How is your IRA and other savings accounts?

US stocks opened on a grim note in New York, with the Morningstar US Market Index down as much as 3.6% in early trading. Stocks were briefly more than 2% in the green, seemingly on rumors of a pause in the implementation of tariffs, but they quickly fell lower again.

The Nasdaq 100 was 1.8% lower in midmorning trading, while the S&P 500 was down 2.0%. The “Magnificent Seven” stocks continued their declines from the previous week, with Nvidia NVDA down 1.9%, Tesla TSLA down 6%, and Apple AAPL down 4.5%.

Since the imposition of Trump Tariffs.

As of 10:19 AM Pacific Coast Time

DJIA

37,447.63-5,096.59 (-11.98%)

S&P 500 Index

4,973.86-907.77 (-15.43%)

Nasdaq 100 Index

17,165.05-3,847.12 (-18.31%)

Markets plunge with S&P 500 down 6% and Dow down 2,200 after China retaliates against Trump tariffs

Mike Pistillo Jr., center, works with other traders on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

CNN‘s black sheep and resident MAGA supporter, Scott Jennings, had a hilarious reaction to President Trump’s recent tariffs that sunk the stock market.

Jennings, a frequent conservative contributor on the network, joined anchor John Berman on Friday’s broadcast of CNN News Central with Meghan Hays, a Democratic strategist, to sound off on the impact of Trump’s tariffs.

At the end of the segment, the stock market ticker was displayed on the screen near Jennings, who hid under the table in an effort to escape it.

Berman jokingly apologized to Jennings for having the stock market ticker in front of him on screen.

‘Why didn’t you put it by Meghan? Can we just shove it to the other side of the screen? I don’t understand. I feel like you did this on purpose,’ Jennings joked.

One thing we do know is that people thinking about buying a car or large appliances are shopping now before the prices go up.

Berman coyly responded that moving the ticker to the other side of the screen won’t change the problem for Republicans.

When the camera panned out, the ticker was still positioned near Jennings and Berman joked that it was ‘following’ him.

‘Literally! Let me just get down here,’ Jennings responded as he hid under the table to escape the plummeting stock market.

—

One thing we do know is that people contemplating a car purchase or a large appliance purchase are shopping to complete that purchase this weekend.

Trump’s Destruction of the Country’s Economy

Tariffs Are a Self-Inflicted Economic Catastrophe that will make America hated by most of the world. Russia and its allies are loving this.

Dow drops over 1,400 as US stocks lead worldwide sell-off after Trump’s tariffs ignite

Financial markets around the world are reeling Thursday following President Donald Trump’s latest and most severe set of tariffs, and the U.S. stock market is taking the worst of it so far.

The S&P 500 was down 4% in midday trading, more than other major stock markets, and at its bottom in the morning was on track for its worst day since COVID struck in 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,412 points, or 3.3%, as of 11:50 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 5.1% lower.

In President Donald Trump’s first term, apparel and footwear makers shifted manufacturing out of China to avoid tariffs. Now they’re being pummeled as Trump targets the same nations they moved to.

A tariff of 46% on goods from Vietnam is particularly painful for companies such as Nike Inc., Adidas AG and Lululemon Athletica Inc., which produce significant amounts of merchandise in the country. Levies of 49% on Cambodia and more than 30% on Indonesia and Thailand are also problematic. Trump says the tariffs will push companies to relocate manufacturing to the US.

America’s biggest trading partners promised retaliation for President Donald Trump’s massive tariff announcement. The first major response has come in — from Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada will levy a 25% counter-tariff on vehicles imported from the United States that are not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in response to US tariffs on Canadian vehicles and auto parts that went into effect today.

“As I told President Trump during our call last week, Canada will respond to the US auto tariffs, and today, I’m announcing that the Government of Canada will be responding by matching the US approach with 25% tariffs on all vehicles imported from the United States that are not compliant with CUSMA, our North American Free Trade Agreement,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa, using the Canadian acronym for the USMCA.

The prime minister said there were no talks scheduled between him and Trump, but he would talk to the US president again “if appropriate.” Carney also said Canada’s counter-tariffs would not affect auto parts.

Though Carney said Canada still considers the US an ally in defense and security, his country “must be looking elsewhere to expand our trade, to build our economy and to protect our sovereignty.”

