Highlights

Global stocks slid and U.S. oil prices slumped after Trump announced tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing responded with similar measures in an escalating trade dispute. China’s threat to impose duties on U.S. oil imports will hit a business that has soared in the last two years, and which is now worth almost $1 billion per month.

Blockchain explained: Do you understand the technology that underpins bitcoin? As more possible uses for blockchain emerge, see exactly how it works with our interactive guide. Read more Fintech coverage here.

Germany woke to gloomy headlines of “chaos” and “humiliation” today after the defending World Cup champions fell 1-0 to Mexico in a shock opening defeat in Russia. Mexicans jumping in jubilation shook the ground hard enough to set off earthquake detectors after their team scored the surprise victory. Read the latest World Cup coverage here.

World

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook Osaka, Japan’s second-biggest metropolis, early today, killing three people, halting factory lines in an industrial area and bursting water mains.

The outcome of Turkey’s elections on Sunday could depend on a jailed presidential candidate’s sway over voters more than 750 miles away in the country’s largely Kurdish southeast.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's push to force Budapest’s renowned Central European University out of the country throws the battle over the European Union's future into stark relief. The CEU was founded by Hungarian-American hedge fund manager George Soros, who, despite decades of philanthropic efforts in Eastern and Central Europe, was widely vilified during Orban’s election campaign. “Soros espouses the values of radical cosmopolitanism against those of radical nationalism,” writes columnist John Lloyd for Reuters Commentary.

Syria state media says U.S. bombs Syrian positions but U.S. issues denial https://reut.rs/2M03iQ7

8:45 AM - June 18, 2018

Sponsored by Barclays: Automation’s delayed economic impact Workplace automation is increasing, yet key economic indicators seem unaffected. Why aren’t unemployment, wages and productivity responding? Find out.