Why stablecoins took centerstage at Bitcoin's largest conference: CNBC Crypto World
On today's episode of CNBC Crypto World, cryptocurrencies remain little changed as bitcoin manages to hang onto the $107,000 level. Plus, Bo Hines, White House Digital Assets Council chair, discusses the Trump Administration's strategy for crypto. And, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev breaks down how blockchain could play a role in its business outside of crypto trading.
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New York Times
8 minutes ago
- New York Times
China Rejects Trump's Accusation That It Violated Trade Truce
China said on Monday that the United States had 'severely undermined' the trade truce the two countries reached last month, striking back against President Trump's accusations that it was violating the terms of their agreement. In a statement, China's Ministry of Commerce called Mr. Trump's attacks on social media last week 'baseless.' He had accused Beijing of failing to live up to its end of their trade deal, a 90-day rollback of tariffs and other trade barriers to give the two countries more time to negotiate and prevent an all-out trade war. China's commerce ministry said it had continued to honor its agreement responsibly and accused the United States of 'erroneous practices' by introducing a series of 'discriminatory restrictive measures.' These included restrictions on the sale of chip design software to China and barring American companies from using or financing artificial intelligence chips from the Chinese technology giant Huawei. It also criticized the Trump administration's announcement that it planned to 'aggressively revoke' the visas of Chinese students and that it would enhance scrutiny of all future applications from China, including Hong Kong. 'The U.S. side has unilaterally escalated new economic and trade frictions, exacerbating the uncertainty and instability of bilateral economic and trade relations,' the ministry wrote in its statement. 'Instead of reflecting on its own actions, it has turned the blame onto China.' China said it would take measures to 'safeguard its legitimate rights and interests' if the United States continued to harm Chinese interests. The growing confrontation over the fragile trade truce between the world's two largest economies has raised questions about whether they can strike a permanent accord within the 90-day deadline. The United States has grown increasingly concerned about access to rare earth magnets, which are crucial for producing cars, semiconductors, aircraft and other vital items. China maintains a near monopoly on the production of rare earth metals. American companies' ability to keep factories running could be in jeopardy without a sufficient supply of those magnets. Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative who negotiated the deal along with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, said during a Friday appearance on CNBC that China was 'slow-rolling their compliance' and that the flow of some critical minerals has not returned to levels that American officials were expecting. The agreement, announced on May 12, offered a temporary reprieve to the escalating trade tensions between the two largest economies. The United States had pushed tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 percent and China responded by raising import duties on American products to 125 percent. Under the truce, the United States agreed to lower its tariffs to 30 percent, while China cut its import tax to 10 percent for 90 days. Amy Chang Chien contributed reporting from Taipei.
CNBC
16 minutes ago
- CNBC
CNBC Daily Open: It's a dicey matter to play 'chicken' in markets
When threatened, birds puff up their feathers to appear larger than they actually are, and squawk to signal aggression. On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he would no longer be "Mr. NICE GUY" to China after the country "totally violated" its trade agreement with America. The same day, Trump said he would raise tariffs on steel imports to 50% from 25%. The escalations follow a détente in May, during which Trump reached a trade deal with the U.K., agreed with Beijing to sharply reduce reciprocal import duties and delayed for more than a month a tariff of 50% on the European Union — two days after announcing it. Those glad tidings lifted stocks. For May, the S&P 500 rose 6.2% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 9.6%, with both indexes enjoying their best month since November 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3.9% for the month. But the mood among investors might change quickly, depending on communication coming from the White House. The word "chicken" is used as a metaphor for cowardice. In reality, they can be dangerous — there have been reports of humans being killed by Colonel Sanders' favorite bird. Asia markets start June in the redU.S. markets traded mixed Friday. The S&P 500 was flat, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.32%. Futures tied to the three indexes ticked down Sunday evening stateside. Asia-Pacific stocks fell Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.9% and Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 1.32% at 1:30 p.m. Singapore time. Expected Trump-Xi talkTrade tensions between China and the U.S. are escalating. On Monday, Beijing claimed that the White House's "export control measures" breach the two countries' agreement reached in Geneva, Switzerland, refuting Trump's claim on Friday that China has "TOTALLY VIOLATED" it. That said, reconciliation could happen as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss trade negotiations "this week," U.S. National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said on Sunday. Trump says he'll double steel tariffsTrump on Friday told steelworkers at U.S. Steel that he will raise import duties on steel to 50% from 25%. The new import duties will start June 4, the president posted on Truth Social. On Saturday, the European Union said it is "prepared to impose countermeasures, including in response to the latest U.S. tariff increase." Even so, "tariffs are not going away," U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on "Fox News Sunday." Musk cuts himself from DOGEElon Musk bid farewell to his role at the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency Friday. Musk said on Sunday that he doesn't want to "take responsibility for everything the administration's doing," expressing disappointment at the White House's "massive spending bill." Tesla shares lost 14% this year amid Musk's involvement in politics, but gained 22% in May following Musk's April statement he would spend less time at DOGE. Australia's Soul Patts and Brickworks to mergeShares of Australian investment firm Washington H. Soul Pattinson, also known as Soul Patts, spiked more than 15%, and its affiliate Brickworks rocketed over 25% after both companies announced a merger of 14 billion Australian dollars ($9 billion). As part of the deal, a new company listed in Sydney will acquire all outstanding shares of Soul Patts and Brickworks. The merged entity will have holdings across real estate, private equity and credit totaling A$13.1 billion. [PRO] May jobs report in focusThe U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for May, out Friday, will provide more information on how the economy is holding up amid Trump's multiple tariffs —and play a big role in determining whether the May rally in stocks still has legs. Economists expect the number of jobs added in May to dip from April. It misses the forecast, markets could take a downturn as the White House appears to ratchet up its tariff rhetoric. Investors are piling into big, short Treasury bets alongside Warren Buffett Investors always pay close attention to bonds, and what the latest movement in prices and yields is saying about the economy. Right now, the action is telling investors to stick to the shorter-end of the fixed-income market with their maturities. Long-term treasuries and long-term corporate bonds have posted negative performance since September, which is very rare, said Todd Sohn, senior ETF and technical strategist at Strategas Securities, on "ETF Edge." The only other time that's happened in modern times was during the Financial Crisis," he added. "It is hard to argue against short-term duration bonds right now." It would seem that Warren Buffett agrees, with Berkshire Hathaway doubling its ownership of T-bills and now owning 5% of all short-term Treasuries, according to a recent JPMorgan report.
