Big Boss Interview

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Big Boss Interview episodes

April 14, 2022 Sri Lanka faces its worst economic crisis in over 70 years.
Sri Lanka is due to start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund next week and its just emerged that India, its northern neighbour, may be willing to commit up to another $2bn in financial assistance, along with food and fuel aid.
Also in the programme, a court in Jersey has now seized 7 billion US dollars worth of assets linked to the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. He is on the UK and EU sanctions list, and is now unable to access items such as his yachts, or Chelsea Football Club. So, what does this step from Jersey mean for the Mr Abramovich? Justine Walker is Global Head of Sanctions Compliance and Risk at ACAMS - that's the Association of certified anti-money laundering specialists.
Plus, Russia is suffering brain drain, with some suggesting that tens of thousands of tech workers are leaving the country after sanctions have made business difficult - or impossible; we hear from Artem Taganov, founder and chief executive of a Russian start-up called HintEd - he's moved to Armenia from Moscow.
And, we take you to take you to Africa's smallest economy. São Tomé and Príncipe, the twin island nation in the Gulf of Guinea in Central Africa. We hear from two entrepreneurs, who are trying to make a career in their home.
(Picture description: Protests outside the President's office in Columbo. Picture credit: Ishara.S.Kodikara via Getty Images).
53 min
April 13, 2022 Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak fined over lockdown parties
Boris Johnson has been fined by the police for attending a birthday party thrown for him during a Covid lockdown. The prime minister confirmed he had paid the fixed penalty notice for going to the hour-long gathering in the Cabinet Room on 19 June 2020. Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the PM's wife were also fined for the same event, and confirmed they had paid. All three apologised for attending, but neither Mr Johnson or Mr Sunak offered to resign. Opposition parties are calling for the Commons, which is currently on Easter recess, to be recalled.
Figures out on Tuesday showed Americans are being hit by higher prices of oil and many other products and services. Prices climbed at their highest rates since 1981, rising 8.5% over the year to the end of March. We hear from Steve H. Hanke, professor of applied economics at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Also in the programme, we look at Tesla and one influence on the company that is only now beginning to be noticed is that of fanbots - automated posts on Twitter that seem to be designed to move the share price - especially at times when the stock is under pressure. David Kirsch, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, explained how they had come to his attention.
Plus - we travel to São Tomé and Príncipe, a country on the sharp end of climate change - the BBC's Tamasin Ford finds out how the island - the entirety of which is a massive volcano - is home to lush, tropical rainforest and some of the most important biodiversity in Africa; Príncipe is a UNESCO biosphere because of its unique environment. But despite being breathtakingly beautiful, it’s poor with the smallest economy on the continent and around 90% of its budget comes from foreign donors, topped up by tourism - we hear how the pandemic has affected this vital part of the economy. Perhaps the biggest threat to the nation though is rising sea levels; in São Tomé and Principé, 4% of the land mass has already been lost to the Atlantic Ocean with entire houses being washed away; Tamasin visits one in Principé. The country is already doing what it can - more than two thirds of the islands are protected national parks and by the end of this year the government hopes to have written into law the country’s first ever marine protected areas, but will it be enough?
PHOTO: Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak
54 min
April 12, 2022 Pakistan gets new PM
Pakistan's parliament has selected Shehbaz Sharif as the country's new prime minister, after Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in the early hours of Sunday. The opposition coalition leader - who had worked to depose Mr Khan - won the support of a majority in parliament. We get the latest from Business Matters regular Mehmal Sarfraz in Lahore.
Also today - Australia too is heading for new elections - our guest Peter Ryan the ABC's senior business correspondent explains how the economy is at the centre of that.
We hear from the mayor of the recently besieged Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, about how people there are pulling together to try and bring back, business as usual, in spite of continued Russian bombardment.
We speak to the researches who think psychedelic mushrooms could help with depression, and how that is opening up lucrative business opportunities already. And just what is appropriate business attire in a post-pandemic office? We'll try and answer that as the BBC's Jamie Robertson is joined by Peter Ryan in Sydney, and Hayley Woodin, the executive editor of Business in Vancouver.
Picture credit: EPA
56 min
April 08, 2022 New European sanctions against Russia
The EU announces new sanctions on Russia - we look at what impact they will have. Plus, the first black woman is appointed to the Supreme Court in the US - we ask how significant a moments this is for workforce diversity in the US. And Tiger Wood returns to the golf course - 14 months after being in a car crash - in an important moment for the finances of the sport. We discuss all this live with Ann Dwyer in Chicago - editor of Crains Chicago Business - and Karen Percy, a business journalist based in Melbourne Australia.
54 min
April 07, 2022 The US imposes more sanctions on Russia
The US has announced further sanctions on Russia. The UK and US assets of its largest bank, Sberbank, will be frozen, and new American and British investments in Russia will be banned. We get analysis from Dr Adi Imsirovic, the former global head of oil at Gazprom Marketing.
China has extended its lockdown in Shanghai to become city-wide. There is growing anger over what’s considered to be a particularly harsh lockdown. Eric Feigl Ding, a leading US leading epidemiologist who was born in the city, tells us more.
Ahead of the first round of voting in French presidential elections this weekend, we hear a special report from the BBC's Theo Leggett in France's industrial heartland in the east of the country about the issues affecting them.
Rahul Tandon is joined throughout the programme by Takara Small, technology reporter for CBC in Toronto, and by Jasper Kim of Ewha University in Seoul.
(Photo: A branch of Sberbank. Credit: Getty Images)
54 min
April 06, 2022 EU proposes new sanctions against Russia
