US Fed keeps interest rates unchanged despite pressure from Trump administration
The US Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged at 4.25–4.5 percent on Wednesday, resisting pressure from President Trump to lower them. The decision came after a regular policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)—the Fed’s rate-setting body, Xinhua reported.
The Fed noted moderate economic growth, strong job market conditions, and slightly elevated inflation. US GDP grew 3 percent in Q2 after a 0.5 percent contraction in Q1, while consumer prices rose 2.7 percent in June, partly due to tariffs.
Two FOMC members supported a rate cut, and one abstained. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said no decision has been made for September and reaffirmed the Fed’s independence from political or fiscal pressures, according to Xinhua.
Australia wipes $10 billion off student loans, targeting cost of living relief
Australia’s parliament on Thursday passed a law to cut student loans by 20%, wiping more than A$16 billion ($10.31 billion) in debt for 3 million people, and fulfilling a key election promise to help mitigate the rising cost of living, Reuters reported.
The law is the first passed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party since being re-elected in May with one of the country's largest-ever majorities.
“We promised cutting student debt would be the first thing we did back in parliament – and that’s exactly what we've done,” Albanese said in a statement, according to Reuters.
“Getting an education shouldn't mean a lifetime of debt.”
Russian air strike on Kyiv kills six, officials say
Russia unleashed a combined missile and drone attack on Kyiv, killing at least six people, including a child, and wounding dozens more, local officials said on Thursday, Reuters reported.
A 6-year-old boy was among those killed, said city military administrator Tymur Tkachenko, who said the overnight attack had caused damage in 27 locations across four districts of the Ukrainian capital.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted a video of burning ruins, saying people were still trapped under the rubble of one residential building.
"It's a horrible morning in Kyiv. The brutal Russian strikes destroyed entire residential buildings and damaged schools and hospitals," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted on X with an image of a devastated block of apartments, according to Reuters.
US ends tariff exemption for all low-value packages
The United States is suspending a "de minimis" exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments to be shipped to the United States without facing tariffs, the White House said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, packages valued at or under $800 sent to the U.S. outside of the international postal network will now face "all applicable duties" starting on August 29, the White House said.
Trump earlier targeted packages from China and Hong Kong. The tax and spending bill recently signed by Trump repealed the legal basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide starting on July 1, 2027, according to Reuters.
