CNA938 Rewind - Stock take today: US-China reach agreement, new record for the S&P 500
On the daily markets analysis on Open For Business, Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman speak with Brian Szytel, Managing Director, Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer, The Bahnsen Group.
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Trump says 'probably 12' tariff letters being sent out on Jul 7
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Bombers and a 'beautiful Bill': Trump celebrates US Independence Day
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signed his flagship tax and spending Bill into law on Friday (Jul 4), capping a grandiose White House Independence Day ceremony featuring a stealth bomber fly-by. "America is winning, winning, winning like never before," Trump said before signing the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill", while flanked by Republican lawmakers who helped push it through Congress. Trump also played down criticism by Democrats that the unpopular legislation will slash social welfare programmes, saying: "You won't even notice it." With First Lady Melania Trump at his side, Trump watched from the White House balcony as two B-2 bombers - the same type that recently struck Iranian nuclear sites - roared overhead, accompanied by F-35 and F-22 fighter jets. The 79-year-old's victory lap came a day after Republicans fell into line and passed the sprawling mega-Bill, allowing him to sign it as he had hoped on the Fourth of July holiday. The Bill honors many of Trump's campaign promises: Extending tax cuts from his first term, boosting military spending and providing massive new funding for Trump's migrant deportation drive. "NEVER BEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT" The legislation's signing caps two weeks of significant wins for Trump that have seen him tighten his grip on power and his party alike. The successes include the recent Iran-Israel ceasefire that was sealed after what he called the "flawless" US air strikes on Iran. Pilots who carried out the bombing on Iran were among those invited to the White House event, which included a picnic for military families on the South Lawn. "The last two weeks, there has never been anything like it, as far as winning," said Trump. Trump had however forced through the tax Bill despite deep misgivings in the Republican Party that it would balloon the national debt. The legislation is expected to pile an extra US$3.4 trillion over a decade onto the US deficit. It squeezed past a final vote in the House of Representatives 218-214 after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson worked through the night to corral the final group of dissenters. Trump thanked Johnson at the White House event, saying: "What a job." "HORRIBLE DAY" Trump's billionaire former ally Elon Musk was among the most vocal critics, and he has pledged to set up a new political party to oppose Republicans who backed the Bill. Democrats and many US voters have meanwhile expressed concerns that the "big beautiful Bill" will gut health and welfare support. The Bill will force through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance programme for low-income Americans since its 1960s launch, while also shrinking federal food assistance programmes. Up to 17 million people could lose their insurance coverage under the Bill, according to some estimates. Scores of rural hospitals are expected to close as a result. But Trump played down the concerns. "They've developed a standard line, and we can't let them get away with it. 'Oh, it's dangerous. Oh, everybody's going to die.' It's actually just the opposite," said Trump. Democrats hope public opposition to the Bill will help them flip the US House in the 2026 mid-term election, pointing to data showing that it represents a huge redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest. People attending the Fourth of July parade in Washington on Saturday had mixed feelings.
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Trump to sign 'big, beautiful' bill on US Independence Day
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump prepared Friday (Jul 4) to sign his flagship tax and spending bill in a pomp-laden Independence Day ceremony featuring fireworks and a flypast by the type of stealth bomber that bombed Iran. Trump pushed Republican lawmakers to get his unpopular "One Big Beautiful Bill" through a reluctant Congress in time for him to sign it into law on the US national holiday, and they did so with a day to spare Thursday. Ever the showman, Trump will now meld a victory lap over the bill, which cements his radical second term agenda, with a grand party at the White House marking 249 years of independence from Britain. Trump announced a signing ceremony at the White House for 4pm (4am, Singapore time) and said pilots who carried out the bombing on Iran were among those who had been invited. Looking jubilant at a rally Thursday in Iowa after the bill passed, Trump said "the age of America is upon us. This is a golden age." The bill, which includes massive new funding for Trump's migrant deportation drive, is the latest in a series of big political wins at home and abroad for the 79-year-old tycoon, and underscores his dominance over both the Republican Party and US politics at large, for now. His administration has meanwhile glossed over deep concerns from his own party and voters that it will balloon the national debt, while simultaneously gutting health and welfare support. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on Friday rebuffed the criticism, claiming the bill will produce "a real blowout for growth." "Nobody's going to lose their health insurance because of this," Hassett told Fox News, rejecting nonpartisan analyses estimating millions of poor Americans will lose health coverage on the government-funded Medicaid program. First Lady Melania Trump was also set to attend the Independence Day event. The president's wife had told reporters on Thursday that a B-2 bomber, the type of aircraft that bombed Iran's nuclear facilities on June 22, and fighter jets would carry out a flypast for the Jul 4 event. And Trump told the rally-goers in Iowa that the pilots and others who worked on the mission would join him for the festivities. "They're going to be in Washington tomorrow, at the White House, we're going to be celebrating," he said. Deep misgivings Trump forced through the bill despite deep misgivings in the Republican Party, and the vocal opposition of his billionaire former ally, Elon Musk. It squeezed past a final vote in the House of Representatives 218-214 after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson worked through the night to corral the final group of dissenters. The sprawling mega-bill honors many of Trump's campaign promises: boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing US$4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief. The legislation is the latest in a series of big wins for Trump, including a Supreme Court ruling last week that curbed lone federal judges from blocking his policies, and the US air strikes that led to a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. But it is expected to pile an extra US$3.4 trillion over a decade onto the US deficit. At the same time it will shrink the federal food assistance program and force through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance scheme for low-income Americans since its 1960s launch. Up to 17 million people could lose their insurance coverage under the bill, according to some estimates. Scores of rural hospitals are expected to close as a result.
