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Chesapeake approves 130+ condo development

Chesapeake City Council last week unanimously approved a rezoning request that will allow for the construction of up to 137 condo-style units on an almost 40-acre property in the city’s area.

Developer Associates plans for the at 1504 Elbow Road to be directly adjacent to and an extension of Grayson Commons, a mixed-use community of 268 homes located at Centerville Turnpike and Elbow Road.

The development calls for 89 carriage house-style condominiums, similar to townhouses, and 48 garden-style flat condominiums. The garden-style flat units will be for sale and not rentals.

The land was originally zoned for residential and agricultural purposes. The council’s vote converts 20.69 acres of the land to residential and 19.2 acres for conservation recreation.

The site will include a network of sidewalks & trails, including a 10-foot multiuse path extension along Elbow Road. The site plan designates 19 acres for preservation as a wooded conservation area, maintaining natural buffers and supporting the local environment. It also calls for the construction of seven new and extended turn lanes for improved traffic flow without adding access points.

Both the planning commission and city staff recommended approval of the project.

“This project introduces new, unique styles to the Greenbrier area, enhancing the diversity of home options available while preserving open space and connectivity,” said Drew Vakos, vice president of business development at The , in a statement. “We are grateful for the City of ‘s support and are proud to continue building communities that reflect both quality and care.”

The construction timeline for the new development and prices for the units have not been publicly announced. Dragas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tesla shares sink as Musk says it could face some ‘rough quarters’ ahead

NEW YORK (AP) — shares sank Thursday after CEO said the company could face a “few rough quarters” as it transitions to a future focused less on selling cars and more on offering people rides in .

Late Wednesday, the electric vehicle maker reported another quarter of lackluster financial results, with revenue dropping 12% and profit falling 16%. Many prospective buyers have been turned off by Musk’s foray into right-wing , and the competition has ramped up in key markets such as Europe and China.

Tesla faces the loss of the $7,500 and stands to make much less money from selling regulatory credits to other automakers after recent changes to federal tax law. President ‘s tariffs on countries including China and Mexico will also cost Tesla hundreds of millions of dollars, the company said on its earnings call.

Musk spent the call talking less about car sales and more about robotaxis, automated driving software and robotics, which he says is the future of the company. But he acknowledged those businesses are a ways off from contributing to Tesla’s bottom line.

Tesla began a rollout in June of its paid  service in Austin, Texas, and hopes to introduce the driverless cabs in several other cities soon. Musk told analysts that the service will be available to probably “half of the population of the U.S. by the end of the year — that’s at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals.”

“We’re in this weird transition period where we’ll lose a lot of incentives in the U.S.,” Musk said, adding that Tesla “probably could have a few rough quarters” ahead. He added, though, “Once you get to autonomy at scale in the second half of next year, certainly by the end of next year, I would be surprised if Tesla’s economics are not very compelling.”

In early trading Thursday, Tesla share were down 8% to around $305.

Tesla tumbles and Alphabet rises to keep Wall Street near its records

Summary

  • gained 0.2% after hitting record high
  • Dow fell 204 points, rose 0.2%
  • Alphabet jumped on strong earnings
  • , and slid despite profit beats

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is hanging near its records on Thursday, but the calm surface of the U.S. is hiding some roiling moves underneath. Alphabet is rising, and Tesla is tumbling following a jumble of profit reports from big U.S. companies.

The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in morning trading after setting an all-time high the day before. The Industrial Average was down 204 points, or 0.5%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.

Alphabet climbed 1.6% after the company behind Google and YouTube delivered a fatter profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It’s leaning more into artificial-intelligence technology and said it’s increasing its budget to spend on AI chips and other investments this year by $10 billion to $85 billion.

That helped push up other stocks in the AI industry, including a 0.8% rise for Nvidia. The chip company was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500 because it’s the largest on Wall Street in terms of value.

