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China vowed Wednesday to defend “justice” in upcoming trade talks with the United States — their first since Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs that shook global markets.Since the US president returned to the White House in January, his administration has imposed tariffs totalling 145 percent on goods from China, with some sector-specific measures stacked on top.Beijing has retaliated with 125 percent levies on imports from the United States, along with more targeted measures.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer will attend the talks in Switzerland on behalf of the United States, their offices said.Bessent told Fox News that the sides would hold meetings on Saturday and Sunday intended to lay the groundwork for future negotiations.”We will agree what we’re going to talk about. My sense is that this will be about de-escalation, not about the big trade deal,” Bessent told “The Ingraham Angle” show.”We’ve got to de-escalate before we can move forward,” he added.The talks will take place in Geneva, a spokesperson for the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed to AFP. Bern “welcomes the trust placed in Switzerland”, they added.Vice Premier He Lifeng will attend on Beijing’s behalf, China’s foreign ministry announced.The commerce ministry in Beijing vowed the country would “defend justice” and stand by its principles during the talks.”If the US wants to resolve the issue through negotiations, it must face up to the serious negative impact of unilateral tariff measures on itself and the world,” a spokesperson said.”If the US talks in one way and acts in another, or even attempts to continue to coerce and blackmail China under the guise of talks, China will never agree.”Beijing, the spokesperson vowed, would not “sacrifice its principled position and international fairness and justice to seek any agreement”.China’s foreign ministry also said the talks were taking place at the “request of the United States” and that its position that Washington must lift tariffs was “unchanged”.”But any dialogue must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit. No form of pressure or coercion will not work on China,” spokesman Lin Jian told a regular briefing.The USTR announced that Greer would also meet “his counterpart from the People’s Republic of China to discuss trade matters”, without naming He. The tit-for-tat tariffs have left the two nations with cripplingly high levies that have shocked financial markets and reportedly caused a sharp slowdown in bilateral trade.”This isn’t sustainable, as I have said before, especially on the Chinese side, 145 percent, 125 percent is the equivalent of an embargo. We don’t want to decouple. What we want is fair trade,” Bessent said.

China on Wednesday eased key monetary policy tools in a bid to boost its ailing economy as it struggles with the effects of weak consumption and Donald Trump’s trade war.The country’s leaders are battling to reignite growth, which has not fully recovered since the Covid-19 pandemic, crippled by sluggish domestic demand and a protracted property sector crisis.That has been compounded by a punishing trade standoff that has seen the US president impose tariffs reaching 145 percent on many Chinese products and Beijing retaliate with 125 percent duties on imports from the United States.On Wednesday, the head of China’s central bank Pan Gongsheng told a news conference that Beijing would cut a key interest rate and lower the amount banks must hold in reserve in order to boost lending.He said Beijing’s policies aimed “to support technological innovation, boost consumption, and promote inclusive finance, among other areas”.A persistent crisis in the property sector — once a key driver of growth — also remains a drag on the economy.In an effort to boost demand, Pan also said the bank would cut the rate for first-time home purchases with loan terms over five years to 2.6 percent, from 2.85 percent.The moves represent some of China’s most sweeping steps to boost the economy since September.- More help needed -But analysts pointed to a continued lack of actual stimulus funds needed to get the economy back on track.”The policy measures released today are positive for the market and the economy,” Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said in a note.”What is missing in this conference is new fiscal policy measures, which I think may be reserved for the future, if the economy suffers from the trade war and shows clear signs of slowdown,” he added.Gary Ng, senior economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, told AFP “it will take more to support growth”.”If economic data does not improve, we will likely see more actions down the road,” he said.Economists have warned that the disruption in trade between the tightly integrated US and Chinese economies could threaten businesses, increase prices for consumers and cause a global recession.Beijing last month blamed a “sharp shift” in the global economy for a slump in manufacturing.And exports soared more than 12 percent in March as businesses rushed to get ahead of Trump’s swingeing tariffs.Beijing has said it is targeting annual growth this year of around five percent — the same as last year and a figure considered ambitious by many economists.China last year announced a string of aggressive measures to reignite its economy, including interest rate cuts, cancelling restrictions on homebuying, hiking the debt ceiling for local governments and bolstering support for financial markets.But after a blistering market rally fuelled by hopes for a long-awaited “bazooka stimulus”, optimism waned as authorities refrained from providing a specific figure for the bailout.Analysts now think the impact of tariffs may lead Beijing to reconsider its caution and push ahead with fresh stimulus.

