2025-04-27 18:15

Bessent says does not know if Trump spoke to Xi Treasury secretary says he discussed other matters with Chinese counterpart last week Rollins asserts says are daily U.S.-China tariff conversations WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday did not back President Donald Trump's assertion that tariff talks with China were under way and said he did not know if the U.S. president had talked to Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Trump administration signaled openness last week to de-escalating a trade war between the world's two largest economies that has raised fears of recession. Trump himself has said talks on tariffs were taking place with China and that he and Xi have spoken. Sign up here. Yet Beijing has denied that any trade talks are occurring. Bessent, a key player in U.S. trade talks with multiple countries, said that he had interactions with his Chinese counterparts last week during International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, but did not mention tariffs. "I had interaction with my Chinese counterpart, but it was more on the traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings," he said on ABC's "This Week." "I don't know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi," Bessent added. "I know they have a very good relationship and a lot of respect for each other." Asked why the Chinese were denying talks, Bessent said. "I think they're playing to a different audience." Bessent, who said last week that tariff negotiations with Beijing would be a "slog," did not give a timetable for any potential agreement with China. He said a trade deal can take months, but a de-escalation and an agreement in principle can be achieved sooner and would keep tariffs from ratcheting back to the maximum level. Trump's erratic, and often confusing, rollout of tariffs has hit many countries including the largest U.S. trading partners, like Canada, Mexico and China. The result has been almost unprecedented market volatility and serious damage to investor trust in U.S. assets. In a separate television interview on Sunday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the United States was holding daily conversations with China over tariffs, but did not elaborate. "Every day we are in conversation with China, along with those other 99, 100 countries that have come to the table," Rollins said on CNN's "State of the Union." https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-cabinet-members-clash-tariff-talks-with-china-2025-04-27/

2025-04-27 14:20

COPENHAGEN, April 27 (Reuters) - Greenland and Denmark agreed on Sunday to strengthen their ties in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's interest in taking control of the strategically located Arctic island, their leaders said after talks in Copenhagen. Greenland's new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen landed in the Danish capital on Saturday for a three-day visit, in a display of unity between the mineral-rich island, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, and Denmark. Sign up here. "We are in a foreign policy situation which means we have to move closer together," Nielsen said at a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Nielsen's visit follows months of tension over Trump's repeated declarations that Greenland should become part of the United States. The leaders of Denmark and Greenland have said only Greenlanders can decide the territory's future. However, they have found themselves treading a delicate line between firmly dismissing U.S. ambitions of annexing Greenland while also trying to maintain good ties with their traditional ally. "We are ready for a strong partnership (with the U.S.) and more development, but we want respect ... We will never be a piece of property that can be bought by anyone," Nielsen said. He said an ongoing expansion of the U.S. consulate in Nuuk, Greenland's capital, which was agreed before Trump took office, was causing anxiety among the people of Greenland. Nielsen did not confirm or deny when asked if he had been in contact with the U.S. administration since taking office earlier this month. The warmer relations between Nuuk and Copenhagen come after Greenland's previous prime minister in December blamed Denmark for a historical "genocide" in Greenland and in January stepped up a push for independence from Denmark. Frederiksen said Denmark was ready to invest more in Greenland and to support Greenland financially as it takes over more responsibility of domestic affairs from Copenhagen as part of what she called a "modernisation" of their relationship. Denmark has called for increased Arctic defence collaboration with the United States, and both Nielsen and Frederiksen said on Sunday they were committed to strengthening defence in the region. Denmark's King Frederik will travel to Greenland on Monday in a further show of solidarity. https://www.reuters.com/world/greenland-strengthen-relationship-with-denmark-amid-disrespectful-us-rhetoric-2025-04-27/

2025-04-27 12:59

Huge week of results, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon Monthly jobs data, PCE inflation report also on tap Tariff developments set to remain in market's focus NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - A packed upcoming week for markets will test a U.S. stocks rebound, with investors focused on a wave of corporate results led by Apple and Microsoft, while the prospect of global trade developments threatens to cause volatility at any time. The monthly U.S. employment report, data on first-quarter U.S. economic growth and an inflation update add to the potential market-sensitive events in the coming week, as investors weigh whether the recent strength suggests the worst of a tariff-induced equities tumble is over. Sign up here. With the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab on pace for a solid week of gains, the U.S. benchmark index has pared its recent slide by about half but remains down some 10% from its February record high. Sentiment for equities has been lifted this week by signals of easing in the Trump administration's trade stance, including possible de-escalation with China. But the situation remains fluid and fresh developments on tariffs could undermine the market gains. "There seems to be some potential for compromise on the tariff situation," which has supported the recent rally, said Michael Mullaney, director of global markets research at Boston Partners. But stocks will remain sensitive to "the news flow that day," Mullaney said. "If it's positive on tariffs, the market goes up. If it's negative on tariffs, the market goes down." Investors are bracing for more twists and turns on trade after President Donald Trump this month paused many of the heftiest import tariffs on other countries until July. Trump's pullback came after his April 2 announcement of sweeping levies set off severe stock volatility and rattled the bond market. Tariff uncertainty will be a critical topic for upcoming corporate reports. About 180 S&P 500 companies representing over 40% of the index's market value are set to post quarterly results in the coming week, according to UBS. Chief among them are Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab and Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab, four of the "Magnificent Seven" megacap tech and growth companies whose shares have faltered in 2025 after putting up massive gains the prior two years. With over one-third of S&P 500 companies having reported, profits are on pace to beat expectations for the period. S&P 500 earnings are on pace to have climbed 9.7% in the first quarter from a year ago, up from an estimate of an 8% gain on April 1, according to LSEG IBES. "People were expecting the worst, and that typically happens when markets retrench," said King Lip, chief strategist at BakerAvenue Wealth Management in San Francisco. "But the numbers really haven't been that bad." Still, some companies have pointed to challenges ahead. Consumer staples company Procter & Gamble (PG.N) , opens new tab, soda and snacks company PepsiCo (PEP.O) , opens new tab and medical equipment maker Thermo Fisher (TMO.N) , opens new tab all cut their annual profit forecasts. Investors also will watch the extent to which the new global trade regime is hitting economic data, with broad concerns the new tariffs will drive up prices and slow growth. Data in the coming week includes gross domestic product for the first quarter, and the March reading of the personal consumption expenditures price index, a key inflation reading. The monthly U.S. jobs report, due on May 2, could provide the biggest test for markets. The labor market has demonstrated stability in recent months, and employment is expected to have climbed by 135,000 jobs in April, according to a Reuters poll. But doubts about the economic outlook are being fueled by dour readings in consumer sentiment and other surveys, with investors eager to see if such troubling "soft data" will translate into weakness in reports seen as giving more concrete evidence about the economy. "If the consumer is going to be the engine of ongoing growth in the U.S., it puts the burden of proof onto the jobs report," said Bob Savage, head of markets macro strategy at BNY. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-week-ahead-big-tech-earnings-us-jobs-data-highlight-busy-week-markets-2025-04-25/

