'Nonsensical' Trade War, Possible China Relief, Billionaire’s Tariff Pain

Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Tom Busby takes a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week. In the US – a look ahead to the April jobs report and big tech earnings. In the UK – a look ahead to local elections. In Asia – a look ahead to China PMI data. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.On today's podcast:(1) Donald Trump’s tariffs and a barrage of rising domestic bills sent UK household confidence to its lowest level since the Labour government came to power.(2) President Donald Trump said his administration was talking with China on trade, after Beijing denied the existence of negotiations on a deal and demanded the US revoke all unilateral tariffs.(3) Treasuries jumped after comments by a Federal Reserve official bolstered odds that the central bank will cut interest rates as early as June.(5) Google parent Alphabet reported first-quarter revenue and profit that exceeded analysts’ expectations, buoyed by continued strength in its search advertising business.(6) The US will demand that Russia accept Ukraine’s right to develop its own, adequately equipped, army and defense industry as part of a peace agreement, according to people familiar with the matter, pushing back on Russia’s insistence that the country largely demilitarize as a condition to end the war.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes. On today's podcast: (1) Confronted with fresh warnings from financial markets, business leaders and top advisers, President Donald Trump this week eased off on two of his frequent punching bags: Jerome Powell and China.He turned down his aggressive rhetoric a day after meeting with executives from Walmart Inc., Home Depot Inc. and Target Corp., who said import taxes could disrupt supply chains and raise the prices of goods, according to people familiar with the matter  (2) Citadel founder Ken Griffin said President Donald Trump’s trade war has derailed business leaders’ plans to spend the next four years focusing on growth.Griffin had previously criticized Trump’s tariffs even though he said he agrees with the president’s assessment of the issues that the US faces.  (3) President Trump has mused that he could announce tariff rates for countries, including China, “over the next two to three weeks.” At the same time, Trump said the deadline would ultimately depend on whether China engaged. (4) The UK isn’t in a hurry to strike a deal with the US that lowers the tariffs President Donald Trump’s administration has slapped on British imports, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said, highlighting that Britian is prepared to stand by red lines on safety standards. (5)  BNP Paribas SA reported record income from equities trading as the French lender rode the global market volatility in the first quarter of this year. The French lender on Thursday reported a 42% surge in equities trading revenue to €1.19 billion ($1.35 billion) in the three months through March, beating even the most optimistic analyst estimate. It was also the highest in data compiled by Bloomberg and going back to 2007.  (6) Companies moving office in London last year leased more expansion space than they have done since 2019, just the year before the coronavirus pandemic upended white-collar working practices and sent shock waves through commercial real estate markets. (7) Podcast conversation: Gyms Might Never Be the SameSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.On today's podcast:(1) President Donald Trump said he had no intention of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell despite his frustration with the central bank not moving more quickly to slash interest rates.(2) US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a closed-door investor summit Tuesday that the tariff standoff with China cannot be sustained by both sides and that the world’s two largest economies will have to find ways to de-escalate.(3) Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler said tariffs will likely put upward pressure on prices and have a bigger economic effect than previously expected.(4) The head of International Monetary Fund warned that the chances of global recession will rise if uncertainty over a US-led trade war continues to drag.(5) UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will make a personal appeal for a trade deal to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington this week, aiming to “defend British interests” and secure preferential treatment on tariffs.(6) Elon Musk vowed to pull back “significantly” from his work with the US government to concentrate on Tesla, easing concerns of investors who lamented his time in Washington as a distraction.(7) Podcast conversation: Unwind Like a BossIllustration: Bloomberg/GettySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.On today's podcast:(1) President Donald Trump warned the US economy may slow if the Federal Reserve does not move to immediately reduce interest rates, in his latest broadside against Fed Chair Jerome Powell.(2) Stocks and bonds fluctuated, and a gauge of the dollar headed for a fourth day of losses as little progress in tariff negotiations and growth concerns about the US prompted investors to pare bets in a volatile market.(3) Bloomberg Economics estimates President Trump's "liberation day" tariffs will shave about $2 trillion off global output by the end of 2027, relative to a scenario where border taxes had stayed unchanged. Policy uncertainty (it's still not clear where tariffs will settle) and modelling uncertainty (the shocks have no precedent in the post World War II data) mean the error band around that forecast is wide.(4) The US set new duties as high as 3,521% on solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries, delivering a win for domestic manufacturers while intensifying headwinds already threatening the country’s renewable power development.(5) The College of Cardinals will meet in Conclave in about two weeks to elect Francis' successor, with about 135 cardinals having the vote. The election could threaten Francis' legacy as a reforming pope, as the church could swing away from his positions on issues such as LGBTQ rights.(6) Podcast conversation : Building a Better ManosphereSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Tom Busby takes a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week. In the US – a look ahead to home sales data and Tesla earnings. In the UK – a look ahead to how companies across Europe and beyond are preparing to share their latest financial performances with the market. In Asia – a look ahead to how some Chinese companies are looking to skirt U.S President Donald Trump’s tariffs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

