Here's what my colleague, market strategist Mike "Willo" Wilson says happened while we were sleeping… It felt like Trump Tuesday as he dominated the headlines more than ever. His $3.3 trillion tax and spending cut bill narrowly passed the Senate. He said he is not considering delaying his July 9 deadline for higher tariffs to resume and renewed his threat to cut off talks with several nations, including Japan who he singled out over rice and autos. The Dow Jones index ended higher after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that the US central bank probably would have cut rates further this year in the absence of Trump's expanded use of tariffs. The dollar waffled along with Aussie and kiwi to finish little changed. Australia has building approvals and retail sales data this morning while New Zealand has home values later in the day. ASX futures point to a positive opening in local stocks. Trump's tax bill is facing fresh pressure in Congress. Several Republicans in the House are vowing to oppose the bill, which has returned after tweaks in the Senate, putting Trump's self-imposed July 4 deadline at risk. Tariffs are impacting US interest-rate cuts. Fed chair Powell repeated that the US central bank would probably have reduced borrowing costs further this year if Washington had not expanded use of tariffs. A political crisis in Thailand is deepening. The country's Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office until it rules on a petition seeking her permanent removal over alleged ethical misconduct. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister. Photographer: Valeria Mongelli/Bloomberg Japan is playing it cool on interest rates. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has ramped up his message that he is going to wait for more data before making a call on the next monetary policy decision. China is cracking down on aggressive price competition. Officials at a high-level economic meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping said they would target "disorderly" low-price competition in a bid to spur domestic demand. |
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