But a 7.9% drop for Tesla kept the market in check. ‘s electric-vehicle company reported results for the spring that were roughly in line with or above analysts’ expectations, and Musk is trying to highlight Tesla’s moves into AI and robotaxis.

The focus, though, remains on how Musk’s foray into is turning off potential customers, and he said several rough quarters may be ahead as “we’re in this weird transition period where we’ll lose a lot of incentives in the U.S.”

Stocks have broadly been rallying for weeks on hopes that President will reach trade deals with other countries that will lower his stiff proposed tariffs, along with the risk that they could cause a recession and drive up inflation. The record-setting gains have been so strong that criticism is rising about how expensive stock prices have become. That in turn puts pressure on companies to deliver solid growth in profits in order to justify their gains.

Besides Tesla, Chipotle Mexican Grill also helped weigh on the market. The burrito chain delivered a profit for the spring that topped analysts’ expectations, but its growth in revenue came up short. Its stock fell 12%.

IBM dropped 10.4% even though it likewise reported a stronger profit than expected. Analysts pointed to slowing growth in its software business, among other things underneath the surface.

American Airlines lost 7.9% despite reporting a stronger profit than expected. The company said it expects to report a loss for the summer quarter. It also gave a forecast for full-year results that had a wide range: between a loss of 20 cents per share and a profit of 80 cents per share, depending on how the economy performs.

Reactions in the stock market have generally been stronger than usual when companies beat or miss their profit targets by a wide margin, according to Julian Emanuel at Evercore.

Other extreme moves have also been roaring underneath the market’s surface, including huge swings for “meme stocks.” Those are stocks where traders are looking to jump in amid online cheerleading and ride it higher before getting left holding the bag when momentum stops. Opendoor Technologies is heading for a gain of 10.9% following a manic stretch where it swung by at least 10%, up or down, in 10 straight days.

Such swings, though, haven’t been showing up in overall market indexes, which have been gliding recently. The S&P 500 hasn’t had a day where it swung by at least 1% in a month.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady following the latest signals that the U.S. economy seems to be holding up OK despite all the pressures on it from tariffs and elsewhere.

One report said that fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, a potential signal of easing layoffs. A separate report from S&P Global suggested growth in U.S. business activity accelerated in July, and the preliminary results easily topped economists’ expectations.

That helped nearly cement expectations on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady at its next meeting next week, even though Trump has been agitating angrily for cuts. The European Central Bank, which had earlier been cutting its rates, also held steady on Thursday as it waits to see how Trump’s tariffs affect the economy.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note briefly approached 4.44% in the morning before pulling back to 4.40%, where it was late Wednesday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Asia and Europe. Tokyo’s jump of 1.6% and London’s rise of 1% were two of the bigger gains.

UnitedHealth says it is under a federal investigation and cooperating

Summary

  • says it’s under DOJ criminal and civil probes
  • Investigation tied to billing practices
  • Company cooperating after reviewing media reports
  • Federal scrutiny follows earlier Wall Street Journal report

Shares of UnitedHealth Group slipped Thursday after the health care giant said it was under a investigation.

The company said it has started complying with both criminal and civil requests from federal investigators and it was cooperating with them.

“(UnitedHealth) has a long record of responsible conduct and effective compliance,” the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal said federal officials had launched a civil fraud investigation into how the company records diagnoses that lead to extra payments for its Medicare Advantage, or MA, plans. Those are privately run versions of the government’s Medicare coverage program mostly for people ages 65 and over.

The company’s UnitedHealthcare business covers more than 8 million people as the nation’s largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans. The business has been under pressure in recent quarters due to rising care use and rate cuts.

The Journal said in February, citing anonymous sources, that the probe focused on billing practices in recent months.

The paper then said earlier this month that a federal criminal health care-fraud unit was investigating how the company used doctors and nurses to gather diagnoses that bolster payments.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. said that it reached out to the Justice Department “after reviewing media reports about into certain aspects of the company’s participation in the Medicare program.”

