Kapow! China turns its back on Marvel movies
Among its retaliatory strikes for President Trump's tariff war, Beijing targeted Hollywood movies, threatening to deny them Chinese ticket sales. It may not need to.
Initial figures for the latest Marvel superhero film, Thunderbolts* — the first Hollywood blockbuster to premiere in China since Trump's 'liberation day', when his tariffs were announced — suggest local audiences will not need anything as official as a ban to stay away.
Opening on Wednesday, it took just 18 million yuan (£1.9 million), well behind The Dumpling Queen, a Chinese-language rags-to-riches biopic about a Hong Kong fast-food magnate that arrived in cinemas the same night. It was the lowest opening figure for a Marvel film in China for more than a decade.
By Thursday, a May Day public
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Reuters
31 minutes ago
- Reuters
Morning Bid: Dollar slides on trade and tax fears
A look at what matters in U.S. and global markets today from Mike Dolan, opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar plunged anew (.DXY), opens new tab to its lowest level in six weeks on Monday as June got underway, with U.S. tariff concerns back on the boil after last week's legal confusion and military tensions rising across the globe. The euro led the charge, undaunted by the prospect of another interest rate cut from the European Central Bank on Thursday. Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will travel to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday as trade talks between Europe and America are watched closely. With markets still on edge about elements of the U.S. fiscal bill going through the Senate that give the administration the option of taxing companies and investors from countries deemed to have 'unfair foreign taxes', the dollar is vulnerable to worries about foreign capital flight. But the attention on Monday seemed back on the tariff push, with an assumption President Donald Trump will push through levies one way or another despite the legal pushback last week. The greenback was hit after the weekend by Trump's plan to double duties on imported steel and aluminum to 50% from Wednesday and as Beijing hit back against accusations it violated an agreement on critical minerals shipments. It was also a weekend of significant geopolitical tensions and bellicose warnings. Gold crept higher. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned on Saturday that the threat from China was real and potentially imminent as he pushed allies in the Indo-Pacific to spend more on their own defence needs. The Ukraine-Russia war continued to rage, with Ukrainian drones hitting dozens of Russian bombers deep inside Russian territory. The Gaza conflict shows no sign of ending. Major countries are building armaments at pace. Britain will expand its nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet as part of a defence review, one designed to prepare the country for modern war and counter the Russian threat. Oil prices jumped by about 3% on Monday after producer group OPEC+ kept output increases in July at the same level as the previous two months. In a big week for U.S. labor market data, there was some encouragement on the interest rate front. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday that rate cuts remain possible in the second half of the year. Given that a rise in inflation pressures tied to Trump's import tax increases is unlikely to be persistent, "I support looking through any tariff effects on near term-inflation when setting the policy rate," Waller told a gathering in South Korea. Elsewhere, China's manufacturing activity shrank for a second month in May, as expected. Stocks in Poland .WIG20 fell 1.4%, after nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki won the second round of the country's presidential election. Ahead of Monday's bell, U.S. stock futures were down about half a percent, with stocks in Europe and Japan down too. U.S. Treasury yields nudged back higher. Today's column looks at the week's big monetary decision in Europe, with the European Central Bank widely expected to lower rates for the eighth time in the cycle and the euro rising regardless. While the European Central Bank keeps cutting interest rates, the euro keeps rising, as a transatlantic capital reversal upends relative rate shifts and threatens to force the ECB into further easing. The ECB is widely expected to lower its main borrowing rate on Thursday to 2%, half what it was at its peak a year ago and less than half the Federal Reserve equivalent. It's also back to what the central bank broadly considers a 'neutral' level, meaning it neither spurs nor reins in the economy. Real, or inflation-adjusted, ECB rates will be back to zero for the first time in almost two years. What's remarkable is that after eight consecutive ECB cuts and with the prospect of zero or even negative real rates ahead, the euro has surged more than 10% against the dollar in just four months and 5% against a trade-weighted currency basket of the euro zone's major trading partners. That nominal effective euro index is now at record highs, with the 'real' version at its strongest level in more than 10 years. The currency has surged even though there has been no net change in the gap between two-year government bond yields on either side of the Atlantic - usually a reliable indicator of shifts in the euro/dollar exchange rate. The culprits behind this trend are pretty clear: Donald Trump's tariff wars, fears of capital flight from dollar assets due to a host of concerns about U.S. policies and institutions, and Germany's historic fiscal boost that has transformed the continent's outlook. But if even a fraction of the trillions of dollars of European investment capital in the United States is indeed coming back home as many suspect, the ECB has a curious conundrum ahead. How does it handle both the disinflationary effects of such a rapid currency rise alongside the domestic demand it could catalyse? Lower rates with the prospect of further easing ahead are clearly having little impact on the euro. Most ECB watchers expect one or two more cuts after Thursday while money markets have a 'terminal rate' around 1.75%, the low end of the ECB's estimated range of 'neutral'. Indeed, if much of the capital repatriation from overweight U.S. holdings is in equity investments, then lower ECB