ASX 200 nears record high on Thursday as the index recovers its losses from investor backlash to Trump's tariffs
The ASX 200 is close to setting a new record high on Thursday as the index almost fully recovers from the turmoil from Donald Trump's trade policies.
The index sank more than 14 per cent from its mid-February high point to a 2025 low-point in early April low after Trump announced his sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs that rattled investors.
It has recovered over the past two months with tech and energy stocks leading the climb.
On Thursday, the Bourse is up 0.2 per cent in the first 50 minutes of trading with Lynas Rare Earths up 6.6 per cent, Mineral Resources climbing six per cent and Clarity Pharmaceuticals adding 6.3 per cent.
IDP Education, which lost about 48 per cent on Tuesday, is down 4.2 per cent and aluminium producer Alcoa Corporation has sank 2.8 per cent.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones sank 0.2 per cent, the S&P 500 finished flat and the Nasdaq added 0.3 per cent on Wednesday.
London's FTSE 250 Index rose 0.5 per cent on Wednesday, Germany's DAX added 0.8 per cent and the STOXX Europe 600 Index added 0.5 per cent.
New Zealand's NZX 50 Index has jumped 0.3 per cent on Thursday while Japan's Nikkei 225 has shed 0.3 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI 200 has added 1.2 per cent.
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Pakistan to recommend Donald Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
Pakistan says it will formally recommend Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his work to resolve its recent conflict with India — as the US President complains he's not being credited for his peacekeeping efforts in other global conflicts. News of Mr Trump's nomination for the esteemed prize comes as the world awaits his decision on whether or not the US will become involved in the deadly conflict between Israel and Iran. It also follows Mr Trump complaining he would not be recognised for his role in broking a peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. The warring African nations said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they had initialled an agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern DRC, which will be formally signed in Washington next week. 'This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World!' Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post, confirming the breakthrough. But his triumphant tone darkened as he complained that he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo. He also demanded credit for 'keeping peace' between Egypt and Ethiopia and broking the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements aiming to normalise relations between Israel and several Arab nations. Mr Trump campaigned for office as a 'peacemaker' who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency. Indian officials have denied that he had any role in its ceasefire with Pakistan. The government of Pakistan, meanwhile, said it would formally recommend Mr Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize 'in recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership' during the recent conflict. However, Trump's claims for the Abraham Accords being able to 'unify the Middle East' have yet to be realised, with war breaking out between Israel and Iran, and no end in sight to the conflict in Gaza. And critics say the Republican greatly exaggerated the significance of the 2020 Serbia-Kosovo agreements, which were statements of intent that were thin on details and quickly unravelled. The president said officials from DR Congo and Rwanda would be in Washington on Monday for the signing, although their joint statement said they would put pen to paper on June 27. The resource-rich eastern DRC, which borders Rwanda, has been plagued by violence for three decades, with a resurgence since the anti-government M23 armed group went on a renewed offensive at the end of 2021. The deal — which builds on a declaration of principles signed in April — was reached during three days of talks between the neighbours in Washington, according to their statement. Mr Trump has received multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations from supporters and loyal politicians over the years. He has made no secret of his irritation at missing out on the prestigious award, bringing it up as recently as February during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. US President Barack Obama won the prize soon after taking office in 2009, and Mr Trump complained during his 2024 election campaign that his Democratic predecessor was not worthy of the honour. One of the world's top honours, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to a recipient who has 'done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses'.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Baby brain: Why MAGA's pro-natalist plans are ill-conceived
America's politicians have babies on the brain. In February, President Donald Trump told officials to make IVF cheaper. Even without its procreator-in-chief, Elon Musk, the White House is thought to be working on a bigger package of pro-natalist policies. Vice-President J.D. Vance is keen. Mr Trump says he favours a $US5000 (about $7700) handout for new parents. In Britain, meanwhile, Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, a MAGA-ish opposition party, has proposed tax breaks and benefits to encourage women to have more children. Politicians have long feared the fiscal consequences of an ageing population, with too few young workers supporting legions of pensioners. Governments in places with very low birth rates, such as Japan and South Korea, have spent billions trying to reverse the decline, with little success. The new pro-natalist policies of the transatlantic right differ from older ones in that they are more targeted at working-class women, whose fertility rate has fallen the most. That might make them a bit more effective. But not at a reasonable cost, or without creating perverse incentives. Previous attempts to deliver a baby boom have either failed or been eye-wateringly expensive, relative to the number of extra births they deliver. Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, started a big pro-natal push in 2011, and has since given parents everything from tax breaks and cash handouts to free child care. These policies cost a staggering 5.5 per cent of the country's GDP annually – more than almost any government will spend on an ageing population in any year between now and 2050. In February, mothers of two were promised a lifelong exemption from income tax. Hungary's fertility rate rose to 1.6 children per woman in 2018, from 1.2 in 2011, making it a poster child for populist pro-natalists everywhere. However, it has since dipped, suggesting handouts encouraged some mums not to have more babies, but to have the same number sooner. Other countries, including Japan, Norway and Poland, have tried tax breaks, handouts, maternity leave, subsidised child care and even state-sponsored dating, to little effect. Such policies mostly soften the blow to the finances and career prospects of professional women from having children, without persuading them to have more. Like Mr Orban, both Mr Farage and Mr Vance see pro-natalism as a way to boost the native population over the immigrants they so dislike. However, they would not spend as lavishly as Hungary, and they would focus the cash more narrowly on poorer parents. Mr Farage would scrap a cap on benefits, which stops families claiming benefits for more than two children, and boost the threshold below which earnings are exempt from income tax for one half of a married couple. Mr Trump's handouts would be a bigger relief for poor households than rich ones. Underpinning these policies is an assumption that poorer women are more likely to respond to incentives to have more children. Indeed, their fertility rates do seem more elastic than those of professional women. Whereas the fertility rates of older, college-educated women have remained fairly steady over the past six decades, most of the collapse in fertility in America and Britain since 1980 stems from younger and poorer women having fewer children, particularly from unplanned pregnancies. Loading In 1994, the average age of a first-time American mother without a university degree was 20. Today, about two-thirds of women without degrees in their 20s have never given birth. Mr Trump's and Mr Farage's policies might therefore lead to more babies being born than the approaches of places like Norway, which focus on offering child care, a benefit that professional women tend to take up.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Baby brain: Why MAGA's pro-natalist plans are ill-conceived
America's politicians have babies on the brain. In February, President Donald Trump told officials to make IVF cheaper. Even without its procreator-in-chief, Elon Musk, the White House is thought to be working on a bigger package of pro-natalist policies. Vice-President J.D. Vance is keen. Mr Trump says he favours a $US5000 (about $7700) handout for new parents. In Britain, meanwhile, Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, a MAGA-ish opposition party, has proposed tax breaks and benefits to encourage women to have more children. Politicians have long feared the fiscal consequences of an ageing population, with too few young workers supporting legions of pensioners. Governments in places with very low birth rates, such as Japan and South Korea, have spent billions trying to reverse the decline, with little success. The new pro-natalist policies of the transatlantic right differ from older ones in that they are more targeted at working-class women, whose fertility rate has fallen the most. That might make them a bit more effective. But not at a reasonable cost, or without creating perverse incentives. Previous attempts to deliver a baby boom have either failed or been eye-wateringly expensive, relative to the number of extra births they deliver. Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, started a big pro-natal push in 2011, and has since given parents everything from tax breaks and cash handouts to free child care. These policies cost a staggering 5.5 per cent of the country's GDP annually – more than almost any government will spend on an ageing population in any year between now and 2050. In February, mothers of two were promised a lifelong exemption from income tax. Hungary's fertility rate rose to 1.6 children per woman in 2018, from 1.2 in 2011, making it a poster child for populist pro-natalists everywhere. However, it has since dipped, suggesting handouts encouraged some mums not to have more babies, but to have the same number sooner. Other countries, including Japan, Norway and Poland, have tried tax breaks, handouts, maternity leave, subsidised child care and even state-sponsored dating, to little effect. Such policies mostly soften the blow to the finances and career prospects of professional women from having children, without persuading them to have more. Like Mr Orban, both Mr Farage and Mr Vance see pro-natalism as a way to boost the native population over the immigrants they so dislike. However, they would not spend as lavishly as Hungary, and they would focus the cash more narrowly on poorer parents. Mr Farage would scrap a cap on benefits, which stops families claiming benefits for more than two children, and boost the threshold below which earnings are exempt from income tax for one half of a married couple. Mr Trump's handouts would be a bigger relief for poor households than rich ones. Underpinning these policies is an assumption that poorer women are more likely to respond to incentives to have more children. Indeed, their fertility rates do seem more elastic than those of professional women. Whereas the fertility rates of older, college-educated women have remained fairly steady over the past six decades, most of the collapse in fertility in America and Britain since 1980 stems from younger and poorer women having fewer children, particularly from unplanned pregnancies. Loading In 1994, the average age of a first-time American mother without a university degree was 20. Today, about two-thirds of women without degrees in their 20s have never given birth. Mr Trump's and Mr Farage's policies might therefore lead to more babies being born than the approaches of places like Norway, which focus on offering child care, a benefit that professional women tend to take up.
