The job market was stronger than expected last month
US employers ...
US employers added 228,000 jobs in March, data released yesterday by the Labor Department shows. That’s a much better showing than economists expected, demonstrating the continued resilience of the labor market. However, unemployment also ticked up to 4.2%, compared to 4.1% in February. And those numbers represent an economic picture from before President Trump’s announcement this week of a minimum 10% tariff on all US trading partners, and much higher ones on many other countries, raising fears of a possible recession.
Faced with what its leaders described as President Trump’s “bullying”...
Faced with what its leaders described as President Trump’s “bullying” tariffs (a recently announced 34% tariff that, combined with previous duties, raises the effective import tax on Chinese goods to 54%), China opted for the “I’m rubber and you’re glue” response, slapping an equivalent 34% levy on US imports. With the trade war heating up, neither side appears ready to back down. President Trump responded with a social media post that said China “played it wrong” and “panicked,” saying his policy “will never change.” Global markets responded to the move with plunging stock prices.
TikTok sale gets another deadline extension. Your middle...
TikTok sale gets another deadline extension. Your middle school English teacher may have told you such things never happen in the real world, but President Trump just extended the deadline a second time for ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to sell the app’s US operations or have it banned nationwide, granting it another 75 days. Today was supposed to be the deadline, and the president is said to have reviewed a proposal for investors including Oracle, Blackstone, and Andreessen Horowitz to buy TikTok. But Trump said more time was needed to finalize any deal, which would require China’s approval—something he may be willing to trade tariff relief for.
At least seven people have died in severe storms and tornadoes sweeping through the Midwest and South, with more storms and flooding expected.
A federal judge ordered that a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador must be returned to the US by Monday night.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could terminate $65 million in teacher training grants for being DEI-related, handing the president the first high court win of his second term.
South Korea officially removed its president after a court upheld his impeachment. This will trigger a new election.
Russell Brand was charged with rape and sexual assault in the UK. The comedian said in a video posted on X that he’s never engaged in “non-consensual activity.”
Oil prices slid Friday to their lowest levels in nearly...
Oil prices slid Friday to their lowest levels in nearly four years. A plan to increase supply by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies added to fears that tariffs will plunge the global economy into recession.
Brent crude, the global benchmark,closed down at $65.58, off $4.56.
West Texas Intermediate, down $4.96, or 7.4%, at $61.99, the lowest front-month finish since April 26, 2021
Even before President Trump’s latest sweeping tariffs, the escalating trade war was stoking fears of a global slowdown in economic activity that would erode demand. The possibility of a settlement of the war between Russia and Ukraine has raised the prospect of more Russian oil being exported.
"The two factors that previously limited downside risk to prices, that is low recession risk and OPEC's preference for low production" are no longer in place, Goldman Sachs analysts said.
They reduced their price forecast for Brent to an average of $69 a barrel in 2025, from $73. They cut WTI to $66, from $69.
U.S. stocks see biggest 2-day wipeout in history as market loses $11 trillion since Inauguration Day
Roughly $11.1 trillion has been wiped away from the U.S....
Roughly $11.1 trillion has been wiped away from the U.S. stock market since Jan. 17, the Friday before President Donald Trump took the oath of office and began his second term.
Dow Jones data showed that some $6.6 trillion of that figure was lost on Thursday and Friday alone—the largest two-day wipeout of shareholder value on record.
The Dow Jones tumbled 2,231.07 points on Friday, or 5.5%, to end at 38,314.86.
The S&P 500 plunged 322.44 points, or 6%, to finish at 5,074.08.
The Nasdaq tanked 962.82 points, or 5.8%, to close at 15,587.79.
The Dow Jones ended Friday in correction territory, defined as a drop of at least 10% from a recent peak. The Nasdaq entered a bear market on Friday, which is marked by a steeper fall of at least 20% from a recent high.
