United States of America

Big Pharma has partial immunity from Trump tariffs

9 Apr 2025

The US is threatening to hit the $1.7 trln sector, having initially spared drugmakers like Roche and Eli Lilly. The market’s complexity offers some protection and disruptions may cost lives. This means import levies are likely to be less painful than for car or steelmakers.

Chipmaking giants face triple tariff hit

9 Apr 2025

Semiconductors are exempt from Washington's levies, but that may not last. The blow to global demand for phones and other electronic items also will hurt $640 bln TSMC, Samsung and peers. Meanwhile, surging import costs will disrupt their bold plans to set up factories in the US.

Trumpian stubbornness puts the onus back on CEOs

8 Apr 2025

Finance grandees Jamie Dimon and Larry Fink are warning of tariff peril, nudged by market howls that have fallen on unusually deaf ears at the White House. After years of crafting even-handed personas and preaching long-termism, they will be forced back to more prosaic concerns.

Apple has some apps to manage tariff trouble

8 Apr 2025

The $2.7 trln tech giant makes about 90% of its iPhones in China. Adding 54% levies to US imports erodes some 15% of profit. Retaliatory duties on gadgets would reduce it further. At least Apple’s shift from hardware to services like music and payments should cushion the blow.

Chipmaker crafts tricky recipe for chaos-era M&A

8 Apr 2025

Germany’s Infineon Technologies is paying $2.5 bln for a unit of Marvell Technology that serves the car sector. The rich price jars with volatile markets. It suggests deals can get done, but only with a price-insensitive buyer that can close without needing lots of risky debt.

Texas market bulls run into ferocious bear case

8 Apr 2025

Nasdaq and NYSE are galloping to Dallas, where a new BlackRock-backed exchange is riding a broader financial-hub charge. Big Apple bourses yeehaw over $6 trln of Lone Star market cap as Y’All Street tries to lasso nearby states too. For now, the campaign is more hat than cattle.

China will struggle to deal with its overcapacity

8 Apr 2025

Exports will be squashed with or without the US threat of an extra 50% tariff. Chinese consumers cannot absorb the slack. If Beijing responds by lowering trade barriers with the rest of the world, its domestic problem will be worse. The case for boosting fiscal spending is solid.

Market turmoil rewrites the lessons of investing

8 Apr 2025

From the crisis of 2008 to the pandemic to Trump’s tariffs, governments and central banks have influenced asset prices. In this episode of The Big View podcast Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of UBS’s wealth management unit, talks about the stark message for investors.

India’s trade deal frenzy offers a Trump hedge

8 Apr 2025

The world's fifth-largest economy is negotiating with the EU and UK, and it could enter a pact with a China-backed bloc too. The outreach will protect India from future trade wars, even though it may emerge as a top beneficiary from the current US tariff onslaught.

Newsmax mini-IPO foments financial delusions

7 Apr 2025

The unprofitable conservative news network debuted last week at $10 a share, soared past $200 and settled back around $50. It’s fetching 30 times sales, and at some $6 bln, is now worth nearly as much as the New York Times. Alternative facts sometimes extend beyond just politics.

Markets’ tariff carnage can get much, much worse

7 Apr 2025

A rout that wiped $7 trln of value from US stocks after President Trump unveiled steep trade levies may just be the start. Earnings forecasts are tumbling as prognosticators parse out the damage, but real pain comes if shell-shocked traders stop valuing them so highly.

Sickly dollar leaves shrinking pool of safe havens

7 Apr 2025

Donald Trump’s tariffs have dented the US currency, undermining traders’ favoured port in a storm. The Swiss franc and Japanese yen are benefitting from the dash for safety, while gold is the classic refuge. Still, in a global downturn there are few places for investors to hide.

Oil price has flaky defences against further falls

7 Apr 2025

Crude values have fallen 16% to $63 a barrel since last week’s US tariff bombshell. Geopolitical shocks and coordinated producer cuts offer ways to stop the rot. But President Trump’s preference for low oil prices, plus OPEC indiscipline, are reasons to brace for fresh declines.

Vietnam faces some very dark days ahead

7 Apr 2025

Officials visiting the US this week must convince Washington to slash a 46% tariff or face a big shock in the Southeast Asian economy. Hanoi can trim the $123 bln trade surplus a bit but its power to avert a crisis is limited so long as it is caught between the US and China.

Trade war brinkmanship multiplies economic damage

4 Apr 2025

While some countries seek to negotiate lower tariffs, China ratcheted up pressure with a 34% levy on US goods. Donald Trump’s insistence that he won’t blink complicates a compromise. Despite another selloff, investors still underestimate the risk of a long-term catastrophe.

Trump trade shock boosts the drab autarky trade

4 Apr 2025

Tariff chaos dragged down the S&P 500, yet recent laggards like tiremaker Goodyear or spud seller Lamb Weston have risen. Protectionism may not clinch industrial rebirth, but as once-easy bets on tech hype stall, a hunt for safe harbors will revive long-suffering value investors.

EU’s best US riposte is a focused digital strike

4 Apr 2025

As China hits back with tariffs to Washington’s levies, Europe is mulling its response. One target is the $77 bln US services surplus. Hiking Big Tech fines would hit the EU’s credibility, but a bloc-wide push on digital tax might move the trade war onto more favourable ground.

Shifting world order suits ‘inbetweener’ economies

4 Apr 2025

The showdown between the US and China means emerging markets on good terms with both have unique investor appeal. During the Cold War, non-aligned countries learned the opportunity and risk of playing both sides. Yet the biggest geopolitical arbitrage may be closer to home.

Tariffs tax markets-to-policy feedback loops

3 Apr 2025

When investors freak out, lawmakers tend to respond, as in 2008 when Congress rejected banking bailouts. Trump’s trade jolt has now led to a weaker dollar, lower Treasury yields and falling stock prices. Varied Washington translations, however, distort otherwise reliable signals.

Markets make a dicey bet on art of the trade deal

3 Apr 2025

European stocks slid just 2% after Donald Trump pledged economically painful tariffs, while Asian shares fell little more. Investors may think that US trading partners can bargain with the president. But that would take time, meaning retaliation and a bumpy ride may lie ahead.