News : France24

Today

US stocks retreat ahead of Election Day, but long-term trend points to gains

All three major indices on Wall Street closed Monday's session in the red ahead of Election Day in the United States, with investors preferring to turn to US treasuries in the face of political uncertainty. In this edition, we look at which stocks could

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Yesterday

US housing crisis in focus as voters prepare to choose next president

The US economy is humming, with GDP expected to grow at a healthy clip, unemployment low and inflation coming down closer to the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target. Yet polls have shown American voters are worried about the state of the economy, with hom

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Boeing workers to vote on new company offer to end 7-week strike

Union machinists vote Monday on whether to accept Boeing's latest contract offer of a 38 percent pay raise over four years and increased 401(k) contributions. Workers are fighting for the return of the company's pension plan, jettisoned in 2014 over cost

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Friday, november 1, 2024

Running app Strava found to be international security risk – again

As we approach the US presidential election, the safety of the candidates, their families and their running mates is paramount, particularly as Republican candidate Donald Trump has already survived two assassination attempts during this election campaig

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Thursday, october 31, 2024

Russia fines Google a sum greater than world's total GDP

Russia has fined Google $20 decillion, or $20 billion trillion trillion, a sum greater than the size of the world's total GDP. We find out why. Also, the EU has launched a probe into e-commerce giant Temu. Meanwhile, European markets closed with their st

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BYD revenue exceeds Tesla's for first time, boosted by Chinese trade-in scheme

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD saw its revenue top 200 billion yuan ($28 billion) in the third quarter, beating its US competitor Tesla for the first time on that particular metric. Sales have been boosted by Chinese government subsidies offered to c

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Wednesday, october 30, 2024

US-China tech rivalry continues ahead of election

China is a top priority for US foreign and economic policy and the trade tensions between the world's largest economies are set to continue, regardless of who wins the US presidency. FRANCE 24's Beijing correspondent Yena Lee reports on the state of US-C

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UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves to unveil 'big budget' to parliament

Four months after taking office, the UK's Labour government and its Finance Minister Rachel Reeves are unveiling their first budget to the House of Commons this Wednesday. In this edition, we take a look at the big spending items on the agenda and at how

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Tuesday, october 29, 2024

Endorsement for cash: How influencers are being paid to court US voters

Influencers are being offered millions to support US presidential candidates … and they’re under no legal obligation to disclose it. We take a closer look. Also in this edition: Indonesia is trying to become a major player across the electric vehicle sup

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Oil prices expected to continue on downward trend despite Middle East tensions

The World Bank Group forecasts that oil and commodity prices as a whole will continue to fall next year, in a new "Commodity Markets Outlook" published this Tuesday. The World Bank's Deputy Chief Economist, Ayhan Kose, speaks to FRANCE 24 about the repor

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Monday, october 28, 2024

Volkswagen plans major layoffs, factory closures

Volkswagen staff have sounded the alarm over plans to slash "tens of thousands" of jobs, cut wages and close three factories across Germany. The carmaker's employee council said management had described the cost-cutting plans as necessary. If confirmed,

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After Japan's snap election, political uncertainty leads to weaker yen and stock gains

For the first time since 2009, Japan's ruling coalition, led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, has lost its majority. In this edition, we look at the role played by the cost-of-living crisis in the result and what th

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Friday, october 25, 2024

Your AI assistant can now use your computer (and anything on it)

With the public demo of Anthropic's "computer use" feature for its Claude chatbot, this was the week that AI "agents" – which can carry out many tasks rather than just answer questions – became viable. FRANCE 24's Tech Editor Peter O'Brien tells us more.

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Thursday, october 24, 2024

Lawsuit filed against McDonald's over E. coli outbreak

A lawsuit has been filed against McDonald's over an E. coli outbreak linked to its quarter pounders. Meanwhile, Tesla's stock soared 21 percent after Elon Musk surprised investors with a strong sales forecast. Also, Boeing's crisis just got worse after f

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As World Bank turns 80, how to tackle 21st-century problems?

