Business Matters

Leaders and representatives from various African countries are traveling to Eastern Europe in an effort to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia – and provide an Africa-led boost to the world’s economy. Roger Hearing is joined by ambassador Rama Yade from the Atlantic Council’s Africa Centre to discuss the visit.Foxconn, one of the biggest electronics manufacturers in the world, makes more than half of Apple’s products as well as goods for Amazon, Dell and Sony amongst others. But how is the Taiwan-based giant coping amid increasing US-China tensions? The company’s CEO Young Liu speaks to the BBC’s Karishma Vaswani.With the Fed holding US interest rates this week, and inflation apparently back within manageable limits, now America’s labour market is coming under scrutiny.(Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) greets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (L). Archive image. Source Getty Images)

Roger Hearing looks at how the Federal Reserve has left the United States interest rates unchanged and steady for the first time in more than a year. However, its latest economic forecast suggest that more rate hikes lie ahead. Half of workers aren’t engaged on the job, putting in slightest effort to get by, according to research by Gallup. Employee engagement, a measure of involvement and enthusiasm at work, globally declined for the second year in a row. And the frenzy stoked by the start of the Beyonce's world tour is has been driving up prices in Sweden.(Picture: Shopper in a supermarket in New York, in JUNE 12. Source: Getty Images)

This week the EU votes on ways to regulate AI. Vice-President Margrethe Vestager leads the charge against threats posed by artificial intelligence. She tells the BBC that although the threat of human extinction ”probably does exist”, the likelihood is “quite small”. She says initial threats include discrimination, and criminals getting ahead of the police in understanding AI. This week European politicians debate the issue as they vote on the AI Act. It's the first law for AI systems in the West and it largely categorizes the away AI is used into four levels of risk: unacceptable risk, high risk, limited risk and minimal or no risk. If the legislation passes, unacceptable risk applications would banned by default and will not be deployed in European countries. U.S inflation has fallen again – but is it enough to prevent an interest rate rise? Inflation was down to 4% in the US at the end of May – its lowest since 2021. Prices for eggs, petrol and furniture were down, helping to cut inflation to less than half of its peak a year ago. But as the U.S central bank prepares to meet later this week, all eyes will be on whether the continued downward trend is enough to persuade the Fed to hold back on further rises to interest rates. And - how much money do you need to be wealthy in America? You might be surprised - Americans suggest it's around $2.2 million. The evidence comes in the annual Modern Wealth Survey carried out by the financial services company Charles Schwab.Picture: European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager (REUTERS/Johanna Geron)

The U.S watchdog has asked a judge to block a $69 billion bid by Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard.The gaming company makes ‘Call of Duty’ and many other titles. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) position on the deal is now closer to the that taken by the UK regulator. The issue hangs on claims the sale would give Microsoft's Xbox exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo consoles and Sony's PlayStation out in the cold.Also in the U.S, America's biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase, has agreed in principle to settle a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of victims of the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The case was brought by one victim on behalf of hundreds of other women and girls abused by the disgraced financier. The bank is facing a bill of around $290 million.And – you may have heard of ‘greenwashing’ – but have you heard of the new phrase…green-hushing’? We find out why companies are suddenly starting to keep their green credentials to themselves.

President Biden has said that he should know by the end of Friday whether there is a deal with Republicans to raise the government debt ceiling, so it can continue to pay its bills. Mr Biden said things were looking good and he thought negotiators were very close to a deal. The two sides have a little more breathing room after the US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, extended the debt ceiling deadline by four days, to 5 June.(Picture: U.S. President Joe Biden. Source: Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Nvidia, a US firm which specializes in chips powering artificial intelligence, surged as much as 27% on Thursday, putting the company on course for record performance with a market cap above $900 billion.But where is the future of AI while there are raising concerns about regulation and safety?And have you ever heard of ‘greedflation’? Find out why price rises might be bringing out some unsavoury tendencies in retail. (Picture: The logo of NVIDIA is seen displayed on a mobile phone screen with AI (artificial intelligence) written in the background. Source: Getty Images)

It's day two of the G7 summit, and the leaders of the group of major developed economies are in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. So far the focus of their talks has been Russia and Ukraine - today there is another major issue on the table – China. The Indian government says it will start withdrawing its highest value currency note from circulation saying it is not widely in use. People have been asked exchange their two-thousand rupee notes (worth around twenty five dollars) for smaller denominations by the end of September. An official from the central bank said the withdrawal would not cause any disruption to normal life or the economy.NASA has awarded the contract to build its astronaut Moon lander to a consortium led by Blue Origin - the space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.(Picture: G7 leaders (left to right) Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni arrive for the family photo at the Itsukushima Shrine during the G7 Summit on May 19, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan. Source: Stefan Rousseau - Pool/Getty Images).

Royalty and dignitaries from around the world have arrived in London ahead of the coronation of King Charles. Many of them will be guests in Westminster Abbey on Saturday morning where the coronation ceremony will begin at 11 o'clock.Millions of other people across the UK and beyond are preparing to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III - a symbolic ceremony combining a religious service and pageantry. The day of splendour and formality will feature customs dating back more than 1,000 years. King Charles III is head of the Commonwealth countries and the head of state of 14 countries. (Picture: His Majesty King Charles III. Source: WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Apple has reported quarterly revenue and profit above Wall Street's expectations, fuelled by strong iPhone sales - particularly in emerging markets such as India (where the company recently opened its first stores). The US tech giant reported profits of twenty-four billion dollars ($24 billion) on revenue of ninety-four-point-eight billion dollars ($94.8 billion) in the first three months of this year.The US regional banking sector is coming under renewed pressure amid a crisis in confidence. Trading in the California lender PacWest was briefly suspended as shares fell more than fifty percent, after its owners confirmed it had explored strategic asset sales. The British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has won Thinking Out Loud copyright case. A New York court ruled today that Mr Sheeran did not copy Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On when composing the track. (Picture: An iPhone logo in Shanghai, China. Source: Getty Images)

Geoffrey Hinton helped to establish some of the basic foundations of AI but now fears the technology is racing ahead too fast. He is leaving Google after more than ten years so he can speak more freely about the risks. The White House says First Republic bank, which collapsed to be taken over by JP Morgan, was ‘severely mismanaged’. However, some customers and former staff disagree. The failure of San Francisco-based First Republic is the second-largest in US history and the third in the country since March.And, Hollywood writers and television producers approach a deadline to sign a new contract - or take strike action…the first such action in 15 years. (Photo: Artificial intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton speaks at the Thomson Reuters Financial and Risk Summit in Toronto, December 4, 2017. Mark Blinch/Reuters)