World Business Report

Electricity cuts, water rationing and prices that are spiralling so high nearly a third of the population is facing a food crisis – we look at inflation in Zimbabwe. And tech giant Apple has a new payment card, which sounds simple enough. But the card isn’t friendly towards leather wallets or jeans pockets because it discolours them… and it can’t be kept with other credit or debit cards in case it damages them. In the UK, there are fears the $30bn horticulture industry could be at risk. A nation famed for its temperate climate that attracts tourists to its quintessentially green gardens...how will the UK adapt? The BBC's Victoria Craig tours famous British gardens to see which plants will survive.

As central bankers meet at Jackson Hole, how worried are they about a recession? And as President Trump fails to buy Greenland, we hear a history of purchasing foreign lands.

We look at one key indicator, the inverted yield curve, which has some economists worried that a recession could be on its way. A controversial gold mine gets the go-ahead in Armenia despite environmental concerns. And we hear from the project trying to tackle malnutrition in East Africa – Amar Ali, the chief executive of Improved Foods, tells us about his innovative way of getting high quality grains to Rwanda and Sudan.

As Britain’s new-ish prime minister has written to leaders of the European Union saying he wants the UK to leave the EU in just over two months’ time – with a deal if one can be agreed. PM Boris Johnson, a cheerleader for Brexit, repeated his pledge that the UK will leave with or without an agreement on October the 31st. Many in business have long been concerned about the potential for disruption at the sea ports that connect the UK to continental Europe if there’s a no deal exit. Rob Young attempted to work out what could happen at the border. Also in the programme - does Facebook have an anti-conservative bias? Plus, the government in Colombia has passed a law allowing large scale cultivation of cannabis plant – for medicinal purposes – and it has just started selling licences to those who want to process and export them. We hear from one company, MedCann.

With a no-deal Brexit looking more likely every day, various parts of UK industry are preparing for the potential disruption. Rob Young speaks with representatives of shipping, ports, freight, haulage and business to get a sense of whether, and how smoothly, trade will flow between the UK and Europe on 1st November. Italy's prime minister resigns as another political crisis unfolds. Could this lead to early elections? We speak to journalist Sabina Castelfranco who's been following events in Rome. And our reporter Rob Cameron reports from the Czech capital Prague as he tries out the city's newest e-bike.