Merz Pledges New Bid With France to End Capital-Markets Impasse
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he'll launch a new push with France to try to break a deadlock on a decade-old European Union effort to deepen the bloc's capital markets and improve access to funding for companies.
The conservative leader, who took charge of Europe's biggest economy a month ago, told a business forum in Berlin Friday that the EU has been focusing too much on 'liability regimes and deposit insurance.'
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Indonesia expects to conclude free trade talks with EU by end of June
Indonesia said on Saturday that free trade negotiations with the European Union, which have been going on for nine years, are expected to finish by the end of June. Airlangga Hartarto, the chief economic minister for Southeast Asia's biggest economy, met with EU Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic in Brussels on Friday. "Indonesia and the European Union have agreed to conclude outstanding issues and we are ready to announce a conclusion of substantial negotiations by the end of June 2025," Airlangga Hartarto said in a statement. He did not disclose details about what agreements may have been reached. Representatives for the EU in Jakarta did not respond to a request for comment. The EU is Indonesia's fifth biggest trade partner, with total trade between the two reaching $30.1 billion last year. Indonesia had a $4.5 billion trade surplus, Airlangga said. Indonesia and the EU have previously disagreed on the EU's trade rules for products with potential links to deforestation, which could affect Indonesian palm oil, as well as Jakarta's ban on exports of raw minerals. Indonesian officials have been motivated to accelerate talks on free trade agreements, keen to diversify the country's export destinations as they deal with U.S. tariff challenges. Seeking to end U.S. trade deficits worldwide, U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs that have since been paused until July. Indonesia is facing a 32% tariff rate.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
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Diplomatic win for UK hosting US-China trade talks
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Musk and the Millers Got Cozy Outside the White House
During happier times at the White House, Elon Musk was known to spend large amounts of time with Stephen Miller and his wife, Katie, even outside of work. Katie Miller, an aide in the Department of Government Efficiency, was with Musk 'almost all the time' while he was at the White House, before opting to follow him out the door last month, The Wall Street Journal reports. Her departure is thought to have caused friction among White House officials. Miller was reportedly on Musk's payroll the entire time, even when her official role was as a special government employee, according to Politico's Playbook. 'And, like … who was she looking out for?' one unnamed administration official said. The idea that Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, was a close companion of Musk now seems far-fetched. The two have since had a public falling-out after Musk condemned President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act as a 'pork-filled' spending bill and a 'disgusting abomination.' Miller, one of Trump's most loyal allies, fired back with a thinly veiled attack on Musk on X on Thursday, writing: 'The only 'new' spending in the bill is to defend the homeland and deport the illegals—paid for by raising visa fees. All the other provisions? Massive spending cuts. There is no 'pork' in the bill. Just campaign promises.' Musk unfollowed Stephen Miller on social media around the same time his attacked him online. The Journal highlighted the fallout between Musk and Miller as yet another example of Musk burning bridges and irritating allies during his stint in the White House. Of course, there was an even more explosive falling-out between Musk and another former close ally on Thursday. The simmering tensions between Musk and President Donald Trump reached boiling point with an extraordinary back-and-forth playing out on social media. Trump lashed out at Musk for opposing his One Big Beautiful Bill Act and accused him of going 'crazy' over his plans to eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate implemented under the Biden administration. Trump also suggested that the quickest way to save billions in federal spending would be to terminate the government subsidies and contracts awarded to Musk's tech companies. Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that he believes Musk has 'TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome].' Responding with a furious post, Musk claimed on X: 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election,' and reposted in agreement a call for the president to be impeached and replaced with JD Vance. He also warned that Trump's import tariffs would trigger a recession later this year. Musk then dropped a 'really big bomb' in the spiralling feud. 'Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public,' Musk wrote. It is well known that Trump and billionaire child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019, were at least acquaintances. Epstein partied with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in the 1990s, and Trump flew on Epstein's private jet multiple times during that period. The two reportedly fell out around 2004 over a property dispute in Palm Beach, Florida. There is no evidence Trump was connected to or aware of Epstein's crimes. In a statement regarding the public falling-out, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: 'This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.' 'The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.'
