World Business Report

The US, Japan, India, and Australia are joining forces to secure critical minerals supplies essential for next-generation technologies.In the UK, why is the finance minister appear visibly upset during a House of Commons debate? The US Senate narrowly passes Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' but now it faces the House of Representatives.In Switzerland, the Women's Football European Championship is kicking off with record sponsorship deals, rising TV audiences, and sold-out stadiums highlighting the tournament’s economic momentum.Plus, do you look at the faces printed on your banknotes? Sam Fenwick finds out why a bank is redesigning notes.

After hours of stalemate, Republicans in the US Senate have narrowly passed Donald Trump’s mega-bill on tax and spending, meaning the proposed legislation has cleared one of its key hurdles. Also, US President Donald Trump has suggested that Doge, the cost-cutting agency Elon Musk helped set up, could be used to hurt the billionaire's companies – as the former allies continue their public dispute over Trump's budget plans. And it's 25 years since one of the world's first and longest transnational bridges was opened in northern Europe – the Öresund Bridge – but it is facing new challenges.

The US Senate holds marathon vote on President Donald Trumps “big, beautiful bill" which has reached 45 consecutive votes, making it the longest vote-a-rama in Senate history.There's a stark warning that cuts to USAID could lead to 14 million additional deaths. What does this mean for economic stabilities of the countries facing these cuts?In Japan, the country is standing firm against pressure to open up its rice market to the US. Plus, one of Europe's most iconic landmarks that drives business and economic growth turns 25.

Global supply chains are in trouble, driven by crises due to tariffs, geopolitical shocks and Middle East instability, according to the latest survey carried out by CIPS Pulse of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. Roger Hearing hears from Ben Farrell, CIPS CEO. Also, as a key tariff deadline set by US President Donald Trump draws closer, talks between the United States and many other countries, including India, have hit roadblocks over import duties on auto parts, steel, and agricultural goods. And Italian luxury fashion brand Prada has said it acknowledges the Indian roots of its new footwear line, days after the design sparked a controversy in India.

The big event of 2021 that will shape economies all over the world for decades to come was the COP 26 climate conference in Glasgow in November. The meeting saw a deluge of promises, but what was actually achieved? Martin Webber speaks to Tim Gould, chief energy economist at the International Energy Agency and economist Irwin Stelzer, from the Hudson Institute in the United States.It was another boom year for the pharmaceutical industry as it crafted the vaccines that have saved so many lives. Of the 8 billion coronavirus vaccinations worldwide, one billion have been delivered by the US logistics company, UPS. We hear from Wes Wealer, President of UPS healthcare.And small business owners have had a bleak time for much of the past year. But many of those that have survived now feel optimistic. We hear from the owner of the Aroma speciality coffee shop in Bologna in Italy, Cristina Caroli, about her year.

Covid-19 is set to prompt radical long term changes to how we live and work, so what lessons can be learnt when we eventually emerge from the pandemic? Could the changes in the way we work herald higher productivity and happier people in the future?We hear the stories of the people who managed to thrive during a very difficult year, including the milkman who saw a boom in deliveries and the dancer who found work in South Korea when the London stage went dark.Martin Webber is joined by Professor Devi Sridhar who holds the Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh; economist Roger Bootle, of Capital Economics; Robert Reich, former Labour Secretary under President Clinton; Tomas Philipson, who was Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors under Mr Trump; and actor Thomas Inge who is currentl starring in the musical Cats in South Korea.