Steel, aluminum tariffs threaten US LNG buildout plans
Soaring costs tied to US...
Soaring costs tied to US tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum are straining liquefied natural gas project budgets, raising liquefaction fees and forcing developers to renegotiate engineering, procurement and construction contracts. Analysts say the uncertainty surrounding US trade policy, especially the standoff with China, is beginning to disrupt project timelines and complicate long-term investment planning.
US could walk away from Ukraine-Russia peace talks, Trump warn
The president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both ...
The president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both said yesterday that if progress isn’t made soon, the US might stop trying to broker a deal to end the war Russia began when it invaded Ukraine. Rubio said that if things don’t move forward in the next few days, the US needs to “move on,” and Trump said that if “one of the two parties makes it very difficult,” the US would “take a pass.” However, President Trump noted that he still thought there was a good chance of a deal coming together. The administration did not clarify what, if any, support the US would continue to give Ukraine if talks fail.
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.
