this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. hello and welcome to talking business with me, tadhg enright. let's have a look at what's on the show. our economies have been growing too slowly, and we need to find ways of reinvigorating them to compete effectively. we're taking a deep dive on economic growth — how to create the conditions that nurture it. at a time when emerging markets such as india and china are growing at speeds that elude the west, are we on a path towards a new economic order? i'm going to discuss all of that with these two — there they are. one's a leadership and marketing expert on a mission to help businesses around the world raise their game when trading with the united states. and the other is from germany's innovation agency,

sharing ideas to help europe's biggest economy bounce out of the economic doldrums.

emerging markets and developing economies are expected to grow about two and a half times faster than advanced economies, but that's somewhat skewed by the world's two most populous countries. india's expecting the fastest growth of any major economy at 7%, while china is looking at growing 5% this year. meanwhile, it's also a mixed picture in the oecd advanced economies. the united states expects growth this year in the region of 2.6%, while in the eurozone, we're looking at a much more sluggish growth figure ofjust under 1%. here in the uk, it's lower still at 0.7%. well, that situation across the eu is now becoming a growing concern among policymakers, including mario draghi, the former ecb chairman and italian prime minister

recently tasked with identifying the obstacles to growth. growth has been slowing down for a long time in europe, but we've ignored it. we cannot ignore it any longer. now conditions have changed. world trade is slowing. china is actually slowing very much, but it's become much less open to us and actually, it's competing with us. now, let's take a look at the issues facing some of the world's other big economies. we'll be hearing from our correspondents in braziland india, but let's go first to the world's biggest economy. here in the us, the debate rages over whether the economy is heading towards a soft landing, meaning the economy has slowed down enough to reduce inflation without causing a recession. gdp rose at a 3% annual rate in the second quarter, while inflation has steadily declined. us stocks have taken the data in stride, trading around record highs. but despite market enthusiasm,

many are urging caution, including jp morgan's jamie dimon and bridgewater�*s ray dalio. according to a recent survey by the national association for business economics, nearly 40% of professional forecasters say that a monetary policy mistake by the federal reserve is the biggest downside risk to the economy in the next year. 23% say next month's presidential election is the biggest risk, and an equal number cite the escalating conflict in the middle east. but these risk factors don't seem to have dented investor confidence here on wall street. after the united states, brazil is the second—biggest economy in the americas. its recent growth has been driven by a robust agribusiness sector, with brazil leading global exports in commodities such as soy, sugar, coffee, orange juice and cotton. with a territory nearly as big as europe, the country is also reaching minerals, ranking second to china in iron ore production and also excelling in the production of copper, aluminium, niobium and other minerals.

as the seventh most populous country, brazil represents a significant consumption market, fuelled recently by nearly record—low unemployment levels. brazil is also becoming increasingly attractive for foreign investments. however, during lula da silva's government, growth has also been bolstered by government spending, both on infrastructure and record high—money transfers to low—income families. but that's adding to public debt. the challenge here is to restore fiscal balance and tame persistent high inflation to sustain growth in the years ahead. here in india, there is a lot of optimism over its growth story, projected as a country drawing global attention as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, an emerging global heavyweight which is poised to become the world's third largest economy by 2030. now, the world bank attributes this success to a lot of factors, like growing public infrastructure investment and household investment in real estate sectors. but there are also concerns. despite having one of the largest young populations in the world, over 80% ofjobless indians

are the country's youth. unemployment among india's educated youth remains a big concern, and also private consumption, which contributes over 60% to india's gdp, is yet to pick up. it is also important to address rising income inequalities because according to estimates, the top i% of the country hold 40% of the country's wealth. so yes, there are bright sparks, but also areas where urgent policy intervention is required. now, my first guest is from a $4 trillion economy once regarded as the export powerhouse of europe. that is germany, of course. but its gdp growth this year is expected to be close to zero. let's explore what can be done to ramp things up. drjano costard, head of challenges at sprind in germany, thank you forjoining us today. let's start by talking about sprind. what is it that you and the rest of the people do there? sprind is the german federal agency for disruptive innovation,