Weeks after Donald Trump’s global tariff bombshell, Jeff Chen’s factory in Taiwan is as busy as ever turning out carbon and alloy wheels for high-end bicycles bound for US and European markets.But he wonders how much longer it will last. The US president’s initial 32 percent tariff on Taiwan stunned the island’s bicycle manufacturers, who were racing to meet orders ahead of the northern summer before the new toll was announced.Some US customers immediately cancelled or postponed shipments, only to reverse their decision when the hefty tariffs on Taiwan and many of America’s trading partners were paused for 90 days.With a global 10 percent levy still in place and no clarity on what happens once the three months are up, Taiwanese bicycle companies and US buyers are in limbo.”They don’t know what to do. There’s no time to respond,” said Chen, general manager of Joy Group, which makes wheels and hubs in Taichung. Joy Group, founded by Chen’s grandfather in 1971, is one of more than 900 companies assembling bicycles or making components, including wheels, pedals and frames, mostly in central Taiwan, the island’s manufacturing heartland.Some companies have received a surge in orders as US customers rush to import bicycles and components before the end of the 90-day period.Others, like Joy Group, have seen little change in demand, which Chen put down to inventory leftover from Covid-19, when retailers stocked up to meet surging demand for bicycles.Chen said US customers had passed on the 10 percent tariff to consumers, but a 32 percent levy could put the brakes on further orders, with inevitable knock-on effects in Taiwan.- ‘Hidden champions’ -“If we are getting affected, then the company would need to think how to cut down… everybody will be facing the same issues,” said Chen, whose company also has four factories in China.Taiwan has long been a key player in the global bicycle industry, but it faced an existential crisis more than two decades ago when an ascendant China drew many of the island’s manufacturers to its shores.Rather than try to compete with China’s cheaper, mass-produced two-wheelers, Taiwanese companies collaborated to upgrade their manufacturing techniques and produce quality bikes and components for high-end markets, mainly in Europe and the United States.While Taiwan’s export volume has fallen dramatically from around 10 million in the 1990s to 1.3 million in 2024, exacerbated by the pandemic glut, the average export price of its bicycles has risen sharply.A traditional bike was valued at US$1,131 last year and an e-bike US$1,848, industry data and analyst reports show. China, which exported more than 44 million bikes in 2024, had an average price of US$57.Taiwan bicycle industry expert Michelle Hsieh said the island’s success in targeting the high-end market was down to “hidden champions” in the supply chain.Small and medium-sized companies — a hallmark of Taiwan’s manufacturing sector — were highly specialised and flexible, Hsieh said, making them “indispensable” in the global market. “They are making things that other people cannot make so they have that competitive advantage,” said Hsieh, a sociologist at Academia Sinica in Taipei.Trump’s hopes that higher tariffs will force firms to move their production to the United States were dismissed by Taiwanese and American bicycle manufacturers as fanciful.- ‘Like a big family’ – It would be “nearly impossible” to set up a factory in the United States in the next three to five years, Taiwanese bicycle company Giant told AFP, citing higher costs, labour challenges and the lack of a “bicycle industry cluster”. “Taichung is the absolute centre of the bicycle industry,” said Tim Krueger, industry veteran and chief executive of US-based Esker Cycles, which imports frames and parts from Taiwan for its mountain bikes. “That’s where the expertise in the whole world is on how to properly manufacture bicycles.”Some bike makers in Taiwan look set to benefit from the 145 percent tariff on Chinese products in the short term, with US customers seeking out Taiwanese suppliers, Hsieh said.But Tsai Po-ming of the Cycling & Health Tech Industry R&D Center, which was set up in 1992 to help Taiwan’s industry become more competitive, said there could also be negatives. Chinese manufacturers might try to offload their lower-end bikes in Europe if Trump’s tariffs fuelled inflation, Tsai told AFP.”Consumers might feel that the prices are too high, and although our products are mid to high-end in quality, they might prefer to buy lower priced models instead,” he said.At Pacific Cycles’ factory near Taipei, workers assembled fold-up bicycles mostly destined for Europe and Asia.While the company has little direct exposure to the US market, president Eva Lin said if one of its suppliers was hurt by the tariffs, then Pacific Cycles would be affected.”The complete industry is like a big family,” she said.”No one can escape from the impact.” 

