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A jump in US retail sales boosted world markets Thursday even as investors mulled the US rates outlook, US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the future of Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell.US indices were near record highs two hours into the Wall Street session with all eyes on an incoming earnings reports, notably for streaming giant Netflix.More than two hours in, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broad-based S&P 500 boasted gains of close on 0.5 percent while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.8 percent.The rises came on the back of a better-than-expected US retail sales report and a round of mostly solid corporate earnings.European markets were strongly in the green. Frankfurt and Paris closed almost 1.5 percent ahead although London could only manage a 0.5 percent rise amid a higher official UK jobless count and slowing wages growth.  Market observers have been carefully watching reports that US President Donald Trump, fresh from unveiling new tariff threats, could sack Powell.Overall, US retail sales were up 0.6 percent in June to $720.1 billion, reversing a May 0.9 percent decline. The figures topped analyst expectations.Besides retail sales, another week of modest weekly US jobless claims provided reassurance on the economy, said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.”We’ve been worried about earnings and trade wars, but the economic data (…) remains resilient,” Hogan said.”If earnings are more upbeat than expected and if management continues to tell a reassuring story about consumer spending, stocks could react favorably,” said Bret Kenwell, eToro US investment analyst, who called the retail sales data “reassuring.”All three main New York indices ended in the green Wednesday, with the Nasdaq at another record high, following a brief sell-off after it emerged Trump had raised the idea of firing Powell.Markets recovered after Trump denied he was planning such a move.The news caused a spike in US Treasury yields amid fears over the central bank’s independence. Trump has spent months lambasting Powell for not cutting interest rates.Fawad Razaqzada of FOREX.com suggested markets were in search of a fresh spark.”But here’s the question on every trader’s mind: will we see further highs, or is this rally due a pause amid creeping inflation concerns and the looming August tariff threat?”In Asia, Toko and Shanghai added around half of one percent though Hong Kong edged down. Tokyo-listed shares in the Japanese owner of convenience store giant 7-Eleven plunged after a Canadian rival, Alimentation Couche-Tard, pulled out of a $47 billion takeover bid.- Key figures at around 1550 GMT -Global New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 44,422.84 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 6,292.52New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 20,887.48London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,972.64 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.3 percent at 7,822.00 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.5 percent at 24,370.93 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 39,901.19 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,498.95 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,516.83 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1598 from $1.1641 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3416 from $1.3414Dollar/yen: UP at 148.50 yen from 147.80 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.45 pence from 86.72 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $69.02 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $65.82 per barrel

Content moderators at the German branch of social media giant TikTok sounded the alarm Thursday about what they say is a plan to replace them with artificial intelligence, potentially putting platform users at risk.Around 50 people gathered for a protest near the offices of TikTok Germany, among them some of the 150-strong “trust and safety” department in Berlin, who say management are threatening to fire them en masse.Holding a banner reading “we trained your machines, pay us what we deserve”, the protestors said TikTok had already overseen one round of layoffs last year and demanded it reverse plans to fully close the department.The content moderators are tasked with keeping content such as hate speech, misinformation and pornography off the platform, which claimed more than 20 million users in Germany as of late 2023.The row in Germany comes amid a global trend of social media companies reducing their use of human fact-checkers and turning to AI instead. In October, TikTok — which has 1.5 billion users worldwide and is a division of Chinese tech giant ByteDance — announced hundreds of job losses worldwide as part of a shift to AI-assisted content moderation.TikTok did not reply to an AFP request for comment.The moderators at TikTok Germany are being supported by the union ver.di, who say that the company has refused to negotiate and that strike action is being prepared if this continues. One of the moderators, 32-year-old Benjamin Karkowski, said that staff had been “shocked” when they learned of TikTok’s current plans via a message from management.Another one of the moderators, 36-year-old Sara Tegge, says that the artificial intelligence used by the company “cannot tell whether content discriminates against certain groups and it can’t judge the danger of certain content”.She cited an example in which the AI flagged innocuous content about Berlin’s annual LGBT+ pride as breaking TikTok’s guidelines on political protests.  If the company moves ahead with its plans she “certainly fears” users may be exposed to greater danger.Showing support at Thursday’s demonstration was Werner Graf, leader of the Green party’s lawmakers in Berlin’s state assembly.”These people have been fighting so that the the internet isn’t permanently overwhelmed” with “fake news and hate speech”, he said.”We in the political arena must make clear that checking content… can’t simply be left up to AI, we must legislate to make sure it’s done by humans,” he went on.

