Business FRANCE 24 English
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- Business
A daily update on the latest business and economic news. Live from Monday to Thursday at 9:15am and 6:45pm Paris time.
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French Olympic torch relay sets stage for Games sponsors
As the Olympic torch reaches French soil this Wednesday, we look at the kinds of opportunities the relay will offer sponsors over the course of 68 different stages, potentially reaching 90 percent of the French population. Of course, the relay pales in comparison to the billions of people who will tune in to watch the actual Games. Also in this edition: France's Flamanville nuclear power plant finally gets the green light to come into service, 17 years after construction began.
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TikTok sues US government to block law that could ban app
TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have filed a petition with a US court, seeking to block a law that forces them to sell the social media app to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban. They argue the legislation is unconstitutional, setting the stage for a historic legal battle. But first, China's President Xi Jinping has arrived in Serbia on the second leg of his European tour. He expects to receive a much warmer welcome than he did in France.
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'Recipe for a Livable Planet': New report on how to make agriculture carbon neutral
The World Bank Group has released a new report outlining how global agriculture and food production can be overhauled in order to cut carbon emissions and limit global warning to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In this edition, we speak to Julian Lampietti, Global Agriculture Practice Manager at the World Bank, about the steps that need to be taken and whether they go far enough.
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Europe sees slide in foreign direct investment, EY survey shows
The number of foreign direct investment projects in Europe fell 4 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, the first decline since the pandemic. Germany was hit particularly hard with a 12 percent drop in FDI projects, amid concern over its economic slowdown and energy security. France's tally fell by 5 percent but it still came out on top with the most projects. The UK bucked the regional trend with a 6 percent increase. Also in this edition, a free Madonna concert in Rio de Janeiro this Saturday is expected to bring in nearly $60 million to the local economy.
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US Federal Reserve keeps interest rate unchanged at 5.25%-5.50% as inflation sticks
The US Federal Reserve has decided to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25 to 5.50 percent. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said while inflation has eased significantly over the past year, it's still too high, and that while wage growth has slowed down, the labour market remains tight. The US central bank will slow down the pace of quantitative tightening from next month, reducing the cap on Treasury bonds it allows to run off each month to $25 billion from the current $60 billion.
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Dividend payments far outpace worker wages, Oxfam analysis finds
To mark International Workers' Day, anti-poverty NGO Oxfam has released analysis showing that between 2020 and 2023, shareholders saw their dividend payments increase by 45 percent while workers saw their wages increase by just 3 percent. The figures highlight the growing global divide between rich and poor. Also in this edition, the company behind ChatGPT is the target of a complaint in Austria over incorrect information shared by the AI chatbot.