Trump labels Musk forming political party 'ridiculous'
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Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
World shares steady, dollar firms on US tariff letters
Stock markets in Asia have taken in their stride the latest twist in US President Donald Trump's tariff roll-out, as the dollar held onto gains and oil retreated. Shares on Wall Street fell after Trump sent letters to 14 countries, including Japan and South Korea, unveiling sharply higher tariffs on imports into the United States, while also postponing their implementation to August 1. Japan's Nikkei stock gauge opened lower on Tuesday but then turned positive after Trump described that deadline as "firm, but not 100 per cent firm" and said tariffs may be adjusted for some countries. The Australian dollar rose ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia decision later in the day. Market reaction to the tariff announcements was muted on memories of Trump's rapid walk-back of his "Liberation Day" duties initially set out on April 2, said Tapas Strickland, head of market economics at National Australia Bank. "There's going to be a lot of volatility as the headlines start to emerge, as more of these letters come out, and as the negotiations really come to the fore ahead of that August 1 deadline," Strickland said on an NAB podcast. In April, Trump capped all of the so-called reciprocal tariffs with trading partners at 10 per cent until July 9 to allow for negotiations. Only two agreements, with Britain and Vietnam, have been reached. In June, Washington and Beijing agreed on a framework covering tariff rates, restoring a fragile truce in their trade war. Tariffs on Japan and South Korea are now due to go up to 25 per cent on August 1. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called the hike deeply regrettable and said his nation would continue negotiations with the US. The European Union will not be receiving a letter setting out higher tariffs, EU sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The EU still aims to reach a trade deal by Wednesday after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump had a "good exchange", a commission spokesperson said. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 per cent in early trade. Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 0.4 per cent while South Korea's KOSPI jumped 1.5 per cent. The dollar rose 0.2 per cent to 146.36 yen, touching a two-week high. The euro was flat at $US1.1741. The Aussie advanced 0.4 per cent to $US0.6516 before a meeting by the central bank where policymakers are widely expected to deliver a 25-basis-point cut. US crude dipped 0.5 per cent to $US67.59 a barrel after surging nearly two per cent on Monday. Spot gold edged 0.2 per cent lower. In early trade, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were down 0.1 per cent, German DAX futures were down 0.1 per cent at 24,133, and FTSE futures slid 0.3 per cent.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘You should get it': Netanyahu nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
Trump said last week that a ceasefire could be 'close' to the conflict that has raged since the attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023 and which has threatened to further destabilise the region. Loading Trump and Netanyahu on Monday suggested a ceasefire was in reach, and the Israeli leader hinted that he would be willing to expand the Abraham Accords that normalised Israel's relations with several regional nations. 'I think we can work out a peace between us and the rest of the Middle East with president Trump's leadership,' Netanyahu said. He said US and Israel were also working with other countries who would give Palestinians a 'better future,' suggesting that the residents of Gaza could move to neighbouring nations. 'If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave,' he said. Loading 'We're working with the United States very closely about finding countries that will seek to realise what they always say, that they wanted to give the Palestinians a better future. I think we're getting close to finding several countries.' The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing about 1200 people and taking 251 hostages. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates. Trump and Netanyahu are also taking a victory lap after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran. The US joined Israel's military campaign against Iran and carried out a series of missile strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump claimed the sites were 'obliterated' but damage assessments are continuing and the whereabouts of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile is unclear. Trump helped broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran to end the fighting and is now pressuring the Islamic Republic to return to negotiations. At the dinner, Trump said the US and Iran were set to meet soon. His envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters that the US and Iran would meet within the next week. Trump said he would love to remove tough US sanctions on Iran – at the right time. He said a recent move to remove US sanctions on Syria would help that country move forward, and he hoped a similar move could happen for Iran. Loading 'I would love to be able to, at the right time, take those sanctions off, give them a chance at rebuilding, because I'd like to see Iran build itself back up in a peaceful manner, and not going around saying, 'death to America,' 'death to the USA,' 'death to Israel,' as they were doing,' he said. Trump also said the US would have to send more weapons to Ukraine – just days after ordering a freeze in critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv. The comments appeared to be an abrupt change in posture after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back delivering to Ukraine some air defence missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons as part of its announced pause to some arms shipments amid US concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much.
AU Financial Review
2 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
CBA warns $A at risk as trade war heats up
The Commonwealth Bank has warned that the Australian dollar is at risk of a violent reversal if US President Donald Trump follows through with his punitive tariffs on major trading partners. The local currency sank 1 per cent to as low as US64.86¢ overnight as traders reacted to Trump's threat to slap an additional 10 per cent tariff on any country aligning themselves with 'the anti-American policies' of BRICS – a group of nations that includes Brazil, China, South Africa and India.
