Latest news with #StephenMoore
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
US economy fast becoming Trump's Achilles' heel
Stephen Moore, a former economic adviser to US president Donald Trump , told the BBC last week that Trump's threat to slap a blanket 50 per cent tariff on all EU goods entering the US from June 1st, later extended to July 9th , was not so much the US bullying Brussels but an expression of frustration at the lack of a deal. 'I think he was hoping that by now we would have the EU coming with some kind of deal on the table, and so far that hasn't come,' Moore said. The traditional view is that Trump is using the US's economic and financial heft to coerce his trade rivals into concessions: the logic being they need the US more than the US needs them. The UK has already been rolled over. But the bond markets, the ultimate sanctioners, are taking an increasingly dim view of Trump's trade tactics. READ MORE This is because the markets see tariffs as inflationary and the US's giant $36 trillion (€31.6 trillion) debt as a looming threat to the Washington's fiscal health. Trump's tax and spending Bill, which passed through the US House of Representatives by a single vote last week, is threatening to lob another $3.8 trillion on to this debt mountain over 10 years. [ EU-US tariff talks: What happens next? What does Trump want? Is Ireland in trouble? Opens in new window ] These debt concerns saw Moody's downgrade Washington's credit rating last week and criticise US politicians for not taking action to improve the country's fiscal position. Might this local financial pressure be driving Trump's frustration? It could, in theory, allow the EU to drive a better bargain. Trump can't reside interminably in this on-off tariff threat paradigm without inflicting some serious damage to the US economy. The US economy is fast becoming Trump's Achilles' heel. Investors are said to be shifting their money out of US markets to Europe and Asia as they price in a possible US recession and a consequent global slowdown. As Deutsche Bank noted in a recent report, the US needs both intermediate and end-consumer goods from China and is a long way from producing much of them itself. 'In the stand-off between empty shelves in the US, and shallower pockets in China, the jury seems to have landed on stocking the shelves,' it said. The same logic surely applies to the EU. Trump's 50 per cent tariff threat elicited a relatively constrained market reaction, suggesting few believe he will follow through on it. [ What does Trump's tariff threat mean for Ireland's economy, where uncertainty is already taking a toll? Opens in new window ] So what might an EU-US deal look like? Given the time constraint, it might look like the UK deal, a 10 per cent tariff from the US on all EU imports with limited EU retaliation and a few sector-specific deals. Brussels typically takes a de-escalatory tack with Trump. It's unlikely to follow China's bullish path and face down the US but also unlikely to be as supine as London. In response to Trump last week, EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the transatlantic relationship needed to be 'guided by mutual respect, not threats'. The EU is one of Washington's largest trading partners, sending more than $600 billion in goods last year and buying $370 billion worth, suggesting the EU has a lot more to lose. But that's only when you consider goods. Trump rarely mentions the big trade surplus Washington has with Europe when it comes to services. Trump's Tech Bros are deeply antagonistic to Brussels for its various regulatory clampdowns but the EU is also one of the biggest buyers of US-produced tech services. And European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen hasn't ruled out a levy on the digital advertising revenues of tech multinationals if negotiations fail.
Daily Maverick
25-05-2025
- Daily Maverick
Watchful eyes of ‘Dung Beetles' help put Gqeberha criminals behind bars
Using a handful of sharp analysts, a dedicated team of police officers and a network of security cameras, law enforcement finally brought an end to a spate of thefts from motor vehicles that had been plaguing Nelson Mandela Bay's beachfront. On Friday morning, the screens in the office of CityWide Security director Stephen Moore's office flicker with images of another success: police and security officers working in sync to apprehend suspects after an attempted housebreaking in Westering, a suburb of Gqeberha. It's not just house alarms that get monitored here, but also high-definition surveillance cameras, social networks and WhatsApp group chats. Voice notes from law enforcement and security officers, as well as alerts from licence plate recognition systems, flash across a big screen. Every step in the takedown is recorded. This impressive partnership has been making strides in removing criminals from Gqeberha's streets. 'Also,' laughed Moore, 'I think people should know that we can see if they have sex on the beach.' Recently, the team tracked and arrested a suspect within minutes of a murder in Central. Last year, they arrested the members of a syndicate stealing motorcycles. 'But it all starts with the 'Dung Beetles',' said Moore. 'That's what I call my staff who monitor the feeds and cameras. I call them that because they look for shit all the time.' CityWide Security monitors cameras along the beachfront and in Central for the Mandela Bay Development Agency, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, the Summerstrand Neighbourhood Watch and the Central Special Rating Area. It also works closely with the police, especially the K9 unit. 'You absolutely need these public-private partnerships to make it work,' said Moore. Vehicle break-ins In recent months, theft from motor vehicles was a big problem in the seaside suburb of Summerstrand. 