Trump's Russia Tariff Threat Risks Harming Ties With Modi, Xi
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US President Donald Trump's latest threat of 100% tariffs on Russia would risk complicating relations with two nations crucial to his economic and strategic goals: China and India.
100% on Russia unless it reached a peace deal with Ukraine in the next 50 days, saying the levies would come in the form of 'secondary tariffs.'
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Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive for The People's Insurance Company of China (Hong Kong), Limited
HONG KONG, July 18, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" (Excellent) of The People's Insurance Company of China (Hong Kong), Limited (PICC HK) (Hong Kong). The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect PICC HK's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also reflect the strategic importance of the company to its parent, The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited (PICC Group) (China). As the sole overseas insurance entity and a key component of PICC Group's overseas strategies, PICC HK receives implicit and explicit support from the parent, including business development, management personnel and financial support. The revision of the outlooks to positive from stable reflects continued improvement in PICC HK's business profile, as demonstrated by the enhanced market position and more diversified book of business. According to statistics published by its domestic regulator, PICC HK ranked 13th with a market share of 2.3% in terms of onshore and offshore combined gross premium written (GPW) in 2024. The company's GPW grew by 65% cumulatively from 2020 to 2024. The active expansion in inward reinsurance also has contributed to improved business diversification, which was concentrated moderately on a whole-account quote share (WAQS) sourced from its affiliated company, PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited (PICC P&C). The inward reinsurance business profile is diversified geographically with adequate profitability in the past four years. By leveraging the underwriting acumen and increasing synergies within the parent group, PICC HK expects the expanded business profile will be sustainable and profitable. PICC HK's risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), remained at the strongest level at year-end 2024. The company's investment portfolio remains well-diversified, dominated by investment-grade bonds, cash and cash equivalents, and preference shares. Its investment strategy remains prudent, with limited exposure on unlisted funds and real-estate assets. Other supporting factors include a strong regulatory solvency position, as well as a strong liquidity position. PICC HK's operating performance remains adequate. It has maintained a mid-single digit return-on-equity ratio over the past two years. In 2024, the company's net profit was supported mainly by investment income consisting of mostly interest and dividend income. PICC HK also achieved positive underwriting results for 2024 as a result of the improved underwriting result of direct domestic business and a stable profit contribution from the WAQS. As the group's sole overseas insurance entity, PICC HK continues to be of strategic importance and plays a key role in the group's overseas strategies. There is a track record of multiple capital injections to PICC HK from PICC Group. In addition, the company continues to benefit from the group's resources and operational synergies, including business development, key management personnel, investment, information technology and overall risk management. Positive rating actions could occur if PICC HK's expanded business profile proves to be sustainable, while maintaining its underwriting profitability. Negative rating actions could occur if there is a decline in PICC HK's operating performance to a level that no longer supports AM Best's adequate operating performance assessment. Although unlikely, negative rating actions could occur if the support PICC HK receives from its parent weakens notably or the parent's credit fundamentals deteriorate materially. Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on Contacts Aaron Li Financial Analyst +852 2827 3426 Lucie Huang Senior Financial Analyst +852 2827 3414 Christopher Sharkey Associate Director, Public Relations +1 908 882 2310 Al Slavin Senior Public Relations Specialist +1 908 882 2318 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
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Wilmar to become AWL Agri majority shareholder
Wilmar International is set to become the majority owner of India-based AWL Agri. The Singapore group has agreed to buy more shares in the Fortune edible-oils maker from Indian conglomerate Adani Enterprises. Wilmar International and Adani Enterprises had been partners in the former Adani Wilmar venture until December. Adani Enterprises decided to leave the alliance to invest further in energy, utilities, transport and logistics. At the time, Wilmar International struck a deal buy 31.1% of the venture, which has been renamed AWL Agri. A month later, Adani Enterprises sold another 13.5% stake. In a stock-exchange filing yesterday (17 July), Wilmar said it held 43.9% of AW Agri, with Adani Enterprises retaining 30.4%. Wilmar has agreed to purchase another tranche of shares, representing a further 11-20% of AWL Agri, at Rs275 ($3.19) a share. When this new deal is finalised, Wilmar will hold between 54.9% and 63.9% of the business. The company said it will 'endeavour to bring in strategic partners/ identified investors' for the chunk of the new stake it does not take up. The remaining 10.4% Adani Enterprises owns in AWL Agri will be sold 'to a set of pre-identified investors', the Indian group said. Established in 1999, the now AWL Agri is headquartered in Ahmedabad. The business runs 24 factories in 15 cities. Its operations span edible oils, a wider range of food products and a third division called Industry Essentials, which takes in chemicals. Earlier this week, AWL Agri reported its fiscal first-quarter results covering the three-month period to the end of June. Revenue rose 22% to Rs17.06bn despite a 2% fall in volumes. The company booked higher revenues across its three divisions, although volumes from its edible oils and food and FMCG units fell. 'The company witnessed a temporary volume decline, primarily influenced by the consolidation of its regional rice operations and muted consumer demand. Encouragingly, the core categories delivered healthy volume growth and revenue rose 21% year on year, driven by higher edible oil realisations,' MD and CEO Angshu Mallick said. Profit after tax fell 24% to Rs238m. Last month, Wilmar agreed to acquire UK consumer goods company PZ Cussons' 50% equity stake in their Nigerian edible-oils joint venture for a cash consideration of $70m. "Wilmar to become AWL Agri majority shareholder" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
