One year after releasing a far-reaching report on European competitiveness, former ECB chief Mario Draghi has warned the EU is falling further behind its peers and sharply criticised member states for their slow response and complacency. With US President Donald Trump's tariffs biting and the bloc's trade deficit with China widening, Draghi says that every challenge he had pointed out in his report has worsened, with no clear path to financing the necessary investments. 

A US court has ruled that Federal Reserve board governor Lisa Cook can stay in her job in spite of the president's attempts to fire her, meaning she should be able to attend the central bank's September meeting. Meanwhile, Trump appointee Stephen Miran has been confirmed by the Senate to fill a vacant seat on the board. Investors are predicting the Fed will cut interest rates by 0.25 basis points on Wednesday. Also in this edition, we report on how protests in Nepal could threaten the country's vital tourism sector.

The United States and China have reached a framework deal for the ownership of TikTok, following the latest round of trade talks held in Madrid. It's unclear what the final deal will look like, but US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it involves switching the app to US-controlled ownership. The deal is set to be finalised by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on Friday. This comes on the same day that China accused US chip giant Nvidia of violating the country's antimonopoly laws. 

France faces a series of credit rating tests, with political chaos raising the risk of a downgrade. Also, US consumer prices rise at annual rate of 2.9 percent in August. Plus, the surge in Oracle's share price adds fuel to the AI boom debate.

Larry Ellison, the 81-year-old co-founder of US business software company Oracle, briefly became the world's richest man on Wednesday after shares in Oracle surged over 40 percent. The company is predicting that its cloud infrastructure business will grow from $10 billion to $144 billion by 2030, thanks to AI-driven demand for its services. Also in this edition: Cuba suffers another island-wide blackout – the fifth in the past year.

Protests gripped France nationwide on Wednesday as the newly appointed prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, assumed office. Protesters demonstrated their anger at potentially massive spending cuts, as opposition lawmakers defended their counter-proposals to tackle France's debt and deficit. So what's in their plans? Plus, Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk announces a plan to cut 9,000 jobs as the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic struggles to turn its fortunes around. 

As grassroots "Block Everything" protests take place all across France, we examine the economic conditions that are partly fuelling the discontent. While the country has seen steady wage growth over the past 30 years, job insecurity is on the rise and the poverty rate has hit a new record: 15.4 percent of the population of mainland France. Also in this edition: the immigration raid against a Hyundai plant in Georgia is ringing alarm bells among foreign businesses looking to invest in the US.

French President Emmanuel Macron has picked defence chief Sébastien Lecornu as his new prime minister, a day after François Bayrou was voted out by parliament. The 39-year-old Lecornu's immediate priority will be to try to forge consensus on a new budget, before forming a government. If this year's budget were to be carried over into next year, France's fiscal deficit, already the highest in the EU, is predicted to widen further. 

The collapse of PM François Bayrou's government after losing a confidence vote in the French National Assembly on Monday is casting a long shadow over the country's public finances. The eurozone's second-largest economy's debt pile currently accounts for over 114 percent of its GDP and the lack of a consensus on how to restore public finances will increase that number further. Also in this edition: Norway's Labour Party wins a general election focused on a wealth tax debate.

Europe's largest car show kicks off in Munich, as industry leaders warn the continent's auto sector is facing existential threats. But first: French political turmoil threatens to further drag down the country's stock market as borrowing costs rise.