Visitors mill around a bright red hilltop pagoda in southwestern China, gazing down at a sprawling cigarette factory whose deadly output has put an otherwise unremarkable city on the map.China is home to a third of the world’s smokers and tobacco-related diseases are a major cause of death in the country — a trend likely to worsen as its population rapidly ages.Beijing hopes to dramatically reduce that by the end of the decade, but even the government machine is struggling to achieve that as it clashes with a powerful state tobacco monopoly and local economies reliant on the crop.That contradiction smoulders in Yuxi, Yunnan province, whose nascent tourism businesses and local farmers thrive on its history of cigarette production.A mostly agricultural area where incomes lag behind the national average, the city has firmly hitched its fortunes to tobacco, which accounted for almost a third of its gross domestic product in the first quarter of last year, according to official figures.That income helps “pay for our children’s schooling or to build a house”, farmer Li told AFP as her husband ploughed furrows into a hilltop field.She said her family can earn up to 60,000 yuan ($8,300) annually from the tobacco harvest, far exceeding other crops with more variable prices.Tobacco also brings tourists to Yuxi — local firm Hongta, or “red tower”, is one of China’s most prominent cigarette brands.Named for a centuries-old pagoda painted scarlet after the country’s communist takeover, it is owned by state-run monopoly the China National Tobacco Corporation and offers visitors factory tours, a museum and a tobacco-themed cultural park.- Up in smoke -“Yuxi’s cigarettes are quite famous, so we’ve always wanted to come and have a look,” said a tourist surnamed Dong from the northeastern city of Dalian.Foreign cigarettes, he claimed, “don’t put the same demand on quality”.China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of tobacco and has more than 300 million smokers, according to the World Health Organization.As trains pull into stations across China, passengers frequently jump off for a quick cigarette on the platform before continuing their journey.Indoor smoking bans are loosely enforced and the stench of tobacco smoke is commonplace, from public toilets to taxis and late-night eateries.Beijing says it aims to reduce the number of smokers from around a quarter of the population to a fifth by 2030.Progress has been slow. The number of smokers fell just 14 percent between 2010 and 2022, well below the average for richer nations, a study by a Chinese think tank found last year.Policymakers must also navigate the interests of China Tobacco, which controls virtually all of the domestic production, processing and distribution.The company has a chokehold on a domestic tobacco sector that last year generated a record 1.6 trillion yuan ($220 billion) in taxes and profits.The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, responsible for industry oversight, has been criticised by researchers for being essentially the same organisation under a different name.This means the country’s largest cigarette manufacturer is its own regulator, in what has been decried by public health advocates as a clear conflict of interest and an impediment to effective tobacco controls.The firm touts its contribution to the economy, but researchers into China’s tobacco market argue that the revenue does not outweigh the health costs.- Changing times -A recent study found that the annual economic cost of cigarette smoking in China — estimated at 2.43 trillion yuan in 2020 — was approximately 1.6 times greater than the gains from the industry.”Stronger tobacco control policies can reduce smoking prevalence without severely harming government revenue,” Qinghua Nian at the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health told AFP.Efforts to curb cigarette consumption at home have coincided with an overseas push from Hongta and other tobacco brands.The country exported more than $9 billion in tobacco and tobacco products in 2023, up from less than $1.5 billion five years prior, according to the United Nations.Beneath Yuxi’s looming red pagoda, tourist Dong said smoking was slowly losing its appeal among younger generations.”As society develops, some things are progressing and it’s better to smoke less,” he said.”My children and grandchildren don’t smoke at all.”But nearby, a worker surnamed Long watching over tobacco seedlings in a greenhouse at a plant nursery said the crop was still a good way to earn a living.”Tobacco used to be a couple of yuan per pound, but now it’s a couple of dozen yuan,” the 54-year-old said.”This critical industry is still a good source of income for farmers.”

