Many people in China cheered the meeting Thursday between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, after months of escalating bilateral tensions. Every time the two leaders meet, it helps ease tensions and creates a "positive atmosphere," Alex Hongcai Xu, chair of Beijing Honglve Consulting, said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. "This atmosphere is beneficial for negotiations." "Each side lowering tariffs to below 10% would benefit capital flows and cooperation," Xu said. He noted that China can likely buy more U.S. soybeans and U.S.-made Boeing airplanes. Trump said Thursday...
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed optimism about improving relations between Russia and the United States during a visit to a nuclear research center on Friday. Putin stated there was "light at the end of the tunnel" in Russia-U.S. relations following his recent summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska. "With the arrival of President Trump, I think that a light at the end of the tunnel has finally loomed. And now we had a very good, meaningful and frank meeting in Alaska," Putin said. The Russian president described last week's summit as productive and indicated that...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he has not been in contact with Russia regarding potential peace talks, although his dialogue with the US is ongoing. Speaking at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Kyiv on Friday, Zelenskiy said he did not want to set conditions for potential peace talks with Vladimir Putin because he could use them as an excuse to continue the war. There are "two layers" of security guarantees being discussed, Rutte said at the same event. The first involves strengthening Ukraine's military and the second involves guarantees...
The White House launched an official TikTok account on Tuesday, taking advantage of the short video app's more than 170 million U.S. users to spread the messages of President Donald Trump. Trump has a soft spot for the popular app, crediting it with helping him gain support among young voters when he defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the November 2024 presidential election. Lawmakers in Washington worry, however, that its U.S. user data could fall into the hands of China's government. Trump has been working on a deal for U.S. investors to buy the app from TikTok's Chinese parent,...
When President Donald Trump launched his tariff blitz, economists warned of soaring inflation as costs hit consumers. The hit was delayed by corporate countermeasures, but now early signs of tariff-driven price hikes are emerging, and Morgan Stanley warns the full inflation punch is coming, forcing businesses to rethink hiring and spending. "Recent inflation data show goods prices firming as tariffs feed through, essentially acting as a tax on consumption and production," Morgan Stanley economists said in a recent note, highlighting growing cost pressures squeezing corporate margins. The...
US manufacturing activity in August surged to 53.3 (above 50 = expansion), the highest since May 2022. Surging demand boosted production and a buildup of backlogs, lifting the Composite PMI (a combination of manufacturing and services) to its highest level this year. However, despite the strengthening performance, companies admitted they were struggling to meet accelerating sales. Survey details show factory output and backlogs rose to their highest levels since mid-2022, while new orders reached their highest levels since February 2024. Responding to strong demand, manufacturers are again...
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...