James Thomson

2 days ago | afr.com | James Thomson

On Wall Street, they partied like it was 1999 after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on Chinese tariffs. In Australia, the celebrations were much more restrained: the ASX 200 rose just 0.5 per cent on Tuesday, compared with the 3.6 per cent surge for the S&P 500.

2 days ago | afr.com | James Thomson

As US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did the rounds of American television channels on Monday night to triumphantly trumpet his de-escalation of the US-China tariff war before Wall Street began trading for the day, he was asked a rather awkward question. For months, US President Donald Trump and his administration had told us how important these tariffs were for rebalancing global trade, for bringing manufacturing back to America and for raising revenue to pay for big tax cuts.

3 days ago | afr.com | James Thomson

May 12, 2025 – 7.55pm or Subscribe to save articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has delivered the de-escalation he promised, and that markets have been betting on.

3 days ago | afr.com | James Thomson

May 12, 2025 – 5.48pm or Subscribe to save articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? If it wasn’t already clear Brookfield has done its dough at private hospital operator Healthscope, it is now. The $US1 trillion ($1.6 trillion) private capital giant announced on Monday it is willing to hand control of the business to the syndicate of lenders who hold $1.6 billion of Healthscope’s debt. Loading...

3 days ago | afr.com | James Thomson

With the election in the rearview mirror and the endless talk of price-gouging put to bed, there’s one big question hanging over the Australian retail industry: does Woolworths chief executive Amanda Bardwell need to start a price war to win back the trust of consumers? She certainly has the ammunition. In February, Bardwell announced a plan to cut $400 million in head office costs, sparking speculation that a chunk of that would be pumped into promotions and discounts. Loading...