Money Talks

The music industry lost out on 30 billion dollars in revenue from live concerts last year due to the pandemic, which made large public gatherings impossible in most countries. But 2020 wasn't a total loss for musicians. A new report shows record sales continued to rise, thanks to streaming. Paolo Montecillo has the details. For more we spoke to Bob O'Donnell in Foster City, California. He's a technology analyst and the founder of TECH-nalysis Research. He was also the editor of Electronic Musician and Music Technology magazine.

#AlbumSales #KPop #Streaming

Shared office space provider, WeWork says it lost billions of dollars last year as the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of its facilities. Now it's wooing investors for another 1-billion dollar injection and a stock market listing. WeWork plans to merge with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company to achieve both goals. And as Mobin Nasir reports, it's just one of dozens of companies securing funding through SPACs. For more on this, Santosh Rao joined us from Princeton, New Jersey. He's Partner and Head of Research at Manhattan Venture Partners.

#WeWork #SPAC #IPOs

While streaming has been a good source of revenue for some artists during the pandemic, others who rely solely on live performances for a living have been struggling. New York City's arts and entertainment industry has been at a standstill for a year now, with many workers having lost their jobs. To give a boost to the art scene, local and state groups are organising innovative performances, a first step in bringing back live stages. Fred Katayama went to visit one of these programmes.

#NewYork #ArtsScene #StoreFrontPerformances

The global tourism sector has been decimated by the pandemic with many operators struggling to survive.

Here in Turkey, the president of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies Firuz Baglikaya says he's hoping the industry will be able to recoup some of its losses over the upcoming summer holidays. That's as hundreds of thousands of British and European tourists have shown interest in the country as a holiday destination due to its value-for- money and COVID-19

safety measures.

#TurkeyTourism #Pandemic #SummerHolidays

Monday marks World Water Day, a United Nations initiative designed to highlight the importance of freshwater for our planet's survival. In Indonesia's Java province, one farmer has single-handedly turned his drought-prone village into a place with abundant groundwater, one tree at a time. He's inspired many people to follow in his footsteps. Rahul Radhakrishnan has the story.

#Indonesia #WaterDay #Conservation

Authorities in Japan have decided to ban foreign fans from watching the Olympic and Paralympic games in person. Organisers say the financially painful decision was necessary to protect athletes. They also worry that welcoming hundreds of thousands of overseas visitors will derail the nation's efforts to keep its coronavirus outbreak under control. Paolo Montecillo reports. For more, we spoke to Kieran Maguire in Manchester. He's a sports finance specialist at the University of Liverpool.

#Japan #TokyoOlympics #Pandemic

Getir, the Turkish online grocery delivery start-up, has started operating in London. With its recognisable purple-and- yellow scooters, the company promises corner shop items at your door within 10 minutes. Mehmet Solmaz has more on a firm that's shaking up the rapid delivery market in the UK.

#Getir #RapidDeliveries #GroceryShopping

Turkey has reassured investors there'll be no change in macroeconomic policies after the appointment of Sahap Kavcioglu as the central bank governor over the weekend. Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan says decreasing inflation remains a priority for the government. Earlier he released a statement on the way forward. Elvan has confirmed that decreasing inflation is a priority for the government. He says the macro policy framework currently being implemented will be maintained. With a view to maintaining healthy markets, Elvan says Turkey will not compromise on the free-market mechanism, and that the liberal exchange regime will also continue. And finally, the minister says the reform packages the government announced recently will strengthen the economy and increase resistance to possible shocks.

#TurkeyEconomy #LutfiElvan #Inflation

The world's biggest oil producer, Saudi Aramco, is no longer the world's most profitable company, after net income plunged by almost half last year due to the pandemic. But the oil giant says it still plans on doling out tens of billions of dollars in dividends despite the plunge in profits. Most of this money will go to the Saudi government, which is the company's largest shareholder. And Aramco says global demand for oil is rising, so it expects earnings to get a boost this year. For more on this, Ellen Wald joined us from Jacksonville, Florida. She's the president of Tranversal Consulting and author of the book Saudi Inc.

#SaudiAramco #OilDemand #Pandemic

The European Union's four biggest economies say they'll resume their roll-out of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine. Germany, France, Italy and Spain had stopped distributing the injection after reports of blood clots among some people who received the shots. But according to regulators, data show the vaccine is just as safe as others on the market. Tayyibe Aydin reports. Doctor Muhammad Munir is a virologist at Lancaster University in the UK. He says there's plenty of evidence to show the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe.

#EUregulators #AstraZeneca #Pandemic