Trump floats more tariffs

Good morning. Donald Trump floats the idea of more tariffs, this times it’s cars, chips and drugs. Elon Musk’s X is in talks to raise some big money. And welcome to New York’s hot new dining scene—you may be surprised. Listen to the day’s top stories.

Trade war latest. Donald Trump said he would probably impose tariffs on car, semiconductor and drug imports of about 25%, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2. The president didn’t specify which countries would be affected or if the measures apply to all vehicles imported to the US.

In geopolitics, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told European allies that the US will keep sanctions on Russia in place at least until there’s a deal to end the Ukraine conflict. Trump said he’ll probably meet Vladimir Putin to discuss a settlement by the end of this month. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy froze a proposed mineral deal, saying it didn’t have security guarantees, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported—but Bloomberg’s commodities guru said there’s not much rare-earth action there anyway (more below in Opinion).

Elon Musk’s X is in talks to raise money from investors at a $44 billion valuation, according to people familiar with the matter—the same price that Musk paid for the company in 2022. A successful funding round would be a remarkable turn of fortunes for the social media giant after Musk’s takeover caused many users and advertisers to flee.

Speaking of big money... Citigroup lifted Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser’s total compensation to $34.5 million for 2024, a 33% increase from last year. In the hedge fund world, Millennium Management’s Izzy Englander and Citadel’s Ken Griffin topped Bloomberg’s annual list of the best paid managers.

It’s all about saving. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that DOGE has identified $50 billion in savings so far. Yet itemized data on the agency’s website only accounts for $16.6 billion of that, including an error that mislabels a contract’s value as $8 billion instead of million. Meanwhile, Bessent said US taxpayers “don’t have to be concerned” about DOGE accessing sensitive data.

Deep Dive: TikTok Rethink

As TikTok fights to keep its app available in the US, investors in parent company ByteDance are re-evaluating financial prospects for a business valued at more than $300 billion as recently as late last year.

The Big Take

Temu, the world’s biggest online dollar store, has become a retail sensation in the US. With Trump now threatening to close a century-old tax loophole, the Chinese app’s meteoric growth may be derailed.

Opinion

Trump’s fixation on extracting rare earths from Ukraine is an illusion, Javier Blas writes. The nation has no significant rare-earth deposits and the US Geological Survey doesn’t list the country as holding any reserves.

Before You Go

Times Square, once a food swamp, is transforming into a dining destination with new high-end restaurants. Here’s a handy guide to the city’s fresh dining scene.

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