President Donald Trump announced a new peace pact between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which he linked to US access to critical minerals. At a meeting in Washington, Trump claimed his administration had "succeeded where many others have failed," calling this the eighth war he has ended in less than a year. However, the reality on the ground is far more complicated, as fighting in eastern Congo continues despite the signing of the previous peace agreement. The agreement is not just about a ceasefire; it also concerns the mineral trade. The agreement grants US companies access...
In the first batch of "tariff letters" sent to trading partners, U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at two of the closest U.S. allies in Asia: Japan and South Korea both are already bearing the brunt of the existing duties on auto and steel exports. Additional tariffs would further hurt these two exports-dependent economies that are grappling with a slowdown in growth, with Japan likely staring at a technical recession, or two straight quarters of economic contraction. Both Japan and South Korea saw first-quarter gross domestic product contract on a quarter-on-quarter basis. While South...
Germany summoned the Chinese ambassador to the foreign ministry on Tuesday after saying China's military had laser-targeted a German aircraft taking part in an EU operation in the Red Sea, an account Beijing denied. The flare-up in tensions comes as concerns mount in the EU about Chinese influence on critical technologies and security infrastructure in Europe. "Putting German personnel at risk and disrupting the operation is completely unacceptable," said Germany's foreign ministry on social media platform X. China's foreign ministry, when asked about the accusation on Wednesday, said...
US President Donald Trump's plans to place hefty import tariffs on copper have already caused a spike in costs for American factories, with New York futures trading 25% higher than other global benchmarks on Tuesday. The fresh spike in US prices came after Trump said he planned to place a 50% tariff on copper imports, doubling down on a threat he first made in February to impose targeted levies on the crucial industrial metal. A 50% tariff would match duties he has already imposed on steel and aluminum in a bid to revive US production, but it would take a particularly heavy toll on...
President Donald Trump reiterated his displeasure with Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine and confirmed he's sending more defensive weapons to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government, sweeping aside an earlier pause by the Pentagon. "He's killing too many people so we're sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine and I've approved it," Trump told reporters at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Earlier in the meeting, he said he was "not happy with Putin" because the Russian leader is "killing a lot of people." It was the second time in less than 24 hours that...
President Donald Trump said Jerome Powell should "resign immediately" if allegations from critics that the Federal Reserve chairman misled lawmakers about renovations at the central bank's headquarters are proven true. Trump repeated his criticism of the Fed chairman at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, calling Powell "terrible," and telling reporters that deceiving Congress would be grounds for a quick exit. "Then he should resign immediately," Trump said. "We have to put somebody in there who will lower interest rates." Trump has attacked Powell over the bank's position on keeping interest...
Asian stock markets fell in unison on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline. A brief rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia quickly faded, prompting investors to turn away from riskier assets like...
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...
President Donald Trump announced a new peace pact between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which he linked to US access to critical minerals. At a meeting in Washington, Trump claimed...