Hong Kong, China | AFP | Asian equity markets tanked and the yuan hit an 11-year low Monday after US President Donald Trump ramped up his trade war with China by hiking tariffs on more than half-a-trillion dollars worth of imports. However, dealers pared earlier steep losses after the president said …
Read More »Johnson seeks to push Trump at fractious G7
Biarritz, France | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Sunday seek to persuade President Donald Trump to offer flexibility on trade and also win concessions from the EU on Brexit, at a G7 summit hosted by France marked by stark divisions. Johnson was to hold his long-awaited first …
Read More »Trump heads to G7 with potshot at French hosts over taxes
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump threatened his French hosts with taxes on their wines Friday as he headed to a G7 summit in France with a series of parting shots, including another broadside at the Federal Reserve’s chairman. After a day that saw big falls on …
Read More »Gamers take aim at Trump’s criticism of virtual game violence
Cologne, Germany | AFP | Gamers at the industry’s biggest fair in Europe have taken aim at US President Donald Trump’s assertions that violence in video games was partly to blame for recent mass shootings. Experts and fans alike at the Gamescom trade fair in the German city of Cologne rejected …
Read More »French winemakers jittery over Trump tariff threats ahead of G7
Paris, France | AFP | French winegrowers are on tenterhooks as they wait to see whether Donald Trump will follow through with his repeated threats to raise tariffs on French wine in retaliation for the new GAFA tax. As the leaders of the world’s richest countries gather for the G7 opening …
Read More »UK’s Johnson to hold Brexit talks with Macron after Merkel offers glimmer of hope
Berlin, Germany | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Paris on Thursday, a day after Berlin offered a glimmer of hope that an agreement could be reached to avoid a chaotic “no deal” Brexit. On the second leg of his first foreign visit since taking office, Johnson will meet his …
Read More »Johnson, Merkel to face off in first Brexit talks
Berlin, Germany | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Berlin on Wednesday to kick off a marathon of tense talks with key European and international leaders as the threat of a chaotic no-deal Brexit looms. On his first foreign visit since taking office, he will seek to convince German …
Read More »US ports brace for surge of imports ahead of new tariffs on China
New York, United States | AFP | The latest lurches in President Donald Trump’s trade war with China set the stage for a potential repeat of late 2018 when goods flooded into America’s ports to beat new tariffs. US importers, retailers and shippers are bracing for a new round of punitive …
Read More »Boris Johnson makes his big-time debut at Biarritz
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes his debut on the global stage at the G7 summit this weekend, where all eyes will be on his chumminess with US President Donald Trump. The summit in France opens on Saturday, the one-month anniversary of the gaffe-prone Brexit cheerleader …
Read More »Is Trump’s love affair with Fox News fading?
Washington, United States | AFP | Last month after Donald Trump watched Fox News lob what he called “softball questions” at a Democratic lawmaker, the US president delivered a crisp smackdown of his favorite network: “Fox sure ain’t what it used to be.” After years of often fawning coverage by Fox, …
Read More »