People & Profit

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The business show that goes beyond the numbers and the corporate jargon! We break down major business stories and look at how they affect our lives. Thursday at 4:45pm Paris time.

2d ago

Race for critical minerals: The social and environmental trade-off

What are the social and environmental costs of the race for critical minerals? Minerals like cobalt, lithium, and nickel are crucial for the development of new technology, including clean energy. But mining and refining them can be hugely polluting and water intensive – with a risk of deforestation, water contamination, and health problems for local communities. Studies suggest that about half of mining projects around the world are on or near indigenous lands. Julie Klinger, Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Edson Krenak, Brazil program manager at Cultural Survival, believe that local communities need to play a bigger role in new and existing mining projects. "What we see is a production of electric cars, digital technologies being served to the global markets, while the communities where their territories are serving these minerals are completely left behind without clean water, safe environment, without legal security," warns Krenak. "They are really facing a lot of problems for the profit, for the good or the privilege of the global north." Klinger says local populations should also have a say in what the raw materials are being used for. "For example, lithium of course is important for renewable energy technologies. Lithium is also used in a range of advanced weapons applications such as drones, smart bombs, assault rifles and tanks as well. And so if communities are going to be asked to host a mining or heavy industrial operation, that community should also know what the ultimate end use of the material is." Klinger argues that growing demand doesn't require new mining projects. "Most of the material, including designated critical minerals and elements that have been dug out of the ground for the past few centuries, still exist somewhere on the surface of the earth (...) And where these materials still exist, they actually are another kind of longstanding environmental health problem that needs to be cleaned up." "This race of more and more extraction is not building a healthy environment for our planet," agrees Krenak. "What are the new futures we are building with this new transition? We are not dreaming of a healthy future, a healthy planet for us, for our [future] generations."

12 min
Jun 4

Pharmaceutical industry becomes geopolitical battleground as US threatens tariffs

The global pharmaceutical industry has found itself at the heart of geopolitical and trade tensions. The Trump administration has pushed policies to promote the sovereignty of US drugmakers, threatening tariffs on manufacturers or countries, and vowing to reduce prescription drug prices for Americans. But it's an approach that could lead to "potential catastrophe", according to Karl Claxton, Professor of Economics at the University of York. "Instead of the US getting to grips with the fact that the healthcare system encourages and incentivises very high-cost medicine, instead of that, they've done a deal (...) I don't think it's going to fix the problem in the US. So I don't think US citizens will be huge beneficiaries. The rest of the world, particularly the high and middle-income countries are going to suffer unless we resist this pressure. And I think the pharmaceutical sector is going to suffer too." Claxton is sharply critical of a deal struck between the US and UK governments on drug prices. "This deal effectively doubles how much we are going to pay for all new drugs (...) Within three years, the additional cost of this deal will exceed the entire value of all [British] pharmaceutical and medical device exports to the US. So this is a really, really bad deal." He says fixing international pricing of pharmaceuticals should be a top health priority for all governments. "The impact of paying unsustainable prices for the new medicines is that all the other parts of the healthcare system that deliver really important benefits across the board end up having to accommodate that." Also in the show, France says it will be the first EU country to reimburse some obese patients for weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro. Claxton believes the fast-growing sector offers potential health benefits and savings, but the long-term benefits have yet to be proven, and must be equally distributed. "These are potentially very valuable drugs (...) let's also make sure that those that really need it, that can benefit them and can reduce costs for our healthcare systems to benefit others, that they get access. In other words, let's not allow these drugs to be rationed according to who can afford to pay."

12 min
May 21

Powering the AI inference boom: Is it time to downsize the data centre?

In the world of artificial intelligence, the focus used to be on training AI models. Now, increasingly, it's on "inference" – the actual execution of the tasks we ask these systems to perform. David Gurlé is a French tech entrepreneur whose startup Antimatter aims to service the inference boom with energy solutions, mini data centres that fit inside a container and appropriate software – for only a fraction of the cost and time. Also in the show, we bring you a report about Cape Town, where plans for new data centres are being met with pushback amid concerns about rising electricity costs, noise, pollution and – critically for South Africa – water stress.

