Business

By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS, June 11 (Reuters) – The United States and the European Union have yet to decide whether to continue suspending or to reimpose tariffs on $11.5 billion of goods in a decades-long dispute over aircraft subsidies with just days to go before their truce expires.

The two sides in 2004 lodged parallel cases at the World Trade Organization over subsidies for U.S. plane maker Boeing and European rival Airbus, accusing each other of unfair competition.

The WTO in 2019 authorised the United States to impose tariffs on $7.5 billion of EU goods, such as cheese, in the case against Airbus. A year later, it gave the EU the right to respond with countermeasures on $4 billion of U.S. imports, including tobacco and spirits. On June 15, 2021, both sides agreed to suspend these tariffs for five years.

A European Commission spokesperson said on Thursday that discussions were ongoing to extend the suspension.

The two sides said in 2021 they aimed to work on an overarching agreement on subsidies for large aircraft and to counter investments in aircraft by “non-market actors,” meaning China. They said then they expected the dispute would be resolved within five years.

Instead, tariff tensions have risen, with the European Union facing fees on most of its exports to the United States, although aircraft and aircraft parts are excluded.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Barbara Lewis)

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A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Gregor Stuart Hunter

Oil is back on the boil and equity markets are struggling to find a floor after this week’s selloff triggered by fresh blows to the ceasefire in the Middle East. The U.S. has launched new strikes against multiple targets in Iran, with President Donald Trump vowing even more attacks if no peace deal is secured.

Brent crude rose 1.7% to $94.64 after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Thursday that they had retaliated against U.S. air bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and threatened to target any vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Equities across the region slid, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 1.3% with Taiwanese and Korean shares leading declines as AI chipmakers fluctuated between gains and losses.

Some analysts have attributed the recent tech slump to investor repositioning ahead of the upcoming SpaceX share offering, which Reuters reported has drawn more than $250 billion of investor demand for what stands to be the largest-ever IPO.

Oracle also rattled sentiment, unveiling spending plans far beyond expectations and fuelling debt concerns – sending its shares plunging 10% in after-hours trade.

The euro edged up 0.1% to $1.1544 against the U.S. dollar ahead of the European Central Bank’s June monetary policy announcement later on Thursday, where it is widely expected to hike rates.

The single currency held gains even as the flare-up in the Iran conflict kept the U.S. dollar index holding firmly at its strongest levels since ceasefire talks with Tehran began in early April. Wednesday’s hot U.S. inflation print has nudged market bets toward an October rate hike, according to CME’s FedWatch tool, though expectations remain finely balanced.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond was up 1.4 basis points at 4.552%.

U.S. equity futures found tentative footing, with S&P 500 e-mini futures up 0.2% and on track to snap a two-day losing streak. In early European deals, pan-region futures slumped 0.8%, German DAX futures were off 0.6% and FTSE futures fell 0.8%.

Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday:

Economic events:

Germany: Current account balance for April

Euro Zone: ECB monetary policy decision for June and press conference

U.S.: PPI for May

Debt auctions

UK: 3-year government debt

(Reporting by Gregor Stuart HunterEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

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Iran retaliated against U.S. air and cruise missile strikes as hostilities escalated Thursday with attacks against Kuwait and Bahrain in renewed fighting after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations.

The exchange came shortly after the U.S. launched a second round of airstrikes overnight Thursday. Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

The new assault across multiple Iranian cities came as efforts to negotiate an end the war appeared to have stalled, with Iran insisting it would maintain its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Talks have also faltered because of Israel’s attacks against the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other.

In a first exchange of missile fire from Iran and airstrikes by the U.S. on Wednesday, Iranian missiles were launched at missiles at Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. Those came in the wake of American strikes in reprisal for the shooting down of a U.S. helicopter in the strait.

The U.S. Central Command said it completed its latest round of airstrikes just before the sun rose Thursday in Iran. It said the strikes targeted military surveillance, communications and air defense sites and were carried out by the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy. It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes.

Explosions from the strikes echoed around Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as in the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the strait.

Here’s the latest:

Kuwait says it has closed its airspace over ongoing Iranian attacks and said flights were being diverted to alternative airports, without elaborating.

Flights had been circling outside of Kuwait for some time before the announcement after it said its air defenses were firing.

Kuwait International Airport had taken a direct Iranian hit in recent days, which killed one person and wounded dozens.

