logo
Fall in Europeans flying to US amid ‘consumer uncertainty'

Fall in Europeans flying to US amid ‘consumer uncertainty'

Times01-05-2025

Mainland Europe's major international airlines have said that customers are holding back on trips to the United States because of uncertainty during the early months of Donald Trump's second presidential term.
Stricter enforcement of border controls has been cited by the German company Lufthansa and the Franco-Dutch combine Air France-KLM for a softening in demand across the Atlantic in recent weeks.
Ben Smith, chief executive of Air France-KLM, said that customers were looking 'for a little more clarity' before committing to travel to the United States.
Carsten Spohr, chief executive of Lufthansa, said he believed that families were saying, in relation to holiday trips to the US, 'We don't know yet if we really want to go.'
The Times reported a month ago that the

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Wall Street titan slams Trump's mega-bill
Wall Street titan slams Trump's mega-bill

Daily Mail​

time41 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Wall Street titan slams Trump's mega-bill

Billionaire Ken Griffin has sided with Elon Musk in his attack on Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill'. The Citadel CEO warned the act will 'add several trillion dollars' to the national debt, which will soon surpass $37 trillion. Unlike Musk, who called the bill a ' disgusting abomination,' Griffin criticized the legislation in more conciliatory terms. 'The bill will unquestionably add several trillion dollars,' Griffin said Thursday at the 2025 Forbes Iconoclast Summit in New York City. 'The challenge with the legislation is there's not enough tough decisions... around how we're going to put our fiscal house in order.' Griffin made his concerns known about runaway government spending after the Congressional Budget Office estimated the GOP budget bill would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. Much of this comes down to the bill's extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which will decrease the revenue coming into the government. Griffin, who voted for Trump in the 2024 election, did not say he disagreed with the extension of the prior tax cuts. But he did take issue with even more tax relief for businesses. 'The continued reduction in tax rates for small and medium enterprise businesses; I'm not sure what we're going to achieve with that,' said Griffin, who is estimated to have a net worth of $44.5 billion. Griffin cast the bill, which is still winding its way through the Senate, as poorly thought out and dangerous to the nation's finances. 'You cannot run deficits of 6 or 7 percent [higher than GDP] at full employment after years of growth. That's just fiscally irresponsible,' said Griffin, who is worth $44.5 billion. 'There are a lot of question marks in the bill as to why we're continuing to increase our tax cuts when we have a fiscal deficit of this magnitude,' he added. approached Griffin's team and the White House for comment. Griffin also warned that if America's leaders fail to reign in spending, they risk a total collapse of US bond markets. Last week, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon sounded a similar alarm , predicting that at some point, investors will lose confidence in the US government's ability to service its debt. 'US default prices are probably the same as Italy or Greece,' Griffin said in reference to credit default swap markets where investors can bet on countries failing to meet their debt obligations. The consequences of a default - i.e. the country running out of money to pay its bills - would be 'catastrophic' for the US and the global economy, former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said. The stock market would almost certainly crash in such a scenario, with investors around the world coming to the understanding that the US - thought to be the most stable government in the world - could not fulfill its financial obligations for the first time in its nearly 250 years of existence. Back in April, when Trump unveiled and quickly paused his wide scale Liberation Day tariffs, multiple reports suggested that his U-turn was prompted by the major sell off in US bonds. Trump appeared to acknowledge this market turmoil at the time, saying: 'People were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit out of line.' Griffin didn't limit his criticisms of the administration to uncertainty on US debt or the big beautiful bill, which Trump wants passed by the Fourth of July. He also slammed the president for his ongoing trade policy, largely governed by historically-high tariffs. He said the tariffs have 'really taken their toll already on our economy' and have called 'into question American exceptionalism.' His firm Citadel has already cut its estimate for US economic growth by about half since Trump took office in January. As a parting shot at the president, Griffin decried Trump's decision to tear into Walmart CEO Doug McMillon for warning customers that the big-box retailer may have to increase prices thanks to tariffs. 'Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, 'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING, Trump posted to Truth Social in May.

Florian Wirtz to Liverpool transfer agreement close with final £118m compromise
Florian Wirtz to Liverpool transfer agreement close with final £118m compromise

