of a thaw in relations. And we look ahead to the Australian elections.

President Trump says tariffs on China “will not be anywhere near 145%” but won’t be removed all together. It follows US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying he expected a ‘de escalation’ in US China tariffs. The International Monetary Fund has revised its global growth forecast in the wake of Trump’s tariffs, with the US expected to be hit hardest. And the boardgames industry is suffering the consequences of tariffs. A number of companies have launched a legal case against the Trump administration. Among them is Stonemaier Games, we speak to their President.

Argentinians in the capital, Buenos Aires, paid tribute to Pope Francis during a mass held at the San Jose de Flores Basilica. The US Vice President JD Vance has met with India's prime minister Narendra Modi to discuss a trade deal. And the United Nations says, the cyberscam industry is expanding globally including to South America and Africa. We hear from International Justice Mission which has been campaigning to help the people forced to working at these scam centres.

Tension has grown between President Trump and head of the Federal Reserve. Jerome Powell has faced fierce criticism from Donald Trump, who's accused him of being too slow to cut interest rates. We speak to Chinese manufacturers about the impact of tariffs on their business. And a host of new Star Wars films and TV shows have been announced. Ryan Gosling, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, will take the lead.

The American President Donald Trump has criticised Jerome Powell after the Chair of the US Federal Reserve stated that tariffs are likely to push up inflation and unemployment, while President Trump says he's "one-hundred per cent sure" of a US-EU trade deal. We hear from the CEO of the Port of Long Beach - the busiest port in the US - on how they're already feeling the effects of US-China tariffs. Elsewhere the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has warned that economic growth will suffer due to global trade uncertainty being "off the charts". And Rahul Tandon speaks to a former Netflix director after the streaming service reported quarterly profits of $2.9bn. Global business news, with live guests and contributions from Asia and the USA.

Key figures in the global economy have been speaking about the potential impact of a trade war between the World's two largest economies, initiated by President Donald Trump's tariffs. The World Trade Organisation is forecasting that global trade will fall this year, and its director general, Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, warned that a trade war between the US and China could affect all countries worldwide. Rahul Tandon finds out how Chinese manufacturers are concerned about tariffs, and speaks to an aviation specialist about why a bathroom problem is set to cost Boeing millions of dollars. And we hear how the remote Pacific island nation of Tuvalu celebrated the unveiling of its first cash machine.

Sam Fenwick is joined by Erin Mc Laughlin, senior economist at the Conference Board in New York and Simon Littlewood, a business consultant based in Singapore. Two years into a civil war, Sudan is home to the world's largest humanitarian crisis. The International Red Cross is urging all sides to stop attacks on civilian infrastructure. We hear about Chinese president Xi Jinping's tour around Southeast Asia and what Malaysia stands to gain from new trade deals with China. Also in the programme, why are Chinese influencers going viral on TikTok over tariffs?

Sam Fenwick is joined by Emily Feng, International correspondent for NPR in Washington DC and Peter Landers, Asia Business and Finance Editor at Wall Street Journal in Singapore. China's president declared their will be no winners in the trade war as he tours Southeast Asia, aiming to strengthen ties with neighbouring nations. We hear how tariffs are shaping US consumer confidence and leading to potential drug shortages. Also in the programme, how do University Spin-Out Businesses boost the economy?

The White House has insisted that President Trump’s tariffs will make the United States richer, despite the falling value of the US dollar. We hear from Tomas Philipson, a former acting chairman of President Trump's Council of Economic Advisers. Also, a global deal to tackle shipping emissions has been agreed after nearly ten years of negotiations. The UN's maritime agency (the IMO) brokered the accord, which requires ship owners to use less carbon-intensive fuels or face a penalty. Roger Hearing speaks to IMO's secretary general, Arsenio Dominguez, about how it would work. And on Saturday, the UK is going to see an emergency recall of parliament when members had already departed for their Easter break, and they are recalled to discuss a law to take control of the Chinese-owned British Steel and save it from imminent closure. Throughout the programme, we’ll be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Peter Ryan, ABC's senior business correspondent, who's in Sydney, and Takara Small, national technology columnist for the CBC, who's in Toronto.

President Donald Trump admits a period of difficult transition is inevitable as his trade policies continue to cause upheaval in international markets. And after the end of the Cold War, the world economy became integrated, and globalisation began, but is that at risk now because of the tariffs, trade war and protectionism? Presenter Roger Hearing speaks to Mohamed El Erian, former IMF Deputy Director who is now President of Queens' College, Cambridge, and chief. Also, a general strike against public spending cuts in Argentina has severely disrupted transport systems in the country. All domestic flights have been cancelled; trains and metro services have been suspended in Buenos Aires and other parts of the country. Throughout the program, Roger will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Yoko Ishikura, a professor emeritus at Hitotsubashi University in Japan, and Tony Nash, CEO and founder of Complete Intelligence, an AI-based financial forecasting firm in Houston.

In a dramatic change of policy, US President Donald Trump hikes China tariffs to 125% on goods entering the United States. Most other countries will now see a 90-day pause on higher import taxes. The pause means a "universal 10%" tariff will be in place for all countries, other than China, the White House said. Markets soared following the announcement with all three main US indices closing up more than 6%. Throughout the program, Rahul Tandon will be joined by two guests: Emily Peck, Axios US Markets correspondent in New York, and Han Lin, The Asia Group China Country Director in Shanghai.

As some of the World's largest economies get ready to face new tariffs, we find out what a battle on levy's could mean for the global economy. We hear from a Gulf Coast business feeling positive about the charges, and the predicament of a Californian retailer reliant on imports. Elsewhere Rahul Tandon speaks to a Malaysian economist and a garment manufacturer in Bangladesh to find out how the tariffs implemented by US President Donald Trump are being felt around the World. Global business news, with live guests and contributions from Asia and the USA.

We speak to experts in the world's two largest economies - the USA and China - about the impact of a tariff war, and whether stock markets around the globe will continue to fall as we saw on Monday. Rahul Tandon speaks to a footwear designer in California on how any international tariff battle will affect their business. And we find out about the housing crisis in Spain that led to hundreds of thousands of demonstrators take to streets across the country over the weekend. Global business news, with live guests and contributions from Asia and the USA.

Wall Street has just wrapped up one of its most volatile weeks in years, with investors rattled by Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on global imports. The fallout? Trillions wiped from US stock markets—the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq all plunging more than 5%, with tech stocks entering bear market territory. What does this mean for trade on the ground? Gene Seroka, head of the Port of Los Angeles—the busiest container port in the US—tells us how these tariffs could disrupt the flow of goods across the Pacific. As panic ripples through the markets, we ask: should people nearing retirement be worried? Maria Johannssen of AON breaks down the risks to global pension funds heavily invested in Wall Street. Also in the programme: TikTok gets yet another reprieve in the US. But who’s really in line to buy it? We look at the high-stakes politics and business deals shaping its future. And finally— our reporter gives us an insight into the thinking inside Microsoft, and the celebrations as it turns 50 years old.