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Australia’s left-leaning government will cut income tax, slash student debt and hasten defence spending under an annual budget released Tuesday, courting voters as it readies to fight a tight general election.The Labor government — due to announce the election date by the end of the week — booked a spending deficit of US$17 billion as it unveiled a swag of surprise tax cuts and pre-poll sweeteners.It pledged to overhaul the country’s creaking military, and set aside almost US$2 billion to catalyse a homegrown “green” metals industry.Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Australia would fortify its economy against damaging US tariffs and a “volatile” global economy.”Our best defence against global pressures is a stronger economy,” he said. “It’s clear that the rules that underpinned global economic engagement for more than 40 years are being rewritten. “This budget is our plan for a new generation of prosperity in a new world of uncertainty.” Big ticket budget items included wiping 20 percent off all university student loans, which typically run into tens of thousands of dollars. More than US$1 billion was earmarked for public hospitals, and a series of modest tax cuts have been planned for some of the country’s lowest earners.The government also announced a two-year freeze on excise taxes for draught beer — a measure sure to be popular in one of the world’s heaviest drinking nations.Another budget centrepiece was US$1.9 billion to seed the growth of Australia’s “green” metals industry. Steel and aluminium production typically relies on polluting coal-fired power but Australia and other countries are seeking to power these factories with renewable electricity, lowering emissions in the process.This would help Australia become “an indispensable part of the net zero economy”, Chalmers said.With US tariffs and retaliatory measures starting to bite around the globe, Chalmers announced a new “Buy Australian” marketing campaign targeting domestic consumers. Australia also used the budget to bring forward around US$600 million in defence spending. “It means defence funding will grow beyond 2.3 percent of GDP by the early 2030s,” Chalmers said. Washington has been piling pressure on close allies such as Canberra to pour more money into training, weapons and other military hardware. Australia is already in the middle of an ambitious programme to re-tool its defence force, stocking up on long-range strike weapons as China flexes its naval might in the region.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is widely tipped to call a general election later this week.Australia must hold the election by May 17 at the latest.Recent polls show Albanese’s Labor government locked neck-and-neck with its conservative Liberal party rivals.

Equities diverged Tuesday, as investors struggled to extend Wall Street’s rally despite easing fears over Donald Trump’s planned tariffs, while traders were also looking ahead to the release of key US inflation data.A surge in tech giants including Tesla and Nvidia helped New York markets higher, with sentiment buoyed by indications from the White House that next week’s glut of levies would be less severe than feared.Trump has dubbed April 2 “Liberation Day” as he pledges to impose reciprocal tariffs on trading partners in an effort to remedy practices that Washington deems unfair.Since resuming office in January, Trump has pursued a hardball policy approach, taking aim at friend and foe alike, sending shivers through markets and fanning fears about the global economy.In recent days, he has suggested some countries could be given exemptions or reductions from next week’s measures, giving investors a much-needed sense of optimism.Market-watchers say the final outcome would likely see the tariffs changed after negotiations.”The recent wave of doom-laced narratives — fuelled by politically skewed consumer sentiment surveys and a flood of bearish op-eds — looks increasingly overcooked,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.And IG market analyst Tony Sycamore added: “The expectation is that the process will be more organised and structured than previous actions. Whatever numbers are announced on 2 April are likely to be negotiated down from there.”Still, the president did provide a jolt by warning countries that bought crude and gas from Venezuela would face steep tariffs, a move that could hit China and India among others.Beijing on Tuesday accused Washington of “interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs”.Asian stocks fluctuated through the day.Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Jakarta, Mumbai and Wellington rose while Shanghai was flat but Bangkok and Manila dropped.Hong Kong sank 2.4 percent, weighed by a drop of around six percent in Chinese tech giant Xiaomi after it raised $5.5 billion in a mega share sale as it looked to expand its electric vehicle business.The deal, which comes after a similar move this month by EV firm BYD, stoked worries about market liquidity.Traders were also cashing in recent profits — particularly among high-flying tech firms — following an impressive surge in the Hang Seng Index that has seen it pile on around 20 percent since the start of the year.Seoul also fell, despite a surge of more than three percent in South Korean automaker Hyundai following news of a $21 billion US investment.London, Frankfurt and Paris opened higher.Eyes are also on the release this week of US personal consumption expenditure data, which is the Federal Reserve’s favoured inflation metric.The reading will be closely monitored amid warnings that prices will likely go up because of Trump’s tariffs.Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic said the measures would likely mean the bank cuts interest rates just once this year.”I moved to one mainly because I think we’re going to see inflation be very bumpy and not move dramatically and in a clear way to the (Fed’s) two percent target,” he told Bloomberg Television on Monday.”Because that’s being pushed back, I think the appropriate path for policy is also going to have to be pushed back.”Oil prices edged up to extend Monday’s gains of more than one percent that came in response to Trump’s warning on Venezuelan crude.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 37,780.54 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.4 percent at 23,344.25 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,369.98 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,679.58Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0793 from $1.0805 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2911 from $1.2924Dollar/yen: UP at 150.66 yen from 150.58 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.59 pence from 83.58 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $69.35 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $72.59 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 42,583.32 points (close)

Samsung Electronics co-CEO Han Jong-hee, credited with boosting the South Korean tech giant’s television business on the global stage, died of a heart attack Tuesday aged 63, the company told AFP.”He died from cardiac arrest today,” a Samsung spokesperson said, adding that Han was survived by his wife and three children.Han joined Samsung in 1988 and was seen as having played a key role in getting its high-end TV sets noticed worldwide.”Han was central in the unveiling of Samsung’s world-class LED TVs,” the firm said in a company biography published earlier this month.”His numerous other innovations enabled the company to continually demonstrate its technology leadership,” it added.Han was credited by the company with taking Samsung televisions “to the pinnacle of the global market” — and keeping them there.Samsung Electronics is the flagship subsidiary of South Korean giant Samsung group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate Asia’s fourth-largest economy.Han was not part of the Samsung family, which still dominates the company, with third-generation leader Lee Jae-yong the current chief of Samsung Electronics.Han’s death could deal a blow to Samsung’s strategy to keep its number one place in the global TV market, Kim Dae-jong, professor of business administration at Sejong University in Seoul, told AFP. “Considering he has been deeply involved in Samsung’s TV business for decades, helping it firmly secure its global standing, his absence could affect its global strategy for years to come.”Samsung, like other TV titans LG and TCL, has been packing ever more AI into huge screens that are inching towards being digital assistants capable of chatting with users and other devices in homes.- AI headwinds -Han’s death also comes as the world’s largest memory-chip maker faces business headwinds in its race to produce chips used in artificial intelligence.Analysts have said Samsung was struggling to meet demand for chips used in AI servers, especially from US titan Nvidia.Meanwhile, local rival SK hynix has become the US giant’s main supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for its AI graphics processing units.The challenging conditions prompted Samsung Electronics chairman Lee to declare that the company must adopt a “do-or-die” mindset to confront the challenges posed by AI, according to media reports last week.Samsung acknowledged in October that it was facing a “crisis”, admitting that questions had arisen about its “fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company”.At the company’s general meeting of shareholders last week, the last public event Han attended, he also noted that the company would need fresh momentum to gain an edge in the competitive AI field.”We will continue to pioneer in various areas such as robotics, medtech and next-generation semiconductors to secure new growth momentum,” he told the meeting.Samsung’s operating profit sank almost a third in the fourth quarter last year, owing to spending on research.Samsung’s struggles come as the tech world has been shaken by news of DeepSeek new R1 chatbot, which sparked a rout in tech titans earlier this year and raised questions about the hundreds of billions of dollars invested in AI in recent years.

