TikTok Deal Has China´s Blessing, Trump Says After Xi Call

Stocks

Political

Summary:

Officials from both sides have offered few details on the tentative accord, aimed at keeping the app running in the US and avoid a ban on national security grounds under a law signed in 2024.

President Donald Trump said that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had given approval to a sale of TikTok’s US operations to American investors, though he acknowledged that some final steps still need to be worked out.

“I had a great call with President Xi and as you know, and approved the TikTok deal, and we’re in the process,” Trump told reporters at the White House hours after speaking with the Chinese leader. “We look forward to getting that deal closed.”

Both the US and China have indicated that more work needs to be done to iron out final differences on a proposal for Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. to divest its majority stake in the video-sharing platform in the US. In a statement earlier Friday, China’s foreign ministry stopped short of saying that Beijing had given its final blessing and urged fair treatment of Chinese interests.

“China’s position on the TikTok issue is clear: The Chinese government respects the wishes of the company in question, and would be happy to see productive commercial negotiations in keeping with market rules lead to a solution that complies with China’s laws and regulations and takes into account the interests of both sides,” the ministry said in a translation provided by the embassy in Washington. “The U.S. side needs to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese investors.”

The call between Trump and Xi came days after US and Chinese negotiators announced a framework deal for ByteDance to sell its US-based TikTok operations to an American buyers group. Officials from both sides have offered few details on the tentative accord, aimed at keeping the app running in the US and avoid a ban on national security grounds under a law signed in 2024 by then-President Joe Biden.

Trump has floated the idea of the US receiving what he described on Thursday as “a ‘fee plus’ for just making the deal.” Details of that fee structure, including the percentage the government might take, remained unclear. On Friday, the president declined to say whether the US would get a seat on the board of the new US venture.

Bloomberg has previously reported that a group of American buyers including Oracle Corp., Andreessen Horowitz and private equity firm Silver Lake Management LLC would take control of a new US version of the app. It’s unclear whether ByteDance or the new US-based venture would control TikTok’s lucrative recommendation software — a key sticking point for China, which has balked at the transfer of what it considers critical technology.

Under the framework agreement, Oracle would continue providing cloud services for TikTok, a business that’s become a steady source of revenue for the Austin-based company. Oracle already works with TikTok to host user data in the US and other countries as part of a multibillion-dollar partnership TikTok has dubbed Project Texas.

Shares of Oracle rose 4% in trading Friday, outpacing gains in the broader market.

Spokespeople for TikTok, Oracle, Andreessen and Silver Lake didn’t respond to requests for comment. In a statement, ByteDance thanked Trump and Xi, pledging to “proceed with relevant work in accordance with Chinese law, ensuring that TikTok US continues to serve American users well.”

Another unknown surrounding the deal includes the price tag attached to one of ByteDance’s most lucrative businesses. TikTok’s US operations have been valued at about $35 billion to $40 billion, though tech valuations have climbed rapidly with the advent of the AI boom.

To buy additional time to complete a sale, Trump this week extended the deadline for ByteDance to divest for another three months to Dec. 16, the fourth such reprieve he’s granted since taking office. Those extensions are on shaky legal ground, as the 2024 law allows for only one.

Earlier this week, news of a tentative agreement drew criticism from Congress, including from members of Trump’s own party who say it fails to abide by the national security law that required ByteDance to divest. Their objections signal that the issue may not be fully resolved on Capitol Hill, though it’s unclear whether lawmakers have a path for blocking the deal.

Since TikTok use exploded in the US early in the pandemic, lawmakers and government officials have raised concerns that China might use the app to gather sensitive information about Americans and push content that divides them. Toward the end of his first term in office, Trump tried, but failed, to force a sale of the app or ban it over these worries.

Lawmakers across the political spectrum this week emphasized the need for a TikTok deal to prohibit any operational relationship between ByteDance and the new US TikTok app, including its algorithm and data. Representative John Moolenaar, the Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said in a post on X that he plans on “discussing these issues with the transaction parties to ensure any deal adheres to the law’s legal requirements.”

