Major International Business Headlines Brief ::: 03 Jul 2025

Thu Jul 3 10:27:36 CAT 2025

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Major International Business Headlines Brief :::  03 Jul  2025 

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

ü  South African manufacturing sentiment shows tentative improvement in June

ü  Trump to host five African leaders next week to discuss ‘commercial opportunities’

ü  Vukile Property Fund FY25 HEPS up 20.7%

ü  Africa must take ownership of its future

ü  TLcom secures $70mn pan-African tech fund

ü  Kenya looks to privatise state assets to draw private-sector investments, says President Ruto

ü  South African inflation expectations drop sharply in quarterly survey

ü  CNBC’s UK Exchange newsletter: UK’s millionaire exodus spells more trouble for Labour

ü  Trump's mega-bill heads for final vote in overnight US House session

ü  Microsoft to cut up to 9,000 jobs as it invests in AI

ü  Tesla deliveries fall for second quarter in a row

ü  Qantas data breach exposes up to six million customer profiles

ü  Trump calls on US central bank head to quit immediately

ü  Why the world's superyachts are getting bigger and bigger

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

South African manufacturing sentiment shows tentative improvement in June

(Reuters) – A gauge of South African manufacturing sentiment showed signs of improvement in June, reaching its second-highest level this year though output is stillweak and logistics bottlenecks remain, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The seasonally-adjusted purchasing managers’ index (PMI) sponsored by South African bank Absa rose to 48.5 points in June from 43.1 in May.

The PMI has now been below 50 for eight consecutive months, reflecting depressedfactory activity in Africa’s most industrialised economy.

“The June PMI results suggest that South Africa’s manufacturing sector may be turning a corner, with firmer demand and easing cost pressures laying the groundwork for recovery. However, output remains weak and structural logistical challenges persist,” Absa said in a statement.

The new sales order sub-index contributed to the increase in the headline PMI, rising by 7.8 points to 46.1 in June.

However the improvement in demand failed to boost production as the business activity sub-index decreased by 1.6 points to 41.9 last month.

South Africa’s economy stagnated in the first quarter of 2025, partly due to a weak performance by its manufacturing sector.-cnbc

Trump to host five African leaders next week to discuss ‘commercial opportunities’

(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will host leaders from five African nations in Washington next week to discuss “commercial opportunities,” a White House official said on Wednesday.

Trump will host leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal for a discussion and lunch at the White House on July 9, the official said.

“President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the American people and our African partners,” the official said, referring to the reasons why the meeting was arranged.

Africa Intelligence and Semafor reported earlier that the Trump administration would hold a summit for the five countries in Washington from July 9-11.

The Trump administration has axed swaths of U.S. foreign aid for Africa as part of a plan to curb spending it considers wasteful and not aligned with Trump’s “America First” policies. It says it wants to focus on trade and investment and to drive mutual prosperity.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was abandoning what he called a charity-based foreign aid model and will favor those nations that demonstrate “both the ability and willingness to help themselves.”

U.S. envoys in Africa will be rated on commercial deals struck, African Affairs senior bureau official Troy Fitrel said in May, describing it as the new strategy for support on the continent.

Vukile Property Fund FY25 HEPS up 20.7%

JSE-listed SA real estate investment trust Vukile Property Fund reported gross property revenue up 9.4 per cent and a 20.7 per cent increase in headline earnings per share as profit for the year more than doubled. The group expects to deliver growth in funds from operations (FFO) and dividend per share of at least 8 per cent for the 2026 financial year. Laurence Rapp, CEO, Vukile Property Fund joins CNBC Africa for more.

Africa must take ownership of its future

A realignment of global trade can unlock a new era of African self-determination.

As African leaders gather in Angola for the US-Africa Summit, we welcome every opportunity to strengthen cooperation and drive investment. But we also come with a clear-eyed view of the world: one in which Africa must take increasing ownership of its own development.

The global landscape is changing. The United States is reassessing its global role, refocusing aid and taking steps to strengthen its own trade position. These shifts have implications for Africa, but they also offer clarity. We have an opportunity for the continent to chart its own course with greater confidence.

In the past, such shifts might have prompted handwringing across African capitals. But under President Samia’s leadership, Tanzania is responding differently. Rather than lament what has been lost, we are focused on building what comes next.