13 min
May 14

Is home ownership still part of the American Dream?

Owning a home has long been a cornerstone of the American Dream, but is increasingly out of reach for many US workers. A report by the White House in April suggests the United States needs 10 million additional houses to meet demand. Meanwhile, the average price of new home sales has jumped over 30 percent in just five years, and rental prices in most major US cities have surged by around 40 percent. Warren Lowell, Assistant Professor of Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt University, says the problems of housing affordability and availability have been building for decades. "I think it got really bad coming out of the financial crisis, in the late 2000s. That's a period where we saw large drops and declines in our construction, in building of homes across all types of availability. We across the country haven't been able to keep pace or even catch up to the deficits that we created during that period." He says the pandemic also impacted the market. "Families that didn't make those moves during that period are now locked into lower mortgage rates that are desirable (...) This kind of leads to a backing-up, a traffic jam, if you will, across homeownership rates. So folks who really want to get into and unlock that wealth development that they can get from homeownership are locked out often. So we see a trickle effect down; higher incomes are renting at older ages than we would have expected typically." Lowell says: "We all kind of have this aim and ambition of owning property for ourselves, and growing wealth in that way. The downside is that housing as a social good, as a thing that we all need, sort of gets put to the wayside. And as this push to use housing, to buy a second house, to invest in real estate among our neighbours continues to grow, I worry that housing as a social good becomes less of a focus for us." Also in the show: we bring you a report from our correspondents Wassim Cornet and Pierrick Leurent, on how essential workers like nurses and teachers are being priced out of the neighbourhoods they serve in Los Angeles.

13 min
May 7

Can nuclear power resolve the energy crisis?

The war with Iran has prompted many economies to reevaluate their energy needs and strategy. In Europe, several countries are considering reviving the use of nuclear power. Sweden, Belgium, and Italy are among those rolling back previous restrictions, while France and the UK are spearheading new nuclear projects. Valérie Faudon, executive director of the French Nuclear Energy Society (SFEN) says the industry has to overcome sometimes negative public perceptions by proving that nuclear energy is safe. "It's one of the safest means of producing energy, in the same way that airplanes are one of the safest means of transportation. So the way the industry has addressed this is first by major transparency of events, and also very strong controls over the industry." She says nuclear power can address two of Europe's biggest concerns when it comes to energy – sustainability and independence. "It's a low carbon source," she explains. "It doesn't produce any greenhouse gases during production, fission doesn't produce CO2." European countries also have the technology and manpower to be self-sufficient as they expand their nuclear power generation, according to Faudon. "We have about half a million skilled workers in Europe to build nuclear plants. If you take France, we are completely independent. That means we can build our own facilities – we have the factories and engineering centres to build our own equipment. And we also have our whole supply chain, to take uranium ore and transform it into usable nuclear fuel, which is very important." Also in the show, we bring you a report about how China's investment in low-cost reactors is turning it into a nuclear energy powerhouse.

12 min
Apr 30

Are fans being priced out of live gigs?

