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By Renju Jose SYDNEY (Reuters) -Alphabet-owned Google on Monday said it would be "extremely difficult" for Australia to enforce a law prohibiting people younger than 16 from using social media, warning that the government's initiative would not make children safer online. Governments and tech firms around the world are closely watching Australia, which in December will become the first country to block the use of social media by people younger than 16. Social media platforms will not be required to conduct age verification procedures; instead, they will be asked to use artificial intelligence and behavioural data to reliably infer age. In a parliamentary hearing on online safety rules on Monday, YouTube's senior manager of government affairs in Australia, Rachel Lord, said the government's programme was well-intentioned, but it could have "unintended consequences." "The legislation will not only be extremely difficult to enforce, it also does not fulfil its promise of making kids safer online," Lord said. When asked if Google was lobbying officials in Washington to raise the issue when Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington next week, Google Australia's government affairs director Stef Lovett said her U.S. colleagues were aware of the issues that the company faces in Australia. In July, Australia added YouTube to a list of sites covered by the legislation – reversing an earlier decision to exempt it due to its popularity with teachers – following complaints from other tech firms. Google contends that YouTube is a video-sharing site, not a social media platform. "Well-crafted legislation can be an effective tool to build on industry efforts to keep children safer online," Lord said. "But the solution to keeping kids safer online is not stopping them from being online." Instead, she said, online safety tools must be used to protect children and parents should be given the controls to guide their online experiences. Australia, concerned about the impact of social media on the mental health of young people, passed its Online Safety Amendment in November 2024. It gave companies a year to comply and they face a Dec. 10 deadline to deactivate the accounts of underage users. (Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus.)

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By Gregor Stuart Hunter and Amanda Cooper SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) -The dollar edged up on Monday, as investors hoped the U.S. would temper its latest escalation of the trade war with China after Friday's selloff, while political developments in France and Japan undermined the euro and the yen.  The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency's performance against a basket of six others, was last up 0.2% at 99.2, recovering from declines late last week after U.S. President Donald Trump announced 100% tariffs on China. The broadside revived bad memories of Trump's Liberation Day rollout of sweeping tariffs in April and sparked a selloff in stocks and cryptocurrencies on Friday. TRUMP SOFTENS TONE "Certainly it's pretty nervous out there," said Tim Kelleher, head of institutional FX Sales at Commonwealth Bank in Auckland.  "If you look at the U.S. and China stuff, it looks like Trump has done a bit of a TACO again and softened his tone," he added, referring to a trading adage that "Trump always chickens out." After announcing the 100% tariffs on Friday, Trump said on Sunday: "Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!" "Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment," he posted on the Truth Social network. "He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!" U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday he was confident the standoff could be "de-escalated", which curbed some of the dollar's gains. The euro was last down 0.2% at $1.1589 , up from a low of $1.1582 earlier. European markets broadly shrugged off the French presidency's announcement of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's new cabinet lineup on Sunday, reappointing Roland Lescure, a close ally of Emmanuel Macron, as finance minister. Against the yen, the dollar was up 0.57% at 152.03 , below an earlier high of 152.46. A public holiday in Japan made for thinner trading. Markets meanwhile assessed the path ahead for new Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi after Komeito quit Japan's ruling coalition on Friday, dealing a blow to her hopes of becoming the first female prime minister of the world's fourth-largest economy. The offshore yuan recovered some stability to trade at 7.1416 per dollar, having reached a weak point of 7.144 overnight, after data showed China's export growth picked up pace in September. POSSIBLE CARRY TRADE IMPACT Even with sentiment on the up on Monday, analysts said the mood was fragile and currencies were likely prone to larger price swings.    "As we saw earlier this year neither side can tolerate such high tariffs for long and the comments from President Trump over the weekend again point towards a path for de-escalation," MUFG strategist Lee Hardman said. "As a result, the trade threats may just contribute a more volatile FX market in the near-term and trigger some unwind of carry trades," he added. Traders will often borrow in a low-yielding currency to invest in a higher-yielder, known as a carry trade. The Japanese yen and Swiss franc have typically been funding currencies and took a harder knock than others on Monday.  The Australian dollar, which tends to rally in a risk-on environment, rose 0.7% to $0.6517 , making it the best-performing major currency against the dollar on Monday. The pound, a fellow risk-on currency, was up 0.1% at $1.3347. (Reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Jamie Freed, Aidan Lewis, Toby Chopra)

