News Recap • Week 17 2025

Check the news below and make sure to visit my latest Market Recap as well.

‍

Macro

• Trump said on Tuesday that he has no intention of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell. This seemed to contradict many previous statements from both him and his team and definitely calmed investors’ fears that the central bank would become politicized and simply serve to support Trump’s policies. It also came shortly after Trump called Powell a “major loser” and said he should cut rates immediately.
• Bessent said he expects a deescalation in the US-China tariff fight in the very near future. His statements seemed to bring some optimism into the markets. President Trump also reiterated that the administration is in ongoing talks with China, although China repeatedly denied this throughout the week.
• India’s PM Narendra Modi and US Vice President JD Vance both expressed optimism around the “signficant progress” made in trade talks between the two parties.
• Those trade deals can’t come soon enough, considering that Trump’s approval rating on the economy is at its lowest level of his presidential career.
• The Consumer Sentiment index from the University of Michigan came in at 52.2 in April. That was down sharply from 57.0 in March but up from 50.8 two weeks ago. Economists had expected the final April reading to be unchanged at 50.8, so there was somewhat of a silver lining here.
• In the US, sales of previously owned homes in March slowed 5.9% from February to a total of 4.02 million units. This was the slowest March sales pace since 2009. Inventory was up nearly 20% from a year earlier, although the 1.33 units for sale is still pointing to a tight housing market. The average home sales price was only up a modest 2.7% from last March, albeit still marking a new record high.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its 2025 growth forecast for the US economy from 2.7% to 1.8%. It cited the economic uncertainty sparked by tariffs and a general trade war. It also slashed its UK growth forecast for 2025 from 1.6% to 1.1%.
• UK retail sales jumped 0.4% in March, easily outpacing the forecast for a 0.4% fall.
• The German government now thinks the economy will flatline in 2025, compared with a 0.3% expansion expected previously.
• Six of the top policy groups representing the US auto industry have joined forces to lobby against the 25% tariffs on auto parts set to take effect on May 3.
• Paul Atkins was officially sworn in as the 34th chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Unlike his predecessor, Gary Gensler, Atkins is known for being very pro-crypto.
• China kept its interest rates steady as expected. The 1-year loan prime rate remains at 3.1% while the 5-year stays at 3.6%.
• California just surpassed Japan measured by the size of its economy. The state would rank fourth in the world if it were a country.
• Japan is reportedly considering adding bitcoin to its national reserves.
• South Korea’s GDP contracted 0.1% year over year in Q1, marking its first quarterly contraction since Q4 2020. Economists had expected a 0.1% expansion. The drop was mostly due to a 12.4% fall in the construction sector.

‍

Other

• Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, and Tether are launching a new crypto venture to buy and hold bitcoin. The new venture, named Twenty One Capital, will go public through a SPAC deal and hold 42,000 bitcoins at launch.
• China now holds 70% of the world’s AI patents.
• The EU fined Apple and Meta €500 million ($570 million) and €200 million (228 million) respectively for breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
• Apple is reportedly aiming to produce most of its iPhones sold in the US in India by the end of 2026. The company currently produces around 80% of them in China.
• Amazon and Nvidia executives said this week that they haven’t seen a slowdown in AI data center demand, quelling concerns of a broader pullback in AI, tech, and business overall.
• S&P 500 companies are experiencing the largest negative earnings revisions since the Covid breakout.
• WeightWatchers is set to file for bankruptcy within the next few weeks. The company is battling competition from weight loss drugs and a massive $1.6 billion in debt. The bankruptcy filing will include a debt-restructuring deal already agreed with its lenders and allow the company keep its business running as normal while quickly moving out of bankruptcy. The stock jumped 168% on the news on Friday but is still down 99.6% from its all-time high in 2018 and more than 90% since 2023.

‍

Earnings

• Tesla missed on both the top and bottom lines and reported a 20% drop in auto revenue. EPS was expected to land at 39 cents but came in at 27 cents, on revenue of $19.34 billion vs $21.11 billion expected. Net income fell off a cliff, down 71% from a year ago to $409 million. Interestingly enough, Elon Musk spoke quote critically about Trump’s tariff policy. Despite the horrendous numbers, shares rose 5.4% after the report on Wednesday and added another 13% on Thursday and Friday. Investors seemed to focus on the prospects of robotaxis launching in the not-so-distant future and Elon Musk soon leaving DOGE. The company’s CFO also said that they’re working on expanding into India.
• Alphabet reported revenue of $90.23 billion, slightly beating expectations for $89.12 billion. Earnings, on the other hand, came in far above estimates. EPS landed at $2.81 vs $2.01 expected, an increase of 46% from a year earlier. Overall revenue grew 12% year over year, higher than the 10% forecast. Margins jumped to 17.8% from 9.4% a year ago. All in all, this was a very impressive earnings report. Shares initially rose as much as 5% in the after market but closed just 1.68% higher on Friday after the report. They gained more than 7% for the week though.
• IBM delivered a solid earnings beat, making $1.60 per share vs $1.40 expected. Revenue also came in above estimates. The company also maintained its 2025 forecast. The stock fell 6.58% on Thursday after the report but has still outperformed the Nasdaq by a wide margin this year.
• Chipotle’s revenue came in slightly below expectations as same-store sales declined for the first time since 2020. The company also lowered its same-store sales outlook for the year. CEO Scott Boatwright said that customers began pulling back their spending in February because of economic uncertainty. After falling initially, shares gained 1.6% on Thursday after the report and added another 4.52% on Friday. The positive reaction should also be seen in the light of the stock’s 26% decline since December.
• European software giant SAP reported a 58% year-over-year surge in Q1 operating profit, totaling $2.9 billion. EPS jumped 79% on an annual basis. The stock rallied 10.6% on Wednesday after the report and has now rebounded more than 16% from the bottom in early April.
• Intel gave revenue and profit guidance well below analysts’ expectations. This was Intel’s first earnings report with new CEO Lip-Bu Tan at the helm. Shares fell 6.7% on Friday after the report.
• PepsiCo reported revenue above analysts’ forecast but earnings slightly below. More concerning was the lowered earnings forecast and citing of tariff uncertainty. The stock dropped 4.89% on Thursday after the report and extended losses on Friday, closing at a fresh 4-year low. It’s now down 32% from the May 2023 peak.
• Comcast beat on both the top and bottom lines, but said it lost 199,000 domestic broadband customers as pressure on its core business continues. Shares fell 3.71% after the report but had been down as much as 8.7% earlier in the day.