Business Matters

French President Emmanuel Macron is on the final day of his state visit to Germany, where he will be discussing how Europe can catch up with the US and China. Also Rahul Tandon is joined by guests to discuss the upcoming elections in South Africa and Mexico, and the battle over a multi-billion dollar shipwreck in Colombia. (Photo: France and Germany's leaders wave together. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Families of the victims of a school mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas two years ago, have announced lawsuits against Instagram's parent company Meta, the maker of the video game ''Call of Duty'' and a gun manufacturer. Devina Gupta finds out why Eli Lilly is investing another $5.3 billion in a manufacturing plant in Lebanon, Indiana and how the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which governs university sports in the US, has reached a deal that could lead to college athletes getting paid. (Picture: Microsoft buys Activision, in New York City. Picture credit: Reuters)

US regulators have sued Live Nation, accusing the entertainment giant of using illegal tactics to maintain a monopoly over the live music industry. The lawsuit from the Department of Justice said the firm's practices had kept out competitors, and led to higher ticket prices and worse service for customers. Also, Devina Gupta finds out how Russian president Vladimir Putin could use US property in the country to compensate for frozen Russian assets. And why one of Australia’s biggest banks, the Commonwealth, is predicting the country will become cashless by 2026. (Picture: The logo for Live Nation Entertainment is displayed on a screen on the floor at the NYSE in New York. Picture credit: Reuters)

The race begins for UK’s political parties to woo its voters ahead of July 4th General Elections – but is now the right time? Tech giant Nvidia continues to grow and grow, but can it keep going? And Elvis's Graceland is not up for sale. Find out why… [IMAGE CREDIT: REUTERS]

The European Union has approved the use of profits from Russia's frozen central bank assets to help Ukraine buy weapons and fund reconstruction. Ukraine has welcomed the move but how the scheme might work and could it risk undermining the rule of law? Hollywood actress star Scarlett Johansson has said she was left "angered" after the organisation OpenAI launched a chatbot with an "eerily similar" voice to her own. OpenAI have confirmed they would remove the voice, but have insisted that it was not meant to be an "imitation" of the star. How can AI seek to develop while staying on the right side of copyright law? Joining Ed Butler to discuss these and other big business stories of the day from around the world are Rachel Puppazoni, Business Reporter for ABC News in Perth, Australia and Technology journalist, Takara Small, based in Toronto. (Image credit: Anton Petrus/Getty Images.)

It has been a whirlwind in the US markets - the main indexes all hitting record highs while at the same time, commodity prices are rising. The ship that destroyed the bridge in Baltimore back in March is finally re-floated and back in port. And Business Matters takes a close look at the economies of Latin America with reporter Gideon Long. [IMAGE CREDIT: REUTERS]

Shareholders of plane maker Boeing approved a pay package of nearly $33 million for outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun - the highest ever agreed by the company - at its AGM on Friday. Mr Calhoun, who will leave the company at the end of the year, was also re-elected to stay on the troubled company’s board. Cubans are enduring some of their bleakest economic times since the Cold War – amid worsening inflation, a scarcity of basic goods and a decades-long US economic embargo. The BBC’s Correspondent, Will Grant, looks at how the situation has impacted on one of Cuba’s most quintessential industries – sugar – to see how tough the situation has become. Plus as Mercedes workers in Alabama have voted against joining a union we look at the result means for workers and management. Rahul Tandon is joined by Peter Ryan, ABC's senior business correspondent, in Sydney and Han Lin, China Country Director of “The Asia Group” a Washington DC based consultancy, and NYU Shanghai professor based in Shanghai. (Image Credit: The Washington Post/Getty Images.)

As the Dow Jones hits a record high Rahul Tandon looks at how a strong stock market is helping some people retire earlier than expected. Two months after a container ship crash saw the collapse of a road bridge in Baltimore, killing six workers, we explore the reasons why 21 seamen are still stranded on the vessel. And on the day that Singapore Airlines announces staff bonuses worth nearly eight months' salary we examine how they came to receive such a generous payout. (Picture credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images.)

President Putin’s visit comes as Russia has become more economically dependent on China following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago; Rahul Tandon examines the economic benefits for both nations. The Ambassador-at-Large with Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chan Hen Chee, talks to us about the country’s future direction after its long serving Prime Minister steps down. India and Iran have signed a deal allowing a company to develop and control the management of an Iranian port for 10 years. We look at this will potentially bring new economic benefits to India. (Picture: Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on development of Russia's military industrial complex .Credit: Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS)

Presenter Sam Fenwick discusses the impact of the tariffs on US China relations with guests from Canada and China. Analysts said the tariffs were largely symbolic and intended to shore up votes in a tough election year. Protests are taking place in Georgia over a new bill which requires organisations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to declare themselves as “foreign agents”, or face hefty fines and possible imprisonment. We hear how this could affect businesses in the country. Google is introducing AI-generated answers to search engine queries from US users in one of the biggest updates in years. We examine what this all means for Google and it’s rivals Microsoft's CoPilot and Open AI. (Picture: Credit

