French President Emmanuel Macron is taking a tough stance as European leaders meet in Brussels to discuss new US proposals for a trade deal, with time running out for the bloc to find a common position before a tariff respite expires on July 9.

Macron warned that if the baseline tariff rate of 10 per cent remained in place then Europe’s response would have to have an equivalent impact.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday the EU had received the “latest US document” for further negotiations on tariffs.

“All options remain on the table,” she told reporters following the summit.

“We are assessing it (…) Our message today is clear. We are ready for a deal. At the same time, we are preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement is reached. This is why we consulted on the rebalancing list and we will defend the European interest as needed,” von der Leyen said

European leaders were deciding whether they want to push for a quick trade agreement with President Donald Trump’s administration or keep fighting for a better deal, with Europe’s two biggest economies apparently at odds.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany had earlier this week said the EU must push for a “faster” and “simpler” deal, while French officials argued the Commission should take a firmer stance and target US services.

President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said that France wants a quick and pragmatic trade deal with the United States but that his country would not accept terms that were unbalanced.

All tools must used to ensure a fair deal, the French president said.

“Our goodwill should not be seen as a weakness,” Macron said.

Trump has threatened to hike tariffs on EU goods to 50 per cent unless a deal is found next month.

The EU summit follows a NATO meeting this week that agreed to drastically raise defence spending in the military alliance but left some European countries finding it difficult to pay, and Spain explicitly demanding an opt-out.

Aside from tariffs, the EU bloc also has to tackle a raft of other issues, including its support for Ukraine and the prospect of EU membership for a country still at war against nuclear-armed Russia. Hungary is firmly opposed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had urged the EU to pass a new sanctions package on Russia targeting its oil trade and banks, as well as give a clear signal on his country’s EU accession.

Australian superannuation funds have been spared a multi-billion dollar hit after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the US would drop a so-called “revenge tax” on foreign investors.

The super industry had been ringing alarm bells over section 899 of President Donald Trump’s proposed big beautiful bill, which would have raised taxes by up to 15 percentage points on foreign entities in retaliation to “unfair taxes” other countries had imposed on US companies.

But Mr Bessent revealed the section would be removed from the bill in a social media post early on Friday, after a deal was reached with G7 nations allowing the US to back out of a global minimum tax rate.

“After months of productive dialogue with other countries on the OECD Global Tax Deal, we will announce a joint understanding among G7 countries that defends American interests,” he wrote on X.

“OECD Pillar 2 taxes will not apply to U.S. companies, and we will work cooperatively to implement this agreement across the OECD-G20 Inclusive Framework in coming weeks and months.

“Based on this progress and understanding, I have asked the Senate and House to remove the Section 899 protective measure from consideration in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.”

The announcement was met with a sigh of relief from the $4.2 trillion Australian superannuation industry, which would have been particularly exposed to the tax, given it holds more than $600 billion worth of US assets.

Modelling conducted for the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia by consulting firm Mandala found it could have cut $3.5 billion from returns over the first four years.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers raised Australia’s concerns about the tax during a phone call with Mr Bessent on Wednesday, when he told reporters he was hopeful of positive development in the coming days.

“We do not want to see our investors and our funds unfairly treated or disadvantaged when it comes to developments out of the US Congress,” he said. 

“And once again, I’m very grateful to Scott Bessent for hearing me out and for also undertaking to make what progress he can to try and resolve these issues.

“I’m confident he understands these issues.”

In a speech in June, Future Fund chair Greg Combet said US investments were a less attractive proposition for the sovereign wealth fund, in part because of the proposed tax hike contained in Mr Trump’s “big beautiful bill”.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez are set to start three days of lavish wedding celebrations in Venice, with tight security shielding their VIP guests from protesters.

Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner, and Kim and Khloe Kardashian were among the latest arrivals on Thursday, while US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who showed up on Tuesday, have used the extra time for sightseeing and shopping.

