TNC Daily Open: Trump’s Budget Cuts Reshape U.S. Government

This report is from today’s TNC’s Daily Open, our international markets update. TNC Daily Open keeps investors informed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are.

President Donald Trump has been in office for just over three weeks, and the White House’s barrage of announcements isn’t slowing down.

President Trump fired the head of the government ethics office, and the administration plans to discontinue enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Even the ordinary penny is not exempt, as Trump has ordered a stop to penny manufacture.

Investors would undoubtedly have concerns if ethical rules were dismantled. 

How would American businesses behave, particularly in markets where corruption is more pervasive? Will more brown envelopes be smuggled under tables to acquire or keep business? Will the amount of business a company brings override the rule of law?

These problems have no simple answers, but economists and academics will offer their opinions in the days ahead.

At least as the penny is still in circulation. 

What To Note Today

Altman rejects Musk-led investors’ $97.4 billion offer for OpenAI

TNC understands that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is spearheading a group of investors in an offer to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion. The nonprofit in charge of the ChatGPT AI startup is the target of the offer. But in a post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated, “No thank you, but if you want, we can buy Twitter for $9.74 billion.” Musk then called the OpenAI CEO a “swindler” in his response on X.

Trump escalates his tariff threats, and Asian economies rush to please him

Several Asian economies with significant trade surpluses with Washington are frantically trying to work out advantageous agreements with President Donald Trump to avoid being hit with higher levies as the threat of retaliatory tariffs approaches. Trump stated on Friday that he would declare reciprocal tariffs, which are penalties that are equal to those imposed by other nations on U.S. imports, as early as Tuesday, with immediate effect.

Dividend payments from Chinese corporations are at an all-time high

Despite strict corporate governance reform, Chinese corporations are luring investors with record dividend distributions and share buybacks, and some market observers predict more will follow. According to Goldman Sachs, the cash distribution from Chinese corporations may reach a record high of $3.5 trillion this year.

Markets dismiss concerns about tariffs.

Major tech companies drove Monday’s increase in U.S. stocks, as traders ignored President Donald Trump’s most recent threat of tariffs. McDonald’s saw a 4.8% gain, driving a 0.38% increase in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.98%, while the S&P 500 gained by 0.67%. Tuesday’s Asian markets were more erratic, with Chinese stocks declining and South Korean markets rising.

BYD rolls out driving assistance tech with DeepSeek’s support; shares reach historic highs.

Following the company’s announcement that it will launch driver assistance technology with DeepSeek’s assistance, shares of the Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD surged to a record high in Hong Kong trade on Tuesday. 

Before reversing gains, shares increased by over 4% Tuesday morning, reaching an all-time high of 345 Hong Kong dollars ($44.24).

Traders forecast lower rate cuts

As investors’ concerns about tariffs and their potential impact on inflation increase, they are decreasing their expectations even further for interest rate cuts from the Fed this year. A massive trade war could result in sharp price increases, according to economists, and consumers seem to be concerned as well. 

Bottom Line

Prices, cash customers, and coins still under your sofa cushions may all be impacted by President Donald Trump’s decision to the Treasury to cease minting new pennies.

As more prices are rounded to the nearest five cents, experts anticipate a slight influence on inflation. Since they are either unbanked or unable to access digital wallets, debit cards, or credit cards, those at the bottom of the economic scale will likely be the ones who suffer the most from any pinch.