What does US President Donald Trump really care about? Critics may answer that Mr Trump cares first and foremost about himself. A more generous response would be that Mr Trump cares about his reputation and that reputation is inexorably linked to being seen as a great success, both in business and in the presidency. And he really, really cares about wealth – both personal and national – and the US economy.
Mr Trump’s personal wealth, the faux-gold in Trump hotels, the bling and the billionaire friends being entertained at luxury golf resorts are all part of his appeal to voters in a country founded on the “American Dream” – the idea that every citizen has the opportunity to succeed and become wealthy.
Beyond the dream, the dilemma in economic matters is which levers a president, prime minister or a central bank should pull to enable enterprise, keep inflation low and increase personal wealth. It’s a dilemma because the levers Mr Trump has talked about may pull the US economy in opposite directions.
The economy will define Mr Trump’s presidency for millions of Americans
His top priority, Mr Trump has said repeatedly, is to make ordinary Americans feel better about the economy and their personal circumstances. Prices going up significantly in the Biden years is one of the main reasons Democrats lost the presidential election. Price rises across the world have been a source of problems for sitting governments. Inflation leading to anti-incumbent, anti-government discontent was a prominent feature in political upheavals throughout 2024, stretching from Germany and France to the UK, the US, Canada and elsewhere.
In his 2025 inaugural address, Mr Trump made holding down inflation a key promise: “I will direct all members of my cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation and rapidly bring down costs and prices”.
The primary economic tool the US Federal Reserve has for lowering inflation is to raise interest rates. But that has political consequences. It increases borrowing costs for consumers, house buyers and businesses.
In his inauguration speech, Mr Trump repeated a campaign mantra: “We will drill, baby, drill.” That means exploiting further the vast fossil fuel resources of the US and it could – whatever the environmental cost – help keep inflation low. But other parts of the Trump agenda seem destined to go in the opposite direction.
If implementing tariffs can be problematic, threatening tariffs – as Mr Trump has done with Colombia – has already proved a successful weapon
He promises new tariffs on imports. While that has caused concern in China, Canada, Mexico, Europe and elsewhere, and could disrupt trade worldwide, American consumers would be the ones who end up paying those tariffs on imports. Tariffs on Chinese motor cars (for example), may boost American automobile manufacturers but blanket tariffs on cheaper Chinese products, clothing and domestic goods would – economists argue – raise prices for US consumers.
Budget stores in the US would find it difficult to replace low-tech imported goods made by cheap labour abroad with a more expensive American workforce. And that US workforce will be depleted if Mr Trump carries out his promise to deport millions of immigrants. Deportations are predicted to trigger labour shortages especially in construction, agriculture and service industries. When workers are scarce it drives up wages and therefore prices.
But if implementing tariffs can be problematic, threatening tariffs – as Mr Trump has done with Colombia – has already proved a successful weapon. When Colombia refused to take flights to repatriate migrants being ejected from the US, the threat of tariffs on coffee and other Colombian exports forced the government there to back down in an important success for Mr Trump.
Nevertheless, the economy will define Mr Trump’s presidency for millions of Americans. The 1994 bond market crash was the greatest economic and political shock for former US president Bill Clinton.
His adviser James Carville joked that when he died he would be reincarnated as the bond market because “you can intimidate everybody”.
In 2022, the British Prime Minister Liz Truss’s bold – or foolish, depending on your views – tax-cutting budget caused the pound to drop almost immediately. Ms Truss lasted just seven turbulent weeks in Downing Street. Mr Trump’s promises to dismantle the government bureaucracy, protect jobs and deport migrant workers have proved his political genius, but some American commentators have already begun speculating whether his energetic first few months in office may similarly scare Wall Street.
Mr Trump has suggested 25 per cent tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10 per cent tariff on China. It’s not clear when or even if any or all of that will happen or, as with Colombia, be a successful negotiating tactic.
In his first term Mr Trump promised to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. That did not happen. Trump Mark Two, refreshed and reinvigorated, has also talked of buying Greenland, taking control of the Panama Canal, ending the war in Ukraine, shaking up Nato and aiding Israel.
Given such bold promises, if you ask a confident Trump supporter what Mr Trump is afraid of, they will probably answer “nothing”. The real answer may be, as it was for Mr Clinton, the bond market, Wall Street and American consumers seeing significant inflation or interest rate rises. As the Clinton team said: “It’s the economy, stupid.” It always is.
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
