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Axios
16 minutes ago
- Axios
Bessent says U.S.-China trade truce is "working pretty well"
The Trump administration is "very happy" with the current China tariffs agreement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday. Why it matters: Bessent's comments on Fox News indicate a thawing of previously icy relations with China's ruling Communist Party ahead of the trade truce between the world's largest economies expiring on Nov. 10. Driving the news: Fox News' Laura Ingraham asked Bessent when he expected to see movement on the China talks after both nations agreed last week not to impose previously threatened higher levies. "China is, right now, the biggest revenue line in the tariff income," Bessent said. "If it's not broke, don't fix it. We have had very good talks with China. I imagine we'll be seeing them again before November," he said. "They have started shipping the rare earth magnets, which we agreed to. We had put some countermeasures on them that we've taken off. So I think right now the status quo is working pretty well." Context: The original deal lowered U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from 145% and restarted the flow of crucial rare earth minerals out of China, per Axios' Courtenay Brown and Ben Berkowitz. What we're watching: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said there's a "strong desire" on both sides for President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to hold a meeting, though no date has been set as yet.
CNBC
18 minutes ago
- CNBC
Trump's trade policies are helping India-China ties — but they aren't resetting them
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up his two-day trip to India on Tuesday — the latest sign of warming ties between Beijing and New Delhi. During his visit, Wang said India and China should "view each other as partners and opportunities rather than adversaries or threats," according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry translated by Google. In the readout, Wang also said the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2024 marked a "restart" in China-India relations. Contrast that with the souring of U.S.-India relations over the past few months. U.S. President Donald Trump went from giving bear hugs to Modi in February, to labeling India the "tariff king" six months on, slapping India with one of the highest duties, and accusing it of fueling Russia's war in Ukraine through oil purchases . The rift raises the question: Is India, a country that has enjoyed strong diplomatic relations with Washington, now drawing closer to Beijing? Ivan Lidarev, visiting senior fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, told CNBC that India is indeed moving toward Beijing, but pointed out that the cooling of U.S.-India ties is just one factor. India and China ties had warmed after Xi and Modi met in October last year on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, where the two sides had agreed to deescalate tensions along their disputed border. "President Trump's policy toward India, and actually toward China, to some extent, has accelerated this process," Lidarev said. Trump slapped high tariffs on India for buying oil from Moscow, but said last week after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that he has no immediate need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for doing the same. Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at Washington-based think tank Wilson Center, told CNBC's " Squawk Box Asia " Wednesday that with friction in the U.S.-India relationship, New Delhi is more inclined to hedge against the uncertainty in its relations with the U.S. by trying to "open things up "with China. Lidarev pointed out, "On the U.S. side, there is no change in public perception of India, but on the Indian side, there is a very big change in public perceptions. I think that many Indians are very unhappy with U.S. behavior. They believe that India has been mistreated. They're outraged by the tariffs and by what they see as American attempts to twist India's hand." Thawing China-India ties In a sign of warming ties, China's Wang called on Modi on Tuesday, extending to him an invitation from Xi to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin at the end of August. Modi has accepted the invitation. A trip would mark the Indian prime minister's first visit to China in seven years. Direct flights from India to mainland China , which have been suspended since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, are set to resume. Both sides also agreed to reopen border trade at three designated trading points. Indian media reported on Wednesday that China agreed to lift curbs on exports on fertilizers, rare earths and tunnel boring machines. Separately, several Indian companies have pursued partnerships with Chinese companies earlier this year, The Economic Times reported in July. Indian conglomerates Reliance and Adani Group have, likewise, reportedly been pursuing deals with Chinese companies , with Adani Group founder Gautam Adani visiting companies like battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology in June. Tactical, not strategic reset However, the move toward Beijing does not signify a fundamental reshaping of India's relationships in the Indo-Pacific, experts said. Chietigj Bajpaee, senior research fellow for South Asia at Chatham House, told CNBC that the China-India relationship is undergoing a "tactical rather than strategic reset." " None of the fundamental grievances in the bilateral relationship have been resolved," he highlighted. Bajpaee noted that the border dispute has not been resolved, and there are some fault lines that are still present in the relationship, including water disputes and China's "all-weather" relationship with Pakistan. That was seen in the border conflict in May between India and Pakistan, in which the latter claimed that Chinese-made J-10C Pakistani fighters shot down India's French-made Rafale fighter jets. Pakistan had procured the J-10Cs back in 2021, in response to India buying 36 Rafales in 2015. Similarly, Li Mingjiang, associate professor at Singapore's S Rajaratnam School of International Studies said the current detente is more of a "tactical pause." He noted that both sides — referring to Beijing and New Delhi — have strong incentives to manage tensions, but because of the unresolved tensions, the easing is likely to be short term in nature. In his view, the broader Indo-Pacific landscape is still defined by competition and hedging. To be sure, India still does have a deep relationship with the U.S., with the two nations having a "Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership" with cooperation in defense, technology, and clean energy . India was also designated a "major defense partner" by the U.S. in 2016. When asked if India will remain the U.S.' counterweight to China, Li said it's unlikely that New Delhi would abandon that role. He added that both countries share "enduring strategic interests" in limiting Beijing's regional dominance, and that current tariff pressures are mainly related to the Russia-Ukraine war. "If that conflict winds down, Washington and New Delhi may find it easier to smooth over trade frictions," Li said.