When the United States redirected over $100 million of USAID funding to Tanzania (most of it for health and education), we recognised the need to act swiftly and decisively. The Tanzanian government has absorbed the funding gap into its own budget to ensure continuity of services. In doing so, we are not replacing our partners but reinforcing the progress we’ve made together.

Beyond funding, one of USAID’s greatest contributions has been in human capital. America has helped cultivate a generation of skilled professionals across vital sectors. President Samia has instructed to integrate many of these individuals – both Tanzanian and international – into our national institutions and affiliated agencies. This ensures their expertise remains embedded in our systems, strengthening our long-term resilience.

President Trump’s tariff proposals are part of a broader global realignment that may, in fact, create new openings for Africa. As companies look to diversify supply chains and build resilience, African manufacturing is emerging as an attractive alternative. We are already seeing signs of investment being redirected toward the continent. African nations will go from aid recipients to investment hubs.

This is an opportunity we must seize. But to do so, we need more than just capital and infrastructure. We need policy certainty, regional integration, and a skilled, empowered workforce.

That is why Tanzania remains committed to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). With a unified market of 1.4 billion people, the AfCFTA is Africa’s best tool for building resilience, scaling local industries, and unlocking our full economic potential. It allows us to depend more on each other and less on decisions made thousands of miles away.

Today, only around 15% of Africa’s trade is intra-African. We export raw materials to distant markets and import finished goods we could make ourselves. That must change. President Samia’s radical infrastructure plan investing in ports, bridges, railways, and energy is laying the foundation for industrial growth that is regional by design and global in ambition.

Beyond infrastructure, Tanzania is investing in strategic sectors like industrialisation and agriculture – two powerful engines of inclusive, long-term growth. These sectors are central to our economic transformation agenda, creating jobs, adding value to raw materials, and ensuring that prosperity reaches every part of society.

We are also committed to reforming and digitising our customs processes, harmonising standards with our neighbours, and eliminating non-tariff barriers. These practical steps are turning AfCFTA from a vision into a working reality.

At this week’s Summit, many voices will call for partnership. Tanzania warmly welcomes this. We believe in a model of partnership that is collaborative, forward-looking, and grounded in mutual investment. Africa’s future will not be delivered from abroad. But with the right partners, it can be accelerated and amplified.

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We are not turning away from the world. We are turning toward ourselves with confidence, clarity, and commitment.

It is time for Africa to own its future. And that future begins now.

TLcom secures $70mn pan-African tech fund

TLcom has secured $70 million in funding, the first tranche of its $150-million Africa-focused tech fund. The venture capital firm says it plans to expand to Egypt as it focuses on tech-enabled African start-ups.

Kenya looks to privatise state assets to draw private-sector investments, says President Ruto

(Reuters) – Kenya is planning to privatise some state assets via initial public offerings in order to bring in more private sector investment, President William Ruto said in remarks at the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

The government plans to start with listing the Kenya Pipeline Company via an IPO on the Nairobi Securities Exchange this year, Ruto said.

“We are committed to a structured, time-sensitive programme that identifies and prepares a robust pipeline of key government assets to be privatised through the stock exchange or improved through private sector participation,” he said.

Ruto also said that well-functioning domestic capital markets could reduce reliance on external debt.

Kenya has been seeking new sources of funding since deadly nationwide protests last summer forced it to pursue austerity measures and scrap planned tax hikes worth more than 346 billion Kenyan shillings ($2.68 billion).

Separately, at the Africa Debate event later on Wednesday, Ruto said that following shocks such as U.S. President Donald Trump’s elimination of USAID this year, Kenya is working to rely on its own resources, and private investments, rather than “resources that we do not have any control over.”

He cited plans to partner with the private sector to provide hospital equipment on a fee-per-use basis and said Kenya had raised $1.3 billion by securitising assets such as roads to raise funding.

“We are now going to be listing some of those bonds in the securities exchange so other investors can have a bite of the cherry,” he said.

($1 = 128.9500 Kenyan shillings)

South African inflation expectations drop sharply in quarterly survey

(Reuters) – South African analysts, business people and trade unions lowered their inflation expectations in the latest survey published on Wednesday, which could embolden the central bank to keep cutting interest rates.