Where will all this end? Look for a World Wide RECESSION.

Top ten wealthiest people in the world.

Delay, Deny, Defend

It might be easier to make sense of the recent fatal shooting of an insurance CEO, an act with ominous overtones about health care costs and insurance coverage, if any one aspect of health-care finance in America had gotten dramatically worse.

But what if there is no one thing?

Everything in American health care seems to cost more, across the board, year after year. Millions of insurance claims get denied. Medical debt routinely drives patients into bankruptcy. And patients see no relief in sight.

“Americans forgo necessary health care every single day, because they can’t afford it,” said Caroline Pearson, executive director of the nonprofit Peterson Center on Healthcare.

Americans spend more out of pocket on health care than people in most comparable countries, the health policy nonprofit KFF found. In the United Kingdom, for example, out-of-pocket health care costs totaled $764 per person in 2022.

“We don’t consume a lot more health care than other countries,” said Dr. Atul Grover, executive director of the nonprofit AAMC Research and Action Institute. “We just pay a lot more for each thing.”

United Healthcare reported net income of $22.3 billion last year, had net income of $20.6 billion in 2022 after making $17.3 billion in 2021 and $15.4 billion in 2020. Before the pandemic United Health made $13.8 billion in 2019.

Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It is a 2010 book by Rutgers Law professor Jay M. Feinman

Luigi Mangione Has Become A Social Media Folk Hero. The Glorification of Luigi Mangione Is Disturbing – But Not Surprising

Luigie Mangione is escorted into Manhattan Criminal court for his arraignment in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in New York.

Honda, Nissan begin talks to forge world’s 3rd-biggest automaker

Honda and Nissan have officially entered into talks to combine their companies by summer 2026, the companies announced Monday, a deal that would create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales.

A merger would bring the Japanese auto giants under a joint holding company, according to a news release. Mitsubishi, a longtime Nissan partner, also has agreed to join the negotiations.

I have owned Nissan cars for decades. The first was a Datsun 200SX. Mine was blue. The car was the size of a Ford Mustang. It took us to Las Vegas at least once and ran better than our Chevrolet on Highway 15.

I have also owned some Honda Accords and Honda Civics that were equally reliable.

Why these companies are negotiating is to giving them the muscle to compete with GM, Toyotal

The three brands already have a partnership to work on vehicle intelligence and electrification, which includes technological collaboration with the goal of achieving “carbon neutrality and a zero-traffic-accident society.”

The deal joins Japan’s second- and third-largest automakers, giving the combined company the scale to better compete in the tumultuous global auto market. Last year, Honda built nearly 4.2 million cars and sold nearly 4 million globally, while Nissan said it produced and sold about 3.4 million. By comparison, Toyota and General Motors sold about 10 million and 6.2 million vehicles in the same year respectively.

Capitalism is the Driving Force in America

NYU Stern Business School Professor Scott Galloway shares his take on the public condemnation towards the healthcare industry after a suspect shot and killed UnitedHealth’s CEO Brian Thompson. He points out there is no sympathy for Thompson’s family. He says we do not have a democracy. We have a capital-ocracy where money is the driving force. There is no concern for the 90% of the country.

Capitalism is an economic system where private individuals and organizations own and control the means of production, and prices and distribution of goods are determined by market forces.

Affordable Health Care

Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in front of a New York City hotel last week is probably guilty.

Mangione’s hatred for the health insurance industry and health care in the United States has brought people cheering him as a folk hero. Singers have posted songs about him. On TikTok, folk singer Joe DeVito posted a song. Merchandise, including sweatshirts, wine tumblers and hats emblazoned with the words, began making their way around online storefronts, though some have since been removed, the Washington Post reported.

For as many jokes internet users cracked casting the suspected shooter as a “folk hero,” others pointed to the systemic wealth inequality governing a society in which UnitedHealthcare reported over $16 billion in operating profits in 2023.

On a personal side my daughter’s healthcare (California Care – part of ACA) has denied coverage repeatedly. The cost of her Dexilant is $500 a month but by accident we learned that she can buy the medication from a Canadian pharmacy for $92 a month. It’s not a generic.

At the very least Luigi Mangione has brought the health care industry to a forefront. Will anything change? Probably not. Making money is more important than affordable health care.