Commodities, Business & Shipping (and Tariffs)

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Trump says ‘extremely hard’ to make a deal with China’s Xi as trade stalemate fuels calls for leaders to talk​

  • U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that China’s President Xi Jinping was “extremely hard” to make a deal with.
  • A senior White House official told CNBC earlier on Monday that Trump and Xi are likely to speak this week.
  • China’s foreign minister Wang Yi called on the U.S. to “meet China halfway.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that it was “extremely hard” to make a deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, at a time when the White House has been suggesting the two leaders could talk this week amid rising trade tensions.

Scott Bessent, U.S. treasury secretary, said Thursday stateside that trade talks were “a bit stalled,” and the two countries’ leaders would likely need to weigh in. On Monday, a senior White House official told CNBC that Trump and Xi were likely to speak this week.

It remained unclear whether such a call had been arranged.

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Weekly scrap metal report

Copper Prices Soar 17% as Trump Doubles Down on Metal Tariffs | Scrap Market Alert​

📈 Check Scrap Prices: https://iScrapApp.com/ - Join us as we break down the major market moves in scrap metal for the week of June 4, 2025. With copper continuing its upward momentum and steel under the policy spotlight, there’s no shortage of developments scrappers need to watch.
👉 Read more: https://iscrapapp.com/blog/weekly-scr...


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Fed ‘Beige Book’ economic report cites declining growth, rising prices and slow hiring​

  • The U.S. economy has contracted over the past six weeks as hiring has slowed and consumers and businesses worried about tariff-related price increases, the Fed reported.
  • On inflation, the report described prices as rising “at a moderate pace” and “widespread reports of contacts expecting costs and prices to rise at a faster rate going forward.”
  • Regionally, Boston, New York and Philadelphia all reported declining economic activity.
  • Richmond, Atlanta and Chicago were among the districts reporting better growth.
The U.S. economy has contracted over the past six weeks as hiring has slowed and consumers and businesses worried about tariff-related price increases, according to a Federal Reserve report Wednesday.

In its periodic “Beige Book” summary of conditions, the central bank noted that “economic activity has declined slightly since the previous report” released April 23.

“All Districts reported elevated levels of economic and policy uncertainty, which have led to hesitancy and a cautious approach to business and household decisions,” the report added.

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Reuters

Analysis-US stocks heal from tariff pain but trade news to keep markets edgy​

By Lewis Krauskopf

NEW YORK (Reuters) -After months of Wall Street gyrations to the twists and turns of U.S. trade policy, signs suggest stock investors are becoming more resilient to developments and cautiously defaulting to optimism that they have weathered the worst of the tariff-related shocks.

U.S. equities have edged higher over the past two weeks as they digest a sharp rally that has brought the benchmark S&P 500 within 3% of its February record high, fueled in part by easing fears about the economic fallout from tariffs.

A case in point: stocks ended Monday's session higher even as markets had grappled with President Donald Trump's announcement of doubling steel tariffs to 50%.

Trump's stunning "Liberation Day" tariff announcement on April 2 sent stocks plunging and set off some of the most extreme market swings since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...ep-markets-edgy/ar-AA1G8vXn?ocid=BingNewsSerp
 
splash247.com

‘Britain has gone to hell, like Norway’: John Fredriksen - Splash247

Norway’s richest man, John Fredriksen, has launched a blistering critique of the state of life in both Norway and the UK, confirming he is relocating some of his business to the United Arab Emirates to escape what he sees as a Western world in steep decline. The 81-year-old shipping magnate...
splash247.com splash247.com
 

75% of Companies Have Already Raised Prices in Response to Tariffs, Fed Survey Finds​

Early signs indicate that many businesses are quickly raising prices for shoppers to cover most of the higher costs from sweeping U.S. tariffs on imported goods.

Among businesses that are facing higher operational costs due to President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies, roughly 75% are imparting at least some of the their cost increases on consumers, according to an analysis released Wednesday of the New York Fed’s Regional Business Survey of firms in the New York and Northern New Jersey region.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...fed-survey-finds/ar-AA1G5yrT?ocid=socialshare
 

Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Auto Trouble Brewing Over Rare Earth Curbs​

Summary​

  • Auto industry faces supply chain disruptions as China tightens rare earth exports, impacting critical components for both combustion and electric vehicles.
  • Kimberly-Clark is close to selling its international tissue business to Suzano for $3.5B, aiming to focus on higher-margin core segments.
  • Citigroup will cut 3,500 jobs at China tech centers as part of a global restructuring to streamline operations and reduce costs.
  • Verint Systems shares surge premarket after strong Q1 results, with a 24% year-over-year increase in AI annual recurring revenue.
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Trump speaks with Xi, will resume talks between U.S. and China over tariffs​

  • President Donald Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
  • Trump and Xi said that trade officials from the U.S. and China will be meeting soon at a to-be-determined location.
  • The call came amid an ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke Thursday and agreed that officials from the U.S. and China will meet soon for more talks to resolve an ongoing trade war.

