
BD signs US wheat-import deal in bid to curb tariff pressure
The agreement — formalised through a memorandum of understanding inked in Dhaka between the Ministry of Food and trade group US Wheat Associates — comes at a critical moment, with Washington set to impose a 35% tariff on Bangladeshi exports from August 1. Officials in Dhaka hope the pact will help narrow Bangladesh's $6 billion trade deficit with the US and pave the way for more-favourable treatment of key export items shipments to the United States.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Recorder
25 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Asian stocks slip from highs, dollar gains as markets brace for crucial week
TOKYO: Asian shares eased from highs on Friday, with Japanese markets retreating from a record peak, as investors locked in profits ahead of a crucial week that includes U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff deadline and a host of central bank meetings. The dollar gained against the yen after bouncing off a two-week low on Thursday, helped by some firm U.S. economic data, while Japan's currency was weighed down by political uncertainty amid media reports Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will step down. Benchmark Japanese government bond yields hovered just below the highest since 2008. Japan's broad Topix index, which had jumped more than 5% over the previous two sessions to reach an all-time high, pulled back 0.7%. The Nikkei slipped 0.5% from Thursday's one-year high. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.5% and mainland Chinese blue chips declined 0.2%. Australia's equity benchmark declined 0.5%. At the same time, U.S. S&P 500 futures added 0.2%, after the cash index edged up slightly to a new record closing high overnight, buoyed by robust earnings from Google parent Alphabet. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also marked a record high. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe edged down 0.1%, but remained just below an all-time peak from Thursday. The index is on course for a 1.3% weekly advance, buoyed in large part by optimism for U.S. trade deals with the European Union and China, following an agreement with Japan this week. Next week, in the U.S. alone, investors need to contend with Trump's August 1 deadline for trade deals, a Federal Reserve policy meeting, the closely watched monthly payrolls report, and earnings from the likes of Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft. The Bank of Japan has its own policy announcement on Thursday, and Prime Minister Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party holds a meeting the same day. That's after the European Central Bank held rates steady on Thursday, pausing its easing campaign as it waits to assess any impact from U.S. tariffs. The euro ended the session down 0.2% against a buoyant dollar, and was little changed on Friday at $1.1743 . The U.S. currency advanced 0.3% to 147.37 yen , adding to Thursday's 0.4% gain. Trump kept the pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to cut rates after a rare presidential visit to the central bank on Thursday, although he said he did not intend to fire Powell, as he has frequently suggested he would. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields edged down to 4.39% on Friday, effectively erasing an advance on Thursday. Equivalent Japanese government bond yields eased 0.5 basis point to 1.595%, just off this week's high of 1.6%, a level last seen in October 2008. JGB yields have been rising on concerns the political scale is tilting more towards fiscal stimulus, after big gains for opposition parties backing consumption tax cuts in Sunday's upper house election. Pressure is building on the more fiscally hawkish Ishiba to quit after his coalition lost its majority in the vote, after doing the same in lower house elections last October. Gold was flat at around $3,368 per ounce, keeping it on course for a 0.5% rise this week. Brent crude futures gained 0.3% to $69.35 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures added 0.2% to $66.18 per barrel.


Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Alphabet results take S&P 500, Nasdaq to record highs
NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit record highs on Thursday as major technology stocks rose after megacap Alphabet's robust earnings, while the Dow was weighed down by losses in IBM, UnitedHealth, and Honeywell. At 11:33 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 gained 15.92 points, or 0.25%, to 6,374.83 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 53.37 points, or 0.25%, to 21,072.20. Alphabet rose 1.9% after the Google parent raised its 2025 capital spending forecast by $10 billion to $85 billion, shrugging off trade jitters, and reinforcing investors' confidence in AI investments and returns. Shares of Microsoft, Nvidia and Amazon were up between 0.9% and 1.7%. Losses in UnitedHealth, IBM and Honeywell weighed on the blue-chip Dow, which fell 0.33% - though it remained close to its December 4 record high. UnitedHealth lost 3.7%. The insurer revealed it's cooperating with a Department of Justice probe into its Medicare practices, following reports of both criminal and civil investigations. IBM dropped 8% as its second-quarter results fell flat with investors, hampered by disappointing sales in its core software division. Honeywell, meanwhile, dipped 4.6% despite topping Wall Street's expectations and raising its annual outlook. Electric vehicle maker Tesla tumbled 9%, as CEO Elon Musk warned of 'a few rough quarters' due to cuts in EV incentives. The stock has fallen about 25% for the year so far. 'Tesla was declining in terms of its core business, which is automobiles, prior to his (Elon Musk) political involvement,' said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital. 'Deliveries were going down, demand was going down and he took his eye off the ball and now it's gone down a lot.' On the trade front, an EU spokesperson hinted that a deal was 'within reach'—one that could slap a broad 15% tariff on imports across the 27-member bloc, according to diplomats. Meanwhile, fresh signs of progress emerged after President Donald Trump struck an agreement with Japan, slicing tariffs on Japanese goods to 15%. China and South Korea are also scrambling to clinch their own deals and sidestep Trump's hefty duties. Some of Wall Street's heavyweights were starting to feel the sting of Trump's sweeping tariffs. American Airlines fell 9.2% after forecasting a bigger-than-expected third-quarter loss, hurt by sluggish domestic travel demand.


Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
US copper hits record high, expanding premium over the LME benchmark
LONDON: US copper futures hit a record high on Thursday, expanding their premium against the global benchmark with just over a week left until the planned date for the US import tariff on the metal. The most active COMEX copper futures rose 1.2% to $5.888 a lb after hitting a peak of $5.959, while the three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.2% to $9,910 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading. The premium of COMEX over LME copper expanded to 31% from 29% on Wednesday. The premium remained below the 50% import tariff planned by President Donald Trump as the market was waiting for confirmation of the August 1 deadline and a list of the copper products to which the levy would apply. 'We are cautious of copper's current upward momentum. Any shift in the Trump's tariff policy – whether there are any exemptions or the rate itself is toned down – could see the COMEX premium falling,' said ING commodities analyst Ewa Manthey. Copper stocks in the COMEX-owned warehouses jumped 163% over the last four months, but inflows to them have been slowing down in recent days. This trend is likely to persist, improving availability of copper outside the US and keeping the global copper prices under pressure, Manthey said. Apart from the approaching August 1 deadline for the US copper import tariffs, the metals market focus is on China-US trade talks due in Sweden next week, US trade talks with other countries, and Washington's ongoing investigation into potential import tariffs for some critical minerals. Among other LME metals, tin was steady at $34,845 a ton in official activity after touching $35,100, for its highest since April 7, earlier in the session. Supporting the metal are low stocks in the LME-registered warehouses and large holdings of tin warrants - title documents conferring ownership. Aluminium lost 0.1% to $2,648 a ton, while zinc fell 0.3% to $2,853. Both hit a four-month high earlier in the session. Lead and nickel eased 0.2% to $2,028 and $15,540, respectively.