A bear market occurs when stocks fall 20 percent from a recent peak. As global markets continue their meltdown, here’s what it means for your money and the economy.
In his annual letter to shareholders, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, wrote that a trade fight could dampen consumer and investor confidence and increase inflation.
Tariffs set to take effect this week risk stoking even higher inflation and slower growth than expected, complicating the central bank’s decisions on monetary policy.
As the rout in financial markets intensified last week, President Trump turned his ire toward the Federal Reserve, which he has pressured to resume interest rate cuts.
A brutal day for markets around the world added to the pain of last week’s turmoil. The S&P 500 ended nearly 18 percent below its February peak on Monday.
In the first weekend since President Trump unveiled broad tariffs, many shoppers sought to get ahead of expected price increases, while others showed patience.
A shopper in Marina del Rey, Calif. Many Americans this weekend were out in grocery stores, car dealerships, malls and big discount chains, racing to figure out how to get ahead of the new tariffs plan.
President Trump at the White House on Sunday. He wrote on social media that the only way to cure “massive Financial Deficits” with China, Europe and many others was with tariffs.
Ben Coryell, owner of Golden Mountain Guides in Colorado, is concerned about how long his business can continue to offer climbing courses and mountaineering expeditions.
President Trump has argued that tariffs are not taxes on U.S. consumers, but rather on foreign companies that will have to lower their prices to maintain access to the U.S. market.
Stocks hadn’t fallen this far this fast since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. A 9.1 percent drop in the S&P 500 is the steepest weekly decline since March 2020.
Jerome H. Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, says the central bank’s “obligation” is to ensure that a “one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem.”
Federal Reserve officials, led by Jerome H. Powell, are confronting a thorny set of issues that have upended expectations about when they may be able to lower interest rates again after pausing cuts in January.
The president’s aides insist the fallout will be short and ultimately result in a better economy, as economists warn of higher inflation and slower growth.
Clothing and apparel makers have expressed alarm that “obviously the prices are going to go up,” since apparel sold in America is manufactured in countries facing high tariffs, like China.
Market gains historically have come in unpredictable spurts, so don’t think you can bail out of stocks now and then jump back in when the market stabilizes.
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