Japan's Bank Shares Plunge as Tariffs Hurt BOJ Rate Hike Outlook
Banks were the heaviest drag on the Topix, which declined as much as 4.3% as investors turned risk-off following Donald Trump's announcement of a 24% levy on Japan. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. lost over 8% at one point.
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Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's pick to lead economic data agency floats ending monthly jobs report
President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has proposed ending releasing the aency's closely watched jobs report each month. Conservative economist EJ Antoni, a longtime critic of the bureau, floated the idea in an interview with Fox News on Monday, the same day that Trump officially announced him as his pick to lead the BLS. The idea raised new alarm over the agency's future and the reliability of its statistics, which are used by political leaders, investors and everyday Americans to get a sense of how the world's richest country is faring. Trump fired its former leader this month after the agency reported a sharp slowdown in jobs growth. Trump accused the commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, of having "rigged" the numbers - a claim that was widely rejected by economists. They likewise panned his pick of Antoni, saying his economic commentary was rife with basic mistakes. After Fox published its interview online on Tuesday, an economist who has advised Republicans in the past posted: "Senators who vote to confirm Antoni are voting to essentially eviscerate the BLS and its jobs data." "The articles and tweets I've seen him publish are probably the most error-filled of any think tank economist right now," Jessica Riedl, a senior fellow at another conservative think tank, the Manhattan Institute, also wrote on social media. Antoni, a federal budget analyst at the Heritage Foundation, is a longtime critic of the BLS. He has called its statistics "phoney baloney" and last year urged the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) "to take a chainsaw to the BLS". In the Fox interview, he said the jobs report, which includes the country's unemployment rate, the number of jobs created over the last month, and other data, was unreliable. "It's a serious problem that needs to be fixed immediately," Antoni told FOX Business. "Until it is corrected, the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly job reports but keep publishing the more accurate, though less timely, quarterly data," he added.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Floats Deal to Let Nvidia's Blackwell Chips Into China -- With a 50% Power Cut
President Donald Trump has signaled he may be open to letting Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) ship a toned-down version of its most advanced Blackwell AI chip to China if the company trims its capabilities by 30% to 50%. The comment comes shortly after Trump confirmed an unusual arrangement already in place for Nvidia's less-powerful H20 chip, which allows exports to China in exchange for a 15% revenue share paid directly to the US government. Advanced Micro Devices will follow the same formula for its MI308 chip, according to a person familiar with the matter. Nvidia has not commented on the president's remarks. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with NVDA. The potential deal for Blackwell would mirror Trump's broader push to secure financial returns for the US in exchange for loosening certain export restrictions a strategy that could influence how American companies negotiate market access in China. While Trump didn't outline a specific timeline, he suggested Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang could soon meet with him to discuss a negatively enhanced Blackwell variant. If approved, the move could mark a shift in how high-end US chip technology is selectively offered abroad. Nvidia's Blackwell chips are the backbone of today's most powerful AI systems but remain off-limits to China under current US rules. Both Nvidia and AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) have taken revenue hits as tighter controls limited exports to older models on par with domestic Chinese alternatives products that have struggled to gain traction. Nvidia has already said it is developing another China-specific chip and will seek approval to sell it. The company noted that further cutting back its Hopper-based H20 chip is no longer viable, suggesting a modified Blackwell could be the clearest path to regaining momentum in one of the world's largest AI markets. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Fast Company
23 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Companies explore their own stablecoins under new law, but hurdles remain
