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The Trump administration appears to be breaking from that order, with foreign and economic policies that have challenged U.S. allies, undercut some multilateral institutions and used tactics such as tariffs. While it is unclear what will eventually emerge, interviews this month with more than a dozen senior bankers, investors and officials based in Asia showed that they are not waiting to find out. They are looking for an 'America plus 1' strategy, which reduces their reliance on the United States going forward.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. It’s natural for Canada to respond to the barrage of U.S. tariffs by threatening retaliation.

recession talk in the United States is growing louder with each passing day and this will be completely driven by President Trump's upending of tariff structures. A recent Reuters poll found that 95% of economists across Canada, the US and Mexico thought the risk of a recession in their respective countries had increased following Trump's tariff rollout. Going by his talk, the President is not going to relent anytime soon. In fact he is doubling down on his rhetoric to impose reciprocal and sectoral tariffs on various countries come April 2. India, this time, will be on the receiving end.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Trump administration is crafting plans to reorganize the U.S. Agency for International Development, which had been dismantled by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to a memo detailing the plans.

U.S. policymakers projected likely two quarter-point interest rate cuts later this year, the same median forecast as three months ago, even as they expect slower economic growth and higher inflation. On Wednesday, the Fed held its benchmark overnight rate steady in the 4.25%-4.50% range.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The much-anticipated telephone call between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine, as well as chart out a path for a lasting peace formula, turned out to be sub-optimal and weighed down by variables antagonistic to a meaningful deal. The tentative deal reached after a marathon 150-minute call has placed energy infrastructure out of bounds, but allowed broader hostilities to continue.

White House has praised President Donald Trump for the return of two NASA astronauts who were part of the failed Boeing Starliner mission. However, NASA had already made arrangements for their return before Trump took office. The astronauts returned safely after nine months in space.

U.S. stocks climbed after the Federal Reserve said the economy still looks healthy enough to keep interest rates where they are

Bitcoin price has gone down from all-time high of around $110,000 to a threshold of almost $80,000 but experts are predicting that the most popular Cryptocurrency may hit $250,000-mark by the end of 2025, as per a report. While there have apprehensions about a major fall in Bitcoin price, Cryptocurrency experts have predicted that the Donald Trump administration is likely to store the high-profile cryptocurrency even as Federal Reserve could well intervene to restore some semblance of order, Forbes reported. Bitcoin price could well peak to $250,000 by the end of the year once the Federal Reserve takes stern measures, Forbes reported quoting crypto trader Arthur Hayes. Earlier in March, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, a day before meeting with executives from the cryptocurrency industry at the White House. The reserve will be capitalized with bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings, the White House crypto czar, billionaire David Sacks, said in a post on social media platform X.

Federal Reserve officials slashed their economic outlook in the latest projections released Wednesday, seeing the U.S. economy growing at a pace lower than 2%.

Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that they had a constructive call about moving toward a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, with the White House suggesting the U.S. could take control of Ukrainian power plants to ensure their security. Trump told Zelenskyy that the U.S could be «very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise,» according to a White House statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz that described the call as «fantastic.» Trump added that «American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure.» Zelenskyy and Trump discussed in general terms the possibility of a ceasefire, according to a senior Ukrainian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment publicly. During the call, there was an emphasis how any ceasefire process would need to be monitored and that the teams still needed to resolve technical issues, said the official, who characterized the call as «a very good conversation, positive, with the jokes.» During the call, Zelenskyy requested additional Patriot defense missile systems. Rubio and Waltz said Trump «agreed to work with him to find what was available, particularly in Europe.»

S Jaishankar on Wednesday said nations will continue to use tariffs as they compete for global standing, with the past decade witnessing a greater «weaponisation» of economic measures by governments worldwide. The minister's comments come amid a raging global debate on US President Donald Trump's pledge to levy reciprocal tariffs on many countries, including India, from April 2. «Tariffs, sanctions, I think, whether we would like it or not, they are a reality, countries use them. In fact, if one looks at the last decade, I would say we have seen a much greater weaponisation of pretty much any kind of capability or any kind of economic activity. It could be financial flows, energy supplies or technology,» said Jaishankar, speaking at the 'Commissars and Capitalists: Politics, Business, and New World Order' session at the Raisina Dialogue conference. He was responding to a question on whether trade barriers, tariffs and tech sanctions or restrictions have any place in India's foreign policy. «This is a reality of the world… You are fighting for your comprehensive national power, of which business makes a very important contribution,» he said. «I think today, the lines dividing different domains have eroded. If you see in international relations, I think it's a less restrained culture today than it was a decade ago,» he said, adding, «This is a reality of the world. You fight for your business, because you are fighting for your employment; you are fighting for your comprehensive national power, of which business makes a very important contribution.»

