logo
Asian shares mostly higher after Trump says he discussed firing Fed Chair Powell

Asian shares mostly higher after Trump says he discussed firing Fed Chair Powell

Arab Times17-07-2025
BANGKOK, July 17, (AP): World shares were mostly higher Thursday while US futures were mixed after President Donald Trump rocked Wall Street by saying he had "talked about the concept of firing' the head of the Federal Reserve, but was unlikely to do so. Removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell might help Wall Street get the lower interest rates investors love but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX gained 0.8% to 24,209.08, while the CAC 40 in Paris also rose 0.8%, to 7,785.91. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.4% to 8,960.99. The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%. Asian markets also were mostly higher. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% to 39,901.19 after the government reported a trade deficit for the first half of the year as Japan's exports to the United States took a hit from Trump's tariffs.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed early gains to close down 0.1% at 24,498.95, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4% to 3,516.83. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 8,639.00. In South Korea, the Kospi climbed 0.2% to 3,192.29. India's Sensex lost 0.3% while the SET in Bangkok jumped 3.3% on strong gains for market heavyweights like Airports of Thailand and Delta Electronics.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the Dow industrials added 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.3% to a fresh record of 20,730.49. Stocks were rising modestly in the morning before news reports saying that Trump was likely to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell quickly sent the S&P 500 down by 0.7%. When later asked directly if he was planning to fire Powell, Trump said, "I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely.'
That helped calm the market, and stocks erased their losses, though Trump added that he could still fire Powell if "he has to leave for fraud.' Trump has been criticizing a $2.5 billion renovation project of the Fed's headquarters. Trump is unhappy that the Fed has not cut interest rates this year, a move that would have made it easier for U.S. households and businesses to get loans to buy houses, build factories and otherwise boost the economy.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Battling tariffs is no trivial pursuit for US games retailer
Battling tariffs is no trivial pursuit for US games retailer

Kuwait Times

time7 hours ago

  • Kuwait Times

Battling tariffs is no trivial pursuit for US games retailer

COLLEGE PARK, US: At a strip mall in Maryland, a miniature landscape extends across a table between Dash Krempel and his friend as a war game unfolds. But their hobby is becoming more expensive as US tariffs take a toll. Krempel, 29, told AFP the cost of models for tabletop games have surged from inflation, and continued rising since US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on trading partners this year. UK-made figurines that cost $60 around three years ago now go for $94.50, he said. 'Prices have gotten bigger,' he added. 'It's a very expensive hobby to begin with, so it's maybe pricing a lot of people out.' Instead of buying more products, he now tries to support retailer Game Kastle College Park by renting tables to play in-store. For the shop's owner, Boyd Stephenson, stocking new board games, paints and hobby supplies has only become more challenging. To avoid the harshest of Trump's tariffs, some suppliers had to delay shipments or postpone new releases. As they raised their suggested retail prices, so has Stephenson at Game Kastle. About a fifth of his store's products have seen cost hikes, with increases ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent. 'If we see higher prices or higher tariffs, I'm going to see higher wholesale prices, and then I have to raise my prices accordingly,' he said. Asked what percentage of his store relies on imports, Stephenson replied: 'Almost all of it.' Stephenson estimates some 7,000 board games were released last year from 5,000 different companies. 'You're really looking at 5,000 different approaches (to tariffs),' he said. 'Some producers are saying, 'We're going to eat the cost.' Some producers are saying, 'We're passing the cost through all the way.' And other producers are doing some sort of mix of that.' Like other US retailers, Stephenson could face more cost pressures come August 1, when steeper tariffs are set to hit dozens of economies like the European Union and India. The elevated rates mark an increase from the 10 percent levy Trump imposed on goods from most economies in April. While China—a crucial manufacturing hub for games—is temporarily spared, Trump has separately imposed fresh 30 percent tariffs on products from the world's second biggest economy this year. US tariffs on Chinese products could return to higher levels from August 12 if officials fail to extend their truce. Yet, there is no quick fix to return manufacturing to the United States. 'US manufacturers just don't have the capacity to do that anymore,' said Stephenson, showing an intricate board game figurine. 'Really, the people that are good at that, that's China,' he said. 'The best modeling paints come from Spain.' 'So if you see tariffs get put up on the EU, then all of a sudden I'm going to have to pay higher prices on modeling paint when I bring it into the country,' he added. Trump has threatened the bloc with a 30 percent tariff. 'Universally bad' Stephenson tries to absorb some cost hikes, but said: 'I have to be able to pay the staff, pay the electric company, pay the landlord.' Trump's on-again, off-again approach to duties has also made suppliers' price changes more unpredictable. 'What is always universally bad for business is uncertainty,' Stephenson said. He usually stocks up on inventory ahead of the year-end holiday season, but expects to be more strategic with purchases this year to avoid unwelcome surprises. Many companies are delaying merchandise imports as they lack certainty, said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. —AFP