Kuwait’s military said its air defenses were firing Thursday morning after Iran threatened retaliation for U.S. airstrikes overnight. Bahrain separately sounded its missile alert sirens in the island kingdom that hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters.

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NEW YORK (AP) — What makes a memorable World Cup anthem? Is it a song that best reflects the host countries? Is it a global banger, incorporating multiple languages and genres? Or should it simply value a chant-along chorus above all?

There’s an argument to make for each — or perhaps all. To get to the bottom of it ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, The Associated Press asked a few of the performers behind World Cup songs past and present. It’s a list that includes Shakira — who, alongside Afrobeats star Burna Boy, is responsible for the official 2026 FIFA World Cup anthem, “Dai Dai” — as well as Colombian singer J Balvin, Wyclef Jean and newcomer Nora Fatehi.

Before “Dai Dai,” the Colombian superstar co-wrote and performed “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” featuring Freshlyground, the official anthem of the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa.

“Fútbol is a thing that unites so many cultures and people of different walks of life,” she told the AP. “The big responsibility of making a World Cup song is that you’ve got to make a song that represents people’s feelings, emotions, and passion.”

“So you’ve got to write that song, in a way, understanding that it has to be global. It has to encompass so many cultures and represent so many in one tune,” Shakira continued. “That, in a way, has helped me craft those songs in the past.”

But beyond those conceptual ideas, Shakira has some specific sonic suggestions as well.

“I feel like a good World Cup song needs to definitely have rhythm. It has to be rhythmic. It has to make people want to dance. And it has to be an anthem as well. It has to make people want to sing along in unison, sing out loud at the top of their lungs. It also has that kind of energy,” she says. “That’s a must.”

Colombian singer J Balvin is one-fourth of Coca-Cola’s official song for the FIFA World Cup 2026, a reimagination of Van Halen’s “Jump” that also features drummer Travis Barker, pop/R&B singer Amber Mark and guitarist Steve Vai. He says any song — not just a World Cup anthem — must engage listeners right off the bat.

“Nowadays, with the music and every type of music — it doesn’t matter if it’s the World Cup, if it is a reggaeton or hip-hop (song) — you know, people’s attention (span) is only like five seconds. And that’s the reality. I’m not judging — you’ve just got to do it with all the love,” he says.

But a World Cup anthem specifically? That should match the intensity of a soccer game. “Fútbol brings us together, with all different highs and lows,” he says. “All these different emotions happen in one game.” The song should have the same energy.

The Canadian Moroccan singer-songwriter Nora Fatehi is featured on the official 2026 FIFA World Cup album with “Siir, Siir,” a collaboration with French artist Vegedream and Bangladeshi American DJ Sanjoy.

“It needs a great beat because we’re here to dance and we need to celebrate,” she says of a World Cup anthem.

But beyond that, Fatehi, who is best known for work in Bollywood films, says that when you hear it, “You feel like you’re winning, or you’re gonna win, or you won. That’s the emotion it needs to evoke.”

For “Siir, Siir,” she says, “what we were after was finding an emotion. So, the minute you hear that song, it should make you feel like you’ve conquered the world. It should make you feel motivated. It should be aspirational. That’s what it should feel like.”

Wyclef Jean, the Fugees multi-hyphenate, co-wrote and performed “Dar um Jeito (We Will Find a Way)” for the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil, with guitar guru Santana, the late EDM icon Avicii and Brazil’s beloved singer-songwriter Alexandre Pires.

“The topline? It has to electrify the stadium,” Jean says. “You literally have to feel the entire stadium shaking.” If you don’t — the anthem won’t fly.

“I don’t know any World Cup song that don’t have amazing rhythm and amazing movement,” he says.

Though many nations are represented in the identity of his song’s performers — Brazil, Sweden, Haiti, Mexico and the U.S. — Jean says he doesn’t “think like necessarily you need to have five different artists to make a global anthem.”

“Whether they come from the Middle East, Africa, Europe, America, any part of the world, the Caribbean — people gravitate towards culture,” he says. “And what I love best about World Cup is that before it has a language, it has an energy and a vibe. It has absolutely nothing to do with a language.”

A good hook, a strong melody that anyone can sing along to — that’s what’s key.

But “Dar um Jeito” has a strong message of unity, adding to its anthemic quality. “Resilience is a very important word,” he says of the song’s message. Jean says it was written for “boys and girls all over the world,” particularly those in rural areas.

