Latest news with #ScottBessant
Spectator
12-05-2025
- Business
- Spectator
China has won the trade war with Trump
This weekend, the United States struck a deal with China that will see American tariffs on Beijing's exports come back down to manageable levels again, while China will lower its levies on imports from the US. The giant container ports on both sides of the Pacific can now be re-opened. The factories across China can get back to work, and Wal-Mart and Target can start placing orders again. The global economy can start moving once more – but significantly, it will very quickly become clear who has won the tariff war: China. The deal that was announced this morning in Switzerland, where negotiations took place, by the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant appears very simple. The US will reduce its tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 per cent to 30 per cent, while China will cut its from 125 per cent to just 10 per cent. For now, it is just a 90-day pause, but it already looks likely that over the next three months a more permanent agreement will be worked out.
Business Insider
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
We went to Milken, where the panels were packed with cautious warnings, but the parties were extravagant
If you closed your eyes and only listened to the panels at this year's Milken Global Conference, you'd think the country was on the verge of a recession. One of the most common words spoken by executives and investors was "uncertainty." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant's speech — not Peyton Manning or Tony Blair or Henry Kravis — was the hottest ticket in town, with attendees lining up an hour out for his opening remarks. Pessimism about the US was so high that professional investors are actually looking to put money to work in Europe, long ignored by American firms due to the continent's slow growth relative to US companies. "The brand is definitely tarnished now," said State Street CEO Ron O'Hanley, echoing comments made by Citadel founder Ken Griffin and Apollo CEO Marc Rowan. "The real question is whether this is permanent," said O'Hanley, whose firm manages $4.7 trillion, on a panel about the macro environment. The " animal spirits" energy radiating off the investor class and C-suites in Davos was nowhere to be found on the Milken stages in Beverly Hills, thanks to President Donald Trump's tariff policies, which have upended global equity and bond markets. "The mood was unbelievably optimistic" in Switzerland, said Katie Koch, the CEO of $195 billion credit investment manager TCW, while sitting next to O'Hanley onstage, but it's "the opposite now." The gloom onstage didn't impact the mood The Beverly Hilton was packed with upward of 5,000 attendees this year, the conference's biggest showing since 2019, despite ticket prices starting at $25,000 a piece. Lines snaked around the lobby to see other top speakers like Jessica Alba — even tennis star Novak Djokovic was seen waiting to get in. Attendees competed not only for seats, but who could land invitations to the most coveted after parties, held at members-only Bird Streets Club, or restaurants like Funke, Cipriani, and AOC. One of the hardest invitations to get was a dinner with Bessent Sunday night. Walking around the ritzy Beverly Hills hotel, speaking with attendees in the conference's wellness garden (featuring puppy playtime and "nervous system reset" chairs) or at the numerous after-parties hosted by banks and private equity giants, the mood was much more positive. "This isn't the type of food you'd see at a reception during a recession," one partygoer said Monday evening, as a platter of tuna tartare passed by. The individual, who has been investing in private markets for decades, said he isn't worried about the economy until after parties put a limit on the number of drinks each person can get from the bar. People were encouraged by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's comments tying the tariffs to deregulation and tax cuts. While many asset managers are not deploying capital, they're still fundraising, and meetings with representatives from Middle East sovereign wealth funds were some of the toughest to get. Once he was done speaking on panel, Saudi's minister of investment Khalid Al-Falih was swarmed by attendees Monday afternoon. There is also still plenty of optimism around tech and the promise of AI, with self-driving Waymo cars dropping off many attendees and a fridge-sized box in the lobby allowing passersby the chance to speak with a hologram of conference host Michael Milken in several languages. Elon Musk, who was a popular headliner last year, chose to stay behind closed doors this year, giving an interview to Milken in front of an invite-only crowd Sunday, according to someone who attended. Milken also interviewed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Tuesday in front of a packed audience. At a party held Sunday at billionaire Nicolas Berggruen's Beverly Hills mansion to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his tech philosophy magazine, Noema, interpretive dancers performed by the pool before journalist Kara Swisher hosted a debate on whether AI makes us more human. Perhaps one of the best metaphors for the mixed signals at the elite gathering might be the bougie boxed lunches given out each day to the thousands of attendees: An ostensibly austere offering that contained more luxurious options inside, such as salmon with tabbouleh and chocolate mousse. The US, it seems, is still a hard habit for many investors to kick. In the same breath that deep-pocketed panelists would criticize trade policies or talk up international opportunities, they'd mention the overwhelming size of the country's capital markets or innovative culture. Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato, a dual citizen of the US and Spain, paraphrased a Winston Churchill quote to describe businesses' thinking on the future of the world's largest economy: "Americans always do the right thing, after trying everything else."