and what we do every day is fund and support potential breakthrough technologies. these are technologies that could really change our lives for the better — find solutions, for example, against climate change, against future pandemics. but what we really do there is fund them at very early stages where they still have a very high risk of actually failing, so that they can then be materialised and be invested in by private investors later on. is there any chance that germany has perhaps a particular problem with this kind of, fostering this kind of entrepreneurship? i think it's a problem or a difficulty that we see in many areas around the world. it's not unique to germany that we need to support breakthrough innovation through public institutions. but germany has, even though they have a very strong position in research so far, been not as successful as other regions in the world to actually make viable businesses and produce products

and services based on really great discoveries from sciences. so yes, i think there is a particular need in germany and other parts of europe as well to foster more support in that area. do you see a risk that perhaps the world of innovation, of disruption, has become too dominated by the united states? i think that's the case, because the more ideas we can build on, the more likely we are to actually find solutions for the grand challenges of our time. if we would just leave it to the us or other regions of the world to find solutions, we would kind of abandon a big part of the potential that we have in europe and that we could foster. and is there a risk, do you think, that europe has perhaps been sitting back too much and letting the united states lead the way when it comes to technological disruption, innovation? all the big names in tech are basically american, aren't they? they are. and, you know, they really, in europe, serve either as inspiration or as

a cautious tale. and i think that's really a bad situation because there is huge potential in europe. europe is a scientific and technological powerhouse, but we need to be better in commercialising these technologies. we need to create our own role models based on european values, and i think we can do that if we address this topic. 0k, well, looking at the type of people that you help, what do you look for in a good innovator, a good idea? so what all of them have in common is really excellence in their technical or scientific field. that's a given. but what we need in addition to that is really a high drive for generating impact, because the way that they will need to go is very long, it's complicated. so unless they have that drive and the will to really create that impact, it will be very hard for them to sustain that career and that path towards actually driving a viable business. and for the european union

as a whole, recently, the former italian prime minister mario draghi published a report in which he spoke in very dramatic terms about the choices facing europe. what are your thoughts about the challenges facing europe as an economy? he pointed out a lot of very important topics that we need to address in europe. another point that he made was that we need substantially more funding for science and innovation. and while that's true, he's also referring to one additional phase there, which is that we need to think hard about how we actually do funding. we really need to make sure that that money is spent effectively and really reaches the innovators that can truly shape this world. i know your organisation is challenged with finding solutions across a variety of sectors, from climate tech to energy. but i wonder what you think the most important sector is, the most important driver for a country will be, to win in those global competitive stakes. i think the combination

of clean and abundant and cheap energy is a key driver of future economic performance, as well as advances in al and computing to drive the service sector. plus, what we really see is how much more important health is becoming. we might think that we in the western world have solved so many health issues, this is really a topic that has been covered, but it's really driving productivity in the long run, not least, as we have seen, with covid. that really brought the world to a really quick halt when it came to economic growth. drjano costard, head of challenges at sprind, thank you so much for your time today. let's turn now to the united states. my next guestjoins me from her home state of california, but she spends most of her time here in the uk, where she helps business leaders navigate the challenges of trading with the world's

biggest economy. allyson stewart—allen, chief executive of international marketing partners, welcome to talking business. why is it that so many of the companies that really capture the modern age — the googles, metas, the amazons, even the openai, the company of the future — have been born in the us rather than other markets? i think what's particular to the us market and the us business culture is risk—taking, uh, experimentation. we reward persistence, we reward the failures, oddly enough, and european business cultures generally, that's not so acceptable even now. so i think that is something in our dna in the united states that makes businesses like those so successful. but also, we think about scale. you know, one of the things that's really interesting is if you're in a market and you're born in a market

