Gold (XAU/USD) rallies to all-time highs of $4218 on trade tremors and rate cut expectations

US Treasury Secretary Bessent urges the world bank to end support for China. Statement from U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent for the World Bank Development Committee and IMF International Monetary and Financial Comm As we convene for this year’s Annual Meetings, the United States looks forward to working closely with partners around the world to confront today’s global economic challenges and secure a future underpinned by growth and stability. Achieving success will require collaboration with international financial institutions that are highly effective, efficient, and accountable in implementing their core mandates. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank can support America’s efforts to secure a more balanced, prosperous, and stable global economy through a return to their core missions and disciplined deployment of their resources. We have seen some progress towards these goals since the Spring Meetings. The IMF is folding its climate and gender units into one that is focused on macro-financial and structural policies, and management has eliminated extraneous, non-core issues from its Board Work Program. The World Bank has moved in the direction of an all-of-the-above approach to energy by removing its prohibition on the financing of nuclear power generation. And, the Bank has increased the weight given to quality in procurement decision making and boosted outreach to industry, both of which stand to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its financing. Nonetheless, the IMF and World Bank must take more concerted steps to focus on their respective core missions and deliver greater impact to the countries they support and greater value to taxpayers from the United States and other shareholders. Here in the United States, we have been implementing President Trump’s America First economic agenda of tax cuts, energy abundance, and regulatory modernization. They are interlocking parts of an engine designed to drive economic growth and domestic manufacturing: tax cuts raise real incomes for families and businesses; an affordable, reliable, and secure energy supply drives down the cost of doing business; and regulatory modernization complements both by making it easier to invest in and grow new businesses. This includes passing landmark tax legislation in July to unleash the full potential of the U.S. economy, to protect American workers and families, and to save taxpayer dollars by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. Thanks to actions taken by the Trump Administration, businesses are investing in America again. A revitalized private sector will propel econom