World Business Report BBC Podcasts

Venezuelans head to the polls amid growing concerns about election fairness and economic instability.
Long: : Venezuelans head to the polls this Sunday for a presidential election fraught with concerns over fairness and transparency, against a backdrop of prolonged political and economic turmoil.
The Paris Olympics are set to dazzle with a grand opening ceremony, despite earlier arson attacks on the train network raising security issues. The games are anticipated to inject 5 to 10 billion euros into the French economy.
Plus Argentina’s strong peso is creating a unique economic challenge: inflation is surpassing currency devaluation, prompting many Argentinians to cross borders for cheaper goods in neighbouring countries due to high domestic tariffs.

In this special edition of World Business Report on the day of the opening ceremony in Paris, we're on the banks of the Seine where the event takes place, and hear from businesses who say that the security lockdown in the area has hit their trade badly.
Will Bain also goes behind the scenes of what it takes to run a team involved in the Olympics. Each country has a Team Leader or Ambassador - or in Olympics terminology they're called Chef de Mission. we hear from Anindya Bakrie who has this role looking after the Indonesian team - he is CEO of Bakrie and Brothers, one of the country’s biggest conglomerates.
And we look at how smaller brands are muscling in on the bigger names of fashion giants such as Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney and Nike. This year’s games will see some smaller labels on the podium as athletes wear less-well known clothing brands.

The US has reported a growth rate of 2.8% so is it enough to signal the end of fears about a recession? Roger Hearing speaks to Bonnie Wilson, Associate Professor, Department of Economics at Saint Louis University.
Also find out why Donald Trump takes centre stage at this years Bitcoin conference. We find out why Mr Trump wasn’t always the staunch crypto supporter he is today.
And, Venezuela’s presidential election takes place this Sunday, with a unified opposition hoping to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power. Catherine Ellis reports from the town of Barquisimeto

China begins mining copper in Afghanistan following a deal made years before the Taliban takeover in 2021. What could it mean for the Afghan people and for future investors?
Plus, a UK cosmetic surgery firm drops its legal actions against former clients who criticised it in online reviews.
And Salt Lake City celebrates getting the Winter Olympics in 2034.

Presenter Will Bain examines the ongoing turbulence in supply chains and the under-the-radar aviation deals at Farnborough in the south of England, where the biggest names in global aviation are convening for its renowned air show.
We'll also delve into the continuing fallout from the global IT outage, focusing on what’s next for the company at the centre of it, CrowdStrike.
Plus, we explore why luxury goods stocks are selling off, as shares in one of the industry’s biggest names, LVMH, take a hit.

Presenter Devina Gupta examines India’s first budget for the new coalition government led by Narendra Modi. There are plans to grow the economy by creating jobs and attracting new investment from abroad. We are in Bangladesh to hear from an internet service provider about how he is trying to keep services going for businesses after protests turned violent in the country. And we hear how one of the main airlines in the US, Delta is struggling to get its operation back to normal after last week's IT outage. Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike triggered the chaos with its faulty computer update.