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BBC News
07-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Trump tariffs: Why are Asian markets seeing a 'bloodbath'?
Asian stock markets are slumping as the shockwaves from US President Donald Trump's tariffs continue to reverberate around the indexes from Shanghai to Tokyo and Sydney to Hong Kong plunged when they opened on Monday. "It's a bloodbath," one analyst told the a region that manufactures so many of the goods sold globally, Asian countries and territories are being hit directly by the tariffs. They are also particularly sensitive to the impact of fears that a global trade war could trigger a slowdown or even a recession in the world's biggest economy. By midday, Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark index was down 6%, the ASX 200 in Australia was 4% lower and the Kospi in South Korea was 4.7% in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were exacerbated as investors caught up with the big falls seen in other markets on Friday as they were closed for public Shanghai Composite was down more than 6%, while the Hang Seng and Taiwan Weighted Index plunged by around 10%."Tariffs are feeding into expectations around inflation and a recession," said Julia Lee, Head from FTSE Russell - a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group.A significant slowdown in the US economy would have major repercussions for Asian exports as the US is such an important market for goods from the region."Asia is bearing the brunt of the US tariff hike. While there could be some room for negotiation, a new regime of higher tariffs are here to stay," Qian Wang, Asia Pacific chief economist, at investment firm Vanguard."This is negative to the global and Asia economy, especially those small open economies, both in the short term and long term."On Friday, the global stock market turmoil deepened, after China hit back at tariffs announced by three major US stock indexes in fell by more than 5%, with the S&P 500 dropping almost 6%, capping the worst week for the US stock market since the UK, the FTSE 100 plunged almost 5% - its steepest fall in five years, while exchanges in Germany and France faced similar Lee also highlighted that the global stock market rout looks set to continue: "US futures trading lower point to another hard session on Wall Street tonight."Global stock markets have lost trillions in value since Trump announced sweeping new 10% import taxes on goods from every country, with products from dozens of countries, including key trading partners such as China, the European Union and Vietnam, facing far higher rates. Additional reporting Annabelle Liang
BBC News
04-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Trump tariffs: How island of penguins and seals ended up on list
Two tiny, remote Antarctic outposts populated by penguins and seals are among the obscure places targeted by the Trump administration's new and McDonald Islands - a territory which sits 4,000km (2,485 miles) south-west of Australia - are only accessible via a seven-day boat trip from Perth, and haven't been visited by humans in almost a Trump on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping import tax scheme, in retaliation for what he said are unfair trade barriers on US products. A handful of other Australian territories were also hit by the new tariffs, in addition to the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard, the Falkland Islands and The British Indian Ocean Territory. "It just shows and exemplifies the fact that nowhere on Earth is safe from this," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on the rest of Australia, the Heard and McDonald Islands, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island are now subject to a tariff of 10%. A tariff of 29% was imposed on the Norfolk Island, which is also an Australian territory and has a population of about 2,200 Island, though, is barren, icy and completely uninhabited - home to Australia's largest and only active volcano, Big Ben, and mostly covered by is believed the last time people ventured on to Heard Island was in 2016, when a group of amateur radio enthusiasts broadcasted from there with permission of the Australian Coffin, from the University of Tasmania, has made the journey to the surrounding waters seven times to conduct scientific research, and is sceptical about the existence of major exports from the island to the US. "There's nothing there," he told the far as he knows, there's only two Australian companies which catch and export Patagonian toothfish and mackerel icefish. What is in abundance, however, is unique and spectacular nature. The islands are listed by Unesco World Heritage as a rare example of an ecosystem untouched by external plants, animals or human impact."It's heavily colonised by penguins and elephant seals and all kinds of sea birds," said Prof Coffin, who studies the undersea geography of the recalls observing from afar what he thought was a beach, only the sands "turned out to be probably a few 100,000 penguins"."Every time a ship goes there and observes it, there's lava flowing down the flanks [of Big Ben]," he said, describing it sweeping over ice and sending up steam. It's hard to get a clear picture of the trade relationship between the Heard and McDonald Islands and the US. According to export data from the World Bank, the islands have, over the past few years, usually exported a small amount of products to the US. But in 2022 the US imported US$1.4m (A$2.23m; ) from the territory, nearly all of it unnamed "machinery and electrical" US Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration and Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been contacted for with many governments around the world, the tariffs have frustrated Australia's leaders, with Albanese saying they are "totally unwarranted" and "not the act of a friend."
