AFP - Squid Business

TikTok calls report of possible sale to Musk’s X ‘pure fiction’

TikTok on Tuesday labeled as “pure fiction” a report that China is exploring a potential sale of the video-sharing platform’s US operations to billionaire Elon Musk as the firm faces an American law requiring imminent Chinese divestment.Citing anonymous people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News had earlier reported that Chinese officials were considering selling the company’s US operations to Musk’s social media platform X.The report outlined one scenario being discussed in Beijing where X would purchase TikTok from Chinese owner ByteDance and combine it with the platform formerly known as Twitter.”We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson told AFP.The report estimated the value of TikTok’s US operations at between $40 billion and $50 billion.Although Musk is currently ranked as the world’s wealthiest person, Bloomberg said it was not clear how Musk could execute the transaction, or if he would need to sell other assets.The US Congress passed a law last year that requires ByteDance to either sell its wildly popular platform or shut it down. It goes into effect on Sunday — a day before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.The US government alleges TikTok allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users and is a conduit to spread propaganda. China and ByteDance strongly deny the claims.TikTok has challenged the law, taking an appeal all the way to the US Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on Friday.At the hearing, a majority of the conservative and liberal justices on the nine-member bench appeared skeptical of arguments by a lawyer for TikTok that forcing a sale was a violation of First Amendment free speech rights.Bloomberg characterized Beijing’s consideration of a possible Musk transaction as “still preliminary,” noting that Chinese officials have yet to reach a consensus on how to proceed.Musk is a close ally of Trump and is expected to play an influential role in Washington in the coming four years.He also runs electric car company Tesla, which has a major factory in China and counts the country as one of the automaker’s biggest markets.Trump has repeatedly threatened to enact new tariffs on Chinese goods, which would expand a trade war begun in his first term and which was largely upheld, and in some cases supplemented, by outgoing President Joe Biden.

TikTok calls report of possible sale to Musk’s X ‘pure fiction’

