The Bottom Line

The "sharing" economy is the topic of discussion for Evan Davis & his guests in the first of a new series of The Bottom Line. The market is built around renting out your possessions to strangers and entrepreneurs have piled in to enable us to share our homes, cars, bikes, clothes, tools and much more besides. At its heart is the idea that business works better if it collaborates, rather than c...

Decorating your home is big business - in the UK and around the world. In China and India the home decor market is evolving fast - but will the result be a global homogenous style? Who sets the trends? And what do you do if your products lose their fashionable edge? Evan Davis and guests discuss the volatile world of design. Guests: Kelly Hoppen, founder Kelly Hoppen Interiors Andrew Graham, CEO G...

It's the lifeblood of the world's economy, moving most of our imports and exports and around the globe. But shipping is changing: vessels and ports are getting bigger and competition for trade is coming from the Far East. Evan Davis and guests from the world of shipping discuss how ports are run and how the shipping business manages the risk of accidents and piracy. Guests: James Cooper - CEO of A...

Infrastructure projects can take decades to complete and are meant to last for generations. Planning for new rail networks, roads, bridges, airports - in the UK and overseas - all require assumptions and predictions about the future. What shape will the country's economy be in? Will the population grow or shrink? How might travel patterns change? And will the political regimes support the project...

When the world economy is booming, many corporate bosses love nothing more than buying each other's companies. Takeovers, mergers and acquisitions soar. But evidence tends to suggest that many of the arrangements are a waste of time, so why are deals so seductive? On the Bottom Line, Evan Davis and guests discuss why deals go right and what happens when they go wrong. Guests: Sir George Buckley -...

What is the role of a business leader? To tell staff what to do or allow them to decide for themselves? One theory about management is that it should turn itself upside-down and permit those closest to the customer to dictate all sorts of business decisions including pricing, marketing and how to deal with complaints. Discussing these issues with Evan Davis are: John Timpson, Chairman Timpson Grou...

Where can you find a hand-stitched crochet blanket, the latest Lady Gaga video or sell your old sofa? Trading online makes it easier than ever to find a marketplace and gives the consumer a different and faster way to shop and browse. On The Bottom Line Evan Davis discusses the issues with: Nic Jones, Senior Vice President International, VEVO; Nicole Vanderbilt, MD Etsy; and François Coumau, Gener...

Where there is war and fear there's money to be made from protection. In The Bottom Line, Evan Davis talks to ex-army leaders turned businessmen about the world of private defence and security work. Why are governments employing private contractors to do work previously done by the armed forces? How do those businesses maintain their reputations in such a controversial sector? Guests: Major Genera...

Big data has become big business as improvements in computer memory storage have made it possible to keep and analyse digital data on a scale previously unknown. Evan Davis and guests discuss how the ability to store information about us has created new industries and transformed others. Presenter: Evan Davis Guests: Dave Coplin, Chief Envisioning Officer and Director of Search, Microsoft UK; Konr...

The power of investors and their role in changing how business functions and is run is the discussion for Evan Davis and his guests. What is it like to be voted off the board by your shareholders? And is investor activism here to stay? And how should a company boss best manage the owners of the company? Guests Alison Carnwath, chair Land Securities Helena Morrissey, CEO Newton Asset Management Nig...

Water is the world's most precious resource. It's also big business. As climate changes and populations shift, getting water where it needs to be is a huge global challenge. And that's without the added problem of leakage. And how much should consumers pay for something that none of us can live without? Evan Davis and guests discuss an industry which has changed almost beyond recognition in just a...

Predicting the future is a skill that can earn investors and businesses a fortune - but get it wrong and disaster looms. In sectors like energy and technology planning decades ahead is an absolute necessity - but how can CEOs know what the world will look like in 2030 and how do they persuade shareholders and staff to come along for the ride? Evan Davis meets three business leaders who are placing...

What do you do when it all goes wrong? How to manage corporations in times of crisis is the subject under discussion by Evan Davis and his guests. Business leaders should expect the ride sometimes to be bumpy - but what is it reasonable to expect? And what is the best way to proceed when the truly unexpected happens? Guests Michael Woodford, former chief executive & president, Olympus Corporat...

Entrepreneurs discuss how much money you need to start a business - and where to get it from - with Evan Davis. Why do some start-ups require millions and others just a few hundred pounds? And what are the benefits and pitfalls of finding investors on the web? It's called crowd-funding and many consider it to be the next big thing in venture capital. Guests: Mark Popkiewicz, founder, MirriAd Julie...

The food industry is increasingly in the spotlight as consumers and government worry about obesity, sustainability and safety. Evan Davis finds out from three very different food companies about how their supply chains work and how much oversight any company leader can have. Guests discuss how to create an efficient and cost effective system that delivers on quality and safety. Do consumers elsewh...

Travel companies have recently had to weather the storms of recession for their customers and major upheaval at popular holiday destinations around the world. Evan Davis finds out how airlines and tour companies plan for their seasonal business in light of economic crisis in Greece and political unrest in Egypt and North Africa - getting it wrong could lead to financial disaster. And guests will d...

Recruitment companies discuss the marks left by recession on their businesses and the employment market. Companies in the eye of the storm when the economy first collapsed have had to adapt to stay in business. Evan Davis finds out the survival strategies of three recruiters in very different markets - from board level headhunting to finding seasonal temps and mid-level professionals. Guests : Vir...

Evan Davis meets "appreneurs" trying to make money in a marketplace where traditional business rules do not apply. Becoming an appreneur is easy. All you need is a computer and a couple of hundred pounds. And an idea of course. No surprise perhaps that thousands of new apps are created every week to serve the ever growing smart phone and tablet computer market. But what happens next? How do you ma...

Education and how to make a profit from it is the focus for Evan and his three guests this week - each of them business leaders in the learning sector. From low-cost private schools in Ghana to no-frills law courses and a University of Liverpool campus in China, our guests will share their business lessons on how to build a reputation and how to price a good education. They'll also talk about the...

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. It's said that the best way to make a small fortune in the wine business is to start with a large one. Evan Davis and his guests explore just how profitable sel...

Evan Davis asks his guests what it takes to rescue a sinking company.

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. From huge infrastructure projects to supplying civil servants with paperclips, there's big money to be made from public sector contracts. Evan Davis meets three business l...

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. You go to a shopping centre and you find an ice rink. Or you go to a bookstore for a glass of wine. So is this the new world of retail? Evan Davis and his panel...

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion and spin to present a clearer view of the business world through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. This week, Evan's three guests discuss the challenges of doing business in and out of Africa. It consists of 54 countries and has more than a billion people but the continen...

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion and spin to present a clearer view of the business world through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. This week, Evan meets three pioneers of alternative finance and asks - can they beat the banks at their own game? Giles Andrews is CEO of Zopa, the peer to peer lending webs...