—— EU to Impose Extra Tariffs on Chinese EV; Woman Jailed After Damaging JPMorgan HQ; US CPI Comes Below Estimate in May; Apple Becomes the Most Valuable Company; Blackstone to Expand NYC HQ; Most Fed Officials See One Rate Cut This Year
1. EU to Impose Extra Tariffs on Chinese EV
Brussels is set to impose tariffs of up to nearly 50 percent on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), despite warnings from the German government about the risk of triggering a costly trade war with Beijing.
The European Commission informed carmakers on Wednesday that it will provisionally apply additional duties ranging from 17 to 38 percent on imported Chinese EVs starting next month.
These duties will be in addition to the existing 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese EVs, with the exact rate depending on the extent to which the manufacturers complied with an EU investigation into electric carmakers.
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2. Woman Jailed After Damaging JPMorgan HQ
Apple shares hit a record high in early trading, pushing the company’s valuation back above $3 trillion, following its decision to partner with OpenAI to launch a new artificial intelligence system.
This increase more than compensated for Monday’s dip, which occurred after CEO Tim Cook announced upcoming software upgrades that will use AI to make Siri a smarter voice assistant and add more personalized features to Apple’s devices to enhance productivity.
The stock rose more than 4 percent to an intraday high of $201.49 on Tuesday morning, bringing its gains for the year to approximately 4.5 percent.
Source: Financial Times – Protester jailed for 10 months for causing damage at JPMorgan’s London HQ
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3. US CPI Comes Below Estimate in May
US inflation fell to 3.3 percent in May, providing a boost to President Joe Biden as Federal Reserve officials prepare to outline their plans for interest rate cuts this year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the annual rise in consumer prices was slightly lower than economists’ expectations, which had predicted inflation would remain steady at 3.4 percent.
Core CPI, which excludes changes in food and energy prices, came in at 3.4 percent, also below expectations of a slight decrease to 3.5 percent.
Source: Financial Times – US inflation falls to 3.3% in May
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4. WeWork Names Cushman Veteran As CEO
US job growth surged in May, with wages accelerating, leading traders to delay their expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released on Friday, nonfarm payrolls increased by 272,000 last month, surpassing all projections in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Average hourly earnings rose by 0.4% from April and 4.1% from a year ago, both higher than the previous report.
However, the unemployment rate, derived from a separate survey, rose to 4% from 3.9%, reaching this level for the first time in over two years.
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5. Apple Becomes the Most Valuable Company
Shares in Apple rose 3.7 percent in early trading in New York, following a 7.2 percent climb on Tuesday. This surge pushed the company’s market cap to $3.28 trillion, surpassing Microsoft, which is valued at $3.25 trillion. Nvidia, in third place, is valued at $3.05 trillion and briefly overtook Apple last week.
On Monday, Apple announced a partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its devices, alleviating investors’ concerns that the company was lagging behind its competitors in the generative AI race.
Source: Financial Times – Apple overtakes Microsoft as world’s most valuable company after push into AI
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6. Blackstone to Expand NYC HQ
Blackstone Inc. is finalizing a deal to expand its Manhattan headquarters in one of the city’s largest office leases in recent years.
The money manager’s total leased space will increase to 1.06 million square feet (98,500 square meters) at Rudin’s 345 Park Ave., according to a person familiar with the matter. The deal will also extend Blackstone’s lease at the skyscraper through the end of 2034, the source said, requesting anonymity due to the private nature of the discussions.
Under the new lease terms, Blackstone will occupy approximately 55% of the building, spanning 28 floors, up from its current 42%. The agreement is expected to include enhancements to the facilities, such as a fitness center.
“We are expanding our commitment to our New York-based workforce, midtown Manhattan, and New York City with this extension,” a Blackstone spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We are excited that 345 Park Ave. will remain our global headquarters.”
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7. Most Fed Officials See One Rate Cut This Year
Federal Reserve officials have indicated plans for only one interest rate cut this year, with more cuts forecasted for 2025, emphasizing their intention to keep borrowing costs elevated for an extended period to curb inflation.
Officials unanimously voted to maintain the benchmark federal funds rate within a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, a two-decade high first reached in July. However, policymakers now project just one rate cut this year, a reduction from the three cuts forecasted in March, according to the median projection.
For 2025, they now anticipate four rate cuts, an increase from the previously outlined three.
“The most recent inflation readings have been more favorable than earlier in the year, and there has been modest further progress toward our inflation objective,” Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday following the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Washington.
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本文内容来自《Financial Times》、《Bloomberg》，以及《The Real Deal》等多家财经新闻媒体。