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Wall Street gets rude shock as Bessent plays second fiddle on tariffs

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From the moment President Donald Trump unveiled his sweeping tariffs Wednesday through the ensuing market mayhem the following day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s phone lit up with text messages from executives tied to his former industry.

Multiple hedge fund managers and finance executives reached out, seeking his help in swaying Trump on the levies, according to people familiar with the matter. After all, as the former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, Bessent was a potential ally. He was seen as someone who could explain to the president that extreme new levies would damage the economy and continue to wreak havoc on markets.

But, in fact, Bessent wasn’t the primary driver of the tariff announcement, according to a person familiar with the matter. He used his role in Oval Office meetings to lay out potential scenarios for markets and the economy based on different tariff levels, the person said.

The tariffs were largely shaped by a small group within Trump’s inner circle, with critical decisions about the duties’ structure going down to the wire before the president’s announcement. A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment.

Now, Trump’s bid to remake the US economy and boost made-in-America products is at odds with a Wall Street establishment that has profited for decades from the idea that international trade drives the world order. And even some Republican lawmakers are sounding the alarm. 

For the past two days at least, the market carnage that Wall Street feared has come to pass, wiping out $5.4 trillion in value and dragging down the S&P 500 to the lowest level in 11 months. Recession fears are growing around the globe. And executives who had rallied behind the Trump administration’s promises to cut taxes and ease regulation are now contending with an economic agenda that stands to roil their businesses.

Private equity firms are calling off initial public offerings and tempering expectations of a deal comeback that they hoped would help juice fundraising. Hedge funds are weighing whether Trump’s next move is too unpredictable to even wager on. Bank leaders who had forecast a more pro-growth agenda are having to peel back expectations, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. economists predicting a US recession this year.

The market plunge has even caused some of Trump’s most ardent backers in the political world to predict broader fallout: Texas Senator Ted Cruz said tariffs everywhere “would destroy jobs here at home and do real damage to the US economy.” On his podcast, he warned the levies make Republicans vulnerable to a “bloodbath” in 2026 midterms elections.

Trump — who in his first administration paid close attention to the stock market’s performance — has shown that he won’t be easily persuaded to change course by the tariff-induced plunge. He said Friday that the policy will remain and that large corporations are unconcerned by the tariff plan. As markets slid the most in five years, the president was at his West Palm Beach golf club.

Within the administration, the market fallout has caused nervousness, and officials will be eyeing whether the market fallout extends into a third session on Monday. Yet there’s a sense that any shift in policy would have to come from the president alone. And Trump is focused on the long term with tariffs, a person familiar with the matter said. He has stressed the need to revive the US manufacturing base, secure supply chains and reduce reliance on rivals.

“The only special interest guiding President Trump’s decisions is the interest of the American people,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “The entire administration is aligned on addressing the national emergency that President Trump has rightfully identified is posed by our country running regular trade deficits.”

Tariff Roll Out 

A Trump adviser who isn’t part of the administration criticized how the levies were rolled out and the White House’s communication strategy as markets were crashing. It should have had teams of economists, business leaders and union workers explaining the plan on TV, this person said.

In the weeks leading up to the tariff announcement, some Wall Street executives had already started to appeal to the Treasury secretary for help. Others went public with their warnings. Citadel founder Ken Griffin repeatedly criticized planned tariffs, saying they would dull the US’s competitive edge, while Warren Buffett called tariffs “an act of war, to some degree.”

Bessent remains a key member of Trump’s economic team, according to an administration official. But senior counselor Peter Navarro and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dominated the president’s attention on tariffs, said a person close to the matter. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was also an integral part of the team.

Bessent, in an interview with Bloomberg Television after the tariffs were announced Wednesday, said he wasn’t a part of negotiations with other countries and has been focused on the administration’s tax agenda. 

Private equity firms had seen Trump’s arrival heralding the return of IPOs that had been largely dormant the past three years and looser strictures on attracting wealthy individuals as clients. Instead, this week left them scrambling to determine how portfolio companies would be affected by the tariffs and are nursing painful stock slides. Shares of Apollo and KKR & Co. notched the biggest two-day slumps in their history.

Dealmakers note that some sectors — like domestic manufacturing — could still be poised for big boosts under the Trump administration. But they have expressed concerns to acquaintances that prolonged uncertainty and a slumping market will make it harder to exit bets at the prices they hoped. Already, companies including Klarna Group Plc and StubHub Holdings Inc. have paused their IPOs.

They’ve avoided airing their views publicly for fear of drawing the president’s wrath, and instead are trying to backchannel their concerns through proxies and lobbyists instead.

