Love him or hate Donald J Tump he is not like any other US President we have seen before.
Almost 80 I guess playing Golf keeps him fit and on top of his game although he loves fast food and coca-çola lol.

Elon Musk Sells Social Media Platform X To His Own Startup xAI In $33 Billion Deal: What It Means

Elon Musk has sold his social media platform, X, to his AI startup, xAI, in a $33 billion deal, marking a major shift in his tech empire. The merger aims to integrate AI-driven innovations with X’s vast digital ecosystem, setting the stage for a new era of intelligent online experiences.

https://www.newsx.com/world/elon-mu...up-xai-in-33-billion-deal-what-it-means/

SHELL what a great Dutch-British company.

I don't know much about the case and the EU is def used for corruption like any other government or political arena, but this is pretty harsh IMO.
I don't believe Le Pen was orchestrating corruption herself.
This is political motivated no doubt !

French far-right leader Le Pen barred from politics in embezzlement verdict
The sentence means Le Pen, the guiding force of the National Rally party, cannot run in the 2027 presidential election, unless she successfully appeals.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/03/31/france-marine-le-pen-embezzlement-guilty-verdict/

President Vladimir Putin has said indirectly that Emmanuel Macron is in danger of following Napoleon's lead.
I now think he could be right

What are tariffs and why is Trump using them?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn93e12rypgo

The Netherlands and China Strengthen Cultural Cooperation

The cultural ties between the Netherlands and China go back centuries. At the same time, the interaction between tradition and innovation is still just as dynamic.

On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, Minister Eppo Bruins of @minocw the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cultural cooperation with his Chinese counterpart, Sun Yeli, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China. Minister Sun traveled to The Hague with a delegation specifically for this occasion.

With this document, both ministers affirm the commitment of the Netherlands and China to continue working together in the cultural field for the next four years. The themes addressed in the Memorandum include heritage cooperation and heritage research, the exchange of visual arts and photography exhibitions, digital cultural forms, design, architecture and ceramics, performing arts, and film.

As Minister Bruins stated: "Today, we have signed an important document that will not only support but also strengthen our cultural cooperation. In a changing world, the arts bring people together. They encourage innovative and free thinking. And they inspire change. With this Memorandum, we are giving new momentum to the cultural collaboration between China and the Netherlands."

The very moment in history that you can watch a man decide that he is going to be president.

Seth Meyers deserves the credits for writing the jokes.

Thanks Obama, he literally helped Make America Great Again

Haha American Politics is Hardcore but I feel DJT has some kind of respect for Obama. He recently said he would love to run against him for a third term.

"Europe is always ready for a good deal," Ursula von der Leyen says as trade tensions with the United States reach all-time high.
The European Commission has offered the United States a deal to remove tariffs on all industrial goods as part of the trade negotiations, Ursula von der Leyen has said while stressing her intention to retaliate against Donald Trump's policies should talks fail.

Trump has announced a 20% across-the-board tariff on imports from the European Union, set to take effect on 9 April. Steel, aluminum and cars are subject to a separate 25% rate. In total, over €380 billion in EU-made products will be affected.

Pharmaceuticals, copper, lumber, semiconductors and energy have been exempted.

"We stand ready to negotiate with the US. Indeed, we have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading partners," the Commission president said on Monday afternoon.

The Commission expanded the pitch to all industrial goods in recent days as talks intensified, a spokesperson said. No further details were provided.

"We prefer to have a negotiated solution," von der Leyen said, warning her executive will use "all instruments" available to hit back "if necessary," including an anti-coercion instrument that was introduced in 2023 but which has never been triggered.

Von der Leyen described Trump's sweeping tariffs as a "major turning point for the United States" that would have "immense costs" for American consumers and businesses alike and deliver a "massive" blow to the global economy.

While Washington has described the tariffs as "reciprocal", Brussels has dismissed its logic as "neither credible nor justified".

Besides the immediate impact on EU-US trade flows, which puts billions at risk of being wiped off, the Commission is also concerned about the potential ramifications that Trump's decision will have on international commerce – in particular on Asia.

