EU business lobby head says China rare earths snag persists

European firms still face challenges in securing access to crucial rare earths from China, a business lobby warned Wednesday, despite a July deal to speed up exports.China dominates the global industry for extracting and refining the strategic minerals, giving it vital leverage in a renewed trade war this year with Washington.Since April, Beijing has required licences for certain exports, sending ripple effects across worldwide manufacturing sectors.Following a tense summit in July hosted by Beijing, European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said that leaders had agreed to an improved mechanism for Chinese exports of rare earth minerals to the bloc.But in its annual position paper released Wednesday, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said that “many companies — particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) — are still experiencing significant supply chain disruptions”.”No long-term, sustainable solution has been put forward,” it said, adding that the Chamber is in “regular contact” with Chinese authorities on the matter.”We have a number of members who are right now suffering significant losses because of these bottlenecks,” Chamber president Jens Eskelund told journalists.”We have raised with our members more than 140 applications and it’s a fraction of these so far that have been resolved,” he said.”So this has not gone away.”In its latest publication, the lobby representing over 1,600 member companies put forward 1,141 recommendations to Chinese policymakers, aimed at smoothing over various obstacles faced by European firms in the country.Chief among those hurdles this year, Eskelund said, is a wavering Chinese economy that has struggled to mount a robust rebound since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.Sluggish consumption, a manufacturing glut and prolonged woes in the country’s vast property sector are among the main challenges now vexing Beijing policymakers and businesses.In a sign of entrenched woes facing the world’s second-largest economy, data released this week showed factory output and consumption rising in August at their weakest pace in around a year. “I actually see a greater convergence in terms of the challenges Chinese companies have and the challenges foreign companies have,” said Eskelund.”The big enemy here — that’s the state of the domestic economy and supply-demand balance,” he said.”I think we see completely eye-to-eye with the vast majority of Chinese companies.”

Britain rolls out royal red carpet for Trump’s state visit

Britain will roll out a supersized royal welcome for Donald Trump’s unprecedented second state visit on Wednesday, with the king to greet the US president who has compared himself to a monarch.From a carriage ride with King Charles III to a flypast and a lavish state dinner in the nearly 1,000-year-old Windsor Castle, Britain is going to unprecedented levels to dazzle and flatter the mercurial Trump.A huge security operation will keep the 79-year-old Republican far away from protests and the British public -among whom polls show Trump remains unpopular -with the extraordinary show of pomp and pageantry unfolding entirely behind closed doors.Knowing that Trump is obsessed with Britain’s royals and loves showy displays of pomp, Britain has turned up the pageantry to the max as he becomes the first US president to visit Britain twice.The trip will involve what UK officials call the biggest military ceremonial welcome for any state visit in living memory — even bigger than when Queen Elizabeth II hosted Trump in 2019.Trump will also get the first joint flypast by US and UK fighter jets at an event of its kind, and the largest guard of honour at a state visit, featuring 120 horses and 1,300 troops.It’s all designed to appeal to a US leader who this year crowed “LONG LIVE THE KING!” about himself on social media before the White House posted a fake magazine cover of him wearing a crown.- ‘Warm my heart’ -The question for Britain is whether the red carpet welcome will win over Trump, whose unpredictability on everything tariffs to Ukraine and Gaza has caused global turmoil.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be hoping that Trump leaves on Thursday feeling the warm glow of some royal soft power, but there are no guarantees.Trump appeared to be feeling the love as he arrived by helicopter at the US ambassador’s official residence in London on Tuesday with First Lady Melania Trump.”A lot of things here warm my heart,” said the president, whose mother hailed from Scotland and who has two golf courses in Britain.He described Charles, 76, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, as “my friend.”The Republican may also relish a chance to escape a turbulent period at home in the United States, where the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has caused deep turmoil.Trump’s day will begin with heir to the throne Prince William and his wife Catherine welcoming him and Melania to Windsor Castle, the home of the British royals for nearly a millennium.King Charles and Queen Camilla are then due to join them for a carriage procession through the grounds of Windsor estate towards the castle — again behind closed doors.The Trumps will lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022.- Shadow of Epstein -Trump will also witness a military band ceremony, ending with a flypast by US and British F-35 military jets and the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows display team.The president and Charles will wrap up the day with a white-tie state banquet, where they are due to hold speeches.The lavish welcome, however, stands in contrast to public opinion in Britain, where polls show Trump remains unpopular.Demonstrators projected images of Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto Windsor Castle late Tuesday, while protests are planned in London on Wednesday.Starmer will host Trump on the second day of the visit on Thursday at his country residence Chequers for talks that could turn awkward on several fronts.The British premier in particular faces political troubles at home, after sacking his UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over a scandal involving the diplomat’s connection to the late Epstein.Trump has also been dragged into the scandal, while insisting it is a “hoax.”

