Trump escalates his trade war with new tariffs
Good morning. One homeowner has the chance to live above the clouds. A penthouse in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is on the market for $49 million. The Dubai-based listing agent told BI he’s surprised at how many calls he’s gotten from interested Americans.
In today’s big story, President Donald Trump’s trade war just intensified.
What’s on deck
Markets: Two major banks slashed their stock-market outlooks for 2025.
Tech: Googlers grilled leaders about smaller pay bumps in an all-hands.
Business: Americans are shoplifting at Whole Foods — and they don’t feel bad about it.
But first, it was a rough day for the markets.
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The big story
Trump’s auto tariffs
Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI
The trade war has escalated.
On Wednesday, Trump announced plans to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on cars from overseas.
The president suggested the new tariff could boost manufacturing growth in the US if foreign-owned auto companies add new plants in the country to get around the import fees.
“A lot of foreign car companies are going to be in great shape because they’ve already built their plant, but their plants are underutilized, so they’ll be able to expand them inexpensively and quickly,” Trump said. “Others will come into our country and build, and they’re already looking for sites.”
The markets weren’t happy.
Shares of Ford and General Motors were sharply lower in after-hours trading following the announcement. Tesla was also down, building on a 6% drop earlier in the day amid a broad selloff.
Tech shares took a hit, too, amid the expectation that more cautious corporate activity will eventually erode earnings growth market-wide.
Investors had cheered earlier in the week amid reports that Trump could soften the tariffs due to kick in on April 2.
I doubt they’re cheering this morning. Trump warned today that he plans to impose additional “large scale tariffs” on the European Union and Canada if they collaborate to do “economic harm” to the US.
3 things in markets
Matias Baglietto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
1. Last year’s rainmakers may need to ditch the umbrellas. Wall Street made it rain in 2024 as bonuses reached a record $47.5 billion, according to a report from the New York state comptroller. But the comptroller warned that those celebrations may be fleeting.
2. Two more big banks slash market outlook. HSBC downgraded its rating of US stocks, citing falling confidence. Meanwhile, Barclays cut its S&P 500 target to the lowest among major banks, predicting the index will finish the year at 5,900.
3. Nvidia stock tumbles. The chip giant’s stock fell by nearly 6% on Wednesday, following a report that Beijing introduced new energy efficiency rules that would effectively remove Nvidia’s H20 chip from the Chinese market. The restrictions pose a direct threat to the company’s business in the country.
3 things in tech
KIRAN RIDLEYKIRAN RIDLEY/Getty, Ava Horton/BI
1. TikTok’s US e-commerce team is having a terrible time. ByteDance’s CEO put the team behind TikTok Shop on blast during a global all-hands, nine current and former employees told BI. It also trimmed down the team in March with a PIP-or-severance process.
2. Googlers grill leaders over pay. Employees recently got their new compensation packages, and some say they’ve seen a decrease. Staff asked why some had seen smaller pay bumps despite the company’s recent strong financial performance during an all-hands on Tuesday, according to a transcript of the meeting shared with BI.
3. This healthcare startup is set to be valued over $300 million. Solace, which matches Medicare patients with clinical professionals in all 50 states, just raised a fresh round of funding led by Menlo Ventures, BI has learned. Before its Series B, it had raised $21 million.
3 things in business
Fertnig/Getty, Amazon, Ava Horton/BI
1. Is it still shoplifting if you’re stealing from Jeff Bezos? “If a billionaire can steal from me, I can scrape a little off the top, too.” That’s how one person justifies stealing little goodies from Whole Foods. Others are fudging Amazon returns. But small-time swiping could be causing unintended harm.
2. Signalgate’s workplace lesson. The dustup following US officials’ use of Signal to discuss military operations is a good example of what not to do when you mess up at work. Executives told BI owning up to a mistake is best, and it’s a good opportunity for leaders to pass along lessons to the entire organization.
3. FCC aims at Disney. Brendan Carr, chairman of the FCC, said he plans to investigate Disney’s DEI practices after similar announcements about Comcast and Verizon. Trump, who appointed Carr, has made it clear he considers many media companies his enemies, and Carr has suggested their broadcast licenses could be at stake.
In other news
What’s happening today
- Q4 2024 final growth figures published.
- SEC Roundtable on AI in the Financial Industry.
- NCAA March Madness Sweet 16 round.
- Major League Baseball season begins.