Business Daily

The Democrats and President-elect Biden have won control of the US Congress after results came in from two elections in Georgia. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff defeated Republican incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue respectively. Mr Biden will have a much better chance now of pushing through his legislative agenda. We'll hear from former President Obama's top economic adviser Jason Furman, about how this might shape the country's economic future, while Chris Low of FHN Financial in New York gives us Wall Street's reaction. We'll also be joined live by entrepreneur and former economic adviser under President Bush, Pippa Malmgren to discuss the night of violence seen in the country's capitol buildings.

Producer: Frey Lindsay.

(Image: A voter leaves a polling station on January 5, 2021 in Marietta, Georgia. Image credit: Getty Creative.)

With much of the world going back into stringent lockdowns and people warned away, or even outright banned, from physical stores and malls, some observers are suggesting this might be the moment online retail takes the dominant position. Others, however, say this is just the last of a long line of challenges for high street retail, and they’re not giving up without a fight. We’ll hear from branding consultant and futurist Karinna Nobbs as well as the self-styled “Retail Prophet” Doug Stephens.

(Image credit: Getty Creative)

Pip Hare is currently sailing solo round the world in the Vendee Globe race, one of only a handful of women to attempt it. She speaks to the BBC’s Zoe Kleinman from the middle of the Indian Ocean, while preparing for a storm. We’ll hear about coping with isolation, the challenges of sleeping in 30 minute bursts, and why Pip was so committed to her teenage dream of becoming a professional sailor.

(Picture credit: Pip Hare)

Lessons in rethinking the climate emergency from Sierra Leone and the US. We hear from mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr on her plans to plant a million trees, and make climate change relevant to the citizens of the rapidly urbanising capital city. Harvard’s Rebecca Henderson argues that capitalism can provide at least part of the solution, and companies need to price in climate damage, making them financially accountable.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The UK has given the green light to the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid19 vaccine. It’s cheaper and easier to store than some of the alternatives - and the hope is that will make it easier to distribute globally. However, there are worries that production capacity and an unwillingness to share intellectual data might mean the poorest in the world won’t get the immunisation. We speak to Anna Marriott of Oxfam. Also on the show we’ll be mulling over the Brexit deal. We get the view from businesses both sides of the Channel about what the future will bring now the UK and EU have a new trade relationship. We also hear from former EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom who tells us what effect the divorce will have on the rest of the union. As the rest of the world continues to struggle with Covid 19, China is getting back to normal. We hear from Wuhan and Shanghai. Plus, food businesses discuss how they’ve adapted to survive during the pandemic. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Clare Williamson. (Image:University of Oxford researcher in a laboratory at the Jenner Institute, working on the coronavirus vaccine. Image credit: John Cairns/University of Oxford/PA Wire)

A new era has begun for the United Kingdom after it completed its formal separation from the European Union. The UK stopped following EU rules, as replacement arrangements for travel, trade, immigration and security co-operation came into force. On today's programme, we'll hear how we got to this point with Marie Keyworth, and then Vivienne Nunis will tell us what's happening today. Then, Dr Anna Jerzewska, Director of the trade consultancy Trade and Borders and Allie Renison with the Institute of Directors will discuss the UK's trade opportunities in the future.

Producer: Frey Lindsay.

(Picture credit: Reuters.)

What are the realities and responsibilities of young people when it comes to financial planning in a pandemic? Elizabeth Hotson talks to millennials who are trying to manage their money in one of the toughest economic periods since the financial crisis. We hear from Gaby Dunn, host of the Bad with Money podcast; journalist Ebony-Renee Baker who’s planning for herself and her family and Nick Hatter, a life coach who says younger people are far more fiscally responsible than they’re given credit for. Producers: Elizabeth Hotson and Sarah Treanor (Picture of cash via Getty Images).

Necessity is the mother of invention and Elizabeth Hotson finds out how restaurants and other food outlets - some of the most obvious casualties of the pandemic - have adapted to survive in 2020. We hear from Michael Ward, managing director of Harrods department store on how it’s looking to a domestic clientele to make up for the lack of overseas tourists, whilst JP Then, co-founder of Crosstown Doughnuts tells us how companies are incentivising their workers with his sweet treats. Briony Raven, Pret’s UK Food & Coffee Director explains how the high street chain had to learn new tricks and Thom Elliot from Pizza Pilgrims describes sending his products by post. Nicole Ponseca, founder of Jeepney in New York tells us about the ups and downs of a fraught 2020 and Dominic Allport from the NPD Group gives us the cold, hard figures. Produced by Sarah Treanor. (Pic of Regent Street in London by Elizabeth Hotson).

How have our eating habits changed during a year when lockdowns have seen more of us cooking from home and fewer of us sharing meals out with colleagues? And can Zoom calls replace the networking coffee or dinner? Elizabeth Hotson speaks to one-time office workers for whom eating out was just part and parcel of life. Justin Urqhuart-Stuart, co-founder of Regionally casts doubt on the ability of remote working to replicate a true deal-making environment and Dominic Allport, an insight director at the NPD group tells us about the financial impact of the shifts in eating habits. Produced by Sarah Treanor. (Picture of takeaway food via Getty Images).

China is bucking a global trend and its economy is growing again. We hear from Wuhan and Shanghai, where restrictions have been lifted and companies are back in business. But the scars left by Covid-19 are still evident. We’ll also ask how ready China is for the challenges of 2021. The world’s second biggest economy is spending huge amounts on green technologies and clean power. Presenter Fergus Nicoll talks to Dr Sha Yu, Co-Director of the China Programme at the University of Maryland’s Centre for Global Sustainability, and Stefan Gsänger, Secretary-General of the World Wind Energy Association. Fergus is also joined by Yuan Yang, deputy Beijing bureau chief at the Financial Times and independent economist Andy Xie in Shanghai.

(Picture: A worker in North China's Hebei Province, Dec. 17, 2020. Picture credit: Getty Images.)