Des socialistes au RN, Lecornu reçoit ses opposants avant une grande journée d’action

Sébastien Lecornu reçoit mercredi ses opposants politiques, à la veille d’une journée importante de mobilisation sociale, sans grande marge de manœuvre pour discuter, au vu des lignes rouges qu’ils posent et des menaces de censure.Tous les dirigeants de gauche – à l’exception de La France insoumise qui a refusé l’invitation –  ainsi que ceux du Rassemblement national vont défiler dans le bureau du nouveau Premier ministre, à commencer par les socialistes à 09H30.Sébastien Lecornu a déjà échangé la semaine dernière avec les responsables du “socle commun” de la droite et du centre, ainsi que les syndicats et le patronat.”Le premier qui doit bouger, c’est le gouvernement”, a estimé pour sa part le président du groupe des députés Liot Laurent Panifous, reçu mardi, ajoutant que “le sujet des retraites ne peut pas être renvoyé uniquement à 2027”.François Bayrou avait obtenu la mansuétude du PS sur le budget 2025 en ouvrant un “conclave” sur la réforme des retraites, qui s’est soldé par un échec. Puis il a présenté à la mi-juillet un sévère plan de redressement des finances publiques qui a fait hurler toutes les oppositions.Mercredi, “ça va être un round d’observation. La veille des grosses manifs, on sera dur, exigeant. Ce qui se joue ce n’est pas au premier chef un sujet budgétaire”, mais un “sujet démocratique” car ce sont les “battus qui gouvernent”, anticipe un responsable socialiste.- Gestes -Ces entretiens ont lieu sous la pression de la rue, alors qu’une mobilisation massive est attendue jeudi, de l’ordre de celles contre la réforme des retraites en 2023. Les syndicats contestent notamment les mesures budgétaires “brutales” de François Bayrou.Avant d’entamer les discussions, Sébastien Lecornu a fait plusieurs gestes en direction de la gauche et de l’opinion: retrait de la proposition impopulaire de supprimer deux jours fériés, et promesse de ne pas rouvrir le conclave sur les retraites.Il a aussi consacré son premier déplacement samedi à l’accès aux soins, avant d’annoncer la suppression très symbolique, dès l’an prochain, des avantages restants octroyés aux ex-Premiers ministres.Les socialistes ont eux posé leurs conditions dès dimanche face aux offres appuyées de dialogue du Premier ministre.Ils considèrent que le plan Bayrou “ne doit pas servir de base de discussion”, alors que Sébastien Lecornu a l’intention d’en faire un point de départ, puis de mettre les parlementaires devant leur responsabilité pour l’amender.- “Rupture” -Mercredi, les socialistes viendront avec en main un sondage Ifop commandé par le parti montrant que les Français, quelles que soient leurs sensibilités, plébiscitent les mesures poussées par le PS. Parmi elles, la création d’une taxe de 2% sur les patrimoines supérieurs à 100 millions d’euros – la fameuse taxe Zucman, qui enflamme ce débat budgétaire – à laquelle 86% des sondés sont favorables, dont 92% des sympathisants Renaissance et 89% des sympathisants LR.Le Premier ministre a cependant déjà fermé la porte à cette taxe, tout en reconnaissant que se posaient “des questions de justice fiscale”.La taxe Zucman, “c’est une connerie, mais ils vont la faire quand même parce que ça permet d’obtenir un accord de non-censure” avec la gauche, a de son côté prédit mardi Marine Le Pen, sans pour autant fermer la porte à une mise à contribution des plus fortunés. “Si la rupture consiste à un retour aux sources socialistes du macronisme, c’est contraire à l’aspiration majoritaire du pays”, a également mis en garde la cheffe des députés RN, attendue à 16H00 à Matignon avec Jordan Bardella.Un avertissement auquel le patron des députés LR Laurent Wauquiez a fait écho mardi en dénonçant “la pression du PS”, craignant qu’il “n’y ait plus rien sur l’immigration, la sécurité ou l’assistanat” dans le budget.Autre point au cœur des discussions, le niveau de freinage des dépenses. La présidente de l’Assemblée nationale Yaël Braun-Pivet a appelé dimanche à chercher un accord autour “de 35 à 36 milliards” d’euros d’économies, soit moins que les 44 milliards initialement prévus par François Bayrou, mais plus que les 21,7 milliards du PS.”Les socialistes donnent l’air d’être déterminés et de poser des conditions mais c’est un moyen de rentrer dans les négociations”, estime Manuel Bompard, coordinateur de LFI, grinçant sur la politique des “petits pas” du PS, au détriment des “grands soirs”.

