Mōrena and welcome to the end of another working week and your Friday summary of global business and political news.
First today, US President Donald Trump backed down from setting higher tariffs on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors from the European Union, the BBC reported.
Last month, Trump said those products were not covered by the trade deal and tariff rates were set at 250% and 100%, respectively. New details released revealed the tariffs would be set at 15%, however, in line with most other sectors.
Irish deputy prime minister and foreign minister Simon Harris said it provided a “shield” to Irish exporters. "Our intention now is to see what other carve outs can be made in areas of interest for Irish exporters."
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic described it as the “most favourable” trade deal the US had extended to any trading partner, CNBC reported.
“But this is not the end. This is the beginning. This framework is the first step, one that can grow over time to cover more sectors, improve market access, and strengthen our economic ties even further.”
A New York appeal court has thrown out a near US$500 million judgment against Trump in a civil fraud case brought by the state’s attorney general, CNN reported.
The decision was not unanimous and leaves Trump still liable for fraud. New York Attorney General Letitia James planned to appeal the ruling.
The judges said: “While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
In the Middle East, the Palestinian Interior Ministry condemned Israel’s plan to seize and forcibly displace about one million people from Gaza City, describing it as a “criminal plan,” Al Jazeera reported.
“This would constitute a major humanitarian catastrophe for the city’s 1.2 million residents and internally displaced people,” the ministry said.
“If the [Israeli] occupation continues its plan, it would sentence 1.2 million people to death and displacement without shelter or a place to go.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia launched 574 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles at Ukraine overnight, according to officials, the ABC reported.
The strikes killed at least one person and injured 15 others. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia acted like "nothing has changed at all”, after a series of discussions between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with Trump meeting Zelensky and European leaders in the US.
“This requires a response. There is still no signal from Moscow that they truly intend to engage in substantive negotiations and end this war,” Zelensky said.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said that its forces had carried out strikes on energy infrastructure, among other targets. The BBC said it was the biggest air attack since July.
Several areas of Ukraine came under attack, including western regions where a US electronics factory was hit.
Meanwhile, Italian police arrested a Ukrainian man suspected of co-ordinating attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines, Germany’s prosecutor general said.
Al Jazeera reported that the suspect, identified only as Serhii K under German privacy laws, would be brought before a German judge after being extradited.
To date, no one had claimed responsibility for explosions that severely damaged pipelines carrying gas from Russia to Europe in September 2022, marking a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict.
Serhii K was part of a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm, Al Jazeera said.
Over the Ditch, the Commonwealth Bank backtracked on job cuts because it said the decision to axe 45 roles was an "error," the ABC reported.
CBA said it had apologised to the employees after finding the customer service roles were not redundant despite introducing an AI-powered voice-bot.
The Finance Sector Union said the reversal was a "major win". It said its members found work actually spiked after the bot was introduced.
CBA said it did not adequately consider all relevant business considerations when announcing the redundancies. "We should have been more thorough in our assessment of the roles required."
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
Finally, US investors are awaiting comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Friday local time, CNBC reported.
Wall Street slipped ahead of his speech at the central bank’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, which will give an indication about the path of interest rates.
“Stock valuations are very elevated right now heading into Jackson Hole, and investors have very high expectations that Powell will hint at a September rate cut,” said Rick Gardner, chief investment officer at RGA Investments.
“Anything short of that could push investors to take some chips off of the table, especially given lighter August trading volume and a reluctance for risk heading into a weekend.”
