The U.S.-China trade war intensifies as China uses rare earths dominance to retaliate against U.S. tariffs, while the U.S. pushes for a global response and long-term strategy to reduce reliance on China. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/21/japan/what-a-real-trade-war-looks-like/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #scottbessent #us #donaldtrump #trade #tariffs #republicans #china #uschinarelations #rareearths
The U.S. expects Japan to stop importing Russian energy in response to Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/16/economy/us-japan-russia-energy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #usjapanrelations #scottbessent #katsunobukato #energy #sakhalin2 #lng
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato voiced serious concern over China’s latest export controls on rare earths, stressing the importance of coordinated action from Group of Seven nations. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/16/economy/japan-finance-minister-china-rare-earth/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #katsunobukato #rareearths #chinajapanrelations #g7 #scottbessent
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the yen will settle at an appropriate level if the Bank of Japan continues to conduct the right monetary policy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/16/economy/bessent-remark-yen-boj/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #scottbessent #forex #boj #usjapanrelations #kazuoueda
U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to Japan later this month before he attends an annual regional economic summit in South Korea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/16/japan/bessent-confirm-trump-japan-visit-plan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #donaldtrump #scottbessent #japanusrelations #sanaetakaichi #ldp
U.S. President Donald Trump said he saw the U.S. as locked in a trade war with China, even as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed a longer pause on high tariffs on Chinese goods. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/16/trump-us-china-trade-bessent/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #jamiesongreer #scottbessent #us #donaldtrump #trade #tariffs #republicans #china
For Scott Bessent’s $20 billion bet on Argentina to pay off, a lot of things have to go right — things that in the past, in Argentina, have tended to go wrong. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/11/economy/bessent-gamble-argentina/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #us #argentina #donaldtrump #southamerica #scottbessent #javiermilei #china
Jonathan Schofield
boosted
Ω🪬Ω
➤ Making Argentina Great Again
it is incredibly suspicious to me that the US Treasury fund #Bessent wants to use to bail out #Argentina and Javier #Milei is almost exactly the same size as the amount of money #Tether is suddenly trying to raise via a “private placement”.
Tether is one of the most profitable companies in the history of the world, at least according to their own unaudited / unverified numbers. There should be no reason for them to need to raise capital and no desire on their part to sell off part of their cash cow.
Puting aside for a moment the absurdity of the idea that the central bank of international criminal finance considers itself to be in the same league as companies like Google, Nvidia, and Tesla, I can think of 3 possible explanations:
1. Tether is (somehow) out of cash. This is lent some credence by the fact that they are failing to pay their electricity bill in #Uruguay and had their power turned off a few weeks ago.
2. Tether wants to get some shares into the hands of corrupt government officials (other than Howard “Nutlick” #Lutnick, who already has some) for protection.
3. Now that the #Fed has pivoted and cut rates Tether’s income is about to start dropping (and the more the fed cuts, the more it will drop) so they are just cashing out the founders at the top. This is the most charitable interpretation.
it’s also worth mentioning that:
1. Tether’s #USDT token is very popular with #Argentinians trying to avoid that country’s hyperinflation. While technically illegal because of capital controls, it’s still a “crime” I have some sympathy for. But it does mean there’s an important connection between Tether and Argentina.
2. Tether is a major shareholder in south american agriculture business #Adecoagro which does a lot of work in Argentina.
more on Tether: https://cryptadamus.substack.com/p/trumps-transition-team-is-tethered
#uspol #MAGA #uspolitics #ScottBessent #treasury #finance #economics #bailout #IMF #WEF #WorldBank #howardLutnick #stablecoins
He said options for a support package “may include, but are not limited to, swap lines, direct currency purchases and purchases of US dollar-denominated government debt from Treasury’s Exchange Stabilisation Fund”. The fund, which was set up in 1934, is controlled by the US Treasury secretary, who has “considerable discretion” in the use of its assets — including about to intervene in exchange rates.
Tether Looking To Raise Up to $20 billion, bringing its valuation to $500 billion
Ω🪬Ω
➤ Making Argentina Great Again
it is incredibly suspicious to me that the US Treasury fund #Bessent wants to use to bail out #Argentina and Javier #Milei is almost exactly the same size as the amount of money #Tether is suddenly trying to raise via a “private placement”.
Tether is one of the most profitable companies in the history of the world, at least according to their own unaudited / unverified numbers. There should be no reason for them to need to raise capital and no desire on their part to sell off part of their cash cow.
Puting aside for a moment the absurdity of the idea that the central bank of international criminal finance considers itself to be in the same league as companies like Google, Nvidia, and Tesla, I can think of 3 possible explanations:
1. Tether is (somehow) out of cash. This is lent some credence by the fact that they are failing to pay their electricity bill in #Uruguay and had their power turned off a few weeks ago.
2. Tether wants to get some shares into the hands of corrupt government officials (other than Howard “Nutlick” #Lutnick, who already has some) for protection.
