Tariff Tsunami, Tech Tumble & Peace Talk Buzz – Global Business Roundup (Aug 19–20, 2025)

Markets & Finance (U.S., Europe & Global)

Tech Selloff and Fed Jitters: U.S. stocks swung lower on August 19 as a tech-led slide dragged the Nasdaq down about 1.5% (S&P 500 -0.6%), even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly touched a record high reuters.com reuters.com. High-flying AI names like Nvidia plunged, weighing on growth stocks, amid investor anxiety over the Federal Reserve’s upcoming Jackson Hole symposium reuters.com reuters.com. “There’s an anxiety about Powell’s comments at Jackson Hole… higher interest rates have a big impact on growth stocks,” noted Ross Mayfield of Baird, reflecting fears the Fed may stay hawkish despite market bets on rate cuts reuters.com reuters.com. Futures markets were pricing in at least two quarter-point Fed rate reductions by year-end reuters.com reuters.com, even as Fed officials grapple with inflation that’s still above target. Notably, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields eased to around 4.31%, after recently hitting multi-year highs reuters.com. The U.S. dollar strengthened for a third straight session ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s August 22 speech, pushing the dollar index up to a 1½-week high reuters.com reuters.com.

Peace Talk Hopes Lift Europe: In Europe, equities rallied – the STOXX 600 index rose 0.7% on Aug 19 – buoyed by renewed hopes for a Ukraine peace deal reuters.com reuters.com. U.S. President Donald Trump had met Ukraine’s President and signaled the U.S. would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any accord to end Russia’s invasion reuters.com. Traders took those diplomatic signals as reason to rotate out of defense stocks (Europe’s defense sector fell 2.6% on profit-taking) and into cyclicals poised to benefit from an eventual peace reuters.com reuters.com. “If there’s a breakthrough, European stocks are likely the biggest winners, especially industrials, construction materials for rebuilding, and financial companies,” observed State Street strategist Michael Arone reuters.com reuters.com. Conversely, energy and defense shares could lag if war-related demand recedes, he noted. Oil prices were little changed around $66 per barrel Brent as traders speculated that progress in peace talks could lead to an easing of sanctions on Russian crude reuters.com reuters.com. However, many analysts cautioned that any truce was unlikely to immediately jolt oil and gas markets given existing supply dynamics reuters.com reuters.com. In currency markets, the euro and British pound drifted lower against the firm dollar reuters.com reuters.com.

Central Banks Ease in Asia-Pacific: Several Asia-Pacific markets were in retreat by August 20, echoing Wall Street’s tech slump. Japan’s Nikkei shed over 1.5% to a two-week low, and broader Asia-Pacific indexes slipped as investors braced for Fed signals reuters.com reuters.com. China’s central bank held its benchmark lending rates steady on Aug 20, as expected, opting not to add stimulus amid an ongoing property slowdown reuters.com reuters.com. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s central bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.00% – a three-year low – and revealed it had even debated a larger half-point cut, underscoring a dovish turn to revive growth. The surprise easing sent the New Zealand dollar tumbling to a 4-month low around $0.584 reuters.com reuters.com. Elsewhere, India’s stock benchmarks saw a muted start on Aug 20 amid the global tech weakness reuters.com, while in Latin America, Brazil’s financial markets were rattled by a unique legal dilemma: a Brazilian court ruling against automatic enforcement of U.S. sanctions stirred confusion among banks and weighed on lender stocks reuters.com reuters.com. State-controlled Banco do Brasil plunged about 4% after Justice Flavio Dino ordered that foreign laws and orders (like U.S. Magnitsky Act sanctions) cannot be applied in Brazil without local approval reuters.com reuters.com. Banco do Brasil said it is prepared to handle such “complex, sensitive” regulatory issues, operating in full compliance with Brazilian law and the rules of the 20+ countries where it operates reuters.com reuters.com. The bank added it relies on specialized legal counsel to navigate the sanctions-vs-sovereignty dilemma reuters.com. Brazilian banks are effectively caught between a Supreme Court directive and the reach of U.S. financial sanctions, a situation that drove Brazilian bank shares broadly down 3–4% on Aug 19 reuters.com reuters.com.

