(Bloomberg) — Switzerland is close to securing a 15% tariff on its exports to the US, in what would be a relief for the country after it was hit with a punishing 39% levy in August, according to people familiar with the matter.

A deal may be concluded within the next two weeks, said the people, who declined to be identified discussing ongoing negotiations. They also warned that nothing is finalized and the talks could still come undone, as happened during discussions between US and Swiss trade negotiators in late July.

US President Donald Trump later confirmed his administration was “working on a deal to get their tariffs a little bit lower.”

“I haven’t said any number,” he added when asked about a 15% rate. “But we’re going to be working on something to help Switzerland along. We hit Switzerland very hard. We want Switzerland to remain successful.”

A spokesperson for the Swiss government declined to comment. The Office of the US Trade Representative didn’t immediately respond.

The previous negotiations ended with Switzerland being hit with the highest tariff rate the US imposed on any developed nation. Since then, the country has been trying to secure better terms, an effort that gained momentum last week when a group of Swiss billionaires and corporate executives met Trump at the Oval Office.

The meeting went so well that Trump subsequently ordered Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to step up direct negotiations, which he did with Swiss counterparts on Friday.

A deal would mark the successful culmination of weeks of shuttle diplomacy to Washington by Switzerland’s top trade diplomat, Helene Budliger Artieda, combined with the Swiss corporate charm offensive. A 15% rate would match the tariff on the neighboring European Union and be a vast improvement on the 39% bombshell that Trump announced on Aug. 1, Switzerland’s national holiday.

The initial punitive tariff has been linked to Trump’s view of a perceived trade imbalance between the two countries, specifically a near $40 billion US goods deficit. Switzerland had tried to counter that this was offset by imports of services.

What made the Aug. 1 announcement worse was that senior Swiss officials believed they had successfully negotiated a better deal with their US counterparts, which only needed sign-off from Trump.

Switzerland can’t afford to lose too much time in its bid to get the levy reduced, as there are emerging signs of the damage caused by tariffs. The economy likely shrank in the third quarter, and the country’s central bank says the outlook “has deteriorated due to significantly higher US tariffs.” Unemployment is also rising, albeit from a low level, and is at the highest in four years.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran has predicted that the explosive growth of stablecoins could reshape global capital flows and force U.S. interest rates lower. Speaking in New York on Nov. 7, Miran explained that the rise of stablecoins, boosted by the recently enacted Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, represents a structural shift in global finance.

Lower neutral interest rate

Miran said demand for dollar-backed tokens can trigger “a substantial and long-term force putting downward pressure” on the neutral interest rate, or r*. As more people and companies buy dollar-backed stablecoins backed by U.S. Treasurys, it increases the flow of money into the financial system, pushing down yields and interest rates. This can be good in the short term because it makes loans cheaper, encourages spending, and supports investment and innovation. But over time, it can also be risky as the Fed would have less room to cut rates in future recessions, savers would earn less on deposits, and markets could see more bubbles as investors chase higher returns. Miran warned that if the Federal Reserve doesn’t cut rates as the neutral interest rate falls, it could be “contractionary.” Keeping rates too high when the neutral rate is low makes borrowing more expensive, curbs spending and investment, and risks an economic slowdown even if inflation remains stable.

“In short, stablecoins may become a multitrillion-dollar elephant in the room for central bankers,” Miran said.

‘Global saving glut’

Federal Reserve estimates suggest that stablecoin adoption could reach between $1 trillion and $3 trillion by the end of the decade, a massive expansion comparable to the Fed’s own $3 trillion bond-buying program during the pandemic. Miran said that such demand would represent a significant new force in the market. If these projections hold, the surge in stablecoin-related purchases of Treasurys would be too large for policymakers and investors to overlook. Economists have compared the potential effects of high stablecoin adoption to the early 2000s “global saving glut” identified by former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, when foreign capital inflows helped suppress yields. Miran estimated that stablecoin-driven demand could mirror up to 60% of that impact if adoption exceeds $4 trillion.

