Jack Pitcher
Appearances
WSJ What’s News
U.S. Stocks Sink Ahead of Trump’s 104% Tariffs on China
Yeah, we're looking at some historic volatility as far as the ranges the major stock indexes have been trading in day to day. Today started off with a lot of optimism. There were some headlines overnight that the Trump team was willing to negotiate on tariffs.
WSJ What’s News
U.S. Stocks Sink Ahead of Trump’s 104% Tariffs on China
Some people were hoping there would be an announcement today that these are getting pushed back before they're actually implemented tomorrow. By the afternoon, it was clear that that was not the case. We saw the S&P 500 up more than 4% at one point earlier in the day, and it closed down more than 1%. In our data going back to 1978, that is the first time that's ever happened.
WSJ What’s News
U.S. Stocks Sink Ahead of Trump’s 104% Tariffs on China
It's impossible to know when things might calm down, but right now with so little clarity on the tariff situation and markets reacting so heavily to individual headlines, it's so important whether or not these are in effect, whether they're paused because the business implications are so wide-reaching.
WSJ What’s News
U.S. Stocks Sink Ahead of Trump’s 104% Tariffs on China
Traders, investors we're talking to expect volatility to remain highly elevated as long as it's an open question of whether these tariffs are implemented and whether deals have been cut.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
General Motors shares have dropped 8% since the tariffs were announced. Shares of foreign car companies like Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW also sank. Tesla, which builds all of its U.S. sold cars domestically, took less of a hit. But Chief Executive Elon Musk said his company won't be unscathed since the price of parts from other countries will rise.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
Tesla shares are off 3% since the announcement. Now let's circle back to those consumer confidence concerns. It isn't just survey data that's spooking investors. Let's take Lululemon. It makes high-end leggings and other workout gear. Even I had a pair of their shorts in college.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
The consumer favorite reported stronger than expected fourth quarter results late Thursday, including $3.6 billion in revenue, but its shares tanked on Friday. That's because the company said consumers are being cautious, and that's likely to hurt sales this year. Chief Executive Calvin McDonald said consumers are worried about inflation and the economy, and they're spending less.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
At Lululemon, store traffic slowed in the first quarter. Lululemon shares were the worst performer in the S&P 500 on Friday, dropping 15%. Dollar Tree is selling off part of its business, and that was great news for the stock. The discount retail chain said Wednesday that it agreed to sell its Family Dollar business to private equity investors for roughly $1 billion.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
The names of the two chains sound similar, but Dollar Tree and Family Dollar target different customers. Dollar Tree stores are mostly in suburban areas and cater to middle-income households seeking party supplies or crafts. Family Dollar is more in urban areas and sells essentials, like groceries and cleaning products. Dollar Tree shares rose 9% this week.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
And now you know what's news in markets this week. Today's show is produced by Zoe Kolkin and Anthony Banzi with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Jack Pitcher. Have a great weekend.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
On Wednesday, President Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on all vehicles imported to the US beginning on April 3rd. That's Thursday of the coming week. And Trump is expected to unveil more trade actions next week too. Stocks gave up earlier gains and car makers got hit especially hard. Then on Friday, trading turned ugly.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
Hey, listeners. It's Saturday, March 29th. I'm Jack Pitcher for The Wall Street Journal. And this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. March Madness is here and not just on the basketball court. Investors had to confront two of their toughest opponents this week, tariffs and inflation.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
New inflation data for February came in slightly higher than forecast, adding to fears that tariffs could stoke inflation and slow the economy at the same time. Consumer sentiment also soured, a bad sign for consumer spending. All three major indexes were heading for weekly gains before Friday's trading wiped them out.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
For the week, the S&P 500 dropped 1.5%, the Dow fell 1%, and the Nasdaq tumbled 2.6%. First up, let's talk about the automakers. Tariff worries have already taken their toll on shares. Even so, some of the biggest US car companies took the latest announcement on the chin this week. That's because the impact will be broad.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Hit Automakers, Lululemon’s Warning, Family Dollar Sale
S&P Global Mobility data says nearly half of new passenger vehicles sold in the US last year were assembled outside the country. Wedbush securities analysts called the tariffs a, quote, hurricane-like headwind to foreign and many U.S. automakers, unquote. And that could push up the average price of a car sold in the U.S. by as much as $10,000.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
Hey, listeners. It's Saturday, May 24th. I'm Jack Pitcher for The Wall Street Journal. And this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. The trade war was back in focus this week after President Trump on Friday launched new broadsides in his tariff campaign.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
