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Fear of recession sparks U.S. stock losses of more than $2 trillion Page 3B Trump’s tariffs a race against time as consumers face higher prices Page 3B
Tariffs tank markets Dow drops 1,600 amid worldwide sell-off
EBR sets plan to shuffle funding Four ballot measures will go before voters BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER
BY STAN CHOE
AP business writer
Staff 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
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,
East Baton Rouge Parish MayorPresident Sid Edwards’ plan to shuffle funding from libraries and other agencies will appear before voters as four separate ballot items in November, parish officials said. After voters soundly rejected four constitutional amendments on Saturday, parish officials acknowledge they will need to work hard to make the plan clear to voters. But they hope the approach will be simpler for voters to understand — and easier to approve. “The voters want everything to be split up and separated so that they can have the confidence that they know what they’re voting for,” said Assistant Library Director Mary Stein. “That way it’s not an all-or-nothing kind of vote. The public doesn’t care for that.” Edwards’ administration is trying to fill a $40 million budget gap left by the incorporation “The voters of St. George. want everything After weeks of to be split up contentious negotiations, Ed- and separated wards and the so that they Metro Council can have the worked out a deal that would confidence that r e d e d i c a t e they know what they’re voting some property taxes that cur- for. That way it’s rently go to not an all-orlibraries, the nothing kind of Council on Aging and mos- vote. The public quito control, doesn’t care for along with an that.” alimony tax to MARy STEIN, the city-parish assistant library general fund. Edwards and director the council are hoping to place the plan — dubbed “Thrive! East Baton Rouge” — on a Nov. 15 ballot. There are risks to putting four separate votes before the public. For example, some agencies could secure funding while others might not. But those involved in writing the measures, like District 9 Metro Council member Dwight Hudson,
ä See BRACE, page 6A
ä See FUNDING, page 8A
ä See TARIFFS, page 6A
The Port of New Orleans is an international container port.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
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.
Forecasters predict active Atlantic hurricane season 17 named storms predicted, including 9 hurricanes
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 BY KASEY BUBNASH coming season to produce 17 Staff writer named storms, including nine hurHurricane researchers at Colo- ricanes. Four of those are expected rado State University are predict- to develop into major hurricanes ing above-average activity during of Category 3 strength or above. This year’s April outlook may be the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season,
WEATHER HIGH 88 LOW 76 PAGE 8B
ä Louisiana’s Democratic congressmen seeking information on proposed overhaul of FEMA. PAGE 9A
ricanes 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 above average, but as CSU senior named storms and 11 hurricanes, research scientist Phil Klotzbach with five of them classified as masaid, “it’s not as active as we were jor. forecasting last year at this time.” Klotzbach and his team said tropCSU predicted the 2024 season ical activity in the coming season, would be “extremely active” with which starts on June 1 and ends 23 named storms, including 11 hur- Nov. 30, will likely be fueled by
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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
ä See HURRICANE, page 9A
100TH yEAR, NO. 278