It’s one bad headline after another coming from the White House these days. Just as the tariff-related turmoil rocking markets subsided — and only temporarily, since the clock is still ticking on the pause on “reciprocal tariffs” — fears of ballooning U.S. debt are sparking another broad sell-off in markets. This time, investors are wary because President Donald Trump’s tax bill is projected to add $3 trillion to $5 trillion to the U.S. debt, reported Reuters, citing nonpartisan analysts. A fiscally challenged U.S. means investors will demand higher returns to hold the country’s debt. Indeed, Treasury yields jumped Wednesday. The 30-year Treasury bond yield crossed the 5% level for the second time this week and the 10-year traded at 4.61%, the highest since February. While rising yields mean bond prices drop, they also promise higher returns at potentially lower risks, dulling the allure of stocks. Under pressure from spiking Treasury yields — which mean elevated borrowing costs for companies and consumers — U.S. markets sold off Wednesday, a sharp reversal from the rally beginning May 12 which gave the S&P 500 a six-day win streak. Unlike tariffs, which Trump seems to be able to conjure or dismiss unilaterally at a wave of his hand, a tax bill needs to pass through the different layers of the government and be agreed on by fractious politicians. It’s hard to imagine a “Trump put” happening here. What you need to know today Sell-off in U.S. markets U.S. markets tumbled Wednesday on worries over the country’s deteriorating fiscal health. The S&P 500 lost 1.61%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.91% and the Nasdaq Composite gave up 1.41%. Treasury yields spiked, with the 30-year yield hitting 5.085%, the highest since October 2023, while the 10-year yield traded at 4.607%, a level not seen since February. Threat of U.S. debt widening The U.S. debt-and-deficit situation is bad and facing real prospects of getting worse, triggering a high-profile credit rating downgrade from Moody’s and another selling stampede in stocks and bonds, writes CNBC’s Jeff Cox. If U.S. President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” spending bill passes, there are concerns the U.S. deficit could widen even more and keep Treasury yields high. Bitcoin surpasses previous high Elsewhere in markets, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed mostly flat. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ticked up 0.06% amid data showing the country’s annual inflation rate heating up to a higher-than-expected 3.5% in April from 2.6% in March. Bitcoin prices touched a new high of $109,857, breaking its January record. OpenAI snaps up Jony Ive’s startup OpenAI said in a blog post Wednesday that it’s buying former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive’s artificial intelligence devices startup io for about $6.4 billion in an all-equity deal. OpenAI said it’s paying $5 billion in the transaction, as it already owns 23% of the company. The deal brings OpenAI into the world of hardware, and underscores the growing sense in Silicon Valley that smart AI assistants could upend the gadget world. Hinge Health prices IPO Hinge Health priced its IPO at $32 per share on Wednesday, at the top end of the expected range. At the IPO price, Hinge Health is worth about $2.6 billion, though that number could be higher on a fully diluted basis. That’s down significantly from a private market valuation of $6.2 billion in October 2021. The company uses software to help patients treat acute musculoskeletal injuries, chronic pain. [PRO] Boeing can deliver: Etihad Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways says it can navigate the turbulence surrounding Boeing’s delivery delays, even as it doubles down on a major wide-body order and a multibillion-dollar fleet overhaul. Here’s why the gulf carrier is confident in working with the embattled American aircraft manufacturer. And finally... Emerging markets said to see the next bull run as the ‘sell U.S.’ narrative gains ground Emerging markets stocks are in the spotlight again as the “sell U.S.” narrative gained fresh momentum, following Moody’s recent downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. “Weaker U.S. dollar, U.S. bond yield top, China economic recovery … nothing will work better than emerging market stocks,” Bank of America’s team, led by investment strategist Michael Hartnett, said in a note. Similarly, JPMorgan upgraded emerging market equities from neutral to overweight on Monday, citing thawing U.S.-China trade tensions and attractive valuations. Erosion of confidence in U.S. assets, with a sell-off in U.S. Treasurys, equities and greenback, has fueled the bullishness for emerging markets.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said overnight that U.S. chip export controls are a “failure” and warned that the restrictions are doing more damage to American business than to China. Huang said in a news conference at Computex, an artificial intelligence trade show in Taiwan, that the policies have cut the AI chip leader’s China market share from 95% to 50% and motivated Beijing to make its own chips faster. Huang’s comments came as the truce between the U.S. and China over tariffs and semiconductors continues to be delicate. The Chinese Commerce Ministry responded to the Trump administration’s recent chip policy change on Monday, calling the U.S. policy “overreaching” and “bullying,” and demanding the White House “correct its mistakes.” “The U.S. abuses export control measures, imposing unjustified restrictions on Chinese chip products and even interfering with Chinese companies’ use of domestically produced chips within China,” the ministry said. The White House scrapped the tiered “AI Diffusion Rule” rolled out by former President Joe Biden in January and promised to fully replace it in the future. Nvidia is stuck in the middle, with Huang maintaining relationships with both sides in a deepening tech cold war. In Saudi Arabia last week, President Donald Trump called Huang a “friend” and touted Nvidia’s massive AI investment. Huang accompanied Trump on the Middle East trip, a prominent representative of the U.S.