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Trump Pivots On Tariffs, Markets Soar

Trump Pivots On Tariffs, Markets Soar

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
April 10, 2025

Good Thursday morning. Two college baseball teams that had lost a combined 141 consecutive games played a doubleheader earlier this week. They fittingly split it. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

Missouri: Monkey business
Greece: General strike
North Carolina: Senate bid
Sam’s Club: Expansion plans
The Masters: Play begins

... and more

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The Top Tip

Playing the hits

President Donald Trump reversed course on his tariff plan in surprise -- but also somewhat predictable -- fashion.

The news: Almost all of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs were abruptly paused for 90 days yesterday; the president said a 10% reciprocal tariff would take effect across the board. But Trump also escalated his feud with China, increasing tariffs on Beijing to a whopping 125%.
Markets rejoice: Major indexes took off on the news. The Dow Jones (+7.87%) jumped close to 3K points. The Nasdaq (+12.16%) had its best session in close to a quarter-century. And the S&P 500 (+9.52%) enjoyed its third-largest single-day gains since World War II. Futures markets were also up.
The spin: White House officials insisted Trump had masterfully gained leverage with trading partners and was now ready to cut deals with the "over 75" nations that did not retaliate against the initial tariffs. Even though the Trump Administration repeatedly said the president was not using the tariffs as a negotiating tool. Trump said he decided on thepause because the markets had become "yippy."
Alternative fact: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied chaos in the bond market had forced Trump's hand, a claim made by at least one prominent financial reporter. But Trump conceded he had paid attention to a "queasy" bond sell-off before the move.
Big picture: Everything was par for the course when it comes to Trump’s always-volatile tariff policies. Some key details remained hazy as of last night. Among them: How the pause will fully impact Canada and Mexico, the fate of standalone tariffs like the 25% tax on imported cars and whether the European Union -- which had launched retaliatory measures -- would be part of the pause. There is also the matter of finding an off-ramp with China; Trump said he believes Beijing wants a deal but does not know how to work toward one.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

A Missouri woman is accused of trading her foster child for an exotic monkey. Prosecutors said they are still investigating whether it was an actual case of human trafficking; the child was located in Texas (More)
The Interior Department will issue $13M in grants to reclaim abandoned mine land. The program is part of an effort to revitalize coal communities in North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas (More)
Four teenagers were charged in a fatal Virginia shooting. Three people were killed and three injured in the incident at a Spotsylvania County townhouse complex; cops believe an illegal gun sale or robbery led to the shooting (More)
Four men face federal charges for participating in a failed attempt to overthrow an African government. Three of the men were repatriated to the U.S. after the Democratic Republic of the Congo commuted their death sentences in connection to the botched coup (More)

World News

Greece was disrupted by a 24-hour general worker strike seeking stronger collective bargaining rights. Argentina is bracing for a similar nationwide work stoppage, the third since President Javier Milei took office (More | More)
Ukraine alleged at least 155 Chinese nationals are fighting with the Russian military. Beijing denied the claim and that it is allowing the Kremlin to recruit its citizens; the U.S. said it would "consider options" if it confirms the Chinese presence (More | More)
Israel and Turkey are in talks to establish a "deconfliction mechanism" in Syria. The Israelis had a similar relationship with Russia during exiled strongman Bashar al-Assad's reign; Ankara has sought to establish influence since his fall (More)
The death toll in the Dominican Republic nightclub disaster rose to at least 124 people. Authorities said they rescued 140 people from the rubble of Santo Domingo's Jet Set club after its roof collapsed; the incident occurred during a concert (More)

Political News

Former North Carolina Rep. Wiley Nickel will run for Senate in 2026. The former Obama Administration staffer did not seek re-election last year after his district became more Republican-controlled (More)
The House GOP is bidding to prevent future efforts to repeal President Trump's tariffs. A rule prohibiting legislation that curtails the president's powers from being voted on until at least September was inserted into the ongoing budget blueprint (More)
A former journalist will run for Congress in New York as a Democrat. Mike Sacks, who reported for New York City's Fox affiliate, said he wants to "unf--k our country" as he seeks GOP Rep. Mike Lawler's seat (More)

Business & Markets

Sam's Club plans to open 15 new locations annually moving forward. The Walmart-owned warehouse club chain also plans to renovate its roughly 600 existing locations nationwide (More)
Catalyst Brands will lay off 9% of its corporate staff after previously cutting 5% of its workforce. The firm is a joint venture between JCPenney and Sparc Group, which owns retailers like Brooks Brothers and Eddie Bauer (More)
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai reiterated plans to spend $75B on capital spending in 2025. The Google parent company plans to build out its data center capacity and further invest in generative artificial intelligence (More)

Entertainment & Sports

The Masters begins today at Augusta National Golf Club. Scottie Scheffler is the reigning champion; it is the 89th playing of the major golf tournament (More)
Jennifer Lopez will host this year's American Music Awards. The event will be held on Memorial Day, May 26, in Las Vegas and broadcast on CBS; Lopez previously hosted the show in 2015 (More)
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will have altered soccer tournaments. The women's field will expand to 16 nations from 12 while the men's bracket will contract to 12 from 16 (More)