UnitedHealth runs one of the nation’s largest and pharmacy benefits management businesses. It also operates a growing Optum business that provides care and technology support.

UnitedHealth raked in more than $400 billion in revenue last year as the third-largest company in the Fortune 500. Last year, its share price topped $630 to reach a new all-time high.

But company shares have mostly shed value since December, when UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in midtown Manhattan on his way to the company’s annual investor meeting. A 26-year-old suspect, Luigi Mangione, has been charged in connection with the shooting.

In April, shares plunged after the company cut its forecast due to a spike in health care use. A month later, former CEO Andrew Witty resigned and the company withdrew its forecast.

The stock price slipped another 2%, or $5.12, to $287.39 Thursday morning. That represents a 54% drop from its all-time high.

UnitedHealth will report its second-quarter results next Tuesday.

Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern confirm merger talks

Summary

  • , confirm merger discussions
  • Deal would create North America’s largest freight railroad
  • Merger would link coasts, combining major and minor players
  • Regulatory approval expected to be a major hurdle

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern confirmed Thursday that they are in merger talks that would create a single U.S railroad with service stretching from the East to the West Coast.

The Associated Press reported last week that the companies were discussing a tie-up but neither company confirmed until Thursday morning.

The potential merger would combine the largest and smallest of the country’s six major freight railroads.

There’s widespread debate over whether such a merger would be approved by U.S. regulators, which have established a high bar for consolidation in the crucial industry.

That’s largely because of the aftermath of an industry consolidation nearly 30 years ago that involved Union Pacific. Union Pacific merged with Southern Pacific in 1996 and the tie-up led to an extended period of snarled rail traffic on U.S. rails. Three years later, Conrail was divvied up by Norfolk Southern and CSX, which led to more backups on rails in the East.

However, just two years ago, the U.S. Surface Board approved the first major rail merger in more than two decades. In that deal, which was supported by big shippers, Canadian Pacific acquired Kansas City Southern for $31 billion to create the CPKC railroad.

Still, some of the reasoning behind the approval was that it involved two of the smallest major railroads, and Kansas City Southern was the only operator with direct lines into Mexico. The combined railroad, regulators reasoned, would benefit trade across North America.

The deal left only six major freight railroads, however, which could become an issue when regulators consider whether to approve any deal between Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific.

To be approved, any major rail merger must show it will enhance competition and serve the public interest under rules established in 2001, in the wake of that pair of mergers.

Also Thursday, Union Pacific reported that its adjusted profit grew to $1.8 billion in the second quarter.

The Omaha, Nebraska company’s, per-share earnings rose rose to $3.03, beating Wall Street expectations and easily topping the $2.71 per-share profit it reported in the same period last year. Analysts were expecting profit of $2.91 per share for the recent quarter.

Operating revenue grew 2% over last year, to $6.2 billion, the company said.

Union Pacific shares fell 2% just at the opening bell Thursday, to $226.70 each. They had slumped to around $208 in early April, their lowest level of 2025, as President rolled out sweeping tariffs that threatened to upend global trade.

Bridgewater College raises $36.7M in five-year campaign

Bridgewater College announced Monday that it successfully concluded its five-year Connections , raising $36.7 million from more than 1,100 donors and exceeding its $35 million goal.

Connections: The Campaign for , which ended June 30, raised money for  scholarships, teaching and learning initiatives, and capital projects.

Spokesperson Heather Cole stated that the college spent a significant portion of the money raised during the campaign over the past five years to address these needs.

The college raised around $15.1 million for teaching and learning initiatives. As part of this component of the campaign, the college named three of its schools for donors: the Bonnie Forrer and John Harvey Rhodes School of Arts and Humanities in 2021; the Rev. Wilfred E. and Dr. Joyce A. Nolen School of Business and Professional Studies in 2023; and the Greg L. and Betty P. Coffman School of Natural Sciences in 2024. Funds donated by the schools’ namesakes supported faculty development, internships, study abroad programs, summer research projects, equipment and travel expenses.