Fed poised to hold off on rate cuts, defying Trump
Fed poised to hold off on rate cuts, defying Trump

Kuwait Times

time7 hours ago

  • Kuwait Times

Fed poised to hold off on rate cuts, defying Trump

WASHINGTON: The US central bank is widely expected to hold off slashing interest rates again at its upcoming meeting, as officials gather under the cloud of an intensifying pressure campaign by President Donald Trump. Policymakers at the independent Federal Reserve have kept the benchmark lending rate steady since the start of the year as they monitor how Trump's sweeping tariffs are impacting the world's biggest economy. With Trump's on-again, off-again tariff approach—and the levies' lagged effects on inflation—Fed officials want to see economic data from this summer to gauge how prices are being affected. When mulling changes to interest rates, the central bank—which meets on Tuesday and Wednesday—seeks a balance between reining in inflation and the health of the jobs market. But the bank's data-dependent approach has enraged the Republican president, who has repeatedly criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not slashing rates further, calling him a 'numbskull' and 'moron.' Most recently, Trump signaled he could use the Fed's $2.5 billion renovation project as an avenue to oust Powell, before backing off and saying that would be unlikely. Trump visited the Fed construction site on Thursday, making a tense appearance with Powell in which the Fed chair disputed Trump's characterization of the total cost of the refurbishment in front of the cameras. But economists expect the Fed to look past the political pressure at its policy meeting. 'We're just now beginning to see the evidence of tariffs' impact on inflation,' said Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics. 'We're going to see it (too) in July and August, and we think that's going to give the Fed reason to remain on the sidelines,' he told AFP. Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has imposed a 10 percent tariff on goods from almost all countries, as well as steeper rates on steel, aluminum and autos. The effect on inflation has so far been limited, prompting the US leader to use this as grounds for calling for interest rates to be lowered by three percentage points. Currently, the benchmark lending rate stands at a range between 4.25 percent and 4.50 percent. Trump also argues that lower rates would save the government money on interest payments, and floated the idea of firing Powell. The comments roiled financial markets. 'Powell can see that the administration floated this trial balloon' of ousting him before walking it back on the market's reaction, Sweet said. 'It showed that markets value an independent central bank,' the Oxford Economics analyst added, anticipating Powell will be instead more influenced by labor market concerns. Powell's term as Fed chair ends in May 2026. Analysts expect to see a couple of members break ranks if the Fed's rate-setting committee decides for a fifth straight meeting to keep interest rates unchanged. Sweet cautioned that some observers may spin dissents as pushback on Powell but argued this is not necessarily the case. 'It's not out-of-line or unusual to see, at times when there's a high degree of uncertainty, or maybe a turning point in policy, that you get one or two people dissenting,' said Nationwide chief economist Kathy Bostjancic. Fed Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman have both signaled openness to rate cuts as early as July, meaning their disagreement with a decision to hold rates steady would not surprise markets. Bostjancic said that too many dissents could be 'eyebrow-raising,' and lead some to question if Powell is losing control of the board, but added: 'I don't anticipate that to be the case.' For Sweet, 'the big wild card is the labor market.' There has been weakness in the private sector, while the hiring rate has been below average and the number of permanent job losers is rising. 'There are some fissures in the labor market, but they haven't turned into fault lines yet,' Sweet said. If the labor market suddenly weakened, he said he would expect the Fed to start cutting interest rates sooner. –AFP

