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By Samia Nakhoul, James Mackenzie Dubai (Reuters)- -Nothing captured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s isolation more starkly this week than the image of U.S. President Donald Trump shaking hands with Syria’s Islamist leader Ahmed al‑Sharaa – a man Israel has branded “an al‑Qaeda terrorist in a suit.” “He’s got the potential. He’s a real leader,” Trump told reporters after talks with Sharaa on Wednesday in Riyadh – a meeting brokered by his Saudi hosts, with … Read more…

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican-controlled U.S. Congress on Sunday sought to push forward with President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-cut bill, as one of his top economic officials dismissed Moody’s decision to strip the federal government of its top-tier credit rating. A handful of hardline Republicans blocked the bill from clearing an important procedural hurdle on Friday, saying it did not cut spending sharply enough, with the House of Representatives set to try again … Read more…

By Lauren Young NEW YORK – This was originally published in the On The Money newsletter, where we share U.S. personal finance tips and insights every other week. Sign up here to receive it for free. My social media feeds are filled with Class of 2025 college graduation photos, so I figured this would be a good time to offer up a few key money tips for new grads who are just entering the workforce. … Read more…

By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will attend the Group of Seven finance leaders’ meeting in Canada next week and will seek to refocus the group on addressing trade imbalances and non-market economic practices, a Treasury spokesperson said on Sunday. Bessent will join fellow G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in the Rocky Mountain resort town of Banff, Alberta. The G7 includes Canada, the U.S., Japan, Germany, France, Britain and … Read more…

(Reuters) -Elon Musk’s xAI responded to widespread reports that its Grok chatbot made claims about a genocide against white citizens in South Africa, saying there had been an unauthorized change to the artificial intelligence bot. In a post on X on Thursday, xAI said it would update the system to address the problem. Issues of political biases, hate speech and accuracy of AI chatbots have been a concern since at least the launch of OpenAI’s … Read more…

By Bo Erickson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump on Saturday said in a social media post the U.S. Federal Reserve should cut rates “sooner, rather than later.” Trump also criticized the head of the central bank, Jerome Powell. “THE CONSENSUS OF ALMOST EVERYBODY IS THAT, ‘THE FED SHOULD CUT RATES SOONER, RATHER THAN LATER,’” Trump said in the post. “Too Late Powell, a man legendary for being Too Late, will probably blow it again – … Read more…

By Bo Erickson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Moody’s downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating has elicited mixed responses among Republicans in Congress, with some questioning the motive behind the change and others depicting it as a warning that lawmakers should heed as they wrestle with a sweeping tax and budget bill. The downgrade, announced on Friday evening, came only hours after a handful of Republicans on the U.S. House of Representatives’ budget committee blocked progress of … Read more…