UK markets have fallen sharply again this morning, following the trend of Asian stocks overnight. Donald Trump has since falsely claimed the US has no inflation – but has ally Elon Musk broken ranks to disagree with him? Listen to Trump 100 as you scroll.
Monday 7 April 2025 13:12, UK
Stock markets are falling dramatically and countries around the world have issued dire warnings about the global economy since Donald Trump unveiled his tariffs on trade.
But it’s easy to be overwhelmed by it all and to wonder – does this have any impact on our own personal finances?
Tomorrow at 4.30pm on Business Live, we’ll be putting your questions to a panel of experts.
From pensions and rising prices, to mortgages and savings, we want to hear from you about your concerns.
Use the form at the top of this live page to submit your questions.
We’ll explain the connections between Trump’s trade war and market turmoil, and the money in our pockets.
Investment giant JP Morgan has again warned of the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
In an annual letter to shareholders, chief executive Jamie Dimon said: “We are likely to see inflationary outcomes, not only on imported goods but on domestic prices, as input costs rise and demand increases on domestic products.”
While it’s not yet known whether the tariffs will cause a recession, the duties will slow down growth in the US economy, he added.
There are many “uncertainties” around the new tariff policy, he said, including potential retaliatory actions from other countries and the possible impact on the dollar.
“The quicker this issue is resolved, the better because some of the negative effects increase cumulatively over time and would be hard to reverse,” he wrote.
Audi is holding back cars in US ports because of Trump’s tariffs.
Volkswagen, the brand’s owner, has confirmed it is holding back vehicles because of the 25% levy on cars imported by the US, which came into effect on 2 April.
The hold applies to vehicles arriving in the US after 2 April.
A Volkswagen spokesperson has confirmed earlier reporting in US trade publication Automotive News, which had seen a memo sent by the company to American car dealerships.
The carmaker has around 37,000 vehicles, sufficient for approximately two months of sales, in its US inventory, the spokesperson added, meaning its cars will continue to be available for US customers.
Donald Trump may look for a way out of the current market turmoil, the investment director at UK investment platform AJ Bell has told Sky News.
“But it will definitely have to be in a way that saves considerable amounts of face, if that’s the way it plays out,” Russ Mould told our presenter Darren McCaffrey on Business Live earlier.
One of the first tests may come as early as this afternoon, he added, with Israel’s prime minster meeting Trump later today.
Israel was not spared one of his tariffs last week, with a 17% levy imposed by its staunch ally.
“If he moves on that, that will be a reminder to people that he will and can [shift on tariffs],” Mould said.
“That’s the sort of thing that people are looking for.”
He also brought up Japan’s prime minister, who said he’s willing to visit Washington to discuss terms.
“So that’s the movement that the financial markets are looking for,” Mould said.
“Some degree of concessions, some degree of [admitting that] actually these deals are not a permanent fixture and that something could be done about them going forward to help stimulate trade flow again.”
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter
Another day of the new trade world order, another sea of red on European stock markets – as traders reorient their understanding of how the global economy will work.
Benchmark stock indexes of major EU economies are down massive amounts, as investors sell off shares in European companies, signifying they’re no longer seen as safe investment bets.
If you’re looking for a saving grace in all this, it’s that some of the drops have moderated.
Rather than Germany’s DAX stock index tumbling 10%, the fall has stabilised to just over 4%.
The same goes for France’s CAC 40 and the Europe-wide measure of company share price performance, the Stoxx 600.
After an initial near 7% plunge, France’s benchmark pared back losses and is down just short of 4%.
The Stoxx 600 has lost more than 3.5%, an uptick from the open.
Donald Trump has again posted on social media with his latest tariff message.
This time, he’s singled out China, which he described as “the biggest abuser of them all”.
He also said – incorrectly – that there is “no inflation” in the US.
While US inflation did cool in February, the chair of the US Federal Reserve – the country’s central bank, like the Bank of England – Jerome Powell said on Friday the impacts from tariffs will likely be “significantly larger than expected”.
Import taxes will probably lead to “at least a temporary rise in inflation”, Powell said, but he added “it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent”.
Here’s what Trump wrote in full and unedited:
Oil prices are down, interest rates are down (the slow moving Fed should cut rates!), food prices are down, there is NO INFLATION, and the long time abused USA is bringing in Billions of Dollars a week from the abusing countries on Tariffs that are already in place. This is despite the fact that the biggest abuser of them all, China, whose markets are crashing, just raised its Tariffs by 34%, on top of its long term ridiculously high Tariffs (Plus!), not acknowledging my warning for abusing countries not to retaliate. They’ve made enough, for decades, taking advantage of the Good OL’ USA! Our past “leaders” are to blame for allowing this, and so much else, to happen to our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Helen-Ann Smith, Sky News’ Asia correspondent, explains that markets on the continent are not just responding to Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Crucially, she says, they are also reacting to how China responded.
Watch more below.
We’ve received lines from various ministers across the EU this morning, all calling for a need for dialogue with the US.
Ahead of a meeting of EU trade ministers in Luxembourg, here’s what a few have said today – and, remember, Donald Trump imposed a 20% tariff on the bloc, starting this Wednesday.
France
Trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said they are “against any trade war” and “prefer cooperation to confrontation”.
“Our end goal remains the same, to negotiate back to where things were,” he said.
“And if that’s not possible, of course the EU must react, firmly and proportionally.”
Italy
Antonio Tajani, the foreign minister, suggested the EU could postpone its initial counter-tariffs – responding to earlier US steel and aluminium tariffs – to 30 April from 15 April.
“We can perhaps think about a postponement to the 30th, but we certainly do not oppose (the tariffs),” he said.
“Let’s see if we can postpone it by a few weeks so that there is more time for dialogue.”
The Netherlands
Trade minister Reinette Klever said the EU will need to remain calm and proportionate in its response.
“We need to get ourselves at the table with the Americans and see how we can lower these tariffs,” he said.
“We need to remain calm and respond in a way that de-escalates. The stock markets right now show what will happen if we escalate straightaway.
“But we will be prepared to take counter-measures if needed to get the Americans at the table.”
Germany
Economy Minister Robert Habeck talked up the EU’s strong position.
“The stock markets are already collapsing and the damage could become even greater,” he said.
“It is therefore important… to act clearly and decisively and prudently, which means realising that we are in a strong position. America is in a position of weakness.”
He added: “If every country is counted individually, and we have a problem here with red wine and there with whisky and pistachios, then it will all come to nothing.”
In another sign of the kind of stress markets are under right now, a UK online investment platform is having tech issues.
Users are facing delays in accessing Vanguard, with hundreds experiencing problems, according to outages tracker Down Detector.
“We are aware that Vanguard clients may be experiencing delays in viewing certain account information,” a Vanguard spokesperson said.
“Our tech teams are taking steps to identify the root cause and mitigate any impact. We apologise for any inconvenience as we work to resolve this issue.”
It isn’t clear whether the problems were linked to the recent market turmoil or increased trading activity.
More movements now from elsewhere in the world, this time in South Africa – where the currency has fallen to its weakest point in more than a year.
At about 9.15am UK time, the rand was down 1.5% against the dollar, touching its lowest level since October 2023.
The rand is highly sensitive to risk and tends to be dropped at times of global market uncertainty, as is the case following Donald Trump’s tariff package.
Another factor behind the rand’s recent fall – it lost more than 3% against the dollar last week – is domestic politics, with the two biggest political parties in government clashing over the national budget.
As we reported earlier, investors are turning to what they consider to be safe-haven currencies – see 10.45am.
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