Trump announces U.S. trade pact with Vietnam
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Six days before the tariffs deadline, Vietnam and the US have reached a deal. Good morning. This is the Marketplace Morning Report and we're live from the BBC World Service. I'm Leanna Byrne.

So President Donald Trump says he struck a new trade deal with Vietnam. The deal, reached during last-minute negotiations, makes Hanoi one of the few to agree a deal, as the BBC's Erin Delmore reports. Back in April, when Trump announced new tariff rates, Vietnam was one of the hardest-hit countries. Goods imported into the U.S. from Vietnam were subject to a 46% blanket tariff.

Now, per the new agreement, it's a 20 percent tariff on goods imported into the U.S. from Vietnam, as well as a 40 percent transshipping tariff. That's to keep countries from circumventing trade barriers. Now, a tariff is a tax on imports. And while President Trump wrote on Truth Social that Vietnam will pay the 20 percent tariff, it will be paid by the importers of the goods who are in the U.S. Erin Delmore there. Now, let's do the numbers.

British bonds, they call them gilts over here, have clawed back some heavy losses prompted by questions over the UK finance minister's future. Government bond prices fell by the most since October 2022, and the pound dropped by more than 1%. Meanwhile, Microsoft says it will lay off nearly 4% of its global workforce, affecting around 6,000 workers.

Now, we often hear how investors pile into gold in times of uncertainty, seeing it as a so-called safe haven. But another precious metal, platinum, has also been hitting highs. Last week, it climbed above the $1,400 per troy ounce mark for the first time since September 2014. It's since slipped back. So why is there such a rush for platinum? I asked Tim Water, Chief Market Analyst at KCM Trade.

We are seeing quite a big pickup in jewelry usage, particularly from China. I think that's in response to that rise in the gold price. That's left a lot of investors and jewelers looking for cheaper alternatives. And that has really been one of the forces behind that push higher in platinum prices that we have seen. Another thing is, you know, gold.

is being influenced by what's happened with the US dollar as well. That's depreciated by 10% this year. So that's effectively made metals such as gold, silver and platinum cheaper. So I think that's also working in favour of platinum prices. It seems as well is that there is a bit of a supply deficit because the World Platinum Investment Council says 2025 could be the third year in a row

that supplies are down. What's behind that gap? Part of that is in relation to an industrial pickup in platinum's uses. So we have seen it start to take the place in some instances of palladium when it comes to catalytic converters. And also there is talk that we could see

a greater role for platinum moving forward in terms of advanced battery technology. What I would say is that, you know, while it has moved nearly 50% higher this year, we have to wait and see whether that does start to perhaps dent, you know, platinum prices moving forward. Tim, thank you so much. Thank you very much.

Now, if you're a fan of Britpop, you're going to love to hear that the long-awaited Oasis reunion tour finally kicks off in Cardiff in Wales this Friday. The band has been cashing in on the hype by opening a string of pop-up official merchandise stores across the UK and Ireland. And as I found out, demand is high.

Manchester, home to Oasis and the first Oasis Live 25 store, giving fans a chance to stock up on everything from bucket hats to branded cutlery sets. Five more stores will follow in cities hosting the band on its UK and Ireland leg. So what have fans been buying and how much are they spending? I've got a collection of vinyls. That's for a friend actually who lives overseas, so he's not going to be able to make the concerts. And then a couple of T-shirts for myself, iron-on prints.

A standard bucket hat and a mug and then the wife's convinced me to get a poster for the bottom of the stairs. Just under £300. The six retail outlets are part of a wider commercial push surrounding what is already being dubbed the most lucrative reunion tour in British music history. Barclays Bank has estimated fans could spend up to $1.3 billion across tickets, merchandise, hotel bookings,

and food and drink during the tour. Charlotte Broadbent is the UK general manager for FAIR, an online wholesale marketplace connecting indie brands with indie retailers. She's seen a big spike in demand for Oasis-themed goods. We've seen sales up 150% year on year. And actually outside of the UK,

And globally, that's up 230%. So it's really not just a UK phenomenon. It truly is global. And it's been so interesting to watch as retailers kind of place their orders ahead of the tour and buy into this trend.

The way that this band has captured hearts and wallets in the US was surprising to us. We've seen that Liam really is the fan favourite in our search data, whereas Noel is slightly behind on the trend, which I'm sure he wouldn't be happy about. About 1.4 million people managed to buy a ticket for one of the 17 UK gigs, with 10 times more trying their luck.

So for everyone else, there's always the merchandise. Dr Matt Grimes is a music business expert at Birmingham City University. Merchandise has become quite a big thing within the music business. I mean, it's always been there. It's a way of people keeping that connection with that particular event. There was this big issue around tickets.

and dynamic pricing and people not being able to get tickets. And clearly there's fans out there that want to be part of what's going on, but may not have the opportunity to see them perform live. So it's a way that they can connect with what could be seen as pretty much a global event or global phenomena.

So for fans, the final countdown has begun and so far the merch is going down well. I've just bought a poster, but we had a good look around. There's lots of different t-shirts and added ass things and many bucket hats. But I think make the money while you can, absolutely. Go for it while you've got it because you just don't know what's around the corner. So no, good for them. Make your money while you can. The 41-day tour wraps up in Brazil on the 23rd of November. But will the famously fractious band last the distance?

Whatever happens, the fans will always have the merch. And that's it from the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service. I'm Leanna Byrne. Have a great day and thanks so much for listening.

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