Global Leaders Gather for China Military Parade; Trump Tariffs Deemed Illegal

China's Military Might and Global Diplomacy

• 🇨🇳 President Xi Jinping hosted a significant military parade, marking the first public appearance with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong un.
• 🗣️ Xi emphasized China's self-reliance and resilience against threats, stating the nation is "never intimidated by any bullies."
• 🤝 Gazprom announced a binding agreement to construct a major gas pipeline to China via Mongolia, signaling deepening energy ties.
• 🇺🇸 President Trump reacted to the parade, accusing Putin and Kim of conspiring against the U.S., though he previously expressed confidence China's military would not target the U.S.
• 🌍 The parade, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of WWII victory, served as a platform for China to showcase its modern weaponry and assert its role in global history.

U.S. Trade Policy and Federal Reserve

• ⚖️ President Trump plans to seek an expedited Supreme Court ruling to overturn a federal appeals court decision that found many of his tariffs were illegally imposed.
• 🏛️ The U.S. Court of Appeals for the federal circuit ruled Trump wrongfully used an emergency law for tariffs on imports from numerous trading partners.
• 🏦 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled to interview candidates to replace Jay Powell as Federal Reserve chair, with interviews set for Friday.
• 👩‍💼 Lawyers for Fed Governor Lisa Cook argue that Trump's attempts to remove her are based on unsubstantiated allegations of mortgage fraud, seeking to preserve her position.

Market Trends and Regulatory Probes

• 📈 Global bond markets experienced a selloff, with yields on U.S. 30-year treasuries nearing 5% and long-dated European and Japanese bond yields also rising.
• 📉 Concerns are rising about bond market behavior, with some analysts noting that prevailing narratives about public sector debt don't fully explain the global nature of the selloff, suggesting changes in Japan, like inflation, may be a catalyst.
• 🇭🇰 Hong Kong authorities are investigating alleged insider trading involving individuals at the stock exchange, the financial regulator, brokers, and social media influencers.
• 💻 A federal judge ruled that Google does not have to sell its Chrome web browser, though the company must share online search data with rivals and cannot mandate that device makers take all its apps to access the Google Play store.
• 🚀 Shares of Google saw a nearly 6% increase following the judge's ruling.