Business daily

A rare meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea has brought a 10 percent reduction in US tariffs and a one-year postponement of China's rare-earth export controls, a limited de-escalation of the two countries' trade war. Also in this edition: America's central bank cuts interest rates for the second time this year, amid a lack of economic data due to the ongoing US government shutdown.

The US Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates for the second time this year, despite having only partial data to assess the state of the economy because of the ongoing government shutdown. The quarter percentage point cut brings the Federal Funds Rate to a range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent. The central bank also announced it would stop reducing the size of its balance sheet in December.  Also in this segment: Boeing posts a $5.4 billion third-quarter loss, weighed down by delays in its 777X rollout. 

A new survey shows a sharp slide in public concern for climate change, with war and conflict now dominating public worries. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks with Subhra Bhattacharjee, Director General of the Forest Stewardship Council, who tells her that despite fewer people citing climate change as their top concern, consumers are still preferring to shop green. "We have to translate the impacts of climate change into what it means for day-to-day action," she says.

Several trade deals and frameworks between the US and Southeast Asian countries unveiled at the recent ASEAN summit heavily favour Washington. Some analysts are concerned that the lopsided deals will push ASEAN countries towards Beijing, this as China beefs up its own trade ties with the region. Also in this edition: France's National Assembly passes an extension on corporate tax surcharges, and the US government shutdown threatens funding for critical social services.

Even if Argentinian President Javier Milei's La Libertad Avanza party is still short of a majority in parliament after Sunday's midterm elections, the self-described "anarcho-capitalist" now has more room to push ahead with radical economic reforms. Since coming to power in 2023, Milei has cut budgets for education, pensions and infrastructure and laid off tens of thousands of public sector workers. The president is also credited with lowering inflation, winning praise from US counterpart Donald Trump. We take a closer look.

US President Donald Trump has issued a pardon for Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Zhao spent four months in prison last year after pleading guilty to charges of failing to implement adequate measures to prevent money laundering while operating the platform. We also take a closer look at the latest US and EU sanctions against Russia.

The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it was placing Russia's two largest oil producers — Lukoil and Rosneft — on the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions list. The move is aimed at targeting Russia's war finances, as the two companies account for nearly half of the country's crude exports. In this edition, we'll explore how this decision could affect global buyers of Russian oil, particularly in India.

It's been three years since Giorgia Meloni became Italy's prime minister.  During her tenure, she has cut public deficit by more than half and brought unemployment down.  But beneath the surface, Italy's economy is still struggling, with weak growth, persistent structural weaknesses and an aging population. We also take a closer look at a row over Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia and the Dutch government is starting to raise concern in Europe's manufacturing sector. 

US entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery has said it is exploring a potential sale of all or some of its media assets, this after it turned down a second takeover bid by rival Paramount Skydance and its CEO David Ellison. The company, which houses such properties as Warner Bros. Studio, CNN and HBO Max, saw its shares surge on Tuesday. Also in this edition: Brazil allows state oil giant Petrobras to explore an oil site at the mouth of the Amazon River, in spite of environmental concerns.

The jewellery stolen from the Louvre in Paris on Sunday is valued at €88 million, according to the Paris prosecutor citing the museum's curator. Authorities are warning the robbers not to disassemble the pieces to sell the precious stones. Elsewhere, Japan's first female prime minister Sanae Takaichi faces economic challenges as she hopes to spur growth with Abenomics-style economic policies, at a time of rising inflation and a weaker yen. 

Washington and Canberra have signed a new agreement to strengthen cooperation on rare earths and critical minerals, in a bid to reduce dependence on China's supply chains. The deal, promising billions in potential investment, highlights efforts by both nations to secure vital resources amid escalating trade tensions with Beijing. Also in this edition: Amazon Web Services experienced a major outage on Monday, briefly disrupting internet traffic worldwide before the issue was resolved.

Hit by a major outage, Amazon Web Services (AWS) says it found significant errors in its Domain Name System, or DNS, which translates website names to IP addresses so browsers and apps can load on internet-connected devices. No evidence of foul play has been reported and the company says the DNS issue has been "fully mitigated", amid reports of a resurgence in issues. Also in the segment, Gucci owner Kering is selling its beauty unit to L'Oréal only two years after launching it, as the group aims to reduce debt.  

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Communist Party elites are in Beijing for the Fourth Plenary, where the roadmap for the country's industrial development over the next five years will be set. We take a closer look. But first, the country's latest economic data paints a troubling picture. 

US President Donald Trump says Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed that India will stop buying Russian oil, as American tariffs hit Indian exports to the United States. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has hinted at a possible de-escalation of the US–China trade war, while Argentina's manufacturing sector is feeling the side effects of Javier Milei's free-market policies.

