
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Netflix had its best quarter ever, according to earnings results announced Thursday afternoon, setting the stakes for Netflix stock moving forward after it emerged as a perhaps surprising stock market safe haven during the recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/14/trump-celebrates-last-weeks-largest-gain-in-stock-market-history-but-stocks-are-still-down-during-his-second-term/">slump</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>In its Q1 report released shortly after 4 p.m. EDT market close, Netflix reported its best-ever quarterly earnings per share and revenue numbers.</p>



<p>Netflix scored $6.61 EPS ($2.9 billion net income) and $10.54 billion last quarter, besting consensus analyst estimates calling for the entertainment titan to report $5.67 adjusted EPS ($2.5 billion net income) and $10.5 billion in sales, according to FactSet data.</p>



<p>The company said it expects $11 billion in sales and $7.03 EPS during the second quarter, topping top and bottom line forecasts of $10.9 billion and $6.25, respectively.</p>



<p>Shares of Netflix rose 1.2% to $973 on Thursday, surging another 3% in after-hours trading to nearly $1,000 per share.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-netflix-stock-emerges-as-a-potential-recession-winner">Netflix Stock Emerges As A Potential Recession Winner</h2>



<p>Netflix has emerged from the 2025 stock losses stronger, gaining 4% since April 2 and 9% year-to-date. That came as the S&amp;P 500 (down 6% since April 2, 10% year-to-date excluding dividends) and the Nasdaq (-7%, -15%) both pulled back as President Donald Trump’s trade war heightened recession concerns. Many analysts herald Netflix stock as a safe parking spot as economic slowdown fears swirl. “If a recession hits, we would expect Netflix subscribers to be sticky as Netflix is a stay-at-home cheap diversion, of the type that has held up well in past recessions,” Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett wrote in a Monday note to clients. “Amid recent market volatility, Netflix&#8217;s strong subscription model with critical entertainment (which historically has performed well in a recession) has made the stock a defensive choice for investors,” Bank of America analysts led by Jessica Reif Ehrlich concurred in a Tuesday note.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">Surprising Fact</h2>



<p>Netflix has far outperformed other members of the “FAANG” group, smashing returns this year from the other high-growth technology names: Facebook parent Meta (down 14% year-to-date excluding dividends), Amazon (-21%), Apple (-21%) and Google parent Alphabet (-19%). Netflix has also outperformed Disney (-23% year-to-date) and Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery (-23%), though audio streamer Spotify’s 29% gain this year tops Netflix’s.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



<p>Fellow FAANG constituents Alphabet and Amazon will join Netflix in reporting Q1 earnings next week. Both West Coast titans will deliver results next Thursday.</p>


Video Streaming Platforms Stock Photos

Netflix Earnings: Record Profits And Sales Send Stock To Nearly $1,000


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>A bipartisan House panel released a report Wednesday accusing DeepSeek of posing a “profound threat” to U.S. national security, alleging the Chinese AI startup harvests user data on behalf of the Chinese government, as efforts to ban DeepSeek have escalated in recent months amid national security concerns.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>A&nbsp;<a href="https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/media/reports/deepseek-unmasked-exposing-ccps-latest-tool-spying-stealing-and-subverting-us-export" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party claims while DeepSeek “presents itself as just another AI chatbot,” the company “siphons” user data for the Chinese government and relies on stolen U.S. technology.</p>



<p>The House panel alleges DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng oversees the company in an “integrated ecosystem” with ties to a state-linked hardware distributor and the Chinese research institute Zhejiang Lab.</p>



<p>The panel’s&nbsp;<a href="https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/DeepSeek%20Final.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;cites testimony from OpenAI, which told the committee DeepSeek likely relied on “unlawful” techniques to train its AI models and alleged DeepSeek employees “circumvented guardrails” to accelerate development at lower costs, including using OpenAI’s model to help “transform training data.”</p>



<p>DeepSeek “covertly manipulates” search results to align with Chinese propaganda and relied on Nvidia chips that are restricted from export, the House panel claims, though Nvidia has denied this claim, telling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/27/nvidia-calls-chinas-deepseek-r1-model-an-excellent-ai-advancement.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">CNBC</a>&nbsp;in January that DeepSeek used chips that are “fully export control compliant.”</p>



<p>Neither DeepSeek nor High-Flyer, the hedge fund that backs DeepSeek, immediately responded to requests for comment.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-deepseek-controlled-by-the-chinese-government">Is Deepseek Controlled By The Chinese Government?</h2>



<p>DeepSeek is a privately held company, but the startup and Liang have been embraced by the Chinese government, which is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/china-is-reshaping-not-choking-private-business-2024-10-30/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">usually essential</a>&nbsp;for private businesses to thrive under the country’s communist one-party rule. Liang was among several industry leaders to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-xi-attends-symposium-private-enterprises-delivers-speech-2025-02-17/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">meet with</a>&nbsp;Chinese President Xi Jinping in February, weeks after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/28/deepseek-liang-wenfeng-ai-technology/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">meeting</a>&nbsp;China’s Premier Li Qiang. A meeting with Xi marked an apparent approval for the company, as DeepSeek is used by some government offices in China, while Communist Party-backed committees and police departments train workers to use the app, the New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/business/china-government-deepseek.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>. The cybersecurity analysis firm Feroot Security&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/deepseek-china-generative-ai-internet-security-concerns-c52562f8c4760a81c4f76bc5fbdebad0" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;the Associated Press that DeepSeek had hidden code that could send user login information to China Mobile, which the U.S. has&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-357372A1.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">banned</a>&nbsp;from operating in the states after citing ties between the company and the Chinese military.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-will-deepseek-be-banned-in-the-u-s">Will Deepseek Be Banned In The U.s.?</h2>



<p>The House panel did not recommend banning DeepSeek, and instead suggested the U.S. implement new export guardrails and prohibit the federal government from using China-based AI models. A bipartisan bill&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1121" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">banning</a>&nbsp;DeepSeek from federal devices was introduced in the House in February, though it’s not immediately clear whether the measure will be backed by other lawmakers. Other U.S. agencies have restricted access to DeepSeek, including the U.S. Navy, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/us-navy-restricts-use-of-deepseek-ai-imperative-to-avoid-using.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">cited</a>&nbsp;“potential security and ethical concerns” linked to the app, and NASA, whose chief AI officer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/31/nasa-becomes-latest-federal-agency-to-block-chinas-deepseek.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reportedly</a>&nbsp;expressed national security concerns. Australia banned DeepSeek from government devices, claiming the app posed an “unacceptable risk” to national security, while officials in&nbsp;<a href="https://garanteprivacy.it/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/10097450#english" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Italy</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2025/02/03/china-taiwan-deep-seek-ban/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Taiwan</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/south-koreas-industry-ministry-temporarily-bans-access-deepseek-security-2025-02-05/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">South Korea</a>&nbsp;have also moved to ban DeepSeek from government devices.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>DeepSeek’s generative AI model quickly rose in popularity after its release in the U.S. in January. The company claimed its chatbot outpaced its competitors, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and industry analysts speculated DeepSeek ran at a fraction of the cost of its rivals. President Donald Trump called DeepSeek’s release a “wake-up call” for U.S. industries, after it sparked a widespread selloff at the U.S. stock market led by Nvidia’s single-day loss of nearly $600 billion. DeepSeek has drawn criticism over its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/01/27/does-deepseek-censor-its-answers-we-asked-5-questions-on-sensitive-china-topics/">refusal</a>&nbsp;to answer questions on some controversial topics involving China, including questions about China’s treatment of Uyghurs, Taiwan’s status with China and what happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/02/06/deepseek-should-be-banned-from-federal-devices-lawmakers-urge-after-ai-chatbot-linked-to-banned-chinese-firm/">DeepSeek Should Be Banned From Federal Devices, Lawmakers Urge—After AI Chatbot Linked To Banned Chinese Firm</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/03/25/deepseek-launches-ai-model-upgrade-amid-openai-rivalry-heres-what-to-know/">DeekSeek Launches AI Model Upgrade Amid OpenAI Rivalry—Here’s What To Know</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p></p>


Newly Launched Chinese AI App DeepSeek Causes U.S. Tech Stocks To Tumble, Amid Its Rapid Rise To #1 In Apple’s App Store

China’s DeepSeek AI Poses ‘Profound Threat’ To National Security, House Report Claims


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>More than 45,000 Spotify users&nbsp;<a href="https://downdetector.com/status/spotify/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>&nbsp;the popular music streaming platform was down Wednesday morning, according to reports filed on DownDetector.com, prompting hundreds of social media users to cope with memes and panicked comments.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Spotify users began&nbsp;<a href="https://downdetector.com/status/spotify/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reporting issues</a>&nbsp;on DownDetector.com around 9 a.m. EST, with reports peaking at just before 9:30 a.m., as more than 45,000 users reported issues with the app.</p>