Broadway jeering Caesars Times Square casino bet

The casino industry’s quest to bring gambling to Manhattan faces a key test this week when an advisory panel weighs a Times Square proposal that has enraged much of Broadway.Backers of the venture, including the rap musician and entrepreneur Jay-Z, have characterized the proposed $5.4 billion Caesars Entertainment gaming and hospitality venture a boon to New York, bringing an infusion of customers to a theater district whose restaurants and small businesses suffered during the pandemic. But opponents of the site, led by the Broadway League and some neighborhood groups, are battling a project they see as cutting into theater ticket sales and attracting unsavory characters to New York’s theater mecca.The two sides squared off last week at a rowdy public hearing, where Broadway League President Jason Laks was cheered by a sea of theater union workers in red “Vote No” t-shirts as he made his case.”We represent 100,000 New Yorkers who work in our industry,” said Laks, who has described the casino as an “existential” threat. “Please protect Broadway and its workers and vote down this casino.” But gaming giant Caesars and real estate firm SL Green have amassed a formidable coalition of their own, including a construction workers union and the Reverend Al Sharpton, whose organization will oversee a new $15 million civil rights museum financed by the casino coalition if the Times Square proposal goes through.Addressing the panel, Sharpton hailed Jay-Z’s stake in the venture through his Roc Nation company as a vital step towards greater diversity.”Let us be real clear that with all of the stuff that’s gone out against this proposal, there is not one Black or Brown owner of a Broadway theater in 2025,” said Sharpton. “So if this casino is established, it will be the first time we will have an institution on Broadway that has diversity at an ownership level.”The Caesars Palace Times Square Community Advisory Committee is set to vote on the project Wednesday morning at a public meeting, held near an office highrise that would be converted into a site that would also house 992 hotel rooms and restaurants by celebrity chefs.- Community largess -The Times Square project is one of eight candidates in metropolitan New York vying for up to three state casino licenses. The competition includes a Manhattan site near the United Nations Building, as well as a Queens venue championed by billionaire Steve Cohen, who has aggressively courted community and political support.Those chosen will pay at least $500 million for a license, plus tax payments that will help fortify New York’s fiscal profile at a time when President Donald Trump has pushed through social program cuts that will hit the state budget. Caesars estimates its project will bring New York $7 billion in direct taxes in its first decade.The process follows through on a 2013 state constitutional approved by voters expanding casino gambling that was cast by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo as a means to create jobs in economically depressed upstate regions. New York state has already granted the four upstate licenses. Downstate casino candidates approved by their community boards would then be considered by a state gaming facility location board in a process expected to yield licenses by the end of 2025.Backers of the Caesars project have argued that the proposal will create a “halo effect” beyond the casino walls by bringing more consumers than can be handled by the site’s lodging and dining capacity. The venture has promised $250 million in community investments, including Broadway ticket vouchers for casino customers, funding for tuition and health programs and millions in public safety and public bathrooms. This includes $10 million to support historic Black theaters in New York in a project with the actor Wendell Pierce.Some speakers backing Caesars called Times Square a “perfect” place for a casino compared to a residential neighborhood, alluding to billboards and other flashy fare that already dominate the area.But opponents described a casino as a beyond-the-pale solution that preys on seniors and other vulnerable populations, hitting out at Caesars’ largesse as cover for a bad idea. Some warned of a rise in crime, prostitution and child trafficking.”What we’re talking about is allowing a parasite to come into our community and take from it, because that’s what casinos are about,”  said long-term theater workers union member Bill Hubner. “They’re about making money. It’s not about art. It’s not about culture.”

