logo
Trump's Tariffs Spare Southeast Asia the Worst-Case Scenario

Trump's Tariffs Spare Southeast Asia the Worst-Case Scenario

Bloomberg12 hours ago
Each week we bring you insights into one of Asia's most dynamic economies. If you haven't yet, please sign up here.
Trump's tariffs have finally arrived, and reporter Phil Heijmans breaks down what it means for the region. On the retail front, Low De Wei reports on the latest efforts to refresh Orchard Road, while Andrew Janes checks out the newly expanded and rebranded Singapore Oceanarium on Sentosa.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Earnings Preview: What to Expect From Williams-Sonoma's Report
Earnings Preview: What to Expect From Williams-Sonoma's Report

Yahoo

time16 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Earnings Preview: What to Expect From Williams-Sonoma's Report

Valued at $23.4 billion by market cap, San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) operates as a multi-channel specialty retailer of premium quality home products. The company offers various cooking, dining, home decor, and related products through its brands like Pottery Barn, West Elm, Rejuvenation, etc. The company is expected to announce its fiscal Q2 earnings on Thursday, Aug. 28. Ahead of this event, analysts project the company to report a profit of $1.78 per share, up 2.3% from $1.74 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has surpassed Wall Street's bottom-line estimates in each of the last four quarters, which is impressive. More News from Barchart With UnitedHealth Under DOJ Investigation, Should You Buy, Sell, or Hold UNH Stock Now? Trump Won't Take Away Tesla's Subsidies. Does That Make TSLA Stock a Safe Buy Here? Can AMD Stock Hit $210 in 2025? Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. For the current year, analysts expect WSM to report EPS of $8.53, down 3% from $8.79 in fiscal 2024. Nonetheless, its EPS is expected to rebound in fiscal 2026, rising 5.5% year over year to $9. Shares of WSM have climbed 25.4% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming both the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 16.6% uptick and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLY) 19.9% gain over the same time frame. WSM stock dropped 4.5% following the release of its Q1 results on May 22. The company's net revenues for the quarter increased 4.2% year-over-year to $1.7 billion, mainly driven by a slight improvement in comparable store sales. Moreover, its adjusted EPS came in at $1.85 and surpassed the consensus estimates by 5.1%. Wall Street analysts are moderately optimistic about WSM's stock, with a 'Moderate Buy" rating overall. Among 18 analysts covering the stock, five recommend "Strong Buy," one suggests 'Moderate Buy,' and 12 indicate 'Hold.' The stock currently trades above its mean price target of $184.29. On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

XPeng, NIO, Li Auto, ZEEKR Post Big July Delivery Gains, Yet Stocks Remain Under Pressure
XPeng, NIO, Li Auto, ZEEKR Post Big July Delivery Gains, Yet Stocks Remain Under Pressure

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

XPeng, NIO, Li Auto, ZEEKR Post Big July Delivery Gains, Yet Stocks Remain Under Pressure