The average forecast for consumer inflation during 2025 fell to 3.9% in the second-quarter survey from 4.4% in the previous quarter, the first time in more than four years that the current year’s forecast has been below 4%.

For 2026, the average dropped to 4.3% from 4.6% in the first quarter, and for 2027 it fell to 4.5% from 4.7%.

The South African Reserve Bank, or SARB, which commissions the survey, takes inflation expectations into account when taking its monetary policy decisions.

“The second-quarter survey reflects a broad-based and significant decline in the inflation expectations. … This decline was present among all three social groups and for the entire forecast horizon,” the Bureau for Economic Research, which conducts the survey, said in a report.

The SARB targets inflation of 3%-6% but has been pushing to lower the target. Its preference is for a 3% objective, it said at its last policy meeting in May, when it cut its key lending rate by 25 basis points to 7.25%.

Consumer inflation was 2.8% year-on-year in May, the third month in a row it has been below 3%.

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The SARB’s next monetary policy announcement is scheduled for July 31.

The survey also showed analysts, business people and trade unions had become more pessimistic about economic growth, on average expecting growth of 0.9% this year whereas they had predicted growth of 1.2% in the last survey.

Africa’s biggest economy expanded just 0.1% in the first quarter of 2025, dragged down by a poor performance by its mining and manufacturing sectors.

CNBC’s UK Exchange newsletter: UK’s millionaire exodus spells more trouble for Labour

For most of this century, the U.K. — and London in particular — has been one of the most popular destinations for the world’s super rich to live, work and play in.

The U.K.’s approach in this period was best summed-up by Peter Mandelson, a senior minister in Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s Labour governments and now U.K. ambassador to the United States. In 1998 he told a group of Silicon Valley business leaders: “We are intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich as long as they pay their taxes.”

However, that is now changing as the wealthy flee a punitive new tax regime, with potentially severe consequences for the country.

Arguably this began when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and hundreds of Russian oligarchs left the U.K. after being sanctioned. This in itself was meaningful; the upmarket estate agent Aston Chase estimated that, at the time of the invasion, some 150,000 Russians were living in ‘Londongrad’ owning £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) worth of residential property.

But that was a specific Russian issue and apart from those who had profited from Russian activity, few mourned their departure.

Things began to change more broadly during the run-up to last year’s general election, when Jeremy Hunt, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, sought to steal the clothes of his Labour rivals in his March 2024 Budget.

He announced that, as of April 2025, the U.K. would abolish so-called ‘non-dom’ status — a quirk of the tax system dating back to 1799, that allowed wealthy people living in Britain but who did not consider it to be their permanent home, or ‘domicile,’ to pay U.K. tax only on income earned in, or transferred to, the country.

This had been a flagship Labour policy and Labour had made hay from the fact that Akshata Murty, the Indian-born wife of Rishi Sunak, the former prime minister, was one of around 74,000 people who had enjoyed non-dom status in 2022-23 (the latest tax year for which figures are available).

Hunt claimed replacing non-dom status with his “simpler, residency-based system” would raise £2.7 billion annually. Crucially, though, he chose not to subject overseas assets placed in offshore trusts by non-doms to U.K. inheritance tax.

When Labour won the election, in July last year, newly-appointed Chancellor Rachel Reeves, decided she needed to maintain the party’s leadership on the issue. So she abolished the exemption on offshore trusts — potentially exposing the entire global wealth of these individuals to the 40% levy.

Overnight it turned the U.K. from one of the most attractive destinations for the world’s wealthiest people into one of the most expensive places in the world to die.

The upshot has been an exodus of the super rich.

Super rich exodus

It is hard to know precisely how many people have left. The analytics firm New World Wealth and the investment migration advisers Henley & Partners suggested in March this year that Britain had lost a net 10,800 millionaires to migration in 2024, up 157% on 2023 and more than any other country except China.

Some dispute those figures, among them Stephen Kinsella, a legal advisor and member of Patriotic Millionaires U.K., a nonpartisan network of British millionaires calling for a wealth tax. He told me recently the numbers were an extrapolation based on the number of people on LinkedIn who had said they had left.

