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Tech giants Meta and TikTok said Tuesday they will obey Australia’s under-16 social media ban but warned the landmark laws could prove difficult to enforce. Australia will from December 10 force social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under the age of 16. There is keen interest in whether Australia’s sweeping restrictions can work, as regulators around the globe wrestle with the dangers of social media. Both TikTok and Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — said the ban would be hard to police, but agreed they would abide by it. “Put simply, TikTok will comply with the law and meet our legislative obligations,” the firm’s Australia policy lead Ella Woods-Joyce told a Senate hearing on Tuesday. On paper, the ban is one of the strictest in the world. But with just over a month until it comes into effect, Australia is scrambling to fill in key questions around enforcement and firms’ obligations. TikTok warned the “blunt” age ban could have a raft of unintended consequences. “Experts believe a ban will push younger people into darker corners of the Internet where protections don’t exist,” said Woods-Joyce. – ‘Vague’ and ‘rushed’ -Meta policy director Mia Garlick said the firm was still solving “numerous challenges”. It would work to remove hundreds of thousands of users under 16 by the December 10 deadline, she told the hearing. But identifying and removing those accounts still posed “significant new engineering and age assurance challenges”, she said.”The goal from our perspective, being compliance with the law, would be to remove those under 16.”Officials have previously said social media companies will not be required to verify the ages of all users — but must take “reasonable steps” to detect and deactivate underage ones. Companies found to be flouting the laws face fines of up to Aus$49.5 million (US$32 million). Tech companies have been united in their criticisms of Australia’s ban, which has been described as “vague”, “problematic”, and “rushed”. Video streaming site YouTube – which falls under the ban — said this month that Australia’s efforts were well intentioned but poorly thought through. “The legislation will not only be extremely difficult to enforce, it also does not fulfil its promise of making kids safer online,” local spokeswoman Rachel Lord said. Australia’s online watchdog recently suggested that messaging service WhatsApp, streaming platform Twitch and gaming site Roblox could also be covered by the ban.

Wall Street stocks ended at fresh records again on Monday over optimism that the US-China trade war was about to ease, with a possible deal in view when presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet later this week.Major indices in New York charged higher, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all finishing at records on the improved sentiment on trade talks. Monday’s buoyant session also featured heady gains by Microsoft, Facebook parent Meta and other tech giants ahead of earnings later this week.Argentina’s stocks soared more than 20 percent on the back of President Javier Milei’s midterm victory, which saw his party win the biggest amount of votes in weekend legislative elections. The peso also jumped.European stock markets were muted, reined in by anticipation of interest-rate decisions this week from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, although Spain’s index reached a record high from strong growth and corporate earnings.Overall the positive sentiment was “buoyed by weekend chatter suggesting that Washington and Beijing may finally be finding some common ground” and pulling back from painful tit-for-tat trade measures, said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com.”All eyes now turn to Thursday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which could see these tentative understandings formalized,” he said.Gold prices retreated on easing risk sentiment.Trump arrived in Japan on Monday as part of a tour of Asia that could see the US president and Xi end their bruising trade war.Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi Thursday, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.China’s vice commerce minister, Li Chenggang, said a “preliminary consensus” had been reached.The progress paves the way for Trump and Xi to meet Thursday in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, their first face-to-face meeting since the US leader returned to office.Chinese stock indices closed up more than one percent Monday.The advances followed a strong finish Friday on Wall Street, after benign US inflation data set the stage for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut on Wednesday, despite a lack of clarity over the health of the US economy as a government shutdown churns on.On Thursday, the European Central Bank is expected to hold borrowing costs steady for its third straight meeting, with eurozone inflation largely under control.In corporate news, shares in US chipmaker Qualcomm soared 11.2 percent after the company unveiled two new AI processors designed for data centers, pushing into a market dominated by rivals Nvidia and AMD.Keurig Dr. Pepper jumped 7.6 percent after lifting its full-year sales forecast and as it announced it had received $7 billion in investment agreements from affiliates of Apollo and KKR.- Key figures at around 1630 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 47,435.81 pointsNew York – S&P: UP 1.0 percent at 6,857.90New York – Nasdaq: UP 1.6 percent at 23,580.33London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,653.82 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 8,239.18 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 24,308.78 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.5 percent at 50,512.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,996.94 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 26,433.70 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1646 from $1.1627 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3333 from $1.3311Dollar/yen: UP at 152.90 yen from 152.86 yenEuro/pound: FLAT at 87.35 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $65.62 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $61.31 per barrel

