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Aug. 19 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will buy back about twice the usual amount of its bonds in a move to prevent rising interest rates on mortgages and consumer loans.

The department, which is led by Secretary Scott Bessent, said it will target the 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year portion of the market. Those bonds have faced a buyers’ strike since late June, CNBC reported.

Treasury said it will at least double the maximum size of its usual buyback, from $2 billion to “at least” $4 billion, an announcement from the department said. The buyback operation will be from Sept. 9 through Nov. 4.

The yields on longer-term debt have been at their highest levels since 2007, pushed up by war with Iran and other concerns, such as growing competition for financing with borrowers and growing federal deficits, Politico reported.

After the announcement, yields plummeted, while stock market futures spiked, CNBC reported.

The 10-year note dropped 6 basis points to 4.647% and the 30-year bond plunged 9 basis points to 5.196%. A basis point equals 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions.

It’s the latest move by Bessent to affect treasury yields.

The department conducted a joint operation with Japan to boost the yen, which was trading at its weakest against the dollar in about 40 years. He had warned in January that Japanese government bonds were causing issues in the U.S. treasury market.

The department also recently alluded to possibly issuing less longer-term debt in the future, Politico reported.

“This increase in buyback operation sizes reflects Treasury’s desire to provide greater liquidity support in longer-dated nominal sectors where there is consistent strong sponsorship from market participants, as evidenced by the significant volume of high-quality offers Treasury routinely receives in longer-dated buyback operations,” the department’s press release said.

The move “can help crowd in potential buyers tempted by the prior run-up in yields and force some near-term short-covering, while discouraging investors from going max short in the future for fear of being ambushed again,” Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI, said in a client note, CNBC reported.

“But the operation changes almost nothing in terms of the fundamentals, in particular the unchanged need to finance the tidal wave of hyperscaler debt in addition to very large government deficits,” Guha added.

It could actually end up making the Federal Reserve‘s job of getting inflation back to 2% more difficult, said RSM Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas.

The buyback could artificially suppress yields and make controlling inflation more challenging.

“Bessent is a political actor. His interest is purely short-term and is organized around the upcoming election and not a return to price stability,” Brusuelas wrote.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — Stocks fell on all three major U.S. indices Tuesday as investors were spooked by elevated bond yields and the prospect of higher oil prices as the war between the United States and Iran drags on without apparent resolution.

Tech stocks led the downturn as the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 1.3%, followed by losses on the S&P 500 (0.6%) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (0.2%).

Most analysts put the blame for the markets’ poor showing on news that 30-year Treasury yield surpassed 5.3% for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2007, reflecting sagging demand from global buyers willing to underwrite sovereign U.S. debt.

Concerns over rampant government deficit spending and the United States’ burgeoning debt of nearly $40 trillion are pushing treasury yields higher, analysts noted.

The shorter 10-year Treasury, meanwhile, ended above 4.7%, compared to below 4% before the start of the Iran War in February.

Rising “T-bill” yields are considered a danger signal for the broader economy and consumer spending because they can have the knock-on effect of pushing up virtually all borrowing costs, from auto loans to mortgages.

The latter is being reflected in costlier mortgage rates. A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage on Tuesday stood at 6.75% after ending last week at 6.69%.

Meanwhile, oil prices on Tuesday reached their highest level in more than two weeks after President Donald Trump threatened to “bomb” Oman if it interferes with his plans to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The benchmark Brent crude futures traded around $91 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose to $84 per barrel.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — President Donald Trump late Tuesday announced a three-day pause on imposing 50% tariffs on Canada less than two hours before they were to go into effect, saying a trade deal has been made.

The tariffs were to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but were delayed by Trump’s announcement on social media issued about 90 minutes before the deadline.

No specifics on what the deal entailed were offered, though Trump said the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline project, revoked by former President Joe Biden over climate change concerns, “may be awoke from the grave!”

The deal remains to be finalized, he said.

While congratulating Trump, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer added that the deal includes “comprehensive access for all American goods,” economic security commitments, digital trade alignment and other provisions protecting the U.S. market.

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada has yet to comment.

Greer had been leading negotiations with Canadian representatives ahead of the deadline. He said last week that the negotiators were reviewing options and that he expects Canada to drop certain measures it had already taken in response to the U.S. tariffs, The New York Times reported.

“If a country retaliates against us, we’re obviously not going to tolerate that,” Greer told reporters Friday. “We’ll take action. My sense is the Canadians want to have a more conciliatory approach, but we’ll see.”

Trump signed orders in July to impose 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, including cement and hockey sticks, representing about 2% of the entire trade between the United States and Canada, starting Wednesday.

“President Trump is taking action to hold Canada accountable for its continued discrimination against and unreasonable and unequal treatment of U.S. commerce that has burdened and disadvantaged hard-working Americans,” the White House said in a statement at the time.

On Aug. 5, he called Canada “nasty” in a Las Vegas speech.

“Canada’s nasty. They are. They’re nasty,” Trump said. “I love the people, but they’re nasty. Nasty leadership.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump spoke on the phone Monday, a Carney spokeswoman said. She didn’t give any details.

Canadian negotiators also want to ease the tariffs already imposed on Ottawa industries. There are tariffs of up to 50% on steel, aluminum and autos. Some tariffs also affect Canadian softwood lumber.

Canadian lumber manufacturing CEO John Brink told CTV that tariffs have devastated the lumber industry. He said, “most of the lumber industry in Canada is paying up to 45.16% in tariffs and duties combined. So the effect has been devastating.”

Brink said about half of British Columbia’s lumber manufacturing capacity has shut down.

“There used to be 800 secondary manufacturers in British Columbia alone. We are now down to about 50. Not all due to tariffs and duties, but due to a combination of [factors],” Brink added.

“I think the big question for the United States is: Are they even interested in securing an agreement, a deal, some kind of operational détente, or is Trump’s real objective just to flex? Is it just to demonstrate he’s in control? In which case, we’re chasing a phantom deal,” CTV News political commentator Scott Reid said.

He added that the deadline will be “the most important, most significant and most treacherous of Mark Carney’s political career.”

Greer has said he expects Canada to make concessions if a deal goes through. But not everyone in the Great White North wants that.

“Canadians elected Mark Carney to both stand up to Trump while also trying to negotiate a deal, or negotiate down the tariffs, and I don’t think those are mutually exclusive, but it is a narrow path for sure,” said Brian Clow, a former senior official in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s government, The Times reported.

If no deal is made, expect the trade war to escalate, Clow said.

“If the U.S. decides to proceed with imposing these new tariffs tomorrow, Canada, although this current government has eased back on retaliation, will have to respond in some way,” he said.

Former senior White House trade adviser Kelly Ann Shaw told CTV that negotiations look “promising” for Canada.

“I’ve been involved in a number of international trade negotiations and other negotiations throughout my career, and the hardest issues always get resolved at the very last moment,” Shaw told CTV Tuesday.

“So I don’t expect any sort of announcement until later today, possibly as late as midnight,” Shaw said. “But the fact the two parties are still at the table, I take as a good sign.”

