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World Business Report Trump hopes to hold a phone call with China's Xi to discuss tariffs

BBC News2 days ago

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold a phone call to discuss tariffs and trade issues, according to the White House. There's been no confirmation from Beijing. Rahul Tandon hears from Nazak Nikakhtar, a former assistant secretary of state for industry and analysis in the first administration of Donald Trump.
In Canada, the Prime Minister is meeting with regional leaders to remove interprovincial trade barriers and making it easier for Canadians to trade with each other.
And the South American nation of Paraguay has big ambitions to become a tech and innovation hub.

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US inflation data collection hurt by Trump-era hiring freeze, WSJ says
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Reuters

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US inflation data collection hurt by Trump-era hiring freeze, WSJ says

June 4 (Reuters) - Federal government staffing shortages from Trump administration hiring freezes have forced the Labor Department's economic statistics arm to curtail the breadth of its data collection for one of the main measures of U.S. inflation, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The paper said the Bureau of Labor Statistics beginning in April reduced the number of businesses at which it checks prices for the benchmark Consumer Price Index report, citing the hiring freeze that President Donald Trump imposed on his first day back in office, January 20. 'The CPI temporarily reduced the number of outlets and quotes it attempted to collect due to a staffing shortage in certain CPI cities,' beginning in April, a BLS email to private economists and shared with the Journal read. 'These procedures will be kept in place until the hiring freeze is lifted, and additional staff can be hired and trained.' The Labor Department and BLS did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. CPI is among the most closely watched economic datasets published by the U.S. government, relied upon by economists, investors and policymakers for near-real-time estimates of the state of inflation. It provides a monthly snapshot of changes both to prices overall and among hundreds of separate products and services ranging from eggs to eyeglasses and airline tickets to automobiles.

Shock update on California's High-Speed Rail project - as insane amount of taxpayer money spent is revealed
Shock update on California's High-Speed Rail project - as insane amount of taxpayer money spent is revealed

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time28 minutes ago

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Shock update on California's High-Speed Rail project - as insane amount of taxpayer money spent is revealed

The Trump administration is considering pulling federal funding from California 's High-Speed Rail project after the US Department of Transportation revealed no track has been laid despite nearly $7 billion in taxpayer funds spent over 15 years. The ambitious project, initially approved by voters in 2008 with a $10 billion budget, aimed to connect major cities in California, however, costs have escalated dramatically, with the total projected cost now ranging from $89 billion to $128 billion. The Federal Railroad Administration has since issued a scathing 315-page report which cites key issues with the troubled project including missed deadlines, budget overruns and unreliable ridership projections. The White House has now initiated a review to determine whether to rescind an additional $4 billion in federal grants allocated for the project's completion. The embattled rail line faces further roadblocks with a $7 billion funding gap for the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment, even before the Trump administration considers pulling the $4 billion in federal funds. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized the years-long project, claiming there is 'no viable path' for the multi-billion dollar project's completion. 'This report exposes a cold, hard truth: CHSRA has no viable path to complete this project on time or on budget,' Duffy said. The entire San Francisco-to-Los Angeles project was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 for $33 billion, Reuters reported - but the project is far from completion of any phase. The Transportation Secretary emphasized that if the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) cannot demonstrate progress, the federal government may redirect funds to other infrastructure projects. 'CHSRA is on notice - If they can't deliver on their end of the deal, it could soon be time for these funds to flow to other projects that can achieve President Trump's vision of building great, big, beautiful things again,' he said. 'Our country deserves high-speed rail that makes us proud - not boondoggle trains to nowhere.' In response, CHSRA defended the project, asserting that over 15,000 jobs have been created and 119 miles are under active construction. 'There is active civil construction along 119 miles in the Central Valley, resulting in over 15,000 construction jobs, and design and pre-construction activities are underway on the extensions to Merced and Bakersfield totaling 171 miles,' as per a CHSRA statement. The federal government has given California until mid-July to respond to the review - if the CHSRA fails to provide satisfactory evidence of progress, the $4 billion in federal grants may be rescinded. In 2021, then-President Joe Biden restored a $929 million grant for the high-speed rail, funds which Trump had revoked in 2019 after he called the project a 'disaster,' Reuters reported. Now, all eyes are on the Golden State's response and whether the innovative rail project can overcome its financial and logistical challenges. The California High-Speed Rail System is a planned two-phase 800-mile system with speeds of up to 220 miles per hour that aims to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim and in the second phase extend north to Sacramento and south to San Diego.

3 surprising market winners in 2025
3 surprising market winners in 2025

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3 surprising market winners in 2025

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