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Worst week for US stocks since Covid crash as China hits back on tariffs

Published

12 months ago

2025/04/5

Priyan

[pic BBC]

Stock market turmoil deepened on Friday, as China hit back at tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, raising the likelihood of an extended trade war and damage to the global economy.

All three major stock indexes in the US plunged more than 5%, with the S&P 500 dropping almost 6%, capping the worst week for the US stock market since 2020.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 plunged almost 5% – its steepest fall in five years, while Asian markets also dropped and exchanges in Germany and France faced similar declines.

Trump, who has vowed to remake the global trade order, dismissed concerns about the market shock, noting that the US labour market is strong.

“Hang tough,” he urged his followers on social media. “We can’t lose.”

The global stock market has lost trillions in value since Trump announced sweeping new 10% import taxes on goods from every country, with products from dozens of countries, including key trading partners such as China, the European Union and Vietnam, facing far higher rates.

Analysts say the moves, some of which are due to go into effect as soon as Saturday, amount to the biggest tax increase in the US since 1968.

They expect the measures to lead to a contraction in trade, and have warned they could drive many countries into an economic recession.

China responded to Trump on Friday by hitting US goods with import taxes of 34%, curbing exports of key minerals and adding American firms to its blacklist, describing Trump’s actions as “bullying” and a violation of international trade rules.

Other countries appear to be hoping they will be able to negotiate deals, despite conflicting signals from the White House about its appetite for talks.

Maroš Šefčovič, the trade commissioner for the EU, which has been planning to retaliate, said on Friday that he had had a “frank” two-hour exchange with US officials, and wrote on social media the trade relationship needed a “fresh approach”.

“The EU’s committed to meaningful negotiations, but also prepared to defend our interests,” he said. “We stay in touch.”

Trump’s moves are consistent with promises he made on the campaign trail last year.

But they were more far-reaching than some analysts had expected, triggering the worst week for the stock market since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic led to global shutdowns and other disruption.

The sell-off started with firms such as Apple and Nike, which rely heavily on suppliers in Asia. But on Friday, it moved into sectors that would typically not face the direct impact of tariffs, such as consumer staples, healthcare and utilities.

“Candidly the mood is pretty sour and it should be,” said Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investments in the US, warning that it will take weeks to understand the impact of Trump’s tariffs.

[BBC]

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Trump says US will ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants if Strait of Hormuz not open before 48-hour deadline

Published

4 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

President Donald Trump says the US will “obliterate” Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not open within 48 hours – the waterway is vital for global oil shipping.

Iran warns it will retaliate against all US-linked energy infrastructure in the Middle East if its power plants are attacked.

Trump also says he has achieved his war aims “weeks ahead of schedule”, adding: “Iran wants to make a deal. I don’t”

More than 100 people have been injured after strikes on southern Israel. The target appears to have been a nuclear facility 13km away from the city of Dimona

Meanwhile, Israel says it launched a wave of strikes on the Iranian capital. It follows an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, Tehran says

An attempted Iranian strike on the joint UK-US base on Diego Gracia happened late on Thursday night into Friday morning, the BBC understands. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says the UK won’t be drawn into wider conflict

[BBC]

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Trump at a crossroad in US-Israel war with Iran

Published

9 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump’s public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground.

The war is “very complete, pretty much”, Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit – are moving into the region. It is “winding down”, but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated.

Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world’s oil export travels, is a “simple military manoeuvre”, but for now only Iranian-approved ships are transiting the waters.

The Iranian military is “gone”, but drones and missiles are still striking targets in the region and targets have extended as far as the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia.

In a Friday evening Truth Social post published while he was flying from Washington to his Florida resort for the weekend, the US president provided a numbered list of American military objectives for the Iran war, which he said the US was “getting really close” to fulfilling.

The items, comprising his most detailed statement on the subject since the war began, included degrading or destroying Iran’s military, its defence infrastructure and its nuclear weapons programme, as well as protecting American allies in the region.

Not included was the goal of securing the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump said should be the responsibility of other nations that are more dependent on oil exports from the Gulf. The president has frequently noted that the US is a net exporter of energy and does not rely on oil from the Middle East – although such a view glosses over the global nature of the fossil fuel market, where price fluctuations directly impact the price at American gas pumps.

Trump’s Truth Social post also made no call for Iranian regime change. Gone are any references to approving the nation’s next leader or “unconditional surrender”, which Trump had insisted on in the early days of the war.

In Trump’s latest outline of his objectives, it is possible that the US could end its operation with Iran’s current anti-American leadership in power, its oil exports still flowing and its ability to assert some measure of control over the Strait of Hormuz intact.

If that is an unappealing resolution to a war that the president and his aides have said began with the 1979 Iran Revolution and that they would finish, there is an alternative route that involves the US ground forces presently on the way to the Middle East region.

Just over a week ago, US media reported that a Marine expeditionary unit, with about 2,500 combat soldiers and supporting ships and aircraft, had been dispatched from Japan to the Middle East, which it should reach in the coming days. Another Marine force of similar size recently departed its base in California with its arrival expected in mid-April.

Military analysts have suggested that the US could be planning to capture Kharg Island. an 3-sq-km (8-sq-mile) slice of land that contains Iran’s primary oil export terminal. Doing so could, in theory, cut off the nation’s oil shipments, depriving the nation of much-needed revenue and forcing it to make greater concessions to the Americans in exchange for an end to hostilities.

Trump on Friday said that he wasn’t sending ground troops to Iran, but added: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you”. Clarity, it seems, is not his intention.

The threat of such a move prompted Iran’s state media to report on Saturday that any attack on Kharg Island would lead Iran to cause “insecurity” in the Red Sea, another key global shipping transit point, and “set fire” to energy facilities throughout the region.

Iran’s warning underscores the dangers that would accompany a US escalation that further exposes American military forces to Iranian reprisals.

Earlier this week, US media reported that the Trump administration was preparing to ask Congress for $200bn (£150bn) in emergency funding for the ongoing Iranian military operation. Such a request would suggest that, far from winding down, the White House is preparing for a long, expensive fight.

The initial reaction from Congress, including from Trump’s Republican allies, was cautious at best.

“We’re talking about boots on the ground. We’re talking about that kind of extended activity,” said Republican Congressman Chip Roy of Texas.

“They have got a whole lot more briefing and a whole lot more explaining to do on how we’re going to pay for it, and what’s the mission here.”

The so-called “fog of war” doesn’t just cloud the thinking of military planners, it also affects the perception of politicians and the public.

The Iran war, it seems, is at a pivot. But which direction it takes from here is a puzzle.

(BBC)

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Heat Index likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts

Published

9 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 21 March 2026, valid for 22 March 2026.

Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.