Lamar's halftime diss at the Super Bowl

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.

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.

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

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.

The Big Take

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.

Opinion

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.

Before You Go

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.

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