Stock markets rose Monday on optimism that the US-China trade war is about to ease, with a possible deal in view when presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet later this week.Argentina’s stocks soared 20 percent on the back of President Javier Milei’s midterm victory, which saw his party win the biggest amount of votes in weekend legislative elections. The peso also jumped.European stock markets were muted, reined in by anticipation of interest-rate decisions this week from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, although Spain’s index reached a record high from strong growth and corporate earnings.Overall the positive sentiment was “buoyed by weekend chatter suggesting that Washington and Beijing may finally be finding some common ground” and pulling back from painful tit-for-tat trade measures, said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com.”All eyes now turn to Thursday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which could see these tentative understandings formalised,” he said.The dollar and gold prices retreated on easing risk sentiment.Trump arrived in Japan Monday as part of a tour of Asia that could see the president and Xi end their bruising trade war.Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi Thursday, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.”I have a lot of respect for President Xi and we are going to I think… come away with a deal,” Trump told reporters en route from Malaysia, where comments from US and Chinese negotiators raised hopes of an accord.China’s vice commerce minister, Li Chenggang, said a “preliminary consensus” had been reached.The progress paves the way for Trump and Xi to meet Thursday in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, their first face-to-face meeting since the US leader returned to office.Chinese stock indices closed up more than one percent Monday.The advances followed a strong finish Friday on Wall Street, after benign US inflation data set the stage for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut Wednesday, despite a lack of clarity over the health of the US economy owing to the ongoing government shutdown.On Thursday, the European Central Bank is expected to hold borrowing costs steady for its third straight meeting, with eurozone inflation largely under control.In corporate news, shares in US chipmaker Qualcomm soared 20 percent after the company unveiled two new AI processors designed for data centres, pushing into a market dominated by rivals Nvidia and AMD.- Key figures at around 1630 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 47,435.81 pointsNew York – S&P: UP 1.0 percent at 6,857.90New York – Nasdaq: UP 1.6 percent at 23,580.33London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,649.38 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 8,239.18 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 24,308.78 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.5 percent at 50,512.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,996.94 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 26,433.70 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1638 from $1.1627 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3333 from $1.3296Dollar/yen: UP at 153.05 yen from 152.85 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.29 pence from 87.43 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $65.27 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $61.70 per barrel

Asian stock markets rallied Monday as investors cheered a breakthrough in US-China trade talks that set the stage for presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to perhaps finalise a deal, averting an escalation in the world’s biggest trade dispute.However, European stock markets flattened awaiting interest-rate decisions this week from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank. “The renewed hopes for a lessening of trade tensions between the US and China inevitably spilled over to Asian markets,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.The dollar and gold prices retreated on easing risk sentiment.Trump arrived in Japan Monday as part of a tour of Asia that could see the president and Xi end their bruising trade war.Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi Thursday, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.”I have a lot of respect for President Xi and we are going to I think… come away with a deal,” Trump told reporters en route from Malaysia, where comments from US and Chinese negotiators raised hopes of an accord.China’s vice commerce minister, Li Chenggang, said a “preliminary consensus” had been reached.The progress paves the way for Trump and Xi to meet Thursday in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, their first face-to-face meeting since the US leader returned to office.Chinese stock indices closed up more than one percent Monday.Tokyo added 2.5 percent, closing above 50,000 points for the first time, buoyed mostly by new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s pro-stimulus stance.Seoul meanwhile surpassed 4,000 points for the first time, with shares in tech titan Samsung gaining more than three percent and chipmaker SK hynix jumping nearly five percent.The positive sentiment followed a strong finish Friday on Wall Street, after benign US inflation data set the stage for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut Wednesday, despite a lack of clarity over the health of the US economy owing to the ongoing government shutdown.On Thursday, the European Central Bank is expected to hold borrowing costs steady for its third straight meeting, with eurozone inflation largely under control.