Category: Business

(NEW YORK) — Think your giant sport-utility vehicle is cooler than the middling station wagon? Think again.

German automaker BMW recently entered the U.S. “super wagon” category with its high performance M5 Touring, a ludicrously fast family hauler (starting price $121,500) that can smoke a two-seater sports car on a racetrack — again and again. This is the wagon you wish your parents drove.

The wagon’s turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 packs 717 horsepower and BMW claims a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.5 seconds. Bonus: the M5 Touring is a plug-in hybrid and gets about 25 miles of pure electric range, allowing owners to cruise through town (almost) unnoticed.

“We’re seeing lots of customer demand for the M5 Touring … customers don’t want to sacrifice utility and performance,” Juliana Ochs, a manager of business development for BMW Luxury Class and M, told ABC News. “The Touring is the new kid on the block. There was a strong ask for it here in the U.S. and we listened to our customers.”

The M5 Touring, which has been on sale in Europe, is just starting to arrive at U.S. dealerships. Few enthusiasts have ever seen one in person.

“People are definitely calling in about the M5 Touring,” Jordan Bray, a sales adviser at BMW of Latham, New York, told ABC News. “There’s a cult following when it comes to wagons — not just BMW, but all manufacturers. We’re super excited to see it.”

Bray said interested buyers may have trouble getting access to one.

“I don’t know how many dealers want to give up allocations for that car,” he said.

Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power, said wagons, like the forgotten minivan, have been unfairly maligned by U.S. motorists.

“There are excellent minivans out there and excellent wagons,” he told ABC News. “They both have a stigma that is long out of date in my opinion. Wagons are a sleeper agent — you can probably get away with a lot of stuff that may be frowned upon by your local police.”

Jominy noted that the market for premium, six-figure wagons like the M5 Touring and Audi RS6 Avant caters to a very niche customer — one who may also have a Ferrari parked in the garage.

“A ‘super wagon’ is fan service to your most loyal owners,” he said. “Your most loyal owners know about your global portfolio and the forbidden fruit that exists out there. And one of the secrets in the auto industry is that wagon buyers spend real money. Premium luxury wagon buyers typically get zero incentives.”

Plus, there are many other reasons to own a wagon, Jominy argued.

“They will drive better because they’re lower to the ground and keep their center of gravity,” he noted. “They’re better handling vehicles and drivers should get better fuel economy than an SUV.”

When Audi introduced enthusiasts to its RS6 Avant in 2019 (starting price $126,600), the wait time to get one was two to three years, according to Mark Dahnke, an Audi spokesperson. The automaker sells about 1,000 units in the U.S. and interest is still strong — including with families.

Like the M5 Touring, the RS6 Avant’s performance credentials match or exceed sports cars that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more: 621 hp, 627 lb.-ft. of torque, 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds. And unlike low-slung, compact sports cars, the menacing RS6 doubles as a stylish people mover that can go just about anywhere and perform capably on dirt trails and and slippery roads.

“It is a very special car for which its buyers receive applause from every fellow enthusiast,” Dahnke told ABC News. “Everyone from Bugatti to R8 owners applaud your decision to buy an RS6 Avant Performance.”

Mercedes-Benz recently said the 2026 E53 Hybrid wagon heads to U.S. dealers later this year. The company’s last high-performance wagon, the E63 S, immediately won over wealthy enthusiasts’ hearts and wallets. Mercedes is expecting a similar reaction to this model, which makes 577 hp from a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six and an electric motor.

“As a performance plug-in hybrid, it combines the best of both worlds: exhilarating driving dynamics and performance with the efficiency of all-electric driving for daily commutes,” a Mercedes spokesperson told ABC News. “The wagon also benefits from the numerous advancements introduced with this new generation E-Class, including all-new electronic architecture, third-generation MBUX infotainment, greater connectivity and expanded comfort features.”

The U.S. wagon market has been shrinking, however. Volvo recently ended production of its well-liked V60 Polestar Engineered plug-in wagon. The new Subaru Outback, which was unveiled at the New York International Auto Show in April, looks more like, well, an SUV.

But Tony Quiroga, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver, said the options available for this niche segment are “pretty cool.”

“I think the RS6 Avant sort of proved that there is a market and BMW wants to tap into that,” he told ABC News. “The M5 Touring is a halo car … it’s for the enthusiasts who maybe are disappointed that BMW built so many SUVs. A wagon works just as well as an SUV in so many cases. And it’s more fun to drive.”

