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      Trump’s Tariffs Turn Porsche’s Headwinds Into a ‘Violent Storm’

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      The storied sports car maker, which was facing challenges from China and slumping demand for electric cars, now has to grapple with tariffs from the Trump administration.This year was already shaping up to be a tough one for Porsche. Chinese customers were losing interest in the luxury sports car, its bet on electric vehicles was failing with drivers long enamored by the rumble of its combustion engines and its stock price hovered near record lows.Then President Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on all cars imported to the United States starting in April. Last week, he doubled down on that, threatening a 50 percent tariff for all products from the European Union, sending Porsche’s shares tumbling further and E.U. leaders and auto executives scrambling to make a deal.All of Europe’s leading carmakers have been hit by the tariff turbulence, at a time when they are already facing increasing competition from Chinese automakers. But unlike BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, Porsche manufactures its vehicles exclusively in Germany, leaving it more vulnerable to the combined threat of advancements from China’s rivals and tariff increases in the United States.“It is literally a perfect storm,” said Harald Hendrikse, a managing director covering the European auto sector at Citi Research. “You have a triple threat, which is China, an E.V. strategy that was wrong — despite being lauded at the time — and then Trump’s tariffs, which nobody had guessed would be as severe as they are.”That has led Porsche to scale back its forecast for the year, by about 2 billion euros, or $2.2 billion. Its profit margin range is also expected to drop between 6.5 percent and 8.5 percent, from 10 percent to 12 percent.“Our market in China has literally collapsed,” Porsche’s chief executive, Oliver Blume, told shareholders at the company’s annual conference on May 21. “U.S. import tariffs are weighing on our business.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      China to Launch Tianwen-2 Mission to Capture Pieces of Near-Earth Asteroid

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      The robotic Tianwen-2 spacecraft will collect samples from Kamoʻoalewa, which some scientists suspect is a fragment of the moon.China has a space station and, in just a few short years, has landed robots on the moon and Mars. This week the country’s space agency is targeting new, far-flung destinations and setting off for an asteroid that could contain secrets that explain how Earth and the moon formed.The country’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft is set to lift off aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China some time on Thursday (it will be Wednesday in New York).After about a year, the robotic mission will arrive at 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, a near-Earth asteroid. There, it will perilously try to scoop up some rocky matter, and then swing back around to Earth. A capsule filled with geologic treasure would then plunge toward the planet for retrieval by scientists in late 2027.If Tianwen-2 pulls this off, China will become the third nation — after Japan and the United States — to retrieve pristine material from an asteroid.“All Chinese planetary scientists are now finger-crossed for this historic mission,” said Yuqi Qian, a lunar geologist at the University of Hong Kong.The spacecraft also has a secondary target, an unusual comet that it could study as part of an extended mission.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Japan’s Debt, Now Twice the Size of Its Economy, Forces Hard Choices

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      Japan’s government faces pressure to curtail debt-fueled spending that some argue has staved off populist waves.Japan, which has the highest government debt among leading economies, is finding it difficult to spend like it used to.Debt-fueled public spending, enabled by low interest rates, has long been a way to address the country’s problems. Struggling farmers and emptying countrysides received generous payments from the central government. Relief aid during the Covid-19 pandemic morphed into new outlays for defense and subsidies to help consumers weather inflation.The spending continued even as more social security funding was needed for Japan’s growing number of seniors. Government debt has ballooned to nearly $9 trillion — more than double the size of the economy.Now, ahead of a heavily contested summer election, Japan’s ruling party is facing pressure to add even more debt. Small businesses hurting from U.S. tariffs are calling for government aid, and households squeezed by rising prices are demanding a rollback in taxes.But as the Bank of Japan moves away from the negative interest rates that for years made it easy for the government to borrow, the limits on spending are more stark.Recently, the market for Japanese government bonds has reflected concern about the country’s fiscal health. The yields on long-term bonds, an indication of investor confidence in the government’s ability to pay back its debts, rose to record highs at one point last week. And weaker-than-expected demand for an auction of 40-year bonds on Wednesday kept investors on edge.

