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Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum deftly guided her country through the worst of Trump’s tariffs

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Good morning! U.S. will host the 2031 Women’s World Cup, David’s Bridal has a new strategy, and Mexico’s president is the winner of tariff week.

– Almost unscathed. T-day hit the global economy like a ton of bricks. President Donald Trump announced the details of his tariffs—a 10% “baseline” tariff on all imports to the U.S. plus additional tariffs ranging between 20% and 54% for countries Trump called the “worst offenders.” The president says tariffs are intended to return manufacturing jobs to the U.S., a declaration of “economic independence.” Yet stocks, in one day, lost $3.1 trillion in market value. Major indexes dropped 6%. Recession odds have reached 35%.

But two countries were spared the brunt of Trump’s retaliation. Canada and Mexico saw no additional tariffs imposed—and Mexico has President Claudia Sheinbaum to thank for that.

Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico, presents Plan Mexico to mitigate Donald Trump’s tariffs at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, Mexico, on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The Washington Post anointed Sheinbaum “the world’s leading Trump whisperer” in early March after she negotiated two delays of tariffs on her country. The relationship-driven U.S. president seems to have grown to respect Sheinbaum, even as relationships with other world leaders have fractured. In March, Trump said he decided to delay the tariffs “out of respect for President Sheinbaum.” He has called her a “very wonderful woman.” Mexicans appreciated Sheinbaum’s deft negotiation, with thousands gathering in March to cheer for her; she told them “we cannot cede our sovereignty.” Her domestic approval rating soared to 85%.

Yesterday, Sheinbaum credited her relationship with Trump for Mexico’s emerging, not quite unscathed, from Trump’s new tariff regime. “This has to do with the good relationship we have built between the Mexican and U.S. government, which is based on respect,” she said on Thursday. (Trump negotiated a trade agreement with Canada and Mexico during his first term.) Mexico’s trade minister called the lack of additional tariffs on Mexico a “major achievement.”

Of course, Mexico has trading partners besides the U.S. and will feel the impact of tariffs as part of the global economy. Some companies have already paused production at facilities in Mexico while they reassess global supply chains. Taking a cue from the U.S. playbook, Sheinbaum has debuted “Plan Mexico,” to promote the country’s domestic production. Still, Sheinbaum’s ability to navigate the dangerous waters of Trumpworld has made her stand out—just six months after taking office as Mexico’s first female president.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.

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Target’s CEO is taking action as a boycott over slashed DEI efforts roils in-store foot traffic

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Target’s chief executive officer plans to meet this week with the Rev. Al Sharpton, whose civil rights organization has encouraged consumers to avoid U.S. retailers that scaled backed their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

A National Action Network spokesperson on Thursday confirmed Sharpton planned to see Target CEO Brian Cornell in New York but declined to provide any details about the meeting, which was first reported by CNBC.

A Target spokesperson couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Target is among a slew of companies, including Walmart, Amazon and PepsiCo, that have eliminated policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity among their employees and reducing discrimination against members of minority groups, women and LGBTQ+ people.

After returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump moved to end DEI programswithin the federal government. He has warned schools to do the same or risk losing federal money.

Earlier this month, Sharpton gave PepsiCo three weeks to meet with him — or suffer a boycott — to discuss reversing the company’s recent move to do away with its DEI initiatives. Sharpton reported Monday that PepsiCo leaders agreed to meet with National Action Network representatives this week.

Target announced on Jan. 24 that it would conclude the DEI goals it had set to increase Black employees’ representation and advancement, improve Black shoppers’ experiences and promote Black-owned businesses. The company also said it planned to stop submitting reports for external diversity surveys.

It is also “further evaluating our corporate partnerships to ensure they are directly connected to our roadmap for growth,” according to a memo posted on its website.

A number of boycotts were launched of retailers that have pulled back on DEI. Some of the boycotts zeroed in on Target.

An Atlanta-area pastor, the Rev. Jamal Bryant, organized a website called targetfast.org to recruit Christians for a a 40-day Target boycott that started March 5, which marked Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Other faith leaders endorsed the protest.

With Easter Sunday happening this weekend, Lent ends this week.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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Melinda French Gates shares the advice Warren Buffett gave her when she felt overwhelmed: I replay it in my head when I get tough on myself

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  • Billionaire Melinda French Gates is not immune to trials and tribulations in her career, but she often looks for advice in nonagenarian Warren Buffett, who once told her, “Find your bull’s-eye of what you’re working on, and let the other things fall away.”

Despite having over $14 billion to her name, Melinda French Gates, too, gets anxious and worried about the impact of her work. 

But, just like the many Americans who look up to her for inspiration, she leans on others when times are tough. In fact, French Gates has revealed she likes to write down quotes and wise advice from her hugely successful friends so that she can “replay” it again later in her head—one of those voices being none other than fellow billionaire Warren Buffett.