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Why it's so challenging for Trump to fire Powell
A firing of Jerome Powell by President Trump would likely open up a legal war never before seen in the US, without any guarantee of a courtroom victory for the White House. That may be why Trump hasn't done so. Yet. Powell has made his intentions clear. He said earlier this year that he wouldn't leave if Trump tried to fire him and that his removal is 'not permitted by law.' Fed officials privately have been preparing for a legal battle as far back as Trump's first term, when the president also toyed with removing the chair, according to the Wall Street Journal. The strength of Powell's case is based on some protections of Fed autonomy already embedded in US statute. The Federal Reserve Act, which created the central bank in 1913 and was amended in 1935, states that each member of the Fed board shall hold office for 14 years "unless sooner removed for cause by the President." The intention of the "for cause" condition was to enhance the Fed's independence by making it more difficult for a president to fire its board members, who are appointed by the president. There are also signs that the Supreme Court would step in if Trump were to act, although the high court's views on the topic are unclear. In an ambiguous ruling earlier this year, Supreme Court justices allowed Trump to temporarily proceed with the firings of board members at two other independent agencies. In granting the administration's request, the court said that in its judgment, the government "is likely to show" that the fired board members exercised "considerable executive power," a view that suggests the president possesses broader power to remove the officials at will. Read more: How much control does the president have over the Fed and interest rates? Legal challenges from those board members are still playing out at an appeals court. But Powell got a good sign Thursday when a Washington, D.C., district court judge ruled that another Trump firing of FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter was illegal and that she should be reappointed. The judge cited a 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent that limits the power of the president to dismiss independent agency board members except in cases of neglect or malfeasance. That precedent offers Powell a layer of protection. It was set in a 1935 case titled Humphrey's Executor v. US that challenged President Franklin Roosevelt's termination of the US Federal Trade Commissioner. The court held that the president's authority to terminate agency officials at will was limited to purely executive officers, and not those leading independent agencies that engage in regulation and adjudication. Congress, the court said, had power to limit the president's removal power over those officials "for cause" — then described that term to mean inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance. Trump is challenging whether that precedent applies across various independent agencies, but the Supreme Court has not yet made a definitive ruling on whether it should stand. If the precedent falls and leaves no explicit protection for the central bank, a Powell firing could certainly be a lot easier to pull off. 'For cause' Powell does have one major vulnerability, however. That 'for cause' language embedded in the Federal Reserve Act hasn't really been defined or tested in court. The statute also doesn't have any language that specifically addresses the chair of the Board of Governors. And the White House has been using a new line of attack against Powell that could offer a path to a 'for cause' dismissal, as the president and his allies raise concerns about a $2.5 billion renovation of the central bank's headquarters. "I mean it's possible there's fraud involved with the $2.5 billion renovation," Trump told reporters on Wednesday, after saying earlier that the project "sort of is" a fireable offense. He said he wasn't planning to fire Powell but also left the door open, saying, "I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud.' National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett — one of Powell's potential successors — said last Sunday on ABC News's "This Week" that whether the president has the legal authority to fire Powell before his term is up next May "is being looked into" and that "certainly, if there's cause, he does." But he also acknowledged it was a 'highly uncertain legal matter.' Politico reported that outside lawyers told the White House counsel's office it would likely lose a legal fight with Powell if Trump removed Powell solely over accusations that he mishandled renovations and that White House officials were also unsure whether it would work. Politico quoted one official who said, 'Whether or not it's illegal, I don't know. But is it a good thing to point out to damage this guy's image? Yeah.' The White House is certainly showing no signs of letting up on its pressure. They are seeking a site visit to see the Fed's renovations in person. Powell has asked the Fed's inspector general to review the costs involved. He also sent White House budget director Russ Vought a letter Thursday offering a point-by-point rebuttal of questions raised about the project and denying reports of a VIP elevator and VIP dining rooms. "We take seriously the responsibility to be good stewards of public resources," he said, and "we have taken great care to ensure the project is carefully overseen.' Case Western Reserve University business law professor Eric Chaffee said he thinks Powell would win any legal battle with the White House on the 'for cause' clause, but he doesn't think such a confrontation will come to pass given that Powell only has 10 months left as chair. "We're just so close to the end of the term that I think the Trump administration is very likely just to wait things out,' he said. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on X @alexiskweed. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
