Kate Bullivant
Appearances
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Maryland has similarly ruled that the Department of Government Efficiencies move to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development was likely unconstitutional on multiple fronts. The ruling directed Doge to halt its work in closing down USAID and ordered it to reinstate access to electronic systems for employees and contractors who were shut out.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
The judge took particular issue with Elon Musk's role, saying the billionaire has acted as the de facto head of Doge without having been properly appointed with Senate approval, likely in violation of the appointments clause in the Constitution. The Trump administration's lawyers have maintained that Musk is a presidential advisor, giving recommendations with no binding legal effect.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
Without comment on the specific ruling, Musk appeared on Fox News last night and again defended the need to cut government spending.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly called the ruling against Doge a, quote, miscarriage of justice and said the government plans to appeal the decision. And setting up yet another legal fight, President Trump has fired two Democratic commissioners from the Federal Trade Commission, countering Supreme Court precedent that says the FTC's commissioners can only be removed for cause.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
is the latest move in Trump's campaign to exert more control over independent government agencies. The FTC has a bipartisan structure, but Tuesday's dismissals mean only two members remain, both of whom are Republican. FTC chief Andrew Ferguson maintains that any of the FTC's commissioners can be removed by the president.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter have both called their dismissal illegal, with Bedoya saying that he will challenge it. An FTC spokesman declined to comment. In market news today, it's all about the Fed, with policymakers widely expected to keep rates on hold.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
But as finance editor Alex Frangos explains, it'll be Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech today that really matters to investors.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
Fitch Ratings has added its name to a slew of prominent forecasters, downgrading the outlook for world economic growth. Its economic outlook predicts that the global trade war will reduce US and world growth, push up US inflation and delay Federal Reserve rate cuts. The US is now expected to grow 1.7% this year. well below growth rates of closer to 3% in both 2023 and 2024.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
In a blow to Elon Musk, a judge rules Doge's move to dismantle USAID was likely unconstitutional. Plus, how a decades-old chicken tax sheds light on the barrage of new tariffs being pursued by the Trump administration.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
And Fitch Ratings adds its name to a slew of prominent forecasters downgrading the outlook for economic growth. It's Wednesday, March 19th. I'm Kate Bullivant for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. And here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
Fears of a recession in the US have grown sharply in the last month, with the Trump administration ramping up tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, while extending tariffs to imports of steel and aluminum. Coming up, tariffs might be roiling markets and the economic outlook right now, but they're not a new phenomenon. We look at what a decades-old chicken tax tells us about Trump's tariff plans.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
That story after the break. Since the 1960s, the US has imposed a 25% tariff on imported trucks, after President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced a tax hitting back at European levies on American poultry. The so-called chicken tax may be from the history books, but as the Trump administration pursues a barrage of new tariffs, Auto's reporter Stephen Wilmot explains how it shows the power of tariffs to
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
to reshape global trade, competition and industry over decades. Stephen, take us back to the 1960s. What is the chicken tax?
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
How does the chicken tax compare to the different types of tariffs we're seeing being rolled out today by the Trump administration?
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
Stephen, what were some of the workarounds to the chicken tax in the 60s?
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
So what are the learnings here from looking back at the chicken tax and how it's impacted U.S. industry?
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
A federal judge has blocked the Pentagon from implementing President Trump's executive order that excludes transgender individuals from serving openly in the military, marking a major legal setback for one of the administration's policy priorities.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
Stephen, thanks so much for taking us on this history lesson and how that's impacting what we're seeing today.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
And in other market news, we're exclusively reporting that activist investor Starboard Value is preparing to wage a proxy fight at the design software maker Autodesk. Starboard reportedly has a more than $500 million stake in Autodesk and intends to nominate a minority slate of director candidates ahead of the tech company's coming annual meeting.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
Autodesk's shares have fallen steeply since touching a record high in August 2021. The stock is down about 12% so far this year. Meanwhile, an activist investor is pushing for Rio Tinto to unify its dual-listed corporate structure into a single Australian-based company.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
London-based hedge fund Palliser Capital wants an independent review into whether unification would be in the best interest of shareholders. But the Mining Giants board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote against the resolution. And that's it for What's News for this Wednesday morning. Today's show was produced by Daniel Bark with supervising producer Sandra Kilhoff.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
And I'm Kate Bullivant for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. We will be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
Judge Ana Reyes ruled the order likely violated the constitutional guarantee of equal protection and issued a preliminary injunction that halted it while litigation continues.
