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Selection varies by location while supplies last. See associate or Lowe's .com for more details on qualifying items. Hello and welcome to World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
I'm David Harper and coming up on this edition we will have more on the ongoing protests in Turkey in just a second.
We're also finding out why grain exports have been such a key point of the ceasefire discussions between Russia and Ukraine and some news which didn't go down all that well with fans of the k -pop band New Jeans.
Really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last forwards for a little while.
Why do bands seem to fall out with their record labels so often?
The music lawyer Jules O 'Riordan, known to some as the DJ Judge Jules, tells us more later on in the program.
First of all, though, to Turkey, where we're now seeing a real economic impact following anti -government protests, which have reached levels not seen in more than a decade.
It's followed the arrest and detention of Istanbul's mayor, Ekram Imamourlou, last Wednesday on alleged corruption charges.
He is a prominent figure in Turkish politics and is seen as the person most likely to be able to challenge the rule of the long -serving leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The crackdown has been extended to the arrests of left -wing politicians, lawyers and journalists in pre -dawn raids today.
Turkey's interior ministry says more than 1 ,100 people have been detained after days of protests.
BBC correspondent Ola Gerin is in Istanbul for us.
Five solid nights of protest, not just here in Istanbul, where the demonstrations have been particularly large, but also across the country in about two -thirds of the provinces and Turkey, and particularly, it's worth noting that there have been protests in areas that traditionally would be seen as strongholds of President Erdogan and the ruling party.
I think we are now at a point where this is a test of wills.
Undoubtedly, the President will be hoping that the protests will, at some point, start to peter out, that all of the very tight restrictions will have an impact.
Well, the unrest has caused the Turkish lira to fall again today, despite reports of ministers and bankers meeting over the weekend to implement measures to stabilise the markets.
Aada Tünger is an economist and financial consultant and joins us live now from Bodrum in Turkey.
Thank you for being with us today.
As I just mentioned, the Lira has fallen.
We've also seen an impact on the stock market as well.
Uh -huh, thanks for having me.
Yes, we have seen some negative developments in relation to the recent developments in Turkey, the political developments.
And it is obvious that the value of the Turkish Lira has been going down and also the stock market has come significantly come down and it actually collapsed.
On the weekend the capital market's board of Turkey declared some precautionary measures in order to stop hemorrhage in the stock market.
And we expect that the strong stock market fluctuations are going to subside somehow but we should keep in mind that we estimate that the The Central Bank of Turkey has spent about $20 billion so far since March 18 in order to stop the valuation of the Turkish leire.
This is an estimate we are going to see the weekly statistics soon, but this is our estimate.
So the Central Bank has struggled to pile up Turkey's foreign exchange reserves in the past one and a half years, but in about three, four days, a huge amount of those reserves are now gone.
And Turkey has been struggling to reduce the stubbornly high rate of inflation for some time when the new team came to power when the governor of the central bank and also the finance minister, where a point went back in June 2023, the rate of inflation was 38 percent, today it is 39%, so it is extremely difficult for the management for the administrators of the economy to keep inflation at a certain level.
And now it is also under threat.
Some positive developments are going to be threatened in Turkey as a result of this political turmoil in Turkey.
We can see that obviously.
And you mentioned inflation there, but just to look at how this is affecting everyday people in Turkey at the moment, what is the economic situation like for people there?
I mean, obviously, Erdogan's trying to shore up public support.
Is this going to make his life more difficult?
Yes, it is absolutely going to make his life more difficult because he believed and implemented some policies back in 2021 and 2022, the rate of inflation, the cause of the inflation, according to him, was the interest rate.
So in order to keep inflation or in order to reduce the rate of inflation, he ordered central bank to reduce the rate of interest, and he devastated the economy.
Now, Turkey has been coming to a certain positive point, but extremely slowly, and those policies created a very deep and widespread cost -of -living crisis.
But the cost -of -living crisis in Turkey cannot be seen like the cost of living crisis in the developed world.
