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India Today
4 minutes ago
- India Today
Mamdani slams alleged Trump-Cuomo ties in NYC mayoral race
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani swiftly responded on Thursday to a New York Times report alleging recent communication between Andrew Cuomo and US President Trump, condemning the rumoured coordination as 'disqualifying' for any prospective New York City mayor. MAMDANI CALLS CUOMO-TRUMP TIES DISQUALIFYINGMamdani argued that voters won't support a candidate aligned with Trump, especially as the former president reportedly considers involvement in the race. 'Coordinating with' Trump, Mamdani said during a WNYC interview, is 'disqualifying' in light of Trump's alleged hostility toward the continued his criticism at a quickly assembled rally outside 26 Federal Plaza, where ICE agents have drawn backlash for detaining immigrants after routine court appearances.'The job of mayor is not to audition to be the jester for a want-to-be king,' Mamdani said. Mamdani also took it to his account on X to comment about the alleged coordination between Cuomo and Trump. Today we learned Andrew Cuomo is directly coordinating with Donald Trump, even as this President sends masked agents to rip our neighbors off the streets and guts the social services so many New Yorkers rely disqualifying and a betrayal of our city. Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) August 6, 2025Mamdani intensified his criticism of alleged ties between New York mayoral candidates and President Trump, declaring, 'New Yorkers do not want a mayor who is working in tandem with the president to subvert the will of the people of New York City.'Positioning himself as the only viable choice for deep-blue NYC, Mamdani pointed to Mayor Eric Adams, whom he claims is compromised by the Justice Department's decision to drop his federal case, and GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa.'The fact is, the president has three candidates in this race,' Mamdani said. 'One that he's directly been in touch with, another that he bailed out of legal trouble and now functionally controls and the final one literally being a member of the same Republican Party.'TRUMP AND CUOMO DENY CLAIMS Sources say White House officials have been reaching out to New York lawmakers and political insiders this week to assess whether Trump should intervene in the race, as polling shows Mamdani leading the field. According to a Wednesday report by The New York Times, Trump and Cuomo allegedly spoke by phone 'in recent weeks,' though both have denied the by reporters, Trump responded, 'No, I haven't,' when asked if he had spoken with Cuomo. Cuomo's team also rejected the report, with spokesman Rich Azzopardi stating in a prepared comment, 'As far as I know, they have not discussed the race.'Zohran Mamdani, who defeated Cuomo in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, now faces him as an independent candidate in the general election.- EndsTune InMust Watch
News18
30 minutes ago
- News18
Trumps broad tariffs go into effect just as US economic pain is surfacing
Washington, Aug 7 (AP) President Donald Trump began imposing higher import taxes on dozens of countries Thursday just as the economic fallout of his months long tariff threats has begun to cause visible damage to the US economy. Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from the EU, Japan and South Korea are taxed at 15%, while imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh are taxed at 20%. Trump also expects the EU, Japan and South Korea to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States. 'I think the growth is going to be unprecedented," Trump said Wednesday. He said the US was 'taking in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs," but did not provide a specific figure for revenues because 'we don't even know what the final number is" regarding the rates. Despite the uncertainty, the White House is confident that the onset of his tariffs will provide clarity about the path for the world's largest economy. Now that companies understand the direction the US is headed, the Republican administration believes it can ramp up new investments and jump-start hiring in ways that can rebalance America as a manufacturing power. So far, however, there are signs of self-inflicted wounds to the US as companies and consumers brace for the impact of the new taxes. 'A less productive economy requires fewer workers," Silvia said. 'But there is more, the higher tariff prices lower workers' real wages. The economy has become less productive, and firms cannot pay the same real wages as before. Actions have consequences." Many economists say the risk is that the American economy is steadily eroded. 'It's going to be fine sand in the gears and slow things down," said Brad Jensen, a professor at Georgetown University. Trump has promoted the tariffs as a way to reduce America's persistent trade deficit. But importers tried to avoid the taxes by bringing in more goods before the tariffs took effect. As a result, the USD 582.7 billion trade imbalance for the first half of the year was 38% higher than in 2024. Total construction spending has dropped 2.9% over the past year. The economic pain is not confined to the US. Germany, which sends 10% of its exports to the US market, saw industrial production sag 1.9% in June as Trump's earlier rounds of tariffs took hold. 'The new tariffs will clearly weigh on economic growth," said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro for ING bank. Dismay in India and Switzerland The lead-up to Thursday fit the slapdash nature of Trump's tariffs, which have been rolled out, walked back, delayed, increased, imposed by letter and renegotiated. Trump on Wednesday announced additional 25% tariffs to be imposed on India because of its purchases of Russian oil, bringing its total import taxes to 50%. A leading group of Indian exporters said that will affect nearly 55% of the country's outbound shipments to America and force exporters to lose long-standing clients. 'Absorbing this sudden cost escalation is simply not viable. Margins are already thin," S C Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, said in a statement. The Swiss executive branch, the Federal Council, was expected to meet Thursday after President Karin Keller-Sutter and other Swiss officials returned from a hastily arranged trip to Washington in a failed bid to avert a 39% US tariffs on Swiss goods. Import taxes are still coming on pharmaceutical drugs, and Trump announced 100% tariffs on computer chips. That could leave the US economy in a place of suspended animation as it awaits the impact. Stock market remains solid The president's use of a 1977 law to declare an economic emergency to impose the tariffs is under a legal challenge. Even people who worked with Trump during his first term are skeptical, such as Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who was House speaker. 