WSJ What’s News
Two Rulings Deal Blow to Key Trump Policies
The government defended the policy, saying that military leadership has the broad authority to decide medical criteria for service members, while current and prospective transgender service members challenged the executive order as discriminatory. Reyes' ruling is set to go into effect Friday. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
According to an Israeli official, President Trump gave Israel the green light to restart attacks on Hamas after the group failed to give up any of the 59 hostages that remain in Gaza. In a statement shared on Telegram, Hamas blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for endangering the lives of remaining hostages by overturning the ceasefire.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
We're exclusively reporting that Trump administration officials are roiled in debate over how to implement the President's pledge to equalise US tariffs with those charged by other nations. Trump's team have recently been weighing whether to simplify the complex task by sorting nations into one of three tariff tiers – low, medium and high rates.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
The proposal was later ruled out, however, according to an administration official close to the talks, adding that Trump's team is still trying to sort out how to implement an individualised rate for each nation.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
The debate comes as aides are scrambling to meet the president's deadline of April 2nd to debut a reciprocal tariff plan, along with additional 25% duties on a handful of industries such as autos, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. President Donald Trump is due to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin today in the hopes he can secure a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
Russia is widely expected to push for territorial and other concessions that would be unpalatable for Ukraine and its European allies. James Marson is our Ukraine bureau chief. James, what do we know about the Russian demands?
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
So these demands that you've just outlined, how acceptable are they to Ukraine and Ukraine's allies?
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
And two astronauts stuck in space for nine months are finally coming home. It's Tuesday, March 18th. I'm Kate Bullivant for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. And here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. Israel has launched a series of attacks against Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip overnight and into the morning.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
So what does all of this tell us about the likely outcome of today's call?
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
Israel relaunches attacks in Gaza overnight, killing hundreds of people. Plus, the Kremlin pours cold water on hopes for a Ukrainian ceasefire ahead of today's call between Presidents Trump and Putin.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
James, thanks so much for breaking this down for us.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
Coming up, two stranded astronauts return to Earth following a nine-month stint in space. That story and more after the break. In market news today, Google parent Alphabet is once again trying to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz, this time for around $30 billion.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
The deal would be Google's largest ever, and according to people familiar with the matter, could come together soon, barring any last-minute snags. Alphabet had been close to a roughly $23 billion deal for Whiz last summer, but the talks fizzled in part over concerns from Whiz and investors about the time it would take for a deal to clear regulatory hurdles.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
In Hong Kong, BYD's shares hit a record high today after the Chinese electric vehicle company unveiled a new fast-charging technology. BYD said the new tech is capable of providing 400 kilometres of range in just five minutes of charging time and will be available on the company's new sedan and SUV models, which go on sale next month.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
Meanwhile, the so-called Woodstock of AI is underway in Santa Fe this week. Today, we'll see NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang give a much-anticipated keynote speech at the GTC AI Conference. And as Journal Finance Editor Alex Frangos explains, investors will be listening out for any news on next-generation AI chips.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
And astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams are finally on their way home from the International Space Station, more than nine months later than originally planned. Butch and Sunny, as they're known, are on track to splash down near Florida just before 6pm this evening.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
Astronaut Nick Hague joined Butch and Sonny's crew in September on the ISS and is today's commander of the SpaceX crew Dragoncraft carrying them home. Here's his message to the crew taking over the space station, courtesy of NASA.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
Butch and Sonny arrived at the ISS last June to test the capabilities of Starliner, a Boeing-developed spacecraft designed to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. Starliner left without the pair in September, after officials decided using the Boeing craft was too risky at the time. And that's it for What's News for this Tuesday morning.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
The strikes have killed at least 300 people, according to the Gaza health authorities, and follow a breakdown in talks to release the remaining hostages. The journal's Anat Paled says the strikes are the most extensive since the ceasefire took effect in January.