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said “Congress should scrutinize this deal to make sure Beijing-based ByteDance cannot be allowed to control or influence TikTok’s recommendation algorithm or user data.” In August, the White House created a TikTok account and Trump said any national security concerns were highly overrated.

It’s unclear how the geopolitical landscape, artificial intelligence race and US-China trade issues might affect the agreed-upon plan between now and the next TikTok deadline in December. This week, China ordered ByteDance and other Chinese firms to stop buying Nvidia Corp. chips that can be repurposed for AI uses after accusing the American company of breaking anti-monopoly laws.

Source: Bloomberg

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Manuel

Cryptocurrency

FTX creditors will receive $1.6 billion on Sept. 30 in the third major distribution since the exchange’s 2022 collapse, bringing some customers to 95% cumulative recovery rates.

According to the FTX Recovery Trust’s Sept. 19 announcement, creditors must complete multiple verification steps through the FTX Customer Portal before receiving payments, which take one to three business days.

Requirements include KYC verification, tax form submission, and selecting among BitGo, Kraken, or Payoneer to receive the funds. The process ensures compliance with anti-money laundering regulations while providing payment flexibility.

Waterfall priorities

Payment amounts vary by creditor class under the reorganization plan’s waterfall priorities. Dotcom customer entitlement claims receive an incremental 6% distribution, reaching a cumulative recovery of 78%.

US customer entitlement claims obtain 40% payments, achieving 95% total recovery. General unsecured claims and digital asset loan claims each receive 24% distributions, bringing cumulative recovery to 85%.

The Recovery Trust emphasized that no wallet connections are required for eligibility verification or reimbursement processing. This clarification addresses potential confusion amid ongoing concerns about crypto fraud affecting bankruptcy proceedings.

Transferred claims face additional requirements, with distributions only processed for transferee holders reflected on the official claims register after a 21-day notice period without objections.

Recovery timeline and previous distributions

The September payout follows two previous distribution rounds totaling approximately $5 billion in creditor repayments.

The second distribution occurred on May 30, addressing creditors with claims valued at $50,000 or less while adding 9% annual interest accrued since the November 2022 bankruptcy filing. Initial distributions began on Feb. 18, establishing the recovery framework.

Convenience class creditors receive 120% distributions, representing full recovery plus additional compensation for smaller claims. The overpayment structure aims to expedite resolution for lower-value creditors while reducing administrative costs associated with extended proceedings.

FTX announced that subsequent record and payment dates will be announced as proceedings continue. The structured approach enables systematic distribution while maintaining adequate reserves for ongoing legal costs and administrative expenses.

The distribution represents continued progress in one of the crypto industry’s largest bankruptcy cases, following a collapse that sent shockwaves through the sector.

Source: Cryptoslate

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Manuel

Central Bank

Political

According the newest member of the Fed's policy committee, President Donald Trump's economic policies are pushing down inflation, clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to swiftly and steeply cut its key interest rate.

That was the message from Stephen Miran in his first public appearance since joining the Federal Open Market Committee on Tuesday. Miran was confirmed as a Fed governor just in time to cast the loan dissenting vote in the Fed's decision to cut its influential interest rate by a quarter point.

In a televised interview on CNBC's Money Matters Friday, he explained why he voted for a larger cut.

"I don't see very significant tariff inflation," Miran said. "I see very little evidence of any of it to date. I see disinflation coming from the border policies. And I see some downward pressures coming from other coming up from other other forces too, like deregulation."

Miran Disputes That Tariffs Are Causing Inflation

Miran seems to be an outlier on the Fed's policy committee and among economists, many of whom have seen signs that tariffs are pushing up prices on store shelves.

Foreign countries are paying the cost of tariffs, he said, contradicting numerous analyses by other experts that found U.S. companies and consumers are footing the bill for Trump's sweeping import taxes. This week, for instance, the Peterson Institute for Economic Analysis found that U.S. businesses were paying most of the tariffs, and that they would increasingly pass costs along to consumers as they exhausted inventories purchased before the tariffs took hold.

