President Donald Trump has long praised tariffs as key to increasing wealth in the United States, idealizing Gilded Age policies that preceded the implementation of a modern federal income tax.

Among the potential benefits, Trump claims, is the ability to replace revenue from federal income taxes with money the U.S. is taking in from tariffs — a concept he has touted since his 2024 presidential campaign, most recently at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

Turkey's energy minister issued a call for the supply of oil and gas in the Black Sea to be protected after three Russian tankers were targeted off the Turkish coast.

Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkey was concerned not just by the threat to shipping but also to two undersea pipelines, Blue Stream and Turk Stream, that carry natural gas from Russia to Turkey.

When it comes to financial security for Iran's jittery public after the 12-day war with Israel, all that glitters is gold — and for many, it remains the most trusted hedge against inflation, sanctions and a weakening rial currency.

Traders in Tehran's Grand Bazaar say every new headline about United Nations "snapback" sanctions, the rial's fall or renewed regional tensions have sent waves of people into buying so-called "value-preserving assets." Those include dollars, gold, silver, diamonds, cryptocurrencies and, to a lesser extent, equities.

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday a reset of Joe Biden's fuel-economy standards, arguing it will lower U.S. car prices -- but critics warned it would worsen climate change and leave drivers paying more at the pump.

Trump was flanked in the Oval Office by the CEOs of Ford and Stellantis and a senior General Motors official, a show of buy-in from Detroit's "Big Three."

China and France pledged deeper cooperation on global issues like the war in Ukraine and trade, as France prepares to take on the presidency of the Group of Seven next year.

French President Emmanuel Macron met with China's Xi Jinping on Thursday morning as part of a three-day state visit focusing on trade and diplomacy.

Iran's rial currency fell Wednesday to a new low of 1.2 million to the U.S. dollar as nuclear sanctions squeeze Tehran's ailing economy.

Traders offered the new exchange rate as attempts so far to restart negotiations between America and Iran over its nuclear program appear stalled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in India this week for a summit aimed at deepening economic, defense and energy ties, a visit that will also test New Delhi's efforts to balance relations with Moscow and Washington as the war in Ukraine grinds on.

Putin is scheduled to arrive on the state visit Thursday and hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. They are expected to review progress on bilateral ties, discuss issues of mutual interest and sign interdepartmental and business agreements, both governments said.

Belgium on Wednesday rejected a plan to use frozen Russian assets to help prop up Ukraine's economy and war effort over the next two years, saying that the scheme poses major financial and legal risks.

Ukraine's budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated to total around 130 billion euros ($150 billion). The European Union has committed to fill the gap. It has already poured in over 170 billion euros ($197 billion) since the war started in 2022.

The U.S. stock market held steady on Tuesday as both bond yields and bitcoin stabilized.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% following its first loss in six days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 185 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%.

Former Central Bank governor Riad Salameh asserted in an interview with Al-Arabiya Business that he has become a “scapegoat” for the financial crisis that has plagued Lebanon in recent years, denying any connection to depositors' losses or the collapse of the banking sector.

Salameh stated that he is not implicated in any of the legal cases pending in Lebanon, France, or any other European country, noting that the Syrian war cost Lebanon $25-30 billion.