Global stocks sank Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with talks that are aimed at averting a trade war with China. Equities were also dented by poor eurozone economic data, and as Trump cast doubt on a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Trump (is) continuing to drive uncertainty over global trade,” said analyst Joshua Mahony at trading firm IG. “European markets are following their Asian counterparts lower, as a pessimistic tone from Trump is compounded by downbeat economic data,” he added. Markets had surged Monday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said they had agreed to pull back from imposing threatened tariffs on billions of dollars of goods, and continue talks on a variety of trade issues. However, Trump has declared that he was “not satisfied” with the status of the talks, fuelling worries that the world’s top two economies could still slug out an economically pain
The top Republican in the US Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan, will not seek re-election following this year’s mid-term elections, reports said Wednesday.
Ryan has told friends and colleagues he has decided not to run in November’s congressional race, and is poised to inform House Republicans of his plans, multiple US media reported.
Questioned by reporters in the corridors of Congress about his plans, as he headed to a weekly briefing scheduled for 1400 GMT, Ryan responded simply: “I’m not resigning.”
The political website Axios first reported Ryan’s decision not to stand again, citing sources with knowledge of the conversations between the speaker and several confidants.
Donald Trump’s Republicans are bracing for a brutal re-election battle, whipsawed by the president’s low approval ratings, his propensity to throw the party off message, and exceptional Democratic enthusiasm.
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