economy

US loses last triple-A credit rating as Moody's cuts over govt debt

BY DANIEL AVIS

  • - 'Fiscal house is not in order' - Moody's decision to downgrade the United States from its top credit rating mirrors similar decisions from the two other major US ratings agencies, S&P and Fitch.
  • The United States lost its last triple-A credit rating from a major agency Friday as Moody's announced a downgrade, citing rising levels of government debt and dealing a blow to Donald Trump's narrative of economic strength and prosperity.
  • - 'Fiscal house is not in order' - Moody's decision to downgrade the United States from its top credit rating mirrors similar decisions from the two other major US ratings agencies, S&P and Fitch.
The United States lost its last triple-A credit rating from a major agency Friday as Moody's announced a downgrade, citing rising levels of government debt and dealing a blow to Donald Trump's narrative of economic strength and prosperity.
The downgrade to Aa1 from Aaa adds to the bad news for the US president, coming on the same day his flagship spending bill failed to pass a key vote in Congress due to opposition from several Republican fiscal hawks.
Explaining its decision, the ratings agency noted "the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns."
Moody's warned it expects federal deficits to widen to almost nine percent of economic output by 2035, up from 6.4 percent last year, "driven mainly by increased interest payments on debt, rising entitlement spending, and relatively low revenue generation."
As a result, it expects the federal debt burden to increase to about 134 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035, compared to 98 percent last year.
The White House took to X to push back, with communications director Steven Cheung singling out the chief economist of Moody's Analytics, Mark Zandi, for criticism.
"Nobody takes his 'analysis' seriously. He has been proven wrong time and time again," Cheung posted.

'Fiscal house is not in order'

Moody's decision to downgrade the United States from its top credit rating mirrors similar decisions from the two other major US ratings agencies, S&P and Fitch.
S&P was the first to cut its rating for the United States back in 2011, during Barack Obama's first term in office, citing its concerns that a debt management plan "would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics."
Twelve years later, Fitch followed suit, warning of "a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters."
Moody's echoed its peers in its decision Friday, noting in a statement that "successive US administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs."
"We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from current fiscal proposals under consideration," it added, flagging that it expected larger deficits to continue over the next decade.
America's "fiscal performance is likely to deteriorate relative to its own past and compared to other highly-rated sovereigns," Moody's said. 
For Republican congressman French Hill, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, the Moody's downgrade "is a strong reminder that our nation's fiscal house is not in order."
House Republicans "are committed to taking steps to restore fiscal stability, address the structural drivers of our debt, and foster a pro-growth economic environment," he said.
Brendan Boyle, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said the downgrade "is a direct warning: our fiscal outlook is deteriorating, and House Republicans are determined to make it worse."
"The question is whether Republicans are ready to wake up to the damage they're causing," Boyle said.
The Moody's decision comes amid a tough fight in Congress to pass Trump's much-touted "big, beautiful" spending bill, which aims to revamp and renew a roughly $5 trillion extension of his 2017 tax relief, paid for at least partially through deep cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program that covers more than 70 million low-income people.
On Friday, the agency also changed its outlook from "negative" to "stable," noting that despite the United States' poor record tackling rising government debt levels, the country "retains exceptional credit strengths such as the size, resilience and dynamism of its economy and the role of the US dollar as global reserve currency."
da/mlm/wd/jbr

Global Edition

US stocks add to weekly gains amid trade deal optimism

  • The broad-based S&P 500 rose for the fifth straight session, adding 0.7 percent.
  • Wall Street stocks rose again Friday, adding to weekly gains fueled by deescalation of the China-US trade war and hopes for additional international trade deals.
  • The broad-based S&P 500 rose for the fifth straight session, adding 0.7 percent.
Wall Street stocks rose again Friday, adding to weekly gains fueled by deescalation of the China-US trade war and hopes for additional international trade deals.
Equity markets have enjoyed one of their best weeks since US President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff bazooka last month caused indices to slump.
FHN Financial's Chris Low also pointed to a "growing sense of relief" over benign US inflation data that has helped counter worries that Trump's tariffs will dramatically reignite pricing pressure.
The United States and China on Monday announced they would slash their tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days to allow for talks, but considerable levies remain in place.
Investors are now awaiting signals from the US president on progress in trade talks, as countries seek deals to avoid his steeper levies, as well as more information about their economic impact.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose for the fifth straight session, adding 0.7 percent.
Investors largely shrugged off weaker consumer sentiment data from the University of Michigan that reflect consumers' "somber" economic outlook and expectations of higher inflation.
FHN Financial's Low also cited worries about the fate of Trump's budget legislation in Washington.
Oil prices rebounded after tumbling Thursday on the possibility a breakthrough in Iran nuclear talks, fueled by Trump saying progress had been made on a deal. 
The uptick rode resurgent concern on India-Pakistan tensions.
The dollar rose against major rival currencies as investors weigh whether the US Federal Reserve will still cut interest rates this year following mixed inflation data.
Shares in Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, known for its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy, dropped more than three percent after it announced the departure of its chief executive, before cutting losses.
Novo Nordisk's share price has fallen by more than half since June 2024 as it faces more competition.
E-commerce titan Alibaba shed over six percent in Hong Kong after reporting a disappointing rise in first-quarter revenue amid sluggish consumer spending in China.
Take-Two Interactive fell 2.4 percent after announcing $3.55 billion in one-time costs connected to the delay of the launch of its new "Grand Theft Auto" video game. The game developer recently pushed back the timeframe on the unveiling to May 2026.

Key figures at around 2030 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 42,654.74 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 5,958.38 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 19,211.10 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,684.56 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,886.69 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 23,767.43 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 37,753.72 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 23,345.05 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,367.46 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1154 from $1.1187 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3278 from $1.3305
Dollar/yen: UP at 145.92  yen from 145.67 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.97 from 84.08 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.4 percent at $65.41 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $62.49 per barrel
burs-jmb/mlm

economy

US Fed plans to cut workforce by 10% in next 'couple of years'

  • Using that figure, a 10 percent cut in headcount would translate to a loss of just under 2,400 people.
  • US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told staff on Friday that the bank plans to cut its workforce by around 10 percent in "the next couple of years," according to a memo seen by AFP. The bank's announcement follows US President Donald Trump's attempt to dramatically reduce headcount in the federal government, a move that has been spearheaded by the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency. 
  • Using that figure, a 10 percent cut in headcount would translate to a loss of just under 2,400 people.
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told staff on Friday that the bank plans to cut its workforce by around 10 percent in "the next couple of years," according to a memo seen by AFP.
The bank's announcement follows US President Donald Trump's attempt to dramatically reduce headcount in the federal government, a move that has been spearheaded by the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency. 
"The Fed is absurdly overstaffed," Musk wrote in a social media post earlier this year. 
The Fed is an independent agency which does not rely on Congress for its funding, but instead makes money from interest on securities and fees charged to the banks it oversees.
"Experience here and elsewhere shows that it is healthy for any organization to periodically take a fresh look at its staffing and resources," Powell told staff in the memo, first reported by Bloomberg News.
The plans will include a "voluntary" deferred resignation program for eligible employees at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, he said.
The Fed employed 23,950 people across the country in 2023, according to its most recent annual report, including 3,000 employees at the Board, and over 20,000 staff at its 12 reserve banks dotted across the country.
Using that figure, a 10 percent cut in headcount would translate to a loss of just under 2,400 people.
Powell said he has directed the leadership of the Fed "to find incremental ways to consolidate functions where appropriate, modernize some business practices, and ensure that we are right-sized and able to meet our statutory mission."
The deferred resignation program would "provide new professional growth opportunities for our staff and help us remain well-prepared to carry out our important responsibilities in the years to come," he added. 
da/sst

