Latest news with #USTreasury
LBCI
2 hours ago
- Business
- LBCI
US Treasury chief says will meet China counterparts in Stockholm
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week for tariff talks, as a mid-August deadline for levies to snap back to steeper levels approaches. Bessent told Fox Business that he will be speaking with Chinese officials on Monday and Tuesday for a third round of high-level talks to work out what he said would likely be a deadline extension. AFP
LBCI
2 hours ago
- Business
- LBCI
US targets Houthis with fresh sanctions action
The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis. "The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group's access to the international financial system," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender. "These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis' terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes." Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen. Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars' worth of Iranian petroleum products with a U.S.-designated company to the Houthis.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Sweden to host US, China talks on tariff deadline
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he will meet his Chinese counterpart next week in Stockholm and discuss what is likely to be an extension of an August 12 deadline for a deal to avert sharply higher tariffs. Bessent told Fox Business Network that trade with China was in "a very good place" and the meetings in Sweden would take place next Monday and Tuesday. "I think we've actually moved to a new level with China, where it's very constructive and ... we're going to be able to get a lot of things done now that trade has kind of settled in at a good level," Bessent said. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed in a post on X that Sweden will host the US-China trade talks early next week. "It is positive that both countries wish to meet in Sweden to seek mutual understanding," Kristersson said. Since mid-May, Bessent has met twice with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Geneva and London to work out and refine a temporary trade truce that dialled back duelling triple-digit retaliatory tariffs that threatened to cut off all trade between the world's two largest economies. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and chief trade negotiator Li Chenggang also participated in those talks. In talks so far, China has agreed to end its export ban on rare earth metals and magnets to the US while the US agreed to restart shipments of semiconductor design software and production materials as well as commercial aircraft engines and other goods to China. But the two sides set a 90-day deadline to resolve deeper issues, including US complaints about China's state-led and subsidised export-driven economic model that has created excess manufacturing capacity in China that is flooding world markets with cheap goods. China denies that it subsidises its industries and attributes their export success to innovation. Tariffs could snap back to 145 per cent on the US side and 125 per cent on the Chinese side without a deal or negotiating extension. "We'll be working out what is likely an extension" at the Stockholm talks, Bessent said, adding that US officials would discuss other issues including reducing China's over-reliance on manufacturing and exports. "Hopefully we can see the Chinese pull back on some of this glut of manufacturing that they're doing and concentrate on building a consumer economy," Bessent said. He said he also wants to issue warnings to China about continuing to buy sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil and China's efforts to aid Russia's war against Ukraine. Bessent said that there was bipartisan support in the US Senate for legislation aimed at imposing tariffs of 100 per cent on goods from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, namely China and India. "I'm going to be in touch with my European counterparts. The Europeans that have talked a big game about sanctioning Russia, and it'll be very important for the Europeans to also be willing to put on these high level of secondary tariffs for sanctioned Russian oil." He said that the US was poised to announce "a rash of trade deals" with other countries, and Japan could be among these despite an election setback for Japan's ruling party and difficult negotiations. "I wouldn't be surprised if we aren't able to iron out something with Japan pretty quickly," Bessent said. Nonetheless, he said that for most countries, tariffs would "boomerang" back towards April 2 levels from the current 10 per cent but negotiations on trade deals could continue.
Al Etihad
3 hours ago
- Business
- Al Etihad
Wall Street waves amid mixed earnings, crude slides as trade deadline looms
22 July 2025 19:34 NEW YORK (REUTERS)Wall Street gyrated lower and crude lost ground on Tuesday as investors faced a spate of extended mixed earnings, with little progress to show for ongoing talks between the United States and its trading S&P 500 was modestly lower while easing tech shares dragged the Nasdaq into a steeper loss. The blue-chip Dow held on to nominal extended its gain in opposition to the softening dollar and US Treasury yields eased for the third straight session.'(Investors are) looking for additional catalysts and you're seeing some cautious comments coming out of companies,' said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut. "They're hearing mixed guidance when it comes to all this uncertainty revolving around tariffs and the direction things are heading in."Second-quarter earnings season has hit full-stride, with nearly one-fifth of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 79% have beaten analyst expectations, according to LSEG now expect year-on-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 7.0%, on aggregate, a sizable improvement over the 5.8% growth predicted as of July 1, per the effects of trade war have begun seeping into corporate Motors' GM.N second-quarter core profit slid by 32% as steep tariff costs took a $1.1 billion bite from its bottom line. Prospects of a US-European Union trade deal appeared to be fading as Washington's August 1 deadline loomed, prompting EU members to ramp up possible "anti-coercion" retaliatory Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.96 points, or 0.09%, to 44,362.03, the S&P 500 fell 6.29 points, or 0.10%, to 6,299.49 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 89.48 points, or 0.43%, to 20, shares sagged under the weight of disappointing earnings and looming worries over the lack of progress in US trade negotiations. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.80 points, or 0.08%, to 928.84. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.47%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 9.88 points, or 0.47%.Emerging market stocks fell 3.99 points, or 0.32%, to 1,249.49. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed lower by 0.24%, to 657.10, while Japan's Nikkei fell 44.19 points, or 0.11%, to 39, dollar continued to edge lower amid a subdued currency market as investors awaited any sign of progress in trade talks ahead of the August 1 deadline. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.28% to 97.57, with the euro up 0.22% at $ resumed its upward climb. In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin gained 1.82% to $119,134.52. Ethereum declined 1.4% to $3, prices weakened on growing worries over softening demand as the August 1 tariff deadline drew closer. US crude fell 1.56% to $66.15 a barrel and Brent fell to $68.26 per barrel, down 1.37% on the day. Gold prices Spot gold rose 0.9% to $3,425.89 an ounce. US gold futures rose 0.58% to $3,421.70 an ounce.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
US targets Houthis with fresh sanctions action
The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network, in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group. The action targets a network of individuals and their companies located across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the US Treasury Department said in a statement. The Department said that the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis. 'The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group's access to the international financial system,' said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender. 'These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis' terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes.' Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the UAE and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen. Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars' worth of Iranian petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Houthis. Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians. In January, Trump re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime area. In May, the United States announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel. The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.
