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You know some people say that Odoo business management software is like fertilizer, the way it promotes growth and all, but other people say Odoo is like a magic beanstalk because it grows with your company and is also magically affordable.
And there's some people who would even say Odoo's individual software programs come together to build the perfect suite like building blocks.
Well Odoo is all of these things.
Fertilizer. Magic beanstalk.
Building blocks for business.
So sign up now at odoo .com odoo .com hello and welcome to World Business Report from the BBC World Service Namaste.
I'm Divina Gupta joining you from Delhi and on this edition in a the world were left disappointed.
Today we tell you all about it.
Also we take a health check on the U .S. economy.
With fresh jobs data just out we hear from a small business how it's navigating the ongoing uncertainty.
We can't afford to eat it.
We will not survive if this tariff stays in place.
Now you might say well go ahead and buy some silk fabric from the United States.
There is none. there are no silk weaving factories in the United States, none.
Then President Trump says Harvard University could lose its tax exempt status.
We find out what's the potential impact of that.
And a special Friday treat for you, the composer behind the iconic Skype Collar tune joins us as we say goodbye to this online platform next week.
So stay with us and let's dive right in with this.
The only way we're gonna get through this is by sticking together, being a team.
Trust? Trust. That is the trailer for the highly anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto 6 that was expected to be released fall this year.
That is, until on Friday, the GTA maker Rockstar Games announced that it has delayed the launch by a year to May 26, 2026.
In a statement, Rockstar said that it needed extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.
Now while many video gamers well were left disappointed with this, even investors were not happy.
Share of Rockstar's parent company Take2 Interactive tumbled as much as 8 percent on Friday morning and with the company being valued at around 40 billion dollars, that's a lot of money being shaved off.
So what would the company delay the gaming risking such losses and And why would it do that?
Earlier I spoke with Sean Leyden a strategic advisor at Tencent Games.
He used to run Sony Interactive Entertainment's worldwide studio that develops games for the PlayStation brand and joined me from the U .S. Well, you know, you can say it's a delay.
Something as anticipated as a Grand Theft Auto release is a lot of pressure around it.
A lot of expectations around it.
Delaying games in the industry is not unusual.
In fact, it's more of the accepted course, you come out, launch a date, you try to work against it, and you just realize you just need some more time.
They're not going to release anything that's substandard, they're not going to release anything that's average.
They have to hit all expectations, which means outstanding is the only target they have. You mentioned that there are several things that a gaming company has to get right before its release.
It almost seems as if it's a victim of its own success when a game reaches this level.
So what are those things that this business would try and get it right for its fans?
Look, GTA V, its predecessor or the current game on the market, that released in 2013.
It's been a top 10 seller for 12 years.
That's amazing. Nothing has ever done that before.
So, of course, that increases the anticipation for its sequel GTA VI.
And it's going to be bigger.
It's going to be more immersive.
There's going to be an endless array of things to do.
You're going to be able to live in that game for a long time.
I know the guys at Rockstar are perfectionists.
I know if they release something that is not 100 but just 99, they won't be happy with it.
But what do you think it means for the company that chooses to delay it?
How does it impact their business?
They've had remarkable success with the current game GTA V.
Selling like crazy for twelve years is unprecedented in the business.
So I guess in a certain stage you could say they're not racing to get more sales because Because they know that to rush the product out to make it less than what they want it to be, would be more damaging to the brand, to the company, than delaying it six months.
And it's not only rockstars business, but also business of console sales, business of hardware makers that is at stake here because a new game which will be launched would mean that fans will have to buy new console sets, isn't it?
Be it PlayStation 5 or Xbox.
Yeah. Well it'll come out in the quote unquote the the current generation which is PS5 Xbox Series X if it makes the May date next year which I'm sure it will do, but then surely there will be a new Playstation, new Xbox probably by 2027 or 2028 and I'm sure GTA 6 will come out with a re -release on the new hardware specs for for many many years to come.
And what does this mean for other developers then because there's lots of money which is being ported in this particular game and the competition is quite high.
Well, for those developers, other publishers, it means Holiday 25 is wide open, people!
Get your games out now.
We have this thing called the blast radius.
Whenever a big game like Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty hits the marketplace, other publishers try to stay out of the blast radius because all the auction is gone, and those games will suck it all up.
And so the fact that they've announced today that they're moving into 26th May, it means Holiday 25 is going to be wide open for all the publishers.
So could there be changing schedule for some particular developers they could take advantage of.
They could even avoid releasing at a new date.
Yeah, probably. What's the bad news for some publishers is that when the idea of a full release of GTA 6 came out, I think a few publishers pulled up their schedules to release stuff in the summer of 25.
And they may be releasing it a bit too early, because they're trying to avoid GTA 6.
