US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had agreed with President Xi Jinping to cut tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing cracking down on illegal fentanyl trade, resuming purchases of U.S. soybeans, and maintaining the flow of rare earth metal exports. Trump's face-to-face talks with Xi in the South Korean city of Busan, his first since 2019, marked the end of his brief trip to Asia, during which he also praised trade breakthroughs with South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asian nations. "It was an extraordinary meeting," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after he...
The 20-day US federal government shutdown is likely to end this week, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday. "I think the Schumer shutdown is likely to end this week," White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in an interview on CNBC, referring to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said his "friends in the Senate" believe it was "bad optics for Democrats to open the government before the 'No Kings' protests, and that now there's a chance things will improve this week." Protesters of all ages took to the...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday he expects to meet next week with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Malaysia to try to forestall an escalation of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods that President Donald Trump said was unsustainable. Bessent made the announcement during a White House cabinet meeting and later confirmed plans for a meeting after a call with He on Friday evening. Bessent said on X the two officials "engaged in frank and detailed discussions regarding trade between the United States and China." "We will meet in-person next week to continue our discussions,"...
China on Thursday accused the U.S. of stoking panic over its rare earth controls and said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had made "grossly distorted" remarks about a top Chinese trade negotiator, rejecting a White House call to roll back the curbs. The official newspaper of the governing Communist Party also issued a seven-point rebuttal after top U.S. negotiators suggested Beijing could avert President Donald Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods by scrapping the measures set to take effect on November 8. While investors are relieved the world's top two economies have...
US President Donald Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a day before meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "This conversation is ongoing, it's lengthy, and I will report on its contents, as will President Putin, eventually," Trump wrote on social media on Thursday. Trump has expressed frustration with Putin over the Russian leader's refusal to halt fighting in Ukraine or meet directly with Zelenskiy for peace talks. Zelenskiy is expected to ask Trump for more advanced weaponry when they meet on Friday at the White House. Trump has indicated in recent...
Australia's unemployment rate jumped to 4.5% in September, its highest level since 2021. This figure was worse than expected and indicates that the labor market is starting to weaken. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also showed that only 14,900 new jobs were added last month, although the labor force participation rate rose slightly to 67%. This situation has reinforced speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) may cut interest rates again as soon as next month. Following the release of this data, the Australian dollar fell 0.4%, while the yield on three-year...
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.41% after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Topix added 0.61%. South...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had agreed with President Xi Jinping to cut tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing cracking down on illegal fentanyl trade, resuming purchases of...