How immigrants will reshape workforce

Over the next two decades, the largest generation in America's history—the Baby Boomers—will reach retirement age and leave the workforce. Together, immigrants and their children will play a pivotal role in reshaping the workforce and sustaining the demands of a growing economy for decades to come. As major demographic shifts radically reshape the American population, immigrants and their children will strengthen the overall shared prosperity for the country as a whole.

Merchants of Cool - How Teens run the Economy

They are the merchants of cool: creators and sellers of popular culture who have made teenagers the hottest consumer demographic in America. But are they simply reflecting teen desires or have they begun to manufacture those desires in a bid to secure this lucrative market? And have they gone too far in their attempts to reach the hearts--and wallets--of America's youth?

Take a closer look at the complex world of selling "cool" in a Frontline documentary. Click here to watch ->

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Brasilia, a bold experiment in city building

Transformed in just three years from isolated jungle to a modernist dream, Brazil’s capital city is based on architect Oscar Niemeyer’s vision for a classless, new-age world.



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US borrowing crisis 'days away' from danger, says World Bank head

The president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, has warned that the United States is just "days away from a very dangerous moment" because of the government's borrowing crisis.



He urged US policymakers to reach a deal to raise the government's debt ceiling before Thursday's deadline.

The US Treasury will start to run short of funds if no agreement is reached for it to borrow on financial markets.

Changes in fish market that may change your diet

Fish are getting more expensive, but they do not all move at the same speed

IT IS a good time to be a fisherman. The global fish-price index of the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) hit a record high in May. Changing consumer diets, particularly in China, explain much of the sustained upward movement. High oil prices, which increase the cost of fishing and transportation, also add to the price of putting fish on the table.

Not all fish are created equal, however.

UK wages decline among worst in Europe

Wages in the UK have seen one of the largest falls in the European Union during the economic downturn, according to official figures.

Figures from the House of Commons library show average hourly wages have fallen 5.5% since mid-2010, adjusted for inflation, which is the fourth-worst decline in the 27-nation bloc.

By contrast, German hourly wages rose by 2.7% over the same period. Across the European Union as a whole, average wages fell 0.7%.

Why this could be one of the happiest countries on earth?

Bhutan is one of the poorest and least developed nations in the world but it has been ranked the happiest nation in Asia and eighth happiest in the world in a survey. Plastic bags are banned, tobacco is almost illegal and the country measures the wellbeing of its people by Gross National Happiness (GNH) rather than Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Carmen Roberts went to find out why Bhutan is such a land of contentment.



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How Obama Admin Plans to Manhattanize Americans

Concrete action is now being taken to push this plan forward. The U.S. government is looking to implement new policies to discourage people from living in the suburbs and to promote living in major cities. Here’s a report from FOX News about the plan.



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The Untouchables

FRONTLINE magazine examines why no Wall Street execs have been prosecuted for the financial crisis.


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Changing face of the US jobs market

Unemployment in the US remains well above the government's target of 6.5%, and there are also concerns about the types of jobs being created in the fragile economic climate.
Full-time employment is harder to come by so many worker are finding they have to rely on casual roles to make ends meet, as Samira Hussain reports.



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Who are Turkey's protesters?

Turkey's deputy prime minister has apologised to environmental campaigners whose efforts to save a park in Istanbul provoked an unprecedented wave of anti-government unrest. The apology was intended to defuse the tensions but demonstrations have continued. Jeremy Bowen reports from Istanbul on the challenge to the Turkish leadership.

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Margaret Thatcher

James Naughtie considers the lasting influence of Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving Prime Minister of the 20th Century and the only woman to hold the post. Her uncompromising policies and leadership style earned her the enduring nickname "The Iron Lady". She passed away 13 April 2013.

Listen to the 12-minute BBC radio broadcast.




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More podcasts from The New Elizabethans programme are available here.

French economy returns to recession

French president Francois Hollande has introduced
reforms aimed at boosting the country's economy

France has entered its second recession in four years after the economy shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter of the year, official figures show.

Its economy shrank by the same amount in the last quarter of 2012. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

France has record unemployment and low business and consumer confidence.
Separate figures showed that the recession across the 17-nation eurozone has continued into a sixth quarter.

Doesn't hurt to know...What is Bitcoin?

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Is culinary tourism the next big thing in Crete?

In the wake of the ongoing economic crisis, the Greek island is using its tradition of fresh local produce to make tourism the driving force towards recovery.



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Living in a Box: Amsterdam’s Shipping Container Homes

The crowded Dutch city has been meeting a pressing need for student and other low-income housing by using ubiquitous steel shipping containers. After years at sea, the containers were rusted and dented but ready for reuse to house people instead of products.

Amsterdam student Rose Mandungu stands in front of a colorful apartment complex constructed of a rather unusual material—discarded shipping containers.

The ‘Amsterdam’ of Colorado?

By the end of 2013, any visitor to the town of Breckenridge in Colorado, USA, will be able to buy cannabis from licensed stores, provided they are over 21. 

The town decriminalised cannabis in 2010 but currently anyone wanting to buy it must have a recommendation from a doctor.

As Heather Alexander explains, Breckenridge is standing by to see how the new freedom will affect tourism. Will visitors flock to its stores or will people be deterred from coming at all?

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It Was Bankers That Brought Cyprus to the Brink

What is it about the islands around Europe's periphery?

Is there some peculiar psychological thing about proximity plus the illusion of isolation that makes them turn themselves into havens for runaway banks? Inquiring minds want to know.

Anyway, Cyprus's story has obvious parallels with both Iceland's and Ireland's, with R.M.M.L. — Russian mobster money laundering — as an extra ingredient. All three island nations had a run of rapid growth as their status as banking havens left them with banking systems that were too big to save. Iceland, at peak, had banks with assets that equaled 980 percent of gross domestic product; Ireland was at 440 percent. Cyprus, at around 800 percent, was closer to Iceland in this respect.

Why do criminals smuggle garlic?

Sweden has issued international arrest warrants for two Britons suspected of illegally importing 10m euros (£8m) worth of garlic into the EU via Norway. Why would criminals do that? 

 
Swedish state prosecutors claim to have cracked one of Europe's more seemingly strange, if lucrative, smuggling rings.

They say two British men are believed to have made millions of euros smuggling Chinese garlic from Norway into Sweden.

E-books added to Inflation Basket

Thousands of prices are collected from 150 different areas
of the UK

E-books have been added to the basket of goods used to calculate the UK's rate of inflation, but Freeview set-top boxes are out.

The latter has been replaced in the basket by digital television recorders, signalling the changing face of technology.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) updates the basket each year so the contents accurately reflect current trends in spending.

The basket contains about 700 items.