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BBC World Service


The daily drama of money and work from the BBC.


Business Daily

Doorstep delivery services boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic and they're still popular in many parts of the world: ordering hot meals, or groceries, via a mobile app to your door at the click of a button. 

For the customer, it's a fast and convenient service. For the rider, it's flexible work, but there's no guaranteed income, the work is physical and the hours are often antisocial - especially during major holidays like Christmas and New Year. Why, then, do so many people do it? 

We speak to riders in the US and UK about their experiences delivering food, drinks and other essentials to customers at all hours of the day.

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, you can send us an email to businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: David Harper
Producer: Victoria Hastings

(Picture: A delivery rider on a scooter, travelling through a city at night. Credit: Getty Images)

What's it like being a delivery rider?

With 250 years of brewing history behind his family, Arthur Edward Guinness was discouraged from taking on the responsibility that the men of his family had for centuries. 

Now Ned, or Lord Iveagh, grows crops, brews beer and is in pursuit of being able to pour the perfect pint in one of the two pubs he owns in the rural east of England. 

He tells Leanna Byrne about the extraordinary family history he sees as his legacy, and talks about how the famous brewery at St James's Gate in Dublin, Ireland became one of the most successful in the world. 

Presenter: Leanna Byrne 
Producer: Hannah Bewley

(Image: Ned Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh, attends the "House Of Guinness" London Premiere at Picturehouse Central on 23 September 2025 in London, England. Credit: Getty Images)

Business Daily meets: Ned Guinness

We're in Santa’s grotto – sort of - a Chinese city that some call the Christmas capital of the world. 

With 75,000 traders, across 50,000 stores, Yiwu offers the world’s largest wholesale market across a labyrinth of arcades. 

But at a time of growing trade tensions with the US, who’s actually buying the tinsel this year? 

If you'd like to send us an email, our address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Ed Butler
Producer: David Cann
Additional production: Victoriya Holland

(Picture: Crowds of people walking through Yiwu wholesale market. Credit: BBC/Wang Xiqing)

Yiwu: Christmas city

We look at what makes a great Christmas marketing campaign. From a budget-friendly advert based around coffee cups, to multi-million dollar epic commercials featuring Hollywood A-list celebrities.

We unwrap the secrets behind the world's most iconic festive advertising.

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presented and produced by Elizabeth Hotson

(Picture: A woman and a man wearing Santa hats, sitting in front of a TV with Christmas tree, candles and food. Credit: Getty Images)

The art of the Christmas advert

Festive spending habits are changing, with many, especially younger shoppers, predicted to cut back.

We look at what’s driving the shift, the impact on retail, and how artificial intelligence is starting to shape the way shoppers choose gifts and search for lower prices.

Plus - we hear from members of the World Service audience on what their holiday spending priorities are. 

You can get in touch with the programme - our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Megan Lawton
Producer: Sam Gruet

(Picture: Nelmar Cornes, a stationary enthusiast and the owner of the Toronto Pen Shoppe in Toronto, Canada.)

How Christmas spending is changing

As millions of households around the world put up their Christmas trees, we hear from the founder and CEO of US-based company Balsam Hill - one of the world’s biggest artificial Christmas tree retailers. 

Mac Harman tells us about his journey as an entrepreneur, how he's addressing sustainability concerns, and how the company's managing the pressures of tariffs.

If you'd like to contact the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Ed Butler
Producer: David Cann

Correction, 22 December 2025: This episode, which first aired on 19 December, has been amended to include more detail and to clarify the sourcing of the materials used in the manufacture of Balsam Hill's trees. 

(Picture: Mac Harman. Credit: Balsam Hill)

Business Daily meets: Balsam Hill's Mac Harman

You might be familiar with the term "ghosting" when it comes to dating. One minute you’re talking to someone, the next they disappear.

The same thing is now happening in the job market, with employers not responding to candidates or posting roles that never existed.

It’s a problem thought to affect millions.

In this programme, we hear why "ghost jobs" have become so common, look at the new rules meant to curb the practice, and hear directly from job seekers about how it makes them feel.

You can email us - our address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Megan Lawton
Producer: Sam Gruet

(Picture: Woman applying for a job online. Credit: Getty Images)

The rise of the 'ghost job'

We return to Peru’s mega port - the Chancay Port. This $3.5bn project is a joint venture between China’s state-owned shipping company Cosco Shipping and Peruvian mining company Volcan. It’s already starting to have an impact on local businesses. 

We find out what’s giving it the edge, how local fruit producers are particularly benefiting, and what obstacles still need to be overcome, both politically and logistically. 

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presented and produced by Jane Chambers

(Picture: Fruit producer, Percy Perez, in Peru.)

How Peru's Chancay Port is changing trade

It’s transforming the world of road haulage, but has the recent ‘Uberisation’ been good news for truckers? 

From Nanjing to Nairobi, we discover how digital freight matching platforms are changing the way drivers access work, plan routes and the impact it’s having on the climate. But with driverless trucks on the horizon, what does the future hold for truckers and trucking firms? 

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Sam Gruet
Producer: Megan Lawton

(Picture: A white 18 wheeler truck on the road. Credit: Getty Images)

Is tech good news for truckers?

Pakistan closed its border with Afghanistan in October following sporadic fighting between the two countries.

Since then, the movement of goods has stopped, and lines of trucks have been waiting to cross. 

We look at the impact of this key trade route being shut and what it means for livelihoods and businesses on both sides of the border. 

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Will Bain 
Producer: Hannah Mullane

(Picture: Lorries and a group of people congregating at the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Credit: BBC)

The cost of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border closure

Joe Tidy travels to El Salvador where almost everything can be paid for using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. After President Bukele invested heavily in Bitcoin some people are questioning the long-term impact of such a move. 

For some money has flowed in from mysterious investors, but others like local economist Tatiana Maraquin think the country’s economy cannot handle the fluctuations in the value of the cryptocurrency. 

Joe visits a veterinary surgery, which offers huge discounts on treatment if it is bought using the Chivo bitcoin wallet app. 
 
Presenter/producer: Joe Tidy 

(Photo: Bitcoin poster)

El Salvador’s Bitcoin gamble

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