<p><a href="https://x.com/SpotifyStatus/status/1912487507616313838" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Spotify Status</a>, the company’s X account for server issues, acknowledged the possible outage in a post just before 9 a.m. EST: “We’re aware of some issues right now and are checking them out!”</p>



<p>Forbes has reached out to Spotify for comment.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Are Spotify Users Reacting To The Outage?</h2>



<p>More than 1,300 users flooded the comments section of Spotify’s DownDetector.com page in a panic, many of whom joked and commiserated about the temporary loss of the streaming platform. “It’s only been 10 minutes without Spotify, but it feels like an eternity,” one of the most-liked comments says, with the user adding they are “desperately trying to find something to occupy my mind, but nothing feels right.” “I don’t want to use YouTube for music,” another complained in an all-caps comment. Users also took to X to complain about the outage, where “Spotify’ is the No. 1 trend as of Wednesday morning. One user garnered thousands of likes on a post with a Spotify logo edited onto a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/musicstruggles1/status/1912486819553292340" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">headstone</a>, while another&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/graciem19999/status/1912494480831177036" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">joked</a>&nbsp;“the thoughts are getting in” without music.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Is Spotify Down—and When Will It Be Back?</h2>



<p>Spotify has not yet said when it expects server issues to be resolved. The company’s customer service X account,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SpotifyCares/status/1912502365019656209" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Spotify Cares</a>, has responded to multiple users reporting issues Wednesday morning, stating its “developers are looking into this as we speak.”</p>


Music And Sound Streaming Platforms Stock Photos

Spotify Outage: Music Platform Appears To Be Down—And People Are Freaking Out


<p><strong>Elon Musk has long claimed civilization will collapse unless we raise the birth rate. Meanwhile, his “DOGE” group is slashing billions in funding for pregnant and nursing mothers and their children.</strong></p>



<p>When Sevonna Brown learned that Elon Musk’s quasi-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) had ordered payment stopped on her $2 million plus NIH grant for maternal community healthcare, she started hitting the phones. She was to cease operations immediately, and there was a lot of work in progress that needed to be halted.</p>



<p>Women on their way to lactation appointments would have to turn around. Home visits helping pregnant and postpartum women with blood pressure spikes and suicidal ideation would be cancelled. Domestic violence shelters for pregnant women would likely shutter, she said, and deliveries of food and formula to new mothers and their babies would stop.</p>



<p>The network of services for mothers and children that she had spent more than a decade building was coming to a screeching halt. “The world has literally gone dark,” she said.</p>



<p>Brown is the founder of Sanctuary Medicine &amp; a cooperative member at Restore Forward in Brooklyn, NY. Her work supporting people through pregnancy and new parenthood was funded in part through the NY-CHAMP Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence, which lost support after DOGE cancelled more than $10 billion in grants from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“We can’t claim to care about birthrates while defunding the very systems that make pregnancy, birth, and parenting safe.”Emilie Rodriguez, co-founder of The Bridge Directory</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Given Musk’s endless warnings that falling birthrates pose an existential threat to civilization, DOGE’s abrupt gutting of maternal health services is simultaneously ironic, and exactly what you’d expect from an effort whose&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/02/19/here-are-the-biggest-doge-hoaxes-and-inaccuracies-as-8-million-canceled-ice-contract-listed-at-8-billion/">blunders</a>&nbsp;may well&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/04/04/trumps-great-rehiring-over-26000-fired-by-doge-likely-to-return-so-far/">exceed</a>&nbsp;its claimed, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/us/politics/doge-errors-funding-grants-claims.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">difficult to verify</a>, achievements. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/all-elon-musk-children-and-mothers?srsltid=AfmBOoqnsSgo2mRPwXXhrkyTDlu1GyW7MlVV1kbzFf08aJ9YBrtudj8z" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">father to an estimated 14 children</a>, Musk has said he thinks “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/07/elon-musk-civilization-will-crumble-if-we-dont-have-more-children.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">civilization is going to crumble</a>” if women don’t have more babies. He has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/29/business/elon-musk-children-compound.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">offered his sperm</a>&nbsp;to acquaintances and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/elon-musk-tucker-carlson-fox-birth-control-abortion-1234717505/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">blamed birth control</a>&nbsp;for decreasing pregnancy rates. “It should be considered a national emergency to have kids,”&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1800318513502167246?lang=en" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">he wrote last summer</a>.</p>



<p>Musk has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-14/elon-musk-s-10m-texas-donation-funds-a-favorite-topic-of-his-fertility" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">donated</a>&nbsp;millions of dollars to fund research on fertility. But at this point, he has taken much more from pregnant women and new mothers than he has given. In February, DOGE&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/15/trump-medical-research-funding-maternal-mortality" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">threatened</a>&nbsp;a seven-year, $168 million NIH initiative to improve maternal health across the state of Michigan. It&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-administration-plans-to-freeze-family-planning-grants-541441be" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">suspended more than $27 million</a>&nbsp;in grants to women’s health centers,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.healthcare-brew.com/stories/2025/03/19/meet-two-former-federal-health-technologists-work-halted-doge" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">laid off</a>&nbsp;federal workers running programs for expecting mothers on Medicaid, and&nbsp;<a href="https://taggs.hhs.gov/Content/Data/HHS_Grants_Terminated.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">cancelled</a>&nbsp;$1.6 million in funding for maternal and postpartum care at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA.</p>



<p>“We can’t claim to care about birthrates while defunding the very systems that make pregnancy, birth, and parenting safe,” says Emilie Rodriguez. A medical anthropologist, doula, and co-founder of The Bridge Directory, a group of perinatal maternal healthcare providers, Rodriguez worked with Sevonna Brown on the CHAMP Center of Excellence grant.</p>



<p>The CHAMP Center’s grant focused on providing care to women who are Medicaid recipients. In New York City, Black women are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/nyregion/childbirth-maternal-mortality-black-women.html#:~:text=Semple%20were%20Black.,disparity%20than%20the%20national%20one." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">nine times as likely</a>&nbsp;to die in childbirth as their white counterparts. “New York City should be one of the safest places in the world to give birth—but for far too many Black and Brown women, it’s not,” said Victoria St. Clair, a doula and community member who helped administer the NY-CHAMP grant. “The numbers are painful, and the lived experiences behind them are even more so. Still, I want to be clear: no one should be afraid to become pregnant or start a family here … We believe every person deserves to bring life into this world without risking their own.”</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“Anyone who’s had a kid, who’s gone through those early days of parenting, knows the terror of putting your baby to bed and waking up with a jolt asking, ‘are they still breathing?’”Leslie Root, Associate Director at the Colorado University Population Center</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Many of the DOGE cuts have been justified as part of an “anti-woke” agenda, which aims to cut medical care for traditionally underserved populations. “We got word that there were words we had to eliminate out of our grants – like, women, and Black, and undocumented, underserved, immigrants,” Rodriguez explained. “It’s not just censorship that’s at stake, it’s erasure,” she said.</p>



<p>Whatever their intent, the cuts are likely to worsen healthcare for mothers and children of all races and ethnicity, said Leslie Root, a professor at Colorado University and Associate Director at the school’s Population Center. Root pointed to a recently gutted team at NIH that, until recently, administered the long-standing Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) study. The team conducted tentpole research on the unexpected infant deaths previously known as SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome.</p>



<p>“Anyone who’s had a kid, who’s gone through those early days of parenting, knows the terror of putting your baby to bed and waking up with a jolt asking, ‘are they still breathing?’”</p>



<p>Donald Trump, like Elon Musk, has expressed a desire to help young Americans who want to start a family. “I’ll be known as the fertilization president,” he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdcs-ivf-team-gutted-even-trump-calls-fertilization-president-rcna199261" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;last week, as Musk’s DOGE&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7314743980062040065/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">cut funding</a>&nbsp;to the Health Resources Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health.</p>



<p>A recently departed staffer from the CDC described layoffs at a team in the Division of Reproductive Health working on a set of federal guidelines for the safe use of contraceptives — guidelines that are essential to ensuring safe pregnancies in women with conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus and MS.</p>



<p>“The guidelines can be the difference between these women being able to safely start families or not, and in some cases even save their lives,” they said.</p>



<p>The DOGE cuts have also decimated programs for children’s health.&nbsp;<a href="https://taggs.hhs.gov/Content/Data/HHS_Grants_Terminated.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">It has terminated</a>&nbsp;more than $1 million in grant funding for a children’s behavioral health study in Massachusetts, more than $750,000 to treat kids with respiratory disease at the Seattle Children’s Hospital, more than $200,000 to treat children with skeletal problems at Boston Children’s Hospital, more than $1.6 million in treatment and prevention of HIV in children at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, almost another million in HIV treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a whopping $<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-government-pulls-back-over-11-billion-funding-state-health-departments-2025-03-26/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">12&nbsp;<em>billion</em></a>&nbsp;in funding from state health departments, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/rfk-jr-vaccines-children-weakening-system-hhs-budget-cuts-rcna199188" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">$2 billion</a>&nbsp;earmarked for child vaccination programs. (Child vaccinations&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00862-1" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">have saved an estimated 154 million lives</a>&nbsp;over the past 50 years.)</p>