Trump has long used tariffs as a mechanism for both punishment and negotiation, and during his second term, he attempted to impose sweeping tariffs, including against Canada, but they were thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court in February.

The tariffs paused late Tuesday were to join the 10% import duty on many Canadian goods, as well as previously imposed tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on products, such as steel, aluminum, copper, automobiles and softwood lumber.

Canada responded by imposing a temporary 25% tariff on certain wood cabinets and vanities, as well as a 25% tariff on U.S. vehicles, as well as selected steel and aluminum products, among others.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

Trump announces pause on 50 percent duty on Canadian exports shortly before midnight deadline.

The United States and Canada have reached a deal to avert steep tariffs on billions of dollars of Canadian goods, US President Donald Trump has announced.

Trump made the announcement shortly before the expiry of a midnight deadline for imposing a 50 percent duty on a wide range of Canadian exports, including electronics, industrial machinery, furniture, and dairy products.

“I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three day period, based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“The great Keystone XL Pipeline, long ago killed by Sleepy Joe Biden, may be awoken from the grave!”

More to follow…

Aug. 17 (UPI) — Nvidia announced on Monday that it will finance an OpenAI data center in Ohio for up to $105 billion.

The credit from Nvidia will fund the data center’s first 4.25 gigawatts in computing capacity with an option to bring 3.75 gigawatts more online. The center is slated to begin operating in Pike City, Ohio, in 2028.

The data center will be located at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike City. It will be constructed and managed by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group.

Nvidia is also providing the compute power to the data center.

“This is the essential economic point: the [Load Power Supply] commitment secures a long-lived AI factory site, while the NVIDIA compute inside can be upgraded repeatedly,” NVIDIA said in a press release. “Each new generation can deliver greater production, more intelligence and better economics.”

SB Energy and SoftBank agree to build enough power supply for 10 gigawatts of energy and invest at least $4.2 billion into the regional power grid infrastructure. Nvidia has also agreed to invest $1.5 billion into SB Energy.

OpenAI said the data center will support 35,000 construction jobs through 2032. It will also support 2,500 long-term jobs.

OpenAI will pay the least on the data center as its tenant, Nvidia said.

The next Los Angeles City Councilmember to represent the West San Fernando Valley will either be a former small business owner backed by the Police Protective League or a career public-sector staffer who has racked up a long list of endorsements from unions and Democratic lawmakers.

Tim Gaspar, 44, founded an eponymous insurance agency in the Valley, which he sold in 2021and is now campaigning full time to win the Third District council seat, according to campaign spokesperson Haley Townes. He was the top vote-getter in the June 2 primary, garnering 46.1% of the vote.

Barri Worth Girvan, 43, was a close second with 42.5% of the vote. She is the director of community affairs for Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath and previously held staff positions with former L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Democratic state senator Bob Hertzberg.

The winner of the Nov. 3 runoff will replace termed-out council member Bob Blumenfield, who recently endorsed Gaspar, as did Christopher Celona, the third-place finisher in the primary.

“We feel like those are the endorsements that resonate with voters here,” Gaspar told a group of voters at a recent campaign event.

L.A. City Council Candidate Tim Gaspar speaks with Dr. Lawrence Kaplan during a Kids on the Spectrum Bowling League event at Lucky Strike Bowling Alley this month.

(Arwen Clemans/Los Angeles Times)

In an interview, Gaspar said the City Council could benefit from his business experience to counter members whose backgrounds are mostly in public policy or community organizing.

“They’re missing the business perspective,” he said. “Sometimes you need to do things that might be unpopular if it’s going to be something that benefits the greater good. A healthy economy is the tide that raises all ships.”

L.A. City Council Barri Worth Girvan chats wth LAPD Capt. Rudy Lopez while greeting voters during a recent neighborhood National Night Out event in Canoga Park’s Lanark Park.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Worth Girvan, by contrast, says her years of experience in the public sector will ensure that she can best navigate City Hall to advocate for the district’s interests.

“Delivering core city services is my bread and butter,” she said in an interview. “If your trash isn’t picked up, if your trees aren’t trimmed, if your street lights aren’t working, if you pick up the phone to call 911 and nobody responds, then not only is your neighborhood not safe, but your city is not working for you.”

Gaspar has a huge lead in fund-raising, reporting more than $180,000 in donations to his runoff campaign through June 30, compared with about $31,000 for Worth Girvan.

In addition, companies and special interests including Airbnb, Uber, the California Apartment Association, the L.A. Police Protective League and IBEW Local 18 spent $1.39 million through independent expenditure committees in the primary race.

Airbnb spokeswoman Nicolette Velasquez said the candidates it backs, including Gaspar, are in favor of expanding short-term rental policies to allow homeowners to supplement their income by renting out their homes. Hotel companies and the unions representing hotel workers oppose such expanding the short-term rental market out of existing housing stock.

Worth Girvan asserts that her second-place finish in June was effectively “a virtual tie” given all the money companies and others spent to back Gaspar.

“We were massively outspent with that kind of money, but the voters clearly spoke, and we’re expecting an even broader electorate in the general,” she said.

Tim Gaspar outside the Lucky Strike Bowling Alley.

(Arwen Clemans/Los Angeles Times)

Gaspar’s contributors in the runoff include billionaire developer Rick Caruso and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Worth Girvan has picked up donations from state Assemblyman Mark Gonzalez (D-Boyle Heights), former Democratic state Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and former Los Angeles City Council member David Ryu, according to her filing.

She also touts endorsements from a long list of Democratic lawmakers, including state Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and Rep. Luz Rivas (D-North Hollywood)., and has strong backing from labor including the local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Service Employees International Union and the including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

“Barri was a clear choice for us,” said Devin Osiri, Chief of Staff at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. “Our unions have actually worked with her at all three levels of government. Her reputation, her professional resume from the Valley and her personal story are just more reflective of the LA Federation of Labor.”

The two candidates differ on housing policy.

Barri Worth Girvan meets voters at the National Night Out event in Canoga Park’s Lanark Park.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Worth Girvan said she supports more housing development, particularly near transit lines, saying the West Valley “needs to do our part” to scale up construction and bring housing prices down.

Gaspar said District 3 is already doing its part to bring in new housing development in areas like Warner Center, and remains skeptical of increasing density in single-family home neighborhoods.

He opposes rent control and some of the city’s current tenant protections, and said at the campaign event that he has a “zero tolerance policy” for homeless encampments.

Both candidates say public safety is their top priority, and they support expanding the Los Angeles Police Department.

London, United Kingdom – For several weeks, until her daughter is paid, Donna O’Hara is unable to buy food. On those days, she goes to a food bank instead, or borrows money to get by.

The 54-year-old, who has four children, started relying on food banks, nonprofit initiatives that collect and provide free emergency food to those in need, after her son and his girlfriend moved out following the birth of their baby in February. They had been contributing to the household bills, and losing that income tipped things over the edge.

