Oil Starts Summer on Borrowed Time as OPEC+ Fuels Surplus Threat
For months, the biggest news in the market has been OPEC+'s seismic decision to stop supporting oil prices — instead unleashing a flood of barrels. That's happening just as President Donald Trump's trade war threatens to sap demand.
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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
TON Surges on UAE Golden Visa News; Crypto Community Reacts With Excitement and Doubt
On July 6, Max Crown, CEO of the TON Foundation, announced on X a "groundbreaking initiative" offering toncoin (TON) holders the "exclusive chance" to secure a 10-year UAE Golden Visa. The program requires applicants to stake $100,000 worth of toncoin for three years and pay a one-time processing fee of $35,000. After the three-year lock-up period, staked funds can apparently be unlocked, and during this time, applicants reportedly earn an estimated 3–4% annual percentage yield (APY) on their staked tokens. The TON Foundation's website highlights several key alleged benefits: fast approval within seven weeks from document submission, a simple process without the need to purchase real estate or meet income thresholds, and inclusion of family members — spouse, children, and parents — at no extra cost beyond standard government fees. The staking is conducted through decentralized smart contracts on the TON blockchain, which it argues ensures transparency and security. The program claims to offer a capital-efficient alternative to traditional UAE Golden Visa routes, which the TON Foundation says typically require a minimum investment of approximately $540,000 in real estate or fixed deposits, often tied to illiquid assets and longer processing times. The TON Golden Visa initiative is touted as a faster, more affordable, and digitally native pathway to UAE residency, aligning with the country's ambition to become a global crypto and Web3 hub. The announcement had an immediate impact on toncoin's market performance. Shortly after the news broke, toncoin's price surged by 12%. At the time of writing, the token trades around $2.8944, reflecting a 5.36% increase over the past 24 hours. Additionally, the current 24-hour average trading volume is approximately 251.54% higher than the 30-day average, signaling heightened market interest and activity, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model. Despite the enthusiasm, the announcement has generated controversy within the crypto community. Bobby Ong, co-founder and COO of CoinGecko, praised the partnership as an 'amazing story' that could attract whales and provide strong buy support for toncoin, although he expressed hope that the initiative is not a temporary scheme. Conversely, "Joe HedgedHog" ("@JoeHedgedHog" on X), an investment partner at Sigil Fund, pointed out that this is not an official UAE government partnership but rather a third-party legal firm using TON as a proxy to assist clients applying for the Golden Visa under the entrepreneur category. He noted that the firm could have used any cryptocurrency and that the staking requirement serves more as a token utility sink than a government mandate. Further skepticism came from "ivangbi" ("@ivangbi_" on X), the Head of Strategy & Business Development at Gearbox Protocol, who described the announcement as misleading. According to this perspective, the legal firm receives the non-refundable $35,000 fee and attempts to submit applications to the UAE government, which ultimately decides on approval. He argued that the staked TON balance is only one of several requirements and may no longer be relevant under updated rules. He went on to say that the absence of blanket approval for TON stakers means that acceptance is uncertain, and the program may primarily serve as a marketing tool coupled with token utility. Changpeng Zhao (CZ), co-founder and former CEO of Binance, expressed cautious interest in the TON Foundation's UAE Golden Visa announcement but highlighted several uncertainties. He noted conflicting information about the program's legitimacy, including claims that the $35,000 fee mainly goes to a legal agent rather than the government, and that the website's language may misleadingly suggest a guaranteed visa upon staking $100,000 in toncoin. CZ also mentioned that theUAE regulators classify staking as a regulated activity for which TON may lack licenses. Importantly, he pointed out that official UAE government channels do not currently recognize staking toncoin as a visa qualification, listing the standard Golden Visa categories instead. In a follow-up post, CZ reiterated his cautious optimism, emphasizing the need to 'trust but verify.' He acknowledged the potential benefits of such a program but stressed that official government partnerships and announcements are essential for legitimacy—none of which have yet been confirmed. His stance balances support for innovation and TON founder Pavel Durov with prudent skepticism about the program's current status. The UAE entrepreneur visa category, which this program appears to target, is designed for individuals owning economic projects of a technical or innovative nature. Applicants must provide approval letters from an accredited UAE auditor confirming the project's value (at least 500,000 AED), local authorities verifying the project's innovative character, and an accredited UAE business incubator to establish the proposed activity in the country. Technical Analysis Highlights Price surged from $2.75 to a peak of $3.06, representing an overall range of $0.34 (12.4%). Rally began abruptly during the 7:00 hour on 6 July, when volume spiked to nearly 13 million. Extraordinary 57.5 million volume surge in the 8:00 hour propelled TON to its high. Support has formed around $2.86-$2.89 with high-volume buying. Resistance appears at $3.03, suggesting the token has established a new trading range. In the last 60 minutes from 6 July 15:12 to 16:11, TON experienced a significant price surge of 2.4%. Dramatic breakout occurred at 15:48 when volume spiked to 1.68 million tokens. Token reached a peak of $2.93 at 15:50 before establishing a new support level around $2.90-$2.91. Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy. 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
