Trump's 10% Global Tariffs Take Effect | Horizons Middle East & Africa 2/24/2026
Speakers
Summary
- Global Trade Regime Change: President Trump's 10% global blanket tariffs have officially taken effect following a Supreme Court ruling striking down his previous reciprocal levies. The administration is threatening to raise this to 15% quickly.
- Market Bifurcation: A distinct divergence has emerged between US and Asian markets. US markets sold off (specifically software and payments) due to a report highlighting AI's disruptive risk to the economy, while Asian markets rallied, viewing the 10% tariff as "clarity" and benefiting from their position upstream in the AI value chain (hardware/infrastructure).
- Commodities as Safe Haven: With US Treasuries showing unstable correlations and the dollar expected to trend lower, Gold and Silver are identified as the primary safe havens, with Silver up 18% and Gold up 6% on the week.
- M&A Activity: Significant consolidation activity is reported, with PayPal attracting takeover interest and Paramount/Skydance raising their bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Trade Ideas
A new report highlighted the economic risks AI poses to specific sectors. In response, Doordash, Amex, and Blackstone fell over 8%, and IBM fell 13% (worst day in 35 years). The market is repricing "downstream" companies—delivery, payments, and legacy software—as victims of AI deflation/disruption rather than beneficiaries. This sentiment shift is causing aggressive liquidation in these names. SHORT/AVOID these specific names as the market digests the "AI displacement" narrative. The sell-off may be an overreaction to a single report, leading to a dead-cat bounce.
Bloomberg reports PayPal is attracting unsolicited takeover interest, with at least one large rival exploring a bid for the entire company. The stock has lost ~45% in the past year, making it a distressed value target. Acquisition rumors typically drive significant short-term premiums. LONG on M&A speculation. Deal talks could fall apart or be blocked by antitrust regulators.
Min Min Low
China Correspondent, Bloomberg
Asian markets (China, Taiwan, Korea) are rallying despite the new 10% US tariffs. Investors see the 10% rate as "clarity" compared to previous uncertainty. The "AI Risk" report that crushed US software stocks is viewed differently in Asia. Asian tech is seen as "upstream" (infrastructure, materials, picks and shovels) which enables AI, rather than "downstream" apps that AI disrupts. Additionally, China has already diversified trade, making the tariff impact less severe than feared. LONG Asian hardware and infrastructure plays. Trump follows through on the threat to raise tariffs from 10% to 15% or higher immediately.
Joumanna Bercetche
Anchor, Bloomberg
Reports indicate Paramount Skydance has raised its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, improving on a previous $30/share proposal. An increased bid signals serious intent and establishes a higher floor for the stock price during negotiations. LONG WBD as the acquisition target. The deal could fail financing checks or regulatory scrutiny.
Mehvish Ayub
Head of Managed Solutions, Bank of Singapore
The correlation between US Treasuries and Equities has become fluid (positive and negative), breaking the traditional 60/40 hedge logic. Ayub argues that US assets have lost their "safe haven status" and expects the US Dollar to trend lower. Therefore, Treasuries are no longer the automatic defensive play they once were. AVOID as a primary hedge; prefer Gold. A major deflationary shock could still drive a flight to quality in Treasuries.
Mehvish Ayub
Head of Managed Solutions, Bank of Singapore
Gold is up 6% and Silver is up 18% in the past week. Ayub states, "Holding US assets doesn't have the safe haven status it used to have... you can really only see [safety] in Gold." With US Treasuries showing unstable correlations (sometimes moving with equities) and a bearish view on the US Dollar, capital is fleeing to precious metals as the only reliable hedge against geopolitical risk (Iran) and trade war volatility. LONG Precious Metals. A sudden strengthening of the US Dollar or a resolution to the Iran tensions could unwind the risk premium.
Up Next
This Bloomberg Markets video, published February 24, 2026, features Joumanna Bercetche, Min Min Low, Mehvish Ayub discussing DASH, AXP, BX, IBM, PYPL, TSM, EWY, EWT, MCHI, KWEB, WBD, TLT, SILVER, GLD. 6 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: Joumanna Bercetche, Min Min Low, Mehvish Ayub · Tickers: DASH, AXP, BX, IBM, PYPL, TSM, EWY, EWT, MCHI, KWEB, WBD, TLT, SILVER, GLD