The aim was a Bob Marley-style “Get Up, Stand Up,” “where the messaging in the song is not being preachy, but it’s a message of hope,” he says. “If you keep fighting the good fight, you’re gonna get to that stadium. And ain’t nobody gonna stop you.”

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

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By Ankur Banerjee

SINGAPORE, June 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar wobbled on Thursday as new U.S. strikes in the Middle East undermined sentiment, while a surge in May U.S. consumer inflation to a three-year high kept investors uneasy about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook.

The currency markets have been subdued this week, as investors weighed the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East against a renewed cycle of tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran, eroding hopes for a near-term peace agreement.

The euro bought $1.1553, inching away from the 10-week low it hit last week, but has given up most of its gains since a ceasefire was struck in early April. The spotlight will be on the European Central Bank policy meeting later in the day as it looks poised to raise rates to tackle inflation.

Sterling was at $1.33905. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six major peers, eased to 99.903 after U.S. military said it has completed strikes against multiple targets in Iran.

The United States began a fresh round of strikes overnight in Iran, the U.S. military said, as President Donald Trump vowed even more attacks if no peace deal is secured.

The latest escalation kept markets jittery, pushing oil prices higher. Brent futures rose over 2% to $95.40 a barrel. [O/R]

Still, the market reaction was less volatile than in the past, with the dollar remaining relatively subdued in early Asian trading.

“We still have a bit of news fatigue in the market, this kind of escalation a few weeks ago would probably have had Brent back up through $100 a barrel and the dollar surging,” said Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at ATFX Global.

“It comes down to the markets craving a bit of certainty again,” said Twidale. “Is this conflict and closure of the Strait going to be the new status quo … or another ‘negotiating tactic’ that brings peace hopes back to the table.”

RATE HIKE JITTERS

While the U.S. Consumer Price Index increased 4.2% in the 12 months through May, the largest gain since April 2023, economists remain of the view that the bar is high for monetary policy tightening.

The so-called core CPI gained 0.2% over the month after rising 0.4% in April, bolstering hopes that the price pressures from the energy shock might be contained.

James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, said labour remains the largest cost for corporate America, and with wage growth continuing to cool, that should help ease some of the pressure on core inflation.

“This should all help to keep inflation expectations in check, so while we no longer expect the Fed to cut interest rates this year given improved economic momentum, we don’t expect a rate hike either,” Knightley said.

Traders have fully priced in a 25-basis-point hike in December, a sharp turn from expectations of two rate cuts this year before the Iran war erupted at the end of February.

The Japanese yen was at 160.52 per dollar, leaving traders on edge about the possibility of official intervention from Tokyo.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has been hospitalised for medical treatment and will miss the June 15 to 16 policy meeting, where the central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates.

“We do not expect Ueda’s absence to impact on the BOJ’s policy decision,” said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “We and the market continue to expect a 25bp rate hike next week.”

In other currencies, the Australian dollar was at $0.7006 after touching a nine-week low earlier in the session. The New Zealand dollar was steady at $0.5797. [AUD/]

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in SingaporeEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

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BEIJING, June 11 (Reuters) – China’s northeastern city of Changchun, home to the country’s oldest automaker FAW Group, has released a draft plan through 2030 to revamp its decades-old auto sector, aiming to attract electric-vehicle makers such as BYD and Xiaomi.

Here are key points from the draft plan:

• China’s domestic auto industry is expected to consolidate significantly, with the number of automaker groups projected to fall to about 15 by 2030 from the current 71, according to the draft released earlier this week by the city’s industry and information technology bureau.

• FAW Group has experienced a decline in production and sales in recent years, increasing the likelihood of restructuring pressure on the state-owned enterprise.

• Changchun plans to leverage FAW’s headquarters presence to attract partners such as Leapmotor to introduce new vehicle models.

• The city is targeting high-growth automakers including BYD and Xiaomi to set up northern production bases, smart vehicle R&D centres, or key component projects to diversify its industrial base.

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Liz Lee; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched a second round of airstrikes on Iran into Thursday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations, and Iran responded with strikes targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

The new U.S. assault across multiple Iranian cities came as efforts to negotiate an end the war again appeared stuck, with Iran insisting it would maintain its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy supplies and sent oil prices higher. The American attack appeared more intense and wider than the day before, but Iran released no information about what was hit.

