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Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Top EU official says ‘Trump is right' that China is a ‘serious problem' that threatens us all — here's why
Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hasn't shied away from criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump — especially when it comes to his sweeping tariffs. But lately, the two have aligned on a shared concern: China. 'When we focus our attention on tariffs between partners, it diverts our energy from the real challenge — one that threatens us all,' von der Leyen said during the 'Global economic outlook' roundtable at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta. 'On this point, Donald is right — there is a serious problem,' she admitted. 'The biggest collective problem we have has its origins in the accession of China to the WTO in 2001 … China has largely shown ... unwillingness to live within the constraints of the rules based international system.' Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 4 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) You don't have to be a millionaire to gain access to this $1B private real estate fund. In fact, you can get started with as little as $10 — here's how In particular, von der Leyen accused China of 'undercutting intellectual property protections' and providing 'massive subsidies with the aim to dominate global manufacturing and supply chains.' She said China's actions don't reflect fair market competition, but instead represent 'distortion with intent,' which she warned undermines the manufacturing sectors of its trading partners. In her statement, von der Leyen urged G7 nations to confront the issue together, noting that the bloc represents 45% of global GDP and more than 80% of global intellectual property revenues — leverage that could be used to pressure China. The European Commission chief also revealed she is 'working closely' with Trump on a mutually beneficial trade agreement. Her remarks echo Trump's long-standing warnings about China — and add momentum to the broader push among Western nations to rethink their economic ties. For investors, it could be a wake-up call: When global power shifts, it pays to have something solid in your corner. With global tensions rising and major economies reassessing their trade ties, investors are turning to assets that can hold up in turbulent times. One that continues to stand out, according to legendary hedge fund manager Ray Dalio, is gold. 'People don't have, typically, an adequate amount of gold in their portfolio,' Dalio told CNBC earlier this year. 'When bad times come, gold is a very effective diversifier.' Long seen as the ultimate safe haven, gold isn't tied to any single country, currency or economy. It can't be printed out of thin air like fiat money, and in times of economic turmoil or geopolitical uncertainty, investors tend to pile in — driving up its value. Over the past 12 months, gold prices have surged more than 40%. One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Goldco. Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an option for those seeking to ensure their retirement funds are well-shielded against economic uncertainties. Goldco offers free shipping and access to a library of retirement resources. Plus, the company will match up to 10% of qualified purchases in free silver. If you're curious whether this is the right investment to diversify your portfolio, you can download your free gold and silver information guide today. Read more: This tiny hot Costco item has skyrocketed 74% in price in under 2 years — but now the retail giant is restricting purchases. If gold is the common go-to hedge for moments of chaos, real estate is the long game — and no one knows that better than Trump himself. Before politics, Trump made his fortune in real estate — and the asset class remains a powerful tool for building and preserving wealth, especially during inflationary times. That's because property values and rental income tend to rise along with the cost of living. Unlike some other investments, real estate doesn't need a roaring stock market to deliver returns. Even during downturns, high-quality properties can generate rental income — offering a dependable stream of passive cash flow. As Trump told Steve Forbes back in 2011, 'I just notice that when you have that right piece of property, whatever it might be, including location, it tends to work well in good times and in bad times.' Today, you don't need to buy a property outright to benefit from real estate investing. Crowdfunding platforms like Arrived offer an easier way to get exposure to this income-generating asset class. Backed by world class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of rental homes with as little as $100, all without the hassle of mowing lawns, fixing leaky faucets or handling difficult tenants. The process is simple: Browse a curated selection of homes that have been vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Once you find a property you like, select the number of shares you'd like to purchase, and then sit back as you start receiving any positive rental income distributions from your investment. Another option is Homeshares, which gives accredited investors access to the $35 trillion U.S. home equity market — a space that's historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors. With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property. With risk-adjusted target returns ranging from 14% to 17%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets. Financial aid only funds about 27% of US college expenses — but savvy parents are using this 3-minute move to cover 100% of those costs Elon Musk just endorsed Warren Buffett's '5-minute' fix for America's multi-trillion debt problem — and 1 Senator is drafting a constitutional change to make it real. Do you think it'll work? Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Here's how much the average 60-year-old American has in retirement savings — and 5 critical ways you can secure your nest egg Stay in the know. Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise sent straight to your inbox every week for free. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Euronews
