🚀 New US global tariff to take effect

In partnership with

Market Overview
Read time 1.4 minutes

Year To Date Performances:

1. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Wednesday that a new 15% global tariff will take effect this week, serving as a rapid strategic pivot following a major legal setback for the Trump administration. The move comes just twelve days after the Supreme Court, in Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump, struck down the administration’s "reciprocal" tariffs by ruling that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not grant the president unilateral authority to raise revenue. To bypass this restriction, the administration is now invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a provision specifically designed to address balance-of-payment deficits which allows for temporary surcharges of up to 15% for a 150-day window. Bessent expressed strong confidence that these temporary measures would serve as a "stopgap" for the next five months while the administration works with Congress or utilizes Section 301 investigations to permanently reinstate the original, more expansive tariff rates that had defined the "Liberation Day" economic agenda since early 2025.

2. A diplomatic crisis between Washington and Madrid has reached a boiling point after President Trump threatened to "cut off all trade" with Spain in retaliation for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s refusal to allow joint military bases to be used for "Operation Epic Fury" strikes against Iran. Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump slammed Spain as a "free rider" for failing to meet the new 5% NATO defence spending target, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent escalated the rhetoric by accusing the Spanish government of "putting American lives at risk" through their non-cooperation. Sánchez, invoking the "No to war" slogans of the Iraq era, countered on Wednesday that he will not offer "blind and servile obedience" to a conflict he described as a "disaster" and "Russian roulette with the fate of millions." While the Ibex 35 index initially wavered, the European Union has already signalled "full solidarity" with Madrid, setting the stage for a massive legal and economic showdown, as the 27-member bloc negotiates trade collectively and cannot easily be targeted by bilateral sanctions without triggering a broader U.S.-EU trade war.

3. While the Trump administration has moved to ban institutional buyers from the single-family rental market to improve affordability, data reveals that major investors had already begun a massive retreat two years prior. According to Parcl Labs, large-scale landlords have become net sellers in every major U.S. metro area, with institutional listings in cities like Dallas accounting for nearly 23% of the for-sale market despite investors owning less than 10% of the total stock. This exodus is driven by a "capital recycling" strategy where firms like Invitation Homes and FirstKey are offloading aging existing homes—often at 10% price cuts—to pivot toward the "build-to-rent" sector. By acquiring developers like ResiBuilt or partnering directly with homebuilders, these corporations are exploiting a specific exemption in the President’s executive order that allows them to continue expanding their portfolios as long as they are adding new construction to the nation's housing supply.

   Headlines

   1. Weekly mortgage demand rises 11% as rates stay at a 4 year low.

   2. Adidas’ stock fell 8% as profit guidance was lower than expected.