Asia Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- Asia Times
US-Ukraine mineral deal is no path to true peace
Ukraine has finally signed its minerals agreement with the US. The deal states that Washington will eventually receive a share of the profits from the sale of Ukrainian natural resources, providing an economic incentive to continue investing in Ukraine's defense and reconstruction. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant says the deal demonstrates the Donald Trump administration's commitment to peace in Ukraine. On the surface, there is nothing surprising about the deal. The idea that natural resource extraction can play a role in building peace has been around for a decade or two, and has been promoted by the World Bank, the UN and the mining industry itself. But what is surprising is how the conversation about mining and peace has changed. It used to be about increasing prosperity in war-torn countries, rather than the 'who gets what' that has been associated with this deal. The idea that mining can contribute to peace emerged somewhat paradoxically from the demonstrated capacity of natural resources to drive conflict in places like Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sierra Leone. The theory is that mining can also lead to development – and therefore peace – if it is managed properly. If local communities are consulted, revenues are shared fairly, harms are minimized, and if there is transparency and accountability, a mine can play a role in lifting countries out of the economic, environmental and social mess war brings. In reality, things are more complicated. The idea that mining can bring about positive change suffers from the same top-down and externally led approach to building peace as the wider peacebuilding model in which it sits. It doesn't necessarily take local realities and aspirations into account. But over the past two decades, natural resources in conflict-affected areas have attracted an enormous amount of attention from UN agencies. The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), for example, established an initiative in 2008 aimed at understanding the risks and opportunities presented by high-value natural resources. It developed policies and practices related to mining intended to be part of the UN's peace and security architecture. These included guidance for UN staff working in post-conflict countries that are rich in resources. In Sierra Leone, UNEP identified the inability of the Environmental Protection Agency to monitor environmental performance and force compliance as a significant risk to the sustainable development of the mining industry. The agency had become overwhelmed by the number of environmental impact assessments submitted for review as the sector expanded after the end of the civil war in 2002. Miners working in the diamond fields in eastern Sierra Leone, May 2007. Tugela Ridley / EPA via The Conversation A dedicated project to build capacity in Sierra Leone was set up by the UN to remedy this. The project team report that the environmental impact assessment process itself provided an opportunity for dialogue and trust-building between those involved. Around the same time, a raft of initiatives were developed for the extractive sector itself to encourage responsible mining. These included the Kimberley Process, a UN-mandated certification scheme designed to eliminate the trade in conflict diamonds. Sierra Leone has been a member since it was launched in 2003. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an Oslo-based organization of government, industry and civil society representatives, was also established in 2003. Its aim is to promote the good governance of oil, gas and mineral extraction through the reporting of revenues and payments. The concept of good governance has been expanded to include promoting the participation of women, as well as the disclosure of information relating to the environmental impact of a mine. Over 50 countries now implement the EITI Standard. All these initiatives and processes can be criticized. But the point is that natural resources in conflict zones have, to a degree at least, been understood as sites for negotiation and dialogue for some time. Lowering the bar The natural resources beneath Ukraine have become sites for something else – a conflict-riven back-and-forth over their control. And it's not just in Ukraine. The US is reportedly considering a minerals-for-security deal in the DRC, where Rwandan-backed rebels are currently seizing resource-rich territory in the east. The bar appears to have dropped substantially where mining and peacebuilding are concerned. In the heyday of the liberal peacebuilding project, metal and mineral deposits in war-torn countries, like