Trump threatens China with tariff BOMBSHELL!

"There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World “captive,” but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time..."

The Capitalist

Oct 10, 2025

Hello Capitalists,

Here is everything you should be following today:

Trump drops tariff BOMBSHELL on China!
“There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World “captive,”
“They want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths”
SCANDAL: Billions of dollars vanish in First Brands auto parts bankruptcy
Losses continue to spiral as more loans are discovered
Boston is looking to go “Full Mamdani”
Plans to bring socialist food stores to the Cradle of Liberty
Morgan Stanley to begin offering crypto products to wealthy clients

Today’s markets + assets:

🔴 DOW: 45793.76 (⬇️ 1.22%)
🔴 S&P: 6615.91 (⬇️ 1.77%)
🔴 NASDAQ: 22458.18 (⬇️ 2.46%)
⚠️⬆️CBOE VIX Volatility Index: 16.70 (⬆️ 2.45%)
✅ Gold: $3991.5 (⬆️ 0.76%)
✅Silver: $47.34 (⬆️ 1.00%)
🔴 Bitcoin: $118,680 (⬇️ 2.00%)

Trump drops tariff BOMBSHELL on China!

President Donald Trump threatened a massive tariff hike on Chinese imports and cancellation of a planned summit with Xi Jinping after Beijing signaled tighter controls on rare earth exports, sparking an immediate stock market plunge Thursday.

Rare Earths Spark Escalation: China’s proposed restrictions on rare earth exports, vital for tech and defense, directly provoked Trump’s aggressive response amid fragile trade talks.
Summit Hangs in Balance: Officials were negotiating a Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing in the coming months, that is now jeopardized by the escalating dispute over mineral controls.
Markets Reel from Threat: U.S. stocks tumbled following Trump’s Truth Social post, underscoring investor fears of renewed trade war disruptions.

Trump’s Statement: Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile, and sending letters to Countries throughout the World, that they want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China. Nobody has ever seen anything like this but, essentially, it would “clog” the Markets, and make life difficult for virtually every Country in the World, especially for China. We have been contacted by other Countries who are extremely angry at this great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere. Our relationship with China over the past six months has been a very good one, thereby making this move on Trade an even more surprising one. I have always felt that they’ve been lying in wait, and now, as usual, I have been proven right! There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World “captive,” but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time, starting with the “Magnets” and, other Elements that they have quietly amassed into somewhat of a Monopoly position, a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least. But the U.S. has Monopoly positions also, much stronger and more far reaching than China’s. I have just not chosen to use them, there was never a reason for me to do so — UNTIL NOW! The letter they sent is many pages long, and details, with great specificity, each and every Element that they want to withhold from other Nations. Things that were routine are no longer routine at all. I have not spoken to President Xi because there was no reason to do so. This was a real surprise, not only to me, but to all the Leaders of the Free World. I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so. The Chinese letters were especially inappropriate in that this was the Day that, after three thousand years of bedlam and fighting, there is PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. I wonder if that timing was coincidental? Dependent on what China says about the hostile “order” that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move. For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two. I never thought it would come to this but perhaps, as with all things, the time has come. Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America. There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Tariffs Echo Past Clashes: The “massive increase” proposal revives 2018-era tensions, with no timelines specified but clear intent to pressure Beijing on supply chains.

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Billions of Dollars vanish in auto parts bankruptcy scandal due to “under the radar financing”

Billions of dollars in funds have mysteriously disappeared from bankrupt Ohio auto parts supplier First Brands, as creditors uncover a chaotic web of “rehypothecated debt,” shaking Wall Street’s confidence in a market distracted by AI hype.

