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Washington CNN  —  Americans have gained some hope that the worst of President Donald Trump’s volatile trade war might be in the rearview mirror. Consumer sentiment surged 16% this month to a preliminary reading of 60.5, the University of Michigan said in its latest survey released Friday. That was the first increase in sentiment since December, rising from the near-record lows of the spring when American consumers and businesses grew pessimistic in the thick of Trump’s tariff blitz. This month’s uptick in sentiment was largely attributed to trade tensions easing from a fever pitch in April. “Consumers appear to have…

Artificial intelligence makes people more valuable, according to PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer report. Pixdeluxe | E+ | Getty ImagesWhile there hasn’t been much hiring for so-called “white collar” jobs, the contraction is not because of artificial intelligence, economists say. At least, not yet.Professional and business services, the industry that represents white-collar roles and middle and upper-class, educated workers, hasn’t experienced much hiring activity over the past two years.In May, job growth in professional and business services declined to -0.4%, slightly down from -0.2% in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In other words, the sector has…

ISLAMABAD: Lahore Qala­ndars, winners of the recently concluded HBL Pakistan Super League, have announced that their championship trophy will tour the United King­dom and United States to promote a positive image of Pakistan and generate international interest in the league. In a press conference held in Islamabad on Thursday, Qalandars’ management joined hands with the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme to launch a nationwide cricket talent hunt. The initiative aims to discover emerging players from across the country, with trials set to begin in Quetta on June 26-27. Chairman of the PM Youth Programme, Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Qalandars captain Shaheen…

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., pictured at a press conference after the House narrowly passed a bill forwarding President Donald Trump’s agenda on May 22 in Washington, DC.Kevin Dietsch | Getty ImagesHouse reconciliation legislation, also known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, includes changes aimed at helping to boost family’s finances.Those proposals — including $1,000 investment “Trump Accounts” for newborns and an enhanced maximum $2,500 child tax credit — would help support eligible parents.Proposed tax cuts in the bill may also provide up to $13,300 more in take-home pay for the average family with two children, House Republicans…

KARACHI: Legendary Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram saluted on Thursday the “effort” of the artist who created a statue of him that has spawned scorn on social media. The statue of Wasim — one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers to play the game — was installed outside the southwestern city of Hyderabad’s Niaz Stadium in April. Wasim is shown bowling wearing the kit of the 1999 World Cup team, when Pakistan were runners-up. Nearby is a statue of a tiger. One fan mocked the statue, saying: “The only thing that looks real is the ball,” adding the face looked more…

LONDON: Australia captain Pat Cummins starred with the ball and Alex Carey made valuable runs following a dramatic collapse as the holders retained the advantage in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa here at Lord’s on Thursday. Fast bowler Cummins produced a sensational spell of four wickets for one run when South Africa were dismissed for 138 on the second day in reply to Aus­tralia’s first-innings total of 212. Australia collapsed to 73-7 in their second innings, with Kagiso Rabada (3-44) and Lungi Ngidi (3-35) doing the bulk of the damage. But Carey (43) and Mitchell Starc…

Ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, tensions are escalating between the White House and the central bank, with consumers seemingly caught in the crossfire.On Thursday, President Donald Trump called Fed Chair Jerome Powell a “numbskull” for not lowering interest rates already.Trump has previously said the central bank should cut interest rates by a full percentage point. “Go for a full point, Rocket Fuel!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Friday.Vice President JD Vance echoed the president’s message in a social media post Wednesday on X, after a key inflation reading came in slightly better than expected.”The president has been saying this for a while, but it’s even more…

Former Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., nominee to be commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty ImagesThe Senate on Thursday confirmed Billy Long as the next IRS Commissioner, which could mark a shift for taxpayers amid sweeping agency cuts.Picked by President Donald Trump, the former Missouri Congressman’s nomination received mixed support from Washington and the tax community. But Senate Republicans confirmed Long via a party-line vote.During the confirmation process, Long faced Democratic scrutiny over Trump loyalties and ties to…

Aerial view of tract housing neighborhood in Boise, Idaho, USA.Simonkr | E+ | Getty ImagesRenting is taking off in the suburbs as homeownership remains out of reach for many would-be buyers.Between 2018 and 2023, rentership surged by at least 5 percentage points in 11 out of 20 suburbs surrounding the largest U.S. metro areas, according to a recent analysis by Point2Homes, a rental market research company.During the same period, 15 suburbs went from being predominantly composed of homeowners to majority-renter communities. The trend spans fast-growing Sun Belt metros like Dallas, Houston and Miami as well as Northeastern cities like Boston and…

The U.S. Department of Education headquarters is seen on March 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesThe U.S. Department of Education planned for the Treasury Department to take a hand in managing the country’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio, recent court documents show.”The Department had been negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the Treasury Department regarding student loan management,” Rachel Oglesby, the chief of staff at the Education Dept., said in a court declaration filed late on Tuesday.The agreement involved moving nine Education Dept. employees from the agency’s Federal Student Aid Default Collections Unit…