Baltic
Dry Index. 1353 +53
Brent Crude 67.08
Spot Gold 3325 US 2 Year Yield 3.77 -0.04
US Federal Debt. 36.767 trillion!!!
“Fear is a stronger emotion that hope, which is why bear markets are always swifter than bull markets.”
Wall Street Maxim.
In increasing desperation at the tariff war chaos on Wall Street, has Team Trump resorted to giving inside information to Wall Street’s big wigs?
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
Still rigging the US stock casinos does nothing for the US real economy, that increasingly looks like heading into stagflation and 1930s 2.0.
From auto sales to real estate, the US economy under President Trump, seems to be seizing up. More in the weekend LIR.
Asia-Pacific markets climb after Wall Street gains
as investors assess trade climate
Updated Fri, Apr 25 2025 11:19 PM EDT
Asia-Pacific markets rose after Wall
Street gained for a third straight day as tech stocks rallied, with investors
assessing the trade climate as the U.S. tones down tariff rhetoric.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.91% and
the Topix added 0.88%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.03% while
the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.6% as South Korea reportedly
inches closer to striking a trade deal with the U.S.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index opened 0.75%
higher while mainland China’s CSI 300 inched up 0.3%.
Australian markets are closed for a
holiday.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 were
0.3% higher, while Nasdaq-100
futures gained 0.4%. Futures
tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around the flatline.
Overnight stateside, the three major
averages closed higher thanks to strong gains in megacap tech names, as
investors continued to look for signs of progress on the global trade front.
The S&P 500 ended up 2.03% at
5,484.77, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq
Composite added 2.74% to finish at 17,166.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged
the other two indexes, weighed down by a 6.6% drop in IBM, but
still added 486.83 points, or 1.23%, at 40,093.40.
Shares of Nvidia, Meta, Amazon, Tesla and Microsoft all closed higher,
propelling the major averages to their third day of gains in a row
“Investors are becoming more comfortable
with the uncertainties of tariffs as earnings roll in,” said Louis Navellier,
chairman and founder of Navellier & Associates. “The market seems to be
positioning itself for a near-term reduction in the current sky-high China
tariffs,” he added.
China may suspend its 125% tariffs on some
U.S. goods: Bloomberg
China is mulling the suspension of its
125% tariff on certain U.S. goods, Bloomberg reported citing sources familiar with the
matter.
The government is considering scrapping
the extra duties on items including medical equipment and industrial chemicals
such as ethane. Authorities are also reportedly debating scrapping the tariff
on aircraft leases.
The offshore yuan strengthened slightly to
7.284 against the greenback.
Asia-Pacific
markets live: Tokyo CPI, gold, U.S.-China
Fox Reporter Says the Trump White House Is Giving
Wall Street Executives Inside Info on Tariff Negotiations
Apr 24th, 2025, 3:35 pm
Fox Business senior correspondent Charles
Gasparino reported on Thursday that President Donald
Trump’s administration is privately discussing trade tariff deals with
Wall Street executives, sharing insights on their current status — information
that wasn’t made public otherwise.
Citing “senior Wall Street execs with ties
to the White House,” Gasparino wrote on X that people within Trump’s
administration have held private discussions with business leaders about an
“agreement in principle with India.” He further reported that the deal could be
used as a template for other trade deals the administration is working on with
Japan and other countries. Markets have taken sharp hits amid uncertainty
surrounding Trump’s tariffs and trade deals.
“People inside the Trump White House are
alerting Wall Street execs they are nearing an agreement in principle on trade
with India, according to my sources who are senior Wall Street execs w ties to
the White House,” Gasparino reported. “No details on timing, and recall that we
have been here before with Japan only to have the goal posts changed, and terms
renegotiated. But if this holds, the India deal being envisioned will include
agreed upon goals, and issues that have been addressed and resolved as well as
a deadline for the fully-baked trade pact, my sources say.”
The reporter added that Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent’s press team did not comment, but also
did not deny the story.
Gasparino pushed back on Bloomberg’s Joe
Weisenthal, arguing that the biggest news from the “scoop” was the
White House being in contact with Wall Street.