Connections funds raised also went toward establishing several endowed funds for student research and the creation of the college’s new engineering major, which provides students with access to upgraded labs, 3D printing and mechatronics. The courses prepare students for careers in mechanical, aerospace and nuclear engineering and automotive design.

For capital projects, raised $13.1 million. Money went toward the creation of Rebecca Quad, an outdoor learning space completed in 2023; the renovation of the interior spaces of Bowman Hall, the main classroom building on campus, completed in 2024; and upgrades to the Jopson Athletic Complex, including improvements to the track, javelin throw area, steeplechase and turf replacement. The college completed the upgrades to its athletic complex this year.

The campaign also raised more than $8.1 million for the Eagle Fund, a scholarship fund that provides direct and immediate scholarship support to students.

“The success of the Connections Campaign is proof that when the Bridgewater community comes together, extraordinary things happen,” Bridgewater College President David W. Bushman said in a statement. “We are humbled by the generosity of our donors — their philanthropic spirit will have a lasting impact on Bridgewater students, now and for generations to come.”

Founded in 1880 and located in the town of Bridgewater in , Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts institution with 1,450 students. It offers more than 60 undergraduate majors and minors, as well as four graduate programs.

Northern Virginia business leaders rally behind GMU president

Summary

Four powerful business organizations in Northern Virginia have sent a letter to ‘s board of visitors voicing support for George Mason President Gregory Washington, who supporters say is the next university leader the is seeking to oust amid four federal investigations launched in the past month.

Released Wednesday to the public, the letter is signed by the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the Northern Virginia Chamber and the Loudoun County and Prince William chambers of commerce. The groups laud Washington, who took office in 2020, for leading and fostering “a preeminent educational institution that delivers the region’s workforce. Simply stated, Mason is advancing our regional future.”

In 2019, George Mason received $235 million to produce more than 7,500 master’s graduates in tech fields over the next 20 years as part of the state’s Tech Talent Investment Program. Over the past decade, the university has forged partnerships with Amazon.com, General Dynamics Information Technology, Northrop Grumman and other major corporations.

Following University of Virginia President Jim Ryan’s resignation under similar circumstances this month, the Trump administration has now seemingly turned its war on diversity, equity and inclusion, or , to focus on Washington and GMU.

The administration has launched four federal investigations at George Mason into alleged race and sex bias in hiring and promotion decisions in favor of women and people of color and alleged failure to protect Jewish students and staff from antisemitism. The U.S. ‘s civil rights division has opened two probes, and the other two investigations are under the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights umbrella.

The letter from the four regional business organizations, dated July 22, is the first unified defense of Washington from the business community since the federal investigations were launched. It may carry more influence than missives from Democratic politicians or faculty members — and it is not as politically loaded as it doesn’t mention the federal investigations or the Trump administration’s stance on DEI.

The letter goes on to describe how under Washington, the university has expanded its capacity for research, added industry partnerships and “created more pathways to opportunity for students from all backgrounds. … As Mason’s national profile rises, so does Virginia’s ability to attract, develop and retain top talent.”

The organizations call on the university’s board of visitors — all appointed by and in some cases with ties to powerful conservative political groups — to “reaffirm its support for Mason as a critical regional asset and for Dr. Washington’s strategic vision for the university.”

NVTC President and CEO Jennifer Taylor called for other business organizations, chambers and associations in Virginia to stand with the signatories in support of Washington. “We support Dr. Washington because his vision aligns with the needs of our business community — and because collaboration between the private sector and has never been more important,” she said in a statement.

The GMU Board of Visitors is led by Rector Charles “Cully” Stimson, a senior legal fellow and manager of the National Security Law Program at the Heritage Foundation. He and other board members have been publicly critical of Washington over DEI policies. However, Washington defended himself in a statement last week, saying that “George Mason does not engage in ‘illegal DEI,’ as the general accusation has been labeled.”