Wall Street chased new record highs Thursday, while main European and Asian stock markets also rose as investors mulled the US rates outlook and the future of Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell.The dollar lost momentum after earlier rising against main rivals while the US tariffs battle and the earnings season — with Netflix set to kick off tech sector results — influenced market direction.Market observers have been carefully watching developments following reports that US President Donald Trump, fresh from unveiling new tariff threats, was considering whether to sack Powell.Some 20 minutes into the session on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 percent, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3 percent.The rises came on the back of better-than-expected US retail sales report and a round of mostly solid corporate earnings.Overall retail sales were up 0.6 percent in June to $720.1 billion, reversing a May 0.9 percent decline. The figures topped analyst expectations.Besides retail sales, another week of modest weekly US jobless claims provided reassurance on the economy, said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.”We’ve been worried about earnings and trade wars, but the economic data (…) remains resilient,” Hogan said.”If earnings are more upbeat than expected and if management continues to tell a reassuring story about consumer spending, stocks could react favorably,” said Bret Kenwell, eToro US investment analyst, who called the retail sales data “reassuring.”All three main indices in New York had ended in the green Wednesday, with the Nasdaq at another record high, following a brief sell-off after it emerged Trump had raised the idea of firing Powell.Markets recovered after Trump denied he was planning such a move, with PepsiCo adding six percent in early trading and United Airlines making a similar jump.The news had earlier caused a spike in US Treasury yields amid fears over the central bank’s independence. Trump has spent months lambasting Powell for not cutting interest rates.The Fed’s “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions has meanwhile indicated increasing impacts from the tariffs, with many businesses warning they had passed along “at least a portion of cost increases” to consumers.In Asia, Toko and Shanghai added around half of one percent though Hong Kong edged down. Tokyo-listed shares in the Japanese owner of convenience store giant 7-Eleven plunged after its Canadian rival pulled out of an almost $50 billion takeover bid.- Key figures at around 1350 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 44,466.93 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,279.52New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 20,792.97London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,969.29 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,792.21 Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.8 percent at 24,196.72Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 39,901.19 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,498.95 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,516.83 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1704 from $1.1641 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3469 from $1.3414Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.06 yen from 147.80 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.90 pence from 86.72 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $68.05 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $65.78 per barrel

Leading European and Asian stock markets mostly rose Thursday, tracking more record highs on Wall Street.Investors assessed the outlook for US interest rates, fuelled by news that President Donald Trump was considering whether to sack Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell.The dollar rose against main rivals, also as developments over US tariffs and the earnings season influenced market direction.”US futures are pointing to a mixed open after markets see-sawed on Wednesday after Trump suggested he could fire… Powell but later went back on the idea,” noted Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.”Earnings continue to dominate with Netflix kicking off results from the tech sector” Thursday.Tokyo-listed shares in the Japanese owner of convenience store giant 7-Eleven plunged after its Canadian rival pulled out of an almost $50 billion takeover bid.Investors have walked a cautious line this week as they ascertain the trade outlook. Trump has unveiled a flurry of fresh tariff threats, with the latest being letters to scores of countries notifying them of levies of up to 15 percent.All three main indices in New York ended in the green Wednesday, with the Nasdaq at another record high, following a brief sell-off after it emerged Trump had raised the idea of firing Powell.The markets recovered after the president denied he was planning such a move.The news caused a spike in US Treasury yields amid fears over the central bank’s independence and came after Trump spent months lambasting Powell for not cutting interest rates.The Fed’s “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions has meanwhile indicated increasing impacts from the tariffs, with many businesses warning they had passed along “at least a portion of cost increases” to consumers.