Now, we'll look to the next couple of weeks to see if other publishers adjust some of their more aggressive release dates, because holiday is now wide open.
Are you optimistic that GTA 6 will make it in 2026?
Or will it take more time?
They said May 26. And in this business, you can say, release in the fall or the spring, or at least in April or June.
When you say a date like that, that means you're pretty locked in.
Sean Layden, strategic advisor at Tencent Games.
And many video gamers are hoping that GTA sticks to that deadline.
Chris Lowest, Chief Economist of FHN Financial based in New York.
And Chris, many investors would be hoping the same as well, especially those looking at Take -Two Interactive for software, the parent company which is making this game.
Yeah, absolutely. You know, these games are huge.
The sales are huge.
So it's exciting for investors in the company when you get that release date.
because until you get that release date everything is always a bit up in the air.
Much of a gamer are you Chris?
I am - I am a minor gamer.
I tend to be Mario games with my kids.
Oh you're much better than me I was probably Wolf 3d long time ago but let's talk about the other game in the stock market which is impacting stock market is about the US job report card what's your reading of it seems Seems like a solid pace with some 177 ,000 jobs added in the month of April.
Yeah, that's right.
And look, we all went into this realizing it's the first piece of hard data out of the U .S. after the global tariffs went into effect April 2nd.
So there was a bit of apprehension going in.
I think that's one of the reasons that the market reacted to this as a positive report.
But at the same time, we also saw interest rates rising.
And that's because if employment is solid, it means the Fed next week can remain focused on inflation as its primary concern.
But let's also not forget the other equation, which is tariffs in this regard, and whether that could end up losing business confidence, especially for smaller businesses.
Chris be with us because we wanted to find out what is actually the reaction of smaller businesses.
So I spoke earlier with Greg Sugar who is CEO and creative director of Bowties of Vermont, a business that makes neckties and bowties, pocket squares and scarves.
and I also spoke to him something which the U .S. consumers have been noticing, they've gotten used to being able to order exceptionally cheap clothes and other goods from companies like Temu and Shein and Tine in China.
Part of the reason for this has been possible because the U .S. did not collect import tax on items below $800 in value known as de minimis exemption.
Now that has changed.
There's now a 120 % tax rate or a flat fee which is being charged, and it's impacting businesses like that of Gregg Sugar.
Here's how. We're very much dependent I'd say 75 % of our fabrics come from China.
They have the most raw silk, they make silk very well, they have some of the best high -tech looming machines there.
And so we've been buying there for basically as long as we've been in business.
And so we're heavily reliant on it.
this embargo which is basically what this 145 percent tariff is, this embargo really impacts our company so much so that I don't know if we could survive if it stays in place permanently.
Can you risk raising prices for your consumers to adjust for tariffs if it will continue to depend on China?
The answer is no, we we can't afford to eat it.
We will not survive if this permanent tariff stays in place.
Now you might say well go ahead and buy some silk fabric from the United States.
There There is none.
There are no silk weaving factories in the United States.
None. So what are you doing right now to ensure that your business survives at least four now?
So originally before the Chinese New Year, we brought in three and a half times the amount of fabric that we did last year.
Every year before the Chinese New Year, we have to place an order with our factory.
And I knew that the tariffs were coming.
I paid close attention to American politics.
And so we placed this fairly big order before any tariffs, before Donald Trump was sworn in.
That was one thing that got us through.
Secondly, we used the de minimis loophole that exists in the United States.
So what's that? In the U .S., up until today, there was a law that allowed importers to bring in shipments of valued at $800 or less tariff free.
And so what we did was we imported about a half dozen shipments of under $800 of fabric.
And that way we got that in before the deadline closed.
Between that and I guess one other small purchase order we did in February under the 10 % tariff, we were able to hoard enough fabric to get us through summer.
That was Greg Sugar, CEO and Creative Director of Bow Ties of Vamod.
There could be some good news there because there are signals from both the US and China that could be thorough in trade tensions.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry has confirmed on Friday to local media that the United States has tried to secure talks with Beijing on the trade war.
It said it was evaluating the offer but cautioned that the United States needed to show sincerity, as it put it, to correct its unilateral tariff.
But, you with World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
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Hey everybody, so when you get asked what is Odoo, what comes to mind?
Well, I'll tell you Odoo is a bit of everything.
Odoo is a suite of business management software that some people say is like fertilizer because the way it promotes growth.
But, you know, some people also say that Odoo is like a magic beanstalk because it grows with your company and is also magically affordable.
But then again, you could look at Odoo in terms of how its individual software programs are a lot like building blocks.
Whatever your business needs, manufacturing, accounting, HR programs, you can build a custom software suite that's perfect for your company.