WSJ What’s News
Renewed Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Gaza
Today's show was produced by Daniel Bark with supervising producer Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Kate Bullivant for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. We will be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
On Fox News, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Democrats could cast a vote to keep the government open or take the blame for shutting it down. President Trump's trade team will meet with Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Washington today amid the escalating trade war between the longtime allies.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
Canada's reciprocal 25% tariffs on more than $20 billion in US imported goods, such as steel, aluminum and computers, came into effect at midnight. Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he plans to continue Canada's strategy of responding to Trump's tariffs with targeted duties of its own. He'll be sworn in on Friday.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
After losing a large number of their population during the pandemic, cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are growing again and at a faster pace than previously thought. New Census Bureau estimates released today show that in the year ended in June, most growth occurred in metro areas, where 86% of the US population lives.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
Economics reporter Conrad Puzier says cities are being boosted by immigration in particular.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
A federal judge has said that Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student arrested after his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, would remain in Louisiana for now. Yesterday's order comes as Khalil's lawyers push for him to be returned to New York as soon as possible to have better access to their client and to allow Khalil's wife, who is eight months pregnant, to visit him.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
Lawyers for the government argue that the case shouldn't be decided by a judge in New York but rather in New Jersey, where he was first booked and processed, or in Louisiana, where he was transferred this past weekend. In market news today, shares in Intel have rallied in off-hours trading after the semiconductor company named Litbu Tan as its new chief executive.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
Tan is a career venture capitalist and former Intel board member with more than 20 years of chip and software experience. Intel shares have lost more than half their value over the past year as the one-time industry-leading semiconductor manufacturer has underperformed both the market and its competitors. though deal speculation has helped push shares up so far this year.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
New data from the Treasury Department shows that the gap between federal revenue and government spending widened to $1.15 trillion in the first five months of the fiscal year. That marks a record for the October through February period. The biggest increases in spending came from interest paid on public debt, which rose by 10% in the current fiscal year.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
Democrats signal they will block a Republican plan to avert a government shutdown this weekend. Plus, US and Canadian officials meet today in a bid to tamp down the trade war between the two allies. And we look at China's efforts to cement power across Asia by exhausting its opponents with a thousand cuts.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
Higher tax credits and military and security spending also jumped. And later today, markets will get another inflation update when the Labor Department releases February's producer price index. Yesterday, data showed consumer prices were up 2.8% last month from a year earlier, a lower than expected reading, although there is concern from analysts and on Wall Street
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
that tariffs could continue to push prices higher. PPI is due out at 8.30am Eastern. Coming up, China's relentless campaign to extend its power across Asia is blurring the lines between war and peace. We take a look at this grey zone after the break. In the middle ground between war and peace lies the grey zone.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
It's a domain of boundary pushing that tests the limits of what your opponents consider tolerable. And it's a strategy that journal chief correspondent Naharika Mandana reports China has been embracing across a swath of Asia as it looks to cement its power. Naharika, let me just say first off, for our journal subscribers, I think it's worth checking out the link to your story.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
It's Thursday, March 13th. I'm Kate Bullivan for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. And here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said Democrats won't back a Republican plan to fund federal agencies through September, setting up a potential government shutdown this week.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
We've left a link to that in our show notes. The graphics showing Chinese military activity in the waters around Taiwan or the buildup of Chinese settlements in the Himalayas is really quite eye-catching stuff.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
And one location we haven't discussed on the podcast before is China's border with Bhutan, where this strategy also seems to be playing out. Tell us about the significance here.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
So how are affected countries responding to that aggression?