Patrick Lalewicz, a product manager at BMW, acknowledged that BMW owners can get a thrill from other M vehicles on the market, like the M5 Sedan and X5M SUV. The M5 Touring, however, grabs all the attention.

“New and young customers coming into the brand with the M5 Touring,” he told ABC News. “They car is so rare and sought after. Customers want something special.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump’s administration is set to begin collecting defaulted student loan payments next week — which could harm the credit scores of millions of borrowers.

Roughly 5 million borrowers will have their university and college loans sent for collections beginning May 5, the Department of Education said last month.

When that happens, the borrowers’ credit scores could be impacted, since ratings agencies are often alerted when collections ensue, experts told ABC News.

Here’s what to know about the collections and what it could mean for borrowers’ credit scores:

Why are the credit scores of some student loan borrowers at risk?

Student loan borrowers are considered delinquent if they fail to make a loan payment for 90 days. When late payment stretches on for a total of 270 days, then the borrower falls into default. When a federal student loan enters default, the government can send it for collections, garnishing wages or even taking money from Social Security payments or tax refunds.

The risk to borrowers’ credit scores dates back to policy decisions made when former President Joe Biden’s administration resumed federal student loan payments after a period of relief that had been enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the Biden administration lifted the pause in the fall of 2023, the White House set in motion a 12-month moratorium. The administration did not count late payments toward delinquency. That moratorium ended in October — meaning borrowers could be considered delinquent if they didn’t make payments for more than 90 days, returning to the way the process worked pre-pandemic.

More than 9 million student loan borrowers will face “significant drops” in their credit score when delinquencies resume over the first half of 2025, the New York Federal Reserve found in March.

“These credit score effects show up with delinquencies – that’s when the credit score takes the hit,” Judith Scott-Clayton, a professor of economics and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, told ABC News.

Similarly, the Biden administration in 2023 initiated a one-year moratorium during which it would not report loan defaults to credit bureaus. That pause expired on Jan. 1.

Now, the Trump administration is set to begin collections on defaulted loans, causing further potential damage to credit scores, some experts told ABC News.

“The longer you remain delinquent, that will compound,” Kate Wood, a writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet, told ABC News.

How much do late college loan payments hurt a borrower’s credit score?

Late payments on a college loan can significantly hurt a borrower’s credit score, studies show.

The New York Federal Reserve found student loan delinquency causes a borrower with a credit score of 760 points or higher to lose 171 points on average, according to a study of loan data between 2016 and 2019.

Subprime borrowers with credit scores at or below 620 lose on average 87 points in the event of a student loan delinquency, the study said.

“The consequences are worse for those starting out with good credit scores,” Scott-Clayton said.

VantageScore, a credit-scoring system, said in February that late college loan payments can result in a credit score loss of up to 129 points. Student loan borrowers who make payments on time could see credit score increases of up to 8 points, VantageScore said.

What does a damaged credit score mean for borrowers’ finances?

Borrowers with lowered credit scores will face greater difficulty making big-ticket purchases like homes, cars or even refrigerators for which they may need to take out a loan, experts told ABC News.

When consumers with reduced credit scores seek a loan, they face higher interest rates as banks determine that the borrower risks an inability to repay.

“We’re talking about a chunk of the population who won’t be able to buy a car because they won’t be able to get access to a car loan or it will be prohibitively expensive,” Kirabo Jackson, a professor of education and social policy at Northwestern University, told ABC News.

A lower credit score can even jeopardize an individual’s job prospects, since some employers check an applicant’s credit, Jackson said.

Some states restrict an employer’s ability to check an applicant’s credit, including California.

The damage to borrower’s credit scores may cause a hiccup in the overall economy, since some individuals may forgo big purchases, Jackson said.

“It’s not a huge effect for the economy but it certainly won’t be helpful,” Jackson said. “And when you talk about the impact for the individuals, it will be quite considerable.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Hiring slowed but remained robust in April following President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement early last month, fresh data on Friday showed. The reading exceeded economists’ expectations.

The U.S. added 177,000 jobs in April, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure marked solid growth but a slowdown from 228,000 jobs added in the previous month. The unemployment rate stood unchanged at 4.2%, a historically low figure.

