The declines were “pervasive and unanimous, across age, income, education, geographic region, and political affiliation”, she said. Expectations for the economy in the months ahead have sunk to the lowest level since 1980; worries about unemployment have hit the highest since 2009. Another number many will be watching worriedly: the expected inflation rate is for 6.7% this year – the highest since 1981. The US economy runs on consumer spending. So the big question right now is whether the drop in sentiment signals an equally sharp drop in purchases or not. As the US's trading partners react to his tariff scheme, is Donald Trump any closer to realising his goals on trade? Here's a quick look at where five of his key ambitions now stand. Trump has previously criticised countries for taking advantage of the US. While many of America's trading partners have 90 days to strike an agreement before higher tariffs are imposed, the White House has said leaders have already reached out to discuss deals and trade concessions. The various tariff moves make it difficult for businesses to predict what the final tariff levels will be and which industries will receive the greatest protections. It's likely businesses will wait for the dust to settle before making any big commitments. A trade war with China is now underway, with Trump previously accusing the nation of taking advantage of the US. Even if this showdown is one Trump wants, picking a fight with the second-largest economy in the world, with military power to match, comes at enormous risk. If Trump sticks with his so-called baseline tariffs, plus the additional levies on certain imports and larger ones on China, he's going to get more tariff revenue – at least until Americans switch to more domestic production, when the tariff money gusher could turn to a trickle. The US president has promised his trade policy will help lower prices for consumers, but the consensus among economists is that new tariffs will drive up consumer prices.
Watch: US markets open down at end of rocky week published at 15:10 British Summer Time
15:10 BST
As we've been reporting, Wall Street's main three indexes have opened down as tariffs continue to cause global stock fluctuations. Earlier today, the main European markets were in the red while there was also turbulence in Asia's markets.
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Why the US bonds market is the one to watch published at 14:48 British Summer Time
14:48 BST
While the stock markets have been volatile this week, it is the US bond market which has been said to have caught President Trump's attention before he announced a pause in some of the higher tariffs for 90 days. The US bond market has been rocked by the introduction of tariffs with investors dumping US government debt yesterday. Governments sell bonds - essentially IOUs - to raise money from investors, and in return, they pay interest. During times of global economic turbulence, investors usually look to buy US bonds as they feel they are a safe investment (safe haven) for their money and the US economy can be relied upon. However, in a sign of a loss of confidence in the US economy and fears inflation potentially caused by tariffs could hit returns, investors have instead been selling them off. That means that the US government has to pay higher rates to borrow money. This eased slightly on Thursday but today has gone up again. Borrowing costs over a 10-year period are now at their highest point since tariffs have been announced at 4.52%. This poses a big problem for the US as rising interest on bonds ultimately means higher costs for companies to borrow - if businesses can't get access to credit, that can halt economic growth and lead to job losses over time.
Wall Street stocks open down amid market fluctuations published at 14:35 British Summer Time
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The US markets have opened down as uncertainty over Donald Trump's tariffs continues to cause stock fluctuations. The ringing of the bell at the New York Stock Exchange came hours after China retaliated with 125% tariffs on US goods. Trump yesterday ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports, effectively raising them to 145% on some items. The deepening trade war comes as the two countries exchanged tit-for-tat levies since Trump announced his sweeping global tariffs earlier this month.
US markets open down marginally published at 14:32 British Summer Time
14:32 BST Breaking
Ding, ding, ding! The bell has sounded on Wall Street and trading in the world's biggest economy is open for the final day of what has been a rocky week for the US to say the least.
Trump says US is 'doing really well' on tariff policy published at 14:24 British Summer Time
14:24 BST Breaking
US President Donald Trump has just posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, to say the US is "doing really well on our tariff policy". "Very exciting for America, and the world!!! It is moving along quickly," he writes. These are the first comments from the US president since China retaliated with 125% tariffs on US goods.
