Economy

US growth
Dalio's warning to Trump: "Heart attack" within three years

Reduce the budget deficit or risk ending up in a major debt crisis.
 That's what investment guru and hedge fund founder Ray Dalio warns about and directs the message to the Trump administration.

Dalio believes that it is impossible to say exactly when the crisis will occur, but rather likens the situation to a heart attack.

- We are getting closer. My guess is three years, plus or minus one year, he says in the Odd Lots podcast, according to Bloomberg.

Dalio is currently working on the book "How Countries Go Broke" in which he focuses on countries' debt cycles and argues that the US must reduce the deficit to 3 percent a year.

Trump's tariffs
Trump: Tariffs against Mexico and Canada will be introduced tonight

US President Donald Trump announces that there is no longer any room for Mexico and Canada to avoid the tariffs he has previously threatened. This is reported by several media outlets.

– They are ready. They will take effect tomorrow, he said during a speech at the White House on Monday.

Wall Street's broad declines have intensified while Trump has been talking about the tariffs. The technology-heavy Nasdaq is down 2.6 percent for the day. The broad S&P500 is down 1.8 percent and the Dow Jones has retreated 1.6 percent.

The general tariffs of 25 percent against neighboring countries are expected to hit the supply of materials in the automotive industry and the construction sector particularly hard.

New tariffs of 10 percent on Chinese goods are also expected to be introduced.

Buffett: Tariffs are a form of war that drives inflation

Investment legend Warren Buffett warns that Donald Trump's tariffs will increase inflation and hurt US consumers.

- They are a form of war, Buffett says in an interview with CBS in which he suggests that consumers will be the ones who end up footing the bill.

Over time, they are a tax on goods, but it is "not the tooth fairy who pays," he says with a laugh.

According to CNBC, this is the first time the 94-year-old has commented on Trump's trade policy.

The interview was conducted before Donald Trump confirmed the tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China on Monday evening.

Trump confirms China tariffs - from 10 to 20 percent

US President Donald Trump has signed an order to further increase tariffs against China by 10 percentage points to a total of 20 percent. The White House announced this according to AFP.

The move is being made in reference to what the White House calls Beijing's failure to tackle the illegal fentanyl trade.

The first tariffs against China went into effect on February 4, shortly after which China hit back with retaliatory tariffs against the US, writes TT.