US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer sounded a cautiously optimistic note on discussions with China on rare earth flows, following trade talks that further steadied ties between the economies. Greer said the key industrial components were a focus of negotiations in Stockholm last week that Beijing said led to an extension of their tariff truce. Without…
Chinese sovereign bonds are coming under pressure as growing optimism over local stocks drives the correlation between the two markets toward the most extreme levels since the pandemic. The 90-day correlation between the CSI 300 Index and the Bloomberg China Treasury Total Return Index is heading toward its most negative level since 2020. The bond…
US and Chinese officials are meeting Monday to extend their tariff detente beyond a mid-August deadline, and haggle over other ways to further defuse trade tensions. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will lead the delegations through Tuesday in Stockholm — their third meeting in less than three months. The…
Two of President Donald Trump’s top trade negotiators hailed their approach toward addressing trade grievances with Japan as a possible incentive for the European Union, as negotiations come to a head before an Aug. 1 deadline. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television that Japan’s pledge of hundreds of billions…
Asian equity-index futures struggled for direction Thursday after the dollar weakened and US stocks rose in volatile trading after President Donald Trump played down the prospect he may soon fire Jerome Powell. Trump said he is “not planning on doing anything” to remove Powell, after a White House official said the president was likely to…
It may seem as if Treasuries are the better bet these days with the US stock market back near record highs and government securities offering respectable yields again. But stocks are still likely to pay more. The urge to ditch stocks is understandable. There’s a lot of uncertainty out there, much of which could have…
US President Donald Trump has rattled economies and markets with his promise of imposing punitive tariffs on the nation’s largest trade partners. So far he’s implemented 10% levies on China; delayed plans to hit Mexico and Canada with a 25% duty tax; and indicated that he’s coming for the European Union next. Yet beyond all…
The US Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation gauge came in pretty plain vanilla Friday, perhaps pointing the way toward Wall Street’s favorite flavor: rate cuts. But even that bit of good news wasn’t enough to calm investors trying to read the tea leaves as to what the White House will or won’t do, means or doesn’t…
Amid Donald Trump’s chaotic, last-minute intervention into congressional negotiations about government funding, he has stumbled upon a good idea: He wants to abolish the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling, once a barely relevant bit of legal arcana, has become a dangerous weapon in American politics. It is currently due to expire in March, and the…
Rachel Reeves, as has often been the case since Labour took office in July, is the subject of several tricky news stories today. Her budget continues to attract criticism, while the Chinese spying scandal has put her at the center of a row about how the government should approach the foreign power. Firstly, the budget…