Trump aides ready ‘universal’ tariff plans — with one key change

US stocks surged on Monday and the dollar dropped after a report said that President-elect Donald Trump's tariff plans would be more targeted than initially thought.

The emerging plans would pare back the most sweeping elements of Trump's campaign plans but still would be likely to upend global trade and carry major consequences for the us economy and consumers. As a candidate, Trump called for "universal" tariffs of as high as 10 or 20% on everything imported into the United States.

The Washington post reported that Trump's aides were reviewing plans to impose tariffs on every country but only on imports that are seen as critical to national or economic security.

The us dollar index dropped about 1% in its biggest one-day decline since August, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 surged about 1%.

Reference Sources

1. businessinsider - Stock market today: Stocks surge and dollar drops as traders try to shake off tough start to the year
2. ft - Dollar drops on reports Trump will scale back tariff plans
3. cna - European shares, euro surge after report of more targeted US tariffs
4. washingtonpost - Trump aides ready ‘universal’ tariff plans — with one key change
5. theguardian - Donald Trump denies he will pare back aggressive tariffs plan

Bitcoin surges above $100,000, eyeing Trump’s inauguration

Bitcoin has surged above $100,000 to start the first full trading week of the new year.

The flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by about 4% at $102,234, according to coin Metrics.

The broader crypto market, as measured by the Coindesk 20 index, gained more than 3%.

The price of Bitcoin has soared in the past few months, peaking at just over $108,000 late last year, largely due to President-elect Donald Trump's promise to turn the US into the 'crypto capital of the world' and creating a Bitcoin strategic reserve.

Reference Sources

1. cnbc - Cryptocurrencies rise to start the week, bitcoin jumps above $102,000
2. dailymail - 'I stole from my mother, my brother and my family... I thought Bitcoin would make me a millionaire but it ruined my life': The harrowing stories of those left on the verge of suicide because of their crypto addiction
3. eurodayfr - Bitcoin at $160,000 in 2025? Ledn analysts get wet
4. bangkokpost - Bumper Bitcoin year forecast
5. quartz - Bitcoin surges above $100,000, eyeing Trump’s inauguration

XPENG and Volkswagen Group China to Jointly Build One of the Largest Super-Fast Charging Networks in China

(Source: Shutterstock)

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) firm Xpeng and German automaker Volkswagen have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly build one of the largest Super-Fast charging networks in China.

The Mou will grant mutual access to respective proprietary, industry-leading super-fast charging networks. Over 20,000 charging piles operated by both parties across 420 cities in China will be accessible to customers of both Xpeng and Volkswagen group China. Both parties will jointly explore the cooperation on Co-Branded Super-Fast charging stations, accelerating the expansion of charging networks and enhancing the charging experience for customers.

Xpeng and Volkswagen forged a partnership in 2023, when Volkswagen bought 4.99% of Xpeng for around $700 million with plans to jointly launch two Volkswagen-branded EV models by 2026.

1. apnews - XPENG and Volkswagen Group China to Jointly Build One of the Largest Super-Fast Charging Networks in China
2. malaymail - Xpeng and Volkswagen expand partnership to build ultra-fast EV charging network in China
3. cnbc - Volkswagen and Xpeng to build super-fast charging network in China for EVs
4. upi - Volkswagen, XPENG to open super-fast charging stations to each other in China

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.

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Uploaded by Ian Huang