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers XPeng (NYSE:XPEV), ZEEKR Intelligent Technology (NYSE:ZK), Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI), and NIO (NYSE:NIO) stocks dropped on Friday despite individual triumphs like XPeng's record July deliveries and ZEEKR's significant year-over-year growth. ZEEKR, a subsidiary of Geely, announced on Friday that its combined Zeekr and Lynk & Co brands delivered 44,193 vehicles in July 2025, marking a 19.7% increase from the prior year. Specifically, the Zeekr brand contributed 16,977 deliveries, while Lynk & Co accounted for 27,216 units. The company had previously unveiled its Super Hybrid Technologies on July 9, built on its new full-stack SEA-S platform. This innovative system features a 900V high-voltage architecture, tri-silicon carbide-powered e-motors, and a CATL Freevoy Super Hybrid plans to integrate this technology into its forthcoming Zeekr 9X, which boasts a peak output of 1,030kW and an impressive 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in under 3.1 seconds. Li Auto reported 30,731 vehicle deliveries in July 2025, bringing its cumulative deliveries to 1,368,541 units by the end of the month. The company also officially launched the Li i8, a six-seat battery-electric family SUV, on July 29, with customer deliveries anticipated to commence on August 20. Li Auto's expanding footprint includes 535 retail stores across 153 cities, 527 servicing centers, and authorized body and paint shops in 222 cities, complemented by 3,028 supercharging stations with 16,671 charging stalls throughout China. NIO also released its July 2025 delivery figures on Friday, reporting a total of 21,017 vehicles. This total comprised 12,675 vehicles from its premium smart EV brand NIO, 5,976 from its family-oriented ONVO brand, and 2,366 from its small high-end EV brand FIREFLY. Cumulative deliveries for NIO reached 806,731 vehicles by July 31, 2025. The company officially launched the ONVO L90, a smart flagship SUV, on July 31, with user deliveries expected to begin shortly. XPeng, which reported its July 2025 delivery results on Thursday, achieved a new monthly record with 36,717 Smart EV deliveries, marking an astounding 229% year-over-year increase. This represents the ninth consecutive month of deliveries exceeding 30,000 units. As of July 2025, XPeng's cumulative deliveries surpassed 800,000 units, with 233,906 Smart EVs delivered from January to July 2025, a 270% year-over-year surge. The company is actively expanding its global presence, having launched the 2025 XPeng G6 and G9 versions in European markets in mid-July, alongside plans to introduce the XPeng P7+ in Europe. The widespread stock market underperformance across the Chinese EV sector signals mounting investor apprehension, exacerbated by intensifying margin pressure stemming from fierce domestic price wars and considerable geopolitical headwinds. Price Action: At last check Friday, NIO's stock had dipped 2.26%, trading at $4.77 per share, while Li Auto saw a 3.83% drop premarket. XPeng, despite impressive growth, was down 1.7%, and ZEEKR's stock fell by 1.02%. Photo by Robert Way via Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? NIO (NIO): Free Stock Analysis Report This article XPeng, NIO, Li Auto, ZEEKR Post Big July Delivery Gains, Yet Stocks Remain Under Pressure originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data

5 questions Trump faces after dismal jobs report; BLS commissioner firing
5 questions Trump faces after dismal jobs report; BLS commissioner firing