Critics, including Virginia’s two Democratic U.S. senators and state lawmakers, as well as faculty members, have called the federal investigations politically motivated and say the effort is intended to force out Washington, GMU’s first Black president.

Many have drawn parallels to the resignation of U.Va.’s Ryan, who was subjected to DOJ demands to prove that U.Va. was dismantling its diversity, equity and inclusion office and initiatives after its board voted to do so in March.

At the end of June, Ryan said that he would step down in July because he wished to protect federal funding for student financial aid and research at the university, which was threatened by the Trump administration if he remained president, according to reports.

U.S. automakers warn of fallout from Japan trade deal

Summary

  • U.S. criticizes Japan trade agreement
  • Automakers face 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum
  • Parts and vehicles face 25% import tax outside USMCA
  • Trump claims deal will create hundreds of thousands of jobs

WASHINGTON (AP) — are concerned about President ‘s agreement to tariff Japanese vehicles at 15%, saying they will face steeper on steel, aluminum and parts than their competitors.

“We need to review all the details of the agreement, but this is a deal that will charge lower tariffs on Japanese autos with no U.S. content,” said , president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents the Big 3 American automakers, General Motors, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis.

Blunt said in an interview the U.S. companies and workers “definitely are at a disadvantage” because they face a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on parts and finished vehicles, with some exceptions for products covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that went into effect in 2020.

The domestic automaker reaction reveals the challenge of enforcing policies across the world economy, showing that for all of Trump’s promises there can be genuine tradeoffs from policy choices that risk serious blowback in politically important states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, where automaking is both a source of income and of identity.

Trump portrayed the trade framework as a major win after announcing it on Tuesday, saying it would add hundreds of thousands of jobs to the U.S. economy and open the Japanese economy in ways that could close a persistent . The agreement includes a 15% tariff that replaces the 25% import tax the Republican president had threatened to charge starting on Aug. 1. Japan would also put together $550 billion to invest in U.S. projects, the White House said.

The framework with Japan will remove regulations that prevent American vehicles from being sold in that country, the White House has said, adding that it would be possible for vehicles built in Detroit to be shipped directly to Japan and ready to be sold.

But Blunt said that foreign auto producers, including the U.S., Europe and South Korea, have just a 6% share in Japan, raising skepticism that simply having the open market that the says will exist in that country will be sufficient.

“Tough nut to crack, and I’d be very surprised if we see any meaningful market penetration in Japan,” Blunt said.

Asked at Wednesday’s briefing about whether Trump’s sectoral tariffs such as those on autos were now subject to possible change, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the issue had been going through the Commerce Department.

The framework with Japan was also an indication that some nations simply saw it as preferential to have a set tariff rate rather than be whipsawed by Trump’s changes on import taxes since April. But for the moment, both Japan and the United Kingdom with its quotas on auto exports might enjoy a competitive edge in the U.S.

“With this agreement in place it provides Japan with a near-term operating cost advantage compared to other foreign automakers, and even some domestic U.S. product that uses a high degree of both foreign production and parts content,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. “It will be interesting to see if this is the first domino to fall in a series of foreign countries that decide long-term stability is more important that short term disputes over specific tariff rates.”

Autos Drive America, an organization that represents major Japanese companies Toyota, Honda and Nissan and other international automakers, said in a statement that it is “encouraged” by the announced trade framework and noted its members have out-produced domestic automaker production for the past two years.

“International automakers have invested more than $124 billion in their U.S. operations over the past thirty years, and the certainty provided by this agreement allows them to plan for greater investment, bringing even more production to our shores and providing affordable options for American consumers,” the statement said. “Now, we urge the Trump administration to swiftly reach similar agreements with other allies and partners, especially the European Union, South Korea, Canada and Mexico.”

There is the possibility that the Japanese framework would give automakers and other countries grounds for pushing for changes in the Trump administration’s tariffs regime. The president has previously said that flexibility in import tax negotiations is something he values. The USMCA is up for review next year.

Ford, GM and Stellantis do “have every right to be upset,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president at consultancy AutoForecast Solutions. But “Honda, Toyota, and Nissan still import vehicles from Mexico and Canada, where the current levels of tariffs can be higher than those applied to Japanese imports. Most of the high-volume models from Japanese brands are already produced in North America.”

Fiorani noted that among the few exceptions are the Toyota 4Runner, the Mazda CX-5 and the Subaru Forester, but most of the other imports fill niches that are too small to warrant production in the U.S.

“There will be negotiations between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico, and it will probably result in tariffs no higher than 15%,” Fiorani added, “but nobody seems to be in a hurry to negotiate around the last Trump administration’s free trade agreement.”

Stocks rise to record on U.S.–Japan trade deal news

Summary

  • climbs 0.5% to another record high
  • rises 431 points; up 0.3%
  • surges 3.5% after U.S.–Japan tariff announcement
  • Trump’s 15% tariff on Japanese imports eases investor concerns

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are ticking toward another record on Wednesday following a trade deal between the world’s No. 1 and No. 4 economies, one that would lower proposed tariffs on Japanese imports coming to the United States.

The S&P 500 was 0.5% higher, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 431 points, or 1%, as of 1:51 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.

Stocks jumped even more in Tokyo, where the Nikkei 225 rallied 3.5% after President announced a trade framework that would place a 15% tax on imports coming from Japan. That’s lower than the 25% rate that Trump had earlier said would kick in on Aug. 1.

“It’s a sign of the times that markets would cheer 15% tariffs,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “A year ago, that level of tariffs would be shocking. Today, we breathe a sigh of relief.”

Trump has proposed stiff taxes on imports from around the world, which carry the double-edged risk of driving up inflation for U.S. households while slowing the economy. But many of Trump’s tariffs are currently on pause, giving time to reach deals with other countries that could lower the tax rates. Trump also announced a trade agreement with the Philippines on Tuesday.

So far, the U.S. economy has seemed to hold up OK despite the pressures on it. And tariffs already in place may be having less of an effect than expected, at least when it comes to the prices that U.S. households are paying at the moment.

“The main lesson about tariffs so far is that passthrough to consumer prices is tracking somewhat lower than in 2019,” according to Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle.

Tariffs are certainly having an effect, to be sure, as big U.S. companies across industries have been demonstrating through their profit updates in recent days.

Hasbro took a $1 billion, non-cash hit to its results for the spring to write down the value of some of its assets following a review triggered by the implementation of tariffs. It said tariffs have had no impact yet on how much profit it’s making from each $1 of its sales, but it expects to see costs ramp during the current quarter.

Hasbro’s stock fell 1% even though it reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, when not including the $1 billion charge.

Like the toymaker, Texas Instruments’ stock also fell despite delivering results for the latest quarter that were above analysts’ expectations. It gave a forecasted range for profit in the current quarter whose midpoint fell a bit shy of Wall Street’s.

Analysts pointed to some cautious commentary from Texas Instruments executives about how the uncertainty created by tariffs could slow demand. Its stock sank 12.1%.

Helping to offset that was a 12.5% jump for GE Vernova’s stock. The energy company not only delivered a stronger profit than analysts expected, it also raised its forecasts for revenue from its power and electrification businesses.

GE Vernova also said that the inflation it’s expecting to see as a result of tariffs may be trending toward the lower end of $300 million to $400 million, net of mitigating actions.

Lamb Weston rallied 16.5% after the supplier of French fries and other potato products delivered better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected and said it expects customers will continue to eat fries even with an uncertain economy. It also announced a plan to cut at least $250 million in costs by cutting about 4% of its workforce and making other moves.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, several stocks leaped as traders search for the next “meme stock” that could ride a wave of online enthusiasm to high prices, regardless of what the company’s profits are doing. Krispy Kreme, which came into the day with a 58.4% loss for the year so far, was up as much as 38.7% shortly after the market opened. It gave back most of those gains and was up 4.5% in afternoon trading. GoPro jumped 14.6%.

