Author: Eka Gerona

On the day of the US presidential inauguration I was told by a top US tech chief executive that although he was likely to be hit by retaliatory tariffs, he assumed any trade war would die down. “Trump lives by the Dow Jones’ reaction,” he said – something markets call the “Trump put”.This means that whenever a White House announcement that damaged sentiment came out, the president would row back after seeing a stock market fall.Those assumptions have now changed, after the president gave a TV interview in which he downplayed how much he was moved by markets.And only a…

US President Donald Trump has said he will “buy a brand new Tesla” after shares in the electric car firm fell more than 15%.Trump blamed “radical left lunatics” boycotting the firm to “attack and do harm” to Tesla owner Elon Musk.However, stock analysts said the main reason for the poor performance of the shares was fear about Tesla meeting production targets and a drop in sales over the past year.Trump’s own economic policies on tariffs are also making investors nervous, analysts said.US markets slumped on Monday as investors concerned about the economic effects of Trump tariffs sold shares.This came after…

Laura BickerChina correspondentBBC/ Xiqing WangChina is embracing artificial intelligence, from educational tools to humanoid robots in factories Head in hands, eight-year-old Timmy muttered to himself as he tried to beat a robot powered by artificial intelligence at a game of chess.But this was not an AI showroom or laboratory – this robot was living on a coffee table in a Beijing apartment, along with Timmy.The first night it came home, Timmy hugged his little robot friend before heading to bed. He doesn’t have a name for it – yet.”It’s like a little teacher or a little friend,” the boy said,…

BBCSarah Wynn-Williams says she watched Facebook grow from “a front row seat”A former senior Facebook executive has told the BBC how the social media giant worked “hand in glove” with the Chinese government on potential ways of allowing Beijing to censor and control content in China.Sarah Wynn-Williams – a former global public policy director – says in return for gaining access to the Chinese market of hundreds of millions of users, Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, considered agreeing to hiding posts that were going viral, until they could be checked by the Chinese authorities.Ms Williams – who makes the claims in…

Elon Musk says X (formerly Twitter) has been hit by a “massive cyber-attack” on Monday, after thousands of users in the UK and US reported outages.Mr Musk, who has owned the platform since late 2022, suggested the attack may be ongoing. “We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources,” he wrote in a post on X.He suggested that “either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved”.The BBC has approached X for comment.It comes after platform outage monitor Downdetector said it had seen tens of thousands of reports from US users of technical…

Mark Carney’s elevation to the top job in Canada is of particular significance at this moment when his country is at the frontline of a North American trade war. He becomes the “anti-Trump” on the US president’s doorstep.The former Bank of England governor chose to lean strongly into resisting Donald Trump’s policies at his acceptance speech. He said the US president had brought “dark days” from “a country we can no longer trust” and that he was “proud” of Canadians resisting the US “with their wallets”.While on trade specifically Mr Carney vowed to keep the retaliatory tariffs “until Americans show…

João da SilvaBusiness reporter, BBC NewsGetty ImagesNew tit-for-tat tariffs from China, which target some US farm products, came into effect on MondayUS President Donald Trump has refused to say whether the US economy is facing a recession or price rises in the wake of his administration’s changes to tariff threats against some of its closest trading partners.Asked if he was expecting a recession this year, Trump said there was a “period of transition” taking place.Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, however, insisted there would be no contraction in the world’s largest economy, while acknowledging that the price of some goods may rise.It…

Rowan Bridge and Emily HoltBBC NewsChaseChase’s new Sapphire Lounge at New York’s La Guardia Airport offers cardholders a luxurious spaceI’m standing in what feels like a suite in a posh hotel – all soft lighting, marble counter tops, plush seating and parquet-style flooring.An ornate platter of food catches the corner of my eye.”That is a seafood tower as a welcome food amenity, as well as caviar, and you can also see the champagne there for guests to enjoy,” says Dana Pouwels, head of airport lounge benefits at US bank Chase.She is showing me around Chase’s new Sapphire Lounge at New…

US President Donald Trump has said he is “strongly considering large-scale sanctions” and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and peace deal with Ukraine is reached.Trump said he was contemplating the move because “Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now”.Trump’s comments marked a sharp change in tone. Since coming into office, he has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and blamed Ukraine’s leader for not wanting peace with Russia. Hours later, however, the US president told reporters he was “finding it more difficult to deal with Ukraine”, and repeated that he trusted Putin.Last Friday, Trump berated Ukrainian leader…

Michael RaceBusiness reporter, BBC NewsGetty ImagesThe chancellor will give an update on her plans for the UK economy when she gives a statement alongside an economic forecast on 26 March.Rachel Reeves has previously ruled out further tax rises, but faces difficult choices because of the performance of the UK economy and world events. What is the Spring Statement and when is it?The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which monitors the government’s spending plans and performance, will publish its forecast on the UK economy on Wednesday 26 March.It will also provide estimates on the cost of living for households and whether…