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Equities wavered on Wednesday as sentiment was knocked by a sell-off on Wall Street sparked by data indicating the US economy and jobs market remained robust, further denting hopes for interest rate cuts.With inflation worries already elevated owing to Donald Trump’s pledges to slash taxes, regulations and immigration when he returns to the White House, the latest readings added to uncertainty on trading floors.A closely watched survey of the crucial US services sector saw a pick-up in December, with the prices component soaring far more than expected to hit the highest level since last January.A separate report showed job openings also outstripped forecasts in November to touch a six-month high.The readings made the case for the Federal Reserve to slow its pace of rate cuts, having lowered them three times last year thanks to easing inflation.Focus now turns to Friday’s release of the key non-farm payrolls report, which will provide a fresh snapshot of the state of the labour market and US economy.Yields on key 10-year US Treasuries rose and options suggest they could hit five percent for the first time since October 2023, according to Bloomberg News.That comes after the central bank undertook a more hawkish pivot last month and lowered its outlook for cuts, while several decision makers have recently championed a more cautious approach.All three main indexes on Wall Street ended in the red on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 shedding more than one percent each.Tech firms, which had led a surge the previous day, were again the key drivers of action, with chip titan Nvidia tanking after a disappointing product presentation. Asian markets, however, diverged.Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Manila, Mumbai and Jakarta all fell, though Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Wellington and Bangkok rose. Shanghai barely moved.London and Frankfurt edged up at the open, while Paris was flat.”Recent Fed signals suggest a cautious approach to rate cuts amid a resilient job market and sticky inflation,” said Stephen Innes.”Still, investors are now unanimously betting against any rate changes this month. Moreover, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, odds are tipping below 50 percent for a rate cut before June, underscoring a tense watch on the Fed’s next moves.”- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 39,981.06 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 19,279.84 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,230.17 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8.254,06Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0330 from $1.0342 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2461 from $1.2479Dollar/yen: UP at 158.16 yen from 157.98 yenEuro/pound: UP at 82.90 pence from 82.87 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $74.73 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $77.46 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 42,528.36 (close)

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it expected fourth-quarter profits to fall sharply from the previous quarter and miss forecasts as it struggled to meet robust demand for chips used in artificial intelligence servers.The announcement comes after the world’s largest memory-chip maker issued a rare apology in October acknowledging it was facing a “crisis” and that questions had arisen about its “fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company”.It said in a regulatory filing that October-December operating profits were expected to come in at 6.5 trillion won ($4.5 billion), up 130.5 percent from a year earlier. But that is down nearly 30 percent from 9.18 trillion won in the previous three months and 16 percent below the average estimate, according to the Yonhap news agency, which cited its own financial data firm.Sales were seen increasing 10.7 percent on-year to approximately 75 trillion won, which was also lower than the previous quarter.”In light of the preliminary fourth-quarter 2024 results significantly falling short of market expectations, we aim to mitigate confusion among the market and investors until the final results are announced,” Samsung’s management said in an explanation page.It noted that Samsung’s Device Solutions division, which is in charge of memory and foundry business units, among others, “reported declines in sales and profits due to worsening market conditions, particularly for IT-related products”.”Despite achieving record-high quarterly revenue in the fourth quarter, driven by strong sales of high-capacity products, weak demand for conventional PC and mobile products weighed on overall performance,” it said. – ‘Largely flat’ -Non-Memory Business performance also declined because of “weak demand from key applications” and “increased R&D spending”.Samsung’s consumer electronics division, which includes mobile phones, also experienced a decline owing to “reduced impact from new mobile product launches and intensified competition”.The firm’s Seoul-listed shares rose 0.72 percent Wednesday despite the report.The firm is the flagship subsidiary of South Korean giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.It is expected to release its final earnings report at the end of this month.Last year, Samsung Foundry faced multiple challenges, including “order losses from key customers in advanced processes, the gradual end-of-life of certain products, and a slow recovery in mature process segments”, TrendForce analyst Eden Chung told AFP. “Consequently, the company’s annual revenue is expected to remain largely flat compared to 2023.”Observers predict the electronics industry will typically face seasonal production slowdowns in the current quarter. “We expect further declines in contract prices for both conventional DRAM and NAND Flash,” TrendForce analyst Tom Hsu told AFP. Those will “continue to exert downward pressure on Samsung’s consolidated revenue and operating profit on a quarterly basis,” he said.

