Good morning. Intel’s new CEO is making big changes after taking over the chipmaker last month. In a Thursday memo to employees, Lip-Bu Tan detailed his plan for the company’s culture: more time in the office, less admin, and leaner teams.
In today’s big story, we’re closing in on the final stretch of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second term. So far, his most formidable opponent hasn’t been Congress or the courts. It’s been the markets.
What’s on deck
Markets: What to know about “mini private equity” before you jump in.
Tech: Meta is laying off Reality Labs workers while still hiring hundreds more.
Business: Earnings are in for Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
But first, almost 100 days of Trump 2.0.
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They were friends… once. But now, the markets stand as the Trump administration’s greatest foil.
When Trump’s sweeping April 2 tariffs sent shockwaves through the global economy, it wasn’t Congress that forced a pivot — it was the cold, hard glare of the bond market.
We saw it happen again when White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said the administration was exploring ways to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell before his term ends. Stocks cratered and Trump’s tune soon changed: “I have no intention of firing him.”
And when Elon Musk shifted his focus from Tesla to gutting the federal government, it wasn’t investor hand-wringing that got him to step back from DOGE. It was the markets speaking in a language Musk couldn’t overlook: a brutal first-quarter earnings report.
“No doubt about it,” Peter Berezin, the chief global strategist at BCA Research, said. “If stocks go down too much, the bond yields rise. That tempers Trump’s behavior. But then, when stocks rally back, yields start to retreat, that probably invigorates Trump to turn back to some of his more market-friendly policies.”
From Trump’s trade war to his plans for the Federal Reserve, BI explored how markets have affected his agenda as his first 100 days wind down.
1. The stock market might flash an ultra-rare bullish signal. The Zweig Breadth Thrust Indicator measures broad stock market participation in an ongoing rally. If the signal does flash — which is on the verge of happening — it suggests strong S&P 500 gains in the coming months.
