Business Matters

Ports in the United States are experiencing ‘record levels of activities’ due to the tariffs and businesses trying to stock up to avoid the threat of tariffs and trade war. Bitcoin makes it big in Washington as President Trump establishes an official government cryptocurrency reserve office after meeting with crypto business leaders in the White House.And also we hear about hundreds of female tennis players on the WTA tour will be eligible for twelve months' paid maternity leave. Rahul Tandon will be joined throughout the programme by two guests on opposite sides of the world. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fermin Koop, environment and climate reporter; and in Lahore, Pakistan, Mehmal Sarfraz, journalist and analyst.

The US president, Donald Trump, moves to revoke the approval of New York City’s congestion pricing programs. We hear from one of the architects of the congestion charge policy in the city.Microsoft has unveiled a new quantum chip called Majorana One, which it says will help the company create computers able to solve meaningful industrial-scale problems in years, not decades. And Roger Hearing discusses how a local government in the Philippines has come up with an unusual way of combating dengue fever by announcing a payment for every five mosquitoes caught and brought in.We will be joined throughout the programme by two guests on opposite sides of the world - Karen Percy, Senior freelance reporter in Melbourne, Australia, and Emily Peck, Axios Markets Correspondent and co-host of the Slate Money podcast, who's in New York.

The US and Russia have outlined their intention to build relations far beyond a deal over Ukraine—extending to cooperation on other global issues and developing sizeable economic and investment links. Argentine President Javier Milei has denied promoting a newly launched cryptocurrency that collapsed shortly after he mentioned it in a social media post on Friday. And Ed Butler hears about a shocking revelation from Nasa that a large asteroid could be on course to hit earth. Although the space agency does go on to say, don't panic, it almost certainly won't. We’ll be joined throughout the programme by two guests on opposite sides of the world - Amita Arudpragasm, who's an Independent policy analyst based in Sri Lanka, and Sergio Guzman, the Director of Colombia Risk Analysis, which advises local and global companies looking to invest in Colombia and the region.

European leaders have been meeting in Paris to discuss military support for Ukraine. The United States has demanded that Europe increases defence spending and sends troops to Ukraine if there is a ceasefire in the war with Russia. Also, are Canadians boycotting US goods in shops after President Trump’s tariff threats?And Ed Butler reports from one of Africa’s biggest e-waste dumps in Ghana. Also, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, says it plans to build the world’s longest undersea cable, to bring industry-leading connectivity to five continents. We will be joined throughout the programme by two guests on opposite sides of the world - Sushmar Ramachandran, who is Independent journalist and columnist with the Tribune newspaper based in Delhi and Oliver Stuenkel, an associate professor of International Relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

President Trump confirms big tariffs are being imposed on goods coming into the US from Mexico, Canada, and China. We'll hear from businesses in Canada and Mexico on their response. We hear the story of one family's return to their home following the Los Angeles wildfires. David Brancaccio, a journalist with our US partner Marketplace, who bought a house just a few months ago and was burnt down by the California firestorms earlier this month. India’s finance minister will be presenting the country’s annual budget in a few hours’ time, outlining the government’s spending plans for the coming year. Throughout the program, we will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Andy Uhler, Journalism Fellow at the Energy Institute at The University of Texas, who's in Austin, and Nga Pham, a journalist in Taipei in Taiwan.

Investigators from the US federal agency noted that mid-air collisions like this are rare in the US, and they said it was far too early to speculate on what caused the crash; however, we will look at crowded airspaces and complex issues surrounding airports. Also, economic growth in the US slowed at the end of last year, as trade and investment declined and the country was hit by hurricanes and strikes. And, shoplifting, shrinkage, the five-finger discount—whatever you call it—stealing from shops is on the rise. Here in the UK, the British Retail Consortium has told the BBC retail crime is "out of control."Throughout the program, we will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Karen Percy, Senior freelance reporter, who's in Melbourne, and Emily Peck, Markets correspondent at Axios, in New York.

The US Supreme Court has upheld a law that bans TikTok in the US unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by this Sunday. A cold snap in Washington, DC, means Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday will now be held indoors instead of on the steps of the Capitol. Also, Argentina has reported a fiscal surplus for the first time in sixteen years, as a result of comprehensive budget cuts implemented by President Javier Milei. We will look at how immigration is a high-profile public policy issue in many countries, including the United States. So, how does Trump's MAGA movement, which favours a huge cut in the numbers of people receiving work visas, affect the tech sector in Silicon Valley? Throughout the program We will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Jyoti Malhotra, editor in chief of The Tribune—she's in Chandigarh, India—and Ralph Silva from the Silva Research Network is in Toronto, Canada.

Former Bank of Canada governor, Mark Carney, says he is running to replace Justin Trudeau as the leader of Canada's governing Liberal Party. Donald Trump's pick as Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has been defending his boss's economic plans at his confirmation hearing in the US Senate. And, as China prepares to release GDP figures in the next hour, we'll ask how it can stimulate growth, and we will look at who's planning a trip to North Korea during the northern hemisphere holiday. The country has reopened one of its border cities to foreign tourists for the first time in five years. We will be joined throughout the program by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Jessica Khine is in Malaysia and is Head of Asia for Astris Advisory Japan, and Dante Disparte is in Washington, DC—he's Chief Strategy Officer at Circle.

Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza—raising hopes of an end to fifteen months of war. So, if the ceasefire holds, how long will it take to rebuild from the rubble? What would be the priorities? How much will it cost? And who will pay? We will look at all these with different guests, including the head of the United Nations Development Programme, Achim Steiner. Rice is the staple crop for more than half the world’s population, but it's vulnerable to drought and flooding, impacting global harvests and prices. It's also a contributor to climate change; it uses more water than other grain crops. So, should we eat less rice? We will be joined throughout the program by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Zyma Islam, senior reporter for The Daily Star, who is in Malaysia, and Walter Todd, president and chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital in South Carolina.

President-elect Trump had pledged to fire the Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, who led a crackdown on the crypto industry, on "day one". Also, Beijing offers help to Chinese exporters facing higher import tariffs. And, union workers at Volkswagen's German factories are set to strike after talks failed.