tech

EU tech chief urges US cooperation as key decisions near

BY ALEX PIGMAN

  • Despite the diplomatic turbulence that is likely to come from the results of the investigations, Virkkunen believes that both the United States and the EU would be better served by working more closely on setting rules governing big tech.
  • EU digital policy chief Henna Virkkunen on Friday urged closer cooperation between the United States and Europe on tech regulation as Brussels finalizes investigations targeting US giants over violations of the bloc's rules.
  • Despite the diplomatic turbulence that is likely to come from the results of the investigations, Virkkunen believes that both the United States and the EU would be better served by working more closely on setting rules governing big tech.
EU digital policy chief Henna Virkkunen on Friday urged closer cooperation between the United States and Europe on tech regulation as Brussels finalizes investigations targeting US giants over violations of the bloc's rules.
"Big tech companies know that closer cooperation on regulation would benefit their businesses," Virkkunen told AFP after meeting with top Silicon Valley CEOs, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Apple's Tim Cook.
Virkkunen's visit to Silicon Valley and Washington was the first since she took her position late last year and the first since President Donald Trump took office in January, taking a harsh line against European policies that he says punish the United States unfairly.
That hard line has been welcomed by some tech CEOs, most notably Meta's Zuckerberg, who has actively lobbied the White House to hit back at Brussels on European tech rules, equating them to tariffs that should be brought to the table in Trump's trade battles with Europe.
Virkkunen said Zuckerberg's lobbying Trump was "normal" from big companies that will always do what they can to defend their interests.
But "European rules...are the same for European companies, Asian companies, and US companies, so they are not trade barriers," she said.
On her US tour, Virkkunen was also meeting top US officials, many of whom slam the EU's landmark Digital Services Act as a form of government censorship.
The DSA requires companies to adequately police content online or face fines, potentially reaching up to 6 percent of a company's global annual revenue after a lengthy back and forth between Brussels and companies.
Virkkunen said Brussels' findings on investigations opened against Elon Musk-owned X, Meta and others would come soon.

Lengthy investigation

Her office has faced criticism in Europe that these probes have moved too slowly, perhaps delayed to avoid making waves with the Trump-led White House.
Virkkunen said that these 10 major investigations would be finalized "in the coming weeks and months... because they are starting to be at that stage."
Defending the long wait, Virkkunen said the coming decisions were the first under the DSA, "and that's why the legal and technical teams wanted to work very carefully and make sure that we always have a very strong legal basis when we are making decisions."
Despite the diplomatic turbulence that is likely to come from the results of the investigations, Virkkunen believes that both the United States and the EU would be better served by working more closely on setting rules governing big tech.
"Close cooperation would benefit both of us because for the US and tech companies, the European Union is the biggest external market. Many of them have many more users in the European Union than they have in the US," she added.
Virkkunen pointed to Meta, saying that the company had more users in Europe using Instagram, the photo-sharing app, than in the United States.
"If we are working together with the US, when we look at regulations and standards, what we are setting is the global scale, it would also be much easier for their companies to operate globally," she said.
arp/md

NovoNordisk

Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk says CEO to step down

BY CAMILLE BAS-WOHLERT

  • Novo Nordisk launched the anti-obesity drug Wegovy, which uses the same molecule but has been directly approved as a weight loss treatment, in the United States in 2021.
  • Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, known for its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy, said Friday its chief executive was stepping down in the wake of "market challenges".
  • Novo Nordisk launched the anti-obesity drug Wegovy, which uses the same molecule but has been directly approved as a weight loss treatment, in the United States in 2021.
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, known for its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy, said Friday its chief executive was stepping down in the wake of "market challenges".
The company said the decision was made by mutual agreement with the board and that it was searching for a successor for Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen.
Jorgensen will continue "for a period to support a smooth transition to new leadership", Novo Nordisk said in a statement.
The change is being made "in light of the recent market challenges Novo Nordisk has been facing and the development of the company's share price since mid-2024", it said.
At the same time, the company stressed the success it had seen under Jorgensen's stewardship.
"During his eight-year tenure as CEO, Novo Nordisk's sales, profits and share price have almost tripled," Novo Nordisk said.
The 58-year-old Danish executive has spent his entire career at Novo Nordisk, which he joined 34 years ago.
Ozempic, which accounts for 41 percent of Novo Nordisk's sales, is an injectable treatment for diabetes that became wildly popular on social networks for its slimming properties.
Novo Nordisk launched the anti-obesity drug Wegovy, which uses the same molecule but has been directly approved as a weight loss treatment, in the United States in 2021.
Following the success of its treatments, Novo Nordisk rose to become Europe's most valuable company by market capitalisation in September 2023, overtaking French luxury fashion house LVMH, making the company a cornerstone of the Danish economy. 
The drugmaker has since been dethroned and reclaimed the spot several times, having last been overtaken for the lead by German tech company SAP in March.

Facing competition

Since June 2024, Novo Nordisk's share has fallen by more than half and now ranks as Europe's fourth most valuable company.
The share price dropped more than three percent on the Copenhagen stock exchange following Friday's announcement.
The decline has come as its dominant position has faced several challenges.
Earlier this month, the company cut its full-year sales growth forecast due to competition from copycat versions of its popular GLP-1 injections made in US pharmacies -- a practice known as compounding.
The pharmacies had been allowed to make their own version of Wegovy and Ozempic due to a shortage of the drugs.
But US regulators ruled in February that the shortage had ended and ordered pharmacies to discontinue making the compounded versions.
"We are actively focused on preventing unlawful and unsafe compounding and on efforts to expand patient access to our GLP-1 treatments," Jorgensen said in a statement in early May.
The Danish group had cut its sales forecast from the 16-to-24 percent range to 13-to-21 percent.
Novo Nordisk is also facing competition from US rival Eli Lilly, which makes the anti-obesity injection Zepbound.
Novo Nordisk's shares tumbled last month after Eli Lilly announced a successful clinical trial of diabetes and obesity treatment orforglipron.
Around the world, more than 10 percent of the population suffers from diabetes, for which treatments make up the core of the drugmaker's business.
According to the International Diabetes Federation, the number of diabetic adults is expected to increase by 46 percent by 2045.
The World Obesity Federation also predicts that by 2035, over half of the world's population will be overweight or obese and the global economic impact could then exceed $4 trillion a year.
cbw/po/jll/rl

