Business Matters BBC World Service

The US economy grew by less than forecast in the first three months of this year but inflation gathered pace, which could delay an interest rate cut.
Official figures revealed the economy expanded at an annualised rate of 1.6%, far below expectations and the growth seen in the final months of 2023.
Meanwhile, inflation, which measures the pace of price rises, has increased.
(Picture: Retail sales drop in Britain, Huddersfield, United Kingdom - 21 Oct 2022. Picture credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is continuing his visit to China, there are tensions on many fronts between the world’s two superpowers, how will the trip pay out? We hear from Brian Wong, from the Centre on Contemporary China and the World, in Hong Kong.
As TikTok vows to fight a new law which could see it sold or banned in the US, what could a ban mean for businesses who rely on it?
And more than 40% of Japan’s municipalities might eventually vanish due to a sharp population decline brought on by a chronically low birthrate, what’s going on?
(Photo Credit: Reuters)

The Federal Trade Commission has voted to ban so-called ‘non-compete’ agreements in a move which could affect millions of workers Under the moves, U.S. companies would no longer be able to bar employees from taking jobs with . But it’s likely to be challenged in court. One woman tells us how her family’s life was turned upside down by a non-compete agreement with a large tech company.
Also on the programme Tesla sees its profits more than halve this year. The company has seen its profits more than halve this year, and says it will bring forward the launch of new models and cut thousands more jobs to try to reverse its fortunes.
And research by German academics has found that we are increasingly pushing back the age at which we consider ourselves to be old. Nimal Ram, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University tells us more

We hear from the BBC's Nikhil Inamdar in the financial hub of Mumbai. Plus, in the tech hub of Bengaluru, first-time voters say it's really hard trying to get a job.
Women are still very much a minority in workplaces. We ask female voters why?
And writer Swati Narayan tells us why she thinks India is so unequal.

US lawmakers could vote on a bill that corners the app's owner ByteDance with a stark choice: to sell or be banned.

Also in the programme, the French government addresses shrinkflation concerns with a new rule that will require stores to tell customers when a product becomes smaller but its price stays the same or increases.

And we look into why sales of wine have dropped in China.
Rahul Tandon discusses these and more business stories with two guests on opposite sides of the world: Lori Ann LaRocco, senior editor of Guests at CNBC Business News, and Colin Peacock, presenter of Mediawatch on Radio New Zealand.
(Picture: A view shows the office of TikTok in the US. Picture credit: REUTERS.)

Businesses in the South American nation have been told to shut down for two days due to power cuts caused by drought. We find out more.
The Scottish government is to scrap its flagship target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030. We hear why.
And Google terminates 28 staff who protested against a contract signed with the government of Israel.
Rahul Tandon discusses these and more business stories with two guests on opposite sides of the world: Tony Nash, CEO of Complete Intelligence in Texas, and Jessica Khine, head of Asia for Astris Advisory Japan in Malaysia.
(Picture: A saleswoman waits for customers at her restaurant in Ecuador. Picture credit: REUTERS/Karen Toro.)