- Key figures at around 1115 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,969.29 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,792.21 Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.8 percent at 24,196.72Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 39,901.19 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,498.95 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,516.83 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 44,254.78 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1584 from $1.1641 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3397 from $1.3414Dollar/yen: UP at 148.62 yen from 147.80 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.45 pence from 86.72 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $68.63 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $66.70 per barrel

Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC reported Thursday a forecast-beating 60 percent rise in net profit for the second quarter on sustained demand for artificial intelligence technology.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the world’s largest contract maker of chips and counts Nvidia and Apple among its clients.The firm said its net profit for the three months to June soared 60.7 percent from a year ago to NT$398.3 billion (US$13.5 billion).That beat expectations of NT$376.97 billion, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts.Second-quarter revenue was up 39 percent on-year, also topping forecasts.Chips are essential for generative AI, which has exploded in recent years and transformed the global economy, and demand for them was expected to remain “robust”, TSMC chairman and chief executive CC Wei told a briefing Thursday.TSMC also upgraded its revenue forecast for the year, easing fears of an AI slowdown and pushing its US stock futures higher.Nvidia said this week it will resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing restrictions that had halted exports.Wei welcomed Nvidia’s “good news”.”China is a big market and my customer can still continue to supply the chip to the big market and it’s very positive news for them, and in return it’s very positive news for TSMC,” Wei said.The quarterly results follow US President Donald Trump’s latest barrage of tariffs and renewed threats to impose levies on pharmaceutical products and chips.Wei said last month that the company “may be affected” if the tolls force up prices and demand for chips falls, but he added: “Our business will still be very good.”Taiwan has been locked in negotiations with Washington over Trump’s threat to impose a 32 percent tariff on the island’s exports if they do not strike a deal by August 1.To help its case, Taipei has pledged to increase investment in the United States, buy more US energy and increase its own defence spending.

Most markets rose Thursday, tracking a record day on Wall Street where traders endured a rollercoaster fuelled by fears Donald Trump was considering sacking the head of the US Federal Reserve.Investors have walked a cautious line this week as they ascertain the trade outlook after the US president unveiled a flurry of fresh tariff threats, with the latest being letters to scores of countries notifying them of levies of up to 15 percent.Meanwhile, Tokyo-listed shares in the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven plunged after its Canadian rival pulled out of an almost $50 billion takeover bid, ending a long-running battle over the convenience store giant.All three main indexes in New York ended in the green on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq at another record, following a brief sell-off that came after it emerged Trump had raised the idea of firing Fed boss Jerome Powell in a closed-door session with lawmakers.The markets soon bounced back after Trump denied he was planning to do so, saying: “I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely.”The news caused a spike in US Treasury yields amid fears over the central bank’s independence and came after the president spent months lambasting Powell for not cutting interest rates, calling him a “numbskull” and “moron”.”This Trump vs Powell saga is obviously important to market sentiment, and it seems fair to think Trump’s series of social posts was strategically designed to gauge the reaction in markets — a trial balloon if you will,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.”It seems that Trump indeed got his answers, and while (economic adviser) Kevin Hassett or any of the other names on the billing would be highly capable, the market has shown that it will take its pound of flesh if indeed Powell’s dismissal were to become a reality.”The