Because Turkey's inflation rate is, was actually at about 85%.
Today, it is very close to 40%.
Whereas in the United States, in Germany or in some other developed countries, the highest point what was 8%.
Now today, even 2%, 2 .5%, or 3 % levels are seen quite high in the developed world.
So Turkey's story is absolutely different, and it has some deep social consequences for the populace in Turkey.
And there's a deep and widespread cost of living crisis in Turkey.
So Turkey has to deal with those problems, but under these current circumstances, we don't know how it is going to happen because there's a - Well, that was - I mean, that was my next question.
I mean, obviously, given that situation, it's critical for Erdogan and his government that this situation is turned around.
Is there any way that they can stabilize the markets there?
Now, it is extremely difficult to foresee what is going to happen because the political situation in Turkey has a great impact on its economy and funding from banks has come to a stop and we don't even know whether Turkey is going to have free and democratic elections in the future.
This is a question mark.
So under these conditions under these circumstances, the market is quite foggy, misty.
It is impossible to see what is going to happen even tomorrow.
We cannot really see that the government is going to, whether the government is going to be able to continue its economic program or not.
And right now, it is the problem is going is getting worse and worse.
And the situation is is exacerbating what is going on.
When we will? Well, I think we will have to keep an eye on our teacher, an economist and financial consultant, speaking to us about the situation in Turkey.
Thank you very much for joining us here at World Business Report.
Now, we are hearing a lot about the talks taking place in Saudi Arabia at the moment, aimed at bringing an end to the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.
And aside from the discussions about a potential ceasefire, there's also a desire to allow agricultural products to be safely shipped through the Black Sea.
The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner is at the talks in Riyadh.
This is where both the Russian and the Ukrainian delegations have been meeting the Americans, tried to fresh out the technical details of what they can salvage from these ceasefire talks.
The Russians are most interested in the Black Sea, the shipping lanes and their ability to export their own products through the Black Sea.
The Ukrainians are, so far, fairly upbeat about this.
Once the talks with the Russians are finished, they're going to have another meeting with the Americans and then they will return to Ukraine.
These won't be the last talks, it's just a beginning, so delegates have told us.
So our shipments of grain and other products such an important part of the talks.
Andre Sizoff is an expert in Black Sea agricultural markets and joins us live now.
We heard Frank they're saying that these won't be the last talks.
They're not the first either, because we have previously in this conflict seen that Turkey -Brokered Black Sea grain deal a couple of years ago.
Yes, that's correct.
It's a very long story.
It started shortly after the start of the war in 2022 February, because, let me remind you, all vessels were blocked in Adès, in equal life in other Ukrainian ports, and for some time Ukraine couldn't use those ports, those trained terminals, and had to ship its grain via Danube or via LAN to Europe.
And as a result, export flows from Ukraine worked substantially for some time.
But then that so -called Green Deal was ...
it started, and Ukraine started to ship its product.
And just a turn to the situation as it is now, we're not just looking at Ukrainian experts, but also Russia as well.
Why is this so important to Russia?
They presumably have many other ways they can export.
You know, David, actually, so I didn't finish with that story.
So in 2023, that Green Deal was over.
And despite that, Ukraine continued to ship its green from its deep sea ports in Adessa, and that's very important because that's the number one route for Ukraine in green.
So as of now, Ukraine is shipping its grain and iron without any big problems. There are problems from time to time, for example, two weeks ago a missile hit a terminal and also damaged a But it happens quite rarely.
And at the same time, Russia is shipping its grain, and what is more important to Russia, its oils from its terminals.
So in my view, first of all, it looks like a political theater because despite that it's not one topic today, despite that Ukraine is shipping its goods, and Russia is also shipping its goods.
And both parties are not, I think are not intentionally attacking merchant vessels going to Odessa or Russian over a sisk.
So it's part of the wider discussions about bringing a ceasefire to the conflict there.
Yes, it's a it's a step closer probably towards a ceasefire.