'Let me start by saying that break-ins in motor vehicles, half of the time, are caused by stupidity,' said Moore. 'The thieves sit there and watch how people put their laptops in the boot. Don't do it. If you have a laptop, take it with you.' Moore said the cameras monitoring Summerstrand had captured footage of the break-ins, but they wanted to catch the suspects red-handed to make sure that the National Prosecuting Authority would prosecute. They first monitored a suspect who was breaking into cars at King's Beach, Barney's and Lovers' Lane. 'We were tracking his vehicle. He left the area like a bat out of hell.' When the break-ins began again, they received information that a 3-tonne truck was at each scene. Moore's team tracked the vehicle to a parking lot. Police officers, some off-duty, watched from across the road as the driver of the truck broke into a car and drove off. 'As he stopped at that robot, we pounced,' said Moore. Since the arrest, theft from motor vehicles in the area has dropped dramatically. 'The suspect had prior convictions for this crime,' said Moore. 'The success of this operation highlights how far we've come in using technology to fight crime. Our licence plate identification cameras and PTZ [pan-tilt-zoom] surveillance systems proved instrumental in identifying and tracking the suspect's movements. 'Behind the scenes, the tireless work of CityWide's monitoring room personnel ensured that no detail went unnoticed.' Before this arrest, his team apprehended card scammers extorting thousands of rands from tourists. 'This lot liked BMWs and they had fake number plates that were the same as those of vehicles on the showroom floor of a car dealership,' he said. 'We had to chase them all the way to North End. The head of that syndicate, we later learned, was murdered in Cape Town.' 'Incredible support' Tati Tsunke, the chairperson of the Business Chamber's Beachfront Cluster, said the cluster had invested R650,000 in advanced security equipment. 'A massive well done goes out to Warrant Officer [Mornay] van der Berg and his team at the South African Police Service, along with the incredible support from CityWide, the Summerstrand Neighbourhood Watch and other security companies in the city, whose collaboration played a pivotal role in tracking down the suspect,' said Tsunke. 'This operation is not just a win for law enforcement — it's a win for the beachfront area. It is a reminder of what can be achieved when teams come together to make our streets safer. 'We believe that the cameras which the Beachfront Cluster has installed, as well as those that have been rolled out in our other clusters, will help improve visibility and response from the SAPS and the private security companies, while also helping to deter crime from taking place.' Denise van Huyssteen, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, said: 'We want to help SAPS to have access and full visibility to hotspot crime areas and to support their efforts to radically reduce crime.' Colonel Connie van Niekerk, the head of the SAPS district operational command centre, said they were grateful for the support. 'These resources will allow us to plug into a broader network of crime intelligence and respond more effectively. It's encouraging to see the private sector actively supporting public safety,' she said. DM
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's tariff threat risks a trade war with Europe years in the making
The European Union has pushed back against President Donald Trump's latest suggestion that he will impose a 50% import tariff on all E.U. goods, warning that transatlantic trade must be built on 'respect, not threats.' The rebuke came after Trump said in a Friday post on his Truth Social platform that trade negotiations with Brussels were 'going nowhere' and suggested he would slap a 50% blanket duty on all European goods entering the U.S. starting June 1. It was just the latest bellicose remark from Trump and came amid a broader souring in relations between the two global powers that has seen months of distrust and economic sparring. The E.U., home to nearly 450 million people, is the world's largest trading bloc and one of Washington's top commercial partners. It exported more than $600 billion in goods to the U.S. last year while importing goods worth around $370 billion. Trump's latest broadside follows his April 2 'Liberation Day' announcement of a 39% tariff on European goods, an idea he later walked back before he changed tack again Friday with an even tougher stance. Stephen Moore, a former economic advisor to Trump, told the BBC that his former boss was expressing his frustration's with the EU. 'I think he was hoping that by now we would have the E.U. coming with some kind of deal on the table and so far that hasn't come,' he said, calling the 50% import tariffs a 'shot at the bow.' E.U. Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said late Friday that 'E.U.-U.S. trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats,' and that the bloc remains committed to securing 'a deal that works for both,' following a call with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. While the E.U.'s response signals a willingness to negotiate, discord has deepened between the bloc and its longtime transatlantic ally over a return to the combative stance Trump took during his first administration, when he flew in the face of decades of cooperation and cast the E.U. as an economic rival. In 2018, Trump said 'nobody treats us much worse than the European Union' and argued the bloc was designed to exploit the U.S. He repeated that claim this year, describing the E.U. as being 'formed in order to screw the United States.' While the ideological architects of Trump's first administration such as Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro have also gone on record criticizing the union, many in Trump's current inner circle have shared those sentiments. Vice President J.D. Vance lashed out in February at European leaders at a security conference in Munich over issues ranging from free speech to migration and defense, dealing a sucker-punch the European view of America as a steadfast cultural ally. 