rates may even accelerate the outflows from the U.S. by lifting growth prospects for cheaper stocks in Europe. The prospect of higher German and pan-European borrowing should sustain longer-term fixed income returns as well, expanding the pool of 'safe' investments. The ECB could revert to protesting about 'excessive' euro gains, although the impact might be limited unless it is prepared to back its words with action, and there is a risk it could backfire for the reasons just mentioned. If anything, the ECB appears to be encouraging the investment shift and the euro's role as a reserve currency - in part to help with the bloc's massive capital needs in retooling its military, digital and energy sectors. In a pointed speech in Berlin last week, ECB chief Christine Lagarde insisted there was an opening for a "global euro moment", where the single currency becomes a viable alternative to the dollar, earning the region immense benefits if governments can strengthen the bloc's financial and security architecture. The scenario may be seen as a nice problem to have, but there will be more than a little disquiet among the region's big exporting nations about a soaring exchange rate in the middle of a trade war. ECB hawks and doves will also have to thrash out whether continued easing to offset disinflationary currency risks only stokes domestic inflation over the longer term - not least with a fiscal lift coming down the road into next year. What seems clear is that the ECB's new economic forecasts due for release on Thursday will have taken into account the 7% euro/dollar gain and near 10% drop in global oil prices since its last set of projections in early March. Morgan Stanley economists reckon that even if the central bank tweaks its core inflation forecasts higher, the new outlook could well show headline inflation undershooting its 2% target from mid-2025 to early 2027 - even while nudging up 2025's GDP growth view. In truth, any forecasts at this point are fingers in the wind with few central banks or major investors having a clue where U.S. tariffs or retaliatory trade war actions will end up. But while global trade and investment nerves abound, the ECB may be relatively powerless to cap the euro. Whether that argues for stasis or even more easing is the big headache it faces. Chart of the day U.S. gross domestic product readings have been bamboozled this year by tariff-related import skews. Again last week, models tracking GDP inputs were jarred by a sharp contraction in the goods trade deficit for April as front-running of imports to beat tariffs in the first quarter faded. With many tariffs in place, imports plunged and helping to compress the goods trade deficit by 46% to $88 billion, according to the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. Imports fell $68 billion to $276 billion while exports rose $6.3 billion to $188.5 billion. The shrinking goods deficit, if sustained, suggests the net trade component of GDP calculations will spur a significant rebound in growth this quarter, much like it sliced a record 4.9 percentage points from Q1 GDP - leading to a headline contraction in the overall economy. Flattered by the trade numbers, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's 'GDPNow' tracker now sees a whopping Q2 real GDP rebound of 3.8%. However, there is caution. Businesses do not appear to be restocking, with wholesale inventories unchanged last month and stocks at retailers down 0.1% and there is concern stockpiles may well drop sharply over the remainder of the quarter. Today's events to watch * US May manufacturing surveys from S&P Global (0930EDT) and ISM (1000EDT), April construction spending (1000EDT) * Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gives opening remarks at Fed event in Washington; Fed Board Governor Christopher Waller, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee all speak; Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann speaks * US corporate earnings: Campbell's Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
Coin Geek
32 minutes ago
- Coin Geek
Global digital asset ownership rises in 2025, UK leading
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Global digital asset adoption is growing in 2025, with the United Kingdom leading the way in increasing ownership among its population. This is according to a new study by Gemini, who attributed the increase, in part, to the influence and policies of United States President Donald Trump. Gemini, the U.S.-based digital asset exchange founded by the Winklevoss brothers, released its latest 'State of Crypto' report on May 27, offering a breakdown of investor awareness around digital currencies, motivations for owning and trading, and global adoption rates. Based on a survey of 7,205 adult consumers across the U.S., Europe, Singapore and Australia (approximately 1,200 consumers per country), the report found that global adoption of digital assets is growing across all areas, with ownership increasing fastest in Europe. In 2024, one in five (21%) respondents in the U.S., U.K., France, and Singapore reported owning digital assets. In 2025, that figure grew to nearly one in four (24%). The U.K. saw the biggest year-on-year growth in ownership of the surveyed nations, with the share of respondents indicating digital asset holdings rising from 18% last year to 24% as of April. For comparison, 21% of French respondents reported owning digital assets in 2025, up from 18% in 2024, while in the U.S., the number grew from 21% to 22%. However, while the U.K. has reportedly seen the most notable increase in new owners, it is still not the world's top nation for digital asset ownership. According to the report, Singapore has been the top country globally for digital asset ownership in the past two years, with 26% of local respondents surveyed last year saying they were invested in digital assets, up to 28% this year. Global growth due to Trump In part, Gemini attributed the global growth to the Trump Administration's approach to digital assets. 'Since coming into office in January 2025, President Trump has established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the United States, appointed SEC leadership that has displayed a more favorable approach to digital assets, and expressed support for bills that will provide stablecoin legislation and a regulatory framework for digital assets,' said Gemini. 