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German stocks hit record high as trade optimism buoys markets

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German stocks hit record high as trade optimism buoys markets

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Germany’s Dax index climbed to a record high on Friday, becoming the first major European benchmark to recoup the losses sparked by Donald Trump’s tariff threats, as investor optimism over US trade deals boosted the region’s markets.

The Dax rose 0.6 per cent, after Thursday’s announcement of a US-UK trade deal was followed by a call between the US president and Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, in which they agreed on the need to resolve trade disputes quickly.

Merz, who warned after his election victory that Europe needed to “achieve independence” from the US, also struck a conciliatory tone with Trump, saying Washington remained an “indispensable friend and partner”. Both leaders had agreed to meet in the near future, the German government said.

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Officials from the US and China are also scheduled to meet this weekend for talks over the trade war. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer will represent the US, while China’s delegation will be led by vice-president premier He Lifeng.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social network that an 80 per cent tariff on China “seems right”, signalling a potentially smaller reduction in the punitive levies than investors had anticipated.

The S&P 500 gave up early gains to trade little-changed on Friday.

The Dax’s return to all-time highs also reflects the wave of enthusiasm for German stocks sparked earlier this year by Merz’s plans to increase borrowing and inject hundreds of billions of euros into the country’s military and infrastructure.

Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays, said the trade news had given a broad boost to stock markets.

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But he added: “There is an extra degree of excitement in Germany as part of this revival narrative and the arrival of the new government. There’s more and more interest in Germany.”

German bonds, which have rallied in recent weeks while investors were seeking havens from market turmoil, gave up some of those gains as riskier assets outperformed.

The yield on 10-year German government bonds increased 0.04 percentage points by Friday afternoon, rising to 2.56 per cent. Bond yields move inversely to prices. 

European stocks have outshone their Wall Street peers this year because of optimism over defence spending combined with growing fears over the impact of Trump’s trade war on the US economy. 

The Dax is up nearly 18 per cent this year. Defence stocks have performed strongly following the spending commitments, with Rheinmetall up more than 170 per cent.

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The German stock market has also benefited from a strong performance from European banks. Deutsche Bank shares have risen 43 per cent this year.

While US stocks have also recovered their losses since Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcements in early April, the S&P 500 benchmark remains well below its February all-time high and is down nearly 4 per cent so far in 2025.

Europe’s outperformance of Wall Street this year has partially narrowed a large valuation gap between US and European equities that had widened in recent years due to a relentless rally in US tech stocks.

“Peak trade fear is behind us,” said Laura Cooper, global investment strategist at Nuveen. But she added that “bouts of choppy price action” should be expected as the disruption from tariffs washes through the global trading system.

But asset managers have also urged caution, given Trump’s strong rhetoric on tariffs and broader concerns about US policymaking.

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“For now, this [rally] is holding,” said Kevin Thozet, a member of Carmignac’s investment committee. “But it is not evident that it will continue this way for a very long time. Peak Trumpism may be behind us but uncertainty is still there.”

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Army serviceman they accused of distributing instructions on how to build explosives that were used by a man who conducted a deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year.

The former serviceman, Jordan A. Derrick, a 40-year-old from Missouri, was charged with one count of engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The three charges together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.

Starting in September 2023, the authorities said, Mr. Derrick was using various social media sites to share videos of himself making explosive materials, including detonators. His videos provided step-by-step instructions, and he often engaged with viewers in comments, sometimes answering their questions about the chemistry behind the explosives.

The authorities said that Mr. Derrick’s videos were downloaded by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who was accused of ramming a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, in a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with the police. Before the attack, Mr. Jabbar had placed two explosives on Bourbon Street, the authorities said, but they did not detonate.

The authorities later recovered two laptops and a USB drive in a house that Mr. Jabbar had rented. The USB drive contained several videos created by Mr. Derrick that provided instructions on making explosives. The authorities said the explosives they recovered were consistent with the ones Mr. Derrick had posted about.

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Mr. Derrick’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Derrick was a combat engineer in the Army, where he provided personnel and vehicle support, the authorities said. He also helped supervise safety personnel during demolitions and various operations. He was honorably discharged in February 2013.

The authorities did not say whether Mr. Derrick had any communication with Mr. Jabbar, or whether the men had known each other. In some of Mr. Derrick’s videos and comments, he indicated that he was aware that his videos could be misused.

“There are a plethora of uh, moral, you know, entanglements with topics, any topic of teaching explosives, right?” he asked in one video, according to the affidavit. “Of course, the wrong people could get it.”

The authorities also said that an explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Mo., on May 4, and the occupant of the residence told investigators that he had manufactured explosives after watching online tutorials from Mr. Derrick.

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Mr. Derrick’s YouTube account had more than 15,000 subscribers and 20 published videos, the affidavit said. He had also posted content on other platforms, including Odysee and Patreon. Some videos were accessible to the public for free, while others required a paid subscription to view.

“My responsibility to my countrymen is to make sure that I serve the function of the Second Amendment to strengthen it,” Mr. Derrick said in one of his videos, according to the affidavit. “This is how I serve my country for real.”

Outside of the income he received through content creation, Mr. Derrick did not have any known employment. He did receive a monthly disability check from Veterans Affairs, the affidavit stated.

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded
Allegations pile up, but Child Protective Services declines to investigate and the school district continues to promote Ronnie Stoner. We include an update at the end of the episode. “The Girls” is a 4-part series from the Louisville Public Media’s investigative podcast, Dig.
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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

A streamer known for hurling racist slurs in public settings under the nickname “Chud the Builder” was charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, the authorities said.

The streamer, Dalton Eatherly, 28, was involved in a confrontation with an unidentified man that escalated to gunfire outside the Montgomery County Court in Clarksville, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Both men sustained gunshot wounds and were in stable condition, the office said.

In addition to attempted murder, Mr. Eatherly was charged with employing a firearm during dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said.

Mr. Eatherly, who is white, has accumulated an online audience by livestreaming confrontations in which he uses racist language toward Black people in public.

Law enforcement did not provide any details about the second man involved in Wednesday’s shooting. Mr. Eatherly posted an audio recording online of paramedics treating his wounds in which he claims he shot the man in self-defense.

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A video posted by the website Clarksville Now shows Mr. Eatherly on a stretcher with a microphone attached to his lapel.

Mr. Eatherly is being held at the Montgomery County Jail, pending arraignment, the sheriff’s office said.

According to court records, Mr. Eatherly was scheduled to appear for a court hearing on Wednesday morning in an unrelated case brought by Midland Credit Management, a collections agency.

A lawyer listed in court records from a separate harassment case in which Mr. Eatherly was a defendant in November did not respond to a request for comment.

On Sunday, three days before the shooting in Clarksville, Mr. Eatherly was arrested in Nashville. According to a police affidavit, Mr. Eatherly live streamed his meal at a restaurant, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, on Saturday even though the restaurant had asked him ahead of time not to do so.

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When he was confronted, Mr. Eatherly “became disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming and otherwise creating a scene,” according to the affidavit.

He then refused to pay for his $370 meal. Mr. Eatherly was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was released on $5,000 bond.

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