Ten days after ‘liberation day’, many Australians are still wondering: what just happened to global markets?
As global financial markets shed trillions in dollars of value, Australians compulsively check their superannuation balances to see how much damage Donald Trump’s trade war is inflicting on their retirement savings. Trump assured the world that “I know what the hell I’m doing”, but investors around the world were panicking. The markets get ‘the yips’On 2 April, Trump declared that his tariffs would “make American wealthy again”. By 8 April, shares on Wall Street had plummeted by 12% over four tempestuous days of trading. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 caught some of the exuberance, closing up 4.5% to record its strongest trading day since the pandemic.
Source:The Guardian
April 12, 2025 19:43 UTC
‘It never happened – but the picture says it did’: 28 fake images that fooled the world
It never happened, but the picture says it did – and, as we all know, a picture is worth a thousand-word correction. Picture captions by Felix Bazalgette, Gabrielle Schwarz and Emma LoffhagenLeap into the Void, 1960By Yves KleinView image in fullscreen The image the world saw … Photograph: Metropolitan Museum/Art Resource/ScalaView image in fullscreen … and the one it didn’t. FBFalling Soldier, 1936By Robert CapaView image in fullscreen Photograph: © Robert Capa/ICP/Magnum Photos“It happened in Spain,” Robert Capa recalled in a radio interview 11 years after the photograph was taken. GSStalin and Nikolai Yezhov, 1937Photographer unknownView image in fullscreen Now you see Nikolai Yezhov …View image in fullscreen … now you don’t. FBThese 28 images show photographic fakes that have fooled the world.
Source:The Guardian
April 12, 2025 19:33 UTC
‘The damage is done’: Trump’s tariffs put the dollar’s safe haven status in jeopardy
Crashing share prices, a sell-off in bonds and currency chaos erasing trillions of dollars of wealth in a matter of days. “I think Trump’s trade views are folly and madness. “My basic thesis is that the dollar will remain the dominant global currency for the foreseeable future as there are not viable alternatives. Sterling – the global reserve currency before the US’s rise to dominance after the second world war – accounts for about 5%. Some within Trump’s administration, however, view the dollar’s status as the international reserve currency with distaste, as another sign of the world freeloading off the US.
Source:The Guardian
April 12, 2025 05:14 UTC
Christian missionary group accused of public shaming and rituals to ‘cure’ sexual sin
The world’s biggest youth Christian missionary organisation is facing allegations of spiritual abuse and controlling behaviour from young people who say they were left “traumatised”. Those who confessed could be questioned and made to give public apologies, according to former missionaries. Others described how people disclosed being victims of assault or sexual abuse, as well as transgressions such as speeding fines. A YWAM base in the UK was recently closed amid claims of spiritual abuse. In England, a YWAM spokesperson said leaders had “implemented stricter oversight mechanisms” after claims of spiritual abuse at a base which has since closed.
Source:The Guardian
April 06, 2025 04:35 UTC
China hits back hard at ‘bullying’ Trump tariffs as global recession fears grow
China has hit back hard against Donald Trump’s “bullying” tariffs, raising fears that the escalating trade war could trigger a global recession and prompting fresh turmoil in financial markets. The dramatic escalation in trade hostilities between the world’s two largest economies magnified concerns among investors about the risks to global growth. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also warned the escalating trade war was likely to hit global economic growth. Oil prices also declined sharply, as experts reassessed their projections for global growth, with Brent crude down 7% at about $65 a barrel. Certainly not enough to decisively change the outlook for UK growth.
Source:The Guardian
April 05, 2025 11:46 UTC
Global markets in turmoil as Trump tariffs wipe $2.5tn off Wall Street
Global financial markets have been plunged into turmoil as Donald Trump’s escalating trade war knocked trillions of dollars off the value of the world’s biggest companies and heightened fears of a US recession. While Trump timed his Wednesday evening Rose Garden address to avoid live tickers of crashing stock markets, that fate arrived when Asian exchanges opened hours later. Commodities fell sharply, including a 7% plunge in oil prices, reflecting growing concerns over the global economic outlook. Tariffs will fall heavily on some of the world’s poorest countries, with nations in south-east Asia, including Myanmar, among the most affected. It published a 417-page list of US products on which it could impose tariffs, including meat, fish and dairy products, whiskey and rum, clothing, motorcycles and musical instruments.
Source:The Guardian
April 04, 2025 19:50 UTC
Trump’s tariffs: the full list
The president displayed the top of his list from a podium in the White House Rose Garden, and later published a longer version. Note that the “tariffs charged to the USA” in Trump’s formulation include “trade barriers” so don’t necessarily align with the tariffs published by countries concerned.
Source:The Guardian
April 04, 2025 19:06 UTC
‘Nowhere on Earth is safe’: Trump imposes tariffs on uninhabited islands near Antarctica
Heard Island and McDonald Islands, which form an external territory of Australia, are among the remotest places on Earth, accessible only via a two-week boat voyage from Perth on Australia’s west coast. Nevertheless, Heard and McDonald islands featured in a list released by the White House of “countries” that would have new trade tariffs imposed. Such territories featured on the White House list were the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island and Norfolk Island. But George Plant, the administrator of Norfolk Island, disputed the data. In the five years prior, imports from Heard Island and McDonald Islands ranged from US$15,000 (A$24,000) to US$325,000 (A$518,000) per year.
