Consumer confidence weakens across the world

Business Matters - En podcast af BBC World Service

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Soaring prices fuel pessimism about the future. In countries like the UK, shoppers' opinion about the outlook for their finances hits four-decade low. We hear more from retail analyst Rachel Barber and FHN Financial's Wall Street markets analyst Chris Low. The second largest cinema chain in the world has seen its shares plummet sharply after fears it might file for bankruptcy in the US spread across the markets. We talk to Wall Street Journal's Alexander Gladstone, who broke the story. The war in Ukraine, drought, poor harvests and lack of labour have pushed up prices of vegetable oil, the second most important source of calories globally. The BBC's Anish Ahluwalia reports about this problem in India, the world's biggest importer. American and European firms are now much more proactive at looking for women or Black or Asian staff when recruiting. The BBC's Vivienne Nunis has been speaking about this with Kellogg Foundation's CEO La June Montgomery Tabron, the first woman and also the first African American to lead the foundation. Chanel no. 5's owner has seen its request to trademark the shape of the famous bottle rejected. A US court has deemed that the rectangular shaped bottle with bevelled sides is not distinctive enough. Tilar Mazzeo, author of "The Secret of Chanel No. 5: The Intimate History of the World's Most Famous Perfume" explains the history of the legendary perfume. Sam Fenwick discusses these and more business stories throughout the programme with guests on opposite sides of the world: Andy Uhler, a reporter for Marketplace in Austin, Texas, and Zyma Islam, a journalist with the Daily Star in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Picture: Shoppers in London. Picture credit: EPA )

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