Italy prepares to go to the polls

Business Matters

Millions of Italians go to the polls on Sunday to vote on whether their constitution should be reformed. Lorenzo Codogno, former chief economist and director general at the Treasury Department at the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance discusses whether the Prime Minister might be on the way out.

The BBC's Guy Hedgecoe in Madrid reports on the pollution problem in Spain, and the decisions by the Mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens to ban the use of all diesel-powered cars and trucks within a decade to improve poor air quality.

As Barbados celebrates 50 years of independence, we ask Guy Hewitt, the High Commissioner for Barbados in the UK, why the country still retains free education and healthcare systems, in a difficult economic environment.

The fashion and fragrance company Chanel warns that a planned high-speed train through the centre of France's perfume-making region will threaten production of its iconic product - Chanel No 5. Elizabeth Musmanno, President of The Fragrance Foundation in New York tells us what makes this particular scent so special.

The BBC's Roger Hearing is joined throughout the programme by Peter Ryan, ABC Australia's Senior Business Correspondent.

(Photo credit: Claudio Giovannini /AFP/Getty Images)