a day ago
- Business
- Euronews
Let's create a new World Trade Organization
At Thursday's EU summit in Brussels, European leaders discussed the possibility of overhauling the WTO's institutional framework, including its stalled dispute resolution mechanisms, to better reflect the current global trade landscape. 'The WTO hasn't worked for years,' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a press conference following the summit, referencing persistent dysfunction under both the Trump and Biden administrations. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented leaders with different options of trade deals, labelling as the most attractive a closer cooperation between the EU and members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a regional trade pact of 11 Pacific Rim countries and the UK. She introduced the initiative as a potential first step toward reshaping the global trade order. 'I said that we can think about this as the beginning of redesigning the WTO—of course, understanding what should be reformed positively within it,' von der Leyen told reporters after the summit. She stressed the importance of learning from the WTO's shortcomings and showing the world that 'free trade based on rules' remains achievable with a wide group of willing partners. 'This is a project we should truly engage in. CPTPP and the European Union—that's my team,' she said, adding that the EU must take the lead in managing this initiative. Asked whether the United States should be involved, von der Leyen replied: 'As far as I understand, the Americans left the CPTPP at a certain point.' This is not the first attempt to circumvent the WTO's paralysis. As a stopgap measure, 57 WTO members, including the UK, Paraguay, and Malaysia, have joined the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), a mechanism that replicates the WTO Appellate Body's functions for participating members. However, the MPIA covers only 57.6% of global trade and does not address the broader institutional crisis. The WTO has been effectively paralysed since December 2019, when the US began blocking appointments to the Appellate Body, rendering the two-tier dispute settlement system non-functional. Major trade negotiations—such as those on eliminating harmful fisheries subsidies and reforming agricultural rules—remain stalled due to entrenched positions from key members, including the US, China, Japan, and the EU itself. With few signs of resolution, the WTO's future relevance is increasingly being called into question.
Libya Review
a day ago
- Politics
- Libya Review
EU Seeks ‘New Phase' of Migration Cooperation With Libya
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has raised alarm over the growing number of irregular migrants entering Europe via Libya, stating that 93% of illegal border crossings into the EU now originate from Libyan territory. In remarks quoted by the Italian news outlet EU News, von der Leyen stressed that migrant departures from Libya remain alarmingly high, with most individuals categorized as undocumented or irregular migrants. The Commission President noted a 7% rise in illegal crossings through the central Mediterranean route, and a dramatic 173% surge in arrivals to Greece from eastern Libya—figures she described as deeply concerning. To address the situation, von der Leyen announced that European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner will soon visit Libya to meet with authorities in both eastern and western Libya, as part of a new EU push to expand cooperation on irregular migration control. She emphasized the EU's intent to work with Libya under what she called a 'Team Europe approach', aimed at strengthening border management, disrupting human smuggling networks, and coordinating legal migration channels, including work visa frameworks. Von der Leyen also highlighted the need to ensure protection for migrants, alongside voluntary return programs to their countries of origin, noting that long-term stability depends on shared responsibility and strategic partnerships with key transit countries like Libya. Tags: euHuman SmugglinglibyaMediterraneanmigration
Euronews
a day ago
- Business
- Euronews
Why did Fico veto the new EU sanctions on Russia? Money is key