Entrepreneur
an hour ago
- Entrepreneur
When Tariffs Bite
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Against the backdrop of an increasingly unstable market thanks to global geopolitical tensions, several financial records were broken when President Trump announced tariffs on goods being imported into the USA. We saw an unprecedented $6.4 trillion market-wide loss over two days, reported by the Wall Street Journal, and the Dow Jones lost more than 2,000 points in a single day for only the fourth time in history. For business leaders, this isn't just volatility; it's a clarion call to rethink resilience. They are naturally turning towards their accountants to help guide them through the instability and ensure continued liquidity. At HLB, we've long championed that turbulence isn't a barrier—it's a catalyst for reinvention. Driving innovation A key focus for businesses must be on driving innovation, which is no longer a luxury but a necessity. When faced with economic uncertainty and aggressive market shifts, companies which actively innovate are more likely to thrive. It might be easy to focus on the challenges, but there are also opportunities which present themselves in these stormy times – or which can be orchestrated through careful planning and business transformation. It may feel instinctual to keep things the same when the outside influences are so changeable, but in fact it's a prime time to rethink business structure, logistics and customer engagement strategies. With tariffs now in place across most of the world, companies importing into the USA should focus on building resilient and diverse supplier relationships in those countries where there are smaller tariffs in operation. Single-source systems should be replaced with a multi-source network as this reduces the risks of being tied solely to one region's tariffs. Sustainability should also be built into operations, as this not only works towards ESG goals (for example, by decreasing supply chain emissions) but also reduces costs and frees up capital, which can then be reinvested in other parts of the business. Agility is also crucial in times of turmoil, meaning it's vital to foster an open mindset to experimentation, implementing innovative initiatives and replacing outdated processes. By having flexible goals, and being open to how the company achieves them, adaptations can be made quickly when necessary and creative solutions can be explored when challenges like the introduction of tariffs arise. Business leaders can thrive by treating flexibility as a core competency—setting ambitious goals but staying open to how they're achieved. When tariffs hit, creative pivots matter more than ever. Digital transformation and AI The implementation of new technology, particularly AI, is something most business leaders are already considering, if not already implementing as part of a process of digital transformation. According to the HLB Survey of Business Leaders, 78% are prioritising investments in digital technologies to enhance operational efficiency and adaptability, and 62% said digital transformation was a primary strategy to mitigate risks associated with external disruptions, such as trade policy fluctuations. Business' financial experts can use AI to analyse vast amounts of data across suppliers, logistics and import/export costs to quickly identify optimal sourcing strategies; and automation tools leveraged within logistics and HR teams can save time and operational costs, enabling the business to focus on longer-term strategic planning. Other transformative tools can help businesses better understand shifting customer demands (for example, as tariff costs trickle down to consumers), and enable companies to do more with less, ultimately providing a competitive advantage and transforming how they operate, pivot and grow – even in a volatile trade landscape. Integrating people and AI for growth A dual focus on innovation and people leads to significantly stronger outcomes. Successful companies don't simply adopt new technologies but embed them within their workforce structure by prioritising employee upskilling. This may involve providing training courses on data literacy and ESG frameworks, to ensure teams comprehensively understand how evolving technologies and regulations impact business operations. Staff must also feel empowered to collaborate across functions, as this tends to generate the most high-impact ideas; by ensuring teams have ownership over projects that combine technology tools like AI with ESG-specific goals, this helps foster an innovative and adaptable mindset throughout the company – especially if successful outcomes are considered as part of individual employees' performance milestones, to highlight the importance of these projects within the wider business' long-term strategy. With the help of their accountants, companies must make changes to their supply chains and business models, implement operational efficiencies in order to finance technological innovation, and work through the external challenges which present themselves as tariffs and global turmoil continue to disrupt the business world. Those who do so effectively can absolutely weather the storm, and build their resilience to protect themselves against any future challenges which arise.
