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(Reuters) -Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his protectionist trade policies and other fiscal proposals, dismissing suggestions that they could drive up the federal debt, antagonize allies and harm the U.S. economy.“We’re all about growth. We’re going to bring companies back to our country,” the former president said in a sometimes-tense interview at the Economic Club of Chicago.The interviewer, John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, cited projections by budget analysts that Trump’s plans would add $7.5 trillion to the federal debt through the year 2035, more than twice that of policies favored by Trump’s Democratic opponent in the Nov. 5 election, Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump maintained that his trade policies – which call for pricey tariffs on goods not only from rivals such as China but allies such as the European Union – would revitalize American manufacturing and yield enough revenue to ease concerns about ballooning the deficit. “To me, the most beautiful word in the world is ‘tariff,'” Trump said.In a later all-women Fox News town hall event in Atlanta, taped for broadcast on Wednesday, Trump said he would work toward more tax breaks for lower-income Americans.”W­­­e’re going to readjust things so that it’s fair to everybody, because it’s really not fair to everybody,” he said. “It’s unfair to some people and we’re not going to have that.”Some trade experts have argued Trump’s proposed tariffs could damage the U.S. economy, jeopardize jobs and drive up consumer prices. “All you have to do is build your plants in the United States, and you won’t have any tariffs,” Trump said. “I agree it’s going to have a massive effect, a positive effect, not a negative.”Trump reiterated that he would levy a high tariff on vehicles assembled in and imported from Mexico – as high as 200%, he said. And he said he would impose duties on imported cars from countries such as Germany in order to force foreign companies to manufacture their products in the U.S. When Micklethwait told Trump those efforts might annoy allies the U.S. needs to compete against China, Trump responded by saying, “Our allies have taken advantage of us more than our enemies.”As president from 2017 to 2021, Trump imposed punitive tariffs on imported washing machines, solar panels, steel, aluminum and goods from China and Europe. Trump’s sit-down with Micklethwait was a departure from typical interviews on his economic plans, which involve more friendly broadcasters, such as Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo and Larry Kudlow, who served as Trump’s top economic adviser in the White House. A supportive crowd in the room often cheered his comments and booed some of Micklethwait’s questions.Trump appeared to back away from previous comments that as president, he should be able to exert control over the Federal Reserve.”I think I have the right to say I think you should go up or down a little bit,” Trump said, referring to setting interest rates. “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.”He didn’t answer when asked whether he would remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell.WEIGHING INThe interview covered a wide range of topics beyond the economy, with Trump characteristically refusing to directly answer some questions, changing the subject, indulging in extended tangents and criticizing Micklethwait. Asked if he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving the White House, Trump said: “I don’t comment on that, but I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing. If I have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”He did not respond directly when asked if the U.S. would defend Taiwan if it were invaded by China.”The reason (China is) doing it now is they’re not going to do it afterward,” he said.Asked if he would try to break up tech giant Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s Google, Trump suggested it was “rigged” against him and said, “I’d do something.” Trump again defended his actions in the wake of the 2020 election and refused to say whether he would accept the 2024 election results and agree to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose.He insisted there was a peaceful transfer of power after his 2020 loss, shrugging off the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to halt certification of the election. Four participants died during the chaos and five police officers died afterward, some by suicide.”It was love and peace and some people went to the Capitol and a lot of strange things happened there,” Trump said. More

“The median was for … 50 basis points more, above and beyond the 50 basis points that was done in September. My dot was 25 basis points more,” Bostic said at an event in Atlanta.Bostic said, however, that his projection is not fixed in stone, and he will adjust it as needed in response to incoming data on inflation and the job market.”I am keeping my options open,” he said.The Fed last month cut rates by 50 basis points in the first of what is expected to be a series of reductions over the next year to remove some of the policy restraint it imposed to lower inflation. More

