Tariffs, so confusing

Good morning. Tariffs are in focus yet again, while the market also weighs a good-but-not-great outlook from Nvidia. MrBeast is raising money at a $5 billion valuation. And speaking of social media, are you following your local central bank? Listen to the day’s top stories.

Donald Trump is talking tariffs again, this time saying levies on EU products, including cars, will be 25%. It’s unclear, though, whether that proposal would indeed affect all exports from the bloc or only certain sectors, and no decisions have been made, an official said. There was also confusion on tariffs against Canada and Mexico.

On the geopolitical front, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was more clear: America can’t let Russia become China’s “junior partner,” the secretary of state told Breitbart News. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits the White House today in a bid to secure support for Ukraine; there may also be talk of trade.

Trump said he plans to revoke Chevron’s oil license to operate in Venezuela, a move that would threaten to torpedo that nation’s slow economic recovery. He cited the electoral conditions in Venezuela and its failure to take back migrants from the US as quickly as it promised.

After two years of blowout earnings, Nvidia offered good-but-not-great quarterly numbers, drawing a muted response from investors. Sales will be about $43 billion in the fiscal first quarter, which runs through April—that’s just above the average estimate. It warned gross profit margins would be tighter than anticipated, but CEO Jensen Huang said Blackwell chip demand “is amazing.”

YouTube star MrBeast is looking to raise a couple hundred million dollars in a funding round that would value his company at about $5 billion, people familiar said. YouTube’s biggest influencer is looking to expand both his packaged goods and media businesses. (No word if he’s still interested in buying TikTok...)

Deep Dive: 401(k) Millionaires

The number of 401(k) accounts with balances of $1 million or more at Fidelity Investments rose 27% to 537,000 in 2024, driven by a banner year in the stock market.

The Big Take

The fallout from a disastrous private equity deal offers a rare inside look at the accounting alchemy behind a crucial earnings metric. It’s a cautionary tale for investors eager to pump cash into company buyouts.

Opinion

The US dollar is at a crossroads, John Authers writes. If Trump makes a so-called Mar-a-Lago Accord, it may weaken. But if the administration goes through with threatened tariffs, it’ll probably rise.

Before You Go

Like, follow and share. Central banks are trying to rebuild trust with the young’uns by establishing a presence on Instagram. The most popular? The Bank of Venezuela, which boasts 1.9 million followers despite posting little more than the exchange rate.

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