Donald Trump has called on nations to unite to isolate Tehran and bring down global energy prices, as he gave a bellicose defence of his administration’s foreign policy and decision to strike Iran.

“I call on all nations to help to enforce the complete economic isolation of Iran,” Trump said in a speech to the UN general assembly on Tuesday. “If we stand united, we will soon see a world free of the last 51-year menace of Iranian terror … and oil prices will come plummeting down even lower than they were at the start of the conflict.”

Trump’s call for international unity on Iran – he also said he may “annihilate” the country – comes as numerous US allies have complained about soaring energy prices and growing international instability during his US administration.

(Continue Reading – Guardian)

Germany’s system for pricing new medicines will face a United States trade hearing Tuesday, with consequences that could extend beyond pharmaceuticals.

The investigation is part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to drive down the high cost of drugs in America, which he says is effectively subsidizing lower prices in Europe. Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs unless European prices rise, which could hit sectors across the continent because the EU trades as a bloc.

“For too long, European countries have been freeloading off American innovation while our own patients and companies foot the bill,” Republican congressman Vern Buchanan, vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and chair of its health subcommittee, said. “Europe needs to start paying its fair share.”

(Continue Reading – POLITICO)

Howard Marks has a message for investors worried about how America's fiscal situation could impact markets: don't dump your stocks.

The billionaire founder of Oaktree Capital investment firm shared his thesis in his latest memo published on Tuesday, laying out where he stands on big economic matters, including the growing fiscal burden that's been worrying investors this year.

"While we're waiting for Washington to solve the problem, what should we do in our portfolios?" he mused. "That's what a friend of mine — not an investment professional, but a nationally known entrepreneur — asked me last month. 'Should I sell my stocks?'"

(Continue Reading – Business Insider)

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed a new AI safety “notification mechanism” during a Sunday meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.

But the proposal is far simpler than the term suggests: an open line of communication between the two officials, according to four people familiar with the arrangement.

The arrangement underscores the relatively modest ambitions surrounding AI cooperation ahead of a meeting this week at the White House between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

(Continue Reading – POLITICO)