Stablecoins can drive demand for U.S. assets

Stablecoins, digital assets pegged to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar, are increasingly used worldwide as a means of payment and store of value. Miran noted that their success reflects growing global demand for dollar assets and efficient payment rails beyond traditional banking. The GENIUS Act requires U.S. stablecoin issuers to hold reserves in safe, dollar-denominated assets like Treasury bills and money market funds. According to Miran, this could boost foreign demand for Treasurys, lowering U.S. borrowing costs and pushing down equilibrium interest rates. Miran added that widespread stablecoin adoption abroad could amplify dollarization, synchronize global business cycles, and blunt the impact of floating exchange rates.

“Stablecoins will not instantly obliterate barriers to dollar use, but they will perforate those barriers,” he said, adding that this could redefine how global liquidity interacts with U.S. monetary policy.

(Bloomberg) — Gold rose for a second day as a weakening US economy outweighed progress on ending the government shutdown in Washington. Bullion traded near $4,050 an ounce after finishing last week little changed. The precious metal built on gains made on Friday as a measure of US consumer sentiment fell to near the lowest on record, with the shutdown and rising prices souring the outlook. The record-breaking impasse in Washington, meanwhile, appears to be nearing an end after a group of moderate Senate Democrats agreed to support a deal to reopen the government, people familiar with the talks said. The suspension of data has meant the Federal Reserve has had to fly blind as it tries to balance high inflation and weak labor market. “When the shutdown risk fades, investors often turn their attention back to the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook,” said Vasu Menon, an investment strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. “If ending the shutdown means the government can release delayed economic data, it gives the Fed room to ease policy sooner if the data shows slowing growth.” Gold has retreated around 8% since hitting a record high above $4,380 an ounce in mid-October. It’s still up more than half this year, however, and most of the factors that have propelled the blistering rally — heightened economic and geopolitical uncertainties and elevated central bank and retail buying — are still in place. The People’s Bank of China, a major buyer that’s helped abet the advance, added gold to its reserves for a 12th consecutive month in October, according to data released Friday. Gold-backed exchange-traded funds have also registered net inflows in the past two sessions. Spot gold rose 1.2% to $4,048.69 an ounce as of 11:20 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.1%. Silver, platinum and palladium all advanced. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

(Bloomberg) — A record of policy discussions from the Bank of Japan’s latest board meeting signaled that the next interest rate increase could come as soon as December, matching the expectations of many market participants.

“It is likely that conditions for taking a further step toward the normalization of the policy interest rate have almost been met,” one of nine board members said while noting the need to examine underlying inflation, a summary of opinions released Monday showed. The board voted 7-2 to hold settings steady at the two-day gathering that ended on Oct. 30.

The summary suggests the nine-member board is increasingly of the view that the timing for the next rate hike is nearing, consistent with Governor Kazuo Ueda’s recent signals that the move could come in coming months. With almost all BOJ watchers expecting higher borrowing costs by January, the focus is now becoming whether the move comes on Dec. 19 or the following month.

The yen was trading at around 153.80 against the dollar after the release of the summary. It hit a fresh eight-month low of 154.48 last week.

The summary also reflects a shift in the board’s focus to the next round of annual wage talks beginning later this year, with one member citing the need to examine the “initial” momentum after uncertainty related to US tariffs receded. That’s in line with Ueda’s remarks at last month’s post-meeting press briefing, and it means authorities may have the confidence they need by the end of this year, or early next year, before unions and employers release an early tally in March.

“If there is no negative news regarding the global economy or financial markets, and if it is confirmed that firms’ active wage-setting behavior will be maintained, this is likely to lead to a policy change,” one BOJ board member said.

There has been little sign of a dramatic downshift in momentum for wage hikes despite US tariffs. Japan’s biggest umbrella group of labor unions last month said it’s setting the same target for the coming round that it had a year ago, which ultimately resulted in the best outcome in 34 years.

The October gathering was the first policy meeting after Sanae Takaichi, known as a monetary easing advocate, became prime minister on Oct. 21. Many economists viewed that development as one that would lead to a hold on rates as authorities took politics into consideration. They are watching whether she might try to stop a rate hike in coming months.

Japan’s new Fiscal and Economic Policy Minister Minoru Kiuchi attended the October meeting as a government representative. An opinion by a cabinet official said that the government expects the BOJ’s close cooperation in the spirit of the BOJ Act, the summary, which never discloses the names of speakers, showed.

The BOJ kept its policy rate unchanged at 0.5% at the October gathering, where Ueda faced two dissenters calling for a rate increase at the second straight gathering.