Budget, retraites: le PS tout proche d’un accord de non censure avec Bayrou

Les socialistes sont proches de “conclure” un accord de non censure sur le budget et les retraites avec François Bayrou à quelques heures de la déclaration de politique générale du Premier ministre, a révélé mardi leur Premier secrétaire Olivier Faure. “Nous sommes peut-être à quelques heures d’un accord possible (…) Je pense que nous pouvons conclure”, a estimé le député socialiste sur RMC-BFMTVAlors que les négociations paraissaient lundi soir dans l’impasse, M. Faure a fait une “proposition” de compromis “au téléphone” dans la nuit à François Bayrou et dont il n’a pas voulu dévoiler le contenu précis.Le Premier ministre prononcera à 15H00 devant l’Assemblée nationale le traditionnel discours du nouvel arrivant à Matignon.Cet accord de non censure concerne non seulement la déclaration de politique générale du gouvernement mais aussi “le budget de l’Etat” et “celui de la Sécurité sociale”, a-t-il précisé.- “concessions remarquables” -“Nous sommes en train d’obtenir un nombre de concessions que je trouve remarquables parce qu’elles permettent de rompre avec ce que nous avons censuré nous-mêmes les uns et les autres, c’est-à-dire le budget Barnier”, a-t-il ajouté, en précisant que les partenaires sociaux étaient impliqués dans les discussions.L’accord porterait sur une vaste série de sujets budgétaires – fiscalité, santé, suppression de postes dans l’Education nationale… – même si c’est bien la réforme des retraites qui est le noeud des discussions. A Matignon, on se veut un peu plus prudent. “Tant que c’est pas topé avec le PS, c’est pas topé. Mais il y a une volonté d’y arriver”, confirme-t-on.Suspension, gel ou pause ? Le vocabulaire du Premier ministre sera scruté de près.Ironie du sort, c’est Elisabeth Borne, ex-Première ministre et auteure de cette réforme contestée des retraites, qui lira en parallèle devant le Sénat le même texte, où pourraient figurer des concessions à sa propre loi, adoptée à l’époque au forceps en utilisant l’article 49.3.Au centre des tensions, la révision de l’âge de départ fixé à 64 ans par la loi de 2023 par une négociation de six mois qui associerait les partenaires sociaux et traiterait également du financement. Les socialistes réclamaient ces derniers jours que la suspension de la réforme des retraites soit effective dès le début de la renégociation de la réforme, et pas uniquement en cas de succès de celle-ci. Reste à savoir ce que cela voudrait dire concrètement. Les personnes nées en 1963 pourraient-elles partir à 62 ans et 6 mois (avec une durée de cotisation de 42 ans et un trimestre) au lieu de 62 ans et 9 mois (avec une durée de 42,5 ans) comme prévu ?- La droite inquiète -Si, à la différence de son prédécesseur Michel Barnier, François Bayrou mise sur la gauche pour rester au pouvoir, il ne doit pas non plus braquer ses alliés à droite.Cette suspension de la réforme des retraites divise en effet le camp présidentiel tandis que LR menace de quitter le gouvernement. Chez Renaissance, certains semblent prêts à l’accepter, comme prix de la stabilité politique, à l’instar de Yaël Braun-Pivet qui a affirmé “ne pas être opposée par principe” au fait d'”arrêter” brièvement la réforme des retraites pour en “rediscuter”. Mais d’autres, comme le député Mathieu Lefèvre, s’y opposent, faisant valoir son coût, estimé autour de 3 milliards d’euros pour la seule année 2024. A droite, le patron des députés LR Laurent Wauquiez refuse de “sauter dans le vide”. “Si demain on atteignait le cœur du réacteur en termes de rendement budgétaire de cette réforme, alors on mettrait la France, pour le plaisir de la gauche, en danger, notamment budgétaire et financier”, a prévenu le ministre LR de l’Intérieur Bruno Retailleau.- “la gauche qui braille” -Quelles que soient les annonces de François Bayrou, les Insoumis déposeront une motion de censure qui sera examinée jeudi ou vendredi. La rupture semble consommée entre socialistes et Insoumis. “Tous les députés qui ne voteront pas la motion de censure, seront complices de la continuité de la politique macroniste”, a averti le coordinateur LFI Manuel Bompard sur RTL.”Il y a une gauche qui braille et une gauche qui travaille”, a répondu Olivier Faure qui “ne lit plus les insultes quotidiennes de Jean-Luc Mélenchon”.Si les communistes semblent disposés à suivre les socialistes – “nous poussons le plus possible des avancées concrètes”, a dit Fabien Roussel sur LCI – les écologistes sont plus réservés.La motion de censure LFI n’a de toute façon aucune chance d’être adoptée puisque le RN a confirmé qu’il ne la voterait pas.”On refuse la politique du pire (…) Censurer immédiatement aurait des conséquences” alors que des “mesures importantes” doivent être votées sur Mayotte et le budget, a expliqué le député RN Jean-Philippe Tanguy sur Public Sénat.

Dozens rescued, bodies pulled from S. Africa mining pitTue, 14 Jan 2025 09:04:58 GMT

More than two dozen illegal miners have been rescued and at least nine bodies recovered from an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, as rescue operations resumed Tuesday to reach potentially dozens more people underground.A professional mine rescue company on Monday sent a large cage to retrieve men at the site near Stilfontein, about 140 …

Dozens rescued, bodies pulled from S. Africa mining pitTue, 14 Jan 2025 09:04:58 GMT Read More »