- Key figures at around 1115 GMT -London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,644.32 pointsParis – CAC 40: FLAT at 8,225.90Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,231.56Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.5 percent at 50,512.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,996.95 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 26,433.70 (close)New York – Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 47,207.12 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1643 from $1.1627 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3344 from $1.3296Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.73 yen from 152.85 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.27 pence from 87.43 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $64.83 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $61.10 per barrel

Asian equities surged Monday as investors cheered a breakthrough in US-China trade talks that set the stage for leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to finalise a deal, averting an escalation in the world’s biggest trade dispute.Markets rallied after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the threat of the US president imposing an additional 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods was “effectively off the table” following weekend negotiations in Malaysia.”The tariffs will be averted,” Bessent told ABC News on Sunday, adding that China agreed to delay rare earth export controls and make “substantial” soybean purchases.Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said the two sides reached a “preliminary consensus” on tariffs, export controls and fentanyl cooperation, describing the talks as “candid, in-depth and constructive”.The progress paves the way for Trump and Xi to meet Thursday in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, their first face-to-face meeting since Trump returned to office.Tokyo led gains in Asia, with the Nikkei 225 adding more than two percent and closing above the 50,000 mark for the first time, buoyed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s pro-stimulus stance and a weaker yen that benefits the export sector.The breakthrough also comes ahead of Trump’s visit to Tokyo, with Takaichi having pledged to raise defence spending to two percent of GDP this fiscal year — two years ahead of schedule.”The Nikkei’s breakout isn’t a technical fluke — it’s the pricing of a national renaissance,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.”Seoul, too, ended more than two percent higher, surpassing the 4,000 mark for the first time, with tech titan Samsung gaining more than three percent and chipmaker SK hynix jumping nearly five percent.Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Singapore and Sydney also made gains, though Jakarta and Manila fell.In Europe, London and Frankfurt opened with gains, while Paris dipped into the red.The positive sentiment follows a strong finish on Wall Street Friday, after benign US inflation data set the stage for another Federal Reserve interest rate cut.Trump expressed confidence about reaching a comprehensive agreement with Beijing. “They want to make a deal and we want to make a deal,” he told reporters Sunday in Kuala Lumpur.”The assumption, of course, remains that that is just a negotiating gambit, with this week’s talks leading to a restoration of the ‘status quo’ and a truce between the two nations,” said Michael Brown of Pepperstone.The Republican president is on a five-day Asia tour that includes stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, with trade deals topping the agenda at every destination.Futures for US copper surged on the trade deal optimism, bolstering the outlook for global demand.The breakthrough came after months of escalating tensions, with Trump threatening the massive tariff hike in response to China’s October expansion of rare earth export controls — a move Washington called “economic coercion”.Under the framework deal, China would defer its rare earth restrictions “for a year while they reexamine it”, Bessent said.- Key figures at around 0820 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.5 percent at 50,512.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,996.95 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 26,433.70 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 9,646.07 West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $61.51 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $65.96 per barrelEuro/dollar: FLAT at $1.1627 from $1.1627 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3317 from $1.3296Dollar/yen: UP at 152.94 yen from 152.85 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.30 pence from 87.43 penceNew York – Dow: UP 1 percent at 47,207.12 (close)