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
That was Journal chief correspondent Naharika Mandana. Naharika, thanks so much for your time. Thanks very much, Kate. And speaking of the rivalry between the world's greatest powers, we've been working on a special series about how Beijing is using its trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure programme to undercut American dominance on the world stage.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
The Republican-controlled House left town after it approved the resolution on Tuesday, effectively giving the Senate no time to revise the bill. but to simply pass it or reject it by Friday's midnight deadline. Speaking in the Senate, Schumer floated a shorter-term plan that would fund the government for a month.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
All three episodes of Building Influence are available now on the What's News feed. We've left a link to them in our show notes. And that's it for What's News for this Thursday morning. Today's show was produced by Daniel Bark with supervising producer Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Kate Bullivant for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. We'll be back tonight with a new show.
WSJ What’s News
China’s Power Tactics are Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace
Until then, thanks for listening.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
China's Foreign Ministry told us that the Belt and Road is an economic cooperation initiative, not a geopolitical tool, and that China provides financing to developing countries without attaching any political conditions. China's National Defense Research Committee and the State Council Information Office didn't respond to our request for comment for this episode.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Despite the challenges, Beijing is showing no signs of giving up on Belt and Road. Quite the opposite. China is learning from its experience. And while it's had to rein in its spending, it's lending more cautiously in an effort to ensure that the program continues.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Als China im Jahr 2013 Belt and Road begann, war seine Wirtschaft schnell aufgewachsen, bei fast 8% im Jahr. Das machte es für Beijing einfacher, Investitionen auf große Infrastrukturprojekte aufzubauen. Seitdem hat China viele Herausforderungen. Die Covid-19-Pandemie, die Verlängerung ihres Wohnungssektors, die Verlängerung der lokalen Regierungstechnik,
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Auch die öffentliche Frustration über die Entscheidung von Beijing, die Investitionen im Ausland zu channeln, wenn es noch Zuhause Anforderungen gibt. Wie wir letzte Woche gehört haben, begann China's Belt and Road-Investment in 2018 zu steigen. Und auch heute bleibt seine ausländische Lendung viel niedriger als ihr Peak, obwohl es immer noch rund 80 Billionen Dollar pro Jahr ist.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Brad Parks von A-Data sagt, dass China immer noch eine Verleumdung von den Verlusten der ersten Jahre des Programms ist.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
So what's China doing to cut down on risk? For starters, let's look at who's doing the lending. Remember how we said in Episode 1 that in the early years of the programme, Chinese development banks were spraying money across the world to open new markets? Well, state-backed commercial banks are doing a lot more of the financing these days.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
And they're spreading the risk around by teaming up with other lenders to underwrite loans, a practice called syndicated lending.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Wegen den Partnern, die Terme der Löhne haben sich selbst verändert. Beijing hat von Anfang an auf kommerzielle Terme gelendet, aber jetzt werden die Interessensrate dieser Löhne höher. Sie übertragen 4,2 Prozent, laut A-Data, was deutlich höher ist als die Kompetenzen. In der Zwischenzeit werden die Verlängerungsperioden kürzer.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Und China setzt zusätzliche Sicherheitsmaßnahmen ein, um sicherzustellen, dass es nicht mit unerhörlichen Schulden verbunden ist, effektiv mehr Risiken für schwere Länder aufzunehmen.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
So China is becoming more careful with its money. But what is it actually investing in now? And have efforts to shield itself from risks linked to the Belt and Road paid off? We'll look into that after the break.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
As China continues to adapt the Belt and Road, the types of projects it's investing in are changing too. In recent years, Beijing has been keen to highlight a shift away from massive infrastructure projects. All those dams, ports and highways at the center of Belt and Road 1.0. And instead is touting what it calls small and beautiful builds like solar and wind power facilities.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Brad Parks from Aid Data told me that while Beijing hasn't abandoned traditional larger scale projects, this rebrand is an answer to Beijing's evolving needs.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Those sorts of course corrections help the Belt and Road Program invest in the industries and supply chains that Beijing sees as the future. And, as we heard before the break, China has changed the way it cuts deals, charging higher rates and asking countries to put up more collateral.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
But as we talked about last week, China isn't, for the most part, going around the world grabbing collateral from countries that are struggling to repay their debts. So does this mean that China's portfolio is out of the woods? Could Beijing actually be about to reap a financial windfall as those loans start getting repaid? Here's what Brad had to say.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
We reached out to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment on their debt portfolio and how many of their borrowers are insolvent. They didn't address this specifically, but they did say they provide developing countries financing at preferential interest rates and with longer maturities.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Up next we take a look at how all these changes to Belt and Road set up Beijing to continue gathering global influence. That's after the break. The jury is still out on whether China will take an economic hit from the Belt and Road.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
But how do the changes to its signature lending project that we've been talking about support Beijing's strategic goals, especially when it comes to boosting China's standing on the world stage?
