
AFP
19506 articles published since 08 Mar 2022
19506 articles published since 08 Mar 2022
China's factory output shrank more than expected in July, official data showed on Thursday, logging its fourth straight month of contraction as Beijing battles to hammer out a trade deal with the United States. China's bruising trade war with the United States -- now on hold pending a deal -- has hit the export-dependent economy.
Time is running short for governments to strike deals with Washington to avert tariff hikes that Donald Trump has vowed against dozens of economies -- and the US president continues to expand his trade wars. This rate was set to rise to varying levels for dozens of economies like the European Union, Japan and others, but Washington twice postponed their implementation as financial markets gyrated.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States will impose a 15 percent tariff on imports from South Korea, as he touted a "full and complete trade deal" between both countries. In contrast with the 15 percent tariff for South Korea, Trump on Wednesday also placed 25 percent tariffs on imports from India and 50 percent on those from Brazil.
Brazil's Central Bank on Wednesday held its benchmark interest rate steady at 15 percent after seven straight hikes that had angered leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula has argued high interest rates stifle growth.
The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday, defying strong political pressure from President Donald Trump to slash borrowing costs -- although divisions emerged among policymakers. The president, citing Wednesday's GDP figures, earlier said Powell "must now lower the rate."
Meta reported robust second-quarter financial results Wednesday, with revenue jumping 22 percent year-over-year to $47.5 billion as the social media giant continues investing heavily in artificial intelligence. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations as advertising revenue climbed a stellar 21 percent to $46.6 billion.
Technology giant Microsoft on Wednesday said its profit soared above expectations in the recently ended quarter, driven by its cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) units. Microsoft was one of the first tech giants to double down on artificial intelligence when the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 rocked the tech industry.
European aerospace group Airbus posted an 85-percent rise in first-half profit Wednesday to $1.7 billion, even though it delivered fewer commercial planes compared with the same period last year. The jump in profits to 1.5 billion euros came a year after Airbus reported a 46-percent slump in earnings for the first half of 2024.
President Donald Trump ordered massive tariffs on Brazil Wednesday and sanctions against the judge overseeing a trial of his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting a coup in Latin America's biggest economy. Bolsonaro is on trial for allegedly plotting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to leftist Lula.
AFP
Load more