Germany is waging a charm offensive inside the Republican Party. Japan is lining up its own Trump whisperer. Mexican government officials are talking to Camp Trump. And Australia is busy making laws to help Trump-proof its US defence ties.

How US allies are preparing for a possible second Trump term

US President Joe Biden’s recent polling bump in key battleground states has mostly evaporated, as a deep current of pessimism about the trajectory of the US economy hurts his standing with voters.

Biden trails Trump in six of seven key states, poll shows

Donald Trump's political group that pays his legal bills on Saturday reported spending US$3.6 million (RM17.2 million) on lawyer fees in February, draining the finances backing Trump's White House bid as the Republican trailed President Joe Biden at raising money.

Trump group spends big on legal fees; Biden leads at fundraising

President Joe Biden called China “xenophobic” while highlighting the Asian nation’s economic woes, as he sought to make the case for US economic strength during a campaign stop in the swing state of Pennsylvania.

Biden calls China ‘xenophobic’, ramping up 2024 campaign rhetoric

Russia is working to undermine US support for Ukraine ahead of the 2024 election, while Chinese influence campaigns aim to divide Americans and undercut their faith in democracy, according to new research from Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft sees slowing in Russia, China efforts to sway vote

President Joe Biden lambasted Donald Trump’s economic platform in a broadside that included mocking the drop in shares of his political rival’s media company.

Biden mocks Trump media share drop in economic broadside

(April 6): Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign said a major fundraiser in Florida on Saturday raked in a massive US$50.5 million, as the former president seeks to replenish diminished coffers in his rematch against Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump says US$50 mil raised from biggest fundraiser yet

WASHINGTON (March 16): US President Joe Biden took jabs on Saturday at former president Donald Trump with jokes about the mental fitness of his election opponent during a speech at the Gridiron Club dinner, a Washington tradition that began in the 1880s.

Biden jokes about Trump's mental fitness at Washington's Gridiron dinner

WASHINGTON (March 16): Donald Trump said on Saturday that if he does not win November's presidential election, it will mean the likely end of American democracy.

Trump predicts the end of US democracy if he loses 2024 election

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both clinched their parties' nomination on Tuesday, kicking off the first US presidential election rematch in nearly 70 years.

Biden needed 1,968 delegates to win the nomination, and he passed that number on Tuesday night as results began to come in from the primary contest in Georgia, Edison Research said. Results were also coming in from Mississippi, Washington state, the Northern Mariana Islands and Democrats living abroad.

Biden, Trump clinch nominations, kicking off bruising presidential rematch

An anti-Trump Republican group is planning to spend US$50 million (RM233.8 million) in a campaign to stop the former president from winning a second term in the White House, according to US political website The Hill.

Republican group plans US$50m campaign to block Trump from reelection — report

Former president Donald Trump defended his plan to increase tariffs on Chinese imports if elected for a second term, saying he did not mind if China retaliated with tariffs of its own on US goods.

Trump defends tariffs, dismisses threat of retaliatory moves

Conservative billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein will help fund Donald Trump’s campaign, giving the former president financial support as he seeks to catch a fundraising lead built by President Joe Biden, the Financial Times said on Saturday.

Packaging billionaires to help fund Trump campaign — FT

US President Joe Biden vowed Thursday to raise taxes on wealthy Americans and large companies, announcing plans in his State of the Union address to hike corporate minimum taxes and cut deductions for executive pay and corporate jets.

Biden previewed the steps that will be part of a proposed fiscal 2025 budget released next week that aims to decrease the federal deficit by US$3 trillion over 10 years while cutting taxes for low-income Americans and aiding middle-class homebuyers.

State of the Union: Biden vows to raise taxes on wealthy, corporations

The government will continue to monitor the impact on inflation in the country following the announcement of a more than 13% increase in civil servants' salaries this December.

Anwar: Putrajaya will keep eye on inflation rate following civil service pay hike

US private payrolls increased more than expected in April, suggesting that the labor market maintained its momentum early in the second quarter.

US private payrolls beat expectations in April 

Yum Brands reported a fall in quarterly global same-store sales on Wednesday, hurt by choppy demand for its KFC and Pizza Hut brands from inflation-weary consumers in the United States as well as in overseas markets.

KFC parent Yum reports surprise drop in global same-store sales on weak demand

Shell has exited China's power markets as part of CEO Wael Sawan's drive to focus on more profitable operations including its natural gas and oil businesses.

Shell exits China power market businesses

The retail price of RON97 petrol remains unchanged at RM3.47 per litre, with RON95 also unchanged at RM2.05 per litre, from May 2 to May 8, according to the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.

Fuel prices unchanged till May 8

The dollar edged towards its highest level this year against a basket of peers and US share futures dipped on Wednesday ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision, though trading was thin with many European and Asian markets closed.

Dollar near five-month highs ahead of Fed policy decision

Bitcoin slid by almost 6% on Wednesday, having posted its worst monthly performance in April since late 2022, as investors pulled money out of cryptocurrencies ahead of an interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve later.

Crypto washout sends bitcoin below US$58,000 into bear market

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has emphasised that any party associating him and the government with a purported casino project in Forest City must face legal action.

Those who spread lies on Forest City casino project ought to be jailed, says PM

Details regarding the salary increase for civil servants will be announced during the tabling of Budget 2025 in October this year.

Details of civil servants’ wage hike to be announced in Budget 2025, says Fahmi 

China's Huawei Technologies has moved the high-profile chief of its consumer business, Yu Chengdong, to a new role as chair of the unit, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Huawei's high-profile consumer CEO Richard Yu shifts role