In a significant development at NATO’s annual summit, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Spain with a tough trade deal after the alliance’s allies reached an agreement to meet a defense spending target of 5% of gross domestic product by 2035. This slightly less visible threat serves to deepen an already wrought international waterscape. Weasels out of trouble—barely The ceasefire between Israel and Iran is tenuous, and the war is not over.
Trump’s remarks came as he expressed dissatisfaction with Spain’s current spending on NATO, vowing to “make Spain pay” for what he perceives as a failure to meet their obligations. His statements bring to the forefront the long simmering rifts over defense spending among NATO allies. At the same time, U.S. administration is hard at work pressuring our allies to increase their own pledges.
On that day, the S&P 500 jumped to a record closing high of 6,144.15. As of Tuesday’s trading session, it ended up falling back a little to 6,092.16, less than 1% off that record. This resilience and stability reflects a national-level investor confidence amid the global mess.
Few companies in history have ever left a mark on the tech world like Nvidia. Its shares rocketed up 4.3%, closing at an all-time high and hitting the first record close since January. This performance has started a positive ripple effect. Asian chip stocks followed in pursuit of Nvidia’s highs on Thursday, part of a surging bullish sentiment across the technology sector.
At the same time, the war still rages on in the Middle East, making foreign diplomacy efforts even harder. Just as with the current Israel-Iran ceasefire, it’s a deal held together by thin threads. It came very close to going under less than a day after it started. The eyes of the world are upon the international community. Yet another escalation would be catastrophic for our markets and state of diplomacy.
5-kg of rice in Asia surged to 3,920 yen ($27.03) as of the week ended June 15. This key change is a reflection of these dramatically changing economic conditions as a whole in the region. China is reportedly encouraging the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to expand its funding for the Belt and Road Initiative. This step marks the first major materialization of China’s plan to expand infrastructure investments across Asia.
It does not stop there, Trump’s administration hard at work pushing its policies go further with the introduction of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” This policy direction illustrates their seriousness towards both the domestic and international economic policies. The combination of trade negotiations and military commitments highlights the intricate web of global politics that continues to shape financial markets and international relations.
“reciprocal” – U.S. President Donald Trump