Economy

China promises stability to global giants despite tariff threat

China promises stability to foreign corporate giants as Donald Trump's tariff storm is expected to drag on in early April, writes Nikkei Asia.

In a speech to a dozen or so visiting executives from Apple, Qualcomm and Boeing, among others, Premier Li Qiang promised increased policy efforts to achieve the government's growth target of around 5 percent.

- In the face of possible unexpected shocks mainly coming from outside, new gradual reforms will be introduced as needed to ensure a stable economy, Li said, according to the newspaper.

Wind power debate
Vattenfall builds Germany's largest wind farm

Vattenfall has now made the final investment decision to build Germany's largest offshore wind farm, Nordlicht 1 and 2. The Swedish energy giant writes this in a press release.

Construction of the parks off the German North Sea coast is expected to begin in 2026 and be fully operational in 2028.

Vattenfall will buy back the 49 percent of the shares in the company that Germany's BASF bought a year ago, the company writes.

US growth
Household confidence plummets in the US - now the lowest in four years

American consumer confidence in the economy plummeted more than expected in March and is now at the lowest level since the beginning of 2021, writes Bloomberg.

According to the Conference Board's measurement, the index fell to 92.9 compared to 100.1 in February and just over 105 in January. An outcome of 94 was expected in March.

A measure of expectations for the next six months fell almost 10 points to 65.2, which is the lowest figure in twelve years.

The background is households' concern that Donald Trump's tariff policy will cause inflation to flare up again, the news agency writes.

Analyst: Strengthens Kremlin's hope for concessions

The ceasefire in the Black Sea may strengthen a feeling from the Russian side that the White House can be persuaded to agree to more concessions. Alexandra Prokopenko at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center tells Bloomberg.

- By dragging out the negotiations and expanding the agenda, it appears that the Kremlin is dictating the terms of future talks, she says.

Elina Ribakova at the Peterson Institute for International Economics tells the Financial Times that the Kremlin is more interested in poking holes in Western sanctions than in de facto increasing its exports