Business Matters

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has submitted his long-awaited report on alleged collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. The report was delivered to the Department of Justice, where Attorney General William Barr will decide how much of it to share with Congress. The BBC's Nick Bryant has been looking back at a complex and politically sensitive investigation. Also in the show, electric scooters and other new modes of transport could be allowed on Britain's roads under a wide-ranging review. A report from the government this week suggests loosening the rules on speed and power to encourage wider use. We’ll hear from James Metcalfe, Co-founder of VOLT bikes. Thailand's five years of military government haven't helped the country's economy. We’ll hear from Korn Chatikavanij, a former finance minister and candidate for the new assembly, on what he thinks might turn the economy around. Plus we look back at the rest of the week's big business stories with Eshe Nelson, economics and markets reporter for Quartz in London, and Mike Regan of Bloomberg in New York. All through the show we’ll be joined by Colin Peacock from Radio New Zealand. (Picture: The Department of Justice stands in the early hours of Friday morning, March 22, 2019 in Washington, DC. Picture credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

EU leaders have agreed on a plan to delay the Article 50 process, postponing Brexit beyond 29 March. The UK will be offered a delay until 22 May, if MPs approve the withdrawal deal negotiated with the EU next week. If they do not, the EU will back a shorter delay until 12 April. We hear from Dr. Dominic Ponattu, a specialist on growth, productivity and innovation in the EU single market. He's produced a report for the German organisation Bertelsmann Stiftung, which concludes that Brexit will cost EU citizens up to $45bn per year. Also in the show, former Brazilian President Michel Temer has been arrested in São Paulo as part of a massive corruption investigation. The BBC's Daniel Gallas has the latest. Shares in Levi Strauss were flying off the shelves as the blue jeans company made its return to the stock market. The price shot higher immediately after Wall Street opened, and closed up 31.8%, valuing the company at $8.7bn. The BBC's Michelle Fleury spoke to the CEO Chip Bergh on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A number of wealthy Americans, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, have been charged in a US college cheating scam to get their children into top US universities. Kay Hymowitz at Vanity Fair and Sahil Desai at The Atlantic join to discuss their coverage of the scandal. And finally, rapper Jay-Z's sixth album, The Blueprint, has been added to a list of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" recordings in the American Library of Congress collection known as the National Recording Registry. Empire Distribution's Justin Hunte joins to discuss the significance of the album and what the selection means for recognition of hip-hop as an at form. All through the show we'll be joined by Fresh Dialogues host Alison Van Digglen from San Francisco and Stephanie Studer, China Business correspondent for The Economist, from Shanghai. (Picture: British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to the media at the end of the first of a two-day summit of European Union leaders on March 21, 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. Picture credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Italy and China are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to expand China's ambitious One Belt One Road initiative all the way to Western Europe. Dr Yu Jie of Chatham House explains what could be in the deal for both sides. Also in the show: It's the only thing economists on Twitter seem to care about, but what is Modern Monetary Theory? The independent banking analyst Frances Coppola joins to unpick the theory and explain why it's so controversial. A new law proposed in Uganda would require musicians, film-makers and playwrights to submit their work for government approval before it's allowed to be performed. As Paul Moss reports, it's not just Uganda, protest music is increasingly seen as a threat by rulers across Africa. Plus we consider the prospects for jeans maker Levi Strauss, which lists shares in New York this Thursday, with Matthew Townsend, global business reporter for Bloomberg News. And our reporter in New York looks at a controversial proposal to introduce a congestion charge for drivers in the city. All through the show we'll be joined by Lulu Chen, technology reporter for Bloomberg in Hong Kong, and Peter Morici, Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland in Washington DC. (Picture: Chinese and Italian flags at a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on February 22, 2017. Picture credit: WU HONG/AFP/Getty Images)

Stadia will be available to users on smartphones, PCs, laptops and TVs. Its Google's first foray into gaming, and we hear from technology correspondent Zoe Kleinman what this means for the industry. Indian airline Jet Airways is forced to ground planes as it runs into financial trouble - we get the latest from Mumbai. And Paris is the world's most expensive city, according to the Economist's annual survey. Roxana Slavcheva helped to compile the list and she tells us how it was calculated. Vivienne Nunis is joined throughout the programme by Laura Lynch, correspondent at CBC in Vancouver, and David Kuo of the Motley Fool website in Singapore. (Picture: the Stadia logo. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Could Russia and China launch planes to compete with Boeing in the aircraft market? Following the Ethiopian Airlines accident last week when a Boeing 737 Max crashed just after take-off, aviation analyst Sally Gethin tells us how other market players could soon become major competitors. As Brazil's President Bolsonaro travels to Washington this week to meet with President Trump, our reporter Daniel Gallas analyses what the historic meeting is likely to mean for the two countries. And our regular contributor Professor Heather McGregor on why networking is so important. Vivienne Nunis is joined throughout the programme by business journalist and author Diane Brady in New York, and Andrew Peaple, Asia markets editor for the Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong. (Picture: Boeing logo. Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)