In a post on social media, President Donald Trump applauded the jobs data and touted his tariff policy.

“We’re only in a TRANSITION STAGE, just getting started!!!” Trump said.

Trump called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, criticizing the central bank weeks after saying he would welcome the “termination” of Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The move marked the latest example of Trump exerting pressure on the Fed, despite a longstanding norm of political independence at the central bank. Last month, Powell pointed to solid economic performance as reason to take a patient approach as policymakers await the impact of tariffs.

The closely watched tariff announcement on April 2 triggered the biggest single-day stock market drop since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Days later, Trump suspended a major swathe of the tariffs, sending the market to one of its largest ever single-day increases. A simultaneous escalation of tariffs on Chinese goods kept the effective tariff rate at its highest level in more than a century, the Yale Budget Lab found.

The jobs data arrives days after a government report showed the U.S. economy shrank over the first three months of 2025, much of which took place as Trump’s flurry of tariff proposals stoked uncertainty among businesses and consumers.

U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, declined at a 0.3% annualized rate over three months ending in March, according to government data released on Wednesday. The figure marked a sharp dropoff from 2.4% annualized growth over the final three months of 2024.

Despite flagging consumer sentiment and market turmoil, the labor market has provided a bright spot since Trump took office. The U.S. has added a robust average of 170,000 jobs each month this year, while the unemployment rate has remained low.

Meanwhile, inflation cooled in March, putting price increases well below a peak attained in 2022, data showed.

Still, recession fears are mounting on Wall Street as Trump’s tariffs threaten to upend global trade. Goldman Sachs earlier this month hiked its odds of a recession from 35% to 45%. JPMorgan pegged the probability of a recession this year at 60%.

Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago earlier this month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the “solid condition” of the U.S. economy, but he cautioned about signals of a potential slowdown.

“Life moves pretty fast,” Powell said.

For its part, the Trump administration has largely refused to rule out the possibility of a recession. Trump has vowed to strike new agreements with many U.S. trade partners, predicting the U.S economy may suffer short-term pain but will ultimately flourish under a more favorable set of international rules.

“We have been ripped off by every country in the world practically. And friend and foe,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last month. “We’re not doing that anymore.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Government data to be released on Wednesday is expected to show a sharp economic slowdown over the initial months of President Donald Trump’s second term as a flurry of tariff proposals stoked uncertainty among businesses and consumers, analysts told ABC News.

The measure of gross domestic product, or GDP, will likely be lowered by a surge of imports as firms stockpiled inventory to avoid far-reaching tariffs, though the trend did not reflect economic weakness, analysts said.

The government’s GDP formula subtracts imports from exports in an effort to exclude foreign production from the calculation of total goods and services.

The report will detail GDP over the first three months of 2025, offering the first look at a top gauge of economic health since Trump took office.

The data covers a period before the so-called Liberation Day tariffs went into effect in early April.

Analysts widely expect a steep decline in economic performance at the outset of this year, though they disagree over the severity of the slowdown.

Some analysts believe the data will show the U.S. economy tipped into a contraction over the most recent quarter, which would likely intensify warnings on Wall Street about a possible recession.

Bank of America Global Research and BNP Paribas both expect the economy to have grown at an annualized rate of 0.4% over a three-month stretch at the start of 2025, which would mark a sharp decline from a rate of 2.4% at the end of last year.

S&P Global Ratings expects the data to show the economy contracted at an annualized rate of 0.3% at the outset of this year. A forecast from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which excludes gold imports, shows the economy shrank at a 1.5% annualized rate.

“We anticipate a marked slowdown in the U.S. economy during the first quarter, driven by increasing policy uncertainty surrounding trade, tariffs, and immigration,” S&P Global Ratings said in a note to clients.

The data may be skewed by a flood of imports as companies sought to circumvent tariffs, S&P Global Ratings said. The GDP measure deducts imports to exclude foreign-made goods and services, so a one-time import surge could blur the finding.

“The first-quarter GDP reading may not provide an accurate reflection of underlying economic conditions because it’s significantly influenced by the frontloading of imports,” S&P Global Ratings said.

Many observers define a recession through the shorthand metric of two consecutive quarters of decline in a nation’s inflation-adjusted GDP. The National Bureau of Economic Research, a research organization tasked with formally identifying a recession, uses a more complicated definition that draws on a range of indicators.

