Dollar Bond Issuance Jumps in Asia as Iran Truce Spurs Demand
Dollar bond issuance climbed in the Asia Pacific, led by Japan, after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran boosted investor appetite.
Issuers in the region have already sold about $9.5 billion of the debt this week, the most since the last full week of March, when they completed about $26 billion of deals to get ahead of US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement.
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Politico
12 minutes ago
- Politico
GOP megabill takes aim at universities — except for this conservative Christian college
President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are angling to use their megabill to turn the screws on elite liberal colleges that take millions in taxpayer funds while sitting on endowments worth tens of billions of dollars. But a single college that's a paragon of conservative higher education has managed to secure a carveout after finding itself in the crossfire. Hillsdale College, a Christian liberal arts school of fewer than 2,000 students located in southern Michigan, is one of a slew of smaller institutions that had been working to avoid being swept up in the GOP effort to raise taxes on the seemingly bottomless endowments of household names like Harvard, Princeton and Yale. But Hillsdale stands apart from those schools: For one, it's a rare institution of higher learning that the modern Republican Party applauds. Just as uncommon, Hillsdale accepts no funding from the federal government: 'The founders of our nation chose independence. As do we,' the college boasts in advertisements. That formed the crux of its argument that, on principle, Hillsdale and schools like it should not be subject to a federal tax on endowments. Senate Republicans heeded that logic in their version of the reconciliation bill that the party hopes to send to Trump's desk next week by including an exemption for schools that fit Hillsdale's profile. The reprieve is by no means guaranteed, as Hillsdale found out eight years ago. Democrats that year seized on the university's unique position, branding the exemption as an earmark for a political ally and ultimately getting it stripped from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act with the help of a handful of Republican senators. That's why Hillsdale turned earlier this year to professional advocates for help with the latest endowment tax proposal. In April, the college retained Williams and Jensen to lobby on 'specific threats to the institutional and financial independence of the college, primarily related to the higher education endowment tax,' according to a disclosure filing. The team of lobbyists working on the account includes Dan Ziegler, who served as House Speaker Mike Johnson's top policy aide before returning to the lobbying firm in March, and who previously served as executive director of the conservative Republican Study Committee. In its meetings with policymakers, Hillsdale has reiterated its general opposition to using the tax code as a blunt force object — reaching often for the declaration from former Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall that 'the power to tax involves the power to destroy.' Beyond that, it has stuck to its insistence that schools that have sworn off taxpayer money should be left out of the endowment tax scheme altogether. That could end up incentivizing more institutions to follow in Hillsdale's footsteps — especially with the Trump administration taking aim at colleges' federal funding — whereas a tax hike might throw up financial roadblocks for schools who might be eyeing a move toward independence. Hillsdale's message has landed favorably on the Hill, according to a person familiar with those discussions who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations. The person noted that the school hadn't encountered much opposition to its position on principle. Failing to exempt schools that don't accept federal funds 'penalizes most severely those institutions that have chosen the harder path of independence' from the federal government and the conditions of accepting that money, Hillsdale President Larry Arnn wrote in an op-ed in May. 'Worse still,' he added, 'this tax turns the incentives backward; it rewards dependence and punishes self-reliance. It encourages institutions to seek the shelter of government aid, where subsidies can offset tax burdens.' Hillsdale declined to comment on the record. Hillsdale has proudly touted its independence for refusing direct government funds since its founding by abolitionists in 1844. In the 1980s, Hillsdale was faced with a Supreme Court civil rights ruling that would've required universities to track admissions by race and bar sex-based discrimination in order to accept federal financial aid from students. In response, the school declared that it would no longer accept such assistance. Hillsdale's break from what it calls governmental overreach has made it at home with the right. Conservative luminary William Buckley