The infoshot to help kick-start your week
Trump fires data chief of bad job news
US President Donald Trump has fired the boss of one of America’s most important economic institutions hours after weaker-than-expected jobs data stoked further alarm about the President’s tariff policy.
10% global minimum tariff
Donald Trump set a 10% global minimum tariff, with rates at 15% and higher for countries with significant trade surpluses with the US. Canada is among the hardest hit with levels increased to 35%, but United States of America, Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA) goods remain exempt. Switzerland got slammed with 39%.
US Slowdown
US economic growth slowed in the first half of the year as consumer spending declined, and corporations took measures to shield themselves from the Trump administration’s frequent and unpredictable changes in trade policy. Inflation-adjusted GDP increased an annualised 3% in the second quarter, according to the US government. But as solid as the pace was, economic growth averaged 1.25% in the first half, a full percentage point below the pace for 2024.
Copper collapse
Copper prices collapsed Wednesday by more than 19% just minutes after Trump retreated from his broad-based threat to impose tariffs on copper. Instead, this 50% tariff will only apply to processed forms of copper, not to refined metal. Copper traders have rushed to book storage space in a bet that US President Donald Trump’s shock decision not to tariff the main traded form of the metal will prompt a wave of copper into warehouses on the London Metal Exchange.
Microsoft Hits $4 Trillion Market Cap After Earnings Beat
Microsoft Corp. has become the second company in the world to reach a $4 trillion market capitalization after reporting quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations, sending the stock soaring Thursday. Shares of the technology giant jumped as much as 8.2% in early trading in New York, pushing its market value to $4.1 trillion. Microsoft reported better-than-expected growth in its cloud business, and its closely watched Azure cloud-computing unit posted a 39% rise in sales, handily beating the 34% analysts expected.
Coming Up:
- US initial jobless claims, Thursday 07 August 2025
- BoE interest rate decision, Thursday 07 August 2025
- US 30yr bond auction, Thursday 07 August 2025
Notice:
For regulated financial advisers and investment professionals only, Copia does not provide financial advice, and the contents of this document should not be taken as such. The performance of each asset class is represented by certain Exchange Traded Funds available to UK investors and expressed in GBP terms selected by Copia Capital Management to represent that asset class, as reported at previous Thursday 4:30pm UK close. Reference to a particular asset class does not represent a recommendation to seek exposure to that asset class. This information is included for comparison purposes for the period stated but is not an indicator of potential maximum loss for other periods or in the future.