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it expected fourth-quarter profits to be sharply down compared with the previous quarter, falling short of expectations as the company struggled to meet robust demand for chips used in artificial intelligence servers.The firm is the flagship subsidiary of South Korean giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.However, the world’s largest memory-chip maker issued a rare apology in October acknowledging it was facing a “crisis” and that questions had arisen about its “fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company”.It said in a regulatory filing that its October-December operating profits were expected to be 6.5 trillion won ($4.5 billion), up 130.5 percent from a year earlier.That was down nearly 30 percent from the firm’s operating profit of 9.18 trillion won in the third quarter.Sales were seen increasing 10.7 percent on-year to approximately 75 trillion won, also down 5.2 percent compared with the previous quarter.”In light of the preliminary Q4 2024 results significantly falling short of market expectations, we aim to mitigate confusion among the market and investors until the final results are announced,” Samsung’s management said in an explanation page.It noted that Samsung’s Device Solutions division, which is in charge of memory and foundry business units, among others, “reported declines in sales and profits due to worsening market conditions, particularly for IT-related products”.”Despite achieving record-high quarterly revenue in Q4, driven by strong sales of high-capacity products, weak demand for conventional PC and mobile products weighed on overall performance,” it said. Non-Memory Business performance also declined due to “weak demand from key applications” and “increased R&D spending”.Samsung’s consumer electronics division, which includes mobile phones, also experienced a decline due to “reduced impact from new mobile product launches and intensified competition”.Shares in Samsung rose 0.72 percent in Seoul on Wednesday despite the report.Samsung is expected to release its final earnings report at the end of this month.

US survey data rekindled inflation concerns and rising bond yields helped pull the rug out from under a rally on Wall Street on Tuesday.US stocks finished firmly lower, while yields on the popular 10-year US Treasury rose. “A much stronger-than-expected rise in US services prices sent shivers through US stocks,” said market analyst Axel Rudolph at online trading platform IG.ISM’s monthly survey of the US services sector showed it expanded in December, but the prices component also jumped to its highest point since last January.There have been mounting concerns that incoming US president Donald Trump’s plans to raise tariffs, cut taxes and crack down on immigration will reignite US inflation, putting pressure on the Fed to keep borrowing costs higher for longer.”There are still fears that Trump’s tariff plan will be inflationary for economies around the world,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown brokerage in London.The tariffs “could lead to further upwards pressure on the dollar, if interest rates are forced to stay elevated in the US, due to higher consumer prices,” she told AFP. “This is having an impact on the bond markets and has led to a sell-off around the world,” she added.Alongside the rise in US government bond yields, the yield on 30-year UK Treasury Gilts also increased, hitting its highest level since 1998.Friday’s US non-farm payroll report is the next big marker for investors hoping for some idea about the Fed’s plans for rates after it recently scaled back its forecasts for cuts in 2025.The euro strengthened against the dollar as official data showed eurozone inflation accelerated in December to 2.4 percent.Higher eurozone inflation will make it more difficult for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates in order to boost sluggish growth.The euro later fell back, however, after the US services data, with the dollar rising against its major rivals.European stock markets closed mostly higher, as did Asian stocks, which still benefitted from speculation that Trump’s tariff plans to slap tariffs on all imports may be scaled back.The Washington Post said Monday that Trump’s aides were weighing plans to apply tariffs to goods only in certain critical sectors — a narrower definition than the president-elect previously proposed.Trump, however, described the Post story as “just another example of Fake News.”The report comes after Trump warned last year that he would slap huge levies on China, Canada and Mexico.Late on Monday, the US Defense Department added the tech giant Tencent and battery manufacturer CATL to a list of companies it says are affiliated with Beijing’s military — a move China called “unjustified suppression.” Tencent’s shares plummeted more than seven percent in Hong Kong on Tuesday, while CATL stock sank 5.2 percent.- Key figures around 2145 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 42,528.36 points (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 1.1 percent at 5,909.03 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.9 percent at 19,489.68 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 8,245.28 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 7,489.35 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 20,340.57 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.0 percent at 40,083.30 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2 percent at 19,447.58 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,229.64 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0342 from $1.0388 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2479 from $1.2518Dollar/yen: UP at 157.98 yen from 157.64 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 82.87 pence from 82.98 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.0 percent at $77.05 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $74.25 per barrelburs-rl-da/aha

Global stock markets mostly moved higher on Tuesday, with tech and tariffs in the spotlight.Traders were still assessing the tariff plans of incoming US president Donald Trump following a report he may take a more targeted approach than previous stated.”After a sluggish December, US stocks have kicked off the year in style, with tech and semiconductors stealing the spotlight,” noted Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.He added there was also “tariff optimism despite mixed signals”. The Washington Post said Trump’s aides were weighing plans to apply tariffs to goods only in certain critical sectors — a narrower definition than the president-elect previously proposed.Trump, however, described the Post story as “just another example of Fake News”.The report comes after Trump warned last year that he would slap huge levies on China, Canada and Mexico.Tech stocks surged on Monday as Nvidia — which drove a rally in the sector last year thanks to its AI chips — provided a positive outlook. Its shares popped more than 3.4 percent to close at a new record, giving the company a market valuation of more than $3.6 trillion. Nvidia shares rose another 0.9  percent at the start of trading on Tuesday after it unveiled new AI chips at the Consumer Electronics Show late Monday.The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite only edged 0.3 percent higher, with shares in Apple and Tesla falling after an analyst downgrade, noted Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.”There hasn’t been a rush, however, to exit the stock market.”He pointed to the rising yield on US government bonds also acting as a drag as traders get back to business after the holidays.”What everyone is waiting to see is if it will be back to a bull market or back to a market that is inclined to do some backing up as rates move up,” said O’Hare.There have been mounting concerns that Trump’s tariff plans along with pledges to slash taxes, remove regulations and crack down on immigration will reignite US inflation, putting pressure on the Fed to keep borrowing costs higher for longer.Higher interest rates make it more expensive for companies to borrow, dampening earnings and the attractiveness of holding stocks relative to bonds.Friday’s US non-farm payroll report is the next big marker for investors hoping for some idea about the Fed’s plans for rates after recently scaling back its forecasts for cuts in 2025.Ahead of him taking office on January 20, the US Defense Department on Tuesday added tech giant Tencent and battery manufacturer CATL to a list of companies it says are affiliated with Beijing’s military.China accused Washington of “unjustified suppression”, while Tencent’s shares plummeted more than seven percent in Hong Kong.CATL stock sank 5.2 percent.Elsewhere, the euro strengthened against the dollar as official data showed eurozone inflation accelerated in December to 2.4 percent.Higher eurozone inflation will make it more difficult for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates in order to boost sluggish growth.- Key figures around 1430 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 42,880.47 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 5,998.51New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 19,926.87Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 7,505.62 Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 20,362.03London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,235.12Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.0 percent at 40,083.30 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2 percent at 19,447.58 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,229.64 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0398 from $1.0388 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2548 from $1.2518Dollar/yen: UP at 157.72 yen from 157.64 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 82.92 pence from 82.98 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $76.91 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $74.05 per barrelburs-rl/lth

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday said the company plans to invest $3 billion in India on artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure over the next two years. The world’s most populous country has become a key AI battleground in the last few years, as US tech giants look to find new users for their services and tap into fresh pools of talent.In recent months, top executives including Nvidia boss Jensen Huang and Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun have visited India.On Tuesday, Nadella said the $3 billion investment would include the setting up of new data centres.”India is rapidly becoming a leader in AI innovation, unlocking new opportunity across the country,” Nadella said.”The investments in infrastructure and skilling we are announcing today reaffirm our commitment to making India AI-first, and will help ensure people and organisations across the country benefit broadly.”The global embrace of AI has boosted sales of Microsoft’s key cloud services, which have become the core of its business under Nadella’s leadership.The announcement comes less than a week after Microsoft president Brad Smith said the company was on track to invest $80 billion in AI this fiscal year.Microsoft was on pace to invest about $80 billion this year to build out AI datacentres, train AI models and deploy cloud-based applications around the world, according to Smith.”The United States is poised to stand at the forefront of this new technology wave, especially if it doubles down on its strengths and effectively partners internationally,” he said in an online post.

Fans and players will get a taste of what the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia will be like when the kingdom hosts the Asian Cup, with officials announcing Tuesday dates and stadiums for the regional showpiece.Saudi Arabia was in December controversially awarded the World Cup but first it hosts the Asian Cup in 2027.The tournament will be from January 7 to February 5 that year and be held in the capital Riyadh, plus Jeddah and Al Khobar, the Asian Football Confederation said, launching a two-year countdown.Among the venues announced Tuesday for the 24-team regional competition were the 70,000-capacity King Fahd Sports City Stadium and King Saud University Stadium, both in Riyadh, which have also been earmarked to hold World Cup games.Likewise the 60,000 King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.The Asian Cup will be spread across eight stadiums.”Confirming the dates and selecting the stadiums for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 is a strategic milestone in our journey to host the tournament,” said Yasser al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host, staged and won the Asian Cup a year ago.The tournament was supposed to take place in China in 2023 but was moved out of the country because of the country’s Covid policies at the time.

