RE: Boycott America fears rise...7 Apr 2025 13:41
"The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe...this is not what we voted for," wrote Bill Ackman, billionaire head of Pershing Square, on X. "The President has an opportunity on Monday to call a time out and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system. Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down."
While the administration said at least 50 nations had reached out to start negotiations, Canada and the European Union were planning to follow China's lead and readying retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. Vietnam has offered already to cut tariffs on the U.S. to zero, according to Trump, but they appeared to be the exception so far.
Fears grew on Wall Street that the sell-off would feed on itself with hedge funds forced to sell down equities and other risky assets to raise cash needed meet margin calls. The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, surged to the 50 level early Monday, an extreme level seen mostly only during bear markets.
"Margin calls are going out as we speak," said Chris Rupkey chief economist at FWDBONDS. "For a third straight day investors in U.S. equity markets have turned (a) huge thumbs down on the White House Liberation Day tariffs which have rocked Wall Street."
The contagion spread to other assets and around the globe. The price of bitcoin, tumbled below $77,000. U.S. crude oil dropped below $60 a barrel to a multiyear low. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 13% for its biggest decline since 1997. Germany's DAX Index lost as much as 10% during Monday's session.
Tesla led the losses in premarket