Finance

For people who believe themselves to be autonomous individuals possessed of their own free will, the past week has been a bracing corrective. Everyone, down to the most rugged individualist, is a pawn in Donald Trump’s grand caper, bouncing between his threats of economic chaos and acts of mercy. On April 9th all it took was a few dozen words from him, delaying some of his most extreme tariffs for 90 days, to transform a spreading panic in financial markets into a full risk-taking frenzy. More

TO WIN A game of Scrabble, start at the bottom of the periodic table. The 17 “rare earths” that reside there have longish names, such as dysprosium and praseodymium, which are replete with point-worthy letters. They share other traits, too. All are produced and used in minuscule amounts, yet are crucial to a range of high-tech goods, from batteries and renewables to weapons and medical devices. More important still, all are largely supplied to the world by China. More

For a good few hours on April 9th, disaster beckoned. Share prices had been falling for weeks. Then the market for American Treasury bonds—normally among the safest assets available—started convulsing, too. The yield on ten-year Treasuries leapt to 4.5% (see chart 1), up from 3.9% days earlier. That meant bond prices, which move inversely to yields, had cratered. The failure of both risky and supposedly safe assets at once threatened to destabilise the financial system itself. More

Hedge fund mogul Bill Ackman let out a sigh of relief after President Donald Trump temporarily dropped some of the steep “reciprocal” tariffs, sparking a monster rally in risk assets.
“Thank you on behalf of all Americans,” Ackman wrote in a post on social media platform X.
His comments came after Trump announced a 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs that were imposed on dozens of trade partners, while raising duties on China again to a whopping 125%.

Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, speaks during an interview for an episode of “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations” in New York on Nov. 28, 2023.
Jeenah Moon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Hedge fund mogul Bill Ackman let out a sigh of relief after President Donald Trump temporarily dropped some of the steep “reciprocal” tariffs, sparking a monster rally in risk assets.
“Thank you on behalf of all Americans,” Ackman wrote in a post on social media platform X. Shortly after, he added, “This was brilliantly executed by @realDonaldTrump. Textbook, Art of the Deal.”

His comments came after Trump announced a 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs that were imposed on dozens of trade partners, while raising duties on China again to a whopping 125%. Trump said more than 75 countries contacted U.S. officials to negotiate after he unveiled his new tariffs last week.
“The benefit of @realDonaldTrump’s approach is that we now understand who are our preferred trading partners, and who the problems are,” Ackman said in another post. “This is the perfect setup for trade negotiations over the next 90 days. Advice for China: Pick up the phone and call the President. He is a tough but fair negotiator.”
Ackman, one of the most outspoken backers of Trump on Wall Street, said he was “totally supportive” of Trump using tariffs as a negotiating tool, but as the trade fight escalated quickly, he recently warned that the president might have gone too far.
On Sunday, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management said America was heading toward a self-inflicted “economic nuclear winter” because of Trump’s steep tariffs, urging a pause for country-specific levies.
“Business is a confidence game. The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe,” said Ackman in an X post over the weekend.

Ackman also accused Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick of profiting from the economic crash by betting on government bonds, citing an “irreconcilable conflict of interest.” The billionaire investor subsequently walked back his criticism, calling it “unfair” and saying that outside observers didn’t “know how the sausage was made.”

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Trader work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Wednesday’s jaw-dropping stock-market rally on President Donald Trump’s surprising tariff reversal is one for the history books.
The S&P 500 skyrocketed 9.52% in a kneejerk reaction to Trump’s announcement to put a 90-day pause on some of the lofty ‘reciprocal’ tariffs. The one-day gain ranks as the third biggest since World War II for the main stock market benchmark, according to FactSet.

Arrows pointing outwards

Arrows pointing outwards

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 12.16%, notching its largest one-day jump since January 2001 and second-best day ever. 

Arrows pointing outwards

“This is the pivotal moment we’ve been waiting for,” said Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group. “The immediate market reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, as investors interpret this as a step toward much-needed clarity.”
The market was a coiled spring after a brutal four-day stretch that briefly pushed the S&P 500 into bear-market territory. Over the course of the previous four trading sessions, the S&P 500 suffered a 12% loss, a decline not seen since the pandemic. The Dow lost more than 4,500 points during the four-day stretch, while the Nasdaq was down more than 13%.
While stocks managed to recoup much of the losses, investors are not completely out of the woods as Trump vows to reorient global trade. The president said more than 75 countries contacted U.S. officials to negotiate after he unveiled his new tariffs last week.

“It’s still too early to signal an all clear,” said Dave Sekera, Morningstar’s chief U.S. market strategist. “Trade negotiations have yet to start and once they do, there will be positive and negative headlines as each party positions itself to extract the maximum amount of concessions possible.” More

DONALD TRUMP has blinked. Little more than 12 hours after his radical regime of “reciprocal” tariffs took effect, he has put most of them on pause for 90 days. Mr Trump said this was in recognition of the fact that more than 75 countries had engaged with his administration in negotiations, working together to address America’s complaints about global trade. The convulsing Treasury market may also have aided his decision. Mr Trump’s announcement provided immediate relief to markets, with stocks and commodity futures surging, as the delay alleviated fears about imminent economic damage. More

Chinese electric car giant BYD is pushing ahead into Europe by launching its premium Denza brand in the region, despite rising trade tensions.
The first model, the Z9GT, is set to arrive in European showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2025, BYD said Wednesday around Brera Design Week in Milan.
BYD initially formed the Denza brand in 2010 with Daimler, now the Mercedes-Benz Group.