Massive Debt Overload Uncovered: First Brands’ bankruptcy reveals $10-$50 billion in liabilities, far exceeding its $5.8 billion leveraged loan debt, due to hidden off-balance sheet financing.
Rehypothecation Sparks Chaos: The company allegedly pledged receivables - “money a company expects to collect from its customers for goods or services already provided, but not yet paid for” - as collateral multiple times over, creating a financial nightmare where no one knows who owns what because the same asset has been loaned or promised multiple times.
Onset Financial’s Huge Exposure: Onset Financial is thought to be First Brands’ largest creditor, claims $1.9 billion in exposure to losses going back to 2017

UBS O’Connor Faces Losses: With 30% of its portfolio tied to First Brands, UBS O’Connor the hedge fund arm of the Swiss bank UBS braces for over $500 million in losses from loans that were issued against both invoices First Brands was due to pay (9.1%) but also loans that issued against invoices First Brand’s customers were due to pay (21.4%)
Millennium Management Hit Hard: The $80 billion hedge fund took a $100 million write down on short-term loans to First Brands, tied to loans that were made against current cashflow a process known as factoring.

CLOs Suffer Major Losses: Collateralized loan obligations holding First Brands’ debt, bought with private money but which has been “broadly syndicated” is now trading at 15 cents on the dollar, impacting asset management firms like PGIM, Blackstone and fund managers around the world.

Private Credit Funds Implicated: First Brands’ $2.3 billion in “factored” invoices and $682 million in “supply chain finance” also known as “reverse factoring” reveal risky, opaque lending practices. This is thought to have included paying First Brands’ bills with the expectation to collect payment later,

Apollo and Diameter Profit: Apollo and Diameter Capital Partners made gains by shorting (betting against) First Brands’ debt, with Apollo known to have closed its position before the bankruptcy at a profit.
Jefferies’ Reputation Tarnished: Jefferies, First Brands’ long-time banker, faces severe scrutiny for its role in a failed $6 billion refinancing and its investment pargtner Point Bonita Capital.
Losses Keep Spiraling: Morgan Stanley analysts originally put Point Bonita Capital’s losses at $45m but this has since been upgraded to $113 million. exposure via Point Bonita Capital which had received investment by BlackRock.
DOJ Launches Investigation: The FT reports that the DOJ has begun an investigation in to the First Brand’s collapse

Systemic Risks?: The full scale of First Brand’s implosion is not yet known. Given the opaque and possibly fraudulent financing practices that First Brand’s was engaged in, and has been uncovered so far. It is likely that in the coming days more losses will be announced.
Major players already making moves: Bloomberg is reporting that BlackRock is seeking to withdraw funds they had invested in Jefferies Financial Group as the scale of the of the bankruptcy unfolds.

Liberal Boston considers government run grocery stores latest socialist experiment

Boston officials are exploring the concept of government-owned grocery stores to combat soaring food prices, with city councilors emphasizing intervention in failing markets amid a near-doubling of Massachusetts households facing food insecurity.

SNAP Cuts Heighten Urgency: Federal reductions in SNAP benefits are exacerbating struggles for working families, prompting councilors to act swiftly on affordable food access.
Concept Draws From Precedents: Officials cite successful government-subsidized grocers in Madison, Wisconsin, and Atlanta, Georgia, as models for Boston’s potential initiative.
Industry Labels Job Killer: Grocery experts warn that taxpayer-funded stores could devastate small businesses operating on thin margins, urging support for existing shops instead.
Economists Slam Government Inefficiency: Critics argue city-run operations lack market discipline, potentially leading to higher costs, empty shelves, and no accountability for consumers.

Morgan Stanley will begin offering Crypto products to clients

Wall Street titan Morgan Stanley is removing barriers to cryptocurrency investments effective Oct. 15, allowing its army of financial advisors to pitch bitcoin funds to everyday wealth clients — even in retirement accounts — amid a post-election regulatory thaw under President Donald Trump.

Policy Barriers Crumble Swiftly: Removes prior $1.5 million asset minimum and aggressive risk mandates, expanding access from elite-only to broad client base in any account type.
Risk Safeguards Fortified: Morgan Stanley will deploy automated monitoring to cap crypto exposure, with a maximum exposure of 4% tailored to goals like “growth” or “preservation.”
Funds Limited to Bitcoin Duo: Advisors will be restricted to pitching only BlackRock and Fidelity bitcoin products for now, though clients may request other exchange-traded crypto options.
E-Trade Trading Looms Large: This move builds on last month’s plan to launch bitcoin, ether, and solana trading via Morgan Stanley’s E-Trade platform as it eyes further crypto expansions.

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