Los Angeles Times
17 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Pressure from Trump for trade deals before Wednesday deadline, but hints of more time for talks
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is stepping up pressure on trading partners to quickly make new deals before a Wednesday deadline, with plans for the United States to start sending letters Monday warning countries that higher tariffs could kick in Aug. 1. That furthers the uncertainty for businesses, consumers and America's trading partners, and questions remain about which countries will be notified, whether anything will change in the days ahead and whether President Donald Trump will once more push off imposing the rates. Trump and his top trade advisers say he could extend the time for dealmaking but they insist the administration is applying maximum pressure on other nations. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told CBS' 'Face the Nation' on Sunday that Trump would decide when it was time to give up on negotiations. 'The United States is always willing to talk to everybody about everything,' Hassett said. 'There are deadlines, and there are things that are close, so maybe things will push back past the deadline or maybe they won't. In the end the president is going to make that judgment.' Stephen Miran, the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, likewise said countries negotiating in good faith and making concessions could 'sort of, get the date rolled.' The steeper tariffs that President Donald Trump announced April 2 threatened to overhaul the global economy and lead to broader trade wars. A week later, after the financial markets had panicked, his administration suspended for 90 days most of the higher taxes on imports just as they were to take effect. The negotiating window until July 9 has led to announced deals only with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Trump imposed elevated tariff rates on dozens of nations that run meaningful trade surpluses with the U.S., and a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries in response to what he called an economic emergency. There are separate 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on autos. Since April, few foreign governments have set new trade terms with Washington as the Republican president demanded. Trump told reporters early Friday that his administration might be sending out letters as early as Saturday to countries spelling out their tariff rates if they did not reach a deal, but that the U.S. would not start collecting those taxes until Aug. 1. On Friday night, he said he would 'probably send out 10 or 12' letters on Monday, each reflecting 'different amounts of money, different amounts of tariffs and somewhat different statements.' He and his advisers have declined to say which countries would receive the letters. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected the idea that Aug. 1 was a new deadline and declined to say what might happen Wednesday. 'We'll see,' Bessent said on CNN's State of the Union. 'I'm not going to give away the playbook.' He said the U.S. was 'close to several deals,' and predicted several big announcements over the next few days. He gave no details. 'I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly,' Bessent said. Trump has announced a deal with Vietnam that would allow U.S. goods to enter the country duty-free, while Vietnamese exports to the U.S. would face a 20% levy. That was a decline from the 46% tax on Vietnamese imports he proposed in April — one of his so-called reciprocal tariffs targeting dozens of countries with which the U.S. runs a trade deficit. Asked if he expected to reach deals with the European Union or India, Trump said Friday that 'letters are better for us' because there are so many countries involved. 'We have India coming up and with Vietnam, we did it, but much easier to send a letter saying, 'Listen, we know we have a certain deficit, or in some cases a surplus, but not too many. And this is what you're going to have to pay if you want to do business in the United States.' Canada, however, will not be one of the countries receiving letters, Trump's ambassador, Pete Hoekstra, said Friday after trade talks between the two countries recently resumed. 'Canada is one of our biggest trading partners,' Hoekstra told CTV News in an interview in Ottawa. 'We're going to have a deal that's articulated.' Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he wants a new deal in place by July 21 or Canada will increase trade countermeasures. Hoekstra would not commit to a date for a trade agreement and said even with a deal, Canada could still face some tariffs. But 'we're not going to send Canada just a letter,' he said. Knickmeyer and Price write for the Associated Press. Price reported from Bridgewater, New Jersey. AP Business Writer Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.
