🌊Tariff Tsunami

+ Amazon Submits Bid For TikTok As Ban Deadline Nears

April 02, 2025

Good afternoon! The three-comma club just welcomed a record 288 new members, according to Forbes’ 2025 World’s Billionaires list. From Bruce Springsteen and Jerry Seinfeld to oil heiresses and AI founders, the fresh crop is collectively worth $680 billion—and nearly 70% of them built their fortunes from scratch. The U.S. leads the pack with 103 newcomers, including the world’s two wealthiest: Marilyn Simons (widow of hedge fund legend Jim Simons) and Lyndal Stephens Greth (daughter of late oil magnate Autry Stephens).

Of course, tech was the dominant industry, with 46 new billionaires, including AI unicorn founders and the man trying to revive the woolly mammoth. But it wasn’t just coders cashing in—real estate, healthcare, and even Netflix reruns helped land spots. As for fashion icons? Arnold Schwarzenegger’s muscle and Seinfeld’s jokes proved just as lucrative as any IPO.

MARKETS

*Stock data as of market close*

  • Stocks seesawed wildly on Wednesday as investors braced for what President Trump dubbed “Liberation Day.” After much anticipation, Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs from the White House Rose Garden starting at 10% and escalating for certain countries—sending shockwaves through futures markets and rekindling fears of a global trade war.

  • While the S&P 500 managed to close up 0.7%, it was a bumpy ride, swinging from a 1.1% loss to a 1.1% gain. Futures didn’t fare as well: the Nasdaq-100 fell 4.1%, the S&P 500 dropped 3.2%, and Dow futures shed 2.2%.

STOCKS
Winners & Losers

What’s up 📈

  • CoreWeave soared 16.72%, extending its hot streak following a rocky IPO, as investor enthusiasm for AI infrastructure remained strong. ($CRWV)

  • Petco jumped 12.84% after CEO Joel Anderson purchased $4.7 million worth of company shares, signaling insider confidence. ($WOOF)

  • Scotts Miracle-Gro rose 5.82% following an upgrade from Truist, which said home improvement spending could rise amid economic uncertainty. ($SMG)

  • Tesla gained 5.33% after Politico reported that Trump insiders say Elon Musk may soon step down. The White House later denied the report, but NBC backed it up. ($TSLA)

  • Amazon climbed 2.00% after reports surfaced that it has submitted a bid to acquire TikTok, ahead of a looming U.S. ban deadline. ($AMZN)

What’s down 📉

  • Newsmax plunged 77.46%, wiping out much of the meme-fueled rally that followed its stock market debut earlier this week. ($NMAX)

  • nCino dropped 19.67% after missing Q4 earnings and issuing weak forward guidance, despite analysts calling the sell-off “overdone.” ($NCNO)

  • BlackBerry sank 9.12% as lower-than-expected Q1 guidance overshadowed its Q4 earnings and revenue beat. ($BB)

  • Trump Media & Technology Group fell 7.40% after disclosing in a filing that insider shareholders, including Trump himself, may sell stock. ($DJT)

  • Rivian Automotive declined 5.95% after reporting a 36% drop in vehicle deliveries despite beating estimates. ($RIVN)

TRADE
Trump Signs Sweeping New Global Tariffs

President Trump just dropped the biggest trade bombshell of his second term: a sweeping new tariff regime that spares no country and hits US trading partners across the board.

In a 48-minute Rose Garden speech on Wednesday, Trump unveiled a minimum 10% tariff on all US imports, plus extra duties for 60 countries with what the White House calls “unfair” trade practices. China will face the harshest blow—with tariffs on many goods jumping to a staggering 54%. Other major economies like the EU, Japan, and India aren’t far behind.

Markets didn’t take it well. The S&P 500 dropped over 2% during the announcement, crude oil prices slipped, and automaker stocks fell in after-hours trading before rebounding slightly.

The global tariff gauntlet

This round of tariffs, which begins rolling out April 5, represents a sharp escalation of Trump’s protectionist agenda. Canada and Mexico escape—for now—thanks to earlier tariffs tied to drug trafficking and migration, while USMCA-compliant goods remain exempt. But most others are getting hit, and hard:

  • China: 54%

  • Vietnam: 46%

  • India: 26%

  • Japan: 24%

  • Taiwan: 32%

Even smaller nations like Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Laos are looking at duties north of 40%. In typical Trump fashion, the president literally held up boards with each country’s new tariff rates during his speech.

Higher prices, higher risks: While Trump framed the move as a win for American manufacturing and blue-collar workers, economists see potential fallout: slower growth, rising prices, and a revival of the “stagflation” fears from the ‘70s. Goldman Sachs now sees a 35% chance of a recession and expects inflation to tick higher. Yale Budget Lab estimates a 20% blanket tariff would raise household costs by $3,400–$4,200. Vehicle prices could jump up to 12%, according to Morgan Stanley.

A historic shift in trade

This isn’t just another round of Trump tariffs—it’s a structural rethinking of U.S. trade policy not seen since the post–World War II era. The White House is using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify the tariffs and plans to collect hundreds of billions to fund future tax cuts.

But critics say this “kind reciprocal” tariff strategy is anything but friendly. Australia’s prime minister called it “not the act of a friend.” The EU and others are weighing countermeasures.

Still, Trump’s trade team sees this as just the beginning. Behind the scenes, more targeted tariff probes are underway—on copper, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals—which could signal even broader restrictions to come.

The world just woke up to a new trade order. And it’s going to take time—and probably a few price hikes—for businesses and consumers to figure out what it really means.

NEWS
Market Movements

TECH
Amazon Submits Bid For TikTok As Ban Deadline Nears

Amazon couldn’t deliver your package on time, but it might just deliver your next TikTok scroll session.

With a potential TikTok ban looming on April 5, Amazon has tossed its hat into the ring, submitting a last-minute bid to acquire the app’s US operations from ByteDance. The proposal—sent to VP JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick—joins a growing list of suitors racing against the clock to keep the wildly popular platform alive in the US.

Not exactly Prime timing

There’s just one issue: no one in the administration seems to be taking Amazon’s offer too seriously. Officials reportedly view the bid as too little, too late, with President Trump and his team already reviewing more developed options—like a joint venture led by Oracle and Blackstone, or bids from AppLovin, billionaire Frank McCourt, and even YouTube celebrity MrBeast.

Still, Amazon’s move isn’t just about winning. Getting involved gives the e-commerce titan a peek under TikTok’s hood—especially its booming TikTok Shop, which has been eating into Amazon’s own marketplace. If they can’t buy it, they might just learn how to beat it.

TikTok's time crunch

Trump’s ultimatum is simple: find a US buyer or get banned. While he’s left the door open for an extension, ByteDance is running out of time—and options. Any deal would still require Chinese government approval, which could turn this into yet another geopolitical staring contest.

Whether Amazon’s last-minute pitch is a power move or a PR play, one thing is clear: with 170 million US users and a growing e-commerce footprint, TikTok isn’t just a social app anymore—it’s a digital shopping mall. And everyone wants a piece.

Calendar
On The Horizon

Tomorrow

The Fed’s favorite labor appetizer is on deck tomorrow: initial jobless claims. With recession whispers getting louder, this weekly stat is gaining outsized attention as a pulse check on hiring—and hesitation—in the economy.

On the corporate side, it’s a quieter day for earnings, but not totally silent. Keep an eye on ConAgra Brands ($CAG) and Lamb Weston Holdings ($LW), both set to dish out updates that could reveal how consumers are handling higher food prices.

NEWS
The Daily Rundown

RESOURCES
The Federal Reserve Resource

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