Highlights for this morning: agreement with Japan, Musk may return to the White House

Donald Trump has announced a "massive" deal with Japan that includes duties of 15% on US shipments. Amazon buys wearable device owner Bee AI, a generative AI wristband that can analyze conversations and generate tasks and reminders. In documents SpaceX appeared in the language about the possible return of Ilon Musk in politics - in the role of an advisor to Trump. About these and other topics - in our review of key events for the morning of July 23.

US President Donald Trump announced a "massive". trade agreement with Japan that includes duties of 15%, CNBC reports. Duties on car shipments from that country will be reduced to the same level. 

In a post on the social media network Truth Social, Trump called the decision "possibly the biggest deal in history," adding that Japan will invest $550 billion in the U.S. economy and the United States "will receive 90% of the profits." According to the U.S. leader, Japan will "open its country to trade, including cars and trucks, rice, selected agricultural products and other categories." 

"A year ago, such duties would have seemed shocking. Today, we are breathing a sigh of relief," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, in a commentary for CNBC.

Shares of Japanese automakers rose sharply up after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would cut U.S. duties on cars from 25 percent to 15 percent, Reuters reported.

Honda shares jumped more than 11%, Toyota - more than 15%. Nissan added more than 9%, and Mazda Motor - more than 17%. Shares of Mitsubishi Motors rose more than 13%.

Shares of South Korean automaker Hyundai also rose 7% after the announcement, with Kia up 6.75%.

Amazon has confirmed it will buy Bee AI, a startup specializing in wearable devices with generative artificial intelligence, writes CNBC. The company makes a $49.99 smart bracelet that looks like a Fitbit smart watch. The device has microphones and built-in AI that can analyze speech and create summaries, to-do lists and reminders.

Bee CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo also announced on LinkedIn that her team is joining Amazon. "When we created Bee, we dreamed of a world where AI becomes truly personal, understanding and improving your life by learning alongside you," Zollo wrote. - What started as a dream with an incredible team and community has now found a new home at Amazon."

AI startups in the U.S. raised $104.3 billion in the first half of this year, nearly catching up with the total for all of 2024 ($104.4 billion), according to data from PitchBook, CNBC reports. AI companies accounted for nearly two-thirds of all venture funding in the U.S., up from 49% a year earlier. 

OpenAI and Anthropic continue to lead in the race to raise investments, providing record rounds and astronomical valuations. However, things look different in the VC exit market. According to PitchBook, 281 VC exits totaling $36 billion took place in the first half of the year, including the acquisition of EvolutionIQ (an AI platform for managing injury and disability insurance claims) for about $700 million by CCC Intelligent Solutions and the listing of Slide Insurance, an insurance startup that uses AI algorithms to calculate insurance products for homeowners. Slide has a market capitalization of about $2.3 billion.

The latest buyout offer for shares in SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk, comes with a warning: the billionaire may not yet be done with his involvement in politics. According to documents followed by Bloomberg and sources, Musk may in the future reprise his role as a senior adviser to President Donald Trump "on government effectiveness" and devote a significant amount of time and effort to it.

The company included this warning in the "risk factors" section of materials sent to investors as part of the current deal. According to sources, this is the first time such wording has appeared in SpaceX's share repurchase documents.

The latest SpaceX deal values the rocket and satellite maker at about $400 billion, making it the world's most valuable private company.  Representatives for Musk and SpaceX declined to comment.

- Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock market and Topix index rose more than 3% after the announcement of the agreement with the US.

- The Hang Seng, a key index of Chinese stocks traded in Hong Kong, is on track for its highest close since November 2021 - thanks to easing trade tensions between China and the U.S., as well as rising quotes of major technology companies, explainsBloomberg. It jumped as much as 1.6 percent but then cut the rally slightly short. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index soared 1.8%. Baidu and Tencent Holdings were among the top gainers. Mainland China's CSI 300 index rose 0.4 percent.

- In South Korea, the Kospi index was up 0.03%, while the Kosdaq small-company index was down 0.13%.

- Futures on the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3 percent, while contracts on the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1 percent.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor