This Month
Demands over Taiwan need not sink AUKUS, says former Biden aide
Ely Ratner, ex-assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security, says pressure on Australia to prepare for war is an opportunity rather than a threat.
Trump’s swollen ankle photos prompt White House revelation
The president is suffering from a chronic vein condition, his press secretary said, after pictures of his enlarged legs prompted speculation about his health.
US bankers shrug off Trump’s tariff blitz despite inflation alarm
Data reveals the first signs of the president’s levies pushing up prices, but JPMorgan and Citi executives say CEOs are getting comfortable in the uncertainty.
What Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ means for corporate America
Private equity loves the legislation, while Tesla and AI start-ups have lost out. Reporters examine the impact on a range of industries and sectors.
Trump has dropped a big, beautiful bomb on America’s economy
The bill is the latest in a series of Luddite measures that let China run away with the electro-tech revolution, marking a retreat from a modern economy.
OpenAI latches onto Labor’s economist wonks
The maker of ChatGPT figured out the best route to the corridors of power.
June
Canada drops tax on tech giants to restart stalled US trade talks
Canada’s planned digital tax would have affected US technology firms, including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet’s Google and Apple, among others.
Republicans, Democrats urge Hegseth to back AUKUS
A bipartisan coalition of powerful Congressmen has gone in to bat for AUKUS, assuring the Defence Secretary there are enough US submarines for Australia.
Where is Iran’s uranium? Fate of US bombings hangs on 400kg stockpile
The critical question will be whether the country’s nuclear program has been destroyed, or simply pushed into smaller, secret facilities that are harder to find.
Trump’s Iran choice: last-chance diplomacy or a bunker-busting bomb
The US could still become directly involved in a new conflict, taking on Iran in exactly the kind of war that the president has sworn he would avoid.
‘The Princess Bride’ has lessons for Trump in dealing with Xi
The cult movie has the hero tricking the villain in much the same way China’s leader has done with his US counterpart in their negotiation on rare earths.
Trump tests limits of presidential authority by sending troops into LA
The deployment is the latest effort by the administration to test the limits and force Democrat-run states to follow federal edicts.
Executives converge on Washington to halt Trump’s foreign investment tax
A provision in the budget bill would allow the US to impose additional taxes on companies and investors from countries that it deems to have punitive tax policies.
Trump issues travel bans for 12 countries in flurry of orders
The president is reinstating one of the most controversial measures from his first term, and targeting Joe Biden, in a series of late-night moves.
Trump orders probe into Biden’s mental health during presidency
The order could lay the groundwork for arguments that a range of the former president’s actions in office were invalid.
CSIRO is the adult in the room as the AI kids run wild
As the business and technology worlds race for artificial intelligence supremacy, the CSIRO’s Data61 is trying to show companies how to develop systems responsibly.
US to support Indo-Pacific allies against ‘imminent’ China threat: Hegseth
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reassured allies in the Indo-Pacific that they will not be left alone to face increasing military and economic pressure from China.
May
Nvidia’s Huang lashes Trump’s China AI ban but spells out chip boom
The technology giant buoyed investors with a bullish outlook for the growth in artificial intelligence, but warned it was ceding markets where it cannot sell.
Trump backing for a Nippon Steel deal leaves big questions
The two companies, left to grapple with ambiguity, publicly praised the “partnership” and a “bold” decision at the weekend. Neither has commented on specifics.
Tech bros are facing the end of the ‘technipolar moment’
The sidelining of Elon Musk is a sign of big tech’s wider failure to shape a Trump economic agenda that is going terribly wrong for the sector.