Some 200-250 A-listers from show-business, politics and finance are expected to take part in what has been widely dubbed “wedding of the century”, estimated to cost 40 million to 48 million euros ($A72 million to $A86 million).

Bezos and Sanchez landed in Venice via helicopter on Wednesday and took up residence in the luxury Aman hotel, where rooms with a view of the Grand Canal go for at least 4000 euros ($A7155) per night.

The couple was spotted around dinner time as they left the hotel in a water taxi, waving at photographers and crowds, with Sanchez blowing air kisses in a vintage Alexander McQueen dress.

Guests will gather on Thursday evening in the cloisters of Madonna dell’Orto, a medieval church in the central area of Cannaregio that hosts masterpieces by 16th century painter Tintoretto.

The city council has banned pedestrians and water traffic from the area from 4.30pm local time until midnight, blocking out protesters who have pledged to spoil the party.

Bezos and Sanchez are set to exchange vows on Friday on the small island of San Giorgio, opposite the main St Mark’s Square, in a ceremony which, according to a senior City Hall official, will have no legal status under Italian law.

Some have speculated that the couple have already legally wed in the United States, sparing them from the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage, such as it having to take place in an approved venue and the local town hall needing to be notified in advance.

Celebrations will conclude on Saturday with the main wedding bash to be held at one of the halls of the Arsenale, a vast former medieval shipyard turned into an art space in the eastern Castello district.

The “No Space for Bezos” movement is planning demonstrations against an event they see as a sell-off of Venice to the uber-wealthy while the needs of ordinary citizens are ignored – but by no means all the locals are hostile.

Politicians, hoteliers and other residents say high-end events, rather than multitudes of low-spending daytrippers, are a better way to support the local economy, and dismiss the protesters as a fringe minority.

“We’re not talking about hundreds or thousands of people, we’re talking about a few dozen,” said Daniele Minotto, vice president of the Venetian Hoteliers Association.

Davide Busato, an archaeologist behind the “Yes Venice Can” pro-Bezos group, said billionaire tourism gives the city a chance to show off its specialities.

“The idea that a ‘morality office’ should decide who gets to marry in Venice is a disturbing concept, unworthy of a free city,” he wrote on Facebook.

Venice has hosted scores of VIP weddings. US actor George Clooney and human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin tied the knot there in 2014, and Indian billionaires Vinita Agarwal and Muqit Teja did so in 2011, without significant disruptions.

Bezos, executive chair of e-commerce giant Amazon and No. 4 on Forbes’ billionaires list, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to MacKenzie Scott.

The dollar has sunk to a three-year low while world stocks notched their second record high in three days as a report that Donald Trump was planning to choose the next Federal Reserve chief early fuelled fresh bets on US rate cuts.

Dollar selling continued after the Wall Street Journal said the US president – who has been urging the Fed to cut rates faster – was toying with the idea of selecting Chair Jerome Powell’s replacement in the next few months before his formal departure in May 2026.

It left the greenback down more than 10 per cent for 2025.

If it stays that way in the coming days it will be its biggest first half of a year fall since the early 1970s – effectively the era of free-floating currencies.

European shares edged higher again, buoyed by signs that the Israel-Iran ceasefire appeared to be holding and that European Union leaders were preparing to set their stance for US trade tariff talks ahead of a Trump-imposed deadline of July 9.

The region’s flagship STOXX 600 index was up 0.2 per cent on Thursday while MSCI’s record-high world stocks benchmark was up 0.4 per cent, leaving it almost eight per cent ahead for 2025.

The euro jumped 0.6 per cent to $US1.173, its strongest since 2021.

“The striking thing on the dollar trend of the last six weeks is that in almost any market regime the dollar is struggling to appreciate,” State Street’s Michael Metcalfe said.

“It seems to be in something of structural decline,” he said, highlighting State Street data that investors were now the most negative they have been on the dollar – or “underweight” in banking speak – since the COVID pandemic.

Euro traders also took heart from the outcome of Wednesday’s NATO summit that saw the bloc’s members of the alliance agree to spend five per cent of output on defence – broken down into 3.5 per cent on troops and weapons and 1.5 per cent on looser, defence-related measures.

