Markets & Headlines Daily Finance News Update

The executive order seeks to institute a policy known as “Most Favored Nation,” whereby the U.S. government pays prices for drugs that are tied to the prices paid by other countries.

Zelensky Asks Trump to Join Ukraine Peace Talks

AI Startup Perplexity’s Valuation Surges to $14 Billion in New Funding Round

Perplexity plans to launch its own web browser, Comet, to challenge Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari.
Venture-capital firm Accel is set to lead the new round, which is expected to total $500 million

House Bill Would Scrap EV Tax Credit

The proposed law adjusts EV tax credits: the $7,500 new EV credit lasts until 2026 but is limited to low-volume manufacturers starting January; the $4,000 used EV credit and $7,500 commercial EV credit end this year, potentially affecting leasing, which drives up to 80% of EV sales, per Edmunds.

CNBC

China sees the U.S. trade deal as a huge win for Beijing

Toy stocks rally after Chinese tariffs slashed to 30%

Trump China trade deal: Tariff pause means new surge in freight shipments, and higher prices

McDonald’s announces plans to hire 375,000 workers with Trump Labor secretary

Google launches AI startup fund offering access to new models and tools

Markets & Headlines – 5/12/25

May 11, 2025

Markets

Headlines and Quotations

WSJ

Bessent Hails ‘Productive’ U.S.-China Trade Talks

Greer suggested that some sort of agreement had been reached with the Chinese side without providing specifics.

Trump Administration in Talks to Accept New Air Force One as Gift From Qatar

How Tariffs Are Crushing Small Businesses: ‘Nobody in Power Seems to Care’

Unlike larger companies, small businesses have fewer levers to pull to help them endure the new tariff regime. Most work with a single factory or a handful of suppliers, making switching production to lower-tariff countries especially difficult. Smaller margins, thinner cash cushions and tiny staffs leave them more vulnerable to trade battles and other economic storms.

Zelensky Agrees to Talks With Russia, After Trump Intervention

CNBC

Trump heads to the Middle East with oil, trade and nuclear ambitions on the table

for an official trip with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

First Chinese freight ship goods hit with Trump’s 145%-plus tariffs arriving at U.S. ports

with goods for Amazon, Home Depot, Ikea, Ralph Lauren, Tractor Supply, Procter & Gamble, LG, and Samsung, among others.
Trump said on Friday he might be willing to lower tariffs on China to 80%.

Dow futures jump 500 points as traders await details on U.S.-China trade deal: Live updates

Reuters

Putin proposes direct peace talks with Ukraine after three years of war

May 15 in the Turkish city of Istanbul

Investing.com

OpenAI and Microsoft renegotiate multibillion-dollar partnership terms – report

aims to enable OpenAI to initiate a future initial public offering (IPO), while ensuring that Microsoft maintains access to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models

US Risks Brexit-Style Slow-Burning Damage From Trade Shock: JPMorgan

a drop in trade intensity, a fall in immigration that worsened labor shortages, and a multi-year decline in business investment.

Markets & Headlines – 5/7/25

May 8, 2025

Markets

Headlines and Quotations

CNBC

Trump unveils United Kingdom trade deal, first since ‘reciprocal’ tariff pause

10% baseline tariff is a low number, some will be much higher
first 100,000 vehicles imported from U.K. car manufacturers each year are subject to a 10% rate, and any additional vehicles face 25% rates.

Robert Prevost is first American pope: Leo XIV

Prevost, 69, chose the papal name Leo XIV.

Palantir now among 10 most valuable U.S. tech companies — its earnings multiple is astronomical

Palantir joined the top 10 largest U.S. technology companies by market cap on Thursday.
Palantir currently trades for 520 times trailing earnings, almost 200 times forward earnings, and 90 times revenue.

Bitcoin jumps above $100,000 for first time since February

Other cryptocurrencies, which have struggled to keep pace with bitcoin this year, rallied. Ether jumped about 18%, while the token tied to Solana gained 10% and dogecoin rose 12%.

Standard Chartered analyst apologizes for $120,000 bitcoin price call, says target ‘may be too low’

> Of course

WSJ

EU Targets American Aircraft, Car Parts for Possible Tariffs if Talks Fail

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, on Thursday released a fresh list of about 95 billion euros worth of American products that it says could face tariffs, equivalent to about $107 billion
> Playing Trump

India Says It Intercepted Missiles and Drones Launched by Pakistan

Reuters

Equities rise with dollar, bond yields on trade optimism after US-UK deal

CNN

Xi and Putin agree to ‘deepen’ China-Russia ties during Moscow talks

Bill Gates announces plan to give ‘virtually all’ his money away and end the Gates Foundation in 20 years

the billionaire Microsoft founder says he doesn’t want to wait that long to give away most of his wealth.
Gates wants to accelerate the foundation’s work on global health and equity initiatives and hopes the move will set a model for other billionaires, he said in a blog post published Thursday morning.

