Author: Daniel snow

Europe, Iran to hold talks as Trump sets two-week deadline for U.S. strikes decision

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KANANASKIS, ALBERTA – JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump walks out to talk to reporters at the G7 Leaders’ Summit on June 16, 2025 in Kananaskis, Alberta. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesTop U.K., France and Germany diplomats are pushing for eleventh-hour diplomacy with Iran in Geneva on Friday, as Washington weighs the possibility of joining Israel’s military campaign against Tehran over the next two weeks.Iran and Israel have been trading fire for the past week, in the latest climax of tensions that have been simmering since the Tehran-backed Hamas’ terrorist attack against the Jewish state in…

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Japan more prepared than most for China’s mineral squeeze

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Bulldozer scoop soil containing various rare earth to be loaded on to a ship at a port in Lianyungang, east China’s Jiangsu province on September 5, 2010, for export to Japan.Str | Afp | Getty ImagesJapan has been quietly blazing a trail for supply chain resilience.Long before China in early April imposed an export ban on several rare earth elements and magnets widely used in the automotive, robotics and defense sectors, Japan became something of a canary in the coal mine for Beijing’s mineral dominance.The East Asian country was thrust into panic mode in 2010 when China implemented an export…

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Tax breaks for tech giants’ data centers mean less income for states

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In 2019, the Indiana legislature passed a bill that would offer eligible data centers significant sales tax exemptions. The legislation said facilities packed with state-of-the-art servers could avoid the state’s 7% tax when purchasing equipment and power. The measure was a boon for large tech companies that have been rapidly building out data centers and was heavily backed by a trade association representing the industry. Similar tax incentives have been passed elsewhere. Today nearly all states that have sales taxes offer data centers exemptions on computers, wires, air-conditioning units and, in some cases, even the energy required to keep it all running.Demand…

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The Fed held interest rates steady, but credit card APRs keep going up

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Emirmemedovski | E+ | Getty ImagesEven with the Federal Reserve on the sidelines, credit card rates are edging higher.In June, credit card interest rates rose for the third straight month, hitting the highest level since December, according to a recent report by LendingTree.Now, the average annual percentage rate is just over 20%, according to Bankrate. For new cards, the average APR is up to 24.3%, according to LendingTree.”These are crippling rates that are compounding your debt at such a fast clip,” said certified financial planner Clifford Cornell, an associate financial advisor at Bone Fide Wealth in New York City.More from FA Playbook:Here’s a look…

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U.S. private capital giant Apollo to supply £4.5 billion loan to UK nuclear project

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Cranes surround one of the two reactors being constructed at Hinkley Point C on September 27, 2024 in Bridgwater, England.Anna Barclay | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesU.S. asset management giant Apollo is set to provide a £4.5 billion ($6 billion) loan to plug a shortfall facing U.K. nuclear project Hinkley Point.The deal was first reported by the Financial Times on Friday and supported by two sources speaking to CNBC on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.Construction of the Hinkley Point C plant, the first nuclear power station to be built in Britain in decades, has been delayed multiple times…

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