Business Daily

Forty years ago Japan made more than half of the world's semiconductors. Today, it produces just over 10%. But the country has big ambitions to turn that around.
We hear from the CEO of a company at the centre of the government's high-stakes gamble to revive its semiconductor industry, and more broadly, its tech power.
And we'll learn how the island of Hokkaido is now the site of billions in investment to turn what has long been an agricultural powerhouse into a global chip manufacturing hub.
If you'd like to contact the programme, our email address is [email protected]
Presenter: Suranjana Tewari
Producer: Jaltson Akkanath Chummar
(Picture: A lavender field and colourful flower garden in Hokkaido, Japan. Credit: Getty Images)

When Slovakia was part of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the cars it made were noisy, thirsty and slow by western standards at the time. But when Volkswagen bought the car-maker Skoda, that was the beginning of a major change.
Now, Slovakia makes almost a million cars a year and with Volvo opening a factory here in 2027, it’ll be a quarter of a million more. Extraordinary for a country of five million people.
We visit a factory and find out why this small nation is attracting so much car industry investment.
If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is [email protected]
Presented and produced by John Laurenson
(Picture: Workers on a production line in a car factory, Slovakia. Credit: BBC/John Laurenson)

In the second of two programmes, we look at Donald Trump's record on the economy one year into his second presidential term. Today, we are asking is the United States still facing a cost of living crunch?
Its economy - the largest in the world - is still growing faster than most others and the stock markets are hitting record highs, yet many Americans say they are still struggling to make ends meet. What's going on? We get the view from our North America business correspondent, Samira Hussain; a data scientist; an economist; and consumers from across the country.
If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is [email protected]
Presenter: Rahul Tandon
Producer: Craig Henderson
Additional production (audio diaries): Niamh McDermott
(Picture: A woman walks down the aisle at the grocery store with her shopping cart looking at shelved goods. Credit: Getty Images)

Twelve months into Donald Trump’s second term as President, we examine what it’s meant for the US workforce.
For government workers it has been a year of cuts, sackings and Elon Musk’s now disbanded DOGE - Department of Government Efficiency - group. Some sections of the workforce have felt their rights under attack. Meanwhile, many Republicans feel DOGE has been a success.
Has the past year also provided opportunities for those switching to the private sector?
If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is [email protected]

Presenter: Ed Butler
Producer: Craig Henderson
(Picture: President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on the 26th of February 2025 in Washington, DC. He was holding the first Cabinet meeting of his second term, joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, then head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Credit: Getty Images)

We meet retail turnaround expert Joanna Reynolds, the woman behind the revival of the Folio Society, one of Britain’s oldest publishing houses.
Ten years ago, the company was losing money and facing an existential threat from the digital revolution.
Joanna explains how she transformed the business from a failing book club to a profitable, employee-owned publisher.
If you'd like to get in touch with Business Daily, our email address is [email protected]
Presenter: Sam Fenwick
Producer: David Cann
(Picture: Joanna Reynolds, CEO of the Folio Society, holding a book. Credit: Dunja Opalko)