GOP pushes to pass Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill'
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The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
Asian shares are mixed, tracking Wall Street split as momentum slows and Tesla drops
Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday following a similar drift overnight on Wall Street as losses for Tesla and other technology shares put a brake on the momentum of recent record highs. U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices were little changed. Shares fell in Japan, hit by jitters over a lack of progress in trade talks with the U.S., but they recovered much of their lost ground, trading 0.3% lower at 39,874.33. Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, pointed to President Donald Trump's declaration that there will be no extension of his tariff pause, which ends on July 9. 'The message was blunt: if Tokyo won't yield, it will pay. Tariffs of 30%, 35% or 'whatever number we determine' are now openly back on the table,' he said. 'The negotiating table just became a pressure cooker.' Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.6% to 24,220.65 and the Shanghai Composite index was down just over 1 point at 3,456.51. South Korea's KOSPI fell 1.2% to 3,053.39 as inflation rose in June. Australia's S&P ASX 200 edged up 0.4% to 8,580.70. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dipped 0.1% to 6,198.01 for its first loss in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to 44,494.94, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.8% to 20,202.89. Tesla tugged on the market as the relationship between its CEO, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump soured even further. Once allies, the two have clashed recently, and Trump suggested there's potentially 'BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED' by scrutinizing subsidies, contracts or other government spending going to Musk's companies. Tesla fell 5.3%. It has lost just over a quarter of its value so far this year, 25.5%, in large part because of Musk's and Trump's feud. Drops for several darlings of the artificial-intelligence frenzy also weighed on the market. Nvidia's decline of 3% was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. But more stocks within the index rose than fell, led by several casino companies. They rallied following a report showing better-than-expected growth in overall gaming revenue in Macao, China's casino hub. Las Vegas Sands gained 8.9%, Wynn Resorts climbed 8.8% and MGM Resorts International rose 7.3%. Automakers outside of Tesla were also strong, with General Motors up 5.7% and Ford Motor up 4.6%. The U.S. stock market has made a stunning recovery from its springtime sell-off of roughly 20%. But challenges still lie ahead for Wall Street, with one of the largest being the continued threat of Trump's tariffs. Many of Trump's stiff proposed taxes on imports are currently on pause, and they're scheduled to kick into effect in about a week. Depending on how big they are, they could hurt the economy and worsen inflation. Washington is also making progress on proposed cuts to tax rates and other measures that could send the U.S. government's debt spiraling higher, which could raise inflation. That in turn could mean higher interest rates, which would hurt prices for bonds, stocks and other investments. Despite such challenges, strategists at Barclays say they see signals of euphoria among some investors. The strategists say a measure that tries to show how much 'excess optimism' is in the market is not far from the peaks seen during the 'meme stock' craze that sent GameStop to market-bending heights or to the dot-com bubble at the turn of the millennium. In other dealings early Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude gained 1 cent to $65.46 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 5 cents per barrel to $67.16. The U.S. dollar rose to 143.58 Japanese yen from 143.41 yen. The euro slid to $1.1798 from $1.1808. ___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump tax cuts needed to be extended - but not like this
While it was necessary to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts, the Senate has passed a completely irresponsible budget that endangers America's fiscal health. The Trump tax cuts needed to be extended, but not like this This entire piece of legislation is oriented around extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which is good policy. In fact, it's just about the only good part of the bill. If not extended, the expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would have been devastating to Americans. If allowed to expire, 62% of Americans would see a tax increase, according to the Tax Foundation. Extending the TCJA would result in a gross domestic product growth of 1.1% in the long run. The issue is that the extension of these tax cuts will result in a revenue loss of $4.5 trillion for the federal government. The economic growth spurred by the act will cover just $710 billion of that shortfall, leaving nearly $3.8 trillion that needs to be paid for somehow. The tax cuts themselves aren't the only significant source of spending in the bill. A sticking point for swing district Republicans has been the state and local tax (the SALT deduction), or the amount of state tax burden taxpayers can deduct from their federal income tax. Certain House Republicans have demanded that the annual limit of $10,000 be raised to $40,000, and the Senate has begrudgingly given them their increase for the next five years. Opinion: Supreme Court's birthright citizenship opinion reveals rising hostility, tension I've written elsewhere about why the SALT deduction is bad policy, but combined with other changes to the alternative minimum tax would result in a $325 billion revenue loss on net. The Senate's version is even more generous on these policies than the House's version was. Additionally, the big ugly mess includes no tax on tips, social security and overtime pay. Neither Trump nor Republicans more generally have made a case for why these types of income are deserving of exempt status, and they amount to nothing more than a populist bribe of voters. These policies add hundreds of billions more to the revenue decreases from the tax cut extension. Other defense and immigration enforcement provisions bring the grand cost of the legislation up to $4 trillion once the long-term economic growth is accounted for. Work requirements for Medicaid benefits and food stamps are the chief sources of new funding to offset these costs, as well as the elimination of certain clean energy tax credits. The House should hold the line against Senate's fiscally irresponsible bill As written, the Senate version of the bill adds even more to the budget deficit than the version the House put together. The House version was a fiscally irresponsible mess, which was estimated to add about $1.7 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, even after considering the economic growth that the bill is projected to create. The Senate version is estimated to add $2.9 trillion under the same metrics. Previously: Trump's 'big beautiful bill' is an ugly fiscal mess created by Republicans | Opinion Some House Republicans have already expressed frustrations with the Senate version of the bill, which House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to pass before Friday, Independence Day. The budget hawks in the House must hold the line against the careless spending the Senate has engaged in. The House bill that passed in the first go-around was a mess, and the Senate made it even worse. The Senate version also exaggerates its benefits and underestimates its costs by making many of its programs temporary. This allows them to gloss over this fact when discussing the benefits while claiming a lower cost. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. All of these games are played in order to avoid tough political conversations about slashing entitlements, the chief cause of our escalating budget crisis. I have little faith in the House's ability to stop this mess of a bill. Our legislators (with one notable exception) are so terrified of the prospect of a Trump primary challenge that they will vote for just about anything to avoid being the one to hold up the president's desired budget. America's takeaway from this should be to laugh hysterically the next time Republicans claim to be the party of responsible spending. For all the talk of slashing government spending, the GOP has put together one of the most counterproductive efforts in modern history. Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
What's next for Trump's tax bill? Quarreling House Republicans
House Republicans are already slamming the changes made to the bill in the Senate, from moderate members concerned about cuts to Medicaid and fiscal conservatives who are concerned about the bill's massive price tag. It will add a projected $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. "The United States is $37 TRILLION in the red. This is unsustainable," wrote Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, on X. "I support President Trump and his tax cuts, but we cannot saddle our children and grandchildren with TRILLIONS upon TRILLIONS in new debt." However, House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated in a statement that he plans to push his conference to accept the bill in order to meet the president's self-imposed deadline of July 4. "The House will work quickly to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill that enacts President Trump's full America First agenda by the Fourth of July. The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay," he said in a statement. "This bill is President Trump's agenda, and we are making it law." A key House committee plans to meet in the afternoon to begin the process of advancing the Senate's bill in the chamber. Trump indicated that he may be willing to budge on the July 4 deadline given the complications of passing it in the House. "I'd love to do July 4th, but I think it's very hard to do July 4th," Trump told reporters. "It can go longer, but we'd like to get it done by that time if possible."