As the International Monetary Fund and World Bank mark 80 years since their founding, how can they stay relevant and effective? During the annual fall meeting in Washington, World Bank Senior Managing Director Axel van Trotsenburg told FRANCE 24 that ref

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Strike-hit Boeing announces $6.2 billion loss in third quarter

Boeing has reported a staggering $6.2 billion loss for the third quarter, as it grapples with its ongoing financial, safety, and reputational problems. New CEO Kelly Ortberg said the American aerospace giant is at a "crossroads", as he seeks to turn the

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Social media and kids: What to be aware of

In this edition of Entre Nous, we speak to Elizabeth Milovidov, the founder of DigitalParentingCoach.com, about how to make sure our children are safe when using social media. She explains what to look out for on Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

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Boeing machinists vote to extend strike, rejecting 35% pay raise offer

Boeing workers have voted to continue their strike, with 64 percent of them rejecting the latest offer that included a 35 percent wage hike over four years. The strike, now running for nearly six weeks, is worsening the planemaker's already dire financia

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Wednesday, october 23, 2024

Tokyo Metro jumps 45% on market debut in Japan's biggest IPO in years

Tokyo Metro, the main operator of the Japanese capital's sprawling underground rail network, made a stellar market debut on Wednesday in the country's biggest IPO in six years. Its shares rose 45 percent on its first day. Plus, FRANCE 24's correspondents

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Tuesday, october 22, 2024

Russia attempts to end dollar dominance and bypass Western sanctions

At this year's BRICS summit, one of the main issues on the agenda is Russian President Vladimir Putin's idea for a payment system to rival SWIFT and bypass Western sanctions. Also, a UN report shows the impact of war has set back development in Gaza by 6

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Harris raises record $1 billion in a single quarter as polls show extremely tight race

With just two weeks to go before American voters choose their next president, Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump by a wide margin in the money race, having raised nearly $1 billion in a single quarter. But first, as Israel continues its war against Ha

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Monday, october 21, 2024

Cuba restores electricity to part of Havana, but crisis far from over

Cuba has restored 50 percent of electricity to Havana following Hurricane Oscar, but a chronic lack of fuel and deteriorating infrastructure means the crisis is not over yet. Also, the AI boom has caused a surge in electricity demand and in Taiwan, atomi

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Trial opens over mining giant BHP's liability in 2015 Mariana dam disaster

A long-awaited civil trial related to one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters, the 2015 Mariana dam collapse, is getting underway in London. More than 620,000 people, including relatives of 19 people killed in toxic mud, are having their cases hear

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Friday, october 18, 2024

Ubisoft: What's behind the fall of France's video games darling?

"Assassin's Creed" played a starring role in the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony, with a masked figure dressed like the protagonist running across the rooftops of Paris with the Olympic flame. Now, the game's developer Ubisoft is rumoured to be in talks

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Thursday, october 17, 2024

ECB cuts interest rates again amid sluggish eurozone growth

European Central Bank policymakers have decided to lower interest rates by a quarter percentage point, a third such cut this year as inflation across the 20-member eurozone came down to 1.7 percent in September. ECB President Christine Lagarde says that

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Sustainable sipping: How the drinks industry can reduce its carbon footprint

Just how sustainable is your happy hour? The beverage industry is among those facing pressure to mitigate its impact on the environment. In 2021, it accounted for 3.8 percent of global carbon emissions. We take a closer look in this edition of People & P

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China pledges more support to troubled property sector, but disappoints investors

China's Housing Minister Ni Hong has announced a series of measures to support the country's beleaguered real estate sector, including a ramping-up of lending for unfinished projects. However, the move failed to impress investors and will add to doubts o

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Wednesday, october 16, 2024

Amazon joins Google, Microsoft in going nuclear

As Big Tech companies consume more energy for data centres and artificial intelligence, they're under pressure to commit to clean power sources. Amazon has followed in the footsteps of Google and Microsoft in announcing new deals with nuclear power provi

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Can Europe get up to speed? Turbulent switch to electric vehicles

Can Europe compete? Part of the answer is on display in Hall 5 of the Paris Motor Show, which opened its doors to the public on Tuesday. Chinese maker BYD is signalling its play for the French market with affordable – albeit subsidised – fully electric m

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Poppins, the French app designed to help kids with dyslexia

The 2024 Ivy Tech Prize for France's young entrepreneur of the year was awarded on Tuesday to François Vonthron, CEO and co-founder of Poppins. The app was designed to help children with dyslexia by using a video game format, with one independent study s

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Tuesday, october 15, 2024

Boeing seeks to shore up its finances

Boeing is trying to shore up its struggling finances, to the tune of $35 billion. The US aerospace giant is reeling from six years of safety issues and setbacks, and has recently announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs, or 10 percent of its global workforce.

