Here are four things you need to know this morning
Optimism on tariff compromise: U.S. stock futures held steady this morning on hopes there’s room for talks after U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats. Trump said he was still open to negotiations and has postponed duties of 25 per cent or more on a list of trading partners until at least Aug. 1. “Equity markets are focused on the positive news,” one strategist told Bloomberg. “Europe is working toward securing a framework agreement with the U.S. and the July 9 deadline was pushed out by another month.”
Champagne’s chainsaw: Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is asking ministers to slash expenses as Prime Minister Mark Carney tries to pay for billions of dollars in new spending. They include a middle-class tax cut and a $9.3 billion boost to meet NATO’s defence spending target of two per cent of GDP by this fiscal year. Ministers must find ways to reduce program spending by 7.5 per cent in the fiscal year that begins April 1, 2026, 10 per cent the next year and 15 per cent in 2028-29.
Norway’s crude desires: OPEC+ isn’t alone when it comes to flooding well-stocked oil markets with even more product. Bloomberg says Norway is spending more than US$15 billion to squeeze barrels from its continental shelf during the rest of this decade. The offshore Johan Sverdrup and Johan Castberg fields now pump about 1 million barrels a day combined, complicating efforts by the OPEC+ cartel to balance the market.
Colossal: Finally, Entertainment Weekly says Scarlett Johansson can claim the title of Hollywood’s highest-grossing lead actor. That’s thanks to her role in Jurassic World Rebirth, which has made US$318 million at the global box office. Citing data from The Numbers, www.ew.com says the actor’s latest blockbuster has catapulted her ahead of two of her longtime co-stars, Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey Jr. Johansson’s total career box office revenues now sit at a whopping $14.8 billion. And, EW says, “More impressive is the fact that Johansson managed to surpass both stars with just 36 films, compared to Jackson’s 71 and Downey’s 45.”