Miran confirmed he not only voted for a sharper rate cut than his colleagues, but wanted far steeper ones in the future. A set of economic projections released by the Fed on Wednesday showed one person among 19 Fed policymakers favored cutting the fed funds rate to a range of 2.75% to 3% by the end of the year, three-quarters of a percentage point lower than the next lowest projection.

While the predictions are anonymized in the report, Miran said he was the outlier in the rate projections. Miran said he would fully explain his views in a paper to be published Monday.

The Fed's Independence

His advocacy of steep rate cuts—along the lines of what Trump himself has demanded—raised questions about the central bank's independence. Miran said he will take a leave of absence as a member of Trump's Council of Economic Advisors while working in his role on the Fed, but his continued employment at the White House raised concerns for some that he will be influenced by politics rather than economics.

Miran is the first Fed governor since the central bank was reformed in the 1930s who also has a job in the White House. Miran downplayed the significance of his dual role on Friday and emphasized that his stint on the Fed's board is set to expire in January. He said he would resign from the Council of Economic Advisors if he were nominated to a 14-year term after his current term expires.

Still, Miran adopted a view of the economy and interest rate policy aligned with Trump, starkly contrasting many economists and analysts, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other committee members.

Some economists have voiced concerns that Trump's installation of Miran and his attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook represent a takeover of the Fed. But so far, Miran is just one vote out of 12 on the committee and one voice among the 19 leaders who set the bank's monetary policy.

"The only way for any voter to really move things around is to be incredibly persuasive, and the only way to do that in the context in which we work is to make really strong arguments based on the data and your one's understanding of the economy," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference in Washington Wednesday following the Fed's interest rate meeting. "That's really all that matters, and that's how it's going to work."

Source: Investopedia

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Manuel

Political

Stocks

The Securities and Exchange Commission will move forward with plans to overhaul investor disclosure rules for publicly-traded companies, agency Chairman Paul Atkins said Friday.

The announcement comes the same week that President Donald Trump issued a social media post suggesting the SEC should move to semi-annual, rather than quarterly reporting.

“It’s a good time to look at the whole panoply of ways that people get information, how it’s disseminated and what’s fit for purpose,” Atkins said during an interview on CNBC.

He noted that many investors get more information from earnings calls rather than the quarterly reports.

Atkins echoed Trump’s criticism that quarterly reports have driven corporate executives and management to focus too much on short-term returns.

But the long-time Washington consultant and power player has been a perennial critic of the “overload” of disclosures both for investors and the companies that have to provide them.

Atkins has already made clear that he plans to reduce disclosures on executive compensation. Other disclosures, such as those related to conflict minerals, could also be targeted for fewer releases or even elimination.

During the CNBC interview, Atkins said the “huge cost” of complying with regulatory requirements is one of the leading reasons companies remain private.

Trump’s remarks earlier this week revived an idea he touted during his first term. Then-SEC Chairman Jay Clayton had discussed the possibility at a three-hour roundtable in 2019 and it had been part of an agency request for comment in 2018. But the effort eventually petered out and the idea never made it to even the proposed rule stage, in part because there wasn’t a groundswell of demand for the change.

The SEC has required companies to issue quarterly reports since 1970. There have been tensions between investor sseeking information and publicly traded companies seeking to shed what some see as unnecessary or overly burdensome reporting requirements ever since.

Many companies already produce quarterly data for internal oversight, so reducing public-facing reports may only modestly reduce” compliance costs, according to Andrew Jones, principal researcher at the Conference Board, a think tank whose members include hundreds of public and privately traded companies.

“Limiting disclosures also introduces risks related to reduced transparency and heightened market uncertainty,” Jones said in an emailed statement.

While many of the world’s largest economies operate on a quarterly disclosure basis, some only require semiannual reports, including France, the United Kingdom and Australia. SEC Will Move to Overhaul Investor Disclosures, Atkins Says_1

SEC Will Move to Overhaul Investor Disclosures, Atkins Says_1

Source: Bloomberg

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Manuel

Cryptocurrency

Aave reached $30.5 billion in active loans on Sept. 18, representing 65% of the $46.72 billion in total active loans across decentralized protocols.

