Bessent Floats Longer-Term China Truce, Trump - Albanese Meeting Preview

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dangled the possibility of extending a pause of import duties on Chinese goods for longer than three months if China halts its plan for strict new export controls on rare-earth elements. The US and China have agreed to a series of 90-day truces since earlier this year, with the next deadline looming in November. 

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to have his first sit down in the White House with President Trump next week. The meeting comes as the Trump administration's interest in critical mineral resources has fueled speculation the US government may take stakes in Australian miners as part of a broader strategic relationship. Also key for Albanese is the fate of the Aukus security agreement that the US signed with Australia and the UK in 2021 to counter China's military expansion in the Indo-Pacific region. Central to the deal is a project — expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars — to help Australia develop a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. To help us preview the meeting, we speak to Bloomberg's Paul Allen.

Plus - Wall Street was lashed with volatility as investors struggled to gauge the scope of trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. Stocks rallied, plunged, then rose anew amid optimism over earnings. As the earnings season got under way, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. jumped on solid results. We speak to Keith Buchanan, Senior Portfolio Manager at Globalt Investments.

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