religious sentiments and illegal protest that triggered violence two days back, a senior officer said. The accused were produced in court, which granted them bail. The accused have been identified as Amol Thakre, Mantri, VHP, Nagpur city; Lakhan Kuril, Goraksha Pramukh, Vidarbha Prant; Mukesh Barapatre, President of Central Nagpur, VHP; Rishabh Arkhel, Co-convenor of Bajrang Dal, Vidarbha; Shubham Arkhel, Co-convenor of Bajrang Dal, Nagpur City; Sushil Chaurasiya, VHP worker; Ramacharan Dubey, and Kamal Haryani, Convenor of Bajrang Dal, Nagpur City. They were booked by Kotwali Police for hurting religious sentiments by organising a protest in Napur city on Monday for the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb, situated in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. A case of hurting religious sentiments was also registered at Ganeshpeth police station against Govind Shende, VHP's secretary in-charge of Maharashtra and Goa and others. He is not arrested yet. The eight accused surrendered at Kotwali police station in the afternoon, following which police produced them in the court, the officer said.

US Federal Reserve is set to announce its decision on interest rates on Wednesday, March 19. The announcement will be made against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s tariff wars and cuts to government funding. A lot of speculation persists over whether the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged. Wall Street seemed upbeat before Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s press conference, with 60 per cent of broad S&P 500 firms trading higher on Wednesday morning. Over two-thirds of stocks in the Dow index were in the green, CNN reported.

Microsoft Corp., the biggest backer of Sam Altman’s OpenAI, and BlackRock Inc., which has an executive on the artificial intelligence startup’s board, are joining forces with one of its chief rivals. Abu Dhabi’s MGX, Microsoft and BlackRock said Elon Musk’s xAI is joining their effort to build $30 billion worth of data centers and other artificial intelligence infrastructure. The AI chipmaker Nvidia Corp., which was already named as a technical adviser to the group when it was announced last year, is also formally joining, according to a statement on Wednesday that didn’t detail member commitments.

Barron Trump's birthday coincides with New York University's spring break, which has led many to wonder how the towering youngster will spend his day.

The RBI report stated that India’s external sector continues to find support from resilient services exports, which remain less affected by global disruptions. “Going forward, India’s structural strengths—sound fiscal policies, a well-calibrated monetary framework, and digital transformation initiatives—are expected to provide a strong foundation for long-term sustainable economic growth,” the report stated. The RBI lowered the benchmark policy rate by 25 basis points to 6.26% in February, and the easing inflation print triggered economists to forecast another 25 bps cut in rates in April, according to an ET poll of 12 economists. After taking charge, President Donald Trump announced a series of tariff proposals leading to uncertainty on growth in both emerging and advanced markets. The pass-through of higher tariffs to consumer prices would be a key risk to global inflation, and central banks in advanced economies would have to factor in a potential slowdown in growth.

The conversation lasted approximately an hour, and Trump indicated that further details would be provided soon. “Just completed a very good telephone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs. We are very much on track.” Trump also confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz would release a statement outlining the points discussed. On Tuesday, Trump spoke with Putin about a possible partial ceasefire. Putin agreed not to target energy infrastructure but refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire.

income-driven repayment plans used by millions of student loan borrowers. The American Federation of Teachers in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington late Monday took aim at the Education Department's decision last month to halt borrowers' ability to enroll in the affordable repayment plans. The department made the change after a federal appeals court ruled that Democratic President Joe Biden's administration lacked authority to pursue a student debt relief program designed to lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers and speed up loan forgiveness for some. The court's decision, issued after Biden left office, had set back his administration's efforts to address what his White House described as a broken student debt system that can financially burden Americans seeking higher education. The Biden-era Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan provided more generous terms than past income-based repayment plans, with monthly payments dropping for some borrowers to as low as $0. It also provided debt forgiveness for some smaller loans in as few as 10 years.

Justice Department lawyers said in a court filing that Washington-based U.S. District Judge James Boasberg was improperly intruding on presidential discretion to handle sensitive diplomatic and national security matters. Boasberg has issued an order temporarily banning the administration from removing migrants from the United States under the 18th century law that Trump invoked in proceeding with the deportations. Trump invoked the law, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, to declare that the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua was conducting irregular warfare against the United States, subjecting its alleged members to deportation without a final order from an immigration judge, as generally required. «The pending questions are grave encroachments on core aspects of absolute and unreviewable Executive Branch authority,» the Justice Department lawyers wrote. The filing on Wednesday came a day after U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts rebuked Trump for calling for the judge's impeachment.