“Mentally, it’s just stressful and it’s embarrassing having to go to the food bank, utterly embarrassing,” she says. “I hate asking people for help. I hate borrowing money.”

The stress compounds an already precarious situation.

O’Hara has multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, and has been hospitalised three times since October on life-saving antibiotics after infections forced her to pause chemotherapy. Her cancer is in remission, but doctors have told her it is likely to return before she can resume treatment. Her husband died of lung cancer last year.

Two of her children are on Universal Credit, the UK’s main working-age welfare monthly payment, including support for housing, children and low income or unemployment.

After paying child maintenance, her son is left with 340 pounds ($460) a month to live on after the payment. He cannot work because he is waiting for gallbladder surgery.

“Who can live on 340 pounds a month?” O’Hara said. “And because I’m always helping him out, that cuts into my money.”

Her own housing benefit payment is 1,800 pounds ($2,440) a month, against rent of 2,500 pounds ($3,390) for a private property with the downstairs toilet she and her late husband both needed because of their cancer treatment. She has fallen behind, and expects to be evicted.

“The day the bailiffs come round, I must be packed and ready to go into the housing they put me in,” she said. “Who knows where I’m going to end up?”

‘Damaging structural factors’

The UK has been in an acute cost of living crisis since inflation surged from late 2021, driven initially by pandemic disruption and then by the spike in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But for households like O’Hara’s, the strain runs deeper, with its roots in more than a decade of austerity, weak wage growth and stagnant productivity, compounded by the economic impact of Brexit.

That longer history is central to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s political pitch. To tackle the UK’s cost of living crisis, the new premier has set out a 10-year plan built around expanding social and affordable housing, reforming Universal Credit and investing in local economies.

He is currently touring the nation to engage with people’s financial concerns.

Universal Credit is meant to act as a safety net, but for many, including O’Hara, it no longer stretches far enough to cover it.

Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation puts scale behind stories like O’Hara’s.

“We estimate 7.4 million low-income families were unable to afford at least one essential item in the last six months,” said Sam Tims, the charity’s lead analyst, pointing to cutbacks on heating, toiletries and food. “This is at a record high.”

Tims traced the roots directly to policy choices.

“The combination of all these damaging structural factors has left our economy weaker, our wages lower, our rents higher and our income safety net in need of repair,” he said, noting that the basic rate of Universal Credit support is lower now than a decade ago.

He welcomes the removal of the two-child benefit limit in April, estimated to have lifted about half a million children out of poverty, but argues it needs to be paired with a “protected minimum floor” in Universal Credit and higher local housing allowance rates to make private rents affordable again.

Adam Lang, director of policy at Carnegie UK, says the think tank’s polling shows just more than a quarter of households could not afford an unexpected 850-pound ($1,150) expense, and one in 20 cannot afford to feed everyone at home.

“What is striking is that we’ve conducted the same survey for the last three years and we see no real improvement on most of these measures,” he said.

Lang cautiously supports Burnham’s approach, but warned against expecting a single set of measures to fix things.

“It is heartening to hear the UK government talk of a 10-year plan,” he said. “On the other hand, it is clear that life is too hard for too many and change is required.”

He argued that governments need to track wellbeing alongside growth and employment, so policymakers can see “not just how the economy is performing, but how people are doing”.

Evelyn Henderson-Child, senior researcher at the Centre for Local Economies (CLES), said that even when growth does happen, it does not reliably reach those navigating the crisis.

“GDP [Gross domestic product] can kind of swish on upwards while the foundational conditions of life, community resilience and people’s financial stability are eroded,” she said, pointing out that growth-focused policy tends to prioritise high-productivity sectors while overlooking the ones that actually sustain society and offer significant amounts of employment, such as food, retail, transport, housing and care.

The answer lies less in growth itself and more in who benefits from it, she believes.

“Traditional policy tends to rely on patching up inequality, if it does at all, after wealth is generated and concentrated at the top,” she said. “It’s about pre-distribution, rewiring the economic system from the get-go so that economic and social benefits are spread more evenly.”

But the debate over growth statistics and structural reform is of little consequence for O’Hara.

“Some people say ‘work on a budget’. Try working on a budget when you have to count your pennies just to get a loaf of bread,” she said. “It’s not my fault I got cancer and can’t go to work. Life shouldn’t be like that.”

GDP rises 0.3 percent in the second quarter as consumption and capital spending sag.

Japan’s economy has slowed in the second quarter of the year amid moribund consumption and capital spending, according to official figures.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.3 percent in the April-June period from the first quarter, data released by Japan’s Cabinet Office on Monday showed. It was the third consecutive expansion but was down from 0.5 percent growth in the previous quarter and missed the 0.5 percent growth analysts had forecast.

On an annualised basis, the world’s fourth-largest economy expanded 1.1 percent.

A survey of 37 economists conducted by the Japan Center for Economic Research, a think tank, had forecast an annualised expansion of 1.67 percent.

Private consumption was flat in real terms while capital expenditures fell 1.2 percent, or 4.6 percent on an annualised basis, offsetting strong exports, according to the data.

Broken down by component, net exports contributed 0.5 percentage points to GDP growth while domestic demand accounted for negative 0.2 percent.

Norihiro Yamaguchi, lead economist for Japan at Oxford Economics, said he expected growth to be sluggish in the second half of 2026 as companies pass rising energy costs on to consumers.

“Although AI-related goods exports will continue to stay robust in the near term, sluggish non-AI-related global economic activities will limit overall export gains,” Yamaguchi said in a note to clients.

Japan imports almost all of its crude oil needs, leaving it exposed to elevated energy costs stemming from the fallout of the United States-Israel war on Iran.

Cost pressures on Japan’s consumers have been exacerbated by the weakness of the Japanese yen, which last month hit a 40-year low against the US dollar.

The weaker-than-expected growth figures could complicate the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ’s) upcoming decision on interest rates in September amid its push to normalise monetary policy after decades of ultra-low and negative borrowing costs.

The BOJ in June raised its benchmark interest rate to 1 percent, its highest in more than three decades.

The central bank began to move away from an ultra-loose policy in 2024 when it announced its first rate hike since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Japan’s stock market rose on Monday with the benchmark Nikkei 225 up 0.3 percent as of 05:15 GMT.

South Korea and Hong Kong’s markets also made gains with the KOSPI up 2.4 percent and the Hang Seng Index 1.6 percent higher.

When Mark Walter, the Lakers controlling owner, flipped the storied team last week for $12.5 billion amid a federal probe of his businesses, it stunned the sports world but seemed to make financial and legal sense.

The Dodgers majority owner, who had bought his stake in the basketball team last year at a $10-billion valuation, likely netted a big payday from the sale to former Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger and venture capitalist Joshua Kushner.

And that’s money the billionaire can apply to pay down the debts of two troubled Delaware life insurers he owns that are under federal scrutiny.

It’s not at all clear whether the sale of the Lakers will have any effect on the ongoing investigations. Neither Walter nor his companies have been charged with any crimes.