crypto

French crypto boss hails 'heroic' duo for foiling kidnap bid

BY ANNA SMOLCHENKO AND JULIE CHABANAS

  • Noizat praised his "heroic" son-in-law and the man who used a red fire extinguisher against the attackers, saying he was "exemplary."
  • French cryptocurrency boss Pierre Noizat on Friday praised his "heroic" son-in-law and a neighbour armed with a fire extinguisher for thwarting the attempted kidnapping of his pregnant daughter and young grandson.
  • Noizat praised his "heroic" son-in-law and the man who used a red fire extinguisher against the attackers, saying he was "exemplary."
French cryptocurrency boss Pierre Noizat on Friday praised his "heroic" son-in-law and a neighbour armed with a fire extinguisher for thwarting the attempted kidnapping of his pregnant daughter and young grandson.
This week's attempted abduction was the latest attack on a crypto trader in Paris, prompting another prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur to urge authorities to "stop the Mexicanisation of France."
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau held an emergency meeting with sector leaders on Friday, with the ministry announcing plans to bolster their security.
On Tuesday morning, four masked men attacked the daughter of Noizat, who is the CEO and co-founder of Paymium, a French cryptocurrency exchange platform, as well as her husband and their child in the French capital's hip 11th district. 
All three suffered light injuries and were taken to hospital.
Noizat praised his "heroic" son-in-law and the man who used a red fire extinguisher against the attackers, saying he was "exemplary."
The son-in-law escaped with just a few stitches.
"I'm amazed by his resilience and his courage," Noizat told broadcaster BFMTV, adding his son-in-law fought off the attackers with the help of neighbours.
"I admire them," said Noizat.
According to video footage, the couple resisted, with the husband being beaten with "blunt objects", a police source has said.
The screams of the victims attracted passers-by, and one man was seen confronting the attackers with a fire extinguisher.
The attackers fled the scene in a van, as the man threw the fire extinguisher in their direction.
"I thank him and congratulate him for his courage," Noizat said. "He went with his gut. It's quite remarkable."
During their escape, the attackers dropped an airsoft gun, a police source said, in an event witnessed by elementary schoolchildren who were left in shock.
Noizat said his daughter was "as well as can be expected".
"She is very strong."
Tuesday's events followed several such high-profile cases in France, including the abduction in January of French crypto boss David Balland and his partner. 
Balland, co-founder of the Ledger crypto firm, had his finger cut off by the kidnappers. 
After Friday's emergency meeting, the ministry said in a statement that "initial immediate prevention and protection measures had been agreed".
The measures include close collaboration between police and crypto professionals, "priority access" to emergency call numbers and home safety consultations.
- 'Mexicanisation of France' - 
Ledger co-founder Eric Larcheveque, who received a ransom demand in January when Balland was kidnapped, urged authorities to "stop the Mexicanisation of France." 
Mexico has been plagued by drug-linked murders and disappearances for decades.
"For several months now, there has been a rise in sordid kidnappings and attempted kidnappings. In broad daylight. In the heart of Paris," Larcheveque wrote on X this week.
"Today, to succeed in France, whether in crypto-assets or elsewhere, is to put a target on your back."
Noizat agreed with Larcheveque's "Mexicanisation" comment.
"I think we're right in the middle of it," he said, accusing politicians of "inaction."
He said the violence his daughter endured was "a daily reality for many people in France today."
Speaking before the ministry meeting, he said politicians were often more worried about "getting elected" than finding solutions.
He said he expected other entrepreneurs to be targeted.
"We're dealing with a phenomenon that's not going to be limited to cryptocurrency entrepreneurs."
"I think Mr Retailleau has a bit of an impossible task," he said.
sm-mca-jul-as/jh/lth

wealth

Dua Lipa is the youngest person on UK's under-40 rich list

  • The Sunday Times Rich List, in its 37th year, includes also people who are not British citizens but who live and work in the UK. Others to feature in the 40 Under 40 list are "Harry Potter" actor Daniel Radcliffe and England footballer Harry Kane on £100 million each, just behind retired tennis player Andy Murray.
  • Pop star Dua Lipa, at 29 years old, is the youngest person featured on The Sunday Times' annual list of Britain's wealthiest people under 40, the publication announced Friday. 
  • The Sunday Times Rich List, in its 37th year, includes also people who are not British citizens but who live and work in the UK. Others to feature in the 40 Under 40 list are "Harry Potter" actor Daniel Radcliffe and England footballer Harry Kane on £100 million each, just behind retired tennis player Andy Murray.
Pop star Dua Lipa, at 29 years old, is the youngest person featured on The Sunday Times' annual list of Britain's wealthiest people under 40, the publication announced Friday. 
With an estimated fortune of £115 million ($153 million), the Anglo-Albanian singer, whose album "Radical Optimism" topped the British charts, ranks 34th in the 40 Under 40 category.
The Sunday Times Rich List, in its 37th year, includes also people who are not British citizens but who live and work in the UK.
Others to feature in the 40 Under 40 list are "Harry Potter" actor Daniel Radcliffe and England footballer Harry Kane on £100 million each, just behind retired tennis player Andy Murray.
Singer Adele's fortune is estimated to be worth £170 million, while peers Harry Styles has £225 million and Ed Sheeran £370 million.
The overall Rich List is dominated by entrepreneurs, financiers, and property owners.
Gopi Hinduja and his family, who are behind the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, retained the title of Britain's richest, despite their wealth dropping to £35.3 billion from £37.2 billion.
The Sunday Times noted that the number of billionaires in the UK has fallen to 156 from 165, the biggest drop in the list's history.
The Labour government is tightening a loophole that allows people with "non-dom" status, those who live in Britain but whose permanent domicile is abroad, to avoid UK tax on income earned outside the country.
"Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling," said Robert Watts, compiler of the Rich List.
"We are also finding fewer of the world's super rich are coming to live in the UK."
Also to feature on this year's list is Jim Ratcliffe, founder of petrochemicals group Ineos and minority owner of Manchester United football club.
He remains in the top ten with £17 billion, though his fortune has slumped around £6 billion in the past year owing to struggles at his company.
Paul McCartney is the sole billionaire musician in 151st place. 
Elton John is worth £475 million, about 35 million more than Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones.
King Charles III's fortune reached £640 million, placing him in 238th place, tied with Britain's former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, who has benefited from Infosys, the tech giant founded by her father.
The combined wealth of the 350 entries stands at £772.8 billion -- down three percent on 2024.
The list takes into account "identifiable wealth -- such as land, property, racehorses, art or significant shares in publicly quoted companies", the paper noted. 
It excludes private bank accounts, which means an individual's wealth "may be much larger" than stated, it added.
zap-bcp/ajb/lth

diplomacy

Ramaphosa's talks with Trump chance to reset tattered ties

BY JULIE BOURDIN

  • - G20 - High on Ramaphosa's agenda will be trade with the United States, South Africa's second-biggest trade partner.
  • South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa travels to the United States next week to meet Donald Trump in a bid to rescue deteriorating relations with a vital and increasingly critical trade partner.
  • - G20 - High on Ramaphosa's agenda will be trade with the United States, South Africa's second-biggest trade partner.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa travels to the United States next week to meet Donald Trump in a bid to rescue deteriorating relations with a vital and increasingly critical trade partner.
Ramaphosa will need to work his skills as a negotiator when he sits down with Trump Wednesday -- and an invitation for the US president to play South Africa's golf courses might just help build rapport, said one analyst.
This will be their first face-to-face meeting since the start of the US president's second term in January, say analysts.
The meeting will be "one of the most important South Africa-US bilateral engagements we've ever had in our history," Institute for Security Studies researcher Priyal Singh told AFP.
Ramaphosa's spokesman Vincent Magwenya said on local television Thursday that the talks would be "honest" and "robust".
But the president will also have to strike a "very conciliatory tone" and avoid a public confrontation like the clash between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in February, Singh said.
"If Ramaphosa plays his cards right, there could be some kind of new understanding that could work out in South Africa's favour," he added.
"But an equal possibility is that this trip may go completely sideways."

Consensus builder

The US administration has torn into several South African policies.
It has attacked its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and a land expropriation law meant to redress historical inequalities. Washington alleges the law will allow the government to seize white-owned land.
Washington has also cut aid to South Africa, has announced 31-percent tariffs, and in March expelled Pretoria's ambassador after he criticised Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
Pretoria announced the May 21 meeting days after a first group of white South African Afrikaners, whom incorrectly Trump claims are "persecuted" in South Africa, landed in the United States to accept his offer of "refuge".
Ramaphosa will stress to Trump that conspiracies of a "white genocide" in South Africa are "patently false", Magwenya said. 
Pretoria would however not compromise on its genocide case against Israel at the ICJ.
"Those are issues that we believe we can discuss, and where we disagree, we can choose to respectfully agree to disagree," he said.

Golf diplomacy

Ramaphosa is a seasoned negotiator who honed his skills in the transition to democracy in the 1990s.
"He's certainly not going to prove President Trump wrong in front of the media," said Richard Morrow, a researcher at the Brenthurst Foundation.
"Ramaphosa's key strength in this context is that he's a consensus builder."
Other world leaders, from Zelensky to the UK's Keir Starmer, have managed to reach common ground by "flattering" Trump, Morrow said. 
"When it comes to Trump, this kind of out-of-the-box thinking in which leaders can build personal rapport through unofficial engagements is absolutely the way to go," said Singh.
For Ramaphosa, the connection could be golf, and he will likely repeat his invitation for Trump to visit South Africa's world-class courses.
The president wants Trump to "see for himself that we're not running around killing white people" and "enjoy some of our beautiful golf courses", Magwenya said.

G20

High on Ramaphosa's agenda will be trade with the United States, South Africa's second-biggest trade partner.
He will be concerned about the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) deal, which provides duty-free access to the US market to some African products.
Tariffs announced by Trump in April and later suspended for 90 days threatened to slash tens of thousands of jobs in South Africa, where unemployment is already running at 32 percent.
"In the event that the Trump administration has decided to do away with AGOA, we will be ready to engage over what we believe is a mutually beneficial trade relationship," Magwenya told the state broadcaster SABC.
The country has rare earth metals and minerals to offer, he noted.
"South Africa has a wealth of critical minerals, particularly in the form of platinum group metals, chromium, manganese, all of which will have a role to play in America's industrial trajectory if President Trump can have his way," Morrow said.
Ramaphosa will also want to convince Trump to attend the G20 summit of developing nations in South Africa in November, which he has threatened to skip, said Thelela Ngcetane-Vika, of the Wits School of Governance. 
"South Africa, small as it is, is a strategic nation," she said.
"It's a gateway to the continent, the most sophisticated economy in Africa, it is also important in the multipolar world... and critically important in Global South politics."
Already in December, Ramaphosa suggested Trump might find time for a friendly round of golf if he attended the G20 summit.
The two of them, he suggested, might "go and play golf and talk about global matters".
jcb/br/jj

accident

Thai tycoon surrenders over deadly skyscraper collapse

  • A Thai court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for 17 people on charges of "professional negligence causing death", including Premchai Karnasuta, CEO of Italian-Thai Development (ITD), one of the kingdom's largest construction firms.
  • A Thai construction tycoon turned himself in on Friday to face charges of alleged negligence over the collapse of a skyscraper that killed dozens of people in a powerful earthquake, police said.
  • A Thai court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for 17 people on charges of "professional negligence causing death", including Premchai Karnasuta, CEO of Italian-Thai Development (ITD), one of the kingdom's largest construction firms.
A Thai construction tycoon turned himself in on Friday to face charges of alleged negligence over the collapse of a skyscraper that killed dozens of people in a powerful earthquake, police said.
The 30-storey Bangkok tower crumbled in seconds, killing 89 people, mostly construction workers, when a magnitude-7.7 tremor hit neighbouring Myanmar on March 28.
The building being constructed to house the State Audit Office was the only structure to collapse in the Thai capital, raising serious concerns about safety standards and oversight.
A Thai court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for 17 people on charges of "professional negligence causing death", including Premchai Karnasuta, CEO of Italian-Thai Development (ITD), one of the kingdom's largest construction firms.
Premchai and 14 other suspects reported to Bangkok's Bang Sue Police station where "they denied all charges", district police chief Sanong Sangmanee told AFP, adding the remaining suspects were due Monday.
If convicted, the 71-year-old magnate faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 200,000 baht ($6,000).
Livestream footage from local outlet The Reporters showed Premchai in a wheelchair as officers escorted him from the police station to court.
A court official told AFP that Premchai will be held in pre-trial detention while prosecutors continue their investigation.
This is not the tycoon's first legal tangle. 
In 2021 a Thai court sentenced him to three years and two months in prison for poaching protected wildlife, including a black panther. 
He was released early in 2023 as part of a group of inmates granted clemency for good behaviour.
According to public filings with the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Premchai owns nearly 12 percent of ITD's shares.
Thai justice department investigators said Friday they will probe cement plates used in the tower's construction to gather further evidence for their case.
tak/jts/stu

US

APEC says 'concerned' over challenges to global trade

BY JULIEN GIRAULT AND HIEUN SHIN

  • "We are concerned with the fundamental challenges faced by the global trading system," trade ministers from the 21-member group, which includes China, said in a joint statement.
  • The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group said Friday that it was "concerned" over the challenges to global trade, as ministers from APEC countries met in South Korea in the shadow of growing woes from US tariffs.
  • "We are concerned with the fundamental challenges faced by the global trading system," trade ministers from the 21-member group, which includes China, said in a joint statement.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group said Friday that it was "concerned" over the challenges to global trade, as ministers from APEC countries met in South Korea in the shadow of growing woes from US tariffs.
Trade ministers from the top economies that make up APEC are meeting on South Korea's Jeju Island amid concerns for the global trading system since US President Donald Trump unveiled bombshell levies on most partners.
The United States is a key APEC member and was represented by Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who held a series of bilateral meetings with nations eager to soften the blow of Washington's tariffs.
"We are concerned with the fundamental challenges faced by the global trading system," trade ministers from the 21-member group, which includes China, said in a joint statement.
They urged greater cooperation, saying they "remain committed" to APEC as a means of "bringing us together to address the economic challenges facing our region".
South Korea's Minister for Trade, Cheong In-Kyo, said the joint statement was hard-won, with "significant differences" in positions clear early on in the talks.
But at the last minute, the countries "dramatically" reached an agreement, he said, with the APEC emphasising the importance of global trading mechanisms such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as well as sustainable supply chains. 
This "sends a highly positive signal to global markets", he said, adding that "APEC members can work together to navigate the current highly uncertain global trade environment effectively".

