In the days leading up to his announcement of a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick summoned to the White House a group of President Trump’s allies from anti-immigration groups to sell them on his idea, the Wall Street Journal reported. Lutnick, who is personally close to Trump, had for months been working on a different pet project: a “gold card” that would provide a path to citizenship to wealthy foreigners willing to pay $1 million.

The governments of Britain and the United States will set up a body to reduce red tape for firms seeking to access capital markets on both sides of the Atlantic and improve cooperation on crypto assets, Britain's finance ministry said on Monday, Reuters reported. The Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future will report back within 180 days on ways to enhance collaboration in the short term and on longer-term options, including in wholesale digital markets, the Treasury said. Creation of the taskforce was approved by British finance minister Rachel Reeves and U.S.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced the Trump administration is looking at options to provide Argentina a financial lifeline as the country struggles to overhaul its economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bessent in a series of posts on X laid out the options administration officials are reviewing to backstop Argentina if the country under President Javier Milei’s leadership can’t overcome its financial woes. “These options may include, but are not limited to, swap lines, direct currency purchases, and purchases of U.S.

President Donald Trump’s new $100,000 fee for high-skill visa holders only applies to new applicants — not current visa holders who may be on travel outside of the U.S. — according to the White House, Politico reported. The president’s H-1B announcement on Friday immediately spurred chaos, with companies and immigration lawyers warning travelers to return to the U.S. before midnight on Sunday, when the new policy is scheduled to kick in.

A U.S. judge upheld the validity of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA's 2020 bonds on Thursday, in a blow to the company, which had argued that the defaulted bonds were not properly issued, Reuters reported. The bonds are secured by a majority stake in U.S. refiner Citgo , which is owned by PDVSA. The company defaulted on the bonds in 2019, putting the refiner at risk of seizure by creditors. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan ruled that the bonds were indeed properly issued under Venezuelan law.

Ocean shipping companies say importers and exporters won’t have to pay surcharges when new fees are imposed next month on Chinese ships at U.S. seaports, the Wall Street Journal reported. Some businesses fear price increases are coming anyway. Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, which represents American farmers, said ocean carriers can’t pass on extra costs today because trade flows are falling and carriers are fighting for market share. They will have to pass on those new costs eventually, he said.

Scottish DJ and producer Calvin Harris has filed an arbitration demand accusing his former financial advisor, Thomas St. John, of stealing $22.5 million intended for real estate investments, MusicBusinessWorldwide.com reported. The legal action, filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that St. John directed the funds instead toward a Hollywood “boondoggle” development project. The timing of Harris’s legal action is particularly striking. It arrives just a few months after US-based company, Thomas St.

The end of a duty exemption for small shipments to the United States was the last straw for Canadian luxury fashion retailer Ssense, according to a court filing in the company’s bankruptcy-protection case, Bloomberg News reported. A group of creditors led by Bank of Montreal were seeking repayment from Ssense under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and force a sale of the company. Both sides reached an agreement instead to have Ssense file the application for creditor protection, Justice Andres C. Garin of the Quebec Superior Court said in an order.

The United States has officially lowered its tariff on Japanese automobiles to 15% from 27.5%, finally addressing some unfinished business that had added extra uncertainty to an already unpredictable and protracted trade war, the Japan Times reported. Japan and the United States first agreed to the reduced rate on July 22 as part of a broader deal in which "reciprocal" tariffs, which cover most other exports, were taken from 10% to 15% — but less than the 25% threatened. Reciprocal duties were formally raised to 15% on Aug. 7.