A project in western Kenya is using biogas technology to tackle two major pollution problems. Through a special digester, the invasive water hyacinth is being converted into clean cooking fuel. Irem Koca tells us more. #Kenya #Pollution #Hyacinth

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Kenyan firm turns invasive water hyacinth into cooking fuel | Money Talks

Working from home and unable to go abroad on holiday, many Britons have turned to home improvements during the pandemic. It's led to record demand for building products, with landscaping materials experiencing a huge surge. But it's causing shortages of materials like timber and cement. It means certain projects could be shelved and this could have a lasting effect on the UK's economic recovery, as Oliver Regan explains. #UKbuildingsupplies #HomeImprovements #PandemicSavings

UK building supplies run low as construction demand surges | Money Talks

Free-trading app Robinhood has raised close to 2 billion dollars in its initial public offering. The company's market debut was hotly-anticipated for months, but in the end it was a lacklustre first day of trading. It priced shares at the low end of its range, at 38 dollars a piece. That valued the company at more than 30 billion dollars. Paolo Montecillo has more on what makes the platform so popular. For more, we spoke to Santosh Rao in Princeton, New Jersey. He's the head of research at the merchant bank, Manhattan Venture Partners. #TradingApp #RobinHood #IPO

Free trading app goes public amid numerous controversies | Money Talks

Tunisian President Kais Saied has sacked more top officials, including the head of national television station, Wataniya. This comes days after he fired the prime minister, suspended parliament and assumed judicial powers. Saied's been accused of staging a coup but says his moves are constitutional and necessary to address a dire economic situation. Natasha Hussain. #Tunisia #EconomicPolicies #KaisSaied

Political crisis throws Tunisia's economic policies in limbo | Money Talks

The US economy is now bigger than it was before the pandemic after growing 6-and- a-half percent in the second quarter. But the recovery isn't keeping pace with expectations. Inflation is gathering pace and is already above the government's target of two percent. And the government's stepping-up plans to spend trillions of dollars to boost the economy and create more jobs. Mobin Nasir reports. For more on the state of the US economy, we spoke to Professor Joann Weiner. She's the director of the Applied Economics graduate programme at George Washington University, and joins us now from Lake Tahoe in California. #USGDP #USeconomy #Pandemic

US GDP grows 6.5% in Q2, well short of 8.4% expectation | Money Talks

One person's trash is another person's treasure. That saying is particularly relevant today. A survey by Thredup and GlobalData found that 33 million consumers bought secondhand apparel for the first time in 2020, and a growing number are using digital platforms to do so. Kyoko Gasha travels to Brooklyn, New York, to find out what's driving this trend. #Thifting #OnlineSales #Ecommerce

E-commerce platforms boost used item sales in New York | Money Talks

The World Trade Organization says no consensus has been reached on the waiving of patents for COVID-19 vaccines. India and South Africa say the move would give emerging markets better access to drugs they need to protect their people and boost their economies. But a group of rich countries continues to block the proposal, leaving the rest of the world short on jabs. Paolo Montecillo has more. We spoke to spokesperson for the World Trade Organization, Kieth Rockwell. He joined us now from Geneva. #VaccineInequality #WTO #TradeDisputes

WTO members fail to reach consensus on drug patent waivers | Money Talks

The UK is experiencing shortages in summer essentials such as garden furniture, outdoor toys and camping equipment. Shipping lines have been disrupted by the pandemic and then made worse by the Suez blockage in March causing long delays and soaring prices. It's a headache for customers waiting for their orders, but it's also a challenge for retailers. Not only have their margins taken a hit, but they could find themselves priced out of the market. Natalie Powell has more. #ContainerShortages #UKsummer #ShippingDelays

Pandemic-driven delays cause summer goods shortage in the UK | Money Talks

Revenues and earnings for Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet have surged past already optimistic expectations, as demand for digital services and gadgets continues to soar. Some analysts believe the earnings boom is ending as the global economy emerges from the worst of the coronavirus crisis. But with billions of dollars being added to their cash reserves, Big Tech appears all set to expand its market even further. Mobin Nasir reports. For more on this, Daniel Ives joined us from New York. He's managing director at Wedbush Securities. #TechStocks #Apple #Microsoft #Alphabet