Australia’s competition watchdog accused Microsoft on Monday of misleading people into paying for its AI assistant Copilot.The authority said it had filed a suit in the Federal Court against Microsoft Australia and its parent Microsoft Corp.The software giant is accused of making “false or misleading” statements to around 2.7 million Australians who subscribe by auto-renewal to Microsoft 365 plans, which include a suite of online Office services.Microsoft allegedly told customers that they had two options: either pay extra for Microsoft 365 services integrated with Copilot, or cancel their subscriptions altogether.But there was a partly hidden third option — visible only when people started to cancel — of sticking to existing “Classic” plans without Copilot for the original price, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement.”Microsoft deliberately omitted reference to the Classic plans in its communications and concealed their existence until after subscribers initiated the cancellation process to increase the number of consumers on more expensive Copilot-integrated plans,” commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.”The Microsoft Office apps included in 365 subscriptions are essential in many people’s lives and given there are limited substitutes to the bundled package, cancelling the subscription is a decision many would not make lightly.”The commission accused Microsoft of misleading subscribers on personal and family plans since October 31, 2024.Annual subscriptions for Microsoft 365 plans incorporating Copilot were between 29 and 45 percent higher than those without, the watchdog said.The commission is seeking penalties, injunctions, consumer redress, and costs.Microsoft could face penalties of Aus$50 million or more (US$30 million) for each breach. Microsoft did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Passengers of the first direct flight between India and China in five years touched down on Monday, after Asia’s giants lifted a long-term air travel suspension as they cautiously rebuild relations.IndiGo flight 6E1703 from Kolkata touched down in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou shortly before 4:00 am (2000 GMT), officially resuming nonstop air links that had been suspended since 2020 due to the pandemic and subsequent geopolitical tensions.The neighbours and world’s two most populous nations remain strategic rivals competing for regional influence, but ties have eased gradually since a deadly Himalayan border clash in 2020.India’s government said the resumption of flights will boost “people-to-people contact” and aid the “gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges”.Passengers aboard the first flight — among them many Indians in search of cross-border business opportunities — told AFP in the Guangzhou airport about the convenience of the resumed links.”It was such a smooth and easy, lovable trip,” said Rashika Mintri, a 44-year-old interior designer from Kolkata.”I could come again and again,” she said.Warming relations with Beijing come as India’s ties with key trade partner Washington falter, following US President Donald Trump’s order imposing punishing 50 percent tariffs.Trump’s aides have accused India of fuelling Russia’s war in Ukraine by buying Moscow’s oil.There are already regular flights between India and Hong Kong, while additional services from the capital New Delhi to Shanghai and Guangzhou will begin in November.Abhijit Mukherjee, the captain of the flight that arrived Monday in Guangzhou, told AFP that without the new nonstop, passengers would need to travel through other airports, such as in Bangkok or Singapore.”It adds up,” the 55-year-old pilot said of the transfers.But the direct flight he had just completed was “very smooth” he said, holding a bouquet of flowers presented to him upon arrival.India’s eastern port city of Kolkata has centuries-old ties with China dating back to British rule, when Chinese migrants arrived as traders. Indo-Chinese fusion food remains a beloved staple of the city’s culinary identity.”It’s great news for people like us, who have relatives in China,” said Chen Khoi Kui, a civil society leader in Kolkata’s Chinatown district of Tangra. “Air connectivity will boost trade, tourism and business travel.”- ‘First step’ -India runs a significant trade deficit with Beijing, relying heavily on Chinese raw materials for industrial and export growth.The thaw between New Delhi and Beijing followed meetings between their leaders in Russia last year and in China in August.The resumption of direct flights is a “first step” in repairing ties, said passenger Athar Ali, a 33-year-old businessman from India, as he waited to check in for IndiGo’s Monday flight returning the aircraft to Kolkata.A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the check-in counter, where a long queue had formed for the first direct flight from mainland China to India since 2020.Nonstop services between the two countries were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic, halting roughly 500 monthly services.Relations then plummeted after the 2020 border skirmish between the nuclear-armed nations, when at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed.New Delhi responded by tightening restrictions on Chinese investments and banning hundreds of apps, including TikTok.India then deepened ties with the US-led Quad alliance — also including Japan and Australia — aimed at countering China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific.Both sides have troops posted along their contested 3,500-kilometre (2,175-mile) high-altitude frontier.But this month, soldiers on each side exchanged gifts of sweets on the Hindu festival of Diwali, “marking a gesture of goodwill”, said Yu Jing, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India.The Indian Express, in an editorial after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping met in August, said improving ties with Beijing “sends an appropriate signal” to Washington.But relations still have far to go.”Managing an increasingly assertive China remains India’s long-term challenge,” the newspaper added.

