Around the World in 80 Trades

Economist Conor Woodman just might be the smartest man in the City. Once a high-flying City trader, he decided instead he wanted to trade in real things that he could touch and smell. So Conor left his job and, with £25,000 from the sale of his flat, travelled across four continents and 13 countries trading in all kinds of products – animal, mineral and vegetable – with the aim of doubling his money.

Despite his City contacts, international trade proves hard for Conor. Unperturbed, his eventual deals include selling 4,000 bottles of South African chilli sauce to India; horse trading with cut-throat dealers in Kyrgyzstan and investing £5,000 in Chinese jade, confident he can treble his investment by selling to a rich Taiwanese collector.

In Mexico, Conor has 750 inflatable body boards and reckons that an endorsement from the country's most famous surfer will help them sell. Meanwhile, he hopes to sell 400 bottles of tequila bought in the actual town of Tequila for a sizeable mark up. He then decides to gamble on Brazilian teak, but the economic downturn means hard times for the UK house builders he hopes will buy his wood.

Will Conor blow his £25,000 or succeed in doubling his cash?