BBC News
01-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'Scary' demand for Braintree community supermarket
A new community supermarket has opened in a town, due to a similar facility nearby struggling to meet Braintree Hub in Essex contains groceries and everyday items which can be bought by its members at a discounted sister hub in Witham has seen an increase in people travelling from Braintree to use its services due to the cost-of-living of the hubs, Tina Townsend, said the local demand for help was "quite scary". 'Feeling the pinch' Members pay an annual fee of £5 which enables them to use the community supermarket. The hub premises will also contain computer facilities and there are plans for a cafe in the future."I've had over a thousand messages already about when are we opening, what times, what days," Ms Townsend told the BBC."We'll give it a go, we'll do our best and if we run out of stock on day one, we'll just have to restock on day two". Laura Fowle, 45, has used the Witham Hub for the last few months to purchase discounted food. A bookkeeper in London for 19 years, she knows how to handle her money, but her working days were cut from four to three."I was quite OK before then but now I'm really feeling the pinch - certain months there's less money than I'd hope for," she said."[The hub] has made a massive difference - being able to put the heating on, staying warm and healthy and happy, it's just fantastic."Another user of the Witham Hub, Carolyn Hobbs, says it helps as her pension "only stretches so far".The 66-year-old said people should not worry about any stigma surrounding the use of community supermarkets."Nobody knows that you're struggling, you're just going in to have a look," Ms Hobbs told the BBC."I think it's what's in people's heads that stops them using these places." 'A crisis in the UK' Ms Townsend said it was "unfortunate" that community hubs and food banks were still needed."I just wish the government would look at this as a crisis in the UK and start looking at how they can actually help these people," she told the well as the Braintree and Witham hubs, there are 12 others in Essex and another two on the way, which are supported by Essex County Council."Ultimately this has knocked on from the Covid pandemic, which saw a huge uptake in food banks," said Ben Mann, the council's lead for its affordable food programme."What we wanted to do was give people an alternative to that crisis support, where they maintain their dignity, their control and their choice over how they spend their money, but spend a little less money each Mary Cunningham, cabinet member for stronger communities at Braintree District Council, said: "At present we have some really good local organisations and projects that help support our communities through the cost-of-living crisis, but we welcome the addition of this hub which will compliment our projects and bring affordable groceries and support to the people of Braintree." A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said that "no-one should be living in poverty, and we know that the best route out of poverty for struggling families is well paid, secure work"."That is why we are reforming our broken welfare system so it helps people into good jobs, boosting living standards and putting money in people's pockets."Alongside this we have increased the Living Wage, extended the Household Support Fund, and are supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions to help low-income households," the spokesperson added. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
07-03-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Cyclone Alfred: Day centre a refuge for the homeless during the storm
Residents across the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales have been waiting anxiously as Cyclone Alfred crawls towards them, leaving thousands in the million people are in the firing line of the region's first tropical cyclone in more than half a century, which is expected to make landfall on Saturday. Thousands have been told to evacuate. Most have taken heed of warnings to stay indoors - taping up their windows and strapping down garden furniture - while shops have lined sandbags in front of their doors. Alfred's path has slowed in recent days, with one meteorologist described it as a "walking pace" - which has sparked fears of prolonged rain and flooding. In southern Brisbane, a popular city in Queensland, some from the homeless community have taken refuge at Emmanuel City Mission, filling the floor on rows of inflatable air space, usually a day centre for people needing a shower or a hot meal, has become a round-the-clock shelter. Operations manager Tim Noonan told the BBC that most government-funded charities in the inner city of Brisbane have shut down since Thursday, leaving limited options for those in may be the first time in a long while that homeless people - who typically live in tents in parks or along riverbanks - have a proper resting space, he said. "It's counter this is the best they've been looked after. They've got somewhere to sleep."For a lot of them, this would be the first time in 10 years they've had an eight-hour sleep in air conditioning, going to bed on a full belly, waking up, getting a barista coffee and a bacon and egg burger," he Noonan said he hoped the cyclone would highlight the need for better funding for organisations such as his. "We'd love for when the cyclone passes, that these people don't become invisible again," he Gorman was spending her second night at the centre with her dog Charcoal."I live on the streets, we have a housing crisis, and now we have a cyclone. This place has been amazing for finding other people who are doing it rough and getting information," she told the BBC. "I'm not scared, but I am worried for others who are still on the streets." While the authorities have warned for days about the cyclone, some die-hard surfers have instead seized the opportunity to ride the high MP Anika Wells, whose Lilley electorate is in the north of Brisbane, says complacency is the biggest risk - especially as the arrival of the cyclone kept being pushed back."We're going door to door in some suburbs, where people are being asked to evacuate, but lots of people aren't going because this is a once-in-50 year event, and it's hard to take that notice to evacuate seriously, perhaps, when the sun is still shining in your backyard," Wells told the well as strong winds, Cyclone Alfred is expected to dump as much as 800mm of rain in the coming days. Flash and riverine flooding is the biggest concern in low-lying residents have been told they could be without power for days. Nearly 1,000 schools have closed, public transport has been suspended and airports are shut. Elective surgeries have also been are not expected to resume until Sunday at the earliest. Additional reporting by Kelly Ng