<p>People affected by the DOGE cuts may not recognize those offices’ names, Sevonna Brown said, but they’ll feel their impact nearly immediately. “The average pregnant mother sitting in a shelter does not know what HHS is, but she knows what her SNAP benefit is…she knows what her Medicaid card is.” (SNAP&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">helps</a>&nbsp;pregnant women and new mothers access food and formula, and Medicaid&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/program-information/medicaid-and-chip-enrollment-data/report-highlights" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">provides</a>&nbsp;health insurance to more than 70 million Americans each year.)</p>



<p>DOGE has billed itself as a way to cut fat from the federal government, saving taxpayers valuable cash. But Dr. Uma Reddy, who led NY-CHAMP’s work, said that the interventions carried out by her team probably saved taxpayers money. Helping women avoid mental and cardiovascular health crises avoids expensive care down the road, and saves women and their children from needless suffering.</p>



<p>In recent days, the DOGE cuts have rankled even conservatives and proponents of the Trump Administration&#8217;s agenda. Fox News commentator Jesse Waters&nbsp;<a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/fox-news-host-jesse-watters-194638205.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMprH-7pWhudv3V8tJLHcpYX9mk5WxDRKyCOOEzZnLsr-W2TxI8C7d2AE7M4UEY-U4QFKUfAV-1xaLuFAAk06IxDOIs1wB1x_IWggYYOf0l07zfNbwyF1R9lV0a-2f9toCMlwP4r2KO0ncNA6WgFO_hB7p8xiAGR0471iAOIqoLx" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">recently complained to viewers</a>&nbsp;of his primetime show that his mother was upset about the cuts, and that his sister — an employee at Johns Hopkins University — could be personally affected by them.</p>



<p>In the meantime, Sevonna Brown’s network of healthcare providers are trying to pick up the slack. “We’re taking food out of our own fridges. We’re sharing. We’re doing mutual aid. We have to show up for people, we can’t leave people alone. … We can’t leave a mom who can’t nurse or breastfeed without formula. We are making it happen, and that’s straining our families and our communities.&#8221;</p>


President Trump Attends UFC Title Fight

Elon Musk Wants To Raise The Birth Rate. He’s Cutting Medical Care For Mothers And Babies.


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>An all-female crew including pop star Katy Perry, broadcast journalist Gayle King and Jeff Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sanchez will blast off to space in a livestreamed launch Monday morning on a flight manned by Blue Origin, marking the company’s latest star-studded trip that will take its crew on a brief trip into space.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Perry, King and Sanchez will be joined Monday by scientists Amanda Nguyen and Aisha Bowe, as well as independent film producer Kerianne Flynn, marking the first all-female space trip since 1963.</p>



<p>The mission will take flight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle, which has already carried several celebrities to space and can reportedly cost passengers millions.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">When Is The Blue Origin Launch And How Can I Watch It?</h2>



<p>Blue Origin is targeting 9:30 a.m. EST for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/missions/ns-31" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">launch</a>, though takeoff could be pushed back slightly due to weather-related or technology-related delays. Blue Origin began live coverage and a livestream of the launch on its social media&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/blueorigin/status/1910799194937290837" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">channels</a>&nbsp;and its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/missions/ns-31" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">website</a>&nbsp;earlier Monday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why Are Katy Perry And Gayle King Going To Space?</h2>



<p>The space mission is the latest flight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle, which was created for commercial space flights and is a key figure in the growing, and costly, space tourism industry. In a cover story about the space mission, Perry told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a64341516/blue-origin-female-flight-crew-space-interview-2025/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Elle</a>&nbsp;she has “wanted to go to space for almost 20 years” and wanted to make space “glam.” She told the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/katy-perry-spaceflight-interview-ced939b06e1b8b82fa84fe3c2ce41ad9" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>&nbsp;she has “always been interested in astrophysics and interested in astronomy and astrology and the stars,” adding she wants to “inspire young girls to go, ‘I’ll go to space in the future.’” The crew members told Elle they wanted to set an example for women in space exploration, citing statistics that only about 11% of all people to travel to&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-90-of-astronauts-have-been-men-but-the-future-of-space-may-be-female-125644" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">space</a>&nbsp;have been women.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Long Is Blue Origin’s Space Mission—and Where Are They Going?</h2>



<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-ns-31-mission" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">flight</a>&nbsp;is expected to last just 11 minutes. The spacecraft will take the crew about 62 miles past the Kármán line, which is the internationally recognized boundary of space. The crew will feel several minutes of weightlessness while in space before returning to Earth. There will not be any pilots on board, as the rocket is fully autonomous.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Which Celebrities Has Blue Origin Taken To Space?</h2>



<p>Bezos, the world’s second-richest person and the founder of Blue Origin, went to space on a New Shepard flight in July 2021, the spacecraft’s first mission with a crew. Bezos was joined by his brother, Mark Bezos, aviator Wally Funk and then-18-year-old Oliver Daemen. Daemen was selected to join the mission after crypto billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/justin-sun/">Justin Sun</a>&nbsp;won an auction for a whopping $28 million to join the crew, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/07/15/blueoriginjeffbezos28millionauctionspace/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">deferred</a>&nbsp;his flight due to scheduling conflicts. Actor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/04/12/blue-origin-spaceflights-new-shepard-rocket/83007319007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">William Shatner</a>&nbsp;flew to space on a New Shepard rocket in October 2021, becoming the oldest person to travel to space, while television host and former NFL player Michael Strahan participated in a New Shepard flight in December 2021.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Much Does A Blue Origin Flight Cost?</h2>



<p>Tickets for travel on Blue Origin’s flights can cost millions. To reserve a seat, customers must fill out a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard/reserve-a-seat" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">form</a>&nbsp;on the company’s website that includes a deposit of $150,000. Coby Cotton, a YouTube star who co-founded the popular Dude Perfect channel, flew on a New Shepard rocket in August 2022, and&nbsp;<a href="https://qz.com/emails/space-business/1849365590/space-business-moondaos-golden-tickets" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Quartz reported</a>&nbsp;his seat cost $1.25 million. Blue Origin has not publicized how much it charges for space flights, though&nbsp;<a href="https://observer.com/2022/06/blue-origin-space-tourism-pricing-marketing/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Observer reported</a>&nbsp;the company has offered some flights at no cost, while charging others steeper prices. “It’s not about money; it’s about who you are, your social capital, whether you align with their launch purposes,” Roman Chiporukha, co-founder of SpaceVIP, which helps wealthy people book space trips, told Observer.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tangent</h2>



<p>The upcoming space flight has prompted mixed reactions. Actress&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/04/04/olivia-munn-blue-origin-space-comments/82851284007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Olivia Munn</a>&nbsp;criticized the space trip in an appearance on “Today with Jenna &amp; Friends” last week, calling it “gluttonous.” “It&#8217;s so much money to go to space,” Munn said, adding there are “a lot of people who can&#8217;t even afford eggs.” Some social media users have reacted to the upcoming trip with concern. One&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@katyperrycrave/video/7489184745314716950?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">TikTok video</a>&nbsp;praising the space flight garnered 3 million likes, though many of the most-liked comments are from users stating they are anxious about the trip.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/04/12/blue-origin-spaceflights-new-shepard-rocket/83007319007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">11 minutes with a window view of Earth: What to know about Blue Origin spaceflights</a>&nbsp;(USA TODAY)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/science/space/blue-origin-ticket-cost.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">How much does a ticket to space on New Shepard cost? Blue Origin isn’t saying.</a>&nbsp;(New York Times)</p>


11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony – Arrivals

Katy Perry And Gayle King Head To Space Today: Why They’re Going And How To Watch


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports are even higher than the 125% rate initially announced, as the White House confirmed Thursday there’s now a 145% tariff on many goods from China—and higher in some cases.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Trump announced Wednesday he was imposing a 125% tariff on Chinese imports in response to Beijing retaliating against his tariffs, after previously ratcheting up his tariffs on the country to 104%.</p>



<p>In an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/modifying-reciprocal-tariff-rates-to-reflect-trading-partner-retaliation-and-alignment/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">executive order</a>&nbsp;published Thursday that codified that tariff increase, the White House said it was modifying previous executive orders on China to impose the 125% tariff rate.</p>



<p>That 125% tariff rate refers to this most recent round of tariffs rather than the tariff rate on Chinese goods overall, the White House confirmed Thursday, meaning that number does not include other tariffs that have previously been levied on China—most notably a 20% tariff that Trump levied because of China’s role in the fentanyl crisis.</p>