There are signs of some pushback among Trump loyalists on Capitol Hill as well. Senator Chuck Grassley and three other Republicans co-sponsored a bipartisan bill that intends to bring back tariff power to Congress, requiring approval of most new tariffs within 60 days. Majority Leader John Thune, who ultimately has the power to decide whether to bring the bill up for a floor vote, said he plans to look at the legislation.

“I know there is some interest in it,” Thune said on Friday. He acknowledged that the party was watching Wall Street carefully, and said he hoped they would see results from Trump’s plan “fairly quickly.”

Meanwhile on Saturday — as traders and executives across Wall Street and corporate America were still reeling from the market mayhem — White House aides issued an announcement: Trump had won the second round of the Senior Golf Championship at his Jupiter, Florida club.

He’d be advancing to the championship on Sunday.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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‘Bond King’ Bill Gross warns Gen Z and millennials will be the biggest losers from tariff-fueled market swings that rely on whether Trump ‘had a good night’s sleep’

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Audi’s top-selling SUV expected to be unsellable in U.S. after Trump tariffs

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The Audi Q5 is the German brand’s top-selling vehicle in the U.S. It’s also a prime example of how Donald Trump’s drastic reordering of global trade is wreaking havoc on automakers.

The president’s tariffs are hitting the $45,400 model thrice, rendering the sport utility vehicle unsellable, according to people familiar with the carmaker’s thinking, who declined to comment on the record.

There’s the 25% duty on imported autos and the non-U.S. parts they contain; the 25% levy on shipments from Mexico that Trump’s applied over border security; and a 2.5% fee for not complying with the free-trade agreement that Trump negotiated in his first term.

While automakers are still waiting for more guidance on the exact penalties they face, Audi is operating under the assumption that all three of those levies apply to the made-in-Mexico Q5, with duties totaling at least 52.5%, said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Trump paused most so-called reciprocal tariffs for 90 days on Wednesday but kept in place trade measures targeting the auto industry.

“The Q5 is a nice car, but if they’re making it there, they can’t sell it” in the U.S., said Ambrose Conroy, chief executive officer of Seraph, a consultancy that works with carmakers and their suppliers.

The rising trade barriers are threatening sales and upending supply chains that automakers have built over decades. Jeep maker Stellantis NV is temporarily halting some production in Canada and Mexico, Ford Motor Co. is for now offering discounts, and General Motors Co. is boosting U.S. pickup output to counter the tariffs. Audi owner Volkswagen AG, which reported an almost 40% drop in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, plans to tack import fees on to the vehicles it ships into the U.S.

Read More: Carmakers Idle Plants, Rethink Prices as Trump’s Tariffs Hit

Volkswagen is among several global manufacturers that have invested in factories in Mexico in recent years to benefit from the country’s relatively low wages and free trade agreements with more than 50 countries, including the U.S. Audi’s San José Chiapa plant enabled the brand to better meet demand in the region and helped offset declining sales in China, where local manufacturers led by BYD Co. are taking over.

Audi has made more than 1 million Q5s at the site since production began in 2016. The mid-size SUV is by far its best-selling model in the U.S., accounting for around a third of the brand’s 42,710 deliveries in the first quarter. The San José Chiapa plant was envisioned as a global export hub, so Audi didn’t prioritize making the Q5 USMCA-compliant, the people said.

The vehicle is emblematic for how globalized automotive supply chains have become. Some of the Q5’s engines are sourced from Hungary, with transmissions shipped in from Germany, and dozens of local suppliers providing other components. The Q5 is then assembled and shipped to customers around the world — both to Europe and the U.S., which ranks among the most lucrative markets for SUVs.

That strategy was working fine until Trump introduced his tariffs on April 3. Just 2% of the Q5’s content is made in the U.S. or Canada, according to data collected by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, meaning the remainder likely will be affected by duties.

Finding workarounds is challenging. Even if Audi wanted to mitigate the tariff pain by shifting production to the U.S., its executives have hesitated out of confusion and uncertainty about Trump’s trade war.

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume has said he’s waiting for clarity before proceeding with investment decisions, and the company said Wednesday it couldn’t yet determine the extent of the effects that tariffs will have on full-year earnings.

Volkswagen also owns brands including Porsche, Lamborghini and the EV upstart Scout. The company is considering expanding its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and looking at other sites in the southeastern U.S. to offset the risk of higher tariffs, Bloomberg reported last month. Rethinking how Scout’s new $2 billion plant near Columbia, South Carolina, is utilized could be another option, but the site isn’t scheduled to start production until late 2026.

Read More: Trump Forces Carmakers to Game Out Calculus on American Plants

Audi is currently holding tariffed vehicles at U.S. ports until it can figure out how much the bill will be, according to a Volkswagen spokesperson. The premium brand still has about two months’ worth of tariff-exempt vehicles on U.S. dealer lots.

