- Japan tariff negotiator Akazawa: No direct comment on Trump’s new tariff announcements
- Barclays says dollar resilience to persist as U.S. economy rebounds
- Federal Reserve speakers on Friday, September 26, 2025 include Barkin and Bowman
- ICYMI: Trump expands tariffs, new import duties starting Oct. 1: trucks, furniture, pharma
- Japan to route $550bn U.S. investment via new JBIC facility
- Japan's govt revises July real wages to 0.2% decline (vs preliminary 0.5% increase)
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 7.1152 (vs. estimate at 7.1439)
- JP Morgan highlights unprecedented U.S. split: capex surges, jobs stall: "Odd Decouple"
- Citi raises stablecoin forecast to $4trn by 2030, says bank tokens may surpass in volume
- South Korea fires warning shots at North Korean vessel near disputed border
- RBA to hold rates at 3.60% next week, November cut hinges on Q3 CPI – Reuters poll
- Citadel's Ken Griffin sees just one more Fed cut in 2025 as labor market weakens
- Japan data - Tokyo area CPI headline +2.5% y/y (vs. prior 2.6%)
- Trump to hit branded or patented pharma with 100% tariffs
- Trump now slamming kitchens with 50% tariffs! Furniture also 30%
- Trump is slamming trucks with another massive tariff, 25% from October 1
- Goldman Sachs lifts MSCI EM target, sees EMFX outperform G10
- The Fed prefers PCE as its inflation gauge. CPI drives markets, but PCE drives Fed policy.
- ICYMI - NAB pushes back Reserve Bank of Australia cut call as CPI surprises higher
- New Zealand September consumer confidence 94.6 (prior 92.0)
- UBS still flying the flag for higher equites, sees S&P 500 as high as 7500
- More on Tik Tok - Trump now awaits approval from China
- Intel seeks TSMC lifeline to bolster comeback plans
- Trump calls traders stupid - GDP up, why stocks go down?
- investingLive Americas FX news wrap 25 Sep: Stronger US data sends the USD/yields higher.
- The never ending Tik Tok saga continues, Trump says he signed an EO
- EU set to slap 25–50% tariffs on Chinese steel
Late in the U.S. session, President Trump signed an executive order approving a $14 billion deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., pending Beijing’s approval. The joint venture will see ByteDance hold under 20%, Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX Fund control about 45%, and existing ByteDance investors retain 35%.
Trump then launched into a one-hour blitz on his social media platform, announcing fresh tariffs:
100% on pharmaceuticals (with exemptions for firms building U.S. plants)
50% on kitchen cabinets
50% on bathroom vanities and related products
30% on upholstered furniture
25% on heavy trucks
The details are murky. Nearly all heavy trucks sold in the U.S. are assembled domestically, though many components are imported. Trump also justified tariffs on furniture and cabinets under “national security” grounds, raising eyebrows given the limited link to security concerns.
Pharma stocks in the region traded lower on the headlines. In equities, Japan’s TOPIX index notched a record high, though the Nikkei lagged as tech shares underperformed.
Japanese data offered a reminder of weak wage dynamics: July real wages were revised down to a 0.2% decline (from a preliminary +0.5%). With nominal wages slowing to +3.4% y/y from +4.1%, inflation-adjusted pay has now contracted for seven straight months, complicating the Bank of Japan’s case for further rate hikes.
Separately, Tokyo said it will establish a new JBIC facility to channel $550 billion into U.S.-bound investments under a bilateral trade deal.
Geopolitically, South Korea fired warning shots at a North Korean commercial vessel that crossed the disputed Northern Limit Line near Baengnyeong Island.
Major FX rates were rangebound, with the dollar holding most of its Thursday gains.
Asia-Pac stocks:
Japan (Nikkei 225) -0.5%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng) -0.8%
Shanghai Composite -0.2%
Australia (S&P/ASX 200) +0.05%
