US president says he accepted invitation in first phone conversation between leaders since January
Donald Trump said he had accepted an invitation to meet Xi Jinping in China after a phone conversation on trade was held between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president said the “very good” call lasted about 90 minutes and the conversation was “almost entirely focused on trade”.
Continue reading...Tech firm is building ‘humanoid park’ in US to try out robots, which could ‘spring out’ of its vans
Amazon is reportedly developing software for humanoid robots that could perform the role of delivery workers and “spring out” of its vans.
The $2tn technology company is building a “humanoid park” in the US to test the robots, said the tech news site the Information, citing a person who had been involved in the project.
Continue reading...President brings in ban for visitors from 12 countries and restricts travel from a further seven
Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging top aides masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline”.
The investigation will build on a Republican-led campaign already under way to discredit the former president and overturn some of his executive actions, including pardons and federal rules issued towards the end of his term in office.
Continue reading...Consumer watchdogs accuse Chinese fashion firm of ‘dark’ practices in formal complaint to European Commission
Consumer watchdogs from 21 countries have filed a formal complaint to EU authorities about alleged “dark” practices by the Chinese fast fashion firm Shein including the “shaming” of customers into buying more than they can afford.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has submitted a 29-page dossier to the European Commission citing multiple examples of “dark patterns”, or deceptive techniques designed to encourage purchases.
Continue reading...Morocco’s commercial centre has brought investment to the continent – but critics say it masks domestic inequality
For centuries, Casablanca was a significant trading hub for merchants from across the breadth of the Atlantic coast, given its geographical position between Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
These days, Morocco’s economic capital is merging those historical roots with a strong modern commercial identity. One such manifestation is the Casablanca Finance City (CFC) district, whose high-rise buildings stand as a symbol of the city’s dream of being a main gateway for international investment into Africa.
Continue reading...Beijing says it will safeguard its interests after Donald Trump claimed it had ‘totally violated’ agreement
China has accused the US of “seriously violating” the fragile US-China detente that has been in place for less than a month since the two countries agreed to pause the trade war that risked upending the global economy.
China and the US agreed on 12 May to pause for 90 days the skyrocketing “reciprocal” tariffs that both countries had placed on the others goods in a frenzied trade war that started a few weeks earlier. Tariffs had reached 125% on each side, which officials feared amounted to virtual embargo on trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
Continue reading...Wild weather, including Cyclone Alfred and floods in NSW and Queensland, significantly slowed retail trade and household spending
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Six months of natural disasters in 2025 have cost the economy $2.2bn, largely in slower retail and household spending, according to new federal Treasury analysis.
Wild weather has repeatedly battered the Australian east coast this year.
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Continue reading...Trump announced on Friday night that he planned to double rates on imported steel, piling more pressure on the industry
The UK’s trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will meet his US counterpart next week to thrash out a timeline for exempting the UK from US steel and aluminium tariffs after Donald Trump announced he would double them.
British officials are seeking clarity on the implications of Trump’s announcement on Friday night that he planned to double the tariffs from 25% to 50% from Wedneday 4 June, piling further pressure on global steel trade.
Continue reading...Market thought to be worth more than £500m as diners seek cheaper alternatives to the pub or a meal out
Dessert cafes and ice-cream parlours are hoping to play a role in a revival of UK high streets and the night-time economy, as people seek an alternative to going to the pub or an expensive meal out.
Their number has soared by almost 700 in the UK in the past decade, according to analysts at Green Street, formerly the Local Data Company, with outlets in places from Aberdeen to Plymouth.
Continue reading...Don Farrell says US president’s latest tariffs announcement ‘an act of economic self-harm’ and he will continue to advocate for their removal
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Australia’s trade minister, Don Farrell, has described Donald Trump’s trade tariffs as “unjustified and not the act of a friend”, after the US president announced he would double import duties on steel and aluminium to 50%.
Trump told a steelworkers rally in Pittsburgh that raising the tariff would “even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody is going to get around that”.
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Continue reading...Organizer points to president’s anti-diversity push as companies join Adidas and Clorox in withdrawing support
In another blow to one of the largest celebrations of LGTBQ+ people in North America, Pride Toronto has unexpectedly lost two more major corporate sponsors, just weeks before the festival in a setback the festival’s organizer says is direct result of Donald Trump’s campaign to eradicate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the US.
Google and Home Depot both announced their plans to abandon the festival in the form of one-line emails, said Kojo Modeste, the executive director of the Canadian event.
