The Yen Is Back in Favor as Currency Traders Shun the Dollar
Interest in the yen surged Wednesday, making it the most-traded currency versus the dollar, according to data from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. Option trading volume on the yen was nearly double that of its previous high this year, as the currency rallied versus all its major peers after better-than-expected Japanese wage data bolstered the case for the Bank of Japan to keep raising interest rates.
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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump news at a glance: tariff threats draw muted reaction from Asian allies amid hopes deals can be reached
Donald Trump's new tariff rates of as much as 40% for 14 countries have drawn muted responses from the hardest hit Asian countries who are hoping to renegotiate them before they come into effect next month. Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Tunisia were handed the lowest tariff rate of 25% while Laos and Myanmar – both facing high rates of poverty – were hit with the highest at 40%. Trump posted copies of his tariff letters to each of the countries on his social media site and press secretary Karoline Leavitt said more letters would be sent later this week. Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba said some progress had been made on avoiding higher tariffs of up to 35% that Trump had suggested recently, while South Korea's industry ministry said it planned to intensify US trade talks by 1 August to 'reach a mutually beneficial result'. South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said the 30% US tariff rate was unjustified given that 77% of US goods entered South Africa with no tariffs. Here is more on the tariffs and other key US politics news of the day: The US president revealed plans to step up his trade wars on Monday but delayed tariff hikes on goods from key economies until next month, amid widespread confusion over his controversial economic strategy. Trump announced countries including Japan, South Korea and South Africa would face tariffs of up to 40% as part of a fresh wave of levies to kick in on 1 August. No increases will take place on Wednesday, however, after he extended a previous pause. Read the full story Benjamin Netanyahu told Donald Trump that he would nominate him for the Nobel peace prize on Monday, as the two leaders met for the first time since the US launched strikes on Iran's nuclear program as part of a short-lived war between Israel and Iran. Trump was expected to press Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza amid an outcry over the humanitarian cost of an offensive that has led to nearly 60,000 deaths. Read the full story A pregnant physician who was denied a Covid-19 vaccine is suing the Trump administration alongside a group of leading doctors' associations, charging that the administration sought to 'desensitize the public to anti-vaccine and anti-science rhetoric', according to their attorney. Read the full story The Trump administration has ended temporary protections for people from Honduras and Nicaragua in the latest phase of its effort to expel undocumented people from the US. The Department of Homeland Security announced it would end temporary protected status for an estimated 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans in moves that will come into effect in about 60 days. Citizens of the two Central American nations were accorded the status after Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which left 10,000 dead after it ripped through the region. Read the full story Planned Parenthood sued the Trump administration on Monday over a provision in Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill that would strip funding from health centers operated by the reproductive healthcare and abortion provider. In a complaint filed in Boston federal court, Planned Parenthood said the provision was unconstitutional and its clear purpose was to prevent its nearly 600 health centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. Read the full story A review of files held by the US government on the financier Jeffrey Epstein has said there is no secret client list to be released, and confirmed his August 2019 death by suicide while in federal custody, both of which contradict conspiracy theories. Read the full story After the cruelty, the mockery. As the first detainees were being hauled into Donald Trump's controversial migrant jail in the inhospitable wetlands of the Florida Everglades last week, his supporters were indulging in some parallel retail therapy. 'Surrounded by swamps & pythons, it's a one-way ticket to regret,' the Florida Republican party's official X account crowed, hawking its new range of Alligator Alcatraz-themed shirts and hats. 'Grab our merch to support tough-on-crime borders! Limited supply – get yours before the gators do!' Read the full story Mexican prosecutors accuse boxer Julio César Chávez Jr of being a henchman for the Sinaloa drugs cartel and say he used his skills to pummel rival gang members 'like a punchbag' before his recent arrest in the US. Donald Trump has issued his claiming the far-right leader is the victim of a 'witch-hunt' in his home country. Catching up? Here's what happened on .