Kuwait closed its airspace because of the Thursday morning attack, without elaborating on any damage. Jordan didn’t acknowledge the attack, though the U.S. Embassy in Amman warned about it. And Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens without mentioning possible damage there.

The third back-and-forth strikes this week have tested a two-month shaky ceasefire. The first were attacks between Iran and Israel on Sunday into Monday, followed by the two rounds of fire between America and Tehran.

Trump has urged Iran to sign a deal to end the war and suggested earlier this week that an agreement could be reached in days.

But Iran has proved resilient despite weeks of heavy bombing. It is betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.

Still, both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win at home.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing goals that make compromise harder: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

The U.S. Central Command said its latest round of airstrikes ended just before sunrise Thursday in Iran. The military command said the strikes came “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression” and targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites.” It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes, which it said were carried out by the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy.

Explosions from the strikes echoed around Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran responded by launching strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan for a second day.

Israel early Thursday also warned residents in the north to seek shelter after the detection of suspected incoming fire from Lebanon.

Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with Feb. 28 attacks on Iran, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices and made food and other basics more expensive.

The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $93 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war.

Trump said the U.S. military has since last month undertaken a “secret mission” to sneak oil shipments past Iran’s forces in the Strait of Hormuz. He said ships were slipping through at night, aided by the destruction of Iranian radar equipment.

Trump said as a result more than 100 million barrels of oil have evaded Iran’s chokehold on the strait. There was no immediate confirmation of that figure, which roughly equals five days of oil shipments through the waterway before the war began.

The military’s role was not immediately clear. The U.S. Central Command on Wednesday disputed Iran’s claims that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, saying commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out.

Wary of high gas prices in the run-up to midterm elections in November, Trump seems to be looking for a quick win. But he is also making demands that will be tough for Iran to swallow.

The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, that uranium is a short technical step from weapons-grade levels.

Iran is refusing to give up the uranium and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something Trump rejected.

Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting between its ally Hezbollah and Israel.

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Price and Toropin reported from Washington.

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NEW YORK (AP) — A former top Canadian government official who has clashed often with President Donald Trump is writing a book about her country’s tense relationship with the United States.

Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday that “Unreliable Boyfriend,” by former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, comes out Oct. 13.

“This is a book about power, democracy, and the choices countries make when the old rules no longer seem to apply,” Freeland said in a statement released by the publisher. “As a Canadian negotiating with the United States during years of extraordinary political turbulence, I had a front-row seat to historic change. I wanted to tell the story of what I saw — and what it means for the future.”

An expert on Russia and Ukraine with degrees from Harvard University and the University of Oxford, Freeland was already an author and journalist before turning to politics. After the 2015 elections, she was appointed minister of international trade by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and went on to serve in a variety of posts over the following decade.

In 2017, during Trump’s first term, she was targeted by the president as the countries worked on what became the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. “We’re very unhappy with the negotiations and the negotiating style of Canada. We don’t like their representative very much,” Trump said at the time.

In 2024-25, as Trump threatened tariffs on Canadian imports and suggested that Canada was better off as the 51st state of the United States, she called him an “existential threat” to the country’s future. Trump has called her “totally toxic” and a “terrible person.”

Freeland broke with Trudeau and helped force his departure when she resigned from his cabinet in 2024 amid disagreements over how to respond to Trump. She has since served in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet and as a special envoy to Ukraine. In July, she will become Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of the Rhodes Trust in Oxford, overseeing the venerable scholarship program. She herself was a Rhodes scholar in 1993.

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NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) – U.S. consumer inflation increased at its fastest pace in three years in May as the Middle East conflict raised the price of gasoline and other energy products, giving more ammunition for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged into 2027.

The Consumer Price Index increased 4.2% in the 12 months through May, the largest gain since April 2023, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday. The CPI advanced 3.8% year-on-year in April. Prices increased 0.5% on a monthly basis after climbing 0.6% in April.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI increasing 4.2% year-on-year and gaining 0.5% on a monthly basis.

The third straight month of strong increases in the CPI highlighted mounting pressure on households as evidence suggests more consumers are dipping into savings to finance their spending. Inflation outpaced wage growth for a second consecutive month, which could weigh on overall economic growth.

MARKET REACTION:

STOCKS: U.S. stocks were modestly lower, with the Nasdaq composite declining 0.5% and the S&P 500 down 0.4%.