No joint response to US

Cheong said there had been no discussion of "joint responses" to US tariffs, saying it was not possible as "each country faces significantly different circumstances".
South Korea recorded a $66 billion trade surplus with the United States last year -- behind only Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan -- making it a key target of Trump's trade tirade.
Highly dependent on exports, the country has been hit hard by the 25 percent tariffs on automobiles imposed by Trump in early April. 
Greer also met South Korea's Trade, Industry and Energy minister, Ahn Duk-geun, later in the day.
Ahn said in a press conference that the two sides agreed to hold a "second round of technical consultations".
The South Korean delegation will fly to Washington next week to discuss issues such as trade and economic security.
Ahn said he emphasised to Greer that South Korea has a free trade agreement with the United States.  
"I made it clear that, against this backdrop of strong industrial cooperation, the current tariff issue has become a significant concern."
Trump announced additional "reciprocal" tariffs of up to 25 percent on South Korean exports last month, but later suspended them until early July.
"Our objective is to finalise an agreement before that date, and we are making every effort to meet this timeline," said Ahn. 
"I believe other countries are in a similar situation, and the United States has no reason to delay either."
Seoul aims to leverage the talks with commitments to purchase more US liquefied natural gas (LNG) and offer support in shipbuilding, a sector in which South Korea is a leader, after China.
Earlier on Friday, Greer met Chung Ki-sun, the vice chairman of HD Hyundai, which owns South Korea's largest shipbuilding company.
HD Hyundai said in a statement that discussions covered cooperation with US shipmaker Huntington Ingalls Industries.
Greer also met the CEO of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, which provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for US Navy vessels.
Shares of Hanwha Ocean rose nearly three percent on Friday morning, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries gained as much as 3.6 percent.
hs-jug/ceb/tc

earnings

Take-Two earnings boost delayed along with 'GTA VI'

  • "The ambition and complexity of Grand Theft Auto VI is greater than any previous Rockstar title."
  • Take-Two Interactive on Thursday dialed back earnings expectations for the current fiscal year due to the delayed release of keenly anticipated video game "Grand Theft Auto VI".
  • "The ambition and complexity of Grand Theft Auto VI is greater than any previous Rockstar title."
Take-Two Interactive on Thursday dialed back earnings expectations for the current fiscal year due to the delayed release of keenly anticipated video game "Grand Theft Auto VI".
Take-Two shares slipped nearly 3 percent in after-market trades that followed a quarterly earnings release that included a forecast that sales for 2026 would be much less than the market hoped.
Early this month, the GTA VI launch by Take-Two subsidiary Rockstar Games was postponed to May 2026, and with it the rev of Take-Two earnings from sales of the blockbuster title.
GTA VI was originally due to be released later this year, with trailers showing that it would be set in Miami-like Vice City and would feature a playable female protagonist for the first time.
"I believe affording Rockstar additional time for such a groundbreaking project is a worthy investment," Take-Two chief executive Strauss Zelnick said in an earnings release.
"The ambition and complexity of Grand Theft Auto VI is greater than any previous Rockstar title."
Rockstar began work in earnest on the game in 2020 and it has become the most anticipated "entertainment property" of all time, according to Zelnick.
The first trailer for GTA VI appeared in December 2023 and has been seen some 259 million times on Rockstar's YouTube channel.
A recently-released second GTA VI trailer logged more than 109 million views in nine days after being posted on YouTube by Rockstar.
The games predecessor, GTA V, was released in 2013 and sold more than 200 million copies.
Beyond just Rockstar Games, the whole industry is laser focused on the GTA launch at a time when the sector has been experiencing stalled growth after riding high during Covid-19 related confinements to break sales records.
gc/jbr

Global Edition

Nose cone glitch wipes Australian rocket launch

  • If successful, it would be the first Australian-made rocket to be sent into orbit from Australian soil.
  • An Australian aerospace firm said Friday it has scrubbed a historic attempt to send a locally developed rocket into orbit, citing a glitch in the nose cone protecting its payload -- a jar of Vegemite.
  • If successful, it would be the first Australian-made rocket to be sent into orbit from Australian soil.
An Australian aerospace firm said Friday it has scrubbed a historic attempt to send a locally developed rocket into orbit, citing a glitch in the nose cone protecting its payload -- a jar of Vegemite.
An electrical fault erroneously deployed the opening mechanism of the carbon-fibre nose cone during pre-flight testing, Gilmour Space Technologies said.
The nose cone is designed to shield the payload during the rocket's ascent through the Earth's atmosphere before reaching space.
The mishap happened before fuelling of the vehicle at the company's spaceport near the east coast township of Bowen, about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) up from the Queensland capital Brisbane.
"The good news is the rocket and the team are both fine. While we're disappointed by the delay, we're already working through a resolution and expect to be back on the pad soon," said chief executive Adam Gilmour.
"As always, safety is our highest priority."
Gilmour said the team would now work to identify the problem on its 23-metre (75-foot), three-stage Eris rocket, which is designed to send satellites into low-Earth orbit.

'Used to setbacks'

A replacement nose cone would be transported to the launch site in the coming days, he said.
Weighing 30 tonnes fully fuelled, the rocket has a hybrid propulsion system, using a solid inert fuel and a liquid oxidiser, which provides the oxygen for it to burn.
If successful, it would be the first Australian-made rocket to be sent into orbit from Australian soil.
"We have all worked really hard so, yes, the team is disappointed. But on the other hand, we do rockets -- they are used to setbacks," said communications chief Michelle Gilmour.
"We are talking about at least a few weeks, so it is not going to happen now," she told AFP.
The payload for the initial test -- a jar of Vegemite -- remained intact. 
"It's hardy, resilient, like Aussies," she said.
Gilmour Space Technologies had to delay a launch attempt the previous day, too, because of a bug in the external power system it relies on for system checks.
The company, which has 230 employees, hopes to start commercial launches in late 2026 or early 2027.
It has worked on rocket development for a decade, and is backed by investors including venture capital group Blackbird and pension fund HESTA.
djw/sft/tym

Global Edition

Oil prices fall on hopes for Iran nuclear deal

  • Data showed US retail sales were near-flat in the United States in April, while US wholesale inflation unexpectedly fell during the month.
  • Oil prices fell Thursday while global equities were mixed after President Donald Trump said the United States was close to making a deal on Iran's nuclear program.
  • Data showed US retail sales were near-flat in the United States in April, while US wholesale inflation unexpectedly fell during the month.
Oil prices fell Thursday while global equities were mixed after President Donald Trump said the United States was close to making a deal on Iran's nuclear program.
Trump made the remarks in Qatar before flying to the United Arab Emirates for the third and final leg of a Gulf tour that began in Saudi Arabia.
Trump's comments came after Iran held its fourth round of talks with the US administration. Washington has said it wishes to avoid a threatened military strike by Israel on Tehran's contested nuclear program.
"Traders focused on the prospect of a US-Iran nuclear deal which could see economic sanctions lifted on the latter and potentially lead to greater supplies of oil," noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Both main crude contracts fell by more than two percent in value on hopes that US sanctions on Iran might be lifted as part of the deal.
That could, in turn, increase the Islamic republic's oil exports.
In Europe, the main markets overcame early weakness to finish higher.
Sentiment in London was boosted by official data showing Britain's economy grew more than expected in the first quarter -- before UK business tax hikes and US tariffs took effect.
Back on Wall Street, both the Dow and S&P 500 rose, while the Nasdaq retreated following mixed US economic data.
Data showed US retail sales were near-flat in the United States in April, while US wholesale inflation unexpectedly fell during the month.
Shares in Walmart retreated after the retail giant warned of higher prices due to Trump's tariffs. CEO Doug McMillon welcomed a de-escalation of Washington's trade war with China but said the levies remained too high for the retailer to absorb.
"We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure," McMillon told investors.
Meanwhile, investors awaited fresh developments in trade talks, with countries looking to reach deals to avoid Trump's tariff blitz.
With excitement from the China-US detente fading, markets are seeking new catalysts.
"We're back into the vacuum where news about trade dominates everything," said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.
After tumbling in early April following Trump's sweeping tariff plan, stocks have been on the upswing in recent weeks as the US president has retreated from some of the most onerous levies while announcing a trade deal with Britain and a de-escalation with China.
But Hogan said markets are bracing for a hit to inflation later in 2025 from the overall policy shift to higher tariffs.