He added: “There are about 3 million millionaires in Britain so, even if 10,000 had left, that would be about 0.3% of millionaires.”

Henley & Partners and New World Wealth published a new report last week predicting that 16,500 millionaires would leave the U.K. this year, more than twice as many had been expected, representing the highest net outflow of high-net-worth individuals from any country since they began tracking millionaire migration 10 years ago.

Although the actual numbers will not be known until the U.K. tax authorities crunch the numbers some years hence, there have been plenty of straws in the wind. LonRes, which tracks activity in London’s prime property markets, estimates there were 36% fewer transactions involving such homes in May this year than in the same month last year. Meanwhile, Companies House data suggests more than 4,400 directors have left the U.K. in the last year, with departures accelerating in recent months.

Among those leaving have been some very high-profile individuals, including Richard Gnodde, the South African-born vice chairman of Goldman Sachs; Nassef Sawiris, Egypt’s richest man and co-owner of Aston Villa FC co-owner and John Fredriksen, the Norwegian-born shipping magnate. Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian-born steel billionaire who regularly tops the rankings of Britain’s richest people, is said to be weighing up his options and is widely expected to give up his U.K. tax residency.

Compounding the problem is that other countries are currently welcoming the rich with open arms. They include Italy, where Gnodde has relocated, which allows wealthy foreigners to pay an annual fee of up to 200,000 euros to exempt their overseas assets and income from tax. The top destination for migrating millionaires though, is the United Arab Emirates, now home to Sawiris and Fredriksen. The latest Henley & Partners/New World Wealth report predicts it will attract a net 9,800 millionaires this year.

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None of this has yet appeared in the U.K.‘s fiscal forecasts. Indeed, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility still assumes Reeves’ move will raise £2.7 billion in extra taxes a year by 2028-29. It assumes that between 12%-25% of non-doms would go, which now looks an underestimate.

Research published by the consultancy Oxford Economics in September last year, based on a survey of non-doms and their advisors, suggested 63% would leave within two years of the measure being implemented. Survey aside, Oxford Economics expects up to 32% of non-doms to leave and under that scenario, with non-doms having paid £8.9 billion in taxes in 2022-23, the policy would start costing the Treasury money.

It is not just the foregone taxes such people would have paid that will hurt. Thousands of jobs in sectors like retail, hospitality, legal services and luxury goods depend on the continued presence in the U.K. of the former non-doms. Scores of charities, cultural and sporting institutions depend on their patronage and philanthropy. There would therefore be a much broader impact than just the fiscal one.

Belatedly, the government has realized it has a problem. Unfortunately, it is probably too late to lure back those non-doms who have already gone, along with others who have left due to the imposition of VAT on school fees and changes in agricultural property relief and business property relief that exposed previously exempt estates and businesses to inheritance tax for the first time.

However, the government can still act to stop further departures. The most effective thing to do would be to restore the exemption from inheritance tax granted to offshore trusts. This would be problematic for Reeves, since taxing the wealthy more is highly popular among Labour voters, even when — as one poll last weekend suggested — it hurts the public finances.

But the Chancellor needs to find some way of backing down without it looking too much like a U-turn. And, with many wealthy people looking to relocate in time for the start of the new school year in September, she should probably not leave it until her autumn Budget.

Trump's mega-bill heads for final vote in overnight US House session

The US House of Representatives is working through the night as Donald Trump and his allies try to pressurise holdouts in the president's own Republican Party to back his mega-bill on tax and spending in a final vote.

The sprawling legislation, which could define Trump's second term in office, passed a key procedural vote after 03:00 EDT (07:00 GMT).

Trump's bill has been opposed not only by opposition Democrats, but by a handful of Republicans who criticise its potential impact on national finances, healthcare and other issues.

The bill ground through the Senate earlier this week in another overnight session. Trump has given a deadline of Friday for a final version to reach him for sign-off.

Both chambers of Congress are controlled by Trump's Republicans, but within the party several factions are fighting over key policies in the lengthy legislation.

The House, or lower chamber, approved an earlier version of the bill in May with a margin of just one vote, and this bill, with new amendments that have frustrated some Republicans, must now be reconciled with the Senate version.

The bill narrowly cleared the Senate, or upper chamber, on Tuesday. Vice-President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking vote after more than 24 hours of debate and resistance from some Republican senators.