A new veto has landed in Brussels. Robert Fico, Slovakia's prime minister, confirmed on Thursday that he would continue to vote down the next package of sanctions that the European Union wants to impose on Russia in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. With sanctions subject to unanimity rules, Fico's decision makes it impossible to approve the proposal, which is considered ready to go after diplomats spent the last day polishing the technical details in anticipation of a formal endorsement. Interestingly, Fico's opposition has nothing to do with the sanctions themselves. It relates to an entirely different matter: the so-called REPowerEU roadmap. The roadmap envisions a phase-out of all imports of Russian fossil fuels, including pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), by the end of 2027. The European Commission unveiled the roadmap in May and presented the draft legislation in June, based on gradual bans on short-term and long-term gas contracts. "Russia has repeatedly attempted to blackmail us by weaponising its energy supplies," said Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission president. "We have taken clear steps to turn off the tap and end the era of Russian fossil fuels in Europe for good." As a landlocked country with entrenched ties to Russian fuels, Slovakia immediately – and vociferously – protested the phase-out, warning it would raise prices and endanger competitiveness. Hungary, which is in a similar situation, joined the resistance. A hot point of contention has been the Commission's strategy to frame the proposal as trade and energy policy, meaning it will only need a qualified majority to pass through. Until now, the executive had chosen sanctions, a foreign policy tool, as the go-to option to remove imports of Russian fuels, such as coal and oil. Hungary and Slovakia were exempted from the permanent ban on Russian crude oil. As sanctions on gas remain elusive due to long-standing disagreements among capitals, the Commission took matters into its own hands and envisioned a creative workaround to ensure the prohibition on Russian gas eventually sees the light of day. The trick infuriated Slovakia, which resorted to vetoing the 18th package of sanctions as a last-ditch effort to extract the concessions that it would otherwise not get. The colour of money Fico confirmed his veto after holding a bilateral meeting with von der Leyen on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels. In the days leading up to the summit, officials in the Commission had sounded optimistic that a compromise of sorts would be reached and the 18th package of sanctions would sail away before the end of the month. But then, the Slovak put his foot down. In a video message posted on his Facebook account in the middle of the summit, Fico aired an extensive list of grievances and reservations regarding the phase-out, indicating he was open to a deal with von der Leyen but at a higher-than-expected price. "It's unfortunate that we are heading down this road, as this is clearly an ideological proposal," he said. "This will harm us, unless an agreement is reached with the European Commission that would compensate us for all the damage this proposal might cause." The leader name-checked five issues that he wants to address and, ideally, resolve: "Therefore, this issue must be resolved first," Fico said at the end of the video. "Let's define the solution, and only then can we discuss further sanctions packages. If our proposal to postpone the vote is not accommodated, the Slovak ambassador will receive a clear instruction to veto the adoption of the 18th sanctions package." Fico noted he would engage in "constructive negotiations", with a "special mission" led by the Commission scheduled to travel to Slovakia next week. It is far from clear how von der Leyen's team would manage to accommodate his needs, which appear to be worth billions in euros. The bloc's multi-annual budget is strained and has limited space to cope with unforeseen circumstances or, in this case, demands. The proposed phase-out does not feature a dedicated envelope of EU funds. Von der Leyen did not address the thorny subject in her press conference at the end of the summit, and the Commission did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Officials had previously insisted the phase-out would not produce a steep rise in consumer prices because the bloc's transition away from Russian fuels is already well underway, with greater diversification from Norway, the US, Algeria, Qatar, Azerbaijan and the UK, as well as faster deployment of homegrown green energy. "We can, indeed, make sure that this transition will happen in a way that it does not lead to an increase in prices and certainly not to a situation of supply issues for these countries," Dan Jørgensen, the European Commissioner for Energy, said in June. Jørgensen also stressed that the bans foreseen under the phase-out would be solid enough to declare force majeure – that is, events or circumstances that go beyond the control of the signatories – and protect clients against eye-popping damages. "We've deliberately formulated this legislation and used the legal basis which makes it a prohibition and thereby a force majeure situation for the companies in question," he said. "That means they are not legally liable. It's not them that's breaking up a contract." The reasoning has not entirely convinced experts, who argue traditional foreign-policy sanctions are the most bulletproof method to defy lawsuits in court.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
EU received 'Latest' trade proposal from US, says Ursula Von Der Leyen - The Economic Times Video
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday the EU had received the "latest U.S. document" for further negotiations on tariffs but did not reveal details of Washington's demands. "All options remain on the table," she told reporters following a EU summit in Brussels. "We are assessing it," von der Leyen said of the U.S. proposal. "Our message today is clear. We are ready for a deal. At the same time, we are preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement is reached." She said that the EU would "defend the European interest as needed." Show more Show less
