France Financial News

Paris headquartered BNP Paribas has announced that it is under scrutiny by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for its personnel’s non-compliant use of communication tools, violating archiving protocols.

Paris is planning on allowing swimming in the River Seine, following a massive, years-long cleanup effort as it gears up for the 2024 Olympic Games. Paris had banned swimming in Seine in 1923 due to excessive water pollution. Locals will be allowed to swim in three separate parts of the river — Bras Marie, Bras de Grenelle and Bercy. It will opened for them from 2025. On July 26, 2024, the opening ceremony of the Olympics will take place on the Seine, instead of the traditional stadium venue of past games. Three Olympic and Paralympic events — triathlon, marathon swimming and Para-triathlon is also scheduled to take place in the Seine. “At the Paris 2024 Games, the athletes will inaugurate swimming in the river with the Olympic events. A revival that will pave the way for aquatic leisure,” reads a statement from Paris city hall published July 10. The city hall also revealed that the bathing zones will be easily accessible, with pontoons and facilities on the quaysides for swimmers to change, shower, and keep their belongings secure.

The Sandbox metaverse development platform announced on July 27 that it will be partnering with the British Museum to bring it into the metaverse. 

purpose in life can define an individual — from helping set goals and prioritise actions to navigating challenges with resilience. It gives life meaning and direction and leads to improved mental well-being. Businesswoman Vani Kola also believes that finding a purpose can also define people.

consumer spending and robust business investment. Shares of Honeywell International dropped 5.7% after its revenue fell short of analysts' expectations. Meta Platforms’ stock rose 4.4%.

Castlevania fans have good news! The highly anticipated follow-up to the original Netflix animated series, titled "Castlevania: Nocturne," is finally set to arrive this September. After over a year of anticipation, Netflix has unveiled a new trailer for the upcoming sequel, giving viewers a glimpse of what's in store. Taking place in the year 1792, «Castlevania: Nocturne» focuses on the protagonist Richter Belmont, the sole surviving descendant of Trevor Belmont and Sypha, his beloved. The story revolves around Richter being enlisted by a Caribbean sorceress named Annette. Their mission is to combat a menacing new Vampire Messiah, who poses a grave threat to humanity by pushing the world into an everlasting night, all set amidst the chaos of the French Revolution. While the trailer doesn't reveal the return of Dracula or his half-human son Alucard, it showcases a plethora of dazzling combat sequences and formidable vampiric foes adorning masquerade masks and powdered wigs. The series will draw inspiration from events and characters introduced in the 1993 classic «Castlevania: Rondo of Blood» and the iconic «Castlevania: Symphony of the Night» from 1997. The animation will be handled by the Powerhouse Animation Studios, with directors Sam and Adam Deats returning to lead the creative team.

French magistrates are investigating a leading chip supplier whose advanced technology with possible military uses was reportedly smuggled to China and Russia, allegedly skirting sanctions and export controls

More than 1,000 U.S. service personnel are in Niger to combat the growing threat from various groups of Islamic extremists

Coach Eddie Jones isn’t just taking on the world when the Wallabies compete for the Rugby Union World Cup in France in September. He’s also planning to take on rival football codes here in Australia by poaching even more talent from rugby league.

Sometimes, it takes a special effort to make a point, and the women’s football World Cup has seen one. An advertisement by French telecom firm Orange shows the country’s men’s team players making some magical moves and scoring spectacular goals that would make fans of the game anywhere go delirious. Only, it’s revealed soon enough that it isn’t really men playing.

Spain recovered 86% of its pre-pandemic tourist arrivals in 2022, and arrivals this year already show a 28% increase over 2019 levels. France follows closely with year-to-date international visitors numbering just 3% less than before the Covid-19 pandemic and their spending at record levels, according to Atout France, a government tourism agency. The US, on the other hand, is falling behind. International tourist arrivals remain at 26% below pre-pandemic levels, according to a June 2023 monthly report from the US Travel Association, with spending slower, too. At the close of 2022, international visitor spending in the US was at $99 billion, just over 50% of where it stood in 2019. That’s a far cry from 2019, when the US received 79.4 million visitors, who spent $181 billion. “The lag is very significant, and we are very concerned,” says Geoff Freeman, US Travel’s chief executive officer. “We estimate that this year alone we’re going to lose about 2.6 million international visitors and $7 billion less in spending.” The US travel industry isn’t expected to recover to 2019 levels until 2025. Those two additional years will translate into “billions of dollars of lost spending, of lost jobs,” says Freeman.

(Reuters) — President Vladimir Putin has signed decrees to take temporary control of assets belonging to some Western companies in Russia, in retaliation against foreign moves against Russian companies abroad, and warned in April the Kremlin could seize more.

By America Hernandez

Spanish private bank A&G has launched Spain’s first locally regulated crypto hedge fund, the firm announced this week.

By Victor Goury-Laffont and Gilles Guillaume

Investing.com — European stock markets are expected to open higher Thursday, as investors digest comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell ahead of the latest European Central Bank meeting.

By Dominique Vidalon

A key United States House panel has approved a pair of bills that will be key to developing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, reducing regulatory red tape for crypto, and setting clearer rules for the industry.

As broadly expected by market participants, the US Federal Reserve just lifted interest rates by 25 bps, taking them to their highest level in 22 years at 5.25-5.5%.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has deepened its relationship with PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), the company announced Wednesday, with the integration of PayPal's Pay Later solution in the U.S., UK, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

By Franco Terrazzano