Business Matters

African leaders have issued a declaration proposing new taxes across the world to fund action against climate change. The United States has announced another billion dollars' worth of aid for Ukraine. It includes a- hundred- and- seventy- five- million dollars in military assistance. Today marks 10 years since Chinese President, Xi Jinping, launched the Belt and Road Initiative on September 7, 2013, proposing new trade routes to create a 'new Silk Road' and widen economic cooperation. What is the impact of this after a decade? Rahul Tandon discusses these topics and more with Alexander Kaufman, Senior Reporter at Huffington Post and Zyma Islam, Journalist at Daily Star in Bangladesh. (A young man getting water from river Shabelle in the city of Gode, Ethiopia, after climate induced drought caused the failure of five rainy seasons, triggering the worst drought in four decades in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. Photo Credit: Getty Images).

Switzerland has outlined a series of measures to combat money laundering and increase transparency in its huge financial sector. They include a register of those who ultimately benefit from trusts and companies - Switzerland is the only European country that doesn't have one.Toymaker Lego saw profits fall in the first half of the year as the bumper sales growth seen during the pandemic starts to fade.Burger King must face a lawsuit that alleges it makes its Whopper burger appear larger on its menus than it is in reality, a US judge has ruled. So what goes into photographing food? Can it be cheated?Roger Hearing discusses these topics and more with Takara Small, technology journalist in Toronto, and Satoshi Shimoda, Senior Staff Writer at Nikkei newspaper, based in Tokyo.(A sign showing "Bank" written at the entrance of the headquarters of Swiss giant banking UBS. Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The US Federal Reserve chairman has said the central bank will continue to raise interest rates "if appropriate" as inflation remains "too high". Jerome Powell told an annual gathering of central bankers that the pace of price rises had fallen from a peak. The Director of the British Museum is stepping down over the way the institution under his leadership handled a series of thefts that have shaken its reputation. The international leg of Taylor Swift's Eras tour kicked off last night in Mexico City. She is on track to make one billion US dollars from her Eras tour, which would make concert history.(People shop at a Market in New York City. Photo Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The BRICS group of nations has invited six countries to join them. They are Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. We look at how some of these countries would benefit from joining this bloc. China suspends all seafood imports from Japan over the release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific. Central banks from around the world are gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the start of the influential three-day economic conference.(The national flags of current BRICS members are displayed at the conference centre in South Africa. Photo Credit: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)

We look at how US government bonds have become a good source of income for investors. We hear from one businessman in Canada as wildfires spread across his neighbourhood. and we discuss why some of the biggest hotel groups in the world are helping to boost all-inclusive holidays

We discuss Joe Biden plans to boost the US economy through the landmark legislation known as the Inflation Reduction Act. We hear the arguments both for and against its potential to develop green industries in the US.We hear from the man who came up with the term BRICS to describe the economic alliance that binds Brazil, Russia, India and China. The countries came together two decades ago. And Sotherby’s in California is auctioning off twenty vintage Ferraris which came into their possession in a rather bizarre way.

Businesses in South-West of the United States explain how the weather is impacting them. India and Sri Lanka have announced that they will carry out feasibility studies on laying an oil pipeline across the narrow sea strait that divides them.Taylor Swift is the latest big name to take her international tour to Singapore but not Hong Kong.And, we discuss Burberry, the 170 year old high-fashion brand built on its British principles. (A sign warns of extreme heat danger on Death Valley National Park on July 15, 2023, in California. Picture Credit: Getty Images)

Global wheat prices have risen sharply after Russia carried out missile attacks on military infrastructure near grain ports in Ukraine.And the new barbie film is on the way but this is not the only film and TV series we expect from the Mattel franchise. (Picture: TQ Samsun last grain ship off the Black Sea on July 17, 2023 after Russia announced that it withdrew from the Grain Corridor Agreement. Source: Getty Images)

Moscow notified the UN, Turkey and Ukraine on Monday that it would not renew the Black Sea grain initiative, accusing the West of not keeping its side of the bargain. The decision has been condemned by world leaders including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres and the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. (A farmer holds grains in pictured July 16, 2023. Source: Getty Images)

A US court has given Microsoft the green light to buy the videogame maker Activision Blizzard in a deal worth $69bn. Microsoft said after the US win, it would focus on resolving concerns around competition in the UK. The tech giant's merger with the Call of Duty owner would be the biggest deal of its kind in gaming industry history.Bank of America has been ordered to pay out $150m (£116m) in penalties after it was found to have opened credit cards without customers' permission.(Picture: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 by Activision. Source: Getty Images)

Threads, the social media app aimed at rivalling Twitter, has signed up more than 100 million users in less than five days. The platform, launched by Instagram-owner Meta, has beaten a record set by Open AI's ChatGPT app.China’s consumer inflation rate was flat in June while factory-gate prices fell further, causing alarms about deflation risks and adding to speculation about potential economic stimulus. Could countries be soon mining the seabed? A meeting of The International Seabed Authority started on Monday to try and hammer out a global code for exactly that.(The Meta logo with an Instagram Threads logo in the background. Source: Getty Images)

