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Markets Slide As Oil Price Falls Below $30

America's shale oil drillers are struggling to make a profit as crude prices slide. Highlighted today by BHP Billiton slashing $7 bn off the price of its US shale oil business.

America's shale oil drillers are struggling to make a profit as crude prices slide. We hear from a former OPEC energy expert and veteran oil industry analyst, Manouchehr Takin on whether this is a new era for the price of oil. Speculation is rife that the United States will lift sanctions against Iran this weekend, pushing down the oil price even further. Sarosh Zaiwalla, an international sanctions lawyer who represents a number of clients in Iran, including the national oil company, tells us what the end of sanctions will mean for the business community.

A year ago today Switzerland shocked the financial markets by abandoning the Swiss franc's peg to the euro. The Alpine nation's currency surged in value against the EU currency and put Swiss exporters on the back foot, as their rivals in the European Union suddenly enjoyed cheaper costs, a major competitive advantage. The BBC's correspondent in Switzerland, Imogen Foulkes, has been to Zurich to find out how the country is managing its economic challenge.

And, a brand new television series about the fast-paced world of high-stakes investing debuts in the US this weekend. It's a drama called "Billions". It's hot off the back of Wall Street film 'The Big Short' which received a Golden Globe nomination this week.

We are joined throughout the programme by Peter Ryan, Business Editor at ABC News in Sydney.

(Picture: Shale oil fracking in the USA. Copyright: Thinkstock.)

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50 minutes

Last on

Sat 16 Jan 201601:06GMT

Broadcast

  • Sat 16 Jan 201601:06GMT

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