TWG Global, Walter’s holding company, did not respond to a request for comment Friday, but a spokesperson for the company has previously stated that they are cooperating with authorities and expect the matter to be resolved “favorably.”

“Mark Walter and TWG have always acted in good faith, and those who have done business with Mark know him as honest and straightforward,” the statement said.

After receiving federal grand jury subpoenas in February, Delaware Life and Clear Spring Life and Annuity conducted internal investigations. They found that $21 billion in loans they made should have been recorded as extended to “related parties.”

Related parties have business or personal ties and transactions between them can have legitimate reasons, but they also pose potential conflicts of interest and require disclosure and typically extra regulatory scrutiny.

In the case of insurers, which hold premium dollars from policyholders for future claims payouts, regulators want to ensure the money is there when it’s needed. Related-party transactions can threaten that.

Walter, 66, chief executive of Chicago investment firm Guggenheim Partners, led a group that included another Guggenheim executive and Magic Johnson in acquiring the Dodgers for $2.15 billion in 2012. The Times has reported he tapped the insurers he owned for financing, a deal that was later vetted by state insurance regulators.

However, the amount of related-party loans made by the two affiliated life insurers now under federal scrutiny is vastly more, amounting to 40% of the invested assets of Delaware Life as of Dec. 31, according to Fitch Ratings. The credit rating outfit said that is the most of any North American life insurers it reviews.

It’s unclear exactly where all the money went, but the Wall Street Journal reported billions were passed through a third party before being received by entities tied to Walter or his TWG Global holding company.

Company executives also told Fitch that they were unaware they were making related-party loans. Bloomberg reported that investigators are looking at some loans made to multiple companies affiliated with one Chicago firm to see if they were passed along to Walter’s ventures.

In June regulatory filings that disclosed the $21 billion in restatements, each insurer labeled them as “corrections of errors,” which would imply that they were inadvertent.

Jacob Frenkel, a former U.S. attorney, said it appears clear a focus of the investigation into Walter’s businesses is to determine whether the restatements were just errors.

“If there is intentional concealment of related-party transactions or the creation of intermediaries to help with that concealment, that certainly [could] invite criminal and civil enforcement scrutiny,” said Frenkel, who prosecuted financial crimes and also worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Authorities have seized Walter’s cellphone and laptop, according to Bloomberg. Still, investigations by prosecutors and securities regulators can result in no action.

Frenkel said that if criminality is found in complex investigations such as this one, federal prosecutors will typically file mail or wire fraud charges that carry up to 20 years in prison.

It would not matter whether a company that was the victim of fraudulent conduct closed or is able to continue conducting business after being rescued financially.

“The entity’s failure is not a prerequisite for there to be a crime in intentionally misleading conduct,” he said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a parallel investigation into both companies, according to their regulatory filings.

Frenkel said its interest could revolve around how Guggenheim Investments, Walter’s asset management firm, booked revenue from its dealings with the insurers and the disclosures of the transactions.

The SEC can seek civil monetary penalties and the return of illegal profits, and bar or suspend an individual from serving as a corporate officer or director, among other remedies.

Delaware Life and Clear Spring are part of TWG’s Group 1001 Life & Annuity.

Delaware Life has started a remediation plan to restructure some of the loans, review others and address its “control deficiencies,” including through TWG purchasing some of the loans, according to ratings outfit S&P Global. It hopes to complete the plan by the end of the year.

However, Fitch in its downgrade of Delaware Life said the plan may prove “insufficient to fully address governance, reporting, and investment oversight issues.”

The Delaware Department of Insurance did not respond to emails for comment.

Rex Frazier, a former deputy commissioner at the California Department of Insurance, said that in the situation that the insurers find themselves, the state regulator will be looking at a company’s capital sufficiency.

“The change from unaffiliated to affiliated transactions can affect the regulator’s view of whether the insurers have adequate capital and, if the regulator thinks not, then the regulator can impose additional capital requirements,” said Frazier, now president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, a property and casualty industry trade group.

“If the regulator determines that there is inadequate capital to pay for their obligations … there are many serious remedies they can take to protect vulnerable people depending on those income streams,” he said, including seizing a company or forcing its sale.

There is no indication that either insurer is in such dire straits. Since the disclosures, rating agencies Fitch, AM Best and S&P Global have downgraded the companies’ outlook to negative, but they also have said the insurers maintain a high level of financial strength.

Walter is not the only owner of a life insurer to rely on related-party loans to fund its business dealings.

AM Best, in a December report, said affiliated investments among life insurers and annuity companies grew more than 17% annually in 2024 to more than $373 billion, driven by those owned by private equity and asset managers.

It said the growth of such investments — a type of related-party transactions — presents “regulatory risks” that may suggest “a company’s operations are more intertwined with its parent and affiliated investment management with possible negative consequences.”

“Should the parent/affiliate company experience financial stress, negative impacts to the insurer are heightened due to the higher exposure,” it said.

Frenkel said it’s good to keep in mind that at the end of their investigations, neither the Justice Department nor the SEC may take any action.

However, due to the complexity of the case, it may be a while before that point is even reached.

“This is clearly the type of investigation that the ‘where is this going?’ conversation could easily still be continuing in January of 2028,” he said.

Aug. 14 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Commerce said Friday that retail sales dropped 0.6% in July from June, the largest decline since May 2025.

The department’s figures, which are adjusted for seasonal swings but not for inflation, revealed retail sales were down from June’s 0.2% gain and fell far short of the 0.1% gain that economists had forecasted in a FactSet poll.

However, retail sales have increased by 5% over the past year, exceeding the long-term average.

Some analysts attributed a portion of July’s dip to the annual Amazon Prime sale, which normally takes place in July, but was held in June this year. Internet sales, the second-largest category of retail sales after automotive, were down 2.3% in July.

Figures for the past year show online sales are overall up 8%.

Auto sales were down 1.8% in June.

The Commerce Department report showed sales at bars and restaurants actually went up in July, with a .5% increase over the previous month.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier revealed 23,000 jobs were cut by employers in July. The unemployment rate was measured at 4.1%, down from 4.2% in June.

Aug. 14 (UPI) — A federal trade court threw out a legal challenge to President Trump’s executive order scrapping the so-called “de minimis” exemption loophole under which goods worth less than $800 could enter the United States duty free.

Three judges sitting in the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Thursday that Trump had the legal authority to invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to eliminate de minimis, in contrast to his April 2025 “liberation day” global tariffs which it ruled were unlawful, a decision the Supreme Court subsequently upheld.

“In reaching this conclusion, we find that the President’s power to ‘nullify [or] void . . . exercising any . . . privilege’ does not run afoul of separation of powers principles,” they wrote in their judgment.

The judges found the removal of the exemption did not constitute “an exercise of the power of the purse” and “is not an exercise of the power to legislate.”

In the global tariffs case, the Supreme Court came to the opposite conclusion, ruling that Trump could not act without approval from Congress.

