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Global stock markets tumble as Donald Trump’s tariffs loom

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Global stock markets tumble as Donald Trump’s tariffs loom

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Global markets tumbled on Monday, with US stocks on track for their worst quarter since 2022, on fears of an escalating trade war led by President Donald Trump.

The S&P 500 was down 0.8 per cent in New York, having already fallen more than 5 per cent this quarter. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.9 per cent.

European and Asian stocks were also down sharply, accelerating a sell-off that began last week, after Trump said the reciprocal trade duties he is expected to announce on April 2 would apply globally. Europe’s broad-based Stoxx 600 index was 1.4 per cent lower, while the FTSE 100 lost 0.9 per cent.

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“We’re seeing another wave of US-led selling,” said Trevor Greetham, head of multi-asset at Royal London Asset Management. “There’s been no let-up from Trump.”

US technology stocks were hit on Monday, with chipmaker Nvidia’s share price falling 4.8 per cent and Tesla losing 6.6 per cent. The president last week announced a 25 per cent tariff on imports of foreign-made cars and parts, which would affect the electric-car maker.

Consumer-facing companies and other economically sensitive stocks also fared badly, with International Airlines Group down 7.1 per cent and United Airlines dropping 6.7 per cent amid concerns over demand for flights.

Trump’s tariffs threats have also had a big impact on the industrial commodities sector. London-listed Anglo American fell 5.1 per cent, while Glencore lost 3.2 per cent and BHP dropped 3.8 per cent.

“I don’t necessarily see the floor quite yet,” said Sharon Bell, senior equities strategist at Goldman Sachs.

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The US investment bank has increased its tariff expectations, while downgrading GDP forecasts for the US and Europe. It is now pricing in a more aggressive 15 per cent reciprocal tariff across Washington’s trading partners, and sees a higher probability of a US recession.

The tariff threat “ups the risk premium that you put on equities” said Bell, although she added that the US stock market has “other issues — some of the DOGE cuts, for example, and the general slowing in the pace of growth”.

Gold surged as high as $3,128 a troy ounce, a fresh record, while US Treasury yields declined, in a sign that investors were piling into safe assets. The 10-year yield, which moves inversely to prices, fell 0.03 percentage points to 4.22 per cent.

The latest moves came after Trump addressed reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, saying on tariffs: “You’d start with all countries, so let’s see what happens.” Last week he had hinted at concessions for some countries.

The US president singled out Asia for its trade practices. “Take a look at trade with Asia. I wouldn’t say anybody has treated us fairly,” he said.

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The chaotic rollout of Trump’s aggressive trade agenda has roiled markets and alarmed the US’s trading partners, many of whom have threatened to retaliate.

The US president has said that on Wednesday, which he has dubbed “liberation day”, he will impose levies on any country the White House deems to have an unfair trading relationship with the US.

Charles De Boissezon, global head of equity strategy at Société Générale, said cyclical stocks, whose performance tend to fluctuate with the economy, were suffering. “It is much more the uncertainty overall weighing on investor sentiment,” he said. “The [tariff] announcements keep on changing, but what they have in common is that [they’re] just not good for growth globally.”

The S&P 500 dropped nearly 2 per cent on Friday last week. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite slid 2.7 per cent as gloomy data on the economy and consumer sentiment raised fears about stagflation.

In Asia on Monday, Japan’s benchmark Topix dropped 3.6 per cent and the exporter-oriented Nikkei 225 slid 4.1 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi fell 3 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 1.3 per cent.

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“Many investors are [waiting] for actual tariffs to be announced, unwinding their positions and realising gains,” said Wei Li, head of multi-asset investments for BNP Paribas in China. “This tariff announcement . . . has affected the whole market sentiment.”

The dollar was up 0.3 per cent against a basket of its major trading partners. Having strengthened after Trump’s election on the anticipation of tariffs feeding inflation, the greenback has weakened this year as investors grow more concerned about the impact of the trade war on the US economy.

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Army serviceman they accused of distributing instructions on how to build explosives that were used by a man who conducted a deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year.

