Mōrena and welcome to your Monday summary of international business and political news.
First up, US investigators are looking into a note left by Tyler Robinson, the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk, CNN reported.
Social and gaming platform Discord said there were “communications between the suspect’s roommate and a friend after the shooting where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere”.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the note was still under review. “Those are things that are still being processed for accuracy and verification and will be included in charging documents.”
Robinson was taken into custody 33 hours after Kirk was shot dead on Wednesday local time. Kirk, a conservative activist and influential Trump ally, was hit in the neck by a bullet.
US President Donald Trump promised a crackdown on political violence, particularly for “radical left political violence”.
FBI Director Kash Patel will face congressional scrutiny over his leadership of the investigation into the killing, following early reported missteps.
Patel is set to appear before the Senate and House judiciary committees, to answer questions about how the FBI handled the Kirk case, Al Jazeera reported.
Elsewhere, US and Chinese officials started key trade talks in Madrid on Sunday local time, CNBC reported.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer arrived before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and the country’s top trade negotiator Li Chenggang.
Trump previously approved the extension of current US tariffs on Chinese goods until November 10.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over ongoing Middle East tensions, Al Jazeera reported.
Rubio said his focus in Israel would be on securing the return of hostages, humanitarian aid, and addressing the threat posed by militant group Hamas.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
In Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney launched a new agency responsible for building affordable homes to rapidly boost the pace of construction over the next decade, Bloomberg reported.
Build Canada Homes plans to construct 4000 factory-built houses on federal land in the initial first stage. In many parts of Canada, rents and house prices had risen faster than incomes.
Carney had earlier promised Build Canada Homes would eventually help double the pace of construction to about 500,000 homes a year.
In business news, the BBC reported on new US investment into the financial services sector benefiting Belfast, London, Edinburgh and Manchester with new jobs.
The Bank of America intends to create up to 1000 new jobs, marking its first operation in Northern Ireland. Citigroup also planned investment across its UK sites, including growing its presence in Northern Ireland.
The US firms announced the investments worth more than £1.25 billion ahead of Trump's state visit to the UK this week.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the commitments demonstrate "the immense potential of the UK economy, our strong relationship with the US, and the confidence global investors have in our plan for change.
"[The investments] will create thousands of high-skilled jobs from Belfast to Edinburgh, kickstarting the growth that is essential to putting money in working people's pockets across every part of the United Kingdom.”
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Official data showed the UK economy flatlined in July, the Guardian reported.
The Office for National Statistics said growth in the services and construction sectors was offset by a 0.9% fall in the production sector, which includes manufacturing.
Meanwhile, US consumer sentiment was hit by concerns about employment and prices. The University of Michigan’s index declined to 55.4 from 58.2 in August, the lowest reading since May.
Consumers noted multiple risks in the economy, including general business conditions, the labour market, and inflation.
Over the Ditch, food manufacturer Bega Group has sold its two peanut processing plants in Queensland to Crumpton Group. Bega first announced plans to close its sites in July because of financial pressures, the ABC reported.
Bega Group's Peanut Company of Australia business will still close, but Crumpton Group plans to hire some former staff.
Crumpton Group general manager Sonie Crumpton said the company bought the assets to give the industry a future.
“We're definitely going to re-hire some of those staff, but at the moment I don't know who that will be.”
Bega’s July announcement left farmers and about 150 employees in limbo about the future of the peanut industry in the regions, the ABC said.
