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Tokyo says it is standing firm on trade after US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on all Japanese imports, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowing to do what was best for his country rather than yield to pressure from Washington.In a speech on Wednesday in Chiba prefecture, Ishiba declared: “This is a battle for our national interests. We will not be taken advantage of. Even if it is an ally, we must speak honestly. We will protect what needs to be protected.”The comments come amid rising tensions over Trump’s decision to begin imposing the blanket levy…

International investors should keep US tech stocks as a core part of their portfolios even as the de-dollarisation trend continues, according to Swiss banks UBS and Julius Baer.A rally in tech stocks pushed the S&P 500 to an all-time high of 6,263.26 on Wednesday, raising Nvidia’s market capitalisation to US$4 trillion – the first company in the world to reach that milestone.“Can this madness continue?” Mark Andersen, managing director of the Chief Investment Office at UBS Global Wealth Management, asked rhetorically on Thursday. “Yes, we think it can.”Meanwhile, Bhaskar Laxminarayan, chief investment officer for Asia and the Middle East at…

Copper prices rose on Thursday despite a stronger U.S. dollar, as markets digested the implications of President Donald Trump’s newly announced tariffs on copper imports.   Trump’s announcement of a 50% tariff on copper imports drove domestic prices to record highs. However, analysts expect prices to gradually decline over the coming months as traders offload large stockpiles accumulated in anticipation of the measure.   The tariff follows a U.S. Commerce Department investigation launched in February, which had initially anticipated duties around 25%. The mere expectation of tariffs had already driven copper prices on the COMEX up by 25% between January…

Tencent Holdings-backed AgiBot plans to acquire a controlling stake in a Shanghai-listed company for roughly 2 billion yuan (US$279 million), sparking speculation that the humanoid robot maker could pursue a back-door listing less than three years after it was founded.Agibot, the start-up also known as Zhiyuan Robotics, has offered to buy at least 63.62 per cent of Swancor Advanced Materials through affiliates Shanghai Zhiyuan Hengyue Technology Partnership and Shanghai Zhiyuan Xinchuang Technology Equipment Partnership, according to a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday by the listed manufacturer of high-performance corrosion-resistant materials and wind turbine blade components.A deal would…

This is the final story in a three-part series exploring the domestic economic challenges China faces as it navigates an unprecedented trade war with the United States. In this piece, we explore the country’s cloudy employment outlook for workers across all sectors, and how truck drivers and high-powered lawyers alike are learning to adjust their expectations.When his chemical company laid off a third of its team, Liang Wang felt a mix of emotions: relief that he was not among them, but dread that more cutbacks would soon be on the way.Liang, a corporate culture director based in Dongguan – a…

Copper prices rose on Thursday despite a stronger U.S. dollar, as markets digested the implications of President Donald Trump’s newly announced tariffs on copper imports.   Trump’s announcement of a 50% tariff on copper imports drove domestic prices to record highs. However, analysts expect prices to gradually decline over the coming months as traders offload large stockpiles accumulated in anticipation of the measure.   The tariff follows a U.S. Commerce Department investigation launched in February, which had initially anticipated duties around 25%. The mere expectation of tariffs had already driven copper prices on the COMEX up by 25% between January…

This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters hereGood morning, happy Friday and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: Dimon’s blunt message to EuropeHow heatwaves are boosting Uniqlo’s profitsThe Fed’s independence under threatJPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon warned European leaders they have a competitiveness problem and that they are currently “losing” the battle to rival the US and China. Dimon on EU competitiveness: “Europe has gone from 90 per cent US…

Copper prices rose on Thursday despite a stronger U.S. dollar, as markets digested the implications of President Donald Trump’s newly announced tariffs on copper imports.   Trump’s announcement of a 50% tariff on copper imports drove domestic prices to record highs. However, analysts expect prices to gradually decline over the coming months as traders offload large stockpiles accumulated in anticipation of the measure.   The tariff follows a U.S. Commerce Department investigation launched in February, which had initially anticipated duties around 25%. The mere expectation of tariffs had already driven copper prices on the COMEX up by 25% between January…

Brazil scrambled to craft a measured but strong response to US President Donald Trump’s surprise tariff hike on Thursday in hopes of shielding key industries, while analysts predicted the tariffs would drive the country closer to China.Trump sent a letter to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday confirming that Brazilian exports would face 50 per cent duty starting August 1. He claimed the measure would punish what he called “unfair trade barriers” and political “persecution” of former president Jair Bolsonaro, now on trial for allegedly plotting a coup.The ideological language surprised officials in Brasilia, since over the past…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldBrazil’s leftwing president is standing firm against Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariff threat, as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva seizes the confrontation with Washington to revive his re-election prospects. After the US president jolted Brazil on Wednesday with a letter citing political justifications for imposing supercharged duties, Lula immediately promised to retaliate, saying his nation “would not be tutored by anyone”. The foreign ministry also summoned the acting US ambassador and returned Trump’s “insulting” tariff letter to him. Brasília…