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Google teams up with nuclear energy startup to power AI data centres

Tech giant Google is backing US nuclear energy startup Kairos Power to build seven small reactors which will power one of its artificial intelligence data centres. The deal comes as US energy demand is on the rise because of the increasing number of data

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Monday, october 14, 2024

Unleashing the economic potential of second-hand clothing

Second-hand clothing can help countries meet environmental targets and drive economic growth, but it needs support. A new report says governments need to help unleash the sector's economic potential. Karina Bolin, president of Humana People to People Ita

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Hands off the Doliprane: French outcry over plan to sell popular painkiller to US

Politicians from across the political spectrum are up in arms over healthcare giant Sanofi's plans to sell France's best-known medical drug Doliprane to US investors, a move critics say would lead to a "loss of sovereignty" for the country in a sensitive

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Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi looks to sell consumer health unit, sparks political uproar

France's Economy and Industry ministers, Antoine Armand and Marc Ferracci, are heading to Lisieux this Monday to visit the production sites of popular headache reliever Doliprane. The visit takes place after the maker of the pill, French pharma group San

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Thursday, october 10, 2024

Can Europe get its industrial groove back?

Can European industry regain its competitive edge on the global stage? A new EU report penned by former ECB chief Mario Draghi highlights a growing gap in both productivity and innovation, and warns that businesses will face an "existential challenge" wi

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French PM to present 2025 budget to cabinet with financial markets in mind

France's Prime Minister Michel Barnier will hold a cabinet meeting this Thursday where he'll unveil his budget plan for 2025. His bid to reduce the deficit from 6.1 percent of GDP will be looked at closely on international bond markets and by the country

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Wednesday, october 9, 2024

US Justice Department considers breaking up Google in search monopoly case

The US Justice Department has told a federal judge that it is mulling over recommending that Google be forced to sell parts of its operations, as a way to tackle the monopoly the tech giant holds over the online search market. This could be the biggest a

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Tuesday, october 8, 2024

Trade tensions rise as EU, China impose tariffs

Global trade tensions are heating up, as China announces new tariffs on imports of European brandy. The move follows the EU decision to raise tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, following similar moves by the US and Canada. Greta Peisch, a partner

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China's plan to boost economy underwhelms markets

China's economic planners held a highly anticipated press conference this Tuesday to announce new measures that could boost the country's lagging consumer demand. But the measures fell short of expectations for investors on the stock market, who were exp

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Monday, october 7, 2024

One year after October 7 attacks: The economic impact of the war in Gaza

Since the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel's economy has struggled to weather the storm of the war in Gaza. Some of its sectors, like defence and technology, have continued to grow while others, like tourism, agriculture and construction, hav

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Friday, october 4, 2024

Budget squeeze: Digging France out of its fiscal hole

The French government plans to subject the budget to a €60 billion belt-tightening drive next year in the hope of bringing the deficit down to 5 percent of GDP from an estimated more than 6 percent this year. Two-thirds of that sum are to come from spend

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Harvard students turn Meta's Ray-Ban Smart Glasses into a surveillance nightmare

Two Harvard students, Caine Ardayfio and AnhPhu Nguyen, say they have hacked a pair of Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and installed facial recognition software, so that merely looking at someone's face will bring up their name, address, age, biography and an

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Thursday, october 3, 2024

Oil prices jump as speculation rises on possible Israeli retaliation against Iran

US crude oil jumped slightly after US President Joe Biden said he was "discussing" an Israeli strike on Iranian oil facilities. Chaos builds for shippers as US dockworkers enter their third day of strike action. In several cities across the US, the cost

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ChatGPT maker OpenAI sees value nearly double to $157 billion after new funding round