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      Japan 30-year government bond yield
      Source: FactSetBy The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Ballet Kids of ‘Midsummer’ Bring Magic to the Bugs

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      There is Oberon, the King of the Fairies, and his beautiful Queen, Titania. Puck, a sprite, works his magic with the occasional unforced error, as mortals and immortals find themselves in a similar predicament: wanting to love. And wanting to be loved. But for all the sparkle of the mythological adults in George Balanchine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” it’s the kids — 24, plus Titania’s page — that rule this fantastical realm.Enter the Bugs.These young dancers from the School of American Ballet are the heart of New York City Ballet’s production. Technically, they play Fairies and Butterflies, but at City Ballet and its training ground, S.A.B., they are known informally as Bugs. (Perhaps less dignified as far as outdoor creatures go, but cuter.)Madison ArdietThese Bugs are small, exuberant bodies that, at times, scurry across the forest stage, gleaming in the moonlit night. They’re a coalition, a small but mighty squad of fleet-footed girls, ages roughly 10 to 12 — “a wholly unsentimental deployment,” wrote Lincoln Kirstein, who founded the school and company with Balanchine.Balanchine based his ballet more on Felix Mendelssohn’s overture and incidental music for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” to which he added additional pieces, than on the Shakespeare comedy. Mendelssohn’s sweeping music also thrills the Bugs no end.It puts the gas in their engines, the quiver in their antennas, the flap in their delicate wings.“You’re not walking down the street anymore,” said Naomi Uetani, 11, with a smile she couldn’t suppress. “I’m in a magical place. I understand ‘Nutcracker’ — yeah, you’re in the candy land, but this is different. The feeling.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      How to Make Homemade Pasta Like an Italian

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      TL;DR: It’s not necessarily the pasta water. It’s the marriage of starch, cheese and water, Eric Kim writes.This spoonable pasta is a dance of sorts between two pots: one with fresh green beans and orecchiette, the other with sausage ragù.David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.By More

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      Elon Musk ‘Disappointed’ With Major Trump Policy Bill

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      Elon Musk also said the Republican bill, which passed the House last week, would undermine the work of his DOGE group.Elon Musk criticized the far-reaching Republican bill intended to enact President Trump’s domestic policy agenda, saying it would undermine the administration’s own efforts to shrink federal spending.“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it,” Mr. Musk said in an excerpt from an interview with CBS’s “Sunday Morning” that was released late Tuesday.Mr. Musk added that the bill, which is headed to the Senate after squeaking through the House last week, would undermine the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, the White House effort to shrink the federal government that Mr. Trump tapped him to lead.Mr. Trump has urged swift passage of the bill — officially called the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act — which would slash taxes, providing the biggest savings to the wealthy, and steer more money to the military and immigration enforcement. As written, the legislation would cut health, nutrition, education and clean energy programs to cover part of the cost.But Mr. Musk said he was not sold on a bill that has emerged as the president’s top legislative priority. “I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful,” Mr. Musk said. “But I don’t know if it can be both.”A combination of Mr. Trump’s lobbying and compromises struck by Speaker Mike Johnson managed to get the bill through the House, but it faces significant hurdles in the Senate. Republicans hold a only a slim margin in the chamber, and two fiscal conservatives have said they want significant changes on the grounds that the bill lacks concrete measures to reduce the national deficit.Mr. Musk — who spent more than $250 million to help Mr. Trump’s campaign — joined the White House as a “special government employee” to lead the DOGE effort, which Mr. Trump hailed as one of his biggest accomplishments. The effort, which set the lofty goal of slashing $1 trillion from the federal budget but has fallen far short of that goal, has led to clashes with cabinet secretaries and complaints from some lawmakers.Mr. Musk’s support for Mr. Trump has also caused sales to plummet at Tesla, his electric car company, and last week the billionaire said he would spend less time in Washington and more time running his companies. More

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      Japan Welcomes a New Sumo Champ. Surprise: He’s Japanese.

