US Seeks to Counter China's Mineral Dominance as UK Holds Interest Rates
Washington D.C. - The United States launched an initiative to establish a trade zone for critical minerals, essential for manufacturing products ranging from smartphones to weapons, in an effort to challenge China's dominance in the industry, according to the BBC. The State Department hosted the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial event on Wednesday, with representatives from countries and organizations including the UK, European Union, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo in attendance. Delegates discussed the availability of and access to minerals crucial for manufacturing various technologies.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the Bank of England decided to maintain interest rates at 3.75% following a close vote, but signaled potential rate cuts later in the year. Borrowing costs were widely anticipated to remain unchanged after the Bank previously reduced them from 4% in December. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey stated that inflation, which measures the pace of price growth, is expected to fall close to the Bank's 2% target from April onward, a revision from the previous expectation of reaching that level in 2027. "That's good news," Bailey said. "We need to make sure that inflation stays there. All going well, there should be scope for some further reduction in the Bank Rate this year." The Bank also noted that policies announced in the Budget would have an impact.
In other news, Target and other major businesses in Minnesota are facing increasing pressure from employees concerned about potential immigration enforcement actions at their workplaces. Employees are urging companies to provide clearer guidance on how to respond if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrive at their worksites and to limit agents' access to stores and parking lots.
Separately, Pinterest reportedly terminated two engineers for using custom scripts to improperly access confidential company information and identify employees affected by recent layoffs. The company had announced job cuts, with CEO Bill Ready stating the company was "doubling down on an AI-forward approach," impacting approximately 15% of the workforce, or about 700 roles.
Travelers in Europe are also facing potential disruptions as a new biometric border system is rolled out. There are warnings of long queues at passport control at airports during upcoming holiday periods, with some passengers already reporting hours-long waits. A group representing airports cautioned about the risk of five-to-six-hour queues over the summer. However, the European Commission indicated it might be possible to suspend the new system at peak times until September.
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