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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)

Wall Street stocks finished higher Wednesday, overcoming a mid-session swoon after US President Donald Trump denied plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.Major equity indices had moved suddenly negative following reports that a dismissal could be imminent, but they recovered quickly once Trump ruled out firing Powell — for now.Trump, who has bitterly attacked the Fed chair for months, said such a move was “highly unlikely” and that “I’m not talking about that” when asked if he would fire Powell.All three major US indices finished the rollercoaster day higher, with the tech-focused Nasdaq ending at a third straight record.”It’s very clear that the market wants to go higher,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments, who described investor reaction to Trump’s mixed messaging on Powell as typical of a bullish tilt.”Every time we get bad news thrown at it, the market shrugs it off and continues to rally, including today,” Sarhan said.The Powell drama also jolted the Treasury and currency markets. The dollar retreated against the euro and other major currencies, although it recovered some of its losses after Trump denied he would fire Powell.Besides the Fed drama, markets have also weighed Trump’s myriad tariff actions amid worries about inflation. The US president has vowed numerous tariff increases on August 1 if trading partners fail to secure deals.After the June consumer price index showed increased pricing pressure following US tariffs on Tuesday, the producer price index was unchanged on a month-on-month basis, cooling from growing 0.3 percent in May.But the Fed’s “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions, however, pointed to increasing impacts from Trump’s various tariffs.Many firms said they passed along “at least a portion of cost increases” to consumers due to tariffs, while also expressing expectations that costs will remain elevated.Among individual companies, Goldman Sachs jumped 0.9 percent after quarterly earnings easily topped analyst estimates. CEO David Solomon predicted an uptick in dealmaking, pointing to greater “confidence level on the part of CEOs, that significant scaled industry consolidation is possible.”Ford slumped 2.9 percent after disclosing that it would account for $570 million in costs connected to fuel injectors in several models from recent years, including Bronco Sport vehicles from 2021 to 2024.But Johnson & Johnson surged 6.2 percent as it lifted its full-year forecast after quarterly earnings topped estimates. Analysts noted that the health care company also lowered its estimate for the cost hit from tariffs.- Key figures at around 2150 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 44,254.78 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 6,263.70 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 20,730.49 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,926.55 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,722.09 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 24,009.38 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 39,663.40 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,517.76 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,503.78 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1641 from $1.1601 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3414 from $1.3384Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.80 yen from 148.88 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.72 pence from 86.68 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $66.38 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $68.52 per barrelburs-jmb/jgc

Major stock markets stumbled on Wednesday after reports that US President Donald Trump was close to firing the head of the Federal Reserve in a dispute over interest rates.The yield demanded by investors in 30-year US bonds surged above five percent meanwhile, indicating heightened anxiety over the prospect of Powell’s removal, which would break the tradition of the US central bank operating independently.Europe’s main markets dropped at the close and Wall Street dipped, while the dollar lost more than one percent against the euro following several media reports about Trump’s stance on Fed chairman Jerome Powell.Trump later played down the rumours after being asked by reporters at the White House, saying it was “highly unlikely,” though he said he had not ruled it out.The Fed has held its benchmark lending rate steady since its last reduction in December despite pressure from Trump. The president has repeatedly lashed out at Powell for not cutting interest rates sooner.On Tuesday, Powell repeated his message that the central bank was waiting for the impact of Trump’s tariffs before deciding on further rate cuts.”As the US economy is in solid shape, we think that the prudent thing to do is to wait and learn more and see what those effects might be,” he said.- Europe indexes dip -Wall Street and Europe’s leading stock indexes gave up earlier modest gains made as traders weighed whether Trump’s trade tariffs could be fuelling inflation, raising pressure on the Fed for interest rate cuts.Analysts said the latest relatively benign US inflation data had dampened the prospect of cuts, despite pressure from Trump as an August 1 deadline looms for his latest tariff threat to several economies.After the June consumer price index showed increased pricing pressure following US tariffs, the producer price index was unchanged on a month-on-month basis, cooling from a 0.3 percent rise in May.”Signs of tariff-driven inflation are already starting to show, as some companies begin passing on higher costs to consumers,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, in a note.Other analysts voiced caution on the tariffs’ effect.”Looking into the underlying data, it was apparent that tariffs were not to blame for the inflation uptick” in June, said David Morrison, senior market analyst at finance group Trade Nation.”Instead, it was the services side of the US economy which has seen the biggest cost increases. That would suggest that tariffs could add even more to inflation, making the Federal Reserve less likely to cut interest rates further, thereby stoking President Trump’s anger.”Tech firms pared earlier strong gains Wednesday after US titan Nvidia said it would resume exports of key chips to China following Washington’s pledge to remove licensing curbs.California-based Nvidia, one of the world’s most valuable companies, said Tuesday it would restart sales of its H20 artificial intelligence semiconductors to China, having been stopped by Trump’s tightened export licensing requirements in April.CEO Jensen Huang said they would be shipping “very soon”.