Trump said he had a “very good” call with Xi for about 90 minutes, which focused “almost entirely” on trade.

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‘That’s not going to happen’: Kevin O’Leary shoots down Trump’s plan for retailers to eat the cost of tariffs​

Kevin O’Leary seems to have changed his tune on President Trump’s tariffs.

In a recent interview with NewsNation’s The Hill, the Shark Tank star expressed his doubts on whether retailers would be willing to absorb the rising costs of imported goods thanks to Trump’s tariff war.

“We’re at the beginning of a negotiation,” O’Leary said, predicting that retailers would lobby the government to help reduce the impact of tariffs on their bottom lines.

O’Leary previously advocated for a bully approach to tariffs on China. During an appearance on the Laura Coates Live podcast in April 2025, O’Leary had this to say. “Let’s just level the playing field. The [Chinese] government cheats, steals, robs, and does not play by any rules. I don’t think 125% is enough — 400%!”

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/sma...-cost-of-tariffs/ar-AA1GaFcE?ocid=socialshare
 

Tesla loses $152 billion in market cap after Musk-Trump spat, biggest hit ever​

  • Shares of Tesla fell 14% on Thursday as President Donald Trump threatened to pull government contracts for CEO Elon Musk’s companies.
  • The move dropped the EV maker $152 billion in value, putting it below the $1 trillion benchmark and settling Thursday at $916 billion.
  • “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” Musk posted on X.
Shares of Tesla fell 14% on Thursday as President Donald Trump threatened to pull government contracts for CEO Elon Musk’s companies, escalating a war of words over the spending bill.

The move dropped the EV maker $152 billion in value, the biggest hit to its market cap ever, putting it below the $1 trillion benchmark and settling Thursday at $916 billion.

“Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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Fearnleys Week 23

www.drewry.co.uk

World Container Index - 05 Jun

05 Jun 2025: Drewry’s World Container Index increased 41% to $3,527 per 40ft container this week.
www.drewry.co.uk www.drewry.co.uk

splash247.com

Historic surge on the transpacific buoys liner profits - Splash247

Drewry’s weekly World Container Index (WCI) increased 41% to $3,527 per feu yesterday, the second highest leap dollars-wise since the index was created, with the busy transpacific leading the way once again amid a brief trade detente between the world’s two largest economies, the US and China...
splash247.com splash247.com
 
CLS WMR Week 22 (registration is free)

Baltic Exchange Dry Index - Price - Chart - Historical Data - News

Baltic Dry increased 629 points or 63.09% since the beginning of 2025, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Baltic Exchange Dry Index - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on June of 2025.
tradingeconomics.com tradingeconomics.com
 

Long-awaited Trump-Xi call isn’t enough to resolve looming critical mineral shortage this summer​

  • A high-stakes U.S.-China call has yet to resolve a rare earth metals shortage.
  • Businesses say the shortage could halt production of cars and other industrial parts this summer.
  • Only some Chinese suppliers of U.S. companies have received six-month export licenses.
BEIJING — A high-stakes call between the U.S. and Chinese presidents on Thursday has yet to resolve a global shortage of rare earth exports that businesses say could halt production of cars and other industrial parts this summer.

Rare earths, along with a broader group of critical minerals, are used in weapons, cars and other high-tech products. China has come to dominate the mining and production of those metals, and over the last two years has gradually started to restrict international sales.

In early April, China announced new export controls on seven rare earth elements. Unlike other measures, Beijing did not specify whether they were a response to heightened U.S. tensions.

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Billion-dollar battery plant pauses construction amid electric vehicle and tariff uncertainty​

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Japanese company has halted construction on a $1.6 billion factory in South Carolina to help make batteries for electric BMWs, citing “policy and market uncertainty.”

While Automotive Energy Supply Corp. didn't specify what those problems are, South Carolina's Republican governor said the company is dealing with the potential loss of federal tax breaks for electric vehicle buyers and incentives for EV businesses as well as tariff uncertainties from President Donald Trump's administration.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/b...riff-uncertainty/ar-AA1Ge42m?ocid=socialshare
 

Dow rises more than 400 points on solid jobs report, S&P 500 touches 6,000: Live updates​

Stocks jumped Friday after the latest nonfarm payrolls data came in better than expected, easing concern the economy faces an imminent slowdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 443.13 points, or 1.05%, to close at 42,762.87. The blue-chip index was up more than 600 points at its highs of the session. The S&P 500 also gained 1.03% — surpassing the 6,000 level for the first time since late February — and settling at 6,000.36. The Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.20%, ending at 19,529.95.

The market’s move higher was supported by a more than 3% gain in Tesla. Shares of the electric vehicle maker weighed on the market Thursday, tumbling 14%, as CEO Elon Musk sparred with President Donald Trump on social media. Other major tech-related names such as Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Apple also ended the session higher.

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