of 330—some—odd million people, you immediately start thinking about, how are we going to capture that size of opportunity? so, how can europe try to fix that? try to... ..create that greater appetite for risk? culture is glacial in its pace of change, and getting to a more open, more risk—taking approach is going to take quite a long time. so, investors are more happy to give bigger sums and to take bigger risks since 30—something years ago. but we're not there yet. i think they need to accept that failure and not succeeding is part of the process. you know, no company — think about some of the greats that have been successful around the world — none of them have been successful on their first attempt. they have all tested

and learned, tried something, learned something, improved. so, you advise businesses on taking their product and selling it in other markets. what tips do you have for your clients to expand their customer base beyond their home market? i think the first thing that's key for these companies that are looking at international expansion is that they're absolutely clear what's core in the offering, whether it's a product or a service. what do we replicate everywhere, and what do we have to localise? and that thinking, of integrating the global and the local, is really a determinant of success. doing a pure copy—paste is never going to work. looking a little bit more at the macro side of things now, the uk, its growth — very weak at the moment. the imf suggests it's likely to be just 0.7% this year. so what does that mean?

does that mean that the uk is struggling to innovate? well, interestingly, no. i mean, if you look at the incredible innovations from british companies, there are so many examples of british companies that are doing well and have done well in global markets. so it's not a... i don't think it's an issue about the pipeline of innovation. i think it's an issue of the commercialisation side. how do we commercially exploit these opportunities? because you're sitting on these great assets that are sellable around the globe. what they need are networks, they need infrastructure, they need a global mindset to be ready to succeed in these global markets. so some of it's about the leadership talent and education around leadership. british investment in leadership development and leadership education is one of the lowest in europe and in the world.

so if you educated leaders on how to be more agile, how to have a better global mindset, how to understand how to commercially exploit, i think that's when those scalable companies seize the world. so i think... i believe in education, as you can obviously tell. allyson, there is effectively a trade war under way between the us and china, which includes tariffs and embargoes on certain key products. who do you think is winning and losing from that trade war? it's a very fluid, dynamic situation. it's really about... and certainly through the lens of the us, they're trying to protect certain industries, such as electric vehicles, to make sure that certain sectors aren't sort of inundated with cheaper imports. the challenge, however, is when you apply, you know, protections for a certain sector, you also alienate the rest of the world,

because you are not inviting them to compete in the american marketplace. now, no market is perfect. regulation is required to ensure some degree of fairness and control of your own economy. but, you know, nothing lasts forever, so i think we're just going to have to wait and see how this plays out. economic forecasters believe that by the end of this century, china and india will have overtaken the united states as the world's number one economy. do you think there's anything that can stop that, or is it inevitable? well, nothing's inevitable — and nothing's forever. so, if we work on the basis of those two principles, then the us should be, you know, developing even more trade relationships. the us business culture, at its heart, is about transacting, not necessarily around partnering. and that's going to require a new way of working for american business leaders,

government leaders, to think about how we have a partnership that lasts decades, rather than lurches from election to election. allyson stewart—allen, thank you for talking business with me today. thank you very much, tadgh. now, one of the big differentiators between successful economies and the rest is how well they compete on enterprise, trade and talent. and the country that outperforms all others is the tiny island nation of singapore, home to the bbc�*s asia business hub. let's hear now from our correspondent there, katie silver. the imd world competitiveness ranking placed singapore right at the top. its politics and laws are typically seen as being pro—business. the corporate tax rate is just i7%, and the government offers incentives and grants to support key industries to set up shop here. microsoft, google, fedex, and rolls—royce have their regional headquarters in singapore. another factor propelling it

to the top of the list — a highly skilled workforce. singapore's education system ranks among the best in the world, and low income taxes and quality—of—life factors also help to attract top—tier talent from all over the world. singapore has some of the fastest broadband speeds, as well. there are no power cuts, internet cuts, or labour strikes here. it offers a more predictable business environment than its regional neighbours. by having the same party in power for more than 50 years, the government here has been able to be relentless in pursuing a business environment that is stable and friendly. however, there are challenges on the horizon, including how to navigate disruptive technologies like ai, as well as geopolitical tensions in the region. now, my final guest today runs a business school with campuses both in singapore and in switzerland — the two countries that it claims are leading the way, both on competitiveness and as magnets for global talent. david bach, president of the international institute for management development, welcome to talking business.

