the time has come — president biden meets with congressional leaders in the latest attempt to break the debt ceiling stalemate. co—working after the pandemic —— we'll hear what's the future for we work. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm karishma vaswani. today's the day. a group of congressional leaders are due to meet with us presidentjoe biden later for emergency talks on how to deal with the debt ceiling. it comes as us treasury secretary janet yellen has reportedly been meeting with business leaders to explain the impact a default could have

on us and global economies. so how did washington get here — and what would happen if the borrowing ceiling is not lifted? my colleague samira hussain has been investigating. the first of all, this debt ceiling crisis is actually a political crisis. itjust happens to hinge on a months pass piece of legislation to save the nation from economic catastrophe. so what exactly happening? weeks to go before the federal government is unable to pay its bills. will the us government spend more money that it brings in. so it needs to boro money to pay its bills. it can only boro a certain amount of money. and if it needs to boro more, congress has to prove that. it used to be a routine thing, but not any more. republicans see this as an opportunity to extract demands, like cuts to affordable housing or other social security

spending. but the us presidentjoe biden says no way. you need to pass this legislation with no strings attached. so off to the white house the two warring political parties go to try and work it out. but the clock is ticking. the us government could run out of cash as early as june one. so what are the possible consequences? for starters, june one. so what are the possible consequences? forstarters, people consequences? for starters, people who consequences? forstarters, people who work for government agencies won't get paid. and those getting social security benefits won't get their money, either. financial markets would fall and thousands of jobs would be lost in the immediate aftermath. but the most dire consequence would be investors losing confidence in the country stability to pay the interest on its debt, which comes in the form of treasury bonds, which are seen as one of the safest places to put your money. and that would quickly shatter the worlds confidence in america. w shatter the worlds confidence in america. ,,., , , shatter the worlds confidence in america. , , h, ., america. sameer hussein reporting on that story for — america. sameer hussein reporting on that story for us- _ sameer hussein reporting

on that story for us. later today, one of the giants in the co—working space will report their latest quarterly earnings. analysts polled by reuters are expecting to see a bump up in revenue for the first three months of the year. the company held up well during the pandemic, due to strong demand for remote and co—working spaces. but this year, the company's stock price has been seeing very steep declines, and it faces the possibility of being delisted from the new york stock exchange. for more on this, jun bei liu of tribeca investment partners, whojoin us now. what is your sense of how we work is going to do? ailiilur what is your sense of how we work is going to do?— going to do? our sense is that in terms of the _ going to do? our sense is that in terms of the revenue _ going to do? our sense is that in terms of the revenue it - going to do? our sense is that in terms of the revenue it is - going to do? our sense is that in terms of the revenue it is going l going to do? our sense is that in | terms of the revenue it is going to be strong, because we are seeing very good trend of people returning to work and co—working space, and reconfiguration of a lot of co—working space. so this company has been a big beneficiary of it. however, the share price reaction really comes down to what is going

to happen to its future, financial future, and what is going to happen to a lot of its debt. the company, with a high interest rate, capital is very difficult to come by. so this company needs to figure out a way to quickly monetise its business model. and then, to find ways to deal with this mounting interest as well as debt. it is deal with this mounting interest as well as debt-— well as debt. it is strictly economical _ well as debt. it is strictly economical and - well as debt. it is strictly economical and financial| well as debt. it is strictly _ economical and financial conditions right now with concerns of the recession brewing in the us and liquidity drying up in other markets as well. how might that affect the companies outlook going forwardmark it's going to be very challenging, because as we see with the slowdown economic activity, the recession will mean there will be less demand for office space. but the interesting question at this point is how many of the previous full—time workers have now returned to work, to the office, before the employers start laying off people because mark so it is a transition

base. it is going to be very challenging. and also the same time, commercial property evaluation is very challenging because what happening in the us with their second tear banking crisis. all of that together just means second tear banking crisis. all of that togetherjust means a very tough environment for this company. just looking at the sector as a whole, more broadly, there were so much hype about co—working spaces, remote working, etc. what is your sense of how the sector will do in the future?— sense of how the sector will do in the future? ~ ., , , the future? look, i think absolutely there is some _ the future? look, i think absolutely there is some space _ the future? look, i think absolutely there is some space for— the future? look, i think absolutely there is some space for the - the future? look, i think absolutely there is some space for the sector i there is some space for the sector because we do think that there is a future for working from home. and flexible working condition. and with all that in mind, the co—working space becomes collaboration space. so it requires a lot of new thinking. and we work is good at that. all of that together doesn't mean there is a place in the future, but just mean there is a place in the future, butjust right now how do you monetise that during an economic slowdown when perhaps there won't be enough people to really support that revenue and cash flow�*s

