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
A man being sought over the Austin parcel bombings blew himself up early Wednesday inside his car as police moved in to arrest him, police said. “The suspect is deceased,” Austin police chief Brian Manley told a news conference. Manley said the suspect is believed to be responsible for all five bomb explosions that have killed two and wounded several more and put people on edge in the Texas capital since March 2. Police traced the man’s car to a hotel outside Austin. As authorities waited for tactical teams to arrive, the man started to drive away. And as police moved to stop and arrest him the man detonated a bomb inside his car and was killed, Manley said. The suspect’s motive is not known, he added. Manley said the suspect was a 24-year-old white man.