Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Hits Out At Donald Trump Amid Tariff War, "Some People..."
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| Some people are not happy with India's growth, so they are trying to hamper it: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hits out at Donald Trump amid tariff war n18oc_indian18oc_breaking-newsNews18 Mobile App - https://onelink.to/desc-youtube
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Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
No fresh hike in tariff over oil, Donald Trump hints
US President Donald Trump appeared to rule out increased tariffs on China for purchasing Russian oil following his summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, while also suggesting existing penalties on India may not escalate further, providing relief for countries caught in Washington's pressure campaign against Moscow. US President Donald Trump shakes hand with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. (REUTERS) Trump indicated that secondary sanctions on major oil buyers were no longer under immediate consideration after his three-hour meeting with the Russian president on Friday. 'Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that,' Trump said of tariffs on China and more severe economic punishment for Russia for continuing the war in Ukraine. 'Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well,' Trump added. The comments came despite the summit failing to produce a deal to end the Ukraine war, which has raged since Russia's invasion in February 2022. Prior to the meeting, Trump said 'he (Putin) lost an oil client, so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40 per cent of the if I did what's called a secondary sanction, or a secondary tariff, it would be very devastating from their standpoint. If I have to do it, I'll do it. Maybe I won't have to do it,' offering hints that could be construed positively in New Delhi. Trump's statement came amid talk that had the Alaska Summit not gone well, India could be hit with a harsher levy. 'We've put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,' US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in a television interview on Wednesday. The US has already imposed tariffs totalling 50% on India, including a 25% penalty for Russian oil purchases that will take effect on August 27, making India one of the most heavily penalised US trading partners. Trump's more conciliatory tone followed his earlier revelation that the India tariffs were designed to pressure Russia by cutting off oil revenue, with the president claiming Moscow 'called and wanted to meet' after losing its second-largest energy customer. India welcomed the Alaska summit between the Russian and American leaders, expressing support for dialogue-based solutions to the Ukraine conflict. 'India welcomes the summit meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their leadership in the pursuit of peace is highly commendable,' the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement released after the summit. 'India appreciates the progress made at the summit. The way forward can only be through dialogue and diplomacy. The world wants to see an early end to the conflict in Ukraine,' it added. Russia currently accounts for more than a third of India's energy purchases, up from less than 1% in 2022 following Western sanctions over the Ukraine invasion. China remains Russia's largest oil customer. India has defended its energy purchases as necessary for economic security, calling US targeting 'unjustified and unreasonable' whilst arguing that Western countries maintain their own trade relationships with Russia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin this month, offering Indian diplomatic support to aid the peace process in his call with the former. Modi has consistently called for dialogue and diplomacy since the invasion began, making separate visits to Russia and Ukraine last year whilst urging both leaders to return to negotiations. Trump announced following the summit that he would meet Zelensky in Washington on Monday, potentially followed by a trilateral meeting with Putin, as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continue.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Chilling past, warm present
On August 15, U.S President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin concluded a historic summit in Alaska. After friendly greetings and two-and-a-half-hour-long talks at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, they left without announcing any deal, but claimed to have made progress on many issues. The selection of Alaska as the backdrop for this summit, the first since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was significant in more than one manner. Alaska was under Russian control for 125 years before being sold to the U.S. in 1867. Alaska is separated from Russia by a distance of 88 km, while the Russian Island of Big Diomede is located just 4 km from the U.S. Little Diomede Island, with the Bering strait separating the two. Also read: Trump-Putin Alaska Summit Highlights Alaska has been populated by Indigenous peoples, including the Athabaskans, Unangan (Aleuts), Inuit, Yupiit (Yupik), Tlingit, and Haida, for centuries. In the early 18th century, Danish explorer Vitus Bering was pressed into service by Russian Tsar Peter the Great to explore the regions to the east of Russia's border. In 1728, Bering sailed through the strait separating the Russian mainland and North America (the strait is now named after him). During his second voyage in 1741, Bering spotted the peak of Mount St. Elias, part of an Alaskan mountain range, from his ship St. Peter. His 'discovery' of Alaska was confirmed later during the voyage of Englishman Captain James Cook, who mapped the area in 1778. Trading outposts Russian traders — the Promyshlenniki — soon set up outposts in Alaska, interested in seal-hunting and otter fur trade. The first Russian colony was set up in 1784 on Kodiak island at Three Saints Bay. In 1799, Tsar Paul I established the Russian American company, and in 1806, their capital was moved from Kodiak to Sitka. The Russians had to contend with opposition from the Alaskan natives, including an armed battle in Sitka in 1804 between Tlingit and Russian forces. British and later American trade interest in the region was also a challenge to the growth of 'Russian America'. Over decades, overexploitation of seals and sea otters in Alaska meant that their populations shrank, gutting profitability for Russian traders. Further, Russia was defeated by the British in the Crimean war (1853-1856). Viewing Alaska as a hard-to-defend territory which was also becoming economically untenable, Tsar Alexander II decided to give it up. Despite British interest, the U.S. emerged triumphant in its bid for Alaska in 1867. Russia sold the parcel of land, measured 665,000 sq. miles, to the U.S for $7.2 million, in a deal brokered by U.S. Secretary of State William Henry Seward. The deal, dubbed as 'Seward's Folly', was widely criticised, since Alaska was viewed as a barren frozen wasteland. The subsequent discovery of natural gas reserves and rare earth minerals, however, changed the public perception. In 1896, gold was found in Yukon and prospectors arrived to seek their fortunes in the Klondike gold fields. In 1959, Alaska officially became the 49th State of the U.S. Traces of its Russian past persist in Alaska till day. Several Orthodox churches, with characteristic ornate decor and onion-shaped domes, dot the region. The Orthodox diocese in Alaska is reportedly the oldest in North America, and it maintains a seminary on Kodiak island, the site of the first Russian settlement. Local dialects, now fast-vanishing, arose from a melange of Russian and local indigenous language, and persisted in regions surrounding Anchorage. Russian, too, is taught in some areas, such as the Kenai peninsula. Alaska is also a strategically important region. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the site of Friday's summit, was a forward front of American defence during the Cold War. Given the region's imperial Russian past, it was hardly a surprise that Anchorage was picked as the venue for the Putin-Trump meet — an American town acceptable for the Russians. When Mr. Putin met Mr. Trump on the tarmac of the joint base, he greeted him, saying, 'Good afternoon, dear neighbour.'