<p>That means a combined 145% tariff is now in place for many goods from China, though Trump’s more recent 125% tariff rate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/regulating-imports-with-a-reciprocal-tariff-to-rectify-trade-practices-that-contribute-to-large-and-persistent-annual-united-states-goods-trade-deficits/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">exempts</a>&nbsp;some categories of imports, like copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber articles, certain critical minerals, and energy and energy products.</p>



<p>The rate is even higher than 145% in some cases, as the White House confirmed to Forbes that&nbsp;<a href="https://usacustomsclearance.com/process/section-301-tariffs-a-comprehensive-guide/#:~:text=The%20Section%20301%20tariffs%20that,and%20plastics%2C%20and%20much%20more." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">other tariffs</a>&nbsp;on China Trump imposed during his first term also remain in place, such as those on electronics, furniture, machinery and plastics, which range between 7.5% to 25%.</p>



<p>While the stock market rallied Wednesday after Trump paused broader tariffs on foreign imports, registering&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/09/stocks-shoot-to-one-of-biggest-gains-everas-trump-announces-90-day-tariff-pause/">historic gains</a>, stocks have fallen Thursday amid the continued uncertainty over Trump’s trade war and tariffs on China, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by nearly 1,500 points as of 12 p.m. EDT—which CNBC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/09/stock-market-today-live-updates.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">notes</a>&nbsp;wipes out half the gains it made Wednesday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-has-china-responded">How Has China Responded?</h2>



<p>China imposed 84% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports on Wednesday, after the 104% additional rate took effect. That was before Trump hiked his tariffs up higher to 125% plus existing tariffs, however, and it’s unclear if Beijing could further raise its tariffs on the U.S. in response.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-tariffs-are-now-in-place">What Tariffs Are Now In Place?</h2>



<p>In addition to the tariffs on Chinese imports, the Trump administration has also kept in place a baseline 10% tariff on most foreign imports, even as it paused higher tariffs on many countries’ goods for 90 days while the White House negotiates with other countries. Tariffs also remain in place on goods from Canada and Mexico, as Trump has imposed tariffs of up to 25% on a range of goods from those countries that are not exempted under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Canada and Mexico are not subject to the blanket 10% rate Trump imposed Wednesday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-will-trump-and-china-negotiate-on-tariffs">Will Trump And China Negotiate On Tariffs?</h2>



<p>Neither China nor the U.S. has shown any sign of backing down on their steep tariffs as the trade war between the two countries has escalated, though Trump told reporters Wednesday he hopes Chinese President Xi Jinping will ultimately negotiate. “I think President Xi is a very smart guy, and I think we’ll end up making a very good deal for both [countries],” Trump said. “We’ll get a phone call at some point, and it’ll be off to the races.” Foreign policy experts have been less sure that China will ultimately back down, with Daniel Russel, vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, telling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/09/trumps-tariffs-china-relations-00282822" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Politico</a>&nbsp;that Beijing has so far taken the approach to “stand firm, absorb pressure and let Trump overplay his hand.” “Beijing believes Trump sees concessions as a weakness, so giving ground only invites more pressure,” Russel said.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Trump’s tariffs fulfill a central campaign promise made by the president, who has repeatedly touted tariffs despite warnings from economists that imposing them would raise prices for U.S. consumers and harm the economy. Trump has long particularly focused his tariff efforts on China, launching a trade war against the country during his first term before making it one of the first targets of his tariff agenda after being inaugurated in January. The president has accused China of not doing enough to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., and has more broadly targeted Chinese manufacturing, as he claims tariffs will help persuade companies to move manufacturing back to the U.S. China is the <a href="https://ustr.gov/countries-regions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">largest</a> exporter of goods in the world and has been the <a href="https://www.usitc.gov/research_and_analysis/tradeshifts/2023/us_trade_industry_sectors_and_selected_trading" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">second-biggest</a> source of imports to the U.S. behind Mexico, with the two countries trading approximately <a href="https://www.conference-board.org/research/global-economy-briefs/us-china-trade-war-escalates" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$582 billion</a> worth of goods in 2024.</p>


Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump Holds Election Night Event In West Palm Beach

Trump’s Tariffs On China Are Now At Least 145%, White House Confirms—Higher Than He Previously Claimed


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Luxury fashion firm Prada Group reached an agreement with Capri Holdings to acquire designer brand Versace in a deal valued at $1.38 billion, Prada&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pradagroup.com/en/news-media/press-releases-documents/2025/25-04-10-prada-group-versace.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;Thursday, after earlier reports indicated the two Italian fashion staples struggled to close the transaction as President Donald Trump’s tariffs roiled markets.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Prada will fund its acquisition of Versace, approved by both companies’ boards, with about $1.6 billion in new debt after borrowing more than $1 billion, Prada&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pradagroup.com/en/news-media/press-releases-documents/2025/25-04-10-prada-group-versace.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;Thursday.</p>



<p>Prada and Versace expect the transaction to close in the second half of the year, pending approval by regulators.</p>



<p>A deal between Prada and Versace was nearly derailed after Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners, requiring companies to start relying on higher costs to source raw materials as fears of a recession loomed, the Wall Street Journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/prada-deal-for-versace-at-risk-of-collapsing-with-market-in-turmoil-93a285fc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>.</p>



<p>The value of Versace’s parent company, the New York-based Capri Holdings, fell to as low as $1.5 billion as Trump’s tariffs led to a historic selloff in the U.S. stock market, and Prada had negotiated the price to buy Versace down from $1.6 billion to just under $1.4 billion, people with direct knowledge of the talks&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/prada-deal-for-versace-at-risk-of-collapsing-with-market-in-turmoil-93a285fc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;the Financial Times.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



<p>Capri has tried to sell its business for years: A $8.5 billion deal to sell itself to Coach owner Tapestry&nbsp;<a href="https://www.capriholdings.com/news-releases/news-releases-details/2024/Capri-Holdings-Announces-Termination-of-Merger-With-Tapestry/default.aspx" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">fell through</a>&nbsp;in 2024 after the Federal Trade Commission successfully&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/business/tapestry-capri-merger-coach-versace.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">argued</a>&nbsp;the transaction would “substantially lessen competition” among luxury handbag makers.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Versace, founded in 1978 by Gianni Versace, was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-kors-reaches-deal-to-buy-italian-fashion-house-versace-1537876642?mod=article_inline" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">acquired</a>&nbsp;by Capri Holdings—then known as Michael Kors—for $2.1 billion in 2018. That deal was reached under Donatella Versace, who succeeded her brother Gianni as the company’s chief creative officer after he died in 1997. Speculation of Versace’s latest acquisition efforts has swirled in recent months, including after Donatella Versace, 69,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/donatella_versace/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=d381e670-32df-45c2-90e4-b08e4822ba09" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;she would step down from her role last month. Capri previously asked for more than $3 billion for Versace before Donatella’s absence impacted negotiations, the Financial Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b8a23686-e39a-4e4e-81c3-2cea135813e3" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>. Capri forecast a $810 million drop in revenue in its current fiscal year, down from $1 billion in 2024.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b8a23686-e39a-4e4e-81c3-2cea135813e3" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Prada Cuts Versace Purchase Price By $200 Million After Trump Tariffs</a>&nbsp;(<em>Financial Times</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/donatella-versace-steps-head-versace-rcna196196" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Donatella Versace Steps Down As Head Of Versace</a>&nbsp;(<em>NBC News</em>)</p>


Prada SpA Moves Closer to Versace Deal for Up to 1.5 Billion

Prada Buys Versace For Nearly $1.4 Billion—After Trump’s Tariffs Almost Derailed Acquisition


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Stocks roared back to life Wednesday afternoon after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day delay on the most significant of his tariffs, just hours after the levies went into effect, sparking extensive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/08/stocks-slide-again-as-tariff-losses-worsen-in-another-dow-down-8000-points-from-peak/">carnage</a>&nbsp;across financial markets.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The S&amp;P 500, which follows 500 of the largest public American companies across industries, jumped almost 10% on the day, while the tech-concentrated Nasdaq soared 12% and the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 8%, or about 3,000 points.</p>



<p>Wednesday was a historically great day for stocks, as it marked the best percentage gain for the Dow since March 24, 2020, the S&amp;P since Oct. 28, 2008 and for the Nasdaq since Jan. 3, 2001, according to FactSet data.</p>



<p>It was by far the largest point gain for all three indexes in their five-decade-plus histories.</p>



<p>Trump said Wednesday afternoon he signed a 90-day pause on implementing the more than 10% tariffs on 75-plus countries, sending stocks badly battered by this trade policy soaring.</p>



<p>“BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well,” Trump posted to his Truth Social site shortly after market open, adding “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!”</p>



<p>Trump had shown no sign he’d reverse course on the tariffs, encouraging companies to simply move all operations to the U.S. in a morning social media&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114307832213562859" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">post</a>, and China dug in further in its resistance to Trump’s more than 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, slapping an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-09/china-raises-tariffs-on-us-goods-to-84-as-trade-rift-escalates" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">84%</a>&nbsp;levy on U.S. imports to the Asian country.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Stocks Surged The Most In The Tariff Pause Rebound?</h2>



