Asian shares are mostly higher after Trump says he discussed firing Fed Chair Powell
Removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell might help Wall Street get the lower interest rates investors love but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% to 39,901.19 after the government reported a trade deficit for the first half of the year as Japan's exports to the United States took a hit from Trump's tariffs.
Chinese markets also gained. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged 0.1% higher to 24,549.87, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.3% to 3,516.31.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 8,639.00.
In South Korea, the Kospi climbed 0.2% to 3,192.29.
India's Sensex lost 0.1% while the SET in Bangkok jumped 2.9% on strong gains for market heavyweights like Airports of Thailand and Delta Electronics.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 6,263.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% to 44,254.78, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3% to 20,730.49 in a fresh record high.
Stocks were rising modestly in the morning before news reports saying that Trump was likely to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell quickly sent the S&P 500 down by 0.7%.
When later asked directly if he was planning to fire Powell, Trump said, 'I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely.' That helped calm the market, and stocks erased their losses, though Trump added that he could still fire Powell if 'he has to leave for fraud.' Trump has been criticizing a $2.5 billion renovation project of the Fed's headquarters.
Trump is unhappy that the Fed has not cut interest rates this year, a move that would have made it easier for U.S. households and businesses to get loans to buy houses, build factories and otherwise boost the economy. Lower interest rates could also help the U.S. government, which is set to borrow and add a lot more to its debt after approving a wide range of tax cuts.
Powell has insisted he wants to wait for more data about how Trump's stiff proposed tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before the Fed makes its next move.
The Fed has two main jobs: keeping the job market strong while keeping inflation under control. Lowering interest rates would help boost the economy but would also give inflation more fuel when tariffs may be set to push prices for U.S. households higher.
A report on Wednesday said inflation at the wholesale level slowed to 2.3% last month, which was better than economists expected. It's an encouraging signal, but it came a day after another report suggested that Trump's tariffs are pushing up the prices U.S. shoppers are paying for toys, apparel and other imported products.
Trump's tariffs are making their weight felt across financial markets. Netherlands-based ASML, the world's leading supplier of chipmaking gear, has warned that it can't guarantee growth next year, after delivering an expected 15% growth in sales for 2025.
Monday Mornings
The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.
ASML shares that trade in the United States fell 8.3%.
GrabAGun, an online retailer of firearms and ammunition, swung sharply after combining with Colombier Acquisition Corp. II and taking its spot on the stock market under the ticker symbol 'PEW.' Donald Trump Jr., the son of President Trump, is joining the company's board.
The stock quickly went from an early gain of 19% to a drop of 31% before finishing with a loss of 23.9%, with several halts in trading along the way.
In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 14 cents to $66.52 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 6 cents at $68.58 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 148.65 Japanese yen from 147.89 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1582 from $1.1641.
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Vancouver Sun
10 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
The Doug Ford Doctrine: 'We really have to flex our muscles'
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If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'The access is phenomenal,' Ford says of his own relationship with the PM, 'I'll message him, he gets right back to me. It's all about communication and relationship-building. 'And, he's a very, very great business person,' Ontario's premier enthuses, listing off Carney's credentials (without a mention of potential conflicts of interest). 'He gets it,' Ford says. 'He's going to go in there and he's going to clean house in Ottawa, which is well overdue.' Figuring out how Team Canada will respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration of a blanket 35 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada as of Aug. 1 — on top of previously implemented tariffs on auto parts, steel, aluminum and copper — will no doubt be the premiers' top priority in cottage country next week. 'Elbows up or elbows down? What's the strategy, now?' I ask Ford in a recent call. 'We have to negotiate through strength,' Ford responds, 'and we really have to flex our muscles and make sure President Trump hears us.' 'Because in closed-door meetings and in our phone calls with governors — and they pull a lot of weight, I heard that from (U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard) Lutnick — Republicans don't want this,' Ford reports 'Democrats obviously don't want this, and Republicans don't want it. But they're terrified to say anything publicly,' he says. Only a few U.S. senators have spoken up, Ford adds, 'and God bless them.' Carney is advancing several strategies — promoting free trade within Canada; negotiating a security and trade pact with America, in good faith; and at the same time, forging strategic partnerships with the EU to beef up security and defence alliances and boost trade and economic security. This week, Carney announced measures to protect the nation's steel industry, including guarding against foreign steel entering Canada to bypass Trump's tariffs. Breaking down trade barriers between provinces is a strategy Ontario has embraced; the province has signed memorandums of understanding with all provinces except Quebec, B.C. and Newfoundland. And Ford sees other cards to be played, other ways to pressure the Trump administration for a fair trade deal. 'I've been very transparent with Secretary Lutnick, we're going to start on-shoring everything,' Ford says. 'We're going to on-shore the steel beams, the I-beams. We have more cranes in the sky in Toronto and the GTA than their top 10 cities combined.' 'We're going to on-shore the aluminum cans, the beer cans … to make sure we don't have to see a tariff of 25 per cent on the aluminum going down (to the U.S.), they convert it, print it, and send it back up (to Canada) with another 25 per cent; that's 50 per cent.' Ford's government is giving incentives to companies — to turn aluminum into cans, produce steel I-beams, and manufacture steel rails used in transit projects. This strategy tracks with Carney's recent commitment to rely more on Canadian steel for Canadian projects. 'Canada buys more off the U.S. than China, than Japan, than Korea, U.K. and France combined,' Ford elaborates. 'We're their largest customer, and yes, they're our largest customer. But Ontario alone employs nine million Americans who wake up every morning to build a widget or provide a service to Ontario alone.' '(Americans) are going to feel the pressure,' Ford says. 'They're going to feel the pressure when Americans start losing their jobs because we're going to start on-shoring everything, and once that happens, I told Lutnick, it's hard to turn that tap off.' And, Ford continues, Canada can leverage its supplies of critical resources. 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Winnipeg Free Press
10 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Russia is open to peace with Ukriane but insists on achieving its goals, says Kremlin spokesman
Russia is open to peace with Ukraine, but achieving 'our goals' remains a priority, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday, days after U.S. President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions. Peskov and other Russian officials have repeatedly rejected accusations from Kyiv and its Western partners of stalling peace talks. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, with more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate. 'President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,' Peskov told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin. 'The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear,' he added. The Kremlin has insisted that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured. It also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces, demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected. President Donald Trump threatened Russia on July 14 with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration following unsuccessful negotiations aimed at ending the war. The direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul resulted in several rounds of prisoner exchanges, but little else. Trump said he would implement 'severe tariffs' unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy. In addition, Trump said European allies would buy 'billions and billions' of dollars of U.S. military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country's supplies of weapons. Included in the plan are Patriot air defense systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles. Doubts were recently raised about Trump's commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that U.S. stockpiles were running low.