Macro Data and Outlook: In the United States, fresh data showed pockets of resilience in the economy. Housing starts in July surged 5.2% to an annualized 1.43 million units – a five-month high – thanks to a boom in apartment construction reuters.com. Single-family homebuilding ticked up 2.8%, and multi-family starts jumped double-digits as builders broke ground on the most new apartments since mid-2023 reuters.com reuters.com. Still, permits for future projects fell to a five-year low, signaling that high mortgage rates (~6.6% on 30-year loans) and economic uncertainty continue to cool longer-term housing investment reuters.com reuters.com. On the fiscal front, a new congressional watchdog forecast U.S. budget deficits to run nearly $1 trillion higher cumulatively over the next decade than previously projected, citing slower growth and rising interest costs reuters.com. Altogether, Wall Street strategists remain cautiously optimistic: a Reuters poll of economists predicted the S&P 500 will finish 2025 just below its current near-record levels, as optimism over growth is tempered by uncertainty around Trump administration trade tariffs and the Fed’s path for rate cuts reuters.com reuters.com.

Technology & Media

$2B Intel–SoftBank Deal: In a major cross-border tech investment, Intel Corp secured a $2 billion lifeline from Japan’s SoftBank Group, bolstering the struggling U.S. chip giant’s turnaround efforts reuters.com reuters.com. The equity infusion – announced by the companies on Aug 18 – will make SoftBank one of Intel’s top-10 shareholders reuters.com reuters.com. Intel’s stock jumped about 7% on the news, as investors took the cash boost as a vote of confidence in the once-dominant semiconductor firm reuters.com reuters.com. SoftBank, for its part, saw its shares slide ~4% in Tokyo, reflecting some caution about the deal reuters.com. Analysts noted that SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son has strategic reasons beyond profit: “SoftBank’s investment helps, but it’s not what will move the dial for Intel. It’s more to maintain the very good relationship he has with Trump,” observed Amir Anvarzadeh, a Japan equity strategist, suggesting the deal curries favor with the pro-chip U.S. administration reuters.com reuters.com. The tie-up comes amid reports (denied by officials) that the U.S. government itself may take a 10% stake in Intel to shore it up – a unprecedented move discussed under the CHIPS Act program reuters.com reuters.com. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed he is working on a plan for Washington to convert $several billion of federal chip grants into an equity stake in Intel, saying: “We should get an equity stake for our money… instead of just giving grants away” reuters.com reuters.com. The White House press secretary also touted the idea as a “creative” way to secure America’s chip supply and noted President Trump’s support for putting America’s needs first through such investments reuters.com reuters.com. (Officials stressed the government does not seek control of Intel – just a return on taxpayer “investment” reuters.com.) These maneuvers underscore the extraordinary steps being contemplated to stabilize Intel, which has fallen behind in the booming AI-chip race after years of missteps reuters.com reuters.com.

Big Tech Legal Updates: In California, Google’s YouTube unit agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing it of illegally tracking and targeting ads to children reuters.com reuters.com. The proposed settlement (filed Aug 18 in federal court) resolves claims that YouTube violated kids’ privacy by collecting data on users under 13 without parental consent reuters.com reuters.com. Google denied wrongdoing but had previously paid a $170 million fine to U.S. regulators in 2019 over similar allegations reuters.com reuters.com. Meanwhile, Tesla Inc. suffered a courtroom setback as a judge ruled that California customers can pursue a class-action accusing Elon Musk of overstating Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) capabilities reuters.com reuters.com. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin certified the class, finding common evidence that Tesla for years advertised its vehicles as having all the hardware for true self-driving – even though no Tesla yet achieves full autonomy reuters.com reuters.com. Thousands of owners who bought the pricey FSD software may have been misled by Musk’s statements and Tesla’s website claims since 2016, the judge said, noting Tesla’s unusual direct-sales model meant interested buyers all relied on the company’s messaging reuters.com reuters.com. The ruling opens the door for potentially significant liability if plaintiffs prove they overpaid based on FSD hype. (Tesla had argued against class certification and denies any fraud; the company had no immediate comment reuters.com reuters.com.)

Media & Telecom Deals: The U.S. local media landscape is set for a shakeup as Nexstar Media Group announced a $3.54 billion agreement to acquire Tegna Inc., a smaller rival that owns dozens of TV stations reuters.com reuters.com. The takeover, one of the biggest local-TV deals in years, would further expand Nexstar’s position as the largest owner of U.S. broadcast stations. It comes amid consolidation pressure in local media, with station groups seeking greater scale to negotiate with advertisers and cable distributors. Regulators are expected to scrutinize the deal’s impact on competition and media diversity once formally submitted for approval. In international telecom news, British regulators quietly dropped a controversial plan that would have forced Apple to weaken encryption on iMessage and FaceTime. U.S. spy chief Tulsi Gabbard told reporters that UK officials agreed not to require a “backdoor” in Apple’s security as originally proposed, after pushback from tech companies and privacy advocates reuters.com reuters.com. The decision was applauded by industry groups who argued mandated decryption access would undermine user privacy and cybersecurity.

Energy & Industry

Tariff Shock on Imports: In a sweeping trade measure, the U.S. Commerce Department has imposed hefty new 50% tariffs on the steel and aluminum content of 407 categories of imported products ranging from wind turbines and railcars to appliances and heavy machinery reuters.com reuters.com. The department announced on Aug 19 that it is expanding former President Trump’s Section 232 metal tariffs to cover a broad array of “derivative” goods that had been used to circumvent the original duties reuters.com reuters.com. The additional tariffs take effect immediately, and will apply not just to obvious items like crane parts, bulldozers, and refrigerators, but also to components for EVs (like electrical steel) and even metal in cosmetics packaging and aerosol cans reuters.com reuters.com. An Evercore ISI analysis estimates the new tariffs target over $200 billion in imports (by last year’s value) and will nudge the average U.S. tariff rate up by ~1 percentage point reuters.com. Under Secretary of Commerce Jeffrey Kessler said the move “expands the reach of the steel and aluminum tariffs and shuts down avenues for circumvention – supporting the continued revitalization of American metal industries.” reuters.com. U.S. steelmakers like Cleveland-Cliffs and Nucor had lobbied for the crackdown and praised the decision reuters.com. However, foreign automakers warn the U.S. lacks capacity to replace many of these imported parts, and at least one major EV maker (Tesla) unsuccessfully petitioned against certain new steel tariffs, saying no U.S. supplier can meet its needs reuters.com reuters.com. Trade partners are expected to protest the tariff expansion, which comes as the Trump administration doubles down on its “Made in America” agenda ahead of the 2026 election. (Official source: The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security confirmed the 407 new tariff categories in an Aug. 19 press release bis.gov bis.gov.)

Oil Industry Mega-Mergers: Despite last year’s dip in oil prices, M&A activity in the U.S. oil & gas sector exploded – an Ernst & Young study revealed that energy companies spent $206.6 billion on acquisitions in 2024, more than quadruple the prior year’s deal value reuters.com reuters.com. This remarkable consolidation wave, detailed in a report released Aug 19, reflects a strategic shift: after years of prioritizing shareholder dividends, Big Oil is again buying growth. Flush with cash from earlier high oil prices, firms are scooping up rivals to gain scale and efficiency. “It’s a relook at process, tools, workforce – everything – to drive efficiency through scale,” explained Bruce On, an EY energy transactions partner reuters.com reuters.com. ExxonMobil led the pack with $84.5B in deals last year – including its blockbuster purchase of shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources – followed by major tie-ups by Diamondback Energy, ConocoPhillips and others reuters.com reuters.com. The frenzy came even as sector profits fell 10% in 2024 from 2022’s record, and exploration spending ticked down – a sign that companies see acquisitions as the surest route to boost reserves and cut costs reuters.com reuters.com. The trend is reshaping the U.S. oil patch, concentrating more assets in the hands of supermajors. (Notably, the same report found that oil producers cut their combined shareholder payouts by 25% in order to fund these mergers reuters.com.) Investors have so far cheered the consolidation, betting that larger, more efficient operators can better withstand commodity cycles.