Trump unbound: America braces for wild, dark comeback

Buckle up: Donald Trump returns to the White House next week for a second term that promises to be even more volatile — and hard-line — than his roller-coaster first presidency.Buoyed by his historic political comeback, the billionaire Republican has shown no sign of changing the bombastic style that shook the United States and the world from 2017 to 2021.”If you liked Trump One, you’re going to love Trump Two,” Peter Loge, the director of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, told AFP.For all the talk of a more disciplined Trump, the 78-year-old — who will become the oldest person ever sworn in on January 20 — appears to be much the same mercurial figure as last time around.Before even setting foot back in the Oval Office, he has spoken of a new “golden age” even as he vows retribution against opponents and the media, and pledges the mass deportation of illegal migrants.Trump has also set off alarm bells around the globe, issuing outlandish territorial threats against US allies and stoking fears that he will throw Ukraine under the bus to win a peace deal with Russia.”Trump’s character is fundamentally the same,” said David Greenberg, professor of history and journalism at Rutgers University. “What we can expect to see is more of the unexpected.”- New normal – But if anything, Trump 2.0 is set to be even more powerful, and more extreme. A Trump presidency shocked many in 2016, but is now the new normal. Big tech and big business have rallied behind the man they largely shunned in his first term.Crucially Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and boss of the increasingly right-wing X social media platform, is at Trump’s side.”Everybody wants to be my friend,” the president-elect said in December.Many of the guardrails around Trump four years ago are gone, with diehard loyalists replacing the so-called “adults in the room” who tried to moderate his worst instincts.The Republican Party is firmly behind him in a way that wasn’t the case last time. The US House of Representatives and Senate are both in Republican hands — albeit with a tiny majority in the House — and few dare even murmur dissent.”Trumpism is the Republican Party today,” said Jon Rogowski of the University of Chicago, adding that Trump was now “more palatable to a wider range of the political spectrum.”Trump’s stunned critics have largely fallen mute during the transition. The once fervent accusations of “fascism” and authoritarianism have dimmed while even President Joe Biden, who described Trump as a “threat to democracy,” has toned down his rhetoric.Barely mentioned for now is the way Trump ended his first term — in disgrace after his election-denying supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 — or the fact that he will be the first convicted felon to be president.But former special counsel Jack Smith delivered a parting rebuke early Tuesday, in a report detailing Trump’s alleged criminal effort to overturn the 2020 election result that saw Biden win.The report said Trump would have been convicted at trial had Smith not dropped the case after the Republican was elected president in November last year.- ‘Professional wrestling’ -Trump will start his second term in a hurry, knowing that he’s limited to four more years — even if he has mused about a constitution-breaking third term.He is expected to sign around 100 executive actions in his first hours in office, possibly including pardons for some of the January 6 rioters.Trump’s first months are likely to focus on immigration and the economy, his electoral strong points, while Musk will lead efforts to gut the federal government.Trump has also picked an uncompromisingly controversial — and rich — cabinet, including the vaccine-skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary.On the world stage, Trump is more provocative than ever. He has refused to rule out military action against strategic Greenland and Panama, while threatening US trading partners and neighbors Canada and Mexico with huge tariffs.Conversely, Trump says he wants talks with the leaders of Russia and China, strongmen he has long openly admired.The question is just how seriously Trump’s threats should be taken.”A really good metaphor for President Trump is professional wrestling,” said Loge. “The point is not the sport, the point is the spectacle.”This time around, the world may be more ready to deal with him, Loge added. “In the first Trump administration people responded to the spectacle. This time we may be responding more to the sport.”

