Business

One of Europe's largest tech conferences kicks off in Paris this Wednesday. Startups will meet investors, and guest speakers including Elon Musk will discuss the role of artificial intelligence at the VivaTech event. On Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron announced extra investment in AI in France. Meanwhile, the EU has given its final green light to the AI Act, the first of its kind.

A group of NGOs have filed a criminal complaint in Paris, asking a court to open a trial against TotalEnergies' top management as well as major shareholders for the climate damage they have caused. The filing comes on the same day the French energy giant announced a new €6 billion project to develop two deepwater oil fields off the coast of Angola. Plus, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologises to Scarlett Johansson after the actress complained about ChatGPT's voice sounding "eerily" similar to hers. 

Global markets appear unfazed after Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash. Any political instability could deal a blow to Iran's economy, which is already struggling with US sanctions, soaring inflation and high unemployment, but many analysts believe the impact of the tragedy will be limited. Plus, it's World Bee Day, and some honey producers in France are facing a crisis after a particularly wet spring. 

Beijing sanctions three American defence companies as Taiwan's new president takes office. China is also launching an anti-dumping investigation into imported EU, US, Japan and Taiwan chemicals amid a growing trade spat. The country's struggling property market gets a government lifeline, but investors remain unconvinced that it will be enough.

France has declared a state of emergency in its overseas territory of New Caledonia. Violence over a planned constitutional reform is threatening its already struggling economy. Plus, Boeing may face the criminal prosecution it had avoided back in 2021, with the US Justice Department accusing the planemaker of violating the terms of the deferred prosecution deal. 

The United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Tuesday her office is concerned with the possibility of seeing Chinese electric cars enter the US market via Mexico. This comes as the Biden administration is looking to shield its auto industry from Chinese competitors as makes its EV transition. Also, Google launches new AI features on its search engine but faces protests over its ties with Israel.

US President Joe Biden has announced a raft of new tariffs on some 18 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods, including quadrupling the border tax on electric cars. The White House says the measures are carefully targeted at strategic sectors to protect American companies from unfair trade practices.  Beijing has strongly criticised the move. Plus, a new version of ChatGPT is out ...  and it's more human than ever. And Google is also revamping its search engine with artificial intelligence. 

US video game retailer Gamestop closed trading 75 percent higher on Monday after investors boosted its shares following a social media post by Keith Patrick Gill, also known as "Roaring Kitty" on X. In this edition, we take a look at why Gamestop was the recipient of a previous social media-fuelled boom in 2020 and what's behind this latest move. Also, OpenAI has launched an updated ChatGPT which includes a hyper-realistic voice assistant.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted around 180 global CEOs at the Palace of Versailles for the 7th edition of the 'Choose France' investment summit, where a record €15 billion across 56 projects were pledged. Macron however warned that Europe needs to rethink its business model in the face of rising protectionism in the US and China. 

Plus, small live music halls in the UK are struggling to make a profit amid a surge in costs and weakened spending power of their clients. 

The 7th annual foreign investment summit known as "Choose France" kicks off at Versailles with €15 billion in new projects expected. Also in this edition, China prepares a $140 billion debt float to fund economic stimulus. Plus, hundreds of environmental activists storm Tesla's Gigafactory in Germany.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

A court in Seattle has sentenced Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, to four months in jail for violating US money laundering laws. The billionaire told the court that he had failed and was sorry. The sentencing comes after the defendant pleaded guilty last November and paid $50 million in fines. Plus, Zimbabweans line up at banks to withdraw cash as the new currency ZiG, the sixth since the 2009 collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar, goes into circulation. 

US Entertainment giant Paramount Global announced on Monday that CEO Bob Bakish was stepping down. In this edition, we take a closer look at how the company's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, may have been behind this move and why the firm's value has plummeted 80 percent in the past eight years. Meanwhile in Argentina, President Javier Milei's second attempt at getting his economic overhaul package through parliament is facing fierce opposition.

Tesla's shares surged after the EV maker won tentative approval to deploy its Full Self-Driving system in China, this as CEO Elon Musk met high-ranking officials on a surprise visit to Beijing. Plus, the French state has offered to buy key assets from troubled IT giant Atos in order to protect national interests. 

A growing protest movement on US college campuses wants universities to sell off assets related to Israel's war in Gaza and its occupation of the West Bank. We take a closer look. Also, the French government offers to buy the data security operations of struggling IT firm Atos, and Elon Musk makes progress in his bid for the rollout of Tesla's Full Self-Driving service in China.

Meta announced a 27 percent jump in Q1 revenues but still saw shares tank after hours, amid fears over the social media giant's increased capital expenditure on AI infrastructure. Also in this edition: British mining giant BHP makes a $39 billion bid for its rival Anglo American, and Boeing's losses deepen.