
Japan, US Trade Negotiators Meet as Aug. 1 Tariff Deadline Looms
The two met in Washington for more than two hours on Monday evening, Japan's cabinet secretariat said in a statement Tuesday. They had frank, in-depth discussions toward achieving a mutually beneficial agreement, the statement said, while adding that Japan still aims to protect its national interests.
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Chemicals maker Dow's quarterly loss bigger than expected
(Reuters) -Chemicals firm Dow Inc reported a bigger-than-expected loss on Thursday, hurt by lower prices of its products and weak demand for its products. The Michigan-based company reported an adjusted loss of 42 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of a loss of 17 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Sign in to access your portfolio
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Trump and White House take their Powell battle to Fed HQ
Renovations at the Federal Reserve are set to get a probing today when President Trump and his allies make a visit to the central bank's headquarters on the National Mall after weeks of mounting criticisms over the $2.5 billion renovation. The high-profile construction site tour is also just one of numerous political pressure points being put before Chair Jerome Powell by Trump and his team — even as the latest rhetoric from the president and Treasury Secretary Bessent have downplayed the chances of any imminent attempt to fire the central banker. "In eight months, he'll be out," Trump noted on Tuesday, with Bessent adding Wednesday "we're in no rush" to change leadership as both men also showed no signs of making Powell's life simpler anytime soon. Bessent said Wednesday night on Fox News that a new chair nominee would be announced in December or January. In short, Powell's job is looking slightly more secure this week — but the central bank chief's problems clearly aren't going away. Up first is today's visit from Trump at 4 p.m., according to the White House. Some of the other Trump allies due to tour the Fed sit on the National Capital Planning Commission, which could go so far as attempting to stop ongoing construction pending further review. Then in the coming weeks, Powell will wrestle with calls for an "exhaustive internal review" of how the Fed operates as well as pressure from Republicans on Capitol Hill that could ramp up in the fall. There's even a long-shot call for the Department of Justice to get involved and look at Powell personally. And it comes as Powell is set to gather the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next week for another interest rate decision that markets and many analysts say is pushing all of Trump's actions as the president continues a daily pressure campaign to press the central banker and his colleagues to cut interest rates. Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments Up first: A high profile site tour Up first is a tour of the Federal Reserve headquarters at the behest of Trump allies recently appointed to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). James Blair, one of Trump's deputy chiefs of staff, is a new member of the NCPC and has leveled a series of attacks on Powell for weeks now over the building cost overruns, even charging at one point, "What do they not want us to see?" The charges are ones that the central bank has repeatedly defended itself against, even going so far as publishing a page on its website devoted to the renovations, saying the increased costs came because of increased material cost and "unforeseen conditions" like asbestos, toxic contamination in the soil, and a higher-than-expected water table. The costs of the project have grown from around $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion after the Fed submitted designs to the NCPC and received approval from that agency in 2020 and 2021. The two buildings, Powell added in a recent note, were in need of "significant structural repairs" after they had not had a comprehensive renovation since they were built in the 1930s. The changes, argue Trump allies like White House budget director Russell Vought, could mean the project is out of compliance with the approved plan — leading to a possible standoff as to whether the central bank needs to resubmit to the NCPC. Powell is clearly looking to avoid that scenario, writing that the bank "does not regard any of these changes as warranting further review," but White House officials are sending a different message. "We want to see it for ourselves," Blair recently told reporters, adding he is also looking to obtain "all of the revised plans since 2021." In addition to Blair and Vought, today's tour is also expected to include Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who has emerged as another vocal Powell critic. Pulte has even gone so far as to travel to the site already to film a video as he called the construction costs "very disturbing." Other key pressure points This week's site visit comes as Powell is also weathering an array of pressure points, with many lines of inquiry ongoing from Capitol Hill. Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania is a subcommittee chair on the House Financial Services Committee and told Semafor this week that he is weighing a congressional investigation of the Fed — even as his Senate colleagues have shied away from that idea. And Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, another Trump ally, even formally requested that the DOJ investigate Powell for perjury over comments in June around the renovations. That is seen as a long shot at best. Perhaps more pressing is that House Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview with Bloomberg reporters and editors this week that he is "disenchanted" with Powell and even open to modifying the 1913 act that created the Fed. That would be a major change but is not expected to be before Congress in the near term, as the House of Representatives went home Wednesday evening for a recess that is scheduled to last for the rest of the summer. Treasury Secretary Bessent has also called for an "exhaustive internal review" of the Fed, saying it could be Powell's "legacy" as he accused the central bank of mission creep in its non-monetary policy activities. Trump has signaled his support for the effort, and some observers say this could be the most consequential change — if the idea gains steam and looks to reshape how the central bank operates. A recent note from Signum Global Advisors called this potentially "an even more holistic reshaping of the Fed than a 'mere' dismissal of Chair Jerome Powell," adding it's an effort that could extend even beyond the end of Powell's chairmanship. Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Trump tariffs wreaking havoc in Brazil's citrus belt
By Ana Mano SAO PAULO (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to impose a new 50% tariff on all Brazilian products from Aug. 1 could devastate the South American nation's citrus belt, as factories scale back production and orange farmers consider leaving fruit to rot amid a sharp drop in prices. "You are not going to spend money to harvest and not have anyone to sell to," said grower Fabricio Vidal, from his farm in Formoso, in the state of Minas Gerais. The new tariffs could make it impossible for his fruit to enter the United States, which buys 42% of the orange juice exported from Brazil, a trade worth around $1.31 billion in the season ending last June. This month, orange prices in Brazil dropped to 44 reais ($8) a box, almost half of what they were a year ago, according to the widely followed Cepea index from the University of Sao Paulo, illustrating how Trump's disruptive trade policies can sow chaos even before enacted. "As the day approaches in which tariffs will come into effect, anxiety increases about what might happen," Ibiapaba Netto, the head of orange juice exporter lobby CitrusBR, told Reuters in an interview. IMPACT ON CONSUMERS U.S. orange juice production dropped to its lowest level in half a century in the 2024/25 harvest, with output estimated at 108.3 million gallons, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture cited by Cepea, which shows imports will represent 90% of U.S. supplies through September. U.S. consumers will bear the brunt along with Brazilian farmers. An astounding half of the orange juice Americans drink comes from Brazil under household brands such as Tropicana, Minute Maid and Simply Orange. Brazil, which produces 80% of the world's orange juice, will be hard to replace, too. The U.S. has become more dependent on orange juice imports in recent years due to the "citrus greening" crop disease, hurricanes and spells of freezing temperatures. But the new tariff on Brazilian imports represents a 533% increase over the $415 per ton duty levied on the country's juice now. Last Friday, Johanna Foods, a New Jersey-based producer and distributor of fruit juices, challenged in court the proposed tariffs on Brazilian orange juice, claiming they would cause "significant and direct financial harm" to the company and U.S. consumers. The tariffs may also spell trouble for Coca Cola and Pepsi, which account for some 60% of the orange juice sold in the United States, Netto said. Neither company replied to requests for comment. NO EASY ANSWER Brazil won't find it easy to replace American consumers, some of the most avid orange juice drinkers in the world. Typically, higher-income countries import orange juice, limiting Brazil's potential reach into new markets. Brazilian orange juice is only sold to some 40 nations – representing about a third of the destinations that buy Brazilian meat, for example, according to trade data. CitrusBR's Netto noted that hefty duties in markets such as India and South Korea, as well as low household income in China, have hampered trade with Brazil. The European Union, in turn, already buys some 52% of Brazil's total exports, making it unlikely that countries there will make up for lost business with the U.S. Companies will be left with few options. One would be to export Brazilian orange juice through Costa Rica, which some companies already do to avoid the current duties, said Arlindo de Salvo, an independent orange consultant. But it is unclear whether exporters will be able to pull it off once the new levy starts being enforced. As companies struggle to find new paths to consumers, farmers in Formoso fear the worst. Prices have already dropped to about a third of what growers were paid at this time last year, farmers said, making the cost of picking oranges hardly worth the trouble. Grower Ederson Kogler said that the only solution would be to find other markets. But, he added, "these are things that don't happen overnight."