White House adviser says trade talks continuing with EU, Canada, Mexico
Asked about his expectations of talks with the EU, the White House National Economic Council director said: "We'll see ... we've got a few weeks left."
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tahawul Tech
5 minutes ago
- Tahawul Tech
AI funding hits record-high of $23.6bn in Q2
AI start-ups are on track for another record year, driven by strong early investment and major funding deals. Mega deals, such as Elon Musk's xAI aiming for $10 billion and Figure AI seeking $1.5 billion, have sparked investor interest and put more pressure on start-ups to develop real-world AI solutions. This perfect storm of events has led to the strongest start to the year and a record-breaking quarterly total. According to data presented by , VC funding into AI start-ups skyrocketed by 71% year-over-year and hit a record $23.6 billion in Q2. In Q2 alone, AI start-ups raised nearly 70% of the total annual funding seen in 2022 and 2023. Despite high interest rates, economic slowdown, stricter regulations on big tech and AI, Trump's tariff policies, and global trade tensions, AI continues to outperform nearly every other area of the tech sector, both in market forecast and VC investments. The Crunchbase data show that AI start-ups raised $14.1 billion in Q1, 23% more than the amount raised in the same period a year ago. Also, AI start-ups made nearly 58% of global VC investments in the first quarter, doubling their share year-over-year and reflecting growing investor enthusiasm. That momentum carried over into Q2, pushing the quarterly funding total to an all-time high. Between April and June, VC investors poured another $23.6 billion into the market, representing a 71% increase from Q2 2024 and the highest quarterly total. To put that figure into perspective, in Q2 alone, AI start-ups raised nearly 70% of the total annual funding seen in 2022 and 2023, when they raised $38 billion and $35 billion, respectively. Even if VC investments slow down, the current trend shows 2025 could still set a new record, outperforming 2024, the best year for AI start-up funding so far, which saw $64.4 billion in VC investments. Cumulative VC Funding Climbs to $285 Billion Comparing AI start-up funding to that of other most-funded sectors in 2025 reveals just how strong this trend is. In comparison, AI start-ups have raised twice more money than fintech start-ups ($15.8 billion), 70% more than IT start-ups ($21.9 billion), and nearly three times more than biotech companies ($13.8 billion) With over $37 billion of fresh capital poured into the market over the past five months, the cumulative funding amount in the AI start-up sector has jumped over $285 billion, and around 80% of that value, or $244 billion, was raised in the past five years. Statistics show that U.S. start-ups have raised 65% of that money, with a total of $187 billion in funding. Asiana and European companies follow with $49 billion and $36 billion in cumulative funding, respectively.
Zawya
35 minutes ago
- Zawya
Trump tariffs threaten US economy as much as European one, says German finmin
U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs threaten the American economy at least as much the European one, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Wednesday, calling for a "fair deal" with the Americans. "Trump's tariffs have only losers," Klingbeil said. The 30% tariff on European goods threatened by Trump would, if implemented, be a game-changer for Europe, wiping out whole chunks of transatlantic commerce and forcing a rethink of its export-led economic model. "We are experiencing global trade conflicts, and we are firmly and jointly convinced that European sovereignty is all the more important in these times," Klingbeil said in Berlin, speaking to the press with his French counterpart, Eric Lombard. If a deal is not possible, decisive countermeasures are needed. "To sum up: Our hand remains extended, but we will not go along with everything, possible countermeasures must continue to be prepared," Klingbeil said. "On this, France and Germany are in complete agreement." (Reporting by Maria Martinez, Editing by Miranda Murray)
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
How realistic is Macron's perception of threat?
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on July 14, the Bastille Day, marking the outbreak of the 1789 French Revolution, that France will increase its defence spending in the next two years by 6.5 billion euros (3 billion euros in 2026 and 3.5 billion euros in 2027), and in 2027 France's total defence spending would be 64 billion euros, double the amount that it was in 2017. Macron declared in his Bastille Day speech: 'Since 1945, freedom has never been so threatened, and never so seriously. To be free in this world, we must be feared. To be feared, we must be powerful.' He appealed to the people: 'The nation needs you. Every French man and woman must be cognizant of the threat around us. We all need to make sacrifices. Freedom has a price tag.' It is an aggressive speech from the leader of one of the leading democratic countries in Europe. And he is proposing to arm the country because Macron thinks that France is threatened. He has identifies the sources of threat as Russia, terrorism and online attacks. Russian attack on Ukraine is seen by western European democracies like France as a threat to democracy in Europe. It seems to be a rhetorical stance, to justify defence spending. France is not directly threatened by Russia. France chooses to back Ukraine along with other NATO and European Union (EU) countries, and the threat to Ukrainian independence is considered a threat to the rest of Europe of Europe. It is this mindset of collective security that has drawn Europe into two world wars. And the sense of collective security has reappeared on the political horizon of Europe for the first time since the 1930s. The serious question to be asked is whether the perceived Russian threat to Europe is an ideological one or is it a military threat. Russia is not interested in, nor capable of, threatening Europe militarily. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2024 was unjustified but the situation was complex. Russia was feeling threatened by the idea of Ukraine becoming a member of the Western military alliance, NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin should have handled it with tact instead of going to war with Russia. Is France's decision to step up its defence spending massively a response to Russia, or is it a response to the pressure exerted by US President Donald Trump that European members of NATO must spend at least 5 per cent of their national GDP on defence because he felt that America was bearing the financial burden of NATO alone on its shoulders? It seems to be the case that Macron is responding to Trump's pressure, and he has turned it into a grand statement against Russia. The other two sources of threat that Macron has identified are terrorism and online attacks. There have been sporadic terrorist attacks in France by Islamic extremists. But the way to respond to terrorism is not an increase in defence expenditure but to formulate a strategy of isolating the extremist elements in the Muslim expat community in France, most of whom are from north African countries like Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia. Macron does not recognise the fact that the religious extremists from these communities pose a threat to the communities themselves. There is a need to protect the North African communities, majority of whom are Muslims. This needs a social strategy. It would require that these communities should be integrated into French society. The subtle and the not-so-subtle discrimination that exists against the migrants, especially the Muslims, will need to end. It is indeed puzzling that President Macron wants to counter online attacks through billions of euros on defence preparedness. Cyber-attacks have to be countered through technological upgradation and not through guns, tanks and fighter planes.