- Key figures at around 1540 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 43,789.22 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,206.16New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 20,525.19London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,926.55 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,722.09 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 24,009.38 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 39,663.40 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,517.76 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,503.78 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1704 from $1.1606 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3469 from $1.3383Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.06 yen from 148.85 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.90 pence from 86.69 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $65.78 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.96 percent at $68.05 per barrelburs-rlp/jj

Major stock markets steadied on Wednesday as traders weighed a spike in US and UK inflation that raised concerns President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be feeding into the American economy.European markets and Wall Street showed modest gains as the latest data dampened the prospect of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, as an August 1 deadline looms for Trump’s latest tariff threat to several economies.”A higher-than-expected (June) inflation reading in the US… is one of the first data points to suggest tariffs are beginning to have some impact on prices,” noted AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth.”While this impact looks fairly modest for now, this reading obviously comes before the more onerous levies on imports which are currently lined up for introduction at the beginning of August,” he added.Trump said a trade deal had been struck with Indonesia that will see the US impose tariffs of 19 percent on its goods, below the 32 percent previously threatened.Trump has now struck tariffs agreements with three countries, with around two dozen more in the pipeline ahead of August 1.While the Indonesia trade deal was welcomed, investor confidence was limited by data showing US inflation had jumped to 2.7 percent last month.”Signs of tariff-driven inflation are already starting to show, as some companies begin passing on higher costs to consumers,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, in a note.”Fears of tariff-fuelled inflation and the continued strength in labour market data are pushing expectations of Fed rate cuts further out,” she added, saying the Fed was expected to hold rates at its July and September meetings.- EU talks, tech gains -The EU’s top trade negotiator Maros Sefcovic was jetting to Washington on Wednesday for talks with his US counterparts as the bloc renews its push to settle the transatlantic tariffs standoff.In Europe, shares in Renault tumbled 17 percent Wednesday, a day after the French car giant lowered its annual financial outlook.Renault did not specifically mention tariffs, despite the global auto sector being targeted by Trump.Trump on Tuesday warned that he could begin imposing tolls on imports of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals from August 1.Tech firms pared earlier strong gains Wednesday after US titan Nvidia said it would resume exports of key chips to China following Washington’s pledge to remove licensing curbs.California-based Nvidia, one of the world’s most valuable companies, said Tuesday it would restart sales of its H20 artificial intelligence semiconductors to China, having been stopped by Trump’s tightened export licensing requirements in April.CEO Jensen Huang said they would be shipping “very soon”.Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq index inched up further Wednesday after a new record high on Tuesday.- Key figures at around 1340 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,969.42 pointsParis – CAC 40: FLAT at 7,770.60Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 24,172.99Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 39,663.40 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,517.76 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,503.78 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 44,185.64 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,255.99New York – Nasdaq Composite: FLAT at 20,696.12Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1577 from $1.1606 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3375 from $1.3383Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.83 yen from 148.85 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.53 pence from 86.69 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $66.71 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.15 percent at $67.92 per barrelburs-bcp/rlp/jj