Overnight in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei jumped 1.65 per cent to its highest level since January, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan finished slightly higher too.

In currency markets, the Swiss franc firmed to a decade-high while the Japanese yen also strengthened again to below 144 per dollar.

There are growing expectations that the Fed will soon be cutting US rates again following recent patchy data, but Trump’s criticism of it for not moving quick enough has been escalating too.

He has repeatedly targeted Fed chief Powell, and his idea of naming a successor well before Powell leaves office would effectively create a shadow over the head of the US central bank that could undermine him.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, now sits at its lowest level since March 2022 following its slide in 2025.

The two-year US Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was down 1.5 basis points at 3.764 per cent, its lowest level in seven weeks.

In commodities, oil prices rose on Thursday after their sharp slump following the Trump-brokered ceasefire early this week between longtime Middle East foes Israel and Iran.

Brent crude futures rose 0.37 per cent to $US67.93 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.45 per cent to $US65.21.

Australia is standing firm against US pressure to lift defence spending but looks “underdone” as European leaders endorse a five per cent commitment of their gross domestic product to security.

On the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia would decide its spending levels to meet its military needs.

The move risks a rebuke from US President Donald Trump, who has made clear he expects allies to drastically step up and increase their share of deterrence.

The nation moving to a floor of a three per cent spend on defence was a “prudent minimum”, Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Euan Graham said. 

He said the defence force had been “hollowed out”, so the federal government could afford to invest in future capabilities which might be needed sooner than previously thought.

“Australia in broad terms now is looking rather underdone in terms of defence, having committed just over the 2 per cent GDP equivalent, which was the old NATO target, but that was for a different era,” Dr Graham said.

“The narrative has been changed, both by US pressure and let’s not forget also the primary factor, which is deteriorating security globally.”

NATO members agreed to increase defence and security spending to five per cent of GDP.

But Spain objected to the pledge, prompting Mr Trump to threaten to punish the Iberian nation with a tougher trade deal.

Australia is also seeking to negotiate a reprieve from tariffs imposed by the US on imports, including a 50 per cent levy on steel and aluminium.

Mr Marles maintained Australia would stick with its own process, which involves the nation’s defence spending increasing from two to 2.3 per cent by 2033/34.

“A very significant decision has been made here in relation to European defence spending and that is fundamentally a matter for NATO,” he said. 

“We’ll continue to assess what our needs are going forward. As our prime minister has said, we will resource that.”

Mr Marles did not meet with Mr Trump, or US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, despite intensive efforts by government officials to tee up a first face-to-face of an Australian minister with the US president.

Dr Graham said any embarrassment on Australia’s part was mitigated by the limited representation of Asian partners at the summit.

Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor reiterated the coalition’s call for spending to lift to three per cent of the economy.

He took aim at Labor’s failure to secure a meeting with Mr Trump, pointing to a flagged sit down with Xi Jinping.

“It seems that the prime minister is better able to get a meeting with the president of China than the president of the United States,” Mr Taylor said.

But the defence minister did meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov as Australia reaffirmed its support for Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

Mr Marles announced Australia will deploy a RAAF Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to Poland, in addition to 100 defence force personnel, to help provide visibility for key humanitarian and military supply routes into Ukraine.

The aircraft will be deployed for three months, concluding in November, and follows an earlier six-month deployment which was highly valued by the Ukrainians.

Australia announced new financial sanctions and travel bans on 37 individuals and seven financial entities involved in Russia’s defence, energy, transport, insurance, electronics and finance sectors, as well as “promulgators of Russian disinformation and propaganda”.

Mr Marles also signed an agreement with the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation, increasing co-operation in non-combat activities including logistics and capability acquisition.

with Reuters

Feelings of fear have turned to relief for Australians who have fled the conflict in the Middle East, while thousands more wait to be airlifted and bussed out of harm’s way.

