President Announces 50% Copper Tariff, 200% Drug Tariff, Copper Futures Surge 17%

In a significant move, the United States President has announced plans to impose a 50% tariff on imported copper, while pharmaceutical companies will face a 200% tariff on foreign-produced drugs within the next year. This announcement was made during a cabinet meeting, where the President reiterated the intention to impose tariffs on specific industries, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and metals. The President's remarks led to a surge in the price of copper, with New York copper futures rising by 17%, marking the largest intraday gain since at least 1988.

The President also stated that there would be no extension to the new deadline of August 1, 2025, for countries to begin paying reciprocal tariffs. "Tariffs will begin to be paid on August 1, 2025. This date has not changed and will not change," the President wrote on the Truth Social platform. "In other words, all payments will be due and payable starting August 1, 2025 — no extensions will be granted." This announcement comes as various countries were set to complete trade negotiations with the U.S. government by the end of the week. Despite reports of progress in trade talks with the European Union, the President indicated a willingness to unilaterally set tariff rates, citing long-standing trade deficits and digital service taxes that impact U.S. tech companies.

In other news, SpaceX is reportedly in discussions to raise funds and sell internal shares, which could value the rocket and satellite manufacturing company at approximately 4000 billion dollars. This valuation would surpass the previous high of 3500 billion dollars set during a stock buyback in December of last year, aligning SpaceX's value with some of the largest publicly traded companies globally, such as Home Depot and Palantir Technologies Inc. Representatives from SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Additionally, the Kuwait Investment Authority reportedly sold 31 billion dollars worth of Bank of America shares in a block trade overnight. The shares were priced at 47.95 dollars per share, at the lower end of the indicated range. This sale price represented a 1.5% discount to the previous day's closing price of 48.66 dollars. Following the announcement, Bank of America's stock price briefly fell to 46.76 dollars, and by 12:49 PM New York time on Tuesday, the stock had declined by 3%, trading at 47.21 dollars.

In a separate development, the President reiterated criticism of the Federal Reserve Chairman, stating that if the Chairman's remarks on the renovation of the Fed's headquarters were indeed misleading to Congress, the Chairman should "resign immediately." During a cabinet meeting, the President described the Chairman's actions as "terrible" and suggested that the Chairman should step down if found to have deceived Congress. "He should resign immediately," the President said. "We need someone who will cut interest rates."

On Tuesday, Bank of America Global Research and Goldman Sachs became the latest Wall Street firms to raise their year-end targets for the S&P 500 index. This adjustment was driven by factors such as reduced policy uncertainty, strong corporate earnings, and potential interest rate cuts. Bank of America increased its target for the benchmark index from 5600 points to 6300 points, while Goldman Sachs raised its target from 6100 points to 6600 points. Based on the S&P 500 index's previous closing price of 6229.28 points, this implies potential upside of 1% and approximately 6%, respectively. This marks the second time Goldman Sachs has raised its target in two months, following an earlier increase in May. Earlier this year, major firms, including Bank of America, had lowered their targets to below 6000 points due to concerns over the U.S. economy and global trade tensions sparked by the "Liberation Day" tariff policy announced by the President in April.