Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as US markets slide after Beijing imposes tariffs on imports of agricultural goods from AmericaAnalysts at investment bank Jefferies remain optimistic about the prospects for the US economy in the second half of 2025 – while also fearing that it may slow more than expected in the first half of the year.In an updated US Economic Outlook, Jefferies tell clients:Broadly, these changes are modest relative to what we were looking for at the beginning of the year. We started out 2025 expecting growth to slow in the first half due to exactly the sort of tensions and uncertainty about policy that we are currently seeing. It now appears that the slowdown will be a bit more pronounced than we expected, but we remain optimistic about the second half of the year and beyond.We expect that the labor market will continue to cool gradually in the months ahead, with downside risks due to government spending uncertainty. We continue to expec...
On March 10, 2025, Wall Street experienced a significant sell-off driven by US recession fears and trade tensions, including tariffs imposed by Beijing. Tesla's stock fell 50% from its all-time high. Global markets declined, with economists raising concerns about a potential "Trumpcession." The FTSE 100 closed at a one-month low, the Nasdaq reached a six-month low, and the pound hit a four-month high against the dollar. European markets also experienced increased volatility and declines due to trade tensions and other factors, such as an airport strike in Germany.