At a leather boot shop in the Indonesian city of Bandung, workers handle an order from Texas but owner Etnawati Melani says she fears such business will dwindle when Donald Trump’s tariffs hit exports.The United States is Indonesia’s biggest market for footwear exports and the American president announced Tuesday he would impose a 19 percent tariff on Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.The measure was lower than the initial extra 32 percent Trump threatened in April, and better than the 20 percent he imposed on Vietnam.But Etnawati, who had plans to expand her business to the United States, said her focus would now shift to other markets.”I have to develop a new strategy. Perhaps we have to diversify our markets, products, and so on. If it’s possible to enter (the US market), but… not in large quantities at first, that’s it,” she told AFP.”We can’t rely solely on the US. There’s still many markets in the world. We can still shift.”I plan to shift focus to Japan and Russian partners.”In return for a lower tariff, Indonesia pledged billions to increase energy, agriculture and merchandise imports from the United States and Trump said Jakarta had pledged to buy 50 Boeing jets. It remains unclear when the new tariff rate Trump announced will come into effect and reaction from Indonesian officials has been muted while President Prabowo Subianto travels home from a Europe visit.But chief negotiator Airlangga Hartarto, after meeting top US officials in Washington, said last week that the talks had been “positive”.Prabowo suggested after the initial tariff threat in April that Trump was maybe helping Jakarta by causing it to re-think its trade surplus with the world’s top economy.Data from the US Trade Representative office shows Washington’s goods trade deficit with Indonesia was $17.9 billion in 2024, up 5.4 percent from the year before.- ‘I’m worried’ -Indonesia is the third-largest footwear exporter to the US behind China and Vietnam, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.So any new tariff was likely to damage business — particularly in Bandung, where its shoe scene is well-known internationally for beautifully hand-crafted quality leather boots.Economists in Indonesia hit out at the deal with Washington, which Trump says would get tariff-free access in return.”This is not an agreement. It’s… a one-sided agreement,” Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) executive director Yose Rizal Damuri told AFP on Wednesday. But he predicted American consumers would likely bear the costs more than Indonesian businesses, with Trump’s tariffs sweeping across many countries.”The United States itself will be the one more affected. Prices will rise,” he said.Data on Tuesday showed US inflation spiked in June as the tolls kicked on.The shop’s more seasoned workers such as Jajang — who goes by one name — have already experienced the ups and downs of business, with the Covid-19 pandemic hitting sales, and seeing dozens of colleagues laid off and several dying.”I don’t know about that issue, the important thing is that I work here,” said the 53-year-old when asked about Trump’s levies.Others aware of the Trump threat to Indonesian exports were more concerned.One of Etnawati’s workers, Lili Suja’i, chipped away at a new set of boots for the three-pair Texan order — riding boots, medium casual boots and loafers — in a workshop adjacent to the store.He said he feared US customers would be put off by higher costs, with the shop his main income for his family of three.But the shoemakers are ready to fulfil any orders from Americans willing to pay the extra price.”I’m worried, yes, but before placing an order, we negotiate the shipping costs and prices with the customer,” the 38-year-old said.”So, we’ve already made a deal. If they’re OK with it, we’ll do it.”

Indonesia’s president on Wednesday hailed a “new era” of trade relations with the United States, after Donald Trump said he would slash tariffs faced by Southeast Asia’s biggest economy from 32 percent to 19 percent.The Trump administration has been under pressure to wrap up trade pacts after promising a flurry of deals, as countries sought talks with Washington to avoid the US president’s threatened tariffs ahead of an August 1 deadline.”I had a very good call with President Donald Trump. Together, we agreed and concluded to take trade relations between Indonesia and the United States into a new era of mutual benefit,” President Prabowo Subianto wrote on Instagram.Prabowo confirmed the new tariff rate after landing back in Indonesia from Europe.”We agreed… the tariffs to be lowered from 32 (percent) to 19 (percent),” he told reporters, adding he could visit Washington in September or October.Prabowo, a populist former general, posted pictures of himself laughing on the phone with Trump, but did not give any specifics about their trade deal.Prabowo’s presidential spokesperson confirmed the 19 percent rate and said it was struck after direct negotiations.”It is an extraordinary negotiation conducted directly by our president with President Donald Trump,” spokesperson Hasan Nasbi said, adding that the deal was “progress that cannot be called small”.Trump said the rate reduction was in return for significant purchase commitments from Jakarta, including a pledge to buy 50 Boeing jets.Indonesia has committed to spending billions to increase energy, agriculture and merchandise imports from the United States.Trump and Prabowo have developed a warm relationship since the US leader first clinched the presidency in 2016.Washington invited then-defence minister Prabowo to visit in 2020, lifting a de facto visa ban, which had been in effect over alleged crimes committed during the reign of Indonesia’s late dictator Suharto. – ‘Significant risk’ -After Trump announced the tariffs in April, Prabowo sent his top economic minister to Washington, and also suggested that Trump was maybe helping Jakarta by causing it to rethink its trade surplus with the world’s top economy.Data from the US Trade Representative office shows Washington’s goods trade deficit with Indonesia was $17.9 billion in 2024, up 5.4 percent from the year before.The deal struck with Indonesia would be slightly better than the 20 percent given to Southeast Asian neighbour Vietnam.Both Indonesia and Vietnam are key markets for the shipment of Chinese goods. Trump said the deal with Indonesia would include a penalty for goods transiting Indonesia from China.But experts said the Indonesia pact appeared one-sided.”The 19 percent tariff on Indonesian exports to the US, while the US can enjoy 0 percent, actually poses a significant risk to Indonesia’s trade balance,” said Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, executive director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies.”Do not be too reliant on exports to the US, because the result of the tariff negotiation is still detrimental to Indonesia’s position.”  