Trump, EU chief seek deal in transatlantic trade standoff
Trump, EU chief seek deal in transatlantic trade standoff

Kuwait Times

time10 hours ago

  • Kuwait Times

Trump, EU chief seek deal in transatlantic trade standoff

Lutnick says Aug 1 deadline is firm, rules out extensions TURNBERRY, UK: US President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen were set for make-or-break talks in Scotland Sunday, aimed at ending a months-long transatlantic trade standoff, as negotiations went down to the wire. Trump has said he sees a one-in-two chance of a deal with the European Union, which faces an across-the-board US levy of 30 percent unless it strikes a trade pact by August 1 - with Washington warning Sunday there would be 'no extensions.' Von der Leyen's European Commission, negotiating on behalf of EU countries, is pushing hard for a deal to salvage a trading relationship worth an annual $1.9 trillion in goods and services. According to an EU diplomat briefed ahead of the meeting, set for 4:30 pm (1530 GMT), the contours of a deal are in place after talks went late into Saturday night - but key issues still need settling. And of course the final word lies with Trump. 'A political deal is on the table - but it needs the sign-off from Trump, who wants to negotiate this down to the very last moment,' the diplomat told AFP. The proposal, they said, involves a baseline levy of around 15 percent on EU exports to the United States - the level secured by Japan - with carve-outs for critical sectors including aircraft and spirits, though not for wine. Any deal will need to be approved by EU member states - whose ambassadors, on a visit to Greenland, were updated by the commission Sunday morning, and would meet again after any accord. According to the EU diplomat, the 27 countries broadly endorsed the deal as envisaged - while recalling their negotiating red lines. The Trump-von der Leyen meeting was taking place in Turnberry on Scotland's southwestern coast, where the president owns a luxury golf resort. He was out on the course for much of the weekend. The 79-year-old Trump said Friday he hoped to strike 'the biggest deal of them all' with the EU. 'I think we have a good 50-50 chance,' the president said, citing sticking points on 'maybe 20 different things'. The EU is focused on getting a deal to avoid sweeping tariffs that would further harm its sluggish economy - while holding out retaliation as a last resort. Under the proposal described to AFP, the EU would commit to ramp up purchases of US liquefied natural gas, along with other investment pledges. Pharmaceuticals - a key export for Ireland - would also face a 15-percent levy, as would semi-conductors. The EU also appears to have secured a compromise on steel that could allow a certain quota into the United States before tariffs would apply, the diplomat said. Hit by multiple waves of tariffs since Trump reclaimed the White House, the EU is currently subject to a 25-percent levy on cars, 50 percent on steel and aluminum, and an across-the-board tariff of 10 percent, which Washington threatens to hike to 30 percent in a no-deal scenario. It was unclear how the proposed deal would impact tariff levels on the auto industry, crucial for France and Germany, with carmakers already reeling from the levies imposed so far. While 15 percent would be much higher than pre-existing US tariffs on European goods - averaging 4.8 percent - it would mirror the status quo, with companies currently facing an additional flat rate of 10 percent. Should talks fail, EU states have greenlit counter tariffs on $109 billion (93 billion euros) of US goods including aircraft and cars to take effect in stages from August 7. Brussels is also drawing up a list of US services to potentially target. Beyond that, countries like France say Brussels should not be afraid to deploy a so-called trade 'bazooka' - EU legislation designed to counter coercion that can involve restricting access to its market and public contracts. But such a step would mark a major escalation with Washington. Trump has embarked on a campaign to reshape US trade with the world, and has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not reach a pact with Washington by August 1. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday the August 1 deadline was firm and there will be 'no extensions, no more grace periods.' Polls suggest however the American public is unconvinced by the White House strategy, with a recent Gallup survey showing his approval rating at 37 percent -- down 10 points from January. Having promised '90 deals in 90 days,' Trump's administration has so far unveiled five, including with Britain, Japan and the Philippines. — AFP

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store