Trump calls Fed chief a fool after decision + US auto industry criticizes Trump's deal with UK + Half of high-tech chips to come from US + Trade Desk beats expectations for first quarter
Trump calls Fed chief a fool after decision
- US President Donald Trump has called Fed Chairman Jerome Powell a fool following the Federal Reserve's decision to leave the key interest rate unchanged for the time being.
- "Jerome Powell is a fool who has no idea", Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
- He had already attacked Powell several times in the past, calling him a "loser" or "Mr. Too Late".
- The Fed had been on a collision course with Trump, who is vehemently calling for interest rate cuts, the day before.
- In view of Trump's aggressive tariff policy, it had opted for a wait-and-see approach and does not want to commit to cutting interest rates any time soon.
- "We have to wait and see how the situation develops," said Fed Chairman Powell when asked by a reporter whether the central bank should cut interest rates at all this year.
- The Fed left the key interest rate at a high level in the range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent.
US car industry criticizes Trump's deal with the UK
- US President Donald Trump's trade pact with the UK has gone down badly with the US automotive industry.
- The reason for this is the reduction in import duties for 100,000 British cars from 25 to 10 percent.
- This would favor manufacturers from the UK over their own industry, criticized the industry association AAPC.
- It represents the big three US car manufacturers: Ford $F (+0.88%) , General Motors $GM (+0.07%)and the Stellantis Group $STLAM (-0.63%)with brands such as Jeep and Dodge.
- Trump's government had imposed tariffs of 25 percent on imported vehicles and components.
- The US manufacturers produce some car models in Mexico and Canada and also source parts from there for production in the USA.
- A large proportion of these are initially exempt from the tariffs as long as the requirements of the USMCA free trade agreement are met.
- Association sees damage for US industry
- Over time, however, the foreign components of USMCA-compliant imported vehicles will also be subject to a 25 percent tariff.
- The trade pact will make it cheaper to bring a British car to the USA than a vehicle from Canada or Mexico, half of which consists of US parts, criticized the association.
- This would harm American manufacturers, suppliers and employees.
- Trump's Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick had argued that 100,000 vehicles only made up a small part of the US car market but were a relevant amount for British manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar and Land Rover.
US Secretary of Commerce: Half of high-tech chips to come from the USA
- US President Donald Trump's administration has set a new ambitious target for the semiconductor market: 50 percent of modern high-tech chips are to be produced in the USA.
- This should give the country the "firepower" to develop artificial intelligence, said Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on US broadcaster CNBC.
- The majority of chips have been produced in Asia for decades.
- The most modern semiconductors for smartphones or AI data centers, for example, come from Taiwan from contract manufacturer TSMC $TSM (+0.58%).
- There is great concern in the West that China could cut off supplies.
- Trump's predecessor Joe Biden therefore tried to bring more production to the USA.
- His government promised subsidies of around 39 billion dollars (35 billion euros) for this, and several plants are currently being built.
- Trump criticized the aid as a waste of money and wants to focus on tariffs instead.
- Restrictions on the export of US chips At the same time, Trump's government under Biden overturned export barriers for AI technology.
- Export restrictions were planned for many countries - to prevent chips and software from reaching countries such as China via detours.
- Lutnick criticized that this would have cut off allies such as Poland from modern US technology.
- The Trump administration has a different approach.
- According to this, chip deliveries should be permitted if they come to data centers of US operators, said Lutnick.
- As a second requirement, the data center would have to be connected to a cloud infrastructure "from someone we trust".
The Trade Desk $TTD (+4.11%)exceeds expectations for the first quarter thanks to strong demand for advertising technology
- Trade Desk released first-quarter revenue and earnings figures on Thursday that beat analysts' expectations thanks to strong demand for automated ad-buying technology.
- The company's shares rose by 14% in after-hours trading.
- The advertising company's strong results come at a time when companies are reducing their marketing spending due to prevailing recession fears and the uncertain economic situation.
- The advertising platform offers advertisers access to an extensive network of publishers and media partners across a range of industries, enabling them to target their advertising campaigns with precision.
- The Trade Desk is expanding support for its advertising ID "Unified ID 2.0" (UID2), which it says is more privacy-focused and an improvement and alternative to third-party cookies.
- Revenue increased by 25% to USD 616 million in the first quarter, exceeding estimates of USD 584 million, according to data from LSEG.
- On an adjusted basis, the company posted earnings of 33 cents per share for the quarter, above estimates of 25 cents.
- Trade Desk, which has partnerships with retailers such as Walmart, is forecasting second-quarter sales of at least $682 million, slightly below analysts' average estimate of $683.2 million.
Friday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures
- ex-dividend of individual stocks
- Allianz EUR 15.40
- MTU Aero Engines EUR 2.20
- Talanx EUR 2.70
- IBM USD 1.68
- Mensch und Maschine Software EUR 1.85
- Kuehne + Nagel International 8.25 CH
- Pfizer 0.43 USD
- Walmart 0.24 USD
- Quarterly figures / company dates USA / Asia
- 16:00 Colgate-Palmolive | AbbVie AGM
- Quarterly figures / company dates Europe
- 07:00 Commerzbank | Krones Quarterly figures
- 07:30 Bechtle quarterly figures
- 08:00 PNE AG | International Consolidated Airlines Quarterly figures
- 09:00 Commerzbank Analyst Conference
- 10:00 Drägerwerk AGM | PNE AG Analyst and Press Conference
- 10:30 Commerzbank | Bechtle PK
- 11:00 Villeroy & Boch AGM
- 13:00 Krones Analyst Conference
- Economic data
04:00 CN: April trade balance PROGNOSE: +97.60bn USD previous: +102.64bn USD Exports PROGNOSE: +2.5% yoy previous: +12.4% yoy Imports PROGNOSE: -5.5% yoy previous: -4.3% yoy
12:45 IS: Fed Governor Barr and Fed Governor Kugler (14:30) and Fed Governor Waller (17:30) et al, Reykjavik Economic Conference
14:30 US: Fed Richmond President Barkin to participate in Loudon County Chamber of Commerce Fireside Chat
16:00 US: Fed-Chicago President Goolsbee, attends Fed list-serve event
17:30 US: Fed Richmond President Barkin, attends Greater Washington Board of Trade event
No time specified:
- DE: Start of the trade fair "Invest - the financial event for your future ", Stuttgart
- RU: China's President Xi, visit to Russia
- FR: France's President Macron and Poland's Prime Minister Tusk sign defense agreement