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Canada's premiers set for 3-day meeting in Ontario with trade top of mind
Tariffs and trade are top of the agenda as the country's premiers arrive in Ontario's cottage country for a three-day meeting that comes at a pivotal time for both Canada-U.S. and domestic relations. The premiers' summer gathering in Muskoka will also feature a Tuesday meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney, as trade talks with the United States are expected to intensify. Most of what the premiers are likely to discuss stems from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs: trade negotiations, the direct impact on industries such as steel and aluminum, the increased pushes to remove interprovincial trade barriers and speed up major infrastructure and natural resource projects to counteract the effects of tariffs, as well as Indigenous communities' concerns about them. 1:07 Canada 'pretty difficult to deal with,' White House says as trade agreement deadline looms Day 1 of the premiers' meeting involves discussions with Indigenous leaders including the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council and the Native Women's Association of Canada. Story continues below advertisement Carney himself is fresh off a meeting with hundreds of First Nations chiefs, many of whom have expressed concerns about their rights being sidelined as the prime minister looks to accelerate projects in the 'national interest.' Some of the top priorities premiers are pushing include pipelines and mining in Ontario's Ring of Fire region, and chiefs have said that must not happen by governments skirting their duty to consult. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has served for the past year as head of the Council of the Federation, is host of the meeting and said in a statement that protecting national interests will be top of mind. 'This meeting will be an opportunity to work together on how to respond to President Trump's latest threat and how we can unleash the full potential of Canada's economy,' Ford wrote. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Trump and Carney agreed in June at the G7 summit to try and reach a trade deal by July 21 but Trump recently moved that deadline to Aug. 1, while telling Carney he intends to impose 35 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canada that same day. 5:51 Carney doubles down with counter tariffs Carney has said Canada is trying to get an agreement on softwood lumber exports included in the negotiations with the United States. Story continues below advertisement British Columbia Premier David Eby said he intends to raise the issue and others of particular importance to B.C. at the meeting. '(We want to) get access to the same level of attention, for example, on the softwood lumber as Ontario gets on the auto parts sector, (and) that we get the same amount of attention on capital projects as Alberta is currently getting in relation to their proposals,' Eby said last week in Victoria. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been making a big push for new pipelines, but said during a press conference Friday that her focus would also be on premiers working together to address the tariff threat, including interprovincial trade. 'I was really pleased to sign (a memorandum of understanding) with Doug Ford during the time he was here in during Stampede, and other provinces are working on those same kind of collaborative agreements,' she said. 'We need to do more to trade with each other, and I hope that that's the spirit of the discussion.' Smith and Ford signed an MOU earlier this month to study new pipelines and rail lines between provinces, and both premiers also talked about wanting Carney to repeal a number of energy regulations like net-zero targets, the West Coast tanker ban and a proposed emissions cap. Ford has also taken a lead role on increasing interprovincial trade, signing MOUs with several provinces and enacting a law to remove all of Ontario's exceptions to free trade between the provinces and territories. Story continues below advertisement 6:11 Mapping Canada's strategy to combat U.S. tariffs Nova Scotia's Tim Houston is another premier banging the drum of interprovincial trade, saying the trade war is forcing action on it. 'We're seeing the benefit of working together to respond to economic threats from the U.S. by breaking down internal trade barriers and opportunities to expand in other international markets,' he wrote in a statement. Ford has said the premiers will also talk about emergency management, energy security, sovereignty and national security, health, and public safety. The premiers have also been pushing the federal government to reform bail laws and Carney said last week that legislation will be introduced in the fall and he expects to discuss the issue with the premiers on Tuesday. The premiers' summer meeting also signals a changing of the guard, with the role of chair of Council of the Federation moving between provinces annually. Story continues below advertisement 0:52 Mexico, Canada coordinate as Trump warns of new USMCA tariffs But after Ford is no longer chair, he's not expected to take too much of a back seat on all of the aforementioned issues. He is still premier of the most populous province, has built a strong relationship with Carney, often singing the prime minister's praises, and has done frequent American TV interviews making the case for increased trade over tariffs. Those network appearances, in part, earned him a nickname of 'Captain Canada' — a persona he used to massive political benefit. Ford made the fight against tariffs and Trump the central part of his re-election campaign and voters returned him to government with a third consecutive majority.
