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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldDonald Trump has called Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell a “numbskull” for not cutting interest rates, saying the White House may “have to force something” if the US central bank does not reduce borrowing costs. The president on Thursday repeated his calls for the Fed to cut borrowing costs by a full percentage point — a measure Trump said would save the US hundreds of billions of dollars a year on its debt. “We are going to spend $600bn a year…

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Consul General of Malaysia Herman Hardynata Ahmad invited on Thursday Pakistan tanners to consider organising a Pakistan leather expo or roadshow in Kuala Lumpur to showcase Pakistani craftsmanship and quality standards. According to a statement from the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA), its South Zone committee and Consul General of Malaysia in a meeting agreed that increased participation in trade fairs, business-to-business (B2B) meetings, and joint ventures could boost confidence and open more channels for leather trade. “The consul general encouraged the PTA to consider organising a Pakistan leather expo or roadshow in Kuala Lumpur to showcase Pakistani craftsmanship and quality…

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldUS universities have launched a fierce last-minute lobbying campaign against a proposed tax increase in Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” ahead of its expected approval by the Senate in the coming weeks.The proposal in the president’s signature fiscal legislation calls for taxes on university income from endowment investments to jump from 1.4 per cent to up to 21 per cent, depending on the size of the fund and student body.A group of elite universities, including Harvard and Princeton, are lobbying…

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Gold prices rose in European trade on Thursday on track for the second daily profit in a row as the dollar fell against major rivals.    The development came after US inflation missed estimates in May, reducing inflationary pressures on the Fed’s policymakers and bolstering the odds of a September rate cut.   The Price   Gold prices rose 0.75% to $3377 an ounce, with a session-low at $3338.   On Wednesday, gold rose 0.95%, the second profit in three days after weak US consumer prices data.   US Dollar   The dollar index fell 0.35% on Thursday, on track…

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There are 973 U.S. firms with operations in Ireland, according to the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland. Members of President Donald Trump’s administration have signaled that some of that activity should return to the states. “They have all the IP for all our great tech companies and pharma companies,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an appearance on the All-In podcast in March. “Those things got to end.”Companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Pfizer appear to have taken steps to stow intellectual property in Ireland, reducing their effective corporate income tax rates. For example, the European Commission found that in 2014,…

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Bitcoin dropped on Thursday below $108,000 amid mounting tensions in the Middle East, but corporations continued to build up their bitcoin holdings.   Risk Appetite Suffers   Bitcoin dipped on Wednesday and closed below $109,000 and extended the losses on Thursday, after reports that Israel is preparing for a military operation against Iran.   Such geopolitical tensions pushed investors toward safe havens, in turn underpinning bitcoin, which has become a favored alternative investment in recent weeks.    Russia escalated its attacks on Ukrainian targets, describing it as retaliation against recent Ukrainian attacks, with Russian drones targeting major Ukrainian cities in…

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Federal ministries for Commerce and Information Technology & Telecommunication have jointly proposed to revise taxation framework announced for the e-commerce sector in the budget for the financial year 2025-26. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced Pakistan’s federal budget 2025-26 “for a competitive economy” on Tuesday, targeting a modest 4.2% growth for the coming fiscal year, compared to 2.7% expected in the outgoing FY25. In the budget proposals, the government also announced to impose taxes on e-commerce, for which the federal ministers, Jam Kamal Khan and Shaza Fatima Khawaja called for a revision to support the country’s e-commerce sector and small and…

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Shoppers browse the frozen food cases at WinCo.Joe Jaszewski | Idaho Statesman | Tribune News Service | Getty ImagesDespite widespread fears to the contrary, President Donald Trump’s tariffs have yet to show up in any of the traditional data points measuring inflation.In fact, separate readings this week on consumer and producer prices were downright benign, as indexes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that prices rose just 0.1% in May.The inflation scare is over, then, right?To the contrary, the months ahead are still expected to show price increases driven by Trump’s desire to ensure the U.S. gets a fair…

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Despite an invitation from his American counterpart Donald Trump, sources indicate that Chinese President Xi Jinping will not travel to the United States in September for the UN General Assembly, which would be the earliest opportunity for such a trip.Instead, China will send Premier Li Qiang to represent the country at the event in New York, according to several diplomatic sources.The bilateral relationship seems to have improved following a phone call between Xi and Trump on June 5. The US president later said he had received an invitation to visit China, which he then reciprocated. 02:09China, US top negotiators agree…

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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – MARCH 26, 2025: Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves leaves 11 Downing Street ahead of the announcement of the Spring Statement in the House of Commons in London, United Kingdom on March 26, 2025. (Photo credit should read Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)Wiktor Szymanowicz | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesBritain’s government is planning to ramp up public spending — but market watchers warn the proposals risk sending jitters through the bond market further inflating the country’s $143 billion-a-year interest payments.U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves on Wednesday announced the government would inject billions of pounds…

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