Abuse of Power

A US federal trade court has blocked the imposition of the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs promoted by President Donald Trump.

The ruling came from the Court of International Trade, based in Manhattan, which determined that Trump had exceeded his authority by attempting to impose broad taxes on imports from countries maintaining a trade surplus with the United States.

A panel of three trade judges stated that the president had overstepped his authority by trying to impose wide-ranging taxes on imports from more than 100 countries.

US–Europe Situation

US President Donald Trump has delayed until 9 July the punitive 50% tariffs on imports from the EU that had been scheduled for 1 June.

He announced the postponement after a “very pleasant phone conversation” with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and told the press that he agreed to her request to extend the deadline.

Von der Leyen had shortly beforehand posted on X about a “good phone conversation” and emphasised that Europe was willing to negotiate “swiftly and decisively”, but needed time until 9 July.

Breakdown in Relationship

Billionaire Elon Musk announced on Wednesday that he is stepping down from his role in the US government as an adviser on reducing federal spending, shortly after his first major disagreement with President Trump over the proposed budget bill.

The South African-born entrepreneur, owner of tech companies such as SpaceX, Tesla and Starlink, said the budget bill undermines the mission of DOGE, resulting in tens of thousands of government agency employees losing their jobs.

"I was disappointed to see the frankly immense spending bill, which increases the budget deficit," Musk said in an interview with CBS News, a clip of which aired Tuesday night.

NVIDIA: All Bullish

The movement came after Nvidia reported better-than-expected Q1 results.

Although the company warned that sales in the current quarter would be impacted by around $8 billion due to restrictions, investors had anticipated worse.

Investors were also encouraged by Nvidia’s remarks on strong demand for its next-generation Blackwell chips.

CEO Jensen Huang said during the earnings call that the company sees "a line of sight to projects requiring tens of gigawatts of Nvidia AI infrastructure."

Recommendations for Apple

On Wednesday, UBS analyst David Vogt maintained a Neutral rating on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares, with a steady price target of $210.00, aligning with the general analyst consensus of 2.09 (Neutral), with price targets ranging from $170 to $300.

The market seems cautious about the short-term outlook for the tech giant.

Vogt’s comments followed the recent imposition of US tariffs on products from China and Southeast Asia.

Despite a notable drop in iPhone sales in China, there was a significant increase in other regions.

China: Negotiations Complicated

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would no longer be gentle with China in trade matters, claiming on social media that the Asian nation had broken a deal with the United States.

Hours later, Trump stated in the Oval Office that he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and “hopefully we’ll resolve it”, while continuing to insist that China had violated the agreement.

Airbus: Under Investor Spotlight

Saudi Arabia is preparing to place a multi-billion-dollar order for Airbus (EPA:AIR) aircraft as the country aims to match the aviation growth seen in Gulf neighbours, according to a Reuters report published Friday.

This move is seen as a way for the kingdom to balance its suppliers in the aviation industry.

AviLease, a Saudi leasing company, is reportedly set to order Airbus A320neo aircraft worth billions of dollars at the upcoming Paris Air Show next month.

This follows the company’s previous order of 30 Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX planes during Trump’s recent visit to the region.

Netflix: Excellent Outlook

Bank of America analysts reiterated their bullish stance on Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), upgrading their price target from $1,175 to $1,490 per share in a note to clients on Friday.

The bank cited the company's dominant scale, strong subscriber growth, and expanding strategies in advertising and live content as key drivers of continued outperformance.

BofA stated: "We continue to see Netflix as well positioned given the company’s unmatched scale in streaming," wrote the analysts.

They explained that Netflix shares have risen roughly 33% so far this year, driven by “sustained earnings momentum, positive subscriber trends,” and some defensive rotation linked to trade tariffs.

BofA noted that the streaming giant added nearly 19 million subscribers in Q4 2024.

In advertising, Netflix is gaining traction. Its ad-supported plan now reaches 94 million monthly active users, up from 70 million in November 2024.

According to BofA, Netflix now reaches "more 18–34-year-olds than any US broadcast or cable network."

Migration Policy Success and Interest Rate Cuts

The current migration policy is performing strongly and may be the key to enabling steeper Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

“Trade policy may be uncertain, but migration policy is not,” said Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analysts in a recent report, noting that data through April points to a sharper slowdown in immigration in 2025 than previously expected.

The analysts revised their immigration forecast down to 800,000 for this year and 500,000 for next year, citing the latest data.

Halting immigration flows is likely to limit population and workforce growth, keeping the labour market tight even as employment growth slows.

Morgan Stanley’s updated immigration tracker suggests that population growth will slow to 0.4% in 2025 and 0.3% in 2026, with labour force growth expected to drop to 0.7% this year and 0.5% next year.

“Low immigration means the labour market will remain tight even as employment growth slows. The Fed may not interpret slow job growth as a sign of weakness,” the analysts said.

Trump: Invests in BTC

Trump Media & Technology Group, the company founded by US President Donald Trump, announced a historic $2.5 billion investment to build a Bitcoin treasury. This move will position the cryptocurrency as a key asset on the company’s balance sheet.

Trump Media said it has signed investment agreements with nearly 50 financial institutions.

“We consider Bitcoin a fundamental instrument for financial freedom,” said Devin Nunes, CEO of Trump Media and former Republican congressman. “This investment will protect our company from financial harassment and allow us to move forward with integrating crypto payments, subscriptions, and future financial products.”

ETH, SOLANA AND XRP: Most Chosen by Institutions

Corporate crypto treasuries are becoming an increasingly popular trend among companies worldwide.

While Bitcoin (BTC) pioneered this space, a growing number of firms are diversifying their holdings with other cryptoassets such as Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Solana (SOL).

This shift not only reflects a change in corporate asset management but also signals the maturity of digital assets as tools for capital preservation and returns generation.

GameStop joins a growing list of companies adopting Bitcoin as part of their financial strategies:

Corporate BTC HOLDINGS

• MicroStrategy: Over 528,000 BTC, valued at $43.9 billion.
• GameStop: 4,710 BTC, worth over $512 million.
• Tesla: $1.5 billion investment in 2021.
• Metaplanet: Japanese firm following MicroStrategy’s model, with smaller holdings.
• Block (formerly Square), Marathon Digital, and other private firms also hold BTC on a smaller scale.