Attention to the Unseen

The Wall Street Journal reports: Americans elected Donald Trump with a favorable opinion of his economic plans. But his expansive push for tariffs has helped turn that confidence into skepticism, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds. Tepid support for tariffs through the past year has become disapproval, with 54% of voters opposing Trump’s levies on imported goods, 12 points more than those who support his plans. Three quarters of voters say that tariffs will raise prices on the things…

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The New York Times reports: The financial market meltdown was underway when President Trump boarded Air Force One on his way to Florida on Thursday for a doubleheader of sorts: a Saudi-backed golf tournament at his family’s Miami resort and a weekend of fund-raisers attracting hundreds of donors to his Palm Beach club. It was a fresh reminder that in his second term, Mr. Trump has continued to find ways to drive business to his family-owned real-estate ventures, a practice…

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Politico reports: Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon said he plans to introduce a companion bill to the bipartisan Senate legislation aimed at reclaiming Congress’ authority over tariffs, becoming the first House Republican to openly challenge the powers President Donald Trump is using to launch a massive global trade war. Bacon confirmed his plans to POLITICO on Friday as market losses continued to pile up and rattle Republicans on Capitol Hill. The Senate bill introduced Thursday by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and…

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Politico reports: Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz is warning about major risks for the American economy and its automotive industry thanks to President Donald Trump’s trade war, saying it could result in the biggest tax hike in a “long, long time.” “I’m seeing a lot of Republican cheerleaders reflexively defending what the White House is doing,” Cruz said on his podcast Friday, but cautioned the administration’s latest actions could “hurt jobs and hurt America.” Cruz added he is “not a…

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The Guardian reports: The sweeping package of tariffs unveiled by Donald Trump on Wednesday includes an exemption for the energy sector, which is a clear sign of the president’s fealty to his big oil donors over the American people, advocates say. Trump’s new 10% universal tariffs – which are higher for many major economies – are wreaking havoc on the global economy and are expected to increase consumer prices in the US. But the levies will not apply to many…

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The Wall Street Journal reports: Rob Citrone couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The 60-year-old hedge-fund manager watched from his Orlando, Fla., home as President Trump walked into the White House’s Rose Garden and announced his sweeping plan to impose tariffs on the rest of the world. Citrone knew more levies on imported goods were coming—the White House had stuck to this message for months—and so he’d placed a series of wagers against U.S., European and Chinese stocks, betting they…

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Victoria Guida writes: President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime will completely transform America’s economic relationship with the rest of the world, all in the name of revitalizing domestic manufacturing. And yet, many businesses won’t be rushing to shift their supply chains to U.S. shores. For all the detail in Trump’s Wednesday announcement, his endgame is still shrouded in confusion. That’s lethal for long-term investment, making confident planning all but impossible. “If you want stuff being put in the ground, you…

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Politico reports: French President Emmanuel Macron wants EU businesses to stop investing in America in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s massive tariffs. “It is important that future investments, the investments announced over the last few weeks, should be put on hold for some time until we have clarified things with the United States of America,” Macron said on Thursday as he hosted a meeting with representatives of the sectors impacted and the government at the Elysée palace. “What message…

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NBC News reports: Global markets reacted sharply and swiftly after President Donald Trump revealed his much-anticipated tariff plans Wednesday, with investors fleeing U.S. stock indexes and companies that rely on global supply chains seeing their stocks plummet. S&P 500 futures, which indicate where it will likely open on Thursday, plunged 3.5%. Nasdaq 100 futures sold off by more than 4.3%, and Dow futures slid about 1,000 points or 2.3%. Those indices just endured their worst quarter in years in large…

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Investor’s Business Daily reports: A day after auto stocks broadly declined, the sector lost more ground Friday. The threat that President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all foreign-made vehicles could “send the auto industry into pure chaos,” and boost the average price of cars between $5,000 and $15,500, according to an analyst. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives on Friday said, after talking to auto industry players from around the world over the prior 24 hours, that the tariffs will add…

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MarketWatch reports: Consumers and businesses have grown very anxious about President Donald Trump’s trade wars — and they have increasing doubts about the future of the economy if the White House stays on the current path. The latest signal of angst: The long-running survey of consumer confidence fell to a more than four-year low of 92.9 this month, from 100.1 in February, the Conference Board said Tuesday. That’s the fourth decline in a row and the lowest reading since January…

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The Wall Street Journal reports: Keith Moffat was born in Canada, lives in the Netherlands and has an Irish passport. But until recently, his stock portfolio was (almost) all-American. At one point, around 90% of Moffat’s investments were in U.S. stocks. He sold all of his American holdings in the past few weeks and piled into exchange-traded funds that hold shares of European and other international companies, alongside European defense stocks. Moffat said the U.S. market is overpriced. But President…

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