A BYD Denza Z9 GT electric car on display in Hong Kong in February 2025.
Ucg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

BEIJING — Chinese electric car giant BYD is pushing ahead into Europe, launching its premium Denza brand in the region despite rising trade tensions.
The first model, the Z9GT, is set to arrive in European showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2025, BYD said Wednesday during Brera Design Week in Milan. The company did not specify prices or a delivery date for the station wagon-type car.

The Z9GT for Europe will come in both battery-only and plug-in hybrid versions, BYD said.
BYD already sells electric cars in Europe. The company initially formed the Denza brand in 2010 with Daimler, now the Mercedes-Benz Group. The sub-brand was revamped in 2021 and sells cars in China, with the German automaker reducing its equity interest to 10%.
The European Union last year announced 17% duties on imports of BYD battery electric vehicles over claims of “unfair” production subsidies. Last month, Chinese and EU officials discussed issues related to the electric car supply chain during a meeting in Beijing.

The second Denza model for Europe will be a seven-seat multi-purpose vehicle called the D9, BYD said, without specifying a delivery date.
“We’re thrilled to be introducing Denza to European customers, starting here in Milan and accelerating as 2025 progresses,” Stella Li, executive vice president at BYD, said in a statement.

Surging overseas sales

BYD has ramped up its overseas sales since late 2022. In the first quarter of this year, the company said it sold more than 206,000 cars outside China, more than double that of the year-ago period and already reaching roughly half of the number of cars it sold overseas last year.
The automaker’s first-quarter revenue grew by at least 86% from a year ago to 8.5 billion yuan ($1.2 billion), according to a filing on Tuesday.
BYD noted “substantial growth” in its international sales as it achieved record new energy vehicle sales in the first quarter, with 986,098 passenger cars sold. The Chinese automaker no longer makes traditional fuel-powered passenger cars.
Most of BYD’s cars target a lower price segment than that of Tesla, and the Chinese company overtook Elon Musk’s automaker in total sales last year.
BYD also sold more battery-only passenger cars in the first quarter, with sales of 416,388 units — more than Tesla’s 172,754 vehicles sold in China during that time, according to delivery numbers published by the China Passenger Car Association. More

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at the American Bankers Association’s Washington Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on April 9, 2025. 
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s aim is for Main Street businesses and consumers to thrive even as the administration’s steep new tariffs threaten to tip the economy into a recession.
“For the last four decades, basically since I began my career in Wall Street, Wall Street has grown wealthier than ever before, and it can continue to grow and do well,” Bessent said at the American Bankers Association’s Washington Summit.

“But for the next four years, the Trump agenda is focused on Main Street. It’s Main Street’s turn. It’s Main Street’s turn to hire workers. It’s Main Street’s turn to drive investment, and it’s Main Street’s turn to restore the American Dream,” he said.
Trump’s imposition of higher tariffs a week ago has fueled the biggest four-day rout for stocks since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. The S&P 500 is nearly 19% off its record high from February, inches away from a 20% bear market.
While the wealthy own the majority of stock, Main Street’s participation has soared with the advent of individual retirement accounts in the 1970s and 401(k)s in the presidency of Ronald Reagan. What’s more, the stock market helps form business confidence, which in turn affects small businesses.
Bessent, a hedge fund veteran, founded investment firm Key Square Capital Management, based on Madison Avenue in New York City, after working with George Soros for years. He has become the main economic spokesman for Trump’s agenda of tax cuts, deregulation and trade rebalancing.
“We want to de-leverage the government sector, re-leverage the private sector …. we can’t do it all at once, or that will cause a recession,” Bessent said. “What will keep us from having a recession is making sure that the tax bill doesn’t expire, adding back 100% depreciation and then adding some of President Trump’s agenda — no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime.”

Recession fears have climbed as the Trump tariffs spur uncertainty over how wide the trade war will spread, and its impact on the pace of economic growth, inflation and corporate profits. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday he sees the U.S. economy likely headed for recession because of the trade battle.
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In today’s dynamic financial landscape, access to expert insights is paramount. As a CNBC Pro subscriber, we invite you to join us for our first exclusive, in-person CNBC Pro LIVE event at the iconic NYSE on Thursday, June 12.
Join interactive Pro clinics led by our Pros Carter Worth, Dan Niles and Dan Ives, with a special edition of Pro Talks with Tom Lee. You’ll also get the opportunity to network with CNBC experts, talent and other Pro subscribers during an exciting cocktail hour on the legendary trading floor. Tickets are limited!

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