Global stocks, dollar tumble as Trump sparks global trade war fears

The spectre of a global trade war sent world stocks tumbling towards a 2.5 percent weekly loss on Friday, and left bruised investors reaching for the traditional antidotes - government bonds, gold and the Japanese yen.

The falls came after U. S. President Donald Trump said the United States would impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminium, sparking concerns of retaliatory moves from major trade partners China, Europe and neighbouring Canada.

Europe's STOXX 600 index fell over 1.5 percent led by a near 5 percent slump from world's biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA and 2.5 - 6 percent drops from the region's carmakers worried that they might be next.

Xi confidant Liu He emerges as front runner to head China's central bank

Liu He, a Harvard-trained economist who is a trusted confidant of Chinese President Xi Jinping, has emerged as the front runner to be the next governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), according to three sources with knowledge of the situation.

Liu may be in a position to become one of China's most powerful economic and financial officials ever, as he is already top adviser to Xi on economic policy and is also expected to become vice premier overseeing the economy.

Liu would replace current PBOC chief, 70-year-old Zhou Xiaochuan, who is China's longest-running head of the central bank, having taken the job in 2002. Zhou is expected to retire around the time of the annual session of parliament in March, sources previously told Reuters.