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      Onosato Daiki became the first Japanese man in eight years to be named a yokozuna, or grand champion, the highest title in the sport.Sumo is Japan’s national sport, steeped in hundreds of years of history and tradition. But Japanese wrestlers no longer dominate sumo.So there was a sigh of relief in local sumo circles when Onosato Daiki of Japan was named on Wednesday as yokozuna, or grand champion, the highest title in the sport. He is the first Japanese yokozuna in eight years and only the second in 27 years, at least temporarily breaking Mongolian dominance of the elite levels of the sport.Yokozuna are selected by a council of elders after great achievement in the ring. There have been 75 since the 1600s, although the process was only formalized in the early 20th century. Once named a yokozuna, a wrestler can never be demoted.Traditionally, winning two consecutive top-division tournaments is enough to earn the yokozuna title; Onosato, as he is known, earned such titles in March in Osaka and on Sunday in Tokyo. He achieved the title after just 13 top-level tournaments, the quickest ascension since the current system came into effect in the 1950s.“This is a very much unknown territory for me,” Onosato said at a news conference, as translated by Japan Today. “I want to maintain my style, be Onosato, and I will work hard to become a unique and unparalleled yokozuna.”There is currently one other yokozuna, Hoshoryu, a Mongolian who earned that title in January in Tokyo. In the May tournament where Onosato won his second consecutive top-division title, Hoshoryu was second, with a 12-3 record to Onosato’s 14-1.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Turkey Cracks Down on Fliers Who Stand Up Too Soon, Threatening Fines

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      As of this month, passengers who stand before planes fully stop may be fined by the Turkish government.Most airline passengers know the rules: Stay seated at the end of the flight until the aircraft comes to a complete stop and the “fasten seatbelt” sign is off. Still, time and time again, passengers stand up anyway, in a rush to stretch their legs or collect their luggage.To address this, Turkey can now fine passengers who unbuckle their seatbelts, leave their seats before the plane has stopped taxiing or access overhead compartments before they are authorized to do so, according to new rules issued by the Turkish Directorate General of Civil Aviation this month.“Passengers who do not comply with the rules will be reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation through a disruptive passenger report, and an administrative fine will be imposed,” the Turkish government said in an announcement. It did not say how much passengers might be fined.Turkish Airlines did not respond to a request for comment about how many times this rule had been enforced since its implementation in early May.In addition to potentially rankling others on the plane, safety issues can arise when passengers leave their seats prematurely. Passengers can fall if the plane makes a sudden stop, and luggage can fall from overhead bins if they are opened while the aircraft is still moving. Aisles also need to remain clear for emergency evacuations.According to a report by the International Air Transport Association, a global airline trade group, failure to comply with instructions from flight attendants was the most frequent type of unruly passenger behavior in 2023. Flight attendants have also dealt with violence against themselves and other passengers, harassment, verbal abuse, smoking and forms of riotous behavior. These incidents can cause safety and security issues as well as significant operational disruption and costs for airlines, the report said.In the United States, failing to follow crew instructions or engaging in disruptive or violent behavior can also lead to fines. The Federal Aviation Administration can propose fines of up to $37,000 per violation and possible jail time. More serious cases are referred to the F.B.I.Unruly passenger behavior surged in the United States during the pandemic, stemming largely from passengers’ refusal to wear masks. A 2021 national survey conducted by the Association of Flight Attendants union revealed that nearly all flight attendants had dealt with unruly passengers that year, and one in five had been attacked.That year, the F.A.A. started pursuing legal action instead of just issuing warning letters to passengers who assault, threaten, intimidate or interfere with airline crew members. Last year, the agency reported just over 2,000 incidents, about the same number as in 2023, and a sharp fall from 2021, when nearly 6,000 incidents were reported. More