Business

The eighth edition of the "Choose France" summit aimed at showcasing the country's attractiveness for foreign investment gets underway outside Paris. Five years after Brexit, the UK and the EU reach a deal to reset relations, and mounting debt causes the US to lose its last perfect credit rating.

As US President Donald Trump continues his diplomatic tour of Gulf states, he has announced a flurry of business deals with Qatar, including a purchase order of up to 210 jets from Boeing by Qatar Airways.  The White House says the deal is worth $96 billion and will create 1 million jobs in the US during their production and delivery. The announcement comes amid growing outrage over the US president's plan to accept a luxury Boeing 747 jumbo jet as a gift from the Qatari royal family. 

Things are going from bad to worse for Nissan. Struggling with weak sales and an ageing lineup, the Japanese carmaker has announced a sweeping restructuring plan, aiming to save €3 billion in costs. It plans to cut 15 percent of its global workforce and close seven of its 17 plants worldwide.  Plus, Samsung has released its latest model of Galaxy S that is less than 6mm thick. The Korean tech firm accelerated its release schedule as Donald Trump's tariffs were threatening to impact consumer spending. 

US chipmakers Nvidia and AMD, as well as other tech firms, have announced deals to work with Saudi Arabia's brand new AI venture Humain worth billions of dollars. This comes as US President Donald Trump is visiting the Middle East and paving the way for business deals for US companies. Also in this edition: Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva meet in Beijing, where they defend free trade and multilateralism.

US President Donald Trump has arrived in Saudi Arabia, kicking off his tour of the Middle East. During the trip, microchips used in artificial intelligence (AI) models will be high on the agenda. According to The New York Times, the Trump administration could finalise the sale of hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips to UAE firm G42 by the end of the week. Also in this edition: US soybean farmers breathe a sigh of relief as Washington and China put their trade war on pause.

The US and China have agreed to a 90-day truce in their trade war, suspending or cancelling the sky-high tariffs they had imposed on each other's goods since April, but underlying issues still need to be addressed over the next three months. "The devil is in the details," says Maurizio Zanardi, professor of economics at the University of Sussex. Plus, Donald Trump signs an executive order aimed at bringing down drug prices in the US to align with what other countries are paying. 

As expected, the US Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged despite pressure from President Donald Trump.  Fed chair Jerome Powell warned the risks of higher inflation and higher unemployment has risen. Plus, Disney announced a plan to build its first theme park in the Middle East, on Abu Dhabi's Yas Island. But first, we take a look at how a 14-year civil war devastated Syria's economy, as interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Paris. 

A spate of violent kidnappings has targeted wealthy French cryptocurrency investors as criminal gangs seek to extort ransoms. We take a closer look. But first: Washington prepares for trade negotiations with Beijing amid reports of progress on a US-UK trade deal aimed at de-escalating Donald Trump's trade war.

Britain and India have finalised a free trade agreement after more than three years of negotiations. The landmark deal will lower tariffs on each other’s goods and aims to increase bilateral trade by a further €30 billion by 2040. Plus, the European Commission has published a "roadmap" for its plans to cut its energy ties with Russia, including a ban on Russian gas by the end of 2027.

OpenAI says it's no longer seeking to transition to a fully for-profit company. The decision follows public backlash and a lawsuit by Elon Musk. Also in this edition: California Governor Gavin Newsom proposes a $7.5 billion tax credit for the US film industry instead of Donald Trump's 100% tariffs on foreign films, and Sweden mulls a ban on paying for adult content online.