Fed issue came as investors were already digesting a series of trade war salvos from Trump in recent weeks that saw him threaten Brazil, Mexico and the European Union with elevated tariffs if they do not reach deals before August 1.He also flagged hefty levies on copper, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, and while he reached an agreement with Indonesia on Tuesday, there are around two dozen more still unfinished.On Wednesday, Trump said he would send letters to more than 150 countries outlining what tolls they would face.”We’ll have well over 150 countries that we’re just going to send a notice of payment out, and the notice of payment is going to say what the tariff” will be, he told reporters, adding they were “not big countries, and they don’t do that much business”.He later told the Real America’s Voice broadcast that the rate would “be probably 10 or 15 percent, we haven’t decided yet”.Meanwhile, the Fed’s “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions pointed to increasing impacts from the tariffs, with many warning they passed along “at least a portion of cost increases” to consumers and expected costs to remain elevated.Asian markets opened on a wary note but most managed to take up Wall Street’s lead as the day wore on.Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Bangkok, Wellington and Jakarta all rose, as did London, Paris and Frankfurt.There were losses in Hong Kong, Mumbai and Manila.Tokyo’s rise was overshadowed by 7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings plunging more than nine percent after Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard withdrew its $47 billion offer for the firm.ACT released a letter sent to Seven & i’s board, accusing it of “a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay”.The decision ends a months-long saga that would have seen the biggest foreign buyout of a Japanese company, merging the 7-Eleven, Circle K and other franchises to create a global convenience store behemoth.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 39,901.19 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,498.95 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,516.83 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,959.71 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1591 from $1.1641 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3385 from $1.3414Dollar/yen: UP at 148.74 yen from 147.80 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.59 pence from 86.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $66.39 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $68.47 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 44,254.78 (close)

Butter prices have soared in dairy export giant New Zealand, latest figures showed Thursday, with local supplies cut short as the industry chases fatter profits overseas.The dairy price shock spreads as far as cheese and milk, leading one economist to suggest locals face the grim prospect of cereal without milk if they want to save money.Butter prices leapt 46.5 percent in the year to June to an average of  NZ$8.60 (US$5.09) for a 500-gram (1.1-pound) block, according to official data from Stats New Zealand.Milk prices surged 14.3 percent over the same period, while cheese shot up 30 percent.High dairy prices have hit the headlines in New Zealand, with media outlet Stuff reporting that “exorbitant” prices are unlikely to “melt away” any time soon.Wholesale and retail store Costco restricted butter sales to a maximum of 30 blocks per customer in June, but still sold out, according to the New Zealand Herald.The prices are hurting consumers, said independent economist Brad Olsen, chief executive of Infometrics.”At the moment, I’m going with any other alternative I can find,” Olsen said of butter prices.”I’d also say, the cheap option for breakfast at the moment seems to be to try cereal without the milk.”The phenomenon was driven by international prices and demand, Olsen said.- Creaming off profits -Butter supplies had failed to keep up with rising demand over the past two years, he said.”New Zealand exports the vast majority of our dairy products. So if you’re a company that’s exporting butter, you’ve got to make a decision. Do you sell it at the international price overseas, or do you sell it cheaper in New Zealand?” the economist said.”No business is going to sell it cheaper… if they can get a better price overseas.”But while New Zealand consumers were feeling the price pinch, the overall economy was benefiting as exporters creamed off larger profits from sales overseas.”The sort of returns that our farmers and the primary sector more broadly are getting, and the economic benefit that brings, is actually far more substantial,” Olsen said. “It’s an extra NZ$4.6 billion (US$2.7 billion) that has been flowing into the economy from the higher dairy payout. That’s a significant boost.”New Zealand butter lovers are actually faring better than some, he said, adding they still pay 46 percent less than Americans.

