China's market regulator suspends antitrust investigation into DuPont China
The regulator launched an investigation into DuPont China in April for its alleged violation of the country's anti-monopoly law, amid a heated trade war between China and the Unites States.
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Reuters
9 minutes ago
- Reuters
CK Hutchison wants Chinese firm to join bidding for its $22.8 billion ports business
HONG KONG, July 28 (Reuters) - CK Hutchison ( opens new tab said on Monday it wants a major Chinese strategic investor to join the BlackRock-led consortium bidding for its $22.8 billion ports business, after media reported that state-owned China COSCO Shipping Corp aims to join the group. The Hong Kong conglomerate in a statement said changes to the composition of the consortium and structure of the transaction will be necessary to secure regulatory approval, and that it will allow as much time as needed to achieve that. A 145-day exclusivity period for talks between the parties expired on Sunday. CK Hutchison's Hong Kong-listed shares were due to open higher just shy of 1% on Monday. A deal would cover 43 ports in 23 countries including two ports near the Panama Canal which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. U.S. President Donald Trump initially hailed the sale as "reclaiming" the Panama Canal after his administration called for the removal of what it said was Chinese ownership of some ports. U.S. investment firm BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab declined to comment. COSCO, Italian consortium member MSC and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. China views the potential sale as a threat to its interests, seeing the consortium as a proxy for growing American influence in a region it considers economically and geopolitically significant. State-backed media, in criticism of the sale, said China has significant national interests in the matter and that selling the ports would be a betrayal of the country. China's top market regulator said it was paying close attention to developments and stressed the deal would be subject to a Chinese antitrust review. CK Hutchison in its statement said any new investor must be a "significant" member of the consortium. "This is an interesting development. A PRC (China) investor with majority control of the consortium sounds like a non-starter in my view. An investor with a less than 50% stake you would think should keep everyone happy," said strategist David Blennerhassett of Ballingal Investment Advisors who publishes on SmartKarma.
The Guardian
9 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: president hails US-EU trade deal as House speaker weighs in on Epstein controversy
Donald Trump has hailed what he called 'a powerful deal' on tariffs with the European Union to avert a damaging transatlantic trade war after months of tough negotiations between the two sides. 'It solves a lot of stuff and was a great decision,' the US president said of the agreement after meeting the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, in Scotland. The 'important' partnership involved the EU agreeing to spend tens of billions of dollars more on US energy products, Trump said. US House speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, said he would have 'great pause' about granting a pardon to Ghislaine Maxwell while another House Republican said it should be considered as part of an effort to obtain more information about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. Here's more on this and the day's other key Trump administration stories: Donald Trump has announced a tariff deal with the European Union to end months of difficult negotiations between Washington and Brussels after meeting the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland. 'This is really the biggest trading partnership in the world so we should give it a shot,' the president said before the private meeting started. Von der Leyen described it as 'a huge deal' that would bring 'stability' and 'predictability' to both sides. Read the full story US House speaker Mike Johnson said he would have 'great pause' about granting a pardon or commutation to Ghislaine Maxwell while Kentucky Republican representative Thomas Massie said a pardon should be on the table for the jailed Epstein confidante if she were to give helpful information around the Epstein case. On Sunday – after deputy attorney general Todd Blanche met with Maxwell last week –Johnson was asked on NBC about the possibility of a pardon and said: 'I think she should have a life sentence at least … That she orchestrated it and was a big part of it, at least under the criminal sanction, I think is an unforgivable thing. So again, not my decision, but I have great pause about that, as any reasonable person would.' Read the full story A top US medical body has expressed 'deep concern' to Robert F Kennedy Jr over news reports that the health secretary plans to overhaul a panel that determines which preventive health measures, including cancer screenings, should be covered by insurance companies. The letter from the the American Medical Association comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Kennedy plans to overhaul the 40-year old US preventive services task force because he regards it as too 'woke', according to sources. Read the full story Thai and Cambodian leaders will meet on Monday for talks to end hostilities, Thailand said, after pressure from Donald Trump to end a deadly border dispute. UK prime minster Keir Starmer will recall his cabinet from their summer break for an emergency meeting on the Gaza crisis this week as cross-party MPs warned his talks with Donald Trump provided a critical juncture in helping to resolve the conflict. Catching up? Here's what happened on 26 July.
Reuters
9 minutes ago
- Reuters
BOJ may paint less gloomy view, signal rate-hike resumption
TOKYO, July 28 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan is set to hold off raising interest rates on Thursday but may offer a less gloomy view on the outlook after Tokyo's trade agreement with the U.S. last week, signalling rate hikes may resume later this year. Receding global trade tensions following Sunday's agreement between the U.S. and the European Union add relief for BOJ policymakers on the outlook of Japan's export-heavy economy. But the BOJ is likely to warn of lingering uncertainty on how U.S. tariffs affect business activity with the hit to exports seen intensifying later this year, analysts say. "It's very big progress that reduces uncertainty for Japan's economy - but obviously, some uncertainty remains," BOJ Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said last week on the Japan-U.S. trade deal. Uchida noted questions around how soon Washington strikes trade deals with other countries, how the tariffs affect domestic and global economies and how long it could take for the tariffs' effects to be seen in hard data. At the two-day meeting ending on Thursday, the BOJ is widely expected to keep short-term interest rates steady at 0.5%. Markets are focusing on the bank's quarterly outlook report and Governor Kazuo Ueda's post-meeting news conference for clues on the timing of the next rate hike. A Reuters poll, taken before last week's Japan-U.S. trade deal announcement, showed a majority of economists expect the BOJ to raise rates again by year-end. In the quarterly report, the BOJ is likely to revise up this fiscal year's inflation forecast due to persistent rises in rice and other food costs, sources have told Reuters. The BOJ may also tweak its current view that risks to the price outlook were skewed to the downside, and offer a less gloomy view on the economy compared with the current one focused on tariff-induced risks, according to separate sources. The board is likely to maintain its view that inflation will durably hit its 2% target in the latter half of its three-year projection period running through fiscal 2027, they said. In current projections made on May 1, the BOJ projects core consumer inflation to hit 2.2% in fiscal 2025, before slowing to 1.7% in 2026 and 1.9% in 2027. Japan struck a trade deal with President Donald Trump last week that lowers U.S. tariffs for imports of goods including its mainstay automobiles, easing the pain for the export-reliant economy and clearing a key hurdle for further BOJ rate hikes. The positive development contrasts with the gloom that surrounded the economy on May 1, when the BOJ produced its current estimates amid heightened market volatility caused by Trump's April announcement of sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs. The BOJ exited a decade-long, massive stimulus last year and raised its short-term policy rate to 0.5% in January on the view Japan was progressing towards durably achieving its price goal. With rising food costs hurting households and keeping inflation above its 2% target for three years, some hawkish board members have highlighted mounting price pressures that could justify resuming rate hikes.