Trump hailed Thursday’s ruling as a “big win” for his resolve to get rid of what he said was a “ridiculous giveaway… one of the most DESPICABLE loopholes in American Trade Policy” that he said was costing the U.S. Treasury more than $10 billion in revenue from tariffs that it would otherwise receive.

“For years, Foreign Shippers could send packages worth up to $800 into our Country, DUTY FREE, NO TARIFF, far less scrutiny. It became a giant loophole for TARIFF Cheats — and a Pipeline exploited by Fentanyl Traffickers, Counterfeiters, and other Criminals shipping dangerous and illegal products into America. The numbers were staggering. In 2024 alone, de minimis cost America an estimated 10.8 BILLION DOLLARS in foregone TARIFF Revenue, and an astonishing share of narcotics and counterfeit seizures came through the de minimis channel,” said Trump.

Detroit Axle, a Michigan-based auto-parts distributor, brought the de minimis case last year on grounds Trump had overstepped his authority under IEEPA. The firm’s legal counsel did not immediately comment on the ruling.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection netted more than a billion dollars in 2025 from the ending of de minimis and the court ruling clears the way for it to continue until it is permanently eliminated when Trump’s One Big Beautiful tax cut and spending bill kicks in next July.

It will take someone better versed in finance, corporate law, family psychology and, perhaps, the impact of great wealth on brain chemistry than I to analyze the recent actions of Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison.

To a cultural journalist, however, it seems like he continues to make himself the best argument yet for opposing his company’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Mere days after taking to the media to insist that he is a misunderstood film buff who just wants to save Hollywood, he threatened to help destroy it.

If California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and state attorneys general from 11 other states, including New York, New Jersey, Washington and Colorado, refuse to negotiate a settlement of their antitrust lawsuit, Ellison said he will yank Paramount Studios, and potentially Warner Bros., out of California.

Um, OK, Ultron.

So that’s how Ellison wants to prove that he will be a steward of the flailing entertainment industry — by threatening to rip out a big part of its still-beating heart and implant it in Texas or Tennessee?

Will he be taking the Hollywood sign as well, to stick atop the Grand Ole Opry or, better yet, the Alamo?

Not only does this grant Bonta VIP access to the moral highground, it all but negates Ellison’s recent New York Times guest essay. Especially the part in which he wrote: “The states claim this deal will give one company too much influence over theatrical releases and cable operators, while the W.G.A. argues that our combined market power will hurt writers.”

If one man can decide, in a fit of pique, to scoop up a huge portion of the entertainment industry and float it thousands of miles away, I’d say that’s a decent argument for “too much influence.”

Also, good luck with the landing. Texas and Tennessee are both fine states with vibrant cities, undeniable corporate incentives and lower costs of living, but their draconian abortion laws and restrictive LGBTQ+ legislation may give many in the entertainment industry pause.

Still, according to Ellison, it’s Bonta and his gang who are trying to make things political, not him; in his essay, Ellison claimed that the suit is mostly about preventing his ownership of CNN, despite his insistence that (the hiring of Bari Weiss to oversee CBS News to the contrary) the news network would remain autonomous.

As a journalist, I would love to believe that Bonta and the other attorneys general are simply going to bat for the Fourth Estate; with President Trump openly longing for the day when Ellison controls CNN, it is no doubt a concern. But as Ellison seems intent on personally underscoring, the bigger issue is how to prevent a dwindling number of individuals from controlling enormous portions of an industry that not only employs millions, but also plays a vital role in shaping the nature of art and culture in this country and the world.

(Never mind the queasy fact that Ellison is being bankrolled by his billionaire father Larry, who is putting many, if not all, of his eggs in the AI basket, to the detriment of his employees.)

Shaping art and culture is, of course, precisely why Ellison wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, almost literally at all costs. When he first lost the bid for Warner Bros. to Netflix, he (and his dad) responded by offering enough money (including a $7-billion payout should the deal not clear antitrust regulation) to make Ted Sarandos blink. Money has always been a ladder to power and influence in this country, and the widening wealth gap, not to mention the current administration, has turned the ladder into a rocket ship. (See please Elon Musk.)

Ellison has continually stressed his love of cinematic storytelling. Under the proposed Paramount Warner, he promises to produce 30 theatrical films and 170 television series a year and create more work for everyone.

That would be lovely (if fiscally difficult) to believe. If only he hadn’t just tried to hold the state that gave birth to cinematic storytelling hostage by threatening to kidnap one of its kids.

As negotiating tactics go, it certainly undermines whatever public approval he hoped to gain with his “I’m just a guy, standing in front of the movie biz asking it to love me” bit.

Change is coming for Paramount Studios — the lot on Melrose Avenue — either way. If Paramount Skydance acquires Warner Bros., production will likely shift to the Warner Bros. lot, with Paramount leased or sold.

Now, it seems, Ellison is willing to have a fire sale — he’ll certainly need to raise a bunch of cash if he’s going to quickly flee to redder pastures. As for the thousands of local workers who depend on Paramount production to make a living, well, Ellison and his executives may be able to afford to relocate or (more probably) commute out of state, but most of the people who actually make movies and television cannot.

Business, of course, is business and it has become financially and politically fashionable to desert California to avoid whatever local law, regulation or tax you now find unfair. Tech mavens, including Musk, have ditched California for the Lone Star State. Ellison’s father recently took Oracle out of Redwood City, first to Austin, Texas, then to Nashville, workers be damned.

But Ellison taking Paramount and potentially Warner Bros. out of Los Angeles isn’t about business. It’s pure politics, of the savage, oligarchical variety.

Given the stakes, it’s difficult to imagine that some sort of deal won’t be struck that allows the sale to go through. But Ellison isn’t saving the entertainment industry, he’s leveraging it.

And if he has to spit in Hollywood’s face to save his own, well, apparently that’s fine too.

Aug. 12 (UPI) — Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are escalating their criticism of Paramount Skydance’s attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, with one lawmaker accusing the Paramount CEO of “colluding” with President Donald Trump and his administration.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, sent Paramount CEO David Ellison, a letter Wednesday, inviting him for an interview to “answer the committee’s questions about your Donald Trump-enabled shopping spree to consolidate news organizations, movie studios, cable channels and streaming stations.”

Raskin opened his letter referring to a New York Times opinion piece by Ellison in which the CEO defended the deal and said he would stay silent “no more.”

“This is great news,” Raskin wrote. “Over the past 12 months, I have sent you four letters. You have responded to none of them.”

“I have repeatedly sought answers from you about the Paramount Skydance merger and your planned acquisition of Warner Bros.Discovery in light of troubling reports that your company is colluding with President Trump and his administration to curtail media independence, spread political censorship and suppress dissent.”

Raskin also wrote that he’s sought answers about alleged political interference in CBS News reporting and that he has “significant concerns” that the acquisition would “dangerously” consolidate power in a single conglomerate.

Paramount had not commented on the letter Wednesday afternoon. However, Makan Delrahim, during a summit this week hosted by Politico, said the company is “transparent” and responsive to lawmakers’ concerns.

