The US and Japan this week reached what President Donald Trump called the largest trade deal in history after Tokyo pledged to set up a $550 billion fund for investment into the US, details of which remain obscure. The lack of clarity about how the fund will work adds to questions about the viability of the agreement, which imposes 15% tariffs on Japanese cars and other goods. While the start date and other basic elements are still unknown, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned this week that the US would monitor implementation and bump the rate up to 25% if Trump isn't satisfied. In his latest column, Bloomberg Opinion's Gearoid Reidy writes that after three months, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba finally has his trade deal. Gearoid joins us to explain why it may be Ishiba's final act.
Plus - the S&P 500 inched to a new record Thursday - its 10th in 19 days - driven by tech gains that papered over a broader weakness as most stocks in the benchmark dropped. The S&P 500 has surged 28% from its April lows as investors grew optimistic that President Donald Trump's tariff war won't hurt the economy and corporate earnings as initially feared. Meantime, South Korea's trade ministry said Friday that Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reaffirmed their will to reach a mutually beneficial trade agreement before August 1st deadline. For more on the economic impact of ongoing negotiations, we heard from Janet Henry, Global Chief Economist at HSBC. She speaks with Bloomberg's Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts on The Asia Trade.
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