US moves to charge Chinese ships docking fees in latest trade war play
The Trump administration ...
The Trump administration unveiled plans this week to charge Chinese-made ships docking at US ports in an effort to boost the domestic shipbuilding industry. China manufactures ~75% of all fleets, and the US government began investigating its ship-making dominance during the Biden administration. The recently announced plans for fees are less severe than what was originally proposed, as ships will be charged per voyage rather than for each port they dock in. The shipping industry had pushed back on the original proposal. China reportedly responded that even the less aggressive fees were “wrong,” and called on the US to stop “shifting blame.”
Acting IRS commissioner out on his third day on the job. Not...
Acting IRS commissioner out on his third day on the job. Not content to let Tax Day be the biggest thing that happened at the Internal Revenue Service this week, President Trump is replacing Gary Shapley as the acting head of the agency, days after appointing him to the role. The New York Times reports that Shapley’s removal came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who oversees the agency, took issue with Elon Musk’s role in Shapley’s getting the job. The new acting commissioner will be Bessent’s deputy, Michael Faulkender. He will be the fifth head of the agency this year—and the third this week.
A federal judge has put a pause on the Trump administration’s firing of almost everyone who works for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, citing concerns it violated her earlier order stopping the administration from shutting down the agency.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who traveled to El Salvador to meet with wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, said Abrego Garcia told him he’d been moved from the notorious Salvadoran prison known as CECOT to one with better conditions.
Nintendo will begin taking Switch 2 preorders on April 24 following delays caused by tariffs.
The financial world is taking a Good Friday pause. ...
The financial world is taking a Good Friday pause. The two major stock exchanges — the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq — will be closed on Friday in observance of the Christian holiday. The same goes for bond markets, which also closed early on Thursday.
This is a rare instance when markets shut down on a day that is not a federal holiday. So even if you can’t trade stocks on the U.S. exchanges, you can still expect to receive your mail — the U.S. Postal Service is open for business as usual. Banks, which typically follow the federal calendar, will generally be open as well.
Easter Monday is also a holiday in much of the world, with many financial markets, most notably in Europe, shuttered until Tuesday.
Good morning. It’s Good Friday, and the stock market is closed. SpaceX is...
Good morning. It’s Good Friday, and the stock market is closed.
SpaceX is reportedly the favorite to build Trump’s “Golden Dome.” According to Reuters, Elon Musk’s space tech company is the frontrunner to lead the development of President Trump’s proposed missile defense system, known as Golden Dome. SpaceX would partner with tech startups Palantir and Anduril, whose founders, like Musk, are major supporters of the president. The plan is reportedly to launch between 400 and 1,000 satellites around the world to detect and track missiles, while a separate phalanx of attack satellites would shoot them down. Per Reuters, SpaceX proposed creating a “subscription service” in which the US government would pay to access the Golden Dome instead of owning it.
Two people were killed and six were wounded in a mass shooting at Florida State University yesterday. A suspect is in custody.
Ford said it will likely raise prices this summer unless President Trump delivers on tariff relief for automakers.
The European Central Bank cut interest rates by a quarter-point due to the “deteriorated” growth outlook brought on by tariffs.
Spirit Airlines hired a new CEO, Dave Davis, who will be tasked with turning the struggling ultra-low-cost carrier around.
Tesla is scaling back Cybertruck production as sales of the dishwasher-on-wheels slowed last quarter, Business Insider reported.
Lee Corso will retire from ESPN’s College GameDay after nearly 40 years of donning mascot headgear to signify his college football picks.
Crude Prices Finish Sharply Higher on US Trade Deal Hopes and Iranian Oil Export Risks
Crude oil and gasoline prices rallied sharply on Thursday to 1-1/2 week highs. Optimism that the US...
Crude oil and gasoline prices rallied sharply on Thursday to 1-1/2 week highs. Optimism that the US will be able to make trade deals has reduced tariff concerns and boosted crude prices. President Trump stated that US negotiators had made “big progress” with Japanese officials on a trade deal and expressed confidence that the US would reach a trade agreement with the EU.
May WTI crude oil (CLK25) closed up +$2.21 (+3.54%) at $64.68 per barrel, while June Brent Crude (QAM25) closed up +$2.11 at $67.96 per barrel. May RBOB gasoline (RBK25) closed up +0.0554 (+2.71%) at $2.098.
