our guest today is joe kraft, i am shaula vogue and this is "biz stream." we'll see you next time.l jazeera. ♪ >> this is al jazeera p of these are the top stories, and a reminder of our breaking news about the pardons issued by donald trump. they include charles kushner, real estate developer and father of trump's son-in-law, jared kushner. also pardons for longtime associate roger stone. his sentence had been commuted. also, former campaign manager of 2016, paul manafort. 26 people have been pardoned today. gunmen have attacked the town i

. >>> hi, i am shaula vogue, welcome to a special edition of "biz stream."kraft, it is od tgoo see you. >> good to see you. let's take a look at today's featured report. life during the pandemic led to new needs when it comes to goods consumers buy and services they use. for example, being able to know how crowded shops or restaurants are before choosing where to go. for others it may mean having safer eating options like outdoor barbecue restaurants. today's report gives you a glimpse of how businesses are offering customers peace of mind as they venture out the new normal. >> reporter: if you take a look at the graph here, you will see the monthly sales compares to the same month of the previous year. as you can see starting in april, figures fell 40% compares to 2019. things are slowly starting to improve. if you look at the data, you see some recovery in the months leading to october. if you look at the break down, you will see that restaurants are rebounding and fast food is doing better than the year before at 1.8%. japanese pubs and bars are still dow

. >>> hi, i am shaula vogue. welcome to our "biz stream." >> martin schultz is our guest. it is nice to have you again. >> i am so happy to be here. >> let's look at today's featured story. >> consumer goods drastically improved our daily lives. during the research and development process, break throughs are made for using different products. work on lcd improvement game the basis of control technology perfectly suited for cold storage. today's report shows how research and development work can lead to unexpected applications and entirely new product. >> let's start by taking a look at how much money the world's top economy are putting in rnd. if you look at this graph here, you can see of course number one is the u.s. and second is china and japan and germany. so currently japan is spending about $170 billion when it comes to research and for a long time they were second behind the u.s., 2009 china came into the game and this is the results of that. what do you make of these numbers here? >> well, it is still a strong position. japan is investing a lot. the government has

. >>> hi, i am shaula vogue. welcome to "biz stream." our commentator is martin schultz. have you martin. >> thank you for having me. >> reporter: in japan, buses are a popular way for tourists to go sightseeing. however, the covid-19 pandemic haslamed the brakes on bus tours this year. in an attempt to over come the sudden drop in business, a local bus tour companies started offering online bus tours. >> we are about ready for departure. >> reporter: participants eny drinking sake together. today's on-site report features a bus tour company that ken their business online. so we all know the trouble industries have been hit hard by the pandemic. today we are looking at the charter bus history in japan. this is a comparison of 201 and 2020. it has not recovered much. what do you make of these numbers? >> the numbers were terrible. there were a little bit improvement when the government was coming in with domestic help but now we are in the middle of a third break. winter is here. >> today's report features a bus tour company that decided to do something different. they too

i am shaula vogue and this is "biz stream," we'll see you next time.to our people. -- and sell bread to our people. ♪ >> the headlines on al jazeera. the u.s. house of representatives back to threefold increase on pandemic relief checks to $2000. it will need a two thirds majority and says senate to pass. the house overturned trumps veto of the annual defense spending bill. >> congress voted for the spending measure, to find the military through october 1 of 2021. the president objected to the legislation for a number of reasons and

. >>> hi, i am shaula vogue. welcome to a special edition of "biz stream."h craft, it is good to see you. let's take a look at this week's featured stories. >> reporter: the ongoing pandemic pushed many commuters using bicycles to get to work. for those whose jobs allowed teleworking a unique business model is turning empty houses across japan into share houses. the system allows clients to rotate locations, giving them the chance of the best. today's report features rental businesses that are meeting the new need of japan's work force during the pandemic. social distancing have become a new norm. businesses are changing and some are thriving, you know, and some are not? what do you think is the key to keep business afloat right now? >> i would call it asset repurposing or adaptability. as consumer needs or values change depending on the pandemic. companies need to adapt to those changes with products they already have. >> we are seeing a lot of rental business popping up everywhere. i think the younger generation are leading the way. what are your thoughts