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Crude prices spiked more than two percent Thursday after Donald Trump said he would hit two Russian oil companies with hefty sanctions, while talk that the White House was planning curbs on software exports to China added to gloom on markets.Both main oil contracts jumped almost three percent — having climbed more than two percent Tuesday — on news of the measures after the US leader said Ukraine peace efforts with counterpart Vladimir Putin “don’t go anywhere”.The move was joined by another round of punishments by the European Union as part of attempts to pressure Moscow to end its three-and-a-half-year invasion of Ukraine.Trump decided on the sanctions after plans for a fresh summit with Putin in Budapest collapsed this week.”Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere,” the US president said in response to a question from an AFP journalist in the Oval Office.But he hoped the “tremendous sanctions” on oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil Oil would be short-lived, and that “the war will be settled”.Brent and WTI were both sitting at near two week-highs after the spikes, helped by claims by Trump that India agreed to cut its purchases of the commodity from Russia as part of a US trade deal. New Delhi has neither confirmed nor denied any policy shift.Equity markets fortunes were not as good, with most of Asia tracking losses on Wall Street amid lingering concerns that a tech-led surge to record highs this year may be reaching its end, and some observers warning of a bubble forming.Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta all tumbled, though Singapore, Seoul and Wellington edged up.And gold clawed back some of the previous two days’ losses, edging up around one percent to $4,075 — but well down from the record high above $4,381 touched earlier in the week.While there is an expectation Trump will meet Chinese counterpart next week at the APEC summit in South Korea, investors were jolted slightly when he suggested that might not take place.And on Wednesday uncertainty was stoked again after a report said the administration was looking at curbing shipments of a range of software-powered exports to China, including laptops and jet engines, owing to Beijing’s rare earths controls.Those mineral controls sparked a round of tit-for-tat exchanges between the superpowers that sparked fresh trade war worries, including Trump’s threat of 100 percent tariffs on China.”Everything is on the table,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent replied when asked about limits on software exports to China. “If these export controls, whether it’s software, engines or other things happen, it will likely be in coordination with our G7 allies,” he added, according to Bloomberg News.There was a feeling that the issue was unlikely to explode into a full-on crisis, though analysts retained some caution.”Headlines that the US is considering software export curbs on China have certainly done risk no favours on the day,” said Pepperstone’s Chris Weston.They “inject a degree of doubt into the collective’s consensus position that we will ultimately see a positive resolution in the US–China trade negotiations”. “The ingrained belief remains that Trump’s threat of 100 percent additional import tariffs on China is unlikely to take effect on 1 November — or, if they do, that they’ll be rolled back soon enough — and that China is unlikely to retaliate with punchy tariffs of its own.”But is the market mispricing the risk of a strong-arm response from either side—one that could contradict the conciliatory tone both US and Chinese officials have projected through the media?”- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.3 percent at 48,664.74 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 25,637.25Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,880.18Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1598 from $1.1606 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3339 from $1.3356Dollar/yen: UP at 152.41 from 151.99 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.95 pence from 86.90 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2.3 percent at $59.85 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 2.3 percent at $64.05 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 45,590.41 (close) London – FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 9,515.00 (close)

President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro traded angry threats Wednesday as the United States announced strikes on two alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean that left five people dead.Trump branded Petro a “thug” and suggested he was a drug trafficker leading his country to ruin, prompting the leftist leader to vow: “I will defend myself legally with American lawyers.”The US president also said vital military aid to Bogota had been cut and warned Petro — a sharp critic of the strikes — to “watch it,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Colombian leader a “lunatic.”Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meanwhile announced two strikes on boats in the Pacific — one on Wednesday and another the day before — in social media posts showing the vessels being engulfed in flames.”Just as Al-Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people. There will be no refuge or forgiveness — only justice,” wrote Hegseth.The strikes, which Hegseth said were carried out in international waters, bring the total number of such US attacks to at least nine, with 37 people dead, according to US figures.Until now the strikes had only taken place in the Caribbean.The origin of the targeted vessels — eight boats and one semi-submersible — has not been disclosed, though some were destroyed off Venezuela’s coast. – ‘Unacceptable’ -At least one came from Trinidad and Tobago, another from Colombia, families of those killed told AFP.Washington has deployed stealth warplanes and Navy ships as part of what it calls counter-narcotics efforts, but has yet to release evidence that its targets were drug smugglers.The Pentagon told Congress the United States is in “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, designating them as terrorist groups and describing suspected smugglers as “unlawful combatants.”Experts say the summary killings are illegal even if they target confirmed traffickers.Regional tensions have flared, with Colombia recalling its ambassador to Washington and Venezuela accusing the United States of plotting to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, who said Wednesday that his country has 5,000 Russian man-portable surface-to-air missiles to counter US forces.Colombia is the world’s top cocaine producer, but has worked for decades alongside the United States to curb production, which is controlled by a range of well-funded paramilitary, cartel and guerrilla groups.But relations have soured markedly since Trump and Petro have taken power, with the fued intensifying in recent weeks over the Republican president’s deadly anti-drug campaign.”Under no circumstances can one justify that kind of threats and accusations that have no basis whatsoever,” Colombian ambassador Daniel Garcia-Pena told AFP after being recalled to Bogota for consultations.”There are elements that are unacceptable,” he said, visibly alarmed after being told what Trump had said minutes before.”We are facing a US government that is trying to change the paradigm of its international relations” Garcia-Pena added, “where uncertainty unfortunately plays a very important role.””At stake here is a historic relationship of more than 200 years that benefits both the United States and Colombia,” he said.

