Headlines and Quotations
CNBC
Hermès to hike U.S. prices for iconic bags and scarves in response to Trump tariffs
CNBC’s Inside India newsletter: Could India be a hedge against trade wars and tariffs?
- Analysts say India’s consumer-led economy, low exposure to international trade, and large number of domestic investors partly insulates it from the sell-off ravaging global markets in recent weeks.
- Lower oil prices, which typically precede a global economic growth slowdown, are also beneficial for the Indian economy.
Trump again calls for Fed to cut rates, says Powell’s ‘termination cannot come fast enough’
Netflix posts major earnings beat as revenue grows 13% in first quarter
- Netflix posted a major earnings beat on Thursday, as revenue grew 13% during the first quarter of 2025.
- In late January, the company increased its pricing across the board, raising its standard plan to $17.99 a month, its ad-supported plan to $7.99, and its premium plan to $24.99.
Google hit with second antitrust blow, adding to concerns about future of ads business
- Judge Brinkema ruled that Google unlawfully controls two of the three parts of the advertising technology market: the publisher ad server market and ad exchange market.
European Central Bank cuts interest rates, warns of ‘deteriorated’ growth outlook on trade tensions
- The European Central Bank made yet another 25-basis-point interest rate cut on Thursday
- The cut takes the ECB’s deposit facility rate, its key rate, to 2.25%. At its highs in mid-2023 it had been at 4%.
- The ECB on Thursday also said that “the disinflation process is well on track.”
- In particular, the judge cited the purchases of DoubleClick and Admeld and said the government failed to show those “acquisitions were anticompetitive.”
Reuters
Tesla speeds up odometers to avoid warranty repairs, US lawsuit claims
The plaintiff Nyree Hinton alleged that Tesla odometer readings reflect energy consumption, driver behavior and “predictive algorithms” rather than actual mileage driven. He said the odometer on the 2020 Model Y he bought in December 2022 with 36,772 miles on the clock ran at least 15% fast, based on his other vehicles and driving history, and for a while said he drove 72 miles a day when at most he drove 20.
Global Payments agrees $24.25 billion Worldpay deal as industry heavyweights shift focus
Global Payments has agreed to buy rival Worldpay from FIS and private equity firm GTCR for $24.25 billion in a three-way deal, sharpening its focus on merchant services in its race for big-business clients in a crowded payments market.
Investing.com
Stock market today: S&P 500 pares gains to close slightly higher amid tariff woes
Bloomberg
Moody’s Boosts Default Forecasts as Global Trade War Heats Up
- The credit-grading firm said it now sees the default rate for speculative-grade companies reaching 3.1% by the end of the year, compared with its prior expectation of 2.5%. If that forecast materializes, it would still amount to a decline in the default rate from the year prior, but Moody’s says it wouldn’t take a major negative shock for the rate to rise instead, possibly to as high as 6%.
Bill Ackman Makes Big Bet on Hertz Becoming Tariff Winner
- ill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management has amassed a nearly 20% stake in rental car company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. in a bet that tariffs will push up car prices, the billionaire said in a social media post.
Yahoo Finance
WSJ
A Depleted Hamas Is So Low on Cash That It Can’t Pay Its Fighters
- “Even if they sit on large amounts of cash, their ability to distribute it would be very limited right now,” said Eyal Ofer, an open-source researcher on Gaza’s economy. Ofer said Hamas’s typical payment methods were to have a courier carry cash or to set up a disbursement point, either of which could create targets for Israeli troops. “Those two things would grab attention,” he said.
Trump Expresses Optimism on EU Trade Deal