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Wednesday his firm was “doing our best” to serve China’s vast market for semiconductors after it secured permission from the United States to sell chips to the world’s second-largest economy.Nvidia last week became the first company to hit $4 trillion in market value — a new milestone in Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence will transform the global economy.The firm now has a market value greater than the GDP of France, Britain or India, a testament to investor confidence that AI will spur a new era of robotics and automation.But it has also found itself in the crosshairs of a brutal China-US battle for dominance in semiconductor production, vital to the manufacturing of smartphones, wind turbines, military equipment and other goods.In a rare concession, Nvidia said on Tuesday it will resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing restrictions that had halted exports.Huang is in the Chinese capital this week to attend the China International Supply Chain Expo, a forum for the country to boost its image as the global defender of free trade in contrast to the tariff chaos sparked by US President Donald Trump.- China ‘open and stable’ -He told reporters at that expo that top officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng, had assured him this week that China was “open and stable”.They discussed “China welcoming foreign companies to invest here and build businesses here and that China is open and stable”, he said.Huang also said he assured them his firm was keen to serve the massive Chinese market for microchips needed in everything from mobile phones to electric vehicles.”They want to know that Nvidia continues to invest here, that we are still doing our best to serve the market here,” he said.Huang also addressed the expo’s opening ceremony on Wednesday morning, when he hailed China’s role in pioneering AI.”China’s open-source AI is a catalyst for global progress, giving every country and industry a chance to join the AI revolution,” he said in reference to Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.Huang also praised China’s “super-fast” innovation, powered by its “researchers, developers and entrepreneurs”.- Opening up -The California-based company produces some of the world’s most advanced semiconductors but cannot ship its most cutting-edge chips to China due to concerns that Beijing could use them to enhance military capabilities.Nvidia developed the H20 — a less powerful version of its AI processing units — specifically for export to China. That plan stalled when the Trump administration tightened export licensing requirements in April.But Nvidia said this week Washington had told it that “licences will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon”.The announcement from Nvidia boosted tech firms around the world, with Wall Street’s Nasdaq exchange rising to another record high.Asked on Wednesday about whether he had sought to sway Trump on export controls before heading to China, Huang said: “I don’t think I changed his mind.””It’s my job to inform the president about what I know very well, which is the technology industry, artificial intelligence,” he told reporters.”This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for America to have AI technology leadership,” he said.Huang stressed that any discussion was between the Chinese and US governments and has “nothing to do with me”.The tightened US export curbs come as China’s economy wavers, with domestic consumers reluctant to spend and a prolonged property sector crisis weighing on growth.President Xi Jinping has called for greater self-reliance in the face of increasing external uncertainty.

