Quebec to help choose next Francophonie leader as markets rise

The newly elected Parti Québécois government in Quebec City will soon get a chance to help choose the next leader of the international organization of French-speaking nations.

The new head of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie will be announced on Nov. 16, at the end of the 20th Francophonie Summit being held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has said he places particular importance on international relations and is set to attend the summit. The premier’s office told The Canadian Press Quebec has not yet decided who to support in the race.

“Quebec hopes that the person elected will bring strong influence and unity to the Francophonie and be receptive to Quebec’s priorities and interests,” added Camille Jobin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of International Relations.

Four candidates — three African women and one European man — are vying for the post of secretary-general of the organization. The candidates are Rwandan Louise Mushikiwabo — who is seeking a third term as head of the organization —, Congolese Juliana Lumumba, former Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and Mauritanian Coumba Bâ.

Since the position was created in 1997, all secretaries-general have been African, with the exception of Michaëlle Jean of Canada.

Markets

Wall Street’s main indexes climbed on Monday, as investors attempted to shake off last week’s AI anxieties while awaiting more clarity on the controversy surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,035 points, or 2%, to 52,321. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both advanced 2%.

Shares of Nvidia, the second most valuable company in the world, fell more than 5% after an internal investigation into whether CEO Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort raised questions about his future at the AI chipmaker.

Shares of some chipmakers were up, with Marvell Technology and Broadcom rising 5% and 6.5%, respectively, while Intel and Qualcomm each rose nearly 2%. Among the hyperscalers, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon were up between 2.5% and 5%. Elon Musk-led Tesla and SpaceX also advanced 4.5% each.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release its Consumer Price Index report for October on Tuesday, with economists polled by Reuters expecting a 2.7% increase year-over-year.

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Sources

• globalnews.ca: Quebec prepares to weigh in on race to lead international Francophonie organization - Montreal | Globalnews.ca
• nypost.com: Dow surges 1,000 points after last week's historic tech rout, while Nvidia slumps

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