Good Morning, GCA Forums News fans. Today is Monday, April 14, 2025, and we bring you a complete overview of the important national news, including economic developments and movements in policies and markets.

Stocks and Financial Overview

Apple and Nvidia stocks also surged 5.3% and 3%, respectively. The overwhelming growth was also driven by Trump’s announcement of exempting tariffs on Chinese smartphone, laptop, and semiconductor imports and his new policies on import taxes. The trade relief resulted in tech stock relief as well.

Markets See Volatile Trading as Tech Rally Fades Despite Tariff Relief

U.S. stocks are experiencing a turbulent trading session on Monday, as an early surge driven by President Donald Trump’s unexpected tariff exemptions for key technology imports began to lose steam by the afternoon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 138 points, or 0.4%, after briefly climbing more than 500 points during intraday trading. The Nasdaq Composite posted a modest gain of 0.2%, having jumped as much as 2.5% earlier in the session. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 closed 0.4% higher, easing back significantly from its peak gain of 1.8%.

• Investor optimism was initially fueled by new guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which was released late Friday and confirmed exemptions from the new “reciprocal” tariffs announced by President Trump. The exemptions specifically apply to smartphones, computers, and vital electronic components such as semiconductors—key inputs for the tech sector.

Interest Rates & Fed Update

The Federal Reserve keeps the benchmark interest rate at 4.25%—4.5% because of the ever-growing inflation and uncertainty in the rest of the world. Trump has famously called out Fed Chair Jerome Powell to reduce the rates, but the Fed is careful not to tip the scales towards stagflation.

There are no credible claims that President Trump is suing to remove Powell and the rest of the board from the Federal Reserve, which means these statements seem highly unsubstantiated.

Real Estate & Housing Market

Uncertainty among financial institutions and the cap extension caused the housing market to experience a sharp downturn. The thirty-year fixed mortgage rate recently climbed over 7%, hindering home affordability, further stalling sales, creating a Housing inventory shortage, and worsening the situation for potential buyers.

Licensed professionals in the housing and mortgage industry deal with a thinning pool of transactions, further stalling profits and pushing up expenses, using burdening industry slow down and limiting weathered profits.

Financing A Business and Giving Loans

Despite the current environment, business funding and commercial lending have become even more conservative. Lending for residential mortgages faces challenges due to rising interest rates and less demand.

Vehicle Industry

The automotive industry continues dealing with the burden of tariffs and problems in the supply chain. Tariffs on imported vehicles and parts have unavoidably increased the cost of producing goods for the market’s consumers. Selling vehicles, including cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles, and Commercial Vehicles, has also lost value, resulting in poor fleet sales.

Impact of Trump’s Tariff Policies on the Economy

Much concern has emerged in America from Trump’s newly introduced tariffs, liberally referred to as the “Liberation Day” tariff. This tariff entails a primary 10% tax levy on imports for about ten countries, and other countries are charged separately.

Business and household finances have incurred significant burdens while directly fueling the fire of unregulated inflation inflation.

From a broader perspective, the whole economy struggles to find a compromise.

Key Economic Trends

CPI (Consumer Price Index):

• Predictions for inflation have projected a rise, with a marked change defined in a single-year expectation reaching 3.6% by March.
• Inflated due to trade war and lesser spending from consumers.

GDP:

• Along with it, GDP growth estimates face a downward projection.

Unemployment:

• Increased corresponding concerns, including 44%, questioning a lower rate in the coming year.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

As with other policies, the Trump presidency systematically reduced federal funding for DEI policies, claiming that these measures could foster discrimination against majority groups. Critics argue that this cedes ground on inclusivity and equal access to education and work.

We’ll follow These developing stories closely and report on them as more details emerge. 

https://youtu.be/Nm7D4c4g-gI?si=iBLdNxoNDEyWO3wb

• This discussion was modified 1 day, 9 hours ago by  Gustan Cho.