donated much of his lifetime of writings to the school in the early 2000s. In 2016, Hillsdale hosted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as its commencement speaker. More recently, Republican leaders like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have sought to recreate versions of Hillsdale in their home states and to integrate its curriculum in K-12 classrooms. Hillsdale graduates are scattered throughout Washington, including in the offices of the top Republicans in Congress. Michael Anton, who joined Hillsdale's D.C. outpost after working in the first Trump administration (though he's not a Hillsdale grad himself), was tapped in April to lead the U.S. technical team in nuclear negotiations with Iran. The university regularly advertises its free online courses on subjects like ancient Christianity and the Biblical book of Genesis on Fox News, and rents various conservative email lists. Arnn, a co-founder of the conservative think tank the Claremont Institute, was even considered for Education secretary in Trump's first administration. Trump's eventual Education secretary, Betsy DeVos, has her own familial and financial ties to Hillsdale. In Trump 2.0, the universityhas partnered with the White House and the Education Department on an educational video series to promote the 250th anniversary of America's founding. The most recent installment, focused on the founding of the U.S. Army, featured Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Even with those credentials, as the GOP continues tinkering with the bill ahead of final passage, there's one hitch that could complicate things: At least right now, there aren't believed to be any other schools besides Hillsdale that don't accept federal cash and have large enough endowments that they're at risk of being hit by the endowment tax. Wealthy universities were first hit with a 1.4 percent excise on their endowments as part of the 2017 GOP tax bill. Given that the relationship between Republicans and higher education has only crumbled in the years since, colleges across the country had already been bracing for Republicans to take another swing at the excise tax in negotiations to renew expiring provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. There's a tranche of smaller colleges that would be hit hard by an endowment tax hike and are trying to distance themselves from the Ivies in conservatives' crosshairs. But even though Hillsdale would likely benefit from some of the endowment tax changes those schools have pitched lawmakers on, including sparing schools smaller student bodies, the college has thus far declined to take other schools up on overtures to join their coalitions as it leaned on its more unique messaging. Hillsdale isn't in the clear yet. There are questions about whether several of Republicans' changes to the endowment tax are allowed under the arcane procedural rules of the reconciliation process. The exclusion was not included in the House version of the bill, and not much is set in stone amid horsetrading within the conference. The specter of the last Republican tax debate also looms large given Hillsdale's distinctive position. Earlier versions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would have subjected schools with endowments of at least $250,000 per student to the excise tax. But during floor debate in the Senate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — who received an honorary degree from Hillsdale in 2013 — and then-Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) introduced an amendment that would have exempted from the tax any otherwise-eligible schools that don't take federal funding. The amendment triggered an outcry from Senate Democrats, who pointed out that the only university that would apply to was Hillsdale. Four Republican senators ended up voting with all Democrats to sink the amendment. Hillsdale still managed to luck out, but only temporarily, thanks to language in the final bill that raised the threshold for the tax to $500,000. The House reconciliation bill retains that threshold for the 1.4 percent tax, but neither measure indexes it to inflation, effectively lowering the threshold as time goes on. Hillsdale's endowment finally reached eligibility a few years ago, and much further down the line, other schools that have sworn off federal funding may eventually join it. If the Senate version prevails, however, Hillsdale would pay nothing. In Arnn's May op-ed, he wrote that the House-passed reconciliation bill leaves 'untouched the vast web of colleges and universities sustained by taxpayer dollars, often bloated with bureaucracies committed to fashionable ideas, far removed from the purposes of education.' Ironically, some of the biggest winners out of the Senate's version of the endowment tax — aside from Hillsdale — were schools with the biggest endowments, like Harvard, that would have seen their tax rate soar to 21 percent under the House bill. Senate Republicans softened the tax hike to less than 10 percent for the wealthiest universities.
