welcome to business today. shares in one the world's biggest car—maker, stellantis, have been plummeting following the abrupt resignation of the ceo carlos tava res. the company suffered a profit warning two months ago and has seen a sharp decline in market value this year — a drop of a0%. shares in stellantis, which owns the peugoet fiat and jeep brands, were down around 8% in paris this morning. last week, the firm also announced plans to close its vauxhall van making factory in luton, putting about 1,100 jobs at risk. the company will find a replacement chief executive in the first half of next year. let's get more on this with our business correspondent theo leggett. do we know why he has quit? we don't do we know why he has quit? - don't know the precise reasons, but problem have been starting

to engulf stellantis since the start of the year. dealers in north america have essentially found themselves with large inventory of cars just cant sell because they are not what the market wanted. there has been a lot of criticism of stellantis itself and carlos tavares because of that. in europe, stellantis is facing similar pressures to other car makers are facing in that it has a large number of factories making a lot of cars but there should be, particularly electric cars, that it has invested a lot of money developing. it is facing competition from chinese brands that are coming in and taking a share of the electric car market. last year was a very good year for stellantis, this good year for stella ntis, this year good year for stellantis, this year has been a pretty dreadful one, and the share prices have been plummeting even before the

resignation of carlos tavares. it appears that the rest of the board have decided now is the time to do something different. carlos tava res was time to do something different. carlos tavares was due to retire in 2026 anyway. his position had been weakened because of that. it's in brought forward the transition and decided to get rid of him sooner rather than later. none of these challenges _ sooner rather than later. none of these challenges are - sooner rather than later. none of these challenges are unique to stellantis. other car makers are facing the same challenges. i wonder when they say they will appoint that new boss in the new year, what that bass can deliver. it is hard to see what new ideas can deliver to a car—maker that is facing a lot of those legacy issues in the face of cheaper competition from china.— from china. that is exactly what the _ from china. that is exactly what the new _ from china. that is exactly what the new chief - from china. that is exactly i what the new chief executive will have to deliver. new leadership and new ideas. he will be charged with turning around the performance of the company in north america, where it gets more than half of its

profits. that is about bringing forward new models that people want to buy more quickly, and sorting out the supply chain and delivery problems that has been hampering stellantis. been hampering stella ntis. carlos been hampering stellantis. carlos tava res came been hampering stellantis. carlos tavares came into stella ntis carlos tavares came into stellantis as its first chief executive. he was at psa before that. he was a cost cutter and it was the time to do that, he was credited with turning round the psa group when it was close to bankruptcy. stellantis seem like a great idea, merging a european giant with an american one. the company has run out of steam to a certain extent. it does need new momentum and it needs to reinvigorate its profits in north america so we can deal with its other problems in europe. the new competition from china will be a prime issue for whoever comes in. . ~' , .,

to france now where the government is facing a crucial budget vote which could potentially trigger a no—confidence vote in the prime minister, michel barnier, within days. marine le pen�*s far—right national rally is threatening to pull the plug on the coalition government over plans to rein in the massive french deficit. she's given the prime minister until today to answer her demands to amend his government's budget plans. the french stock market caciio has fallen over i% ahead of the vote later this afternoon and borrowing costs have risen to the highest rate in 12 years amidst the uncertainty. basically the ground is very fragile and the left and the right could bring it down this week if they decide to vote together in a motion of no confidence. the government will

use a special toe —— a special article of the constitution to pass the social security budget for next year. if the government does that, there could be a vote of no—confidence. if they decide, the left and the far right to go together, it means that the government will be gone and a new government will need to be appointed by the president, emmanuel macron. there are several options there, but it is very risky because you cannot dissolve the assembly and he cannot call for a new election again beforejuly 2025. sue a very important week. the big problem right now is the budget for next year. the deficit is very high. there have been so many expenses this year and so much more than expected and the deficit is super high and the need to bring it down. the issue is the

government does not have a majority in parliament so they cannot find a way to bring the deficit down. that makes the decision very, very difficult. if the government was to fall this week, it would mean that there won't be any budget voted for next year, so that is very important. of course, it does not mean we will see a shutdown in france, that will not happen, but it probably means they would have to use the budget of 2024 into 2025 and it would not be able to put the public finances in a sustainable direction. we will follow that — sustainable direction. we will follow that story _ sustainable direction. we will follow that story very - follow that story very carefully for you. now to japan, where shares in fast retailing which owns clothing giant uniqlo are down today. that is after the bbc aired an interview with its boss last week saying that the firm