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Inflation in New Zealand returned to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s target range of 1% to 3% in the third quarter, keeping the door open for the central bank to continue aggressively cutting rates.Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday that annual inflation dropped to 2.2% in the third quarter, within that range for the first time since March 2021. It reached 3.3% in the second quarter, having peaked at 7.3% in June 2022.Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr said in a note that the central bank can declare victory in the war on inflation.”The light at the end of the tunnel is burning brighter. Cost pressures are easing,” he said. “Policy settings are still restrictive, but more interest rate cuts are coming.”The consumer price index rose 0.6% in the third quarter from the prior quarter. Economists polled by Reuters expected consumer prices to have risen 0.7% quarter-on-quarter and 2.2% year-on-year. The central bank had expected year-on-year inflation of 2.3%.The New Zealand dollar was little changed following the release of the data, which came in close to expectations.New Zealand’s central bank has cut the official cash rate by 75 basis points since August as it assessed that inflation had returned to its target band of 1% to 3% and was nearing the 2% mid-point.It is expected to continue to cut rates over the coming year to stimulate the economy, which is struggling in part due to high interest rates.ASB Bank senior economist Mark Smith said that while ASB sees the central bank cutting rates by 50 basis points at its final 2024 meeting in November, the “risks are tilted to more front loaded policy easing.”The central bank has yet to win the battle with non-tradeable inflation which, according to Statistics New Zealand, dropped to 4.9% in the third quarter from 5.4% in the prior quarter. More

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said she hopes there will be few changes to North America’s free trade deal under the next US president, as she announced $20bn in investments at an event with American and Mexican business leaders on Tuesday.Sheinbaum said the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, known as the USMCA, had allowed the region to compete against the rest of the world, as she tried to lure wary US business leaders to invest more south of the border.“Our idea is to keep the deal with few changes,” she told a press conference in Mexico City. “Our narrative is . . . we complement each other, we don’t compete.”The USMCA, which underpins the region’s economy, will have its first review in 2026, and US presidential candidate Donald Trump has said he would open a full renegotiation and has threatened manufacturers who invest in Mexico with tariffs.The former US president said on Tuesday that “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]”, potentially threatening investments from US companies such as John Deere, which is expanding production in northern Mexico. Trump and other US politicians have also raised concerns over growing Chinese investment in Mexico, particularly in the car industry.The uncertainty comes as left-wing Sheinbaum implements a controversial domestic agenda first set out by her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. It includes firing all the nation’s judges, prioritising state energy groups and eliminating some independent regulators.The plans and her coalition’s supermajority in congress have given investors further pause as they await the implementation of the new laws and the result of the US vote in November.“International investors are in wait-and-see mode,” said Nicholas Watson, Latin America managing director at consultancy Teneo. “The uncertainty could last weeks, depending on the outcome of the US election.”Outside the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City on Tuesday, judiciary workers on strike were blocking the entrances over Sheinbaum’s plan to hold elections for judges. They held up signs in English saying “Businessman . . . your investment is in danger, do not be fooled” and “judicial reform, the short path to dictatorship”.Legal experts have said the changes undermine judicial independence. Attendees of the meeting with business leaders said that the government spent a lot of time trying to explain the reform and Sheinbaum said that the economy ministry would set up working groups on the topic. “None of these reforms are a problem for investment in Mexico,” she told reporters.Tuesday’s meetings were part of an annual “CEO dialogue” between Mexico and the US, with mostly regional executives participating from companies such as Walmart, UPS and Union Pacific.Sheinbaum said she laid out her plans for public and private investments, and her presence — along with several senior cabinet members — was a good sign the relationship was a priority, and a shift from López Obrador, according to people at the meetings.“The tone, the plan, the openness towards us is drastically different in a good way,” one business leader said. “The private sector is obviously sceptical due to everything that has happened lately — and in the past six years . . . [its] still too early to tell.”Sheinbaum, who took office this month, has set ambitious renewables targets and said she would slash a bulging deficit. She also wants to review the country’s water concessions. But many of her proposals, such as a national energy plan, are yet to be fleshed out.“The government was quite professional,” another attendee said. “The worries are still there though.” More

In a speech in Sydney, Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter said inflation expectations have not become de-anchored, with new research showing that households appear to have looked through the recent spike in inflation more than the central bank might have expected.The relationship between current wage expectations and inflation expectations is relatively weak, the RBA also noted.”So we’re not currently concerned that expectations could become de-anchored in the near term,” said Hunter at an Citi investment conference. “But we do think it’s important that we track how they’re evolving and that we understand how expectations are formed, so we can monitor whether there are any signs of this risk materialising in the future.”The RBA has kept rates steady since November, judging that the cash rate of 4.35% – up from a record-low 0.1% during the pandemic – is restrictive enough to bring inflation to its target band of 2%-3% while preserving employment gains.However, underlying inflation has remained sticky at 3.9%, one reason that policymakers do not expect inflation to slow to the midpoint of the target band in 2026. Swaps imply just a 40% probability that the RBA can cut in December. More