Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Lasbat Mojisola Meranda, has dismissed claims by Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, that her security detail has been fully restored.
Speaking to journalists after a court hearing regarding a case filed by former Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa—which has been adjourned to March 7—Meranda clarified that she still lacks adequate security.
“I have my people with me and God is with me,” she stated. “At the moment, I have only three or four policemen, whereas my normal security detail includes 12 policemen, four DSS officers, and two anti-bomb experts. As of this morning, I still don’t have them.”
Addressing Obasa’s controversial presence at the Assembly the previous day, Meranda acknowledged his right to visit but condemned his actions. “He is still a member of the House, so he has every right to come. But invading and breaking into my office? That is a serious issue.”
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She also criticized the plenary session conducted by Obasa, describing it as a “show of shame.” “In our job, we require a quorum. If you are sitting with just three or four members, that is nothing more than theatrics.”
On whether disciplinary action would be taken against Obasa, she remarked, “When we get to that bridge, we will cross it.”
Meanwhile, the Assembly premises remained heavily guarded by policemen, civil defense personnel, and supporters of Obasa.
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Olanipekun Olukoyede, disclosed that he turned down offers of about N500m from various individuals during his mother’s funeral in 2019.
Olukoyede spoke at the 38th Anti-Corruption Situation Room in Abuja on Thursday with the theme: Ethics, Integrity, Corruption Risk Assessments and Anti-Corruption at National and Sub-National levels: Sustaining the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
The programme was organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda Resource Centre, Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission, ICPC, and EFCC with the support of the MacArthur Foundation.
Olukoyede explained that the substantial gifts, which included cheques and drafts, were sent to him by ministers, permanent secretaries, directors, and other high-ranking officials.
At the time, Olukoyede was serving as the Secretary of the EFCC.
He recounted that upon his return to his family home in Ekiti State, where the funeral took place, he discovered numerous cheques in a carton.
After reviewing the cheques, which amounted to nearly N500m, he decided to return them.
The EFCC chairman narrated, “I lost my mother in the year 2019 (in Ekiti State). We went for the funeral. I was the secretary of the EFCC then. People came. So I went to my place a day before the funeral service. By the time I got to my small compound, which I built several years ago before I joined the EFCC, I saw about 17 cows in my compound, including pregnant ones.
“When I got home, my gate man presented a box (carton) to me and inside it, I saw so many cheques and drafts from ministers, permanent secretaries, directors, DGs of agencies, etc.
“And so, I went in and showed it to my wife. She said, ‘Praise God’. I said, ‘Praise God for what?’ By the time we put all the cheques together, it counted close to N500m.”
Reflecting on the situation, Olukoyede expressed concern about the potential consequences if he had deposited the cheques into his account, particularly given his role in investigating the individuals who had sent them.
He explained that had the cheques been found in his bank account, it could have been used against him during investigations and cast doubt on his integrity.
He emphasised the importance of maintaining ethical conduct and transparency, especially in his position at the EFCC.
“I did the burial in September 2019. By July 2020, I was under investigation. Now, assuming all those cheques were paid into my account as traditional gifts and some of the MDAs that we were investigating in the EFCC, some of their directors and their DGs and their ministers sent cheques to me.
“Ordiarily, I mean for burial, some gave me one million, N20m and all of that. Even though that would not have influenced my decision if I was in a position to determine what would happen to their investigations, how would I have explained before a panel that they saw cheques paid into my account?
“So, assuming they found those cheques paid into my account, would it have been a good defence for me to say it was my mother’s burial when they were looking for me to roast? For me, that is what you call integrity. When you go beyond a level of expectation.”
Olukoyede also shared an example of rejecting bids from family members for auctioneering services during his tenure as EFCC Secretary.
He explained how both his brother-in-law, an international auctioneer, and his elder brother sought to participate in a government auction of forfeited assets. Despite the personal connections, Olukoyede insisted on adhering to conflict-of-interest rules, rejecting their applications.
He said, “My chairman then, we agreed that we should select a committee. So, we selected an assets forfeiture committee of about six directors, including myself as the chairman of the committee and a few other staff.
“We advertised for auctioneers. So, they applied. We were able to shortlist about 11 of them. My brother-in-law happens to be an international auctioneer. He applied. His application came to me. I saw it and I shredded it. So, my PA who knew him, called him and told him what I did, and for six months, he did not talk to me. So we did the auction.
“One of my elder brothers called me. ‘I heard you are doing an auction. I needed a truck for my business. I said, ‘Sir, go and read what we published.’ Conflict of interest. No staff of EFCC or immediate members of the family is allowed. He said no, they would use another name. I knew they could do that. I told him that I was not interested.
“After about eight months down the line, they set up a panel to investigate activities of the EFCC. My chairman and I were placed on suspension. They began to investigate what we did in the office. They investigated the particular auction I did in Port Harcourt. Now, assuming they found the name of my brother-in-law as one of the auctioneers. What would have been the result? Probably I may be in jail by now,” Olukoyede said.
President Bola Tinubu has signed the 2025 Appropriation Bill of ₦54.99 trillion into law.
The signing ceremony took place on Friday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in the presence of the leadership of the National Assembly and other senior government officials.
The budget was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly on Thursday, February 13, after lawmakers increased it from the initial ₦49.7 trillion submitted by the President.
The 2025 Appropriation Act represents a 99.96% increase from the 2024 budget of ₦27.5 trillion.
2025 Budget breakdown:
Total Expenditure: ₦54.99 trillion
Statutory Transfers: ₦3.65 trillion
Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure: ₦13.64 trillion
Capital Expenditure: ₦23.96 trillion
Debt Servicing: ₦14.32 trillion
Deficit-to-GDP Ratio: 1.52%
This budget marks a significant fiscal expansion, with increased allocations for capital projects and debt servicing.
If governance is a game, the skilled, brilliant ones know how to score goals that win the hearts of the people. Yet, true game-changers don’t play games. Today, Ndi Anambra has a worthy game-changer in Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, who has turned Anambra into a rocket blazing skyward, and he has done it in just two and a half years. With wallets thinner than a razor’s edge, he has avoided needless borrowing. Yet, over 739km of roads now slash across the state, 420km commissioned, gleaming with fresh asphalt, stonebased and cement stabilization. Flyovers rise like phoenixes, and the Zero Pothole crusade has banished ruts to memory. This is what good governance can engender; it is a revolution, debt-free and defiant.
Education is his holy grail. Governor Soludo has hired 8,115 teachers in an unprecedented manner in Nigeria, made public schools free, and spiked enrolment by 18.7%. Out-of-school kids? Down to a national low of 2.9%, with smart schools sprouting like digital oaks. Health is on the rise, too: five new hospitals, 326 upgraded health centres glowing with solar power, 1,000 medical professionals enlisted, and free antenatal care delivering zero maternal deaths. Anambra is now second only to Lagos in under-five survival.
Youth are Governor Soludo’s wildfire. The One Youth, Two Skills programme has produced 5,000 entrepreneurs, seed cash in hand, while 8,700 more train. The Solution Innovation District churns out 20,000 tech warriors, earning Anambra “Best State in Digital Technology” cheers. Security? Eight LGAs once choked by gunmen breathe free, and the newly launched ‘Agunechemba’ security offensive has driven kidnappers, ritual dealers, and cultists out of town Onitsha’s touts are now ghosts, with traders thriving free. Palm and coconut seedlings, 2 million to 130,000 households, revive an agro-empire, aiming to lift 500,000 families from poverty’s grip.
Fiscal wizardry seals the deal. BudgIT ranks Anambra tops in prudence, number one in southern ease of doing business, all without a borrowed kobo. His five-pillar agenda plan, security, infrastructure, human capital, governance, environment, isn’t a dream; it is a juggernaut, outpacing 33 years of state history. Water flows in cities again, a befitting Government House stands after 34 years jinx, and the Solution Fun City promises West Africa’s grandest entertainment world.
So, Governor Soludo is not here to play games but to change the game of governance for good. Anambra is now a massive construction site, a classroom, a clinic, a tech hub, and more, all at once. The man who once stacked $63 billion in reserves now stacks victories; proving lean times bow to bold minds. This is a legacy in overdrive, a governor who has turned scarcity into a supernova of progress. Indeed, the Solution is Here!
Remember the last time you went on vacation? After locking the door and heading toward your car, you likely turned back abruptly to ensure the lock was secure before continuing your journey.
Financial markets, led by a range of human emotions, exhibit similar behaviors. After a convincing move beyond a long-held resistance, assets typically return to confirm the validity of the breakout. That serves as a test of the strength of the former resistance-turned-support, following which bigger rallies unfold.
The "breakout and retest play" phenomenon is well-known across asset classes. Bitcoin's (BTC) ongoing sell-off might be just that – a healthy retest of the breakout point or the former resistance-turned-support of $73,757 breached in November.
In other words, the downward momentum could run out of steam at or closer to these levels, potentially setting the stage for a bigger run higher.
BTC has dropped over 15% to under $80,000 this month, exposing the former resistance-turned-support at $73,757. Prices broke above that level in early November, ending months-long consolidation after pro-crypto Donald Trump won the U.S. Presidential election.
The tendency of markets to retrace or revisit the breakout point before staging more enormous rallies has its roots in the behavioral aspects of investing.
People are generally risk averse when it comes to securing gains. So, when facing profits, traders quickly book those instead of allowing the winning trade to run wild. The so-called prospect theory explains why post-breakout rallies abruptly run out of steam, often leading to a retest of the breakout point. BTC holders have been taking profits around the $100K mark since December.
Now, as prices turn lower and near the breakout point, in this case, $73,757, market participants who missed the initial rally jump in, ensuring the level holds. The resulting bounce from the former resistance-turned-support draws in more and more buyers, potentially yielding a bigger rally.
That's precisely what happened in the third quarter of 2023 and August-September 2020.
On both occasions, the breakout and retest produced bigger rallies to new record highs. Traders, however, need to note that a failed retest or a lack of a meaningful bounce indicates underlying weakness that can evolve into a full blown downtrend.
Over the years, I have seen numerous examples of retests of breakouts/breakdowns leading to bigger moves in traditional markets.
Consider the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond. It triggered a double-bottom breakout in January 2024 and revisited the breakout level multiple times before rising to multi-year highs.
The AUD/USD pair dived out of a major support trendline in December, hinting at a deeper slide. The pair bounced to the trendline resistance early this month only to see sharp losses this week.
Dogecoin(CRYPTO: DOGE) was the cryptocurrency industry's original meme-token. It was created as a joke by two friends in 2013, who were inspired by the "Doge" meme that was spreading across the internet like wildfire at the time.
Dogecoin has become a vessel for speculative investors because it has very little utility in the real world. Nevertheless, it managed to outperform most major cryptocurrencies in 2024 including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP (Ripple):
Per the above chart, most of those gains came after Nov. 5, which is when Donald Trump won the presidential election after campaigning on a series of crypto-friendly policies. Dogecoin investors received a special cherry on top thanks to Elon Musk, which I'll discuss further in a moment.
However, the meme-token has plunged by 55% from its post-election peak. Could it be the ultimate buying opportunity, or a sign to run for the hills? Let's find out.
Image source: Getty Images.
The Elon Musk effect
Elon Musk has supported Dogecoin since 2019. He often posts memes relating to the cryptocurrency on social media, partakes in friendly banter with other enthusiasts, and his electric vehicle company, Tesla, accepts it as payment for some merchandise.
On May 8, 2021, Musk even participated in a Dogecoin-themed skit on Saturday Night Live. The token soared to a record high of $0.73 during the show, at which point it was sitting on an eye-popping 15,769% gain for the year. However, it also happened to mark the peak -- it proceeded to lose more than 90% of its value in the months that followed.
That shouldn't be surprising given Dogecoin's highly speculative nature, and the token remained mostly dormant during 2023 and for most of 2024. But the presidential election last November ignited a fire under cryptocurrencies broadly, as Trump promised to make America the crypto capital of the world. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has even started pausing some of its legal cases against crypto companies, suggesting the industry will have more regulatory freedom to invent new use cases to create value for investors.
Shortly after Trump won the election, he also announced that Musk will run an external agency called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE for short. Its goal is to help the administration cut government spending in order to balance the budget. It has no role in the crypto industry whatsoever, but investors interpreted the name of the agency as a clear reference to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, which sent the token soaring.
Dogecoin lacks real-world utility
The key to creating value for any currency is adoption. Businesses need to accept it as payment for goods and services, because that gives consumers a reason to buy it and hold it. Unfortunately, only 2,025 businesses accept Dogecoin worldwide, and many of them are obscure providers of internet and crypto services, and even gambling websites. It's a drop in the bucket considering there are more than 350 million registered companies globally.
With well-grounded fears of a trade war swirling and causing volatility in the traditional financial sector as well as in cryptocurrencies, you don't have to be a particularly skittish investor to be concerned about your portfolio at the moment. Even quality assets like XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) are showing some shakiness.
But between those two, if a full-on trade war actually does break out as a result of the Trump administration's policies, which one has a better chance of holding up, or perhaps even climbing? Let's analyze the argument for each, starting with XRP.
The setup looks bearish here
For XRP to gain in value, at least two things need to happen. First, banks and financial institutions need to buy and hold the coin, and they need to believe that doing so will help them avoid currency exchange fees as well as international money transfer fees; they need to see that using the crypto is a better option than legacy money-transfer technologies.
Second, those banks need to transact with one another regularly across international borders, thereby generating usage fees, which are paid back to the XRP network.
If there is a trade war, the incentives for the first scenario to continue occurring will remain the same, and there could be some positive effects for XRP. The actual size of each transfer may even increase, if parties need to include the costs of tariffs in their transfers. That won't necessarily generate much more in fees, though, as XRP only charges a fraction of a penny per transaction.
The problem here is that extensive tariffs may reduce the volume of goods exchanged as a result of buyers facing higher prices. With fewer goods exchanged, fewer international money transfers need to happen. And that means XRP will almost certainly generate less in fees if there's a trade war.
There's no rule that says the price of the coin needs to drop if that happens. But if trading volumes drop, it isn't good news for investors, which detracts from the argument for buying XRP if the trade situation worsens.
Is this coin a real safe harbor?
Bitcoin's price hasn't changed much at all over the last three months, which suggests that the market is ambivalent about its value holding up in a trade war.
And it's hard to articulate precisely how the coin's value would decrease if the barriers to trade became higher for the U.S., aside from a generalized retreat from risk assets that it might cause as investors give in to fear. It isn't used extensively as a medium of exchange for trade payments, or for much else. Nor would its core value-generation mechanisms -- scarcity and mining difficulty -- change whatsoever.
It's faintly possible to conceive of a deep recession in the U.S. driven by a trade war causing investors to dump their coins to help pay their daily expenses. But that isn't very likely, at least not at the moment.
What's more likely is that rising costs stemming from worse trade terms would reduce the capital that institutional investors would be willing to allocate to Bitcoin.
It's also entirely possible that investors would be more interested in buying the crypto as a result of any inflationary pressure caused by a trade war. If inflation becomes a major concern again, it might even send the coin significantly higher, since it's considered a hedge. Still, compared to harder assets like gold or other commodities, it's not clear that this coin will preserve its value very well in truly turbulent economic times.
Nonetheless, compared to XRP, Bitcoin has fewer risk surfaces if the trade situation continues to deteriorate for the U.S. So, if there's a big dip prompted by panic, it's probably smarter to be buying it than selling it. Investors should also keep in mind that trade wars end eventually, and that there isn't really anything about a trade war that detracts from the investment thesis for this coin.
The overall cryptocurrency market has climbed 24% since the presidential election in November. Donald Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign and, while upward momentum has stalled in recent weeks, some Wall Street experts still anticipate big gains in XRP(CRYPTO: XRP) and Bitcoin(CRYPTO: BTC).
Dom Kwok, former Goldman Sachs employee and co-founder of blockchain education company EasyA, earlier this year said XRP had a good shot at replacing Ethereum as the second most valuable cryptocurrency. As of Feb. 27, Ethereum has a market value of $282 billion, while XRP has a market value of $128 billion. So, Kwok's prediction currently implies at least 120% upside in XRP.
Tom Lee, managing partner and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, late last year said Bitcoin could exceed $250,000 in 2025 as spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the incoming presidential administration help legitimize the cryptocurrency. As of Feb. 27, Bitcoin trades at $86,000, so his prediction implies 190% upside.
XRP: 120% implied upside
XRP is the native cryptocurrency on the Ripple blockchain, a platform built for cross-border payments and foreign currency exchanges. Most international payments are currently routed through the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) system, but the process often involves intermediaries that make transactions costly and time consuming.
Ripple designed what it believes is a better system. Its blockchain uses the XRP token as a bridge currency to enable faster, less expensive payments. While fewer than 200 financial institutions currently use the platform, adoption could increase when the lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been completely resolved.
To elaborate, the SEC sued Ripple in 2020, alleging it sold XRP as an unregistered security. In August 2023, a U.S. district judge issued a split decision, ruling certain transactions were exempt but others should have complied with securities laws. The result was a $125 million fine for Ripple, far less than the $2 billion the SEC wanted. But the SEC has since appealed the decision.
Importantly, Ripple recently introduced a stablecoin called Ripple USD (RLUSD). Its value is tied to the U.S. dollar, providing enterprises with a less volatile means of transacting on the Ripple blockchain. However, the stablecoin should still boost demand for XRP because the native cryptocurrency will be used to pay fees on RLUSD transactions.
Finally, several asset managers have submitted applications to the SEC to create spot XRP ETFs. Those funds would offer XRP exposure without the hassle and high fees associated with cryptocurrency exchanges. Bitcoin has gained more than 80% since the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, and XRP could generate similar returns.
Here is the bottom line: I think XRP could double in 2025 but only if Ripple resolves its legal issues with the SEC and spot XRP ETFs win approval. Additionally, the Bank of Japan recently adopted XRP for cross-border payments, which should further legitimize its role in the financial system. Investors comfortable with risk and volatility should consider buying a very small position today.
Bitcoin: 190% implied upside
Bitcoin's market capitalization of $1.7 trillion make it the most valuable cryptocurrency by a wide margin. And it has become increasingly popular with retail investors and institutional investors since the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs last year. Those funds attracted $37 billion in net inflows in 2024, and the iShares Bitcoin Trust from BlackRock was the most successful ETF launch in history, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, noted last year that institutional investors were adopting spot Bitcoin ETFs at "the fastest rate of any ETF in history." Indeed, recently filed Forms 13F indicate more than 1,100 asset managers held positions in the iShares Bitcoin Trust as of the fourth quarter, up from 600 in Q2.
That trend is particularly important because institutional investors have about $120 trillion in assets under management (AUM). Even a small fraction of that sum allocated to Bitcoin could drive its price much higher. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink recently said Bitcoin could hit $700,000 if more asset managers invested 2% to 5% of their AUM in the cryptocurrency.
Importantly, Tom Lee in November 2024 predicted Bitcoin could top $250,000 within 12 months. However, he also said the cryptocurrency may dip to $65,000 before soaring back toward $250,000. The first half of his forecast seems to be playing out in the market right now. Bitcoin earlier this year reached a record high of $109,000 but has since tumbled 21% to $86,000.
Here is the bottom line: I am skeptical about Bitcoin reaching $250,000 in 2025, but I do believe it will be worth more in the future. Patient investors comfortable with volatility and risk can buy a small position today. An allocation ranging from 2% to 5% of a portfolio is sensible.
A rout in Bitcoin deepened on Friday as investors rushed to safe assets in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats, marking a dramatic reality check for one of the most popular Trump trades.
The cryptocurrency tumbled as much as 7.2% on Friday to the lowest since early November and is down some 27% since it hit an all-time high less than six weeks ago. The selloff came amid a broad plunge in cryptocurrencies, with Ether, Polkadot and XRP all dropping more than 7% on Friday.
“The last time we saw sentiment like this was 2022,” said Caroline Bowler, chief executive officer of BTC Markets Pty Ltd, referring to the “crypto winter” when prices plummeted amid rising interest rates and industry woes. “This tanking can be viewed as a response to macro fears on Trump’s tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty.”
Trump said Thursday that 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would come into force from March 4, undermining hopes he might reverse course after a previous delay. He also said Chinese imports would face a further 10% levy, prompting officials in Beijing to promise “all necessary measures” in response.
The focus on trade tensions led to a broad risk-off decline across markets on Friday, pushing down almost all Asian stock markets and fueling declines in European futures. But cryptocurrencies — which are deeply exposed to shifts in risk appetite — were among the worst hit.
Bitcoin has now fallen more than 20% in February. If the decline holds through the end of Friday, it would mark the biggest monthly drop since June 2022.
Trump Trade Woes
The selloff underscores a swift change of fortunes for what was previously one of the most popular Trump trades in global markets: buying Bitcoin on the expectation that the president’s crypto-friendly approach would lead to a broad rally.
That worked for a while. Bitcoin hit its all-time high of $109,241 on Jan. 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration. But cryptocurrencies have recently come under pressure amid worries that Trump’s pugilistic approach to global trade could lead to broad pain.
“Given the macro environment, it’s not surprising to see we are where we are,” said Stefan von Haenisch, director of over-the-counter trading in Asia Pacific at crypto custody firm Bitgo Inc. Traders are still waiting for Trump to come up with concrete steps for the sector including a Bitcoin stockpile, he said.
What Bloomberg’s Strategists Say...
“The real panic may be ahead of us still. Bitcoin always has another 70%+ crash in its future, by construction. $72k-$74k would appear to be the technical crunch zone that might trigger the next crypto winter.“
— Mark Cudmore, MLIV Executive Editor
Read more here.
Investors are now being forced to consider quite how far the world’s biggest cryptocurrency can fall. There is support for the coin around $70,000, said Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at crypto platform YouHodler, pointing to technical analysis. But he said investors shouldn’t assume the rout in Bitcoin will get that bad. Bitcoin was down about 4.3% to $80,653 as of 6:52a.m. in New York.
“We will only see this level if negative sentiment dominates the equity markets,“ said Lienkha.
Bearish sentiment this week has also hit spot US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, with investors pulling out more than $1 billion on Tuesday, the biggest one-day outflow since their debut last year.
Trump has already made a few changes that have pleased crypto bulls, including putting crypto advocates in key positions. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which embarked on a yearslong crackdown under former Chair Gary Gensler, has also closed investigations into several crypto outfits in recent weeks.
Trump has said he wants to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world.”
Read: Bitcoin’s Slide Has Traders Hedging Against a Drop to $70,000
China has vowed to take all necessary countermeasures after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a fresh 10% tariff hike on Chinese imports.
CNBC reports that this latest escalation in the ongoing trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies has raised concerns over global market stability and potential economic ramifications.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce, in a statement released on Friday, expressed firm opposition to the U.S. decision, warning of potential retaliatory measures.
“If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will take all necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests,” the Ministry stated, according to a CNBC translation.
The statement further urged Washington to reconsider its approach, emphasizing the importance of resolving conflicts through dialogue based on equality.
“We urge the U.S. side to not repeat its own mistakes, and to return as soon as possible to the right track of properly resolving conflicts through dialogue on equal footing.”
Timing and Implications
The new tariffs, set to take effect on March 4, will coincide with the start of China’s annual parliamentary meetings, a period of heightened economic and political discussions in Beijing.
These additional duties follow an earlier 10% tariff imposed by Trump on February 4, bringing the total tariff increase to 20% within a month.
Trump justified the decision by citing China’s alleged role in the fentanyl crisis. The synthetic opioid, whose precursors are largely produced in China and Mexico, has been responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S. annually.
Potential Chinese Retaliation
Economic analysts predict that China’s response will include higher tariffs on select U.S. imports, placing more American firms on its unreliable entity list, and possibly tightening export controls on critical minerals, a sector where Beijing holds significant leverage.
Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society, noted that while Beijing’s reaction may be measured, it is expected to target strategic sectors.
“In the short term, China’s response will likely include raising tariffs on select U.S. imports, adding more American firms to its unreliable entity list, and potentially further tightening export controls on critical minerals,” Thomas said.
Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of the China Center at The Conference Board, added that China’s response could be strategically designed to impact industries that are important to Trump’s voter base, keeping the door open for further negotiations.
He said China would prefer to leave some room for further negotiations as it hopes to avoid even higher import tariffs and other ‘corrective’ measures by Washington.
Previous Retaliatory Measures
China has a track record of targeting U.S. industries in retaliation to tariff hikes. Following the February 4 tariffs, Beijing responded by increasing duties on certain U.S. energy imports and placing two American firms on its unreliable entity list, limiting their ability to conduct business in China.
Additionally, China has increased restrictions on exports of critical minerals essential for U.S. industries, a move that could severely impact supply chains.
Stephen Olson, a visiting senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and a former U.S. trade negotiator, highlighted the significance of China’s control over essential raw materials.
“The sharpest arrow that China has in its quiver would be to restrict U.S. access to critical minerals that can’t readily be sourced elsewhere,” Olson remarked.
The trade war escalation has raised concerns about potential disruptions in global supply chains and economic growth. China’s exports have remained a rare bright spot in its otherwise slowing economy, and with the U.S. being its largest single-country trading partner, both nations have a vested interest in preventing further economic downturns.
Premier League side, Liverpool reported a pre-tax loss of £57 million for the year ending 31 May 2024, an increase of £48 million compared to the previous year.
However, Liverpool’s overall revenue rose by £20 million to £614 million in the 2023-2024 season, with commercial income experiencing substantial growth, up £36 million to reach £308 million.
This marks a significant milestone for Liverpool, as it is the first time commercial revenue has surpassed £300 million in the club’s annual financial accounts, primarily driven by expansions in partnerships and retail operations.
During the 2023-2024 period, which included Jurgen Klopp’s final season as manager, Liverpool celebrated notable achievements: winning the Carabao Cup, finishing third in the Premier League, and progressing to the quarter-finals of both the FA Cup and Europa League.
Liverpool enhanced their squad by adding four new players, investing approximately £165 million in transfer fees for Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, and Ryan Gravenberch.
Although Liverpool did not compete in the Champions League for the first time since 2016-2017, leading to a £38 million drop in media revenue to £204 million, this decrease was somewhat mitigated by an increase in Premier League media revenue attributed to the team’s stronger performance in comparison to the previous season, where they finished fifth and did not secure a major trophy.
The opening of the new Anfield Road Stand during this period, coupled with an increased number of competitive matches at the stadium, contributed to a £22 million rise in matchday revenue, bringing it to £102 million.
Despite the overall revenue growth, administrative costs rose by £38 million to £600 million, primarily due to increasing salaries and overhead costs. Notably, over the past eight years, matchday costs have risen nearly 80%, and staff costs have seen an 86% increase to £386 million since 2018.
Jenny Beacham, the club’s chief finance officer, emphasized the importance of financial sustainability, stating, “Operating a financially sustainable club continues to be our priority. With the continued rise in costs, it’s crucial to grow income streams year on year to maintain financial stability.”
Under the management of Arne Slot, Liverpool are currently leading the Premier League with a 13-point advantage over Arsenal. The club has also made remarkable strides in their social media presence, generating 1.5 billion fan engagements and adding a record 37 million followers across their channels.
According to Brand Finance’s 2024 report, Liverpool boasts the strongest brand among Premier League clubs, demonstrating the global appeal and remarkable growth potential that the club continues to enjoy.
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