Key figures at around 2050 GMT

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.4 percent at $61.62 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.4 percent at $64.53 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 42,322.75 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 5,916.93 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,112.32 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,633.75 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,853.47 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 23,695.59 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 37,755.51 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 23,453.16 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,380.82 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1185 from $1.1175 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3304 from $1.3263
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 145.65 yen from 146.75 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.07 from 84.23 pence
burs-jmb/acb

trial

US rests case in landmark Meta antitrust trial

BY ALEX PIGMAN

  • But the government believes that Facebook's hold on friends and family shields its business from swings in the market and that it bought Instagram and WhatsApp, in 2012 and 2014 respectively, to remove potential threats to its dominance.
  • The US government rested its case against Facebook-owner Meta on Thursday, as it tries to persuade a US judge that the tech giant bought Instagram and WhatsApp to neutralize them as rivals.
  • But the government believes that Facebook's hold on friends and family shields its business from swings in the market and that it bought Instagram and WhatsApp, in 2012 and 2014 respectively, to remove potential threats to its dominance.
The US government rested its case against Facebook-owner Meta on Thursday, as it tries to persuade a US judge that the tech giant bought Instagram and WhatsApp to neutralize them as rivals.
The landmark case, brought by the Federal Trade Commission, could see Meta forced to divest itself of the two apps, which have grown into global powerhouses since their buyouts.
The trial, held in a federal court in Washington, is presided over by Judge James Boasberg who will decide the outcome of the case.
At the heart of the antitrust battle is the question of whether the crucial ingredient that undergirds Meta's success is its ability to make connections between friends or family across its apps.
The argument -- that real-life connections are the glue that make Facebook's apps successful -- is the foundation of the government's argument that describes a world where only youth-targeted Snap is a credible, if very distant, rival.
Meta counters that its rivals are YouTube and TikTok and that it competes furiously in a much wider and ever-changing market to capture the eyeballs and attention of the world's users.
The trial, expected to continue for several more weeks, has seen top Meta executives take the stand, including founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former Meta chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.
Much of the testimony has been devoted to government lawyers building their case that Facebook and its family of apps constitute a market that is distinct from TikTok and YouTube, apps where personal connections have very little impact on usage.
The US government argues that Meta's hold on friends and family offers a unique ability to build out its products and rake in billions of dollars in profits every quarter.
As a sign of the monopoly, the government also points to widespread reports of customer dissatisfaction with Meta products but continued success and growth of its apps.
Meta executives argue that its apps are facing major headwinds and that calling them a monopoly is wrong.
On the government's last day of calling its witnesses, the head of Facebook, Tom Alison told the court the company is in an "upheaval," facing generational changes in online habits as young users prefer TikTok-style short video content over sharing pictures and text.
"The reality is that Facebook was built 21 years ago and Gen Z users have different expectations," Alison said.
But the government believes that Facebook's hold on friends and family shields its business from swings in the market and that it bought Instagram and WhatsApp, in 2012 and 2014 respectively, to remove potential threats to its dominance.

'Failed'

Testimony in the past weeks has included revelations by Kevin Systrom, the founder of Instagram, that he felt that Zuckerberg had undermined the success of his photo-sharing app in favor of Facebook once he was bought out.
This seemed to back the government's argument that the purchase of Instagram was originally intended as an effort to remove a potential rival, before it became successful in its own right.
Meta on Thursday began calling its own list of witnesses, beginning with executives from Snap.
"After five weeks of trial, it is clear that the FTC has failed to meet the legal standard required under antitrust law," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
"Regardless, we will present our case to show what every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram competes with TikTok (and YouTube and X and many other apps)," Meta added.
arp/dw

technology

Coinbase expects data breach to cost it up to $400 mn

  • "Cyber criminals bribed and recruited a group of rogue overseas support agents to steal Coinbase customer data to facilitate social engineering attacks," the leading US cryptocurrency exchange said in a blog post.
  • Coinbase on Thursday said criminals bribed and duped their way to stealing cryptocurrency from its users, then tried to blackmail the exchange to keep the crime quiet.
  • "Cyber criminals bribed and recruited a group of rogue overseas support agents to steal Coinbase customer data to facilitate social engineering attacks," the leading US cryptocurrency exchange said in a blog post.
Coinbase on Thursday said criminals bribed and duped their way to stealing cryptocurrency from its users, then tried to blackmail the exchange to keep the crime quiet.
Instead of paying up, Coinbase informed US regulators about the theft and made plans to spend from $180 million to $400 million to reimburse victims and deal with the situation.
"Cyber criminals bribed and recruited a group of rogue overseas support agents to steal Coinbase customer data to facilitate social engineering attacks," the leading US cryptocurrency exchange said in a blog post.
"These insiders abused their access to customer support systems to steal the account data for a small subset of customers."
Social engineering is a hacker reference to manipulating people into giving up sensitive information, computer access or, in this case, digital money.
Criminals got information including phone numbers, email addresses, and partial social security numbers about less than one percent of Coinbase monthly users, the company reported.
"Their aim was to gather a customer list they could contact while pretending to be Coinbase - tricking people into handing over their crypto," Coinbase said in the post.
Coinbase told regulators it got an email from an "unknown threat actor" on May 11 showing that inside information had been obtained and demanding $20 million to keep it secret.
Coinbase refused, instead going public with an offer of $20 million in reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the attackers.
The workers involved with leaking information were fired and fraud-monitoring systems are being ramped up, according to Coinbase.
Coinbase shares were down more than six percent in late day trading in New York.
gc-juj/dw

earnings

Walmart warns of higher prices due to tariffs

BY JOHN BIERS

  • The Trump administration is at various stages of negotiation following the president's sweeping April 2 announcement that affected all US trading partners.
  • Walmart on Thursday reported another solid quarter but warned of price increases due to President Donald Trump's tariffs on China and other major trading partners.
  • The Trump administration is at various stages of negotiation following the president's sweeping April 2 announcement that affected all US trading partners.
Walmart on Thursday reported another solid quarter but warned of price increases due to President Donald Trump's tariffs on China and other major trading partners.
"We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure," Chief Executive Doug McMillon said in a conference call with analysts.
Executives with the big box store chain welcomed the de-escalation of the US-China trade war announced this week, but said the levies on China remained too high. The tariffs have a particularly strong impact on items such as electronics and toys.
Consumers will begin to see more price increases in the latter part of May, with a more noticeable impact in June, said Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey.
"If you've got a 30 percent tariff on certain items, you'll likely see a double digit" price increase, Rainey said in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
Walmart officials said the extent to which tariffs are passed on to consumers will depend on the individual item.
Rainey said Walmart saw an opportunity to play "offense" with some products, meaning the retail giant could absorb more of the tariff to keep prices lower and boost its market share.
"We could see higher prices on some non-tariffed items and stable or even lower prices on some tariffed products," said CFRA Research senior equity analyst Arun Sundaram.

