We also talk real estate, business travel and high-end room service during lockdown.

From the BBC World Service: France is hosting a summit of European, American and African leaders seeking to help countries in Africa with their post-pandemic recovery. And, Russia’s spy chief Sergei Naryshkin denies his agency is responsible for the Solar Winds cyber-attack, which was one of the largest and most sophisticated ever.

Also, we look into how building a home has become a much more expensive undertaking.

Electric and hybrid cars are looking better to consumers, and we talk markets with Julia Coronado.

From the BBC World Service: The Serum Institute, which is the largest single supplier to the initiative, hasn’t made any of its deliveries since March amid India’s ongoing health crisis. Now COVAX is short 140 million doses for developing countries. Plus, India’s hotels and restaurants say the hospitality sector will crumble without immediate economic relief. And Portugal’s bars, hotels and tour operators gear up for vacation season.

We also discusses the spike in demand for workers. Also, Citibank wants to open new branches.

Several news organizations are reporting that Colonial Pipeline did pay hackers ransom to regain control of their data and their systems, reportedly something in the $5 million range. And, people are buying cars at a near-record pace, if you can find them. The low supply and high prices are related to the global semiconductor chip shortage. There’s still no definitive timeline for when that shortage could end.

What can businesses ask of their customers? And what can employers ask of their workers? We start to sort it out. Plus, hospital appointments are disrupted by a ransomware attack on Ireland’s health service. And, in the U.K., much like in the U.S., worries about higher inflation are creeping up along with increases in consumer demand and wages.

From the BBC World Service: The Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane thinks so, but there’s a risk that boom could turn to bust. Plus, a Turkish power company which provides a quarter of Lebanon’s electricity has cut supplies from its offshore generators. And, the creator of the Ethereum cryptocurrency believes a new generation of environmentally friendly tokens is on the way.