00:09 Speaker A
Well, the president was pretty busy on Truth Social last night. He unveiled a fresh round of punishing tariffs on a broad range of imported goods, including 100% duties on branded drugs and 25% levies on heavy duty trucks, set to come into force next week.
00:30 Speaker A
Now, stocks of pharmaceuticals across Asia fell heavily and in fact, in Australia too. And though there was an initial slump in European pharma stocks, the declines were less pronounced.
00:41 Speaker A
It’s interesting to note that GSK’s London-listed shares are higher. Now, remember, the UK pharma agreed to invest in the US earlier this month.
00:51 Speaker A
Unsurprisingly, US heavyweight Eli Lilly has seen its shares rise in the pre-market up over 1% there.
01:00 Speaker A
Now, Trump also said he would start charging a 50% tariff on imported kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, and a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture. All the new duties take effect from October the 1st.
01:13 Speaker A
Additionally, according to the Wall Street Journal, the US is also planning to ask chip makers to manufacture at home as many chips as the their customers import in a bid to curb reliance on foreign supply.
01:27 Speaker A
The Trump administration would levy tariffs on firms that do not maintain a one-to-one ratio over time. The plan is the result of what President Trump referred to last month when he said tech companies that invest more in the US would avoid roughly 100% tariffs on semiconductors.
01:44 Speaker A
Now, if implemented, this could prove to be a big headache for the likes of Apple. It imports chips from all over the world. But firms like Micron and Intel who are increasing production in the US, well, they could benefit.
01:55 Speaker A
Okay, well, here’s my colleague Josh Lipton on what else you need to watch today.
02:02 Josh Lipton
All right, starting off on the Federal Reserve. We’re going to be getting some more commentary on Friday from a couple of Fed officials, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin, Michelle Bowman, the Fed’s top bank cop.
02:14 Josh Lipton
This coming after a big batch of commentary on Thursday, including Michelle Bowman, Bowman saying that the fragile job market justifies more interest rate cuts.
02:22 Josh Lipton
Speaking of the Central Bank, the Fed preferred inflation gauge that’s coming out on Friday, that’s personal consumption expenditures or PCE. Economist forecasting total PCE for August to accelerate to 0.3%, while core PCE slowed to 0.2% on a month-over-month basis.
02:39 Josh Lipton
And finally, I’m going to be getting the final reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan. That number expected to hold steady compared to the prior reading at 55.4, signaling no change in consumer’s attitude toward the economy.
02:51 Josh Lipton
55.4 is a historically low reading, indicating consumers still relatively downbeat about current conditions.