TECH Walmart, Amazon, and more companies are entertaining their own stablecoin strategies to capitalize on them. U.S. President Donald Trump holds the signed 'Genius Act', which will develop regulatory framework for stablecoin cryptocurrencies and expand oversight of the industry, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. [Photo: Annabelle Gordon/File Photo/REUTERS] BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 5:48 Financial companies from Bank of America to Fiserv are preparing to launch their own dollar-backed crypto tokens now that a new U.S. law has established the first-ever rules for stablecoins, but experts warn the path forward could be anything but simple. U.S. President Donald Trump on July 18 signed the GENIUS Act into law, setting federal rules and guidelines for cryptocurrency tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar known as stablecoins. This U.S. law, the first designed to facilitate crypto usage, could pave the way for the digital assets to become an everyday way to make payments and move money, experts said. The use of stablecoins, designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 U.S. dollar peg, has exploded in recent years, notably among crypto traders moving funds to and from other tokens, such as bitcoin and ether. Now, a slate of companies are entertaining their own stablecoin strategies to capitalize on the promise of instant payments and settlement that stablecoins offer. Payments on traditional banking rails can take several days to arrive, or take even longer across international borders. Among the companies considering stablecoins are Walmart and Amazon, the Wall Street Journal reported in June. Walmart and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, the new law will not immediately open the floodgates, experts said. The newfound opportunity to dabble in stablecoins can lead to numerous tricky considerations for firms, both strategic and technical. Companies have to embark on a lengthy process to deploy their own stablecoins, or decide whether it makes more sense to integrate existing stablecoins, like issuer Circle's USDC, into their business. Companies first have to decide the purpose of their stablecoins. For example, a retail platform could make a stablecoin available to customers to buy goods, which could appeal to crypto-savvy users. Some companies could use them internally for cross-border payments, given that stablecoins can enable near-instant payments, often with lower fees. How a company plans to use a stablecoin could affect whether it creates a stablecoin or works with a partner. 'The intended use is going to matter a lot,' said Stephen Aschettino, a partner at Steptoe. 'Is this something really designed to drive customers to engage with the issuer, or is the issuer's primary motivation to have a stablecoin that is more ubiquitous?' For nonbanks, stablecoins will bring new compliance costs and oversight requirements, given that the GENIUS Act requires issuers to comply with anti-money laundering and 'know your customer' (KYC) requirements. 'Those that already have robust KYC risk management and regulatory change management programs or working towards implementing these program elements may have a competitive advantage,' said Jill DeWitt, senior director of compliance and third-party risk management solutions at Moody's. One group likely to enjoy that advantage is banks, which are no strangers to screening for sanctions-related risks and verifying the identities of their customers. Bank of America and Citigroup are actively considering issuing their own stablecoins, the CEOs of both banks said in earnings calls last month. Others like Morgan Stanley are closely monitoring stablecoin developments. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the bank will be involved in stablecoins, without giving details. Banks need to weigh several factors before going live with stablecoins, including how holding the tokens might affect liquidity requirements, said Julia Demidova, head of digital currencies product and strategy at FIS. Banks holding assets like stablecoins on their balance sheets might be required to hold more capital under current U.S. bank rules. 'The GENIUS Act is great, but if the bank is treating their stablecoin on the balance sheet under prudential banking regulation, you still need to look at the risk weight of the asset,' she said. Another crucial question is how to issue stablecoins. Like other cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are created on a blockchain, a digital ledger that records transactions. Hundreds of blockchain networks exist today, two of the most popular being ethereum and solana. Both are considered public or 'permissionless' blockchains because all transactions on those networks are available for anyone to see. Still, it is unclear which attribute companies issuing stablecoins would prioritize. Banks, in particular, could opt for their own private, or 'permissioned,' blockchains instead, Demidova said. 'The banks would desire and demand that very clear governance and structure,' she said. 'In that permissionless environment, you don't have the governance and controls in place.' Others like said Nassim Eddequiouaq, CEO of Bastion, a provider of infrastructure for companies to issue their own stablecoins, see merits to permissionless blockchains. 'We've seen a tremendous amount of interest for existing blockchains that have seen user adoption, that have been battle tested at scale, including during activity spikes,' he said. Although the GENIUS Act has been signed into law, its effective date is potentially several years off, with federal banking regulators expected to issue rules in the meantime to fill in certain gaps. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, for instance, is expected to issue rules to outline several risk management and compliance requirements. Under the new U.S. framework, the Treasury Department will have to issue a rule on foreign stablecoin regulatory regimes and their compatibility with the new U.S. framework. 'These things are going to have to phase in,' said Aschettino. —Hannah Lang, Reuters Sign up for our weekly tech digest. SIGN UP This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Privacy Policy