Data from Token Terminal shows that the lending protocol maintains a comfortable lead over competitors. Its nearest rival, Morpho, holds less than $5 billion in active loans.

Aave also commands a total value locked (TVL) of $42 billion, making it the largest DeFi protocol by TVL, based on DefiLlama data.

The deposit figures would position Aave as the 53rd largest US commercial bank if it operated under traditional banking structures, placing it among the top 2.5% of US commercial banks based on June 30 regulatory data.

Aave running hot

The protocol generated $24.6 million in fees over the past seven days, ranking it fifth-largest crypto protocol when considering centralized stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle.

Among purely decentralized protocols, Aave ranks third in weekly fee generation, only lagging behind Pump.fun and Uniswap.

Users access Aave for multiple purposes beyond basic lending. The protocol serves as a liquidity source for traders seeking leverage, as they utilize assets from their holding positions to borrow additional capital.

By using holdings to acquire more liquidity, traders leverage their positions fully on-chain. Additionally, holders seek yield on their dormant assets, and investors pursue higher returns than traditional finance offers.

Yield advantage

Yield advantages over traditional banking attract significant capital to the protocol. Aaverank shows USDC deposits on Base earn 5.76% APY through Aave, substantially exceeding the 0.39% average offered by FDIC-insured banks.

Similar premiums exist across networks and stablecoins, with Ethereum USDC yielding 5.12% and Avalanche USDC providing 5.03% returns.

At the same time, USDT on Ethereum generates 5.09% through Aave compared to traditional bank averages, while alternative networks like Linea offer 3.94% on USDT deposits. These rates consistently outperform conventional banking products while maintaining on-chain accessibility.

The growth in active loans indicates how crypto investors are more inclined to use decentralized protocols for leverage and yield, with Aave having a significant participation in this sector.

Source: Cryptoslate

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

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Kevin Du

Central Bank

By Ann Saphir and Howard Schneider

New U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran, on leave at the central bank from the Trump administration, on Friday defended himself as an independent policymaker after dissenting in favor of steep rate cuts just hours after joining the central bank, promising a detailed argument for his policy views in a speech on Monday and saying he got no guidance from President Donald Trump on what to do at the meeting.

"I'm going to give a full accounting for my economic views, and walk through in meticulous detail the economics and the arithmetic behind getting to those numbers," in remarks in New York on Monday, Miran said on CNBC of his dissent in favor of a half-percentage-point cut at last week's meeting and his projection that rates should be cut more than a percentage point more by year's end.

He argues that a near "neutral" rate of interest is now the proper setting for an economy he says has no inflation risk and that will see lower housing costs as strict immigration policies dampen demand for housing.

His views are out of the Fed's mainstream consensus, which is tilting towards a gradual pace of rate cuts this year out of concern the job market is weakening and despite inflation, some of it flowing from the Trump administration's tariffs, that is expected to rise at least temporarily through the rest of the year and remains well above the Fed's 2% target.

NEWCOMER WAS ONLY VOICE FOR A LARGE CUT

"I was the only supporter for a 50-basis-point cut," Miran acknowledged, adding that he did feel that he "owed the world an accounting for why my views are so different."

"However, I was sworn in about an hour before the meeting," he said. "I'll be making arguments in coming weeks and months...That's starting now and that's going to go a lot further."

Of the low year-end rates he advocated, Miran said, "I don't see very significant tariff inflation...I see disinflation coming from border policies...I don't see a reason for being so far from neutral at the moment," Miran said. "The longer you stay very restrictive the greater the risks of significant misses to the employment mandate."

He said he and Trump spoke before the meeting on Tuesday but only for the president to wish him good luck.

"He called me Tuesday morning to congratulate me and that was it," Miran said. "I did not talk to him about how I would vote. I did not talk to him about my 'dots'" in the Fed's table of rate and economic projections.

"I will do independent analysis based on my interpretation of the data, based on my interpretation of the economy, and that is all that I will do...He didn't ask me to do any particular actions. I didn't commit to doing any particular actions."

