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Business Matters: Picasso painting sells for record $179m

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12/05/2015

Picasso painting sells for record $179m

BBC World Service - Business Matters, Picasso painting sells for record $179m

Picasso's Women of Algiers sells for a record $179m at Christie's in New York

Picasso's Women of Algiers sells for a record $179m at Christie's in New York - why is fine art so expensive? Plus, Australia prepares big fines for multinationals who avoid tax.

Picasso's Women of Algiers painting sells for a record $179m in an auction at Christie's in New York. We ask the chief executive at one of the world's biggest fine art investment funds why so many masterpieces are selling for such jaw-dropping amounts.

In Australia, the Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey prepares to announce the government's annual budget, including a much-trailed crackdown on multinationals who avoid tax.

In India, former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayaram Jayalalitha is cleared of involvement in a corruption scandal. It comes just days after Bollywood superstar Salman Khan avoided a five-year prison term for killing a homeless man in a hit-and-run after a night out drinking 13 years ago. Rahul Tandon in Kolkata tells us both cases have led to serious questions being raised about the country's judicial system.

We try some funny stuff with Kevin Frank, of Chicago-based improvised comedy troupe Second City, and Barry Ferns who runs Angel Comedy Club in London. Simon Littlewood, of ACG Global, chips in as well from Thailand.

And Lucy Kellaway asks: what does the way you enter a public building say about you? It might be time to watch your manners.

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