Chicago Tribune
28 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Trump and GOP target ballots arriving after Election Day that delay counts and feed conspiracy fears
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump and other Republicans have long criticized states that take weeks to count their ballots after Election Day. This year has seen a flurry of activity to address it. Part of Trump's executive order on elections, signed in March but held up by lawsuits, takes aim at one of the main reasons for late vote counts: Many states allow mailed ballots to be counted even if they arrive after Election Day. The U.S. Supreme Court last month said it would consider whether a challenge in Illinois can proceed in a case that is among several Republican-backed lawsuits seeking to impose an Election Day deadline for mail ballots. At least three states — Kansas, North Dakota and Utah — passed legislation this year that eliminated a grace period for receiving mailed ballots, saying they now need to be in by Election Day. Even in California, where weekslong vote counting is a frequent source of frustration and a target of Republican criticism, a bill attempting to speed up the process is moving through the Democratic-controlled Legislature. The ballot deadline section of Trump's wide-ranging executive order relies on an interpretation of federal law that establishes Election Day for federal elections. He argues this means all ballots must be received by that date. 'This is like allowing persons who arrive 3 days after Election Day, perhaps after a winner has been declared, to vote in person at a former voting precinct, which would be absurd,' the executive order states. It follows a pattern for the president, who has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of such ballots even though there is no evidence they are the source of widespread fraud. The issue is tied closely to his complaints about how long it takes to count ballots, his desire for results on election night and his false claims that overnight 'dumps' of vote counts point to a rigged election in 2020, when he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. But ballots received after Election Day, in addition to being signed and dated by the voter, must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service indicating they were completed and dropped off on or before the final day of voting. Accepting late-arriving ballots has not been a partisan issue historically. States as different as California and Mississippi allow them, while Colorado and Indiana do not. 'There is nothing unreliable or insecure about a ballot that comes back after Election Day,' said Steve Simon, the chief election official in Minnesota, which has an Election Day deadline. In his executive order, most of which is paused by the courts, Trump directs the attorney general to 'take all necessary action' to enforce federal law against states that include late-arriving ballots in their final counts for federal elections. He also directs the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to condition federal funding on compliance. Republicans in five states have passed legislation since the 2020 election moving the mail ballot deadline to Election Day, according to the Voting Rights Lab, which tracks election legislation. Earlier this year, GOP lawmakers in Kansas ended the state's practice of accepting mail ballots up to three days after Election Day, a change that will take effect for next year's midterms. Problems with mail delivery had prompted Kansas to add the grace period in 2017. Kansas state Sen. Mike Thompson, a Republican who chairs the committee that handles election legislation, compared the grace period to giving a football team extra chances to score after the game clock expires. 'We need this uniform end to the election just so that we know that all voters are operating on the same time frame,' he said. California has long been a source of complaints about the amount of time it takes for ballots to be counted and winners declared. 'The rest of the country shouldn't have to wait on California to know the results of the elections,' U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the Committee on House Administration, said during an April hearing. He said California's 'lax election laws' were to blame for the delays. The nation's most populous state has the largest number of registered voters in the country, some 22.9 million, which is roughly equivalent to the number of voters in Florida and Georgia combined. California also has embraced universal mail voting, which means every registered voter automatically receives a ballot in the mail for each election. The deadline for election offices to receive completed ballots is seven days after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by then. A survey of some 35,000 Los Angeles County voters during last fall's election found that 40% waited until Election Day to return their ballot. Election officials say the exhaustive process for reviewing and counting mail ballots combined with a large percentage of voters waiting until the last minute makes it impossible for all results to be available on election night. Under state law, election officials in California have 30 days to count ballots, conduct a postelection review and certify the results. Dean Logan, Los Angeles County's chief election official, told Congress in May that his team counted nearly 97% of the 3.8 million ballots cast within a week of Election Day in 2024. Jesse Salinas, president of the state clerks' association, said his staff in Yolo County, near Sacramento, already works 16-hour days, seven days a week before and after an election. Assemblyman Marc Berman introduced legislation that would keep the state's 30-day certification period but require county election officials to finish counting most ballots within 13 days after the election. They would be required to notify the state if they weren't going to meet that deadline and give a reason. 'I don't think that we can stick our heads in the sand and pretend like these conspiracies aren't out there and that this lack of confidence doesn't exist, in particular among Republican voters in California,' said Berman, a Democrat. 'There are certain good government things that we can do to strengthen our election system.' He acknowledged that many counties already meet the 13-day deadline in his bill, which awaits consideration in the Senate. 'My hope is that this will strengthen people's confidence in their election system and their democracy by having some of those benchmarks and just making it very clear for folks when different results will be available,' Berman said.