“If this is true, isn’t the big story that
The White House gives Wall Street executives early heads up on trade
negotiations, rather than the existence of the deals themselves?” he asked.
More
Trump WH Giving Wall Street Insider Info On Trade Deals
China says there are no negotiations with the US over tariffs
24 April 2025
China has denied US President Donald
Trump’s assertion that the two sides were involved in active negotiations over
tariffs, saying that any suggestion of progress in this matter was as
groundless as “trying to catch the wind”.
China’s comments come after Mr Trump said
that the final tariff rate on China’s exports would come down “substantially”
from the current 145%.
Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong
said: “China’s position is consistent and we are open to consultations and
dialogues, but any form of consultations and negotiations must be conducted on
the basis of mutual respect and in an equal manner.
“Any claims about the progress of China-US
trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no
factual basis.”
Mr Trump had told reporters earlier in the
week that “everything’s active” when asked if he was engaging with China,
although his Treasury Secretary had said there were no formal negotiations.
Mr Trump placed tariffs of 145% on imports
from China, while China hit back with 125% tariffs on US products.
While Mr Trump has given other countries a
90-day pause on the tariffs, as their leaders pledged to negotiate with the US,
China remained the exception.
Instead, Beijing raised its own tariffs
and deployed other economic measures in response, while vowing to “fight to the
end”.
For example, China restricted exports of
rare earth minerals and raised multiple cases against the US at the World Trade
Organisation.
China also made it clear that talks should
involve the cancellation of all tariffs it currently faces.
“The unilateral tariff increase measures
were initiated by the United States. If the United States really wants to solve
the problem, it should face up to the rational voices of the international
community and all parties at home, completely cancel all unilateral tariff
measures against China, and find ways to resolve differences through equal
dialogue,” Mr He said.
Despite the economic measures levelled
against China, Mr Trump said that he would be “very nice” and not play hardball
with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We’re going to live together very happily
and ideally work together,” Mr Trump said.
China says there
are no negotiations with the US over tariffs
Trump asserts trade talks with China are underway
after Beijing denies any ongoing negotiations
Published Thu, Apr 24 2025 3:43 AM EDT
BEIJING — U.S. President Donald Trump on
Thursday refuted China’s claims that there were no ongoing trade discussions
between Beijing and Washington.
“They had a meeting this morning ... It
doesn’t matter who ‘they’ is. We may reveal it later, but they had meetings
this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China,” Trump told
reporters.
The statement followed China’s denial of
any talks with the U.S. and calls for abolishing “unilateral” tariff measures
for resolving trade issues.
“At present there are absolutely no
negotiations on the economy and trade between China and the U.S.,” Ministry of
Commerce spokesperson He Yadong told reporters in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.
He added that “all sayings” regarding progress on bilateral talks should be
dismissed.
“If the U.S. really wants to resolve the
problem ... it should cancel all the unilateral measures on China,” He said.
Trump and Treasury Secretary
Scott Bessent this week indicated that there could
be an easing in tensions with China. The White House earlier this
month added 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, to which Beijing responded with
duties of its own and increased restrictions on critical minerals exports to
the U.S.
The Commerce Ministry’s comments echoed
those of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, who said on Thursday
afternoon that there were no ongoing talks, according to state media.
Both spokespersons held to the official
line that China would be willing to talk to the U.S. subject to Beijing being
treated as an equal.
“China definitely wants to see the trade
war deescalate, as it hurts both economies,” said Yue Su, principal
economist, China, at The Economist Intelligence Unit. “However, due to the
inconsistency of Trump’s policies and the lack of clarity around what he
actually wants, China’s strategy has shifted from focusing on ‘what you need’
to ‘what I need.’ Their request for the U.S. to cancel ‘unilateral’ tariffs
reflects that shift.”
More
Trump
asserts trade talks with China are underway after Beijing denies any ongoing
negotiations
'So much damage': British billionaire hammers
Trump as 'very difficult for business'
24 April 2025
One prominent European business leader
recently issued a scathing critique of President Donald Trump and his economic
agenda as the 100th day of his second term approaches.