Asian countries have been hit with higher rates than the bloc: 24% for Malaysia, 26% for India, 32% for Indonesia, 36% for Thailand, 46% for Vietnam, 48% for Laos and 49% for Cambodia, among others. China was slapped with a 34% "reciprocal" tariff on top of a previous 20% rate, for a whopping 54% in total. (Beijing has already hit back.)

The levels are so prohibitive that Brussels fears Asian countries, whose economies depend on exports, will be locked out of the American market and reroute their products to Europe as an alternative. China is a particular cause of concern, as it is already under intense scrutiny for flooding the West with low-cost, heavily subsidised goods.

During her intervention on Monday, von der Leyen announced the creation of a new "task force" to closely monitor the changes in global commerce.

"We will also protect ourselves against indirect effects through trade diversion. For this purpose, we will set up an 'Import Surveillance Task Force'," she said. "We look at what are the historical imports that we have and had and (whether) there is any specific surge all of a sudden of a certain product or in a certain sector that we have to act on."

Well-known American businessman and billionaire Bill Ackman says that President Donald Trump is waging an "economic nuclear war" against the rest of the world with his import duties. Ackman had expressed his support for Trump during the election campaign.

Ackman, the CEO of investment firm Pershing Square Holdings, said in a message on X that Trump should pause his tariffs and that trade disputes should be resolved through negotiations. According to Ackman, the president is in danger of losing the confidence of the international business community.

"The president has the ability to call a 90-day timeout. But if we were to wage a nuclear economic war with every country in the world, business investment would grind to a halt, consumers would close their wallets, and we would do serious damage to our reputation around the world that could take decades to repair," Ackman said.

'Serious negative' consequences

The tariffs have raised fears of a global recession in financial markets and caused stock prices to plummet. Ackman said "huge and disproportionate tariffs" have been levied against friends and foes alike, destroying confidence in the United States as a trading partner and investment market.

This absolute xxxxxx xxxxxx of a president just threatened China with an extra 50% if it does not withdraw its countermeasure lol

Europe will hit hard on Google,Netflix, Facebook, Apple and all those American companies. Silicon Valley gets a beating if Trump continues this way..

Again, watch the language, please!

Consuelo Mack with Robert Kessler
Recorded on March 14, 2025

Retired Treasury bond manager Robert Kessler has always been skeptical of Wall Street’s "stocks for the long term" mantra. He explains why he is completely out of stocks in his personal portfolio—and why you should consider doing the same. WEALTHTRACK episode # 2140.

I was right lol. Hitting back on American services would make sense and on the other hand Europe will invest hugely in their own Tech services less depending on the Americans.

Europe considers new tariffs that could punish tech companies like Google, Meta, and Apple
The European Union is pondering a response to Trump’s tariffs that could include a tariff on American services, which would impact Big Tech firms.

https://www.fastcompany.com/9131275...ech-companies-like-google-meta-and-apple

Elon Musk has taken to social media to lash out at a White House trade adviser . Musk, himself a confidant and adviser to President Donald Trump, called Peter Navarro "dumber than a sack of rocks" and an "idiot" in posts on X.

It is not the first time that the two have clashed. It began after Trump announced last week that the United States would impose import duties of at least 10 percent and higher duties on dozens of countries. The measure is seen as a policy victory for Navarro, who has advocated an aggressive trade policy to stimulate domestic production.

Shortly afterward, Musk called Navarro's Harvard degree "a bad thing" and criticized him for not having built companies of his own. Navarro responded by saying that Musk's criticism was not surprising because the Tesla CEO is not a car manufacturer, but rather a carmaker that sources parts from other countries.

Elon Musk (53) has seen his money go up in smoke, according to Bloomberg news agency calculations. The fortune of the richest person in the world recently fell below 300 billion dollars. Since Trump announced the tariff war, Musk has already lost 35 billion dollars.

The share price of his car company, Tesla, fell. Musk suffered a loss of $4.4 billion on Monday. Since the beginning of this year, Tesla shares have already fallen by 42 percent.

