Bloomberg Daybreak Asia: Rally Wavers as Buyer Fatigue Kicks In
Stocks in Asia fell early Thursday for the first time in five sessions as the rally on Wall Street sparked by US-China trade talks showed signs of exhaustion, on speculation stocks have run too fast amid risks stemming from a trade war to an economic slowdown and sticky inflation. Japanese and Australian stocks edged lower, while a gauge of US-listed Chinese companies climbed 1.2% on Wednesday. Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s revenue grew at its fastest pace in more than three years. We get a look at the market landscape with Mark Konyn, Chief Investment Officer at AIA Group. Stateside, the S&P 500 edged up just 0.1%. Most sectors fell, but big tech climbed. Boeing Co. gained on its largest-ever deal, with Qatar Airways placing an order for long-range jets during a visit to Doha by Donald Trump. The dollar erased losses as Bloomberg News reported the US is not working to include currency policy pledges in trade accords. Bond yields rose as Federal Reserve rate-cut bets receded. We get the views of John Creekmur, Chief Investment Officer at Creekmur Wealth Advisors.
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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Liberals under fire for rushing bill through Parliament to speed up resource projects
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is coming under fire for seeking to rush through a major piece of legislation that grants cabinet sweeping powers to quickly approve major projects. Government House leader Steven MacKinnon put a motion on notice Thursday that would push Bill C-5 through the House of Commons by the end of next week — leaving just one day to hear from civil society groups, stakeholders and experts. Critics charge the move is anti-democratic. In a fiery exchange in question period, Bloc Québécois House Leader Christine Normandin accused Prime Minister Mark Carney of trying to "steamroll" a bill through the House that would greatly expand his own powers. "The prime minister has no right to impose C-5 under closure when the bill gives him exceptional powers unlike anything that we've seen before," she said in French. "Is that the prime minister's intention, to bypass Parliament and govern by decree like Donald Trump?' MacKinnon pushed back by saying "Canadians and Quebecers spoke loud and clear" in the last election for action to shore up the economy, in part due to the illegal trade war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump. "We are acting in a democratic way," he said, noting the bill delivers on election promises laid out clearly in the Liberal platform. The bill includes controversial provisions that could allow cabinet to skirt existing processes and laws to fast-track approvals for projects the government deems to be in the national interest. The government aims to streamline disparate processes to limit approval timelines for big projects to a maximum of two years, boosting investor confidence. When asked about the timeline at a press conference Thursday, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said the legislation needs to pass quickly to shore up an economy being undermined by Trump's tariffs. "We have a trade war that is affecting sector after sector after sector. Canadians' jobs are at risk. Canadians' livelihoods are at risk. And quite frankly, the prosperity of the country is at risk," Hodgson said. But NDP MP Leah Gazan said in the House of Commons foyer Thursday that the bill isn't going to build the economy out because it will trigger a series of court challenges. She called on the government to extend the time frame of the public study and do more to consult with Indigenous Peoples — something she said got shortchanged in the bill. "I'm calling on the prime minister to slow it down, to not rush a bill that has this much consequence through in five days," she said. Hodgson pointed to support for the bill from the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, which represents more than 100 First Nations seeking to have their own projects advanced, and said he is consulting privately with stakeholders. "I can tell you I've got multiple conversations going on with different rights holders and business leaders as part of my department's efforts to ensure that consultation is robust," he said. Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said there will be a meeting between the Prime Minister's Office and First Nations leaders, citing the wildfires as one reason it has been delayed. "I also want to acknowledge that because there are many communities in a critical state of wildfire and evacuation, that time will be taken to have that dialog," she said. "I know that it is the intention of the Prime Minister's Office to sit down with First Nation's leadership directly and to have the economic discussion and hear from them." But Anna Johnston, staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, said the drive to push the bill through quickly is "incredibly concerning" because the government has done "very little engagement" so far on such a major piece of legislation. "The biggest concern is that it's going to give cabinet the power to approve projects before they have any information about them beyond what the proponent has decided to give the government," she said. "There's a reason why we have decisions at the end of environmental assessments and regulatory processes. It's so that governments can make informed decisions about projects that have the potential to harm Canadians and to harm the environment." Stuart Trew, a senior researcher with the left-leaning think tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the bill is "destined to end up in court" and "really bump up against the government's commitments to reconciliation with First Nations." "It seems geared to let the government ram projects through, without adequate study, without all the usual considerations about the impacts on endangered species," he said. "We should raise our eyebrows any time a government claims a national emergency in order to rush through legislation with implications as significant as this does." The legislation also looks to break down internal trade barriers and make it easier for workers to take jobs in other provinces. MacKinnon rejected a call from the Bloc Québécois this week to split the landmark legislation in two. That would have allowed the House to speed through the less contentious internal trade provisions while putting the controversial major projects portion under the microscope. Carney has vowed repeatedly to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day, 19 days from now. The House has been sitting for just three weeks and is currently scheduled to rise next week on June 20. MacKinnon said in a scrum on Wednesday that he has not tried to get consensus from the other parties to have the House sit any later. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025. Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
