Issue #77

America makes $47 billion from tariffs, Bitcoin hits record high, Cartier defies global trends, and more. 

News from July 10 - July 17, 2025

America Makes $47 Billion from Tariffs 

The USA raised an extra $47 billion in customs revenues from the tariffs it imposed 4 months ago, after only China and Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs. 

According to US Treasury data, US customs revenues reached a record high of $64 billion, while China’s retaliatory tariffs increased customs revenue by only 1.9% compared to the previous year. 

Since the imposition of the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in April, countries have rushed to strike trade deals with the world’s biggest economy. Meanwhile, the EU has delayed imposing tariffs due to shared national security interests, China has subsequently agreed to a 90-day pause, and Canada removed a digital services tax under US pressure. 

City University of New York professor of international economics Marta Bengoa: “Today’s world features a hub-and-spoke system with the US at the centre. That makes retaliation economically less desirable for most countries.”

Source

Footsie Hits Record High

The FTSE 100 hit a record-breaking 9,000 points this week after gaining more than 10% since the start of the year. 

Analysts say that the FTSE 100 (also known as “Footsie”) has benefited from investors diversifying their portfolios away from the US due to concerns about Trump’s imposition of tariffs. At the same time, the UK agreed to a trade deal with the US before any other country, signalling stability to investors.  

The Footsie has also benefited from increased defence spending and a weakening pound, which increased the value of multinational companies’ overseas earnings. 

AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth: “The UK stock market is the calming cup of tea and biscuit in an uncertain world. There’s nothing fancy on offer, just reliable names that do their job day in, day out.”

Source

Zuck Spends His Way to the Top

Meta announced plans to build massive AI data centres across the US, including one nearly the size of Manhattan, spending hundreds of billions of dollars to do so. 

The first multiwatt data centre ‘cluster’, Prometheus, is expected to come online in 2026. Another cluster, Hyperion, will be scaled up to 5 gigawatts over several years and online by 2030. This comes after Meta poached top AI researchers from OpenAI and Google DeepMind to build a ‘superintelligence’ unit they hope will surpass high IQ individuals.

Cambrian AI Research principal analyst Karl Freund: “Zuckerberg intends to spend his way to the top of the AI heap. The talent he is hiring will have access to some of the best AI hardware in the world.”

Source

Bulletin Board

• Crypto Company Fails to Hide Black Hole. The special administrators of Ziglu, a bankrupt British crypto exchange, discovered that the company spent at least £2 million of its customers’ assets to cover a budgetary blackhole. This comes after a failed acquisition deal by US fintech Robinhood fell through. Customer assets had not been ringfenced as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not require crypto exchanges to do so. The 4,000 affected customers are unlikely to see their money again unless an acquisition deal is reached. Source
• Recruiters Battle AI Applicants. According to Bright Network, 50% of job applications are generated using AI, up from 38% the year before. Education recruiter TeachFirst saw a 30% increase in applications this year alone, which it attributes to the widespread adoption of AI. This has prompted the company to reduce the number of online assessments in favour of in-person ones. TeachFirst executive director for programme talent Patrick Dempsey: “There are instances where people are leaving the tail end of a ChatGPT message in an application answer, and of course, they get rejected.” Source
• Cartier Defies Global Trends. The Swiss luxury group Cartier reported a 6% rise in first-quarter sales despite global sales of luxury goods declining overall. Jewellery sales drove the €5.4 billion rise, with an 11% increase, while its watch sales declined 7%. Richemont saw a 17% increase in US sales as its upper-tier luxury client base remained unaffected by the cost-of-living crisis. Source
• Bitcoin Hits Record High. Bitcoin rose 3% to reach a record high of $123,000 this week. Institutional demand and support from the so-called “crypto president”, Donald Trump, are considered reasons for the rise. This comes as several important crypto bills are set to pass through Congress this week, which Republicans are calling ‘Crypto Week’, with the Genius Act, Clarity Act, and the Anti CBDC Surveillance State Act to be debated. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore: "It's been a very, very, strong move over the past six or seven days, and it's hard to see where it stops now.” Source
• AI Confidence Shrinks Among Leaders. According to a study of 2,000 C-suite leaders by the Swiss recruitment consultancy Akkodis, CEO confidence in their companies’ AI capabilities has shrank from 82% to 49%. Meanwhile, CTO confidence dropped from 82% to 62%. Overall, C-suite confidence in their company’s AI rollout has fallen by 11% since last year, with only human resource chiefs reporting increased confidence. Source

Disclaimer: This blog offers insights into international business and global events for informational purposes only. It is not intended as investment or business advice. WeavePay is not liable for any decisions made based on the content provided.

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