Business

Kenya's president has announced the cancellation of two major infrastructure deals with India's Adani Group, after US prosecutors charged its founder Gautam Adani and his associates with fraud over a $250 million corruption scheme. The scandal has wiped more than $20 billion off Adani's 10 listed companies' combined market value. Plus, it's the third Thursday of November, the official uncorking day for this year's Beaujolais Nouveau. Half of the wine is exported outside France. 

In the antitrust trial of the century, the US Justice Department has filed for tech giant Alphabet to separate from its Chrome browser, which is used by around 3.5 billion people globally. It's also asked the District of Colombia judge to rule that if Google continues with monopolistic misconduct, it could also lose its Android mobile phone operating system as well. In this business bulletin we take a closer look at the story, as well as Nvidia's earnings call, Australia's social media ban and French President Emmanuel Macron's defence of cognac.

US President-elect Donald Trump has picked Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to lead the Department of Commerce. The businessman and long-time friend of Trump's is slated to lead the incoming administration's efforts to implement wide-ranging tariffs on goods entering the United States, in a bid to boost local manufacturing. Also in this edition: we bring you the story of one South African power plant's difficult transition to green energy.

US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick, a Wall Street executive and co-chair of Trump's transition team, to be the next US commerce secretary. The billionaire has been a key economic adviser to Trump and a keen advocate of using tariffs as a tool to protect American jobs and industries. Plus, German police have moved to break up a protest camp outside Tesla's gigafactory in Germany, as environmental activists held out in tree houses. 

The EU-Mercosur trade deal faces divisions among governments over ratification. Meanwhile, Toyota has unveiled its latest hydrogen hybrid model, and Spirit Airlines, the largest budget carrier in the US, has filed for bankruptcy amid over $1 billion in debt.

As French farmers take to the streets to oppose a potential free trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc in South America, we take a closer look at what the agreement entails and why the French agricultural sector and government are so strongly opposed. Also in this edition, Donald Trump nominates a fossil fuel industry CEO to head the Energy Department and a Big Tech critic to lead the Federal Communications Commission.

The APEC summit is kicking off in Lima, Peru, ahead of the G20 summit in Brazil next week. Among the world leaders attending is Chinese President Xi Jinping. His first order of business in Peru is to attend the inauguration of the Chancay port, a majority Chinese-owned mega port that's expected to become a major shipping hub for the Belt and Road initiative. Plus, slumber business is booming in Japan as sleep-deprived workers increasingly turn to improving the quality of their sleep. 

Watch moreIn Peru, residents concerned at impact of Chinese-funded mega port in Chancay

China's President Xi Jinping is expected to inaugurate a new "mega port" built by shipping giant Cosco in the Peruvian town of Chancay this Thursday. The visit comes on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and underlines the important role played by China as a trade partner in the region, overtaking the United States. Also in this edition: a university in Ireland is now offering a degree to train the next generation of social media influencers.

Watch moreIn Peru, residents concerned at impact of Chinese-funded mega port in Chancay

As European farmers protest against a renewed push to ratify the controversial free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur South American trade bloc, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has told EU chief Ursula von der Leyen that his government cannot and will not accept the deal, agreed in 2019, under the current terms. Plus, affordable housing for rent is becoming increasingly hard to come by in Paris and other cities in France. 

In its 2024 Green Skills Report, social media platform LinkedIn uses data from its 1 billion users to track the evolution of so-called "green skills" on the labour market. Their findings show that while the number of people with the skills that help combat the effects of climate change has grown over 5 percent in the year, that's not keeping up with the 11 percent increase in jobs requiring those skills. With the COP29 climate summit underway, FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks to LinkedIn's Vice President of Public Policy, Sue Duke.