Trump news at a glance: markets react with confusion as Trump appears to move goal posts on tariffs again
The US is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by Thursday, the president said on Sunday, with the higher rates to take effect on 1 August.
'President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don't move things along, then on August 1 you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level,' treasury secretary Scott Bessent told CNN.
Trump in April announced a 10% base tariff rate on most countries and higher 'reciprocal' rates ranging up to 50%. However, Trump also said levies could range in value from 'maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20%', further clouding the picture.
With very few actual trade deals done, analysts had suspected the date would be pushed out, though it was still not clear if the new deadline applied to all trading partners or just some.
Trump said on Sunday that his administration plans to start sending letters on Monday to US trade partners, dictating new tariff rates to be imposed on goods they sell to Americans. 'It could be 12, maybe 15,' the president told reporters, 'and we've made deals also, so we're going to have a combination of letters and some deals have been made.'
Kevin Hassett, who heads the White House National Economic Council, told CBS that there might be wriggle room for countries engaged in earnest negotiations. 'There are deadlines, and there are things that are close, and so maybe things will push back past the deadline,' Hassett said, adding that Trump would decide if that could happen.
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Donald Trump called Elon Musk's decision to start and bankroll a new US political party 'ridiculous' on Sunday. 'Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it but I think it's ridiculous,' the president told reporters traveling with him back to the White House from his New Jersey golf club.
He then elaborated, at great length, in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. 'I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,' the president wrote.
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Trump said he believed a hostage release and ceasefire deal could be reached this week, which could lead to the release of 'quite a few hostages.'
He was speaking after Benjamin Netanyahu left Israel for talks in Washington, praising Trump's return to the presidency.
'We have never had such a friend in the White House … We have already changed the face of the Middle East beyond recognition, and we have an opportunity and the ability to change it further and to enable a great future for the state of Israel, the people of Israel and the entire Middle East,' Israel's prime minister told reporters.
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Laura Loomer has emerged as the most prominent Maga America First influencer in the early days of Trump's second term.
In early April, Loomer, a 32-year-old pro-Trump online influencer widely seen as a rightwing conspiracy theorist, met with Trump and gave him a list of names of people on the staff of the national security council that she believed were not loyal enough to Trump or at least had professional backgrounds that she considered suspect. Trump fired six staffers.
Later, national security adviser Mike Waltz, whom Loomer had criticized for his role in the Signalgate chat leak scandal, was ousted as well.
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Donald Trump announced on social media that he had signed a federal emergency declaration that would free additional resources to support local efforts in search and rescue operations in Texas after deadly flooding. Trump also posted a letter saying federal efforts would be coordinated by Benjamin Abbott of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). In May, that agency's acting administrator was fired after he told Congress he did not believe it was 'in the best interest of the American people to eliminate' Fema, which Trump has said he plans to do.
Asked on Sunday if he is still planning to phase out Fema, Trump told a reporter: 'Well, Fema is something we can talk about later, but right now they're busy working.'
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David Smith asks if Trump's expansion of presidential powers is setting the stage for future Oval Office holders?
Adam Gabbatt writes that although Trump's mega-bill has been widely criticized in the press, Fox News sees it differently.
Catching up? Here's what happened 5 July.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Soaring Saudi exports and trade tensions will test oil price resilience
LONDON, July 14 - Oil markets have remained remarkably resilient so far this year, despite concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies and rising OPEC+ production quotas. But that strength will now be tested, as Saudi output is starting to surge just as demand appears to be slowing. Benchmark oil prices are currently near $70 a barrel, down from a 2025 high of $82 in mid-January, but above the four-year low of $62 set in May. That followed Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffflip-flop, which sparked confusion about the policy direction and fears of a severe disruption to global economic activity and oil consumption. Investor jitters were compounded by a significant OPEC+ policy shift. Under the leadership of Saudi Arabia, the group including the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia, started to aggressively ramp up production quotas in April for the first time in over three years. The group is set to add 2.5 million barrels per day of production between April and September. Given this backdrop, why has crude remained so resilient? It's likely in large part because most of these fears have yet to materialize. Crucially, Trump not only delayed his 'reciprocal tariffs', but he also held positive talks with Beijing, which managed to defuse some of the market's worst fears about trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies. To be sure, economic activity has slowed in recent months, but not nearly as badly as the initial drop in oil prices implied. Global GDP is forecast to slow to 2.3% in 2025, according to a recent World Bank report, opens new tab, nearly half a percentage point lower than expected at the start of the year. The OPEC+ supply hikes were also initially more talk than action. The decision by OPEC+ to unwind 2.2 million bpd of supply cuts, as well as to raise the United Arab Emirates baseline production by 300,000 bpd starting in April, initially had little impact on global supplies, mostly because several members had already been producing above their assigned quotas. While Saudi Arabia's production did rise significantly in June by 700,000 bpd to 9.8 million bpd, a large share of the increase was consumed domestically by its refineries as well as in power plants that use crude to generate electricity during summer's peak demand, limiting exports. Saudi "crude burn" is set to reach 695,000 bpd in July and is expected to remain elevated in August, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. The tide may be turning, however. As we move into the second half of the year, the negative trends that spooked investors in April now appear to be building. Trade tensions have come back to the fore in recent days after Trump outlined new tariffs for a number of countries, including allies and , along with a 50% tariff , and a 35% levy on many Canadian goods. Crude