thank you, great to be here. we've been looking in this week's show at global growth. i want to get your thoughts, you know, as emerging economies outpace europe and the us with their growth, do you think there's anything that can stop the economic reordering of the world? the global economy is very dynamic, right? certain markets and economies rise, but then they also fall again. and of course, we see this across the years. clearly, it's much more challenging for wealthy economies, like the european ones, to grow at the rates that, you know, places like india or places in southeast asia. but clearly, our economies have been growing too slowly, and we need to find ways of reinvigorating them to compete effectively with some of those more dynamic places. well, europe in particular has been asking some pretty serious questions of itself, about why its growth is particularly lagging its global rivals, china and the us. the former italian prime minister, mario draghi, has been challenged with that.

what do you think the answer is to reviving european growth? we've made many mistakes, particularly over the past 10—15 years, while other economies have been investing — they've been investing in education, in science, in infrastructure, in innovation — we have been very conservative in our approach. you know, certainly, fiscal stability is pretty important, but we have lost, or we've missed opportunities to invest for the future, and it shows. but i think, as you mentioned, the draghi report points out what can and must happen next. and it starts again with investments — investments in education and infrastructure, in innovation, and ultimately, in competitiveness. well, more broadly, david, we're braced for what they call the fourth industrial revolution — that's the impact of artificial intelligence. i know it's something that you've been looking at at imd business school, and i wonder if you think that could affect the pace at which different parts of the world are performing?

absolutely, so we're very excited about artificial intelligence and the productivity growth that it can unlock. of course, what matters is not the technology. as always, it's about how organisations actually use that technology — how thoughtful are they? do they find ways of accelerating innovation and reducing, for example, innovation cycles, creating more value for customers, driving productivity as a whole? so, there are lots of opportunities. you know, there's this sort of saying that ai will not replace you, but ai will replace those who don't know how to use ai. and i think the same can be said for organisations. ai doesn't put you out of business, but if you don't use ai effectively, then you might be falling behind. if we're looking at the competition for talent — the kind of talent that comes out of your business school — your world talent ranking puts switzerland and singapore among the most successful in attracting that talent. what is their secret?

it's a number of factors that our ranking looks at. so, again, it looks at the labour market conditions, it looks at the education system, it looks also at, you know, governance as a whole. and, you know, those are economies — and if you look at some of the others on that list, you look at sweden, you look at luxembourg, look at norway — very open economies, economies that have maintained a lot of social cohesion and social capital, while they have continued to open themselves to global competition. for many years, an mba was seen as an essential way of getting that top job, either as a chief executive or as a founder. is that still the same? so, the mba remains the most successful global postgraduate degree. mba education has to evolve — here at imd, it's changing in profound ways. we're incorporating ai into the curriculum, using ai as a pedagogical tool, but also helping our students understand how to use

these technologies responsibly and effectively. but the world is changing really, really fast. and so, it's clearly not sufficient to finish your education when you're 28 or30, or32, and then hope you can ride that through the rest of your career. so much of what we do at imd is, we continue to work with executives, we upskill people throughout their careers. we're really a lifelong learning partner. so ai is obviously a big one, but what other changes or adaptations have you made to your programmes to make sure your graduates are ready for the business world that's out there today? yeah, so i'd point to two that probably won't surprise you very much. sustainability has become absolutely central to what we do in our programme. it's woven into all of our courses, you know, from marketing to finance, to accounting, to operations. it's just not a nice—to—have, it's an absolute must—have. the companies who recruit our students want to make sure that our participants, our graduates, actually have those skills.