The Q5 isn’t the carmaker’s only concern. U.S. sales of the Q3, touted by Car and Driver as “one of the least expensive luxury subcompact SUVs in the segment,” jumped 45% last year. But the model is made at a plant in Gyor, Hungary, meaning its $39,800 starting price also will likely increase.

Audi is just one of dozens of car companies coming to grips with the complicated hand Trump has dealt. Manufacturers rushed cars and parts into the U.S. before the duties hit and are now delaying shipments to minimize the fallout. Most have set up tariff task forces to calculate penalties and figure out what to do next.

“Auto executives need long-term stability to run their businesses,” said Matthias Schmidt, an independent auto analyst in Germany. “Setting up car factories takes three to four years. With Trump, you don’t know how the market will be in three to four hours.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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Eating your meals at these exact times could boost your energy levels and prevent chronic disease

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Mealtimes can vary widely from person-to-person—some people jump out of bed ready to eat a hearty breakfast, some adhere to intermittent fasting and eat their first meal around noon, and others let the day get away from them and find themselves finally remembering to eat lunch at 3 o’clock. But while deciding when to eat usually comes down to personal preference and what your day-to-day schedule looks like, it’s important to know that the timing of your meals can actually impact your health.

Keeping a consistent eating schedule can help regulate your circadian rhythm—your body’s internal clock—and boost metabolic health, while spacing out your meals appropriately can aid blood sugar regulation and energy levels.

Here’s expert-backed advice on how to time your meals and craft your day’s eating schedule.

Why—and when—to eat breakfast

Professor of nutrition and registered dietitian Lisa Young advises eating breakfast within one to two hours of waking up to help you stabilize your blood sugar and reduce your risk of metabolic syndromes like Type 2 diabetes and obesity, and of cardiovascular disease and mortality. “If you’re not a morning person, it’s okay to keep it light,” she tells Fortune, but you should still eat a little something, even if you’re not that hungry.

“Skipping breakfast may lead to lower energy, overeating later, and poor concentration,” she explains, adding that having a balanced breakfast with complex carbohydrates, protein, and fat will support steady energy and better appetite regulation.

Not only will missing your morning meal impact how you feel, but it could also increase your risk of chronic disease: A 2019 review on meal timing and metabolic risk found that skipping breakfast was linked to greater instances of obesity

Young generally encourages eating most of your calories earlier in the day rather than later. One study observed that people who ate a bigger breakfast and smaller dinner had greater weight loss and waist circumference reduction—which is a key indicator of cardiometabolic health and mortality risk—versus those who ate a bigger dinner and smaller breakfast.

When you should eat lunch

Young advises having lunch between noon and 1:30 p.m., explaining that, ideally, you should aim to eat every three to five hours. If you find yourself feeling hungry between meals, or if meals are more than four to five hours apart, she encourages adding in protein- and fiber-rich snacks to hold you over.

You don’t want to go too long without eating—or skip meals altogether—Young says, because it can lead to fatigue, irritability, and overeating, and it may disrupt your metabolism and blood sugar balance.

The best time to eat dinner

Young suggests eating dinner before 7:30 p.m., or at least two to three hours before bedtime, in order to give your body time to digest and ensure your sleep won’t be disrupted. An early dinner—around 5:30 p.m.—can also be beneficial for your overall health, bringing the benefits of preventing heartburn and gastrointestinal distress.

There’s also substantial data demonstrating that eating too late at night has been associated with a higher overall calorie intake and an increased risk for obesity. One study suggests that the hormone responsible for feeling full, leptin A, decreases later in the day, which can lead to late-night overeating. A 2022 study of two groups comparing eating later versus earlier also found that the later eating group’s odds of being hungry during the day doubled compared with the earlier group—and they were more likely to overeat starchy, salty foods and meat. The late eating group also burned fewer calories during the day than those in the early eating group.

Why keeping a regular eating schedule matters

Timing your meals isn’t only about how far apart to space them—it’s also important to keep to a regular eating schedule to aid your circadian rhythm, or your body’s internal clock. 

“Eating meals at consistent times best supports your internal clock and digestion,” Young says. Research reveals that irregular meal times can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your sleep, because circadian hormones, including cortisol and melatonin, interact with mealtimes and clue your body in on when to peak its energy and when to rest. Those hormones also play vital roles in regulating metabolic processes, as studies show that eating at inconsistent times can increase your risk of developing metabolic syndromes like diabetes.

While she advises generally following these guidelines, Young acknowledges that your eating pattern does depend, to a great degree, on your lifestyle, needs, and hunger levels.

“Tuning into your hunger and how you feel is most important,” she says. “What matters most is balanced, portion-aware eating that fits your lifestyle and keeps you energized. Ask yourself how you feel best.”

For more on nutrition:

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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