a make or break week for big tech. major players prepare to turn in their financial results following multiple rounds ofjob cuts. plus, a blessing or a curse? we take a close look at what it's like to take over a long—running family business. hello and welcome to asia business report, i'm monica miller. earnings season is back in full swing in the united states. this week will be getting the report from internet giants like spotify, alphabet and meta. and microsoft samsung

and intel. they face now inflation fears as well as operating in a higher interest rate environment. they have also been cost—cutting, putting cost—cutting measures in. dancers are key is a debited dancers vicki says he is not optimistic about technology stocks in the united states. —— —— dan suzuki. i don't really see any reason to expect anything different from what we have seen both from these companies over the past couple of quarters but also from the companies we have only heard from his earnings season.

i think what is clear is growth is slowing and this is hurting these companies notjust on the revenue front but the profitability front which i think is front and centre for markets. we were talking about meta layoffs and other big companies, also the collapse of the silicon valley bank. do you think that maybe this is finally, the pay might be over in the next quarter? —— the pain might be over. nothing i'm seeing in the data is really suggesting that. again, wejust heard from a handful of tech companies in the last week or so. they're pointing to weakening fundamental trends. you have seen this consistently slow down in these companies and you alluded to this. these companies has spent the better part of the last few years opening of a business lines, opening up facilities, hiring people, and they can't cut costs fast enough to the slowdown in growth we are seeing right now so there is no reason either in the micro or macro data we have seen suggested

is changing anytime soon. one reason internet giants like metter and google have been slowing down is because of a reduction in ad revenue. traditionally advertising spending would be the first thing to go when companies face economic times. rose herzig is the president of the advertising conglomerate wpp in australia and new zealand. she says spending on advertising is actually rising in some sectors. they're certainly looking closely and cautiously optimistic that things will be ok and ultimately we have a good outlook for some of the key sectors. travel and leisure are holding and finance and banking sectors are still advertising strongly. the retail sector is currently steady and so far, so good. a lot of our clients recognise they learned a great deal in the pandemic and what they've learned is that the worst thing you can do is cut your advertising spend. i want to talk about twitter. the bbc did an interview with elon musk not too long ago and he said ad revenue is back on the platform. what are you hearing

from your clients? is that something they are interested in, what is their approach to advertising on twitter as opposed to instagram or tiktok? our clients go whether eyeballs are. and twitter is looking a little better than it was a few months certainly with australia with acquitted twice and that my clients and twitter itself as a platform. we are seeing clients looking very closely and they are looking at the platform because again if the consumers are there they are looking at whatever social media platform is really delivering them the numbers. whether it be tiktok, instagram, twitter or any of the other platforms emerging. moving on to bed, bath and beyond in the united states. it has filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure funds to stay afloat. it was warned in early january that it was finding it hard to cover expenses. it became popular in

the 1990s as i go to shopping destination for newlyweds and expecting couples. however, demand has dropped off in recent years as a strategy to sell more store branded products failed. moving on to india. western countries have imposed sanctions on moscow. delhi seems to want to strengthen its economic ties with moscow and an indian delegation is now set to begin a two—day visit to russia. the bbc�*s arena day mukerjeejoins us. what russia. the bbc�*s arena day mukerjee joins us. what does india hope to achieve with this trip? a, india hope to achieve with this tri - ? �* w india hope to achieve with this tri . ? �* ., . ., india hope to achieve with this tri?�* ., ., :: , trip? a fact that a 50 member delegation — trip? a fact that a 50 member delegation will _ trip? a fact that a 50 member delegation will be _ trip? a fact that a 50 member delegation will be visiting - trip? a fact that a 50 member delegation will be visiting st l delegation will be visiting st petersburg and moscow in the next few days is significant enough. they are looking to enhance exports to russia and essentially strengthen bilateral trade ties as well that india's export association has said they are aiming to try to increase indian exports to

russia. closed for the back of this week's visit by russia's trade and industry minister to india and it is here exploring possibilities of free trade agreement with india in the future so there is clearly a lot of foot. indian exporters are also looking to sign agreements during this trip to sell anything from sugar, tea, as well as meat products so it is on the table and essentially this has been something that india and russia have been looking out for a while when it comes to bilateral trade ties. no russia has done its fair share of selling to india. what can you tell us about that statistic?— statistic? imp ports from russia have _ statistic? imp ports from russia have been - statistic? imp ports from russia have been going l statistic? imp ports from | russia have been going up consistently particularly since the war in ukraine began over $46 billion over the last year and that is a significant number. all of this is happening merrily because of