the copper beneath Afghanistan, promised a more positive future, albeit with caution. That optimism now seems misplaced. In Afghanistan, this is because the country has fallen back under the control of the Taliban. Mines are quickly being developed to take advantage of the country's mineral wealth. But the technical, financial and environmental checks associated with mining are reportedly being bypassed. There are concerns that any revenues won't benefit the population in the way they should. In Ukraine, it's something different. The mineral deposits there are being used to prop up geopolitical ambitions that reflect the dangerous, transactional and increasingly extractive world we now seem to live in. Specifically, the Ukrainian mineral deposits are bringing an authoritarian, Trumpian version of peace to life. It is a peace that comes through the geopolitical expression of power by the operation of mines, the acquisition of territory, the expulsion of citizens from certain places and the top-down transformation of other people's space. This has already expressed itself in Trump's vision for the US to take over the Gaza Strip, which prompted the UN's secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, to warn against ethnic cleansing. I have written about the problem of natural resource-related peacebuilding before. Whether liberal or illiberal, this problem is the same: geological resources are non-renewable. There is a profound paradox here. Whatever we want these resources to do for us, they can't do it indefinitely. And we are heading for even more trouble if we think they can. Expecting a voracious Trump administration or a beleaguered Ukrainian one to think about this is expecting too much. But therein lies the tragedy of current peacebuilding endeavors. They are fixated on the here-and-now, in the hope that the social, environmental, ecological and geological future will take care of itself. Unfortunately, it won't. Bridget Storrie is teaching fellow, Institute for Global Prosperity, UCL This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Spectator
25-04-2025
- Business
- Spectator
Are things beginning to look up for Rachel Reeves?
The Chancellor will meet America's top economic official, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant, today as she concludes her trip to the International Monetary Fund's spring meeting in Washington. As we've covered on Coffee House this week, Rachel Reeves will use her meeting to attempt to make an Anglo-American trade deal a realistic possibility. Yesterday, on one of President Trump's favourite news channels, Newsmax, the Chancellor put in a surprise appearance and said she understood that both her government and the Trump administration were elected by voters who felt globalisation had not worked for working people. The tone of her interview was very much aimed at the President and his team. But speaking to an audience closer to home on the BBC, she highlighted the importance of our trading relationship with Europe instead: 'I understand why there's so much focus on our trading relationship with the US, but actually our trading relationship with Europe is arguably even more important,' the Chancellor said.
Hans India
25-04-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Gold Prices Surge Amid US-China Tensions; Silver Prices Also See a Rise
Gold prices in India have increased once more, with the price of 10 grams of 24-carat gold in the national capital rising by ₹200 on Thursday to ₹99,400. Experts say the rise is linked to growing demand for gold, driven by ongoing tensions between the US and China. Gold prices had recently crossed ₹1 lakh, but fell by ₹2,400 to ₹99,200 on Wednesday after a slight correction. The price of 99.5% gold also saw a rise of ₹200, reaching ₹98,900. The increase in gold prices is largely due to stockists and jewelers boosting their gold jewelry reserves, along with geopolitical uncertainties that are making gold a safer investment option. The surge also follows warnings from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant about a prolonged US-China trade war. Further signals from former President Donald Trump regarding possible tariffs on China have contributed to the rise in gold prices. Silver prices also rose, with the price per kilogram increasing by ₹700 to ₹99,900. Though gold prices recently dropped due to profit booking by investors, experts believe the possibility of further price hikes remains strong. As economic fluctuations continue, many expect people to turn back to gold as a safe investment. JP Morgan predicts that the price of an ounce of gold could reach $4,000 by the end of the year, with concerns over US tariffs and the escalating trade war with China likely adding to the uncertainty.