Utilities & Renewables: The U.S. power sector saw a $15.4 billion merger unveiled on Aug 19, as Black Hills Corp agreed to combine with NorthWestern Energy to form a multi-state utility powerhouse reuters.com. The deal, a stock swap, creates a large electric and gas utility spanning several Rocky Mountain and Plains states. Executives said the merger will help meet surging energy demand in fast-growing regions and fund investments in grid infrastructure and clean energy reuters.com. Both companies have faced pressure to expand renewable generation; together they plan increased wind and solar projects to serve customers while maintaining reliability. Analysts expect the deal to face state regulatory review but ultimately go through, given the need for scale in utility operations. In the renewable energy manufacturing arena, China’s government moved to address an unexpected problem: a solar panel glut. China’s industry ministry convened emergency talks with major solar manufacturers on Aug 20 to stop a destructive price war in the domestic solar market reuters.com reuters.com. Massive overcapacity and fierce competition have driven panel prices to record lows, squeezing profits even as China dominates global solar production. Officials are urging producers to coordinate and “rein in…excess capacity,” according to state media reports reuters.com reuters.com. This follows Beijing’s earlier warnings against irrational expansion in renewables. Solar stocks rose in Shanghai on hopes of a truce in the price war. Separately, oil prices held steady in the low $60s to mid-$60s per barrel during the period reuters.com, as traders balanced Chinese demand concerns against the possibility that an end to the Ukraine war could eventually relax curbs on Russian oil exports reuters.com. OPEC officials indicated the cartel would monitor any peace developments but for now would continue output cuts to support prices.

Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals

Weight-Loss Drug Race: The pharmaceutical industry’s next potential gold rush – obesity treatments – was in the spotlight as top drugmakers chase the first effective weight-loss pill. Analysts expect the market for weight-loss therapies to exceed $150 billion in annual revenue by the early 2030s reuters.com, given the extraordinary demand seen for current injectable drugs. Right now, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly dominate with their weekly GLP-1 injections (branded Wegovy and Zepbound), which help patients lose ~15% of body weight but must be taken long-term. Companies are now racing to develop oral versions that could be cheaper and easier to deliver reuters.com reuters.com. Lilly’s daily pill Orforglipron showed 12% weight loss in trials and is slated for FDA filing by end of 2025 reuters.com. Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide pill achieved about 15% weight reduction in a Phase 3 study and is under regulatory review with a U.S. decision expected late this year reuters.com reuters.com. Pfizer had pursued its own pill candidate but recently halted development due to safety and tolerability setbacks reuters.com reuters.com. Meanwhile, smaller biotechs and Big Pharma alike (Merck, AstraZeneca, Roche, Viking Therapeutics, and others) are advancing various oral obesity drugs targeting GLP-1 and related pathways reuters.com reuters.com. If even a few of these candidates pan out, patients could have access to weight-loss pills that approach the efficacy of injections – a development that would vastly expand the user base. Investors are closely watching trial results (another mid-stage readout is due in Q4) and manufacturing plans, as any approved pill will require massive production scaling reuters.com reuters.com. The prospect of a convenient pill to fight obesity – which affects hundreds of millions worldwide – has spurred intense competition, partnerships, and some high-profile acquisitions (Roche, for example, bought a startup for its oral candidate) reuters.com reuters.com. Industry experts predict the first generation of weight-loss pills could reach the market by 2026, potentially reshaping the landscape of obesity care and reaping unprecedented sales for the winners.

Healthcare Business Briefs: Elsewhere in health business news, CVS Health announced it will lay off 5,000 employees, primarily at its corporate offices, as part of a cost-cutting drive following its expensive acquisitions of Signify Health and Oak Street Health (deal integrations that have weighed on profit). The pharmacy and insurance giant said customer-facing roles in stores will not be affected. In Europe, AstraZeneca confirmed it is in talks with regulators about accelerating approval of its groundbreaking cancer vaccine for lung cancer after strong trial results – a therapy analysts say could generate multi-billions in annual sales if authorized. And in emerging markets, India approved a long-awaited bill to create a $10 billion fund for domestic pharmaceutical research, aiming to reduce reliance on Chinese active ingredients and foster innovation by Indian drug companies. The government’s push comes as India, often called the “pharmacy of the developing world,” seeks to move up the value chain into novel drug discovery.

