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Canada Decides

Canada goes to the polls in one of the narrowest, and longest, elections in recent memory. Oprah Winfrey invests heavily in Weightwatchers, and China's growth figures in decline.

Canada goes to the polls in one of the narrowest, and longest, elections in recent memory. Campaigns have run since August and the accompanying ads, perhaps fatigued by lengthy electioneering, have reached surreal heights - one TV spot from the Conservatives suggests the opposing Liberal leader's best quality is his hair. But what's really at stake in this election?

Weightwatchers has put on a few pounds: 28 million in fact, or 43 million dollars. That's the investment US television supremo Oprah Winfrey has made in the dieting company - as well as taking a seat on the company's board. She now owns ten per cent of Weightwatchers, but the company has been struggling to compete over the years. Drew Harwell, business writer with the Washington Post, weighs up Winfrey's big-scale investment.

We visit China where economic growth is slowing, but by how much is hard to tell. The BBC's Danny Vincent meets some of the hardest hit by the decline in Beijing's boom - China's migrant workers.

Rahul Tandon has the latest from Kolkata, and Lucy Kellaway discusses egos in the workplace.

Throughout the programme we're joined by Jason Abbruzzese of Mashable in New York and by Kate Lorenz, Managing Director of Ark Relocation in Hong Kong.

Available now

50 minutes

Broadcast

  • Tue 20 Oct 201500:06GMT

Podcast