MEETING WAS 'UNREMARKABLE'

The Fed on Wednesday lowered its benchmark interest rate to the 4% to 4.25% range, the first change since Trump returned to office and a move supported by other Trump appointees to the central bank. The rate cut was coupled with an outlook for steadily easier policy this year, and a statement shaped by the majority that noted the rising risks to the labor market.

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari on Friday said job market risks warranted this week's rate cut and likely reductions at the central bank's next two meetings.

"I believe the risk of a sharp increase in unemployment warrants the committee taking some action to support the labor market," Kashkari wrote in an essay published on Friday morning, adding that he also now feels there's little risk of a sharp rise in inflation from tariffs.

Worries that tariffs could reignite inflation had kept the Fed from cutting interest rates until now.

Kashkari downplayed any worry that the Fed was losing trust with the public, despite inflation that is still above target and the ongoing political pressure from the Trump administration for lower rates.

In Friday morning comments to CNBC, Kashkari said that Miran's arrival at the central bank's policy meeting, even as he retains his role with the Trump administration, "was like any other transition where somebody comes in and everybody says 'hey, welcome to the table. We look forward to hearing your contributions.' And then everybody went about their business as normal."

"What was remarkable about this meeting was how unremarkable it was," he said.

PUBLIC STILL HAS FAITH IN FED INDEPENDENCE

Kashkari also said that recent developments in bond markets, with the 10-year yield declining of late to around 4.1%, showed that the public seemed to maintain faith in the Fed's independence and ability to control inflation despite efforts by Trump to gain influence, including through a so far unsuccessful effort to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

In markets and among members of Congress from both parties, "there's widespread appreciation for how important Fed independence is," Kashkari said. "I also think there's a lot of confidence on both sides of the aisle that Fed independence...will be protected, and that the courts also see it that way...I think people are betting on the institutions of the country continuing to keep Fed independence, to keep it outside of the short-term political process."

Cook's firing has been blocked by two federal courts. The Trump administration's request that it proceed is pending now before the Supreme Court.

Kashkari's policy essay represents a shift from June when he felt only two quarter-point rate cuts would be needed this year. A drop in job creation since then helped change his mind.

Kashkari is not a voter this year on interest rate policy.

Source: TradingView

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Devin

Economic

Commodity

in a tug-of-war pattern for several days as traders take in conflicting signals on supply and weigh them against the outlook for the US economy. Repeated Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy assets along with global calls to place levies against Moscow’s crude have underpinned support. But so far, most experts still expect the market to move into a glut, with fears of oversupply reining in moves to the upside for weeks.

West Texas Intermediate fell to trade near $63 a barrel as traders rolled over positions ahead of the October contract’s expiry next week, adding to choppy trading. Futures are poised to end this week little changed.

“Attacks on Russian oil infrastructure are giving some upside support to prices, but it’s still tempered by a market looking for a surplus in the months ahead,” said Edward Bell, acting group head of research and chief economist at Emirates NBD.

Adding to the focus on Moscow’s crude flows, traders have been following the developing relationship between the US and China and India. Speculators are looking for clues on whether the Asian nations will keep up their purchases of Russian oil.

Trump had a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, and the US leader said the call was very good and topics discussed included trade, along with the Russia-Ukraine war and the approval of the TikTok deal. The meeting outcome reduced traders’ expectations of incoming US secondary tariffs against China.

The oil market is also digesting this week’s US central-bank decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis-points. Although lower rates typically boost energy demand, policymakers’ warnings of mounting weakness in the labor market weighed on sentiment. The dollar strengthened on Friday, making commodities priced in the currency less attractive.

Crude has traded in a $5 band for most of the past month-and-a-half, buffeted between geopolitical tensions and bearish fundamentals. The accelerated return of OPEC+ supply has boosted predictions of a looming glut later in the year, while growth-sapping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump threaten to destabilize the US economy.

“The balancing act of OPEC+ oversupplying the global market against a possible drop in Russian oil sales is keeping crude futures in very tight trade,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president for trading at BOK Financial Securities.