Yoash Dvir landed in Sydney on Wednesday evening after being evacuated from Tel Aviv earlier in the week and catching a commercial flight from Dubai.

Mr Dvir described the emotional decision to leave his parents in Israel to return to his concerned family in Australia.

“I left worried but by the time we took off, the United States had declared a ceasefire,” he told AAP on Thursday.

“So when I left, it was a relief. 

“I didn’t have to be worried about my parents, but because I was also coming back home, the whole time I was torn.”

Mr Dvir was grateful to the government officials who facilitated his departure alongside those of other Australians in Israel.

“A lot of diplomacy and logistics goes behind it, and it’s not something that I take for granted, and I really am appreciative for that,” he said.

About 1000 Australians are still registered with the federal government for help to leave Israel, and another 3000 have asked for assistance to leave Iran.

A group of 119 Australians was evacuated from Israel to Dubai by the Australian Defence Force as the conflict with Iran ended following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire deal.

Another group of 29 people has been evacuated following a second assisted departure flight.

The 12-day war began on June 13 after Israel attacked military and nuclear sites in Iran, arguing Tehran was close to developing nuclear weapons, triggering waves of retaliatory strikes.

Following retaliatory strikes from Iran, the US president intervened to put an end to the escalating violence and achieve a truce.

Australian Iranian Society of Victoria vice president Kambiz Razmara said people wanting to leave Iran were struggling to get through to the crisis portal set up by the Australian government.

“I understand there are no evacuation flights through Iran for obvious reasons, the airspace still being closed, but I’m also not hearing anyone actually doing anything to provide for alternative options,” he said.

Mr Razmara said the work of Iran’s “tyrannical” regime meant those who managed to get out of the country had to live with the suffering of family members who remained.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is still trying to help Australians trapped in Iran, but has advised them to head to the border with Azerbaijan if they can.

Meanwhile, the sound of missiles striking apartment buildings near Or Kedem’s family home in Ramat Gan, in the Tel Aviv district, is a world away from his life with his wife and two children back in Victoria.

After three unsuccessful evacuation attempts, he hoped to finally make a flight on Thursday after Israel’s airspace reopened and commercial flights resumed operating.

“It’s not gonna be easy – I have a four-day trip until I’m gonna get home, but I will do everything to see my kids again,” Mr Kedem said.

Australian lawyer Leon Zwier said he would never again take for granted the ability to go to sleep without being woken by the sound of sirens or missiles.

What was meant to be a trip for a conference quickly became an unexpected insight into life in a war zone, before he booked the first flight home he could find through Thailand.

“Moments like this, you cherish life more than ever, and so it makes you appreciate things more than ever,” he said.

British oil giant Shell has denied media reports that it is in talks to buy rival BP.

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday said Shell was holding “early-stage talks” to acquire BP, citing people familiar with the matter. 

“In response to recent media speculation Shell wishes to clarify that it has not been actively considering making an offer for BP and confirms it has not made an approach to, and no talks have taken place with, BP with regards to a possible offer,” Shell said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Shell has repeatedly denied speculation that it was considering a takeover of its smaller rival BP, saying it was focused on streamlining and simplifying its own business. 

Some analysts have suggested BP would be an attractive takeover after a plan to shift its focus to renewable energy, which was abandoned earlier in 2025, left its shares undervalued in comparison to other oil companies.

BP has also struggled to recover from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 17 workers and forced the company to pay billions of dollars for environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico.

Artificial intelligence taking on mundane jobs to make the public sector more “efficient” and better first-home buyers boosts have been promised in response to Australia’s largest state budget.

The alternative government has promised to be “transformational” if elected, criticising the latest NSW budget as vague amid concerns over a near-$1 billion pot to cover non-specific emergencies.

The budget failed to deliver bold visions or ambitious projects befitting of Australia’s economic powerhouse, the state’s opposition leader says.

Liberal Mark Speakman told parliament an elected coalition would consider payroll tax changes for businesses, expand artificial intelligence use and offer low-interest loans for businesses to do the same.

