This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.
OCI is the blazing fast platform for your infrastructure, database application development and AI needs, where you can run any workload in a high availability, consistently high performance environment and spend less than you would with other clouds.
How is it faster?
OCI's block storage gives you more operations per second.
Cheaper?
OCI costs up to 50% less for computing, 70% less for storage, and 80% less for networking.
Better?
In test after test, OCI customers report lower latency and higher bandwidth versus other clouds.
This is the cloud built for AI and all your biggest workloads right now with zero commitment.
Try OCI for free.
Head to oracle.com slash strategic.
That's oracle.com slash strategic.
Mint is still $15 a month for premium wireless.
And if you haven't made the switch yet, here are 15 reasons why you should.
One, it's $15 a month.
Two, seriously, it's $15 a month.
Three, no big contracts.
Four, I use it.
Five, my mom uses it.
Are you playing me off?
That's what's happening, right?
Okay.
Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch.
It's the $100,000 question.
Will new US visa fees shut the door on the American dream for foreign talent?
It's World Business Express from the BBC World Service.
I'm Sarah Rogers.
Also on today's edition, we'll be talking about why one of the world's largest economies is making everyday essentials cheaper for its citizens.
And in France, Paris is losing one of its icons, but just for a little bit.
Well, it was an announcement from the US president that sent industry reeling.
Donald Trump dropped the bombshell of visa allowing companies to hire skilled foreign workers now comes with a 100000 price tag.
The H-1B programme is heavily used by the tech sector, with India its largest beneficiary.
The White House has clarified it's just on new applications, but these workers originally from India now in New Jersey say it's nerve-wracking time.
You know, it's kind of sad.
I already started selling my stuff.
I kind of like in the process of moving out of the country.
You know, that's kind of like disappointing and sad to do that, to go through that process, because this is where I started my career.
This is where like, I basically like went to grad school and got all my friends over here.
It is difficult.
So I am right now in the process of applying for my H1B extension.
So it is a little bit of nerve wracking.
Also, given the things that are happening in the US with immigration, it's a little bit sceptical.
So critics argue the visa undercuts the American workforce.
Supporters say it attracts global talent.
Jorge Lopez, chair of the immigration practice.
Little Amendelson, PC told me right now it just means confusion.
Our clients are concerned about how to meet their staffing needs when the rules are changing very quickly.
And that's the big concern right now.
You know, can we basically go into a scenario where we are looking at bringing in talent where now the talent has to be subject to this new fee structure?
But from past experience, I think there's going to be some a deep thought as to what is going to be the best practice from a business perspective of how they manage their workforce, whether that workforce would be physically in the United States or outside the United States.
And the idea behind this, isn't it, is it's America hiring American, but is there enough homegrown talent to do that?
Historically, Sarah, the answer is no.
That's part of the problem.
Or else corporate America wouldn't depend on the foreign talent.
The tech sector has always struggled with filling the needs of the US, but this applies to scientists, doctors.
Nurses, allied health, it deals with any professional that are technical.
And for some workers as well, perhaps, who may worry and take their expertise elsewhere?
Well, that's already started to happen, to be honest with you.
I think a lot of the workers are considering options.
And, of course, some industries, some big companies.
If we go back to tech, your Alphabets, your Google, they might be able to pick up the tab for some of these, but smaller companies and other sectors won't be able to do that, will they?
Yeah, you're right.
I think that smaller companies would be struggling, because 100000 for one small company that's in, you know, startup mode is going to be a lot of money, a lot of money.
I guess your phones have been ringing off the hook, have they trying to bottom out what all this means and what happens next?
That is exactly what's happening, and people are companies are trying to try to figure out.
Okay, where do we go from here?
It's the instability that's creating the concern.
Once you know what the rules are, you're fine, but their concern is is though this is the rule today, is it going to change tomorrow?
Okay, so let's bring in walter todd, our guest president and chief investment officer at greenwood capital in south carolina.
Walter, this did hit indian stocks, didn't it?
It did.
You're seeing some Indian IT outsourcing firms down marginally.
So it's a fairly muted reaction.
But Amazon and Microsoft, two of the largest users of H-1B visas, are also down a little bit.