Equities mostly rose in Asia on Tuesday, extending Wall Street’s rally on easing fears over Donald Trump’s planned tariffs, while traders were also looking ahead to the release of key US inflation data.A surge in tech giants including Tesla and Nvidia helped New York markets higher, with sentiment buoyed by indications from the White House that next week’s glut of levies would be less severe than feared.Trump has dubbed April 2 “Liberation Day” as he pledges to impose reciprocal tariffs on trading partners in an effort to remedy practices that Washington deems unfair.Since resuming office in January, Trump has pursued a hardball policy approach, taking aim at friend and foe alike, sending shivers through markets and fanning fears about the global economy.In recent days, he has suggested some countries could be given exemptions or reductions from next week’s measures, giving investors a much-needed sense of optimism.Market-watchers say the final outcome would likely see the tariffs changed after negotiations.”The recent wave of doom-laced narratives — fuelled by politically skewed consumer sentiment surveys and a flood of bearish op-eds — looks increasingly overcooked,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes. And IG market analyst Tony Sycamore added: “The expectation is that the process will be more organised and structured than previous actions. Whatever numbers are announced on 2 April are likely to be negotiated down from there.”Still, the president did provide a jolt by warning countries that bought crude and gas from Venezuela would face steep tariffs, a move that could hit China and India among others.In early trade, Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Wellington rose but Shanghai and Manila dropped.Hong Kong sank more than one percent, weighed by a drop of almost five percent in Chinese tech giant Xiaomi after it raised $5.5 billion in a mega share sale as it looked to expand its electric vehicle business.Seoul also fell, despite a surge of around six percent in South Korean automaker Hyundai following news of a $21 billion US investment.Eyes are also on the release this week of US personal consumption expenditure data, which is the Federal Reserve favoured inflation metric.The reading will be closely monitored amid warnings that prices will likely go up because of Trump’s tariffs.Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic said the measures would likely mean the bank cuts interest rates just once this year.”I moved to one mainly because I think we’re going to see inflation be very bumpy and not move dramatically and in a clear way to the (Fed’s) two percent target,” he told Bloomberg Television on Monday.”Because that’s being pushed back, I think the appropriate path for policy is also going to have to be pushed back.”Oil prices held Monday’s gains of more than one percent that came in response to Trump’s warning on Venezuelan crude.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 37,881.70 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 23,502.90Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,367.17Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0799 from $1.0805 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2917 from $1.2924Dollar/yen: UP at 150.64 yen from 150.58 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.61 pence from 83.58 penceWest Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $69.09 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $72.37 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 42,583.32 points (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,638.01 (close)

US President Donald Trump announced Monday steep tariffs on imports from countries buying Venezuelan oil and gas, a punitive measure that could hit China and India, among others, and sow fresh global trade uncertainty.Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has unleashed tariffs on US allies and foes alike, attempting to strong-arm both economic and diplomatic policy.The latest across-the-board 25 percent levies targeting direct and indirect buyers of Venezuelan oil can take effect as soon as April 2, according to an order signed Monday by Trump.The secretary of state, in consultation with other US agencies, is authorized to determine if the levy will be imposed.These could hit China and India, with experts noting that Venezuela exports oil to both those countries, and to the United States and Spain.Trump told reporters Monday that the 25 percent tariff would be on top of existing rates.In February, Venezuela exported some 500,000 barrels of oil per day to China and this figure was 240,000 barrels for the United States, experts told AFP.Trump has dubbed April 2 “Liberation Day” for the world’s biggest economy, already promising reciprocal tariffs tailored to each trading partner in an effort to remedy practices that Washington deem unfair.He earlier signaled sector-specific duties coming around the same day — but the White House said Monday it might take a narrower approach.In his Monday announcement on Truth Social involving Venezuela, the president cited “numerous reasons” for what he called a “secondary tariff.”He accused Venezuela of “purposefully and deceitfully” sending “undercover, tens of thousands of high level, and other, criminals” to the United States.He added in his post that “Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse.”According to Trump’s order, the 25 percent tariff expires a year after the last date that a country has imported Venezuelan oil — or sooner if Washington decides so.Trump’s announcement comes as the deportation pipeline between the United States and Venezuela was suspended last month when he claimed Caracas had not lived up to a deal to quickly receive deported migrants.Venezuela subsequently said it would no longer accept the flights.But Caracas said Saturday it had reached agreement with Washington to resume repatriations after which nearly 200 Venezuelan citizens were deported from the United States via Honduras.Separately Monday, the Trump administration extended US oil giant Chevron’s deadline to halt its operations in Venezuela through May 27.The company had been operating in Venezuela under a sanctions waiver.- Tariff ‘breaks’? -Trump’s latest move adds to tariffs he has vowed would start on or around April 2.Besides reciprocal tariffs, he has promised sweeping sector-specific duties hitting imported automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.As things stand, however, his plans for the day might become more targeted.Sector-specific tariffs “may or may not happen April 2,” a White House official told AFP, adding that the situation is “still fluid.”The official reaffirmed that reciprocal tariffs would take place.But Trump told reporters Monday he might “give a lot of countries breaks” eventually, without elaborating.He separately added that he would announce car tariffs “very shortly” and those on pharmaceuticals sometime down the line.US partners are furthering talks with Washington as deadlines loom, with EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic heading to the country Tuesday to meet his American counterparts — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and trade envoy Jamieson Greer.Hopes of a narrower tariff rollout gave financial markets a boost.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo last week that Washington would go to trading partners with an indication of where tariff levels and non-tariff barriers are.If countries stopped their practices, Bessent added, they could potentially avoid levies.In the same interview, Bessent noted that levies would be focused on about 15 percent of countries who have trade imbalances with the United States, dubbing these a “dirty 15.”

