Tuesday's News Links

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Bonds Rally as Economic Worries Fuel Fed-Cut Bets: Markets Wrap

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] China’s Repo Market Hit Hard as Yuan Defense Sparks Cash Squeeze

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Oil Holds Gain After Fresh Iran Sanctions, Trump’s Tariff Talk

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Bitcoin Slides Below $90,000 as Crypto Selloff Gathers Steam

[CNBC] February consumer confidence comes in lighter than expected in latest sign of slowing economy

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Trump Team Seeks to Toughen Biden’s Chip Controls Over China

[AP] House Speaker Mike Johnson tries to push Trump’s ‘big’ agenda forward, but GOP votes are in jeopardy

[Axios] Mike Johnson boxed in by House GOP defectors on "big, beautiful bill"

[Axios] Behind the Curtain: Hard truths about Trump budget cuts

[AP] US refuses to blame Russia for Ukraine war, splitting with European allies in UN votes

[AP] Merz prioritizes Ukraine and US, vows to tackle migration and economy after German election win

[Politico] EU eyes €200B secret weapon as Trump dominates Ukraine peace talks

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Germany’s Social Democrats Open to €200 Billion for Defense Fund

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Hedge Funds Face Fresh Watchdog Scrutiny Over Huge Macro Wagers

[Bloomberg] Trump’s SALT Tax Promise Hinges on an Obscure Loophole

[Bloomberg] Economic Uncertainty Has Americans Cutting Spending, Study Says

[Bloomberg] It’s Time for the BOE to Crack Down on Hedge Fund Lending

[Bloomberg] Dudley: To Do Its Job Right, the Fed Must See What’s Wrong

[Bloomberg] America’s Turning Its Alliances Into a Protection Racket

[NYT] Trump Refocuses on Trade

[NYT] How Can Europe Talk to Trump? Flatter, Then Gently Resist.

[WSJ] Dan Bongino Called the FBI ‘Irredeemably Corrupt.’ Now He’ll Help Run It.

[WSJ] DOGE Move to Slash Federal Leases Threatens Office-Market Recovery

[WSJ] Chinese Manufacturers Speed Up Efforts to Dodge Trump Tariffs

[FT] Why are all my cryptos down?

[FT] How will Germany’s Friedrich Merz build his coalition government?

[FT] Taiwan catches Chinese-owned ship in act of cutting subsea cable

[FT] How the state is propping up China’s housing market

[FT] Joachim Nagel calls for reforms as Bundesbank suffers €19bn loss

Monday Evening Links

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] S&P 500 Swoons in Last 15 Minutes of US Trading: Markets Wrap

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Emerging Stocks Plunge on Trump’s Latest Moves Against China

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Trump Says Planned Tariffs on Canada, Mexico ‘Going Forward’

[AP] Trump says Canada and Mexico tariffs are 'going forward' with more import taxes to come

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Egg-Laying Hens at Nine-Year Low as Bird Flu Decimates US Flock

[Bloomberg] The Bond Market Isn’t Fully Buying What Musk’s DOGE Is Selling

[Bloomberg] A Chinese Alternative to the Magnificent Seven Has Arrived

[WSJ] DOGE Won’t Be Enough to Get the Federal Debt Under Control

[WSJ] Apple’s $500 Billion U.S. Investment Is Mostly Already in the Books

[WSJ] A Sad Day for the U.S. at the U.N.

Monday Afternoon Links

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Stocks Rise as Dip Buyers Step In After Selloff: Markets Wrap 

[Yahoo Finance] Microsoft reportedly cancels some data center leases amid $80 billion AI push

[Axios] Inside the proposed U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] EU Expands Tariff List in Trump’s Looming Metals Trade Dispute

[AP] UN rejects US resolution urging an end to the war in Ukraine without noting Russian aggression

[Axios] How Russia's war on Ukraine reshaped the energy world

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Gold ETFs drew largest weekly inflow since March 2022, says WGC

[Bloomberg] Bessent, Republicans in Congress to Hold Weekly Tax Cut Meetings

[Bloomberg] Mexico Studies Tariffs on China in Bid to Strike Deal With Trump

[Bloomberg] Merz in Talks With Allies to Rush Through German Defense Funding

[Bloomberg] Companies Flood Bond Market in Second-Busiest Day This Month

[WSJ] Putin, Xi Reaffirm Ties on Anniversary of Ukraine War

[WSJ] German Vote Boosts Europe’s Centrists, as Merz Seeks ‘Independence From U.S.’

[FT] Friedrich Merz weighs using outgoing parliament to loosen debt brake