About half of BOJ watchers expect the bank to raise borrowing costs next month, while around 98% forecast the move coming no later than January, according to a Bloomberg survey last month.

“While uncertainties remain, the bank will be in a situation where it should adjust the policy interest rate depending on” the economic outlook and the likelihood of achieving it, one member said.

A group of labor unions led by the United Steelworkers slammed the Trump administration for suspending port fees on Chinese ships that workers argued would bring about a revival in the once-dominant domestic shipbuilding industry.

The unions expressed “strong disappointment” with the administration’s decision and said it would have negative consequences in the nation’s attempt to restore the US’s maritime sector, according to a letter sent to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The letter, also signed by the International Association of Machinists, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, said the decision will allow China to continue “predatory behavior.”

The strong comments come a week after President Donald Trump touted a trade truce between the world’s largest economies, assuring Americans that the Chinese would buy more agricultural goods and roll back export controls on rare-earth minerals that threatened to undermine US national security. But the pushback also shows that the deal came at the expense of some blue-collar workers, which could hurt the president during next year’s midterm elections in key battlegrounds.

“By suspending 301 remedies for one year, the US government is introducing uncertainty at the very moment when confidence and long-term planning are most essential,” the unions wrote in the letter. “Suspending implementation of the responsive actions under the Section 301 investigation will continue to give China a free pass.”

On Thursday, the office of the US Trade Representative opened an usually short comment period on terms of a deal struck between Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The unions’ letter was submitted Friday, before the deadline at 5 p.m. Eastern.

Trump’s plan would pause tariffs on imports of ship-to-shore cranes and chassis from China, in addition to a suspension of fees levied on Chinese-built and -operated merchant ships calling at American ports. China agreed to halt retaliatory measures in return for US action, according to a fact sheet released by the White House after Trump and Xi met last week.

The pause would begin Nov. 10 and is effectively a yearlong pledge not to invoke tariffs or other penalties stemming from a US probe into China’s actions in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors.

The investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 began during the Biden administration, at the request of five labor unions representing US steelworkers and shipbuilders, including those that signed Friday’s letter.

Trump has looked to counter China’s growing influence on the shipbuilding sector with the probe as well as with deals with Japan and South Korea to bolster alternatives.

The push to revive US shipbuilding capacity has received broad support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and bipartisan legislation complimentary to the policy aimed at China’s maritime sector was the subject of a Senate hearing just last week. The measure is also supported by much of the domestic maritime industry.

Of all the things you anticipate doing during the holidays, being scammed probably isn’t one of them. However, it turns out the season for cheer presents the perfect conditions for fraudsters to pounce. According to the FBI, there’s a whole category of scams that revolve around online shopping during the holidays. And that’s not too surprising; consumers tend to overlook red flags and make their most costly mistakes when they’re hurried or stressed out. Unfortunately, scammers know that the holidays are the most stressful and frenzied time of the year for many people. If you want to avoid being scammed while you’re shopping online, look out for these red flags.

The FBI warns of these top holiday shopping scams

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), online shopping scams were the second-most common type of fraud reported in 2024. During the holidays, when people are rushing to make lots of quick purchases, their chances of falling for an online shopping scam tend to increase. And that can put a damper on your holiday budget, to say the least. The FBI warns that the following four scams are most common — here’s what to look out for and how to avoid them:

1. Nondelivery scams

With nondelivery scams, the victim pays for a product online but then never receives the order. These scams often begin with a fraudster setting up a fake online store or listing products for sale that don’t exist, often with prices that are significantly lower than those offered by real retailers. As the buyer, you might get hooked by ads that seem legitimate or duped by logos and web addresses that replicate the real thing from a retailer you already know. For example, earlier this year, many people fell for fake ads for JOANN’s bankruptcy sales because they knew the chain was going out of business. In addition to costing you money, nondelivery scams put you at risk of a fraudster using your payment information for their own purchases. Plus, some scammers will use your login credentials to try to access your other online accounts.

