Washington — US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his call for the US Federal Reserve to lower benchmark rates, and cited “a major lawsuit” against Fed chair Jerome Powell over renovations of the central bank’s buildings.
“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell must now lower the rate,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “I am, though, considering allowing a major lawsuit against Powell to proceed because of the horrible, and grossly incompetent, job he has done in managing the construction of the Fed Buildings.”
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said later on Tuesday the lawsuit was still under consideration. Reuters
Do Kwon pleads guilty after $40bn crypto collapse
New York — Do Kwon, the South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur behind two digital currencies that lost an estimated $40bn in 2022, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two US charges of conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud.
Kwon, 33, who cofounded Singapore-based Terraform Labs and developed the TerraUSD and Luna currencies, entered the plea at a court hearing in New York before US district judge Paul Engelmayer.
He had pleaded not guilty in January to a nine-count indictment charging him with securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
Accused of misleading investors in 2021 about TerraUSD — a so-called stablecoin designed to maintain a value of $1 — Kwon pleaded guilty to the two counts under an agreement with the Manhattan US Attorney’s office, which brought the charges.
He faces up to 25 years in prison when Engelmayer sentences him on December 11. Reuters
Kenya cuts interest rates for seventh straight time
Nairobi — Kenya’s monetary authorities cut the benchmark policy rate for a seventh straight time on Tuesday, in line with forecasts, and said there was room to ease monetary policy further.
“The [monetary policy] committee ... concluded that there was scope for a further easing of the monetary policy stance to augment the previous policy actions aimed at stimulating lending by banks to the private sector,” the Central Bank of Kenya said in a statement after cutting the rate to 9.50% from 9.75%.
Consumer inflation rose to 4.1% year on year in July from 3.8% the previous month. The East African country’s public finances have been under pressure because of heavy debt repayments and revenue underperformance. Reuters
China imposes duties on Canadian canola
China on Tuesday announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports, a fresh escalation in the year-long trade dispute that began with Ottawa’s imposition of levies on Chinese electric vehicle imports last August.
The provisional rate will be set at 75.8%, effective from Thursday, the ministry of commerce said in a statement. November canola futures fell 6.5% to a four-month low after the announcement.
China, the world’s biggest importer of canola — also known as rapeseed — sources nearly all of its supplies of the product from Canada. Reuters
India’s mines ministry proposes national minerals exchange
India’s ministry of mines has introduced a bill in the lower house of parliament to establish a national minerals exchange aimed at regulating the trading of minerals and metals.
The proposed exchange would facilitate trading in minerals and metals under rules framed by the central government. It would also maintain a data bank of trading activity and include regulations to prevent insider trading and market manipulation. Reuters
Germany draws ire over plan to cut solar subsidies
Germany’s solar industry warned on Tuesday against ending subsidies for new rooftop photovoltaic systems, as proposed by the economy minister, arguing the move would jeopardise the country’s climate goals.
The feed-in subsidies were introduced 25 years ago to aid an expansion of the solar power sector by providing a guaranteed price for renewable energy producers selling their power onto the grid.
They have helped Germany make progress towards its target of covering 80% of its electricity consumption needs with renewable sources by 2030. Reuters
South Korea’s former first lady heads for prison
Kim Keon Hee, the wife of former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol will be incarcerated immediately after a court late on Tuesday issued a warrant to arrest her after of graft, Yonhap news agency reported.
Kim, who denies that charges, would be South Korea’s only former first lady to be arrested, joining her husband in jail as he faces trial, after being ousted in April, over a botched bid to impose martial law in December.
The charges against her include stock fraud to bribery and illegal influence peddling that have implicated business owners, religious figures and a political power broker. Reuters
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