Business

France's National Assembly is debating a bill that would impose penalties on purchases from brands like Shein, Temu and Primark as the explosive growth of the ultra-fast fashion industry wreaks massive environmental damage. We take a closer look. Also, German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall projects record sales for 2024 in a Europe threatened by war.

MEPs are voting this Wednesday on the EU's AI Act, which sets four levels of risk and creates a new oversight office to regulate the development and use of artificial intelligence models. We take a closer look. Also, US lawmakers prepare to vote on a bill that would compel TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest its US operations or face a nationwide ban.

On Tuesday, the price of a single Bitcoin hit a new record at over $69,000, beating a previous peak set in November 2021. In this Business Daily, we look at what's happened in the cryptocurrency sector in the past two years, explaining Bitcoin's dramatic fall and subsequent rise. Also in this edition, FRANCE 24's Bryan Quinn looks at the "technical issue" which deprived users of social media apps Instagram and Facebook for more than two hours on Tuesday.

At the opening of the National People's Congress in Beijing this Tuesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang outlined the government's major objectives for the economy in 2024. In this edition of Business Daily, we take a look at what Beijing is seeking to achieve this year and at the challenges posed by the country's struggling real estate sector. Also in the show, FRANCE 24's Bryan Quinn looks at how Australia is seeking to reduce reliance on trade with China by setting its sights on Southeast Asia.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether ChatGPT creator OpenAI misled investors, after an alleged lack of candour from CEO Sam Altman. The SEC probe would add to a number of government and legal challenges against the company. Officials in the US and Europe have already launched competition inquiries into the relationship between OpenAI and Microsoft, which has a commercial partnership with Altman's firm.

Media reports on Tuesday said that tech giant Apple was pulling the plug on its "special projects group", which was developing the brand's own electric vehicle. In today's Business Daily, we look at what we know about the secretive project launched by Tim Cook a decade ago, why it didn't succeed and where Apple will focus its efforts now.

As Cuba's week-long Habano festival kicks off, partly state-owned cigar manufacturer Habanos SA announced a 31 percent boost in revenue over the course of 2023. The record turnover is due to high demand for luxury products globally in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Also in this edition, we take a look at the European Union's plans to make its defense industry more self-reliant, as well as fresh data highlighting the gender pay gap in the Australian private sector.

Agriculture ministers from around the European Union are gathering in Brussels this Monday to discuss ways to address demands of protesting farmers. In today's Business Daily, we look at some of the proposals put forward by the EU Commission to make things easier for farmers. Also in this edition, FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell takes a look at a type of online scam called "pig butchering", where users of dating websites fall for fake crypto investments.

California-based chipmaker Nvidia showed with its latest earnings call that there is still room to grow, with revenue for the last quarter of 2023 surging 265 percent over the year to $22 billion and forecast to keep rising. In this edition of Business Daily, we take a look what Nvidia's success has been built on, and the potential challenges it could face moving forward.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government is publishing its economic report for 2024 this Wednesday in Berlin, and media reports are already saying its previous forecast of 1.3 percent growth will be downgraded to 0.2 percent. In this edition of Business Daily, we look at some of the factors that are slowing down Europe's largest economy, whether it's the ongoing impact of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, or infighting within the ruling coalition.