As of now, Raskin cannot require Ellison’s cooperation. However, if Democrats win control of the House in the upcoming midterm elections, Raskin — who is expected to become committee chairman — could subpoena Ellison.

Raskin previously told Politico that he plans to increase oversight of the merger and that “anyone involved should be prepared to answer under oath for their roll in this brazen campaign to bend America’s free press to Donald Trump’s political, financial and personal will.”

In 2025, Paramount paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit (which many called “meritless”) brought by Trump, and Democrats have said the money could be considered a bribe to allow the Paramount-Skydance merger, which was approved shortly afterward.

However, the merger has been postponed because of an antitrust lawsuit brought by attorneys general of 12 states and the Writers Guild America. A trial is set for March.

Aug. 12 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury Department has officially repealed a rule that required U.S. companies and individuals to report “beneficial ownership information” to the department.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network bureau of the Treasury Department — which is meant to safeguard the U.S. financial system from illegal activity, work against money laundering and terrorism financing and help with national security — issued a final rule Tuesday that permanently removes the requirement. The reporting rule existed in connection with the Corporate Transparency Act.

The network, called FinCEN, also announced that it would delete all previously reported information from its databases.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called it “a victory for common sense” and said that it eliminates a “burdensome reporting requirement.” An interim final rule has been in place since March 2025.

This final rule also exempts U.S. citizens with FinCEN identification from having to update or correct their information and eliminates a requirement for foreign businesses to report U.S. citizens who helped them register to do business in the United States.

As defined by FinCEN, a beneficial owner is one who directly or indirectly owns at least 25% of a company or exercises substantial interest over the company.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., issued a statement Tuesday saying the repeal guts the Corporate Transparency Act and is a “gift to cartels, criminals and U.S. adversaries that exploit shell companies to move millions through our financial system.”

“The Trump administration has dismissed law enforcement warnings, ignored the role that shell companies play in crimes ranging from drug trafficking to fraud to sanctions evasion and gutted a statue that Secretary Rubio once championed as ‘the most significant anti-corruption and money-laundering law in decades,” Warren said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted that statement about the act on social media in December 2020.

Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act in 2021. The reporting requirement went into effect in 2024.

Aug. 11 (UPI) — The price of oil reached $90 per barrel Tuesday as Iran and President Donald Trump traded jabs about war reparations, decreasing hopes for a new peace deal.

The price dipped back down to $87 as of Tuesday morning.

West Texas Intermediate futures rose 19 cents to $82.32 per barrel around 8 a.m. EDT. Brent crude was up to $87.74.

Prices had dipped when Pakistan’s Defense Minister said the two warring countries were “close to some sort of arrangement.”

But on Monday, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social demanding that Iran pay reparations, dimming hopes for peace. That caused a 3% spike.

The contradictory statements between Washington and Tehran also added to the fears Monday, as Trump said the United States has “100%” control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the two sides were engaging, but not in person.

“The oil market remains very headline-driven, which leaves prices whipsawing. The latest bout of optimism is quickly fading,” ING strategists wrote in a Tuesday note, CNBC reported. “Current rhetoric suggests any potential deal is still some way off, meaning risks remain skewed to the upside for oil prices.”

Analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote in a research note that fears of higher inflation are coming from worries of a long standoff, The New York Times reported.

“That in turn led to mounting speculation about central bank rate hikes, with investors pricing in a more hawkish path for the months ahead,” the bank wrote.

The average gasoline price stayed at $4.11 a gallon Tuesday, a 38% increase since the start of the war with Iran.

Caracas, August 10, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan business sector representative Luigi Pisella has urged the privatization of public assets in a string of recent appearances on state-affiliated media.

“Our main goal is to create an efficient state, one that retains only strategic assets while opening them to private capital and technology,” Pisella said in an interview on Friday with La Iguana, a media outlet founded and owned by current Communications Minister Miguel Pérez Pirela.

He added that privatized state-owned companies would “create wealth, create jobs, and pay taxes.”

The former president of major pro-business lobby CONINDUSTRIA, Pisella was chosen by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez to represent the private sector in a commission tasked with evaluating state-owned assets, with companies, landed estates, and other properties deemed “non-strategic” set to be privatized or liquidated.

Other commission members include Economic Sector Vice President Calixto Ortega, Finance Minister Anabel Pereira, and Communes Minister Ángel Prado.

In his interview, Pisella went on to claim that the commission had an opportunity to “fix past mistakes,” in reference to nationalizations under former President Hugo Chávez, who sought to impose state control over sectors such as telecommunications, electricity, and the basic industries.

“We have to create conditions for foreign corporations, the former owners, to return,” he vowed. “And if it is not possible, find investors that will purchase these [state-owned] companies.” The private sector spokesman added that privatizations will help shrink the public sector payroll, which he placed at 3.1 million workers.

Pisella has featured prominently both in public and private news outlets to speak on the Rodríguez administration’s economic policy goals.

In an August 2 appearance on state broadcaster VTV, he pledged that the government’s economic agenda aims to make the country “more competitive” and is “on the right track.”

“The laws that we are adjusting and updating, alongside the commission to evaluate state assets, have the same goal of attracting foreign investment,” Pisella underscored.

Following the January 3 US bombing and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, the acting Rodríguez government has fast-tracked legislative reforms offering new concession models, tax breaks, and legal assurances to private corporations in key formerly state-run sectors including energy, mining, and electricity. 

In the wake of the June 24 double earthquake, the National Assembly likewise approved a new law aimed at “encouraging” property owners to rent out houses and apartments. The bill establishes conditions for lease agreements and mediation mechanisms for landlord-tenant disputes while also facilitating evictions.

Since January, the Trump administration has seized control over Venezuelan export revenues, especially from crude sales, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisting that Venezuelan authorities must submit a “budget request” to access the funds. 

Neither Washington nor Caracas have disclosed any figures, with the Financial Times estimating that more than US $13 billion from Venezuelan oil exports has been deposited at a specially designated US Treasury account.

In a radio interview, Pisella stated that the Trump White House has deducted the cost of its “military mobilization,” which he placed at $4.7 billion. According to the business lobbyist, there are also imports from US manufacturers and debt payments to Chevron to be deducted, leaving around $7 billion to be transferred directly to private sector importers via foreign exchange tables run by public and private banks.

Pisella’s claims have yet to be confirmed or denied by the acting Rodríguez government. In recent months, an official “rapid response” social media account has been quick to dismiss news Caracas deems to be “fake.”

For his part, Trump has recurrently boasted that his administration has recouped the cost of the January 3 military operation “many times over.”

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Philadelphia, USA.

The government plans to enact a special law this year to designate special zones for investment projects related to artificial intelligence (AI), the presidential chief of staff said Monday, as Seoul seeks to accelerate their implementation.

Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik unveiled the plan at a press briefing following a meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung to assess progress on the projects.

The Lee administration announced the “three megaprojects” in late June that outlined plans for large-scale investments in a semiconductor production cluster, physical AI and AI data centers in regional areas.