Senior US and Chinese officials will travel to Switzerland later this week to kickstart stalled trade talks following President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff rollout, according to statements from both countries.The talks mark the first official public engagement between the world’s two largest economies to resolve a trade war escalated by Trump shortly after his return to office in January.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer will attend the talks on behalf of the United States, their offices said.Bessent told Fox News that the sides would hold meetings on Saturday and Sunday intended to lay the groundwork for future negotiations. “We will agree what we’re going to talk about. My sense is that this will be about de-escalation, not about the big trade deal,” Bessent told “The Ingraham Angle” show.”We’ve got to de-escalate before we can move forward,” he added.Vice Premier He Lifeng will attend for Beijing, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.”Vice Premier He, as the Chinese lead person for China-U.S. economic and trade affairs, will have a meeting with the U.S. lead person Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent,” the Chinese foreign ministry said.The USTR announced that Greer would also meet with “his counterpart from the People’s Republic of China to discuss trade matters,” without naming He. Since Trump returned to the White House in January, his administration has levied new tariffs totaling 145 percent on goods from China, with some sector-specific measures stacked on top.Beijing retaliated by slapping 125 levies on US imports to China, along with more targeted measures.The tit-for-tat tariffs have left the two nations with cripplingly high levies that have shocked financial markets and reportedly caused a sharp slowdown in bilateral trade.”This isn’t sustainable, as I have said before, especially on the Chinese side. 145 percent, 125 percent is the equivalent of an embargo. We don’t want to decouple. What we want is fair trade,” Bessent said.

Stock markets mostly dropped on Tuesday as investors awaited a Federal Reserve interest-rate decision while anticipating US trade deal breakthroughs that have yet to materialize.Stocks had risen most of the last two weeks in anticipation of progress on the trade front as US President Donald Trump and top appointees play up the negotiations. But major US indices spent the entire Tuesday session in the red, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing down one percent.The market “seems to be disappointed over the fact that we’re not hearing any trade deal news,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.Investors are also monitoring the Fed, which is expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday, even as Trump pushes for more cuts. “Traders appear to be taking profits and moving to the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting, which kicks off today,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst Trade Nation, referring to the monetary policy branch of the reserve, the Federal Open Market Committee.While data last week showed the US economy contracted in the first quarter, strong jobs and services sector figures suggest there is still some resilience.”It’s a big week for central bank interest rate decisions,” noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.”The key focus will be on forward-looking commentary and whether the Fed is getting worried about Trump’s tariffs,” Mould added.On Thursday, the Bank of England is expected to cut its key rate by a quarter point to 4.25 percent amid concerns of weak growth in Britain.In Europe, Frankfurt’s stock market shed 0.4 percent after German conservative leader Friedrich Merz was confirmed as chancellor following an initial setback.Paris also ended the day down 0.4 percent while London finished flat.The US dollar was lower against major rival currencies, while oil prices shot higher in what analysts called a technical rebound following Monday’s selloff.US pharmaceutical and biotech stocks took a beating due to the appointment of oncologist Vinay Prasad to a top post at the US Food and Drug Administration. Prasad has been an outspoken critic of the agency’s prior approach to Covid-19 vaccines and other key decisions.Merck and Pfizer both fell more than four percent while Moderna sank more than 12 percent. In company news, US food delivery service DoorDash agreed to buy Deliveroo in a £2.9-billion ($3.9-billion) deal that values the UK group at less than half of its initial public offering price. Shares in Deliveroo rose 2.1 percent on London’s second-tier FTSE 250 index, while DoorDash shares dropped 7.4 percent in New York.Danish wind turbine maker Vestas jumped nine percent in Copenhagen after it stuck to its annual earnings forecasts despite geopolitical uncertainty and US tariffs.