Trump’s cabinet picks come under US Senate spotlight

Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees go under the microscope in a frenzied week on Capitol Hill starting Tuesday, as US senators hold confirmation hearings that could make or break their political careers.Thirteen nominees will be grilled before 11 committees, and while many will sail through, others face controversies ranging from alleged sexual assault and heavy drinking to their relationships with dictators and vaccine skepticism.The Trump picks have been in stringent preparations, taking part in mock hearings and coaching on how to negotiate tough questions while still maintaining unswerving loyalty to the president-elect.”This time, people view the nominees as an extension of Donald Trump and his agenda,” Sean Spicer, Trump’s first White House spokesman, told CNN.”They’re not there to defend their own views. They’re there to defend Trump’s policies.” Senate Republicans are keen for Trump’s national security nominees to be confirmed quickly and Democrats may agree to fast-track some. But they are determined to throw up roadblocks in front of candidates they see as unfit.One of the first on the docket will be one of the most controversial — Pete Hegseth, the former Army National Guard officer and ex-Fox News host nominated for secretary of defense.Hegseth, whose hearing is on Tuesday morning, has faced allegations of sexual assault, financial misconduct and excessive drinking, and lingering questions over his views on women in the military. He also has no comparable management experience.Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Armed Services Committee, described Hegseth as “a guy with a track record of being so drunk at work events that he needed to be carried out on multiple occasions.””Can we really count on calling Hegseth at 2AM to make life and death national security decisions? Nope,” she said on X.Hegseth can only afford three Republican rejections and still be confirmed, should every Democrat and independent vote against him.- Fiery hearings -But he has maintained Trump’s support while the excoriating headlines have multiplied and Senate Republicans appear open to hearing him out.Former Democratic congresswoman turned Trumpist Tulsi Gabbard is another candidate whose lack of qualifications and experience have raised alarm bells, as well as her attitudes toward US adversaries.Gabbard met then Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in 2017 and declared him “not the enemy.” She has also voiced sympathy for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Opposition appears to be softening however after she flipped her stance to support a controversial government intelligence-gathering program that she tried to repeal in 2020. Some pressure on the nominees is expected from both sides of the aisle, especially for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services and an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist.But former Florida senator and foreign policy hawk Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, is a sure bet with bipartisan support, and will likely be confirmed before Trump takes office on January 20.Rubio gets his hearing Wednesday, along with homeland security secretary nominee Kristi Noem, attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and CIA pick John Ratcliffe, who has been confirmed by the Senate before, as director of national intelligence.Bondi was Trump’s second choice after his initial pick, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration after facing sexual misconduct and drug-taking allegations.Some of the most potentially fiery hearings are yet to be scheduled, including for Kennedy and Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to run the FBI.Patel — a conspiracy theorist who vowed in a podcast that Trump would “come after” journalists, lawyers and judges he believes haven’t treated him fairly — is not expected to get his confirmation hearing until February.Early Tuesday, Trump’s team lost a bid to prevent the release of a report by then-special counsel Jack Smith detailing the incoming president’s alleged criminal effort to overturn the 2020 election result that saw Joe Biden win.The report said Trump would have been convicted at trial — had Smith not dropped the case after the Republican was elected president in November last year.