But again, we see vessels going back and forth to Odessa, to Ukrainian Odessa, to Russia or Novorossi without any big problems. So, I don't really understand.
So, maybe at the end of the day, maybe today, maybe tomorrow they will just say, OK, now we have a Ukraine deal and the world is safe from hunger.
But, you know, the reality is that there were no big problems even before the government talks.
Let's just look at that world situation for a moment.
Earlier on in the conflict we were talking about how critical these exports are to world food supplies, in particular places like sub -Saharan Africa, which needed some of these grain supplies.
Is that still the case?
Is Ukrainian grain still a big part of that market?
So we need to talk about especially Black Sea and any grain agreements.
We need to talk about both countries.
And yes, they're very important.
Russia and Ukraine combined represent around one -third of total wheat experts, and Ukraine represents its number four five dependent on the supply of corn.
So it's not very important where it goes, to sub -sakaro or any parts of the world.
It's important that that grain is on the market.
So when there are problems with access to the market, then in that case prices could rise like we saw in 2022.
But just a reminder And then to illustrate my earlier points, actually there were no big issues.
So world prices, world food prices, world green prices, a month ago, half a year ago, they were lower than before the war.
Andrew Sizoff, thank you very much for joining us here on World Business Report, just talking about some of the talks regarding Black Sea agricultural markets.
This is World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
Asking the right questions can greatly impact your future, especially when it comes to your finances.
So if you're looking for a financial advisor you can trust, certified financial planner professionals are committed to acting in your best interest. That's why it's got to be a CFP.
Find your CFP professional at let's make a plan .org.
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Now, we can move on and join Rachel Winter from Killik & Co.
who's with us today to have a little look about her finger on the pulse of the markets.
And, well, let's start with Wall Street because we've seen a bit of a boost. Is there a bit more confidence regarding the situation around U .S. tariffs?
There seems to be. Obviously, it's been a very difficult few weeks for U .S. markets, but this afternoon U .S. markets are up nearly 2%, so it's all looking very nice and green on the screen.
Apparently the reason is a report by The Wall Street Journal that perhaps the tariffs we're seeing from Donald Trump won't be quite as bad as previously reported, but obviously we've had a lot of changes of mind here, so I think the situation is still quite volatile and it's very difficult to predict what's going to happen next.
I'm reading that the tech companies have been a big part of this boost, is there anything particular that's giving them an uptake?
Not necessarily. So these tech companies are viewed as being slightly more risky than the wider market.
So, with riskier companies, you tend to find that when markets are falling, those riskier companies, like the tech companies, will fall more than the wider market, and the opposite is true on the way up.
So, this afternoon, because we do have a strong day for the market, the tech companies are outperforming those other stocks that have risen.
We've also been looking this morning, we've had some long discussions in the office about this today about the company 23 & Me.
And if you haven't heard of them, they're one of these companies, there are others available, one of the companies that will or take a DNA sample and analyze it and talk about your, well, potentially your DNA heritage.
But they're not in a good position at the moment.
They're not. So, sadly, they've just filed for bankruptcy, which is a real shame to see.
This is actually quite an old company.
So, they were founded back in 2006 but they listed on the stock market in 2021.
And in hindsight, that was a terrible time to list because the market had a very strong year in 2021.
But then the end of that year is when interest rates started to rise and investors really reduced their appetite for investing in smaller, riskier companies like 23andMe.
So, the share price plummeted and it's really gone from bad to worse since then.
There's also a lot of talk about their business model because whilst it's a very interesting thing to learn about, it really is a one -shot thing.
Once you've looked up your TNA, you don't really have anything to gain by doing it again.
Exactly. So, as an investor, you really want to invest in companies that get recurring revenue from clients.
So streaming services, for example, achieve a great amount of recurring revenue.
23andme as you say, they were just selling these DNA tests and then the customers had no reason to come back.
They did try and launch a sort of subscription model but it just didn't take off.