consumption already started to falter in recent months. While demand rose by a robust 1.1 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2025, growth is set to halve in the second quarter, according to the International Energy Agency. Importantly, demand in countries that are heavily dependent on trade with the United States seems to have taken a hit. Demand in China dropped in the second quarter from a year earlier by 160,000 bpd, Japan's by 80,000 bpd, Mexico's by 40,000 bpd and South Korea's by 70,000 bpd. U.S. demand over the same period also contracted by 60,000 bpd, according to the IEA. These trends could accelerate if the trade wars kick in in earnest. Meanwhile, oil production is expected to start rising significantly in the coming months, particularly from Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, as it ramps up production and as its domestic crude burn eases as summer ebbs. Saudi's increase in domestic consumption initially meant its oil exports only rose from 5.9 million bpd in April to 6.4 million bpd in June, according to Kpler data. Saudi shipments are, however, set to surge to 7.5 million bpd in July, the highest since April 2023. Saudi production and exports are likely to increase further in August as Riyadh seeks to regain market share. Its slice of the global market declined to 11% last year from a 13% average in the previous three decades. The Kingdom's exports to China are set to rise to the highest in more than two years in August, Reuters reported. The increases in OPEC+ output, together with large increases in production outside the group, are set to increase global supply by 2.1 million bpd to 105.1 million bpd in 2025, according to the IEA. The energy watchdog forecasts global demand to reach 103.7 million bpd this year, which implies a significant oversupply of 1.4 million bpd in 2025. Oil prices will therefore likely come under heavy downward pressure in the coming months, particularly once demand ebbs in the fourth quarter. And this downward push will only get stronger if Trump's renewed trade threats turn out to have real bite. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI),, opens new tabyour essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI, opens new tab can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X., opens new tab
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Asian shares are mixed after S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite pull back from their all-time highs
Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite edged away from the records they set last week. An announcement over the weekend by U.S. President Donald Trump that he plans 30% tariffs on goods from Mexico and the European Union had scant immediate impact, as analysts said they expected progress toward trade deals before an Aug. 1 deadline. Trump detailed the planned tariffs Saturday in letters posted to his social media account. The Mexican peso weakened slightly against the dollar, trading at 18.6 pesos to the dollar. Chinese shares advanced after the government reported that exports rose last month as a truce in a tariffs war prompted a surge in orders ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline for reaching a new trade deal with Washington. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.5% to 24,253.18, while the Shanghai Composite index also was up 0.5%, at 3,526.75. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.3% to 39,459.20, while the Kospi in South Korea jumped 0.8% to 3,200.25. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 8,577.80. Taiwan's benchmark lost 2.3%. On Friday, a modest pullback for U.S. stocks left major stock indexes on Wall Street in the red for the week. The S&P 500 closed 0.3% lower, at 6,259.75, a day after setting a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% to 44,371.51, and the Nasdaq composite gave up 0.2% to 20,585.53 after drifting between small gains and losses much of the day. The tech-heavy index was coming off its own all-time high on Thursday. The selling capped an uneven week in the market as Wall Street kept an eye on the Trump administration's rollout of new tariff threats against trading partners like Canada and looked ahead to the upcoming corporate earnings reporting season. Trump said in a letter Thursday that he will raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening the rift between the longtime North American allies. The letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was an aggressive increase to the top 25% tariff rates that Trump first imposed in March. The administration had initially set Wednesday as a deadline for countries to make deals with the U.S. or face heavy increases in tariffs. But with just two trade deals announced since April, one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam, the window for negotiations has been been extended to Aug. 1. Trump also floated this week that he would impose tariffs of as much as 200% on pharmaceutical drugs and place a 50% tariff on copper imports, matching the rates charged on steel and aluminum. The initial rollout of Trump's tariff policies in the spring roiled financial markets. But they have been relatively stable in recent weeks, suggesting investors have adjusted to the unpredictability of his sudden policy shifts. Markets are set to shift their focus to quarterly earnings over the next few weeks. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are among big banks due to report their results on Tuesday. Shares in aviation company Red Cat Holdings jumped 26.4% Friday after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued orders aimed at ramping up production and deployment of drones. Bitcoin climbed to another all-time high, rising 3.6% early Monday to $122,065, according to Coindesk. Bitcoin's price has jumped amid bullish momentum across risk assets and coincides with Nvidia's surge to a $4 trillion valuation. The U.S. Congress' Crypto Week starts Monday. Lawmakers will debate a series of bills that could define the regulatory framework for the industry. In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 9 cents to $68.54 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 10 cents at $70.46 per barrel. The dollar slipped to 147.36 Japanese yen from 147.38 yen. The euro fell to $1.1659 from $1.1692. ___ AP Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
RBC lifts S&P 500 year-end price target to 6,250
July 14 (Reuters) - RBC Capital Markets on Sunday raised its S&P 500 index (.SPX), opens new tab year-end target to 6,250 from 5,730, its second hike this year, citing stronger investor sentiment and growing focus on 2026 economic prospects. The S&P 500 eased from a record high on Friday as caution prevailed after President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil and the EU braced for possible new U.S. tariffs, though the index remains up about 6.4% so far in 2025. "Both RBC economics and consensus anticipate another year like this in 2026," said the RBC strategist, adding that their analysis now factors in how stocks perform leading up to periods of moderate GDP growth, specifically between 1.1% and 2%. Last month, RBC raised its S&P targets to 5,730 from 5,500 points, while earlier this month, BofA Global Research and Goldman Sachs also raised their year-end targets for the S&P 500 index. RBC maintained its 2025 S&P 500 EPS forecast at $258, slightly below consensus, and noted it is still too early to dismiss concerns about the impact of tariffs based on early earnings reports.