“There are mundane jobs that can be done by AI,” Mr Speakman said.

“It will make the public service more efficient, and you’ll get more out of public servants.”

More spending on preventative health measures would reduce hospitalisations while infrastructure investment would support housing supply.

A short-lived policy would be revived to allow first-home buyers to avoid stamp duty by paying annual land tax instead, Mr Speakman said.

First-home buyers lost the land tax option – covering homes up to $1.5 million – when Labor expanded stamp duty exemptions and concessions in 2023.

While coy about other policies for the March 2027 election, Mr Speakman said they would make NSW a place where every family can afford to live, raise children and access the services they need.

Speaking to AAP before the budget reply speech, he slammed Labor Treasurer Daniel Mookhey’s third budget as based on “dubious assumptions” and “phoney” projections of a surplus.

Addressing the Liberals’ electability after a bruising federal loss in May, he echoed federal leader Sussan Ley’s vow to represent “modern Australia”.

Mr Speakman said he wanted to lure young voters back to the party by addressing their concerns.

“You focus on the things that matter to the vast majority of citizens in NSW, which are cost of living, housing, good services, good schools for kids, public transport you can rely on,” he told AAP.  

The opposition has also turned its attention to a “special appropriation” to the treasurer of more than $868 million contained in the budget.

It more than doubles similar funding in the previous budget and covers contingencies, expenses related to election commitments and essential services.

Mr Mookhey told parliament the allocation was a standard request, also made by previous governments and disputed the coalition’s characterisation as a “slush fund”.

Parliamentary members could examine the events of May, when widespread flooding occurred in the state, and reach their own conclusion about why the allocation increased, he said.

Shadow treasurer Damien Tudehope told reporters there were contingency funds for natural disasters in the previous budget and more information should be revealed about the allocation’s purpose.

“There is no transparency,” he said.

More than $16 billion was wiped from superannuation balances at the start of the year as uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs impacted Australians’ net worth.

The nation’s collective household wealth grew by 0.8 per cent to $17.3 trillion in the first three months of 2025, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday.

But it would have increased by more if not for the value of super accounts falling for the first time since September 2022 as global uncertainty weighed on share prices, ABS head of finance statistics Mish Tan said.

The increase in wealth was again mainly driven by an increase in residential property values, which rose 1.2 per cent to $125.3 billion.

House prices have rebounded from a brief slowdown at the end of 2024 as interest rate cuts boosted buyer demand.

With as many as three more cuts predicted by December, and market expectations rising for the next one as soon as July, property values are set to keep growing.

Superannuation balances fell by 0.4 per cent, or $16.4 billion, as Mr Trump’s tariff threats sparked fears of trade disruption and slower economic growth.

Equity markets reacted even more violently when Mr Trump unveiled his “liberation day” tariffs on April 2, but share prices have since recovered as tensions eased between the US and China.

However, the US president poses another risk to super funds.

The $4.2 trillion industry has warned that a section of Mr Trump’s proposed “big beautiful bill” would include a “revenge tax” on investors from countries that have imposed taxes on US investors and companies the administration deems unfair.

With more than $600 billion of investments parked in the US, super funds have warned the tax could deal a multibillion-dollar hit to returns.

In a conversation with his US counterpart, Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday urged Scott Bessent to spare Australian investors.

“We do not want to see our investors and our funds unfairly treated or disadvantaged when it comes to developments out of the US Congress,” Dr Chalmers said.

“And once again, I’m very grateful to Scott Bessent for hearing me out and for also undertaking to make what progress he can to try and resolve these issues. I’m confident he understands these issues.”

With more demand for mortgages, household borrowing grew 1.4 per cent, or $2.4 billion, reducing the overall growth in wealth by 0.2 percentage points.

“The RBA’s cash rate cut in February this year was the first easing of interest rates since November 2020, giving some relief to household budgets in the March quarter through lower mortgage interest payments,” Dr Tan said. 

“We expect to see the broader impact of recent cuts, including another in May, on house prices and credit growth later this year.”