India and China resumed direct flights on Sunday after a five-year suspension, a move important both for trade and a symbolic step as Asia’s giants cautiously rebuild relations.IndiGo flight 6E1703 from Kolkata touched down in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou shortly before 4:00 am (2000 GMT), officially resuming nonstop air links that had been suspended since 2020 due to the pandemic and subsequent geopolitical tensions.The neighbours — the world’s two most populous nations — remain strategic rivals competing for regional influence, but ties have eased gradually since a deadly Himalayan border clash in 2020.India’s government said the resumption of flights will boost “people-to-people contact” and aid the “gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges”.Warming relations with Beijing come as India’s ties with key trade partner Washington falter, following US President Donald Trump’s order imposing punishing 50 percent tariffs.Trump’s aides have accused India of fuelling Russia’s war in Ukraine by buying Moscow’s oil.There are already regular flights between India and Hong Kong, while additional services from the capital New Delhi to Shanghai and Guangzhou will begin in November.”The direct air link will reduce logistics and transit time,” said Rajeev Singh, head of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata, telling AFP it would benefit businesses.India’s eastern port city of Kolkata has centuries-old ties with China dating back to British rule, when Chinese migrants arrived as traders. Indo-Chinese fusion food remains a beloved staple of the city’s culinary identity.”It’s great news for people like us, who have relatives in China,” said Chen Khoi Kui, a civil society leader in Kolkata’s Chinatown district of Tangra. “Air connectivity will boost trade, tourism and business travel.”- ‘Long-term challenge’ -India runs a significant trade deficit with Beijing, relying heavily on Chinese raw materials for industrial and export growth.The thaw between New Delhi and Beijing followed meetings between their leaders in Russia last year and in China in August.India’s imports from China surged to more than $11 billion last month, up more than 16 percent compared with September 2024, according to New Delhi’s commerce ministry.Exports from India to China were $ 1.47  billion, modest by comparison, but up around 34 percent year-on-year.Direct flights between the two countries were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic, halting roughly 500 monthly services.Relations then plummeted after the 2020 border skirmish between the nuclear-armed nations, when at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed.New Delhi responded by tightening restrictions on Chinese investments and banning hundreds of apps, including TikTok.India then deepened ties with the US-led Quad alliance — also including Japan and Australia — aimed at countering China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific.Both sides have troops posted along their contested 3,500-kilometre (2,175-mile) high-altitude frontier.But this month, soldiers on each side exchanged gifts of sweets on the Hindu festival of Diwali, “marking a gesture of goodwill”, said Yu Jing, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India.The Indian Express, in an editorial after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping met in August, said improving ties with Beijing “sends an appropriate signal” to Washington.But relations still have far to go.”Managing an increasingly assertive China remains India’s long-term challenge,” the newspaper added. “These fundamental realities remain unchanged, regardless of Trump’s whimsical diplomatic actions.”