Under the chip cluster project alone, the two leading chipmakers — Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. — have pledged to invest a combined 800 trillion won (US$564.9 billion), marking the single-largest investment plan to date in the southwestern city of Gwangju and the surrounding Honam area. The initiative also includes large-scale investments in Chungcheong Province and the southeastern Yeongnam region.

Through the envisioned special law on megaproject zones, the government will help streamline licensing and approval procedures, as well as environmental impact assessments, the chief of staff said.

The special law will also allow the government to swiftly establish infrastructure for electricity and water supplies, as well as living conditions for workers, including transportation, housing and education, Kang said.

At the start of the meeting, Lee urged the government to make every effort, including through deregulation, to implement the investment initiative as soon as possible.

Lee said all necessary administrative steps should be pursued simultaneously to shorten the time needed to implement the initiative while stressing that regulations should also be improved to ensure the implementation can be carried out as quickly as possible.

“We are in a situation where we must go beyond being speedy and move with the speed of lightning,” the president said.

He also instructed officials to transfer the functions of a military airport in Gwangju to other temporary facilities by 2028 to facilitate the speedy transformation of the regional airport into a semiconductor production hub.

The government earlier designated the military airport as the site for the envisioned chip cluster.

The ultimate goal of the investment initiative should be to distribute the pillars of growth across the country and make regional areas new centers of future industries, the president insisted.

“I hope that benefits from achievements garnered through the capabilities of the entire community will not be limited to certain companies or regions,” Lee said.

He said the following year should be a “golden time” that will open up a totally new world for South Korea depending on “how we prepare,” urging officials to make every effort.

Kang said that the government plans to complete the transfer of the Gwangju military airport’s functions to temporary facilities by 2028.

The government will also kick off the implementation of the investment projects in the Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions this year, worth 246 trillion won and 107 trillion won, respectively, he said.

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ELLA Rae Wise’s new businessman boyfriend’s Instagram page is awash with snaps featuring sharp-tailored suits, flash classic cars and London luxury.

But latest accounts for his Belgravia tailoring company Lawrence & Winslade Ltd show the company has just £3,083 in the bank.

Filed in April and documenting the business’s finances up until September 2025, accounts show the company holds £18,941 in stock and spent £7,414 on assets, primarily made up of new fixtures and fittings.

It made a net profit of £1,214 for the year.

The business is heavily funded by its directors, Ricky and business partner Jack Winslade, whose £33,613 directors’ loans account for more than half of the business’s short-term debt.

The Sun has contacted the business for comment.

READ MORE ON ELLA RAE WISE

BAD BLOOD

Ella Rae Wise has defiant message after pals’ concern over ‘new husband’

is that wise?

Truth about Ella Rae Wise’s ‘new husband’ Ricky as pals reveals fears

Ricky, 34, and Towie star girlfriend Ella, 26, went public with their romance last week while on holiday with mutual pals Lorri Haines and Ferne McCann.

They were pictured kissing at Marbella’s luxury Don Carlos Hotel and even sparked marriage rumours when Ella was spotted wearing a gold band.

Since those public displays of affection, concerns have been raised by Ella’s pals about Ricky’s past.

Last year he was cleared of assaulting his ex girlfriend and former Miss Universe finalist Chloe Othen.

Jurors heard the model claim she was pinned down by Ricky and accused him of punching and biting her on her legs, arm and shoulder.

Ricky denied the charges and was cleared of assault causing actual bodily harm after an eight-day retrial in June of last year. 

A close pal of Ella’s told The Sun: “She knows what happened with Ricky in the past and has no concerns whatsoever about him, but it’s concerning for some of us that she’s linked to him now.

“He has a bit of a reputation and was in a relationship with someone else not too long ago.

“He really showered his last girlfriend with gifts and big gestures and was talking about marrying her all the time before he met Ella.

“There are constantly rumours about his wealth as well – he appears incredibly rich online and drives a Rolls Royce, but is just renting his place in Knightsbridge.

“We all just want Ella to be happy and just hope she knows enough about him.”

Serbia and Ukraine have agreed to deepen economic cooperation, with both sides pledging to finalise a long-stalled free trade agreement by the end of the year as Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic hosted his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Belgrade.

The commitment came on the final day of a two-day visit that concluded on Saturday, Zelenskyy’s first to Serbia since taking office in 2019. The two leaders have met several times previously, most recently in Kyiv on July 15.

Speaking at a joint news conference, Vucic said Serbia would support Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union and maintain its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including territories seized by Russia since 2014.

Belgrade has, however, refused to impose sanctions on Russia, its longtime ally.

Ukraine, for its part, has not recognised Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence. Serbia considers Kosovo part of its territory.

“You have never heard a single bad word about our country, neither from Volodymyr Zelenskyy nor anyone else [in Ukraine], and I am extremely grateful to our Ukrainian friends for that,” Vucic said.

“Our cooperation is expanding and will become much bigger,” he told reporters, adding that Serbia would help rebuild Ukrainian cities damaged by Russia’s invasion.

Long-delayed free trade agreement

The proposed free trade agreement has been under discussion for more than two decades, with both countries now aiming to complete a deal by the end of the year.

The agreement is crucial to Serbia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization and is a prerequisite for its EU membership. Ukraine has blocked a deal since 2005 over quotas and tariffs affecting its agricultural sector.

Both leaders pointed to progress on the agreement as a sign of strengthening economic ties, alongside Serbian commitments to provide humanitarian aid and infrastructure and energy support to Ukraine this winter.

Zelenskyy said the two leaders had discussed joint infrastructure projects as well as cooperation on energy and food security before the winter, saying that “virtually not a single thermal power plant remains intact” in Ukraine because of Russian strikes.

He said Russian attacks had also damaged railway stations, hospitals, universities and civilian businesses, and thanked Serbia for preparing a new humanitarian aid package focused particularly on the medical and energy sectors.

“We are developing all formats of cooperation which can give our people … more resilience,” Zelenskyy said.

In a post on X on Saturday, Zelenskyy said he also discussed economic and logistics projects with Serbian Prime Minister Duro Macut, including the Danube Corridor and closer links between Ukraine, the Western Balkans and the EU.

Zelenskyy thanked Serbia for pledging 2 million euros ($2.3m) to support Ukraine’s energy sector.

The two countries also signed a memorandum on animal health and food safety, according to the Kyiv Post. The agreement was signed by Serbia’s Agriculture Minister Dragan Glamocic and Ukraine’s ambassador to Serbia, Oleksandr Lytvynenko.

Serbia balances EU ambitions and Russia ties

Vucic expressed doubts that either Serbia or Ukraine would secure rapid EU membership.

“I wish Ukraine every success, but this is not just a merit-based process,” he said, noting that the bloc has not admitted a new member since Croatia joined in 2013.

He also warned that he did not expect the war in Ukraine to end soon.

“I’m very afraid that we’re in for a very difficult winter – especially for Ukrainians,” Vucic said, according to the Kyiv Post.

Belgrade had condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but it has resisted joining Western sanctions against Moscow. Serbia also remains dependent on Russia for most of its gas.