′ global technology power. But Huang has also kept close ties to China and praised the country’s tech capabilities. Nvidia is acquiring a new space for its employees in Shanghai, though the company said it is not sending any intellectual property or graphics processing unit designs there. Huang told lawmakers in Washington in April that China is quickly gaining ground on the U.S. in AI. “China is right behind us,” Huang said. “We are very close. Remember this is a long-term, infinite race.” He also singled out the capabilities of Huawei, which is reportedly developing its own advanced chip to rival Nvidia. “They’re incredible in computing and network technology, all these essential capabilities to advance AI,” Huang said. “They have made enormous progress in the last several years.” Even with the U.S. and China relationship on rocky footing, Huang told senior Chinese officials in April that his company would “unswervingly serve the Chinese market.” Nvidia’s balancing game continues, reshaping chips to stay compliant and straddling commercial and political fault lines. Huang’s warning is clear: if the U.S. doesn’t rethink its approach, it could lose the Chinese market and its edge in the global AI race.

The big story Just a week after a breakthrough in U.S.-China trade tensions, neither side can yet be confident that the other is holding up their end of the bargain. “These 90 days won’t be smooth,” Liu Weidong, research fellow at a state-affiliated think tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of American Studies, told me this week. That’s according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks. He predicts elevated uncertainty and smaller steps next, given the already-large breakthrough, as the U.S. and China each try to feel the other out towards a middle ground. The posturing has already begun. China’s Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday warned that it would take legal action against those involved in assisting or implementing measures to curb the usage of advanced semiconductors from China. It follows an earlier accusation by the same ministry on Monday that blamed the U.S. for undermining trade talks with a Huawei chip warning last week — although the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security had actually toned down its language and dismissed a more restrictive Biden-era plan on chips. Many in the U.S. are also concerned that China isn’t relaxing rare earth export controls, another area in which China dominates the supply chain. That’s despite the joint statement’s vague description of how China would “suspend or remove the non-tariff countermeasures taken against the United States since April 2, 2025.” “I do think Washington was expecting the export controls on that group of rare earths to be lowered, permitting exports in a relatively unrestricted way,” said Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. “If it turns out that, in fact, that is not the result, the U.S. will probably conclude that China is in violation of the agreement,” he said. “We could see a re-escalation sooner rather than later.” While the White House has yet to respond to a CNBC request for comment, a step back reveals ambiguity on China’s side. But are the rare earth export controls part of China’s countermeasures to U.S. tariffs? That’s up for debate. An April 4 document from China’s commerce ministry and customs agency announcing the export controls did not explicitly label them as such. While China did pause restrictions on 28 U.S. entities that were slapped with export controls on critical minerals, the ministry has made several public statements about strengthening export controls on critical minerals. “Given the comprehensive and competitive nature of bilateral relations, the current truce — while focused on trade—can easily be undermined by export controls,” said Yue Su principal economist, China, at The Economist Intelligence Unit. “While rhetorical posturing is unlikely to undermine the 90-day truce, China may well recalibrate its export control regime in a measured response to U.S. actions,” she said. The Chinese commerce ministry on Sunday also announced duties of up to 74.9% on imports of an engineering plastic from the U.S., Europe, Japan and Taiwan. Trump-Xi talk? U.S. President Donald Trump last week told Fox News he is open to a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, or even a trip to China. But Beijing hasn’t dropped any hints. “I’d be surprised if the two step into the middle of these issues right now with so much unclear,” Kennedy said. The new U.S. Ambassador to China, David Perdue, arrived in Beijing on Thursday, slightly more than two weeks after being confirmed by the Senate. He was previously the head of Asia for U.S. packaged consumer goods company Sara Lee. One of Perdue’s first social media posts called for “strong actions” on fentanyl. He said on X that, together with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, they were “meaningfully engaged with the Chinese on next steps to stop this dangerous situation.” The U.S. has left in place 20% in tariffs imposed earlier this year over China’s alleged role in the fentanyl crisis. The joint statement last week said the U.S. and China would establish a mechanism for talks about economic and trade relations, but neither side has specified when the next one would occur. Liu, who helped author a report in February with The Carter Center about bilateral cooperation, emphasized the overall focus of the current talks is trade rather than tech. He expects that China could eventually agree to buy more U.S. agriculture and energy products — given the perception that pressuring farmers can influence Trump.

Nike will resume selling its products directly to Amazon in the U.S. for the first time since 2019, CNBC has confirmed. The sneaker giant stopped selling its goods wholesale on Amazon six years ago as part of a push to distribute more directly to customers and have greater control over the shopping experience. At the time, Nike and several brands like popular shoemaker Birkenstock cut ties with Amazon due to rising concerns around counterfeit products on the company’s sprawling third-party marketplace. A Nike spokesperson said on Wednesday that the company is investing in its marketplace to bring more products and services to “consumers wherever and however they choose to shop.” “This includes expanding to new digital accounts, including Amazon in the U.S., new physical partners like Printemps, elevating retail experiences across the marketplace, and launching Nike’s AI powered conversational search to improve our online services,” the spokesperson said in a statement. Amazon told CNBC in an email that it will “soon begin sourcing a much wider range of Nike products directly to expand our selection for U.S. customers.” The Information earlier reported the news. Prior to the agreement, a limited selection of Nike products were available on Amazon via third-party sellers. But Nike was a “gated” brand on Amazon, meaning it was highly restricted to prevent counterfeit and low-quality items. Apple and L’Oreal are among other gated brands on Amazon. “We value independent sellers, and we’re providing an extended period of time for the small number of sellers affected to sell through their inventory of overlapping items,” Amazon’s spokesperson added. The deal represents a win for Amazon, which has sought to attract more high-end brands to its platform. Amazon found early success with online apparel by selling a wide range of basics from popular brands and its own private labels. In recent years, it’s moved upmarket by opening online luxury fashion shops. Amazon late last month launched a storefront with Saks Fifth Avenue featuring a curated range of luxury brands like Dolce & Gabbana.

Motilal Oswal recommends buying 5 stocks, including Amber Enterprises and Restaurant Brands Asia, for potential double-digit returns. Learn more! Motilal Oswal, a brokerage house, has zeroed in on five very different businesses and put a ‘Buy’ recommendation on them. These stocks range from air‑conditioner maker Amber Enterprises to Burger King operator Restaurant Brands Asia. Here’s the kicker. Motilal Oswal expects double‑digit returns from each of these stocks from current levels. Let’s take a look at these stocks and know why the brokerage has given a buy rating to them- Amber Enterprises Motilal Oswal continues to remain optimistic about Amber Enterprises, despite some recent hiccups in earnings. The brokerage has given a buy rating to the stock with a revised target price of Rs 7,600, projecting a potential upside of 22%. According to Motilal Oswal, the company posted better-than-expected revenue and EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) in Q4FY25, although net profits were hit by higher losses from its joint ventures and an unexpected tax rate hike. “Revenue outperformance was driven by strong growth in consumer durables, particularly RAC and electronics divisions,” the report noted. However, it also pointed out that the railways division was impacted by offtake delays. “We expect a CAGR of 20% / 27% / 49% in revenue / EBITDA / Net Profit over FY25-27 for Amber,” the brokerage said, while valuing the stock at 47x P/E on Mar’27E earnings. Happy Forgings Auto component manufacturer Happy Forgings (HFL) has also earned a buy rating, with a price target of Rs 984, indicating an upside of 20% from current levels. As per the brokerage, PAT for Q4FY25 came in line with estimates and the company generated free cash flow of Rs 119 crore after capex of Rs 280 crore in FY25. Motilal Oswal sees a strong future backed by a recovery in domestic commercial vehicle (CV) demand, a positive tractor outlook, and steady order wins in industrials and passenger vehicles (PVs). “We expect HFL to post a CAGR of 14%/16%/16% in revenue/EBITDA/PAT during FY25-27E,” the brokerage report said. “HFL’s superior financial track record compared to its peers serves as a testament to its inherent operational efficiencies,” the report added. Kalpataru Projects The brokerage house has maintained its buy rating with a new target price of Rs 1,300, reflecting an upside of 16%. The company reported steady revenue, EBITDA, and PAT in Q4FY25, while its balance sheet strength, improved working capital, and debt reduction impressed analysts. “We expect Kalpataru Projects to report a CAGR of 19%/25%/37% in revenue/EBITDA/PAT over FY25-27,” the brokerage said. The brokerage firm has slightly increased FY26/FY27 estimates by 2% each, based on improved order inflows and lower debt levels. The brokerage values the core business at 18x FY27E P/E in its SoTP-based valuation. Galaxy Surfactants Motilal Oswal sees an upside in specialty chemical player Galaxy Surfactants, assigning it a buy rating with a target price of Rs 2,650, pointing to a 16% upside. The company posted a strong beat in Q4, prompting analysts to raise EBITDA and PAT estimates by 8% and 9% for FY26, respectively. “We estimate a volume CAGR of 6% over FY25-27, with volumes picking up in the Specialty Care segment in the developed markets,” Motilal Oswal noted. The brokerage also sees expanding margins driven by premium products, customer additions, and focused R&D spending of Rs 40-50 crore annually. Restaurant Brands Asia Topping the list in terms of potential upside is Restaurant Brands Asia (RBA) – the master franchisee for Burger King India. Motilal Oswal has given a buy rating with a target of Rs 135, implying a sharp upside of 65% from current levels. According to the brokerage, India operations have been strong, with 1% same-store sales growth in FY25 and 9% increase in dine-in traffic. RBA also managed to outperform most dine-in peers, barring Jubilant FoodWorks. “Unlike most QSR peers (barring JUBI), RBA delivered positive SSSG (same store sales growth) during the year,” the report said. The brokerage believes BK Cafe and improving dine-in trends will be margin drivers, alongside cost efficiencies and expansion. “We reiterate our BUY rating with a TP of INR135. We value the India business at 30x FY27E EV/EBITDA (pre-IND-AS) and Indonesia’s EV at INR5b,” added the brokerage.

Humble beginnings Permata, who was born and raised in Indonesia, has always been an overachiever. “I’m born from a very simple family ... we didn’t come from money, so I had to really earn everything that I wanted,” she said, adding that her parents were always strict and demanding with her. “I was always expected to deliver, to be number one, to succeed academically,” she said. “I always liked property, because, living with very strict parents — [it was] my house, my rules. So, I thought I wanted to own my own house, so I could have my own rules,” Permata said. She said she was studious, competitive and “always focused on academics” as a kid. By the age of 23, she had already purchased an investment property, the first of several. Upon graduating from university, she went on to pursue an almost decade-long corporate career, eventually landing a senior vice president role at Southeast Asian on-demand services platform Gojek, where she met Pinhome co-founder Ahmed Aljunied. After working at Gojek for about four years, Permata said she felt ready to embark on her own entrepreneurial journey. “I think at the end of my time at Gojek, [the company] was operating in 200 plus cities in all of Indonesia,” she said. “I had worked with my CTO, Ahmed ... [He] was always very entrepreneurial. He had built businesses before, and he [said]: ‘Why don’t we start our own?’” ‘Fail fast, learn fast’ So in early 2019, the two began ideating and building the business out of Permata’s home garage. Over the course of about nine months, Permata said she invested about $150,000 of her own savings into bootstrapping the company. “My husband was my first employee. We had our first five team members working out of our [garage]. It was really like nine months of bootstrapping,” she said. “I was also working full time at Gojek, and it was still quite long hours that [I was working there], but we managed to squeeze in time [for our startup.]” Informed by her own experiences as a property investor, Permata knew she wanted to address the many pain points in Indonesian real estate. She said the process of buying and maintaining property was very “manual” and “fragmented.” “All the pain of searching for a home, and connecting with agents ... [It’s a] six to nine month process, all on WhatsApp, and you’re dealing with complete strangers ... and I thought: ‘Why is it so traditional and why hasn’t technology transformed the sector?’” Permata and her co-founder felt that the real estate sector in Indonesia was ripe for transformation. “We tested different business models ... In the first business model, we were exploring crowdfunding for real estate. The second business model, we were exploring property management. Then the third time, we were exploring ... co-ownership of real estate,” she said. “We went through that iteration almost every two or three months,” she said. After testing a few failed ideas, Permata and Aljunied landed on their fourth idea, which ultimately became what Pinhome is today — an end-to-end property transaction platform that offers brokerage, mortgage and home services. Pinhome was launched in January 2020 and serves more than 3.5 million monthly active users across its website and mobile apps today, according to a company representative. “Fail fast, learn fast. That’s how you get closer to success,” Permata suggested. “Try to fail every day, but learn from it ... I think that will help you with your stamina in the long run, because it isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.” “If you are not managing your energy well, then you might quit before you reach success,” she added.

Japan’s farm minister Taku Eto stepped down on Wednesday, domestic media reported, following public outrage over his comments on getting free rice. Eto said on Sunday that he has never had to buy rice as he received ample amounts of the grain as gifts from supporters — a comment that struck a nerve with locals struggling with rocketing prices of the beloved staple. Japan has been grappling with soaring rice prices for months as inclement weather and the country’s long-held policy to protect local farmers’ interests crimps supplies. Taku’s resignation comes at a time when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government has been grappling with low approval ratings ahead of a pivotal Upper House election this summer and ongoing tariff negotiations with the U.S. NHK World reported that former Environment Minister Koizumi Shinjiro will succeed Eto. Ishiba’s cabinet approval rating dropped to an all-time low of 27.4%, as voters grow increasingly discontent with the administration’s failure to address soaring rice prices and rejection of consumption tax cuts in response to rising inflation, according to a Kyodo News poll released Sunday. While Japan’s agriculture ministry has been trying to curb soaring prices by releasing government stockpiles, the move has yielded little effect in reining in prices. Rice prices in around 1,000 supermarkets nationwide reportedly climbed to all-times high in the week ending May 11. Prices for a 5-kilogram bag of rice rose 54 yen week-on-week to 4,268 yen ($29.63) “Following Japan’s rice shortage and subsequent high prices in summer 2024, prices have continued to soar, despite the arrival of the new domestic crop and record imports,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a March report. The spike in rice prices reflects the lingering effects of poor harvests last year, with domestic rice consumption being overwhelmingly supported by local production rather than imports, said HSBC’s chief Asia economist Frederic Neumann. Straining the supply side issue is the fact that rice in Japan is produced mostly by elderly people running small farms, so they’re not very efficient, said Sayuri Shirai, a professor of economics under Keio University’s faculty of policy management, who added that the number of farmers are also dropping with the ageing population. “Japanese like Japanese rice. They don’t really like foreign rice,” she said. Japan’s rice economy remains fairly isolated from the world market, with stiff duties on imported rice aimed at protecting its rice farmers. To make matters worse, demand for Japanese rice has skyrocketed on the back of high tourist footfall, the professor noted. The sharp increase in rice prices is also partly attributable to panic-driven hoarding by both households and businesses, said Takuji Okubo, chief economist at Japan Macro Adviser. While some retailers announced plans to import rice, unfamiliarity with imported rice among both consumers and businesses makes it unlikely that such imports will meaningfully alleviate the supply-demand imbalance, he told CNBC. Japan’s inflation rose 3.6% year on year in March. Although the figure was lower than the 3.7% seen in February, it still marked three straight years that the headline inflation figure has remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target. “That is very high compared to the U.S. or Europe,” said Shirai, who added that Japan’s inflation picture has more to do with cost pressures that are mostly derived from food prices. “That is why a lot of consumers are very angry,” Shirai said. Additionally, the cheap yen also makes food imports expensive, she noted. Japan imports about 60% of its food supply, according to food sourcing and data hub Tridge. The country also has a food self-sufficiency rate of 38%, compared with the government’s target of 45% by fiscal 2030.

BSE plans to launch 40 new indices in FY26 via Asia Index to tap growing passive investment demand. Focus areas include thematic, factor, and broad market indices. With 20% market share, BSE aims to expand its index portfolio, not compete with NSE, which holds 73% of passive fund AUM. To tap the growing number of passive investors, BSE’s Asia Index plans to launch as many as 40 more indices across sectors this fiscal — double the number in FY25. “At a run rate of 2-3 indices per month, we will launch roughly 40 indices this year,” said Asia Index MD Ashutosh Singh on the sidelines of an event to launch four factor indices – BSE 500 Enhanced Value 50, BSE 500 Low Volatility 50, BSE 500 Momentum 50, and BSE 500 Quality 50. Dinesh Iyer, product head, said that the pipeline of indices would be across categories — thematic, factor and broader market. While some are driven by asset management companies, some are internal, he added. PauseUnmute Fullscreen According to Singh, after 2014, the sudden growth in the passive market was driven by two leapfrog moments — the year when Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) decided to invest its funds into the Nifty and Sensex ETFs and the second came a few years later when the markets regulator came up with the categorisation circular that limited the room for innovation on the active side. In response to these development, exchanges have been aggressively launching indices, both to meet demand from mutual fund houses who will be able increase their assets under management by launching schemes based on them. In addition, it has also become a new line of business for exchanges as they are paid around a percentage point of the assets collected by schemes that use these indices as benchmark. In FY25, BSE and NSE collectively launched 41 indices — over three a month. In comparison, NSE had launched just seven in FY23 and FY24 while BSE hadn’t launched any index, according to its subsidiary Asia Index’s website. Effective June 1 last year, BSE’s holding company had acquired control of Asia Index by acquiring a 50% stake from the joint venture partner S&P and Dow Jones Indices. Singh said, in terms of market share, BSE is way below its peer NSE and is not looking at gaining market share . The aim is to look inwards at BSE’s own product bouquet as there are enough whitespaces to fill. Currently BSE’s market share is roughly 20%, he added. As of March-end 2025, NSE had 73% of the total Industry AUM of the equity and debt passive funds linked to Nifty indices, according to its investor presentation. The exchange earned 1% of its total revenue from index licensing and data licensing services in the quarter ended March. For FY25, the income stood at Rs 121 crore, up 23% compared to last year.

SEBI mandates annual internal audits for all Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) like stock exchanges, depositories, and clearing corporations. New rules enhance audit committee independence and governance, aiming to bolster transparency and oversight in India's financial markets. With an aim to further strengthen governance at the stock exchanges, depositories and clearing corporations, described as market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Monday revised guidelines for their internal audit mechanism. Effective 90 days from Monday, every MII will be required to conduct an internal audit of all functions and activities at least once in a financial year, and the auditor should be an independent audit firm, a SEBI circular said. The regulator also came out with new rules for the composition of audit committees, barring any executive director (including the managing director) to be a part of these panels. “The auditors of MII and the key management personnel (KMPs) shall have a right to be heard in the meetings of the audit committee when it considers the auditor’s report, but shall not have the right to vote. Wherever required, the KMPs (including the MD) can be invited to attend the meeting of the audit committee with permission of the chairman of the committee,” the circular said. As per the new rules, MIIs should also have a policy for appointment of internal auditors approved by the audit committee. The governing board of the MII and approved auditors will only report to the audit committee. Internal auditors’ observations should be sent to the respective heads of departments for their comments before sharing the final report with the audit committee, the circular said, adding that any observations dropped after clarifications from department heads shall also be included along with the rationale. “The internal auditor of the MII shall appraise the audit committee, at least once in every six months within 60 days from end of September and March on critical issues concerning the MII, in the absence of the management,” it said.

Wall Street is on edge about American investments again after receiving a significant warning about the safest of all safe havens: US debt. Moody’s downgraded America’s debt on Friday evening from its previously perfect AAA credit rating, the last of the three major credit rating agencies to strip US Treasuries of their flawless reputation. Explaining its rationale for lowering its credit rating on the United States for the first time since 1917, Moody’s cited ballooning US debt levels and Washington’s intransigence over budget deficit solutions. US stocks ended the day slightly higher Monday after initially falling: The Dow was up by 137 points, or 0.3%. The broader S&P 500 rose by 0.09% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was 0.02% higher. Investors sold off US Treasuries. The benchmark 10-year yield, which trades in opposite direction to its price, rose near 4.5%, and the 30-year yield was just under 5% after initially crossing that threshold earlier in the day. The US dollar tumbled 0.6% against a basket of currencies. Meanwhile, gold, a traditional safe haven, rose 1.5% to $3,232 a troy ounce. Investors in American assets have been on a roller coaster ride this year. Initial excitement over President Donald Trump’s business-friendly and tax-cut policies sent stocks surging to a record high in mid-February. But that fervor soon gave way to extreme fear over Trump’s trade policy, sending investors pouring out of American assets in what market observers called the “sell America” trade. That sent bonds and the dollar tumbling and stocks an inch away from a bear market in April. In mid-April, however, a pause in trade tensions renewed faith in American investments and sent stocks and bonds surging again. But then came Friday’s debt downgrade. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attempted to reassure market participants that the credit rating downgrade was built on outdated information, echoing the refrain from former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said something similar when Fitch Ratings downgrade America’s debt rating in 2023. Bessent on Sunday told CNN that he “does not put much credence in the Moody’s” downgrade. When pressed by CNN’s Jake Tapper about whether Trump’s “one, big, beautiful bill” tax cut proposal would further exacerbate America’s debt crisis by reducing revenue, Bessent said the bill would grow America’s economy to lower its surging debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio. America’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 92% in the second quarter of 2011 when S&P became the first credit-rating agency to downgrade US debt. It is now 123%, according to the US Treasury. But market analysts say Moody’s downgrade could send shockwaves through Wall Street again. Citigroup in a note to investors Monday said the notch below perfect “makes little if any difference” to investors. “We do think this comes at a bad time for sentiment, with both fiscal space moving in the wrong direction (due to lower tariffs) and the potential fiscal impulse increasing,” Citi analysts said. They also warned this could become America’s “Liz Truss moment” if Washington isn’t careful, cutting taxes to juice the economy at the exact wrong time. Some other analysts concurred. “Budget-busting revenue estimates for the big, beautiful bill down in Washington appear to be the problem,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FwdBonds. “When S&P first tried this US downgrade also late on a Friday, on August 5, 2011, it was quite a shock.” Rupkey noted stocks fell nearly 7% the Monday after America’s first downgrade, but the reaction was far more muted when Fitch downgraded the debt 12 years later. Debt hawks said Moody’s downgrade should serve as a warning about America’s unsustainable debt load. “For those looking for a signpost to tell us when to stop adding to our national debt, they should look no further than Moody‘s downgrade,” said Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peter Peterson Foundation, which advocates for America’s fiscal stability. “It’s unacceptable for a great country like America to harm its own credit rating.” What ‘sell America’ could look like If Wall Street returns to “sell America,” it may not be pretty. In the late winter and early spring, investors took money out of US stocks and even traditional safe havens like government bonds, pouring them into gold and foreign stocks. Treasury yields, which trade in the opposite direction to prices, surged. And spot gold prices rose above $3,000 a troy ounce for the first time in history in March. Traders grew increasingly concerned that Trump’s policies could inflict serious damage on the economy. Despite Trump’s insistence that stocks were falling because of the inflationary problems inherited from former President Joe Biden, the market had boomed after Trump’s November election in hopes that his promised tax cuts and deregulation would fuel another economic boom. But Trump in the months before he took office began threatening massive tariffs on America’s biggest trading partners. The Dow, which was near its record high when Trump started posting messages on Truth Social about tariffs on November 25, hit one more record high a week later and then tumbled. The S&P 500 fell nearly 20% between its mid-February all-time-high and Trump’s April 9 pause of his April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs. Now, investors have at least one more thing to worry about: America’s out-of-control debt. But they may have to fret about the trade war once again. Bessent on Sunday told CNN that if dozens of countries that had been hit with Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs fail to reach a trade deal with the administration, they’ll face tariffs as high as 50%, the same tariffs Trump unveiled at his “Liberation Day” announcement. “President Trump has put them on notice that if you do not negotiate in good faith, you will ratchet back up to your April 2 level,” Bessent said.