September 16, 2025 at Google headquarters in the Hub Building in Warsaw, Poland.
Beata Sause | Null Photo | Getty Images
Today’s news cycle barely held its breath.
First, Trump will meet with Xi.
US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday, during which he announced a one-year rare earths agreement with China that would reduce fentanyl-related tariffs on China from 20% to 10%, effective immediately.
In return, Trump added, China would resume purchasing soybeans and other agricultural products from the United States.
Second, interest rates.
As traders expected, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points. But Powell warned that another rate cut in December, which the market had priced in with more than 90% certainty, was “not a foregone conclusion.”
Finally, there’s Big Tech’s earnings.
meanwhile alphabet, Meta and microsoft The company reported earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations, and capital investment was in the spotlight. All three companies estimate that spending exceeds previous forecasts and that capital investment growth in 2026 is likely to exceed this year’s growth rate.
Importantly, spending on artificial intelligence will not slow down, at least not until next year, thanks to the growing demand for AI services. Concerns about a repeat dot-com bubble can be put on hold for now, even Powell suggests so.
That’s all for today. Breathe as much as you can — apple and Amazon Next up is next.
What you need to know today
Trump and Xi meet in South Korea. In their first meeting in six years, Trump cut fentanyl tariffs on China by half from 20% to 10%, said China would resume purchasing U.S. soybeans, and struck a one-year deal with Beijing on rare earths and critical minerals.
The Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points. This puts the U.S. benchmark interest rate in the range of 3.75-4%. Two of the 10 governors opposed the move, with Trump appointee Stephen Millan wanting a half-point cut, while Jeffrey Schmidt voted in favor of no reduction.
Tech giant reports earnings. Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft announced their earnings after the bell on Wednesday. Both sales and earnings per share exceeded Wall Street expectations. AI continues to be a driving force in sales.
US markets traded mixed on Wednesday. of Nasdaq Composite It was the only major index to rise. Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly lower on Thursday. Markets in mainland China and Hong Kong fell as investors assessed the meeting between President Trump and Mr. Xi. Japanese Nikkei Stock Average As the Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged, they gradually rose.
(PRO) Get “explosive” results with a single AI application. Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest, told CNBC that the company is focused on pure work in the innovation space, which she believes can create “explosive growth opportunities.”
And finally…
Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump
Sergei Bobylev | Kent Nishimura | Reuters
President Trump’s rare earths deal targets China’s dominance — here’s why change won’t happen soon
Over 10 days, President Trump struck deals with Australia, Malaysia, Cambodia, and most recently Japan to boost supplies of rare earths and other critical minerals essential to making batteries, cars, defense systems, and computing chips.
President Trump’s deal could bring much-needed financial support to the industry and ultimately challenge Beijing’s control over rare earths, but experts said the effort would be expensive and take years to bear fruit.
— Anique Bao