'There's no sort of rationale for this other than the president wanting to raise tariffs based upon his whims, his opinions," Ryan told CNBC on Wednesday. Trump is aware of the risk that courts could overturn his tariffs. In a Truth Social tweet, he said, 'THE ONLY THING THAT CAN STOP AMERICA'S GREATNESS WOULD BE A RADICAL LEFT COURT THAT WANTS TO SEE OUR COUNTRY FAIL!" The stock market has been solid during the tariff drama, with the S&P 500 index climbing more than 25% from its April low. The market's rebound and the income tax cuts in Trump's tax and spending measure signed into law on July 4 have given the White House confidence that economic growth is bound to accelerate in the coming months. On the global financial markets, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia, while stocks were slipping on Wall Street. But ING's Brzeski warned: 'While financial markets seem to have grown numb to tariff announcements, let's not forget that their adverse effects on economies will gradually unfold over time." Trump foresees an economic boom. American voters and the rest of the world wait, nervously. 'There's one person who can afford to be cavalier about the uncertainty that he's creating, and that's Donald Trump," said Rachel West, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation who worked in the Biden White House on labor policy. 'The rest of Americans are already paying the price for that uncertainty." (AP) RUK RUK (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 08, 2025, 02:30 IST News agency-feeds Trumps broad tariffs go into effect just as US economic pain is surfacing Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hindustan Times
34 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Donald Trump adds private equity and cryptocurrency as 401(k) retirement options
Millions of Americans saving for retirement through 401(k) accounts could have the option of putting their money in higher-risk private equity and cryptocurrency investments, according to an executive order signed Thursday by President Donald Trump that could give those financial players long-sought access to a pool of funds worth trillions. US President Donald Trump order directs the Labor Department and other agencies to redefine what would be considered a qualified asset under 401(k) retirement rules.(AP) There is no immediate change in how people invest part of their work earnings. Federal agencies would need to rewrite rules and regulations to allow the expanded choices, and that would take months or more to complete. But once done, employers could offer a broader array of mutual funds and investments to workers, according to the White House. New plans could invest in alternative assets, particularly private equity, cryptocurrencies and real estate. The Republican president's order directs the Labor Department and other agencies to redefine what would be considered a qualified asset under 401(k) retirement rules. Americans' retirement plans are governed by a law known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, better known as ERISA. Employers are required by law to offer retirement options that are in the best interest of their employees, not Wall Street. Most retirement plans for Americans are made up of stock and bond investments, and to a much lesser extent, cash and heavily traded commodities such as gold. Donald Trump's move rewards both the $5 trillion private equity industry, which for decades has wanted to compete for a role in retirement plans, and the cryptocurrency industry, whose executives strongly supported Trump's 2024 campaign as they aimed for more mainstream acceptance among Americans. The price of bitcoin was up 2% on Thursday to $116,542 and has nearly doubled since Trump was elected. Under Democratic President Joe Biden, federal regulators were to treat cryptocurrency investments with 'extreme care' because of the extreme volatility of crypto. It is not uncommon for bitcoin, ethereum and other big cryptocurrencies to move up or down 10% in a single day, whereas a 2% or 3% single-day move in the stock market would be considered historic. For cryptocurrency companies, which donated millions to Trump's campaign as well as his inauguration, one goal was to get their industry qualified under ERISA. Coinbase, one of the largest crypto companies in the United States, was also a major donor toward Trump's military parade in Washington this summer. Under Trump, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its lawsuit against Coinbase, where the Biden administration said crypto should be treated as a security. Crypto is particularly popular among young Americans. While volatile, bitcoin has generally moved upward since it was created by an anonymous programmer nearly 20 years ago. 'It was inevitable that bitcoin would make its way into American 401(k)'s,' said Cory Klippsten, the CEO of Swan Bitcoin. 'As fiduciaries realize bitcoin's risk-adjusted upside over the long term, we'll see growing allocations, especially from younger, tech-savvy workers who want hard money, not melting ice cubes.' Private equity firms rely heavily on high-net-worth individuals and state and private pension plans, which have extremely long investment timelines. But having access to Americans' retirement assets would open up a deep pool of cash. Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman has told investors going back to at least 2017 that it was a 'dream' of his and the industry to be able to draw upon these retirement assets. Previous administrations, Republican and Democrat, have agreed that private equity investments, which can be riskier, more expensive and less liquid than traditional stock and bond market mutual funds, should not be included in 401(k) plans. Even after the regulations are written, it will take time for the major retirement plan companies such as Fidelity, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price and others, to develop appropriate funds for employers to use. Employers are not likely to revise their retirement plan options quickly as well, so it may take several years before crypto and private equity investments are mainstream in an individual's retirement plan. 'While Vanguard has not committed to launching a product for defined contribution plans, Vanguard is dedicated to educating retirement investors to ensure a clear understanding of the opportunities and risks of investing in private assets,' the company said in a statement.
