Bloomberg: The Asia Trade 6/2/25
The Asia Trade
"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Seoul and Sydney with Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
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Forbes
12 minutes ago
- Forbes
Trump Should Get The Hint That Xi Just Isn't That Into Him
China's President Xi Jinping (R) and U.S. President Donald Trump. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKIFRED DUFOUR/AFP via Getty Images Xi Jinping probably doesn't know whether to be flattered or aggrieved by Donald Trump's late-night rantings about the Chinese leader. Sounding more like a jilted ex than a head of state — or a force to reckon with in negotiations — the U.S. president complained Xi is proving 'extremely hard to make a deal with.' Trump, on social media, sounded sincere enough — as if it just dawned on him that Beijing might not be interested in a bilateral trade deal after all. All this raises almost too many questions to pose here. One: Doesn't Trump recall Xi giving him the talk-to-the-hand treatment the first go around from 2017 to 2021? Another: What about Xi's energy, circa 2025, makes Trump think Xi is anxious for another go? Trump, like any wistful ex, is keeping his options open. He prefaced his 2:17 a.m. Washington-time rant with 'I like President Xi of China, always have, and always will, but…' It's time that someone on Trump's staff had the courage to tell him that perhaps the most powerful Chinese leader in many decades just isn't into him and his trade tactics. On one level, Xi can be excused for lacking the bandwidth to deal with Trump World's chaos right now. Even before the Trump 2.0 era started on January 20, Asia's biggest economy was grappling with a massive property crisis that's generating deflation. Xi's Communist Party was already facing weak domestic demand and record youth unemployment. Back in November, when Team Xi assumed Kamala Harris would be the next president, Beijing was struggling to stop the national birthrate from falling. It was mulling ways to address a rapidly ageing population. It was devising bigger social safety nets to encourage China's 1.4 billion people to save less and spend more. Pre-Trump 2.0, Beijing was in the throes of trying to reduce several trillions of dollars of local government debt. Before the latest Trump tariffs, Xi's government was working to shift its growth model away from exports and runaway investment to domestic demand-led growth. It was working to reduce the dominance of inefficient state-owned enterprises. It was endeavoring to increase the use of the yuan in global trade and finance. Team Xi is also contending with a notable increase in in-person protests. Especially factory workers getting stiffed as export growth slows. Now, Trump's tariffs, volatility in the dollar and bedlam in the U.S. Treasury market are sending intensifying headwinds China's way. So, yes, a busy time to be the leader of a giant, unbalanced economy directly in the Trumpian crossfire. And the White House thinks now is a good time to drop everything and do a hasty bilateral trade deal? Trade agreements are wildly complicated affairs in the best of times, taking several months, even years. Hence, Xi's strategy of slow-walking the process, one that's worked so far. Delaying talks is all the more rational given the decent odds U.S. courts will ultimately rule against Trump's claim that presidents have tariff powers. Trump, of course, is desperate for a trade deal, any deal, to try to convince Americans that, see, the tariffs are working. His splashy signing ceremony with London doesn't count, since the U.S. has a trade surplus with the United Kingdom. Japan hasn't been as pliant as Trump seemed to expect. And new South Korean President Lee Jae-myung is more Seoul's answer to Bernie Sanders than a kindred spirit keen to work with Trump World. Europe isn't exactly fertile ground for a win. Why would Trump be threatening 50% tariffs on the EU if concessions were forthcoming from the 550-million-person market? The U.S. Trade Representative sending reminder letters to trading partners so they don't forget about the upcoming deadline for talks is telling in itself. If White House phones were ringing with good offers, such embarrassing letters wouldn't need to be sent. Also, if Trump really believed Xi is ready to make big concessions, why would his team risk a deal by going after Chinese students with a ban on visas? China, meanwhile, knows how news this week that it may place an order for hundreds of Airbus aircraft, not Boeing, will have Trump fuming. Little about the last couple of weeks suggests these two economic giants are about to sit down for nuts-and-bolts trade negotiations in good faith. Trump's late-night post might've been his way of reminding Xi that the two men were supposed to catch up via phone this week. They did indeed talk on Thursday. But it still seems like high time Trump took the hint that Xi just isn't that into his trade deal.