- Key figures at around 2050 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 1.0 percent at 40,829.00 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.8 percent at 5,606.91 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 17,689.66 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,597.42 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,696.92 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 23,249.65 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 22,662.71 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,316.11 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1373 from $1.1315 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3370 from $1.3296Dollar/yen: DOWN at 142.44 yen from 143.70 Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.04 pence from 85.09Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.2 percent at $62.15 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 3.4 percent at $59.09 per barrel burs-jmb/sla

Britain on Tuesday struck a free trade agreement with India, its biggest such deal since leaving the European Union, after negotiations relaunched in February following US tariff threats.Britain has sought to bolster trade ties across the world since it left the EU at the start of the decade under Brexit, a need that became more pressing after the United States unleashed tariffs that risk causing weaker economic growth.”Today we have agreed a landmark deal with India — one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, which will grow the economy and deliver for British people and business,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement. His Labour government said it is “the biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal the UK has done since leaving the EU”. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the deal as “ambitious and mutually” beneficial.The pact will help “catalyse trade, investment, growth, job creation, and innovation in both our economies”, Modi said in a post on social media platform X.His office said in a statement that the deal will “unlock new potential for the two nations to jointly develop products and services for global markets”. It added that Modi had invited Starmer to visit India at an unspecified date.- Whisky and shoes -The accord will slash tariffs on imports of UK goods into India, including whisky, cosmetics and medical devices.Whisky and gin tariffs will be halved to 75 percent, while automotive tariffs will be slashed from more than 100 percent to 10 percent. In exchange, the UK will cut tariffs on imports of clothes, footwear and food products, including frozen prawns, from India. The deal comes after US President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on trading partners and launched sector-specific levies on steel, aluminium and cars.The UK and India are the sixth and fifth largest global economies respectively, with a trade relationship worth around £41 billion ($54.8 billion) and investment supporting more than 600,000 jobs across both countries.The sides hope the free-trade agreement will increase trade between the two countries by £25.5 billion, as well as boosting the British economy and wages.The UK called it “the best deal India has ever agreed”.Talks were relaunched between the two countries in February after stalling under Britain’s previous Conservative administrations.In previous negotiations, India pushed for more UK work and study visas for its citizens in exchange for lowering tariffs.The Federation of Indian Export Organisations welcomed Tuesday’s announcement, saying that the deal “eliminates or significantly reduces tariffs on a wide range of Indian goods, giving our exporters preferential access to one of the world’s most affluent and consumption-driven markets”. Mike Hawes, chief executive of British automotive lobby group SMMT also praised the outcome.”While the agreement will likely feature compromises, and might not offer unfettered market access to all UK automotive goods, we appreciate the considerable effort British negotiators have devoted to secure the first partial liberalisation of the Indian automotive market.”- UK trade deals -Britain has secured other trade deals since exiting the EU, including with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. However, a much sought-after agreement with the United States remains elusive.The European Union remains Britain’s biggest trading partner, and Starmer has sought to bring the UK and the EU closer together since his Labour party won re-election last July.A landmark EU-UK summit is due this month, but Starmer has ruled out Britain rejoining the neighbouring bloc.Britain joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in December.The CPTPP alliance comprises fellow G7 members Canada and Japan, plus long-standing allies Australia and New Zealand, alongside Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. burs-ajb/bcp/rlp

