Chinese consumers travel and spend less, LVMH deupty CEO says
Demand in the United States, however, showed some first signs of a rebound, but as long as trade tensions with the European Union over threatened tariffs are not being eased, the climate will remain difficult, he added.
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CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Shares slip as investors look to earnings, tariff talks
LONDON :European shares fell on Tuesday, hit by mixed corporate earnings and anxiety over tariff negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners, while the euro held steady. The Euro STOXX 600 index extended losses during morning trading and was last down 0.6 per cent, with bourses in Germany and France losing 1.1 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively. Among the big decliners were chemical stocks which shed 2 per cent as Dulux paint maker Akzo Nobel lost 5.4 per cent after lowering its core profit outlook for 2025. Earnings from firms including SAP and UniCredit were also in focus. Investors were also following tariff talks ahead of Washington's August 1 deadline, with the European Union exploring a broader set of possible countermeasures against the U.S. as hopes for an acceptable agreement fade. The euro was steady at $1.1689 after rising 0.5 per cent on Monday, though still away from the near four-year high hit at the start of the month. The single currency is up 13 per cent this year as investors looked for alternatives to U.S. assets bruised by tariff uncertainties. Its performance is closely monitored for its impact on profits in the euro zone's export-reliant economy. "The euro's ability to maintain preference over the dollar amid tariff tensions will depend on the extent of any escalation and whether the EU emerges as a relative loser while other countries secure significant deals with the U.S.," ING analysts wrote in a note to clients. Wall Street futures were marginally down. The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs on Monday. [.N] Investors await results this week from Wall Street giants Alphabet and Tesla, as well as European heavyweights LVMH and Roche, as uncertainty over tariffs clouds the outlook. Earlier, Asian share markets drifted lower after scaling a near four-year peak. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit its highest since October 2021 but finished down 0.4 per cent. The index is up nearly 16 per cent this year. Japanese markets returned after a holiday on Monday following the weekend's election where the ruling coalition suffered a defeat in upper house elections, although Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to remain in his post. The yen rallied 1 per cent on Monday, recouping some of the losses from past weeks and was flat at 147.43 per dollar. FED INDEPENDENCE The dollar index, which gauges the unit against six other key currencies, was also flat at 97.849. Rumblings around the Federal Reserve's independence and whether U.S. President Donald Trump will fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell have kept investors on tenterhooks in recent weeks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday the entire Federal Reserve needed to be examined as an institution and whether it had been successful. The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady in its July meeting but might lower rates later in the year. Market focus will be squarely on Powell's impending speech on Tuesday for clues about when the Fed might ease policy. Brent crude futures fell 0.9 per cent to $68.56 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped by the same amount to $66.59 per barrel.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Some visitors to the United States will soon need to pay US$250 'visa integrity fee'
SINGAPORE: International visitors to the United States will be required to pay a 'visa integrity fee' of at least US$250, CNN reported on Tuesday (Jul 22), citing a provision in President Donald Trump's flagship tax and spending Bill that was passed earlier this month. The US$250 fee will apply to all visitors who are required to obtain non-immigrant visas to enter the US. This includes business and leisure travellers, as well as international students. The fee will be in addition to existing visa and immigration fees. Tourists and business travellers from countries or regions that are part of the US visa waiver program - such as Singapore, Australia, Japan and many European countries - are not required to obtain visas for stays of 90 days or less. US Visa Waiver Program The US Visa Waiver Program enables most citizens or nationals of participating countries or territories to travel to the US for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa, though they must still have a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval. Travellers must be a citizen or national of the following countries or territories: Andorra Australia Austria Belgium Brunei Chile Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Japan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Monaco Netherlands New Zealand Norway Poland Portugal Qatar San Marino Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan United Kingdom Collapse According to the legislative provision, visitors will be required to make payment at the same time their visas are issued. There will be no fee waivers, though visitors who comply with their visa provisions can have the fee reimbursed after their trip is over. Any fees that are not reimbursed "shall be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury", a provision in the Bill says. The initial fee for fiscal year 2025 is outlined at either US$250 or greater, determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The fee is also subject to annual adjustments for inflation. "The intent behind this refund provision is to incentivise compliance with US immigration laws by treating the US$250 as a refundable security deposit - essentially rewarding those who follow the rules," wrote immigration lawyer Steven A Brown, a partner at Houston-based Reddy Neumann Brown PC, in a blog post on his firm's website. Trump on Jul 4 signed his "Big Beautiful Bill" into law, saying that the Bill's passage would supercharge the US economy. However, it is also expected to add trillions of dollars to the US deficit. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has cracked down on immigration, banning citizens from several countries and making efforts to deny enrollment of foreign students. While the visa integrity fee was approved after the Bill was passed, it has not been implemented yet. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency instituting the new fee, has not provided any specific details about the refund process or other aspects of the implementation of the fee. 'The visa integrity fee requires cross-agency coordination before implementation,' CNN reported, citing a DHS spokesperson. Brown warned that the fee reimbursement is not automatic, and that the burden will likely fall on visa holders to prove compliance and request the refund through a process that has not yet been announced. 'Until those procedures are announced, employers and foreign nationals should treat the US$250 visa integrity fee as a non-refundable upfront cost and plan accordingly,' Brown said. 'If a refund becomes viable in the future, it may provide an added benefit - but for now, it remains a theoretical incentive awaiting implementation guidelines.'
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
US to leave UN cultural agency UNESCO again, New York Post reports
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of U.S. President Donald Trump with the UNESCO logo in the background is seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo The United States will leave the United Nations' culture and education agency UNESCO as President Donald Trump continues to pull his country out of international institutions he has long criticized, the New York Post reported on Tuesday, citing a White House official. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The move is a blow to the Paris-based agency, founded after World War Two to promote peace through international cooperation in education, science, and culture. Trump took similar steps during his first term, quitting the World Health Organization, the U.N. Human Rights Council, a global climate change accord and the Iran nuclear deal. Joe Biden reversed those decisions after taking office in 2021, returning the U.S. to UNESCO, the WHO and the climate agreement. With Trump now back in the White House, the U.S. is once again pulling out of these global bodies. The administration has also ordered a 90-day pause on all U.S. foreign assistance to assess alignment with Trump's foreign policy priorities. UNESCO is best known for designating World Heritage Sites, including the Grand Canyon in the United States and the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singaporeans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore Miscalculation of MOH subsidies and grants led to $7m in overpayments, $2m in shortfalls Singapore Singaporeans continue to hold world's most powerful passport in latest ranking Asia Indonesia on high alert as dry weather fans forest, peatland fires in Sumatra Singapore 2 charged over alleged role in posting bail for man who later absconded Singapore Teen charged after allegedly selling vaporisers, advertising e-cigarettes on WhatsApp Singapore 2,500 turtles seized in India and sent back to S'pore, put down humanely after salmonella detected Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving The United States initially joined UNESCO at its founding in 1945 but withdrew for the first time in 1984 in protest against alleged financial mismanagement and perceived anti-U.S. bias, returning almost 20 years later in 2003 under President George W. Bush, who then said the agency had undertaken needed reforms. UNESCO's full name is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO officials said the agency was already a lot less dependent on the United States than in the past, but the move would nonetheless impact the agency, with some limited impact on programmes the United States was financing. The United States provides about 8% of UNESCO's total budget, down from about 20% at the time Trump first pulled the United States out of the agency. REUTERS