A spate of high-profile stadium tours by stars like Céline Dion, Taylor Swift and Oasis have put a spotlight on the practice of dynamic ticket pricing, with many fans saying they're unable to secure or afford tickets. We take a closer look in this edition of People & Profit. Andrew Mall, associate professor of music at Northeastern University, says the trend of dynamic ticket pricing is likely to continue. "There are lots and lots of fans who are indeed willing to pay those higher prices. So as long as there are fans who are willing to pay those higher prices, the ticketing giants that run the industry (...) will continue offering those services to artists. Are some fans being priced out of concerts? Yes, absolutely. So fans who aren't able or willing to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars or euros on going to concerts will have fewer opportunities to see the biggest artists perform." He often advises music lovers to consider acts at small and medium-sized venues. "The smallest venues are facing increased pressure due to lots of forces. But medium-sized venues are actually seeing really great business. So venues that range from 500 to 3,500 patrons, concerts at those venues are often selling very well. They usually do not employ dynamic pricing (...) I do think there is an opening." Watch moreSuperstar Céline Dion breaks presale ticket record Mall says live music remains a worthwhile investment for many people. "One thing I think that really does resonate is people are tired of feeling like their social media feeds and music feeds on the streaming services that they use, people are tired of feeling like they're being fed stuff. When you go to a concert, it's real. There are humans up on the stage, making the music, singing, dancing, performing for you, and you're surrounded by hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of other people all enjoying the same experience. That's not something we get very often in other realms of our lives." He believes artificial intelligence can be a powerful creative tool, but that it comes with risks. "What is controversial is using AI to create entire songs. Using AI to deepfake or mimic established artists. Using AI to establish entirely new artists (...) The more AI-produced music there is, the less opportunities there are for performers, songwriters and musicians to make a living."

13 min
Apr 23

Is China's economy insulated from Iran war shock?

The US and Israel’s war with Iran has sent shockwaves across the global economy, and created the largest energy crisis in decades. But China, the world’s second-largest economy, has by many measures appeared insulated from the worst of the fallout. Watch moreWorld's worst energy crisis? Iran war sparks scramble for alternatives to Gulf oil Leah Fahy, senior economist in the China team at Capital Economics, says China's diverse energy mix has cushioned some of the effects of the global energy shock. "Even for China, a big spike in energy and oil prices is a bad thing, and it's going to have some negative impact domestically (...) China's economy is much less dependent on oil and natural gas. About 60 percent of its energy comes from coal, and it's got a big and quickly growing renewable energy infrastructure as well. So when you place China in the context of other countries, it's seeing a much smaller shock to energy prices than everywhere else in the world." She says the crisis has highlighted Beijing's dominance in clean energy technology. "I think the big picture, both within China and globally, we're going to see a surge in demand for these new green technologies, and China kind of dominates production of these goods. So it could be a pretty significant upside to China's exports. We've estimated that just with a pickup in global demand for electric vehicles alone, autos could add about 1 percentage point to China's export growth this year." Fahy says that beyond the economic impact, the Trump administration's shifting approach to foreign and trade policy has opened a door to China. "You're seeing increasingly Xi Jinping and the Chinese leadership more broadly trying to place China in this elevated global role, both as a sort of global arbiter, negotiator and also in some instances, the defender of global free trade, which is not the position you would have expected China to be putting itself in a few years ago."

12 min
Apr 17

What Magyar's election win means for Hungary's economy and Europe

Hungary is preparing for a new era, after the centre-right Tisza party of Peter Magyar won a landslide victory over longtime nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Magyar says he'll seek to repair Hungary's confrontational relationship with the European Union, something that could unlock much-needed EU funding for Ukraine and for Hungary itself. Many voters said the stagnating economy was a major factor in their decision to turn against 16 years of Orban's rule. Speaking to FRANCE 24, Balazs Szent-Ivanyi, reader in politics at Aston University's Centre for Europe, says the incoming Hungarian government can't usher in change overnight. "The Tisza party has a very long manifesto, which is fairly rare in Hungarian politics – Fidesz, for example, had no manifesto at all. We see quite a lot of promises, many of them actually relate to increasing spending, which seems difficult to enact at the moment. The budget deficit for this year is forecast around 5-5.5 percent, and that doesn't necessarily take into account the extra spending that the war in Iran is creating." Szent-Ivanyi says that in the medium-term, Magyar could launch an effort to join the eurozone. Integrating into the shared currency bloc "would bring a lot of certainty and increased credibility for the government's economic policies (...) The problem is that Hungary currently doesn't fulfil any of the Maastricht criteria required for introducing the euro. So there's quite a lot of work to do there."

12 min

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The business show that goes beyond the numbers and the corporate jargon! We break down major business stories and look at how they affect our lives. Thursday at 4:45pm Paris time.