Bloomberg President Donald Trump “feels strongly” that the US should permit collection of state and local sales taxes on purchases made over the internet, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. Mnuchin, speaking at a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee, said he has spoken with Trump about the issue, and that the president “does feel strongly” that state and ...

Bloomberg Fuel hedging hasn’t translated into lower jet fuel prices for some of the biggest US airlines, even after crude oil rose 17 percent in the fourth quarter. American Airlines Group Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc., three airlines that stopped fuel hedging, will pay the least for fuel this quarter, according to company projections. Alaska ...

Bloomberg A surge in US apparel costs helped fuel above-forecast inflation for January, sending Treasury yields higher. But the era of markdowns for struggling retailers is far from over. Clothing prices, which account for 3 percent of the consumer price index, jumped 1.7 percent in the biggest monthly gain since 1990, Labor Department data showed. That helped the so-called core ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump spent much of his weekend hammering the FBI, Democrats, Robert Mue-ller’s investigation and his own national security adviser over Russia’s efforts to sway the 2016 election that he won. Excepted from the criticism — Russia. Trump’s 14 Twitter messages about the Russia investigation within 24 hours focussed on defending the validity of his victory and insisting ...

Bloomberg The candidate polling second in Mexico’s presidential campaign says he wouldn’t allow US President Donald Trump to treat his country like a “doormat,” in another sign that relations with the country’s northern neighbour will weigh in the election. Speaking at a campaign event in Mexico City, Ricardo Anaya said he wouldn’t pay for the border wall Trump wants and ...

Bloomberg After a year of US President Donald Trump, the trans-Atlantic security establishment seems unsure whether to be relieved that a major war hasn’t begun on his watch or alarmed at the scale of emerging risks. Speeches and panel discussions at the Munich Security Conference in Germany over the weekend portrayed a world on the cusp of three potential conflagrations: ...

Bloomberg Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the Trump administration not to “play with fire” as he lashed out at the US over what he described as its “provocative” support for autonomy-seeking Kurds in Syria. “The US should stop playing very dangerous games which could lead to the dismemberment of the Syrian state,” Lavrov said at a Middle East conference ...

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to appoint a party loyalist who has been floated as a potential successor to the post of general secretary of her Christian Democratic Union. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the CDU premier of the western state of Saarland, will succeed Peter Tauber, according to a party official familiar with the decision, who spoke on condition of ...

Bloomberg The opposition Czech Social Democratic Party picked parliamentary Deputy Speaker Jan Hamacek as its new chairman, opening the way for government talks with billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis whose ANO party is struggling to find ruling partners. Hamacek, 39, beat Jiri Zimola for the post, with both saying they were ready to negotiate with ANO about potential cooperation. While ...

Bloomberg South African mining companies agreed to postpone a legal challenge to the government’s controversial new rules for the industry after President Cyril Ramaphosa said he’s committed to finding a solution to the dispute. The presidency held talks with the Chamber of Mines lobby group following Ramaphosa’s state-of-the-nation speech, both sides said in statements. The postponement “serves to allow parties ...