💰 5 Fact Friday: Liberation Leads To Detonation

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ECONOMY
1. Tariffpocalypse Begins 📦

If Wednesday was Liberation Day, Thursday was Detonation Day.

Trump’s “economic declaration of independence” hit like a sledgehammer, and Wall Street flinched hard.

Tech analyst Dan Ives called the tariff package “worse than the worst-case scenario,” and investors didn’t disagree—the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq fell roughly 4%, 5%, and 6% respectively.

Here’s what sent shockwaves:

All Imports, 10% Tariff

Starting April 5, every product entering the U.S. gets a 10% blanket tax. Think of it like a universal cover charge at the border.

However, a few carveouts remain. Critical goods like oil, gas, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, copper, and lumber are exempt (for now).

Reciprocal Tariffs Get Personal

Starting April 9, around 60 countries will face even steeper tariffs. These “reciprocal” rates are based on:

• How much a country taxes U.S. goods

• How large their trade deficit is with the U.S.

The result? The average U.S. tariff rate could jump from 2.5% in 2024 to 22.5% in 2025, the highest level in over 100 years.

Even countries once seen as “China alternatives” for supply chains—like Vietnam and Taiwan—weren’t spared.

Mexico and Canada avoided the list altogether, likely because they’re working on side deals. But they still face a 25% tariff on non-USMCA goods and a 25% tax on foreign autos starting May 3.

Why It’s Happening

The stated goal isn’t revenge—it’s rebalancing. The administration aims to:

1. Reshore U.S. manufacturing
2. Shrink our $1.2T trade deficit
3. Reduce reliance on foreign suppliers (a weakness exposed during Covid)

And yes, there’s a tax angle: Trump has floated replacing income taxes for those earning less than $150,000 with tariff revenue. This would help offset the regressive impact tariffs have on lower- and middle-income households.

What It Means For You

While the gap between now and April 9 leaves room for negotiation, markets are already bracing for impact. And if these tariffs stick, the fallout could be costly:

• Inflation could rise 1.5 percentage points, driven by higher prices on goods like apparel, electronics, and home furnishings.

• Household purchasing power could drop by ~$2,400 per year, depending on spending patterns and how much cost companies pass on.

The White House insists this will spark a Made-in-America revival. But factories take time to build, and reshoring is a long, expensive process.

If this is just the opening move, let’s hope for a showdown—not a slowdown.

STOCKS
2. TikTok’s Deadline Drama 🎬

The app that launched a thousand dance trends—and keeps users glued for an hour a day—is now staring down the barrel of a nationwide ban.

Washington officials fear TikTok is ultimately beholden to the Chinese government, which could use the app to conduct influence campaigns or collect data on Americans.

So ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent, must sell the app’s U.S. operations by Saturday, April 5, or face a forced shutdown.

With the clock ticking, a bidding war has erupted:

Amazon: The e-commerce giant submitted a last-minute bid this week. The logic? Plug TikTok’s viral engine directly into Amazon’s retail machine. TikTok Shop attracted 47 million U.S. buyers last year—connecting that audience to Prime could be gold.

AppLovin: The $100B adtech firm, backed by casino billionaire Steve Wynn, says it can solve national security issues and boost U.S. jobs. It’s also a sneaky way to expand AppLovin’s growing ad empire.

Perplexity: The AI search engine pitched a merger to pair TikTok’s data with Perplexity’s algorithm.

Oracle + Friends: Oracle is leading a more traditional deal backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Blackstone, and other U.S. investors.

And yes... there are wildcard bids from MrBeast, “Mr. Wonderful”, and Mr. Tim Stokely (founder of OnlyFans).

This is round two of TikTok limbo—but this time, both Beijing and Trump have shown signs they’re willing to strike a deal, possibly tied to broader tariff talks.

Still, unless a buyer steps up and Trump greenlights the deal by Saturday, TikTok could disappear from U.S. app stores by Sunday.