The
New York Times reported Wednesday that Richard Branson — the
billionaire founder of Virgin Atlantic — has been vocal in his opposition to
Trump's trade policies and his overall handling of the economy since his return
to the White House. Branson called Trump's sweeping tariffs "erratic,"
and worried that they were "doing so much damage around the world."
"The unpredictability is just awful
for everybody around the world,” Branson said. “It’s just erratic,
unpredictable, which is very, very difficult for business to deal with.”
"An unsettled world is not good for
anybody," he continued. "People delay decisions on investment and
spending."
Branson's remarks are a sharp contrast to
the friendlier attitude other top CEOs have had toward the Trump
administration, like Meta's Jeff Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Tesla and
SpaceX's Elon Musk, among many others. Though a March gathering of CEOs at Yale
University was also reportedly
cold to Trump —
especially regarding his approach to international trade.
Financial markets have been on a
rollercoaster for most of April, following Trump's "Liberation Day"
tariffs he imposed on most of the world. Following the immense shock to the
S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Trump promised to
postpone most of the tariffs for 90 days, though he ratcheted up trade duties
on Chinese imports. Branson said that the latest round of tariffs had
"financially done a lot of harm" and reminded reporters that markets
were "on the verge of a complete meltdown two weeks ago." He also
opined that the tariffs were primarily favored by those in Trump's inner circle
while reviled by the American public.
'So much damage':
British billionaire hammers Trump as 'very difficult for business'
A 'madman' penalty:
Are Trump's actions eroding U.S. economic power?
Stocks, bonds,
the dollar: Something strange is happening in the markets
CBC News · Posted: Apr 24, 2025
4:00 AM EDT
Here's some candid, non-academic language
to describe an unusual pattern in American markets, brought to you by a
monetary-policy historian.
Stocks? Down. The U.S. dollar? Same.
Demand for U.S. bonds? Also sinking. This isn't supposed to happen — not all
three at once.
But Barry Eichengreen sees a historic
reaction where there's really one common theme: a collapse in faith in the
United States.
"Global investors have concluded that
there is a madman in the White House, and that the lunatics have gained control
of the asylum," said Eichengreen, a historian at the University of
California at Berkeley who studies currencies and central banks.
"The damage is clearly beyond
repair."
Washington is trying to glue back the
pieces of a humpty-dumpty month — when U.S. President Donald Trump introduced
the highest tariffs in over a century, then walked some back, then, unhappy
with interest rates, threatened to fire the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve,
before ruling it out, even as White House staff were reportedly studying
replacement options.
Recent history has shown that
political interference in the central bank, and interest rates, can
have a catastrophic
effect on
inflation.
It's just not supposed to happen in the
United States of America — the world's largest economy; holder of the world's
most important currency, a currency that supports the safest investment on
Earth: U.S. debt bonds.
In recent weeks, investors fleeing the
stock market did not do what they normally do: Leap into the safe embrace of
the U.S. dollar and U.S. government debt.
Some analysts compared the combination of
events to what you'd normally see in a developing economy. Risky assets, safe
assets and the currency, all struggling at the same time.
"The United States was more than just
a nation. It's a brand. It's a universal brand — whether it's our culture, our
financial strength, our military strength," said Ken Griffin, a Republican
mega-donor and the CEO of Citadel, to the World Economy Summit in Washington on
Wednesday.
"And we're eroding that brand right
now.… We put that brand at risk," he said.
More
A 'madman'
penalty: Are Trump's actions eroding U.S. economic power? | CBC News
In other news, welcome to Labour’s new doom-loop
Britain.
Exclusive: Goldman Sachs International boss joins
non-dom exodus
Thursday 24 April 2025 6:00
am |: Wednesday 23 April 2025 6:49 pm
Richard Gnodde, the investment banking
juggernaut’s vice chairman, is moving to Milan to avoid changes the Chancellor
made to the non-dom regime and foreign-held trusts in last October’s Budget,
two people familiar with the matter have said.
The South African banker’s decision to
relocate puts him among a growing wave of high-profile UK residents quitting
Britain in favour of more tax-friendly jurisdictions.
