Business Daily

China's latest trade data show another huge surplus, putting the country on course for what could be a record $1.5 trillion trade surplus this year. In the first of two episodes examining China's export machine, we look at the country's massive solar panel industry. We hear from the so-called Sun King, Dr Jerry Shi, China's first solar billionaire, about the rise of solar power in China. Ed Butler also examines how solar power and other green technologies have helped drive the global response to climate change, while critics raise concerns about oversupply and its impact on industries and economies around the world.
Presenter/producer: Ed Butler
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

From Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, to China and India, companies and countries are pouring billions of dollars to get ahead in the space industry.
It's not just about interplanetary exploration, huge investment is going into satellites, defense systems and location technology.
Rahul Tandon speaks to Carissa Bryce Christensen, Founder and CEO of BryceTech and Professor of Space Security, Dr Namrata Goswami to discuss who winning the race and who might be coming up from behind.
Producers: Amber Mehmood and Matt Lines
Editor: Stephen Ryan
PHOTO: The planet Mars is shown in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope view taken May 12, 2016. NASA/Handout via Reuters

Competition from China, weaker sales and a slower-than-expected shift to electric vehicles have left Volkswagen facing its biggest challenge in decades. VW says up to 100,000 jobs could go, with some of its biggest German plants facing closure. Rahul Tandon, Michelle Fleury and Will Bain look at whether VW can turn things around, and whether its troubles reflect wider problems in Germany's economy.
(Photo: Volkswagen's main German plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, 17 September, 2026. Credit: Liesa Johannssen/Reuters)
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
Producer: Matt Lines

Greek-born billionaire John Catsimatidis rose from working in a New York grocery store to build the Gristedes supermarket chain and a wider business empire after leaving university before graduating. Now head of the Red Apple Group, with interests spanning real estate, energy, aviation and media, he remains a prominent figure in US business and politics, regularly discussing business with President Trump, despite setbacks including a collapsed airline venture and an unsuccessful run for New York mayor.
Presenter: Leanna Byrne
Producer: Amber Mehmood
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
[This episode was first broadcast on 17 June 2026]
(Picture: John Catsimatidis attends the Economic Club of New York in New York City, U.S., May 28, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)

The war in the Middle East has pushed up crude oil prices this year and that's had a knock-on effect on the price of refined oil products like diesel. But after months of conflict, the Gulf's oil-producing nations are now getting most of their exports out, so why hasn't the price of diesel come down? And will it fall now that Donald Trump has reached a deal allowing Russia to export diesel again? The BBC's Sam Fenwick traces the journey of a barrel of oil from the Middle East to the petrol pump, looking at the rising costs along the way.
(Photo: A worker fills a lorry with diesel in London on 2 October 2026. Credit: Yui Mok/PA)
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
Producer: Gideon Long