Trump vs Fed

Trump insists Powell cut rates now, US asks judge to break up Google, dollar hits three-year low, Musk caught in ‘code red’ moment at Tesla, and Trump hosts Walmart and Target CEOs for tariff meeting...

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Market Briefing
April 22, 2025

Good morning.

The Fast Five → Trump insists Powell cut rates now, US asks judge to break up Google, dollar hits three-year low, Musk caught in ‘code red’ moment at Tesla, and Trump hosts Walmart and Target CEOs for tariff meeting…

Calendar: (all times ET) - Full Calendar

  • Today:
    none scheduled

  • Tomorrow:
    New home sales, 10:00A
    Fed Beige Book, 2:00P

Your 5-minute briefing for Tuesday, April 22:

BEFORE THE OPEN

As of market close 4/21/2025.

Pre-Market:

US Investor % Bullish Sentiment:
↓ 25.44% for Week of April 17 2025

Previous week: 28.52%. Updates every Friday.

Market Wrap:

  • Futures: Dow +122 pts (+0.3%), S&P +0.4%, Nasdaq +0.4%.

  • Monday: Dow -970 pts, S&P/Nasdaq -2%+; indexes -9%+ since April 2.

  • Trump slams Powell as “major loser,” hints at firing; adds to market volatility.

  • Earnings Tues: LMT (AM), TSLA (PM).

  • Richmond Fed survey + key Fed speakers ahead.

EARNINGS

Here’s what we’re watching this week:

SIGNAL

A few sharp perspectives we found compelling:

- from our research partners -

HEADLINES

Trump says rates need to drop immediately. Fed is waiting on rate decisions to be sure tariffs don't drive inflation higher.

The Justice Department said the best way to address the company’s monopoly in internet search was to force it to sell Chrome, among other measures.

  • Dow slides more than 950 points as Trump rips Fed Chair Powell (more)

  • Traders unfazed in ‘quietest’ market selloff as big days pile up (more)

  • The Federal Reserve's dual mandate dilemma (more)

  • Trump hosts Walmart and Target CEOs, Home Depot and Lowe’s execs for tariff meeting (more)

  • Dollar hits 3-yr low as Trump attacks threaten Fed's independence (more)

  • Gold extends record run, breaks above $3,400/oz on safe-haven rush (more)

  • Google: DOJ’s breakup proposal would harm US in ‘global race with China’ (more)

  • FTC sues Uber over ‘deceptive’ subscription service (more)

  • China’s trade war playbook is coming into focus (more)

  • Musk caught in ‘code red’ moment at Tesla (more)

  • Harvard sues Trump admin as funding fight escalates (more)

DEALFLOW

M+A | Investments

  • Toyota, Daimler near merger of truck units

  • Advisory firms Baker Tilly and Moss Adams set to merge in $7 billion deal

  • UBS to sell its India wealth business to asset manager 360 ONE WAM for $36M

  • Lexington Medical, a leader in minimally-invasive surgical stapling solutions, received a growth investment from Ampersand Capital Partners

  • GSR, a crypto trading and investment firm, anchored a $100M PIPE into Upexi, Inc., a brand owner specializing in consumer products

VC

  • Exaforce, an Agentic SOC platform, raised $75M in Series A funding

  • Crux, a capital markets tech company, raised $50M in Series B funding

  • Goodfire, an AI research company, raised $50M in Series A funding

  • GoldState Music, a music rights investment platform, raised $500M in strategic capital

  • Electra.aero, Inc., an aerospace company, secured $115M in Series B funding

  • Yarbo, a multipurpose intelligent yard robot, closed its Series B funding round, raising approximately $27M

  • Brellium, an AI-powered clinical compliance platform, raised $13.7M in Series A funding

  • Capsule, a video editor made for enterprise, raised $12M in Series A funding

  • Roh, a hospitality industry's payments management platform, closed a $9.2M financing round

  • Kenzo Security, an agentic AI security operations platform provider, emerged from stealth with $4.5M in funding

  • Cosmic Robotics, a robotics startup, raised $4m in funding

  • Risa Labs, an oncology AI company, raised $3.5M in funding

CRYPTO

  • Bitcoin rises as stocks slide and US dollar weakens (more)

  • US derivatives watchdog weighs 24/7 action with crypto oversight on horizon (more)

  • ARK adds staked Solana to two tech ETFs (more)

BULLISH BITES

🚨 “A major collapse is about to hit the stock market…” *
💰 Millionaire tax would generate about $400 billion in revenue
🇨🇭 Why high-net-worths are moving their money to Switzerland.
🎬 Hollywood talent shop CAA seeks new client: Billionaire families
👢 Actor Pedro Pascal is inspiring a new zaddy fashion trend: knee-high leather boots.

DAILY SHARES

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