Chinese officials are seeking to tame the country’s swelling electric vehicle industry with policies to prevent “irrational competition”, state media said, as a brutal price war ensnares top automakers.Beijing has poured vast state funds into the EV sector, supporting the development and production of less polluting battery-powered vehicles.But a price war has left many startups bust as firms flood the domestic market with low-cost cars and trade-in schemes, offering huge discounts to customers to give up their old auto for a new one.Domestic criticism has mounted in recent months against intra-industry “involution” — a popular tag used to describe the race to outcompete that ends up nowhere.A meeting of top officials in Beijing — chaired by Premier Li Qiang — called Wednesday for tighter price monitoring and improving long-term regulation of competition in the sector, state news agency Xinhua said.Officials called for stronger order in the new energy vehicle market to “curb irrational competition” and spur more healthy development, Xinhua said.”It is necessary to… strengthen industry self-discipline” and help companies enhance their competitiveness through technological innovation, the agency quoted officials as saying.The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, a top industry group, warned in May that “disorderly” competition would exacerbate harmful rivalry and hurt growth.Analyst Bill Bishop wrote in his Sinocism newsletter that the wording of Wednesday’s readout could suggest Beijing will place “price controls” on electric vehicles.”The language on the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry was tough, in another sign that the government is going to intervene to rectify the ‘irrational competition’ in the industry,” he wrote.

The big-screen success of 1990s video game speedster “Sonic the Hedgehog” has brought new fans to Japan’s Sega, which says it is poised for a comeback after two tough decades.This year all eyes have been on Nintendo, whose Switch 2 recently became the fastest-selling console in history.But unlike its former arch-rival, Sega has not sold gaming hardware since its Dreamcast console was discontinued in 2001, instead focusing on making games for other platforms.Now, as record tourism to Japan helps boost global appetite for the country’s pop culture, the company sees a chance to reinvent itself — including through nostalgic game remakes and movie adaptations like the hit “Sonic” series.Sega opens its first flagship merchandise store in Japan on Friday, having launched a similar shop in Shanghai in May.”Opportunities are expanding,” chief operating officer Shuji Utsumi told AFP. “We’ve been struggling… for a while, but now we are coming back.”The company aims “to expand our business globally rather than focusing on the Japanese market”, he said.Sega was a top industry player in the 1980s and 1990s, its name synonymous with noisy arcades, home consoles and game franchises, such as beat-em-up “Streets of Rage” and ninja series “Shinobi”.But it struggled to keep up with intense competition, falling on hard times financially as multiplayer online titles from US publishers, such as “World of Warcraft”, took off in the 2000s.- ‘Persona’ movie? -After Sega quit the hardware business, its game offerings “got a little stale”, said David Cole of the US-based games market research firm DFC Intelligence.But “the kids who grew up in the 1990s are now in their 30s, 40s, even older, and really like those franchises” — and are introducing them to their own children — he told AFP.”It’s untapped value” that Sega — just like its Japanese peers including Nintendo — is trying to capitalise on through new movies, stores and theme park rides, Cole added.Last year, the film “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” starring Jim Carrey as the villain zipped to the top of the North American box office in one of the best December openings in years.It followed the first live-action “Sonic” movie in 2020, as Sega cashes in on a video-game movie craze that saw “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, based on the Nintendo characters, become the second-highest grossing film of 2023.”Shinobi” is also being turned into a film, while Sega’s “Yakuza” game series has been adapted for television.When asked if cult franchise “Persona” could be next, Sega’s Utsumi said fans should “stay tuned”.”We are talking to a lot of interesting potential partners. So we are under some discussions, but I can’t say too much about it,” he said.- Super Game -Sega bought Finland’s Rovio, creator of “Angry Birds”, in 2023, seeking to expand into the mobile gaming market.”Gamers’ behaviour has been changing” since Sega’s original heyday, going beyond TV-connected consoles, Utsumi said.But Cole said that in the long run Sega should concentrate on “high-end” gaming: larger-scale, more involved titles that encourage brand loyalty.Sega is working on what it calls a “Super Game” with big-budget international ambition and a scope that is “not only just a game — communication, social, maybe potentially AI”, Utsumi said.”The competition in the game market is very fierce,” he cautioned.”It’s important to really have a fan base close to us. But at the same time, when we develop a great game, it takes time.”Sega’s parent company Sega Sammy also makes arcade and gambling machines, including those used in Japanese “pachinko” parlours, whose numbers are in decline.That makes Sega’s entertainment business “really the growth opportunity for the company”, Cole said.Sega Sammy said in May its “Sonic” intellectual property “has contributed to an increase in both game and character licensing revenue”.Young tourists in Tokyo shopping near Sega’s new store ahead of the opening seemed to confirm this.”I’ve always liked Sega. I kind of grew up around their games,” said 19-year-old American Danny Villasenor.”They’re pretty retro. But I think they’ve evolved with time pretty well.”William Harrington, 24, who lives in Los Angeles, said his father “put me on to a lot of the older games back in the day”, and so to him, Sega “feels like childhood”.