But given that 71 of these visas come from India and the fact that the commerce minister is coming to DC to talk for trade, I'm not sure it's a coincidence.
This announcement happened over the weekend.
Yeah, we'll need to see what happens with those trade talks.
For now, Walter, thank you very much.
The president of South Korea, Lee Jae-myung, has told the BBC, companies will be hesitant to invest in the US.
It's after 300 Koreans were arrested at a car battery plant in Georgia and sent home over work visa irregularities.
The EU's Cyber Security Agency has confirmed that disruption at several major European airports has caused by a ransomware cyber attack.
London Heathrow, Berlin and Brussels airports were all affected, and Brussels has cancelled nearly half of its flights today.
Now.
We don't often get to talk about tax cuts, but from today, people in India will find a host of products like milk or TVs much cheaper.
It's all part of an overhaul of the country's complex goods and services tax and comes as US tariffs threaten to slow growth.
And it's also kicked off at the start of the festive season in India, as Atana Shukla reports.
You'll get it for sale only at Rs 250.
You'll get it for sale only at Rs 250.
Narrow, crowded lanes, glittering lights.
The dill of shoppers haggling over clothes and jewellery.
Mumbai's Crawford market is in full festive swing.
And there's reason to cheer.
New tax cuts are expected to draw in a lot more shoppers like Varsha.
If the tax bill comes down, so automatically our pocket will allow to spend some more.
The markets are already preparing.
It's the start of the biggest festive season.
And with tax cuts across hundreds of product categories, from clothes to shampoos, sweets to even cars and motorcycles, the hope is that millions more people will come out shopping and it will keep the economy rolling.
Small cars and motorbikes, often seen as a gauge of the broader economy, are now 10% cheaper.
And automakers are betting this will rev up slow sales.
At the showroom of Hero Motocorp, the largest two-wheeler brand, buyers are already trickling in.
Many are still making inquiries and comparing prices.
Mumbai is a certain market we're in.
But Hero's Mumbai regional head, Sachin Ghanawat, tells me sales could jump 25%.
We are telling customers to pre-book so that they'll get their desired model on time.
It's this consumer confidence that the government hopes will keep the economy rolling amidst falling exports and US trade tariffs.
I'm paying a lot of tax here which I don't know in the long run, even if I'm getting benefit out of it.
But not everyone's jumping in just yet.
Muskaan, who runs a small clothing brand, says she's waiting to watch how the tax cuts play out.
I'm hopeful that it works as per plan.
If it does, of course it's going to be beneficial for all of us.
Whether India's economy can sustain its pace will depend on how much of these savings trickle down and how long the spending continues.
Artina Tukla reporting from Mumbai.
Now let's bring back in Walter Todd from Greenwood Capital for our next story.
Walter, Warren Buffett's investment firm Berkshire, as you would probably say, Hathaway, has fully exited Chinese EV maker BYD after 17 years.
So what's behind that?
Yeah.
So I think, if you look at the fact they've been selling down this position for several years, since Charlie Munger passed and Warren Buffett's partner this was his original idea back many years ago and made a lot of money in it.
So I think this is more about portfolio management versus any statement about BYD's business.
Although I know the stock's reacting down three and a half percent as Greg Abel takes over from Warren Buffett in the coming months.
And very briefly, is that a big hit for BYD to lose an investor like that?
Well, I think whenever Berkshire exits any position, you see this type of reaction.
You like to have the backing of a major investor like that, but I don't think it's a long-term issue for them.
OK, Walter Todd, thank you very much.
And Paris is losing one of its icons, but just for a little while.
The Pompidou Centre, Europe's largest bastion of modern and contemporary arts, has closed for a half a billion dollar restoration project.
Xavier Reyes, the centre's director.
Five years is too long, but at the same time, it's what's required for a project of this magnitude on a building which spans 70000 square metres.
And that's it from World Business Express with me, Sarah Rogers.
Do subscribe, though, to get your latest.
You'll find World Business Report wherever you get your podcasts.
America is changing, and so is the world.
But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval.
It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.
I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C.
I'm Tristan Redman in London, and this is The Global Story.
Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection, where the world and America meet.
Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
