The Overnight News Roundup - July 16
Your Daily Edge: Overnight Headlines for Traders, Analysts, and Market Observers
PiQ and Zack Eiseman provide you with a consolidated roundup of the overnight news that matters most to markets.
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TRADE:
US President Trump said letters notifying smaller countries of their U.S. tariff rates would go out soon, adding that his administration would likely set a tariff of "a little over 10%" for those countries. (RTRS)
Trump predicted that he could strike “two or three” trade deals with countries before implementing his so-called reciprocal tariffs before they are implemented on Aug. 1, saying that an agreement with India was among the most likely. (BBG)
Trump said he was likely to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals as soon as the end of the month and that levies on semiconductors could come soon as well, suggesting that those import taxes could hit alongside broad “reciprocal” rates set for implementation on Aug. 1. (BBG)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang anticipates getting the first batch of US licenses to export H20 AI chips to China soon. While Washington hasn’t yet granted export permissions, officials assured Nvidia they will move rapidly to do so, Huang told reporters in Beijing. (BBG)
US Commerce Secretary Lutnick says easing of Nvidia’s AI chip exports linked to China deal. (Newswires)
Trump said that a trade agreement with Vietnam was nearly complete. Trump told reporters at that he could release details of the Vietnam trade agreement, but did not think it was necessary. (RTRS)
USTR Greer said he had launched an investigation into Brazil's "unfair" trading practices, a week after Trump threatened a 50% tariff on imports from Latin America's largest economy. (RTRS)
The EU has drawn up political “safeguards” to win Paris’s backing for its landmark trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of South American economies, with eyes on a final agreement in December. (FT)
MACRO:
Kevin Hassett, one of President Donald Trump’s longest-serving economic aides, is the early frontrunner to replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chief next year, according to Bloomberg sources. (BBG)
Trump said that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent could be a candidate to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, but suggested that might not happen, "He's an option, and he's very good. Well, he's not, because I like the job he's doing, right?" Trump told reporters.(RTRS)
Fed's Logan said the bank will probably need to leave rates where they are for a while longer to ensure inflation stays low in the face of upward pressure from the Trump administration's tariffs. It's also possible, she said, "that some combination of softer inflation and a weakening labor market will call for lower rates fairly soon". (RTRS)
Trump stepped in to broker an agreement among Republican lawmakers after a snag cast doubt on the fate of long-awaited cryptocurrency legislation that would mark a major victory for the digital assets sector. (RTRS)
President Trump is expected to sign an executive order in the coming days designed to help make private-market investments more available to U.S. retirement plans, according to WSJ sources. (WSJ)
Gold may move sideways with some possible upside—increasing an additional 0%-5% in 2H, the World Gold Council says in its midyear outlook. (WSJ)
Silver will extend a rally beyond $40 an ounce in the coming months on tightening physical supplies and growing investment demand, according to Citigroup Inc., which reiterated a more cautious stance on gold. (BBG)
Global oil inventories have swollen at a rapid clip in recent months, but given the bulk of the increase has been in the Asia-Pacific, prices have been able to hold their ground for now, according to Morgan Stanley. (BBG)
The BoJ should hold off raising rates until the economy achieves a stronger recovery, Sohei Kamiya, head of the small opposition party Sanseito said ahead of an upper house election, warning against a premature hike in borrowing costs. (RTRS)
Japanese manufacturers' business confidence improved slightly in July and is expected to strengthen further in the coming months despite ongoing concerns about U.S. tariffs, thanks to recovery in the semiconductor sector, a Reuters Tankan poll showed. (RTRS)
China is accelerating industrial modernisation, which will support global industry and supply chains, Vice Premier He Lifeng said in an opening address at a supply chain expo in Beijing on Wednesday. The country is also increasing efforts to boost consumption, he said. (RTRS)
UK inflation unexpectedly rose to its highest level since January 2024 as food prices jumped, keeping some pressure on the Bank of England as it looks to continue dialing down interest rates. (BBG)
One quarter of British households are late paying energy bills. (FT)
BoE Governor Bailey said the IMF had a key role to play in tackling the buildup of risky imbalances in the world economy, many of them coming from the United States and China. (RTRS)
Australian regulators will look into a potential framework for the distribution of physical money across the country as increasing use of online and card payments add to complexities of keeping cash in circulation. (BBG)
Hong Kong authorities intervened for the fifth time in about three weeks to prevent the city’s currency from weakening beyond its official trading band. (BBG)
South Korea is seeking to redirect household wealth concentrated in real estate into equities, according to a lawmaker spearheading a committee tasked with supercharging the nation’s stock market. (BBG)
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GEOPOLITICAL:
The US is planning to build a boat maintenance facility at a Philippine naval detachment near the disputed South China Sea. (BBG)
EQUITIES:
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, speaking in Beijing, praised China’s generative AI models, “Models like DeepSeek, Alibaba, Tencent, MiniMax, and Baidu Ernie bot are world class, developed here and shared openly [and] have spurred AI developments worldwide,” Huang said. (CNBC)
ASML reported second-quarter earnings that beat estimates with the its key net bookings figure ahead of consensus. However, it narrowed its financial targets for the year amid increasing uncertainty from President Trump’s tariffs, and warned that it couldn’t guarantee 2026 would be a growth year. (CNBC/WSJ)
Citigroup plans to raise its investment banking headcount in Japan by 10% to 15% over the next year and make new hires in Australia, as part of its strategy to bolster growth in the Asia Pacific, its top regional banker said. (RTRS)
Omnicom reported a lower profit for the second quarter, citing increased costs from its acquisition of rival Interpublic Group and severance actions stemming from efficiency initiatives. (WSJ)
Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has amassed a sizable position in payments services company Global Payments Inc., according to Bloomberg sources. (BBG)
Mastercard is joining the competition for big spenders, announcing a higher-yet tier of rewards card designed to help banks challenge offerings from Chase, American Express and Capital One, among others. (BBG)
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. created an insurance-focused trading team as the Wall Street bank seeks to take advantage of the sector’s rapidly changing landscape. (BBG)
Masayoshi Son and Sam Altman See No End to AI Demand and Scaling. (BBG)
Huawei Technologies took the top spot in China’s smartphone market for the first time in more than four years, according to IDC data, a comeback fueled by new designs and software that appealed to users in a slowing market. (BBG)
MiniMax has confidentially filed for an IPO in Hong Kong, according to WSJ sources, signaling the onset of a race among China’s generative AI startups to tap public markets. (WSJ)
China Vanke is seeking to extend some of its domestic bank loans by as much as 10 years, according to Bloomberg sources, a move that could help the state-backed developer reduce liquidity risks. (BBG)
BMW Group is eyeing an up to 3.5 billion Chinese yuan ($487.95 million) panda bond, according to a term sheet. (RTRS)
Stellantis said it would discontinue its hydrogen fuel cell technology development programme and cancel the planned launch of hydrogen vehicles. (RTRS)
Richemont said that its quarterly sales rose 6%, as wealthy shoppers continued to buy jewelry from its Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels labels. (RTRS)
Rio Tinto reported the highest second-quarter output from its Australian iron-ore mines since 2018, while flagging around $300 million of gross costs from U.S. tariffs on its Canadian aluminum exports. (WSJ)
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