President Trump's latest round of global tariffs — 10-12.5% on major trading partners — took effect this morning, with energy products carved out as an exception. Oil actually eased on the news, with Brent crude slipping about 2% back below $100 a barrel, offering some relief on the inflation side of the ledger.
Meanwhile, CNBC reports Treasury yields retreated today but are still hovering near their January 2025 highs — a reminder that the bond market has been running hot for months now, not just reacting to any single headline. Elevated yields have been a persistent drag on equities, compounding a rough week for tech: the "Magnificent Seven" shed nearly $800 billion in market value in Thursday's selloff alone, as investors grew more skeptical about the payoff timeline on heavy AI capital spending.
For fixed income investors, today is a good snapshot of the current environment: tariffs adding a fresh layer of uncertainty to the inflation outlook, yields still elevated even as they cool off intraday, and equity volatility spilling over from a very narrow group of mega-cap tech names. Treasuries and CDs continue to look attractive on an absolute basis for investors prioritizing income and capital preservation over chasing the next leg of the AI trade.
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