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F r i d ay, a p r i l 4, 2025
Active hurricane season expected
Fear of recession sparks U.S. stock losses of more than $2 trillion Page 6A Trump’s tariffs a race against time as consumers face higher prices Page 6A
Tariffs tank markets Dow drops 1,600 amid worldwide sell-off
17 named storms predicted, including 9 hurricanes BY KASEY BUBNASH Staff writer
BY STAN CHOE
AP business writer NEW YORK — Wall Street shuddered, and a level of shock unseen since COVID’s outbreak tore through financial markets worldwide Thursday on worries about the damage President Donald Trump’s newest set of tariffs could do to economies across continents, including his own. The S&P 500 sank 4.8%, more than in major markets across Asia and Europe, for its worst day since the pandemic crashed the economy in 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,679 points, or 4%, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 6%. Little was spared in financial markets as fear flared about the potentially toxic mix of weakening economic growth and higher inflation that tariffs can create. Everything from crude oil to Big Tech stocks to the value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies fell. Even gold, which hit records recently as investors sought something safer to own, pulled lower. Some of the worst hits walloped smaller U.S. companies, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks dropped 6.6% to pull more than 20% below its record. Investors worldwide knew Trump was going to announce a sweeping set of tariffs late Wednesday, and fears surrounding it had already pulled Wall Street’s main measure of health, the S&P 500 index, 10% below its all-time high. But Trump still managed to surprise them with “the worst case scenario for tariffs,” according to Mary Ann Bartels, chief investment officer at Sanctuary Wealth. Trump announced a minimum tariff of 10% on imports, with the tax rate running much higher on products from certain countries like China and those from the European Union. It’s “plausible” the tariffs altogether, which would rival levels unseen in roughly a century, could knock down U.S. economic growth by 2 percentage points
ä See TARIFFS, page 5A
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In Louisiana, industry groups and businesses big and small were bracing for the potential upheaval. Auto dealers, homebuilders, restaurants, and even coffee roasters anticipate higher prices for consumers. There are some fears that large industrial projects in the state could stall as the costs of raw materials soar and demand for petrochemical products and other materials slumps. As stock markets tumbled in response to Trump’s announcement, Bob Arceneaux, owner of Orleans Coffee, a New Orleans-based wholesale roaster of specialty beans,
Hurricane researchers at Colorado State University are predicting above-average activity during the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, citing warmer-than-normal temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and the unlikely return of El Niño conditions by the season’s peak. Researchers said Thursday at the National Tropical Weather Conference that they expect the coming season to produce 17 named storms, including nine hurricanes. Four of those are expected to de- ä Louisiana’s velop into major Democratic hurricanes of Cat- congressmen egory 3 strength seeking or above. T h i s y e a r ’s information April outlook may on proposed be above average, overhaul of but as CSU senior FEMA. research scientist PAGE 1B Phil Klotzbach said, “it’s not as active as we were forecasting last year at this time.” CSU predicted the 2024 season would be “extremely active” with 23 named storms, including 11 hurricanes and five major hurricanes, the highest number of hurricanes ever predicted by CSU. When all was said and done, CSU’s initial forecast wasn’t too far off: Last year saw a total of 19 named storms and 11 hurricanes, with five of them classified as major. Klotzbach and his team said tropical activity in the coming season, which starts on June 1 and ends Nov. 30, will likely be fueled by similar conditions, mainly aboveaverage sea surface temperatures in the subtropical eastern Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. A hurricane’s fuel source is warm ocean water, so a warm Atlantic tends to favor an aboveaverage season. When waters in the eastern subtropical Atlantic are much warmer than normal in the spring, as they are now, it often creates conditions that lead to continued above-average temperatures in the tropical Atlantic through the peak of hurricane season from August to October. A warm Atlantic can also lead to lower atmospheric pressure and a more unstable atmosphere, both of which can aid the formation of hurricanes. La Niña conditions emerged in
ä See BRACE, page 5A
ä See HURRICANE, page 7A
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
The Port of New Orleans is an international container port.
Louisiana businesses brace for price hikes from tariffs BY BLAKE PATERSON
Staff writer
Louisiana businesses scrambled Thursday to understand the impact to the state and their industries of President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs, as many braced for higher prices and the uncertainty that a trade war might bring. Trump said Wednesday that he was placing 10% acrossthe-board tariffs on all imports into the U.S., with sharply higher duties on imports from a number of trading partners, including a 34% tariff on China and a 20% tariff on goods from the European Union. Administration officials
“Nobody is immune to this. Starbucks is going to raise prices. McDonald’s is going to raise prices.” BOB ARCENEAUX, owner of Orleans Coffee
and Republican members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation argued the tariffs would lead to stronger trade deals and result in more domestic manufacturing in the long run. Economists say the new tariffs are likely to raise prices of goods for Americans by thousands of dollars each year while slowing the U.S. economy.
La. schools must end DEI programs State education chief agrees with directive
could potentially threaten funding for some Louisiana schools. In a letter Thursday, the Department of Education said state education agencies and school districts must affirm in writing that schools are complying BY PATRICK WALL with anti-discrimination laws. ProStaff writer grams that promote diversity, equity The Trump administration is giving and inclusion, or DEI, by favoring stustates 10 days to certify that schools dents of one race over another violate are not engaged in what it considers federal law and could lead to a loss of illegal practices related to diversity, federal funding or other sanctions, the equity and inclusion — an order that department said.
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“The continued use of illegal DEI practices may subject the individual or entity using such practices to serious consequences,” states the certification form that state agencies and school districts must sign. The directive is the latest attack on diversity efforts at colleges and K-12 schools, which the Trump administration says have discriminated against White and Asian students by seeking
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN
The U.S. Education Department, led by Secretary Linda McMahon, says states must affirm that schools are not engaged in ‘illegal DEI practices.’ Otherwise, they could lose ä See DEI, page 7A federal funding.
Business ......................6A Commentary ................3B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................4B Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C
100TH yEAR, NO. 278