Most markets rose in Asia on Tuesday following another rally on Wall Street sparked by tech giants as traders try to assess Donald Trump’s tariff plans following a report he may take a more targeted approach.Eyes were also on the release of closely watched US jobs data at the end of the week after the Federal Reserve scaled back its interest rate cut expectations and took a more hawkish turn.After a tepid start to the week, Asian investors fought to recover on Tuesday after a tech-fuelled rally in the S&P and Nasdaq — with Nvidia hitting a record — as strong results from Taiwan-based chip giant Foxconn sparked a fresh rush for semiconductors.The US gains were also helped after The Washington Post said Trump’s aides were weighing plans to apply tariffs only to goods in certain critical sectors — a more narrow definition than the president-elect previously proposed.The report comes after Trump warned last year that he would slam huge levies on China, Canada and Mexico amid fears of a return to his hardball trade policy.However, he later hit back at the Post story, saying it “incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be pared back. That is wrong”. He added that it was “just another example of Fake News”.Most markets rose in early Asian business, with Tokyo up two percent helped by a weak yen, while Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta were also higher. Wellington and Manila fell.Hong Kong also retreated as tech firms took a hit with Tencent diving more than seven percent after it was named by the United States in a list of “Chinese military companies”. Its US-listed shares shed 7.8 percent.A spokesperson for Tencent said the company’s inclusion on the list “is clearly a mistake”, and that “we are not a military company or supplier”.Still, Morningstar senior equity analyst Ivan Su said: “Given Tencent’s business model -—which primarily revolves around social networking and online gaming — we believe the company has a good chance to secure exclusion through US courts.”Major battery manufacturer CATL, which was also named on the list, briefly sank more than five percent in Shenzhen before paring the losses.The announcement came just weeks before Trump returns to the White House, with many commentators fearing another trade war with China.There is also growing concern that his plans to slash taxes, remove regulations, impose tariffs on imports and crack down on immigration will reignite inflation, putting pressure on the Fed to keep borrowing costs higher for longer.”While an aggressive Trump may try to deliver large fiscal stimulus, stronger demand would quickly run into a deteriorating supply side of the US economy,” said David Rees, senior emerging markets economist at Schroders.”Despite being partially absorbed by the stronger US dollar and profit margins, substantially higher tariffs would be likely to increase goods inflation.”But the greater threat to inflation probably comes from a crackdown on immigration, along with mass deportations, if it leads to labour shortages that would ultimately result in higher wages and services inflation.”Friday’s non-farm payroll report is the next big marker for investors hoping for some idea about the Fed’s plans for rates after it scaled back its forecasts for cuts in 2025 last month.London, Paris and Frankfurt opened lower.- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.0 percent at 40,083.30 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2 percent at 19,447.58 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,229.64 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,207,51Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0418 from $1.0388 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2556 from $1.2518Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.53 yen from 157.64 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 82.95 pence from 82.98 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $73.34 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $76.16 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 42,706.56 (close)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted during a visit to Tokyo on Tuesday that ties with Japan were stronger than ever, days after President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s takeover of US Steel.Business groups say the move could have a chilling effect on Japan’s standing as the biggest foreign investor in the United States, just as Washington seeks closer relations to counter China.Two weeks before president-elect Donald Trump takes office, and with Marco Rubio slated to replace Blinken, the top US diplomat recalled that he came to Japan on his first trip in 2021.The visits at the beginning and end of his tenure show “the centrality of the US-Japan alliance” for Washington, Blinken told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.”As we look at the last four years, we’ve seen an alliance, a partnership, a friendship, that’s grown stronger than it’s ever been,” Blinken said.He pointed to expanding security ties — including three-way partnerships with South Korea and the Philippines and a four-way grouping with Australia and India.”Our economies are extraordinarily intertwined. We are the largest investors in each other’s economies,” Blinken said. Japanese firms invested almost $800 billion in the United States in 2023.Blinken made no mention of Biden’s decision last week to block Nippon Steel’s $14.9-billion takeover of long-struggling US Steel, citing national security concerns.The two companies filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Biden administration’s “illegal interference” in the transaction.