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By Manoj Kumar NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India and the United States are set to hold trade talks this week, with New Delhi pledging to import U.S. energy and gas as it aims to address Washington's concerns over its Russian oil purchases, an official said. Talks were suspended briefly in August after the Trump administration announced tariff hikes of up to 50% on Indian goods, accusing India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine by continuing to buy Moscow's oil despite western sanctions. However, discussions resumed in September after U.S. President Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone in public remarks and spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the phone, raising hopes for a breakthrough.   The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, due to the sensitivity of the issue, said India was looking to increase purchases of energy and gas from the U.S.  The move follows U.S. ambassador-designate Sergio Gor's meetings over the weekend with Modi and later with Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal on strengthening bilateral trade and investment. "During my visit to India, I met with Commerce Secretary Agrawal and discussed US-India economic ties, including increased investment in the United States," Gor said on 'X' on Sunday. Indian officials held "constructive" talks with U.S. counterparts in Washington last month, the government said, adding that both sides agreed to push for an early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade deal. The U.S. tariff hikes have hurt Indian exports of textiles, leather goods, gems & jewellery, and food products, prompting the government to diversify markets and offer incentives to exporters. India's exports to the United States fell to $6.86 billion in August from $8.01 billion in July, trade ministry data showed, with exporters reporting further declines in September. Negotiations began in February 2025, targeting a deal to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. The two sides have held five rounds of trade talks, with the sixth – postponed in August – now expected to lead to the first phase of the deal next month, as agreed by Trump and Modi. India is seeking greater participation from private players, including U.S. firms, in its renewable and nuclear energy sectors. "Investments coming into our renewable energy sectors are an important area of our relationship (with the U.S.)," the official said, noting that New Delhi was open to buying more Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the United States. When asked about the Trump administration's calls for greater Indian investment in the U.S., the source said New Delhi was not opposed and viewed overseas investments by Indian firms positively, similar to China’s approach. (Reporting by Manoj Kumar; writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Kate Mayberry)

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By Samuel Shen and Summer Zhen HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) -A sharp sell-off in China stocks faded in choppy trading on Monday, allowing the market to trim early losses, as investors reassessed the impact of a renewed trade war between Washington and Beijing after taking profit to cut risks. Analysts and fund managers believe the market downside will be limited compared to the panic-selling seen in April, when U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off a global trade war with sweeping tariffs across the board. The Shanghai Composite closed down 0.2%, after falling as much as 2.5% in early trade. The blue-chip CSI300 Index was 0.5% lower. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng benchmark tumbled as much as 3.5% before recovering some losses to end down 1.5%. The Hang Seng Tech index lost 1.8%. Defying the broader selloff, however, China's rare earth sector, which is at the centre of revived trade tensions, jumped more than 6% to a record high, while semiconductor stocks also gained 2.6%. Trump on Friday unveiled additional levies of 100% on China's U.S.-bound exports, along with new export controls on critical software by November 1, in a reprisal against China curbing its critical rare earth exports. Later he softened tones on Sunday, posting that everything would be fine and the U.S. did not want to "hurt" China. "President Trump reminded everyone that there are lots of uncertainties for markets," said Ben Bennett, head of investment strategy for Asia at L&G Asset Management, based in Hong Kong. He expects near-term wobbles in Chinese stocks after the strong rally of the past few months. The Shanghai composite hovered around a decade high level before the Monday retreat. The Hang Seng index has jumped 30% so far this year. "We believe this is a tactical escalation (by Beijing) to shape pre-summit bargaining, not a strategic decoupling," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note, referring to a potential meeting between President Xi Jinping and Trump at an upcoming APEC summit in South Korea. An upbeat surprise in China's exports and imports data also helped lift investment sentiment. Investors should not be distracted by political headlines, said Yeang Cheng Ling, DBS's chief investment officer for North Asia. "We believe rationality will prevail at the end of it," he said. VOLATILITY SPIKES To be sure, markets are likely to remain anxious in the short term given the rising geopolitical tensions. An index tracking expected 30-day volatility in the benchmark Hang Seng surged 30% at one point on Monday to its highest level since April 2025, before easing slightly. Oriano Lizza, sales trader at CMC Markets in Singapore said the market is still digesting how long this saga will go on for, which "leaves the market on tenterhooks and very fragile at the moment". China's 30-year bond futures rose on Monday, indicating the rush for safe-havens. The yuan clawed back some of the losses that followed Trump's announcement on Friday, helped by stronger central bank guidance. Wang Yapei, a Shanghai-based hedge fund manager, expects the turbulence to be short-lived, betting China and the U.S. will eventually work through negotiations, as "the cost of large-scale conflict is too high for both powers." Beijing described Trump's latest tariffs on Chinese goods as hypocritical on Sunday but clarified that its export control is not an export ban and stopped short of imposing new levies on U.S. products. "This is a de-escalation move and will cushion the downside for Chinese markets," said Hong Hao, chief investment officer at Lotus Asset Management. Investors are likely to rotate from growth to value stocks in the coming weeks, he added. Charles Wang, chairman of Shenzhen Dragon Pacific Capital Management Co, said growing geopolitical uncertainty means China will likely further ease monetary policy to aid economic growth, supporting stocks. TACO AGAIN? China Merchants Securities said geopolitical tensions benefit Chinese sectors including artificial intelligence, robots, defence, innovative drugs and chipmaking. "Any correction would give long-term investors a chance to buy the stocks at lower prices," the brokerage said. But exporters sensitive to U.S. tariffs such as communications infrastructure, electric motors and electrical equipment, would be under pressure, analysts said. Many analysts, however, think the chance of a triple-digit tariff is slim. "This statement is more of Trump's signature negotiation tactic—applying maximum pressure to bolster bargaining leverage and force concessions during trade talks," Changjiang Securities said in a report. "It will likely again play out as TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out)." "In the near term, both sides are still reliant on one another…so we believe this latest escalation is more about posturing for incoming negotiations and meetings," said Lu Ting, Nomura's Chief China Economist, who sees "a decent chance" of a Xi-Trump in-person meeting during the APEC annual summit later this month. (Reporting by Summer Zhen in Hong Kong and Samuel Shen in Shanghai, Additional reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Sam Holmes and Peter Graff)

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