00:00 Speaker A
These are the things you need to know before that opening bell rings. Firstly, we’re going to focus on the dollar. We know that it’s had its worst start to the year since 1973, and today it’s weaker again. In fact, the dollar’s trading at multi-year lows against most major currencies. Against the euro, it’s near a four-year low, and against the Japanese yen, it hit a 10-year low earlier. The greenback’s weakness has partially been driven by worries over President Trump’s massive tax cut and spending bill and the increase in the amount of debt the US faces as a result. Secondly, let’s look at trade negotiations and Japan. Remember, the deadline for negotiations is July 9th. While on Truth Social, the president zeroed in on rice. He said that Japan had a shortage but wouldn’t take American rice. The White House has said that it will send letters, which sets out tariff rates to the countries it believes haven’t come to the negotiations in good faith. For its part, Japan said it will not sacrifice its agricultural sector in the talks. If a deal is not reached, it could have a massive impact on many sectors in Japan, but in particular, the car industry there. And finally, let’s turn to Europe and their banks. Stocks in this sector there have just completed their best first half performance since 1997. The STOXX 600 Bank Index was up almost 30%. They’ve all been boosted by strong returns and resilient earnings. Leading the gains is France’s Société Générale, up about 78% this year alone. Its new CEO has a turnaround plan that seems to be working. He’s focused on leaving non-core businesses, boosting the balance sheet, lifting its profit targets, and also shareholder returns. But there have been winners on Wall Street, too, over the first six months of 2025, as well.
AloJapan.com