(1) US investors could be forced to offload around $800 billion of Chinese equities “in an extreme scenario” of financial decoupling between the world’s two largest economies, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates.(2)  The Trump administration is preparing to pressure nations to curb trade with China in negotiations over US tariffs, according to people familiar with the matter. (3) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell again stressed the central bank must ensure tariffs don’t trigger a more persistent rise in inflation. Powell said policymakers would balance their dual responsibilities of fostering maximum employment and stable prices. (4) Economic data just confirmed what anecdotal evidence had suggested: Consumers are rushing to make major purchases of cars, electronics and appliances in an attempt to get ahead of tariffs that could raise prices. (5) Gold hit another all-time high as warnings from Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell about the impact of the trade war fueled volatility on Wall Street, leading to sharp declines in stocks and the dollar.(6)  Vladimir Putin has ordered his government to draw up a new legal framework for companies seeking to invest in Russia. It’s the most concrete sign yet that Moscow is preparing for a day when it believes sanctions will be lifted and some investment welcomed back. But, said one Kremlin official, “nobody is knocking on the door yet” underlining the tentative nature of the approaches taken by companies — some of whom never fully left — to restoring their operations in the country, as US President Donald Trump pushes for a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes. On today's podcast: (1) China’s economy showed surprising strength in early 2025 with a sharp uptick in March, though a trade impasse with Donald Trump has prompted calls for stimulus to offset the tariff shock. (2) President Donald Trump called on China to reach out to him in order to kick off negotiations aimed at resolving the escalating trade fight between the world’s two largest economies. (3) President Donald Trump’s administration has barred Nvidia from selling its H20 chip to China, an escalation of Washington’s tech battle with Beijing that will cost the company billions of dollars and hamstring a product line it explicitly designed to comply with previous US curbs. (4) Import prices for March came in soft – but not soft enough. Bloomberg Economics's calculations of tariff-inclusive import prices indicate that, two months into Trade War 2.0, US importers have borne the brunt of almost all the tariffs so far. (5) Americans are increasingly looking for jobs in Britain amid President Donald Trump’s funding cuts and a darkening economic outlook. (6) Donald Trump's push to reshape global trade and security has shocked European markets into life, driving investors to assets from stocks to bonds and the euro, in a way few could have imagined even 6 months ago.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.On today's podcast:(1) “The president has been very clear that he’s willing to talk to his counterpart,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer tells Fox News about Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.(2) President Donald Trump’s administration pressed forward with plans to impose tariffs on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports by initiating trade probes led by the Commerce Department. (3) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent played down the recent selloff in the bond market, rejecting speculation that foreign nations were dumping their holdings of US Treasuries, while flagging that his department has tools to address dislocation if needed.(4) European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer today in DC, “seizing the 90-day window for a mutual solution to unjustified tariffs,” he says in a post on X. (5) UK households increased their spending in March as consumer demand defied an imminent rise in household bills, according to reports from the British Retail Consortium and Barclays.(6) The Trump administration followed through on its threat to pull federal funding from Harvard University hours after the oldest and richest US college refused to agree to a list of government demands.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.On today's podcast: (1) President Donald Trump pledged he will still apply tariffs to phones, computers and popular consumer electronics, downplaying a weekend exemption as a procedural step in his overall push to remake US trade. (2) Strategists at Goldman Sachs Group cut their targets for key Chinese stock indexes for a second time this month, citing heightened trade tensions with the US. (3) The dollar fell for a fifth day as traders looked past a reprieve on the imposition of certain electronic tariffs and after President Donald Trump downplayed his exemption for the technology sector. (4) Treasuries gained after last week’s rout as President Donald Trump paused import duties on a range of consumer electronics. Investors also await speeches from Fed officials Christopher Waller and Patrick Harker. (5) British companies’ finance chiefs had adopted their most defensive positions since the pandemic even before US President Donald Trump’s tariffs sent global markets into a tailspin. (6) UK officials are rushing to secure the raw materials needed to keep Britain’s last primary steel manufacturer running, with other businesses offering to provide help.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.