The US famously bounced back from a pandemic recession that struck like a hammer blow in 2020. Fueled by a massive government rescue effort that pumped tremendous amounts of money into the economy, the nation was soon outpacing rivals in a return to growth. The country that saw more than a million people killed by Covid-19 not only avoided a depression, but eventually reached a level of employment so high it matched a half century-old record from when Richard Nixon was president.

But that was then. For Donald Trump, it’s not Nixon but Gerald Ford that comes to mind this week. The president closes out his first 100 days in office able to claim almost-singlehanded responsibility for sending the S&P 500 Index down about 8%. It’s the worst first 100 days for markets since 1974, when Ford took over for his disgraced predecessor.

And it gets worse. Unlike the churning US economy of the last half of the Biden administration, Trump now presides over the first US economic contraction since 2022. Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product decreased an annualized 0.3% in the first quarter, well below average growth of about 3% in the prior two years.

The uncertainty over Trump’s chaotic tariff strategy, his radical push to deport undocumented workers, legal immigrants and foreign students, his mass firings of federal employees and a sometimes overt disdain for the US Constitution have all unnerved investors who a few short months ago were singing his praises. It’s all combined to send the S&P 500 diving into its seventh-fastest correction since 1929.

There was however some good news for Trump in today’s hard data, with consumer spending advancing more than economists had predicted. But that comes amid a parade of consumer sentiment surveys—including one yesterday—showing optimism nowhere to be found. Low-income Americans are already facing the hardship of high prices while wealthier individuals have been set back by this year’s drop in stock prices. And a closely watched measure of underlying inflation accelerated to a 3.5% pace in the first quarter—the most in a year. —David E. Rovella

Executive orders. Trade wars. Elon Musk and DOGE. Donald Trump's second term has been nothing short of eventful. Bloomberg reporters recap his first 100 days in a Live Q&A on May 1 at 11 a.m. EDT. Tune in here.

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Trump in an ABC News interview said he could comply with an order from the US Supreme Court but has chosen not to. In doing so, he contradicted attempts by his aides to sidestep the court’s instruction to “facilitate” the return of a wrongly deported Maryland father from El Salvador. The administration’s violation of a court order not to deport the man, and Trump’s statement that he could comply with the high court but hasn’t, makes more clear what’s being seen as a historic breach of the constitutional structure underpinning US democratic rule. 

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that the administration of Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis instructed police to ignore a federal judge’s ruling temporarily blocking the state’s attempt to regulate immigration, which is generally the province of the federal government.

Citadel Securities is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine a list of what it argues are emerging and mounting risks, including opaque trading in so-called private rooms and the push by US stock markets to operate around the clock. Billionaire Ken Griffin’s market-making firm sent more than 30 recommendations, spotlighting concerns in equities, credit, treasuries, options and digital assets. Private rooms—a twist on dark pools—allow only select parties to transact.

Alphabet Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai told a judge that a Justice Department proposal to share search data with its rivals would be a “de facto” divestiture of the company’s search engine. If Google were required to share both its search data and the information on how it ranks results, rivals could reverse-engineer “every aspect of our technology,” Pichai testified Wednesday.

Pichai was called to the stand as part of a three-week trial aimed at determining how Google should restore competition to online search after US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled last year the tech giant had illegally maintained a monopoly.  

The government wants Google to divest itself of its Chrome browser, license some search data to competitors and stop paying for exclusive positions on other apps and devices. It has also asked that Mehta extend the ban to Google’s artificial intelligence products, including its AI assistant Gemini, which the government says were aided by the company’s illegal monopoly in search. 

China’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund is said to be cutting exposure in US private markets to curb risks from Trump’s trade war. The retreat may include real estate and infrastructure in addition to private equity. China Investment Corp. has already started seeking buyers for about $1 billion in private equity investments managed by US firms. The risks facing Chinese sovereign investors’ US assets have risen this year as a tit-for-tat tariff fight with Washington escalates, prompting CIC to reduce its exposure in private assets since any exit takes more time than selling in public markets.

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