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Trump administration urges allies to ‘spend more money' on defence

Trump administration urges allies to ‘spend more money' on defence

Sky News AU3 days ago

USSC Foreign Policy & Defence Director Professor Peter Dean discusses the Trump administration's view that its allies should 'spend more money' on defence.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected America's push for Australia to raise its defence spending.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is pushing the Australian federal government to increase spending on defence to 3.5 per cent of GDP.

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Wall Street dips as investors focus on US jobs data
Wall Street dips as investors focus on US jobs data

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Wall Street dips as investors focus on US jobs data

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Wall Street dips as investors focus on US jobs data
Wall Street dips as investors focus on US jobs data

Perth Now

timean hour ago

  • Perth Now

Wall Street dips as investors focus on US jobs data

US stocks have dipped, dragged down by Tesla's shares, while investors looked ahead to the monthly jobs report to gauge the health of the labour market amid concerns of an economic slowdown. Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with US President Donald Trump by phone, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported, as bilateral relations have been strained by trade disputes. The call comes amid accusations between the US and China in recent weeks over critical minerals in a dispute that threatens to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war between the governments of the two biggest economies. Weaker-than-expected US private payrolls and services sector data on Wednesday raised concerns about the effects of Trump's erratic trade policies, with investors focusing squarely on Friday's non-farm payrolls report. Initial jobless claims data showed people in the US filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week rose for a second straight week. "I don't think it's some sort of big warning sign right now but it speaks to the fact that the labour market has been softening more and just getting gradually weaker," said Kevin Gordon, senior investment strategist at Charles Schwab. The jobs report comes ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision later this month, where policy makers are widely expected to hold interest rates. Despite continued calls from Trump to slash interest rates, Fed chair Jerome Powell has opted to stand pat so far, awaiting further data to help dictate the policy decision as tariff volatility prevails. US equities rallied sharply in May, with investors boosting the S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq to their biggest monthly percentage gain since November 2023, thanks to a softening of Trump's harsh trade stance and upbeat earnings reports. The S&P 500 remains nearly 3.0 per cent below record highs touched in February. US central bank officials including Fed Board governor Adriana Kugler, Fed Kansas City president Jeffrey Schmid and Fed Philadelphia president Patrick Harker are scheduled to speak later in the day. In early trading on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 126.69 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 42,301.05, the S&P 500 lost 12.71 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 5,958.10 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 31.13 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 19,429.36. Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors fell, with consumer staples declining the most with an about 1.0 per cent fall. Brown-Forman fell 14.9 per cent, the most on the S&P 500, after the Jack Daniel's maker forecast a decline in annual revenue and profit. Procter & Gamble said it will cut 7000 jobs, or about 6.0 per cent of its workforce, over the next two years, as part of a restructuring. Shares of the consumer goods bellwether fell 1.3 per cent. Tesla fell 4.5 per cent, touching an over three-week low. The car maker's sales dropped for the fifth straight month in several European markets, data early this week has showed. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.08-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.46-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and three new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 37 new highs and 16 new lows.

Xi and Trump have spoken by phone: Chinese reports
Xi and Trump have spoken by phone: Chinese reports

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  • Perth Now

Xi and Trump have spoken by phone: Chinese reports

Chinese President Xi Jinping has held talks with US President Donald Trump by phone, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reports, as bilateral relations have been strained by trade disputes. The phone talks were at Trump's request, Xinhua said, without providing further details about the leaders' conversation. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The highly anticipated call comes amid accusations between the United States and China in recent weeks over critical minerals in a dispute that threatens to tear up a fragile truce in the trade conflict between the governments of the two biggest economies. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's January inauguration. We call on the U.S. to uphold the market principle of fair competition, stop politicizing trade issues, and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese and other foreign will do what is necessary to defend Chinese businesses' legitimate… CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) June 5, 2025 Although stocks rallied, the temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated export-driven economic model. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives, who say the uncertainty has made it difficult to forecast market conditions. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets continues to disrupt supplies needed by car makers, computer chip manufacturers and military contractors around the world. China's government sees mineral exports as a source of leverage - halting those exports could put domestic political pressure on the Republican US president if economic growth sags because companies cannot produce mineral-powered products. The 90-day deal to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions is tenuous. Trump has accused China of violating the agreement and has ordered curbs on chip design software and other shipments to the country. China rejected the claim and threatened counter-measures. Trump has long pushed for a call or a meeting with Xi but China has rejected that as not in keeping with its traditional approach of working out agreement details before the leaders talk. Trump had declared one day earlier that it was difficult to reach a deal with Xi. "I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!" Trump posted on Wednesday on his social media site. The US president and his aides see leader-to-leader talks as vital to sort through log-jams that have vexed lower-level officials in difficult negotiations. with AP

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