China Dusts Off Doomsday Plans After Trump's Tariff Barrage

Hi, this is Allen Wan in Shanghai, where the selloff ignited by the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs hammered markets that were closed for a holiday on Friday.
On Monday, China's benchmark CSI 300 Index plunged 7.1% to its lowest level since September last year, while the yuan whipsawed. The damage came after the government of Xi Jinping responded to Donald Trump's move with commensurate levies on all American goods and export curbs on rare earths.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

26 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Coinbase, Circle, SRM lead stock rally as Trump cheers GENIUS Act in another dream week for crypto

It was another dream week for the crypto world. Here's what happened. A few days back, the Senate passed a bill that would establish a federal framework for dollar-backed cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins. While this bill, known as the GENIUS Act, still needs approval from the House and President Trump, its swift progress has already been lauded by the crypto industry as a major step toward opening the doors for stablecoins to be used more widely in traditional financial services. Meanwhile, shares of Circle (CRCL), issuer of the world's second-largest stablecoin (USDC), is up more than 77% through the week. In total, the stock is up more than seven times its initial June 5 IPO price. Major US crypto exchange and crucial Circle partner Coinbase Global (COIN) has also ridden the wave, climbing more than 25% through the week. Coinbase owns a minority stake in Circle and also earns a share of revenue from Circle's USDC. Read more: Can you buy crypto with a credit card? But nothing compares to the weekly rise of little-known Winter Park, Fla.-based theme park and entertainment industry merchandiser SRM Entertainment (SRM), which is up roughly 777% since announcing on June 16 that it had struck a deal with crypto platform Tron to begin purchasing Tron tokens, rename itself Tron Inc., and bring on Tron founder Justin Sun as an adviser. President Trump joined the fun too. A day after the GENIUS Act passed in Congress's upper chamber by a vote of 68-30, the president, in a post, called the legislation 'an incredible Bill that is going to make America the UNDISPUTED Leader in Digital Assets.' No secret why the president is so cheery. As the crypto world has been racking up wins in Washington this year, Trump and his family have deepened their ties with the industry. (See chart below.) Corporations tied to Trump or his family have ventured into everything from issuing memecoins and dollar-backed stablecoins to mining bitcoin. After announcing a $2.5 billion fundraise to purchase cryptocurrencies, Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT) was declared effective a week ago by the SEC to issue equity and debt to begin buying and holding bitcoin. In an updated financial disclosure published a week ago, the president reported earning $57 million last year from his ownership of tokens tied to World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance project that lists him and his sons as advisers. Led by CEO Zach Witkoff, son of Steve Witkoff, the president's envoy to the Middle East, that same venture launched a stablecoin earlier this year that was chosen as the payment method for UAE sovereign wealth fund MGX to deliver $2 billion in fundraising to crypto exchange Binance. Its founder, Changpeng Zhao, has been seeking a pardon, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Earlier this month, the SEC announced the dismissal of an ongoing civil enforcement action against Binance entities and Zhao filed in June 2023 that alleged securities violations. Tron founder Sun is also a big backer of two crypto ventures tied to the president. As the largest holder of Trump's memecoin, Sun attended an exclusive dinner hosted at Trump's Virginia golf course last month. Before that, he poured $75 million into World Liberty tokens. Crypto's success in D.C., with President Trump and the passage of the GENIUS Act, has been cheered in the crypto world as a 'watershed moment that signals digital assets are now a part of the financial fabric,' said Yat Siu, executive chairman of Hong Kong-based crypto developer and venture firm Animoca Brands. 'The bill's bipartisan support gives stablecoin issuers, including banks, tech, and gaming companies, the green light to innovate within a clear regulatory framework.' The Trump administration has been telegraphing its desire to see the stablecoin market grow. Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers that this legislation could help push the US stablecoin market beyond $2 trillion by the end of 2028. Because the GENIUS Act requires companies issuing stablecoins to hold $1 in cash or short-term US Treasurys for every $1 in stablecoins they give out, the stablecoin market's growth is expected to mean more demand for US debt obligations. Recent analyst estimates from Standard Chartered and Morgan Stanley put the stablecoin market's current US Treasury holdings between $166 billion and just under $200 billion. But the bill was not without some criticism. Some Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have expressed their frustration with their inability to get through amendments to the bill that would bolster consumer protections — and specifically bar the president and his family from having ties to businesses that would benefit from the legislation. "The GENIUS Act has a major loophole allowing Big Tech companies and major retailers to issue their own private currencies structured as stablecoins," Warren said ahead of the bill's passage. "This bill shouldn't pass without amendments preventing these risks," she added. David Hollerith is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto, and other areas in finance. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices

Chicago Tribune

30 minutes ago

• Chicago Tribune

Amid federal funding uncertainty, Illinois lawmakers add ‘safety valve' to state budget

Illinois lawmakers grappling with uncertainty over Trump administration spending cuts tucked a handful of tools aimed at maintaining key programs into the budget package signed by Gov. JB Pritzker earlier this week, including a flexible fund of $100 million the governor can use to cover gaps left by unrealized federal funding. 'The magnitude and volume of problems that Trump and his administration are creating is something that no state has ever dealt with before. So it will have limited use,' Andy Manar, the deputy governor on budget issues, said of the $100 million fund. 'But it will serve a very strategic role.' The state has also expanded the state treasurer's authority to lend up to $2 billion to the comptroller to pay bills, building on emergency lending powers used during the budget impasse of former Gov. Bruce Rauner, as well as expanded payroll protections for state workers funded by federal grants. Pritzker has said since President Donald Trump's inauguration that the state can't make up for multibillion federal funding shortfalls, although the scope of those cuts remains unclear as federal budget negotiations led by Republicans are ongoing in Washington, D.C. The measures signed this month are intended to bridge gaps this year and begin to address the $1.8 billion that Manar said the Trump administration is withholding from the state. In February, the administration said nine state agencies, boards and commissions were unable to access funding obligated by the federal government. Manar declined to say what the priorities might be for the new fund, but noted that critical areas that have recently seen lapses in funding include state inspections of meat and poultry facilities that were paid for by the federal government. About 12,000 of the state's 55,000 employees are fully or partially paid for by federal funds, and covering payroll would be a top concern, Manar said. The $100 million flexible fund, which Manar said was the administration's idea, pulls from about 50 existing funds that weren't being fully used, according to Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who compared the new reserve to a 'safety valve.' Still, House Republicans in a statement criticized the governor for 'raiding funds to continue his war on the President,' noting that the fund pulls from pots of money that were at one point set aside for a specific purpose. Another tool expanded under this year's budget allows for more flexibility in lending within state government. During Rauner's administration, the General Assembly allowed the state to take out low-interest loans from the state treasury to pay certain bills amid a yearslong budget impasse, according to the state treasurer's office. In the budget year starting July 1, those loans — up to $2 billion — will be available to cover gaps in additional designated funds, such as the road fund, according to the budget implementation bill. Other designated funds that could benefit from the expanded lending authority include funds for health care providers and hospitals, education and disaster aid, according to the comptroller's office. While the authority already existed in a more limited form, it's been years since it was used, according to the treasurer's office. 'Our hope is we don't have to use this power at all, but it's a tool in our toolbox,' state Treasurer Michael Frerichs said in a statement. And even if they're used, it's possible that neither the bridge fund nor the internal lending would be enough to cover broad cuts to large federal programs like Medicaid that some Democrats fear may come from the upcoming federal budget. Barring a decision to convene this summer, state lawmakers aren't scheduled to return to Springfield until their annual fall session, when they could address any potential federal budget issues, the impeding fiscal cliff for the Chicago-area transit system, or both. 'We have prepared to the extent that we can, but much of what is going to be needed in terms of a response, we won't know until there's a bill passed by the Congress and sent to the president for his signature,' Manar said, asked whether a summer legislative session was likely. Republican critics drew a comparison between the new bridge fund and the broad authority granted to Pritzker during the COVID-19 pandemic to spend billions of dollars in federal aid, including $2 billion from pandemic relief to make up for lost revenues at the time. Unlike the COVID aid, however, the uses of the bridge fund are limited to where the legislature already approved funding. 'This is not going to be used counter to its intention,' Manar said. The additional tools will allow for the state government to work in the short term around potential federal shortfalls while still maintaining the rainy day fund, a move that in turn helps the state to maintain its credit rating, Mendoza, the comptroller, said. In balancing the state's $55 billion budget this year, the state already suspended about $45 million in contributions in the upcoming fiscal year that would have otherwise gone to the rainy day fund. 'Let's only break that glass in case of emergency,' Mendoza said of those reserves.

Wall Street Journal

35 minutes ago

• Wall Street Journal

Europe Sees Its Own Ports as Vulnerable in Standoff With Russia

President Trump has demanded Europe spend more on its militaries. The continent is answering the call—in part by broadening its definition of what counts as military spending. Fearing a full-scale war with Russia, the European Union and NATO planners are homing in on the continent's ports as potential chokepoints should the military alliance need to rush large numbers of troops to its eastern border. Governments are boosting their traditional military outlays, but also looking to factor spending on infrastructure and transport hubs into their military budgets.