Britain has lifted restrictions on Pakistani airlines, the UK embassy in Islamabad said on Wednesday, ending a five-year ban on the country’s beleaguered national carrier.Flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines was barred from flying to Britain in June 2020, a month after one of its aircraft plunged into a Karachi street, killing nearly 100 people.The disaster was attributed to human error by the pilots and air traffic control, and was followed by allegations that nearly a third of the licences for its pilots were fake or dubious.The UK Air Safety Committee had decided to lift the ban following aviation safety improvements in Pakistan, the British High Commission in Islamabad said, adding that decisions on de-listing states and air carriers were made “through an independent aviation safety process”.”Based on this independent and technically-driven process, it has decided to remove Pakistan and its air carriers from the (UK Air Safety) List,” it said in a statement.The move comes after European regulators lifted a four-year ban on PIA, with the Pakistani state-owned carrier resuming flights to Europe in January.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the lifting of the ban as “an important milestone for the country”.”The lifting of the ban on Pakistani flights by the UK is a source of relief for Pakistanis residing in Britain,” he added in a statement.PIA said it would resume services to Britain in “the shortest possible time” with the first flights operating from Islamabad to Manchester.Aviation minister Khawaja Asif acknowledged the ban had caused losses.”Confidence is being restored in Pakistani airlines once again,” he said at a news conference in Islamabad.PIA, which employs 7,000 people, has long been accused of being bloated and poorly run — hobbled by unpaid bills, a poor safety record and regulatory issues.Pakistan’s government has said it is committed to privatising the debt-ridden airline and has been scrambling to find a buyer.In 2024, a deal fell through after a potential buyer reportedly offered a fraction of the asking price.PIA came into being in 1955 when the government nationalised a loss-making commercial airline, and enjoyed rapid growth until the 1990s.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as they weighed Indonesia’s trade deal with Washington and a spike in US inflation that saw investors pare their bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.Donald Trump said a trade deal had been struck with Jakarta that will see Washington impose tariffs of 19 percent on its goods, below the 32 percent previously threatened. US shipments will not be taxed.The news means the US president has now announced deals with three countries but around two dozen are still in the pipeline just over two weeks ahead of Trump’s August 1 deadline.Some have suggested a healthy run-up on Wall Street over the past few weeks could be giving him confidence to keep the threats up.Trump also warned Tuesday that he could begin imposing tolls on imports of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals from August 1.While the trade deal news was welcomed, investor confidence was dented by data showing US inflation jumped to 2.7 percent last month, sharply up from 2.4 percent in May and more than forecast as Trump’s tariffs began to kick in.”Today’s report finally provided ample evidence that tariffs are being passed onto consumers,” said Economists at Bank of America. The data saw the probability of a Fed rate cut in September slip to just a little higher than 50 percent. The dollar briefly rallied past 149 yen for the first time since April before edging back later in the day.That came as Dallas Fed president Lorie Logan said “monetary policy needs to hold tight for a while longer to bring inflation sustainably back to target — and in this base case, we can sustain maximum employment even with modestly restrictive policy”.Still, she added in prepared remarks that: “It’s also possible that some combination of softer inflation and a weakening labour market will call for lower rates fairly soon.”Equity markets were mixed in Asia, with Hong Kong down along with Sydney, Seoul, Manila, Bangkok.Taipei, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai and Jakarta rose, while Tokyo and Shanghai were flat.London edged up even as data showed UK inflation jumped unexpectedly in June to hit an 18-month high. Paris and Frankfurt dipped.Tech firms extended gains after US titan Nvidia said it would resume exports of key chips to China following Washington’s pledge to remove licensing curbs.California-based Nvidia, one of the world’s most valuable companies, said Tuesday it would restart sales of its H20 artificial intelligence semiconductors to China, having been stopped by Trump’s tightened export licensing requirements in April.CEO Jensen Huang said they would be shipping “very soon”.The news boosted tech firms around the world, with Wall Street’s Nasdaq rising to another record higher, while the S&P 500 and Dow fell.While markets are generally on an uptrend of late, Vincenzo Vedda, global chief investment officer at DWS, warned of possible bumps in the road.”The short-term future could… hold a significant market correction, since prevailing risk factors have not suddenly disappeared after all,” he wrote in a commentary. “Trump’s Beautiful Big Bill will inflate the US budget deficit, and long-term interest rates are set to rise. Tariffs are not completely off the table, either driving or containing inflation — the latter if economic growth is dampened.”Substantial geopolitical risks are an additional factor.”- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 39,663.40 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,517.76 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,503.78 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,945.78Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1620 from $1.1606 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3392 from $1.3383Dollar/yen: UP at 148.88 yen from 148.85 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.75 pence from 86.69 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $66.71 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $68.76 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 1.0 percent at 44,023.29 (close)