Facebook owner Meta is cutting 600 jobs in its artificial intelligence division in a move intended to streamline operations after an aggressive hiring spree, US media reported Wednesday.The job cuts will not affect the TBD Lab, an operation established by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other publications. The lab’s staffing was quickly grown through the poaching of top researchers with expensive pay packages from rivals like OpenAI and Apple.Rather, the job cuts will target teams focused on artificial intelligence products and infrastructure, aiming to boost efficiency without sacrificing work on the company’s most ambitious ventures, according to a Wall Street Journal report that said many of the affected workers could be deployed elsewhere by the company.The New York Times described the job cuts as aimed at addressing “organizational bloat” following aggressive hiring to build up the AI program.Both newspapers quoted a memo from Chief AI Office Alexandr Wang that the job cuts mean “fewer conversations will be required to make a decision.”Meta did not respond to an AFP query on the matter.

Standing in the middle of a parking lot in suburban Washington, surrounded by hundreds of federal employees waiting for food handouts amid the US government shutdown, Diane Miller summed it up simply. “How am I gonna eat?” the 74-year-old public servant asked bitterly.When her turn came, she showed her government employee card and received two boxes, one with fresh fruits and vegetables, the other with shelf-stable goods. Every bit of it is necessary since her paycheck went to zero.The vast majority of federal employees have been furloughed since October 1 and are going without income because a budget impasse between Republicans and Democrats has forced a shutdown of the government.Overall, more than 600,000 federal workers have been affected by the shutdown, according to media reports.”I need to put food on my table, too, even if it’s going to make me fat,” Miller said with a laugh, but her eyes shone with anger.”I deserve to be in line, getting whatever benefits I can get.”Federal employees all over the country are turning to food banks and charities for a lifeline. On Wednesday in Washington, over 310 boxes packed with $75 worth of groceries were distributed in less than an hour.  “You have people that two weeks ago had a steady paycheck and had nice, normal lives, and suddenly the rug is pulled out from under you, and you find yourself in a food line,” said Dave Silbert, head of So What Else, the food bank co-organizing the distribution.Miller has worked in federal and local government for more than 50 years.”No one deserves to be treated the way that we’re being treated right now — and to watch them tear down the people’s house and to build some fancy ballroom when that money could be taking care of Americans,” she said, referring to the $250-million White House renovation that broke ground this week.”We should be a proud country right now. I’m sad to be an American.”- Ups and downs -Waiting in line, Adrian, a tax law expert who has worked in public service for 33 years, vents painful frustrations.”We can barely make a mortgage payment, but we have other bills to pay, utilities, cell phones, like everything. It’s a domino effect,” said Adrian, who declined to disclose her last name for fear of reprisals.”All of those congressmen, senators, they’re getting paid. We’re not,” she added. “So they should not have a paycheck. If we don’t have a paycheck, they should feel what we’re feeling.”Adrian points to how federal workers were vilified under President Donald Trump’s policies, which included sweeping job cuts carried out through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).”We’re just doing our jobs, which is part of the federal government, and all of a sudden we became the enemy of the state,” she said.The budget paralysis has lasted for 22 days, already the second-longest shutdown in the country’s history. The political gridlock worries Amber, a mother of two children and human resources worker for the US Army. “I’m actually in the middle of a divorce as well, so I already had to take out a $20,000 loan just to afford housing. So now with no paycheck, I’m really struggling, so that’s why I’m here today to get food.”As the federal shutdown wears on, affected employees can’t help but look ahead — to colder winter months and the holidays.”How do you think people feel? They’re struggling. And it’s not just one group of people, it’s everybody,” Miller said. With a strained smile, as a Black woman who says she has dedicated her life to civil rights, Miller blames Trump for the country’s current condition.”They need to get that man out of here, period.”