government officials in india say they have discovered substantial lithium reserves in the state of rajasthan. analysts say this could aid india's efforts towards self—reliance in the sector. the bbc�*s arunoday mukharji reports from delhi on why this discovery is important. according to reports, these reserves have the potential to meet 80% of india's demand for lithium. while an official announcement is yet to be made, the indian mainstream media is quoting officials of the geological survey of india as well as officials of the state government where this discovery was made. as of now, india is heavily dependent on imports when

it comes to lithium. as we know, it is a crucial component used in batteries, especially for electric vehicles. at a time when the country is looking to invest and bet big on alternative means of fuel, this discovery, experts say, could help india's larger green ambitions. the country has been doling out incentives to ramp up infrastructure incentives to ramp up infrastructure in the industry and encouraged commuters to switch from fuel driven cars as well. india remains the third largest carbon emitter, and the country has been grappling with rising pollution levels, especially in its cities. experts say this is an encouraging signal, that there could be more such reserves in other parts of the country as exploration continues. just in the month of february, and the state of german smear, again authorities found nearly 6 million tonnes worth of livia reserves. , lithium reserves.

do stay tuned, we will have further developments on that story later in the day. later today, we will find out whether the worlds biggest company is set to see another record when it reports its results for the first three months of this year. last year it made a bumper $161 in profits. the global energy crisis helped fuel the gains and an agreement with russia over production helped push aramco's earnings up, but what now given the return to some level of stability in the energy market? our middle east business correspondent sameer hashmi gave us his take. the first quarter earnings, which for the period of january the first quarter earnings, which for the period ofjanuary to the first quarter earnings, which for the period of january to march 2023. a record yearfor the for the period of january to march 2023. a record year for the company. $161 billion for the year, will this was primarily due to higher prices

after the war broke out in ukraine. 0il after the war broke out in ukraine. oil prices have touched a 14—year—old high. in the first quarter of mass year all prices have gone to $100 of barrel. so, it is unlikely that they will be able to replicate the same kind of earnings this year because oil prices, in the first three months of this year, they were hovering between $70 a barrel to $80 a barrel. , saudi arabia, along with other members, have slashed oil production in the last couple of months because of their concern about weakening demand. nevertheless, istill expect a strong performance from around call. the earnings are not important just for the health of the company. it is not seen just for the oil industry, but it's also likely for saudi arabia is a common me because

saudi arabia is a common me because saudi arabia is a common me because saudi arabia has 90% ownership in aramco. so it relies heavily on the dividend from saudia aramco to fund some of the major infrastructure products which are spearheaded by, these products are vital for saudi arabia. so that is why it is not just the oil industry, but also the saudi officials will be keeping a close watch on the earnings that will be released on tuesday morning. just before we go, paypal shares have dropped in after our street and after its company forecasted its profit margin. the are still expecting big profit margin but hit them more high margins of the piston. it may be losing ground to rivals such as apple pay. that brings us to the end of asia business report at this hour. thanks

forjoining me. tuesday stay with bbc news for the latest global headlines analysis. mags has raised eight guide dogs. spencer was with mags for more than a year, but covid restrictions prevented herfrom meeting his new owner, and he was desperate to meet her. terry quinn lost his eyesight four years ago, and spencer has been his lifeline. the bbc programme reunion hotel contacted max and made this moment happen. hello. it was just a mess, and spencerjumped all over me. he absolutely knew me. it isn't. .. i didn't know if he would. you never know if they will. but he did.

after all that time. it was a very emotional meeting for all three of them. i knew i brought spencer up, but you don't really take it to heart. he means the world to me. i truly hope you understand what you're doing for me. hey, i'm zoff with the catchup. now, i'm sure you have seen that the coronation of king charles, the third, took place over the weekend. but today is the final day of celebrations. and members of the public have been taking part in volunteering events across the uk as part of something called the big help. now this is where volunteers help out on local projects like beach cleaning and flower planting. some other stories for you now. so, the government has allowed animal testing for makeup ingredients to start again after a 25 year ban,

according to a high court ruling. it changed a policy on animal testing to align with eu chemical rules, which the uk are actually still following even after brexit. elsewhere, a 48—year—old woman has survived for five days after being stranded in a remote part of australia. now, she survived just by eating sweets and drinking a single bottle of wine. and what is crazy is she doesn't actually drink herself. she only had this bottle of wine she was planning to give it as a present. and time now to leave you with 10 seconds of... i'm not gonna lie... absolute chaos. now, what would you do if you're walking down the street and ed sheeran suddenly appeared on top of a volvo? well, exactly that happened to these lucky people in new york as he treated them to some of his songs. now, that is one very, very clever way to promote his new album, subtract. i'm going to say massive, big op to his management. brilliant pr stunt there. absolutely

love it. you're all caught up now. have a good night.

hello. coming up on this programme... a day of drama in the premier league with some remarkable results among the sides looking to avoid the drop. we'll look ahead to the tuesday's champions league semi final first leg as manchester city travel to the bernabeu and australia's michael matthews sprints away to win stage three of the giro d'italia. it's been an astonishing day of action from the teams battling it