2. Gift card fraud

One of the biggest tip-offs for fraud is the method of payment being requested. If the vendor only accepts gift cards or other prepaid cards, they’re likely attempting gift card fraud. Why gift cards? Unlike debit or credit cards, there’s no way to trace the recipient of a gift card or reverse the payment after the transaction has been made. Of course, gift cards aren’t the only untraceable form of payment — if a seller or vendor requests any of the following, that’s your sign to take your business elsewhere:

• Gift cards
• Prepaid cards
• Cryptocurrency
• Money orders
• Wire transfers

3. Auction fraud

Auction fraud is the act of misrepresenting or failing to deliver items that are sold at auction. Online auction fraud can happen in a number of ways: You might get drawn in by a fake ad for property that’s been seized by the government, or maybe you click on a livestream where someone claims they’re auctioning off valuable items. With auction fraud, the seller always misleads you about the details of the sale. For example, they might exclusively post photos that are copied from another website to hide product damage, sell counterfeits, or pretend they own the item. In addition to the risk of getting defrauded, online auctions put you at risk of overpaying. The excitement and fast pace of bidding can influence buyers to drive up the price of goods, without even being able to inspect the property. Additionally, buyers who fail to conduct thorough research up front may incur unexpected fees, such as international shipping charges.

4. Nonpayment scams

Another common online shopping scam involves buyers targeting sellers. With nonpayment scams, the buyer will collect the seller’s goods or services and then refuse to send payment. To perform this scam, the buyer typically asks you to complete the transaction offline. Then, they might give an excuse for not showing up in person. For example, they might claim they’re a service member who’s been stationed overseas. To complete the transaction, the buyer may ask you to put the product in a P.O. box or hand it over to their family member, claiming that payment is on the way.

How to protect yourself against holiday shopping scams

Between nonpayment and nondelivery scams, consumers reported losing nearly $800 million in 2024. If you want to avoid the same fate this holiday season, here are some key ways to protect yourself:

• Slow down: Give yourself ample time to do all of your holiday shopping. The best approach is to start early, so that when you’re making purchases, you won’t get rushed and overlook red flags and shady sales tactics, like limited-time deals for discounts that are too good to be true.
• Vet your vendors: For vendors and other online sellers that are new to you, search for reviews and read the comments on their social media posts. Before sharing your payment information, look for their contact information, the site’s return policy, and any related fees.
• Click carefully: Instead of clicking on ads or links in emails, go directly to the vendor’s SSL-encrypted website (look for the lock symbol in your browser). If you see an online ad for a big sale, check with the retailer to make sure it’s legitimate.
• Pay with credit: Never send payments by gift card, cryptocurrency, or other untraceable methods. Instead, opt for credit cards since they have more protections than debit cards. If you can’t afford to pay off the credit card purchase within a month, I strongly recommend cutting back on your holiday spending budget.

If you do end up falling for a scam, take action to reduce the fallout right away. For example, you might need to request a chargeback or dispute the charge through your credit card company. Then, keep an eye on your financial statements so you can catch any unauthorized charges. Additionally, review your credit reports for information you don’t recognize, such as applications for new credit cards. You can pull your credit reports for free once a week from AnnualCreditReport.com, and pulling them does not hurt your credit scores at all.

ATLANTA (AP) — A South Korean solar company says it will temporarily reduce pay and working hours for about 1,000 of its 3,000 employees in Georgia because U.S. customs officials have been detaining imported components needed to make solar panels.

Qcells, a unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Solutions, said Friday that it will also lay off 300 workers from staffing agencies at its plants in Dalton and Cartersville, both northwest of Atlanta.

The company says U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been detaining imported components at ports on suspicion that they contain materials that may have been made with forced labor in China, meaning it can’t run its solar panel assembly lines at full strength.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced in August that her department was stepping up enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, a 2021 law that restricts Chinese goods made with forced labor from entering the U.S. Published reports indicate that U.S. officials began detaining solar cells made by Qcells in June. A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection couldn’t immediately answer questions about Qcells on Friday.

Qcells says none of its materials or components are made with forced labor or even come from China. Spokesperson Marta Stoepker said the company maintains “robust supply chain due diligence measures” and “very detailed documentation,” which has been successful in getting some shipments released.

“Our latest supply chain is sourced completely outside of China and our legacy supply chains contain no material from Xinjiang province based on third party audits and supplier guarantees,” Stoepker said.

She said Qcells is continuing to cooperate and expects to resume full production in the coming weeks and months.

