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Australia shoppers lured by discounts, shore up economy in 4Q

Australian retail sales dipped in December as pay back for a Black Friday splurge the month before, but discounting helped shoppers make a desperately-needed contribution to economic growth over the whole fourth quarter. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday showed retail sales fell 0.1% in December from November, when they had risen by 0.7%. The outcome was firmer than analyst forecasts for a 0.7% drop, helped by Cyber Monday promotions falling in December this year and discounting spread across the month.

Investors Buy Dollars, Brace for Stock Slide as Trade War Begins

(Bloomberg) -- Having lived with the risk of a US-led trade war for weeks, financial markets reopened Monday needing to deal with the reality.Most Read from BloombergNew York’s First ‘Passive House’ School Is a Model of Downtown DensityWhen French Communists Went on a Brutalist Building BoomTrump Paves the Way to Deputize Local Police on ImmigrationHow the 2025 Catholic Jubilee Is Reshaping RomeHistoric London Elevator Faces Last Stop in Labour’s Housing PushInvestors favored the US dollar in ea

Trump Says Fed Made the Right Call Last Week to Pause Rate Cuts

(Bloomberg) -- US President Donald Trump said the Federal Reserve was right to pause its rate-cutting path in its decision last week, a break from his penchant for calling for lower rates.Most Read from BloombergNew York’s First ‘Passive House’ School Is a Model of Downtown DensityWhen French Communists Went on a Brutalist Building BoomTrump Paves the Way to Deputize Local Police on ImmigrationHow the 2025 Catholic Jubilee Is Reshaping RomeHistoric London Elevator Faces Last Stop in Labour’s Hou

Wall Street girds for market impact of Trump tariffs

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Global markets buckled up for a turbulent session on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump launched a trade war with sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China that threaten to undermine economic growth and reignite inflation. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans for retaliatory tariffs on imports of goods from the United States, the first of which also would take effect on Tuesday.