—— Trump to Announce Trade Deals and Tariff Warnings; Camp Mystic Flood Tragedy: 27 Campers and Counselors Confirmed Dead; Tesla Shares Drop as Elon Musk Launches New Political Party; CoreWeave to Acquire Core Scientific in $9B All-Stock Deal; Hong Kong Hits Record High in Company Listing Applications; Amazon and Walmart Set Up Summer Sales Showdown; Mercedes-Benz Q2 Sales Drop 9% as Tariffs Hit US and China Demand
1. Trump to Announce Trade Deals and Tariff Warnings
President Donald Trump is expected to announce a series of trade deals and issue fresh tariff warnings on Monday, as countries scramble to finalize agreements before punitive tariffs take effect.
While a July 9 deadline had been in place, U.S. officials now say countries will have until August 1 before new levies are implemented — offering roughly three more weeks for negotiations.
For weeks, the administration threatened to reimpose tariffs first announced on April 2 (“Liberation Day”) for countries that fail to reach a deal. In response, governments negotiated through the weekend in hopes of avoiding the steepest measures.
The European Union said it had made progress and is still aiming to meet the Wednesday deadline.
A spokesman for the European Commission confirmed that President Trump and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke on Sunday and had a “good exchange.”
Source: Bloomberg – Trump Sets Aug. 1 Tariff Start Ahead of Wednesday Deadline
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2. Camp Mystic Flood Tragedy: 27 Campers and Counselors Confirmed Dead
Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River in Texas, confirmed that 27 children and counselors have died due to catastrophic flash floods that struck since Friday. In a statement released Monday, the camp expressed deep sorrow and noted that search efforts are still underway for the missing.
State authorities report at least 82 deaths across Texas due to the flooding, with numbers expected to rise. The Guadalupe River surged 26 feet in under an hour following intense rainfall, devastating parks and campsites filled with Fourth of July visitors.
The National Weather Service has warned of additional storms on Monday, potentially bringing up to 10 inches of rain in some areas. Flood watches remain in effect across central Texas, including Austin and San Antonio.
Source: Bloomberg – Camp Mystic Says 27 Campers, Counselors Died in Texas Flood
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3. Tesla Shares Drop as Elon Musk Launches New Political Party
Tesla Inc. shares fell 8% on Monday after CEO Elon Musk announced the creation of a new political party, the “America Party,” further deepening his involvement in US politics — a move seen by analysts as a growing distraction from Tesla’s core business.
Musk said the party would focus on gaining influence in Congress over the next 12 months, with a potential endorsement of a presidential candidate afterward. Investors responded negatively, with Tesla stock now down 28% year-to-date.
Analysts warn that Musk’s political ambitions are increasingly hurting Tesla’s brand image and investor confidence.
“The business needs Musk’s full attention,” said William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who downgraded Tesla’s rating to a hold.
Source: Bloomberg – Tesla Slides on Concern Musk’s New Party Will Worsen Slump
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4. CoreWeave to Acquire Core Scientific in $9B All-Stock Deal
CoreWeave Inc. has agreed to acquire Core Scientific Inc. in an all-stock deal worth about $9 billion, enabling the cloud computing provider to expand its data center capacity amid surging demand for AI infrastructure.
The transaction values Core Scientific’s stock at $20.40 per share, representing a 66% premium over the closing price on June25—the day before the Wall Street Journal reported that the companies were in advanced talks.
According to CoreWeave’s statement released Monday, the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approvals. Once completed, Core Scientific shareholders are expected to own less than 10% of the combined entity.
“This acquisition accelerates our strategy to deploy AI and HPC workloads at scale,” said Michael Intrator, CoreWeave’s chief executive officer, referring to high-performance computing.
Cloud infrastructure providers are racing to build data centers at an unprecedented pace to support AI workloads. CoreWeave’s acquisition of Core Scientific—one of the largest Bitcoin miners with substantial computing infrastructure—gives it a significant boost in capacity.
Despite the announcement, CoreWeave shares fell as much as 6% to $155.26 after the market opened in New York.
Source: Bloomberg – CoreWeave to Buy Core Scientific in $9 Billion Stock Deal
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5. Hong Kong Hits Record High in Company Listing Applications
A record 208 companies applied for primary or secondary listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in the first half of 2025, surpassing the previous record of 189 in the same period of 2021. June alone saw 75 new listing applications — the highest ever for a single month.
This surge is driven by a booming equity market, increased capital inflows from Chinese investors, and Hong Kong’s appeal as a fundraising venue with fewer restrictions than the Chinese mainland. Many mainland companies are also drawn to raising funds in Hong Kong’s US dollar-pegged currency, beyond the reach of China’s capital controls.
Kenneth Chow, co-head of equity capital markets at Citigroup Asia, said the influx reflects “a confluence of international and Asian investors reallocating money to the Hong Kong market.”
As a result, HKEX ranked as the world’s top IPO venue in the first half of 2025, raising $13.9 billion — outpacing Nasdaq ($9.2 billion) and the New York Stock Exchange ($7.8 billion), per KPMG data excluding SPACs.
Source: Financial Times – Hong Kong listings pipeline hits record high as equity market booms
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6. Amazon and Walmart Set Up Summer Sales Showdown
Amazon and Walmart will go head-to-head this week, as both companies schedule their major summer sales events to start on July 8. Amazon has extended its Prime Day to four days, while Walmart’s competing Walmart Deals event will run six days, both online and — for the first time — in Walmart’s 4,600 US stores.
This overlap signals intensifying rivalry in the fight for US consumer spending. Amazon continues to dominate US ecommerce with over 40% market share, but Walmart’s online sales are growing at more than 20% annually as it leverages its nationwide store network.
Prime Day, which began in 2015, is exclusive to Prime members and focuses on electronics and back-to-school products. It has become so influential that July sales now rival — and in some cases surpass — Black Friday.
According to Bank of America, Prime Day 2025 is expected to generate $23 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV), including both Amazon and third-party sellers.
Source: Financial Times – Amazon and Walmart go head-to-head in online discount battle
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7. Mercedes-Benz Q2 Sales Drop 9% as Tariffs Hit US and China Demand
Mercedes-Benz reported a 9% drop in global car sales for the second quarter of 2025, totaling 453,700 vehicles, as trade tensions and tariffs driven by President Donald Trump’s policies weighed on key markets. Sales declined 12% in the US and 19% in China, where import duties on American-made SUVs further dampened demand.
Although the numbers slightly exceeded company guidance and improved modestly over Q1, analysts say they underscore the growing toll of tariffs. Mercedes produces large SUV models like the GLE and GLS in Alabama and exports them to China — now subject to a 10% retaliatory tariff by Beijing.
The company also continues to struggle in the EV market, with EV sales down 24% year-on-year. Competition from local Chinese manufacturers like BYD is squeezing foreign brands.
However, Mercedes noted encouraging early interest in its upcoming CLA electric sedan, based on a new EV-first platform focused on maximizing range.
Source: Bloomberg – Mercedes Car Sales Drop as Tariffs Crimp Demand in US, China
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