3. Now that the #Fed has pivoted and cut rates Tether’s income is about to start dropping (and the more the fed cuts, the more it will drop) so they are just cashing out the founders at the top. This is the most charitable interpretation.
it’s also worth mentioning that:
1. Tether’s #USDT token is very popular with #Argentinians trying to avoid that country’s hyperinflation. While technically illegal because of capital controls, it’s still a “crime” I have some sympathy for. But it does mean there’s an important connection between Tether and Argentina.
2. Tether is a major shareholder in south american agriculture business #Adecoagro which does a lot of work in Argentina.
more on Tether: https://cryptadamus.substack.com/p/trumps-transition-team-is-tethered
#uspol #MAGA #uspolitics #ScottBessent #treasury #finance #economics #bailout #IMF #WEF #WorldBank #howardLutnick #stablecoins
He said options for a support package “may include, but are not limited to, swap lines, direct currency purchases and purchases of US dollar-denominated government debt from Treasury’s Exchange Stabilisation Fund”. The fund, which was set up in 1934, is controlled by the US Treasury secretary, who has “considerable discretion” in the use of its assets — including about to intervene in exchange rates.
Tether Looking To Raise Up to $20 billion, bringing its valuation to $500 billion
U.S. and Chinese officials say they've reached an agreement on TikTok, to be confirmed during a call between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on Friday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/09/16/tech/us-china-tiktok-trump-xi/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #tech #tiktok #bytedance #china #us #donaldtrump #trade #tariffs #republicans #scottbessent #jamiesongreer #helifeng #xijinping
U.S. and Chinese officials ended their first day of talks in Madrid, where they are set to discuss trade, TikTok and Russian oil. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/09/15/us-china-spain-trade-tiktok/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #us #china #spain #tiktok #trade #tariffs #helifeng #scottbessent
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reaffirmed in a joint statement their commitment to let markets determine currency exchange rates. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/09/12/economy/us-japan-fx-manipulation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #scottbessent #katsunobukato #us #tariffs #japaneseeconomy #currencies #yen #boj #donaldtrump
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for renewed scrutiny of the Federal Reserve, including its power to set interest rates. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/09/06/economy/us-treasury-bessent-changes-fed/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #federalreserve #us #globaleconomy #tariffs #trade #scottbessent #donaldtrump
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed improved ties with China as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent escalated criticism of the South Asian nation over 'excess profits' from purchases of Russian oil. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/20/asia-pacific/politics/modi-china-bessent-india-families/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #wangyi #china #narendramodi #india #us #scottbessent #brics #mukeshambani #russia #oil
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says Japan's $550 billion of investment funding in return for lower U.S. tariff rates will be directed by U.S. President Donald Trump to benefit the United States. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/20/economy/lutnick-cnbc-billion/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #ryoseiakazawa #tariffs #donaldtrump #trade #carmakers #us #japaneseeconomy #usjapanrelations #scottbessent #howardlutnick
The list provided phonetic pronouncers for all the Russian men expected at the summit, including "Mr. President POO-tihn."
Pages 6 & 7 in the packet described how lunch at the summit would be served, and for whom. A menu included in the documents indicated that the luncheon was to be held "in honor of his excellency Vladimir Putin."
A seating chart shows that #Putin & #Trump were supposed to sit across from each other during the luncheon. Trump would be flanked by: Secy of State #MarcoRubio, Secy of #Defense#PeteHegseth & WH Chief of Staff #SusieWiles to his right, & Secy of #Treasury#ScottBessent, Secy of #Commerce#HowardLutnick & Special Envoy for Peace Missions #SteveWitkoff to his left. Putin would be seated next to his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey #Lavrov, & his Aide for Foreign Policy, Yuri #Ushakov.
Tokyo’s record-beating stock rally ends as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent jawbones Japan on rates, saying the country has an inflation problem. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/14/economy/bessent-rates-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #tariffs #japaneseeconomy #us #usjapanrelations #nikkei #stocks #tse #donaldtrump #trade #scottbessent
The United States imposes a 15% 'reciprocal' tariff on most Japanese goods as the two sides disagree about the method of its calculation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/07/economy/reciprocal-tariff-effective/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #ryoseiakazawa #tariffs #shigeruishiba #donaldtrump #trade #carmakers #us #japaneseeconomy #usjapanrelations #scottbessent
U.S. President Donald Trump said the $550 billion of investment pledged by Japan is 'our money' and that he is free to deploy it as he wishes. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/06/economy/trump-money-is-ours/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #ryoseiakazawa #tariffs #shigeruishiba #donaldtrump #trade #carmakers #us #japaneseeconomy #usjapanrelations #scottbessent
Akazawa returns to the U.S. for more talks as the tariff deal looks shaky due in part to differences in the interpretation of the agreement. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/05/economy/akazawa-ninth-round/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #ryoseiakazawa #tariffs #shigeruishiba #donaldtrump #trade #carmakers #us #japaneseeconomy #usjapanrelations #scottbessent