Putin is preparing for more war, US senators warn, urging swift sanctions and global action
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US and China officials meet in Stockholm to discuss how to ease trade tensions
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Top trade officials from China and the United States arrived for a new round of talks in Stockholm on Monday in a bid to ease tensions over trade between the world's two biggest national economies. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng were meeting at the offices of Sweden's prime minister for talks that Bessent has said will likely to lead to an extension of current tariff levels. Analysts say the two envoys could set the stage for a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year to cement a recent thaw in trade tensions. The talks are the third this year between He and Bessent — nearly four months after Trump upended global trade with his sweeping tariff proposals, including an import tax that shot up to 145% on Chinese goods. China quickly retaliated, sending global financial markets into a temporary tailspin. The Stockholm meeting — following similar talks in Geneva and London in recent months — is set to extend a 90-day pause on those tariffs. During the pause, U.S. tariffs were lowered to 30% on Chinese goods, and China set a 10% tariff on U.S. products. The Trump administration, fresh off a deal on tariffs with the European Union, wants to reduce a trade deficit that came in at $904 billion overall last year — including a nearly $300 billion trade deficit with China alone. China's Commerce Ministry, for its part, said last week that Beijing wants 'more consensus and cooperation and less misperception' from the Stockholm talks. —— Didi Tang and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Transfers with rouble-backed crypto coin pass $40 billion after July spike, researchers say
By Alexander Marrow and Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) -A rouble-backed stablecoin that could help Russia circumvent Western restrictions on payments has seen a jump in transaction volumes in July, with funds moved through the coin surging past $40 billion in total, blockchain research firm Elliptic said on Monday. Sweeping Western sanctions since Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, particularly the exclusion of Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial messaging system, have sorely hampered Moscow's trading options and left Russia seeking alternative routes for cross-border payments. Russian defence sector lender Promsvyazbank and payments firm A7, both of which are under Western sanctions, announced the launch of the new Kyrgyzstan-based stablecoin A7A5 in January, promoting its potential as a tool for foreign trade. Elliptic, whose data and intelligence was used by the U.S. Secret Service in taking down the online infrastructure used by Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex in March, said in a report that A7A5 was becoming increasingly effective in helping Russian businesses and individuals avoid sanctions by bypassing the traditional financial system. TRM Labs, another blockchain research firm, has identified A7A5 as being part of a new nexus of Kyrgyzstan-registered entities with cryptocurrency connections to sanctions evasion that is also likely tied to the import of dual-use goods from China to Russia through Central Asia. A7A5, Promsvyazbank and A7 did not immediately respond to requests for comment. VOLUME SPIKE Promsvyazbank, when launching A7 in late 2024, said the platform would help Russian companies make smooth cross-border settlements and said firms could pay for services and supplies in China without using SWIFT. A stablecoin, A7A5 enables cross-border payments that most Russian banks cannot offer. Reuters could not independently determine the source of funds in A7A5 or the reasons for the transfers. Elliptic's analysis showed that over $1 billion was now being transferred through A7A5 each day, with an aggregate value to date of $41.2 billion, noting a spike in volumes, liquidity and tokens in circulation in July. TRM Labs observed a similar aggregate volume. Surging A7A5 demand has seen the stablecoin's market capitalisation triple to $521 million in less than two weeks, Elliptic said. A7A5 on Monday wrote on Telegram that it had injected $100 million of fresh liquidity in the stablecoin Tether (USDT) into the A7A5 DEX, a decentralised exchange. "Demand for A7A5 to USDT at the best rates remains high, liquidity is gone in minutes," A7A5 said. Tether, which regularly works with global law enforcement in helping to seize illicit funds across various jurisdictions, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oppenheimer lifts S&P 500 year-end target to Wall Street-high on trade optimism
(Reuters) -Oppenheimer Asset Management on Monday raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 index to 7,100, the highest among major Wall Street brokerages, betting on easing trade tensions and strong corporate earnings. Its current target implies an 11.13% upside to the benchmark index's last close of 6,388.64. Oppenheimer previously set a target of 5,950 for the index. "With the announcement of trade deals (Japan, EU) by President Trump... we believe that enough 'tariff hurdles' have been overcome for now," Oppenheimer strategists led by John Stoltzfus said in a note. The U.S. and European Union finalised a trade deal on Sunday, that sets a 15% tariff on most European goods including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, while the EU pledged to buy $750 billion in U.S. energy and invest $600 billion in the U.S. economy. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump struck a $550 billion deal with Japan. Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and RBC Capital Markets also raised their S&P 500 targets The S&P 500 has rebounded 28.2% since its April 8 low, following Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs, broadly driven by cyclical sectors such as technology, industrials and communication services. Oppenheimer brought back its S&P 500 earnings estimate to $275, which it had originally set in December 2024, having trimmed its projection to $265 in April. Stoltzfus continues to favor U.S. equities, particularly cyclical stocks, and sees further upside as inflation moderates and expects the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady in this week's policy meeting.