'Survey results suggest that these policies are inspiring interest in the industry among non-owners—those who have never invested in crypto.' The company added that understanding and winning over this latter group of potential investors 'will drive significant growth for the industry, which has experienced relatively flat adoption over the past few years.' In this regard, nearly a quarter (23%) of U.S. non-owners surveyed said that the President's launch of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve increased their confidence in the value of digital assets. This sentiment was echoed globally by non-owner respondents in the U.K. and Singapore, where about one in five (21% and 19%, respectively) said the same. 'The United States has proven itself as a global leader in Web3 and blockchain technology with the addition of Trump's pro-crypto policies, which is a significant change from the previous Administration,' said Marshall Beard, Chief Operating Officer at Gemini. 'With this pro-innovation approach, the crypto industry is positioned for significant growth in the United States and around the world.' Trump has also been in the headlines recently for his more controversial links to the digital asset space, specifically his dabbling in memecoins with the $TRUMP memecoin. Gemini suggested that the memecoin market and the veneer of legitimacy provided by Trump's involvement may play a part in the growth of global digital asset investment. The report found that in the U.S. 31% of investors who own both memecoins and traditional digital assets reported that they purchased their memecoins first, followed by 28% in the U.K. and Australia, 23% in Singapore, 22% in Italy, and 19% in France. For Gemini, this indicated that 'memecoins likely drove crypto adoption… globally, 94% of memecoin owners also own other types of crypto, suggesting memecoins are an onramp to crypto for many investors around the globe.' Outside of Trump's influence, another key finding of the survey showed a boost in digital asset ownership in the U.S. following the approval of spot crypto ETFs in early 2024, with 39% of surveyed investors reportedly now owning crypto ETFs, up from 37% in 2024. Regulatory influence and the UK rise While Trump's pro-crypto policies appear to spur global adoption and investment, the impact of regulation appears less clear. Adoption grew notably in both the EU and U.K., two very contrasting regulatory environments. Gemini suggested this growth in the EU and U.K. reflected 'a warming regulatory environment for digital assets in Europe.' However, while the EU's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Regulation has been broadly praised as a comprehensive and forward-thinking framework specifically tailored to digital assets, the U.K. has yet to adopt a national regulatory framework for digital assets. Meanwhile, Gemini's head of Europe, Mark Jennings—in an interview reported by Cointelegraph—suggested that the U.K.'s sharp spike in digital asset ownership, despite its lack of a MiCA-style regulatory framework, could be down to a combination of the country's status as a 'central financial hub for many decades' and the outside influence that MiCA would likely have on adjacent countries. In April, the U.K. government published a draft regulation that would bring digital asset exchanges, dealers and agents under the U.K.'s financial services regulatory regime. At the same time, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves indicated that the U.K. planned to more closely align with the Trump 2.0-era approach to supporting innovation across the digital asset industry. While the U.K. waits for its final regulatory framework for digital assets, which the Treasury is expected to finalize later this year, it appears investors are undeterred by the uncertainty, in keeping with a global trend towards increased digital asset ownership in 2025. Watch: Streaming with NFTs changes idea of ownership title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
Reuters
35 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK's FTSE 100 dips after Trump's fresh tariff threats
June 2 (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 edged lower on Monday as market pessimism resurfaced due to fresh strains in global trade relations, following U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to double steel and aluminium import tariffs. As of 0954 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab was down 0.1%, while the domestically focussed FTSE 250 (.FTMC), opens new tab fell 0.03%. Trump announced on late Friday his plans to increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminium to 50% from 25%, prompting the European Union to warn of potential retaliation. U.S.-China negotiations also appeared strained after Trump accused Beijing of violating a bilateral tariff reduction agreement. China dismissed these claims as "groundless" on Monday, vowing to take forceful measures to protect its interests. The industrial sub-index (.FTNMX502050), opens new tab shed 0.5%. Luxury goods makers Burberry Group (BRBY.L), opens new tab and Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG.L), opens new tab dropped 1% and 2%, respectively. On the flip side, the aerospace and defence (.FTNMX502010), opens new tab sub-index gained 1% after the British government announced a 1.5 billion-pound ($2.0 billion) plan to build at least six new weapons and explosives factories. The sub-index has surged 53.3% so far in 2025. Countries across Europe and the UK are rapidly trying to boost their defence industries after Trump said the continent had to take more responsibility for its own security. The energy sub-index (.FTNMX601010), opens new tab was up 1.2% tracking higher oil prices as producer group OPEC+ stuck to the same output hike in July as it was for June, which came as a relief to those who expected a bigger increase. Asset manager Aberdeen Group (ABDN.L), opens new tab climbed 2% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock's rating to 'buy' from 'neutral'. On the economic front, British manufacturing's downturn was less severe than initially feared in May, though output, orders and jobs still declined, according to Monday's S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI data. Meanwhile, house prices in May were 3.5% higher than a year earlier, monthly data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Monday.