2025-04-27 11:33

BEIJING, April 27 (Reuters) - China's cabinet on Sunday approved a phase 3 project of Sanmen nuclear power plant in China's eastern Zhejiang province, state media CCTV reported, citing a meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang. The meeting also passed a draft law of China's medical security in a bid to improve the country's medical supply policies and system, CCTV said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-cabinet-approves-new-project-nuclear-power-plant-eastern-zhejiang-2025-04-27/

2025-04-27 10:49

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Confidence among people in Britain about the economy over the next 12 months has fallen to the lowest on record, polling firm Ipsos MORI said on Sunday, with only a small number expecting improvement over the period. Seventy-five percent of Britons expect the economy to get worse over the next 12 months, up 8 percentage points since March, Ipsos said. Sign up here. Just 7% of Britons think the economy will improve over the next year, while 13% thought it would stay the same. The minus 68 net balance represented the lowest degree of optimism since Ipsos began collecting the data in 1978. Confidence had already wilted among British businesses and consumers, and recent U.S. tariffs and concerns over the state of the UK economy have dragged pessimism to a low not seen since the recession of 1980, the financial crisis of 2008 and the COVID-related cost-of-living crisis, Ipsos said. The net balance in terms of economic confidence reached minus 64 in all those periods, Ipsos said. The findings are a blow to Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was elected last July with an ambition for Britain to become the fastest-growing economy in the Group of Seven. "Pessimism about the economy (was) already up 30ppts compared with last June even before this month’s figures," Gideon Skinner, Ipsos' senior director of UK Politics. "Few prime ministers have faced this level of economic pessimism at this stage in." The British government, which oversees a relatively trade-intensive economy compared with other G20 countries, is seeking to avoid the U.S. reciprocal tariffs by negotiating a new economic deal with the United States. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britons-confidence-economy-falls-lowest-since-least-1978-ipsos-mori-poll-shows-2025-04-27/

2025-04-27 08:22

Saturday's explosion tore through major container port Defence Ministry denies reports of missile-related cargo Government says too early to know exact cause of blast DUBAI, April 27 (Reuters) - The death toll from a powerful explosion at Iran's biggest port of Bandar Abbas has risen to at least 40, with more than 1,200 people injured, state media reported on Sunday, as firefighters worked to fully extinguish the fire. Saturday's blast took place in the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, Iran's biggest container hub, shattering windows for several kilometres around, tearing metal strips off shipping containers and badly damaging goods inside, state media said. Sign up here. The incident occurred as Iran held a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman. Fires kept breaking out in different parts of the affected area as of Sunday night, according to state media, with helicopters and fire fighters continuing efforts to extinguish them. Chemicals at the port were suspected to have fuelled the explosion, but the exact cause was not clear and Iran's Defence Ministry denied international media reports that the blast may be linked to the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles. A spokesperson for the ministry told state TV the reports were "aligned with enemy psyops", saying that the blast-hit area did not contain any military cargo. The Associated Press cited British security firm Ambrey as saying the port in March had received sodium perchlorate, which is used to propel ballistic missiles and whose mishandling could have led to the explosion. The Financial Times newspaper reported in January the shipment of two Iranian vessels from China containing enough of the ingredient to propel as many as 260 mid-range missiles, helping Tehran to replenish its stocks following its direct missile attacks on its arch-foe Israel in 2024. DEADLY INCIDENTS Plumes of black smoke rose above the site on Sunday and pieces of twisted metal and debris lay scattered across the blast site. By early afternoon, the head of Iran's Red Crescent Society told state media the fire was 90% extinguished and officials said port activities had resumed in unaffected parts of Shahid Rajaee. A spokesperson for the country's crisis management organisation appeared on Saturday to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee, adding that earlier warnings had highlighted potential safety risks. Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani cautioned against "premature speculation", saying final assessments would be shared after investigations. Negligence has often been blamed in a series of deadly incidents that have hit Iranian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent years. "Did we really have to hold the container here for 3-4 months... until we had 120-140 thousand containers stored in this place?", Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said after arriving in Bandar Abbas on Sunday. Incidents in the country have included refinery fires, a gas explosion at a coal mine, and an emergency repair incident at Bandar Abbas that killed one worker in 2023. Iran has blamed some other incidents on Israel, which has carried out attacks on Iranian soil targeting Iran's nuclear programme in recent years and last year bombed the country's air defences. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/death-toll-blast-irans-bandar-abbas-port-rises-25-2025-04-27/