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Record numbers file unemployment claims in the US

Global business news, with live guests and contributions from Asia and the USA.

More than 6.65 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the US last week; we speak to the 主播大秀's Michelle Fleury. We also hear from people who've lost their jobs in the US and the boss of one heart clinic has been facing some difficult choices. There's been turbulence on the oil markets but with signs of a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Russia, the oil price has rebounded as we hear from Nitesh Shah, Commodity Strategist at Wisdom Tree. The lives of millions of people have changed over the last few weeks and many are doing never jobs they had never before even considered; the 主播大秀's Dougal Shaw met some actors who went from packing theatres to stacking shelves. Justin Rowlatt talks to the scientists trying to come up with a Covid 19 vaccine. And we hear from Captain Rajesh Unni, CEO of Synergy Marine Group, which supplies crews for commercial ships; he says the right balance between human welfare and global supply chain security has to be hammered out soon. Every crisis has its villains but it also has its heroes. When conventional supply chains aren't delivering vital equipment in time or in sufficient volume the private sector is proving amazingly inventive. We speak to three inspiring manufacturers of masks, ventilators and other essential equipment. And we're joined throughout the programme by Alison Van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues who's based in San Francisco and on the other side of the globe, Enda Curran, chief Asia economics correspondent for Bloomberg News in Hong Kong. (Picture of Brooklyn office of NYS Department of Labor by Lev Radin via Getty Images).

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53 minutes

Last on

Fri 3 Apr 2020 00:06GMT

Broadcast

  • Fri 3 Apr 2020 00:06GMT

Podcast