Source:The Guardian
April 03, 2025 12:05 UTC
‘Liberation day’: what are tariffs and why do they matter?
Serving as a barrier to trade, tariffs raise the price of an imported product for businesses and consumers. The US bank JP Morgan has estimated that tariffs of 25% would raise new car prices by $4,000 (£3,092). The introduction of tariffs by one country can often collapse into a cycle of retaliation, or even a full-blown trade war. Additional costs from tariffs are typically borne by the end consumer, meaning Trump’s plans are likely to push up US living costs. Trump – who also imposed tariffs in his first term as president – is not the first US president to shock the UK on trade.
Source:The Guardian
April 03, 2025 11:11 UTC
Trump’s tariffs: how might Europe respond to unleashing of trade war?
Donald Trump is getting ready to impose sweeping and immediate tariffs on all foreign goods, thereby unleashing a trade war and upending the multilateral trading system that the US helped to build after the second world war. The bourbon and blue jeans plan Imposing levies on emblematic US goods is the tried and tested European response to Trump tariffs. In theory, the EU could levy more tariffs over these plans, as well as the latest “liberation day” duties. The long-range economic strike The scale of Trump’s tariffs, which could return US duties to levels not seen since the 19th century, is intensifying calls to retaliate against US services. Make new friends Trump’s return to the White House has accelerated EU efforts to strike new trade deals and deepen existing ties with the rest of the world.
Source:The Guardian
April 02, 2025 19:31 UTC
Ukraine war briefing: US anger builds on Russia over refusal to accept ceasefire
The Kremlin on Tuesday complained that it cannot accept US ceasefire proposals in their current form . US national security council spokesperson James Hewitt said: “ There is a deep frustration with the Russian government over negotiations. The Ukrainian president said the US had told Ukraine privately that it had seen the Russian violations. Ukraine will hold in-depth talks on Friday with a small group of foreign countries about contributing forces to a contingent that would act as a security guarantee for Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on Tuesday. Polish prosecutors said they had charged a Russian-born Ukrainian with spying on military installations in Poland for Russia’s intelligence services.
Source:The Guardian
April 02, 2025 19:29 UTC
‘Is it “woke” to care about the environment?’: how Trump’s cuts are dismantling global conservation work
Led by the philanthropist Gregory Carr and Mozambique’s government, it was the start of the park’s journey to becoming one of Africa’s most celebrated wildlife conservation success stories. Experts warn the cuts could cause a global surge in wildlife trafficking and poaching, as support for schemes protecting critically endangered species has ended. But the Trump administration’s cuts and funding reviews have forced many to reduce ranger patrols and critical restoration work, leaving vulnerable species with dramatically diminished protection. “These funding cuts could not have come at a worse time. Photograph: Jason Houston/USAIDMatthew Hansen, a professor at University of Maryland and an expert on remote sensing, says USAID funding of conservation has been critical for soft power.
Source:The Guardian
April 02, 2025 03:30 UTC
Global stock markets fall as new Trump tariffs loom
Stock markets across the world fell heavily on Monday after Donald Trump suggested that new tariffs he is expected to announce this week would hit “all countries”. On Monday, the threat of a deepening trade war spooked investors. “A selling wave is sweeping across global markets,” said Jochen Stanzl, the chief market analyst at CMC Markets. Larry Fink, the chief executive of BlackRock, issued veiled criticism of Trump’s trade tariffs on Monday, declaring that “protectionism has returned with force”. Over the weekend, Trump said he “couldn’t care less” if US carmakers raised their prices because of the new tariffs.
Source:The Guardian
March 31, 2025 19:45 UTC
Australia should persist with Aukus despite risk of US relationship ‘becoming unstuck’, former defence department secretary says
Richardson – former secretary of both the defence and foreign affairs departments, a former Asio chief and a former ambassador to the US – has been tasked with conducting a “top-to-bottom” review of the Australian Submarine Agency amid emerging concerns over its management of the Aukus submarine deal. These will replace Australia’s ageing Collins class diesel-electric submarines before Australia’s own Aukus nuclear-powered submarines can be built. Richardson told the forum Australia’s relationship with the US would be increasingly difficult to manage, given the unpredictability of the current US administration, and its willingness to castigate and abandon allies. “The biggest risk is not the Americans walking away from Aukus, the biggest risk is the relationship with the United States more broadly becoming unstuck. This is the only sovereign option.”Opening the forum, Turnbull said Australia’s relationship with the US had been irrevocably altered by the new Trump administration.
Source:The Guardian
March 31, 2025 18:40 UTC
Protests hit Tesla dealerships across the world in challenge to Elon Musk
Protest organizers asked people to do three things: don’t buy a Tesla, sell off Tesla stock and join the “Tesla Takedown” movement. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesIn San Francisco, a crowd of around 200 people gathered in front of the Tesla showroom. “We’re here to protest Musk, who has essentially held a Tesla car show on the White House lawn,” she said. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesIn Washington DC, organizers planned a rally in front of a new Tesla showroom in Georgetown, making the theme “Tesla Takedown Dance Party”. In London, dozens of demonstrators gathered at a Tesla showroom along the three-lane A40 in West London.
Source:The Guardian
March 31, 2025 04:42 UTC