大象传媒

News and views from the business world with Jeremy Naylor and Andy Verity.

BA will have talks with the union Unite at the conciliation service ACAS later, with the first in a series of strikes due to start tomorrow. The airline will also go to the High Court in an attempt to get the walkout stopped. We ask John Strickland, director of the aviation consultancy JLS Consulting, what the likelihood is of ACAS resolving the problem?

BP says it is having some success in containing the massive oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico, by using underwater robots to siphon away the oil. But the US Government is pressurising BP to foot the entire clean-up bill as scientists say the spill is worse than originally thought. Azfar Shaukat, director of oil and gas consulting at the consultancy Mott MacDonald explains the complexities of the problem.

In recent times we have seen the UK run up a huge budget deficit, UK businesses being forced to cope with the economic downturn and the Greek debt crisis sending shockwaves through the world economy. Entrepreneur Alex Pratt talks about his book 'The Age of Austerity', which aims to help companies to deal with the considerable challenges that lie ahead.

The first of two new 64 thousand-tonne superferries - thought to be the biggest in the world - has been put into service. Stena Line has launched the 750-foot-long Stena Hollandica, which will operate from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. We ask Pim De Lange, Stena's North Sea area director, who was on the boat as it sailed towards Harwich on its maiden voyage, how sea travel is competing with air and high speed train travel.