German Inflation Unexpectedly Cools to Match ECB's 2% Target
German inflation unexpectedly eased this month, matching the European Central Bank's goal for the first time in almost a year.
Consumer prices increased 2% from a year ago, down from 2.1% in May, Destatis said Monday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a slight acceleration to 2.2%.
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Boston Globe
19 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
David Chang bids farewell to the Hunt Club
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up DEALS Advertisement Home Depot heads deeper into the building supply business with $5 billion acquisition of GMS Shoppers inside a Home Depot store in Roseville, Calif. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Home Depot is buying specialty building products distributor GMS for $4.3 billion, the second notable acquisition in a little over a year that emphasizes a deliberate push by the home improvement chain into building and materials supply. The acquisitions arrive as booming sales from the pandemic fade and Home Depot intensifies its focus on professional builders. GMS Inc. of Tucker, Ga., is a distributor of specialty building products like drywall, steel framing, and other supplies used in both residential and commercial projects. A subsidiary of Home Depot's SRS Distribution Inc., the supply company it bought last year, will start a cash tender offer to buy all outstanding shares of GMS for $110 per share. The total equity value of the transaction is approximately $4.3 billion. The deal is worth about $5.5 billion, including debt. — ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement CRYPTO Circle's wild 490% jump draws sell rating from bank that led IPO Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group Inc. has surged more than five-fold since its initial public offering earlier this month. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group Inc. has surged more than five-fold since its initial public offering earlier this month, but analysts at lead underwriter JPMorgan Chase & Co. say that the rally has gotten out of hand. 'We see competition as a potential threat to Circle,' JPMorgan's Kenneth Worthington wrote in a note initiating coverage on the company at underweight. He also assigned the lowest price target on Wall Street, $80, implying a nearly 60 percent drop in the stock. JPMorgan's bearish call is surprising as firms that help guide a company's move to the public market tend to be more friendly but Circle's debut has been the hottest crypto-linked listing in years. In the days following the US Senate's passage of stablecoin legislation on June 17, a buying frenzy in Circle ensued, driving the stock of the second-largest stablecoin issuer as high as $298.99, well above its $31 IPO price. — BLOOMBERG NEWS AVIATION Supreme Court rejects American Air appeal on dismantled JetBlue alliance JetBlue and American Airlines planes at San Francisco International Airport on May 23. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg The US Supreme Court refused to hear American Airlines Group Inc.'s appeal of a lower court ruling that its partnership with JetBlue Airways Corp. violated federal antitrust laws by eliminating competition between the carriers and limiting travelers' choices for flights. American turned to the Supreme Court after the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in November upheld a district judge's ruling that the partnership violated federal antitrust laws. The airlines maintained that their Northeast Alliance, focused on Boston and New York, benefited consumers and allowed them to compete more effectively against United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. In urging the court to reject the appeal, the Justice Department said the practical implications of the case were likely to be limited. JetBlue pulled out of the deal two years ago, so a ruling in American's favor wouldn't have meant the accord was back in force. American countered that reversing the appeals court ruling would free the airline — and other companies — to enter into similar partnerships in the future. — BLOOMBERG NEWS Advertisement LEGAL US brings charges in North Korean remote worker scheme that officials say funds weapons program Two separate cases — one filed in Georgia, the other in Massachusetts — represent the latest Justice Department effort to confront a persistent threat that officials say generates enormous revenue for the North Korean government and in some cases affords workers access to sensitive and proprietary data from the corporations that hire them. KENT NISHIMURA/NYT The Justice Department announced criminal charges Monday in connection with a scheme by North Korea to fund its weapons program through the salaries of remote information technology workers employed unwittingly by US companies. The charges are part of what law enforcement officials described as a nationwide operation that also resulted in the seizure of financial accounts, websites, and laptops that were used to carry out the fraud. Two separate cases — one filed in Georgia, the other in Massachusetts — represent the latest Justice Department effort to confront a persistent threat that officials say generates enormous revenue for the North Korean government and in some cases affords workers access to sensitive and proprietary data from the corporations that hire them. The scheme involves thousands of workers who, armed with stolen or fake identities of US citizens, are dispatched by the North Korean government to find work as remote IT employees at American companies, including Fortune 500 corporations. Though the companies are duped into believing the workers they had hired were based in the United States, many are actually stationed in North Korea or China, and the wages they receive are transferred into accounts controlled by co-conspirators affiliated with North Korea, prosecutors say. In one case exposed on Monday in federal court in Massachusetts, the Justice Department said it had arrested one US national and charged more than a half-dozen Chinese and Taiwanese citizens for their alleged roles in an elaborate fraud that prosecutors say produced at least $5 million in revenue and affected more than 100 companies. — ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement TECH Apple loses bid to dismiss Justice Department antitrust suit Apple iPhone 16 phones on display in Manhattan in 2024. JUAN ARREDONDO/NYT Apple Inc. lost its bid to throw out an antitrust case brought by the US Justice Department and a group of state attorneys general on Monday, a victory for the aggressive posture taken during the Biden administration and carried on by enforcers under President Trump. The lawsuit is an existential threat to Apple and could upend its highly lucrative mobile hardware business. The iPhone maker is accused of violating antitrust laws by blocking rivals from accessing hardware and software features on its popular devices. The government claims Apple has used its power over app distribution and the iPhone's features to thwart innovations that would have made it easier for consumers to switch phones. In this early stage of the case, 'allegations of this nature, which indicate that Apple acts in a manner to protect its monopoly power in the smartphone and performance smartphone market, are sufficient,' US District Judge Julien Xavier Neals in New Jersey wrote in a 33-page ruling. — BLOOMBERG NEWS ECONOMY Trump intensifies attacks on Fed's Powell on Monday White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held up a handwritten note to US Fed Chair Jerome Powell from President Trump during a press briefing at the White House on Monday. Anna Moneymaker/Getty President Trump escalated his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell on Monday, criticizing him for not cutting short-term interest rates right away to match lower borrowing costs in other countries. The comments, conveyed in a handwritten note to the Fed chair displayed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, marked the latest in a string of insults as Trump and his advisers ramp up efforts to pressure Powell to resign or cut rates. 'You are, as usual, 'too late,' ' the president wrote alongside a list of interest rates set by world central banks, with the United States toward the lower end of the page, meaning it has relatively higher borrowing costs. He signaled that US interest rates should only be close to 1 percent, much lower than their current levels of between 4.25 percent and 4.5 percent. Powell, who is in his last year as Fed chairman, has ruled out any plans to step down early and says the central bank will make its policy decisions based on data rather than political pressure. — WASHINGTON POST Advertisement
Bloomberg
39 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
How Involved Will Trump Be in Tax Bill Negotiations?
