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China considering yuan-backed stablecoins
China is considering allowing the usage of yuan-backed stablecoins for the first time to boost wider adoption of its currency globally, sources familiar with the matter said, in a major reversal of its stance towards digital assets. The State Council -- China's cabinet -– will review and possibly approve a roadmap later this month for the greater usage of the currency globally, including catching up with a US push on stablecoins, said the sources. The plan is expected to include targets for usag
Aug. 21, 2025 -
Trump calls on Fed Gov. Cook to resign over mortgage allegations
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook to resign on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia, intensifying his effort to gain influence over the US central bank. Cook said she had "no intention of being bullied to step down" from her position at the central bank after US Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte raised the allegations in a tweet. "I do i
Aug. 21, 2025 -
Google packs new Pixel phones with AI
Alphabet’s Google introduced Wednesday a new lineup of Pixel smartphones and gadgets, intensifying its efforts to embed artificial intelligence across a wide ecosystem of products. The products were launched at the annual "Made by Google" event held in New York that diverged from its typical format to emphasize mainstream consumer appeal over technical details. Talk show host Jimmy Fallon, the Jonas Brothers and other celebrities featured heavily across the presentation, as they helped demonstra
Aug. 21, 2025 -
Trump again attacks Fed chair, says Powell 'hurting' housing industry
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is "hurting" the housing industry "very badly" and repeated his call for a big cut to US interest rates. "Could somebody please inform Jerome "Too Late" Powell that he is hurting the Housing Industry, very badly? People can't get a Mortgage because of him. There is no Inflation, and every sign is pointing to a major Rate Cut," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Inflation is well off the highs seen duri
Aug. 20, 2025 -
US expands 50% steel, aluminum tariffs to 407 more products
US President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday announced the addition of 407 product categories to the list of "derivative" products whose steel and aluminum content will be subject to 50 percent tariffs. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security said it had added to the list wind turbines and their parts and components, mobile cranes, bulldozers, railcars, furniture, compressors and pumps, among other products. "As a result, the steel and aluminum content of these product
Aug. 20, 2025 -
Intel gets $2b lifeline in the form of SoftBank equity investment
Intel is getting a $2 billion capital injection from SoftBank Group in a major vote of confidence for the troubled US chipmaker that is in the middle of a turnaround effort. The equity investment, announced by the two companies Monday, is a lifeline for the once-iconic US chipmaker which has struggled to compete after years of management blunders that left it with virtually no foothold in the booming artificial intelligence chip industry. It will make SoftBank a top-10 shareholder of Intel and a
Aug. 19, 2025 -
Tough US stance casts gloom over plastics pollution deal
ANALYSIS GENEVA (Reuters) -- The collapse on Friday of a sixth round of UN talks aimed at curbing plastic output has dimmed hopes of tackling a key source of pollution and left many advocates of restrictions pessimistic about a global deal during the Trump administration. A three-year global push to reach a legally-binding treaty to curb plastic pollution choking the oceans and harming human health now appears adrift, participants said. Many states and campaigners blamed the failure on oil-produ
Aug. 17, 2025 -
Facing US tariffs, India's Modi vows self-reliance
NEW DELHI (AFP) -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday that India is seeking self-reliance in energy independence and the development of its own powerful defence systems, vowing to defend his country's interests "like a wall." Modi delivered his annual Independence Day address from the imposing ramparts of New Delhi's Red Fort at a time when India faces intense pressure and threats of additional tariffs from the United States. "Self-reliance is the foundation of developed India," Modi said
Aug. 17, 2025 -
Trump says no imminent plans to penalize China for buying Russian oil
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- US President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil, but might have to "in two or three weeks." Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. The president last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing it
Aug. 16, 2025 -
Fed cut seen near certain after inflation data, Bessent comments
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September is now seen near 100 percent after new data showed US inflation increased at a moderate pace in July and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he thought an aggressive half-point cut was possible given recent weak employment numbers. Traders in contracts tied to the benchmark federal funds rate on Wednesday put the odds of a quarter-percentage point cut at the Fed's Sept. 16-17 meeting at 99.9 percent, according to
Aug. 14, 2025 -
US pharma tariffs likely weeks away as Trump plans for Alaska, sources say
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The announcement by President Donald Trump's administration of the results of a probe into pharmaceutical imports and new sector-specific US tariffs likely remains weeks away, four official and industry sources said, later than initially promised as he focuses on other matters. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had said in April when the review of whether reliance on foreign drug production threatens US national security was launched that he anticipated that it would conc
Aug. 14, 2025 -
US inflation held steady as tariff hit offset by cheaper gas, food
WASHINGTON (AP) — US inflation was unchanged in July as rising prices for some imported goods were balanced by falling gas and grocery prices, leaving overall prices modestly higher than a year ago. Consumer prices rose 2.7 percent in July from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, the same as the previous month and up from a post-pandemic low of 2.3 percent in April. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1 percent, up from 2.9 percent in June. Both f
Aug. 13, 2025 -
Trump holds meeting with Intel CEO after demanding he resign
US President Donald Trump said he met with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan on Monday, days after seeking his resignation, praising Tan and calling the meeting "a very interesting one." Shares of the chipmaker rose 3 percent in extended trading. Last week, Trump had demanded the immediate resignation of Tan, calling him "highly conflicted" over his ties to Chinese firms, injecting uncertainty into the chipmaker's years-long turnaround effort. Trump said he met with Tan, along with Commerce Secretary Howard
Aug. 12, 2025 -
'Trump's Nvidia deal raises new corporate, national security risks'
ANALYSIS US President Donald Trump upended decades of US national security policy, creating an entirely new category of corporate risk, when he made a deal with Nvidia to give the US government a cut of its sales in exchange for resuming exports of banned AI chips to China. Historically, the US government made decisions to control the export of sensitive technologies on national security grounds. Those decisions were viewed as non-negotiable; if a technology was controlled, companies could not b
Aug. 12, 2025 -
Trump says no tariffs on gold imports
US President Donald Trump said Monday that his administration will not impose tariffs on gold imports, an announcement following days of speculation that gold bars might be subject to country-specific duties. Trump issued a terse statement in a social media post, after speculation arose over the possibility of gold tariffs after a recent ruling by US Customs and Border Protection that 1-kilogram and 100-ounce gold bullion bars from Switzerland would face duties. "Gold will not be Tariffed!," Tru
Aug. 12, 2025