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday stood by the choice of Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny to headline next year’s Super Bowl halftime show, a decision President Donald Trump has branded “absolutely ridiculous.”Speaking in New York after the league’s annual autumn meeting, Goodell said he had no qualms about picking the Grammy-winning entertainer, who is wildly popular across the United States, for the NFL showpiece despite the backlash it had drawn from Trump and right-wing critics.”He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell said of the decision. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s carefully thought through.” Goodell said the NFL’s picks for the high-profile halftime show frequently elicited “blowback or criticism.” Bad Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, had already sparked right-wing ire after saying he would skip the United States during his upcoming world tour due to fears of immigration raids at his concerts.The Latin megastar brought a fresh wave of controversy after being named to headline the Super Bowl last month, with right-wing critics infuriated at the choice of an artist who sings mostly in Spanish.In an interview on Newsmax, Trump, who has regularly sparred with the NFL, said he had “never heard” of Bad Bunny.”I don’t know who he is,” Trump said. “I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s, like, crazy.” He went on to brand the decision “absolutely ridiculous.”Other conservative critics have joined the pile-on.”Is the @NFL incapable of reading the room?” Sebastian Gorka, Trump’s Senior Director for Counter Terrorism, posted on X last month shortly after the announcement.Former racing driver turned right-wing commentator Danica Patrick said separately on X: “No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest rated television events of the year.”Bad Bunny has said his halftime act was “for my people, my culture, and our history.”Puerto Rico, where Bad Bunny hails from, is a US territory in the Caribbean. In June, Bad Bunny posted video footage on his social media channels from an ICE raid that took place on his home island.Super Bowl halftime shows have traditionally attracted the biggest names in the music industry, including the likes of Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Prince and Paul McCartney.More recent performers have included this past year’s headliner Kendrick Lamar, the rapper who cut out profanity but still performed a viral diss track of his rival Drake.

California’s governor said Wednesday he would be deploying the state’s national guard to help distribute food to Americans struggling because of the US government shutdown.Hundreds of thousands of federal workers across the country are not being paid as Democrats and Republicans in Washington squabble over the national budget, leaving some families struggling to meet their costs.Payments to some of America’s poorest people, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — known colloquially as food stamps — are also due to expire in the coming days if no agreement is reached. That is set to put extra pressure on food banks, which typically offer free or low-cost produce to people who cannot otherwise afford to buy it.Governor Gavin Newsom said he would be activating the Guard to do the kind of food bank work they performed during the Covid pandemic, when they helped serve millions of meals.Newsom, a Democrat who battled President Donald Trump’s order to deploy the National Guard to support immigration raids, said he was also fast-tracking $80 million of state support to help feed those in need.”Trump’s failure isn’t abstract –- it’s literally taking food out of people’s mouths,” said Newsom, who is expected to seek the Democratic nomination for the White House in 2027.”Millions of Americans rely on food benefits to feed their families, and while Republicans in Washington drag their feet… California is working to ensure (food stamp) recipients don’t go hungry while food prices are spiking.”Nationally, the program feeds more than 42 million people, with roughly 5.5 million in California alone.The federal government shutdown, now in its fourth week, is the second longest in history, with no end to the stalemate in sight.The National Guard is a state-based military reserve force, made up largely of people who serve part-time while holding civilian jobs or conducting other activities.It is routinely mobilized to address emergencies on US soil, typically natural disasters.In the last few months Trump has sparked fury by federalizing parts of the Guard to deploy troops in Democratic cities including Los Angeles and Washington.