The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its second rate cut of the year on Wednesday, despite a lack of clarity over the health of the US economy due to the ongoing government shutdown.The US central bank’s second-to-last rate meeting of the year is taking place against the backdrop of a weeks-long standoff between Republicans and Democrats over health care subsidies, resulting in a suspension of publication of almost all official data. Without these key insights into the US economy, Fed officials will be forced to set interest rates without the full spectrum of data they normally rely upon.Analysts and traders expect the bank will plow ahead with a quarter percentage-point cut, lowering its key lending rate to between 3.75 percent and 4.00 percent, without giving too much away about the final rate cut of the year in December.The lack of official information complicates the ongoing debate at the Fed over whether to cut rates swiftly in order to support the weakening labor market, or to stand firm in the face of inflation, which remains stuck stubbornly above the bank’s long-term target of two percent, fueled by Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on top trading partners.The US central bank has a dual mandate from Congress to act independently to tackle both inflation and unemployment, which it does by raising, holding, or cutting its benchmark lending rate. “They’ll have to decide how much (inflation) is still to come versus how much is just never going to come, and that’s the big question right now,” former Fed official Joseph Gagnon told AFP. Asked Sunday why consumer prices remain high, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed the “affordability crisis” on the previous administration of Democrat Joe Biden and said he was confident that inflation would ease “in the coming months.” “We will see a drop in inflation back towards the Fed’s two percent target,” Bessent told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”- ‘Blunt tool’ -The only major data point to be published since the shutdown began on October 1 was the US consumer inflation data, which came in hot at 3.0 percent in the 12 months to September, according to delayed Labor Department data published on Friday. But the figure came in slightly below expectations, cheering the financial markets, which closed at fresh records on the news.The Fed uses a different measure to gauge inflation, but that guideline also remains stuck well above target, according to data published before the shutdown.On the other side of the mandate, employment has slowed sharply in recent months, with just 22,000 jobs created in August, even as the unemployment rate hugged close to historic lows at 4.3 percent. “The goal is to get it just right, and that’s a hard thing to do with such a blunt tool,” KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk told AFP, referring to the Fed’s key interest rate.  Swonk expects the Fed to cut twice more this year, and to announce an end to its program of shrinking its balance sheet next week — known as quantitative tightening — in the face of rising liquidity risks. – Fed under political pressure -The Fed has been rocked this year by relentless attacks on personnel directed from the White House, with Trump often taking to his Truth Social network to criticize Fed chair Jerome Powell, who steps down next year. The Trump administration has also gone after Fed governor Lisa Cook, attempting to remove her from her post on accusations of mortgage fraud. Cook fought back against the legal challenge to remove her, with the case going all the way up to the US Supreme Court, which has said it will hear the arguments against her in January next year.The timing of that decision means the Supreme Court is unlikely to rule on whether Cook can remain in her post before the end of February, the deadline for when the US central bank’s board must decide whether to reappoint regional Fed presidents — a process that only happens once every five years. “It seems like the odds that he could do this maneuver are greatly diminished,” said Gagnon from PIIE. 

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday signalled a tentative deal with China to de-escalate their damaging, tariff-fueled trade war — just days before a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.In an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” Bessent said the US threat of a 100 percent tariff hike on Chinese goods had effectively been taken off the table in exchange for Beijing deferring curbs on its global rare earth exports.”The tariffs will be averted,” Bessent said after wrapping up talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.On the export controls, China will “delay that for a year while they reexamine it,” Bessent said.The secretary’s remarks came as Trump kicked off an Asia tour in Kuala Lumpur that will culminate in a sitdown with Xi in South Korea.Bessent said he expected the two leaders to formally announce the deal at their summit.The secretary said Beijing had also agreed on “substantial” purchases from US farmers, who are a key source of domestic political support for Trump and have been massively impacted by the tariff row between the two countries.China, once the biggest buyer of US soybean exports, simply halted all orders as the trade dispute took hold.”I believe, when the announcement of the deal with China is made public, that our soybean farmers will feel very good,” Bessent said.The secretary said the two sides had also thrashed out a “final deal” over the US version of the wildly popular Chinese social media app TikTok, which boasts around 170 million US users.Citing national security concerns, Washington has sought to wrest TikTok’s US operations from the hands of Chinese parent company ByteDance.Last month, Trump signed an executive order that would place control in the hands of a group of US investors — many of them close allies of the president.”All the details are ironed out, and that will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea,” Bessent told CBS’s “Face the Nation” in a separate interview.The talks in Kuala Lumpur also touched on the fentanyl trade — a lasting source of friction with Washington accusing Beijing of turning a blind eye to trafficking in the powerful opioid, something it denies.”We agreed that the Chinese would begin to help us, with the precursor chemicals for this terrible fentanyl epidemic that’s ravaging our country,” Bessent said.