Business

• JD Vance in India for trade talks as Modi seeks to avoid US tariffs

  US Vice President JD Vance landed in New Delhi this Monday for a four-day cross-country visit, with talks on a bilateral US-India trade deal high on the agenda. Also in this edition: the IMF and World Bank kick off their spring meetings under the cloud of a global trade war, and luxury giant LVMH's Bernard Arnault urges Brussels to negotiate with the Trump administration on tariffs. 

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• Trump says Fed Chair Powell's termination 'cannot come fast enough'

  US President Donald Trump has called for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to be fired, a day after the central bank chief delivered a stark warning about the effects of tariffs. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping is ending his Asian tour with a visit to Cambodia, portraying China as a stable trading partner. Plus, the Hermès Birkin handbag is about to get a lot more expensive, at least in the US. 

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• China appoints new trade negotiator amid tariff war with US

  Emboldened by the latest economic data that showed China's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter at 5.4 percent, Beijing continues to play hardball in its trade war with the United States. But it has also quietly appointed a new trade negotiator, who has experience at the WTO. Meanwhile, Trump said he'd take part in trade talks with Japan as its delegation headed for Washington. Plus, turmoil returned to Wall Street as the Federal Reserve chairman warned about the inflationary impacts of tariffs. 

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• China's Xi continues charm offensive in Southeast Asia

  After Vietnam, China's President Xi Jinping has arrived in Malaysia. Unlike Vietnam, which trades more with the United States than with China, Malaysia has kept China as its top trading partner for 16 years. During the visit, Xi is also expected to discuss a free trade agreement between China and ASEAN, as Malaysia is currently chair of the regional bloc. Meanwhile, as the trade war with the US escalates, Beijing has reportedly ordered its largest airlines to halt further deliveries of Boeing jets.

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• Landmark US antitrust trial against Meta begins

  Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg took the stand on Monday as a historic antitrust trial against the social media giant began in Washington. Over the next few weeks, the District Court will hear arguments over whether Meta broke the law in its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. Plus, amid an escalating tariff war with the US, China has been curbing its export of rare earth minerals, which are critical for the US defence and tech industries. 

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