Bloomberg's Michael Shephard shares his thoughts on the timeline of the Trump Tax Bill and how much to expect President Trump to be involved in the legislative process as Congress has placed a self-imposed deadline of July 4th to pass the bill. Michael also talks about the President putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Michael speaks with Kailey Leinz on the late edition of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Factbox-Where trade talks stand with major US partners ahead of tariffs-hike deadline
(Reuters) -Negotiators from more than a dozen major U.S. trading partners are rushing to reach agreements with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration by a July 9 deadline to avoid import tariffs jumping to higher levels, and Trump and his team kept up the pressure on Monday. With only a limited deal with Britain completed so far, Trump has repeatedly threatened just to send a series of letters to trading partners identifying what their new tariff rate will be after the deadline, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the risk of tariffs going up next week is real. "We have countries that are negotiating in good faith, but they should be aware that if we can't get across the line because they are being recalcitrant, then we could spring back to the April 2 levels," Bessent said on Bloomberg Television on Monday. "I hope that won't have to happen." Just over a week remains before tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on goods from many other countries could be imposed if those countries fail to agree on bilateral trade deals in time. Trump on April 9 put a 90-day pause on the stiff levies he had announced the previous week that sent global financial markets into a tailspin. Stocks have rallied back to record highs since then on optimism that deals will be completed on time, or the deadline perhaps extended again. Here is where some of the key negotiations stand for several U.S. trading partners: EUROPEAN UNION The European Union Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is flying to Washington on July 1 to meet with his U.S. counterparts, and has welcomed draft proposals from the U.S. Progress has been opaque, but the 27-member EU has said its regulations on social media and other technology companies, much stricter than those in the U.S., are not up for negotiation. The EU, meanwhile, is open to a U.S. deal that would apply a universal 10% tariff on many of its exports, but the bloc is seeking U.S. commitments to reduce tariffs in key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, alcohol, semiconductors, and commercial aircraft, Bloomberg reported. The EU is also pushing the U.S. to implement quotas and exemptions to effectively ease Washington's 25% tariff on automobiles and auto parts, as well as its 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. JAPAN Japan says it is working to reach an agreement with the U.S. while defending its national interest. Trump, meanwhile, continues to accuse Japan of "unfair" automobile trade with the U.S., making it unclear how American importers of Japanese cars might avoid tariffs of 25%. Trump has also suggested Japan should import more U.S. oil, among other goods. On Monday, Trump said Japan could be among those he sends a letter to identifying its tariff rate after he complained about import restrictions it imposes on America-grown rice. "I have great respect for Japan, they won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage," he said in a Truth Social post. "We'll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come." INDIA Early optimism has faded, with India-U.S. talks stalling on disagreementsover U.S. tariffs on auto components, steel and agricultural goods. Indian trade officials in Washington have said they are willing to extend their stay, with the main sticking point being on whether India is willing to ease trade protections on dairy, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, soybeans and its other agricultural products and whether the U.S. will ease tariffs on imports of Indian steel and car parts. INDONESIA Accused by some other countries of excessive red tape, Indonesia eased import licensing requirements for some goods and waived import restrictions on plastics, chemical products and other industrial raw materials on June 30, seen as a gesture of goodwill towards Trump's July 9 deadline for trade talks. Indonesia has also invited the U.S. to jointly invest in a state-owned Indonesian minerals project as part of its tariff negotiations. SOUTH KOREA Despite frequent rounds of talks and some preliminary agreements, South Korea said it would seek an extension on Trump's July 9 deadline. South Korea already imposes virtually zero tariffs on U.S. imported goods under a free-trade agreement, and so the U.S. has focused on other issues, including foreign exchange rates and defense costs, with Trump often complaining about the cost-sharing arrangement for the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. THAILAND With the threat of Americans having to pay 36% tariffs to import Thai goods, Thailand has projected optimism about its talks with the U.S., its largest export market. Thailand's proposalshave included reducing its own tariffs, purchasing more American goods and increasing investments. BRITAIN Britain has raced ahead of other countries: as of June 30, tariffs on U.S. imports of British cars are down to 10%, down from an earlier 27.5%, and removed entirely for aircraft engines and other aerospace goods. The two countries are still negotiating tariffs on British steel and aluminum, with Britain seeking to avoid the 50% tariffs the U.S. has imposed on importing these goods from many other countries. CHINA U.S.-China talks are on a different track, with a deadline for completing a wider agreement set for August. Talks between the two have faltered on the selling of rare earth minerals and magnets to the U.S., with China suspending those exports in response to Trump's tariffs announcement in April, upending global supply chains. In late June, the U.S. said it had reached an agreement with China to resume those exports while the two economic superpowers continue to negotiate a broader trade deal. (Compiled by Jonathan Allen; Edited by Dan Burns and Marguerita Choy) 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