Reintroducing a wealth tax has become a particularly divisive issue in France's ongoing budget battle. In a world where the richest 1 percent hold more wealth than the bottom 95 percent combined, Susana Ruiz, Tax Policy Lead at Oxfam International, tells FRANCE 24 that taxing the rich is “a new common sense.” Also in this segment, Elon Musk's Starlink has come under scrutiny amid allegations it is helping to power online scam centres in Southeast Asia.

French startup Le Pavé and its co-founder and CEO, Marius Hamelot, were awarded the Ivy Tech Prize for Young French Entrepreneur of the Year this Tuesday. Hamelot joins us on set to explain the process he uses to upcycle everyday waste, how it reduces carbon emissions, and the importance of aesthetics.

In the face of an unprecedented political crisis, France's re-appointed prime minister Sébastien Lecornu proposed suspending President Emmanuel Macron's signature pension reform enacted in 2023.  Speaking before parliament, Lecornu warned however of the estimated cost of such a move as he pressed lawmakers to agree on next year's budget.  Also in the segment, the US and China have started collecting new tit-for-tat port fees imposed on each other's maritime transport and shipping industry. 

Port fees imposed by China and the US took effect on Tuesday, adding a new front to the trade war between the world's two largest economies. In this edition, we explore the reasons behind these new fees and their impact on the broader talks between Washington and Beijing. Also, we examine how US soybean farmers are being affected by China's halt on imports of US-produced soybeans.

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for their work on "explaining innovation-driven growth". They are credited with quantifying the concept of "creative destruction" – the idea that innovations like steam engines and artificial intelligence, which replace older technologies and businesses, can ultimately benefit humanity in the long run. And, in an unprecedented move, the Dutch government took control of the Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia over national security concerns, marking an unprecedented move.

Long reliant on humanitarian aid due to the Israeli blockade, Gaza's economy is now in ruins –unemployment exceeds 80 percent, 92 percent of its private homes have been destroyed, and more than 98 percent of its farmland is rendered unusable. Rebuilding cost estimates range from 50 to 80 billion dollars, but it remains unclear who will foot the bill.

Ferrari has unveiled technology – new powertrain and chassis – that will power its first electric car, scheduled for launch next year. However, the Italian carmaker also scaled back its electrification plan, and its revised profit and revenue forecast disappointed investors, sending its stock down 15 percent. But first: amid the ongoing political chaos, we look at how French businesses are struggling to plan ahead.   

China's commerce ministry has announced it is imposing new rules limiting the export of rare earths and associated technology, including related to overseas companies using Chinese rare earths. The move comes amid long-standing trade talks with the United States and ahead of expected talks between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump later this month. Also in this edition: Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen vows to keep fighting for his brand's social activism.

France's caretaker Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu says he'll present a draft budget bill next Monday, adding that there is still "a lot to debate".  Among the sticking points is President Emmanuel Macron's signature pension reform, which was passed in 2023. So could it possibly be suspended? If so, at what cost? Also in the segment: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he wants the "biggest post-Brexit trade deal" with India to be implemented "as soon as humanly possible", as he begins a two-day visit to the Asian country. 

The price of an ounce of gold soared past $4,000 on Tuesday, as investors move towards the safe-haven asset in response to mounting debt and other issues threatening the standing of US dollar-denominated assets like Treasury Bonds. In this edition, we examine what has driven the price of gold up over the past few years and what has brought the value of the US dollar down. Also, the Trump administration says it cannot guarantee that all furloughed workers will receive their pay at the end of the US government shutdown.

The European Commission has moved to cut free-trade quotas by 47 percent for steel and steel products and to double out-of-tariff import duties to 50 percent, taking a leaf out of US President Donald Trump's protectionist playbook. It's a way to protect the continent's struggling industry in the face of Trump's disruptive trade policy and global oversupply of the metal. Meanwhile, Trump hosts Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney as the two sides hope to work out a trade deal. 

With markets under pressure amid French political turmoil in the wake of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's surprise resignation, we speak with Antonio Fatas, Professor of Economics at INSEAD. In this conversation, he provides a wider context to the public finance issues the country is facing and discusses possible paths forward to resolve them. 

The United States has ambled into another government shutdown as Republicans and Democrats in Congress failed to pass a funding bill in time for the new fiscal year. It comes as the US economy is in a precarious state, with inflation rising and the job market weakening. Also in this segment: France is bracing for another day of nationwide strikes and protests as new Prime Minister Sébastian Lecornu tries to draft a budget. The rallying cry for unions is "Tax the Rich".   