BONDS: Treasury prices were flat. The 2-year Treasury yield fell 1 basis point to 4.11% and the 10-year Treasury yield was unchanged at 4.52%.

FOREX: The dollar index fell 0.2% to 99.85.

COMMENTS:

SHAWN SNYDER, ECONOMIC STRATEGIST, POTOMAC FUND MANAGEMENT, BETHESDA, MARYLAND:“The data were largely in-line with consensus and core inflation came in a tick below expectations on a month-on-month basis at 0.2%. That said, inflation has been above the Fed’s target for over five years now and is trending in the wrong direction. It is hard to envision the president’s desired rate cuts against this backdrop.”

MATT BUSH, U.S. ECONOMIST, GUGGENHEIM INVESTMENTS, NEW YORK:

“Some relief was expected in the core inflation number this morning and this report mostly delivered that relief, a touch softer than consensus. Some encouraging news in some of the details of today’s data – we saw a decline in core goods inflation, which I think is showing we’re now more definitively past tariff impacts, so that’s good news going forward. 

“As those tariff effects have been coming out of the data, we have seen rising inflation in technology-related goods in recent months – computers and software. And the May data showed a much lower amount of inflation in computers and software. So that’s a pretty big sigh of relief, particularly for the core PCE inflation numbers, which the Fed is going to put more weight on, where these categories have a much larger weight and have driven a lot of the heat in the core PCE prints. 

“The fact that we saw computers and software basically unchanged over the month is welcome news after a couple of months of very elevated inflation readings.”

FRANK H NICKEL III, SVP, PROPRIETARY STRATEGIES, ORION ADVISOR SOLUTIONS, OMAHA, NEBRASKA:

“Despite inflation moving down in May, this report is likely to leave the Fed on hold in the near term as inflation remains elevated. 

“Looking ahead, inflation dynamics remain shaped by competing forces, money supply growth (M2) is up 4.7% year-over-year and is trending upwards and this is likely to push inflation higher but balanced labor markets are helping to keep wage growth and inflation in check especially in light of AI job loss concerns. 

“A bad report that drove higher rates and stock market losses would be concerning given that strong equity markets have supported consumer spending via wealth effects. All-in-all a glass half full report for me.”

STEVE KOLANO, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, INTEGRATED PARTNERS, WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS:“My immediate reaction to the CPI report this morning is that the report doesn’t do anything to reduce the probability of a possible rate hike at some point this year. The headline showed acceleration from the previous report as did the Core CPI YoY. With energy processes remaining elevated and the Iran conflict still being unresolved, the expectation is that inflation will also remain elevated for the near future. The probability of a rate hike, or even hikes, has been growing in the last few weeks, especially after the job data last week, and this report does nothing to reduce that probability.”

MICHAEL ROSEN, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, ANGELES INVESTMENT ADVISORS, SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA:

“No surprises in the CPI report. Headline inflation is 4.2% over the last 12 months, a 3-year high. The Fed risks losing credibility if it continues to stick to its 2% inflation goal while taking no action in monetary policy.”

ADAM SARHAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, 50 PARK INVESTMENTS, NEW YORK:

“The CPI tells us what happened last month, but the market is looking forward. If you look at core prices, they matched expectations. Even with the escalation in the Middle East, oil is still around $90 a barrel; it’s not back at $100. So that’s still relatively under control. 

“More importantly, food prices, if you look at corn, soybeans, wheat, coffee – a lot of these futures have fallen a lot in the last four to five weeks. So, the next CPI for June my guess, based on core prices – food and energy – is going to be lower than May. As long as we’re trending down, that is a net positive for the market. It’s a matter of the future direction of inflation.”

BRIAN MADDEN, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, FIRST AVENUE INVESTMENT COUNSEL, TORONTO:

“The U.S. inflation numbers came in higher month over month, but no worse than expected. At 4.2% inflation, that’s roughly double what the Federal Reserve’s target is. It’s increasing from last month at 3.8%. And even the core, which excludes energy and food and stuff and volatile items, is also uncomfortably high. 

“So, the net of it all is that it makes it more difficult for the Federal Reserve when they meet next week to lower interest rates from restrictive levels where they now are.”

BRIAN JACOBSEN, CHIEF ECONOMIC STRATEGIST, ANNEX WEALTH MANAGEMENT, BROOKFIELD, WISCONSIN:

“Just because the inflation numbers came in consistent with expectations doesn’t mean they were good.

