Bessent Downplays Chinese Investment in Trade Talks
Save
Good morning. Scott Bessent talks China, trade and interest rates. Vladimir Putin heads to the Alaska summit feeling confident. And we have a new space mission taking off from Florida. Listen to the day's top stories.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed the possibility of Chinese investments in the US being part of a trade pact, narrowing the options for the two sides to resolve a running dispute. Bessent also suggested that the Federal Reserve should be open to a 50 basis-point interest rate cut next month, as bets on an outsized reduction gain steam after a largely benign US inflation report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bitcoin drops 3% after touching record highs as crypto rolls over
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) retreated more than 3% from its record highs on Thursday after hotter than expected inflation soured expectations of a large rate cut in September and after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled the US won't be purchasing or selling its bitcoin reserve. On Wednesday, bitcoin touched an all-time high past $123,500 per token in anticipation of looser monetary policy and corporate purchases. Crypto rolled over after July's producer price index came in much higher than expected. During an interview with Fox Business this morning, Bessent said US reserves of bitcoin amount to around $15 billion or $20 billion at today's prices. "We've also started to get into the 21st century — a bitcoin strategic reserve. We're not going to be buying that, but we are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up. We're going to stop selling that," he said. Expectations of Fed rate cuts, coupled with heavy purchases from corporate treasurys, have driven up the price of the asset this year. The cryptocurrency has gained 25% year to date and has rallied roughly 57% since the April lows. Inflows into spot exchange-traded funds, along with purchases from public companies copying the blueprint of software firm-turned-bitcoin juggernaut Strategy (MSTR) by adding bitcoin to their balance sheets, have been key drivers of this year's token rally. Strategists also point to the Trump administration's pro-crypto stance as a major catalyst. "The administration is pushing crypto. They are pushing bitcoin. Bitcoin is the lead dog in the crypto market," Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, told Yahoo Finance earlier this week. "So is it short-term a little frothy? Sure," he added. "But longer term, there are some fundamental changes here that I think are bullish for it, and we'll send it much higher in the future." Last week, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Labor Department to explore allowing 401(k) plans to hold cryptocurrencies and other alternative assets, a move that could significantly expand retail access to crypto. The price surge also comes as US equities have notched all-time records on expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September, and that Trump's next Fed chair pick will likely favor looser monetary policy. Meanwhile, ethereum (ETH-USD) prices also retreated more than 3% on Thursday after rising to near record levels as Wall Street grows increasingly bullish on the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Companies have been adding ether to their balance sheets as a way to gain exposure to the tech infrastructure behind decentralized finance and digital assets, such as stablecoins. This week, Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), an ethereum treasury company, announced plans to sell up to another $20 billion worth of stock to boost its holdings of the cryptocurrency. "We have stated multiple times we believe Ethereum is the biggest macro trade over the next 10-15 years," Fundstrat head of research Tom Lee, who also serves as chairman of Bitmine, wrote in a note Wednesday. Lee noted the majority of Wall Street crypto projects and stablecoins, or digital tokens backed by assets like the US dollar, are being built on the ethereum infrastructure. Ether, the native token of ethereum, is up more than 50% since the GENIUS Act legislation, which creates guardrails for the stablecoin industry, was passed last month. Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission's recent "Project Crypto" announcement, an initiative to modernize the agency and establish clear regulations around the digital asset industry, has also fueled the rally in ethereum. Fundstrat sees ETH hitting prices moving as high as $15,000 by year-end. Ines Ferre is a Senior Business Reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bitcoin sinks following hotter-than-expected inflation print, Bessent comments on strategic reserve
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) retreated more than 3% from its record highs on Thursday after hotter-than-expected inflation soured expectations of a large rate cut in September and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled the US won't be purchasing bitcoin for its strategic reserve. On Wednesday, bitcoin touched an all-time high past $123,500 per token in anticipation of looser monetary policy and corporate purchases. Crypto rolled over after July's producer price index came in much higher than expected. During an interview with Fox Business, Bessent said US reserves of bitcoin amount to around $15 billion or $20 billion at today's prices. "We've also started to get into the 21st century — a bitcoin strategic reserve. We're not going to be buying that, but we are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up," he said. Expectations of Fed rate cuts, coupled with heavy purchases from corporate treasurys, have driven up the price of the asset this year. The cryptocurrency has gained 25% year to date and has rallied roughly 57% since the April lows. Inflows into spot exchange-traded funds, along with purchases from public companies copying the blueprint of software firm-turned-bitcoin juggernaut Strategy (MSTR) by adding bitcoin to their balance sheets, have been key drivers of this year's rally. Strategists also point to the Trump administration's pro-crypto stance as a major catalyst. "The administration is pushing crypto. They are pushing bitcoin. Bitcoin is the lead dog in the crypto market," Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, told Yahoo Finance earlier this week. "So is it short-term a little frothy? Sure," he added. "But longer term, there are some fundamental changes here that I think are bullish for it." Last week, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Labor Department to explore allowing 401(k) plans to hold cryptocurrencies and other alternative assets, a move that could significantly expand retail investor access to crypto. The price surge also comes as US equities have notched all-time records on expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September, and that Trump's next Fed chair pick will likely favor looser monetary policy. Meanwhile, ethereum (ETH-USD) prices also retreated more than 3% on Thursday after rising to near record levels as Wall Street grows increasingly bullish on the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Companies have been adding ether to their balance sheets as a way to gain exposure to the tech infrastructure behind decentralized finance and digital assets, such as stablecoins. Ines Ferre is a Senior Business Reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
E&E News
6 minutes ago
- E&E News
Judge scrutinizes Everglades site as ‘Alligator Alcatraz' hearings near close
MIAMI — U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams sharply questioned lawyers for the state of Florida and federal government Wednesday about why the 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration detention facility had to be built on an airstrip in the Everglades' delicate ecosystem. She questioned why the tented facility, which is expected to have the capacity to hold as many as 4,000 undocumented immigrants at a time, wasn't constructed elsewhere, including outside a standing detention center, at an abandoned commercial property, a decommissioned airport or 'an abandoned speedway' — in an apparent reference to the 'Speedway Slammer' detention facility under development in Indiana. 'The only question is: Why in the middle of the Everglades?' she asked principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson. 'There has been no evidence as to why we need to have it in the middle of the Everglades.' Advertisement State and federal lawyers explained the location was helpful for sending out deportation flights directly from the airstrip, and that the remote site was important for public safety. But Williams, an Obama-era appointee, shot back that deportation flights could leave out of other Florida airports.
