Nigerian banking index gains but industrial goods sector declines

Indonesia is expecting to draw in "sizable" investment in Industry 4.0 sectors such as AI, machine learning and robotics. But huge challenges remain.

Shares in Netflix plunged by almost nine percent in after-hours trading on Wall Street on Tuesday, after the streaming giant announced a major slowdown in subscriber growth. Netflix added just four million new customers in the first three months of 2021, compared to 16 million in the same period last year. The company is hoping that new seasons of hit shows like "Sex Education" will help boost growth later this year. Also today, we hear how French employers are struggling to recruit seasonal workers for this summer.

Alibaba's Jack Ma was the first to be targeted by Beijing's crackdown on private enterprise. Now ride-hailing, streaming, delivery and tuition firms have run foul of authorities and investors are nursing heavy losses.

Beijing has said it want to foster small and medium-sized businesses by setting up third stock exchange in Beijing. The move comes despite an ongoing regulatory crackdown on China's biggest tech companies.

Guinea's new military junta have unveiled a "transitional charter" to steer the country back to civilian rule — an effort to show the world, especially donors and mining sector investors, that they can be trusted.

Corporate stock buybacks hit new record, surpassing 2018. Companies listed on the S&P 500 bought back a record-setting $234.5 billion in shares in the third quarter of 2021, surpassing the previous record of $223 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to preliminary data from S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Streaming giant Netflix says it's bracing for slower-than-expected growth this year, a development that saw its share price plummet. As FRANCE 24's Cole Stangler explains, it's not the only firm that's struggled to keep up momentum after booming in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when millions of people were on lockdown.

It's been a rollercoaster 24 hours on global stock markets, with huge swings on Wall Street and volatility hitting its highest level since October 2020. Investors are waiting for the decision from the US Federal Reserve on when it will start raising interest rates, but are also concerned about the rising tensions at Ukraine's border. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has slumped as low as $33,000, down over 50 percent from its peak in November. Our Business Editor Stephen Carroll has the details.

Stock markets slumped in Asia on Thursday and European shares started the day's trading in the red, after signals from the US Federal Reserve that it could raise interest rates more than three times in 2022. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank's policy committee was "of a mind" to start raising rates in March, and that it would be guided by the economic data. FRANCE 24's Business Editor Stephen Carroll looks at market reaction to the announcements.

Can old sneakers really be a legitimate investment? Many online resellers and even one of the oldest and biggest auctions houses in the world think so. Recent astronomical prices may prove them right.

Stock markets returned to calmer trading on Tuesday after a volatile day on Monday, when investors were spooked by a joke made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about an imminent Russian invasion. His spokesman later clarified that the comments were "ironic". Oil prices, meanwhile, remain close to their highest level in seven years over fears of potential disruption to supplies. Also today, we look at the latest pay talks between French workers and employers, as inflation continues to rise.

After a sell-off on Wall Street, global investors are grappling with price increases and rising borrowing costs. Inflation is particularly brutal in Turkey, and the Greek government unveils a program to protect households from soaring energy prices.