THE BIG STORIES
Trillions lost as world digests Trump’s tariffs | What it means for Scotland, and you | Even penguins feel the pain

📣 The world’s stock markets lost trillions of dollars of value yesterday as traders absorbed the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs on global trade. The Wall Street Journal called it “the biggest one-day wipe out since March 2020”, with major indices losing up to 6% of their value. (WSJ £)

Why does all this matter? The direct impact will be felt in savings and our pensions. What the sell-off, the worst since Covid, implies will also be of concern: the markets see less growth, fewer jobs, and less wealth moving around.

• How Trump’s tariffs will impact your finances and the UK economy (Yahoo! Finance)

📣 Fears of a US recession have grown, with one bank increasing the odds of that happening this year to 60%. Associated Press offers a useful, free-to-read round-up of those concerns. (AP)

All these reports are also free to read, and sum up what happened yesterday in particular sectors:

• $2.5 trillion wiped out | Apple sheds $300 billion in value | ‘Tariffs make apparel stocks like Nike uninvestable’ | European luxury shares take a hit | Oil faces worst week in months

• Asian markets have continued their fall this morning (BBC)

📣 Policymakers have been left stunned by the scale of the tariffs, which are beyond most worst-case scenarios and appear to be built on a very simplistic formula. Richard Partington, the Guardian’s chief economics correspondent, does a great job of explaining just how simplistic the formula is. (The Guardian)

• John Swinney has said tariffs will be damaging to the Scottish economy (Holyrood)

• It’s not clear why uninhabited islands (except some penguins) have had tariffs imposed. (Axios)

FROM THE WEEKLY MAGAZINES
Tariff fury, Tiktokkers subverting the state, and why reverse benchmarking is the way forward

🗣️ You’ll not be surprised to learn The Economist is all over Trump’s tariffs, bringing one of the most stinging introductions to its coverage I can remember from the normally very sober newspaper. I trust they’ll forgive me in quoting it all:

“If you failed to spot America being ‘looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far’ or it being cruelly denied a ‘turn to prosper’, then congratulations: you have a firmer grip on reality than the president of the United States. It’s hard to know which is more unsettling: that the leader of the free world could spout complete drivel about its most successful and admired economy. Or the fact that on April 2nd, spurred on by his delusions, Donald Trump announced the biggest break in America’s trade policy in over a century - and committed the most profound, harmful and unnecessary economic error in the modern era.”

The piece continues in similar vein. Their upbeat conclusion, however? That the world can do something about it all, and route round his foolishness. (The Economist £)

🗣️ Ros Clarke praises Keir Starmer’s measured reaction to Trump’s tariffs, and notes the UK now finds itself in an advantageous position with a tariff of 10%, rather than the EU’s 20%. “While that is unwelcome,” he writes, “it does at least gain us some advantage over countries which have been hit much harder. Britain’s strategy now needs to ensure it becomes the safe haven from the surrounding battle, rather than be caught in the crossfire. In achieving that, Starmer has not made a bad start.” (The Spectator £)

🗣️It’s all about power, says Will Dunn. “This is about creating a world in which American political and corporate irresponsibility are accommodated even more generously than they are today,” he says. Tariffs could help the US negotiate new deals which - for instance - see other countries devalue their currencies against the dollar. Or “it may be that America is following China in using the power of its consumer market to export its politics.” For instance - and as this newsletter warned earlier this year: “if our government wants to regulate Silicon Valley’s aggressive monetisation of the minds of British children, there might be a price to be paid in market access, tariffs and jobs.” (New Statesman £)

… and away from tariffs:

🗣️What happens when people are savvier than the state assumes? Relying on ignorance about entitlements has long been a tool of the British state. When it comes to asylum (or benefits payments), TikTokkers are telling people how to work the system in entirely legitimate ways. That’s going to have an impact on policy. (The Economist £)

🗣️ “Reverse benchmarking” is the way forward, writes Rory Sutherland. That’s when businesses look at what their competitors are not doing and try to imitate that (instead of trying to imitate what they are doing, per regular benchmarking). Thank beer drinkers in restaurants for that insight. (The Spectator £)

AROUND SCOTLAND

📣 Conservative MSP Jamie Greene, who resigned from the party yesterday accusing it of “Trump-like” policies, has been urged to resign his seat by his former local party chairman, who gave a frank assessment of Greene’s performance. (Express)

📣 The man who drove the wrong way on the M6 in an apparent suicide bid would have been charged over the four deaths he caused, had he survived, an inquest has been told. The inquest has also heard from a workman who rescued the only survivor from his family’s burning car. (STV)

📣 Ministers have confirmed they will not impose legal requirements to replace gas boilers. The move raises concerns Scotland will further struggle to meet environmental goals. (The Scotsman)

📣 MSPs are to investigate whether public inquiries are costing too much. Here’s hoping they don’t order a public inquiry into the matter. (The Times)

📣 How much longer is the good weather to last? Well into next week, say forecasters. Good news for many of us, but starting to be a problem for Scotland’s farmers and firefighters. (BBC)

AROUND THE UK

📣 Lucy Letby’s lawyer has presented evidence he says proves the convicted baby killer’s innocence. (Independent)

📣 Prince Harry says he hopes a Charity Commission probe into the charity he founded will reveal the truth about what is going on there, claiming that “blatant lies” have been told during a boardroom battle. (Independent)

📣 The owners of a container ship have filed a legal claim against the owners of the tanker their ship struck in the North Sea last month. The latest action came as an interim report into the collision was published. (BBC) (Read the interim report)

📣 Rubbish is piling up in Birmingham because of an “all out” strike among bin workers, which is entering its fourth week. Bin workers are angry over proposed pay cuts of as much as £6,000 a year. (BBC)

AROUND THE WORLD

🌎 South Korea’s Constitutional Court has finally removed the country’s impeached President, Yoon Suk Yeol, four months after he imposed martial law and threw the country into turmoil. (AP)

🌎 Analysis by the Daily Telegraph shows Russia is using peace talks as cover for an ever-more intensive bombardment of Ukraine. (Telegraph)

🌎 An Israeli air strike on a school in Gaza has killed at least 27 Palestinians, the Hamas-run health ministry has said. (BBC)

🌎 Amazon has joined the bidders for TikTok ahead of a deadline imposed by the US, which says it will ban the app if its Chinese owner does not sell. (BBC)

SPORT

⚽️ Rangers have warned their ultras that their singing section could be closed down, or its members forced to pay extra charges if the club is fined for their behaviour. (The Sun)

⚽️ Things could be going better for former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou at Spurs… he appeared to be goading his own fans last night as his team lost at Chelsea. And even his goading went wrong. There’s a sense the Australian’s time at the club will soon be up. (Guardian)