As Donald Trump turns up trade pressure on China, Anthony Albanese delivered a minerals deal the US needed. It's bound to add more friction to Australia's geopolitical balancing act.
Geopolitics
Anthony Albanese avoided a worst-case scenario in his meeting with Donald Trump — and came away with a few clear wins. For Australia’s US ambassador, the picture is less rosy.
With Anthony Albanese set to sit down with Donald Trump overnight, the stakes are high. For now, a friendly meeting looks likelier than a bruising Oval Office clash.
Anthony Albanese is returning to the US for the second time in weeks, as the thorny question of China trade looms over his first sit-down with Donald Trump.
Labor has long avoided dealing with the issue of the remaining 'ISIS brides'. But the return of six Australian citizens from Syria is forcing its hand.
The US government may have ground to a halt, but global markets are still moving upward. It's a reminder investors now see the shutdowns as politics, not an economic threat.
The first US government shutdown in nearly seven years has so far failed to wobble global markets. But local investors, who drove a rally on the ASX today, will hope for a swift resolution.