Last month, it emerged that
multi-billionaire steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal was planning to move the United
Arab Emirates,
having spent nearly 30 years as a resident in London and been a major donor
Tony Blair’s Labour Party.
And Aston Villa’s billionaire co-owner
Nassef Sawiris has also moved to Italy, attributing his
departure to the “10 years of incompetence” by the former Conservative
government,
rather than recent changes made by the incumbent Labour party.
But Goldman Sachs’ Gnodde is the first
example of a serving senior banker moving to work in a different country,
sparking fears the exodus is spreading to some of the City’s most storied
institutions.
Italy has become
one of the most popular destinations for former non-doms seeking to relocate in
the face of the government crackdown. Since 2017 the country has had a ‘golden
visa’ regime in place that allows global investors to be tax resident for a
flat fee currently levied at €200,000.
Leslie Macleod-Miller, chief executive of
the non-dom lobby group, Foreign Investors for Britain, said Gnodde’s decision
to move Italy proved the UK needed to adopt its own equivalent of the tax
wrapper. He told City AM: “We are calling on the
government to create an internationally competitive environment that attracts
and retains top global talent and investment.
In her maiden
Budget, Rachel Reeves went ahead with a previously announced promise to abolish
the non-domicile status, a 200-year-old tax regime that allowed wealthy
foreigners to be taxed only on UK-based income and assets.
As part of the same fiscal crackdown,
which came into force at the start of this month, Reeves also tightened up
rules around foreign trusts.
Under the changes, non-UK trusts owned by
former non-doms like Mittal and Gnodde would be treated the same as a UK
citizen in the eyes of the Exchequer, and be liable for levies like inheritance
tax.
More
Exclusive: Goldman
Sachs International boss joins non-dom exodus
Dire economy needs lifesaving surgery, before it’s
too late
Thursday 24 April 2025 6:00
am | Wednesday 23 April 2025 4:18 pm
When Rachel Reeves became Chancellor last
summer, the biggest issue facing her was the existence (disputed by the Tories)
of a £22bn black hole
in the public finances.
The political pain of cutting the winter
fuel allowance was deemed necessary to balance the books and give the new
government a clean sheet of paper on which to set out its agenda for economic
growth. That, at least, was the theory.
Since then, things have gone from bad to
worse for the Chancellor, and much of the mess is of her own making.
The run-up to the Budget was characterised
by dire warnings of tough choices and pain ahead, and businesses took note;
pausing investment and delaying decisions. Growth was being choked off long
before Reeves delivered last October’s Budget, which contained an eye-watering
amount of new taxes and additional costs imposed on employers up and down the
country.
Growth flatlined as 2024 came to an end
and a new optimistic, pro-growth tone of voice from ministers in the new year
barely had time to register before Donald Trump set about upending global
trade, playing havoc with markets, supply chains and inflation.
As the Chancellor touches down in
Washington for the IMF’s summit of finance ministers, she finds herself in a
precarious and unenviable position, with economic growth now forecast to
evaporate this year,
something the IMF attributes more to UK policy decisions than anything
unleashed by Trump.
The UK’s public
finances are in a dangerously weak position – buckling under the
combination of low growth, high inflation, depressed business confidence (yesterday’s
PMI numbers were truly grim) and a set of fiscal rules from which Starmer cannot
possibly extricate himself without firing a Chancellor whose credibility was
staked on adhering to those “ironclad” rules.
Public borrowing is running way ahead of
forecasts and many economists and analysts now fully expect another tax-raising
budget later this year, with VAT in the crosshairs and possibly even income
tax.
Only a new Chancellor could unveil such a
package, given how many times the current one has ruled out doing so, but tax
increases won’t revive the economy.
Instead, they would lead to a catastrophic
doom-loop of low growth and higher borrowing. We need more than a change of
Chancellor; we need an urgent change of course and a genuinely pro-growth
policy intervention that recognises the urgency of the situation.
Dire economy needs
lifesaving surgery, before it's too late
“Bubbles
are brutal… they force us to decide to either “look like an idiot before the
crash, or look like an idiot after it”.