Pakistanis are increasingly ditching the national grid in favour of solar power, prompting a boom in rooftop panels and spooking a government weighed down by billions of dollars of power sector debt.The quiet energy revolution has spread from wealthy neighbourhoods to middle- and lower-income households as customers look to escape soaring electricity bills and prolonged power cuts.Down a cramped alley in Pakistan’s megacity of Karachi, residents fighting the sweltering summer heat gather in Fareeda Saleem’s modest home for something they never experienced before — uninterrupted power.”Solar makes life easier, but it’s a hard choice for people like us,” she says of the installation cost.Saleem was cut from the grid last year for refusing to pay her bills in protest over enduring 18-hour power cuts.A widow and mother of two disabled children, she sold her jewellery — a prized possession for women in Pakistan — and borrowed money from relatives to buy two solar panels, a solar inverter and battery to store energy, for 180,000 rupees ($630).As temperatures pass 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), children duck under Saleem’s door and gather around the breeze of her fan.Mounted on poles above homes, solar panels have become a common sight across the country of 240 million people, with the installation cost typically recovered within two to five years.Making up less than two percent of the energy mix in 2020, solar power reached 10.3 percent in 2024, according to the global energy think tank Ember.But in a remarkable acceleration, it more than doubled to 24 percent in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time.It has edged past gas, coal and nuclear electricity sources, as well as hydropower which has seen hundreds of millions of dollars of investment over the past decades.As a result, Pakistan has unexpectedly surged towards its target of renewable energy, making up 60 percent of its energy mix by 2030.Dave Jones, chief analyst at Ember, told AFP that Pakistan was “a leader in rooftop solar”.- ‘The great Solar rush’ -Soaring fuel costs globally, coupled with demands from the International Monetary Fund to slash government subsidies, led successive administrations to repeatedly hike electricity costs.Prices have fluctuated since 2022 but peaked at a 155-percent increase and power bills sometimes outweigh the cost of rent.”The great solar rush is not the result of any government’s policy push,” Muhammad Basit Ghauri, an energy transition expert at Renewables First, told AFP.”Residents have taken the decision out of clear frustration over our classical power system, which is essentially based on a lot of inefficiencies.”Pakistan sources most of its solar equipment from neighbouring China, where prices have dropped sharply, largely driven by overproduction and tech advancements.But the fall in national grid consumers has crept up on an unprepared government burdened by $8 billion of power sector debt, analysts say.Pakistan depends heavily on costly gas imports which it sells at a loss to national energy providers.It is also tied into lengthy contracts with independent power producers, including some owned by China, for which it pays a fixed amount regardless of actual demand.A government report in March said the solar power increase has created a “disproportionate financial burden onto grid consumers, contributing to higher electricity tariffs and undermining the sustainability of the energy sector”.Electricity sales dropped 2.8 percent year-on-year in June, marking a second consecutive year of decline.Last month, the government imposed a new 10-percent tax on all imported solar, while the energy ministry has proposed slashing the rate at which it buys excess solar energy from consumers.- ‘Disconnected from the public -“The household solar boom was a response to a crisis, not the cause of it,” said analyst Jones, warning of “substantial problems for the grid” including a surge during evenings when solar users who cannot store energy return to traditional power.The national grid is losing paying customers like businessman Arsalan Arif.A third of his income was spent on electricity bills at his Karachi home until he bought a 10-kilowatt solar panel for around 1.4 million rupees (around $4,900).”Before, I didn’t follow a timetable. I was always disrupted by the power outages,” he told AFP.Now he has “freedom and certainty” to continue his catering business.In the eastern city of Sialkot, safety wear manufacturer Hammad Noor switched to solar power in 2023, calling it his “best business decision”, breaking even in 18 months and now saving 1 million rupees every month.The cost of converting Noor’s second factory has now risen by nearly 1.5 million rupees under the new government tax.”The tax imposed is unfair and gives an advantage to big businesses over smaller ones,” he said.”Policymakers seem completely disconnected from the public and business community.”