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
That's Steve Tsang. He's the director at the SOAS China Institute, a leading research center based in London. And those three initiatives he just mentioned are the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
In a nutshell, the three initiatives seek to position China as a partner to developing countries, largely in Africa, Asia and Latin America, often referred to as the Global South. A partner that nations wary of US dominance can do business with and seek national security guarantees or energy, finance and food security.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
China spends less on Belt and Road loans today than it was a few years back, almost half what it did at the programme's peak. But there's one more change we've seen from Beijing that supports its broader ambitions. It started issuing more debt in its own currency instead of in dollars.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Seit der Geburt von Belton Road im Jahr 2013 hat sich die geopolitische Landschaft dramatisch verändert, sowohl mit dem Anfang der Krieg in der Ukraine als auch mit dem eskalierenden Konflikt im Mittleren Osten. Journalist Chun Han-Wong berichtet über chinesische Politik und Außenpolitik.
WSJ What’s News
China Reins In Its Infrastructure Strategy But Not Its Global Ambition
Er hat mir gesagt, dass in diesem neuen Welt, China sich als ein ehrlicher Verkäufer präsentieren möchte, ein Vergleich zu den USA, die sich als ein ehrlicher Verkäufer präsentieren wollen. die er für einen verlängerten und exazerbierenden Konflikt kritisiert, indem er Arme in der Ukraine und im Mittleren Osten verkauft.
WSJ What’s News
White House Scales Back Planned April Tariffs
Owen, from your reporting, why are people who were all in on US stocks, why are they starting to look elsewhere for their investments?
WSJ What’s News
White House Scales Back Planned April Tariffs
We're four months roughly into a four-year Trump presidency. It's relatively early days. So why do you think people you spoke to are not wanting to ride out this period of volatility?
WSJ What’s News
White House Scales Back Planned April Tariffs
So if people are looking to move out of the U.S., where are they looking to invest their money now?
WSJ What’s News
White House Scales Back Planned April Tariffs
And what about those investors who aren't looking for the exit when it comes to American stocks?