John
Hussman
Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession
Watch.
Given
our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians,
inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
Housing
market stalls as homeowners struggle to sell: ‘We’re really bleeding’
The
pace of home sales was the slowest for the month of March since 2009, during
the depths of the global financial crisis
Last
Updated: April 24, 2025 at 11:24 a.m. ET
----In
stark contrast to the quick timeframe for buying his new house, selling his
existing house in Prescott Valley, about 90 miles outside of Phoenix, has been
an expensive slog. “We’re hoping we made the right decision” in buying the
Phoenix house, he told MarketWatch. “But right now having two mortgages and two
utility bills, two homeowners association [fees] … we’re really bleeding.”
The
two home sellers’ experiences reflect the unusually slow pace of what is
typically a busy season for the real-estate industry.
Sales
of existing homes fell in March to a six-month low as spooked buyers pulled out of the market in the face of uncertainty about
the economy and jobs.
Existing-home
sales fell broadly by 5.9% in March, from February, to a 4.02 million pace.
That’s the number of homes that would be sold over an entire year if sales took
place at the same rate every month as they did in March. The numbers are
seasonally adjusted.
The
annualized pace of sales is the slowest since September 2024, and the decline
in sales was the biggest one-month drop since November 2022. The sales pace was
also the slowest for the month of March since 2009, during the global financial
crisis.
“I
was hoping that we would begin to see some meaningful recovery [in sales] this
year. So far, it’s not happening,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR,
said in a press call.
Home
sales in March were down 2.4% versus the same month a year ago.
The
pace of sales fell short of the expectations of economists surveyed by Dow
Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal. They had forecast the pace of home
sales to fall to 4.13 million in March.
Home
prices set a record in March
House
hunters continue to be dogged by affordability challenges. The median price for
an existing home in March was $403,700, the NAR said, which is an all-time high
for that month. Prices increased by 2.7% nationally.
Notably,
the median sales price of an existing home was almost the same as that of a
newly built home. In March, the median new-home price was $403,600. This was
“unusual,” the NAR’s Yun said, because the average new home is usually priced
higher than the average existing home.
Home
prices in March jumped the most in the Northeast, by 7.7%. The region is
typically a more supply-constrained market. The median price of an existing
home in the Northeast was $468,000.
More
Housing
market stalls as homeowners struggle to sell: ‘We’re really bleeding’ -
MarketWatch
Intel
to cut over 20% of workforce, Bloomberg News reports
23
April 2025
(Reuters)
-Intel is set to unveil plans this week to slash more than 20% of its
workforce, in a move to streamline operations and reduce bureaucratic
inefficiencies, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing a person familiar
with the matter.
The
layoffs are part of a broader strategy to refocus on an engineering-driven
culture, the report said.
Intel
did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The
layoffs mark the first major move under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over last
month to revive the struggling Silicon Valley chipmaker after years of
challenges.
Last
month, Reuters reported that Tan was considering significant changes to its
chip manufacturing methods and artificial intelligence strategies.
The
new trajectory involved restructuring Intel's AI strategy and implementing
staff cuts to address what Tan described as a slow-moving and bloated middle
management layer. Shortly after his appointment, he told employees in a town
hall that the company will have to make "tough decisions."
Last
week, Reuters reported that Tan was restructuring the company by flattening its
leadership team, with key chip groups now reporting directly to him.
The
planned layoffs follow a significant reduction in workforce last August, when
Intel said it planned to cut 15% of its jobs, or approximately 15,000
positions.
The
job cuts in 2024, part of a $10 billion cost-reduction plan aimed for this
year, were driven by high costs, shrinking margins in Intel's core PC and data
center segments, and an expensive pivot to AI chips - an area where Intel has
trailed competitors such as Nvidia.
The
Santa Clara, California-based company had 108,900 employees at the end of 2024,
according to a filing.
The
chipmaker is scheduled to report its first-quarter results on Thursday.