A Czech court said Tuesday it blocked a multi-billion-dollar deal between Prague and South Korea’s KHNP on the construction of two nuclear units following a complaint by France’s EDF.KHNP won the contract last July after beating EDF in the tender, but the French giant filed an appeal with the Czech antitrust watchdog UOHS.When the UOHS rejected the appeal last week, EDF filed a lawsuit.The regional court in the second Czech city of Brno said it had “issued a pre-emptive ruling banning the signature” originally scheduled for Wednesday.It added that if the deal were signed, EDF would lose a chance to compete for the contract for good even if the court ruled in its favour later on.The deal cannot be signed until the court passes a verdict on the case.KHNP is due to build the two units at the southern Czech nuclear plant of Dukovany run by the state-run CEZ group.The Czech Republic, an EU member of 10.9 million people, relies on nuclear power — produced by Dukovany and the Temelin plant also in the south — for 40 percent of its electricity consumption.With the two new units and small modular reactors due to be built by 2050, the share of nuclear energy is expected to rise to 50 percent as the country shifts from burning fossil fuels.EDF hailed the postponement, saying it “provides the necessary time for a thorough assessment of any potential infringement of its rights”.It also told AFP it was ready for “all legal actions”.EDF said earlier its appeal was designed to make sure the selection process was fair and transparent.It also insists it can offer 60 percent of the value of the contract to Czech companies, while the share offered by KHNP is lower.The Czech news agency CTK quoted KHNP as saying it acknowledged the postponement but was sure the tender was correct, and that it was ready to go to court too. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said after the tender that KHNP’s bid was “better in all criteria assessed”.CEZ insisted on Tuesday that the tender was “fully transparent in all phases” and called on EDF to make its bid public to “rule out any doubt” that KHNP’s bid was better.The UOHS also earlier rejected an appeal by US-based Westinghouse, eliminated from the tender in January 2024 over flaws in its bid.KHNP has offered to build the two new units for around 200 billion Czech koruna ($9 billion) each.Prague expected to finalise the deal with KHNP by March this year, but the EDF appeal delayed the process.CEZ expects construction to begin in 2029 and the first new reactor launched in trial operation in 2036.

Stock markets diverged Tuesday as investors awaited a US Federal Reserve interest-rate meeting for signs of the outlook for the tariffs-hit economy.Oil prices staged a comeback after tanking on news of an output hike by key OPEC+ producers that came despite growing concerns over a slowdown in the global economy, which could hit demand. In Europe, Frankfurt’s stock market shed around one percent after German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to win a majority in the first parliament vote for chancellor, in an unexpected setback.Paris dropped while London was flat in early afternoon deals. “It’s a big week for central bank interest rate decisions,” noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.The US Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday, even as President Donald Trump pushes for more cuts. While data last week showed that the US economy contracted in the first quarter, strong jobs and services sector figures suggest there is still some resilience.”The key focus will be on forward-looking commentary and whether the Fed is getting worried about Trump’s tariffs,” Mould added.Elsewhere, the Bank of England is Thursday expected to cut its key rate by a quarter point to 4.25 percent amid concerns of weak growth in Britain.In Asia Tuesday, stock markets benefited from some renewed optimism that governments are making progress in agreements to temper Trump’s levies, which have roiled global markets in recent months.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the Trump administration had been approached by 17 countries and offered “very good” trade proposals.He also said there could be “substantial progress in the coming weeks” with China, which has been hit with tariffs of 145 percent. Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets closed higher Tuesday as investors returned from a long weekend. Traders brushed off losses on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 snapping a nine-day winning streak and film studios hit by Trump’s warning of new tariffs on all films made outside the United States.Oil prices rose more than two percent, clawing back Monday’s losses that came after Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members of the OPEC+ cartel agreed to boost output by 411,000 barrels a day in June.The move came a month after a similar announcement that caused prices to fall.In company news, US food delivery service DoorDash agreed to buy Deliveroo in a £2.9-billion ($3.9-billion) deal that values the UK group at less than half of its initial public offering price. Shares in Deliveroo rose around two percent on London’s second-tier FTSE 250 index. Danish wind turbine maker Vestas rose five percent in Copenhagen after it stuck to its annual earnings forecasts despite geopolitical uncertainty and US tariffs.- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,593.68 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,695.11Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.9 percent at 23,139.69Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 22,662.71 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,316.11 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for holidayNew York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 41,218.83 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1326 from $1.1319 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3350 from $1.3296Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.11 yen from 143.72Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.84 pence from 85.10Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.1 percent at $61.48 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2.1 percent at $58.34 per barrel

The dollar rose in Asia on Tuesday fuelled by hopes for trade deals to avert Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, while equities were mixed as investors await the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision.Oil also staged a comeback after tanking on news of an output hike by key producers that came despite growing concerns about demand and the outlook for the global economy.While no agreements have yet been reached with the White House, there is optimism that governments are making progress in averting or tempering the US president’s eye-watering levies, which have sent shivers through world markets.Sentiment was given a lift by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told CNBC that the administration had been approached by 17 countries and offered “very good” trade proposals.He also said there could be “substantial progress in the coming weeks” with China, which has been hit with tariffs of 145 percent.Trump has imposed lower duties of 10 percent on goods from most other countries, along with 25 percent levies on specific items like steel, automobiles and aluminium.Hopes for deals have seen Asian currencies rally against the dollar, with Taiwan’s unit up around seven percent this month, while South Korea’s won, the Malaysian ringgit, Indian rupee and Thai baht have also seen healthy gains.The greenback was barely moved against the yen, euro and pound.The gains have led some to speculate governments are allowing for an appreciation of their currencies as part of negotiations with Washington.”The factor many talk about is whether these countries with historically ‘weak’ and heavily managed currencies are now appealing to Trump through the currency channels and are now allowing for an appreciation of the currency as part of the trade negotiations,” said Pepperstone’s Chris Weston.”If these Asian nations are indeed opting for a currency revaluation, it could be a significant development not just in driving the dollar lower, but also in the trade negotiation process and accelerate the idea of trade deals.”Equities were mixed, with Hong Kong and Shanghai advancing as investors returned from a long weekend.Singapore, Manila and Jakarta also rose along with London.But Sydney, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok, Paris and Frankfurt slipped. Wellington was flat.Traders brushed off losses on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 snapping a nine-day winning streak and film studios hit by Trump’s warning of new tariffs on all films made outside the United States.Focus turns to the Fed’s policy announcement Wednesday, with expectations it will stand pat on interest rates, even as Trump continues to push for more cuts.While data last week showed that the US economy contracted in the first quarter, strong jobs and services sector figures suggest there is still some resilience.”Soft data had baked in a Fed pivot, but the ensuing hard data prints got bond desks slashing their rate-cut tickets,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.”So long as the real economy hums and fresh levies are expected to spark a second inflation wave, Powell’s hawkish brace stays locked in,” he said in reference to Fed chairman Jerome Powell.Oil prices rose more than two percent, clawing back Monday’s losses that come on the back of a decision by Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members of the OPEC+ cartel to boost output by 411,000 barrels a day for June.The move came a month after a similar announcement that also caused prices to fall.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 22,662.71 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,316.11 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,617.32Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1344 from $1.1319 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3327 from $1.3296Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.25 yen from 143.72Euro/pound: UP at 85.12 pence from 85.10West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.3 percent at $58.43 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 2.3 percent at $61.59 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 41,218.83 (close)