Economy

Fed vs. inflation
Trump: “The US should have the lowest interest rate in the world”

US President Donald Trump on Monday urged the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, to lower interest rates. Reuters reports.

“We should have the lowest interest rate in the world,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

The president says that new Fed chief Kevin Warsh “is fantastic” but that many members of the committee who vote are politically motivated.

The Fed’s next announcement on the key interest rate will come on Wednesday this week.

Oil market
Oil prices plummet after war pause in the Middle East

Oil prices and market interest rates are falling after the US and Iran took a break in hostilities overnight for the first time in almost two weeks.

At 06:15, the spot price of Brent oil is down nearly 6 percent to around $92.50.

“The pause in the fighting between the US and Iran has caused oil prices to fall back, but the relief in the stock market has been limited,” Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG International in Sydney, told Bloomberg.

Volkswagen crisis
Porsche cuts further – 5,000 to leave

The German carmaker Porsche continues to cut jobs. 5,000 jobs will disappear by 2035, the company wrote in a press release.

The reduction in the number of employees will be done mainly through natural departures, voluntary agreements and pension settlements.

The cuts are part of a second restructuring package, which management and employee representatives have agreed on.

The measures at Porsche are part of a larger agreement on extensive cuts across the Volkswagen Group, which includes Porsche. The group is struggling with poor profitability, tough competition from China and tariffs from the United States.
 

Major fire outside Bordeaux
Finance Minister: “The fires are a cold shower for the economy”

Over 13,000 companies have been evacuated due to the fires, says French Finance Minister Roland Lescure during a press conference according to BFM TV.

He describes the fires around Bordeaux in the southwest of the country as a real blow to the local economy.

– It is a cold shower for a region that really didn’t need this, says Lescure according to Reuters.

Climate threat  El Niño
Bank sounds the alarm about high cost of pending super El Niño

The upcoming weather phenomenon “super El Niño” that is expected to hit the world in the next twelve months could be expensive for Africa, warns the African Development Bank according to Reuters. African countries could lose 100-200 billion kronor just in lost revenue from destroyed crops.

Extreme weather is also expected to lead to floods, droughts and forest fires, and on a larger scale than usual. In addition, there are fears that it could worsen refugee crises in countries such as Sudan, Mali, Somalia and Congo-Kinshasa.

The director of the African Development Bank, Anthony Nyong, says that many of the continent's countries do not have the resources to deal with the changes.

- We do not want our countries to be dragged into poverty.

Maduro indictment
Trump: "Received 13 billion for Venezuelan oil"

President Donald Trump tells reporters that the United States has received more than 13 billion dollars from the sale of Venezuelan oil this year.

Trump says the money is used to govern Venezuela. Washington has worked closely with interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who took over when Nicolás Maduro was captured by the United States in January.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously told Congress that the oil sales are being audited by KPMG and that the money is kept in an account at Citibank. 

Shein posts big loss ahead of Hong Kong IPO

Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein reported a loss of SEK 957 million in the past quarter. In a filing ahead of its upcoming Hong Kong IPO, the company said the loss was largely due to a $328 million accounting loss related to a decline in the value of its convertible preferred shares, Bloomberg reported.

According to Shein, new tariff rules from the US and EU are also putting pressure on the company's finances.

"In response to the increased tariffs and taxes, we are considering a range of measures, such as raising prices in the US market to offset some of the increased costs," the fast-fashion company wrote.

In May last year, the US abolished an exemption from tariffs on small packages.