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Undiscovered Gems In Middle East To Watch This June 2025
The Middle Eastern stock markets have been experiencing a notable upswing, bolstered by the recent Iran-Israel ceasefire, which has improved market sentiment and reignited investor risk appetite. As regional indices such as Dubai's main share index and Saudi Arabia's benchmark index show strong gains, investors are increasingly on the lookout for promising stocks that demonstrate resilience and growth potential in these dynamic conditions. Name Debt To Equity Revenue Growth Earnings Growth Health Rating Alf Meem Yaa for Medical Supplies and Equipment NA 17.03% 18.37% ★★★★★★ Baazeem Trading 8.48% -2.02% -2.70% ★★★★★★ MOBI Industry 6.50% 5.60% 24.00% ★★★★★★ Sure Global Tech NA 11.95% 18.65% ★★★★★★ Saudi Azm for Communication and Information Technology 2.07% 16.18% 21.11% ★★★★★★ Nofoth Food Products NA 15.75% 27.63% ★★★★★★ Keir International 23.18% 49.21% -17.98% ★★★★★☆ National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels 19.25% 0.67% 4.89% ★★★★☆☆ Waja 23.81% 98.44% 14.54% ★★★★☆☆ Saudi Chemical Holding 79.49% 16.57% 44.01% ★★★★☆☆ Click here to see the full list of 220 stocks from our Middle Eastern Undiscovered Gems With Strong Fundamentals screener. Here's a peek at a few of the choices from the screener. Simply Wall St Value Rating: ★★★★★☆ Overview: Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries P.S.C., known as Julphar, operates in the manufacturing and sale of medicines, drugs, and various pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and medical compounds across the UAE, GCC countries, and internationally with a market capitalization of AED1.51 billion. Operations: Julphar generates revenue primarily from its Manufacturing segment, contributing AED864.90 million, and the Planet segment, which adds AED732.90 million. Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries, also known as Julphar, has recently shown a significant turnaround, reporting AED 140.9 million in net income for Q1 2025 compared to just AED 1.9 million the previous year. This profit surge is accompanied by a satisfactory net debt to equity ratio of 4.8%, reflecting improved financial health over five years with debt reduced from 117% to 55.9%. Despite high volatility in its share price and interest payments not being well covered by EBIT (1.4x coverage), Julphar's free cash flow is positive and it trades at a modest discount of 5.3% below its estimated fair value, suggesting potential for future growth within the pharmaceutical sector. Click here and access our complete health analysis report to understand the dynamics of Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries P.S.C. Understand Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries P.S.C's track record by examining our Past report. Simply Wall St Value Rating: ★★★★☆☆ Overview: Perfect Presentation for Commercial Services Company operates as an ICT services and technology solutions provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a market capitalization of SAR 3.27 billion. Operations: Perfect Presentation generates revenue primarily from Maintenance and Operation Services (SAR 373.83 million), Call Centre Services (SAR 313.34 million), and Software Licenses and Development Services (SAR 309.24 million). The company also earns from Managed Services and Mother Services Social, contributing SAR 116.24 million and SAR 28.33 million, respectively. Perfect Presentation for Commercial Services is making waves with its recent contract wins, totaling over SAR 249 million. This Riyadh-based company reported a net income of SAR 32.29 million in Q1 2025, up from SAR 29.68 million the previous year, showcasing significant growth potential. Despite a high net debt to equity ratio of 71%, the firm's earnings growth outpaced the IT industry at 27.3%. With projects like maintaining digital health systems and operating call centers, Perfect Presentation seems poised to leverage its technical expertise while navigating financial challenges effectively in Saudi Arabia's dynamic market landscape. Dive into the specifics of Perfect Presentation for Commercial Services here with our thorough health report. Gain insights into Perfect Presentation for Commercial Services' historical performance by reviewing our past performance report. Simply Wall St Value Rating: ★★★★★★ Overview: Plasson Industries Ltd is a company that develops, manufactures, and markets technical products across various global regions including Israel, Europe, Brazil, Oceania, the United States, Asia, Africa, and the rest of the Americas with a market cap of ₪2.08 billion. Operations: Plasson Industries generates revenue primarily from three segments: connection accessories for plumbing (₪890.61 million), products for animals (₪588.41 million), and other activities (₪257.10 million). Plasson Industries, a notable player in the machinery sector, has shown robust financial health with earnings growth of 9.6%, outpacing the industry average of 8%. Its debt to equity ratio improved significantly from 64.1% to 38.1% over five years, indicating effective debt management. The company's price-to-earnings ratio stands at a favorable 14.6x against the IL market's 15x, suggesting potential value for investors. Recent results revealed sales reaching ILS 450 million for Q1 2025, up from ILS 421 million last year; however, net income slightly dipped to ILS 41 million compared to ILS 42 million previously. Delve into the