Despite flagging consumer sentiment and ongoing market turmoil, some key measures of the economy remain fairly strong.

The unemployment rate stands at a historically low level and job growth remains robust, though it has slowed from previous highs. Meanwhile, inflation cooled in March, putting price increases well below a peak attained in 2022, data showed.

The sturdy data offers at best partial reassurance, some economists previously told ABC News.

Measures of the economy like inflation and hiring are released one month after the data is gathered, and they often reflect slow-moving shifts in business or consumer behavior, the economists said. As a result, such measures can prove outdated, especially when the economy is in flux.

Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago earlier this month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the “solid condition” of the U.S. economy, but he cautioned about signals of a potential slowdown.

“Life moves pretty fast,” Powell said.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is set to provide tariff relief for carmakers on Tuesday, just weeks after the onset of auto levies triggered warnings of price increases.

An administration official confirmed that the 25% tariff on finished foreign-made cars and parts will remain — but today’s announcement will prevent tariffs from stacking on top of other tariffs he’s imposed, such as duties on steel and aluminum.

Trump’s 25% tariff on foreign auto parts goes into effect on Saturday and automakers will also be reimbursed for those tariffs up to an amount equal to 3.75% of the value of a U.S.-made car for one year. Reimbursement would fall to 2.5% of the car’s value in a second year, and then completely phased out altogether.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touted the tariff adjustment as a means of ensuring carmakers bring manufacturing to the U.S.

“President Trump has had meetings with both domestic and foreign auto producers, and he’s committed to bring back auto production to the US. We want to give the automakers a path to do that quickly, efficiently and create as many jobs as possible,” Bessent said.

Trump is expected to deliver remarks about the policy change in Michigan on Tuesday. Details of the plan were first reported in the Wall Street Journal.

U.S. automakers on Tuesday applauded the easing of tariffs.

“Ford welcomes and appreciates these decisions by President Trump, which will help mitigate the impact of tariffs on automakers, suppliers and consumers,” Ford told ABC News in a statement.

GM also voiced praise for the move. “We’re grateful to President Trump for his support of the U.S. automotive industry and the millions of Americans who depend on us. We believe the President’s leadership is helping level the playing field for companies like GM and allowing us to invest even more in the U.S. economy,” the company told ABC News in a statement.

The 25% tariff on imported cars took effect on April 3. It applies to an array of passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks.

The tariffs will almost certainly raise foreign-made car prices, experts previously told ABC News, since importers typically pass along a share of the tax burden to consumers in the form of extra costs.

The policy change offers automakers a chance to relocate their manufacturing, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told ABC News in a statement.

“This deal is a major victory for the President’s trade policy by rewarding companies who manufacture domestically, while providing runway to manufacturers who have expressed their commitment to invest in America and expand their domestic manufacturing,” Lutnick said.

The move aims to give automakers an opportunity to move their supply chains for parts back to the U.S.

“President Trump is building an important partnership with both the domestic automakers and our great American workers,” Lutnick also said in the statement.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Few of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in his second term carried more fanfare than April 2, which Trump previewed for weeks under the moniker of “Liberation Day.”

At a Rose Garden ceremony replete with a live band and floor-to-ceiling American flags, Trump announced the nation’s largest set of tariffs in nearly a century.

For decades, Trump claimed, other nations had erected trade barriers to shut U.S. companies out of their markets, all the while enriching themselves through access to American shoppers. As a result, factories had shuttered and workers had suffered, Trump added.

“In the face of unrelenting economic warfare, the United States can no longer continue with a policy of unilateral economic surrender,” Trump said.

The tariff announcement, he added, would forever be remembered as “the day that we began to make America wealthy again.”

Instead, the major stock indexes lost about $3.1 trillion in value the next day, suffering their biggest one-day decline since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Days later, Trump suspended a major swathe of the tariffs, sending the market to one of its largest ever single-day increases.

The policy exemplified Trump’s handling of the economy so far in his second term, some experts said. A norm-breaking decision adjusted soon afterward, leaving behind a cloud of uncertainty for consumers and business alike, while risking an economic slowdown.

It remains to be seen whether the potential pain will be outweighed by future gain, experts said, but the policy swerves may undermine those benefits as firms lack the assurance necessary to make long-term investment and hiring decisions.

“This isn’t how we normally do business. We normally like stability and predictability,” Nancy Qian, a professor of economics at Northwestern University, told ABC News. “The cycle of uncertainty is freaking people out.”

‘Challenged the rules of the global trading system’

Trump’s tariff rollout took Wall Street by surprise, but the president had repeatedly promised to make use of the policy tool during his presidential campaign.

“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff,'” Trump said weeks before the election during an appearance at the Economic Club of Chicago.

As a candidate, Trump proposed tariffs of between 60% and 100% on Chinese goods, as well as across-the-board tariffs of between 10% and 20% on all imported goods.

Tariffs would hinder foreign producers and boost domestic manufacturers, reinvigorating regions left behind as the sector’s jobs moved overseas, Trump said.

In the first 100 days, Trump has taken the policy even further than he pledged, experts said.

Trump slapped 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, as well as a universal tariff of 10% on nearly all imports.

Trump also imposed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, the nation’s neighbors, thought to be among its closest allies. Additional tariffs have hit autos, steel and aluminum. For now, Trump has paused a far-reaching set of so-called “reciprocal tariffs” targeting about 75 countries.

“We face the stark reality of large and persistent U.S. deficits as a result of an unfair trading system,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told an audience at the Institute of International Finance in Washington, D.C. last week. “Intentional policy choices by other countries have hollowed out America’s manufacturing sector and undermined our critical supply chains, putting our national and economic security at risk.”

“President Trump has taken strong action to address these imbalances and the negative impacts they have on Americans,” Bessent added.

Qian, of Northwestern University, said Trump’s policy accurately identifies a challenge facing the U.S. economy, as trade partners erect barriers that make it more difficult for some American companies to sell abroad than it is for their foreign competitors to sell in the U.S.

The on-again, off-again approach to tariffs undermines the policy objective, however, since businesses and investors lack the confidence necessary to build up domestic manufacturing or adjust strategy abroad.

“What manufacturers need is what markets need: stability,” Qian said.

Trump’s tariffs elicited retaliatory measures from some countries, including China. The world’s second-largest economy slapped 125% tariffs on U.S. goods and placed export restrictions on some minerals crucial to domestic electronics and weapons industries.

“Trump’s tariffs challenged the very premise of the rules of the world trading system,” Robert Lawrence, a professor of trade and investment at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, told ABC News. “He has done a lot more than he said he would do.”

Consumer sentiment this month dropped to a level lower than any point during the Great Recession. A slew of Wall Street firms, meanwhile, have raised their odds of a U.S. recession within the next year, forecasting a potential drop-off of consumer spending and business investment.

For its part, the Trump administration has largely refused to rule out the possibility of a recession. Trump has vowed to strike new agreements with many U.S. trade partners, predicting the U.S economy may suffer short-term pain but will ultimately flourish under a more favorable set of international rules.

“We have been ripped off by every country in the world practically. And friend and foe,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on April 23. “We’re not doing that anymore.”

The fight against inflation

During the campaign, inflation consistently ranked as a top issue of concern to voters – and a majority of them favored Trump to best handle the problem, surveys showed.

Trump vowed to address the issue, saying he would lower prices on “day one.”

Prices would come down as a result of increased energy output, which would reduce costs for the production and transport of goods and in turn lower prices, Trump said.

Inflation has eased since Trump took office, meaning prices have risen at a slower pace than they had been at the end of the Biden administration. Consumer prices increased 2.4% in March compared to a year earlier, registering a pace slightly higher than the Fed’s target of 2%.

Overall prices have not fallen, however, experts told ABC News. In fact, some prices have climbed significantly. Egg prices are 60% higher than where they stood a year ago. Bird flu has continued to decimate the egg supply, lifting prices.

To be sure, the price of oil has dropped nearly 20% since Trump took office. However, experts attributed the trend to an anticipated drop in demand as investors worry about a global recession, instead of the spike in output promised by Trump.

The current level of inflation may offer false reassurance, experts added, since tariffs are widely expected to raise prices over the coming months.

“We are not yet applying the tariffs to the maximum degree and that of course reduces the impact seen in the data so far,” Felix Tintelnot, a professor of economics at Duke University, told ABC News.

Earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell raised the possibility that Trump’s tariffs may cause what economists call “stagflation,” which is when inflation rises and the economy slows.