Colombia’s ambassador to Washington denounced US President Donald Trump’s threats against his country and President Gustavo Petro as “unacceptable” on Wednesday, warning that a 200-year alliance was being put at risk.Trump on Wednesday branded Petro a “thug,” suggested he was a drug trafficker and threatened “very serious action” against him and against Colombia. The comments drew an immediate and angry response from Bogota.”Under no circumstances can one justify that kind of threats and accusations that have no basis whatsoever,” Ambassador Daniel Garcia-Pena told AFP in an interview after being recalled to Bogota for consultations.”There are elements that are unacceptable,” he said, visibly alarmed after being told what Trump had said from the Oval Office just minutes earlier.Although long-time allies, relations between Washington and Bogota have gone into free fall since Trump and Petro took office.In recent days, Trump has vowed to revoke aid and impose punishing tariffs on Colombia after he and Petro have clashed on social media.”We are facing a US government that is trying to change the paradigm of its international relations, where certainty unfortunately plays a very important role,” Garcia-Pena said.”At stake here is a historic relationship of more than 200 years that benefits both the United States and Colombia,” he said.The Republican president warned Petro to “watch it,” just hours after the Pentagon announced its first strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Pacific Ocean.”There were two narco-terrorists aboard the vessel… Both terrorists were killed and no US forces were harmed,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X, posting a video of the boat engulfed in flames.The strike, apparently carried out in international waters, brings the total number of such US attacks to at least eight, with 34 people killed, according to US figures.Washington has deployed stealth warplanes and Navy ships as part of what it calls counter-narcotics efforts, but has yet to release evidence that its targets were drug smugglers.Petro has often denounced the strikes.Colombia is the world’s top cocaine producer, but has long worked alongside the United States to curb production, which is controlled by paramilitary, cartel and guerrilla groups.Petro on Wednesday blasted “slanders that have been thrown at me in the territory of the United States by high-ranking officials,” but said: “When our help is needed to fight drug trafficking, US society will have it.”

Tesla reported a hefty drop in profits Wednesday, citing a drag from tariffs and other expenses that more than offset a lift from increased auto sales.Elon Musk’s electric car company reported profits of $1.4 billion in the third quarter, down 37 percent from the year-ago period. Besides tariffs, which executives said were more than $400 million in the quarter, the company’s earnings press release cited higher restructuring expenses and lower revenues from regulatory credits as factors in the profits, which lagged behind analyst expectations.Revenues rose 12 percent to $28.1 billion, while operating expenses jumped 50 percent to $3.4 billion, due in part to heftier outlays on research and development.While Tesla faces “near-term uncertainty from shifting trade, tariff and fiscal policy,” the company is making investments that will lead to “incredible value for Tesla and the world across transport, energy and robotics,” the company said.US sales of electric vehicles manufactured by Tesla and other companies got a boost in the third quarter with the September 30 expiration of a federal tax credit, which prompted buyers to move up purchases of the vehicles.Tesla followed up those better-than-expected sales with the release of two “standard” vehicles in early October at somewhat lower price points. Analysts gave the offerings mixed reviews, with some expressing skepticism that the vehicles would lead to a sustained resurgence in consumer demand.Some leading auto analysts have said they do not expect a significant uptick in Tesla sales until it launches a new vehicle.”We believe that for Tesla to return to growth on a sustainable basis requires an expansion of the company’s lineup,” said an October 3 note from JPMorgan that targeted the first quarter of 2026 as the date of an expected new vehicle launch. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives also pointed to early next year as a timeframe for new models, while highlighting Musk’s progress on autonomous, robotic and artificial intelligence as a key focus for investors.”We continue to strongly believe the most important chapter in Tesla’s growth story is now beginning with the AI era now here,” said Ives, who projects autonomous technologies will lift Tesla’s market valuation by $1 trillion.Also ahead is a November 6 annual meeting at which shareholders will consider a compensation package for Musk that could top $1 trillion and lift his overall stake in the company to more than 25 percent of total shares if the controversial CEO meets key performance and market capitalization targets.Musk said he wants the bigger stake to have more influence as the company chases ambitious ventures in robotics and beyond.”It’s not like I’m gonna go spend the money,” Musk said on a conference call. “That’s what it comes down to. I don’t feel comfortable building that robot army if I don’t have at least a strong influence.”- Leaving Washington -Shares of Tesla have recovered in recent weeks after deep declines in the spring when Musk faced heavy criticism over his work in President Donald Trump’s administration and loud blowback over his embrace of other far-right politicians.Sales of Tesla vehicles have languished especially hard in Europe and the United States amid boycotts and instances of auto vandalism. While US sales were boosted in the last quarter by the end of the $7,500 tax credit, a drop-off in the fourth quarter is expected.But the stock has soared since Musk left the White House in May. Shares fell 3.2 percent Wednesday in after-hours trading following the release of the results.Although Musk has not spoken out as frequently on political topics since that time, he sparred with Trump’s acting NASA Administrator earlier this week after the space agency chief invited other companies to compete with the billionaire’s SpaceX for the mission to return humans to the moon. “Sean Dummy is trying to kill NASA!” Musk said in a post on X, referring to Sean Duffy, who also serves as US transportation secretary.But Duffy told Fox News that while he “loves” SpaceX the company is “behind” schedule.”They pushed their timelines out and we’re in a race against China,” Duffy said on Fox News.