OpenAI, the company behind artificial Intelligence chatbot ChatGTP, has secured new financing to the tune of $6.6 billion from a variety of investors. The start-up is now valued at $157 billion, on par with such groups as Uber or AT&T. It will have to co

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Wednesday, october 2, 2024

Oil prices on the rise after escalation of Middle East violence

Global benchmarks for oil prices were steadily rising on Wednesday, a day after Iran fired a barrage of missiles against Israel in retaliation for the Israeli army's offensive against Hezbollah. In this edition, FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin explains why

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Tuesday, october 1, 2024

Houthi rebels again attack commercial ships in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed attacks on an oil tanker and another commercial vessel in the Red Sea on Tuesday, the first such attacks in weeks. The Iran-backed militants started targeting merchant ships last year in support of Hamas in Gaza, prompting

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Dockworkers in US Eastern & Gulf ports go on strike over pay demands

The union representing 45,000 dockworkers in the United States announced a strike at midnight on Tuesday in American ports all the way from Maine to Texas. The workers are asking for better pay and guarantees against automation as the shipping industry h

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Monday, september 30, 2024

Price of French butter nearly doubles in a year

The wholesale price of butter in France hit a record high in September, rocketing to €8,180 compared to €4,260 a year earlier, as an epidemic among cows affected production. But first: a new, common digital payment system has been launched in France, Bel

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Hurricane Helene shines light on woes of US home insurance industry

With private insurer losses expected to top $6 billion, Hurricane Helene is another reminder of climate change's impact on the US home insurance market. Also in this edition: the UK's last coal-fired power plant gets set to shut down after 54 years as th

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Friday, september 27, 2024

'Not a normal company': OpenAI loses another executive as it seeks huge valuation

OpenAI, the world's most valuable AI startup, has just lost another executive. Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati is one of more than 20 key staff who have departed this year, leaving CEO Sam Altman with just one of his fellow co-founders.

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Big Tech's outsize role in fuelling division, extremism: What can be done?

Amnesty International is accusing big tech platforms of playing an active role in fuelling racist violence. The accusation comes after riots erupted in the UK this summer following the publication of false information on social media, but it also applies

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Ethical shopping in the age of ultra-fast fashion: Time to slow down?

This week we look at ethical fashion in the age of "direct-to-consumer" giants like China's Shein and Temu. Thanks to their business model based on ultra-fast design and production, consumers can purchase a new look at incredibly low prices. But at what

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Thursday, september 26, 2024

Big Tech's outsize role in fuelling division, extremism: What can be done?

Amnesty International is accusing big tech platforms of playing an active role in fuelling racist violence. The accusation comes after riots erupted in the UK this summer following the publication of false information on social media, but it also applies

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New EBRD report revises growth forecast downwards for 2024

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development issued an updated report this Thursday on growth prospects in all the regions where it operates. Its Chief Economist Beata Javorcik spoke to FRANCE 24 specifically about the challenges facing the econo

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Wednesday, september 25, 2024

France's 2024 budget deficit could top 6% of GDP, minister warns

As France's newly-formed government faces pressure to finalise its spending plans for 2025, Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin says the state of public finances is worse than was expected only a few days ago, and that this year's budget shortfall could

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Tough talks ahead for Volkswagen and unions over jobs, pay and plant closures

Executives from Volkswagen and labour leaders are meeting this Wednesday in Hanover to discuss a new labour agreement. In the face of increased competition and high costs, the company has called for drastic cost-cutting measures. In this edition, we look

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Tuesday, september 24, 2024

California sues ExxonMobil for misleading public on plastic recycling

In a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, the US state of California has sued ExxonMobil for fraud over plastic recycling. The state's attorney general accuses the oil giant of deceiving the public for decades by promoting recycling as a solution to plastic waste

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China announces new measures to boost its struggling economy

The governor of the People's Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng, has announced new measures meant to boost the country's ailing economy. China's central bank is lowering its benchmark interest rate as well as reducing the cash requirement that banks are suppos

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Monday, september 23, 2024

Germany warns Italy's UniCredit against 'hostile takeover' of Commerzbank

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned against a "hostile takeover" of Commerzbank, after Italy's UniCredit revealed it had significantly increased its stake in Germany's second-largest bank, from 9 percent to 21 percent. Plus, with New York's Climate

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