It has so far proven equally tricky for Trump's allies to pass the bill through the House.

After about seven hours of wrangling that led to most lawmakers clearing from the chamber on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson scheduled a vote on the rule - a procedural vote that allows the legislation to be brought to the floor for a full vote.

This hurdle was ultimately cleared several hours later, and was seen as a signal that Republicans might have the support they needed after all.

Facing intense pressure, House must decide if Trump's bill is good enough

What's in Trump's budget bill?

Trump and Musk feud again over budget plans

The president has been very involved in attempting to persuade the holdouts and held several meetings at the White House on Wednesday in hopes of winning them over.

On Wednesday, he took to social media to apply further pressure, saying that the "House is ready to vote tonight". He added that Republicans are "united" to deliver "massive growth".

Ralph Norman, a House Republican from South Carolina, attended one of the meetings but was not persuaded, further fuelling the overnight jeopardy for Trump and his allies.

"There won't be any vote until we can satisfy everybody," Norman said, adding he believes there are about 25 other Republicans who are currently opposed to it. The chamber can only lose about three Republicans to pass the measure.

"I got problems with this bill," he said. "I got trouble with all of it."

Sticking points have included the question of how much the bill will add to the US national deficit, and how deeply it will cut healthcare and other social programmes.

During previous signs of rebellion against Trump at Congress, Republican lawmakers have ultimately fallen in line, and they now look likely to do so in the final House vote.

What is at stake this time is the defining piece of legislation for Trump's second term. But several factions have stood in its way as the bill has worked through Congress.

The deficit hawks

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the version of the bill that was passed on Tuesday by the Senate could add $3.3tn (£2.4tn) to the US national deficit over the next 10 years. That compares with $2.8tn that could be added by the earlier version that was narrowly passed by the House.

The deficit means the difference between what the US government spends and the revenue it receives.

This outraged the fiscal hawks in the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who have threatened to tank the bill.

Many of them have echoed claims made by Elon Musk, Trump's former adviser and campaign donor, who has repeatedly lashed out at lawmakers for considering a bill that will ultimately add to US national debt.

Shortly after the Senate passed the bill, Texas congressman Chip Roy, of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, was quick to signal his frustration.

He said the odds of meeting Trump's 4 July deadline had lengthened.

Congressman Ralph Norman is among the Republicans threatening to vote down the bill

Freedom Caucus chairman Andy Harris of Tennessee told Fox News that Musk was right to say the US cannot sustain these deficits. "He understands finances, he understands debts and deficits, and we have to make further progress."

On Tuesday, Conservative congressman Andy Ogles went as far as to file an amendment that would completely replace the Senate version of the bill, which he called a "dud", with the original House-approved one.

Ohio Republican Warren Davison posted on X: "Promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending."

A pair of bar charts compare the estimated increases and savings in US federal spending from Trump's budget bill. The first bar chart shows the cumulative cost increases over 10 years. It highlights tax-cut extensions (worth $4.5tn), defence (worth $150bn) and borders (worth $129bn). The bar representing tax-cut extensions is much longer than any of the bars on the bar chart that shows total savings. This second bar chart highlights Medicaid (worth $930bn in savings), green energy (worth $488bn) and food benefits (worth $287bn)

The Medicaid guardians

Representatives from poorer districts have been worried about the Senate version of the bill harming their constituents, which could also hurt them at the polls in 2026.

According to the Hill, six Republicans were planning at one point to vote down the bill due to concerns about cuts to key provisions, including cuts to medical coverage.

Some of the critical Republicans have attacked the Senate's more aggressive cuts to Medicaid, the healthcare programme relied upon by millions of low-income Americans.

"I've been clear from the start that I will not support a final reconciliation bill that makes harmful cuts to Medicaid, puts critical funding at risk, or threatens the stability of healthcare providers," said congressman David Valadao, who represents a swing district in California.

This echoed the criticism of opposition House Democrats, whose leader, Hakeem Jeffries, posted a picture of himself on Wednesday to Instagram, holding a baseball bat and vowing to "keep the pressure on Trump's One Big Ugly Bill".

