Trump's strategy pays off as South America and Switzerland fall in line over tariffs
Swiss pharma titan vows a $50 billion infusion into U.S. facilities,
Hello Capitalists,
Here is everything you should be following today:
White House unveils massive South American trade pact
Deals reached on foodstuffs and “non-tariff based export regulations”
Switzerland tariff rate drops in exchange for US investment & industry relocation
Bitcoin’s bloodbath continues as selling continues
StubHub tanks 24% after earnings
What is the lifespan of an AI Chip? Investors want to know
Today’s markets + assets:
🔴 DOW: 47311.15 (⬇️ 0.31%)
✅ S&P: 6760.86 (⬆️ 0.35%)
✅ NASDAQ: 22998.94 (⬆️ 0.56%)
⚠️✅CBOE VIX Volatility Index: 20.0 (⬆️ 14.22%)
🔴 Gold: $4,101 (⬇️ 2.22%)
🔴 Silver: $51,085 (⬇️ 3.94%)
🔴 Bitcoin: $95,714 (⬇️ 2.19%)
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White House unveils South American trade deals
The White House unveiled trade pacts Wednesday with Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador and Argentina, slashing tariffs on U.S.-scarce staples like coffee, bananas and beef to ease consumer costs while shielding domestic industries from oversupply.
Targeted Tariff Reductions: Ecuador gains cuts on coffee, bananas and cocoa under a 15% baseline; Guatemala and El Salvador see similar breaks on qualifying produce amid 10% rates.
Argentina Beef Access: There will be lower duties on beef imports without but no change in the quota of beef imports, alongside eased tariffs on meds, chemicals and tech.
Reciprocal Trade Commitments: Trade partners pledged to improve trade interactions with the U.S. El Salvador will streamline its export regulations to the U.S by addressing non-tariff regulatory barriers, Argentina will give preferential access to U.S. goods and Guatemala has vowed not to tax U.S. digital products.
Environmental Safeguards: Ecuador commits to robust protections against illegal logging, balancing import boosts with sustainability amid broader non-tariff barrier reforms.
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Trump played hardball and now Switzerland caves
In a surprise pivot from trade tensions, the U.S. and Switzerland struck a deal Friday to slash tariffs on Swiss imports from 39% to 15%, aiming to lure billions in manufacturing like pharmaceuticals and gold processing to American soil.
Tariffs Align with EU Rates: The deal standardizes 15% duties on Swiss goods to match European Union levels, easing export burdens after July’s punitive hike crippled Swiss growth forecasts.
Manufacturing Shifts to America: Swiss firms commit to relocating production in surplus sectors—pharma, gold smelting, railway gear— to the U.S. potentially sparking a U.S. job booms and erasing trade imbalances.
Roche’s Massive Investment Pledge: Swiss pharma titan Roche vows a $50 billion infusion into U.S. facilities, accelerating the deal’s push for onshoring amid broader export realignments.
Franc Surges on Optimism: The Swiss currency jumped 0.4% against the dollar post-announcement, signaling market relief.
Bitcoin’s bloodbath continues as it drops to below $95,000
Bitcoin tumbled below $95,000 Friday, accelerating a four-day rout that has erased recent gains and rattled crypto markets, as overlapping investor fears from a sharp AI stock pullback spill over into digital assets.
Four-Day Decline Accelerates: After peaking at $107,000 early this week, Bitcoin’s value plunged 3.5% in a single day to $94,896.03, signaling intensified selling pressure.
AI Stocks Trigger Spillover: Resurgent worries over Big Tech’s massive AI spending—hitting firms like Meta and Nvidia—hammered related equities, dragging down Bitcoin via shared investor bases.
Crypto Firms Reel Hard: Shares in key players tanked Thursday, with Strategy dropping 6%, Coinbase and Gemini each losing 5%, and Bitmine Immersion falling 5% amid the broader tech rout.
Record Outflows Surge: Bitcoin ETFs recorded $870 million in net withdrawals Thursday, nearly $900 million total from crypto funds, signaling sharp investor retreat from the asset.
Liquidations Devastate Market: Over $19 billion in crypto positions liquidated on Oct. 10 wiped $1 trillion from total market cap; another $1.3 billion vanished in the latest 24 hours alone.
🚨UPDATE🚨: At the time of publishing Bitcoin had regained some of its lost ground. 🔴 Bitcoin: $95,714 (⬇️ 2.19%)
StubHub tanks 24% after withholding 4th quarter guidance, spooking investors
StubHub’s stock cratered 24% Friday after the ticket resale giant withheld fourth-quarter financial guidance, overshadowing a strong third-quarter earnings beat and CEO Eric Baker’s rosy outlook on live event demand.
Earnings Exceed Analyst Projections
Third-quarter revenue surged 8% to $468.1 million, topping estimates of $452 million, while gross merchandise sales rose 11% to $2.43 billion.CEO Cites Demand Volatility
Eric Baker highlighted “phenomenal” live event interest but blamed shifting schedules for unpredictable consumer trends.Analysts Voice Surprise Concerns
Wedbush called the no-guidance move unexpected, warning it fuels investor worries over short-term visibility despite maintaining an “outperform” rating.2026 Outlook Looms Ahead
StubHub plans to unveil next year’s financial projections alongside fourth-quarter results, signaling their confidence in sustained growth.
What is the lifespan of an AI Chip? It matters a lot more than you’d think
In the red-hot AI sector, where Nvidia’s chips power a trillion data center frenzy, companies like Microsoft and Google are betting on six-year lifespans from their chips and GPUs to cushion costs—but “Big Short” investor Michael Burry has blasted those as projections as inflated, warning of rapid obsolescence that could torch profits in as early as two years.
Rapid AI Boom Accelerates: Nvidia’s data center revenue exploded from $15 billion pre-2022 to $115 billion by January 2025, fueling a three-year-old frenzy sparked by ChatGPT’s late 2022 debut.
Tech Giants Extend Depreciation: Oracle and Google peg AI servers lifespan at six years, while Microsoft ranges 2-6 years for equipment; Amazon trimmed some to five years amid faster tech evolution.
CoreWeave’s Resilient Rentals: The GPU cloud provider reports full rebooking of 2020 A100 chips and 95% for 2022 H100s at near-original prices, defying obsolescence fears despite a 57% stock plunge from June highs.
Nvidia’s Annual Overhaul Pressures: CEO Jensen Huang, referencing his own product line, quipped that older chips value will deteriorate as newer chips roll out, saying “When Blackwell starts shipping in volume, you couldn’t give Hoppers away.” Nvidia has shifted to yearly releases of new chips—echoing Burry’s bearish short view on AI sustainability.
Switzerland D South Africa — in the fold and next coffee from Brazil will be lowered in price via another negotiated deal by Scott Bessent and the dominoes are falling for a 2026 victory !!!