Daily Mirror

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mirror

Florian Wirtz to Liverpool transfer agreement close with final £118m compromise

Liverpool are expected to make a fourth and final official offer to Bayer Leverkusen to sign playmaker Florian Wirtz, with a compromise over the transfer fee concluding talks Liverpool are expected to make a FOURTH and final offer to Bayer Leverkusen in order to find a compromise on a transfer fee for Florian Wirtz. Liverpool have been locked in talks with the German club over the signing of Wirtz for weeks and negotiations are finally reaching an end game. The Reds submitted a third official bid for the playmaker on Friday made up of £100million plus £13m in add-ons. That would represent a British transfer record, eclipsing the £106.8m Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in February 2023, but is still short of Leverkusen's asking price. ‌ Leverkusen have been holding out for £126.4m from the very start of negotiations, which have been led by Reds sporting director Richard Hughes, but it now seems as though a compromise can finally be reached. ‌ The German side have already sold Jeremie Frimpong to Liverpool for £29.5m and they have moved a step closer to receiving a major pay day from the Premier League champions. Leverkusen are expecting a fourth and final offer for Wirtz in the next 24 hours – and that they will shake hands for £118m. That is because Liverpool have made it clear that they won't go as high as £126m and Leverkusen don't want to overplay their hand. The club knows that Wirtz has his heart set on moving to Merseyside and that they need to cash in now. Considering Liverpool started out talks with a bid of £85m (€100m), Leverkusen will still be delighted with their business, if it does indeed get concluded. Wirtz, who could earn a whopping £355,000-a-week at Liverpool, is set to play for Germany in the Nations League third-place play-off against France in Stuttgart on Sunday and wants his future sorted soon. He chose Liverpool after holding talks with Bayern Munich and was impressed by the Reds' plans for him. HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Florian Wirtz be a success at Liverpool? Is he worth £118m? Comment below. ‌ If Liverpool do finally conclude talks with Leverkusen it will be the culmination of years of hard work. That's because former sporting director - and current Fenway Sports Group chief executive of football - Michael Edwards has been tracking him since 2020, when Wirtz was playing for Koln. Wirtz has been the stand-out player in the Bundesliga over the past few seasons, having helped Leverkusen win the title in 2023/24. The 22-year-old got 15 goals and 16 assists in 45 games across all competitions last season and is ready to leave Germany for a new challenge. ‌ Liverpool have money in the bank after a quiet summer before the 2024/25 season in which they brought in just one player: Federico Chiesa. However, with Frimpong signed and deals being negotiated for Wirtz and Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, they know they must sell some players to balance the books. Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott, Andy Robertson and Chiesa are among those who could move on this summer after Caoimhin Kelleher completed his transfer to Brentford for £18m. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Louis van Gaal slams Man Utd transfer approach with cutting Liverpool remark
Louis van Gaal slams Man Utd transfer approach with cutting Liverpool remark

Daily Mirror

time4 hours ago

  • Daily Mirror

Louis van Gaal slams Man Utd transfer approach with cutting Liverpool remark

Former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has slammed the Red Devils approach in the transfer market and compared it to that of Premier League rivals Liverpool with Arne Slot Louis van Gaal has made a cutting remark on Manchester United, labelling the a 'commercial club, not a football club'. The Dutch coach believes the Red Devils need too empower manager Ruben Amorim if they hope to be able to replicate the success of Liverpool under Arne Slot. Van Gaal was in the Old Trafford hot seat for two seasons from 2014 until 2016 and won the FA Cup in his second term in charge. The 73-year-old was left surprised by the team's inability to land first choice options despite its commercial wealth. ‌ United's ability in the transfer market has long been called into question with accusations of overpaying for players who have not been good enough. The 13-times Premier League champions have seen few outright wins in their incoming business with the exception of Bruno Fernandes. ‌ The likes of Rasmus Hojlund and Antony have failed to set the Theatre of Dreams alight in recent seasons, but issues stretch back further than that in the mind of Van Gaal. "They are a commercial club, not a football club," Van Gaal told Sky Sports. "I have said that before and that's always difficult. When the manager is not deciding which players have to come in, it is very difficult." "I think that it is is the way that it should be," he added. "Because then you can fire a manager because he doesn't give any results. But when other people buy the players, then you have a problem. "You need to have the knowledge of the manager, the orientation of the manager, because he has to train them." ‌ And, really sticking the boot in, Van Gaal pointed to Premier League rivals Liverpool as a team United should replicate. The ex-Bayern Munich boss reckons Reds head coach has a pivotal role in Liverpool's transfer business, despite adding just one player to his squad last summer. "Arne Slot is the man who says to his technical manager that he has to buy this player, pay attention to it," Van Gaal commented. The Dutchman has long been criticial of his former team's transfer approach. Van Gaal claimed that he did not receive the players he asked for during his time at the club, and the side's transfer business was held to ransom. ‌ " Manchester United did not have the qualities to become champions and had an outdated selection with 10 players over 30, five over 35," he told Voetbal International in 2020. "So I told them I was going to rejuvenate and which players should come. I didn't get one of those. "Then you end up in a different segment and as a coach you have to push your boundaries. You don't expect that at the richest club in the world. ‌ "A turnover of £600m and can't buy the players you need. You should buy number one and not number seven. Of course, the selling club also thinks: 'If you are so rich, you also have to pay the highest amount imaginable for a player.' That was what happened with transfers. "Then you have to do with the numbers seven or eight on your wish list. For which you actually pay way too much money, on which the coach is judged and convicted." Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store