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Lily Becker: Stock market jitters
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If you find following the news stressful, imagine being a stockbroker.
Several times a month, a headline comes out about something President Donald Trump said or did — threaten to invade Greenland, announce new tariffs, try to fire a member of the Federal Reserve board — and the stock market reacts wildly.
Traders call it “headline risk”: the possibility that a surprising news report will trigger a panicky sell-off on Wall Street that will usually subside once everyone has a chance to read past the headline.
While headline risk has always been a possibility, it has become more common in Trump’s second term as he dominates the daily news cycle with brash statements and unprecedented attempts to assert power.
But while the president has made the stock market more volatile on an hour-by-hour basis, he doesn’t seem to have affected the underlying mood among traders on the fundamentals of the American economy. Stock prices are still trading at or near their all-time highs. News headlines may cause temporary freak-outs, but the fear doesn’t last. Even oil prices — which usually stay high during a crisis — have quickly dropped back to normal after every scare.
On CNBC this week, Trump pointed directly at the disconnect, saying he was “surprised the stock market hasn’t dropped more” given geopolitical uncertainty, and adding that in a worst-case scenario he would have expected “a 20% drop in stocks and oil at $200 a barrel.” The implication was clear: Political expectations of disruption are not matching market pricing.
Read Lily Becker’s analysis here.
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We’re sending the Project 47 newsletter on Thursdays now! On Tuesdays, you can expect to receive a special edition of the Project 47 newsletter dedicated to covering the biggest issues shaping key races in the midterms. If you would prefer to opt out of the special midterms edition of the newsletter, click here and you will automatically be removed.
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Will you sign up for a Trump Account?
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TurboTax and other online tax preparation software included an option for users to have form 4547 filled out for them so they can sign up for Trump Accounts for their children. Contributions will not start until July, however.
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Here are some more highlights of the president’s actions over the past seven days:
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The news can feel overwhelming. But each week, we pause to highlight a person, organization or movement sticking up for their principles or their fellow Americans. This week’s challengers are the “bro” podcasters.
Trump’s decision to take up Rogan’s cause of psychedelics may have had an ulterior motive, as the popular podcaster had recently said he felt “politically homeless” and criticized the president for the Iran war. During the 2024 campaign, Trump appeared on Rogan’s show, one of 14 long-form “bro” podcasts that gave him a boost among young male voters. But eight hosts of those shows have since questioned or criticized the Iran war, while only two have endorsed it, according to a count by Semafor. Theo Von, an actor and comedian who endorsed Trump in 2024, called the war “scary” and described Trump’s threat to end Iranian civilization “insane.” “What regular person is this helping?” he asked on his podcast recently.
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In 2021, California Republican Devin Nunes announced he was quitting Congress to become the CEO of Trump’s media company, Trump Media & Technology. The company is best known for Truth Social, the president’s preferred social media platform. What it’s not known for is turning a profit. Last year, it made $3.7 million but lost $712 million, nearly doubling the $401 million it lost the year before. On the first day that TMTG started trading publicly in 2024 under the symbol DJT, it closed at $58 a share (Trump is the company’s largest shareholder.)
These days, it’s bouncing around $9.48, about 84% lower. Now, Nunes is out, calling it an “appropriate time.” In 2024, he got a pay package worth $47 million, the last year for which figures are available, though it’s likely he won’t receive the full amount as it doesn’t completely vest until a year from now. Nunes’ departure also comes after the company announced plans to merge with a nuclear fusion company and explore spinning off Truth Social.
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— Stephanie Ruhle, host of “The 11th Hour”
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Friday, Chris Hayes sits down with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for a special edition of “All In." They’ll discuss how Mamdani has been able to speak to people on both sides politically, his vision for the city and what it could mean for bigger national ideas. Watch "All In America: Mayor Mamdani" tomorrow at 8 p.m. Eastern on MS NOW.
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This week on “Clock It,” Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels question who’s really running the White House as the U.S. tries to strike a deal in the Middle East. Then, cultural and fashion icon Michaela Angela Davis joins to reminisce about when magazines like Vibe, Honey, and Essence felt like homebase for Black journalists. Listen now and subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening and bonus content.
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