Wall Street rose sharply on Monday, as the White House indicated that President Donald Trump was contemplating imposing less drastic US tariffs next week than previously thought. Investor sentiment has been jolted in recent weeks by fears that the president’s hardball policies could deal a painful blow to the global economy.April 2 is now the focus of attention, with Trump labelling it “Liberation Day” as he prepares to unveil a raft of “reciprocal” measures — imposing tariffs on other countries equal to those in place against the United States.A White House official told AFP on Monday that the sector-specific levies he had previously threatened “may or may not happen” as planned on April 2, adding that the situation was currently fluid.All three major indices on Wall Street closed higher, with the tech-rich Nasdaq ending the day up 2.3 percent. The trade news was “definitely the main cause” of the rise in Wall Street stocks, Steve Sosnick from Interactive Brokers told AFP. “Investors clearly hate the idea of tariffs,” he said. “So any news that implies that the burden of tariffs will be will be lighter than expected will be taken as a positive by the market.”- European rally loses steam -European markets open buoyantly on Monday, but pared gains during the day, with London, Paris and Frankfurt all losing ground, albeit modestly.Markets also digested purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data that showed business activity in the eurozone increased for the third consecutive month in March. The closely watched survey also showed that UK business activity hit a six-month high, a glimmer of good news for Britain’s otherwise-struggling economy.Asian markets fluctuated through the day, with Tokyo falling while Hong Kong and Shanghai rose.Chinese electric carmaker BYD’s shares rose by three percent, regaining some lost ground on the news it made more than $100 billion in 2024.Its price had dropped more than eight percent on Friday following a report that the European Commission was conducting a foreign subsidy investigation into its plant in Hungary. Jakarta dived more than four percent at one point, extending a recent sell-off. Gold slid back slightly to around $3,010 an ounce (28.3 grams), having hit a series of records last week to a peak of more than $3,057 owing to a surge in demand for safe havens.Holders of the asset could see prices continue to fall, according to Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at StoneX financial services.”Moving forward, the gold forecast may not be as strong as the first months of the year,” he said. “We think that the pace of the buying could at least slow, if not reverse.”- Key figures around 2030 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 42,583.32 points (close)New York – S&P: UP 1.8 percent 5,767.57 (close)New York – Nasdaq: UP 2.3 percent at 18,188.59 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,638.01 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,022.33 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 22,852.66 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 37,608.49 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 23,905.56 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,370.03 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0805 from $1.0815 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2924 from $1.2918Dollar/yen: UP at 150.58 yen from 149.36 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.58 pence from 83.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $69.11 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.3 percent at $73.00 per barrel

South Korean auto giant Hyundai on Monday announced a multi-billion-dollar investment in the United States, including a new $5.8 billion steel plant.The plant, which will be based in the US state of Louisiana, “will create 1,300 American jobs,” Hyundai executive chairman Euisun Chung told reporters at a White House event alongside President Donald Trump.The move will also serve “as the foundation for a more self-reliant and secure automotive supply chain in the US,” he added. Hyundai’s announcement makes it the latest firm to announce plans to invest billions of dollars into the United States since Donald Trump’s return to power in January.The US president has repeatedly threatened to impose painful tariffs on companies that do not relocate manufacturing jobs to the United States from overseas.  In response, domestic and foreign firms, including Apple and Oracle, have announced plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into US projects over the next four years. “Cars are coming to this country at levels never seen before,” Trump told reporters on Monday. The investment was “a clear demonstration that tariffs very strongly work,” he said. “Hyundai will be producing steel in America and making its cars in America, and as a result, they’ll not have to pay any tariffs,” he added. 