Associated Press
22 minutes ago
- Associated Press
House approves Trump's request to cut funding for NPR, PBS and foreign aid
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House narrowly voted Thursday to cut about $9.4 billion in spending already approved by Congress as President Donald Trump's administration looks to follow through on work done by the Department of Government Efficiency when it was overseen by Elon Musk. The package targets foreign aid programs and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides money for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service as well as thousands of public radio and television stations around the country. The vote was 214-212. Republicans are characterizing the spending as wasteful and unnecessary, but Democrats say the rescissions are hurting the United States' standing in the world and will lead to needless deaths. 'Cruelty is the point,' Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said of the proposed spending cuts. The Trump administration is employing a tool rarely used in recent years that allows the president to transmit a request to Congress to cancel previously appropriated funds. That triggers a 45-day clock in which the funds are frozen pending congressional action. If Congress fails to act within that period, then the spending stands. 'This rescissions package sends $9.4 billion back to the U.S. Treasury,' said Rep. Lisa McClain, House Republican Conference chair. 'That's $9.4 billion of savings that taxpayers won't see wasted. It's their money.' The benefit for the administration of a formal rescissions request is that passage requires only a simple majority in the 100-member Senate instead of the 60 votes usually required to get spending bills through that chamber. So if they stay united, Republicans will be able to pass the measure without any Democratic votes. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the Senate would likely not take the bill up until July and after it has dealt with Trump's big tax and immigration bill. He also said it's possible the Senate could tweak the bill. The administration is likening the first rescissions package to a test case and says more could be on the way if Congress goes along. Republicans, sensitive to concerns that Trump's sweeping tax and immigration bill would increase future federal deficits, are anxious to demonstrate spending discipline, though the cuts in the package amount to just a sliver of the spending approved by Congress each year. They are betting the cuts prove popular with constituents who align with Trump's 'America first' ideology as well as those who view NPR and PBS as having a liberal bias. In all, the package contains 21 proposed rescissions. Approval would claw back about $900 million from $10 billion that Congress has approved for global health programs. That includes canceling $500 million for activities related to infectious diseases and child and maternal health and another $400 million to address the global HIV epidemic. The Trump administration is also looking to cancel $800 million, or a quarter of the amount Congress approved, for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and sanitation, and family reunification for those forced to flee their own country. About 45% of the savings sought by the White House would come from two programs designed to boost the economies, democratic institutions and civil societies in developing countries. Democratic leadership, in urging their caucus to vote no, said that package would eliminate access to clean water for more than 3.6 million people and lead to millions more not having access to a school. 'Those Democrats saying that these rescissions will harm people in other countries are missing the point,' McClain said. 'It's about people in our country being put first.' The Republican president has also asked lawmakers to rescind nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it's slated to receive during the next two budget years. About two-thirds of the money gets distributed to more than 1,500 locally owned public radio and television stations. Nearly half of those stations serve rural areas of the country. The association representing local public television stations warns that many of them would be forced to close if the Republican measure passes. Those stations provide emergency alerts, free educational programming and high school sports coverage and highlight hometown heroes. Advocacy groups that serve the world's poorest people are also sounding the alarm and urging lawmakers to vote no. 'We are already seeing women, children and families left without food, clean water and critical services after earlier aid cuts, and aid organizations can barely keep up with rising needs,' said Abby Maxman, president and CEO of Oxfam America, a poverty-fighting organization. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said the foreign aid is a tool that prevents conflict and promotes stability, but the measure before the House takes that tool away. 'These cuts will lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, devastating the most vulnerable in the world,' McGovern said. 'This bill is good for Russia and China and undertakers,' added Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. Republicans disparaged the foreign aid spending and sought to link it to programs they said DOGE had uncovered. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said taxpayer dollars had gone to such things as targeting climate change, promoting pottery classes and strengthening diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Other Republicans cited similar examples they said DOGE had revealed. 'Yet, my friends on the other side of the aisle would like you to believe, seriously, that if you don't use your taxpayer dollars to fund this absurd list of projects and thousands of others I didn't even list, that somehow people will die and our global standing in the world will crumble,' Roy said. 'Well, let's just reject this now.'
Washington Post
22 minutes ago
- Washington Post
China grants rare earth export permits after US trade talks, offers relief but uncertainty persists
OMAHA, Neb. — The high-level negotiations over China's export controls of rare earths is giving U.S. businesses some relief, even though it may be only for now. China has approved 'a certain number' of export permits for rare earth elements and related items, its commerce ministry said on Thursday, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump declared that Beijing would supply to the U.S. companies those key elements and the magnets made from them following a two-day trade talk in London .
