President Donald Trump expressed frustration with U.S.-Japan trade negotiations
This occurred on Monday as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that countries could be notified of sharply higher tariffs as a July 9 deadline approaches despite good-faith negotiations. Trump wrote in a social media post that Japan's reluctance to import American-grown rice was a sign that countries have become "spoiled with respect to the United States of America." "I have great respect for Japan, they won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "We'll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come." Trump said last week that his administration would send letters to a number of countries notifying them of their higher tariff rates before July 9, when tariff rates are scheduled to revert from a temporary 10% level to his suspended rates of 11% to 50% announced on April 2. Trump's Monday complaint about U.S.-Japan rice trade follows his comments broadcast on Sunday that Japan engages in "unfair" autos trade with the U.S. Source: Reuters, FT
FERRARI LAUNCHES NEW ‘AMALFI’ COUPE BEFORE GOING FULL ELECTRIC
Ferrari just dropped the Amalfi, a sharp new V8 coupe built to replace the Roma and keep the engine noise alive a little longer. It’s got a 3.85L eight-cylinder engine and slides into Ferrari’s entry segment, though nothing about it screams budget. This isn’t just a last hurrah for gas lovers either. It follows the hybrid 296 Speciale, so Ferrari’s clearly hedging its bets. Their first fully electric model is still coming, but for now, the Amalfi is here to make sure your neighbors still hear you arrive. Source: Reuters thru Mario Nawfal on X
Who remembers the stock market "crash" of 2025?
Source: @brewmarkets
About 85% of SP500 companies are now in buyback blackout, taking away some of the important supportive flows ahead of Q2 earnings season.
Source: Markets & Mayhem, GS
The swissie has appreciated nearly 50% over the last 20 years.
A stronger CHF poses significant challenges for Swiss firms, particularly exporters, as it erodes their pricing power on the global stage. This could pressure corporate margins and economic growth in Switzerland. Note that the August 2011 high at 1.3125 is not too far away. What will the SNB do in case of breakout? Heavy use of its balance sheet (at the risk of being pointed out by Trump as a currency manipulator) and/or negative interest rates?
Top 10 largest central banks in the world
The World Rnking @worldranking_ on X
Robinhood launches layer-2 blockchain for stock trading in Europe
Robinhood is offering tokenized US stocks and ETFs on the Arbitrum blockchain to users in Europe. Robinhood’s push into real-world assets (RWAs) is gaining momentum, with the digital brokerage launching a tokenization-focused layer-2 blockchain and introducing stock token trading for users in the European Union. Built on Arbitrum, the new layer-2 network will enable the issuance of over 200 US stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) tokens, giving European investors access to US assets, Robinhood announced on Monday. Robinhood’s stock tokens will have zero commissions and be available for trading 24 hours a day, five days a week.
#hapiness
Source: Art of Thinking @Art0fThinking