is not using cotton from xinjiang. it's resulted in calls for a boycott in china. well, our asia business reporter mariko oi did that interview with the boss of fast retailing, tadashi yanai. of fast retailing, she told us more about the background to this. the initial reaction that i personally got after the interview aired was from chinese netizens, who were basically very angry with uniqlo, calling for a boycott of its clothes. of course, cotton from the xinjiang region is a contentious issue because, even though it was once known as some of the best fabric in the world, it's fallen out of favour after allegations that it is produced using forced labour by people from the muslim uyghur minority. now, beijing has consistently denied these allegations and brands such as h&m, which removed cotton from xinjiang from their supply chain a couple of years ago, they were boycotted in china. at the time, mr yanai didn't confirm or deny if the brand was using cotton from xinjiang. but when i met him earlier this month in tokyo, he confirmed that the company is not using cotton from xinjiang. in response, china's foreign ministry spokesperson said that they hope relevant companies can

eliminate political pressure and negative interference and make independent business decisions that align with their own interests. but for uniqlo, though, they were trying to stay politically neutral, but they're also expanding rapidly in europe and in the us, where consumers are increasingly conscious of how their clothing is made, whether that be from human rights issues or environmental concerns. in fact, uniqlo was criticised several years ago for not removing, orfor not confirming that they removed cotton from xinjiang in the west. so they do have a very difficult, tricky balancing act to play. in australia it's been a challenging year for the music industry with many venues shutting down and major festivals cancelling events. it's prompted the federal government to hold a parliamentary inquiry into the challenges facing the sector as phil mercer reports from sydney.

# he's always late...#. live music was once the soundtrack to a thriving industry in australia. but a decline that began with the covid—i9 pandemic and lockdowns has continued. musicians say it's the biggest crisis they've faced in a generation. many can barely make a living. i think it's really quite sad. i wish that australians would have put as much energy into music as they do with sport. i think, culturally, music is not very respected. since i've been singing here, i think the the standard fee for a musician hasn't changed. in fact, it's gone down. many venues are facing higher insurance and other costs. on top of that, audiences are staying away because of cost of living pressures. small to medium venues are under pressure to survive. venue sustainability is

a critical part of the puzzle. you lose a venue, you lose a community. you lose the infrastructure. and when they go, they don't come back. australia, though, is trying to reinvigorate its music industry. a national development agency was set up last year to provide support and investment. the federal parliament is also investigating the sector's challenges and opportunities. the aim is to bring the audiences back. the great club in sydney was run for four years by alison avron, but rising business costs and an expensive noise dispute with neighbours have forced her to close the popular venue. my soul had been ripped out. i'd let so many people down. it wasn'tjust me. you know, my agents lost their jobs, my staff lost their jobs. and then the musicians and their gigs that were coming up. it sort of caused such a stir. while many small to medium venues are struggling,

interest in big acts is sky high. more than 500,000 fans flocked to see taylor swift on her australian tour. katy perry and taylor swift put on a good show and they've got the money to do it. and people want to know that when they go out they are going to be entertained. they don't really want to take as many risks. music gives a voice to culture. but in australia, parts of the industry are facing a battle to rediscover their rhythm. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. in other news, indian farmers are descending on delhi, in their latest protests demanding better benefits from the government. police have put up barricades and there's heavy congestion on roads leading to the capital. the farmers want better compensation under india's new agricultural laws, including a price guarantee for their crops and cheaper energy.

disney's latest offering moana 2 has set a new thanksgiving box office record. the animation racked up $221 million in tickets sales, more than 100 million more than analysts had predicted. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello from the bbc sport centre. liverpool have moved nine points clear at the top of the premier league after a 2—0 win over manchester city at anfield. a first—half score from cody gakpo was added to with a mohamed salah penalty ion the second half, taking in the second half, taking the reds 11 points ahead of champions city, who drop to fifth with a fourth successive league defeat. their manager was in good

humour though after the loss. ididn't i didn't expect armfield to start chanting that i should get the sack! maybe i should be. we have won a lot of titles. it is what it is, it is part of the game. when you when you laugh, when you lose they laugh, and you have to accept. the lead is not decided in november or december. last year there were eight points behind arsenal in february. h0 there were eight points behind arsenal in february.— there were eight points behind arsenal in february. no one has to feel empathy _ arsenal in february. no one has to feel empathy or— arsenal in february. no one has to feel empathy or sorry - arsenal in february. no one has to feel empathy or sorry for - to feel empathy or sorry for pep — to feel empathy or sorry for pep guardiola, may be for other managers — pep guardiola, may be for other managers but not for him, he has won— managers but not for him, he has won so_ managers but not for him, he has won so many titles and it will bring _ has won so many titles and it will bring city back. fiorentina midfielder edoardo bove remains in intensive care after collapsing during their serie a match at home to inter milan. the 22—year—old, on loan from roma, fell to the ground in 16th minute, with both sets of players immediately signalling for the medical

staff and forming a protective ring around him before an ambulance took him