the second one is — look, you know, geopolitics and macroeconomics are topics that for the last couple of years, perhaps the last 15 years or so, were not as prevalent and prominent in curricula, and they're back and they're back because we need leaders who understand the broad geopolitical and geoeconomic context. we've been talking a lot today, david, about competition between different countries, different markets. and i wonder if you think we're perhaps too focused on talking about which countries the best ideas come from. should we be thinking more globally and celebrating innovation wherever it comes from? yeah, so this is one of the, you know, big challenges, right? the beauty of competition, of course, is that it grows — when set up properly and regulated properly — is that it grows the pie overall. if we want to tackle the challenges in front of us — you know, decarbonising the global economy, lifting more people out of

poverty and making the world more inclusive, deploying technologies responsibly — we need cooperation, but we also need competition among the best ideas. and if there is a company in a faraway place that has figured out a more effective way of doing things, we all benefit from that. david bach, president of imd business school, thank you for talking business with me today. pleasure, thank you. well, that's it for this week. i do hope you enjoyed the show. don't forget, you can keep up with the latest on our global economy on the bbc website, or on the smartphone app. you can also give me a follow on social media if you like. i'm @tadthnright. thank you for watching. i will catch you again soon. bye—bye. hello. wednesday brought some very heavy falls of rain across parts of wales and western areas of england too, caused some localised flooding, for example, here in shropshire. and shropshire was one

of the wettest areas, along with southern wales, parts of south—west england. we had up to 73mm of rain around the brecon beacons, 60mm into parts of shropshire, whereas further eastwards on wednesday, some very warm weather for mid—october. we had temperatures peaking at 22.5 celsius in central london. the average at this time of the year is 15. now, over the next few hours, we've got this zone of heavy rain pushing eastwards and northwards, so heavy rain for northern england, some heavy bursts in eastern scotland and some heavy rain for a time across the south—east of england. but all that lot will tend to clear out of the way. the hill fog patches will tend to lift. it'll be a mild start to the day on thursday with temperatures 11 to 15 degrees, and overall it's a better kind of day. we do start off with rain, though, across the far north of scotland. that will be slow to pull out of the way. sunshine follows for most of the uk, so it should be a lovely morning thursday morning. a bit of high cloud in the sky for east anglia and south—east england. and come the afternoon, we do have a trough running

into northern ireland, western scotland, the north—west of both england and wales, so here through thursday afternoon, there is a risk of a few passing showers, but some of you will dodge them altogether. now, looking at friday's weather charts, another area of low pressure is on the way, this one with fairly tightly packed isobars on the cold front. so it's on and ahead of this main band of rain that we'll get some pretty strong gusts of wind, gusts of around 50 or 60 miles an hour working into western scotland. eastern scotland, central and eastern england, probably staying dry all day. temperatures still on the mild side, quite widely between 14 and i7 celsius. we do have that rain friday night and into saturday that will be affecting central and eastern parts of england, eastern scotland. slow to clear saturday morning. eventually, though, it will get out of the way and we'll see sunshine and some blustery showers working into western areas. 0ur temperatures continue to run a few degrees above average for this stage of october, but then second half of the weekend, we've got another area of low pressure on the way, bringing wet and windy weather conditions, but the winds will be of some concern to the northwest of scotland, where we could get

gusts of 70 or 80 mph, making it the strongest area of low pressure we've seen so far this autumn — a risk of some disruption.

this is bbc news. former singer with the pop band 0ne direction liam payne has died at a hotel in argentina. we in argentina. will bring you the latest. trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter gaza, as israeli strikes intensify in the north. at the united nations, the us

turns up the pressure. fix, at the united nations, the us turns up the pressure. a quote unauote turns up the pressure. a quote unquote policy — turns up the pressure. a quote unquote policy or— turns up the pressure. a quote unquote policy or starvation i turns up the pressure. a quote unquote policy or starvation in | unquote policy or starvation in northern gaza would be horrific and unacceptable and would have implications under international law and us law. as donald trump and kamala harris embark on a media blitz with less than three weeks until polling day, we see how china views this crucial presidential election. we start with the developing news from argentina, that liam payne, the former 0ne direction singer, was declared dead at the age of 31. local police say the age of 31. local police say the british musician's body was found outside a hotel. authorities confirmed to our

partner cbs news that he died after falling from the building's third floor.