Yahoo

time29 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

5 questions Trump faces after dismal jobs report; BLS commissioner firing

President Trump's economic pitch took a serious hit Friday after the latest federal jobs report revealed stunning weakness in the labor market. He responded by firing the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for what he called politically motivated revisions that lobbed off hundreds of thousands of job gains earlier this summer. The dismal jobs report raised serious questions about the strength of the U.S. economy, especially in light of looming tariffs causing anxieties in the global market. Here are the five big questions facing Trump as he faces the fallout. How much worse does it get? After months of warnings from economists and weakening data from the private sector, federal jobs numbers have caught up to the concern. The July jobs report dramatically changed the picture of the U.S. economy, ramping up concerns fueled by Trump's tariffs and the uncertainty they unleashed. The U.S. added only 73,000 jobs in July and just 106,000 jobs since May — a three-month total barely enough to sustain the labor market for one month. 'Not only was this a much weaker than forecast payrolls number, the monster downward revisions to the past two months inflicts a major blow to the picture of labor market robustness,' Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, wrote in an analysis. 'More concerning is that with the negative impact of tariffs only just starting to be felt, the coming months are likely to see even clearer evidence of a labor market slowdown.' The U.S. economy needs to add 80,000 to 100,000 jobs each month just to replace those who leave the workforce for retirement or incapacity. Without a significant turnaround, the unemployment rate could begin to rise, and the overall economy could slow drastically. 'The U.S. slowdown is starting to take shape,' Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo, global co-chief investment officer at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, wrote in a Friday analysis. She added that a decline in labor force participation, which is also bad for the job market, was keeping the unemployment rate from rising further. 'While overall levels are not flashing red, the trend is cause for concern,' she wrote. How does Trump adjust his tariff plans? Trump and top White House officials spent months laughing off the dire projections of economists, who feared his tariffs would tank the job market and boost inflation. That position may not be tenable after Friday. The July jobs report came out on what was supposed to be the final deadline for the imposition of Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs. After insisting for weeks that he would not delay the deadline further, Trump announced Thursday evening that some countries would have an additional week to strike deals with the U.S. Trump's latest punt — which happened after the president is typically briefed on the jobs report — was the latest in a series of delays issued amid rough economic news or stock market turmoil. The president proposed much steeper tariffs during his 'Liberation Day' announcement in April, but he delayed and weakened his plan after two weeks of turmoil in financial markets. Trump and top White House economic aides touted the benefit of federal revenue from import taxes, which are paid by the U.S. businesses and individuals who purchase foreign goods. But the growing pressure of his tariffs could prompt further delays from Trump. Trump could also keep higher headline tariff rates while quietly making exemptions for key goods, undermining the overall goal of his import taxes while potentially avoiding some of the costs. 'A web of exemptions and, in the case of the deals, preferential rates means many key imports face lower tariffs or none. That significantly lowers the actual tariff rate, in many cases well below the quoted headline rate,' Michael Pearce, deputy chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a Friday analysis. How does the Fed respond? The stunning July jobs numbers will boost pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its next policy meeting in September and are raising questions about whether it should have cut rates already. The Fed kept rates steady Wednesday as inflation continued to rise and the labor market appeared to be weakening at a much slower rate than seen in Friday's jobs report. While Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged Wednesday the risks that the job market could weaken quicker than expected under the bank's moderately high interest rates, he said he and his colleagues were still unsettled about how Trump's tariffs could drive inflation higher. The Fed now appears to be in a quagmire with the country on track for both a weaker economy and higher inflation — a dynamic known as 'stagflation.' Lower interest rates could stimulate the sluggish labor market but also drive inflation higher with additional money in the economy. Keeping interest rates unchanged could stave off inflation but suffocate the economy into higher unemployment and slower spending. 'With persistent policy uncertainty, tariffs, and diminished immigration flows paralyzing employers, the U.S. economy is now flirting with job losses, revealing a labor market that is much weaker than most Fed policymakers had believed,' Gregory Daco, chief economist EY-Parthenon, wrote in a Friday analysis. 'The Fed is now behind the curve.' Will voters ding Trump as job approval sinks? Trump is largely fulfilling his campaign promises on the economy, including instituting tariffs, though that policy proved to be much more widespread than what he suggested while running for a second term. He's also making good on mass deportation plans, which the administration is using to sell what they see as a stronger economy for the American worker. But some slices of voters don't appear to be singing Trump's praises. Trump headed into the big week on the economy with his job approval rating slipping, with net approval dropping 15 points, according to an Economist/YouGov poll. And his net approval rating also fell 9 points to its lowest rating yet last week in the Decision Desk HQ average, with independents taking issue with Trump's actions on the economy and immigration. Consumer confidence ticked up only slightly in July, a sign that anxieties over the economy could be coming to a head as a result of the president's policies. Consumers also expressed more negative assessments of their economic situations overall. What impact will firing the BLS commissioner have? Experts and economists were left reeling Friday afternoon when Trump announced he was firing the Commissioner of Bureau of Labor Statistics Erika McEntarfer. That cast doubt on the bureau's reporting standards and the type of revisions it makes on previously released reports. When Trump was later asked if that decision meant anyone providing him data he doesn't agree with could risk losing their job, he responded: 'I've always had a problem with these numbers.' In considering who could be McEntarfer's long-term replacement, Trump did not pinpoint experience in labor statistics as a qualification. 'We need people we can trust,' Trump said. 'I put somebody in who's going to be honest.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store