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May 21, 2025

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European markets slipped on Wednesday as geopolitical tensions resurfaced and fresh inflation data from the UK cast doubt on the prospect of interest rate cuts.

Germany’s DAX declined 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.3%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 lost 0.17% in early trade.

Sentiment was hit after US President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to mediate the war in Ukraine failed to yield any progress.

In a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, Trump abandoned his earlier demand for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire—an approach that had been supported by Ukraine as a starting point for peace talks.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius criticized the shift, saying, “Putin is clearly playing for time. Unfortunately, we have to say Putin is not really interested in peace.”

The setback in diplomatic efforts adds further strain to Kyiv, especially following Trump’s public rift with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier this year.

Meanwhile, in economic developments, the UK reported a sharp jump in inflation.

April’s consumer price index rose 3.5% year-on-year, up from 2.6% in March, marking the highest level since January 2024.

The acceleration in inflation, driven by wage pressures and persistent service-sector costs, may complicate the Bank of England’s path to easing.

Markets had been pricing in the potential for two rate cuts by year-end, but Wednesday’s data now makes even one cut appear uncertain.

The inflation surprise, coupled with ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, weighed on risk appetite and added to the cautious tone across European equity markets.

Asia markets open mostly higher

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Wednesday, shrugging off Wall Street’s first loss in seven sessions.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.23% after official data showed exports declined for the second consecutive month, underscoring the impact of US President Donald Trump’s broad tariffs on Japanese trade.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.58%, and the tech-heavy Kosdaq outperformed with a 0.95% gain.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.43%, lifted by strength in energy and financial stocks.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opened 0.45% higher, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was little changed in early trade.

US stocks on Tuesday

US stocks slipped on Tuesday as investors paused to reassess recent gains, with all three major indexes ending in the red despite paring intraday losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 114.83 points, or 0.3%, closing at 42,677.24. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 72.75 points, or 0.4%, to 19,142.71, while the S&P 500 declined 23.14 points, or 0.4%, to settle at 5,940.46.

Tuesday’s modest pullback followed a solid stretch of gains for equities, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 recently hitting their highest levels in nearly three months.

Traders appeared to take profits following the market’s rally from April lows, spurred by waning trade tensions and improving sentiment.

Still, caution lingered on the Street, as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon flagged risks that may not be fully reflected in current valuations.

Speaking at the bank’s investor day, Dimon noted signs of investor complacency and warned about the potential impact of rising inflation and stagflation.

The post European stocks open lower: FTSE down 0.2%, CAC 40 slips 0.3% appeared first on Invezz

BEIJING — One Chinese baby products company announced Tuesday it is officially entering the United States, the world’s largest consumer market — regardless of the trade war.

Shanghai-based Bc Babycare expects its supply chain diversification and the U.S. market potential to more than offset the impact of ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions, according to Chi Yang, the company’s vice president of Europe and the Americas.

“Even [if] the political things are not steady … I’m very confident about our product for the moment,” he told CNBC, adding he anticipates “very fast” growth in the U.S. in coming years. That includes his bold predictions that Bc Babycare’s flagship baby carrier can become the best-seller on Amazon.com in half a year, and that U.S. sales can grow by 10-fold in a year.

The $159.99 carrier, eligible for a $40 discount, already has 4.7 stars on Amazon.com across more than 30 reviews. The device claims to reduce pressure on the parent’s body by up to 33%. A far cheaper version of the baby carrier is a top seller among travel products for pregnancy and childbirth on JD.com in China.

Bc Babycare already has the carrier stocked in its U.S. warehouses, and has a network of factories and raw materials suppliers in the Americas, Europe and Asia, Yang said. “The global supply chain is one of the things we keep on building in the past couple years.”

The Trump administration has sought to reduce U.S. reliance on China-made goods and to encourage the return of manufacturing jobs to the U.S. In a rapid escalation of tensions last month, the U.S. and China had added tariffs of more than 100% on each other’s goods. Last week, the two sides agreed to a 90-day pause for most of the new duties in order to discuss a trade deal.

Baby gear is particularly sensitive to tariffs since the majority of those sold in the U.S. are made in China, said U.S.-based Newell Brands, which owns stroller company Graco, on an April 30 earnings call. That’s according to a FactSet transcript.

The company said it raised baby gear prices by about 20% in the last few weeks, but had not incorporated the additional 125% tariffs announced in mid-April. Newell said on the call it had about three to four months of inventory in the U.S., and had paused additional orders from China.

The company did not respond to a request for comment about whether it had resumed orders from China and whether it planned more price increases.

Bc Babycare declined to share how much it planned to invest in the U.S. But Yang said the company plans to open an office in the country and hire about five to 10 locals.

The company initially plans to sell online, spend on marketing and eventually work with major retailers for offline store sales. Its partners for raw materials and research include three U.S. companies: Lyra, Dow and Eastman.

The Chinese company, which entered the baby products segment in 2014, in 2021 claimed a 700 million yuan ($97.09 million) funding round from investors including Sequoia Capital China.

Yang said the company scrutinizes the comments section on Chinese and U.S. e-commerce websites to improve its products. As a result, the U.S. version of the baby carrier is softer and larger than the Chinese version, he said.

Bc Babycare’s U.S. market ambitions reflect how large U.S. and European multinationals not only face growing competition in China, but also in their home markets.

“After experiencing substantial growth due to the premiumization of consumption in the Chinese market, multinational brands are now entering a challenging second phase where they compete fiercely for market share,” Dave Xie, retail and consumer goods partner in Shanghai at consultancy Oliver Wyman, said in a statement last week.

Oliver Wyman said in a report last month that the Chinese market has become the incubator for premium product innovations that are being exported. The authors noted, for example, that Tineco floor scrubbers have become Amazon best-sellers.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

House Speaker Mike Johnson has reached a tentative deal with blue state Republican lawmakers to boost the cap on state and local tax deductions, or ‘SALT,’ to $40,000 in President Donald Trump’s so-called ‘big, beautiful bill,’ Republican sources confirmed to Fox News late Tuesday. 

The proposed cap – which is up from $30,000 – would be per household for taxpayers making less than $500,000 per year. 

 It remains unclear whether GOP hardliners who oppose raising the SALT cap deductions will sign off on the measure. 

The tentative agreement, first reported by Politico and confirmed by Fox News, comes as House GOP factions have been engaged in high-stakes debates on taxes, Medicaid, and green energy subsidies while crafting the president’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’

SALT deduction caps primarily benefit people living in high-cost-of-living areas like New York City, Los Angeles, and their surrounding areas. 

Republicans representing those areas have framed raising the SALT deduction cap as an existential issue, arguing that a failure to address it could cost the GOP the House majority in the 2026 midterms. 

Meanwhile, Republicans representing lower-tax states are largely wary of raising the deduction cap, believing that it incentivizes blue states’ high-tax policies. 

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS