Business Daily

The UAE's growing influence in Africa

The United Arab Emirates has become the largest state investor in Africa. It's spending billions of dollars across the continent; building ports, power plants and renewable energy projects. We look at why Emirati companies are expanding so rapidly, and find out how much this investment is reshaping economies. If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk Presented and produced by Sameer Hashmi (Picture: General view of Berbera Port and Bebera city in Somaliland in the Horn of Africa, on 31st August 2021. Dubai-based port operator DP World and the Government of Somaliland, opened a container terminal at Berbera Port in June 2021. Credit: Getty Images)

How might tech shape our world in 2026?

Will the boom in artificial intelligence continue in 2026? We hear how the world’s biggest companies are jockeying for position in the race to dominate the field. After a year of record spending on AI, we look at how sustainable that type of investment might be in the year ahead. Plus - what gadgets could become mainstream in 2026? The BBC's Technology Editor, Zoe Kleinman, and North America technology correspondent in Silicon Valley, Lily Jamali, give Will Bain their predictions. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Will Bain Producer: Matt Lines (Picture: Guests including CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg; Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; CEO of Google Sundar Pichai; and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, X and xAI Elon Musk, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, on Monday, 20th of January 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

Can Asia’s economic growth hold up in 2026?

We explore how economies and companies rode out the tariff-driven economic storms of 2025 and hear how many continue to forge new partnerships in a changing world of global trade. Asia business correspondent, Suranjana Tewari, and India business correspondent, Arunoday Mukharji, join us from Singapore and Delhi to discuss what the year might hold for the region's biggest economic players. If you'd like to contact the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Will Bain Producer: Matt Lines (Picture: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China's President Xi Jinping shaking hands at the Brics summit of emerging economies held in Russia in 2024. Credit: Getty Images)

What's the future for Venezuelan oil?

After American forces arrested and removed the leader of Venezuela, Rahul Tandon looks at what the future might hold for the world's largest oil reserve, and what can we learn from the country's past. Many US companies were forced out of Venezuela when the oil industry was nationalised in the 1970s. The type of oil found there is also hard to reach and complicated to refine. We look at its difficult history, where the oil it produces now goes to, and whether US oil companies will want to spend the tens of billions of dollars it is thought will be needed to fix Venezuela's oil infrastructure. If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Rahul Tandon Reporter: Gideon Long Producer: Justin Bones (Picture: A man wearing a face mask walks past a mural depicting an oil pump and the Venezuelan flag in a street of Caracas, on 26 May, 2022. Credit: Getty Images)

2026: What next for the global economy?

Tariffs and trade wars dominated 2025, but what does the year ahead have in store? And what about the prospect for rising prices we’ve seen around the world? The BBC’s Deputy Economics Editor, Dharshini David, and North America Business Correspondent, Michelle Fleury, pick through what we learned last year and explore the trends likely to shape the global economy in 2026. If you would like to get in touch with the programme, please email: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Will Bain Producer: Matt Lines (Picture: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the G7 summit in Kananaskis on June 16, 2025. Credit: AFP via Getty Images)