Uncertain profit hit

The comments came as Walmart reported profits of $4.5 billion, down 12.1 percent from the year-ago level, but topping analyst expectations. Revenues rose 2.5 percent to $165.6 billion.
The retail giant posted a 4.5 percent rise in first-quarter comparable sales in Walmart's US stores behind another robust performance in groceries. 
McMillon said Walmart's scale enables it to absorb tariffs on some items without passing them on to consumers. In some cases, suppliers have shifted to materials without tariffs such as fiberglass instead of aluminum, which has a tariff.
McMillon flagged tariffs on countries like Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia on items such as bananas, avocados, coffee and roses.
"We'll do our best to control what we can control in order to keep food prices as low as possible," McMillon said.
Besides China, Walmart imports heavily into the United States from Mexico, Vietnam, India and Canada. The Trump administration is at various stages of negotiation following the president's sweeping April 2 announcement that affected all US trading partners.
While maintaining its full-year projections, the company did not offer a range on its second-quarter profit outlook, citing uncertainty around US trade policy.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said Walmart was better positioned than other retailers amid the tariffs because of the importance of grocery, a category where "consumers will continue to prioritize spending out of necessity," he said in a note.
"Although the waves caused by tariffs now seem to be calmer, it would be incorrect to assume that the waters are completely safe. There will be a lot of further disruption ahead," Saunders said, adding that Walmart is "one of the sturdiest ships" in retail.
Shares initially rallied on the earnings, but fell after Walmart's comments on pricing increases.
CFRA analyst Sundaram said the fall in shares reflected investor disappointment that Walmart didn't raise its full-year outlook after recent positive developments on the tariff front.
"Uncertainty grew when Walmart chose not to provide second-quarter profit guidance," Sundaram said. "While we still believe the company can exceed its full-year operating profit and (earnings) forecasts, we now expect more earnings volatility over the next few quarters compared to our initial projections."
jmb/dw

tourism

US set to lose $12.5 bn in foreign tourism in 2025: industry

  • The study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and Oxford Economics found that the United States was the only country set to see a drop in spending from foreign tourists this year.
  • The United States is on track to lose some $12.5 billion in revenue from foreign tourists this year, a tourism industry group said Thursday, as the Trump administration has led a crackdown in immigrants.
  • The study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and Oxford Economics found that the United States was the only country set to see a drop in spending from foreign tourists this year.
The United States is on track to lose some $12.5 billion in revenue from foreign tourists this year, a tourism industry group said Thursday, as the Trump administration has led a crackdown in immigrants.
The study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and Oxford Economics found that the United States was the only country set to see a drop in spending from foreign tourists this year.
The drop to $181 billion in spending by foreign tourists will put it 22.5 percent from the peak set a decade ago.
The WTTC, made up of leading travel firms, said this "represents a direct blow to the US economy overall, impacting communities, jobs, and businesses from coast to coast".
WTTC president Julia Simpson said that government support was needed to ensure tourism growth.
"While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the US government is putting up the 'closed' sign," she said in a statement.
With President Donald Trump leading a cracking down on illegal immigration, making politically charged comments about other nations, and slapping tariffs on foreign goods, there have numerous efforts by consumers in other countries to boycott US products and calls to skip travel to the United States.

Visitors 'fearful'

Simpson told the New York Times that some foreign travellers were afraid to travel to the United States.
"There are also concerns over visas -- whether they've got the right visa or might accidentally get arrested, which has made people quite fearful," she was quoted as saying.
The report highlighted US Department of Commerce data showing sharp drops in March 2020 arrivals from key countries, including nearly 15 percent drops from Britain and South Korea.
The drops were over 20 percent from Germany, Ireland and Spain.
The report also noted other data showing a 20-percent drop in early summer bookings from Canada.
"This is more than a dip. It's a wake-up call," said the WTTC.
"The US is welcoming fewer visitors from its neighbours and countries further afield, which is a clear indicator that the global appeal of the US is slipping."
Meanwhile, the report found that US citizens are travelling abroad more, further hurting the US travel sector.
In 2024, the tourism sector contributed $2.6 trillion to the US economy and supported more than 20 million jobs. It also contributed more than $585 billion in tax revenues -- or almost seven percent of the total.
kap/rl/jj

defense

'Paradigm shift': Germany says to meet Trump's NATO spending target

BY FRANK ZELLER

  • Wadephul, speaking at a NATO meeting in Turkey, pointed to Rutte's proposal to reach "the five percent that President Trump demanded" and declared that "we follow him there".
  • Germany's new government surprised NATO allies on Thursday by putting forward plans to boost defence spending, to meet a target of five percent of GDP demanded by US President Donald Trump.
  • Wadephul, speaking at a NATO meeting in Turkey, pointed to Rutte's proposal to reach "the five percent that President Trump demanded" and declared that "we follow him there".
Germany's new government surprised NATO allies on Thursday by putting forward plans to boost defence spending, to meet a target of five percent of GDP demanded by US President Donald Trump.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul made the pledge a day after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in office for just over a week, said his coalition government intends to have "the strongest conventional army in Europe". 
NATO chief Mark Rutte has floated a plan for members to hit the five-percent goal by spending 3.5 percent of GDP on military spending and 1.5 percent on other security measures such as infrastructure and cyber defence.
Wadephul, speaking at a NATO meeting in Turkey, pointed to Rutte's proposal to reach "the five percent that President Trump demanded" and declared that "we follow him there".
In Berlin, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil struck a more cautious note, saying that "we will spend more on security, but how much that will be we will see in the agreement reached at the NATO summit" to take place next month in The Hague.
Roderich Kiesewetter, a former senior German military officer and a politician in Merz's CDU party,  called the announced move a "paradigm shift", in an interview with the Bild daily.
He added that "it won't happen overnight, but it has to happen".
The goal sounds ambitious, given the dire state of the German armed forces which have been plagued by shortages of key weapons systems and face trouble recruiting new troops.
Germany, with its dark World War II history, has long been reluctant to spend big on defence. Funding dropped off sharply after the Cold War as European countries relied on NATO heavyweight the United States for security.
Decades of lower military spending has reduced Germany's number of battle tanks and howitzers from the thousands to the hundreds.