<p>Nearly every stock surged on the tariff relief, as 484 of the S&amp;P’s 500 constituents were in the green, according to FactSet data. Companies considered most vulnerable in a recession benefited the most, as the S&amp;P’s information technology and consumer discretionary sectors jumped 11% and 12%, respectively. The most notable risers included tech giants, as shares of Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, Mera and Tesla all enjoyed more than 10% gains Wednesday. Delta Airlines, Expedia and United Airlines all ranked among the top 30 biggest gainers in the rally as the travel industry received a jolt.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Contra</h2>



<p>Tariffs have still wreaked havoc on equity valuations. The Dow is down 10%, or more than 4,000 points, from its December peak, the Nasdaq has lost 15% from its December high and the S&amp;P has fallen 11% from its February high.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Chief Critic</h2>



<p>“The tariff clouds parted for the first time today, but it’s too soon to know how sunny the skies will be tomorrow—or 90 days from now,” Daniel Skelly, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s head of market research and strategy, wrote in emailed comments.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s Happening In The Bond Market?</h2>



<p>After strengthening immediately after Trump’s announcement last week as investors fled stocks for assets perceived to be safer, U.S. government bonds joined in on the selloff. Yields for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note shot up 40 basis points from Monday to Wednesday afternoon, at 4.4%, reversing the initially lower yields<a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/us-10-year-yield-wont-dance-bessents-tune-mcgeever-2025-04-08/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">&nbsp;celebrated</a>&nbsp;by Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as a sign of cheaper borrowing costs to come. It was a “perfect storm of bad news” for U.S. bonds, remarked Lawrence Gillum, LPL Financial’s chief fixed income strategist. “Sticky inflation, a patient Fed, potential foreign buyer boycotts, hedge fund deleveraging, rebalancing out of bonds into cash, and an illiquid Treasury market are all reasons why Treasury yields continue to move higher,” Gillum explained. Higher yields mean less valuable bonds, as fixed income investors demand higher annual payouts to hold onto federal government debt. Yields were little changed amid the equity rally.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jpmorgan Boss Jamie Dimon Warned Of Recession</h2>



<p>A<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/09/forbes-recession-tracker-recession-odds-spike-as-trumps-tariff-liberation-day-approaches/">&nbsp;recession</a>&nbsp;is the most “likely outcome” for the U.S., JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in a Wednesday interview with Fox Business’ “Mornings With Maria.” “Markets aren&#8217;t always right, but sometimes they&#8217;re right,” Dimon remarked about the pain seen across asset classes in recent days. “And I think this time they&#8217;re right because they&#8217;re pricing uncertainty at the macro level, uncertainty at the micro level, at the actual company level, and then how it affects consumer sentiment,” Dimon continued. In that interview, Dimon encouraged the Trump administration to lean into strengthening trade with allies in Europe and Asia: “I think the goal of this trade stuff should be to make Europe and our trading partners, Japan, Korea, Philippines, stronger, not weaker. Bring them closer.”</p>


President Trump Signs New Executive Orders At The White House

Stocks Shoot To One Of Biggest Gains Ever As Trump Announces 90-Day Tariff Pause


<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/"></a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/08/stocks-slide-again-as-tariff-losses-worsen-in-another-dow-down-8000-points-from-peak/#open-web-0"></a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/08/stocks-slide-again-as-tariff-losses-worsen-in-another-dow-down-8000-points-from-peak/#open-web-0"></a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Stocks soared then came down to Earth on Tuesday as investors digested the latest developments in President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” trade war, with the markets failing to sustain a recovery from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/04/tariffs-cause-another-stock-market-rout-losses-approach-5-trillion-as-dow-plummets-another-2200-points/">historically bad</a>&nbsp;losses over the last week, as China, the world’s second-largest economy,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-us-tariffs-trade-trump-b5010acb08114304d8c36267b47eda13" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">threatens</a>&nbsp;to “fight to the end” with the U.S. over the soaring import duties.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>All three major U.S. stock indexes fell further Tuesday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.8%, or 320 points, the S&amp;P 500 declined 1.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.2%.</p>



<p>That was a major reversal from a morning surge, in which the Dow spiked more than 1,400 points and the S&amp;P and Nasdaq jumped about 4% apiece, which would have been the indexes’ steepest respective gains since 2022.</p>



<p>Tuesday’s session mirrored more of a dead cat bounce, in which a financial asset in decline briefly rallies before falling further, rather than a sustained improvement in sentiment, with the lost steam coming after no tangible reversal of the White House’s tariff plans materialized.</p>



<p>The Dow is down 12%, or 5,040 points, since Trump’s wide sweeping tariff announcement last Wednesday, and the S&amp;P and Nasdaq have lost 13% and 14% over the four trading session span, respectively.</p>



<p>Monday’s trading session was similarly rocky, as the S&amp;P bounced between what was as much as a 3.4% daily gain and a 4.5% daily loss before closing with a 0.2% decline.</p>



<p>The S&amp;P narrowly dodged closing in a 20% bear market, ending 18.9% below its Feb. 19 all-time high.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



<p>7,370 points. That’s how much the Dow has dropped from its December closing record through Tuesday, a 16% dive.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">Surprising Fact</h2>



<p>If the S&amp;P does slip into a 20% bear market, this would be the third-fastest such drawdown ever, trailing only 1929’s Great Depression crash and 2020’s brief COVID-19 crash,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/bespokeinvest/status/1909695157806547158" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to Bespoke Investment Group.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-were-stocks-up-this-morning">Why Were Stocks Up This Morning?</h2>



<p>The morning recovery came as Wall Street thirsted for any signs the Trump administration would leave the door open for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/04/07/will-trump-negotiate-tariffs-president-orders-talks-with-japan-and-says-he-wants-fair-deals-with-other-countries/">negotiations</a>&nbsp;on the tariffs viewed by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/sp500-earnings-tariffs-0b9cf2d2" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">many</a>&nbsp;to be devastating to corporate earnings. Those signs were led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79wmUgaRCro" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">comments</a>&nbsp;Tuesday to CNBC’s Squawk Box that he believes “we can end up with some good deals” if other countries come to the table.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trump-heralded-bond-rally-also-lost-steam">Trump-Heralded Bond Rally Also Lost Steam</h2>



<p>Trump has already lost one development he took a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/04/trump-shares-claim-hes-crashing-stock-market-on-purpose-as-he-lobbies-for-emergency-rate-cuts/">victory lap</a>&nbsp;on last week. Yields for 10-year U.S. Treasury notes, the benchmark to which many borrowing rates are tied to, climbed about 10 basis points to nearly 4.3%, higher than they stood prior to Liberation Day, up nearly 40 basis points from their Friday low. Higher yields indicate less valuable bonds as investors sour on the idea of holding U.S. government debt, and the rising 10-year signals borrowing costs are not coming down. The 10-year is almost exactly flat from where it stood at Election Day.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



<p>Trump’s country-by-country tariffs, beyond the 10% universal duties, are scheduled to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Wednesday. The White House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/04/07/trump-90-day-tariff-pause-rumor-causes-stock-whipsaw-before-white-house-calls-it-fake-news-heres-what-happened/">called</a>&nbsp;a report it was considering a pause, similar to delays on Canada and Mexico tariffs earlier in Trump’s second term, “fake news,” though billionaire Trump donor Bill Ackman officially&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BillAckman/status/1909586890887438817" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">lobbied</a>&nbsp;for a 30-day or longer pause Tuesday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-china-and-scott-bessent-war-over-who-is-making-mistake">China And Scott Bessent War Over Who Is Making ‘mistake’</h2>



<p>Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114297331052690348" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;Monday he would slap an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports over the country’s retaliatory tariffs, which the Chinese Commerce Ministry&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-08/china-vows-to-fight-to-the-end-if-us-insists-on-new-tariffs" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">called</a>&nbsp;a “mistake on top of a mistake” that “China will fight to the end.” Bessent, the U.S.’ top economic official,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/08/treasury-secretary-bessent-says-chinas-escalation-was-big-mistake-country-playing-with-losing-hand.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;Tuesday the Chinese response was a “big mistake” and it’s a “losing hand” for the Asian power to engage in a tariff war.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/07/forbes-recession-tracker-recession-odds-spike-as-trumps-tariff-liberation-day-approaches/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ForbesForbes Recession Tracker: Goldman, JPMorgan Say Recession Incoming If Trump Doesn’t Blink On Tariffs<small>By&nbsp;Derek Saul</small></a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/04/07/will-trump-negotiate-tariffs-president-orders-talks-with-japan-and-says-he-wants-fair-deals-with-other-countries/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ForbesWill Trump Negotiate Tariffs? President Orders Talks With Japan And Says He Wants ‘Fair Deals’ With Other Countries<small>By&nbsp;Alison Durkee</small></a></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://sync.graph.bluecava.com/ds.png?p=4cb3430d-9dfd-11ef-a5fe-4201ac100015&amp;segment=forbeseval" alt=""/></figure>


Dow Jones Average Falls Steeply, As Investors Doubt Future Interest Rate Cut After Surprise Jobs Report

Stocks Slide Again. The Dow Is Down More Than 7,000 Points From Peak.