Big Tech firms rack up record sales, earnings in Q2 | Money Talks

Film and television production came to a halt last year in the early months of the pandemic but is now making a comeback, particularly around New York City and parts of New Jersey. As demand for original streaming content surges, the region's indoor movie sets and green screens are filling up. Kyoko Gasha paid a visit to a new soundstage in New Jersey to find out what's driving this production boom. #NewYork #FilmIndustry #IndoorStudios

New York's indoor studios see surge in demand amid pandemic | Money Talks

BioNTech aims to develop a more effective vaccine against malaria, one of the world's deadliest diseases. Nearly 230 million people are infected with the mosquito-borne parasite each year. The German firm is now seeking to follow up its successful COVID-19 vaccine, with a malaria jab based on the same messenger RNA technology. If successful, the shot could significantly reduce the mortality rate of the disease. Sibel Karkus has more. #Malaria #BioNTech #mRNA

BioNTech to develop mRNA-based malaria vaccine | Money Talks

Sales of Tesla's electric cars bolted past market expectations in the second quarter as the company delivered more than 200,000 vehicles between April and June. That's helped its quarterly net profits surge beyond $1 billion for the first time. The company says it's on track to boost annual revenues by 50 percent this year. But the global microchip shortage could slam the brakes on some of the company's products. For more on this, Jim Holder joined us from London. He's editorial director of Autocar and WhatCar? #Tesla #ChipShortage #Cybertruck

Tesla Q2 profit surges to record $1.1B on record deliveries | Money Talks

The International Monetary Fund says the global economy is recovering at an uneven pace, with the gap between rich and poor countries expected to widen this year. The lender says it's a result of rising coronavirus infections from the Delta variant and inadequate vaccine access. And that could slow the global economic recovery in 2022. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF says it expects global GDP to grow by 6 percent this year, unchanged from its April forecast. While next year's expansion will be slower at 4.9 percent. The fund says advanced economies are leading the recovery with the US and the UK both likely to grow by 7 percent. That's because they and other wealthy economies have had efficient COVID-19 vaccine roll-outs, and better fiscal support programmes. But the IMF has cut its growth forecast for emerging markets, where vaccine distribution has been slow. It says only 11 percent of people in developing countries are fully vaccinated. Many countries, including India, Indonesia, Brazil and Thailand, are also struggling to contain the the Delta variant. #IMF #GlobalEconomicOutlook #Pandemic

IMF maintains global economic outlook at 6% for 2021 | Money Talks

We start in Vatican City, where the trial of a former senior leader of the Catholic Church for financial crimes has begun. Proceedings will be held in the Vatican Museums after a two-year investigation over a botched London property deal that led to millions of dollars in losses. It's part of Pope Francis' crackdown on corruption, and pledge to make the institution's historically opaque finances more transparent. Paolo Montecillo reports. Alessandro Speciale is Bloomberg News bureau chief in Rome and a former Vatican correspondent. He tells us about the significance of the trial, and what it means for Pope Francis's efforts to clean-up the Vatican's finances. #Vatican #CorruptionCharges #CatholicChurch

Vatican tries former senior cardinal on corruption charges | Money Talks

In the doldrums since May, cryptocurrency prices have started this week with a surge. Bitcoin rallied beyond $39,000 on Sunday, its highest level in four weeks. As Mobin Nasir reports, investors are being encouraged by reports of rising acceptance for cryptocurrencies among some of the world's biggest companies. For more on this, Gareth Cleverly joined us from Oxford. He is a digital asset expert at Dacxi, which is a crypto exchange and wealth platform. #Cryptocurrency #MarketAdoption #Bitcoin

Cryptocurrencies rally on hopes of mass market adoption | Money Talks

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