“The headline of 4.2% inflation obscures that there isn’t a lot of evidence yet that the 40.6% increase in energy commodities is seeping into core prices.

“The clock is ticking loudly to get the Strait of Hormuz open, either through force or through a truce. The Fed isn’t going to try to guess when that will happen, so President Trump needs to deliver them certainty before they meet.”

ALEXANDER LIS, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, SD VENTURES, LIMASSOL, CYPRUS:

“CPI numbers were largely in line with consensus expectations. Both the headline and core. Not a hot print. But it wasn’t enough to reassure the markets.

“It was the last inflation print before the next FOMC meeting. So, the most important thing right now is the Fed reaction.

“Next week, we will know whether inflation is high enough to prompt the Fed to signal a possible rate hike. It could determine the market movement for months ahead.”

PETER CARDILLO, CHIEF MARKET ECONOMIST, SPARTAN CAPITAL SECURITIES, NEW YORK:

“These numbers are right in line with what I was looking for, except for the year on year for top line inflation. They are not that bad. They indicate that there has been no acceleration in inflation from the previous month. Of course, a lot depends on energy prices. And I suspect that if oil prices don’t move much beyond $100 a barrel, that it’s safe to say that maybe inflation has peaked. Of course, the wild card remains the war factor.

“On a year-to-year basis, the numbers suggest that inflation is still a problem. But the fact that the core is below 3%, I think is a good sign that maybe – and it, of course, all depends on the war – that energy inflation may have peaked.”

ART HOGAN, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST AT B RILEY WEALTH,  NEW YORK:

“The CPI report is a tale of two cities. While it is very much in line with expectations, it’s still moving in the wrong direction. That hasn’t changed the narrative around what the Fed will do at their next meeting. But the overarching consensus is that the Fed will hold steady and there’s only one rate hike priced into the fed funds futures. 

“So all of that in total is likely what’s helping pare some of the losses coming into the day after some significant settling pressure in the chip stocks and technology in general.”

TIM URBANOWICZ, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, INNOVATOR ETFS, GOLDMAN SACHS ASSET MANAGEMENT, CHICAGO:

“While the recent spike in both headline and core inflation is meaningful and a headwind for the economy and more cyclical sectors, tailwinds from the AI investment cycle, potential benefits from the Big Beautiful Bill, and the lagged impact of Fed rate cuts are all still providing meaningful support. If the Iran conflict drags on and inflationary pressures continue to build, there could come a point where that balance shifts, but we don’t see that today.”

BRENT SCHUTTE, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT, MILWAUKEE: “Today’s inflation information does little to resolve the reality that the last mile of inflation has been difficult for the Fed to defeat.  The reality is that inflation has been persistently stuck above their 2 percent target for the past few years with little to no progress.  The weak labor market has provided the Fed the cover to cut rates despite this reality. With the labor market healing investors are rightfully pondering if the Fed will have to refocus on actually meeting their inflation mandate.”

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani, Laura Matthews, Karen Brettell, Tharuniyaa Lakshmi, Caroline Valetkevitch, Saeed Azhar, Joel Jose, Medha Singh, Stephen Culp, Twesha Dikshit; editing by Colin Barr)

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BERLIN, June 10 (Reuters) – The world’s top automotive supplier, Robert Bosch GmbH, is on track to meet its financial targets this year despite new challenges emerging, including possible supply chain shocks resulting from the Middle East conflict, CEO Stefan Hartung told Reuters on Wednesday.

Facing a slowdown in German car production and an investment-heavy transition to electric vehicles, Bosch plans 22,000 job cuts in its core automotive business, with the measures expected to boost results this year after restructuring costs weighed in 2025.

“We’ve set the course to be well positioned for the next phase,” Hartung said at a robotics and automation event in Berlin.

The company continues to expect a profit margin this year in the range of 4 to 6%, two to three times higher than last year, and revenue growth of 2 to 5% – making it more optimistic than its competitors Schaeffler and ZF.

But market conditions aren’t getting any less demanding, Hartung said. “On the contrary: the environment remains challenging.”

Uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East and its potential impact on the supply of raw materials used in semiconductors, such as helium, have added to the risks for Bosch, according to the CEO.

“But fundamentally, we are well-positioned and can achieve our goals under the current conditions,” he added.

(Reporting by Rachel More, Editing by Linda Pasquini)

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