“Although our supply chain operations are beginning to normalize, today we shared with our employees that HR actions must be taken to improve operational efficiency until production capacity returns to normal levels,” Stoepker said in a statement.

Qcells has said it pays workers an average of about $53,000 a year. Workers will retain full benefits during furloughs.

Qcells is completing a $2.3 billion plant in Cartersville that will let it take polysilicon refined in Washington state and make ingots, wafers and solar cells — the building blocks of finished solar modules. That will allow it to reduce imports of solar modules. The company has said it will finish the plant even though President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress dismantled most of the tax credits for buying solar panels earlier this year.

“Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains,” Stoepker said. “We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.”

(Bloomberg) — Gold advanced as investors sought haven after the latest US data pointed to weakening in key areas of the economy.

Sentiment among American consumers soured as the shutdown weighed on the economic outlook, while high prices worsened views about personal finances. Fears about unemployment jumped, with 71% of respondents in the University of Michigan report expecting it to rise in the year ahead.

While the government did not release its payrolls report Friday due to the shutdown, a survey conducted by 22V Research showed that a labor-market unwind is the biggest risk to trading.

Bond yields and the dollar slipped after the economic readings, helping boost the non-yielding bullion.

Gold is trading little changed from last Friday’s close, following two straight weeks of losses after prices snapped back from a record high above $4,380 an ounce last month. The metal is still up more than 50% this year, on track for its best yearly performance since 1979.

Rate cuts in the US have supported gold prices as have elevated central bank purchases. The government shutdown — now the longest in US history — has made it more difficult to assess the world’s largest economy, making data provided by private firms an increasingly important guide.

In other precious metals, silver rose for a third session, on track for a small weekly gain. On Thursday, the US added silver to a government list of critical minerals included in the Trump administration’s Section 232 probe, which could lead to tariffs and trade restrictions. Duties on silver could ripple through on metals markets because the US relies heavily on imports to meet demand.

Silver inventory in London rose 6.8% month-on-month to 844 million ounces by the end of October, according to data from the London Bullion Market Association. The increase came after a historic squeeze in early October that broke the silver market in London.

Spot gold rose % to $ an ounce at in New York. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index inched lower, while platinum and palladium gained.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Friday that there were “no active discussions” about selling the ​company’s state-of-the-art Blackwell chips to China.

Blackwell is Nvidia’s ‌current flagship artificial intelligence chip that the Trump administration has so far prevented from being sold to China, ‌for fear it would aid the Chinese military and domestic AI industry.

While there was speculation last week that talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea could end with a deal to allow a scaled-down version of the ⁠Blackwell to be sold in ‌China, so far there have been no signs of an agreement.

“Currently, we are not planning to ship anything to China,”‍ Huang said, soon after arriving in the city of Tainan for his fourth public visit to Taiwan this year.

“It’s up to China when they would like Nvidia products to go ​back to serve the Chinese market, I look forward to them changing their ‌policy,” he added.

The U.S. has allowed Nvidia to sell its H20 chip in China, but Huang has repeatedly said over the past month that China does not want Nvidia in the country, so its market share of the advanced AI chip market is zero.

Huang, in remarks seen on a live broadcast by Taiwan’s ⁠Formosa TV News network, also said he was ​in Taiwan for a day and a half to ​visit long-time partner TSMC and participate in the company’s sports day.

“Business is very strong,” he said. “So I ‍came back to encourage ⁠my TSMC friends.”

When asked about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s plan to build a fab, Huang said that building advanced semiconductor manufacturing capabilities like TSMC does ⁠is extremely hard, but emphasized that “it’s a very important technology and the demand is ‌extremely high.”

(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee in Taipei;‌ Editing by Jacqueline Wong and

SEOUL (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics said on ​Friday it had named ‌Park Hark-kyu as the new head ‌of its business support office, a key decision-making body of the technology giant ⁠that serves ‌chairman Jay Y. Lee.

The South Korean company ‍said in a statement the office had been upgraded from a ​task force.

Park’s predecessor,‌ Chung Hyun-ho, will assume an advisory role to Lee, Samsung said.

Vice Chairman Chung “expressed his ⁠intention to step ​down from management ​to focus on nurturing future leaders, as Samsung’‍s business ⁠has been back on track,” a Samsung spokesperson ⁠said.