Economic Times
3 hours ago
- Economic Times
US stock market: How has S&P 500 managed to beat Donald Trump tariffs and climbed historic highs? Check forecast for 2025
Synopsis Citi raised its forecast for where the S&P 500 will finish the year, joining Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and others that raised their targets recently. Those forecasts, however, cluster around where the index stands now -- mostly between 6,300 and 6,600, with Thursday closing at 6,469. Global Desk US stock market today: US Stock Market's top index S&P 500 has continued to hit new highs. The index has recovered all the ground it lost in the global market sell-off in April, after Trump announced sweeping tariffs. It is now more than 5 per cent above its last peak, in February, and almost 10 per cent higher for the year. For the time being, the economic reality of tariffs has yet to catch up with the market's earlier worries. The effective tariff rate on U.S. imports is the highest it has been since the 1930s, upending supply chains, stoking inflation concerns and underpinning an intensifying war of words between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome profits remain strong, and the economy, despite worries about what's to come, is still solid. There are pockets of weakness, but the biggest companies that drive the S&P 500's performance have been largely insulated against further impact from tariffs, propelled instead by the growth of artificial intelligence."There is a case to be made there that we are through the worst of it," said Stuart Kaiser, an equity strategist at most companies in the S&P 500 having already reported earnings for the three months through June, the average growth rate of the companies in the index nudged into double digits for the third quarter in a row, according to data from tech companies again led the way, helping to justify their high stock prices. A further contraction in the energy sector, alongside the continued malaise for manufacturers, paled in comparison with the growth of the tech juggernauts. And while retailers and other companies that deal directly with consumers have complained about tariffs, the broad message among the big businesses that make up the S&P 500 is that they are manageable."This earnings season has allayed a lot of fears," said Nelson Yu, head of equities at Alliance the end of the first quarter, just 17% of companies raised their expectations for how they would perform going forward, according to Citi. Many executives simply refrained from offering financial projections, citing uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's tariff this quarter, more than 40% of companies in the index raised their earnings estimates, anticipating a more favorable environment than previously expected."Companies are telling you they have more clarity, because otherwise they wouldn't provide that guidance," Kaiser much like investors, loathe uncertainty because it prevents planning and making major decisions. At least with the tariffs roughly in place, there is a sense among executives that the picture is becoming month, Citi raised its forecast for where the S&P 500 will finish the year, joining Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and others that raised their targets recently. Those forecasts, however, cluster around where the index stands now -- mostly between 6,300 and 6,600, with Thursday closing at 6,469 -- pointing to an expectation that the rally will slow the rest of the year and underscoring lingering recovery from the stock sell-off in April is less pronounced in other Russell 2000, which is made up of smaller companies less able to absorb the effects of higher tariffs, is just one index that hasn't shown the same roaring recovery as the S&P Russell turned positive for the year after this past week's inflation report showed only a modest impact so far from tariffs, cementing expectations that the Fed will soon cut interest rates as it starts to slowly take the brakes off the economy -- albeit more slowly than the president would interest rates are generally seen as positive for the stock market, but if inflation speeds up significantly, the central bank will be less inclined to keep cutting rates, tempering the forecast for many of the companies that make up the Russell 2000 (and even some in the S&P 500).That wariness has kept many larger fund managers from diving back into the stock market as enthusiastically as retail investors have, according to research from Deutsche Bank. If those hesitant investors return to the market, that could add a tail wind in the second half of the year. But the lack of activity also underlines that not everyone is convinced that the current rally is sustainable.
