China's economic planners held a highly anticipated press conference this Tuesday to announce new measures that could boost the country's lagging consumer demand. But the measures fell short of expectations for investors on the stock market, who were expecting major stimulus instead. Also in this edition: Samsung apologises for missing expectations in its latest profit guidance, despite profits being up an estimated 274 percent on an annual basis. Plus, Ghanaians protest the illegal gold mining boom in the country.

Since the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel's economy has struggled to weather the storm of the war in Gaza. Some of its sectors, like defence and technology, have continued to grow while others, like tourism, agriculture and construction, have been badly hit. Meanwhile, the scale of destruction in the Gaza Strip means it will take decades for the territory to rebuild. We take a closer look.

US crude oil jumped slightly after US President Joe Biden said he was "discussing" an Israeli strike on Iranian oil facilities. Chaos builds for shippers as US dockworkers enter their third day of strike action. In several cities across the US, the cost of childcare is overtaking the cost of housing, weighing heavily on families, particularly women. Plus, after a seven-year break, construction of the world's tallest skyscraper in Saudi Arabia has resumed.

OpenAI, the company behind artificial Intelligence chatbot ChatGTP, has secured new financing to the tune of $6.6 billion from a variety of investors. The start-up is now valued at $157 billion, on par with such groups as Uber or AT&T. It will have to commit to converting to a for-profit company within two years. Also in this edition: Argentinian students protest the government's freeze on higher education spending and US President Joe Biden calls on port employers to end the dockworkers' strike.

Global benchmarks for oil prices were steadily rising on Wednesday, a day after Iran fired a barrage of missiles against Israel in retaliation for the Israeli army's offensive against Hezbollah. In this edition, FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin explains why this could change the trajectory of global oil prices, how the world's energy supply could be affected and what this could mean for the global economy. 

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed attacks on an oil tanker and another commercial vessel in the Red Sea on Tuesday, the first such attacks in weeks.  The Iran-backed militants started targeting merchant ships last year in support of Hamas in Gaza, prompting many shipping companies to take a longer route via the southern tip of the African continent. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks with Jakob P. Larsen, head of maritime safety and security at BIMCO, about the heightened risks in the region. 

The union representing 45,000 dockworkers in the United States announced a strike at midnight on Tuesday in American ports all the way from Maine to Texas. The workers are asking for better pay and guarantees against automation as the shipping industry has seen skyrocketing profits this year. The industrial action could cause higher inflation and shortages ahead of the US presidential election. Also, Ivory Coast responds to soaring global cocoa prices by increasing its buyers' price by 20 percent.

The wholesale price of butter in France hit a record high in September, rocketing to €8,180 compared to €4,260 a year earlier, as an epidemic among cows affected production. But first: a new, common digital payment system has been launched in France, Belgium and Germany, backed by 16 major banks.  The platform, "Wero", enables person-to-person cross-border payments instantly, at no additional cost, as EU banks aim to regain sovereignty over digital payments. 

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development issued an updated report this Thursday on growth prospects in all the regions where it operates. Its Chief Economist Beata Javorcik spoke to FRANCE 24 specifically about the challenges facing the economies of conflict-hit countries like Lebanon, Ukraine and Russia.

As France's newly-formed government faces pressure to finalise its spending plans for 2025, Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin says the state of public finances is worse than was expected only a few days ago, and that this year's budget shortfall could top 6 percent of GDP – far above the government's earlier estimate of 5.1 percent. Plus, Commerzbank has named Bettina Orlopp as its new CEO, as it tries to fend off a possible hostile takeover by Italy's UniCredit.