Europe stocks dipped, but Wall Street  rose strongly on Monday as worries about fresh US tariffs expected next week were tempered by hopes that US President Donald Trump was considering a more targeted approach.Investor sentiment has been jolted in recent weeks by fears that the president’s hardball policies could deal a painful blow to the global economy.Wednesday next week is now the focus of attention, with Trump labelling it “Liberation Day” as he prepares to unveil a raft of what he calls “reciprocal” measures to impose tariffs on other countries.US stocks on Monday opened positively and maintained their upward momentum mid-session with the Nasdaq adding two percent, the S&P rising by 1.7 percent and the DOW gaining 1.3 percent.”US stock index futures were firmer this morning, indicating a return of investor risk appetite,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation financial services provider.”The positive start was helped by a more conciliatory tone from President Trump concerning existing tariffs, and those threatened in the future,” he added.Bloomberg News reported that the US administration was considering a more targeted approach to the tariffs, with some countries being hit harder than others, and the measures not being as severe as initially feared.That came after the president on Friday told reporters that “there’ll be flexibility” in his plans.Those expectations helped European markets open buoyantly on Monday. But that sentiment had dissipated by the afternoon, with London, Paris and Frankfurt all losing ground, albeit modestly.“It’s going to be another choppy week for markets with tariffs once again dominating risk appetite,” said AJ Bell, head of financial analysis firm Danni Hewson.Markets also digested purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data that showed business activity in the eurozone increased for the third consecutive month in March. The closely watched survey also showed that UK business activity hit a six-month high, a glimmer of good news for Britain’s struggling economy.However, positive sentiment has been tempered as the US Federal Reserve last week warned of “uncertainty around the economic outlook”.Asian markets fluctuated through the day, with Tokyo falling while Hong Kong and Shanghai rose.Chinese electric carmaker BYD’s shares rebounded by three percent with news that the company made more than $100 billion in 2024.Its price had dropped more than eight percent on Friday following a report that the European Commission was conducting a foreign subsidy investigation into its plant in Hungary. Jakarta dived more than four percent at one point, extending a recent sell-off fuelled by worries about Southeast Asia’s biggest economy that has seen the country’s main index lose around 15 percent since the turn of the year.Gold slid back slightly, to around $3,010 an ounce (28.3 grammes), having hit a series of records last week to a peak of more than $3,057 owing to a surge in demand for safe havens.Prices may start heading back the other way, though, according to Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at StoneX financial services.”Moving forward, the gold forecast may not be as strong as the first months of the year,” he said. “We think that the pace of the buying could at least slow, if not reverse.”- Key figures around 1645 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.3 percent at 42,510.24 pointsNew York – S&P: UP 1.6 percent 5,757.84New York – Nasdaq: UP 2.0 percent at 18,137.31London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,638.01Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,021.98Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 22,856.01Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 37,608.49 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 23,905.56 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,370.03 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0824 from $1.0815 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2903 from $1.2918Dollar/yen: UP at 150.58 yen from 149.36 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.62 pence from 83.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $69.20 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $73.06 per barrel

Chinese carmaker BYD saw a surge in revenue last year, a stock filing showed Monday, surpassing the $100 billion mark and beating rival Tesla as the electric vehicle giant accelerates its overseas expansion.The Shenzhen-based firm has emerged in recent years as the clear leader in China’s highly competitive EV market, which is the largest in the world.It is also increasingly seeking new growth channels abroad, vowing to conquer the European market with a new compact electric model and super-fast charging capabilities to rival continental brands.BYD recorded 777.1 billion yuan ($107.2 billion) in revenue for 2024, a statement published Monday evening at the Shenzhen stock exchange showed.That figure eclipsed the $97.7 billion in revenue last year announced previously by Tesla.The Chinese juggernaut’s push into Europe comes at a challenging juncture for Tesla, whose sales in the continent have dropped following CEO Elon Musk’s support for far-right political groups there.BYD’s revenue results represent a 29 percent increase from the previous year and outperformed a Bloomberg forecast of 766 billion yuan.Meanwhile, BYD’s net profit last year amounted to 40.3 billion yuan, up 34 percent from 2023 and reaching a record high.In a further promising sign, the company’s net profit in the final quarter of the year reached a record amount of 15 billion yuan, the stock filing showed.BYD — which adopts the English slogan “Build Your Dreams” — has enjoyed a giddy few months of surging sales disclosures and soaring stock prices.It said in January that it sold nearly 4.3 million vehicles last year, up more than 40 percent from the previous year.Monthly sales also jumped 161 percent in February to 318,000 units, easily outpacing a steep decline at Tesla over the same period.