app_store_button

google_play_button

is Device Banner Block 894x1036

Stígðu inn í heim af óteljandi sögum

Hlustaðu og lestu

BBC World Service


The daily drama of money and work from the BBC.


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)

What makes a basketball team worth $10bn?

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)

The cocoa conundrum

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)

Is this the end for South East Asia's scam centres?

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)

Monetising Machu Picchu

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)

What happens when the aid money runs out?

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)

What's next for USAID funded projects?

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)

Is cricket financially healthy?

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.uk

Presenter: Faisal Islam 
Producers: Priya Patel, Elisabeth Mahy, Hannah Bewley

(Picture: Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. Credit: Getty Images)

A special interview with Google CEO Sundar Pichai

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)

Can global shipping go green?

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)

The ex-soldier building defence software

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.uk

Presented 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)

Why are analogue cameras experiencing a comeback?

Hlustaðu og lestu

Other podcasts you might like ...