full analysis health report here for a deeper understanding of Plasson Industries. Examine Plasson Industries' past performance report to understand how it has performed in the past. Navigate through the entire inventory of 220 Middle Eastern Undiscovered Gems With Strong Fundamentals here. Got skin in the game with these stocks? Elevate how you manage them by using Simply Wall St's portfolio, where intuitive tools await to help optimize your investment outcomes. Join a community of smart investors by using Simply Wall St. It's free and delivers expert-level analysis on worldwide markets. Explore high-performing small cap companies that haven't yet garnered significant analyst attention. Fuel your portfolio with companies showing strong growth potential, backed by optimistic outlooks both from analysts and management. Find companies with promising cash flow potential yet trading below their fair value. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include ADX:JULPHAR SASE:7204 and TASE:PLSN. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@ Sign in to access your portfolio
Washington Post
21 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Inside Nippon Steel's bruising efforts that paved the way to buying U.S. Steel
Nippon Steel's announcement in December 2023 that it would take over U.S. Steel seemed doomed from the start: a deal, cut by a foreign company, involving workers in an iconic American manufacturing industry, in the swing state of Pennsylvania, in a presidential election year. The Japanese steelmaker's executives appeared to underestimate the political ramifications in those early days, a miscalculation they would spend the next 18 months rectifying through an unusually hands-on campaign to secure the deal, according to three people familiar with the company's outreach who like others in this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Nippon Steel declined to comment for this story. In the months before President Joe Biden blocked the sale in January, citing national security concerns, the company's executives held meetings in the Pittsburgh-memorabilia-filled garage office of Mayor Chris Kelly in West Mifflin, home to a U.S. Steel plant; held town halls; cheered on the Steelers; and won over local and state officials whose appeals, Nippon Steel said, to President Donald Trump were key to the eventual acquisition, finalized this month. The whiplash ordeal revealed how investing in America could come with a significant risk even for a staunch U.S. security ally like Japan and that doing business in an increasingly protectionist and politicized environment could be fraught regardless of which party is in the White House, Japanese analysts said. 'Washington is now using national security as pretext for a lot of things, but, actually, many of those things are not [a threat],' said Taro Kono, a Japanese lawmaker and former foreign minister. 'Nippon Steel could have invested years ago, and it took so long. … Politics intervened. And that is not a good sign.' The December 2023 announcement of the takeover from Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel came as a surprise to key Japanese ministries, many Pennsylvania steelworkers and several U.S.-Japan experts who had been following the developments. Nippon Steel had minimal formal lobbying effort in the United States at the time, leaving it vulnerable to the immediate political backlash, the people familiar said. Nippon Steel's early hands-off approach reflected a longstanding Japanese corporate mindset that politics and business should be kept separate, analysts said, which proved impossible in this case. In November, Japan's prime minister wrote a letter to Biden asking him to approve the deal, breaking with Tokyo's stance at that point of not having the country's leader merge politics with business. 'This isn't just about economics anymore; it's about strategic interest,' said a senior Japanese business official unrelated to the deal, speaking anonymously because that person was not authorized to speak publicly. 'One of the most striking takeaways from this Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal was how directly government policies can influence business outcomes now.' To many in the Japanese business community, it seemed like a no-brainer deal. Nippon Steel would bring fresh investment and cutting-edge technology, grow American steelmaking and create jobs, the company assured. Both steel companies had already agreed to the merger, after all. It was just a matter of getting Americans to see it that way. Nippon Steel quickly switched to an all-hands-on-deck offensive strategy, hiring Washington powerhouse lobbying firm Akin Gump — which it has paid more than $5 million since 2024, disclosures compiled by OpenSecrets show — to convince decision-makers on Capitol Hill, in the White House and on the National Security Council. As the presidential campaign unfolded, the company also hired lobbying firm Ballard Partners, which has deep ties to Trump's orbit, and brought on Mike Pompeo, Trump's former secretary of state, as an adviser to help with its outreach in Washington. Meanwhile, company executives, led by veteran negotiator Takahiro Mori, embedded in local communities in Pennsylvania. It was a personal approach to lobbying that few Japanese companies had employed until then, analysts said. Through each appearance on local talk radio, trade publications and town halls, Mori's message remained consistent: The deal would be good for America