Other Republicans have signalled a willingness to compromise. Randy Fine, from Florida, told the BBC he had frustrations with the Senate version of the bill, but that he would vote it through the House because "we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good".

House Republicans had wrestled over how much to cut Medicaid and food subsidies in the initial version their chamber passed. They needed the bill to reduce spending, in order to offset lost revenue from the tax cuts contained in the legislation.

The Senate made steeper cuts to both areas in the version passed on Tuesday.

Changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare) in the Senate's bill would see roughly 12 million Americans lose health insurance by 2034, according to a CBO report published on Saturday.

Under the version originally passed by the House, a smaller number of 11 million Americans would have had their coverage stripped, according to the CBO.

Hakeem Jeffries/Instagram US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries holds a brown baseball bat while standing in an office. He is surrounded by chairs including a brown couch with yellow cushions which is behind him. He is wearing a blue dress shirt and black trousersHakeem Jeffries/Instagram

House Democrats, led by Hakeem Jeffries, are united against the bill

The state tax (Salt) objectors

The bill also deals with the question of how much taxpayers can deduct from the amount they pay in federal taxes, based on how much they pay in state and local taxes (Salt). This, too, has become a controversial issue.

There is currently a $10,000 cap, which expires this year. Both the Senate and House have approved increasing this to $40,000.

But in the Senate-approved version, the cap would return to $10,000 after five years. This change could pose a problem for some House Republicans.-BBC

Microsoft to cut up to 9,000 jobs as it invests in AI

Microsoft has confirmed that it will lay off as many as 9,000 workers, in the technology giant's latest wave of job cuts this year.

The company said several divisions would be affected without specifying which ones but reports suggest that its Xbox video gaming unit will be hit.

Microsoft has set out plans to invest heavily in artificial intelligence (AI), and is spending $80bn (£68.6bn) in huge data centres to train AI models.

A spokesperson for the firm told the BBC: "We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace."

The cuts would equate to 4% of Microsoft's 228,000-strong global workforce.

It has initiated three other rounds of redundancies so far in 2025, including in May when it said it would cut 6,000 roles.

An official database maintained by Washington state shows that more than 800 of the positions eliminated will be concentrated in the city of Redmond as well as in Bellevue, another Microsoft hub in its home state.

In recent years, like many other big technology firms, Microsoft has refocussed its business towards developing AI, including investing in data centres and chips.

Last year, the company hired British AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman to lead its new Microsoft AI division.

A top Microsoft executive recently told the BBC that the next half century will "fundamentally be defined by artificial intelligence,", changing the way we work and interact with one another.

Microsoft is also a major investor and shareholder in OpenAI, the company behind the popular chatbot ChatGPT, although the relationship has reportedly grown tense in recent months.

Bloomberg reported that Microsoft has struggled to sell its AI assistant, known as Copilot, to business customers because many office workers prefer ChatGPT.

The layoffs among rank and file workers at Microsoft come as major US tech companies court top AI talent.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has been poaching talent from rivals to form a 'superintelligence' lab.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly been personally involved in recruitment.

OpenAI boss Sam Altman said recently that members of his team had been getting offers of more than $100m (£74.3m) as "signing bonuses" from Meta.

Last month, Amazon boss Andy Jassy said he expected AI would replace some of his firm's workers.-BBC

Tesla deliveries fall for second quarter in a row

Elon Musk's Tesla has reported a 14% decline in vehicle deliveries in the second quarter of the year, as the electric car-maker's problems show no sign of abating.

The just over 384,000 vehicles it delivered between April and June represents the second quarterly drop in a row.

Tesla faces increasing competition from rivals, including China's BYD. Musk's controversial role as a government efficiency czar in the Trump administration has also been blamed for the plummeting numbers.

Musk has since left the role - but has publicly sparred with US President Donald Trump over a massive spending bill pushed by the White House.

In response, Trump floated cutting the subsidies received by Musk's firms or even deporting him.

Trump suggested that the ad-hoc Department of Government Efficiency - known as Doge - could be used to harm the billionaire's companies.

"Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far," Trump wrote on social media Tuesday. "Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!"

"I am literally saying CUT IT ALL. Now," Musk replied.

Trump has said that Musk's opposition to the spending bill stems from a provision that removes incentives to buy electric vehicles.

