Around the World in 80 Trades

Economist Conor Woodman has decided to test his negotiating skills, charm and eye for a bargain against some of the world's oldest trading cultures. He's sold his house to finance the trip, but if his hunches are right – trading Sudanese camels for Kenyan coffee, coffee for South African red wine and then off to China to buy porcelain with the proceeds – he'll return six months later with a lot of money, some new friends and a whole raft of brilliant tall tales.

Conor believes that the principles of profit are universal wherever you go, whatever language you speak. Whether trading teak or bath taps, light bulbs or seafood he'll work out how to make money in every market he encounters along his route. He'll trade on his wits and instincts, going head to head with the best operators in the world's most hotly-contested markets. But will years of experience in corporate finance mean anything when haggling with Chinese officials to trade his boat-load of tobacco down the Mekong River?

Part Undercover Economist, part Apprentice challenge, Around the World in 80 Trades swaps worry about the global credit crunch for an exciting insight into the human story behind the money in our pockets: face-to-face trade between people from around the world.