That would leave 170 million Americans with an extra hour in their day. The question is—where does that time (and ad money) go?

STOCKS
3. Tesla’s Troubles Shift Into High Gear ⚡️

Tesla $TSLA ( ▼ 2.24% ) just posted its worst quarter since 2022.

The EV giant delivered 336,681 vehicles in Q1, down 13% year-over-year and missing analyst expectations by over 40,000 units. That’s the steepest decline in Tesla’s history.

So what’s going wrong?

1. Demand is cooling: In China, Tesla’s largest foreign market, sales dropped 12% year-over-year. Global buyers are losing interest in the aging product lineup, while the company races to upgrade its top-selling models.

2. Backlash is heating up: Elon’s polarizing presence in politics is turning off some of Tesla’s earliest fans, especially climate-conscious buyers on the left. Dealerships have even been vandalized in protest.

3. Wall Street wants Elon back: Musk’s 130-day stint as a special government employee ends May 30. Tesla bulls (including longtime supporters like Ross Gerber and Dan Ives) are calling for him to focus.

Rumors that he’d step back from his role with Trump sent the stock up—until the White House denied it, and shares fell again.

To be fair, it’s not all doom and gloom. Tesla’s Megapack energy business is thriving, with margins better than its car division and capacity set to triple this year. Plus, Musk is promising a Robotaxi launch in Austin by June.

But with the stock down 30% in 2025, investors are asking one thing: Can the world’s richest man please get back to work?

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STOCKS
4. IPO Fever Is Back—But Results May Vary 🎭

So far in 2025, 73 companies have gone public in the U.S., raising a combined $11.8B—up 39% from this time last year.

But if this week’s action is any clue, there’s no single playbook for success. Here’s how the two biggest headliners are shaking out:

CoreWeave $CRWV ( ▼ 0.49% ): The AI cloud darling stumbled out of the gate, opening flat and dipping below its $40 IPO price.

But Day 3 brought a surprise: a 42% rally that pushed shares 30% above IPO. The rocky debut rattled some nerves, but the rebound suggests there’s real appetite for AI exposure.

Newsmax $NMAX ( ▼ 3.8% ): The conservative media outlet delivered a very different kind of drama. After pricing at $10 and opening at $14, the stock exploded to $233 in just two days... before tumbling back to ~$60.

That’s still a 6x return in under 72 hours. Hype over fundamentals? Definitely. But in the short term, the story often sells more than the spreadsheet.

So who’s next? Looks like it’s Circle $USDC.X ( ▼ 0.0% ).

The stablecoin issuer just filed to go public at a $4-5B valuation. With $60B in circulation and $25T in lifetime volume, it’s one of crypto’s most established players.

The business is profitable but thin-margin, with over 50% of revenue flowing straight to Coinbase. Still, with crypto adoption rising and Washington easing regulations, Circle is ready to test the IPO waters.

STOCKS
5. Guess That Stock 🕵️‍♂️

This Magnificent 7 member is no stranger to headlines. But this week, the spotlight was all about supply chain pain.

Can you name the stock?

1. Shares plunged more than 9% on Thursday, wiping out over $300 billion in market cap—its worst single-day performance since March 2020.

2. The hit came after new tariffs pushed its China import tax to 54%. That’s a major problem, since roughly 85% of its flagship product is manufactured there.

3. Its backup manufacturing hubs—India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan—also got slapped with fresh tariffs, leaving almost nowhere to hide.

4. The company is expected to absorb some of the cost, pass ~10% to consumers, and find new supply chain efficiencies. Analysts don’t expect any major price hikes until the fall, when its 17th-generation product line launches.

5. By then, your devices might also double as a personal doctor. The company is developing an AI-powered health coach that pulls data from your phone, watch, and earbuds to offer personalized health advice and early warnings based on your vitals.

Got a guess? Tap here to reveal the answer → 

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