Business Insider
24 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Analyst Says ‘There's Room for More,' as Oracle Stock (ORCL) Jumps 108%
Oracle (ORCL) has been on a remarkable run over the past four months. Since hitting a 52-week low of $118.86 in April, the stock has soared 108%, setting fresh highs on an almost daily basis. The rally is being driven by Oracle's exceptional momentum in cloud services and AI-powered solutions, supported by strong enterprise demand. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. More importantly, even after such a surge, ORCL still doesn't appear overvalued given its revitalized potential for accelerated earnings growth. That's why I remain bullish on the stock. Cloud Infrastructure: The Engine of Oracle's Growth Oracle's cloud infrastructure business, OCI, is firing on all cylinders, and it's no surprise why. In their latest earnings call, CEO Safra Catz highlighted that OCI revenue jumped 52% year-over-year to $3 billion, with consumption revenue soaring 62%. That's on top of 42% growth the previous year! Enterprises are clearly flocking to Oracle's cloud for its cost efficiency and flexibility, especially for AI workloads. For example, Chinese retailer Temu, owned by PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD), recently moved its infrastructure to OCI, and Oracle's partnership with OpenAI's Stargate project underscores its role in the development of enormous AI data centers. With $138 billion in remaining performance obligations (RPO), up 41% from last year, Oracle is locked in for explosive growth. I believe this success can be attributed to Oracle's engineering decisions, which prioritize enterprise needs and offer lower costs and deployment flexibility compared to other hyperscalers. Catz noted that OCI's non-cancelable bookings give them confidence for over 70% revenue growth in fiscal 2026. That's a signal that Oracle's cloud infrastructure is becoming a go-to for businesses scaling AI and database workloads, setting the stage for sustained momentum. AI-Powered Database Solutions: A Game-Changer Another massive driver of Oracle's rally is its AI-integrated database solutions, particularly the Oracle Autonomous Database. In the most recent fiscal Q4-2025, cloud database services revenue grew 31% to an annualized $2.6 billion, with Autonomous Database consumption revenue up a whopping 47%. Why does this matter? Enterprises need robust databases to handle AI's massive datasets, and Oracle's offering stands out with built-in security and flexibility across OCI, private clouds, or partner clouds like Azure and Google. Larry Ellison, Oracle's Chairman, emphasized that multi-cloud database revenue from partners like Amazon and Google grew 115% from Q3 to Q4. This is the story of Oracle becoming the backbone for AI-driven enterprises. The company's 23 live cloud regions for database services, with 47 more planned, show it's scaling fast to meet demand. I don't think Ellison's bold claim that Oracle will be the 'number one cloud database company' is just bravado, but rather it's backed by a 56% surge in cloud RPO, signaling a pipeline stuffed with future revenue. Oracle's database prowess is a key reason this stock keeps climbing. Oracl'es Valuation is Not as Pricey as Investors Think With ORCL more than doubling from its lows and now trading at about 37x forward earnings, some folks might think it's getting frothy. But let's unpack this. Oracle's profitability is soaring, thanks to AI tailwinds. Last quarter, adjusted EPS hit $1.70, beating estimates by $0.06, and full-year operating income grew 9% to $25 billion. The gross profit margin was also at a stellar 71.1%, reflecting Oracle's ability to monetize its AI and cloud offerings efficiently, especially as cloud services now account for 77% of total revenue. The AI boom is pushing demand that's 'almost insatiable,' as Ellison put it, with Oracle welcoming unprecedented orders for cloud capacity. This sets up double-digit EPS growth potential, especially with fiscal 2026 revenue guidance at over $67 billion, a 16% jump. So even at today's somewhat elevated multiple, ORCL isn't really overvalued either when you consider the high-margin, high-growth AI environment and its key role in it. Is Oracle a Buy, Hold, or Sell? There are 34 analysts offering price targets on ORCL stock via TipRanks, with a fairly bullish consensus. Today, the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 24 Buy and 10 Hold ratings over the past three months. Notably, not a single analyst rates the stock a Sell. ORCL's average stock price target of $249.03 indicates Wall Street expects sideways trade from ORCL over the next twelve months. Oracle's Rally is Sustainable in the Cloud Era All in all, I believe Oracle's run isn't just a short-term hype cycle, but the result of real momentum in cloud infrastructure and AI-powered databases, backed by sticky enterprise demand and long-term contracts. The company is scaling fast, securing huge RPO, and expanding its multi-cloud reach, all while sustaining strong profitability. At roughly 37x forward earnings, ORCL may look pricey at first glance, but the growth trajectory tells a different story. With accelerating adoption across AI workloads and unmatched database capabilities, I see Oracle as one of the most compelling plays in this new cloud era, and so I remain Bullish on its future.