Asian markets fluctuated Thursday after a rollercoaster day on Wall Street punctuated by fears Donald Trump was considering sacking the head of the US Federal Reserve.Traders have walked a cautious line this week as they ascertain the trade outlook after the US president unveiled a flurry of fresh tariff threats, with the latest being letters to scores of countries notifying them of levies of up to 15 percent.Meanwhile, Tokyo-listed shares in the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven plunged after its Canadian rival pulled out of an almost $50 billion takeover bid, ending a long-running battle over the convenience store giant.All three main indexes in New York ended in the green on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq at another record, following a brief sell-off that came after it emerged Trump had raised the idea of firing Fed boss Jerome Powell in a closed-door session with lawmakers.The markets soon bounced back after Trump denied he was planning to do so, saying: “I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely.”The news caused a spike in US Treasury yields amid fears over the central bank’s independence and came after the president spent months lambasting Powell for not cutting interest rates, calling him a “numbskull” and “moron”.”This Trump vs Powell saga is obviously important to market sentiment, and it seems fair to think Trump’s series of social posts was strategically designed to gauge the reaction in markets — a trial balloon if you will,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.”It seems that Trump indeed got his answers, and while (economic adviser) Kevin Hassett or any of the other names on the billing would be highly capable, the market has shown that it will take its pound of flesh if indeed Powell’s dismissal were to become a reality.”The Fed issue came as investors were already digesting a series of trade war salvos from Trump in recent weeks that saw him threaten Brazil, Mexico and the European Union with elevated tariffs if they do not reach deals before August 1.He also flagged hefty levies on copper, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, and while he reached an agreement with Indonesia on Tuesday, there are around two dozen more still unfinished.On Wednesday, Trump said he would send letters to more than 150 countries outlining what tolls they would face.”We’ll have well over 150 countries that we’re just going to send a notice of payment out, and the notice of payment is going to say what the tariff” will be, he told reporters, adding they were “not big countries, and they don’t do that much business”.He later told the Real America’s Voice broadcast that the rate would “be probably 10 or 15 percent, we haven’t decided yet”.Meanwhile, the Fed’s “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions pointed to increasing impacts from the tariffs, with many warning they passed along “at least a portion of cost increases” to consumers and expected costs to remain elevated.Asian markets struggled to build on Wall Street’s lead.Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were flat, while Sydney, Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta rose, with losses seen in Seoul and Manila.Tokyo was also down, with 7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings plunging more than nine percent at one point after Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard withdrew its $47 billion offer for the firm.ACT released a letter sent to Seven & i’s board, accusing it of “a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay”.The decision ends a months-long saga that would have seen the biggest foreign buyout of a Japanese company, merging the 7-Eleven, Circle K and other franchises to create a global convenience store behemoth.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 39,602.58 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 24,512.01Shanghai – Composite: FLAT percent at 3,502.27Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1617 from $1.1641 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3395 from $1.3414Dollar/yen: UP at 148.34 yen from 147.80 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.73 pence from 86.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $66.94 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $68.97 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 44,254.78 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,926.55 (close)