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In a significant reversal of its position on digital assets, China is thinking of permitting the use of yuan-backed stablecoins for the first time in an effort to encourage broader adoption of its currency internationally, according to people familiar with the situation. According to the sources, China's cabinet, the State Council, will examine and potentially approve a roadmap later this month for increased currency usage worldwide, which includes catching up with the United States' push on stablecoins. They stated that the roadmap will also include guidelines for risk prevention and that the plan is anticipated to include targets for the use of the Chinese currency in international markets as well as the duties of domestic regulators. According to one of the sources, the nation's top leaders are also anticipated to convene for a study session as early as the end of this month, with an emphasis on stablecoins and yuan internationalization, which are gaining traction glo...

will increase the price of its PlayStation 5 consoles in the US by about $50 starting on Thursday. The Japanese company is navigating a sluggish video game market recovery, and U.S. tariffs could drive up prices. The company announced in a blog post on Wednesday that the prices of all three PlayStation 5 consoles will increase in a similar manner, with the most costly PS5 Pro model anticipated to cost $749.99. The price adjustments follow U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of broad tariffs on imports from major global manufacturing hubs like China and Japan, which sparked concerns about high material costs and supply chain disruptions. In April, Sony increased the cost of its consoles in a number of European markets. A month later, rival Xbox increased the sticker prices of its systems and add-ons in the US, Europe, Australia, and the UK. With the release of high-end games like Take-Two Interactive's (TTWO.O), opens new tab "Grand Theft Auto VI" and Ninten...

On  Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department raised steel and aluminum tariffs on more than 400 products, including wind turbines, mobile cranes, appliances, bulldozers, railcars, motorcycles, marine engines, furniture, and hundreds more. The department added 407 product categories to the list of “derivative” steel and aluminum products covered by sectoral tariffs, which apply a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum content and the country rate on non-steel and non-aluminum content. In a research note, Evercore ISI estimated the move will raise the effective tariff rate by 1 percentage point for more than 400 product codes representing over $200 billion in imports last year. The department is also adding imported parts for automotive exhaust systems and electrical steel for electric vehicles, buses, air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers, and dryers to the new tariffs. The department was advised not to add the parts by foreign automakers, who said the U.S. cannot meet demand. Tesla crea...

American shoppers looking for fake Christmas trees and holiday decor this year will have fewer options and higher prices due to Chinese import tariffs. Retailers will scale back orders as they assess customer budgets. A 90-day tariff reprieve extension agreed to by Washington and Beijing on August 11 will allow retailers to rush last-minute shipments, but most holiday purchases are done. Many seasonal goods require six-month lead times, so retailers import them early. "We're going to have a lower supply year," said Chris Butler, CEO of National Tree Company, a New Jersey-based artificial tree importer that supplies Walmart (WMT.N), Home Depot (HD.N), Lowe's (LOW.N), and Amazon (AMZN.O). Butler said the company, which sources half its trees from China and the rest from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, will raise Carolina pine, Nordic spruce, and Dunhill fir prices by 10% to 20%. According to the US International Trade Commission, China exported 87% of Christmas decora...

Bitcoin hit a record high on Thursday as expectations for easier Federal Reserve monetary policy and financial reform tailwinds increased. The world's largest crypto-asset by market capitalization rose 0.9% to $124,002.49 in early Asia trading, surpassing its July peak. Ether, the second-largest crypto-token, reached $4,780.04, its highest level since late 2021. According to IG market analyst Tony Sycamore, Fed rate cuts, institutional buying, and Trump administration efforts to ease crypto investment are driving bitcoin's rally. "Technically a sustained break above $125k could propel BTC to $150,000," he wrote. Bitcoin has risen nearly 32% in 2025 after President Donald Trump's return to the White House led to regulatory wins. Trump calls himself the "crypto president," and his family has invested in the sector over the past year. Last week, an executive order allowed crypto assets in 401(k) retirement accounts, indicating a more favorable regula...