"He's upset that he's losing his EV mandate, he's very upset, he could lose a lot more than that, I can tell you that," Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

Though the quarterly deliveries metric is tracked closely by investors, some analysts have shrugged off the figures.

"The good news: that ~14% should mark the bottom," wrote Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster on Musk's social media site X. "I have September down 10% and December flat."

Munster said he expected uncertainty about the US EV tax credit to boost near-term sales as buyers scramble to purchase before it expires.

Tesla's push into robotaxis which kicked off in Austin, Texas last month in uncertain fashion could prove critical, he said.

"Over the next two years, I think investors will be fine with flat deliveries as long as autonomy shows measurable progress," Munster added.-BBC

Qantas data breach exposes up to six million customer profiles

Qantas is contacting customers after a cyber attack targeted their third-party customer service platform.

On 30 June, the Australian airline detected "unusual activity" on a platform used by its contact centre to store the data of six million people, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers.

Upon detection of the breach, Qantas took "immediate steps and contained the system", according to a statement.

The company is still investigating the full extent of the breach, but says it is expecting the proportion of data stolen to be "significant".

It has assured the public that passport details, credit card details and personal financial information were not held in the breached system, and no frequent flyer accounts, passwords or PIN numbers have been compromised.

Qantas has notified the Australian Federal Police of the breach, as well as the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

"We sincerely apologise to our customers and we recognise the uncertainty this will cause," said Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson.

She asked customers to call the dedicated support line if they had concerns, and confirmed that there would be no impact to Qantas' operations or the safety of the airline.

The attack comes just days after the FBI issued an alert on X warning that the airline sector was a target of cyber criminal group Scattered Spider.

US-based Hawaiian Airlines and Canada's WestJet have both been impacted by similar cyber attacks in the past two weeks.

BBC revealed that the group has also been the key focus of an investigation into the wave of cyber attacks on UK retailers, including M&S.

The Qantas breach is the latest in a string of Australian data breaches this year, with AustralianSuper and Nine Media suffering significant leaks in the past few months.

In March 2025, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) released statistics revealing that 2024 was the worst year for data breaches in Australia since records began in 2018.

"The trends we are observing suggest the threat of data breaches, especially through the efforts of malicious actors, is unlikely to diminish," said Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind in a statement from the OAIC.

Ms Kind urged businesses and government agencies to step up security measures and data protection, and highlighted that both the private and public sectors are vulnerable to cyber attacks.

-BBC

Trump calls on US central bank head to quit immediately

US President Donald Trump has called for the chair of the Federal Reserve to quit right away, in an escalation of his attacks on Jerome Powell.

"'Too Late' should resign immediately!!!", Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He also included a link to a news article about a US federal housing regulator calling for Mr Powell to be investigated over his testimony about renovations to the central bank's Washington headquarters.

Trump nominated Mr Powell to be the Fed chair during his first term. Since then, he has repeatedly criticised him for not cutting interest rates but it is unclear whether the president has the authority to remove him from the post.

Despite the president's continued criticism of Mr Powell, he said earlier this year that had "no intention of firing him".

Trump wants the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates to help boost economic growth.

Mr Powell said on Tuesday that the Fed would have cut rates already had it not been for the impact of Trump's tariff policies.

When asked during a meeting of central bankers in Portugal whether US rates would have been cut again this year if the administration had not announced its plan to sharply increase tariffs on countries around the world Mr Powell responded, "I think that's right."

The US Federal Reserve declined to comment about Trump's remarks when contacted by the BBC.

Mr Powell was renominated to the position by then-President Joe Biden and his current term is set to end in May 2026.

Ahead of Trump's return to power at the start of this year, Mr Powell said he would not step down if the president asked him to and that it is "not permitted under law" for the White House to force him out.

Board members of independent federal agencies like the Federal Reserve can only be forced out before their terms expire "for cause," according to a landmark US Supreme Court ruling in 1935.

However, Trump has often challenged political norms, including firing some independent regulators, actions that have been contested in court.-BBC

Why the world's superyachts are getting bigger and bigger

Business is booming in the luxury world of superyachts, with the super-rich wanting ever bigger floating palaces.

Paola Trifirò knows a thing or two about superyachts – she and her husband have owned more than a dozen over the years.

