Author: Robert Jones

The U.S. stock market had its worst day since May on Friday after the government reported a sharp slowdown in hiring and President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from a number of U.S. trading partners. The S&P 500 fell 1.6%, its biggest decline since May 21 and its fourth straight loss. The index also posted a 2.4% loss for the week, marking a sharp shift from last week’s record-setting streak of gains.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 2.2%.Worries on Wall Street about a weakening economy were heavily reinforced by the latest report…

By Robert Birsel is a Newsweek reporter based in Asia with a focus on political and general news. Robert joined Newsweek in 2025 from Radio Free Asia and had previously worked at Reuters. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics. You can get in touch with Robert by emailing r.birsel@newsweek.com. Languages: English. Robert Birsel Reporter news article Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Share✓ Link copied to clipboard! Listen Translate English (Original) Español中国人FrançaisDeutschPortugueseहिन्दीNewsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has raised the tariff rate on U.S. imports from Canada to 35% from 25%, effective Friday. The announcement from the White House late Thursday said Canada had failed to “do more to arrest, seize, detain or otherwise intercept … traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs.” Trump has heckled Canada for months and suggested it should become its 51st U.S. state. He had threatened to impose the higher tariff on Canada if no deal was reached by Friday, his deadline for reaching trade agreements with dozens of countries. Earlier Thursday, the president said Canada’s…

Coca‑Cola recently announced it will launch a new soft drink made with cane sugar in the United States this fall, a quiet confirmation of what President Donald Trump loudly teased on social media days earlier. Trump claimed he convinced Coca‑Cola to bring back “real” sugar. Whatever is true or fabricated, the move is nonetheless real. And it’s revealing.The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement was a large piece of Trump’s coalition last year. This will be seen as another win. But while cane sugar may be coming back into our cans or bottles, it won’t come cheap.This isn’t just a…

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. hiring is slowing sharply as President Donald Trump’s erratic and radical trade policies paralyze businesses and raise doubts about the outlook for the world’s largest economy.U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, well short of the 115,000 expected.Worse, revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls. And the unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.2% as Americans dropped out of the labor force and the ranks of the unemployed rose by 221,000. “A notable deterioration in U.S. labor market conditions appears to be underway,’’ said Scott Anderson, chief…

President Donald Trump has sent a message to his lawyers as his sweeping tariffs face a challenge in the courts.On Thursday, the 11 judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington are scheduled to hear oral arguments in a case brought by states and businesses that want his import taxes struck down.”To all of my great lawyers who have fought so hard to save our Country, good luck in America’s big case today,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform early Thursday.”If our Country was not able to protect itself by using TARIFFS AGAINST TARIFFS,…

BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariff rates of up to 41% on U.S. imports from dozens of countries drew expressions of relief Friday from some countries that negotiated a deal or managed to whittle them down from rates announced in April. Others expressed disappointment or frustration over running out of time after hitting Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline for striking deals with America’s trading partners.The new rates are due to take effect on Aug. 7, but uncertainty over what Trump might do next remains. The way ahead for China, which runs the largest trade surplus with the U.S.,…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Africa is adjusting to the new reality of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with countries on the continent facing some of the highest export charges. But what could become a crisis is an opportunity for United States rival China, which has long courted African countries and is now offering them a lifeline. “We (Africa) are going straight into the hands of China,” Nigerian economist Bismarck Rewane told CNN. “That is the unfortunate outcome,” Rewane said of Africa’s expected further shift toward China, which has emerged in recent years as the continent’s largest bilateral trading partner. Four…

Someday, someone will crack the most difficult code in American politics—how to win midterm elections two years after securing a governing trifecta. But based on the polling that we have right now, President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress are not going to be the ones to do it. President Trump burned mindlessly through his limited political capital within weeks of taking office in January, and the Republican-controlled Congress has essentially ceded its constitutional authority—and its political fate—to the White House. Unless something dramatic changes in the coming months, that may have fateful consequences for Republicans up and…

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel provoked diplomatic discomfort in New Zealand by suggesting the opening of a new office in the capital aims to counter China’s influence, drawing polite dismissals from Wellington and ire from Beijing.Patel was in Wellington on Thursday to open the FBI’s first standalone office in New Zealand and to meet senior officials. The arrangement aligns New Zealand with FBI missions in other Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations, which also include the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.The Wellington office will provide a local mission for FBI staff who have operated with…