Continue reading...Sale ends state ownership of the banking group, then known as Royal Bank of Scotland, after 2008 rescue
The UK has sold its final shares in NatWest Group, ending 17 years of state ownership since the £45bn taxpayer bailout that saved the bank from collapse at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.
The full privatisation of NatWest is a symbolic moment for the banking group – formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – and draws a line under the most tumultuous chapter in its near 300-year history.
Continue reading...President took to social media to denounce Beijing in the latest development in his ongoing tariff war
Donald Trump declared that China has “totally violated its agreement” against the US on trade just two weeks after the countries reached a deal, raising fears that the trade war will continue to rattle the global economy.
“I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday morning. “Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US.”
Continue reading...CEO of Europe’s largest industrial group says he has been in direct talks with Donald Trump’s administration
Volkswagen, Europe’s largest industrial group, has said it will make a “massive” investment in the US. The group, which includes Porsche, revealed it has been in direct talks with Donald Trump’s administration as it faces damaging tariffs.
Oliver Blume, who heads the group, said the talks were “constructive” and “fair”, in an interview that suggests the company, whose market capital is £44bn, is not willing to leave tariff negotiations to Brussels alone.
Continue reading...This year’s tiny harvest casts doubt on the spirit’s recent resurgence, once a bright spot in the island’s economy
It’s a crisis that would have sent a shiver down Ernest Hemingway’s drinking arm. Cuba’s communist government is struggling to process enough sugar to make the rum for his beloved mojitos and daiquiris.
As summer rains bring the Caribbean island’s 2025 harvest to an end, a recent analysis by Reuters suggests that Cuba’s state-run monopoly, Azcuba, is likely to produce just 165,000 metric tonnes of sugar this year. That compares with harvests of 8m in the late 1980s.
Continue reading...Mauritanian economist who led Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa will succeed Akinwunmi Adesina
The African Development Bank has chosen the Mauritanian economist Sidi Ould Tah as its president-elect after three rounds of voting on Thursday afternoon.
The election took place in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, at the end of the annual meeting of the continent’s biggest multilateral lender.
Continue reading...Sales at UK’s third largest supermarket fell 3.1% in four months to April, as rival Aldi announces big expansion
Asda is unlikely to see growth before the end of this year at the earliest, the supermarket’s chair, Allan Leighton, has said, as sales continue to fall despite price cuts and more stock on its shelves.
Meanwhile, Aldi, which is closing the market share gap with Asda, put further pressure on its rival by announcing significant expansion plans across the UK.
Continue reading...Nationals backbencher says we ‘weren’t told everything that went on between Sussan Ley’ and David Littleproud. Follow today’s news live
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McCormack says he expects Nationals to revisit net zero position eventually
McCormack expects the Nationals to revisit net zero by 2050:
I think we need to have a very serious discussion about that. When I go to places such as Crookwell, and others, where they have got huge wind towers, they have done their heft lift as far as making sure they put these massive turbines up, the solar … that are popping up all over, taking up arable country, farmland, you know.
I think regional Australia has done its fair share and we need to revisit that, given the fact the world, indeed America and other countries and other political parties in other nations, have really revisited this net zero. I think the Nationals will do the same.
Look, you never say never. I’m not going to draw a line through my name because that would be silly, but, look, it’s up to the party room. It’s the gift of the party room. I have always accepted that.
I had the great honour of leading the party for three and a bit years and being the deputy prime minister at the same time. [A] truly great honour. One that I’ll cherish. But if it comes to pass that the party decides that I’m the one to lead them again in the future so be it.
Continue reading...The billionaire mogul is signaling far and wide that he’s back to business, and even criticizing Trump’s tax bill
Elon Musk really wants the public – and investors – to know that he’s leaving Washington DC behind.
In a series of interviews and social media posts this week, Musk has criticized Donald Trump’s marquee tax bill and emphasized his recommitment to leading SpaceX, Tesla and the artificial intelligence company xAI. The world’s richest person claimed that he was back to working around the clock at his companies – to the point of sleeping in conference rooms and factory offices once again.
Continue reading...Fast-fashion retailer struggling to gain go-ahead from Chinese regulators for UK listing
Shein is reportedly aiming to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange as the online fast-fashion retailer struggles to gain the go-ahead from Chinese regulators for a flotation in London.
The company, which was founded in China where the majority of its suppliers are based but now has its headquarters in Singapore, is aiming to file a draft prospectus with Hong Kong’s stock exchange in the coming weeks, according to Reuters.
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