So, what is Odoo? Well, Odoo is a bit of everything.
Odoo is a fertilizer, magic beanstalk, building blocks, for business.
Yeah, that's it. Which means that Odoo is exactly what every business needs.
Learn more and sign up now at Odoo .com.
That's O -D -O -O dot com.
Now, let's shift to another domestic fight that is brewing in the world's largest economy.
The US president Donald Trump has said that he will revoke Harvard University's tax -exempt status, which is renewal of his remarks against the university last month.
Trump wrote this on his social media platform, Truth Social, saying that we're going to be taking away Harvard's tax -exempt status.
It's what they deserve.
Harvard, which is already suing the Trump administration, said that it is unlawful.
Let's go across to Diane Yenter, president of the National Council of Non -Prophy, who's joining us now.
Diane, thank you so much for being with us.
What does this mean?
What's exactly happening here?
What will be the impact on Harvard University if this tax -exempt status is removed?
Well, thanks so much for having me.
And what's happening is the Trump administration is threatening to strip Harvard University of its tax -exempt status.
And this is a direct assault on independent institutions and nonprofit protections.
Really, this action would be an egregious abuse of executive power weaponizing the federal government against a nonprofit university.
And using tax status as a political weapon undermines academic freedom, free expression and the legal protections that allow universities to pursue research without government interference.
And it's most important, I think, to know that this isn't about a single academic institution.
The action, if the president were to take it, would undermine the legal framework that supports independent academic institutions, and it would set a precedent that any nonprofit, whether a university, a religious group, a community clinic, could be next.
Let's talk about Harvard, which is among the wealthiest schools in the country, and one One would argue that it's already got some $50 billion -plus in endowment in fiscal 2024.
The school raked in about over $6 billion of revenue, enjoyed $45 million surplus according to Bloomberg.
So why can't it pay taxes then?
So the federal government determined a set of organizations and institutions that would receive nonprofit tax -exempt status for the work that they do.
And stripping nonprofit status from academic institutions could harm communities across the country.
Academic institutions like Harvard contribute to lifesaving research in Alzheimer's, cancer, public health, and to solving some of the greatest challenges that face our country, and even globally, from climate change to economic inequality.
But again, I think it's important to go back to just how egregious and how much of an overreach of the executive branch's power this kind of an action would be.
There were overwhelming bipartisan majorities in Congress that enacted laws that make it a crime for the president and his staff or his staff to request an audit or to investigate any specific person or investigation.
But in just 30 seconds, Diane, again, how would fight back this one?
Well, we're calling on Congress and, if necessary, the courts to act immediately and stop this reckless abuse of power, uphold the rule of law, and protect the nonprofit and academic sectors from political retaliation.
We leave it there, Diane Yentl, president of the National Council of Nonprofit, joining us there.
Now, Texas is becoming the biggest American state with a universal private school choice program.
So staying with education, there's a scheme there to use public money to fund young people being educated in the private sector.
$1 billion was set aside for roughly $10 ,000 per student to pay for private school.
Public education advocates fear that this will drive funding out of in -need public school districts throughout the states in question.
And in Texas, one analysis found that 73 percent of public school districts are underfunded.
Marketplace's Elizabeth Trovall picks up the story.
Houston -area educator Michele Palmer just got out of her last class.
Texas government — we meet at a Starbucks, where she grades papers sometimes.
She says today, students were brainstorming on their final essays.
A lot of them are doing theirs on pretty controversial topics because the Texas legislature has presented a lot of controversial topics to them.
One of those topics?
Education, which includes Texas funding vouchers — vouchers that are unlikely to benefit the students where Palmer teaches, Aldine Independent School District.
It serves mostly low -income Latino and Black students.
— There are very few parents in Aldine that can afford private school, even with vouchers.
— While some public school educators worry about vouchers driving down enrollment and funding, Palmer says her bigger concern is the state spending $1 billion on private schools when public schools are struggling with issues like high student -teacher ratios.
— The amount of time I have to spend grading and giving good feedback and contacting parents is more, because I have 150 students instead of 120 students.
The number one thing we could do for students in Texas is to lower their class sizes, and this is not going to do that.
— Palmer's district, along with 170 others in Texas, is severely underfunded, according to Rice University sociology professor Ruth Lopez Turley.
She says, while the legislature is spending around $6 ,000 per student in public schools, We're willing to provide $10 ,000 for use toward private schools, when we don't have a whole lot of research evidence that shows that this particular strategy is effective for improving student performance.
In states with vouchers, students who benefit are often those already enrolled in private schools.
And in big urban areas, private schools have limited slots and are often much more expensive than what vouchers cover.
But Mark Desjardins says it's in smaller Texas cities where schools have more vacancies and more affordable, that vouchers could make a bigger difference.
