This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia<\/a>, Europe\/Africa<\/a> or Americas<\/a> edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. On today\u2019s agenda: <\/p>\n Japan\u2019s trade talks strategy comes under fire<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Shein files for Hong Kong IPO<\/p>\n<\/li>\n China\u2019s weaponisation of rare earths<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n The head of one of Japan\u2019s most powerful business lobbies has accused the government of a \u201cmistake\u201d in its trade negotiating strategy with the US. The unusually blunt comments came just hours after President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on Washington\u2019s closest Asian ally.<\/p>\n What to know:<\/strong> Takeshi Niinami, chief executive of Suntory and chair of the influential Japan Association of Corporate Executives, said that Japan\u2019s insistence on a total exemption from Trump\u2019s tariffs may have left the US president feeling \u201cbetrayed\u201d, adding that the country could have secured a 10 per cent base tariff had its negotiators shown more flexibility.<\/p>\n \u201cThey underestimated the determination of Trump,\u201d Niinami told the FT yesterday. \u201cThey thought time was on Japan\u2019s side. It was a big mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018It could be too late\u2019:<\/strong> Niinami said Tokyo could be forced into making major concessions to secure an agreement. He added that there was a narrowing window to make a deal ahead of an upper house election this month, when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba\u2019s ruling Liberal Democratic party risks losing its grip on power. <\/p>\n Niinami also accused the government of squandering the legacy of the late prime minister Shinzo Abe, who had achieved friendly relations with Trump. <\/p>\n Read the full interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n More trade news:<\/strong> Trump said that the US will impose a roughly 50 per cent tariff on copper imports<\/a>, sending prices for the industrial metal soaring.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Wall Street optimism:<\/strong> Big banks are turning more bullish<\/a> on US stocks, despite Trump\u2019s renewed threats of steep tariffs on major trading partners.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Here\u2019s what else we\u2019re keeping tabs on today:<\/p>\n Economic data:<\/strong> China publishes June inflation figures, which are expected to show that one of the country\u2019s longest bouts of factory price deflation is running unchecked<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Monetary policy:<\/strong> Central banks in Malaysia and New Zealand announce their rate decisions.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Taiwan:<\/strong> The annual \u201cHan Kuang\u201d military drills \u2014 to simulate defending the island against Chinese attacks \u2014 begin, continuing until July 18.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 1.<\/strong> Shein has confidentially filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering <\/strong>as the online fast-fashion retailer seeks to accelerate a drawn-out listing process and pressure the UK regulator into approving a London listing. Zijing Wu has the details<\/a>.<\/p>\n FT View:<\/strong> The outlook for Hong Kong\u2019s stock market has brightened this year, but the city\u2019s standing as a global financial hub still faces several hurdles<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 2.<\/strong> Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX is preparing to sell about $1bn of its shares <\/strong>in a deal that would value the rocket and satellite group at $400bn<\/a>, according to people familiar with the matter. The valuation places SpaceX on par with the top 20 most valuable public companies in the S&P 500. <\/p>\n 3.<\/strong> The Trump administration plans to ban Chinese groups from buying farmland in the US,<\/strong> particularly near military bases. The announcement follows mounting concerns from US lawmakers that Chinese farmland acquisitions could be used for espionage<\/a>. <\/p>\n AI imposter:<\/strong> The US Department of State has said it was tightening its cyber security after an imposter used artificial intelligence<\/a> to impersonate secretary of state Marco Rubio.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n More US news:<\/strong> The Supreme Court has allowed Trump\u2019s administration to proceed with mass job cuts<\/a> that could fundamentally reshape and downsize the federal government. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 4.<\/strong> The biggest US private equity firms have abandoned a controversial practice<\/strong> of hiring promising graduates about to start work at investment banks for roles due to begin years later. The decision comes after JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon said last month that the bank would terminate junior analysts accepting future-dated jobs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n 5.<\/strong> BCG\u2019s chief executive said its involvement with a postwar plan for Gaza<\/strong> that envisioned relocating a quarter of the population had been \u201creputationally very damaging\u201d. The message came amid international criticism of the consulting firm and concern from clients<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some parts of rural France have a shortage of doctors so severe they have been labelled \u201cmedical deserts\u201d. The French capital has a very different problem: an excess of bankers. Prestigious houses Lazard and Rothschild & Co battle with Wall Street\u2019s biggest banks, but in recent years a new breed of banker has swept into Paris<\/a>. <\/p>\n Critical minerals:<\/strong> China\u2019s export controls on rare earths<\/a> and magnets have proved much more effective than previous economic sanctions, writes Chris Miller.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Doge cuts:<\/strong> Private credit lenders have extended a lifeline to US government contractors short-changed<\/a> by Elon Musk\u2019s cost-cutting drive. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n Martin Wolf:<\/strong> In just under six months, Trump has made huge strides<\/a> in his war on everything that made the US successful.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Chinese investors are driving a sharp rally in mainland bank stocks listed in Hong Kong<\/a>, as they hunt for alternatives to the near-record low yields offered by government debt.<\/p>\n More executives have been incorporating hot yoga into the working day. Enthusiasts say high-temperature sessions sharpen focus, improve health and offer a chance to build contacts. Is the yoga studio the next hot place for networking<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
Five more top stories<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
The Big Read<\/h3>\n
\u200b\u200bWe\u2019re also reading\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009<\/h3>\n
\n
Chart of the day\u2009<\/h3>\n
![\"Line](\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd6c748xw2pzm8.cloudfront.net%2Fprod%2Fc35aa2b0-588f-11f0-8c7a-e7b93bf4adc4-standard.png?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\nTake a break from the news<\/h3>\n
![\"Montage](\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F40864fa1-283a-4231-9d29-2fb014de9833.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1\")
<\/picture>
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe\/Africa…\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":33339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}