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Biden's White House

This Month

Which billionaire didn’t attend Trump’s inauguration? Take our quiz

Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.

  • Daniel Arbon
Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project.

Ioneer gets $1.6b loan to build Nevada lithium mine

The Australian miner received the loan from the Biden administration to create the first new lithium mine in the US in almost 60 years.

  • Matthew Cranston
President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House as he gives his farewell address Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Washington. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP)

How Biden will be remembered: A legacy in five key areas

The economy is solid and the president’s personal reputation is largely intact. But his term will be remembered for out-of-control immigration and inflation.

  • Matthew Cranston

Do you know this week’s news? Answer these 10 questions

Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.

  • Daniel Arbon
December’s report confirms the labour market held up last year despite high borrowing costs, lingering inflation and political uncertainty.

US economy smashes job expectations, unemployment rate drops

Nonfarm payrolls increased 256,000 last month, the most since March, bolstering the case for a pause in Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

  • Augusta Saraiva
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A snowplough clears the area as snow blankets Capitol Hill ahead of a joint session of Congress to certify the votes from the Electoral College in the presidential election in Washington.

Quiet, snowy peace replaces the gallows of January 6, 2021

Where once a makeshift gallows was erected for former vice president Mike Pence there now stands 30cm of soft, pure driven snow and not a soul to be found.

  • Matthew Cranston

December 2024

The figures, after accounting for payrolls swings related to a Boeing strike and hurricanes, support the Fed’s view that the job market remains solid.

US payrolls rebound, economy adds 227,000 jobs

The unemployment rate edged higher to 4.2 per cent, pointing to cooling demand for workers and confirming the case for a rate cut this month.

  • Augusta Saraiva
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gestures during a plenary session of the 31st Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe ministerial summit, in Malta.

Blinken and Russia’s Lavrov clash on Ukraine at meeting in Malta

Russia’s foreign minister has accused the West of reviving the Cold War and provoking a direct conflict with Russia.

  • Associated Press
Chinese exporters hope to ship as much cargo as possible to the United States before Donald Trump enters the White House.

Australian rare earth miners warned on US-China trade war

Australian critical minerals companies reliant on China for processing or production could face more headwinds as the Beijing-Washington trade war heats up.

  • Matthew Cranston

November 2024

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping before their bilateral meeting.

China releases three Americans imprisoned for years

A diplomatic agreement was reached with China, the White House said. It was not yet clear whether the US sent home any Chinese citizens.

  • Eric Tucker, Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee
Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday.

Putin ramps up nuclear threat after US missiles hit Russian arsenal

Tensions have escalated quickly in the Ukraine Russia war after the use of US long-range missiles. Australia has joined international peers condemning Russia for threatening a nuclear retaliation.

  • Andrew Tillett and Matthew Cranston
Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd and US President-elect Donald Trump.

US leadership ‘indispensable’ even with Trump: Rudd

In his first comments since the former president’s comeback, the Australian ambassador in Washington says he is ready to work with the new White House.

  • Andrew Tillett
Martijn Wilder and the board of the NRF make commercial decisions independent of the government.

Labor’s $15b reconstruction fund makes landmark first investment

Donald Trump’s retreat from the renewable energy transition is good timing for plans to reboot domestic manufacturing, says the National Reconstruction Fund head.

  • Tom McIlroy

October 2024

The two leaders spoke for the first time in a month.

Biden, Netanyahu speak as Israel readies ‘lethal, precise’ attack plan

The two leaders were in discussions for the first time in almost two months as the IDF continued to press hard against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

  • Matthew Cranston and Hans van Leeuwen
US President Joe Biden sent oil prices into a spin.

Biden triggers oil price surge as Middle East tensions mount

A vague remark from the US president sent oil prices more than 5 per cent higher as Israel’s standoff with Iran threatens to spill out into the global economy.

  • Matthew Cranston and Hans van Leeuwen
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Stacked containers line the Bayport Container Terminal in Houston, Texas.

Biden slams ‘incredible’ 800pc profits as port strike threatens brands

The stoppage, which also risks reigniting inflation and pushing up unemployment just a month before the US election, is heaping pressure on President Joe Biden.

  • Matthew Cranston

September 2024

UK Defence Secretary John Healey, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, and Defence Minister Richard Marles meet in London.

‘Utterly untrue’: Keating berates Marles over AUKUS defence

Paul Keating launched fresh criticism of the $368 billion agreement, part of internal Labor squabbling over the pact, which has not gone unnoticed in the UK and US.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen and Matthew Cranston
Israeli soldiers practise drills near the border with Lebanon.

Fighting continues as US, France push for ceasefire

The US and its allies proposed a three-week truce between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon in a bid to head off an all-out war.

  • Updated
  • Henry Meyer and Michael Shear
Joe Biden and Anthony Albanese leave the Quad leaders summit at Archmere Academy, the former’s alma mater.

Critical mineral exporters edge closer to US breakthrough

Anthony Albanese pushes Joe Biden to classify Australia’s critical minerals as “American made” to win favourable treatment, as allies counter China’s grip on the sector.

  • Matthew Cranston
Bernard Rowe is the managing director of Ioneer, which is listed on the ASX but developing a mine in the US state of Nevada.

Biden backs Australian critical minerals miner Ioneer in Nevada

Approving the new project will significantly increase domestic lithium supply amid a push toward greater self-reliance in the critical minerals supply chain.

  • Matthew Cranston

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/biden-s-white-house-1nn4