If the Fed raises interest rates as a means of protecting against tariff-induced inflation under such a scenario, it risks stifling borrowing and slowing the economy further. On the other hand, if the Fed lowers rates to stimulate the economy in the face of a potential slowdown, it threatens to boost spending and worsen inflation.

A day later, Trump sharply criticized Powell, urging the central bank to lower interest rates and saying Powell’s “termination cannot come soon enough.”

Since Trump took office, he has criticized Powell on multiple occasions, despite a longstanding norm of political independence at the central bank. The Fed is an independent government agency established by Congress.

“It’s a fundamental feature of our economic system that we have an independent Fed,” Lawrence said. “Trump’s threats are deeply concerning.”

In theory, the removal of Powell could undermine the Fed’s capacity to fight inflation, since it may make the central bank more likely to follow Trump’s preference for lower rates, Lawrence said.

Trump appeared to soften previous attacks on the Federal Reserve last week, saying he has “no intention” of firing Powell.

After making those remarks, Trump continued to pressure Powell.

“I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates,” Trump said. “This is a perfect time to lower interest rates.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A new survey of consumers on Tuesday is expected to show attitudes worsened in April, casting further gloom over the economy as President Donald Trump’s tariffs set off warnings of price increases and a possible recession.

A reading of sour consumer sentiment would mark the fifth consecutive month of decline, leaving the Conference Board gauge at its lowest level since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this month joined a growing set of policymakers and analysts who’ve cautioned about a possible outcome that bodes poorly for consumers: accelerating price increases alongside a sluggish economy.

A slew of companies have already announced plans for price hikes in response to the tariffs, including bargain retailers Temu and Shein.

Meanwhile, recession fears are mounting on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs earlier this month hiked its odds of a recession from 35% to 45%. JPMorgan pegged the probability of a recession this year at 60%.

Trump earlier this month paused so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on most U.S. trade partners, but the White House also raised its cumulative tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%.

An across-the-board 10% tariff applies to nearly all imports, except for semi-conductors, pharmaceuticals and some other items. Those levies come on top of specialized tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos.

Even after the suspension of some tariffs, U.S. consumers face the highest average effective tariff rate since 1909, the Yale Budget Lab found.

In recent days, Trump has voiced mixed messages about the prospect of a de-escalation in the trade war with China.

Trump last week said that tariffs on China would “come down substantially.” Days later, however, Trump urged Boeing to “default China” in response to a Chinese order that airlines reject deliveries of the U.S.-based aerospace company’s planes.

“This is just a small example of what China has done to the USA, for years,” Trump said in a post on social media.

Despite flagging consumer sentiment and ongoing market turmoil, key measures of the economy remain fairly strong.

The unemployment rate stands at a historically low level and job growth remains robust, though it has slowed from previous highs. Meanwhile, inflation cooled in March, putting price increases well below a peak attained in 2022, data showed.

The sturdy data offers little reassurance, some economists previously told ABC News.

Measures of the economy like inflation and hiring are released a month after the data is gathered, and they often reflect slow-moving shifts in business or consumer behavior, the economists said. As a result, such measures can prove outdated, especially when the economy is in flux.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, could weaken if shopper sentiment sours. In theory, a slowdown of spending could hammer some businesses, prompting layoffs that in turn further shrink consumer appetite.

Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago earlier this month, Powell acknowledged the “solid condition” of the U.S. economy, but he cautioned about signals of a potential slowdown. For instance, Powell noted a “sharp decline in sentiment” among businesses and households.

“Life moves pretty fast,” Powell added.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — A marketing email distributed this month by Trump Coins, a commemorative coin venture launched last year by President Donald Trump, attributes the soaring value of gold and other metals in recent weeks to the president’s “return to the spotlight.”

“President Trump’s bold stance on tariffs, American industry, and economic protection is pushing investors out of risky fiat and back into safe-haven metals,” the marketing email reads. “Confidence in strong U.S. leadership is driving real demand.”

But some experts assert that the sudden surge in gold reflects not “strong U.S. leadership” or “Trump’s ongoing momentum,” as Trump Coins frames it — but instead a consequence of financial uncertainty inspired by Trump’s erratic economic policies, including his commitment to impose widespread tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners.