Fast Company
28 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Nintendo's new Switch 2 feels remarkably up to date
Nintendo is not known for existing on the bleeding edge of technology. In fact, most of its 21st-century success has been built around the opposite of that idea; the Wii and DS were both much less powerful than their competition, yet each proved to be more popular with a mainstream audience. The hybrid Switch, meanwhile, was impressive for a handheld machine when it was released, but when hooked up to a TV it was soundly outgunned by the PlayStation 4—let alone the 5. On paper, the Switch 2 doesn't do much to change that. It's still a less capable console than the PS5, even though it's coming out more than four years later. But now that it's finally in my hands, I'm struck by how up-to-date it feels. The gaming landscape has changed since the original Switch, with the handheld market growing in size and diversity—and you could make a case that on some levels, Nintendo now has the most advanced hardware. Functionality and pragmatism The Switch 2 is a fascinating system for Nintendo, mostly because it's so straightforward. This is the first time Nintendo has ever straight-up released a 'Console 2,' let alone one so similar to its predecessor. It's an exercise in functionality and pragmatism, with nips and tucks across the board. The new Joy-Con controllers look similar to before but are an immediate improvement from the second you hold them. The curvier design is much more comfortable, and the way they snap onto the system magnetically is a lot less fussy; they also feel more securely attached. Time will tell if the analog sticks prove more durable, but for now the extra size and throw is appreciated. Point of contention The screen will be a point of contention. It's a 7.9-inch 120Hz 1080p LCD panel with support for VRR and HDR, which is an upgrade in most respects except for the 'LCD' part. Nintendo did go out of its way to release an OLED version of the original Switch, so the return to a conventionally backlit LCD panel does feel like a step back in terms of contrast. On the other hand, it's actually a pretty great LCD for what it is. The HDR support was never going to compare with a high-end TV with local dimming, but games like Mario Kart World clearly show how Nintendo is making the most of the wider color gamut. I would compare the experience to watching HDR movies on a good LCD tablet like an iPad Air. It's streets ahead of the screens in the original Switch or the Steam Deck. Yes, I would have preferred an OLED panel. But the boosts here to size, resolution, and refresh rate are real, and there isn't really another gaming device out there with a directly comparable display. Advanced graphics The Switch 2 has, of course, been in the works for a long time, and that's reflected in the silicon that powers it. We know that the Nvidia-designed system-on-chip is manufactured by Samsung on its somewhat outdated 8nm process, the same technology behind Nvidia's RTX 3000-series GPUs. In a video released this week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the Switch 2's SoC is 'unlike anything we've built before' and has 'the most advanced graphics ever in a mobile device.' I have a feeling Apple might take issue with that claim, but it was likely true when Nintendo and Nvidia started collaborating on the console. More to the point, the Switch 2 will obviously shred an iPhone in practice. I've enjoyed playing the occasional ambitious ports to Apple's platforms as a technical exercise, like Death Strandin g and Resident Evil 4, but it's hard to imagine the iPhone 16 Pro ever getting a better version of Cyberpunk 2077 than the Switch 2 version I just spent a couple of hours with. It's a hugely impressive port that runs at 40fps in its performance mode while looking dramatically sharper than the PC version on my Steam Deck. The Switch 2 is less powerful than competing home consoles, of course, but it's the overall package that impresses. Although the screen size has increased, this is still a relatively thin and light device that turns in excellent performance compared to much bulkier PC-based handhelds. It's the payoff for Nintendo going all-in on ARM-based hardware nearly a decade ago. The biggest tradeoff is the battery life; you shouldn't expect more than two to three hours of endurance when playing demanding games. But that's comparable to a lot of PC handhelds, and Nintendo and Nvidia will likely be able to eke out more efficiency in future models by switching to a newer manufacturing process. TV connection Even when connected to a TV, the Switch 2 feels like a modern system, with its 4K UI and snappy loading times thanks to the faster flash storage. It's a huge quality upgrade on its predecessor, which was stuck with 720p menus and a torturously slow online store. Of course, that original Switch also felt quite advanced for the time upon its launch. It was based around Nvidia's Tegra X1 chip, which failed to get much traction in tablets but turned out to be a great fit for a handheld gaming device. It had the advantage of a brand new form factor and the ability to run games that no-one had ever imagined could be taken on the go. But as a portable machine it was clunky, and as a home console there was a much bigger gap between it and its competitors. Occasional 'miracle ports' like The Witcher 3 or Doom Eternal aside, the Switch generally made do with a separate library of software. These days, though, developers are used to scaling games down to less capable machines, whether it's the Steam Deck, the PS4, or the Xbox Series S. The Switch 2 will have a better shot at running a lot of the software that comes to high-end hardware. It still isn't going to be the platform of choice for hardcore gaming enthusiasts—no handheld ever will. But I do think it's the first Nintendo system that feels like a refined device at the top of its class on day one.
Fox News
37 minutes ago
- Fox News
WATCH LIVE: President Trump meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at White House
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