At the same time, Serbia has sought to reduce some of its military dependence on Russia, including through an agreement to replace its ageing Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets with French Rafale aircraft.

The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Serbia of selling ammunition that ultimately reached Ukraine through intermediaries. Belgrade has denied supplying ammunition to Ukraine, but has said it sells ammunition to buyers around the world.

Vucic and Zelenskyy said military cooperation was not discussed during the visit.

Aug. 6 (UPI) — Brazil and China have launched a pilot program that will allow Chinese tourists and consumers to pay with the UnionPay app at Brazilian businesses that accept Pix.

The initiative expands financial cooperation between the two countries as Brazil’s payment system remains part of the backdrop of the trade dispute between Brazil and the United States.

UnionPay International and the Chinese Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro announced the project and said users of the UnionPay app and participating Chinese banks will be able to make payments by scanning QR codes at businesses connected to Pix.

According to the consulate, the initiative will facilitate travel, trade and bilateral exchanges through “safer, faster and more convenient” payments.

During this initial phase, announced Tuesday, Chinese users can use their regular app to pay directly in Brazil. In a later phase, the service will gradually expand to other digital wallets associated with UnionPay, the People’s Daily reported.

The measure also comes as Chinese tourism to Brazil continues to grow.

The country welcomed 94,400 Chinese tourists between January and November 2025, a 34% increase from a year earlier, according to the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion, or Embratur. That established China as one of Brazil’s tourism markets with the greatest growth potential.

Embratur expects that flow to reach a record in 2026, officially designated as the “Brazil-China Year of Culture.” The agency attributed the trend to its strategy of strengthening Brazil’s presence in Asia.

Its president, Marcelo Freixo, described China as “a key market with enormous expansion potential, as it is the world’s largest source of outbound tourists,” according to El Diario del Viaje.

The integration of UnionPay and Pix is part of broader financial cooperation between the two governments. According to Brasil 247, the People’s Bank of China and the Central Bank of Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic financial cooperation in May 2025.

In June this year, the two institutions held another meeting of their working group to examine mechanisms that facilitate payments and financial transactions linked to trade between the countries.

Experts cited by the People’s Daily said the connection between UnionPay and Pix could make it easier for Chinese tourists to shop in Brazil and serve as a model for expanding this type of payment to other Latin American countries.

Pix’s international expansion also comes as the system remains at the center of the commercial debate between Brazil and the United States.

An investigation conducted by Washington under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 concluded that Pix’s regulatory framework gave preferential treatment to the system operated by the Central Bank of Brazil over other electronic payment companies.

The investigation contedned that the Central Bank acts as both the market regulator and the operator of Pix and questioned the requirement that financial institutions prominently display the system in their apps without charging users any fees.

The United States said those conditions affect U.S. payment companies, such as Visa and Mastercard.

The investigation was one of the factors later considered by Washington when it announced additional tariffs on Brazilian products, according to BBC News.

Brazil rejected those conclusions. The government said Pix is a public infrastructure designed to increase competition and expand financial inclusion, while the Brazilian Federation of Banks said the system reduces payment costs and encourages innovation.

Launched by the Central Bank of Brazil in 2020, Pix currently has 176 million users and processes more than 7 billion transactions each month, according to Central Bank data.

Meanwhile, Brasil 247 reported that transactions made in Brazil during the first half of 2026 using UnionPay cards issued in China increased by more than 30% compared with the same period a year earlier, reflecting growing economic exchanges between the two countries.

Dory Funk Jr., a pro wrestling icon and one of three members of the Funk family to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, has died at age 85.

Marti Funk, Funk’s wife of 40 years, told Florida’s Ocala Gazette that her husband died Tuesday while in hospice care. No further details were given.

Born on Feb. 3, 1941, in Hammond, Ind., Funk was the oldest of Dory and Dorothy Funk’s two sons. Spending most of his childhood in Amarillo, Texas, Funk grew up admiring his father, a professional wrestler and promoter who once wrestled in Canada as a heel named the Outlaw who hailed from the fictitious location Double Cross Ranch. As wrestlers, Funk and his brother, Terry, often were billed as being from there as well.

“As a kid, I used to dream I could do all the things my father could do,” Funk said during a 2007 interview for World Wrestling Entertainment. “I wanted to be just like him.”

Funk played offensive and defensive line on the West Texas State University football team (now West Texas A&M) from 1959 to 1962 — he was inducted into the university’s athletics Hall of Fame in 1990 — and went straight into professional wrestling. His 50-plus years in the business included stints in a number of associations across the U.S. and Japan.

He was the National Wrestling Alliance heavyweight champion for more than four years uninterrupted (February 1969 to May 24, 1973). In 1986, Funk and his brother joined WWE (then known as WWF) as a team and defeated Tito Santana and Junkyard Dog at WrestleMania 2.

Funk’s involvement in wrestling also expanded into promotion. In addition, he and Marti owned and operated the Funking Conservatory, a wrestling school where he trained a number of future WWE superstars including Kurt Angle, Christian, Edge, the Hardy Boyz, Mark Henry and Mickie James.

“He was such a good guy,” Marti told the Ocala Gazette, “such a good guy!”

The Funk brothers were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009. Dory Funk Sr., who died in 1973 at age 54, was inducted posthumously to the hall’s Legacy Wing in 2025. Terry Funk died in 2023 at age 79.

WWE chief content officer Triple H announced Funk’s death Tuesday afternoon on social media.

“From the Double Cross Ranch to the @WWE Hall of Fame, Dory’s style inspired countless performers in our industry” Triple H wrote. “Whether it was at WrestleMania 2, WCW, ECW, or the dozens of NWA-affiliated promotions, his travels across North America and Asia were a part of the early blueprint that helped build this business into a global phenomena.

“A hard-nosed and fierce competitor, his rugged in-ring style was only eclipsed by the decades he spent training athletes to perform in the squared circle he loved so much. My thoughts and those of the entire @WWE Universe are with his loved ones during this difficult time.”

Aug. 4 (UPI) — The U.S. labor market saw an increase in the number of hires in June despite a drop in the number of job openings, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday.

Some of the highest decreases were seen in the number of jobs in education and health services, which lost some 133,000 jobs, or 8% since May.

But overall, hiring increased in June by 96,000, according to the most recently available data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

“Put together, the labor market is finding steadier footing,” Nicole Bachaud, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter, told CNN.

Experts had expected the number of available jobs to drop in June, CNN reported.

“Hires ticking up even as postings slow is the kind of detail that keeps this from reading as a market losing steam,” Bachaud added to the outlet. “Whether that holds through the summer will depend a lot on whether prices and consumer spending stabilize or keeps sliding.”

But Dan North, a senior economist with Allianz Trade, said the numbers are not strong enough to suggest a dramatic shift in the jobs market.

“The wheels are not coming off the bus — there’s certainly not negative job growth at the moment,” North told CNN.

“It’s stable, somewhat solid, but there are signs of decay and shakiness underneath,” he added.