The premise that rising gold prices evince a thriving U.S. economy runs “completely contrary to reality,” said Paolo Pasquariello, a finance professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Experts who ABC News spoke with said that the value of gold often rises in times of economic turmoil, particularly during trade wars or anticipated inflation.

“The fact that gold prices are going up right now sends as strong a message of displeasure with President Trump’s economic policies as I can think of,” Pasquariello said.

In the weeks since Trump’s self-styled “Liberation Day” — when he announced a sweeping set of tariffs — gold has notched several record highs. This week, the price of gold surpassed $3,500 per ounce for the first time.

Meanwhile, markets have tumbled in recent weeks, and the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that “escalating trade tensions” have dimmed “both short-term and long-term growth prospects.”

On April 16, when Trump Coins sent the marketing email lauding “another new record” for gold, it said the reason “isn’t just economic — it’s political.”

“Trump’s return to the spotlight is reigniting belief in real value and asset-based security,” the email said. “Central banks are stockpiling, buyers are doubling down, and Trump’s ongoing momentum keeps pushing metals forward.”

But experts said that skyrocketing gold prices have often been linked to periods of instability — offering the 2008 financial crisis and, more recently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as examples.

Despite its volatility, gold is “the quintessential safe-haven asset” in times of economic uncertainty, said Campbell Harvey, a professor of finance at Duke University’s Fuqua School.

Another explanation cited by experts for the precipitous rise in gold is that Trump’s policies have shaken confidence in some of the top alternative safe-haven assets: the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasury bonds. Depreciation in the value of the U.S. dollar and volatility in Treasury yields have made gold more attractive as investors look for a safe haven, experts said.

Trump Coins frames itself as “the only medallions authorized and endorsed/designed by President Trump himself.” The commemorative coins, which include gold and silver busts of Trump, emerged during the 2024 presidential campaign as one of several merchandising ventures Trump profited from — a list that also included watches, sneakers, bibles and guitars.

After his 2024 triumph, Trump unveiled a one-ounce “Victory Gold Medallion” — with the president’s face and signature pressed in solid gold — for $3,645.47, a thousand-dollar upcharge compared to the price of an ounce of gold at the time. The “Victory Gold Medallion” now retails for more than $4,628, an increase of nearly $1,000 since late November and more than $1,300 higher than the current market price of an ounce of gold.

Details about the terms of Trump’s agreements with the merchandise company that sells his coins, JBCZ Group LLC, are not public. But experts said Trump has likely profited handsomely from this venture in light of gold’s precipitous rise.

As an investment strategy, experts say that other forms of gold may perform better in the long-run than Trump-branded coins.

“If you want to invest in gold, it’s best to actually use an ETF,” said Harvey, referring to a security that allows investors to invest in an underlying asset without purchasing that asset. In contrast, solid gold bars — or Trump Coins — are more difficult to sell, Harvey explained, and “that means when you sell, you sell it at a discount.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The country’s electric vehicle market has an affordability problem.

Enter Slate, a new company backed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and two investment funds. On Thursday, company executives unveiled an inexpensive, spartan electric truck that comes at a critical time for U.S. consumers and the industry.

Priced below $30,000, the truck, which will be built in an undisclosed location in the Midwest, could sway more price-conscious Americans to buy an EV. Plus, the $7,500 federal tax credit drops the starting price to under $20,000, according to Chris Barman, Slate’s CEO.

“This is a radically affordable and customizable vehicle,” Barman told ABC News ahead of the truck’s global debut. “We only put the essentials, the basics, in the vehicle. We wanted to strike a good balance with price and range.”

The truck’s range is 150 miles and jumps to 240 miles if a customer chooses to purchase the extended battery pack. Barman, an industry veteran, described the philosophy of the truck as “plug and play,” saying customers can opt for a basic version or pay more for luxuries like power windows and an exterior color. The truck, which can also be transformed into an SUV, rolls off the line in a standard gray hue.

“It’s all about value and keeping the price low,” Barman noted. “There’s no radio or infotainment system. Customers can bring in a Bluetooth speaker. Manual windows that you crank by hand was a cost-saving measure. But there is heat and air conditioning.”

Barman estimates that adding back popular features would raise the price by about $10,000. The vehicle may not have a “native” navigation system but it does come equipped with standard safety tech: a backup camera, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, a forward-facing camera and auto high-beam headlights.

For $50, interested buyers can place a reservation on the Slate website. Production begins in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to Barman.