Asian markets mixed as traders eye US inflation data, earnings

Asian markets diverged Tuesday as bargain buying after recent losses played against ongoing worries about the outlook for the global economy and the impact of a second Donald Trump presidency.A report saying the incoming US leader’s economics team was considering slowly hiking tariffs on imports provided support to traders and put a cap on the dollar’s latest surge, while news of fresh curbs on AI chips to China appeared to have little immediate impact.However, traders remain concerned that his pledges to cut taxes, regulations and immigration continue to dampen sentiment with warnings that the measures will revive inflation.Traders have slashed their expectations on how many times the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates through 2025 to one, from four predicted last year, while there is even talk that the next move could be a hike owing to still-sticky inflation and Trump concerns.Data on Friday showing the world’s top economy created far more jobs than forecast in December dealt yet another blow to the chances of another reduction at the Fed’s next meeting and sent equity markets deep into the red.Wall Street staged a small recovery Monday, with the Dow and S&P ending in positive territory, but tech titans including big-hitter Nvidia dragged the Nasdaq down again.Asian markets fluctuated through the day.Hong Kong and Shanghai advanced as China’s securities regulator said it was looking at ways to provide more stability to markets after another run of poor performances sparked by worries over the world’s number two economy and Trump’s threatened tariffs.Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei and Mumbai also rose, though there were losses in Singapore, Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta, with Tokyo the biggest loser as traders returned from a long weekend to play catch-up with Monday’s sell-off.Paris and Frankfurt rose at the open, while London was flat.The dollar eased back against its peers after Bloomberg reported that members of the US president-elect’s team were looking at a gradual increase in tariffs in a bid to boost their negotiating hand and tamper inflationary pressures.Traders were spooked when he said soon after his re-election that he would impose huge levies on China, Canada and Mexico as soon as he took office.But while the dollar eased, the pound remained stuck at levels not seen since the end of 2023. The euro was near its weakest since late 2022, with fears it could return to parity with the dollar.The yen edged up against the greenback as the yield of Japan’s 40-year government bond hit its highest since being launched in 2007, with debate returning to whether the country’s central bank will hike interest rates at next week’s policy meeting.Eyes are now on the release of US inflation data this week and the beginning of the release of corporate reports.”This earnings season will set the tone for financial stocks in 2025, but the stakes are high,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets.”Even with solid fourth-quarter results, the macro backdrop — characterised by lingering inflation concerns, steeper yields, and recalibrated Fed expectations — may weigh on sentiment.”With valuations already elevated after a strong 2024, further stock gains will require more than just decent earnings. Robust outlooks, ongoing loan demand, and resilient consumer credit will be critical to sustaining investor confidence.”She added that “uncertainty around Fed policy and a potential shift in fiscal priorities under Trump’s new administration will keep markets on edge”.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.8 percent at 38,474.30 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 19,219.78 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 2.5 percent at 3,240.94 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,220.93Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0255 from $1.0224 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2209 from $1.2180Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.53 yen from 157.65 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.99 pence from 83.90 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $78.38 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $80.52 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 42,297.12 (close)

Retraites/Budget: un accord possible “dans quelques heures”, selon Olivier Faure

Le parti socialiste a fait une proposition de compromis dans la nuit au Premier ministre François Bayrou et estime “un accord possible” dans “quelques heures” sur la question du budget et notamment la réforme des retraites, a expliqué mardi son premier secrétaire Olivier Faure. “Je pense que nous pouvons conclure”, a estimé le député socialiste sur RMC-BFMTV, à propos de cette “proposition” qu’il se refuse à “dévoiler”, faite “au téléphone” après une réunion non conclusive dans la soirée de lundi à Matignon. François Bayrou doit prononcer à 15H00 devant l’Assemblée nationale sa déclaration de politique générale. Un accord entre le gouvernement et le PS signifierait que ce dernier ne voterait pas une motion de censure contre le gouvernement.”Si le Premier ministre l’accepte définitivement, c’est à lui de l’annoncer”, a déclaré Olivier Faure à propos de cette ultime phase de négociation, se disant “serein” . “Nous sommes en train d’obtenir un certain nombre de concessions que je trouve remarquables parce qu’elles permettent de rompre avec ce que nous avons censuré nous-mêmes, les uns et les autres, c’est-à-dire le budget Barnier”, a assuré Olivier Faure. Face aux critiques des Insoumis, il a rappelé que le PS était “dans l’opposition, nous y restons, mais nous sommes une opposition utile, utile au pays”. “Il y a une gauche qui braille et une gauche qui travaille”, a-t-il balayé. A propos de la réforme des retraites, il a souhaité l’ouverture d’une discussion pour revoir l’âge de départ fixé à 64 ans par la loi de 2023. “A moyen terme, c’est 15 milliards (d’euros) à trouver par an” donc “on discute, on montre qu’existent d’autres modes de financement et là, de mon point de vue, on passe par la loi pour changer”, a-t-il expliqué. Un accord là-dessus vaudrait non-censure du gouvernement Bayrou, a précisé Olivier Faure sauf “si, à un moment, il revenait dans l’idée de ce gouvernement de lier son avenir à celui de l’extrême droite”. “Alors, la sanction serait immédiate”, a-t-il prévenu.