Business

Hosting a summit on critical minerals in Paris on Thursday, the International Energy Agency said the "major challenge" countries faced was ensuring more diverse supplies and the recycling of metals. Elements like lithium, nickel and cobalt are key for governments hoping to make the green switch as they are needed for producing electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines. Western countries are keen to reduce dependency on China, which accounts for almost 70 percent of rare-earth metal production.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of new AI-powered assistants on its various platforms on Wednesday, in a bid to keep up in the race to produce more accurate and personalised artificial intelligence. The chatbots will be able to answer users' questions thanks to a partnership with Microsoft's Bing. Also in this edition, oil prices edge closer to the $100 per barrel mark. Plus, striking Hollywood actors and studios agree to resume talks.

Britain has given the go-ahead to the development of Rosebank in the North Sea. Located 130 kilometres northwest of the Shetland Islands, it's the largest untapped oil field in the UK and is estimated to contain up to 300 million barrels of crude. The government argues Rosebank will help bolster Britain's energy security, but environmental groups disagree. Plus, in a major blow to TikTok, Indonesia has banned trading of goods on social media platforms, saying it’s harming millions of physical retailers.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), founded to help build up market economies in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union, has issued a new growth forecast for the region. It predicts that Ukraine will see its GDP increase by 3 percent in 2024. Speaking to FRANCE 24, the EBRD's Chief Economist Beata Javorcik explained the reasons for this as well as how increased Russian trade and remittances boosted the economies of Central Asia, the Caucasus and Turkey.

With a possible US government shutdown just five days away, the House of Representatives is set to try to advance steep spending cuts even if the bills are likely to be rejected by the Democrat-controlled Senate. If Congress fails to provide funding for the fiscal year starting October 1, services will be disrupted and government workers squeezed. In particular, officials are warning of the consequences for people receiving food aid, including nearly 7 million low-income women and children.

The White House is warning of severe economic consequences if Congress fails to pass a funding bill by an October 1 deadline. Far-right House Republicans are demanding deep spending cuts that are almost certain to be rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate. Also in this edition: France asks its energy firms to sell fuel at cost, and Germany looks to semiconductor production to revive its flagging industrial sector.

After beginning a strike one week ago, the United Auto Workers union has increased the number of plants affected by industrial action. Until now, workers have been striking at three sites, one each for Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. UAW leader Shawn Fain says that will be increased to 38 factories, all of them GM and Stellantis parts distribution centres. Ford has been spared of further disruption, with the union saying the company has made "important concessions".

Seventy years after inheriting the Australian newspaper that he used as a foundation to build a global empire, media mogul Rupert Murdoch says his son Lachlan will replace him as chair of Fox Corporation and News Corp. However, Murdoch senior has signalled he will still be very present in decision-making and "contests of ideas", becoming chair emeritus of the firms, which have a market capitalisation of some $27 billion.

The United Auto Workers and the US's Big Three carmakers remain far apart in their negotiations as time is running out before the union plans to escalate its strike on Friday. Last week, workers walked off the job at three plants, each belonging to Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Also in this edition, the US Federal Reserve leaves interest rates unchanged. Plus, Japanese conglomerate Toshiba could go private after being on the stock market for 74 years.

Investors around the world are awaiting the conclusion of the Federal Reserve meeting in Washington this Wednesday. While there is a wide consensus that the US central bank will leave its key interest rate unchanged, observers will be looking for clues as to how much longer the Fed's cycle of monetary tightening will continue. Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity, tells us why this matters and what to look out for. Also in the show, the UK sees a surprising inflation slowdown in August.