the increased import of russian food. tojust the increased import of russian food. to just give you an example in the month of february india imported nearly 1.6 million harold per day is a record high. in fact russia is now india's largest crude oil supplier and one third of india's crude oil is coming from russia that is a very critical numbers and that is why imports have been skyrocketing because russia has been selling crude oil added discounted rate. it has caused a bit concerning the western countries because india has not come out with a strong condemnation of the war in ukraine but it has been looking after their own needs. that ukraine but it has been looking after their own needs.- after their own needs. that is and e e after their own needs. that is and eye watering _ after their own needs. that is and eye watering number - after their own needs. that isj and eye watering number and thank you very much. joining us from delhi. having a chance to take over a family business may be a privilege but they can be some challenges as well. having a chance to take over a family

business may be a privilege but they can also be challenges as well. some employees, for example, especially those who have been working in the company for some time, may see it as nepotism. that is what happened tojoseph lor who had taken over his dad's leather crafting business in singapore. he shared his challenges with the bbc. my dad grew up in chinatown and got involved in drugs and things like that, i went to visit a few times. it is pretty amazing given what he was before. he he had a rough childhood and background and then to actually turn over a new leaf and build a business from the ground up. when he first started, we went to his office and just hung out and watched him work sometimes. he is more of an artist, a creative, so he would draw some designs and then watch him convert those 2d designs into 3d products and i thought that was pretty amazing. during 2016 we weren't doing so well and back then i saw my dad, with whatever he had and that is when i started. my my dad, whatever he had, he was going to give it to us anyway. so that was when i started.

my brotherjoined in 2019 so i thought i would try to give it a shot to manage the company back then. and he thought it was a good idea to sort of pass on the baton. i guess it is not easy giving up control after more than 30 years of running the business. so there are a few parts where he still wanted to come back in and...control. laughter. ..for lack of a better word. it wasn't easy relationship wise between us but we worked through it. it was a difficult time. i had to make a lot of sacrifices, times out with friends, girlfriend, be working in the office for 100 hour weeks, sleepover, that kind of stuff. the most challenging part i think really was the fact that i was the boss's son. i didn't have any credentials, so to speak. so i think at the start, a lot of the existing employees saw me as that and it took quite a lot of of time

to actually convince them that i was actually capable of doing thisjob. to appeal to the younger generation, we are creating more sustainable products and also create more vegan and options for consumers who prefer not to use animal products. but, that being said, i love the old designs we really respect what my dad came up with more than 30 years ago. the product actually are still good quality and i want to bring them back, and i hope he is a little bit at least proud that his two sons are here working alongside him for something that he started from ground zero many years ago. that is joseph lor there. before we go let me tell you that crowds in disneyland were left stunned when a giant mechanical dragon caught fire. a 13 metre firebreathing dragon

quickly became engulfed in flames as firefighters try to control the blaze but no—one was injured. that is it for us here on asia business report. goodbye for now. he is the oldest competitor running in this marathon. at age 90 david weir walk the race rather than run and he is hoping to do it in seven hours. it takes me two hours to do 6.9 also miles and i call that a good run. the 90—year—old has run 30 marathons in his lifetime. that was my last one, yes. i was struggling then and it took me about an hour longer to do that. that was when i was 64 and i thought now is the time

to give up marathons. that was my last run marathon. david will be running the race in honour of his sister who died of bowel cancer 50 years ago and he uses flyers to get donations. it says london 2023 for bowel cancer uk. thank you. thank you very much! that's very kind! and that was one member of the public who just donated. she took this and... eight o'clock in the morning, i looked and she, made a donation. wonderful. and for david he hopes to continue raising money as long as he can.

irina has had to leave how herfamily back in ukraine but as she tries to build a temporary life thousands of miles away, her countrymen and women who have lost limbs because of the war. the war of more than three dozen people, lost her limbs. we had a partnership with a project in ukraine. it's a company which provide first bionic prostheses in ukraine. we organise a charity project that it will be free for ukrainians. she has had to leave her oldest daughter back home with her husband she is in the northeast with her youngest. at the start of the war they had to take shelter in their basement in the first wave of attacks and while she is here in the northeast, irina wants to help the ukrainian bionics developer which in turn wants to help the thousands of people who have lost limbs on the frontline. for now we have a candidate, a war medic. in a night raid the enemy shot their position so he was

wounded and lost his arm. it is a rewarding experience. and after all her hard work raising awareness from her temporary home in the northeast she deserves to be reunited with her home and family back in the ukraine one day. hello there. i'm karthi gnanasegaram from the bbc sport centre. coming up on the programme: it took penalties to separate them, but manchester united eventually beat brighton to book a place in the fa cup final. an electric atmosphere as newcastle embarrass spurs and elevate their own hopes of finishing in the top four. and we'll have details of a dream debut as well as a record—breaking london marathon. hello and thanks forjoining us.

here's your latest sports news.