The Trump administration is weighing a new round of sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, eight people familiar with discussions told POLITICO — despite warnings from tech companies that the move could doom U.S. hopes of dominating artificial intelligence.

One tariff approach under consideration would dramatically expand the number of tech products subject to the duties, hitting not just chips but potentially many of the goods made with them, such as laptops, gaming consoles or the servers that fill data centers, the people said. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick favors a structure that would tie foreign companies’ relief from the tariffs to investment in U.S. chip manufacturing to juice more domestic production, said four of the people.

(Continue Reading – POLITICO)

PARIS — France’s first presidential debate on Thursday should have been an opportunity for centrist and conservative candidates to shine.

Taking place at the annual conference of MEDEF, France’s powerful employers’ lobby, on the burnt-orange clay of Roland-Garros, seven presidential contenders will be quizzed about what they’ll do to make France more business-friendly.

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Issuance from AI leaders is testing the tolerance of the bond market, with price premiums a telltale sign, according to a top Europe bond banker at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

“We will continue testing at what price levels investors will be able to participate in these transactions,” said Matthias Reschke, head of European investment-grade finance in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Anna Edwards and Tom Mackenzie. “We don’t doubt that we will be able to place it, it’s all a question of price,” he said.

(Continue Reading – BBG)