Trade to US already collapsed: 'Cargo bookings down two-thirds'
Author : BNR Web Editors
The American import duties will cause delays in exports to the US. According to the logistics industry association Evofenedex, the American customs does not have sufficient capacity to process the tangle of tariffs. 'A fairly big task', is what policy advisor Casper Roerade calls it. In addition, it can be seen that global exports to the US have already decreased considerably.

Because each country has a different tariff and there are still exceptions for certain goods that are loaded before April 5. 'And they will still be at sea for a while before they arrive in the US', says Roerade, which means that problems can be expected in the coming weeks.

Other treatment
On top of that, Chinese shipments will be treated differently, which will further increase the workload on customs. 'Shipments under $800 are normally exempt from import duties, but for China that will be cancelled from May 2.'

Read also
Trade war puts pressure on Dutch Customs capacity
What will also not make it any easier for US customs officials is that Trump is encouraging all countries to come and negotiate. All tariffs are already different per individual country, and can therefore be changed and postponed at any time as a result of negotiations.

That uncertainty also hinders exporting companies here, says Roerade. 'Of course, negotiations for a lower rate are something that companies hope for, but, with the uncertainty that exists now, companies are now in waiting mode, in which orders and projects are put on hold.'

Trade decline
Evofenedex sees in global freight figures that companies are halting trade with the US. 'We are already seeing that. The number of bookings for sea freight has dropped by 67 percent in a week.' According to Evofenedex, in the week prior to the announcement of the import duties, there were bookings worldwide for 516,000 containers with the US as their destination. That had plummeted to 169,000 containers in the week after. These are reservations for future use of containers.

EU to impose retaliatory 25% tariffs on US goods from almonds to yachts
Bloc says it ‘considers US tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides’

Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
Wed 9 Apr 2025 17.08 CEST

The EU has agreed to impose retaliatory tariffs on €21bn (£18bn) of US goods, targeting farm produce and products from Republican states, in Europe’s first act of retaliation against Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The EU plans to introduce 25% tariffs on scores of goods from almonds to yachts, with the first duties being collected from 15 April, while the bulk apply from 15 May and the remainder from 1 December.

In a statement confirming the favourable vote by EU member states, the European Commission said: “The EU considers US tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy.”

It added: “These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome.”

All member states voted for the retaliation, with the exception of Hungary, whose prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is one of Trump’s strongest supporters. “Such measures would cause further damage to [the] European economy and citizens by raising prices. The only way forward is negotiations, not retaliation,” Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, wrote on social media.

The EU decision came after China announced it was hitting all US goods with 84% tariffs from Thursday, up from the 34% previously announced.

The EU measures are a response to the US tariffs on steel and aluminium announced by the US president in February. The EU has chosen goods that can be easily sourced from elsewhere, while some targets are intended to inflict political pain on key Republican states.

The tariffs include US soya beans, grown abundantly in Louisiana, the home state of the House of Representatives speaker, Mike Johnson.

Ahead of the vote, analysis of the leaked list of customs codes by Politico found that EU duties would hit up to $13.5bn (£10.6bn) worth of exports from red states, including beef from Kansas and Nebraska, cigarettes from Florida and wood products from North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

The commission has said that the second phase of the EU’s response – retaliatory measures in response to tariffs on cars and the sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” announced on 2 April – would be presented “early next week”.

The EU is facing calls to target US tech firms or banks in future retaliation, a potent but politically explosive target, as the US runs a €109bn (£94bn) trade surplus with the EU in service industries.


The commission’s lead official on tech regulation, Henna Virkkunen, confirmed other measures were being prepared, although she did not respond directly when asked about targeting US tech companies. ”We don’t want to have tariffs, we want to negotiate,” she said. “Of course, when needed, we have to also protect our industry and for our citizens and we are currently also preparing those measures.”

About 70% of EU exports to the US, goods worth €382bn (£330bn), are now affected by Trump’s tariffs since the sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” entered into force on Wednesday.

The EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šef?ovi?, said earlier this week that the EU was “not in the business of going cent for cent or tit for tat or dollar for dollar” when it came to retaliation on goods. EU officials acknowledge that options for retaliatory tariffs that are relatively pain-free for Europeans are narrowing. This week, the EU dropped plans to target bourbon after lobbying from drinks-producing nations France, Italy and Ireland, which feared their wine and spirits industries being hit by Trump’s threat of 200% countertariffs.

The commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, revealed on Monday that the White House had been offered a “zero-for-zero” trade deal. She went public with the offer after the billionaire businessman and Trump adviser Elon Musk mused about zero tariffs between the EU and US over the weekend, in a sign of dissent with the administration.

The offer of zero tariffs on cars and industrial goods was first made on 19 February when Šef?ovi? met his US counterpart, Howard Lutnick, but the idea dates back to a previous effort to persuade Trump to drop tariffs in 2018.

The outlook for negotiations is uncertain, amid questions over whether Trump’s goal is to create leverage over other countries – suggesting tariffs could be rolled back – or to raise revenues and reindustrialise the US, which points to their longevity.

Trump tariffs live updates: Stocks surge after Trump announces 90-day pause in tariffs
Trump said he would pause tariffs on dozens of trading partners while raising them on China.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/live-blog/rcna200346

Trump will listen to them haha..

More and more CEOs of major US companies are speaking out against the import duties imposed by President Donald Trump. It is striking that even top executives who previously supported Trump are now criticizing the president's policy. "I can't wait to buy my $10,000 iPhone, made in the USA," says Ryan Cohen, CEO of Gamestop, known for the meme stock.

Cohen's statement is spicy, since he has been a supporter of the Republican Party for years and supports Trump in his policies. Until now. Last week he said that Trump's trade war 'drove him to the Democratic camp'. Cohen himself is also being hit in the wallet. For example, Nintendo has announced that it is temporarily postponing the pre-sale of the new Switch 2 and is going to review the entire export to the US. That could have an impact on Gamestop's sales figures.

China is about to shake up the world in a big way. When Trump took office, I made the call to liquidate all my shares and bonds, and I encouraged a few close friends to do the same. A couple listened, but the others didn’t, and now they are crying about the situation lol

The tariffs imposed on China are now at 145% White House says
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-trump-tariffs-trade-war-04-10-25

Dow tumbles almost 2,000 points as Wednesday's gains fade; S&P 500, Nasdaq see losses accelerate
https://www.marketwatch.com/livecov...lly-on-trump-tariff-turnround-cpi-on-tap

It's crazy G !

'The world depends on how Trump wakes up'

Financial markets are reacting with relief now that Trump has paused a large part of his import duties for 90 days. Macro-economist Edin Mujagic is happy with the pause of duties, but he is not yet reassured about what the future will bring in America. 'The whole world depends on how Trump wakes up one morning.'

Don't forget the stock market crash of 1929 would become the first stock market crash that had consequences worldwide. It took until 1954 (!) for prices to recover. The reason that the stock market crash caused malaise worldwide was that the American economy, like nowadays, was enormous.

Economy • 11:54 • Modified at 13:05
Dollar is collapsing rapidly, just as Trump wants
Author : BNR Web Editors
The US dollar is getting weaker and weaker at a rapid pace. Bad news, you might think, but this is exactly what President Donald Trump wants. During his election campaign, he already showed that he is not happy with the strength of the dollar and that the currency should actually become weaker.

The year is barely four months old, and already a record seems to be about to be broken. The US currency seems to be heading for its most dramatic year since 2017.

With the unleashed trade war, which for some has been put on the back burner for a while, Donald Trump has created the effect he was desperately looking for: the weakening of the dollar. In just one week, the value of the dollar has fallen by no less than 5 percent against the euro. A euro now yields 1.14 dollars, while last week it was 1.09 dollars.

Read also
Trump wants weaker dollar, economist: 'Not a good plan'

The dollar’s ??weakening is not only being blamed on tariffs. Traders are also suggesting that China is playing a role in the decline. For example, the US 30-year bond yield suddenly rose sharply this week, the biggest increase since the coronavirus pandemic. “China may be selling its government bonds in retaliation,” said Ataru Okumura, a rate strategist at Japanese agency SMBC Nikko Securities.