US stock markets set to open soon published at 14:20 British Summer Time
14:20 BST
Attention turns to Wall Street as the US stock markets will be opening shortly at 9:30 local time in New York (14:30 BST). Despite a rebound on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump announced the pause of some higher tariffs on imports to America, the gains didn't extend on Thursday. All of Wall Street's main indexes finished down as investors digested the escalation of tariffs on China and also the blanket 10% on other countries. Stay with us for the latest after the bell.
Watch: What's behind Trump's 90-day pause on higher tariffs? published at 14:15 British Summer Time
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As we've mentioned, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a
90-day pause for countries hit by higher US tariffs . China, however, faces a 145% levy on some of its goods imported to the US. The White House has said the change of course was all part of the president's plan to gain leverage in negotiations, but it initially took many by surprise.
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Watch: Did Trump plan for the 90-day tariffs pause, or did he react to the economy?
Why is gold deemed a safe-haven during economic troubles? published at 14:02 British Summer Time
14:02 BST
The price of gold has hit an all-time high again as investors have flocked to buy up the precious metal due to economic uncertainty and the turmoil on global financial markets this week. Bullion prices rose to more than $3,200 (£2,439) an ounce on Friday as the trade war between the US and China intensified. But why is gold deemed such a safe-haven for people to put their money into? Gold's safe-haven status is a result of its intrinsic value and historical significance, according to the maker of UK coins, the Royal Mint. "Investors turn to gold for stability, a timeless resource they can rely on," it says. "Unlike paper currencies, which can lose value due to inflation or economic turmoil, gold’s intrinsic worth endures," it says. Gold has been valuable to mankind for centuries. It's a scarce metal, but not completely rare. It has a relatively low melting point and so can easily be made into coins or jewellery. While silver tarnishes over time, gold doesn't. As Tony Hadley sang the Spandau Ballet classic: "You're indestructible." He was "always believing", in gold - investors continue to do so as well.
China is digging in to ride out the tariff war published at 13:49 British Summer Time
13:49 BST
Analysts are saying the tariff increases between China and the US are now becoming almost meaningless. That’s because the levies on each other’s imports are so high that they already impede much of the trade flowing between the two. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s diary is filled with meetings with other nations as Beijing looks to forge new trade routes and shore up opposition to Donald Trump’s tariffs. Today,
he has been meeting Spain’s prime minister and calling on the EU to combine with China to “jointly resist the unilateral bullying practices” of the Trump administration. Next week, he will visit Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia - all countries currently marked for devastating tariffs from the US after the 90-day pause on them is over. Beijing is digging in because it knows it can - it has options and doesn’t need to rely only on trade with the US. When it comes to Chinese consumers they can easily switch to local brands if imported American products are too expensive. Chinese companies with specific links to trade with the US are hurting the most, but for everybody else, the tariffs are more of an inconvenience. China has considerable ability to ride this tariff war out and we could see it digging in for as long as it takes.
How have Asian markets fared this week? published at 13:37 British Summer Time
13:37 BST
We’ve been trawling through the numbers to get a sense of quite how much US President Donald Trump’s tariffs have hit markets over the last several days. The Hang Seng Index, which tracks the value of shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, dropped 8.5% in the week to Friday. That was the steepest weekly fall since February 2018 and came despite gains on Thursday and Friday. The Tokyo-based Nikkei index closed 9.0% down on the week last Friday – the biggest loss since the onset of the Covid pandemic – and posted a more modest decline of 0.6% this week, after several days of highs and lows. Shanghai’s SSE Index also closed 3.1% lower on the week this Friday, although the index has seen larger contractions this year.
America needs to 'diversify' from China - US trade representative published at 13:27 British Summer Time
13:27 BST
The US needs to "diversify" from China and source trade from other countries, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says. Speaking to Fox News, he says it's "dangerous" if America can only sustain its standard of living by relying on Chinese imports. Trump announced this week a pause for 90 days
for countries hit by higher US tariffs . Greer says for that period he has "hundreds" of people "working around the clock" with countries, looking at what trade they can do with the US. He adds that his people are giving ideas and communicating so that eventually Trump can consider deals. Greer says he thinks he can get enough deals to the US president that he feels "comfortable" they are "pushing trade forward".
