📰 Market Headlines

Markets soared this weekend in response to apparently successful trade talks—leading to majorly lowered US-China tariffs for now.

• The S&P 500 rose almost 3%, the Dow gained 900 points, and the Nasdaq shot up by 3.6%.

• Tuesday’s CPI release will be the next major event to affect markets this week.

The US and China are pausing Tariffs for 90 days after trade negotiations in Geneva. Both sides are dropping tariffs by 115%, a much better result than analysts predicted (most guessed 50% or less).

The stock market has skyrocketed accordingly, but 10-year treasury yields increased toward 4.5%; some think this could signal growth and a strong economy, but others fear that it means incoming inflation. Either way, markets look far more risk-on in the short term than before—and traders are likely watching the President’s X account as much as their charts.

Trump plans to lower drug costs by 30-80% according to his Truth Social post, and pharmaceutical stocks lost between 2-3% in response. If these cost cuts go through, they could majorly help consumers—but may also lead to brutally slashed profit margins and earnings forecasts for pharma firms in the coming months. Obviously, we’re cautious of investing in drug companies until further developments.

A judge ordered a pause on Trump’s layoffs, halting actions until May 23. Federal Judge Susan Illston ruled that the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget, and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency lack the authority for sweeping terminations without Congressional approval.

OpenAI and Microsoft overhauled partnership terms, setting the stage for a future OpenAI IPO. The talks covered Microsoft’s equity stake from its $13 billion investment and access to AI technology beyond 2030, potentially reshaping their original 2019 agreement.

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😱 Fear and Greed Index

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⚔️ Trade Wars

• China’s factory-gate prices dropped 2.7% in April, the sharpest decline in six months.

• Trump is heading to the Middle East for a 4-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates—likely to continue pursuing the $1 trillion investment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allegedly promised to the US.

• Saudi Aramco cut its dividend by $10 billion after Q1 profits fell 5% to $26 billion. The move tightens pressure on Saudi Arabia’s budget as oil prices continue to slide.

📊 Alternative Investing News

• Gold prices topped $3,400 an ounce last week before pulling back, as investors piled into safe-haven assets amid tariff fears.

• Signed Warren Buffett books fetched up to $100,000 at Berkshire’s annual auction, raising $1.3 million for a local Omaha charity.

🤖 AI/Future/Tech News

• Amazon rolled out Vulcan, a warehouse robot that can “feel,” and said bots now assist in 75% of orders.

• Samsung debuted the Galaxy S25 Edge, featuring a 200MP camera and ceramic glass display in a slimmer frame.

• Chinese automaker BYD undercut Tesla in Australia with the Shark hybrid pickup, offering 800km range and a sub-$42K price tag.

 💡 Ideas, trends, and analysis

🎤 What you said last time

🚚 Market movers

• Toyota projected a $1.2 billion profit hit in just two months from President Trump’s new auto tariffs.

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said AI could soon replace midlevel engineers. He also encouraged startups to stay lean by using AI to build with teams under 10 people.

• OpenAI expanded to 32.4% of US business subscriptions, up from 18.9% in January.

• Thai Airways finalized its merger with low-cost subsidiary Thai Smile, with all flights and 20 A320s being absorbed into the parent airline.

📊 Earnings this week

📺 What to watch today