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1. US, UK work toward trade deal
United States President Donald Trump said Thursday that his administration and the United Kingdom agreed to the outlines of a trade deal, which includes the U.S. rolling back tariffs imposed on British steel and automobiles in exchange for purchasing Boeing jets and giving American farmers more access to U.K. markets, the Wall Street Journal reports.
U.K. goods will still be subject to the 10% global tariff, but its steel and aluminum will be exempt from the U.S.'s 25% tax. U.K. car tariffs will be lowered to 10% from 25% for the first 100,000 vehicles.
Beef imports into the U.S. from the U.K. will no longer have a tariff after previously being at 20%.
2. Trump open to lowering Chinese tariffs
Ahead of a meeting between the U.S. and China in Switzerland this weekend, President Trump said he's open to cutting Chinese tariffs from 145% to 80%, the New York Times reports. Trump said in a social media post that it'll be up to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who will take the lead for the U.S. in the countries' upcoming meeting.
As a result of the tariffs, Chinese shipments to the United States were down 21% year over year in April. Chinese exports to Southeast Asian countries, however, were up 21%, the newspaper reports.
"This is an early signal that something is going on in terms of a front-loading of the supply chain," said Raymond Yeung, the chief economist for China for ANZ, a New Zealand bank. "It's a redirection of trade that is already well-documented."
3. Expedia reports Q1 results
Weaker-than-expected travel demand in and into the U.S. led to results on the low end of Expedia's first-quarter projections, CoStar News Hotels' Natalie Harms reported. Bookings for the company grew 4% year over year, but average daily rate was down 1%.
"We remain focused on what's in our control, improving every day on the basics of our business and executing against our three strategic priorities. First, deliver more values for travelers. Second, invest where we see the greatest opportunity for growth; and third, drive operating efficiencies and expand margins," CEO Ariane Gorin said on the company's first-quarter earnings call.
4. NYC expects far fewer tourists this year
New York City is expected to welcome 400,000 fewer tourists this year than it did in 2024, according to its tourism agency, New York City Tourism and Conventions. This is the second time the agency downgraded its initial forecast since President Trump announced tariffs and ramped up detentions of foreign tourists, the New York Times reports.
The city expects 400,000 more domestic travelers than last year, but that's offset by 800,000 fewer foreign travelers, the newspaper reports.
Citing CoStar data, the NYT reports hotel occupancy has stayed relatively flat year over year but summer bookings have not kept pace with last year.
5. Grand Bohemian Lodge Asheville reopens
The Grand Bohemian Lodge Asheville, Autograph Collection reopened on Thursday for the first time since Hurricane Helene hit on Sept. 27, 2024, local news station WLOS reports.
Matthew Lehman, general manager of the Grand Bohemian Lodge Asheville, said he is constantly reminded of how the community came together and credits the team that helped them get back to this day.
"In the grand scheme of things, to go from the devastation that we suffered to welcoming back into our property in such a short amount of time is really remarkable," he said.