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WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to make its first interest rate cut of the year at its policy meeting this week, spurred by a weakening jobs market — but political tension looms over the gathering. The Fed’s likely move would follow a monthslong push from President Donald Trump to slash rates, and comes amid growing concern about political pressure on the independent central bank. Since the bank’s last reduction in December, it has held interest rates at a range between 4.25 percent and 4.50 percent as policymakers monitor the effects of Trump’s sweeping tariffs on inflation. Analysts…

LONDON (AP) — Families of the victims and survivors of the 1972 Bloody Sunday, in which British soldiers opened fire and killed 13 unarmed civil rights marchers and injured 15 others in Northern Ireland, have fought for justice for five decades without a single person being held accountable in court. That could change after Monday when a former British soldier goes on trial on charges of murder in the shooting of two men and the attempted murders of five others.The ex-paratrooper, identified only as a “Soldier F” and concealed from view in court behind blue floor-to-ceiling curtain to protect him…

Standard Chartered expects the US to cut interest rates by half a percentage point this week to initiate a rate-reduction cycle that will last into next year, a move that is set to shore up investor sentiment in Hong Kong and other markets, according to a senior executive.Weak employment data, coupled with a decline in consumption and inflation rates, was likely to prompt the US Federal Reserve to implement its first rate cut of the year, said John Thang, head of markets and strategic client management and solutions for Hong Kong, Greater China and North Asia, on Friday.Thang predicted that…

Standard Chartered expects the US to cut interest rates by half a percentage point this week to initiate a rate-reduction cycle that will last into next year, a move that is set to shore up investor sentiment in Hong Kong and other markets, according to a senior executive.Weak employment data, coupled with a decline in consumption and inflation rates, was likely to prompt the US Federal Reserve to implement its first rate cut of the year, said John Thang, head of markets and strategic client management and solutions for Hong Kong, Greater China and North Asia, on Friday.Thang predicted that…

Sometimes I think there is the data center, and then there is everything else. If your business is not affiliated with the data center, then it is not going to get a premium stock multiple. If it is, the sky is the limit. We know there are moments when the data-center-as-a-theme seems to dissipate. We saw that occur during the DeepSeek affair, when the launch of DeepSeek-R1 was front-page news in January. The group had a March swoon, one that predated “Liberation Day,” the early April announcement of President Donald Trump ‘s so-called reciprocal tariffs. We had a decline in the…

LONDON (AP) — Windsor Castle staff are setting the 50-meter-long (164-feet-long) mahogany table. Grooms are buffing the hooves of the horses that will pull the royal carriages. And the military honor guard is drilling to ensure every step lands with precision.Throughout the halls and grounds of the almost 1,000-year-old castle west of London, hundreds of people are working to make sure King Charles III puts on the best show possible when he welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump for his historic second state visit this week.The visit, featuring glittering tiaras, brass bands and a sumptuous banquet served on 200-year-old silver, is…

Komeito, the Buddhist-backed political partner of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is grappling with what it calls an “existential crisis” after a bruising defeat in July’s Upper House election compounded internal fractures and exposed a growing disconnect with its traditional support base.The party’s stark assessment was contained in a postmortem report, formally approved on Thursday, that acknowledged the scale of the setback. At a subsequent senior party meeting, Secretary General Makoto Nishida offered his resignation, despite having only taken up the post last September.Nishida appeared to be taking responsibility for the loss of six seats, which reduced Komeito’s presence…

Shanghai urban skyline and the bund, China.Comezora | Moment | Getty ImagesAsia-Pacific markets were set to open lower as investors kept an eye on the talks between the U.S. and China in Spain, and await a slate of data from Beijing.U.S. and Chinese officials began talks in Madrid Sunday to discuss key national security, economic, and trade issues, including the upcoming deadline to divest Chinese short video app TikTok and U.S. tariffs.Delegations led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with their counterparts, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and China’s top trade negotiator, Li…

The Hong Kong government should appeal to up and coming mainland technology companies to move part of their operations to the city and introduce measures to boost the market turnover of smaller listed companies, according to the chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Listed Companies (HKCLC).The chamber floated these recommendations to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu during a recent consultation session ahead of his Policy Address on Wednesday.“Hong Kong’s listing reforms have already attracted a lot of mainland technology and biotechnology firms to list here in recent years, while there are 200 listing candidates in the pipeline,” said Chan…

The Hong Kong government should appeal to up and coming mainland technology companies to move part of their operations to the city and introduce measures to boost the market turnover of smaller listed companies, according to the chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Listed Companies (HKCLC).The chamber floated these recommendations to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu during a recent consultation session ahead of his Policy Address on Wednesday.“Hong Kong’s listing reforms have already attracted a lot of mainland technology and biotechnology firms to list here in recent years, while there are 200 listing candidates in the pipeline,” said Chan…