Stocks fall as Trump warns of US economy trade war 'transition'
A sell-off in the US stock market gathered steam on Monday, fuelled by rising concern about the cost of the trade war to the world's largest economy.
The S&P 500, which tracks the biggest American companies, fell about 2% in early trade, while the Dow Jones dropped 0.9% and the Nasdaq sank more than 3.5%.
The falls came after President Donald Trump ducked questions about whether the US economy was facing a recession or price rises as a result of tariff moves, while warning instead of a "period of transition".
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, however, insisted there would be no contraction in the US, although he acknowledged that the price of some goods may rise.
Investors fear that tariffs - which are taxes on goods applied as they enter the country - will lead to higher prices and ultimately dent growth in the world's largest economy.
"The level of tariffs that Trump is imposing, I think no doubt, will have to cause inflation somewhere down the line," Rachel Winter, investment manager at Killik & Co, told the Today programme.
Economist Mohamed El-Erian said investors had been optimistic about Trump's plans for de-regulation and lower taxes, while under-estimating the likelihood of a trade war.
He said the recent falls in the stock market, which started last week, reflect the adjustment of those bets.
"It's a complete change in what the market expected," he added, noting that investors are also responding to signs that businesses and households are starting to hold off on spending amid the uncertainty, which could hurt economic growth.
European stocks closed lower on Monday, with France's CAC and the London FTSE indices both closing around 0.9% lower. Germany's DAX closed 1.75% lower.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at the stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown, said it was because of "unease around the impact of Trump tariffs". She added that concerns over the US economy entering a recession is worrying investors.
Tesla shares fell about 8% on Monday, while tech stocks Nvidia and Meta were both down more than 4%.
Speaking to Fox News in an interview broadcast on Sunday but recorded on Thursday, Trump appeared to acknowledge the concerns, responding to a question about whether the US was facing recession: "I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing wealth back to America. That's a big thing."
"It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us," he added.
#BBC #News #Trump #USA
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New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks alliances in Europe as he deals with Trump
MONTREAL (AP) — New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Paris and London on Monday to seek alliances as he deals with U.S. President Donald Trump’s attacks on Canada’s sovereignty and economy.
Carney is purposely making his first foreign trip to the capital cities of the two countries that shaped Canada’s early existence.
At his swearing-in ceremony on Friday, Carney noted the country was built on the bedrock of three peoples, French, English and Indigenous, and said Canada is fundamentally different from America and will “never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States.”
A senior government government official briefed reporters on the plane before picking up Carney in Montreal and said the purpose of the trip is to double down on partnerships on with Canada’s two founding countries. The official said Canada is a “good friend of the United States but we all know what is going on.”
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China strikes back at Trump tariffs with 15% levies targeting US farmers
WASHINGTON (AP) — China retaliated against President Donald Trump’s tariffs with an additional 15% tax on key American farm products, including chicken, pork, soybeans and beef.
The escalating trade tensions punished U.S. markets Monday as investors fearful of the damage from from Trump’s trade wars put their money elsewhere.
The Chinese tariffs, announced last week, were a response to Trump’s decision to double the levy on Chinese imports to 20% on March 4. China’s Commerce Ministry had earlier said that goods already in transit would be exempt from the retaliatory tariffs until April 12.
Imposing tariffs on imports is a key part of Trump’s agenda. He believes the import taxes can raise money for the Treasury, protect American industries and pressure foreign countries to do what he wants in a range of issues, including immigration and drug trafficking.
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Iranian Hackers Allegedly Leak Trump Campaign’s 271-Page Dossier on JD Vance’s Weaknesses
The Trump campaign has claimed that a massive leak of internal documents, including a detailed 271-page file on Senator J.D. Vance’s (R-OH) potential vulnerabilities, may have been orchestrated by Iranian hackers. While these claims have yet to be confirmed, the leaked information has raised significant concerns within the campaign.
Politico, the outlet that received the leaked communications, reported that the documents were sent by an anonymous source claiming to have obtained them through hacking. The Trump campaign confirmed the authenticity of the communications on Saturday, attributing the leak to foreign entities hostile to the United States. According to campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung, these documents were obtained illegally with the intent to disrupt the 2024 election and create chaos within the American democratic process.
Supporting this claim, a recent report from Microsoft indicated that Iranian hackers had compromised the email account of a high-ranking official within the Trump campaign in June 2024. This hacking incident reportedly coincided with the period when President Trump was in the process of selecting his vice-presidential running mate.
The Microsoft report further detailed that another Iranian group, believed to be connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), attempted a spear phishing attack on a senior official in a presidential campaign. The phishing email, sent from the compromised account of a former senior advisor, contained a malicious link designed to reroute traffic through a domain controlled by the hackers.
Politico revealed that it began receiving emails on July 22 from an AOL account under the alias “Robert.” These emails included internal communications from the Trump campaign, with one email containing the extensive 271-page dossier on J.D. Vance titled “POTENTIAL VULNERABILITIES.” When questioned about the source of the documents, “Robert” advised Politico not to investigate further, suggesting that such inquiries could legally jeopardize the publication of the information.
This incident is not the first time Trump has been targeted by hackers. In 2020, his social media account was compromised when a hacker guessed his password, “maga2020!” Moreover, Trump has allegedly been the target of an Iranian assassination plot, leading to charges against a Pakistani man with ties to the Islamic Republic by the Department of Justice.
#Election2024 #CyberSecurity #Hacking #IranianHackers #TrumpCampaign #JDVance #PoliticalLeaks #ForeignInterference #CyberThreats #USPolitics
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Game on: ABC News says Harris, Trump have agreed to presidential debate on Sept. 10
ABC News says that both Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic counterpart, Kamala Harris, have agreed to meet in a debate on Sept. 10.
The network’s announcement on Thursday came shortly after Trump told a news conference that he had agreed to three debates with Harris in September on separate networks.
Trump is rejoining the ABC debate days after posting on his social media network that he would not appear on the network, citing a lawsuit he has filed. His decision sets up a highly anticipated moment in an election where the first debate led to a massive change in the race — with Democratic President Joe Biden ending his reelection bid and endorsing Harris.
“I think it’s very important to have debates,” Trump said Thursday. “I look forward to the debates because I think we have to set the record straight.”
On the social media site X later on Thursday, Harris wrote that “I hear that Donald Trump has fully committed to debating me on September 10. I look forward to it.”
At a private fundraiser in Paris on Thursday, Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, said he “cannot wait” to see his wife debate Trump. He was in Paris as head of the U.S. delegation to the Summer Olympics closing ceremony.
Fox News has also proposed a debate between Harris and Trump to take place on Sept. 4, and NBC News is angling to air one on Sept. 25. During an appearance in Michigan, Harris said she was “happy to have that conversation” about an additional debate.
Trump also said he wants his vice presidential candidate, JD Vance, to debate Harris’ choice for veep, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on CBS. The network is discussing potential dates to propose for that meeting.
ABC says that David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate the Sept. 10 contest. That’s the same date that Trump and Biden had agreed to their second and final debate, before Biden’s decision put that event in doubt.
Any debate promises to take on extra importance with polls showing a tight race between the former president and current vice president. While Harris has ridden a wave of excitement among Democrats since inheriting the mantle from Biden, she has yet to appear at a news conference or give an interview to a journalist.
Republicans are already making that an issue. Vance, in a post on X as Trump was in his news conference on Thursday, said Harris was hiding behind a TelePrompter. “It’s been 18 days since she answered real questions from the media,” he wrote.
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