Tech Stocks Rise As Trump Hints At More Flexible Tariffs

Whether the “R” word is on the horizon or not, troubling U.S. consumer data is beginning to pile up.

Consumer sentiment is at a 15-month low, credit card delinquency is on the rise, and nearly half of U.S. adults don’t have three months of emergency savings. In such times, it could be tempting to dip into a retirement account—and there are a number of exemptions (both new and old) that will allow you to do so without paying a 10% early withdrawal penalty.

Barring these exceptions, it’s wise to consider other options. Having to pay the penalty, plus tax on the distribution itself, can add up fast—and that’s without getting into lost gains from what you pull out. Check with a tax pro or benefits administrator to ensure you don’t make a poor financial situation worse.

FIRST UP

Markets popped Monday on news that President Donald Trump would walk back previously announced reciprocal tariffs in key industries, driving a 1.8% lift on the S&P 500, a 1.4% increase for the Dow, and a 2.3% jump for the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The most notable gainers were the “Magnificent Seven” big American technology stocks, including a near 12% surge for troubled EV maker Tesla.

Trump is referring to the April 2 rollout of his reciprocal tariffs as “Liberation Day,” though he continues to express flexibility in his tariff plans. Semiconductors and cars will both be exempted from next week’s actions, for instance, and the president said he “may give a lot of countries breaks” and that his plans are “reciprocal, but we may be even nicer than that,” signaling the U.S. may not even match the tariff rates American goods face abroad.

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WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Chuck Schumer was gearing up for a tour to promote his newly published book Antisemitism In America when his day job got in the way—the tour was postponed after the Senate minority leader faced backlash for supporting the Republican’s spending bill and avoiding a government shutdown. Still, this bump in the road won’t impact Schumer’s own bottom line much, as the career politician is worth about $7 million, Forbes estimates, a number built almost entirely on his Brooklyn condo and retirement savings.

MONEY + POLITICS

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Monday that “nobody was texting war plans” after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief published an article saying he was accidentally added to a Signal group where top Trump Administration officials discussed plans to attack Houthi targets in Yemen. Hegseth’s denial comes despite the National Security Council saying screenshots of the chat appeared “to be an authentic message chain,” as the defense secretary faces heavy backlash.

The Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to throw out a district court ruling that required the government to reinstate probationary employees that were fired from six key agencies last month. The administration’s filing argues that “the lower courts should not be allowed to transform themselves into all-purpose overseers of Executive Branch” employment decisions, and it comes after Trump officials have publicly criticized unfavorable rulings by district court judges.

MORE: U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg rejected the Trump Administration’s separate request to throw out an order that barred the administration from deporting immigrants under an executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act. The ruling comes as reports emerge of migrants who were wrongly identified as gang members, and deported to El Salvador.

SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT

Two of Major League Baseball’s brightest stars have reached a level that just a handful of professional athletes have ever seen: a $100 million season. The New York Mets’ new outfielder Juan Soto and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani are set to collect an estimated $126.9 million and $102 million in 2025, respectively. They easily lead Forbes’ latest list of Baseball’s Highest-Paid Players, with the top 10 earners set to be paid a combined $576 million this year—a 25% increase from 2024’s record total.

WORLD

Social media giant X said the Turkish government has requested blocks on more than 700 accounts amid protests over the controversial arrest of Istanbul’s mayor—but the company called the request “unlawful,” adding that “X will always defend freedom of speech.” However, over the weekend, Politico Europe reported that X had already suspended a number of accounts in Turkey “belonging to opposition figures.”

TRENDS + EXPLAINERS

A government contractor and lobbyist who served in President Donald Trump’s first administration bought Vice President JD Vance’s Northern Virginia home for $1.9 million—about $170,000 over the asking price, according to government records and real estate listings. A spokesperson for the buyer said the offer was based solely on market factors, and that the purchase had no connection to the buyer’s government work or political ties.

U.S. businesses no longer have to comply with the beneficial ownership information reporting filing requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act. That’s the result of an interim final rule issued this month that removes the requirement for U.S. companies to report beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Previously, reporting requirements applied to businesses created in the U.S. and foreign companies registered to do business in any U.S. state or Indian tribe. If finalized, the rule would exempt more than 99% of entities from reporting.

DAILY COVER STORY

How This 16th Century Gunmaker Keeps Reinventing Itself

For 14 generations, the Beretta family has sold firearms. While they’re known for handguns and shotguns, current CEO Pietro Gussalli Beretta, a 15th-generation descendant of the Beretta founders, saw a more well-rounded future for the world’s oldest gunmaker.

Since becoming CEO in 1995, Pietro has helped remake the 499-year-old company—which is still family-owned—by scooping up firms making everything from rifles to luxury clothing. In 2022, for instance, Beretta purchased Ammotec, Europe’s largest maker of ammunition and pyrotechnics, and added $600 million to their annual sales. It’s now the world’s largest firearms company with $1.7 billion in revenues in 2024.

“The three legs of our business are hunters, soldiers and policemen. They need guns, clothing and optics,” he says, referring to scopes and red dot sights designed to improve a firearm’s aim. “The last piece we needed was ammunition. With this latest deal, we finally closed the circle.”

Before the acquisition, civilian sales accounted for 86% of the company’s revenues, making it dependent on the whims of hunters and gun enthusiasts—particularly in the U.S., the world’s largest firearms market, which makes up 37% of Beretta’s sales. When Covid-19 sent gun sales to American civilians surging, Beretta reaped the rewards, with its North American revenues increasing by 62% from 2019 to 2021.

But Pietro knew that would not last forever. Beretta took advantage of that growth in the U.S. civilian market to build closer ties with military and police forces around the world, helping the company “rebalance,” Pietro said.

Now, defense and law enforcement sales make up 34% of Beretta Holding’s revenues, up from just 14% four years ago.

WHY IT MATTERS It’s a smart time to bet on the military, Forbes’ Giacomo Tognini writes. Defense spending by European countries hit a record $350 billion in 2024 as leaders sought to rearm following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That’s set to grow even further, after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a plan in March—right after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would pause military aid to Ukraine—to provide EU countries with $160 billion in loans to invest in their armed forces.

MORE As Trump Makes Panama Canal Demands, Meet The Swiss Billionaire Who Bought Two Key Ports With BlackRock

FACTS + COMMENTS

A number of factors have led more American workers to take on multiple jobs, from the rising cost of living to an increasingly competitive job market. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that it sees the highest number of workers with multiple jobs since it began tracking the metric in 1994:

8.9 million: The number of Americans who now work multiple jobs

50.2%: The share of people holding multiple jobs in 2024 who have a college degree, up from 45.1% in 2019

34.1: The number of hours in an average workweek for employees on private nonfarm payrolls last month, down from 34.3 in February 2024, as some employers cut back on hours

STRATEGY + SUCCESS

Student loan borrowers are in a difficult position, as the Trump Administration has taken a number of actions in the past months to upend repayment and loan forgiveness programs. Borrowers should take steps now to stay ahead of the shifting landscape, including periodically logging into their Department of Education account and downloading key records, saving month-by-month payment records from their loan servicer account, and even reviewing their credit reports for possible errors as a result of the recent disruptions.

VIDEO

QUIZ

Disney’s Snow White had a rough first weekend at the box office, bringing in a disappointing $43 million domestically. Among the recent collection of live-action Disney adaptations, which is the only movie to have a worse opening weekend than Snow White?

A. Beauty and the Beast

B. Aladdin

C. Cinderella

D. Mufasa: The Lion King

Check your answer.

Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.