Sam Fenwick dives deep into the philanthropic world - and how it's changing - amid the news that Melinda Gates is leaving the Gates Foundation. Why has she made the decision? And what's next for this philanthropic giant? Elsewhere, we explore the resurgence of "meme stocks", the science behind work rituals, and what to expect from the Australian budget (Photo: Polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan, Peshawar, where the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have worked. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

US Consumer sentiment sags to a six-month low. Americans cite high inflation and fears around unemployment A free bottle of wine has finally been claimed after being hidden in the privacy policy of a tax-focused think tank's website for three months. We hear more from the Director of consumer protection for Consumer Federation of America The Oscars have launched a global fund raising campaign to boost its finances following a decade long decline in its viewership Mandatory Credit: Photo by Adam Davis/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock (14441942o) A customer walks past the fresh fruit section at a H-E-B supermarket in Austin, Texas, USA, 19 April 2024

The tech giant Apple has faced an online backlash in response to an advert featuring books and musical instrument being crushed, to demonstrate how their creativity has been compressed into the latest iPad. Also, with music catalogue company Hipgnosis facing a takeover, is it worth a price tag of $1.6 billion? And remarks by a boss at China's biggest search engine reignite the debate around China's 9-9-6 work-all-hours culture.

A former employee of Boeing's biggest supplier has claimed that sections of 737 Max aircraft regularly left its factory with serious defects. Spirit Aerosystems builds fuselages for the 737 Max, which are then shipped to Boeing’s own plant for final assembly. Speaking publicly for the first time, former quality inspector Santiago Peredes told the BBC that some managers actively tried to discourage him from flagging up flaws in half-finished planes. Also, Rahul Tandon, finds out why there are a lot of concerns about whether the plan to use Russian assets for weapons is legal and why not everyone was keen to see the Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Hungary. (Photo: A worker walks past Boeing's 737 MAX-9 under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, US. Credit: Reuters)

TikTok has filed a lawsuit aiming to block a US law that would ban in the video app in the country unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company. In the filing, the social media company called the act an "extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights" of the company and its 170 million American users. Also, Rahul Tandon, looks at the Disney financial results and finds out what can you buy with Argentina's new 10 000 pesos banknote. (Picture: The offices of TikTok in Culver City, California. Picture credit: Reuters)

On his first visit to Europe since 2019, president Xi Jinping has been talking about trade ties. The West is worried about cheap Chinese imports of electric cars. Also, Rahul Tandon finds out why global petrol demand growth could halve in 2024 and what impact the shutdown in Israel would have on Al Jazeera's business operations. (Picture: State dinner in honour of Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting Paris, France - 06 May 2024. Picture credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The Israeli Foreign Ministry is to reduce Turkish imports both to Israel and to the occupied Palestinian territories. It’s also appealing for sanctions against Turkey for violating existing trade agreements. Also, in the programme, we look at Brazil’s plans to propose a global annual tax for billionaires at the G20 in July

Last month, Ankara introduced partial restrictions citing being refused permission to drop aid into Gaza. Their response was to introduce restrictions on trade. Now, it appears that all imports and exports from Israel have been blocked. The country’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz said this was "how a dictator behaves" "and they will lose." Also, in the programme, we look at Pandemic-era fitness darling Peloton is showing more signs of trouble, as the CEO steps down and announcing staff redundancies. (Picture: Turkish President Erdogan addresses his supporters ahead of the local elections in Istanbul. Picture credit: Reuters)

The US Federal Reserve says it needs greater confidence that inflation is easing before cutting interest rates. We get the latest from our correspondent in New York. The housing market is one of the industries most impacted by the higher cost of borrowing. We hear from a buyer. And we have an exclusive interview with Pakistan's Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, about the conditions the country has to meet after taking a loan from the International Monetary Fund. Roger Hearing discusses these and more business stories with two guests on opposite sides of the world: Karen Percy, a freelance reporter in Melbourne, and Alison Van Diggelen, host of 'Fresh Dialogues' in Silicon Valley. (Photo: A trader works inside a booth, as screens display a news conference by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell. Credit: Reuters)

The Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who has been sentenced to four months in a US prison for failing to establish adequate anti-money laundering protections. Reports coming out of Washington suggest that the US government is about to take an historic step toward easing federal restrictions on cannabis. The lower house of congress in Argentina has given its general approval to a comprehensive package of austerity measures proposed by the President, Javier Milei. The house in Buenos Aires has spent over a day voting on individual articles of the various measures which have led to huge protests in the city in recent months. Also, China’s leaders have pledged more support for the world’s second-largest economy, saying it "still faces many challenges”; and the Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones says young women in tech have to be "resilient". Presenter Ed Butler is joined by Yves Hayaux Du Tilly, a Mexican lawyer who advises companies on business matters affecting Mexico and Latin America, and Jennifer Pak, the China correspondent for American Public Media, to discuss the latest international business news. (Photo: Changpeng Zhao. Credit: Benoit Tessier/Reuters)