20/06/2025

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | JUNE 20, 2025

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Stocks drop after Fed comments on inflation

Waymo looks to test its self-driving cars in New York NEW YORK: Google-owned Waymo on Wednesday said it has applied for a permit to start testing its self-driving cars in New York City, a first for the Big Apple. Waymo’s autonomous vehicles have become part of the everyday landscape in a growing number of US cities, serving as safe transport options, tourist attractions, and symbols of a not-so-distant future. Waymo plans to begin operating a small fleet of autonomous vehicles in Manhattan next month, with human drivers at the wheel until regulators allow otherwise, a spokesperson told AFP. Waymo operations in New York, once properly permitted, will be in a test phase, according to the company. Waymo first ventured into New York in late 2021, but did not let its cars operate autonomously then either. New York State law limits the use of autonomous cars to testing and does not allow Waymo to offer the kind of robotaxi services it provides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, a Waymo spokesperson said. New York officials said they are making safety a priority “which is why we have put in place safeguards and conditions for any type of autonomous vehicle to ensure that this technology is deployed appropriately”. Founded in 2009, Waymo now has a fleet of 1,500 vehicles and provides more than 250,000 paid rides a week in the United States. Waymo plans to launch its robotaxi service in Atlanta this summer, followed by Miami and Washington in 2026. The collapse of Waymo’s main competitor, Cruise – due to high costs and following poor crisis management in response to a San Francisco accident – has propelled Waymo to market leadership. Amazon subsidiary Zoox has a few dozen prototype vehicles on the road, and is not planning its first commercial launch until later this year in Las Vegas. As for Tesla, it has promised to debut its robotaxi service on Sunday in Austin, Texas, after several postponements. – AFP

The Fed comments compounded the already weak sentiment as Trump considers joining Israeli strikes against Iran. He indicated he was still looking into such a move and that Iran had reached out seeking negotiations, saying: “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.” Without providing more details, the president added: “The next week is going to be very big.” Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier sounded a defiant note, rejecting Trump’s call for “unconditional surrender”. Crude prices rose on Wednesday after fluctuating through the Asian day as traders tracked developments. Israel’s army said yesterday it had struck an “inactive nuclear reactor” in Iran overnight, while the Natanz nuclear site was targeted again. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran would “pay a heavy price” after a missile hit a hospital in Israel’s south. Analysts said the main worry for traders was the possibility Tehran will shut a key shipping lane through which an estimated fifth of global oil supply flows. “We don’t see it as a likely scenario at this time, but given the precarious state that the Iran regime is in right now, I think everybody should be watching” the Strait of Hormuz, Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, told Bloomberg television in an interview. – AFP source and ownership of the stolen money, it said. “These scams prey on trust, often resulting in extreme financial hardship for the victims,” Shawn Bradstreet of the US Secret Service office in San Francisco said. US officials hope the money can eventually be returned to its rightful owners, he added. Cryptocurrency investment fraud caused more than US$5.8 billion in reported losses in 2024 alone, the statement said. – AFP

“Ultimately, the cost of the tariff has to be paid and some of it will fall on the end consumer,” Powell added. “We know that’s coming and we just want to see a little bit of that before we make judgements prematurely.” The Fed’s decision drew the ire of Trump, who has repeatedly pressured the independent central bank for rate cuts. He wrote on his Truth Social platform that Powell was “the WORST” and a “real dummy, who’s costing America $Billions!”. Hours before the meeting, he had told reporters: “We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed.” “We have no inflation, we have only success, and I’d like to see interest rates get down,” he said at the White House. “Maybe I should go to the Fed. Am I allowed to appoint myself?” Tai Hui at JP Morgan Asset Management said: “The Fed’s assessment indicates that the economy is in good shape, aligning with current economic data. “However, trade policy, fiscal policy, and unintended consequences of policies from the Trump administration are contributing to market volatility in the second half of this year.” Hong Kong led share losses, falling 2%, while Tokyo shed 1%, with Bangkok also well down as a political crisis involving Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra put her government on the brink of collapse. Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai and Jakarta were also down with London, Paris and Frankfurt.

o Oil prices rise as investors await developments in Israel-Iran conflict HONG KONG: Equities fell yesterday after the Federal Reserve warned Donald Trump’s trade war could reignite US inflation and dampen economic growth, while oil rose on Middle East concerns as investors awaited developments in the Israel-Iran conflict. While geopolitical tensions are the key focus for markets, traders eyed the US central bank’s latest meeting on Wednesday as officials discussed monetary policy in light of the president’s tariff blitz. The Fed kept borrowing rates on hold, as expected, and said in a statement that “uncertainty about the economic outlook has diminished but remains elevated”. It also cut its economic growth forecast for this year and raised inflation and unemployment expectations, in its first updated projections since Trump unveiled his levies on most trading partners at the start of April. Fed chairman Jerome Powell called the economy “still solid” but added that “increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity”. He said the bank was “well-positioned to wait to learn more” before considering changes to rates. Still, the Fed’s so-called dot-plot chart predicted two cuts this year.

Washington recovers US$225 million stolen in crypto scam NEW YORK: The US government said on Wednesday it recovered US$225 million (RM959 million) in the largest seizure yet of money stolen in a cryptocurrency confidence scam. The FBI and the Secret Service used blockchain analyses and other investigative techniques to determine that these millions came from the theft and laundering of funds from victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes, the US Attorney’s Office said in a statement, without specifying whether arrests were made. Dozens of people in the United States and more than 400 victims around the world thought they were making legitimate crypto investments when they were in fact being scammed, the statement said. The scheme involved a blockchain-based money laundering network that carried out hundreds of thousands of transactions to hide the

Nippon Steel closes US Steel acquisition under strict conditions NEW YORK: Nippon Steel completed its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of US Steel on Wednesday, granting rare veto-like power over strategic decisions to Washington with a “golden share”. director as well as granting consent rights for proposed capital budget cuts among other powers. Nippon Steel CEO Eiji Hashimoto said yesterday in Tokyo that this “won’t hinder activities that we hope to conduct”.

The announcement concludes a saga that began in December 2023, when Nippon Steel agreed to acquire the linchpin of American steelmaking for US$14.9 billion. An outright buyout sparked bipartisan political opposition, including from President Donald Trump, who railed against the proposed deal throughout the 2024 presidential campaign. But last month he announced a pivot, branding the revamped venture – blocked by former president Joe Biden on security grounds – as a “partnership” rather than a takeover. A national security agreement between the companies and the US government provides that approximately US$11 billion in new investments will be made by 2028. And Washington’s non-economic golden share allows it to appoint one independent

“The agreement is fully satisfactory to us, as it ensures the management freedom ... essential for business investment,” Hashimoto told reporters. “We intend to start implementing measures for revitalisation and development as soon as possible,” he said, promising not to “transfer jobs and production sites elsewhere”. It is “only natural” that the US government would be concerned about the takeover of a symbolic company, which dates back to 1901, Hashimoto added. A source close to the matter said Nippon Steel had bought all common shares of US Steel, completing the merger. The deal creates the world’s fourth biggest steelmaker – but Nippon Steel faces several big challenges, from trade tariffs to weak demand for steel products worldwide. – AFP

Hashimoto (left) and Nippon Steel vice-chairman Takahiro Mori holding a press conference at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo yesterday. – REUTERSPIC