The former serviceman, Jordan A. Derrick, a 40-year-old from Missouri, was charged with one count of engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The three charges together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.

Starting in September 2023, the authorities said, Mr. Derrick was using various social media sites to share videos of himself making explosive materials, including detonators. His videos provided step-by-step instructions, and he often engaged with viewers in comments, sometimes answering their questions about the chemistry behind the explosives.

The authorities said that Mr. Derrick’s videos were downloaded by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who was accused of ramming a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, in a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with the police. Before the attack, Mr. Jabbar had placed two explosives on Bourbon Street, the authorities said, but they did not detonate.

The authorities later recovered two laptops and a USB drive in a house that Mr. Jabbar had rented. The USB drive contained several videos created by Mr. Derrick that provided instructions on making explosives. The authorities said the explosives they recovered were consistent with the ones Mr. Derrick had posted about.

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Mr. Derrick’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Derrick was a combat engineer in the Army, where he provided personnel and vehicle support, the authorities said. He also helped supervise safety personnel during demolitions and various operations. He was honorably discharged in February 2013.

The authorities did not say whether Mr. Derrick had any communication with Mr. Jabbar, or whether the men had known each other. In some of Mr. Derrick’s videos and comments, he indicated that he was aware that his videos could be misused.

“There are a plethora of uh, moral, you know, entanglements with topics, any topic of teaching explosives, right?” he asked in one video, according to the affidavit. “Of course, the wrong people could get it.”

The authorities also said that an explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Mo., on May 4, and the occupant of the residence told investigators that he had manufactured explosives after watching online tutorials from Mr. Derrick.

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Mr. Derrick’s YouTube account had more than 15,000 subscribers and 20 published videos, the affidavit said. He had also posted content on other platforms, including Odysee and Patreon. Some videos were accessible to the public for free, while others required a paid subscription to view.

“My responsibility to my countrymen is to make sure that I serve the function of the Second Amendment to strengthen it,” Mr. Derrick said in one of his videos, according to the affidavit. “This is how I serve my country for real.”

Outside of the income he received through content creation, Mr. Derrick did not have any known employment. He did receive a monthly disability check from Veterans Affairs, the affidavit stated.

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded
Allegations pile up, but Child Protective Services declines to investigate and the school district continues to promote Ronnie Stoner. We include an update at the end of the episode. “The Girls” is a 4-part series from the Louisville Public Media’s investigative podcast, Dig.
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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

A streamer known for hurling racist slurs in public settings under the nickname “Chud the Builder” was charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, the authorities said.

The streamer, Dalton Eatherly, 28, was involved in a confrontation with an unidentified man that escalated to gunfire outside the Montgomery County Court in Clarksville, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Both men sustained gunshot wounds and were in stable condition, the office said.

In addition to attempted murder, Mr. Eatherly was charged with employing a firearm during dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said.

Mr. Eatherly, who is white, has accumulated an online audience by livestreaming confrontations in which he uses racist language toward Black people in public.

Law enforcement did not provide any details about the second man involved in Wednesday’s shooting. Mr. Eatherly posted an audio recording online of paramedics treating his wounds in which he claims he shot the man in self-defense.

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A video posted by the website Clarksville Now shows Mr. Eatherly on a stretcher with a microphone attached to his lapel.

Mr. Eatherly is being held at the Montgomery County Jail, pending arraignment, the sheriff’s office said.

According to court records, Mr. Eatherly was scheduled to appear for a court hearing on Wednesday morning in an unrelated case brought by Midland Credit Management, a collections agency.

A lawyer listed in court records from a separate harassment case in which Mr. Eatherly was a defendant in November did not respond to a request for comment.

On Sunday, three days before the shooting in Clarksville, Mr. Eatherly was arrested in Nashville. According to a police affidavit, Mr. Eatherly live streamed his meal at a restaurant, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, on Saturday even though the restaurant had asked him ahead of time not to do so.

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When he was confronted, Mr. Eatherly “became disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming and otherwise creating a scene,” according to the affidavit.

He then refused to pay for his $370 meal. Mr. Eatherly was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was released on $5,000 bond.

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