He runs All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler, a city in East Texas.
We have 140 kids in our high school, so as it relates to vouchers, we're excited because we're a school that can potentially really grow our high school.
Typically, their program sends all of its kids to college and could take in as many as 120 new students.
Tuition starts at around $19 ,000, and the school also offers financial aid.
We're kind of an educational bargain for what we offered in comparison to our peers.
We have a pretty wide range of socioeconomic diversity within the school.
In West Texas, Steven Cox is superintendent at Trinity Christian School in Lubbock.
He hopes vouchers relieve the financial burden of tuition on some of their families.
Every year though, yes, we do lose families who just say, you know, I got laid off.
I've had unexpected health expenses, or whatever it is, and they have to make a decision.
We would love for folks to not have to make those decisions." Even more voucher money will go to kids with disabilities.
$30 ,000 extra. Laura English has a 10 -year -old daughter with special needs and says vouchers could help her daughter.
People trust private schools, because they hear they're good and they have a reputation.
But there's no guarantee it's going to be for your kid even when you pay the money.
Like a lot of parents, English believes private schools don't ensure a better education.
A little bit of trouble reporting there.
Now, Friday quiz for you, do you remember this?
Well, it's one of the most unforgettable sounds from Microsoft's video calling online platform, Skype.
And as the service prepares to shut down after two decades on May 5th, we hear from the man behind the iconic ringtone, a sound that defined a generation of online communication.
Now, Microsoft's decision to discontinue Skype is part of a broader strategy to consolidate its communication platforms and focus on teams. But we earlier spoke with composer Peter Rayburn, who joined me from Los Angeles in the U .S. to share the story behind the tune, and what's it like to say goodbye?
The greeting was the first kind of...
because it kind of makes a kind of m halfway which is kind of an attempt at a creature to say the word Skype.
You can't quite talk.
It's just an opening of a door or opening of a of a kind of communication portal sound.
Again friendly a wake and inviting.
We've kind of created a whole set of language for Skype.
It was everything from like error tones, if a cause were being dropped a lot in the beginning.
So we had to create a an error tone that felt not like a kind of failure, but like an attempt at getting it right.
If you talk about the ring, what is it?
Can you sing it to me?
Do you remember it?
The Ting Ting Ting, the one that and then it sort of poops.
Yes, so that that was yeah, everything was made up from the source materials, but that was made.
And then it became kind of electronic hook.
It was just this kind of like it was like a jam.
How many instruments or layers went into creating that?
At least at least 12 at least 12, but but for it to not feel like a electronic, try to focus on the fact that there's this people who are communicating, and not machines.
But you have to use some digital sounds, isn't it?
Yeah, I mean, you have to use digital plugins and ways of blending things, but but there's no there's no synthetic sounds in there with bits of music, bits of voices, some animals and creatures.
Actually, two women's voices were key in the making of that personality, both J.
James and Megan Wyler.
They were the kind of key voices, but they weren't sounding human when they performing they were kind of sounding more creature -y if that makes sense.
It's actually sounds which are alive but they're being looped like they're a dance track or they are something that goes...
And which one is your favourite there?
I love that ring I've always loved that ring I remember a moment when I think in one of its purchases they suddenly took the groove out of that ring and I was like oh no what have they done?
It's amazing how suddenly you can lose the spark.
Even the hang up sound was a combination I remember it was a combination of all these little creature sounds like a noise but then with it was like an old old phone from probably the early early English phones that old ring from there so it was like mixing a really low lo -fi organic ring sound with the creature so you could almost feel the creature.
But I mean I have to ask you know some people love that ringtone that we talked about and some people actually don't.
One of our own producers on the team said that it makes a jump out of her skin every time she hears it because it means that she's got a work call.
She's got to attend to that call.
What do you make of that kind of reaction?
I apologize for causing more stress in people's already stressful lives, for sure.
I think that just shows you how powerful sound is.
And I guess retrospectively, we could have had, I think they weren't ready yet, but I do remember conversations about giving people options.
So you can have that ring, but they could be a more friendly version of that or a less alerty one.
If we had our time again, I reckon we could have had a second option.
It was revolutionary.
I mean, May 5th is when Skype was formally shutting down.
Is there a farewell tone, a musical sign off that you'd like to dedicate to this creation of yours?
that's a really good idea how long have I got two days there is a really nice kind of log out sound that we made and that's probably that's probably a good one but I think just a massive thank you to everybody who who helped make this as special as it was I feel proud proud of that little that little moment of creativity in time that's Peter Rayburn British composer and music producer they're talking to us.
More of that on our sister program, Business Matters, in a few hours from now.
We'll also be talking about elections in Australia, which is set to begin.
Thank you for listening to us for now from the entire team.
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