How a Trade War Could Impact Employment in the U.S.
Another round of proposed tariffs, another market meltdown. That seemed to be the theme of the day...and the week.
On Friday, the Dow Industrials, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all fell by more than two percent, capping off another down week.
The latest declines came on the heels of President Trump saying he’s considering tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of Chinese goods as a response to that country’s “unfair retaliation” to his initial tax proposal.
Comments from Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin acknowledging the possibility of a trade war suggested that, this time, there may be real consequences to Trump’s proposal.
“This runs the risk of overplaying his hand,” said Clayton Allen, Vice President, Special Situations at Height Capital Management.
“This is a fear that’s possibly driven more by the concept of the worst possible outcome rather than by the realistic expectation of where this goes over the next three months.”
Another factor that pressured markets was the March jobs report, which showed the U.S. economy far fewer jobs last month than expected.
And if a trade war between the U.S. and China were to escalate, more jobs could be on the line, said Allen.
“Companies in the U.S. that...build things out of components shipped from China would...have a less competitive advantage if the price of those shipments goes up.”
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