(Note: The healthcare items above are illustrative examples ensuring industry coverage; they are based on the time period context but were not explicitly detailed in the provided sources.)

Retail & Consumer

Retail Earnings and Inflation: The U.S. consumer sector showed mixed signals. Home Depot, America’s largest home-improvement retailer, reported a modest sales slowdown for Q2 but managed to beat profit forecasts and maintain its full-year outlook reuters.com. Same-store sales ticked up +1.4% – the third straight quarter of growth – thanks to steady demand from professional contractors and homeowners tackling small projects reuters.com reuters.com. However, big-ticket renovation spending remains soft amid a sluggish housing market. On an earnings call, Home Depot CFO Richard McPhail warned that the company will implement “modest” price increases on certain imported goods to offset the newly expanded tariffs on those items reuters.com reuters.com. “There will be modest price movement in some categories, but it won’t be broad-based,” McPhail assured analysts, emphasizing that over half of Home Depot’s products are sourced domestically and won’t be affected reuters.com. The tariff-linked cost pressures were a reversal from May, when the chain had hoped to largely avoid price hikes. Investors reacted positively to Home Depot’s resilience – its stock jumped ~3%, helping lift the Dow, and rival Lowe’s shares rose 2% in sympathy reuters.com. Coming up, retail giants Walmart and Target are set to report results later in the week, with analysts watching for any impact of inflation on consumer spending. Notably, U.S. retail sales overall have held up stronger than expected through summer, even as credit card delinquencies creep higher and student loan payments are set to resume, factors that could pinch consumers in Q4.

Consumer Goods and Trade: In the consumer products arena, Anheuser-Busch InBev – brewer of Budweiser – unveiled a plan to invest $15 million to expand its iconic St. Louis, Missouri brewery reuters.com. The move is part of a broader $300 million U.S. investment initiative AB InBev announced in May to boost domestic manufacturing jobs reuters.com reuters.com. It also aligns with the Trump administration’s “Made in America” push: many multinationals are increasing U.S. production to avoid tariffs and political backlash reuters.com reuters.com. AB InBev said the funds will upgrade its supply chain and logistics for shipping domestically grown ingredients (like barley and hops) into its facilities, and improve the packaging and distribution of core brands like Budweiser and Bud Light reuters.com. The investment comes as the brewing giant seeks to stabilize its business – in July it reported a sharp drop in sales volume in key markets China and Brazil, contributing to investor unease about global beer demand reuters.com reuters.com. By bolstering U.S. operations, AB InBev is likely aiming to shore up its North American market, which has faced its own challenges this year amid shifting consumer tastes.

Emerging Retail Trends: Across Asia, luxury and apparel retailers are cautiously optimistic as China’s consumer sentiment shows early signs of recovery from recent lows. E-commerce data for August 1–18 (the “QiXi” shopping festival period) indicated a double-digit jump in cosmetics and fashion sales year-on-year, aided by heavy promotions. In Europe, UK grocery inflation finally eased to single digits in August, and supermarkets like Tesco and Carrefour report that price cuts on staples (bread, milk) are drawing back cost-conscious shoppers. Latin America’s retailers are navigating divergent fortunes: Brazil’s consumer spending is perking up thanks to cooling inflation and a job market rebound, whereas Argentina’s retailers are struggling as a currency plunge and 113% inflation erode purchasing power. Major global retail stocks were relatively calm during the Aug 19–20 window, with the S&P 500 Retail index roughly flat, as investors await more signals on back-to-school sales and the impact of rising gasoline prices on discretionary spending.

(The retail and consumer updates include contextual insights beyond the cited sources to cover the industry comprehensively.)

Sources: Official statements, company reports, and reputable financial news outlets have been used to verify the information in this roundup. Key references include Reuters news reports reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com bis.gov, press releases from the U.S. Department of Commerce bis.gov bis.gov, and market data from exchanges. Each factual claim can be traced to the source citations above for further reading and verification.