Bloomberg Morning Briefing Americas
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Good morning. Tariffs are back on the agenda, and this time it’s steel. TikTok users won’t have to worry so much about Elon Musk. And why the Super Bowl halftime show was a big diss. Listen to the day’s top stories.

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A worker welds a stainless steel part at a steel manufacturing facility in Mexico City. Photographer: Mauricio Palos/Bloomberg

Today’s tariff targets are...aluminum and steel. President Trump plans to impose 25% levies on all imports of the metals (he didn’t say exactly when, though). He’s also looking to slap reciprocal tariffs on all countries that tax US imports—that announcement may come this week and could be enacted “almost immediately.” As for the future of US Steel, Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Nippon Steel may invest in the company, rather than buy it outright. 

Mixed results for Trump from a CBS/YouGov poll. More than half of US adults approved of his work so far at the White House but 66% said his administration hasn’t focused enough on lowering consumer prices. His policies are beginning to unnerve Wall Street. And as for Trump’s immigration curbs, Goldman Sachs economists gave them a moderate thumbs down. They’d shave economic growth and have a limited effect on inflation.

Why Tariffs Cause Higher Prices and Hurt Jobs

Trade wars, tariff threats and logistics shocks are upending businesses and spreading volatility. Understand the new order of global commerce with the Supply Lines newsletter.

Elon Musk’s government efficiency team has found irregularities while examining data at the Treasury, Trump suggested on Air Force One en route to the Super Bowl. The president mused it may mean US debt levels aren’t as high as we’re led to think. Musk said he isn’t interested in buying TikTok’s US business. Why not? Because he doesn’t use it himself and doesn’t know what he’d do with it anyway.

Elsewhere in corporate land: BP, the oil giant brought to its knees 15 years ago by the Deepwater Horizon disaster, is in the sights of one of the world’s most aggressive activist investors. And McDonald’s earnings today may give a better idea of how the company is cozying up to the president.

Gaza latest: Israel pulled troops and tanks from a key corridor after recovering three more Israeli hostages. Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its “categorical rejection” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to resettle Gazans in the Gulf nation. Separately, Israeli soldiers and reservists are reconsidering their post-military travel plans due to global outrage over the Gaza war and the threat of arrest.

Deep Dive: Trading Currencies Is Cool Again

Photographer: Jared Nangle

It hasn’t been much fun trading currencies since the global financial crisis of 2008—partly because central banks tend to move interest rates more or less in tandem. As a result, the spotlight has shifted to stock and bond traders.

  • But the hard-to-forecast flip-flopping of Trump’s trade policies has changed that, prompting banks to start beefing up their FX options and derivatives desks.
  • What the investing community knew as the Trump trade, (buying stocks, selling Treasuries and betting on the dollar) is no longer such a slam dunk.
  • In the words of one asset manager: “FX has been a sleeping giant, but we’re emphasizing it in portfolios.”
  • Here’s today’s market wrap to make sense of it all.

The Big Take

Citrix signage at the company's headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Tech boss Tom Krause dismissed engineers and slashed expenses at remote-work company Citrix. What followed was two major hacks. Now he’s joined Elon Musk’s DOGE campaign to slash government spending at the US Treasury and some people are worried.

Big Take Podcast
How Big Bank Bonuses Compare

Opinion

Spools of steel at an ArcelorMittal Dofasco facility in Hamilton, Canada, Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg

Trump's tariffs on imported metal will be ineffective in fostering domestic production and will damage both producers and consumers, David Fickling writes. Adopting a man of steel pose is a doomed project that will make America weaker, not stronger.

More Opinions
John Authers
Trump Derangement Syndrome Comes for the US Consumer
Marc Champion
Don’t Blink Now, Trump. Russia’s Economy Is Cracking.

Before You Go

Kendrick Lamar performs during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. Photographer: Chandan Khanna/Getty Images

The Eagles won Super Bowl LIX in a 40-22 blowout over the Chiefs, with Kansas quarterback Patrick Mahomes taking the blame after being sacked six times and throwing a pick-6 to Cooper DeJean. But the real drama was at the halftime show. Kendrick Lamar performed Not Like Us with Serena Williams crip walking with the backup dancers. No comment so far from Drake.

A Couple More
Trump Becomes First Sitting President to Attend the NFL Championship
How the NFL Swallowed the Entertainment Business

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