- More protectionism -“We’re certain the lawsuit will reveal a set of facts that clearly violate the constitution and the law, so I believe we have a chance of winning,” Nippon Steel chair Eiji Hashimoto said on Tuesday.Trump, who takes office on January 20, “wants to make manufacturing strong again”, Hashimoto added.”This is exactly in line with what we’re doing,” he said.Nippon Steel had touted the takeover as a lifeline for a US company long past its heyday but opponents warned that the Japanese owners would slash jobs.US Steel and Nippon Steel argued in their suit that Biden had blocked the deal for political reasons by ignoring the rule of law to gain favour with workers’ unions.Protectionism is expected only to intensify under Trump, who in his first term exited a nascent Pacific-wide trade pact and has vowed to use tariffs to protect US industry.The president-elect made clear on Monday he would not reverse the Nippon Steel decision.”Why would they want to sell U.S. Steel now when tariffs will make it a much more profitable and valuable company?” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.”Wouldn’t it be nice to have U.S. Steel, once the greatest company in the world, lead the charge toward greatness again?”- Investment concerns -Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya raised the Nippon Steel case with Blinken and stressed the importance of Japanese investment in the United States, Tokyo’s foreign ministry said.Ishiba said Monday that the United States should “explain clearly” the security worries cited by Biden.”There are concerns being raised within Japan’s industrial world over future Japan-US investment,” Ishiba warned in unusually outspoken comments.Yasuhide Yajima, chief economist at NLI Research Institute, told AFP that Biden’s decision would “certainly create a hurdle for Japanese firms, especially manufacturers, to do business over there”.Blinken, however, focused on areas of cooperation.After a sushi breakfast at a famous fish market, he held a working lunch with Iwaya and discussed North Korea’s latest missile test, carried out Monday as Blinken visited Seoul.Blinken also spoke with Japanese leaders about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and tensions over Taiwan and China’s “dangerous and destabilising behaviour” in the South China Sea, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.In a key goal for his trip, Blinken voiced confidence that South Korea and Japan would preserve cooperation, including intelligence-sharing on North Korea.South Korea’s conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol has pushed to turn the page on historical tension with Japan, but he was impeached after stunning the nation with a failed attempt to impose martial law last month.

Nippon Steel and US Steel filed suit Monday over US President Joe Biden’s decision to block the Japanese giant’s proposed acquisition of its American rival, accusing his administration of “illegal interference” in the huge transaction.The companies said in a statement that they had initiated legal action in the US court of appeals in Washington challenging the review process for the acquisition. They said they had filed their lawsuit “to remedy the ongoing illegal interference with Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel.”In the suit, they argued that Biden, who is leaving office on January 20, had improperly used his influence and blocked the deal “for purely political reasons” by ignoring the rule of law to gain favor with workers’ unions. Nippon Steel had touted the takeover as a lifeline for a US company that is long past its heyday, but opponents warned that the Japanese owners would slash jobs.Biden had criticized the $14.9 billion deal for months, while holding off on a move that could hurt ties with Tokyo.However, the outgoing president — who made the rebuilding of the US manufacturing base a major goal of his administration — announced Friday that he was blocking the acquisition on national security grounds. His decision drew sharp criticism from both companies and from Tokyo — as well as some American business lobbies — but was enthusiastically welcomed by the United Steelworkers union, which called it “bold action to maintain a strong domestic steel industry.”Earlier Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the veteran Democrat’s decision had sparked worries over future Japanese investments in the world’s largest economy.”It is unfortunately true that there are concerns being raised within Japan’s industrial world over future Japan-US investment,” he told reporters. “It’s something we have to take seriously.””We will strongly call on the US government to take steps to dispel these concerns,” he added. “They need to be able to explain clearly why there is a national security concern, or else further discussions on the matter will not work.”Japan and the United States are each other’s top foreign investors.The decision to block the deal enjoyed rare bipartisan agreement. Republican President-elect Donald Trump and his incoming vice president had also campaigned against the sale.But the US Chamber of Commerce noted that investment from Japan, America’s “important and reliable ally,” supports nearly one million US jobs.”The decision also could have a chilling effect on international investment in America,” it warned.Keizai Doyukai, one of Japan’s three major business groups, noted that protectionist trade policies were likely to strengthen under the next Trump administration.”In areas related to economic security, we should strengthen cooperation with like-minded countries such as South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, and India, so as not to become completely dependent on the United States,” it said.tmo-kh-kaf-da/st