and would protect U.S. jobs. Privately, Mori made the case to Pennsylvania leaders that there was not a better alternative for the state's workers and the future of the American steel industry — and that Nippon Steel would make sure the deal is advantageous to the American side, one of the people familiar with Nippon Steel's efforts said. Company executives also took meetings regardless of party with leaders at all levels, such as union representatives, county commissioners and state lawmakers. Among those lawmakers was Pennsylvania state Sen. Kim Ward (R), who regularly met with Nippon Steel executives in 2024 through the finalization of the deal, her office said. Ward wrote letters to Biden and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) encouraging them to accept the deal and, during the Trump administration, met with White House staffers and related government agencies to relay the importance of the project, the office said. 'Over the past 18 months, we made numerous trips, investing time and effort in dialogue with political, economic and community leaders,' Mori said in a news conference last week. 'That helped them understand the true value of the deal, which I believe ultimately persuaded Trump.' The grassroots campaign showed the importance of building relationships with stakeholders outside Washington, which the Japanese business community has been increasingly doing, said Jun Sawada, chairman of the Tokyo-based Japan-U.S. Business Council and chairman of Japanese telecommunications company NTT. 'Our strategy is going to change,' Sawada said. '... We have to respect the local side and delegate a lot of the decision to the local side.' To boot, Nippon Steel had a particularly hard-charging chief executive, Eiji Hashimoto, who wouldn't take no for an answer, even when the deal all but seemed to fall apart by the end of the Biden administration. Hashimoto 'really committed to a 100 percent acquisition,' said Yuichi Kori, government affairs expert at Edelman Japan. '... I've never seen a Japanese CEO continue with this strong mind until the completion of the deal. To me, that was amazing.' Trump opposed the purchase during the presidential campaign, but his election presented a new opportunity for the Japanese company. In Biden's final month in office, Nippon Steel sued the administration over its efforts to block the deal, but executives were able to approach the Trump administration with a clean slate. In February, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with Trump in Washington. Japanese government officials had been facilitating meetings between Nippon Steel and administration officials, and they met with Nippon Steel as they prepared to brief Ishiba ahead of his visit, said a Japanese government official. At a joint news conference after the two leaders' meeting, Trump declared that Nippon Steel's acquisition would be 'an investment, rather than a purchase' — signaling an openness to working out an arrangement. The talking point echoed what Ishiba and Trump discussed, said two other Japanese officials. 'I think, frankly, that was inspired. And that opened the door to a larger conversation about how it would work,' said William Chou, deputy director of the Hudson Institute's Japan Chair. Ishiba's involvement also reflected a broader acknowledgement among Japanese officials and businesses that there was a lot on the line in U.S.-Japan relations if the deal fell through, said Joshua Walker, president of Japan Society: 'They understood that if this deal got killed, it would put a pretty serious cloud over all deals in the U.S.' The moment was a turning point that showed Trump — who has called for foreign companies to invest in America and wanted to revive the U.S. manufacturing industry — would be negotiable, analysts said. Nippon Steel sweetened the deal with $11 billion in investments by 2028 on top of the acquisition. And the company doubled down on terms that it had agreed to previously: a corporate board made up of a majority of U.S. citizens and an American chief executive. Ultimately, the negotiations ended in an extraordinary move to grant the U.S. government a 'golden share,' which would allow it to retain oversight and veto power on certain corporate functions, including transferring jobs outside the United States. Nippon Steel and the U.S. government also signed a national security agreement. The deal has now prompted concerns over whether Japanese companies would need to forge a golden share-like agreement in future U.S. deals, Sawada said. With the ongoing tariff negotiations with the U.S., Japanese companies are grappling with an increasingly protectionist America, Sawada said. 'We need to recognize that the world order has already changed from a globalism to ... country-first and trade-issue [focused] models, back to 100 years [ago],' Sawada said. Last month, Trump held a rally in West Mifflin to greenlight the agreement. Even until the rally, company executives weren't sure where the U.S. president would land, Hashimoto said during a news conference in Tokyo last week. 'The employees, including union members, asked him to approve the deal and cheered his speech,' Hashimoto said. 'That's when I thought: We're going to make it.' On June 13, Trump signed an executive order enabling the acquisition. Nippon Steel and the U.S. government reached their agreement past midnight. 'When we walked out after midnight, that's when I finally believed it was real,' Mori said. Chie Tanaka contributed to this report.