<p><strong>Tariffs seem like simple tools, but they often come with unexpected repercussions. Just ask the president, whose fortune dropped a half billion dollars in a few days.</strong></p>



<p>Donald Trump fired the first shots in a global trade war last week, inflicting damage on all sorts of people—including himself. On April 2, the day Trump rolled out his plan for sweeping tariffs, <em>Forbes </em>pegged his net worth at $4.7 billion. Less than a week later, it’s down to an estimated $4.2 billion, as the value of his public stock and private holdings fall in tandem with the broader market.</p>



<p>Trump’s biggest loss comes from his most valuable asset, the Trump Media and Technology Group, which declined 8% over the last three trading days, hitting its lowest price since October. His stake, worth $2.2 billion Wednesday, now sits at $2 billion. The roughly $170 million hit represents only the beginning of his problems.</p>



<p>Trump’s commercial real estate holdings have fallen an estimated $90 million, assuming they’ve experienced similar haircuts as publicly traded commercial property companies. Shares of Vornado Realty Trust—the firm that partners with Trump in two of his most valuable buildings, 1290 Avenue of the Americas in New York and 555 California Street in San Francisco—dropped 14% from the time of Trump’s announcement to the end of the day Monday. The stock price of another big New York City real estate firm, SL Green, fell 15%. Trump’s portfolio, including the Vornado properties, Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street, is now worth an estimated $570 million, down from $660 million last week.</p>



<p>Golf properties are losing value, too. Many of the balls, clubs and shirts in pro shops come from overseas. The real threat to Trump’s portfolio, however, is the possibility of belt tightening. Club members might cut back on weddings, lavish dining or even memberships. “If you hit a recession, your wife looks over at you and says ‘What the [heck] are we doing with this expensive club membership?’” explains one industry insider.</p>



<p>There are no publicly traded companies quite like Trump’s collection of golf clubs, but the closest comparables point to trouble. Shares of highly priced leisure businesses, such as Vail Resorts and Soho House, are down more than 15% since Wednesday. Topgolf Callaway Brands, which manufactures clubs and runs golf venues, is down 15%, as well. A similar decline at Trump’s golf courses would shave another $70 million off his net worth.</p>



<p>Hospitality assets aren’t positioned any better. Trump’s biggest is Trump National Doral, a 643-room resort in Miami, where Saudi-connected LIV Golf just held an event, with Trump showing up shortly after announcing his tariff plans. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers says the president remains focused on the country, not his business. “President Trump implemented tariffs on countries that have been ripping us off for years to ensure Americans are better off for generations to come,” she said in a statement. “The president’s assets are in a trust managed by his children while he is working overtime to lead the country to economic prosperity.” In addition to Doral, Trump continues to own hundreds of hotel-condo units in towers in Chicago and Las Vegas. If the value of Trump’s holdings fell by, say, 16%, he would have lost another $65 million. His much-smaller licensing-and-management business might have shed another $15 million on top of that.</p>



<p>Residential real estate also declined dramatically, with shares of four publicly traded apartment holders down an average of 13%. Trump owns dozens of units inside buildings he developed years ago. Trim that portfolio, and his net worth falls another $20 million or so. His most protected assets might be his many trophies, like the penthouse atop Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago. Dana Koch, a luxury agent in Palm Beach, says those sorts of assets operate in a different atmosphere than publicly traded stocks. “This is even more finite and more scarce,” he says. Nudge the trophies down by, say, 5%, or half the decline of the broader market, and Trump is out another $32 million.</p>



<p>Cash typically provides respite in times like these. According to Trump’s latest financial disclosure report, he holds a portfolio of diversified bonds and a smattering of equity positions, including a $5 to $25 million stake in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2024/05/24/inside-the-200-billion-billionaire-factory/">private-credit firm Blue Owl Capital</a>, down 22% since Wednesday. After filing that disclosure in August, Trump received two massive windfalls via cryptocurrency ventures. First came World Liberty Financial, a project that promised a “financial revolution” and funneled nearly $400 million to the president and his family. Then came sales of the $TRUMP coin, which probably supplied at least another $175 million before taxes.</p>



<p>The issue for the president is that he may have stored some of those proceeds in cryptocurrencies, notoriously fickle assets. First son Eric Trump publicly touted Ether in February, telling his Twitter followers it was “a great time to add $ETH.” The currency is down 45% since then, including an 18% drop in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariff announcement. If the president’s estimated post-tax windfall of $350 million fell by even half as much as Ether, he would be out another $32 million.</p>



<p>Add all it up, and Trump’s losses from privately held assets appear to outweigh those from his publicly traded stock. The greatest threat to Trump is not direct tariffs on products he imports, given that his businesses don’t sell much in the way of hard goods. It’s the loss of investor confidence around the world. People rely on whims, not logic, when deciding whether to buy or ditch luxury real estate, pricy club memberships and high-flying meme stocks. The more uncertainty Trump injects into the global economy, the farther his net worth will tumble.</p>


Trump’s Net Worth Drops $500 Million As Tariffs Upend Global Economy


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Topline</h2>



<p>Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he will tell the Centers for Disease and Prevention to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-4-7-2025#00000196-1249-d082-a9d6-5eeb01540000" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>&nbsp;reported—following through on a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1852812012478398923" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">promise</a>&nbsp;he made while campaigning with President Donald Trump.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Kennedy, speaking to AP after a news conference in Salt Lake City, also told the news outlet he is assembling a task force for the issue.</p>



<p>While campaigning with Trump, Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1852812012478398923" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said in a post on X</a>&nbsp;the White House would advise “all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water” because it is “associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease”—though he did not provide evidence for the connection.</p>



<p>Last month, Utah became the first state to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/03/28/utah-bans-fluoride-in-public-water/">ban fluoride</a>&nbsp;in public drinking water amid a recent surge of concern over the mineral additive, although public health officials have maintained it is safe.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Is Fluoride Dangerous?</h2>



<p>A&nbsp;<a href="https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/publications/monographs/mgraph08" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">systemic review</a>&nbsp;from the National Toxicology Program in HHS last year found fluoride concentrations that exceed the World Health Organization’s recommendations for drinking water quality “are consistently associated with lower IQ in children,” but the authors said more studies are needed to fully understand the impact. The same study said results did not “provide clarity on the association between fluoride exposure and cognitive or neurodevelopmental human health effects.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Is Fluoride’s Benefit?</h2>



<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ada.org/resources/community-initiatives/fluoride-in-water" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">American Dental Association</a>&nbsp;says fluoride is added to water to help prevent tooth decay. Fluoride is the most efficient way to prevent cavities and prevents against them at all ages, the ADA says, adding “the best scientific evidence has consistently shown that fluoridation is safe and effective.” The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/faq/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">CDC</a>&nbsp;currently recommends fluoride be used to prevent cavities, though it does not require fluoride be added to water and says it is “important to know the fluoride concentration of your main source of drinking water.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Background</h2>



<p>Americans began receiving fluoridated tap water at a large scale in the early 1950s, according to the CDC, which reported nearly three-quarters of Americans (74.6%) had fluoridated water in their public water systems by 2012. Kennedy has long opposed the use of fluoride, claiming it lowered IQ in children and caused bone conditions.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fluoride-in-water-health/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Health experts</a>&nbsp;have said the amount of fluoride needed to cause the conditions is higher than the level usually present in drinking water.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-4-7-2025#00000196-1249-d082-a9d6-5eeb01540000" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Live Trump administration updates: RFK Jr. says he plans to tell CDC to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water</a>&nbsp;(Associated Press)</p>


Glass of Water

Kennedy Will Tell CDC To Stop Recommending Fluoride In Drinking Water, Report Says


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Stocks globally plummeted again Monday as President Donald Trump dug in on his tariffs, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-04/jpmorgan-says-trump-s-tariffs-to-send-us-into-recession-in-2025" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">many</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/goldman-sachs-raises-odds-us-recession-45-2025-04-07/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">economists</a>&nbsp;predict will quickly send the global economy into a recession.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>U.S. stocks sank even further Monday after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/04/tariffs-cause-another-stock-market-rout-losses-approach-5-trillion-as-dow-plummets-another-2200-points/">historically bad</a>&nbsp;Thursday and Friday trading which wiped out trillions of dollars in equity.</p>



<p>The Dow declined 870 points, or 2.3%, on the day by early afternoon, while the S&amp;P and Nasdaq also declined 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively.</p>



