Title: Trump Imposes 50% Punitive Tariffs on Brazil, Launches Unfair - Trade Probe
Local - time on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump turned his trade anger towards Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America. He announced a 50% punitive tariff on Brazilian goods exported to the US and ordered an investigation into "unfair trade practices", which may lead to higher tariffs. The new tariff will take effect on August 1, much higher than the 10% tariff imposed on Brazil on April 2 this year.
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Fed Minutes Boost Rate Cut Hopes; Nvidia Briefly Tops $4 Trillion Market Cap
U.S. stocks rallied broadly on Wednesday, July 10, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq hitting a record high. The surge followed the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes reinforcing expectations of rate cuts this year and Nvidia’s brief ascent to a $4 trillion market valuation.
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New Zealand Central Bank Pauses Rate Cuts as Recession Risks Loom
On July 9, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept the Official Cash Rate (OCR) steady at 3.25%, in line with market expectations. This pause brings an end to six consecutive rate cuts since August 2023, during which the rate was slashed by a cumulative 225 basis points.
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RBA Pauses Rate Cuts; Mortgage Stress Shows Regional Divergence
Australia’s central bank held its cash rate at 3.85% on July 9, with the Monetary Policy Committee voting 6-3 to wait. While May inflation dipped to 2.1% (core 2.4%, a 3.5-year low), June’s CPI was "slightly stronger than expected," and rising global trade policy uncertainties—like U.S. tariff hikes—prompted the RBA to seek more data confirming inflation’s steady move toward the 2.5% target.
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Trump Escalates Trade War: 25% Tariffs on Japan, South Korea and Others From August
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that the U.S. will impose sharply higher tariffs on multiple trading partners, including Japan and South Korea, starting August 1, marking a new phase in the global trade war he launched earlier this year.
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Canada's Job Market Strains; Employment Security Confidence Hits Over 1-Year Low
Canadians’ confidence in job security has dropped to a more than one-year low, with Nanos Research’s latest poll showing only 59.9% of respondents viewing their employment as "secure or relatively secure"—while over 30% expressed uncertainty, the highest level since 2023.
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One in Four French Households Live in Severely Under-Occupied Homes: Insee Study
A study released by France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (l'Insee) on Tuesday, July 8, reveals that a quarter of French households reside in severely under-occupied homes—defined as having at least three more rooms than actually needed. This phenomenon affects 7.6 million primary residences, 93% of which are single-family houses, with three-quarters of these under-occupied homes exceeding 100 square meters in size.
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