The US federal government entered a shutdown at midnight on October 1, leaving as many as 750,000 federal employees furloughed each day. In this edition, we get a sense of how much this shutdown might cost the US economy, and what that would do to the employment picture in the country. Plus, FRANCE 24's Luke Shrago looks back at what happened during the last shutdown, which began in late 2018.

As the US Senate prepared to vote again on a stopgap bill to keep the government funded for a few more weeks, President Donald Trump said a government shutdown was likely and warned Democrats that the administration could take some "irreversible" actions in such a scenario, including cuts to personnel and benefits. Meanwhile, YouTube has agreed to pay Trump $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the freezing of his account in the wake of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. 

As an October 1 deadline fast approaches for the US Congress to agree on a spending bill to keep the US government running, federal agencies have outlined plans for a potential shutdown. Seen as non-essential, key economic reports on jobs and inflation could be delayed, adding more uncertainty over the state of the US economy. Also in this edition, we look at the record buyout of video game maker Electronic Arts by a group of investors led by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Jared Kushner.

Electronic Arts, the company behind blockbuster video games such as the Sims and Madden NFL, has agreed to transfer ownership to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's public investment fund PIF, US private equity firm Silver Lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners. The $55 billion deal marks the largest leveraged buyout in history. Meanwhile, China is launching a new visa programme to attract young foreign talent, after Washington shocked the tech world with a new $100,000 fee for its H-1B visa. 

German airline giant Lufthansa says it will axe 4,000 positions by 2030, chasing higher profitability after a steep decline last year. But first: US Democrats try to save healthcare subsidies as a government shutdown looms. Plus, shares in Sony Financial Group jump on their first trading day in Japan.

France's public debt has risen above €3.4 trillion in the second quarter of this year, to 115.6 percent of GDP, new official data shows. It comes as the country's new prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, is trying to get support from political parties, unions and businesses to draft a budget for 2026, which needs to go before parliament by October 7. Meanwhile, the country's national rail operator SNCF is introducing a new ultra-premium class as it faces increasing international competition. 

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) released its latest growth projections this Thursday, outlining the challenges facing the economies in which the development bank operates. From the impact of US tariffs, to intensifying Chinese competition on exports by way of Ukraine's wartime economy and the fiscal troubles facing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, we discuss it all with the EBRD's chief economist, Beata Javorcik.

Oil and gas giant TotalEnergies has won a contract to build "Centre Manche 2", a 1.5 GW wind farm off the coast of Normandy.  Planned to go onstream in 2033, the €4.5 billion project will generate electricity for some 6 million households and boost France's overall wind power generation. Plus, with the price of gold hitting record highs, more and more French shoppers are selling their gold jewellery and investing in the precious metal. 

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel returned to US airwaves on Tuesday night following his suspension over comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination. But local US TV station operators Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group have opted to replace his slot with other content, in line with the Trump administration's demands. In this edition, we take a look at the business considerations behind those decisions. Plus, Swiss banking giant UBS settles longstanding tax evasion charges in France. 

Stellantis, the owner of Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Chrysler and other brands, has announced plans to pause production at two of its European plants – in Poissy, France and Pomigliano, Italy – citing weak market demand in Europe. Thousands of workers will be furloughed. Plus, the OECD says global economic growth is holding up better than expected for now, but warns that the full impact of higher US tariffs is still unfolding. 

Chipmaking giant Nvidia announced on Monday that it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI to develop next-generation AI infrastructure and help secure the industry's future. We take a closer look. Also in this edition: Pakistani officials warn of severe economic fallout from recent flooding. 

France has joined several of its European peers in formally recognising a Palestinian state. At a world summit in New York on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron called on the world to do everything it could to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution and outlined a framework for a "renewed Palestinian Authority". Nearly two years since it began, the war in Gaza has devastated the livelihoods of Palestinians but also dealt a serious blow to Israel's economy. 

President Donald Trump name-dropped media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his heir Lachlan as key figures involved in efforts to take control of TikTok in the United States. He also mentioned Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Michael Dell of Dell Technologies as potential stakeholders in a US-specific version of the app. Also, we look at an Estonian defence start-up doing big business amid increased Russian incursions into NATO airspace.

The US Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates by a quarter percentage point, bringing its benchmark rate to a range of 4.00 to 4.25 percent. All but one of the 12 members of the monetary policy committee voted in favor of the decision, with the sole dissent coming from newly appointed governor Stephen Miran, a trusted ally of President Trump. And, Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, has quit the company, accusing its parent firm, Unilever, of silencing the brand's social activism.

On Wednesday, the US central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percent amid growing concerns about job creation in the country. In this edition, we'll explore the challenging political context behind this decision and examine its potential impact on a US housing market that many find unaffordable. Also in today's show, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveils new AI-powered smart glasses.