<p>The midday losses were smaller than the dramatic drops at opening: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,320 points, or 3.4%, shortly after markets opened at 9:30 a.m. EDT, while the S&amp;P 500 and tech-concentrated Nasdaq dropped 3.9% and 4.2%, respectively.</p>



<p>In a whirlwind session, all three indexes reversed to massive gains following a report the White House would pause the tariffs for 90 days — the S&amp;P rose more than 6% from 9:45 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. — before again&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/live-blog/2025-04-06/markets-react-to-us-tariffs-china-retaliation?srnd=homepage-americas" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">slipping</a>&nbsp;as the Trump administration&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/TheStalwart/status/1909253930573250895" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">indicated</a>&nbsp;it had no plans to do so.</p>



<p>The losses since prior to Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement Wednesday are staggering: The Dow is down 11%, or almost 4,800 points and the S&amp;P and Nasdaq are down 12% and 13%, respectively.</p>



<p>Wall Street warnings on the fallout of Trump’s 10% or greater tariffs accelerated, as Goldman Sachs economists said Sunday they now expect a recession if the White House maintains the announced tariff rates and Jamie Dimon, the billionaire head of the U.S.’ largest bank JPMorgan Chase, <a href="https://www.jpmorganchase.com/ir/annual-report/2024/ar-ceo-letters" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a> to shareholders Monday the “recent tariffs will likely increase inflation.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Trump Demands Fed Interest Rate Cuts</h2>



<p>Trump’s first&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114296287858068040" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">comments</a>&nbsp;Monday showed no capitulation on tariffs, suggesting “the slow moving Fed should cut rates!” and falsely claiming “there is NO INFLATION.” He warned on his Truth Social platform: “Don’t be Weak!” Economists and policymakers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/gennacontino/2025/04/04/tariffs-will-increase-inflation-jerome-powell-warns-as-trump-pressures-fed-to-cut-rates/">widely</a>&nbsp;agree inflation will worsen under Trump’s tariffs, and, even prior to the trade policy shift, inflation is still&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/03/12/inflation-was-better-than-expected-28-in-february-as-trumps-tariffs-linger/">well above</a>&nbsp;the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. The historically politically independent Fed will&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/boardmeetings/20250407closed.htm" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">conduct</a>&nbsp;a closed-door meeting among its governing board Monday. Trump has not blinked at the stock market rout his policies initiated, even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/04/trump-shares-claim-hes-crashing-stock-market-on-purpose-as-he-lobbies-for-emergency-rate-cuts/">sharing</a>&nbsp;a post Friday claiming he’s crashing the market “on purpose.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>“This is a manmade problem, concentrated really around one man,” Bhanu Baweja, UBS Investment Bank’s chief strategist, said in a call with media Monday, referring to Trump. “If that one person changes his mind, suddenly the whole algebra changes,” Baweja continued.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Is A Bear Market?</h2>



<p>A bear market occurs when a financial asset, most commonly a stock index, declines 20% or more from a recent high. Prior to the tariff stock meltdown, all three major U.S. indexes last entered bear market territory in 2022 as inflation raged at a four-decade high, causing the Federal Reserve to dramatically raise interest rates.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Stocks Are Down The Most From Tariffs?</h2>



<p>Already battered last week, big technology stocks tanked early Monday, as shares of iPhone maker Apple (down 6%) and Elon Musk’s Tesla (down 6%) struggled after dropping about 15% between Thursday and Friday. Also slumping were bank stocks, as shares of Goldman and Morgan Stanley dropped more than 2% each, building on double-digit slides last week.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">S&amp;p 500 Teeters On Verge Of Bear Market</h2>



<p>The Nasdaq officially entered a bear market Friday, the S&amp;P entered one Monday as it fell more than 20% below its February peak, while the Dow is not far behind, declining as much as 18% from its December all-time high. Following the whirlwind morning trading, the Dow is 17% below its record, the S&amp;P 19% and the Nasdaq is 24%.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Japan’s Nikkei 225 Leads Global Stock Market Slide</h2>



<p>Stocks tumbled in regular Europe and Asia trading Monday, as Europe’s Stoxx 600 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 indexes tumbled 4% apiece and China’s CSI 300 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indexes fell 7% and 8%, respectively.</p>



<p></p>


Traders On The Floor Of The NYSE As US Stocks Set For Further Plunge On Tariff Turmoil

Stock Slide Worsens: Dow Falls 900 And S&P Briefly Enters Bear Market From ‘Manmade’ Problem (Live Updates)


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Oil prices sunk 7% to a four-year low Friday, amid concerns economic fallout of President Donald Trump’s wide-reaching tariffs could put a drag on demand.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Prices tumbled after China announced it would retaliate against the U.S. in a global trade war—imposing a 34% tariffs on U.S. goods, in line with Trump’s new 34% tariffs against China—with analysts saying traders were likely acting on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-prices-crash-trump-tariffs-opec-production-recession-trade-war-2025-4" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">damage</a>&nbsp;tariffs could do to global trade and economic growth.</p>



<p>Concerns of a tariff-induced drop in demand comes as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, announced it is increasing output to 411,000 barrels per day in May, up from the previously planned 135,000 barrels per day, the organization said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.opec.org/pr-detail/557-03-april-2025.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>



<p>Brent crude, the benchmark for global oil prices, dropped $4.57 to $65.56 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down $5 to $62 a barrel as of Friday afternoon.</p>



<p>Since Wednesday’s market close ahead of Trump’s tariff announcement, the price of Brent crude has dropped nearly 13% and WTI decreased 14%.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-will-gas-get-cheaper">Will Gas Get Cheaper?</h2>



<p>While crude oil prices do impact how much drivers pay at the pump, gas prices are also influenced by refinery and distribution costs, taxes and corporate profits, so it’s unclear exactly how an oil sell-off will affect consumers. The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.27, up from $3.10 a month ago but down from $3.57 last year, according to AAA&nbsp;<a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">data</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-much-more-could-oil-prices-drop">How Much More Could Oil Prices Drop?</h2>



<p>Goldman Sachs lowered its crude oil price forecasts late Thursday night, citing weakened demand, tariff escalation, growing recession risks and increased supply. The firm downgraded its Dec. 25 price forecasts of Brent and WTI to $66 and $62, respectively.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-trump-put-new-tariffs-on-oil">Did Trump Put New Tariffs On Oil?</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-imports-exempted-trumps-sweeping-tariffs-2025-04-02/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Fuel</a>&nbsp;was exempt from the sweeping tariffs announced Wednesday, but Trump has touted higher energy production and lower prices as a way to lower the inflation rate, which remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>&#8220;The trade war escalated, recession fears rise and consequently oil demand growth is to take a sizeable hit,”&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-tumbles-8-china-retaliates-124226355.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;Tamas Vargas, analyst at PVM Oil Associates. “The fact that U.S. energy imports are exempted, and OPEC+ produced a bombshell by re-adding more oil in May than originally planned pours fuel to the bear&#8217;s fire. Volatility will persist, risk is off, and currently it is impossible to foretell when appetite for oil and equities will return.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>The drop in oil prices comes as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/03/frances-macron-says-european-businesses-should-halt-us-investment-as-trump-tariffs-face-global-backlash/">global leaders</a>&nbsp;are reacting to the wide array of “reciprocal tariffs” levied by Trump on more than 180 countries, which includes baseline 10% tariffs for all. On Friday, Chinese state media announced it will impose an additional 34% import duty on U.S. goods in retaliation against Trump’s 34% tariff on Chinese goods (on top of existing tariffs, bringing the actual rate to 54%).</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p>France’s Macron Says European Businesses Should Halt U.S. Investment—As Trump Tariffs Face Global Backlash (<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/03/frances-macron-says-european-businesses-should-halt-us-investment-as-trump-tariffs-face-global-backlash/">Forbes</a>)</p>



<p>China Retaliates Against Trump’s Tariffs With 34% Duties On U.S. Goods (<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/04/china-retaliates-against-trumps-tariffs-with-34-duties-on-us-goods/">Forbes</a>)</p>



<p>Here’s What Will Cost More After Trump’s Tariffs: Coffee, Cars—And Possibly A $2,300 iPhone (<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/04/03/heres-what-will-cost-more-after-trumps-tariffs-coffee-cars-and-possibly-a-2300-iphone/">Forbes</a>)</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://sync.graph.bluecava.com/ds.png?p=4cb3430d-9dfd-11ef-a5fe-4201ac100015&amp;segment=forbeseval" alt=""/></figure>


Oil pump with candle stick graph chart in the background. World Oil Industry

Oil Prices Drop 7% To Four-Year Low As Tariff Fallout Sparks Recession Fears


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>China will impose an additional 34% import duty on all U.S. goods starting next week, in retaliation against President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 34% “reciprocal tariff” on Chinese goods, state media announced on Friday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>According to the&nbsp;<a href="https://english.news.cn/20250404/8626fe444e37441c86e234fe94a2ad2a/c.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">state-controlled Xinhua News agency</a>, the additional 34% tariff will go into effect on April 10 and affect&nbsp;<a href="http://www.news.cn/fortune/20250404/1e6a6bc4d7f64612950615a8af82cef8/c.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">all goods</a>&nbsp;imported from the U.S.</p>