Did South Korea’s legendary female free divers evolve for a life underwater? Scientists find new evidence

uncovered unique genetic differences the Haenyeo have evolved to cope with the physiological stress of free diving
“Your blood pressure increases as you dive. Their (Jeju residents’) blood pressure increases less,” Ilardo explained.

Gates Notes

My new deadline: 20 years to give away virtually all my wealth

When I first began thinking about how to give away my wealth, I did what I always do when I start a new project: I read a lot of books. I read books about great philanthropists and their foundations to inform my decisions about how exactly to give back. And I read books about global health to help me better understand the problems I wanted to solve.

Markets & Headlines – 5/7/25

May 7, 2025

Markets

Headlines and Quotations

WSJ

Fed Warns of Rising Economic Risks as It Leaves Rates Steady

Powell said officials felt like the costs of waiting to learn more about the economy were “fairly low.” He used the term “wait and see” 11 times on Wednesday.

India and Pakistan Face Off but Seek to Contain Fallout

The U.S. has sought to persuade both sides to defuse tensions. But while U.S.-India ties have strengthened in recent years, Washington’s influence over Islamabad has waned over the past decade as China has become Pakistan’s closest ally.

Reuters

Trump administration to rescind and replace Biden-era global AI chip export curbs

The Biden rule divided the world into three tiers: 17 countries and Taiwan were in the first tier, which could receive unlimited chips. Some 120 other countries were in the second tier, which was subject to caps on the number of chips the countries could receive. In the third tier, countries of concern including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea were blocked from the chips.
But Trump administration officials are weighing discarding the tiered approach to access in the rule and replacing it with a global licensing regime with government-to-government agreements, sources told Reuters last week.

Microsoft wins appeal in FTC challenge to $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower judge’s order that said the FTC was not entitled to a preliminary injunction blocking the deal, which closed in 2023.

US lawmakers criticise UK backdoor order to Apple, warn of cybercriminal risks

.S. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan and Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast warned Britain on Wednesday that its order to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to create a backdoor to its encrypted user data could be exploited by cybercriminals and authoritarian regimes.
Apple, which has said it would never build a so-called back door into its encrypted services or devices, has challenged the order at the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT).

Yahoo Finance

Google stock sinks on report Apple plans to integrate AI search into Safari browser

Google (GOOG, GOOGL) stock dropped more than 7.5% on Wednesday after Apple’s senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, revealed that Apple (AAPL) is exploring adding AI search engines such as Perplexity to its default Safari web browser.
During his testimony, Cue said Apple saw a drop in searches in Safari for the first time last month, attributing the move to customers increasingly opting for AI-based search options.

Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq rise as Fed holds rates steady, Powell sticks to ‘wait and see’

Trump tariffs live updates: Trump declines to soften tariffs with US-China trade talks set to begin

President Trump said Wednesday he would not pull back tariffs on Chinese goods in order to get China to the negotiating table, countering speculation that he might lower hefty 145% tariffs to break the ice.

CNBC

Trump’s ambassador to China sworn in ahead of high-stakes talks in Switzerland

Arm shares drop on weak forecast

Trump offers to ‘help’ relieve conflict between India and Pakistan

Both India and Pakistan claim that all of Kashmir is rightfully part of their countries.

Markets & Headlines – 5/6/25

May 6, 2025

Markets

Headlines and Quotations

WSJ

Stock Market Today: Dow Drops; Corporate Warnings About Tariffs Mount

Stock indexes declined on Tuesday, a day after the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 both snapped nine-day winning streaks. Gold prices rose again to a record.

AMD Earnings, Trade Deficit; Fed Meeting: What to Watch This Week

Fed Confronts Lose-Lose Scenario Amid Haphazard Tariff Rollout

Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues are on track to extend their wait-and-see stance on cutting interest rates and strategize how to refine it.

Harvard President on Trump Attacks: ‘The Fight Came to Me’

As U.S. Turns Its Back on Free Trade, Other Countries Double Down

The U.K. and India completed a trade agreement; EU is negotiating with India and has agreed on a deal with Mercosur.

Carney, Meeting Trump, Says Canada Isn’t for Sale

“Never say never,” Trump said.

Markets & Headlines – 5/1/25

May 1, 2025

Markets

Headlines and Quotations

WSJ

Apple Says Most of Its Devices Shipped Into U.S. Will Be From India, Vietnam

Tariffs are expected to add $900 million to Apple’s costs in the June quarter, potentially worsening in future quarters.

Trump Ousts National Security Adviser Mike Waltz

Waltz lost favor after adding a journalist to a sensitive military operation chat.