The Italian couple, who have made their fortune in law, and continue to run a global legal firm, like to sail around the world in the height of luxury.

Ms Trifirò describes their boats, which can be more than 50m (164ft) long, as being like floating five-star hotels. And she likes to get involved in the design process.

One criteria she insists upon is that the crew have ample kitchen space, so they can cook gourmet meals for up to 15 people.

Ms Trifirò explains her reasoning: "If you are used to eating well, not everywhere [in the world] are there restaurants good enough."

She also says that the large size of the vessels is reassuring. "Whether it's sailing alongside humpback whales, or receiving greetings by fishermen on the Fiji islands, my boats allow me to sail… with strength and safety."

But what exactly is a superyacht? While there is no official global classification, industry website and magazine Boat International describes one as "a luxury, privately-owned yacht that measures 24 metres or more in length, and is professionally crewed".

The magazine says that global sales boomed after Covid. With the super rich suddenly unable to go to luxury hotels, as they were all closed during the pandemic, many switched to superyachts instead.

As a result, 1,024 new superyachts were built or on order around the world in 2022, a 25% jump from 2021, and a then all-time high, according to Boat International's figures. This then increased to 1,203 in 2023, another new record.

"After the pandemic people considered their super yachts as safe islands both for themselves and their relatives," says Barbara Armerio who co-owns Italian family-run superyacht builder Amer.

She adds that billionaires cherished their personal space and independence even more. "They asked for bigger windows, more space outside, and to be able to touch the seawater more easily".

While the overall number of superyachts being built or ordered is expected to fall slightly this year to 1,138, they are getting bigger on average, Boat International's data also shows. So far this year, 61 boats of 76m or more in length are being made, up from 55 in 2024.

And in the 46m to 60m grouping, numbers have increased to 175 from 159. Meanwhile, sales of the smallest superyachts, between 24m and 27m are down to 286 from 321.

"It's clear that some of those new clients the industry found in the Covid-19 years are trading up," says Ms Armerio.

Boat International's editor in chief Stewart Campbell says that whatever size superyacht people buy "designers and naval architects are getting very clever at packing ever more volume into hulls, giving owners lots more space on board".

As a result, today's superyacht's increasingly have everything from helipads to cinemas, gyms, beauty salons, and saunas.

Getty Images Koru, the superyacht owned by Jess Bezos, the founder of AmazonGetty Images

Koru, the retro-styled superyacht owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is reported to have cost more than $500m to build

As you'd imagine, prices are extremely high. You can pay €36m ($41m; £30m) for a new smaller boat, up to €295m for a 105m-long vessel with all the optional extras.

Half of all superyachts continue to be built in Italy, with its yards currently working on a combined length of 22,195m, or approximately 22km (13 miles), of boats. Turkey is in second place, followed by the Netherlands, the UK, Taiwan, Germany, the US and China.

Back in 2023, Italian shipbuilders earned €8.3bn from making superyachts, a record high.

Ms Armerio says her shipyard "produces only a few high-grade" superyachts per year, "masterpieces with unique details".

She adds that Italian yacht-makers like hers are supported by a solid network of local artisans. "In Italy we find everything we need."

Ms Armerio points to being able to drive to Tuscany's stone quarries from her company's base on the coast of Liguria if she needs to order marble.

Barbara Armerio Italian shipbuilder Barbara Armerio smiles at the camera while crossing her arms, in front of a superyacht being builtBarbara Armerio

Italian shipbuilder Barbara Armerio says buyers want ever more luxury

Regarding the billionaires and multimillionaires who buy superyachts, Boat International says that most are from the US. Yet it points to more coming from Turkey, Indonesia and Mexico as those countries' economies grow.

Meanwhile, sales to Russian buyers have fallen to due to the sanctions against the country and its elites as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

If the appeal of a superyacht wasn't immediately obvious, Ms Trifirò says they enable her to see the world and fulfil her wanderlust. And she likes to be at the controls of the boat.

"My curiosity to explore new places pushes me to cruise the oceans while in the driver's seat," she says.

Ms Trifirò adds that her crew is paid double what they'd likely earn on land "as it is very important to keep them happy. Our captain has worked for us for 22 years."-BBC

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