US President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that the White House’s iconic East Wing is being torn down in its entirety to make way for a huge $300-million ballroom — a far more extensive demolition than previously announced.Trump told reporters at an Oval Office event that he had decided after consulting architects that “really knocking it down” was preferable to a partial demolition. The president was asked about the work at an event alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, after a mechanical excavator was photographed ripping through the East Wing’s facade, leaving a tangle of broken masonry, rubble and steel wires.The East Wing is where US first ladies have traditionally had their offices. The president works in the West Wing and the couple live in the Executive Mansion.Trump says the new 90,000-square-foot ballroom with a capacity of 1,000 people is needed to host large state dinners and other events that currently have to be held in a tent.Trump’s comments on Wednesday put the cost of the demolition at $300 million, raising the cost from the $250 million quoted by the White House days ago.While the US president said that the East Wing is “completely separate from the White House itself,” it is in fact physically joined to the main mansion by a covered colonnade.The facelift has raised questions about what critics have decried as a lack of transparency, and has led to complaints that there was no advance notice or consultation.”We are deeply concerned that the massing and height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself — (which) is 55,000 square feet — and may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings,” the National Trust for Historic Preservation said in a letter to the Trump administration on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump has slapped major sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies after concluding that Vladimir Putin was not being “honest and forthright” in Ukraine talks, the US treasury chief said Wednesday.The sanctions came a day after a planned Trump-Putin summit in Budapest was shelved, with Washington expressing its disappointment at the lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations with Moscow.”Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement announcing the sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil.He warned that Treasury was prepared “to take further action if necessary” to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war. Speaking to Fox Business ahead of the official announcement, Bessent said the move was “one of the largest sanctions that we have done against the Russian Federation.” Trump has held off on new sanctions for months, saying he hoped to persuade Russian President Putin to make peace despite growing frustration with the Kremlin leader.But the 79-year-old Republican’s patience apparently ran out in the space of the six days since he spoke to Putin by telephone last Thursday.”President Putin has not come to the table in an honest and forthright manner, as we’d hoped,” Bessent told Fox Business.Bessent said that when the two leaders met in Alaska in August, “President Trump walked away when he realized that things were not moving forward.” “There have been behind-the-scenes talks, but I believe that the president is disappointed at where we are in these talks,” he added.The European Union said Wednesday it was also imposing new sanctions on Russia.They include a ban on importing liquefied natural gas from Russia by 2027, the blacklisting of oil tankers used by Moscow and travel curbs on Russian diplomats.Since returning to office in January, Trump has repeatedly dangled the threat of sanctions against Russia without pulling the trigger as he seeks an elusive end to Russia’s three-and-a-half-year war.Trump had held out hope of a ceasefire deal last week after speaking to Putin, saying that the two leaders had agreed to meet in Budapest within two weeks.Repeating a pattern of pivoting between Moscow and Kyiv, the US president at the same time stepped up the pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump pushed Zelensky to give up territory, a Kyiv official told AFP, and turned down his plea for long-range Tomahawk missiles to strike deep into Russia.But Trump shifted once again on Tuesday, saying that he did not want to have a “wasted meeting,” ending the immediate prospect of a Putin summit.News of the sanctions drove oil prices higher in after-hours trading, with the benchmark WTI and Brent both gaining more than one percent.