Tesla Board Opened Search for a CEO to Succeed Elon Musk

Tesla didn’t provide a statement before publication. Hours after this article was published, Tesla issued a denial on X. Musk also criticized the article in a post on X.

Trump Wants a New Air Force One So Badly He’s Refurbishing a Qatari Plane

The U.S. government has commissioned L3Harris LHX -0.05%decrease; red down pointing triangle to overhaul a Boeing 747 formerly used by the Qatari government.

Amazon Shares Drop on Tariff Concerns Despite Strong Quarter

RFK Jr. Bets $500 Million on Universal Vaccines in Shift From Covid-19 Funding

The project involves producing vaccines from chemically inactivated whole viruses, a throwback to how flu vaccines were made decades ago. The goal, one that scientists have chased unsuccessfully for decades, is to make “universal” vaccines that protect against multiple strains of a virus at once.

Stock Market Today: Meta, Microsoft Earnings Help Ease Fears of Tariff Hit to Magnificent Seven

Facebook parent Meta reported strong sales and said growth would remain steady, assuaging concerns tariffs would harm its digital-ads business—a chunk of which comes from Chinese companies. Microsoft, meanwhile, indicated that big corporate clients aren’t slashing technology budgets just yet.

CNBC

Nvidia says Anthropic is telling ‘tall tales’ in its defense of U.S. AI chip restrictions on China

“American firms should focus on innovation and rise to the challenge, rather than tell tall tales that large, heavy, and sensitive electronics are somehow smuggled in ‘baby bumps’ or ‘alongside live lobsters,’ ” a spokesperson for Nvidia said.
Anthropic, the AI startup backed by billions from Amazon, argued for tighter controls and enforcement, saying in a blog post Wednesday that Chinese smuggling tactics involved chips hidden in “prosthetic baby bumps” and “packed alongside live lobsters.”
“China, with half of the world’s AI researchers, has highly capable AI experts at every layer of the AI stack. America cannot manipulate regulators to capture victory in AI,” the spokesperson said.

Trump says any country that buys oil from Iran will not be allowed to do any business with U.S.

Trump’s comments are clearly directed at China, which is importing more than 1 million barrels per day from Iran, said Scott Modell, CEO of consulting firm Rapidan Energy. Modell said U.S. sanctions are unlikely to have an impact on Iranian oil flowing to China unless the White House targets Beijing’s state-owned enterprises and infrastructure.

U.S. and Ukraine sign landmark minerals deal after months of fraught negotiations

The U.S. and Ukraine have signed a long-awaited minerals deal, providing Washington with preferential access to Kyiv’s natural resources in exchange for the formation of a reconstruction investment fund.

Weekly jobless claims surge to 241,000, more than expected, in latest sign of economic trouble

South Korea presidential race rocked by court ruling, resignations

South Korea’s top court cast doubt on Thursday on frontrunner Lee Jae-myung’s eligibility to run for the presidency, while the resignations of the prime minister and finance minister shook the interim government in place since December’s martial law.

Eli Lilly sales soar 45% on weight loss drug demand, but drugmaker cuts profit outlook after cancer treatment deal

Eli Lilly topped first-quarter earnings and revenue estimates as sales of its weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro spiked.

Markets & Headlines – 4/29/25

April 29, 2025

Markets

Headlines and Quotations

CNBC

Trump: ‘I think we’ll have a deal with India’ on tariffs and trade

Trump complained to Bezos before Amazon said it scrapped idea to display tariff cost

Within hours of the call, Amazon publicly downplayed the scope of its plan — and then announced that it had been scrapped entirely.

Starbucks stock falls as sales disappoint, turnaround pressures earnings

Starbucks on Tuesday reported weaker-than-expected earnings and another quarter of same-store sales declines, but the coffee giant said its turnaround strategy is showing early signs of success.
Some of those tweaks include scaling back plans to automate more coffee-making and investing more in labor, which weighed on earnings during the quarter.
While Starbucks is spending more on labor, the company is cutting back on how much it is putting into equipment.

UK announces draft rules for crypto industry, touts greater collaboration with U.S.

Speaking at a fintech event Tuesday, U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced plans for a “comprehensive regulatory regime for crypto assets

Oil industry that Trump wants to ‘drill, baby, drill’ has taken a beating since he took office

U.S. crude oil
prices have fallen below $65 per barrel, down more than 20% since Trump’s second term began, making it unprofitable for many companies to boost production, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Super Micro shares dive after server maker issues weak preliminary financials

Investing.com

Stock market today: S&P500 ends higher on trade deal hopes; big tech earnings eyed

The S&P 500 closed sharply higher Tuesday for the sixth-straight day, underpinned by falling Treasury yields and signs of flexibility on tariffs from the White House as well as signs of further trade deals just as the earnings season continues to heat up.