WSJ What’s News
White House Scales Back Planned April Tariffs
Owen, thanks so much for bringing us this reporting.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
District Judge James Boasberg, during a hearing early Saturday evening, issued an oral order blocking President Trump from using a centuries-old wartime law to deport non-citizens held in U.S. custody, after hearing that two aircraft believed to be carrying Venezuelan deportees took off from U.S. territory.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
Boasberg said that, quote, any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States, end quote. A third plane took off after the order was issued. The judge subsequently issued a written order that didn't explicitly mention planes already in the air.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
something White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt seemed to point to, saying the written order and the administration's actions do not conflict. Typically, lawyers view orders issued orally by judges as carrying full legal weight. According to a person familiar with the matter, administration officials are expecting a fight at the Supreme Court soon.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the State Department didn't respond to a request for comment. Turning to market news now, and Chinese tech giant Baidu has released a new artificial intelligence model, which the company claims can rival DeepSeek's AI model across various benchmarks at an even lower cost.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
Baidu said its Ernie X1 reasoning model can support advanced search, AI image generation and web page reading. Deepsea caused a market frenzy earlier this year with its R1 model, performing on par with OpenAI's GPT-4O model at a fraction of the cost and without relying on the most advanced chips.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
Meanwhile, China's economy has gotten off to a surprisingly good start this year, giving Beijing some breathing room as it braces for the impact of US tariffs. Hannah Miao covers China's economy for us and says the numbers come a day after Beijing released a policy plan to expand domestic consumption in a bid to replace its largely export-driven growth.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
Coming up, China's economy may be on solid footing for now, but in the U.S., recession fears are mounting. We look at all the indicators and just how certain an economic downturn is. That's after the break. President Trump declined to rule out a recession when speaking on Fox News last week. However, amid tariffs, funding cuts and immigration restrictions, recession talk hangs heavy in the air.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
In a bid to end the war in Ukraine, President Trump says he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Plus head scratching on Wall Street as economists try to figure out whether the U.S. might fall into a recession.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
And as egg prices soar, so does egg smuggling. It's Monday, March 17th. I'm Kate Bullivant for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. And here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. President Donald Trump is planning to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as he pushes to end the war in Ukraine.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
And as major economic data hasn't yet begun to fully capture Trump's time in office... WSJ economics reporter Justin Layhart, along with his colleague Paul Kiernan, have been looking for other signs of a recession. Justin, walk us through some of the recession indicators that you've been looking at.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
And that uncertainty also affecting businesses.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
OK, so business leaders are worried. But what about consumers?
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
Yeah, I was interested when reading your piece, why the job market was an area that you looked into to gauge whether or not a recession was around the corner, because the job market is still strong going off February's unemployment rate coming in low by historical standards.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
And if these trends and behaviours continue, does that mean a recession is definitely on the cards or is there a way out, so to speak?
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
Trump made the announcement to reporters on board Air Force One late Sunday evening.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
OK, I guess we'll just have to keep watching and wait and see. Justin, thanks very much.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
And recession fears aside, one of the things also weighing on American consumers is the price of eggs. Data from the Labour Department shows that a dozen Grade A large eggs averaged $5.90 last month, a record compared with just $3 a year earlier, thanks to an outbreak of avian flu.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
And as journal reporter Jean Whalen explains, that so-called eggflation has resulted in customs and border protection agents confiscating more contraband eggs than ever before as people crossing the Canadian and Mexican border stock up.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
And that's it for What's News for this Monday morning. Today's show was produced by Daniel Bark with supervising producer Sandra Kilhoff and I'm Kate Bullivant for The Wall Street Journal filling in for Luke Vargas. We will be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
When pressed on what concession he'll be seeking from Putin to get a deal done, Trump said they'll be talking about land and power plants – as part of those conversations to bring the war to a close, describing it as, quote, dividing up certain assets. Moscow has insisted on holding on to at least 18% of Ukrainian territory it already controls, an area roughly equivalent in size to Virginia.
WSJ What’s News
Trump and Putin to Hold Ceasefire Talks
It also expressed intentions to reverse policies that have sidelined Russian cultural influence in Ukraine and preclude the country's membership in NATO. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has deported alleged Venezuelan gang members, despite a court order that temporarily blocked it from doing so. U.S.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
Senate Republican leaders have scheduled a procedural vote for this afternoon. Without action, the government will shut down at one minute past midnight on Saturday, furloughing hundreds of thousands of workers and stopping non-essential services.
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Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
At the same time, two judges have now ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers who were fired at a number of federal agencies. As we mentioned on our PM show, a US district judge in California yesterday ruled that probationary workers from six federal departments
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
including agriculture and veterans affairs, should be offered their jobs back immediately, describing their firing as a sham. Later in the day, a US district judge in Maryland issued a similar ruling in a case brought by 20 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia, saying employees at 18 agencies should get their jobs back.
