The International Monetary Fund has warned that growing trade tensions between the US and the rest of the world could ultimately cost the global economy $430 billion (£324 billion). In a recent report, the IMF revealed that the escalating trade war between Donald Trump and the US’ trade partners could leave the US “especially vulnerable”. Trump announced last week plans to impose 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods entering the country. This is in addition to the $34 billion worth of tariffs imposed on Beijing at the start of July. China was quick to retaliate against the US and imposed similar tariffs. As well as increase tensions with China, the US President also labelled the EU a trading “foe” on Sunday. “Well, I think we have a lot of foes,” Trump told CBS News whilst in Scotland. “I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union but they’re a foe.” Maurice Obstfeld, the IMF’s economic counsellor, said: “Countries must resist inward-looking thinking and remember that on a range of problems of common interest, multilateral cooperation is vital.” Trump’s new trade tariffs also affect countries including Canada and Mexico. As well as the tension sparked by the US, the IMF report also discussed political uncertainty in Europe surrounding Brexit. “Financial markets seem broadly complacent in the face of these contingencies, with elevated valuations and compressed spreads in many countries,” said Obstfeld. “Asset prices are no doubt buoyed, not only by easy financial conditions, but by the generally still satisfactory global growth picture. They therefore are susceptible to sudden re-pricing if growth and expected corporate profits stall.” The IMF’s global growth forecast for 2018/9 remains 3.9 percent despite the growing risks for the global economy.    

According to new documents, Marks & Spencer (LON: MKS) has plans for a new wave of job cuts across the country. The group warned last week of plans to close 100 stores but attempts to streamline and restructure the high street chain could go further. “M&S is transforming and this is a tough but necessary decision to take to ensure our stores support the future of the business and provide the best service for our customers,” said a spokesperson for the group. The high street chain has been through a tough time, reporting a steep fall in annual profits this year. The group also announced the closure of a distribution centre in Warrington. Marks & Spencer is not the only retailer to have been hit by the move to online shopping together. Supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Tesco have also made moves to reduce management roles in their stores. A total of 351 redundancies have been proposed in the documents seen by The Guardian. “This has contributed to reducing store profitability, impacting on our ability to trade our existing stores and open future stores viably,” the documents said.

Before the start of his first summit with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump said he hopes for an “extraordinary relationship” with Russia. The Presidents of the US and Russia sat down today in Helsinki, Finland where they discussed topics including nuclear power and trade. “We have discussions on everything from trade to military, to missiles, to nuclear, to China, we’ll be talking a little bit about China – our mutual friend President Xi,” said Trump to Putin. “I think we have great opportunities together as two countries that frankly we have not been getting along very well for the last number of years. I’ve been here not too long but it is getting close to two years, but I think we will end up having an extraordinary relationship. I’ve been saying, and I’m sure you’ve heard, over the years … that getting along with Russia is a good thing not a bad thing,” he added. Both leaders arrived at the summit after an hour after it was due to begin. They did not discuss Syria, North Korea, the US election or Nato. After their one-on-one meeting, The White House confirmed another bilateral meeting and a joint press conference. The joint press conference will take place at around 4.50pm local time, (2.50pm BST). Attending the bilateral will be the US ambassador to Russia, US secretary of state, White House chief of staff, the national security adviser, a Russia expert and Trump adviser and an interpreter. Trump has he hopes to revive Russia-US relations, where he blamed poor relations “years of US foolishness and stupidity on and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt”. In response, Russia’s foreign affairs ministry tweeted: “We agree.”