For the US, the sale of government bonds by China is a big problem, as China is the second largest holder of US debt. Government bonds are a way to raise money from the market. If China sells them, it means extra pressure on the enormous debt mountain of the US, which is already under the microscope of the financial markets. As a result, the dollar is also weakening rapidly, which on Thursday recorded its biggest loss in three years.

Read also
'The hope of the world lies in the ordinary American'

For Trump, however, it is positive news. He wants a weak dollar. It makes the US a more attractive place for foreign buyers. A cheaper dollar makes it cheaper for companies elsewhere in the world to import products from the US.

Dollar reserves
But it also has a major disadvantage. A weak dollar is not in the interest of countries that hold dollar reserves. For years, the dollar was a stable investment to keep your local currency stable and to support your government finances. Now that the dollar is falling, the finances of countries worldwide are also in trouble.

The year is not even four months old, and already a record seems to be about to be broken. The US dollar seems to be heading for its most dramatic year since 2017. “The whole premise of the dollar as a reserve currency is being challenged by what we’ve seen since Trump was elected,” said Ray Astrill, head of currency strategy at the National Bank of Australia.

I still believe in the USA but it doesn't look good.


Economy • Apr 12 18:12 • Modified on Apr 12 18:12
US consumer in depression: confidence nears all-time low
Author : BNR Web Editors
The American consumer is in a deep depression. Research from the University of Michigan shows that consumer confidence in the United States has reached the second lowest level ever. In addition, Americans fear skyrocketing inflation due to the trade war that President Donald Trump has unleashed.

Consumers are also concerned about the outlook for the labor market.
Consumers are also grumbling about the outlook for the labor market. ( ANP / REX by Shutterstock )
The index measuring U.S. consumer sentiment fell to 50.8 points in April, down 6.2 points from the previous month. The index hit an all-time low in June 2022, when confidence was rated at 50 points. That was the lowest level since the survey began in the 1970s.

The consumer surveys were conducted between March 25 and April 8, around the time Trump announced the tariffs but before he paused them on Wednesday. The tariffs imposed on China are still in effect, at 145 percent.

Read also
Disastrous consequences loom for American farmers

"Consumers have spiraled from fearful to petrified," said Sam Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics in a statement. "People are likely to be even more pessimistic now, as the survey was conducted between March 25 and April 8. Some of the responses were therefore likely received before the tariff announcement on April 2 and the subsequent plunge in stock prices," he noted.

Unemployment
Consumers are also fretting about the outlook for the labor market. Not since the financial crisis in 2009 have so many people expected unemployment to rise. Many respondents also expect to lose their own jobs in the next five years. That share has risen to its highest level since the summer of 2020. Americans’ income expectations also showed a negative mood.

Read also
Turkey 'burns' billions of dollars to keep lira stable

"Unemployment expectations have deteriorated sharply in recent months, which may not lead to a drop in spending if consumers do not expect to be personally affected by layoffs or income losses," Joanne Hsu, the survey's director, said in a statement. "However, it is alarming that consumers are now worried that they will be personally affected."

We'll be fine, Trump knows what he's doing. The tariffs are just a negotiating tactic. He can't fix the mess Biden left overnight.

At least he deserves a chance.

If you read the Chinese Communist Party's statements in response to the American import duties carefully, there is indeed room for further negotiations. Then Donald Trump will have to change his tone, says sinologist Henk Schulte Nordholt in BNR De Wereld. 'China will never again allow itself to be humiliated by the West, certainly not by a real estate magnate in New York.'

There are encouraging sounds from the White House about a breakthrough in the negotiations in the trade war between Europe and the US. Trump's economic advisor Kevin Hasset speaks of major progress that would be good for the American car industry, without mentioning details. Because Hasset's words seem to indicate that European carmakers may open more factories in the US. But if that is what comes out of the negotiations, then there must be something in it for Europe too.