People & Profit

More than $8 trillion has been pumped into the global economy during the coronavirus crisis, as governments and central banks do their best to limit the long-term damage. The scale of the support is unprecedented, but is the money going to the right place, and will it help to save jobs and the economy? In this edition of People & Profit, Stephen Carroll discusses the design and consequences of economic stimulus with Gilles Moec, Chief Economist at Axa Group.

The International Monetary Fund has warned the world is facing the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The global economy has changed dramatically in the past 90 years, so what does a deep recession look like in 2020? Policymakers are doing their best to limit the impact of lockdown measures, but when can a recovery start, and what state will the economy be in a year from now? We speak to Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist at Allianz & Euler Hermes.

The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown the economy into crisis, and company bosses are on the front line. Many of them are having to take drastic decisions to save their businesses. CEOs will be judged harshly on their actions during this period, so what principles should they be following?

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, some companies are in fact benefitting from the outbreak. Stephen Carroll speaks to Andrew Kessler, the founder of Scough - an American manufacturer of scarves with built-in air filters, which is struggling to satisfy demand. But first, the head of Germany's influential Ifo research institute has warned that Europe's biggest economy could fall into recession. Our correspondents have been taking the temperature in the business community. And we take a look at a gold mine in Australia that's run into a bat problem.

Global growth could be cut in half if the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread, the OECD warns. What are the options open to policymakers to treat the virus's economic symptoms? Also, Stephen Carroll asks veteran market analyst Justin Urquhart Stewart, co-founder of 7 Investment Management, if the stock market volatility is set to last. And we take a look at the auto industry, as the virus hits both suppliers and customers of carmakers.

As the coronavirus outbreak hits international travel, we look at how it's impacting France's beleaguered tourism industry. Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, tells us that past experience shows the sector will bounce back from the damage caused by the outbreak. Finally, we take you to a small French village that lives on literature: it has only 800 residents but 15 bookshops!

Is Lebanon heading for a debt default? As a major payment deadline approaches, we look at the causes of the country's financial crisis. Also, which countries are doing the most to help the globe's richest citizens hide and launder money? We talk to John Christensen, co-founder of the Tax Justice Network, which has just released its Financial Secrecy index. And we go hunting for black truffles with a French farmer in the Vaucluse region.

French economist Gabriel Zucman has chronicled the rise of inequality in the tax system in the United States, which has left the super-rich paying proportionally lower taxes than the poor. In his book "The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay", he lays out a model for a wealth tax to address this inequality. He has lent his expertise to the campaigns of Democratic primary candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and tells FRANCE 24's Stephen Carroll that he's also been contacted by the French presidency for his advice.

Will the coronavirus epidemic do major damage to global economic growth? The world's second-largest economy is facing significantly slower growth this year as a result of the outbreak. Tens of thousands of people have been infected with the virus, the vast majority of them in China. Also, after two decades of France's 35-hour working week, has the policy delivered on its promises? And a paper trail is causing controversy in Germany, as retailers criticise a new law which makes issuing receipts mandatory.

Brexit is happening for real this time! January 31 kicks off an 11-month transition period. In this special programme, we look at how the UK's exit from the EU could impact business - from the tech industry to fishing and the banking sector.