SOTS 10AM: Fed, Tech, and Trade: Separating the News from the Noise 10/30/25

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David Faber (0:56)

Good Thursday morning. Welcome to Squawk on the Street. I'm David Faber. With Courtney Reagan and Mike Santoli, we're live from Postline with the New York Stock Exchange. Sara on assignment, and Carl has a well-deserved day off. Coming up this hour, a busy morning of headlines from the Fed decision to China trade to the mega cap tech earnings. We're gonna separate the news from the noise with Yardeni Research President, Ed Yardeni. Plus, Roblox shares, they're getting whipped around after what were solid earnings. Some concerns, though, about margins. We're gonna talk to that company's CEO. It'll be a first on CBC interview. And we are looking ahead as well to one of the most important afternoons of the earnings season. We will get you ready for results from those two companies right there, Apple and Amazon.

Courtney Reagan (1:39)

Pretty big day. We've already got a good start on it, David. We begin with trade here and breaking headlines overnight. After that much un-participated meeting between President Trump and China President Xi Jinping, Eamon Javers has those key takeaways. Eamon, what do we know now? What did we learn overnight?

Eamon Javers (1:55)

Yeah, good morning, Courtney. The highly anticipated meeting began on this ominous note as President Trump's Marine One helicopter was in the air on the way to Busan, South Korea. His social media site lit up with a message noting that China is quickly catching up to the US in number of nuclear weapons and announcing that the US will restart nuclear weapons testing, which it hasn't done since 1992 at the end of the Cold War. Now, despite that nuclear saber rattling, the meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping did go forward as planned. But afterward, a lot of details remained unresolved, including the fate of TikTok and the question of advanced NVIDIA chip technology exports to China.

Donald Trump (2:38)

They're going to be talking to NVIDIA and others about taking chips. We make great chips. NVIDIA is the leader. And I'll be speaking to Jensen from NVIDIA. But they're going to be discussing that with NVIDIA to see whether or not they can do. I said, that's really between you and NVIDIA, but we're sort of the arbitrator of the referee.

Eamon Javers (3:03)

And President Xi, for his part, struck a measured tone in his description of the tensions between the two sides.

Xi Jinping (3:12)

Given our different national conditions, we do not always see eye to eye with each other. And it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then. And in the face of winds, waves and challenges, you and I, at the helm of China-U.S. relations, should stay the right course and ensure the steady sailing forward of the giant ship of China-U.S. relations.

Eamon Javers (3:44)

In a TV interview from South Korea this morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Chinese had agreed to renew soybean purchases at a level that would put them just below what they purchased back in 2024 And President Trump said the two sides had agreed on a number of items, a one-year agreement on Chinese continuing exports of rare earths, US reducing fentanyl tariffs on China from 20 down to 10 percent. That would be effective immediately. China, he said, is going to work very hard to stop the flow of fentanyl to the United States. Trump said, overall, Chinese tariffs will now be around 47 percent, and he's not going to impose those threatened 100 percent November 1st tariffs. And the president said he's going to go to China in April. Now, on TikTok, guys, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman said simply, China will properly address issues related to TikTok. Not clear exactly what that means. Besant said in his interview that the TikTok issue could be resolved in the coming weeks or months. And in the end, the president said that Nuclear Weapons Post, made just before the meeting, wasn't directed at China. After all, he said it was directed at others who he didn't name. Back over to you guys.