the time has come. president biden meets with congressional leaders in the latest effort 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. first of all, this debt ceiling crisis is actually a political crisis. itjust happens to hinge on a must—pass piece of legislation to save the nation from economic catastrophe. so, what exactly is happening here? weeks to go before the federal government is unable to pay its bills. well, the us government spends more money that it brings in. so it needs to borrow money to pay its bills. it can only borrow a certain amount of money. and if it needs to borrow 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 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 1june. so what are the possible 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 ofjobs would be lost in the immediate aftermath. but the most dire consequence would be investors losing confidence in the country's ability 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 world's confidence in america. sameer hussein reporting on that story for us. later today, wework, 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, it'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, joined us. our sense is that the result in terms of the revenue it is going to be strong, because we are seeing very good trends 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 tricky, 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 forward? look, it's going to be very challenging, because as we see with the slowdown in economic activity, the r—word, 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? 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 is happening

in the us with their second tier banking crisis. all of that together just means a very tough environment for this company. just looking at the sector as a whole, more broadly, there was so much hype about co—working spaces, remote working, etc. what is your sense of how the sector will do in the future? look, i think absolutely there is a space for the sector because we do think that there is a future for working from home. and flexible working conditions. and with all that in mind, the co—working space becomes collaboration space. so, it requires a lot of new thinking. and wework is good at that. all of that together does 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. 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 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 lithium reserves. crypto company at the truck has filed for bankruptcy protection in united states. that's three weeks after authorities accused it of operating an unregistered exchange.

the company, based in seattle, stopped its operations at the end of last month following the allegations by the us securities and exchange commission. it has recently been fined almost $30 million for violating sanctions on certain countries, as well as breaking anti—money laundering laws. heightening regulatory scrutiny has seen a number of crypto country tumble in the past year. britain's investment minister has arrived in hong kong to promote business ties with the city. lord dominicjohnson is the first british minister to visit hong kong for five years , before mass pro—democracy protests swept the city and resulted in a crackdown by beijing. our asia business correspondent nick marsh with more. there is a focus primarily on financial services, and financial technologies. now the economic links between the home of europe's financial capital and asia's financial capital, of course, they run deep.

there are some parallels more recently as well. both places, frankly speaking, have had a bit of a wobble recently. london, because of brexit and the uncertainly they are, hong kong because of the political turmoil, the protests. and then more recently, the covid—i9 restrictions. hong kong financial officials were in london this month doing similar meetings with uk ministers. but of course, it is the political backdrop to all of this that makes it so contentious. rewind three or four years during the protests of 2019, britain was a vocal supporter of the demonstrators. it was highly critical of china, its crackdown. and the national security law. thenjump forward, here in 2023, and it's back in hong kong,

asking for investments. so a reflection of economic reality perhaps, and certainly a reflection of the uk government;s softening stance towards china, which is all about trying to engage beijing rather than isolate it. we've seen a number of moves from hong kong in recent months as china and hong kong have reopened in a post—pandemic era to attract investment and see the economy grow as a result of having been so subdued in the last two years. 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. analysts think it might be losing ground to apple pie and

strike. that's it for this hour. stay with us on bbc news. spencer was with a year but covid restrictions prevented her meeting her new owner and her meeting her 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 it happen. contacted max and made it ha en. ., contacted max and made it hauen. ., . contacted max and made it happen-_ "i contacted max and made it - happeh-_ it was happen. hello. spencer. it was “ust happen. hello. spencer. it was just amazing- _ happen. hello. spencer. it was just amazing. spencer - happen. hello. spencer. it was just amazing. spencerjumpedl just amazing. spencer jumped all over— just amazing. spencerjumped all over me, he absolutely knew me _ all over me, he absolutely knew me i_ all over me, he absolutely knew me. i didn't know if he would, you _ me. i didn't know if he would, you never_ me. i didn't know if he would, you never know if they will, but — you never know if they will,

but he _ you never know if they will, but he did, after all that time _ but he did, after all that time. if— but he did, after all that time. . , . but he did, after all that time. ., , ., , but he did, after all that time. ., , ., ., ., time. it was a very emotional meetin: time. it was a very emotional meeting for _ time. it was a very emotional meeting for all _ time. it was a very emotional meeting for all three - time. it was a very emotional meeting for all three of - time. it was a very emotional| meeting for all three of them. ijust didn't think i was worthy to have him. i ijust didn't think i was worthy to have him. ijust didn't think i was worth to have him. ~' ., worthy to have him. i knew what i had brought — worthy to have him. i knew what i had brought spencer _ worthy to have him. i knew what i had brought spencer up - worthy to have him. i knew what i had brought spencer up for, i i had brought spencer up for, but you — i had brought spencer up for, but you don't really take it to heart — but you don't really take it to heart it _ but you don't really take it to heart. it means the world to me — heart. it means the world to me. �* , , , ., heart. it means the world to me. , ,,., me. but maggs refuses to take an credit me. but maggs refuses to take any credit for _ me. but maggs refuses to take any credit for raising _ me. but maggs refuses to take any credit for raising spencer. l any credit for raising spencer. the rewarding part was doing it because it's just such fun. the guide dogs community are amazing. fin guide dogs community are amazing-— guide dogs community are amazinu. ., ., amazing. an operation stopped ma . . s amazing. an operation stopped maggs from — amazing. an operation stopped maggs from continuing - amazing. an operation stopped maggs from continuing her - amazing. an operation stopped | maggs from continuing her work with guide dogs, but she is now training ted, her new dog, to become a therapy dog and hopes to take him into hospices. i'm sure you will have seen the coronation of king charles iii took place over the weekend but todayis 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. and members of the public have been taking part in volunteering events across the uk as part of something called the big help 0ut. 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 as she was planning to give it as a present. and time now to leave you with ten 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 up 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. can pep plan the downfall of real madrid?? 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 out to survive the premier league relegation, and we'll start with everton.

they pulled off a remarkable 5—1 victory at brighton,