Half of Australia’s big four banks predict the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its next meeting on July 8 following better-than-expected inflation numbers.

Despite predictions of inflation remaining steady, headline inflation for May fell to 2.1 per cent from 2.4 per cent the previous month, driven by a drop in the cost of fuel and rental prices.

Trimmed mean inflation, which removes volatile price movements, dropped from 2.8 per cent to 2.4 per cent.

Commonwealth Bank analysts joined those from NAB in forecasting the next cut to be in July, while Westpac and ANZ experts predicted a lowering of the cash rate in August.

Commonwealth Bank economist Harry Ottley said the May data had made a rate cut in July all but certain, with both inflation sets below the midpoint of the Reserve Bank’s 2-3 per cent target range.

A 25 basis point reduction in the cash rate would shave $90 off monthly repayments for a mortgage holder with a $600,000 loan.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have arrived in Venice ahead of their wedding, which  has galvanised an assortment of protesters in the Italian city.

Bezos waved from a water taxi as he and Sanchez arrived at the dock of the Aman Hotel on the Grand Canal with two security boats in tow.

Their wedding has drawn protests by groups who view it as a sign of the growing disparity between the haves and have-nots, while residents complain it exemplifies the way their needs are disregarded in the era of mass tourism to the historic lagoon city.

About a dozen Venetian organisations — including housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners and university groups — have united to protest the multi-day event under the banner “No Space for Bezos,” a play on words also referring to the bride’s recent space flight.

They were joined Monday by Greenpeace and the British group “Everyone Hates Elon,” which has smashed Teslas to protest Elon Musk, to unfurl a giant banner in St. Mark’s Square protesting purported tax breaks for billionaires.

On Wednesday, other activists launched a float down the Grand Canal featuring a mannequin of Bezos clinging onto an Amazon box, his fists full of fake dollars. The British publicity firm that announced the stunt said it was a protest against unchecked wealth, media control, and the growing privatisation of public spaces.”

Bezos’ representatives have not commented on the protests.

The local activists had planned to obstruct access to canals on Saturday to prevent guests from reaching a wedding venue. They modified the protest to a march after claiming their pressure forced organisers to change the venue to the Arsenale, a more easily secured site beyond Venice’s congested centre.

Among the 200 guests confirmed to be attending the wedding are Mick Jagger, Ivanka Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Venice, renowned for its romantic canal vistas, hosts hundreds of weddings each year, not infrequently those of the rich and famous. Previous celebrity weddings, like that of George Clooney to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014, were embraced by the public. Hundreds turned out to wish the couple well at City Hall.

Bezos has a different political and business profile, said Tommaso Cacciari, a prominent figure in the movement that successfully pushed for a ban on cruise ships over 25,000 tons travelling through the Giudecca Canal in central Venice.

“Bezos is not a Hollywood actor,” Cacciari said. “He is an ultra-billionaire who sat next to Donald Trump during the inauguration, who contributed to his reelection and is contributing in a direct and heavy way to this new global obscurantism.”

Critics cite Amazon’s labour practices, ongoing tax disputes with European governments and Bezos’ political associations as reasons for concern.

Activists also argue that the Bezos wedding exemplifies broader failures in municipal governance, particularly the prioritisation of tourism over residents’ needs. They cite measures such as the day-tripper tax — which critics argue reinforces Venice’s image as a theme park — as ineffective. Chief among their concerns is the lack of investment in affordable housing and essential services.

City officials have defended the wedding. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro called the event an honour for Venice, and the city denied the wedding would cause disruptions.

“Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage,” Brugnaro told The Associated Press, adding he hoped to meet Bezos while he was in town.

Meanwhile, a Venetian environmental research association, Corila, issued a statement saying Bezos’ Earth Fund was supporting its work with an “important donation.”

Corila, which unites university scholars and Italy’s main national research council in researching Venetian protection strategies, wouldn’t say how much Bezos was donating but said contact began in April, well before the protests started.