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Money‚ Politics

Trump-friendly investment pledges bear an asterisk

24 Jan 2025

Despite no public funds for the project, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank unveiled a $500 bln data center plan at the White House. Effusive promises that a friendly administration has unlocked private-sector fervor are a familiar sight. History warns that they can end up wanting.

A TikTok deal may be good for US-China trade

22 Jan 2025

President Trump has warned of 100% tariffs on the People's Republic if Beijing doesn't approve a sale of the video app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance. How such a deal would look is unclear, but it'd be an easy way for both sides to show goodwill ahead of thornier trade talks.

US Treasury pick pushes contradictory tariff cure

17 Jan 2025

Scott Bessent sees import fees of 10% or more as a surgical tool to combat everything from China’s military rise to climate change, but also a long-term deficit fix. Wall Street might have hoped for orthodoxy from the hedge funder, but he’s inviting a protectionist trap.

UnitedHealth lacks antidote for chronic anger

15 Jan 2025

The $500 bln US medical conglomerate’s relentless growth ostensibly aimed to reduce costs for patients, but conveniently expanded its market dominance and bottom line. With consumer and political dissatisfaction hardening, boss Andrew Witty will struggle to be part of the cure.

Wild TikTok dance adds clumsy Beijing shuffle-step

14 Jan 2025

As the top US court weighs a ban of the popular app, China may be open to letting owner ByteDance sell it to Elon Musk. It’s probably worth some $100 bln, but even with other suitors such as Oracle in the mix, a discount is likely. It also will take more than two to tango here.

Fact-check: Meta fights for money, not speech

9 Jan 2025

Boss Mark Zuckerberg said 'free expression' motivated the decision to stop moderating Facebook and Instagram posts. Left unsaid was that it also should help alleviate MAGA pressure. It’s more of a tactical business move, especially with TikTok advertisers hanging in the balance.

Warnings and worries haunt best-read views of 2024

31 Dec 2024

This year our readers fretted about imploding stocks, regulatory shocks and Washington’s new status quo, even as the S&P 500 Index hit record highs. Incoming President Donald Trump, Tesla boss Elon Musk, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and Britain’s royal family all added to the drama.

Jimmy Carter’s policy legacy is as germane as ever

29 Dec 2024

The former US president, dead at 100, paid a political price for stating hard economic truths and set an example for life after elected office. Inflation and energy woes, which plagued his term, are relevant again. The wage hikes and renewable power he championed also loom large.

Nippon Life plays up Japan Inc’s existential angst

11 Dec 2024

The insurer is buying smaller US rival Resolution for $8.2 bln. Returns look low, and the weak yen makes overseas purchases more expensive. But the deal diversifies earnings too reliant on a shrinking home market. Assuming Washington allows, such transactions will keep flowing.

India compounds new central bank boss’s challenges

10 Dec 2024

Sanjay Malhotra will have enough on his plate as RBI governor dealing with a slowing domestic economy amid rising global tensions. But the messy way in which New Delhi handled the transition from six-year incumbent Shaktikanta Das means Malhotra starts on the back foot.

China cuts its private sector much-needed slack

9 Dec 2024

Crackdowns on education and other industries crushed businesses like tutoring firm New Oriental. But the $10 bln firm's recent revival shows Beijing is loosening its grip to boost consumption and create jobs. The shift will hand private giants a bigger role to reboot growth.

Crypto gets quick return on US election investment

4 Dec 2024

SEC chair nominee Paul Atkins would give the industry an ally with a lighter enforcement touch. The choice helps justify $200 mln of campaign funding and a nearly 60% jump in the value of bitcoin and its ilk. Lax oversight, however, raises the risk of another FTX-like crisis.

Trump Treasury pick is a Rorschach test, for now

22 Nov 2024

Hedge funder Scott Bessent is a Wall Street veteran, yet a fierce loyalist to a tariffs-and-tax-cuts agenda. The idea of a safe pair of hands may soothe market fears over less conventional potential picks. But that image can only last if he blunts Trump’s most out-there impulses.

Friendshoring is set to become friendshoving

19 Nov 2024

India benefits from firms like Apple moving production beyond China. Under Trump, the country may get whacked by reciprocal US tariffs, dinged for its trade surplus and for a tightly managed currency. The flaws in rerouting supply chains are about to become apparent.

Trump’s ideal Treasury pick: squarer of circles

18 Nov 2024

The president-elect wants tariffs that could up inflation by 75 bps, but also booming stocks and calm bonds. Jostling is underway between banker Howard Lutnick, investor Scott Bessent and others to be this agenda’s key emissary. But personnel cannot resolve policy tension.

Beijing can slow, not stop, the yuan’s fall

18 Nov 2024

China hawks are headed for the White House, upping the odds of more tariffs on the $18 trln economy. That's expected to add downward pressure on the renminbi. Regulators have plenty of tools, but drawing a line in the sand would only provide a target for traders to challenge.

Trump 2.0 goes warp speed on loyalty drive

13 Nov 2024

Unlike his first term, the US president-elect is making rapid appointments, with personal devotion beating experience or policy views. That explains Fox News host Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon and maybe Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state. But some posts remain hard to fill.

Control of Congress will bolster second Trump term

11 Nov 2024

Winning the House of Representatives as well as the Senate would let the new US president build on his $4 trln 2017 tax cut and pass laws on immigration and healthcare. Republican infighting thwarted bigger changes last time. But the party is now more aligned with Trump’s agenda.

Reality-TV president will co-produce media shakeup

8 Nov 2024

Spotify star Joe Rogan and newspaper baron Jeff Bezos offered glimpses into how the industry is evolving. Broadcasters are also up against fickle consumers inundated by pricey streaming choices. The business models and deals taking shape can now expect input from Donald Trump.