Intel to cut over
20% of workforce, Bloomberg News reports
Fewer
Americans are planning summer vacations. Travel costs aren’t the top reason
Published
Thu, Apr 24 2025 3:51 AM EDT
Fewer
Americans are planning to travel this summer, according to a survey by the
consumer finance company Bankrate.
Some
46% of respondents said they are planning a summer vacation this year — down
from 53% in 2024. Of those who don’t intend to travel, nearly two-thirds (65%)
said money was the main reason.
However,
it’s not just travel costs that are keeping people from planning trips — more
respondents said the cost of everyday life (68%) was a bigger issue than
vacation expenses (64%).
Additionally,
the number of those who said they were “not sure” about their summer vacation
plans increased — from 18% in 2024 to 23% in 2025.
Recent
tariffs and fears of a possible recession are causing more travelers to take a
wait-and-see approach to summer holidays, said Ted Rossman, a senior industry
analyst at Bankrate.
“We’re
seeing more layoffs and the potential for higher prices, which has many people
on edge,” he told CNBC Travel, citing a drop in
consumer sentiment in recent weeks.
However,
the number of people who said they weren’t planning a summer trip also fell —
from 29% in 2024 to 24% in 2025. The survey showed that those planning to use
debt to finance their summer holidays decreased from 36% to 29% too.
The
survey of 2,238 adults was conducted in mid-March.
More
Planning a summer
vacation: Fewer planning trips because of costs
Major
US airline to cut flights this year amid weak demand
April
24, 2025
©Image
uploaded from CC Composite Editor ( id : 187140 )
Another
airline is dialing back its US flight schedule. Southwest Airlines, the
nation’s most popular carrier in 2024, said it’s reducing domestic flight
capacity for the second half of the year, citing weak demand. The airline
didn't initially say how many seats are going away, but the move mirrors
similar pullbacks from other major players. Its also the latest sweeping change
for the giant company.
For
consumers, the industry-wide cuts could throw holiday vacation plans into
turbulence: fewer domestic flights and capacity could lead to higher prices as
tickets become more competitive. The cuts arrive as airlines report a slowdown
in domestic bookings, even as international travel soars. High-spending
travelers are still flocking to overseas destinations, while budget-conscious
fliers are pulling back stateside.
Southwest
is feeling the strain. The airline reported a $149 million loss in the first
quarter of 2025 and yanked its financial forecast for the rest of the year,
pointing to uncertain economic conditions and the threat of a recession.
'Looking ahead, we are confident in the initiatives we have outlined and the
value we expect them to produce,' Bob Jordan, the company's CEO, said.
Southwest
is particularly vulnerable to a slump in US travel. Its low fares and
vacation-heavy routes are designed for middle-class passengers, a group now
facing tighter financial limits amid inflation and tariff-related constraints.
The cuts are part of a broader shift for the airline, which has already started
phasing out a few fan-favorite perks that once set it apart.
More
Major
US airline to cut flights this year amid weak demand
U.S.
could dip into recession on trade war, French central banker says
23
April 2025
(Reuters)
-The United States could dip into recession on the fallout from a global trade
war but everyone will suffer, including the euro zone, even if to a lesser
effect, French central bank chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on
Wednesday.
The
U.S. has imposed a raft of tariffs on most nations around the world and while
it has suspended some duties, many remain in place and the threat of trade
turmoil also weighs on confidence, investment and output.
"The
new measures announced as well as the increasing unpredictability, constitute a
major negative shock to the global economy, but first and foremost to the U.S.
economy," Villeroy told the Atlantic Council in Washington. "There
could even be a U.S. recession, which was unthinkable three months ago."
The
impact on the euro zone could be much smaller but the strife could still knock
off at least a quarter of a percentage point from 2025 GDP, Villeroy, who is an
influential ECB policymaker, said in a speech.
While
some economists say a trade war is likely to push up inflation, Villeroy played
down these worries, saying the net impact could even lower prices.
"There
is currently no inflationary risk in Europe," he said. "The impact
(of a trade war) on inflation remains more uncertain but could be as a whole on
the downside."
Villeroy
said further attacks on the independence and credibility of central banks could
add to the disruption experienced in financial markets in recent weeks.