'Epochal shift'

In recent years, Germany's armed forces were mocked for equipment failures when they deployed in Afghanistan and Mali. Those included helicopters that couldn't fly and rifles that did not shoot straight.
The army, hoping to boost troop strength to 203,000 by 2031, fell short of its incremental target last year by more than 20,000, despite a social media campaign.
The military has "too little of everything" -- from air defences and drones to satellites and AI capabilities -- the parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, Eva Hoegl, warned in March.
Trump has long claimed NATO partners are not paying their fair share. Germany only just hit the alliance's target last year of spending two percent of GDP on defence.
Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine led then-chancellor Olaf Scholz to announce 100 billion euros ($110 billion) in extra defence spending.
Major orders placed include new submarines and F-35 fighter jets -- but they will take years to be delivered.
Now Merz has signalled an even bigger shift, warning of the threat from a hostile Russia.

'Collective madness'

For Germany, spending five percent of GDP would equate to more than 200 billion euros per year -- a figure previously deemed unrealistic.
But Merz's coalition has secured major financial firepower: an easing of debt rules and approval for hundreds of billions in extra funding for defence and infrastructure.
Merz told Die Zeit weekly that spending big on defence -- especially for European-made systems -- should be seen as a stimulus for the recession-hit economy.
"If we want to strengthen our defence capabilities, we must gradually reduce our dependence on the US," he said. 
The CEO of German defence giant Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, said that, after stepping up capacity in recent years, "we can deliver".
A lawmaker with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) that embraces Moscow-friendly policies, Peter Boehringer, called the five-percent target "completely absurd".
Criticism also came from Ralf Stegner of the SPD, the junior coalition partner in Merz's government.
Stegner told the Handelsblatt daily that, in a conflict-torn world, "disarmament is the order of the day... not an arms race".
Spending "billions on weapons that reduce the world to rubble and ashes and then billions for the reconstruction of Gaza, Ukraine and Aleppo, that is collective madness," he said.
bur/fz/sr/rmb

retail

US retail sales little changed, signs of pullback after pre-tariff rush

BY BEIYI SEOW

  • Already, major retailer Walmart warned Thursday of higher prices and continued uncertainty over tariffs.
  • Retail sales in the United States were near-flat in April, government data showed Thursday, with indications that spending is slowing after consumers rushed to beat higher prices from President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
  • Already, major retailer Walmart warned Thursday of higher prices and continued uncertainty over tariffs.
Retail sales in the United States were near-flat in April, government data showed Thursday, with indications that spending is slowing after consumers rushed to beat higher prices from President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
Overall sales nudged up 0.1 percent to $724.1 billion last month, the Commerce Department said, slightly below a Briefing.com consensus forecast.
But the rate was significantly down from March's revised growth of 1.7 percent, when buyers sought to get ahead of Trump's broad levies that he said were coming in April.
From a year ago, retail sales were still up by 5.2 percent last month.
"It does look like the consumers, as was generally expected, are starting to pull back," Nationwide chief economist Kathy Bostjancic told AFP.
"They pulled forward so much spending ahead of the tariffs. It's only natural that we're going to see some payback in the coming months," she added.
Analysts had expected headline retail sales to be relatively flat, in part after auto sales jumped in March.
Excluding sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers, retail sales rose 0.1 percent between March and April.
Sales at gasoline stations dropped 0.5 percent from the prior month in April, while those at vehicles and parts dealers slipped 0.1 percent too.
But Oxford Economics' deputy chief US economist Michael Pearce noted the auto sector's performance remained resilient and that "a decent rise in spending at bars and restaurants" suggests a plunge in consumer confidence had yet to fully hit discretionary spending.
Sales at restaurants and bars increased 1.2 percent.
Although analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics anticipated other components to hold up, spending on clothing and at department stores slid.

'Broader slowdown'

The shifts came as consumer confidence fell last month, reflecting concerns about Trump's tariffs on friend and foe, particularly targeting goods from China.
Apart from imposing a 10 percent tariff on most trading partners, Trump targeted imports from China with much sharper levies above 100 percent, but now at 30 percent after a temporary de-escalation this week.
Pearce of Oxford Economics said retail spending will likely weaken ahead, anticipating a "broader slowdown in response to tariff-fueled price increases."
Already, major retailer Walmart warned Thursday of higher prices and continued uncertainty over tariffs.
"That's going to weigh on spending," said Bostjancic. "We also think that the labor market will continue to weaken," translating to less job and income growth that consumers can tap to fund purchases.
bys/des

merger

Germany's Commerzbank staff protest UniCredit takeover threat

BY JEAN-PHILIPPE LACOUR

  • One protester, inspired by the Asterix comic series, was dressed as a Gallic warrior and held a sign showing someone being flattened by a menhir, the giant sculpted rocks that Asterix's companion Obelix carries around.  
  • Dressed as a Gallic warrior fighting Roman invaders or wearing the yellow of the Commerzbank logo, employees from the German lender protested Thursday against any takeover attempt by Italy's UniCredit.
  • One protester, inspired by the Asterix comic series, was dressed as a Gallic warrior and held a sign showing someone being flattened by a menhir, the giant sculpted rocks that Asterix's companion Obelix carries around.  
Dressed as a Gallic warrior fighting Roman invaders or wearing the yellow of the Commerzbank logo, employees from the German lender protested Thursday against any takeover attempt by Italy's UniCredit.
About 200 staff staged the demonstration outside the annual shareholders' meeting of Commerzbank in the German city of Wiesbaden, as the lender fights back against advances from its Italian peer. 
UniCredit has built up a hefty stake in Commerzbank since last year, sparking speculation it could seek to swallow up Germany's second-biggest bank, in a move that shocked Berlin's corporate and political elite.
"We want to stay independent because we think it's better for us," said Christine Pfeiffenberger, 52, a bank employee who held a banner with the slogan "my heart beats in yellow" written in Italian.
Another demonstrator, Denis Krutikov, 50, said shareholders "need to ask themselves if it is a good idea to merge with UniCredit whilst workers are against the idea".
One protester, inspired by the Asterix comic series, was dressed as a Gallic warrior and held a sign showing someone being flattened by a menhir, the giant sculpted rocks that Asterix's companion Obelix carries around.  
Commerzbank has fought back fiercely against UniCredit's moves, and chief executive Bettina Orlopp told shareholders at Thursday's meeting that the group aimed to become a "key" European bank.
But some shareholders signalled a more accommodating attitude towards any potential tie-up.
Hendrik Schmidt of asset manager DWS said management needed to consider whatever was best for the bank. 
"Cooperation should not be taboo," he told the gathering.

Job cuts, share buybacks

Commerzbank last week reported its best quarterly profit since 2011 and has also announced thousands of job cuts and share buybacks in a bid to make itself more attractive to shareholders.
The saga began in September when Italy's second-biggest lender revealed its had built up a stake in its German rival, triggering talk that CEO Andrea Orcel wanted to push for an ambitious pan-European banking merger.
UniCredit has since boosted its holding via shares and derivatives to around 28 percent. 
It has also received the green light from regulators to buy up to 29.99 percent of Commerzbank, just below the level at which it would be required by law to make an offer for all of the bank.
Financial news agency Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Orcel had written to new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a bid to start talks.
But Merz has previously spoken out against UniCredit's moves. 
And Orcel has played down the prospect of mounting a takeover bid for Commerzbank soon, saying in March that he could wait until 2027 to determine whether it made sense.
Commerzbank's shares have risen 60 percent since the start of the year, making any takeover more expensive, and might soon exceed the price the German government paid for its stake in 2008 during the financial crisis.
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