- Charging ahead -This month, BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose to a record high after the firm unveiled new battery technology it says can charge a vehicle in the same time it takes to fill up a petrol car.The “Super e-Platform” battery and charging system boasts peak speeds of 1,000 kilowatts and allows cars to travel up to 470 kilometres (292 miles) after a five-minute charge, according to the company.Tesla’s Superchargers, by contrast, currently offer charging speeds of 500 kilowatts.BYD Vice-President Stella Li said last week that “registration numbers will jump” in Europe during March and April.The group has launched major advertising campaigns including sponsorship of last year’s European Championships in football and has opened numerous new showrooms across the continent.However, geopolitical and trade tensions between Beijing and Western capitals threaten to cast a shadow over the company’s global ambitions.BYD is a key player in a new generation of Chinese automotive giants to have benefited from generous support by Beijing, which has poured vast state funds into the sector.The approach has given domestic firms a critical edge in the race to provide cheaper, more fuel-efficient EVs over leading US automakers, which have not always enjoyed such state largesse.EU authorities are reportedly investigating whether the Chinese government provided unfair subsidies for BYD’s first European factory, in Hungary, where electric car production is scheduled to start late this year.Li told AFP last week that the company would be “very transparent” and was willing to cooperate with any investigation.Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has recently imposed higher blanket tariffs on Chinese imports, adding to an existing move by his predecessor Joe Biden that effectively bars the use of Chinese technology in smart cars.BYD’s publication of strong results comes after Tesla announced lower than expected profits for the fourth quarter of 2024 in late January.The decline capped a mixed year for Tesla in which Trump ally Musk’s big bet on US electoral politics was countered by profit pressures, as the firm’s streak of annual car volume growth came to an end.

Stock markets mostly rose on Monday as worries about fresh US tariffs pencilled in for next week were tempered by hopes that US President Donald Trump was considering a more targeted approach.Investor sentiment has been jolted in recent weeks by fears that the president’s hardball policies could deal a painful blow to the global economy.Wednesday of next week is now the focus of attention, with Trump labelling it “Liberation Day” as he prepares to unveil a raft of supposedly “reciprocal” measures to counter those in other countries.US stocks opened positively with the Nasdaq trading higher by more than 1.5 percent, the S&P up by 1.3 percent and the DOW gaining 1.0 percent.”US stock index futures were firmer this morning, indicating a return of investor risk appetite,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation financial services provider.”The positive start was helped by a more conciliatory tone from President Trump concerning existing tariffs, and those threatened in the future,” he added.Bloomberg News reported that the US administration was considering a more targeted approach to the tariffs, with some countries being hit harder than others, and the measures not being as severe as initially feared.That came after the president on Friday told reporters that “there’ll be flexibility” in his plans.Those expectations helped European markets open buoyantly on Monday but that sentiment had dissipated by the afternoon with London, Paris and Frankfurt all hovering close to Friday’s prices.Markets also digested purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data that showed business activity in the eurozone increased for the third consecutive month in March. The closely watched survey also showed that UK business activity hit a six-month high, a glimmer of good news for Britain’s struggling economy.However, positive sentiment has been tempered as the US Federal Reserve last week warned of “uncertainty around the economic outlook.”Asian markets fluctuated through the day, with Tokyo falling while Hong Kong and Shanghai rose.Chinese electric carmaker BYD’s shares rebounded by three percent with news that the company made more than $100 billion in 2024.Its price had dropped more than eight percent on Friday following a report that the European Commission was conducting a foreign subsidy investigation into its plant in Hungary. Jakarta dived more than four percent at one point, extending a recent sell-off fuelled by worries about Southeast Asia’s biggest economy that has seen the country’s main index lose around 15 percent since the turn of the year.Gold held at around $3,030 an ounce (28.3 grammes), having hit a series of records last week to a peak of more than $3,057 owing to a surge in demand for safe havens.Prices may start heading back the other way, though, according to Fawad Razaqzada, market analysts at StoneX financial services.”Moving forward, the gold forecast may not be as strong as the first months of the year,” he said. “We think that the pace of the buying could at least slow, if not reverse.”- Key figures around 1345 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 42,407.97 pointsNew York – S&P: UP 1.40 percent 5,745.60New York – Nasdaq: UP 1.6 percent at 18,075.29London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,655.09Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,031.85Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 22,910.17Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 37,608.49 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 23,905.56 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,370.03 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0824 from $1.0815 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2941 from $1.2918Dollar/yen: UP at 149.79 yen from 149.36 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.62 pence from 83.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $68.51 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $72.41 per barrel