Despite a government call for both parties to return to the negotiating table, the possibility of a systemwide work stoppage by Air Canada's (AC.TO), opens new tab unionized flight attendants loomed large on Friday with a strike deadline just hours away. Ahead of a threatened strike just before 1:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, Canada's largest airline has stated that it anticipates canceling 500 flights by the end of the day, leaving approximately 100,000 passengers to find other ways to get around. The union that represents 10,000 flight attendants for Air Canada urged Prime Minister Mark Carney's minority Liberal government to reject the airline's request to impose binding arbitration on both parties. After contract negotiations between the two parties stalled over demands for higher wages and compensation for unpaid work, the union said that imposing arbitration would put an end to the first strike by Air Canada flight attendants since 1985. According to the Canadian Un...

As Russia supports domestic social media platforms and aims to exert more control over the nation's internet space, WhatsApp accused Moscow of attempting to prevent millions of Russians from using the messaging app for secure communication after calls were blocked. Russia accused the foreign-owned platforms of not sharing information with law enforcement in cases of fraud and terrorism and on Wednesday announced that it had begun to restrict certain WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms (META.O), new tabs, and Telegram calls. Voice notes and text messaging services are currently unaffected. Following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a long-simmering conflict with foreign tech companies grew more intense. Russia blocked Meta's Facebook and Instagram, slowed down Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) speed, opened a new tab for YouTube, and fined hundreds of platforms for violating Russian regulations on online content and data storage. Late on Wednesday, WhatsApp stated tha...

In order to enter the premium tequila market, Radico Khaitan (RADC.NS), the company behind "Magic Moments" vodka, plans to invest up to $4.56 million and collaborate with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha. The Indian liquor manufacturer, which is well-known for high-end products like Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin and Rampur Indian Single Malt, will launch D'YAVOL Añejo, a high-end agave-based spirit that is aged in wine casks for roughly two years. The Amsterdam-based luxury brand D'YAVOL, which was established in 2022 by Aryan Khan, the son of Shah Rukh Khan, Leti Blagoeva, and Bunty Singh, sells blended malt Scotch whisky, vodka, and high-end streetwear. Radico Khaitan Managing Director Abhishek Khaitan told Reuters on Tuesday that D'YAVOL Añejo is scheduled to launch by December and will cost between 20,000 rupees ($228.21) and 30,000 rupees, depending on state excise duty. The launch coincides with wealthy Indians spending mo...

With just hours before U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods were set to return to triple-digit rates, a White House official announced Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump had signed an executive order extending a tariff truce with China by an additional ninety days. The order came a day after Trump urged Beijing to quadruple its purchases of U.S. soybeans and gave reporters a vague response when asked if he would extend the lower tariff rates. On Tuesday at 00:01 ET (04:01 GMT), a tariff truce between Washington and Beijing was scheduled to end. With Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods expected to reach 125%, the order keeps U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from skyrocketing to 145%, which would have effectively created a trade embargo. When asked how he intended to extend the deadline, Trump responded at a press conference, "We'll see what happens." "They've been getting along just fine. My relationship with President Xi (Jinping) is excellent. Washington imposed 30% tarif...

Oil prices saw their biggest weekly losses since late June due to a tariff-hit economic outlook, but they remained stable on Friday as markets anticipated a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart, Donald Trump, in the coming days. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures remained steady at $63.88, but Brent crude futures ended the day 16 cents, or 0.2%, higher at $66.59 a barrel. WTI closed 5.1% below last Friday's close, and Brent dropped 4.4% over the week. After Bloomberg News reported that Washington and Moscow were seeking to reach an agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine that would lock in Russia's occupation of territory seized during its military invasion, U.S. crude fell more than 1% earlier in the day. According to the report, which cited people familiar with the situation, U.S. and Russian officials are trying to reach a territorial agreement for a summit meeting between Trump and Putin that is scheduled to begin as early ...