The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, is heading to Beijing to restore the line of communication between the two countries after a persistent economic and diplomatic tensions.Filipinos make up around a quarter of all mariners worldwide, but many find it hard to get proper care abroad because of confusing legal loopholes. And should tourists try their hand at haggling abroad – or just pay what they’re asked?(Picture: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Source: Getty Images)

Leaders and representatives from various African countries are traveling to Eastern Europe in an effort to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia – and provide an Africa-led boost to the world’s economy. Roger Hearing is joined by ambassador Rama Yade from the Atlantic Council’s Africa Centre to discuss the visit.Foxconn, one of the biggest electronics manufacturers in the world, makes more than half of Apple’s products as well as goods for Amazon, Dell and Sony amongst others. But how is the Taiwan-based giant coping amid increasing US-China tensions? The company’s CEO Young Liu speaks to the BBC’s Karishma Vaswani.With the Fed holding US interest rates this week, and inflation apparently back within manageable limits, now America’s labour market is coming under scrutiny.(Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) greets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (L). Archive image. Source Getty Images)

Roger Hearing looks at how the Federal Reserve has left the United States interest rates unchanged and steady for the first time in more than a year. However, its latest economic forecast suggest that more rate hikes lie ahead. Half of workers aren’t engaged on the job, putting in slightest effort to get by, according to research by Gallup. Employee engagement, a measure of involvement and enthusiasm at work, globally declined for the second year in a row. And the frenzy stoked by the start of the Beyonce's world tour is has been driving up prices in Sweden.(Picture: Shopper in a supermarket in New York, in JUNE 12. Source: Getty Images)

This week the EU votes on ways to regulate AI. Vice-President Margrethe Vestager leads the charge against threats posed by artificial intelligence. She tells the BBC that although the threat of human extinction ”probably does exist”, the likelihood is “quite small”. She says initial threats include discrimination, and criminals getting ahead of the police in understanding AI. This week European politicians debate the issue as they vote on the AI Act. It's the first law for AI systems in the West and it largely categorizes the away AI is used into four levels of risk: unacceptable risk, high risk, limited risk and minimal or no risk. If the legislation passes, unacceptable risk applications would banned by default and will not be deployed in European countries. U.S inflation has fallen again – but is it enough to prevent an interest rate rise? Inflation was down to 4% in the US at the end of May – its lowest since 2021. Prices for eggs, petrol and furniture were down, helping to cut inflation to less than half

The U.S watchdog has asked a judge to block a $69 billion bid by Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard.The gaming company makes ‘Call of Duty’ and many other titles. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) position on the deal is now closer to the that taken by the UK regulator. The issue hangs on claims the sale would give Microsoft's Xbox exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo consoles and Sony's PlayStation out in the cold.Also in the U.S, America's biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase, has agreed in principle to settle a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of victims of the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The case was brought by one victim on behalf of hundreds of other women and girls abused by the disgraced financier. The bank is facing a bill of around $290 million.And – you may have heard of ‘greenwashing’ – but have you heard of the new phrase…green-hushing’? We find out why companies are suddenly starting to keep their green credentials to themselves.

President Biden has said that he should know by the end of Friday whether there is a deal with Republicans to raise the government debt ceiling, so it can continue to pay its bills. Mr Biden said things were looking good and he thought negotiators were very close to a deal. The two sides have a little more breathing room after the US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, extended the debt ceiling deadline by four days, to 5 June.(Picture: U.S. President Joe Biden. Source: Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Nvidia, a US firm which specializes in chips powering artificial intelligence, surged as much as 27% on Thursday, putting the company on course for record performance with a market cap above $900 billion.But where is the future of AI while there are raising concerns about regulation and safety?And have you ever heard of ‘greedflation’? Find out why price rises might be bringing out some unsavoury tendencies in retail. (Picture: The logo of NVIDIA is seen displayed on a mobile phone screen with AI (artificial intelligence) written in the background. Source: Getty Images)

It's day two of the G7 summit, and the leaders of the group of major developed economies are in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. So far the focus of their talks has been Russia and Ukraine - today there is another major issue on the table – China. The Indian government says it will start withdrawing its highest value currency note from circulation saying it is not widely in use. People have been asked exchange their two-thousand rupee notes (worth around twenty five dollars) for smaller denominations by the end of September. An official from the central bank said the withdrawal would not cause any disruption to normal life or the economy.NASA has awarded the contract to build its astronaut Moon lander to a consortium led by Blue Origin - the space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.(Picture: G7 leaders (left to right) Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak,

Royalty and dignitaries from around the world have arrived in London ahead of the coronation of King Charles. Many of them will be guests in Westminster Abbey on Saturday morning where the coronation ceremony will begin at 11 o'clock.Millions of other people across the UK and beyond are preparing to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III - a symbolic ceremony combining a religious service and pageantry. The day of splendour and formality will feature customs dating back more than 1,000 years. King Charles III is head of the Commonwealth countries and the head of state of 14 countries. (Picture: His Majesty King Charles III. Source: WPA Pool/Getty Images)