'The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe,' he said, 'is the threat from within — the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.' That came after Elon Musk — the world's richest man who served as Trump's close adviser earlier in his second term — threw his support behind Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has called for Germany to leave the E.U.. Underlying much of the second Trump administration's animosity toward Europe has been security funding, most prominently over the war in Ukraine. While the administration's view of the war in Ukraine has since softened, Vance has repeatedly opposed sending military aid to Kyiv, saying in February that 'I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.' And in a Signal conversation between senior administration officials leaked in March, the vice president initially resisted U.S. strikes in Yemen, arguing he didn't want to 'bail Europe out,' while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Europe was treating America like a 'sucker' by relying on it for defense. While Šefčovič's call for a 'deal that works for both' reflects the E.U.'s characteristically restrained response to the Trump administration's jabs, Europe has been bracing itself for months for the possibility of a more distant economic relationship with the U.S. too. Earlier this month, Šefčovič said the bloc preferred to negotiate, 'but not at any cost,' before announcing more than $100 billion worth of possible retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods the following day. Europe also appears to be preparing for a future without America's guarantee of European security against Russia. Germany this week deployed a permanent military brigade beyond its borders for the first time since the end of World War II. A brewing trade war with the bloc throws into relief the position of Britain, which voted to leave the E.U. in 2016, but recently signed a trade deal with Europe and an economic deal with the U.S. London appears to have sidestepped the steepest tariffs after Trump agreed last month to hold the levy on British goods at 10%, but the U.K. must now walk a delicate line: maintaining its 'special relationship' with Washington while seeking closer alignment with its largest trading partner in Brussels. But with tensions rising across the Atlantic, even allies risk being caught in the crossfire. The E.U. — a geopolitical heavyweight in its own right — is unlikely to take hefty U.S. tariffs lying down without making moves of its own. This article was originally published on
Global News
20-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
If you're a seller, what's your best move in a tricky real estate market?
While it may be a good time for some Canadian home buyers to make the jump into real estate, realtors say those selling their home could face difficulties. Spring is often a season that sees home sales ramp up, but depending on where you live and what kind of property you're trying to sell, you're likely to face a trickier time, experts say — and some, like condo owners, may need to 'take the loss' just to get a deal done. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), home sales in April declined nearly 10 per cent compared to last year. 'A lot of people are just kind of waiting to see what's happening,' said realtor Stephen Moore with Century 21. 'We can blame it on the situation that Canada is in, where there was an election that kind of paused things, the Trump tariffs kind of put people at bay, those kind of things put people on the sideline. They want to wait.' Story continues below advertisement 3:43 Competitive Saskatoon housing market driving prices in an upward trend As a result, certain markets like Toronto and Vancouver saw a stagnation in home sales and in prospective buyers who would purchase those properties. But Moore said that's not the case in every market. The national price map from CREA shows that while housing prices in Ontario have declined from a year ago — Ontario dropped from $902,535 to $859,645, while B.C. fell from about $1 million to $946,000 — other markets saw increases such as Alberta. That province saw an average increase of about $25,000 and Quebec rose by $50,000. Even at a more city level, Moore notes some cities saw price increases even if the average provincial price dropped. The Vancouver Island region saw prices increase by 3.1 per cent and the Ottawa region saw an estimated 1.1-per cent rise. Story continues below advertisement So what does that mean if you're planning to sell your property? What are the keys to selling right now? Moore told Global News while it can be difficult to predict exactly when the best time to sell will be, there are things homeowners can do including looking at the current situation in their market. He says sellers must look to the 'three Ps': price, promotion and product. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy This means ensuring your property is staged well and has good photos in the listing, while also promoting the home through both realty services like the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and social media. In addition, listing it for the right price is important as Moore notes if you're listed $10,000 above what it's worth, people won't show up. 'If you've got a great product and you're priced consciously, it may be a good time,' he said. 