>>Trading Week Winding Down
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning on Wall Street after stocks suffered a brutal day Thursday, closing sharply lower one day after President Trump announced sweeping global tariffs. The S&P 500 had its worse day since 2020 after the White House announced a baseline tariff rate of ten-percent against most countries yesterday that will go into effect on Saturday. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 16-79 to 40-545. The S&P 500 lost 274 points to 53-96. The Nasdaq lost 10-50 points to 16-550.
>>March Jobs Report Beats Expectations
(Washington, DC) -- The monthly employment report is out and it shows far more jobs created in March than expected. Today's report from the Labor Department shows employment rose by 228-thousand last month versus the 151-thousand new jobs added the month prior. Most analysts had been expecting today's number to come in at around 140-thousand. The unemployment rate, which was forecast to hold steady at four-point-one percent, ticked up just slightly to four-point-two percent.
>>Nike And Apple Lose Billions In Stock Value Following Tariffs
(Beaverton, OR) -- Two of America's biggest companies are losing billions because of the new Trump administration tariffs. Nike lost 12-billion dollars in market value and its stock fell 13 percent after Trump's announcement, which includes a 34-percent tariff on goods from China and a 46-percent tariff on Vietnam, two countries where Nike shoes are made. The tariffs are also having a huge impact on Apple's supply chain. Stock in the tech company took its biggest drop in five years because of steep tariffs on goods from India and Malaysia, where Apple products are assembled. The tariffs wiped out a reported 300-billion-plus dollars in market cap for Apple.
>>Stellantis Announces Temporary Layoffs
(Detroit, MI) -- Stellantis is temporarily laying off 900 employees in response to President Trump's tariff announcement. The layoffs will impact workers at five of the automaker's U.S. facilities. Stellantis also announced it will be pausing production at two of its plants in Canada and Mexico. In a letter to employees, the company said it's assessing the medium and long-term effects of the tariffs on operations. Automakers are now facing a 25-percent import tax.
>>Trump: TikTok Deal Close
(Washington, DC) -- President Trump believes TikTok is close to being sold. Chinese-based ByteDance was granted a 75-day extension from its original January 19th deadline to divest or face a permanent U.S. ban. Speaking aboard Air Force One Thursday, Trump said he believes a sale to a "good group" will happen soon. He also floated the idea of using the new U.S. tariffs against China as a bargaining chip in an possible deal.
>>Zelle Shutting Down App
(New York, NY) -- The money transferring service Zelle is shutting down its app. Services provided by Zelle will still be available but app users will have to re-enroll through their participating bank or credit union. The move wasn't unexpected as the company had warned of the shutdown after announcing only two-percent of transactions were done through the app.
>>Automattic Lays Off 16% Of Staff
(San Francisco, CA) -- Automattic, whose online services include WordPress and Tumblr, is cutting its workforce by 16-percent. The San Francisco-headquartered company says it's a necessary restructuring due to industry competitiveness in the quickly evolving tech industry. CEO Matt Mullenweg says the move ensures a viable financial model for long-term success.
