The American Times News | Economy, Geopolitics, Calculators

The Trump-Xi White House summit took place in Washington from September 24 to 26, 2026. It brought together the leaders of the world's two largest economies for their second meeting of the year and Xi Jinping's first visit to Washington in more than a decade. The three-day state visit included a formal arrival ceremony, bilateral talks, a state dinner, and a visit to the National Archives. The White House described the visit as a significant milestone. The summit came at a moment when US-China relations were calmer than during the 2025 tariff confrontation, but still marked by deep disagreements over trade, Taiwan, advanced technology, rare earths, and the war in Iran. A Fragile Trade Truce Extended to January The most immediate result of the summit was on trade. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Beijing had agreed to extend the current trade truce by two months, moving its expiration from November 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027. The extension gives negotia...

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most important pressure points in the U.S.-Iran confrontation, but the dispute is no longer simply about whether ships can pass through the waterway. It now connects maritime security with sanctions, oil markets, regional diplomacy and the larger question of whether Washington and Tehran can establish enough trust to reverse a prolonged disruption. The diplomatic picture has also become more complicated. On September 26, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had rejected an Iranian proposal that sought to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt fighting in the region within seven days. Iranian officials had transmitted the proposal through Qatari mediators during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Four days later, on September 30, Iran said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had received U.S. feedback through Qatar regarding the same broader trust-building effort. Reuters reported that the remaining discussions were focused heavily on the s...

Gold's reaction to the Federal Reserve's September 2026 rate hike shows why the relationship between interest rates and precious metals is more complicated than it appears. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest-rate range by 25 basis points on September 16, taking it to 3.75%-4%. Normally, higher rates create pressure on gold because the metal does not pay interest or dividends. Yet on September 17, spot gold rebounded more than 2% to $4,360.36 an ounce, while December U.S. gold futures settled at $4,399.70. Reuters attributed the immediate rebound mainly to a weaker U.S. dollar, lower Treasury yields and falling oil prices. However, that rebound should not be mistaken for a sustained rally. Gold subsequently came under renewed pressure as oil prices rose, Treasury yields climbed and expectations for additional Fed tightening increased. By October 1, spot gold was around $4,159 an ounce and the metal had lost more than 6% during September. The bigger story is theref...

Central banks no longer hold gold because modern currencies need to be backed by it. They hold it because gold serves a different purpose in today's reserve system: diversification, long-term value preservation, crisis resilience and independence from any single issuer or payment network. That role has become more visible in 2026. The World Gold Council's latest central-bank survey found that central banks have accumulated an average of about 1,000 tonnes of gold a year over the past four years, roughly twice the 500-tonne annual average recorded during the preceding decade. The survey also found that 89% of reserve managers expect global official gold holdings to increase over the next 12 months, while a record 45% expect their own institutions to add gold. The trend is not uniform across every country, and central banks remain sensitive to the cost of gold, liquidity needs and broader market conditions. But the strategic reasons for holding bullion have become increasingly im...