Trump extends delay on US TikTok ban until mid-December

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday extended a delay on enforcing a ban against TikTok until December 16, marking the fourth postponement of a law designed to force the app’s sale from its Chinese owner.The announcement, made through an executive order, came despite Trump telling reporters earlier Tuesday that the United States and China had reached a deal over a new ownership structure for the US business of the hugely popular video-sharing app.The extension follows previous delays issued in January, April and June as the administration navigates the complex legal and national security implications surrounding TikTok’s operations in the United States.The latest delay was set to expire on Wednesday, which would have enabled a US law signed in 2024 by then-president Joe Biden to force the closure of TikTok in the United States because of its Chinese ownership.The legislation was designed to address national security concerns over TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance and its potential ties to the Chinese government.But Trump, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media and who has said he is fond of TikTok, put the ban on pause.The app has faced scrutiny from US officials who worry about data collection and content manipulation. TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing user data with Chinese authorities and has challenged various restrictions in federal court.”We have a deal on TikTok; I’ve reached a deal with China. I’m going to speak to President Xi (Jinping) on Friday to confirm everything,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday as he left the White House for a state visit to Britain.”We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said, adding that he would “hate to see value like that thrown out the window.”China also confirmed what both sides on Monday called the “framework” of a deal that would be finalized in the phone call between the two leaders.TikTok boasts almost two billion global users.According to the Wall Street Journal, under the new arrangement, TikTok’s US business would be controlled by an investor consortium including cloud giant Oracle and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, with the Chinese owners keeping less than 20 percent of the US business, in accordance with the law.Both companies have very close ties to the Trump White House, and Oracle already plays a major role in TikTok’s US infrastructure.Parent company ByteDance’s existing US investors, including Susquehanna International, KKR and General Atlantic, would be part of the group owning roughly 80 percent of the new company.One of the major questions is the fate of TikTok’s powerful algorithm that helped the app become one of the world’s most popular sources of online entertainment.The preliminary deal was negotiated over two days of talks in Madrid between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.Under the executive order, the US Justice Department is prohibited from taking enforcement action not only during the extended period, but also retroactively for any conduct that occurred since the ban was originally set to come into force — on January 19, 2025 — the day before Trump’s inauguration.

Trump extends delay on US TikTok ban until mid-December

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday extended a delay on enforcing a ban against TikTok until December 16, marking the fourth postponement of a law designed to force the app’s sale from its Chinese owner.The announcement, made through an executive order, came despite Trump telling reporters earlier Tuesday that the United States and China had reached a deal over a new ownership structure for the US business of the hugely popular video-sharing app.The extension follows previous delays issued in January, April and June as the administration navigates the complex legal and national security implications surrounding TikTok’s operations in the United States.The latest delay was set to expire on Wednesday, which would have enabled a US law signed in 2024 by then-president Joe Biden to force the closure of TikTok in the United States because of its Chinese ownership.The legislation was designed to address national security concerns over TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance and its potential ties to the Chinese government.But Trump, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media and who has said he is fond of TikTok, put the ban on pause.The app has faced scrutiny from US officials who worry about data collection and content manipulation. TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing user data with Chinese authorities and has challenged various restrictions in federal court.”We have a deal on TikTok; I’ve reached a deal with China. I’m going to speak to President Xi (Jinping) on Friday to confirm everything,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday as he left the White House for a state visit to Britain.”We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said, adding that he would “hate to see value like that thrown out the window.”China also confirmed what both sides on Monday called the “framework” of a deal that would be finalized in the phone call between the two leaders.TikTok boasts almost two billion global users.According to the Wall Street Journal, under the new arrangement, TikTok’s US business would be controlled by an investor consortium including cloud giant Oracle and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, with the Chinese owners keeping less than 20 percent of the US business, in accordance with the law.Both companies have very close ties to the Trump White House, and Oracle already plays a major role in TikTok’s US infrastructure.Parent company ByteDance’s existing US investors, including Susquehanna International, KKR and General Atlantic, would be part of the group owning roughly 80 percent of the new company.One of the major questions is the fate of TikTok’s powerful algorithm that helped the app become one of the world’s most popular sources of online entertainment.The preliminary deal was negotiated over two days of talks in Madrid between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.Under the executive order, the US Justice Department is prohibited from taking enforcement action not only during the extended period, but also retroactively for any conduct that occurred since the ban was originally set to come into force — on January 19, 2025 — the day before Trump’s inauguration.

Friends like these: NY to get ‘Central Perk’ cafe from beloved sitcom

Devotees of fan favorite “Friends” will soon be able to sip a cup of Joey in a Manhattan recreation of the “Central Perk” cafe made famous by the sitcom.Just don’t expect the coffee to cost $3 a cup like it did in the acclaimed television show at the turn of the millennium.The latest reincarnation of the hot drink haunt will feature plush apricot-color couches and clipart-style logos faithful to the TV series that ran from 1994 to 2004.Central Perk Coffee Co, which already has an outpost in Boston, will run the Manhattan branch which will be based in the Times Square tourist hub and is due to open in late 2025.It announced the venture in a joint statement with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences Tuesday.  “At the heart of (the Friends) story was always Central Perk, the iconic coffeehouse and the group’s home base, set in Manhattan,” said Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences executive Peter van Roden. A play on the name of Manhattan’s iconic Central Park, Phoebe, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey and Monica would regularly gather in the fictious establishment. The name has been applied to a number of imitation cafes as far afield as Shanghai, China.Coffee blends offered by Central Perk Coffee Co include “We were on a ‘coffee’ break” and the “Pivot blend” — homages to two prominent storylines.