Wall Street titan John Paulson defends Trump’s tariff talk

Good morning. In at present’s information:

However first, we begin with an unique interview with billionaire hedge fund supervisor John Paulson, who has brushed apart Wall Avenue worries that Donald Trump’s plans to boost tariffs will hurt the financial system and known as on the US to “decouple” from China.

“We’re not within the interval of free commerce,” Paulson advised the Monetary Occasions. “It’s very one-sided.”

Trump this month threatened to impose tariffs of 100 per cent on imports from international locations that shifted away from utilizing the greenback and has previously proposed a 60 per cent tariff on Chinese language items and 10 to twenty per cent duties on most different imports.

Paulson’s feedback distinction with remarks he made in April, when he described tariffs as a “blunt device” to repair commerce imbalances and stated “we don’t wish to decouple from China”.

Paulson, who made his fortune shorting the housing market earlier than it crashed in 2008, has been talked about as a doable Treasury secretary if Trump wins November’s presidential election. Read the full interview.

And right here’s what I’m protecting tabs on at present and over the weekend:

• Quad summit: US President Joe Biden hosts the leaders of India, Japan and Australia tomorrow in his dwelling state of Delaware.

• 2024 election: The 2 presidential candidates are on account of file monetary disclosures to the Federal Election Fee masking August. The deadline comes a day after Kamala Harris appeared alongside Oprah Winfrey.

• Sri Lanka: The nation will maintain its first presidential election on Saturday since a political rebellion in 2022. The election is a three-way race.

• Motorsport: On Sunday, Singapore hosts the most recent spherical of the F1 Grand Prix.

What lies forward for India after the primary 100 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third time period? Be a part of FT, Nikkei Asia and Asia Society consultants for a webinar on October 10 and put your inquiries to our panel now. Register for free. 

5 extra high tales

1. The S&P 500 closed at a report excessive yesterday as traders guess the Federal Reserve’s jumbo half-point rate of interest minimize would assist ship a comfortable touchdown for the US financial system. The US beneficial properties capped a worldwide rally that additionally featured robust beneficial properties in European and Asian markets. Read the full markets update.

2. Israeli forces struck targets alongside Lebanon’s southern border yesterday as Hizbollah’s chief stated Israel had crossed “all pink strains” with this week’s mass detonations of communication gadgets. Hassan Nasrallah known as the assaults, which killed 32 folks and injured hundreds, a “major security and military blow”.

3. The Financial institution of Japan has opted to carry short-term rates of interest at 0.25 per cent however warned that “excessive uncertainties” stay within the outlook for exercise and costs. The yen held regular as merchants awaited the result of a press convention by governor Kazuo Ueda. Leo Lewis is following developments in Tokyo.

4. Nike chief government John Donahoe will step down subsequent month in an abrupt management change on the world’s largest sportswear maker. Shares rose after the corporate appointed Elliott Hill, a Nike veteran who beforehand served as president of client market earlier than retiring in 2020, as Donahoe’s alternative. Right here’s more on Hill who joined Nike as an intern greater than three a long time in the past.

5. Brazil’s Supreme Courtroom will impose a superb of about $1mn per day on Elon Musk’s X and his satellite tv for pc web supplier Starlink after service to the social media platform was quickly restored despite a court-ordered ban. Customers had been capable of entry the service after X switched its third-party cloud provider.

How properly did you retain up with the information this week? Take our quiz.

Information in-depth

This week, Amazon advised greater than 300,000 of its company workers that they need to return to the workplace 5 days per week from the beginning of 2025. By doing so, chief government Andy Jassy joins leaders together with Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Elon Musk at Tesla in pushing for a full return to the workplace. It additionally places Amazon at odds with the softer approach taken by most of its tech rivals.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Enterprise lunches: Lack of time, elbow room and alcohol have created a problem on the earth’s enterprise capitals.

• São Paulo politics: A rightwing self-help guru and influencer has electrified the race to change into mayor of the western hemisphere’s largest metropolis.

• Degrowth: Current opinions say the sphere, which requires radical financial change to avoid wasting the planet, offers few tenable policy solutions, writes Soumaya Keynes.

Chart of the day

Expectations of fast rate of interest cuts by the Federal Reserve have been the primary driver of gold’s huge rally this yr, in line with analysts. Decrease borrowing prices enhance the attraction of belongings with no yield, akin to bullion, and are additionally more likely to weigh on the greenback, wherein gold is denominated. However robust demand from jewellers and central banks have additionally helped buoy costs.

Take a break from the information

The success of India’s cricket premier league has spawned a flurry of recent fast-paced competitions world wide designed to attract in untapped audiences. But can they all survive?

Further contributions from Tee Zhuo