And sadly, that's one of the reasons why the share price has declined.
Just quickly, I want to ask you as well about META, and in particular, the antitrust case we're seeing between META and the FTC.
We've been talking about this for a long time, this has been going on for quite some considerable time, but it's getting nearer to court now.
It's getting nearer but as you say it has been rumbling along for at least five years now.
The fact that Meta shares are up over 3 % today suggests that investors do not feel particularly concerned at the moment as to the outcome of this antitrust ruling.
It's worth bearing in mind that the ruling is about the fact that Meta was able to buy WhatsApp and Instagram, and it's also worth bearing in mind that the FTC actually signed off that deal initially and now the FTC is trying to go back on that.
So I think that's a bit of a question mark over whether they will be able to do that.
It also shows how longer time five years is in this world because five years ago, Meta were looking very much like the dominant force in this market and their position isn't quite as strong now?
Well, you say that but actually, the share price has had an incredible few years.
And if we look at things like the US trying to ban TikTok, that would be great news for meta, because it would take away all the competition.
So I think the share price has come up a lot over the last couple of years, because some people are hoping that will happen.
Rachel, thank you very much for joining us.
Apologies for my minor coughing fits in the middle of that.
No problem. Please, things happen to the best of us.
Rachel winter from Killik & Co.
joining us on World Business Report.
Now executives from 80 multinationals ranging from Apple to Blackstone to Pfizer and FedEx are gathered in Beijing at the moment as China looks to shore up foreign business confidence.
China's vice -premier He Li Fung told business leaders that the country would open more of its economy to foreign investors and although the tariff word wasn't explicitly used that Chinese leaders were prepared for possible unexpected shocks, Kurt Tong is managing partner at the Asia Group and a former US ambassador to APEC and has been at the summit in Beijing.
I spoke to him a little bit earlier.
There were not that many specific market opening measures, economic reform measures rolled out that tells me that really what the agenda is for the Chinese leadership this year at this time is to make sure that the foreign companies who have already committed to China And most of the companies that participated at this forum were companies that are already heavily invested in China.
That those companies stay and continue to roll over their profits in the Chinese market.
So, it's more a message of trying to continue business as usual rather than offering any particular incentives, any particular giveaways to increase investment.
I think that's right.
I think it's business as usual with a bit of renewed aura of optimism surrounding it.
some of the tariffs that we've seen banded around since Donald Trump came into the White House and the danger of reciprocal tariffs, particularly between China and the United States.
What are you hearing from the bosses of companies about this?
How much of a worry is it?
I think it's a major worry.
Many of them did anticipate that given what Donald Trump was saying on the campaign trail, that there would be high tariffs on China, and so many companies, I think have made plans around that, although implementing those plans is still going to be very painful, and will result in lost profits and lost sales.
So I would rate the anxiety level as medium high, not panicky but pretty high, and then a lot of focus on the question about whether there will be a negotiation between the U .S. in China that could lead, perhaps, to a reduction of these tariff barriers in both directions over the course of the next couple of years.
That question, of course, remains unanswered.
There were some additional clues this week with a U .S. senator in town having some meetings and some sense of slight forward motion on the U .S.-China dialogue in this respect, but a lot of companies are very focused on that.
And just to ask a little bit briefly about how important this is for China domestically, how critical is winning the faith of foreign businesses in this way to China's growth at home?
I think it's important.
I wouldn't rate it as an existential concern.
I think that China's domestic innovation capabilities are significant and the ability to generate growth through domestic demand and domestic investment including state led investment is considerable but the fastest path to growth in new sectors using new managerial techniques and also the capital itself is by continuing to maintain foreign investment in China.
And I think, you know, their intent on doing that if there is broader economic decoupling and some of these companies start to go away.
I think China will figure out a way forward, but they certainly would prefer not to have to address that problem.
Former US Ambassador to APEC, Kurt Tong speaking from Beijing there.
