Trump victory marks new era for US and the world

In today’s newsletter:

• Trump’s US election victory

• AstraZeneca confirms its top China executive has been detained

• America’s election in charts

Good morning. Donald Trump has made a stunning political comeback with a decisive election victory that is expected to throw American democracy, US alliances and global markets into an era of upheaval.

Trump’s triumph ends a volatile White House race that saw the billionaire Republican face two assassination attempts, a criminal conviction and the eleventh-hour change of his Democratic opponent after President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election bid.

The president-elect gained ground on the Democrats in 48 of the 50 states in the country, sweeping past Kamala Harris in the “blue wall” of Midwestern states she had hoped would deliver her the White House. He was also on track to win the popular vote — something no Republican has done since George W Bush in 2004.

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump said in a victory speech in Florida, predicting a “golden age” for the US under his new administration.

Harris conceded the election on Wednesday afternoon local time, congratulating Trump but saying she would “not concede the fight that fuelled this campaign”.

Trump’s victory marks a new era for the US and the world — I recommend these stories to understand the implications of his return:

• Asia braces for Trump’s return: The president-elect threatened on the campaign trail to inflict sweeping tariffs on China and questioned Washington’s security commitments to Taiwan and US allies South Korea and Japan.

• Global economy: Policymakers and executives in Europe and Asia prepared for a Trump “macro shock” as they digested the implications of a US-led lurch towards protectionism.

• War in Ukraine: Officials in Kyiv sought to put on a brave face and position themselves as supporters of Trump. But hiding behind the veil of support was “a lot of anxiety”, said a former minister.

• Trump unleashed: After his commanding victory, the president-elect will now feel vindicated to press ahead with plans laid out in his “America First” nationalist agenda.

• Trump’s criminal cases: The historic indictments against the president-elect will be derailed — or disappear entirely — after he returns to the White House.

• Wall Street: Stocks hit a record high but investors dumped bonds as Trump’s victory sent markets around the world scrambling to price in a new regime of trade tariffs and tax cuts.

Our White House Watch newsletter will unpack what the incoming Trump administration means for Washington and the world. Sign up here to get the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: China releases its trade figures for October. The Philippines reports third-quarter GDP.

• Monetary policy: The US and UK central banks are both expected to cut interest rates.

• Results: Nissan and Nippon Steel report earnings.

Five more top stories

1. AstraZeneca confirmed that its top executive in China, Leon Wang, was detained by Chinese authorities over the past week, while two other current executives in the region and two former executives are under investigation. Here’s what we know about the probe.

2. German chancellor Olaf Scholz has sacked his liberal finance minister Christian Lindner, plunging the eurozone’s largest economy into political chaos hours after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. The sacking of Lindner is likely to precipitate snap elections more than six months before they were due to be held next September.

3. Slowing demand in China led to steep falls in quarterly profit for Toyota, Honda and BMW, dragging even the strongest carmakers into a broader downturn hitting the sector. Until now, Japan’s Toyota and Honda had outperformed their European and US. Here’s more on the carmakers’ troubles.

4. Brazil’s exchange rate to the dollar has dropped to near record lows. After weeks of Brazilian real declining, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration yesterday confirmed it would soon unveil long-anticipated measures to curb expenditure.

5. Novo Nordisk maintained booming sales of its weight loss and diabetes drugs in the third quarter. The maker of the blockbuster Ozempic and Wegovy drugs reported revenue and operating profit broadly in line with analysts’ expectations.

Explainer

After clinching the election, Trump’s next task will be staffing the top ranks of his second administration. The president-elect is poised to tap unconventional picks, eschewing Washington insiders as he did during his first term. But this time around the goal will be to identify loyal individuals who will support even his most unorthodox proposals.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Edward Luce: Trump victory is an existential disaster for Democrats and a historic game changer for US allies.

• Big Oil’s dirty legacy in Nigeria: The foreign companies that built the country’s oil industry are exiting the polluted Niger Delta for easier, more lucrative operations elsewhere. Who will clean up the environmental mess left behind?

• UK economy: Instead of its habitual “muddling through”, Britain needs a strategy that takes on its weaknesses to deliver growth, writes Martin Wolf.

Chart of the day

Trump increased his vote share across the US in his election triumph, gaining ground in all but two states. See how the Republican candidate won in maps and charts.

Take a break from the news

HTSI’s drinks columnist Alice Lascelles was asked to judge the best teas in the world at The Leafies awards. These were the winners.