<p>The new levies were&nbsp;<a href="http://www.news.cn/fortune/20250404/a61307ec766c4536a61a47d17ba35f59/c.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;by the Chinese State Council’s Tariff Commission, which said that the Trump administration’s tariff action “seriously undermines China&#8217;s legitimate rights and interests.”</p>



<p>The commission described the U.S. reciprocal tariffs as “typical unilateral bullying” and warned that the move also undermines America’s own interests and endangers global economic development.</p>



<p>In a separate&nbsp;<a href="https://english.news.cn/20250404/a9f89273211642f991c5d135200e918d/c.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announcement</a>, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it had filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the U.S. tariffs, to allow the global trade body’s ’s dispute settlement mechanism to settle the issue.</p>



<p><a href="http://www.news.cn/fortune/20250404/7cb1b8a7a643472c921fc4db73e62421/c.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Beijing said</a>&nbsp;the latest round of Trump’s tariffs “seriously violate WTO rules” and damages the “legitimate rights and interests of WTO members,” and undermines the international economic and trade order.</p>



<p>In addition to the tariffs, the commerce ministry also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/syxwfb/art/2025/art_1351f2622f654d75a19bb880f07e6517.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;expanded export controls controls on certain rare earths to the U.S. with immediate effect.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-have-u-s-futures-reacted-to-the-retaliatory-tariffs">How Have U.s. Futures Reacted To The Retaliatory Tariffs?</h2>



<p>All three major futures indexes nosedived sharply after the Chinese announcement, with Dow Futures falling nearly 2.9% to 39,584 points. The benchmark S&amp;P 500 dropped nearly 3% to 5,272.00 points in premarket trading early on Friday while tech-heavy Nasdaq futures were down 3.1% to 18,083.75 points.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-tariffs-have-been-placed-on-chinese-imports-into-the-u-s">What Tariffs Have Been Placed On Chinese Imports Into The U.s.?</h2>



<p>On Wednesday, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/04/02/trump-announces-reciprocal-tariff-rates-54-for-china-20-on-eu-live-updates/">announced</a>&nbsp;sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” against 180 other countries and territories, and said they were in response to levies and non-tariff barriers placed on U.S. goods. China was hit with a 34% “reciprocal tariffs” which the White House argues was a “discounted” response against what they claimed was 67% charged by China. The administration did not explain how it came up with the percentage, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/business/economy/trump-tariff-rates-calculation.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reports suggest</a>&nbsp;the figure prices in the trade deficit that the U.S. has with the other country. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that this levy was on top of the previously announced 20% tariffs on all Chinese goods, bringing the total rate to 54%.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/04/trump-and-advisors-offer-contradictory-takes-on-tariff-negotiations-what-to-know/">Trump And Advisors Offer Contradictory Takes On Tariff Negotiations—What To Know</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/03/frances-macron-says-european-businesses-should-halt-us-investment-as-trump-tariffs-face-global-backlash/">France’s Macron Says European Businesses Should Halt U.S. Investment—As Trump Tariffs Face Global Backlash</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/04/02/trump-announces-reciprocal-tariff-rates-54-for-china-20-on-eu-live-updates/">Trump Announces Reciprocal Tariff Rates—54% For China, 20% On EU</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



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American Chinese windy day flags fly together on flagpole

China Retaliates Against Trump’s Tariffs With 34% Duties On U.S. Goods


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Amazon and mobile technology firm AppLovin are the latest to make acquisition offers for TikTok, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/business/media/amazon-tiktok-bid.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">multiple</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/tiktok-ban-bids-amazon-applovin-62a1d573" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reports</a>, joining Oracle, Microsoft and other potential buyers on the day when the White House is reportedly reviewing an offer—just days before the popular app is required to sell to an American company or face a ban in the U.S.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Amazon’s offer is for all of TikTok, according to three unnamed people familiar with the bid cited by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/business/media/amazon-tiktok-bid.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>, which noted some parties involved in negotiations “do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously” (Amazon declined to comment).</p>



<p>An offer letter was made out to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the Times reported, citing an unnamed person briefed on the matter.</p>



<p>AppLovin, a publicly traded company that helps developers market and advertise their apps, made an offer for TikTok and talked to billionaire casino magnate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/steve-wynn/">Steve Wynn</a>&nbsp;about backing the bid, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/tiktok-ban-bids-amazon-applovin-62a1d573" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</p>



<p>AppLovin told the Trump administration it could address national security concerns about TikTok if it owned the app, the Journal reported.</p>



<p>Trump was holding a meeting Wednesday with Vance, Lutnick and others to discuss an offer, according to multiple reports.</p>



<p>The last-minute bids come three days before TikTok’s potential ban or sale to an American company, and about two weeks after Vance told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-vance/vance-high-level-agreement-tiktok-april-5-deadline-rcna196410" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">NBC News</a>&nbsp;a deal will be made that “satisfies our national security concerns” and “allows there to be a distinct American TikTok enterprise.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-the-trump-administration-delay-the-tiktok-ban-again">Can The Trump Administration Delay The Tiktok Ban Again?</h2>



<p>Yes, though Vance has said the Trump administration is aiming to get a deal done before the April 5 deadline. If no deal is reached by then, President Donald Trump could issue another order pushing the ban back by “30 days or longer” to “fully iron out the complex deal structure,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told&nbsp;<a href="https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/is-tiktok-being-banned-trump-deadline-sale-1236353914/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Variety</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-could-buy-tiktok">Who Could Buy Tiktok?</h2>



<p>In addition to Amazon and AppLovin, Oracle has emerged as a leading suitor for TikTok, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/16/white-house-oracle-tiktok-00232302?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=631a6099-caed-48c6-85c8-182447684362" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Politico</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/oracle-leading-contender-help-run-tiktok-new-deal?utm_campaign=Editorial&amp;utm_content=Article&amp;utm_medium=organic_social&amp;utm_source=twitter" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The Information</a>. The White House has spoken with Oracle about a deal that would give the computer technology company oversight of TikTok’s U.S. data and make it responsible for keeping that information away from China,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/16/white-house-oracle-tiktok-00232302?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=631a6099-caed-48c6-85c8-182447684362" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Politico</a>&nbsp;reported. Trump told reporters in March his administration was speaking with four potential TikTok buyers. Though he did not provide any company names, he has mentioned&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/01/26/these-billionaires-companies-and-investors-could-buy-tiktok-as-oracle-reportedly-weighs-deal-with-trump/">Microsoft as a potential buyer</a>&nbsp;in the past and hoped there would be a “bidding war” for TikTok. Microsoft made an offer for TikTok as far back as 2020, but it collapsed not long after discussions began. Other companies and people that have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/01/26/these-billionaires-companies-and-investors-could-buy-tiktok-as-oracle-reportedly-weighs-deal-with-trump/">shown interest</a>&nbsp;in purchasing TikTok include&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-walmart-announce-tentative-us-government-approval-091920/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Walmart</a>, video-sharing platform Rumble, Perplexity AI, YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast, and billionaire Frank McCourt’s internet advocacy group Project Liberty.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>The law forcing TikTok to sell itself to an American company or be banned in the U.S. was signed by former President Joe Biden last year following bipartisan national security concerns, with lawmakers concerned that China uses the data collected by the app to spy on Americans. Trump extended the deadline on TikTok’s potential ban or sale by 75 days after he took office. National security concerns over TikTok have persisted into the dealmaking process and are a key part of acquisition talks, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/03/14/vance-says-tiktok-will-almost-certainly-reach-deal-to-avoid-us-ban-next-month/">Vance</a>, who said last month he believed the app will stay operational in the U.S. “in a way that’s protective of Americans’ data privacy and America’s national security.” TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance have denied allegations they have compromised American data privacy, though Forbes has found the app&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2022/12/22/tiktok-tracks-forbes-journalists-bytedance/">spied on journalists</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2024/04/17/tiktok-mishandled-advertisers-data-bytedance-china/?sh=8e548b1da2b5">mishandled advertiser data</a>&nbsp;and stored some&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2023/05/30/tiktok-creators-data-security-china/?sh=37d6f4577048">creators’ financial data</a>&nbsp;in China.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/03/16/what-we-know-about-trumps-tiktok-deal-as-reports-suggest-oracle-could-take-lead-role/">What We Know About Trump’s TikTok Deal—As Reports Suggest Oracle Could Take Lead Role&nbsp;</a>(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/03/14/vance-says-tiktok-will-almost-certainly-reach-deal-to-avoid-us-ban-next-month/">Vance Says TikTok Will ‘Almost Certainly’ Reach Deal To Avoid U.S. Ban Next Month</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



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