Economy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Small Business Administration said on Tuesday it has exhausted funds for its disaster loan program following increased demand from Hurricane Helene, with the U.S. Congress being in recess.”Until Congress appropriates additional funds, the SBA is pausing new loan offers for its direct, low-interest, long-term loans to disaster survivors,” the SBA said in a statement.”However, SBA is encouraging individuals and small businesses to continue to apply for loans given assurances from congressional leaders that additional funding will be provided upon Congress’ return in November.”The devastating Hurricane Helene killed more than 200 people in six U.S. states, nearly half of the victims in North Carolina alone.President Joe Biden has said he believes the U.S. Congress, whose members are currently in recess, should come back into session to address disaster relief funding needs.Members of the House of Representatives and Senate are not scheduled to return to Washington until after the Nov. 5 election. More

Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for freeThe stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White HouseDonald Trump has elevated his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on imported cars including from Mexico and the EU, placing increased US trade protectionism at the heart of his agenda if he wins a new White House term. Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday, Trump lashed out at European car manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz, and vowed to slap high levies on imported vehicles, arguing that it was the only way to force production to return to the US.“We’re going to put tariffs on them . . . and you know what they can do? Mercedes-Benz will start building in the United States,” Trump said, while mocking the company’s existing presence in America.“They build everything in Germany, then they assemble it here. They get away with murder,” the former president said. “They take it out of a box, we could have our child do it,” Trump added.In response to the comment, the United Auto Workers union, posted on X: “Trump is a scab.”The Republican presidential candidate’s ire was also directed at car imports from Mexico. “If I’m going to be president of this country, I’m going to put a 100, 200, 2,000 per cent tariff [on cars from Mexico],” he said. “They’re not going to sell one car into the United States,” Trump added.During his time in the White House between 2017 and 2021, Trump launched trade wars with China as well as G7 allies, and renegotiated a trade pact with Canada and Mexico.But the former president has expanded the scope and scale of his trade pledges during this year’s election campaign, promising to apply up to 20 per cent tariffs on all imported goods, 60 per cent levies on all Chinese imports, and other tariffs on countries that are moving away from using the dollar.“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff,” Trump said. Economists have warned that his tariff plans — in addition to other elements of his economic agenda, such as sweeping tax cuts and efforts to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve — risk triggering a new inflationary spiral in America and increasing costs for ordinary consumers.Trump said that if he won the election he would not seek to “order” the central bank what to do in terms of monetary policy, but said the president should be allowed to speak about interest rates.He also mocked the role of the Fed chair, which is held by Jay Powell, who the former president appointed to lead the central bank early in his administration but has since criticised.“I think it’s the greatest job in government. You show up to the office once a month, and you say let’s see, flip a coin, and everybody talks about you like you’re a God,” Trump said.During his session in Chicago, which was moderated by Bloomberg News, Trump was asked if he was in favour of breaking up Google, the technology company, as the Department of Justice is considering. He responded that Google had “a lot of power” but his main complaint was that it did not show enough positive stories about him. “I called the head of Google the other day and I said: ‘I’m getting a lot of good stories lately, but you don’t find them’,” Trump said. “I think Google is rigged,” he added. But he was sceptical of a big break-up that would “destroy the company”. “What you can do without breaking it up is make sure that it’s more fair,” Trump said. Video: America divided: the women who vote for Trump | FT Film More

“I think I have the right to say I think you should go up or down a little bit. I don’t think I should be allowed to order it, but I think I have the right to put in comments as to whether or not the interest rates should go up or down,” the former president said during a Bloomberg News interview at the Chicago Economic Club.In previous comments, Trump had been more explicit that he believed presidents “should have at least (a) say” in Fed rate decisions.How Trump would deal with the U.S. central bank should he win a second four-year term as president has been a matter of keen interest in economic circles and on Wall Street following reports earlier this year that a group of his allies had drafted proposals aimed at eroding the Fed’s independence if he wins. The group’s proposals asserted that Trump should be consulted on rate decisions, and Fed banking regulation proposals should be subject to White House review.The Fed chair and the other six members of its board of governors are nominated by the president and subject to confirmation by the Senate. The presidents of the 12 regional Fed banks are chosen by their own boards of directors, subject to approval by the Fed board.But the Fed enjoys substantial operational independence to make policy decisions that wield tremendous influence over the direction of the world’s largest economy and global asset markets.Among the pegs supporting the U.S. dollar’s stature as the world’s reserve currency, for instance, is the Fed’s ability to set monetary policy on its own without political oversight. That status, in turn, is key to granting the U.S. government a nearly unchecked ability to borrow on global bond markets at relatively low interest rates despite having a $35 trillion debt load, dubbed the “exorbitant privilege.”Trump in Tuesday’s interview declined to answer directly a question about whether he would try to oust Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom Trump first appointed to run the U.S. central bank — only to later berate Powell and threaten to remove him for raising rates.”I did because he was keeping the rates too high, and I was right,” Trump said of his threats during his time in the White House to try to remove Powell.Either Trump or his Democratic rival for the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris, will have the opportunity to appoint a new Fed chief when Powell’s term as chair expires in 2026. More

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The company, India’s No. 2 carmaker behind Maruti Suzuki, is offering shares in a range of 1,865 rupees to 1,960 rupees ($22 to $23) apiece.Here are some facts about Hyundai (OTC:HYMTF)’s India operations.* Hyundai set up its India operations in 1996, starting with the Santro hatchback, once its most sold car.* Hyundai currently has a roughly 15% share of India’s car market. It sold 614,721 cars in India and exported 163,155 in the year to March 2024.* Hyundai has one factory outside of Chennai in southern Tamil Nadu state, also dubbed the Detroit of Asia. The factory has a capacity of 824,000 vehicles per year and is running at a utilisation rate of 94%, leaving little room for growth that would help compete with Maruti Suzuki.* Hyundai aims to reach production of about one million vehicles a year with the acquisition of a former General Motors (NYSE:GM) plant in western Maharashtra state. The plant is expected to start operations only by the second half of the year to March 2026.* Hyundai has 1,377 dealers across India.* In India, the carmaker sells 13 models, with the Creta and Venue sport-utility vehicles as well as the Grand i10 Nios hatchback among its most popular.* Hyundai’s current factory is also a key export hub, manufacturing cars that are shipped to South Africa, the Middle East as well as Latin America. More

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