“Like if I get tough on myself about philanthropy, I remember what Warren Buffett said to us originally, which is, ‘You’re working on the problems society left behind, and they left them behind for a reason. They are hard, right? So don’t be so tough on yourself,’’’ she said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Magazine

When it comes to making strong business decisions, it’s no surprise French Gates listens to 94-year-old Buffett; he’s considered the most successful investor of the 20th century.

Even during this year’s market volatility, Buffett managed to grow his wealth by $20 billion, whereas others, including Bill and Melinda Gates, have lost hundreds of millions. Plus, he’s already given away $60 billion during his lifetime—and pledged to give away 99% of his wealth by his death. His net worth is still the fourth largest in the world, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index

Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates both lean on Buffett

Both Bill and Melinda Gates have expressed their appreciation of the impact Buffett has had on their lives by helping them center their attention on only what truly matters. Earlier this year, Melinda even admitted that early advice from Buffett has guided her entire philanthropic career.

“Warren Buffett once said to us early in the [Gates] Foundation’s life, ‘Find your bull’s-eye of what you’re working on, and let the other things fall away. You’ll feel better if you keep your talents in that bull’s-eye, keep working those issues, and you’ll feel less bad about letting other things go,’” Melinda, who turned 60 last year, told LinkedIn. “And I think that’s true.”

Bill, who has a similar fortune to Buffett at $158 billion, admits he wished he had taken Buffett’s advice to heart sooner about prioritizing what’s most important in life.

“It took far too long for me to realize that you don’t have to fill every second of your schedule to be successful,” he wrote on Threads. “In hindsight, it’s a lesson I could have learned a lot sooner had I taken more peeks at Warren Buffett’s intentionally light calendar.”

Buffett believed in Bill and Melinda, too

Buffett was always a fan of Bill and Melinda, too, so much so that he is one of the largest contributors to their charity, the Gates Foundation. Through 2022, he had donated some $36 billion alone (for context, that’s greater than the entire annual GDP of Iceland).

Moreover, even in sensitive parts of the former couple’s lives, Buffett was top of their mind. In Melinda’s recently released book, The Next Day, she said that Buffett was one of the first calls she and Bill made before the public announcement of their divorce.

“I mean, he had made this enormous investment in the foundation,” French Gates told Fortune

“And so whatever decision he would eventually need to make or not make about that was his. We both felt strongly he was one of the first people we needed to tell.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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CEO of $39 billion homebuilding empire says spring selling season is suppressed because of plummeting consumer confidence and affordability constraints

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  • D.R. Horton missed earnings estimates and slashed its revenue forecast through the year. The homebuilder now anticipates revenues between $33.3 billion to $34.8 billion—in the prior quarter, it anticipated revenues between $36 billion to $37.5 billion. 

The housing market revival we’re all waiting for is delayed once again. 

“This year’s spring selling season started slower than expected, as potential homebuyers have been more cautious due to continued affordability constraints and declining consumer confidence,” Paul Romanowski, CEO of D.R. Horton, the largest homebuilder in the country, said on an earnings call Thursday morning. Romanowski echoed comments made by Executive Chairman David Auld in the earnings release

Home prices soared throughout the pandemic, but once inflation became scorching hot, hitting a four-decade high, and the central bank hiked its key interest rate to tame it, mortgage rates rose from their pandemic rock-bottom of sub-3%, too. The one-two punch of high home prices and high mortgage rates is bruising demand. Plus, President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs, spiraling stocks, and inflation fears shattered consumer sentiment

Homebuilders were mostly better off in the latest housing bust because existing supply is so tight since would-be sellers aren’t selling out of fear of losing the low mortgage rate they locked in during the pandemic or earlier, and the U.S. is short almost four million homes. Plus, builders can craft smaller homes, offer mortgage rates buydowns, or cut prices, to bring back demand. Builders can, and are, still using incentives. 

“We expect our incentive levels to remain elevated and increase further, the extent to which will depend on market conditions and changes in mortgage interest rates,” Romanowski said. 

But builders aren’t immune to market pain. 

D.R. Horton missed earnings estimates and slashed its revenue forecast through the year. For the second quarter of the fiscal year, the company reported $7.7 billion in revenue, a 15% drop from the same quarter a year ago. Its homebuilding revenue also decreased 15% to $7.2 billion in the second quarter compared to a year before. D.R. Horton sold fewer homes than it had a year ago. The homebuilder now anticipates revenues between $33.3 billion to $34.8 billion while it had originally projected revenues between $36 billion to $37.5 billion. Still, D.R. Horton shares rose 4% Thursday but are down almost 13% over the past year, at the time of writing.

Romanowski acknowledged market volatility and economic uncertainty, but did not mention tariffs once during the earnings call until asked. 

“There’s so much noise around tariffs today, and it’s changing day to day, sometimes hour to hour,” he said. “Hard to figure out exactly where that lands.” 

He later said wherever tariffs land, he sees a less substantial impact for the company and feels good about the builder’s supply chain and labor force. 

“We’ll just take whatever comes out of the tariffs as it comes at us, once it settles down,” Romanowski said. 

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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