The South Korean group, New Jeans have announced they're taking a break from all activities after a court ruled against them in their ongoing dispute with their record label, ADOR.
While the band had been attempting to brand themselves as NJZ in a bid to break away from label, a Korean court ruling stated that Eugene's claims did not sufficiently prove that AIDOR violated their significant duty as part of their contract and that the label had upheld most of its duty including payment.
It's also prevented the group from organizing their own appearances, making music or signing advertising deals.
It's certainly not the first time that abandon a label have failed to see I2I, though.
Why do these disagreements often happen?
Jewels O 'Reardon is a partner at the sound advice law firm in London.
He's got first -hand experience of the inner workings of the music industry, not least because fans of dance music may know him better in his parallel career as the DJ and producer, Judge Jewels.
The first question to ask really is whether who owns the name, and the likelihood is in the case of the K -Pop act and many constructed pop acts in the UK and the US.
The band members probably didn't know each other before they were constructed.
The band name is probably owned if not owned there will be contractual prohibition of them going away and using the the name independently of management.
Is it just a simple case a lot of the time that these bands develop they start to get their own identity and that they just want to kind of go their own way without the control of a label?
Yeah I think under these circumstances it's probably a bit of a hybrid of label and management and that's often how these these relationships start, in an ideal world when you're an act, you want to have a manager who is wholly independent of your record label because there's a bit of conflict of interest, but I suppose at the same time when you join a prefabricated boy or girl group, you take it as it comes and there's going to be a blurred distinction between record label and management, whereas if the two are separate it might be easier for this sort of situation to get resolved.
Does changing your name really make much of a difference presumably it doesn't really affect the contract at all?
Generally speaking, even if you were to call yourself something slightly different that's sort of tangential but still sounds like it is the original band, then effectively you are infringing a brand right that is very possibly owned by somebody else, even though you're not using an identical name.
At the moment, under the court ruling that exists, they're not able to record, perform or play live while this dispute is ongoing.
And presumably, this isn't in their interest, it's presumably not in the record label's interest either, to have them not earning money.
I guess the issue with the conveyor belt of the arts, and indeed music, moves so quickly, how long one could afford to step out of the game without losing momentum and potentially having other people stepping in and taking your fan base.
So more than just the initial loss of money, but the potential, you know, breaking down of a future career as well.
Absolutely. I mean, every good manager that works to a plan, how you're rolling out the act, how you roll them out in different international territories, when you're going to release albums, how frequently, when perhaps you might permit certain individual members to go off from do solo projects, probably under the auspices of the same management and label, but there's an awful lot of structure and an awful lot of planning.
So, if you interfere with that, it's quite risky.
And to look at it from the record label's point of view for a moment, just to see their side of it.
I know a lot of fans might think, I'd like my act to be able to express themselves and go their own way, but the record companies would have invested quite a bit of money and the management in building them up for them to be in this position in the first place.
Absolutely, and also the strike rate for pop acts is fairly low.
I mean for every major label here in the UK, if 1 in 10 of their acts goes on to have long term success and generate good money, that's a good return.
So, in order to get any form of prefabricated pop act off the ground, there's huge investment involved.
involved. So one, it's very easy to take the side of the sort of downtrodden artist but there is, there will certainly be two sides to this argument.
Jules O 'Riordan, the music lawyer at Sound Advice in London who you might also know as the DJ judge, Jules, just looking at the case of New jeans there.
I just want to direct you briefly, if I can, to our website bbc .com.
news. There is more on the story relating to 23 and me that we were talking about a moment ago and also if you were listening last week hearing about the situation regarding Heathrow Airport in London having to close for almost an entire day as a result of power difficulties.
There's an awful lot about that and the fallout that we've seen politically and technically here in the UK.
This has been World Business Report with me David Harper, though thank you for joining us.
Asking the right questions can greatly impact your future, especially when it comes to your finances.
So if you're looking for a financial advisor you can trust a certified financial planner professionals are committed to acting in your best interest. That's why it's got to be a CFP.
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