U.S.
President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly attacked Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell in recent weeks, backed off from threats to fire him this week,
fuelling a rally in financial markets that had been nervous over a potential
loss of the Fed's independence.
"Let
me ... express again my gratitude to Fed’s Chair Powell, who admirably shows
how a central banker must behave," Villeroy said.
U.S. could dip into recession on trade war, French central banker says
Covid-19
Corner
This section will continue only occasionally when something of interest occurs.
Technology
Update.
With events happening fast in the
development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this
section. Updates as they get reported.
China issues world’s toughest EV battery safety rules banning
fires, explosions
22 April 2025
In a world first, China prepares to enforce mandatory safety
regulations for new energy vehicle batteries, explicitly prohibiting fire and
explosion. This move addresses key public concerns around electric vehicles and
will help China “Solidify its position as a global NEV pioneer,” as Chinese
state-owned media puts it.
This mandate was recently issued by the Chinese Ministry of
Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and will come into effect from July
1, 2026. These new standards are meant to replace the 2020 version that only
mentioned a five-minute fire-risk warning and emphasize proactive risk
elimination.
New China’s EV regulation explained
The key provision of these new regulations
specifies that batteries must
neither ignite nor explode for at least two hours, even during thermal runaway,
and must emit a thermal event alarm while ensuring that the smoke produced does
not harm occupants. Thermal runaway is the primary cause of battery-related
incidents. A phenomenon where a short circuit or other malfunction, such as
poor heat management and overcharging, in a battery cell causes it to overheat
and potentially ignite.
Several strict test requirements are
mentioned in this new regulation, which include an underside impact assessment
to ensure battery protection in the event of a collision. This test makes
perfect sense, since many manufacturers are adopting the Cell-to-body (CTB)
design approach in electric vehicles (EVs),
which involves directly integrating battery cells into the vehicle’s structure,
mostly underneath it. CTB technology was developed by BYD Auto in
2022.
As per the regulation, batteries must pass
a rigorous safety test, withstanding 300 rapid charging cycles, followed by a
short-circuit test. In early 2024, China’s industry and IT ministry (MIIT)
surveyed 36 vehicle and battery companies, of which 78 percent have the
right tech to prevent batteries from catching fire or exploding. They forecast
that an additional 14 percent will have this capability by 2026-27.
Are manufacturers on the same page?
China Daily reports that Svolt Energy
started developing such products two years ago, and currently, all its clients
can meet this new regulatory requirement. Leading Chinese battery
manufacturer CATL also
says its first-generation, 2020, No Thermal Propagation technology meets these
new requirements. CATL is currently developing self-stabilizing battery systems
with gas-electric separation, active isolation, and technology that could
prevent smoke during a thermal runaway.
In an interview with China Daily, a
CATL representative emphasized the need for collaboration between automakers
and battery suppliers and said, “The new standard will effectively reduce the
risk of battery fires after collisions in new energy vehicles, better
protecting consumers’ lives,”. In the same report, An Conghui, president of
Geely Holding Group and CEO of Zeekr, said that safety involves the entire
system, and apart from the battery cells, electronic architecture, mechanical
structure, sensors, and computing power must also be considered.
Since 2024, China’s NEV sector has
experienced huge growth, while monthly sales have consistently surpassed
gasoline cars. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers
shows that in the first quarter of 2025, NEV sales jumped 50.4 percent to 3.08 million units. Recent high-profile crashes have, however, heightened consumer
concerns about NEV safety.
These new regulations are meant to boost
consumer safety, restore trust, and accelerate growth by making it necessary
for part manufacturers to collaborate closely.
China issues world’s toughest EV battery safety rules banning fires,
explosions
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt
Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
Another weekend and what new U-turn will President
Trump or Team Trump think up to disrupt supply lines for next week? So far,
despite a claimed 100 nations kow-towing to Team Trump on tariffs, no actual
tariff deals have been announced. Maybe next week the flood gates will open.
Have a great weekend everyone, or as Team Trump would say, have a Grate
Weekend!
“Never
make forecasts, especially about the future.”
Samuel
Goldwyn
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