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump announces 25 percent tariffs coming for Japan, South Korea
President Trump announced Monday his administration would impose a 25 percent tariff on imports from South Korea and Japan beginning Aug. 1 as part of a batch of letters going out to foreign countries. Trump detailed the expected tariff rates in letters to the leaders of Japan and South Korea, also posting them to Truth Social. The president had previously indicated he would send letters to roughly a dozen countries Monday. 'Please understand this 25% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the Trade Deficit disparity we have with your Country,' Trump wrote to both countries. The president warned that if either nation raised its tariffs in response, the U.S. would increase its tariffs by the same amount. 'As you are aware, there will be no Tariff if Korea, or companies within your Country, decide to build or manufacture product within the United States and, in fact, we will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally, and routinely – in other words, in a matter of weeks,' Trump wrote to South Korea's president. He conveyed the same message to Japan's prime minister. Under the 'Liberation Day' tariffs announced on April 2, South Korea was hit with a 25-percent tariff and Japan hit with a 24-percent tariff, so Monday's announcement amounts to an extension of the negotiation deadline, which was initially set for Wednesday. The president also sent similar letters to the governments of Malaysia, Kazakhstan and South Africa, imposing 30 percent tariffs on their goods, and another to Myanmar laying out a 40 percent tariff. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday the president would send letters to a total of 12 nations by the end of the day, with more to come throughout the week. Trump is also scheduled to sign an executive order to delay his Liberation Day tariffs to Aug. 1. Administration officials have been touting tariffs and the new protectionist U.S. trade posture as delivering results in the negotiating room, but the extended deadline and increased rate of punitive tariffs indicates that things may not be proceeding as smoothly as hoped. 'The administration's delay announcement should come as no surprise,' Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, wrote in a commentary on Monday. 'We've known since April that quickly inking, no less implementing, complicated trade agreements with dozens of foreign governments was impossible.' Bill Reinsch, head of the international business program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Hill last week that he didn't believe negotiations were going particularly well. He said that Japanese and Korean negotiators have demanded exemptions from the tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles. He said the Koreans demanded exemptions from all the tariffs and that they hadn't conceded on those points. Only two trade deals have been announced so far, one with the United Kingdom that was met with mixed results from U.S. industry and one with Vietnam, about which details are scarce. Securities markets came roaring back and hit new highs after tanking on the news of the April 2 tariffs, which were larger than many analysts had been anticipating and took even the Federal Reserve by surprise. Stocks were down again on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of big U.S. companies was down more than 1.2 percent in early afternoon trading, and the S&P 500 was down nearly a percent. Policy analysts told The Hill that they wondered if the rebound in equities wasn't premature and whether markets had accurately priced stocks amid continuing uncertainties. 'We had warned clients a lot going into the second Trump administration that they had assumed away too much of the risk,' Beacon Policy Advisers managing partner Stephen Myrow told The Hill Monday. 'Uncertainty is not a bug of the Trump administration trade policy – it's a feature.' Lincicome noted Trump's sensitivity to market reactions regarding ongoing trade talks. 'The President is deeply concerned about the market reaction to a worst-case US tariff scenario,' he commented. Updated at 3:20 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sign in to access your portfolio
Miami Herald
11 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Honda Super EV concept is the small EV more automakers should be building
At the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Honda is reminding driving enthusiasts that fun cars can come in all sizes. While the Japanese automaker is primarily celebrating the 60th anniversary of its first F1 win, it's also debuting the Super EV concept, a tiny hatchback that promises "fresh, 'fun-to-drive' electric performance alongside trademark Honda usability," according to a press release on Honda's Goodwood activities. Related: Honda's Super EV Concept Is Small, Electric, And Built For Fun Honda hasn't provided any additional details since announcing the Super EV concept last month, but upon first inspection, it certainly looks intriguing. With its upright profile and box fender flares, it looks like a sportier version of the Honda e (which was discontinued in 2023, having never made it to the United States), or a modern reinterpretation of the Honda City Turbo hatch from the 1980s. And its small size would make it a good competitor to the electric Mini Cooper and Fiat 500e. When it announced this concept car, Honda said it was part of a "wider global program," hinting that any future production version might not be as market-limited as the Honda e. But right now, Honda's EV efforts for the U.S. are focused on the roll out of its first "0 Series" models, including an SUV and sedan previewed earlier this year at CES, plus a crossover reviving the Acura RSX name using the same hardware, and the Afeela 1, the first product of the Sony Honda Mobility joint venture. But with Honda already having reportedly cancelled a three-row flagship electric SUV for the U.S. amid uncertainty about EV sales, it's unclear if the automaker would take the risk-which is exactly what it would be-of bringing a small EV to the U.S. The cancelled SUV was better suited to American tastes, and had a ready market to compete in, with the Kia EV9 selling reasonably well. A production version of the Super EV, in contrast, would be a niche model in the U.S. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