Tony Quiroga, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver, said he’s “really excited” to see the truck in person.

“It’s a bare-bones, stripped-down EV for people who wouldn’t necessarily be able to buy one,” he told ABC News. “For some EV buyers, price is more important. If your commute is pretty short and you have charging at home, you can use an EV that doesn’t have a lot of range.”

He added, “Hopefully it does what the [Ford] Maverick did for the small pickup truck segment — opening up an entirely new segment that no one had really filled.”

The high MSRPs of electric cars and SUVs, even with federal and state credits, have prevented a large chunk of Americans from owning one. Even some of the cheapest models currently available — the Hyundai Kona, Toyota bZ4x, Fiat 500e, Chevy Equinox EV and Nissan Leaf and Nissan Ariya — cost more than $30,000. Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reaffirmed that his company was on track to build a low-cost vehicle, with production starting at the end of June.

“There are a lot of people — way more than we talk about — who just need an affordable car,” Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, told ABC News. “Why does someone buy a 10-year-old car? It’s affordable and gets you from A and B. People overestimate the technology lower-income individuals need.”

The average transaction price of a new EV in March was $59,205 before incentives and discounts, according to Cox Automotive. To move inventory, dealers across the country are offering competitive deals on new models, including luxury brands.

“Recent tariffs on imported EV batteries and components from China, which accounted for approximately $1.9 billion worth of lithium-ion batteries in 2024, could further increase transaction prices, as these tariffs could raise the cost of imported materials by up to 82%,” Cox analysts noted in their analysis.

Keating noted that Slate could become the “Spirit Airlines” of the auto industry and its low-cost strategy may work — if federal tax incentives stick around.

“We’re struggling with affordability for vehicles and this is a solid opportunity for Slate to grab some market share off the bat,” she said. “Don’t hold breath though that the EV credit will stick around for long. Everyone assumes it will go away.”

Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power, said it’s unclear if consumers will accept an austere vehicle when many are willing to pay up for driver assistance systems and luxe interiors.

“Will consumers give up all the screens and creature comforts and tech? We’re getting really close to finding out that answer,” he told ABC News. “Everyone wants to talk about affordability and yet we continue to move further away from it. Monthly payments continue to trend higher because of interest rates but also because trade-in values of cars continue to go down.”

He went on, “The pressure to have an affordable vehicle will only increase as the number of affordable vehicles likely decreases because of tariffs.”

Jominy pointed out that Slate executives chose a two-seat, single cab design, a questionable move when SUVs dominate the nation’s roads and driveways.

“Single cab pickup sales are under 1% … and SUVs outsell regular cab pickups 100 to 1,” he said. “If you have the ability to launch as an SUV, just do the SUV.”

Barman argued that Slate fills a gaping hole in the U.S. auto market.

“It’s all about value and keeping the price low,” she said. “It’s feasible to produce a low-cost EV.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — U.S. stocks rallied in early trading on Wednesday, one day after President Donald Trump said tariffs on China would “come down substantially.”

Trump also appeared to soften previous attacks on the Federal Reserve, saying late Tuesday he has “no intention” of firing top central banker Jerome Powell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 625 points, or 1.6%, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 3.4%.

Shares of electric carmaker Tesla surged 6.5% in the first trading since CEO Elon Musk said his time devoted to the Department of Government Efficiency would “drop significantly” next month, paving the way for his return to the company. Still, Tesla shares have fallen by nearly half since a December peak.

Musk described his work at DOGE as necessary, but he said that “working for the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done.”

The uptick also took hold at the other so-called “Magnificent Seven” tech giants, which drove much of the gains in the S&P 500 over recent years.

Facebook parent Meta climbed 5%, while chipmaker Nvidia also increased 5%.

Earlier this month, Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese goods to a total of 145%, prompting China to respond with 125% levies on U.S. products.

The tit-for-tat measures escalated a trade war between the world’s two largest economies, but the White House this week appeared to signal a desire to ease the tensions.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly told a group of investors on Tuesday that “over the very near future, there will be a de-escalation” of the trade war with China. Bloomberg News first reported the remarks.

Bessent’s comments, which came at a private JPMorgan event, sent stocks climbing on Tuesday afternoon. Trump echoed the sentiment hours later.

“145% is very high and it won’t be that high,” Trump told reporters at the White House late Tuesday. “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.