Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs are roiling international monetary markets, with shares tumbling throughout the board from New York to London.
Wall Road suffered its worst week because the onset of the Covid-19 disaster 5 years in the past as traders worldwide balked on the US president’s dangerous bid to overtake the worldwide financial system with the huge tariffs.
Consultants are all however unanimous that the affect on international progress of Wednesday’s extraordinary Rose Backyard press convention will probably be unfavourable – however simply how unhealthy stays extremely unsure.
Listed here are the important thing tales at a look:
Dow drops greater than 2,200 factors
Donald Trump doubled down on his plan on Friday, insisting he wouldn’t again down even because the chairman of the Federal Reserve warned it could doubtless increase costs and decelerate financial progress.
A stock-market rout continued apace, with the benchmark S&P 500 falling 322 factors, or 6%, and the Dow Jones industrial common retreating 2,231.07 factors, or 5.2%, in New York. The Dow’s two-day stoop has worn out $6.4tn in worth, in line with Dow Jones market knowledge.
China hits again arduous at ‘bullying’ Trump
China has hit again arduous towards the US president’s “bullying” tariffs, elevating fears that the escalating commerce warfare may set off a world recession and prompting recent turmoil in monetary markets.
Beijing retaliated on Friday with punitive 34% extra tariffs on all items imported from the US, mirroring the US choice and exacerbating a sell-off on international inventory markets.
Fed chair defies Trump and warns of upper costs
Donald Trump’s international tariffs assault is ready to lift costs and decelerate financial progress, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has warned, defying the US president’s calls for for a right away rate of interest lower.
Democrats decry firing of nationwide safety chief
High congressional Democrats are protesting towards the firing of Gen Tim Haugh as director of the Nationwide Safety Company (NSA), with one lawmaker saying the choice “makes all of us much less secure”.
US protection division spokesperson Sean Parnell on Friday confirmed Haugh’s departure with out elaborating on why.
Supreme courtroom permits DEI cuts to instructor coaching grants
The US supreme courtroom is letting the Trump administration quickly freeze $65m in teacher-training grants that may promote range, fairness and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in a 5-4 choice.
The ruling got here down on Friday afternoon, with 5 of the courtroom’s conservatives – justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh – within the majority. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson all dissented.
TikTok sale deadline moved
Donald Trump mentioned he would signal an government order to increase the TikTok ban deadline. That is the second time the president can have delayed the ban or sale of the social media app, and can punt the deadline to 75 days from now.
China put a doable deal on maintain this week after Trump introduced his sweeping tariffs, in line with Reuters.
US ‘testing’ if Russia is critical about peace in Ukraine
The US will know inside weeks whether or not Russia is critical about pursuing peace with Ukraine, the secretary of state has mentioned, warning that Donald Trump was not “going to fall into the entice of countless negotiations” with Moscow.
“We’re testing to see if the Russians are concerned about peace,” Marco Rubio informed journalists in Brussels after talks with Nato allies. “Their actions – not their phrases, their actions – will decide whether or not they’re critical or not, and we intend to seek out that out sooner moderately than later.”
What else occurred at present:
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Chevron has been ordered to pay greater than $744m in damages for destroying components of south-east Louisiana’s coastal wetlands over time. The ruling, which got here within the type of a civil jury verdict on Friday, marks the conclusion of the primary trial amongst 42 lawsuits filed about 12 years earlier.
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Texas on Friday reported one other giant leap in measles circumstances and hospitalizations, leaving the US with greater than double the variety of measles circumstances to this point this 12 months than it noticed in all of 2024.
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Los Angeles county has reached a $4bn settlement to settle almost 7,000 claims of sexual abuse in juvenile services since 1959, officers mentioned on Friday. The settlement, which nonetheless wants approval from the Los Angeles county board of supervisors, could be the most important of its variety.
Catching up? Right here’s what occurred on 3 April 2025.
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