That’s even as some other potential meme stocks lost their momentum. Opendoor Technologies, which had more than tripled between the last two Mondays, fell 23.1%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across Asia and Europe following Trump’s announcements of trade deals.

Japan’s market was the big winner, where a series of automakers gave no public reaction as their stock prices rallied. Japanese companies tend to be cautious about their public reactions, and some business officials have privately remarked in off-record comments that they hesitate to say anything because Trump keeps changing his mind.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.6%, and France’s CAC 40 gained 1.4% for two of the world’s bigger moves.

In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.38% from 4.35% late Tuesday.

Trump announces new tariffs on Japan

Summary

  • Trump announces 15% tariff on Japanese imports, down from proposed 25%
  • New U.S.–Japan trade framework praised by PM
  • sets 19% U.S. tariff, exempts American exports
  • U.S. reaffirms existing 19% tariffs on Indonesian goods

WASHINGTON (AP) — President announced a trade framework with Japan on Tuesday, placing a 15% tax on goods imported from that nation.

“This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the United States “will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan.”

The president said Japan would invest “at my direction” $550 billion into the U.S. and would “open” its economy to American autos and rice. The 15% tax on imported Japanese goods is a meaningful drop from the 25% rate that Trump, in a recent letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said would be levied starting Aug. 1.

Early Wednesday, Ishiba acknowledged the new trade agreement, saying it would benefit both sides and help them work together.

With the announcement, Trump is seeking to tout his ability as a dealmaker — even as his tariffs, when initially announced in early April led to a market panic and fears of slower growth that for the moment appear to have subsided. Key details remained unclear from his post, such as whether Japanese-built autos would face a higher 25% tariff that Trump imposed on the sector.

But the framework fits a growing pattern for Trump, who is eager to portray the tariffs as win for the U.S. His administration says the revenues will help reduce the budget deficit and more factories will relocate to America to avoid the and cause trade imbalances to disappear.

The wave of tariffs continues to be a source of uncertainty about whether it could lead to higher prices for consumers and businesses if companies simply pass along the costs. The problem was seen sharply Tuesday after General Motors reported a 35% drop in its net income during the second quarter as it warned that tariffs would hit its business in the months ahead, causing its stock to tumble.

As the Aug. 1 deadline for the tariff rates in his letters to world leaders is approaching, Trump also announced a trade framework with the Philippines that would impose a tariff of 19% on its goods, while American-made products would face no import taxes. The president also reaffirmed his 19% tariffs on Indonesia.

The U.S. ran a $69.4 billion on goods with Japan last year, according to the Census Bureau.

America had a trade imbalance of $17.9 billion with Indonesia and an imbalance of $4.9 billion with the Philippines. Both nations are less affluent than the U.S. and an imbalance means America imports more from those countries than it exports to them.

The president is set to impose the broad tariffs listed in his recent letters to other world leaders on Aug. 1, raising questions of whether there will be any breakthrough in talks with the European Union. At a Tuesday dinner, Trump said the EU would be in Washington on Wednesday for trade talks.

“We have Europe coming in tomorrow, the next day,” Trump told guests.

The president earlier this month sent a letter threatening the 27 member states in the EU with 30% taxes on their goods to be imposed starting on Aug. 1.

The has a separate negotiating period with China that is currently set to run through Aug. 12 as goods from that nation are taxed at an additional 30% baseline.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would be in the Swedish capital of Stockholm next Monday and Tuesday to meet with his Chinese counterparts. Bessent said his goal is to shift the American economy away from consumption and to enable more consumer spending in the manufacturing-heavy Chinese economy.

“President Trump is remaking the U.S. into a manufacturing economy,” Bessent said on the Fox Business Network show “Mornings with Maria.” “If we could do that together, we do more manufacturing, they do more consumption. That would be a home run for the global economy.”