On Wednesday, the company set a laundry list of problems dragged down its quarterly sales. One issue? A boycott by shoppers who disagreed with Target's decision to end some DEI programs. Target was once an outspoken corporate diversity advocate, but it ended its workforce and supplier diversity programs in January. Then, diversity advocates called for a boycott on the company.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
Target's CEO told investors that played a role in the lackluster first quarter performance. Target said softer spending on discretionary items, those are things that people want but don't need, and a decline in consumer confidence also hurt results. Target's comparable sales fell 3.8% in the most recent quarter, a bigger drop than analysts expected.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
And the company cut its forecast for the fiscal year, citing uncertainty around tariffs and the economy. The retailer shares fell 5.1% Wednesday and 4.4% this week. And you can hear more about Target's rollback of DEI policies and the impact of consumers' boycott on the company and the Black entrepreneurs with products on Target's shelves in our special two-episode series, Boycotting Target.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
We'll leave a link to the series in the show notes. Apple and Target are far from the only companies contending with tariffs. Ross Stores, the discount clothing chain, on Thursday withdrew its sales and earnings guidance for the year because of uncertainty from tariffs.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
A range of companies, from toy, car, and shoemakers to hotel chains, have pulled or slashed their outlooks this year, citing economic and trade concerns. Ross expects tariffs will cut into earnings this quarter. The company said more than half of its products originate from China, and tariffs will pressure its profitability if those levies remain at current levels.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
He threatened to impose a 50% tariff rate on the European Union within days and warned of possible 25% tariffs on foreign-made iPhones. Those are two pillars of global commerce, one of the world's most valuable companies, Apple, and one of the U.S. 's biggest trading partners. Another market mover this week was the president's sprawling tax and spending package.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
Ross shares dropped 9.9% on Friday and more than 10.2% on the week. And now you know what's news in markets this week. Today's show was produced by Michael LaValle and Pierre Bien-Aimé with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Jack Pitcher. Have a great weekend.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
The House of Representatives passed it on Thursday, and it's headed to the Senate. The bill is projected to increase budget deficits by more than $2 trillion over the next decade, raising anxiety over the U.S. fiscal outlook and prompting a government bond sell-off. For the week, the S&P 500 dropped 2.6 percent, while the Dow and the Nasdaq were both 2.5 percent lower.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
Apple investors appear to be taking Trump's threats seriously. As I said earlier, the president said he expects iPhones sold in the U.S. to be made in the U.S. or face a 25% tariff. Apple's phones are sourced from many countries and primarily put together in China. Apple doesn't have U.S. manufacturing facilities.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: iPhone Tariffs, Target Backlash, Ross Stores Trade Woes
And industry experts say efforts to build iPhones domestically would take years of investment. Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Trump in the White House earlier this week. The company declined to comment on Trump's most recent tariff threat. The iPhone maker's shares fell 3% Friday. Now let's talk about one of the country's biggest retailers, Target.
WSJ What’s News
Boeing Wins Contract For Next-Generation Jet Fighter
Part of the reason for that is investors looking to get rich quick, people who are attracted to gambling with their money. Some of these ETFs can have huge gains and losses in a single day. And for most of the last two years, it's been huge gains. People have flocked to these products and they make it easy to make really large bets on a single stock or a stock index.
WSJ What’s News
Boeing Wins Contract For Next-Generation Jet Fighter
There's plenty of investors who bought these last year and now some of them, depending on the ETF they're in, are down 80 percent from highs. We can look at the inflows and outflows from these funds and we're actually still looking at net inflows for the year, meaning people have put more money into them than they've taken out of them.
WSJ What’s News
Boeing Wins Contract For Next-Generation Jet Fighter
Granted, there could be lots of people holding these funds that are sitting on huge paper losses. They just haven't sold and realized those yet because they're probably hoping they go back up.
WSJ What’s News
Boeing Wins Contract For Next-Generation Jet Fighter
A thing about these funds that not everybody understands at first is they use borrowed money to create a leveraged return over a period of one day. A problem with these funds is that if you hold them for a longer period, which they say that they're not intended to be held. The performance can start to diverge pretty substantially from their stated daily goal.
WSJ What’s News
Boeing Wins Contract For Next-Generation Jet Fighter
That's because if it starts going down a lot, say you had $10 and the leverage ETF fell by half in a day and now you have $5, even if there's a big rise the next day, your investment has already gone down so much that the percentage gain is having less of an impact on the way up.
WSJ What’s News
Boeing Wins Contract For Next-Generation Jet Fighter
There can come a point where these go down so much that if an investor held them the whole time, it's going to be very hard for them to ever recover to their original investment, even if the stock is going up quite a bit again.