People & Profit

The past year has been one of challenges for households and businesses around the world. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upset a tentative global economic recovery and created new challenges for governments and consumers alike. FRANCE 24's Business Editors Kate Moody and Charles Pellegrin look back at some of the biggest business stories from 2022.

Global corporations are facing growing pressure to weigh in on political and social issues. But do they follow through, and can they still turn a profit? Kate Moody asks Katherine Valvoda Smith. She is the executive director of the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and co-author of "The Executive's Guide to 21st Century Corporate Citizenship: How your Company Can Win the Battle for Reputation and Impact".

As widespread protests break out across China, we take a closer look at the impact of the zero-Covid policy on workers, businesses and the economy, by speaking to Professor Chang-Tai Hsieh of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. "There is no question that this has been an unmitigated economic disaster. The growth is down to levels that we haven't seen in decades," he told us.

"Quiet quitting" is the latest trend to sweep across the American workforce. The concept doesn't involve actually leaving one's job, but rather making a conscious decision not to go above and beyond basic duties. The expression began circulating in July when a New York-based engineer published a video on TikTok that went viral. But employers shouldn't dismiss this as a social media trend, warns Allyson Stewart-Allen, CEO of International Marketing Partners. "This is not a passing fad or just another employment cycle. This is a profound reassessment that people are taking time to do, to think about balance."

This week, we're focusing on Qatar and asking what the economic impact of hosting the FIFA World Cup could be. Can this be a transformative event for the gas-dependent country? Or will it be a financial abyss worth an estimated $200 billion? We ask Alexis Antoniades, an economics professor at Georgetown University’s campus in Qatar.

A strong performance by Joe Biden's Democratic Party defied predictions of a Republican "red wave" in the US midterm elections, despite consumers feeling the pinch of high inflation. Americans have seen wages and benefits increase, but the standard of living has not. Delano D'Souza asks Abigail Watt, US Research Economist at abrdn, what we can expect from the US president on the economic front going forward.

The Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have reversed three decades of progress in reducing poverty, according to the World Bank, which is warning that the global goal of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 is now out of reach. In its latest report, the Washington-based lender estimates that 70 million more people were forced into extreme poverty in 2020, the largest increase since monitoring began in 1990. Solange Mougin speaks to Mari Pangestu, Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships at the World Bank and a former Indonesian trade minister.

The global energy crisis is weighing on households and businesses around the world. The US is more insulated from the high prices because it's a net exporter of energy, and American producers have boosted shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe. But energy and finance analyst Clark Williams-Derry says the ongoing supply issues could change the balance.

Insurance policies are indispensable for most consumers and businesses around the world. But with the cost of living soaring, so has the price of insurances. A survey of households in the United States and Europe suggests nearly half of them have seen their insurance premiums go up in the last year, but nearly eight in 10 have nevertheless stuck with their existing policies.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he won't cause a deep recession but that "pain" is necessary to fight inflation. To curb the largest price increases in four decades, the US Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates this year. "The Fed is doing a bad job because they don't have the money supply on their dashboard," says Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University. "The monetary policy revolves around the growth rate and the money supply; that is the key, not interest rates," he tells FRANCE 24.