'It's really important that people set their home up for success.' Story continues below advertisement 'If they're prepared to be able to go through it and the market's not flooded, it's still a good time, there's still buyers out there,' he said. If people are thinking of the right season to sell, Moore added fall could be the right time as summer often sees a lag in sales, while autumn is a time when people are trying to get things done before the winter holidays. 1:43 Should home prices go down? 'No,' says Canada's new housing minister A recent report from RBC showed that while Canadian home prices continue to slide, there is a stabilization occurring with national home resales in April down only 0.1 per cent from March, compared to a sharp cumulative 19-per cent decrease in the prior four months. 'The U.S. administration's decision to spare Canada from additional tariffs last month could boost confidence and attract buyers in coming months,' said RBC chief economist Robert Hogue in the report. Story continues below advertisement Andrew Lis, director of economics at Greater Vancouver Realtors, said determining when to sell can require weighing what makes the most sense. 'It depends on an individual's financial situation and so on,' he said. 'If you are say a seller that's comfortably housed and you've got a place that you've lived in for some long period of time and you're looking to make a move, well, you're going to be competing with a lot of other sellers in the market. So you're going to have to have some realistic price expectations. However, Toronto-based realtor Melanie Piche told Global News it can be difficult to wait to sell especially if dealing with financial stress. 'Depending how much equity you have in your property and how important it is to you, to me: if you have to sell, you need to be on the market and it's not a terrible market if you price yourself properly,' she said. Piche added those who have owned their property for a long time who expect to get a lot of money for their property, however, may find it better to wait, since many buyers want price flexibility. Home owners should take into account the reasons why they want to sell when deciding whether to wait or sell now, according to Tony Tintinalli, Bank of Montreal head of specialized sales Story continues below advertisement 'It really is about, why do you need to move? Like if there's a timeline and a decision, then accelerating that is really going to be dependent,' he said. 'You can try to play the market and you can, you try to study it as much as you can, but ultimately, what is the goal here? If you need to be somewhere, then getting going on it is probably the best way to think about it.' It's why he noted it can be wise to work with an expert like a realtor to better understand the market and how to sell your property, as opposed to waiting and jumping in when you think it's right. Condo market in 'big trouble': realtor Realtors add that single-family homes appear to be seeing higher demand compared with multi-unit options like condominiums, which means those condo owners are having more difficulty selling. Story continues below advertisement 'The condo market is in big trouble,' Moore said. Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The condo market is in big trouble," Moore said. 'The biggest reason why is because the majority of these condos that have been built over the last decade have been, for lack of a better term or marketing term, like a dog crate condo so 500 square feet or less.' The RBC report showed condos were leading the price decline, with Toronto's MLS home price index down 7.3 per cent annually, with Vancouver's down two per cent. 'Rising inventories have shifted market dynamics decisively in buyers' favour throughout Ontario and B.C., creating some of the most buyer-friendly conditions in decades,' said Hogue. Piche highlighted that the uncertainty caused by tariffs and interest rates to nine months worth that would take the same amount of time to sell. 2:08 Metro Vancouver condos sitting empty amid housing crisis The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board in their April report showed sales for a condo apartment dropped by 30 per cent year-over-year in April. The Greater Vancouver Realtors also showed significant decline compared to last year, with condos seeing a 20-per cent drop in sales. Story continues below advertisement The biggest buyers of those condos have been investors and first-time home buyers, Piche noted, but added the uncertainty has 'scared off' the two primary buying groups for the condos. For Piche, when to sell really depends on your current situation. 'I think the question is less about what month should you list in but what is that strategy behind it in terms of pricing and what your needs are,' Piche said. 'If you're happy to stay somewhere for five years or three years then, you know what, you can hold on and wait … But if you need to sell, I think it's incredibly risky to be waiting because we just don't know.' But Moore paints a potentially starker picture for condo owners. 'People think, well, I'll wait until the fall to sell my condo, it's not going to be any better,' he said. 'It's not going to be better for 2026, it's not going to get any better for 2027. The condo prices are already inflated, you just need to take the loss if you're selling and move on.' —with files from Global News' Uday Rana and Ariel Rabinovitch
Bloomberg
15-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Bonds Seen at Risk of Liz Truss Moment as Deficit Balloons
On the new episode of Trumponomics: Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation argues that Donald Trump and the GOP Congress are on the right path. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. After the November election, there were few people in the bond market more optimistic than Stephen Jen about how President Donald Trump would rein in ballooning budget deficits.