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Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
The Trump administration has brought its plan to restrict birthright citizenship to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to scale back lower court orders, blocking the president's decree of denying citizenship to children born in the US to parents without legal residency.
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Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
Although the case is in preliminary stages, the emergency request will force the justices to weigh in on one of the most aggressive moves made by the new administration. The 14th Amendment provides, quote, all persons born or naturalised in the US and subject of the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States.
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Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
In an Inauguration Day order, Trump asserted that children born to people lacking permanent residency aren't subject to US jurisdiction and therefore don't hold citizenship, essentially arguing that the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment is mistaken. Turning to markets now, and gold rallied overnight to reach a record high of $3,000 a troy ounce for the first time ever.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
Prices for gold have been rising sharply over the past year, with the yellow metal having already surpassed the 2025 price target set by many Wall Street forecasters. Journal Europe finance editor Alex Frangos says there's a few things driving gold higher.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
And the flight to safety could have further to run amid stock market volatility. Yesterday, the S&P 500 fell into correction territory, having declined more than 10% from its record high on February 19th. In the fashion industry, few people are as synonymous with a brand as Donatella Versace.
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Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
Democrats clear the way for the GOP funding bill, ending the threat of a government shutdown. Plus, with America's commitment to NATO suddenly in doubt, European leaders grapple with the unthinkable, facing Russia alone.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
But now, Versace's long-time creative director has stepped down, following tensions between the Italian designer and the US corporate chief. John Idol's ideas to pump up sales by appealing to a wider audience often clashed with those of Donatella, who as creative director has defined the brand's looks, featuring bright colours and bold prints, since her brother's murder in 1997.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
The change comes amid a decline in Versace's sales, and as people familiar with the situation tell us, Idol is exploring a potential sale to Italian rival Prada. Coming up, with America's commitment to NATO falling on shaky ground, does Europe's military have what it takes to fight Russian forces without US support? That story after the break.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
And the price of gold reaches a record high. It's Friday, March 14th. I'm Kate Bullivant for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. And here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
With America's commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization suddenly in doubt, Europe is having to consider the once unthinkable. Could its armies fight Moscow's forces without US support? Journal Brussels Bureau Chief Dan Michaels has been speaking to top American military brass and officials who've served across the Atlantic, and they say Europe would pack a strong punch.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
Dan, you've been looking at Europe's military capabilities. How do they stack up against Russia's at the moment?
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
So if these numbers are looking in Europe's favour, why is the absence of the US such a concern to European leaders?
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
Senate Democrats are planning to help advance a Republican measure to fund the government in a vote this afternoon ending the threat of a shutdown Democrats had struggled for days on how to approach the GOP bill which gives the Trump administration more flexibility to downsize and dismantle federal agencies
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Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
So given all that, what are European leaders doing to fill this gap?
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
So not exactly the relative time of peace that Europe has been enjoying over the last 30 years. Dan, thank you for breaking this down for us.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
And while Europe may be learning to go it alone, the US is actually turning to Ukraine for help building better drones. Since the start of the war, Ukrainian forces have been relying on increasingly sophisticated drones to battle Russia's army. And despite limited resources, drone makers in Ukraine have found a way to mass produce them.
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Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
That's piqued the interest of US start-ups who are spending billions of venture capital dollars to develop small drones that the Pentagon says it needs for future conflicts. But most of them don't fly well. Here's tech reporter Heather Somerville.
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Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
And you can hear more about how Silicon Valley is tapping into the know-how of Ukraine's well-trained drone makers over on our Tech News Briefing podcast. And that's it for What's News for this Friday morning. Today's show was produced by Daniel Bark with supervising producer Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Kate Bullivant for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, have a great weekend and thanks for listening.
WSJ What’s News
Does Europe Have What it Would Take to Fight Russia?
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said there was no good option, adding he would back the GOP measure because the prospect of a shutdown was worse. Siobhan Hughes covers Congress for the Journal.