Business Daily

This week on Taking Stock, Rahul Tandon is joined by Katrine Kielos, journalist for Swedish financial broadcaster EFN based in London and Dan Ives, tech analyst based in New York. We look at Anthropic’s reported plans for a mega-IPO that could value the AI company at close to two trillion dollars, what the US midterm elections could mean for the consumers in America and across the globe and if the seasonal favourite Pumpkin Spice has gone too far.

Meta is a social media giant. It's so big, a second Hollywood movie about the company was released just last month. More than three billion people access its biggest apps - Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram - every single day. And those apps make the company a ton of cash. In the last three months alone, they generated $64bn in revenue. Meta now appears to be focused on developing AI, particularly wearable technology. So despite its enormous social media success, will Meta be primarily an AI company in the future?
Presenters: Rahul Tandon, Michelle Fleury and Will Bain
Producer: Guy Kilty
(Picture: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tries on Meta smart glasses during the Meta Connect event on September 23, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

Burning cars, looted shops and clashes on the streets of France have dominated headlines around the world. The chief executive of Carrefour has warned that the unrest is taking a toll on business. But beyond the violence lie deeper questions about living standards and the state of the French economy. Vishala Sri-Pathma hears from protesters, businesses and the French government about what recent protests tell us about France's economy.
(Photo: A masked protester holding an umbrella and a French flag reacts as French police use a water canon amid clashes during demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices in France, 24 October, 2026. Credit: Hannah McKay/Reuters)
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
Producer: Rebecca Smyllie
Editor: Stephen Ryan

After decades in which borrowing has been virtually free, Japan is raising interest rates, affecting savers and borrowers alike. We talk to a former rate-setter at the Bank of Japan, to a homeowner who is braced for the cost of her mortgage to rise, and to a saver who ponders whether now is the time to finally bring her investments back to Japan. And we explore who's making money from the rising cost of borrowing.
(Photo: A Japanese man cycles pass by a stock market indicator board in Tokyo, Japan, 15 October 2026. He has short black hair, going grey at the sides and wears black trousers and a black T-shirt. Credit: EPA)
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Sam Fenwick
Producer: Gideon Long

China's booming export figures, driven in part by demand for AI-related products, suggest a high-tech economy that's thriving. Yet many consumers at home continue to face economic pressures. Ed Butler asks whether there's a link between weakness at home and strength abroad, and what China's export surge could mean for other countries and trading partners.
Presenter/producer: Ed Butler
You can email us: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
(Picture: Security guards walk past containers at a port in Shanghai, China. Credit: REUTERS/Aly Song)