Mōrena and welcome to your Friday recap of international business and political news.
First up, the Bank of England left interest rates on hold at 4% after a 7-2 vote by the monetary policy committee, the Guardian reported.
Governor Andrew Bailey said inflation is expected to return to the key 2% target, but “we’re not out of the woods yet so any future cuts will need to be made gradually and carefully.
“I continue to think that there will be some further reductions [to interest rates], but I think the timing and scale of those is more uncertain now. We are also seeing softening in the labour market going on, and there is a risk that could, of course, get larger. It’s a risk rather than a central expectation.”
Earlier this week, the US Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points and projected it will slash rates twice more this year amid growing concerns about the health of the US labour market, Reuters reported.
The move took the federal funds rate to a new range of 4% to 4.25%, the first rate cut of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Chair Jerome Powell said the next steps were not “incredibly obvious”, CNN reported.
“We have to live life looking through the windshield rather than the rearview mirror,” Powell said.
Elsewhere, a joint news conference has been held in the UK between Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where they discussed Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Trump expressed frustration at being unable to stop the fighting, the ABC reported.
"The one [war] that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President [Vladimir] Putin, but he's let me down," Trump said.
"He's really let me down."
CNBC reported that Trump had indicated a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine could be close. “I hope we’re going to have some good news for you coming up,” he said.
“Millions of people have died in that war, millions of souls. They’re being killed, and I feel I have an obligation to get it settled for that reason.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has revoked and denied visas for some Indian business executives over allegations they are involved in the trade of fentanyl components, Al Jazeera reported.
The US Embassy in India did not identify the individuals or provide details about the nature of their business activities.
“In furtherance to the Trump Administration’s efforts to keep Americans safe from dangerous synthetic narcotics, the US Embassy in New Delhi has revoked and subsequently denied visas for certain business executives and corporate leadership based on involvement in trafficking fentanyl precursors,” it said.
Fentanyl precursors included tranquilisers and other chemicals used in the manufacturing of the drug, Al Jazeera said.
In France, hundreds of thousands of workers were involved in widespread strike action across the country after unions called for protest action against budget cuts, the BBC reported.
Organisers claimed one million people turned out, with 80,000 police officers deployed. In Paris, clashes broke out between police and protesters.
Unions urged more spending on public services, higher wealth taxes, and for budget cuts to be axed.
In business news, Nvidia announced a US$5 billion investment in Intel, which included a plan to jointly develop personal computer and data centre chips, Reuters reported.
Nvidia said it would pay US$23.28 per share for Intel, below Wednesday’s US$24.90 closing price. Last month, the US government took a 10% stake in Intel for US$20.47 per share.
Bloomberg said Intel would use Nvidia’s graphics technology in upcoming PC chips and provide its processors for data centre products built around Nvidia hardware. The investment sent Intel shares soaring, with the US government’s stake rising more than 55%.
In other corporate news, Deliveroo chief executive Will Shu plans to leave the food delivery company after more than a decade, CNBC reported.
Shu established Deliveroo in 2013 with friend Greg Orlowski. Shu said he will step down as CEO once the takeover by rival DoorDash is completed. The acquisition values Deliveroo at £2.9b.
“Taking Deliveroo from being an idea to what it is today has been amazing,” Shu said.
