Top Overnight News Trump is set to open the US retirement market to crypto investments with Trump preparing an executive order to allow 401k plans to tap a broad pool of alternative assets, according to FT. Trump again warned Brazil to drop charges against Jair Bolsonaro, saying in an open letter addressed to the former leader he would be “watching closely.” President Lula da Silva said Brazil would not accept “blackmail” from the US and the country will respond to US tariffs on Aug. 1. BBG Fed Chair Powell rebutted the Trump administrations accusations that he misled Congress over a 2.5bn refurbishment of the central bank’s HQ, saying it did not inform government planners of changes to the project because they were not “substantial” enough to warrant it. FT The Fed’s Christopher Waller called for a quarter-point rate cut this month, saying the labor market is “on the edge” and upside risks to inflation are limited. Waller stated the Fed should not wait until the labor market hits trouble before cutting rates and delaying cuts runs the risk of needing more aggressive action later. Furthermore, he said a July rate cut could give the Fed space to hold rates for a few meetings and noted they should cut rates in July and then adjust policy meeting by meeting, as well as commented that data should determine the pace of rate cuts and there's nothing wrong with taking out an insurance rate cut, just in case. White House said President Trump signed an executive order creating a new classification of non-career federal workers and signed four proclamations, granting two years of regulatory relief from Biden-era regulations impacting sectors vital to security. Furthermore, the proclamations cover coal plants, taconite iron ore processing facilities, and certain chemical manufacturers that produce chemicals related to semiconductors, medical device sterilisation, and national defence systems. China’s exports of rare-earth products jumped in June, pointing to a potential pickup in magnet supplies after government-imposed curbs that proved to be Beijing’s most powerful weapon in its trade war with the Trump administration. BBG The ECB can delay its final rate cut until December without investors concluding that easing is over, a Bloomberg survey of economists showed. BBG Meta is said to have hired two Apple AI experts, shortly after poaching their former boss. BBG China trimmed its US Treasury holdings for a third straight month in May, amid escalating trade tensions with Washington and mounting concerns over a sweeping tax and spending bill. China’s holdings fell to US 756.3 bn vs US757.2bn in April, the lowest level since march 2009. SCMP A slight easing in Japan’s consumer inflation is welcome news for the central bank, but stubbornly high food prices will be of concern for policymakers whose hands remain tied by tariffs. Japan’s national CPI came in at +3.3% in June (inline w/the Street and down from +3.5% in May), but core (ex-food/energy) ticked up to +3.4% (vs. the Street +3.3% and up from +3.3% in May). WSJ The EU has reached an agreement on a new sanctions package against Russia, which includes a lower price cap for Moscow’s crude oil barrels, limited Russian bank’s access to funding, and a ban on using Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany. FT, CNBC(zerohedge)