The European Union is proposing a new round of sanctions against Russia including a ban on coal imports and a ban on Russian ships entering European ports. We consider the latest plans from Brussels.
Unrest is growing in Peru as both fuel and food prices are rising rapidly. The government has imposed a 22- hour curfew to contain protests; Marcelo Rochabrun is the Reuters correspondent in Lima and brings us the latest from the capital.
Also in the programme: a special report from the BBC's Vivienne Nunis looks at Australia's tourism industry, which is breathing a sigh of relief as the country's borders finally reopen and things start to get back to normal.
And according to the annual Forbes magazine's ranking of the world's richest people, there are fewer billionaires holding less combined wealth than last year. Chase Peterson-Withorn from Forbes explains why.
Jamie Robertson is joined throughout the programme by columnist and business journalist Sushma Ramachandran in New Delhi and by Mitchell Hartman, reporter at Marketplace radio in Portland, Oregon.
(Picture: An anti-war protest in Berlin. Credit: Getty Images)
54 min
April 05, 2022 UN report calls for "rapid, deep and immediate" changes to combat climate change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report calls for fundamental changes to our patterns of consumption of fossil fuels, and for a major expansion of renewable energy. We speak to Charlie Kronick, senior climate adviser at Greenpeace, and ask how economies are being affected by climate change, and are likely to be impacted in the future.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since the 1940s, which has now triggered a political crisis. The president has had to swear in a brand new cabinet after 26 ministers resigned en masse. To what extent is this a political or economic crisis, and what can the president do to quell the anger of protestors?
Also in the programme, a special report from the BBC's Rahul Tandon, who speaks to young Russians who have decided to either leave Russia or stay in the country following the invasion of Ukraine and the economic fallout of international sanctions. Russia's economy is forecast to shrink by 8% this year.
And after Elon Musk buys a 9% stake in the social media platform Twitter, we ask James Clayton, BBC North America technology reporter, what it did to the company's share price.
Jamie Robertson is joined throughout the programme by Professor Peter Morici, economist at the University of Maryland, and by Yoko Ishikura, professor emeritus at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.
(Picture: A wind turbine. Credit: Getty Images)
54 min
April 01, 2022 Ships backed-up in Shanghai
As many as 300 vessels are backed up in Shanghai, waiting to load up or discharge compared to this time last year. We get the latest from the BBC's Monica Millar in Singapore and we also hear about the knock on affects from Steve Lamar, President and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association. Amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, the UN is seeking $4.4bn in aid for Afghanistan. We hear from Mark Malloch-Brown, president of the Open Society Foundations, and former deputy secretary general of the UN, discusses what role western sanctions are playing in the extreme hunger faced by many in Afghanistan. Also in the programme, with just a few days to go before the first round of France's presidential election, the BBC's Theo Leggett reports from the east of the country on how concerns about the rising cost of living are impacting the rival campaigns. Plus, with the current high cost of natural gas, there are renewed calls for countries to move away from the fossil fuel as a way of heating our homes. One alternative is the heat pump, and the BBC's climate editor Justin Rowlatt explains how they work. And joining us throughout the programme are Rachel Cartland, a former Hong Kong government official and the author of Paper Tigress and Alison van Diggelen, host of freshdialogues.com, is with us from Silicon Valley.
(Picture: A ship in Shanghai. Picture credit: Getty Images.)
53 min
March 31, 2022 Biden poised to invoke Cold War-era law to encourage domestic mining
U.S. President Joe Biden could reportedly invoke a Cold War-era defence law to encourage domestic production of minerals. Josh Siegel of Politico explains why. Also in the show, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan faces a no-confidence vote in the next few days, over questions regarding his performance amid double-digit inflation and rising deficits. Russian forces have reportedly repositioned away from around the Chernobyl nuclear power facility, with Russian troops crossing back into neighbouring Belarus. Amid concern about supply from Russia, Germany has invoked its emergency gas plan. Plus, we have an extended report from Vivienne Nunes on a row brewing in Australia over a proposed new gas field in the Timor Sea. And Bruce Willis has announced he will step back from acting citing health concerns.
All through the show we'll be joined by journalists Mehmal Sarfraz in Lahore and Andy Uhler in Austin.
(Picture: U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington DC, March 30, 2022. Picture credit: Getty Images.)
57 min
March 30, 2022 UK and US urge caution on Russian pledge to reduce attacks
Russia has said it will "drastically reduce combat operations" around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, during negotiations in Turkey. Financial markets reacted positively to the news, as Brian Dorst from Themis Trading in New Jersey explains. We'll also hear from President Biden's top official on sanctions, who says companies have a choice to make on whether they continue to do business in Russia. Also in the programme, the war in Ukraine is halting moves aimed at limiting the use of palm oil, which is a cause of deforestation in Asia. The price of one alternative, sunflower oil, has increased massively since the conflict began, and supermarket chain Iceland has reversed its pledge to remove palm oil from its own-label food. We find out more from Glenn Hurowitz of the Washington DC campaign group, Mighty Earth.Talks in Geneva to reverse the loss of nature and halt extinctions are in their final day. We'll hear from Patrick Greenfield, biodiversity reporter for the Guardian, on the details of the negotiations, and Dr Noelle Kumpel, head of policy for Birdlife International, about her thoughts on the progress. And we'll take a look at the new Australian budget.
All through the show we'll be joined by Andres Franzetti, Chief Executive Officer at Risk Cooperative, in Washington DC, and Sinead Mangan, presenter of the ABC radio program ‘Australia Wide’ in Perth.
(Picture: Ukrainian troops near Kyiv on 28 March. Picture credit: Getty Images)
54 min

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Big Boss Interview is where the most high-profile chief executives and entrepreneurs come to give you their insights and experiences of running the world's biggest and well-known businesses. The…