Honda’s quarterly profits are halved as Trump’s tariffs bite
The Japanese carmaker Honda has reported a 50% drop in quarterly profits as it counted the cost of Donald Trump’s tariffs and electric vehicle policies, even as it said the full impact would be less than its worst expectations.The manufacturer’s operating profits fell by half to 244bn yen (£1.2bn) in the three months to June, according to financial results published on Wednesday.That was mainly because of a 124bn yen hit from tariffs, as well as 113bn yen in losses on electric car sales in the US.The car industry has been among the worst hit by the US tariff chaos, as the US president has specifically targeted it in the hope of reviving American car manufacturing.
Trump’s policies have undermined international and domestic manufacturers who import cars and parts into the US through supply chains that have long been globally integrated,Trump announced 25% tariffs on all vehicle imports in March, pushing total tariffs on imports from countries including Japan to 27,5%,However, last month Trump agreed a framework of a trade deal with Japan to limit tariffs to 15% – still a significant impact but more manageable,Honda, Japan’s second-largest carmaker after Toyota, produces vehicles around the world and imports cars and parts to the US from its home country.
It also has five car assembly factories within the US but it is heavily reliant on tariff-hit Mexican and Canadian factories to produce cars for the US market,The carmaker said the tariffs would cost it 450bn yen during the year to March 2026, which is less than the 650bn yen it had previously estimated,The tariff impact this financial year will be 200bn yen less than initially feared, in part because the company was able to raise prices in the US, a sign of the inflationary pressure introduced by tariffs,Trump has said that he “couldn’t care less” if tariffs raise car prices for US consumers, although that effect has been a key factor in the US Federal Reserve resisting intense pressure from the president to cut interest rates,Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionHonda said “sales in North America remained strong” aside from the tariff impact.
However, there were signs of trouble in its electric vehicle sales as it admitted to sustaining losses on battery cars sold in the US.It also wrote off money spent on developing new electric cars, as some parts of the car industry focus on producing more profitable hybrids, combining a battery with a petrol or diesel engine.
Rugby in US suffers another blow as second team in a week exits MLR
Major League Rugby was reduced to eight teams on Wednesday by the withdrawal of the Miami Sharks, just a week after a founding team quit the competition and two California teams merged.Miami and MLR did not immediately comment but multiple league sources confirmed that the Sharks’ withdrawal after two years in the league was finalized on Tuesday.The Guardian understands that a request to withdraw for 2026 before a potential return in 2027 was rejected by team owners – NOLA Gold, the team that announced its exit last week, having sought a similar arrangement.NOLA and Miami could reapply to play in 2027, the Guardian was told.Last week, after NOLA’s exit and the merger of San Diego Legion and RFC LA, it was widely reported that the league could yet fall to just seven teams, the number that kicked off the competition in 2018
Jayden Nguyen’s Bombers debut could herald new era as AFL tackles cultural diversity | Jack Snape
The first AFL men’s player with a Vietnamese background, Essendon’s Jayden Nguyen, held his own against Sydney star Tom Papley on Saturday. Despite the Bombers’ 14-point defeat, Nguyen’s appearance was an important milestone for a game still struggling to come to terms with its place within multicultural Australia.The 19-year-old, whose parents arrived in Australia in the 1980s, said he hoped he had made others proud. “I’m pretty wrapped with the support I’ve got over the past few days from the Vietnamese community, and the Asian community in general,” Nguyen said after the match. “I just feel like it helps push me and makes me feel proud about myself
The Spin | Strapple, greeble, slog and kiss: how cricket’s language turns a game of numbers into poetry
Joe Root shifts his weight forward, rising with the lifting ball from back of a good length. As it nears his body he moves his hands and bat towards the ball. In one seamless motion, with the ball under his eyes, he adjusts his weight back a touch, twisting his wrists to open the face of the blade. He lets the ball come to him before directing it through the gap between third slip and gully.That is a lot of words to say that Joe Root has yet again steered one behind square for four
From the Pocket: nagging questions remain but Simon Goodwin’s gameplan ultimately marked his card
At their very best, Simon Goodwin’s Demons would fight hand to hand, square metre by square metre. Their midfielders were like snorting bulls. Their ruckman was peerless. Their key defenders would patrol and gobble, deny and thwart. In just under an hour, it all came together in a flawless, torrential, still scarcely believable flood of goals
How a controversial hand gesture divided opinion in the NRL
The NRL showed leniency on Wednesday by letting off Wests Tigers players with a warning after they used a gesture offensive to some Lebanese-Australian communities in Sunday’s victory over Canterbury-Bankstown. But the sanction is unlikely to satisfy everyone given the range of responses elicited, from those outraged to others who believe the act was “just a bit of banter”.Celebrating a second-half try to seal an upset Tigers’ win against the high-flying Bulldogs in pouring rain at Parramatta, backrower Samuela Fainu made a hand gesture known as “the khawd”, and his teammates quickly joined in.Almost one in five residents of Bankstown have Lebanese ancestry, and the Bulldogs’ fanbase has a strong association with Arab communities in Sydney’s west. The club holds an annual Ifthar dinner each year during Ramadan and one of its favourite sons is Lebanon-born former winger Hazem El-Masri
Trump announces he will chair White House taskforce for 2028 LA Olympics
Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the creation of a White House taskforce that he will lead to oversee elements of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.The president signed an executive order establishing the taskforce, which will include JD Vance as well as other cabinet members and government officials. The body will work with local and state authorities on security and transportation for the first Games in the US in nearly three decades.Trump will chair the taskforce, while Vance will serve as vice-chair and an executive director will oversee “daily operations”, according to the White House.“The LA Olympics is shaping up to be a wonderful moment for America
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