Remembering
James Robison

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The Brew: Way Down (Dow) We Go. Have We Stopped? Nobody Knows

By Gayle McQueary Published on April 8, 2025

Yesterday might go down in history as the day the world’s stock markets collectively decided to take a nosedive off a very high cliff. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plummeted 13.2%, its worst single-day drop since 1997 — back when people were still arguing over whether Titanic was a love story or a disaster flick — and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Down, Down, Down

China’s stock market wasn’t far behind, coughing up its biggest one-day loss since the Global Financial Crisis, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid over 7%, briefly halting futures trading as if to say, “Hold up, we need a timeout!”

Across the Pond, the U.S. S&P 500 teetered on the edge of bear market territory, down nearly 2% on the day and 17.4% from its February peak, according to The New York Times. (Sorry for the pay wall.)

Just take a look at all foreign stock markets as of yesterday morning:

The Nasdaq, meanwhile, clung to a tiny gain but still sat a whopping 22% below its December high. Europe’s benchmark index dropped 3%, and oil prices took a 1.5% haircut, continuing a slide that’s got energy traders sweating harder than a turkey in November.

What’s behind this global financial rollercoaster? Two words: Trump’s tariffs.

President Donald Trump has unleashed a trade policy so aggressive it’s got analysts tossing around phrases like “economic nuclear winter.” After China slapped a 34% tariff on U.S. exports last week — mirroring Trump’s own levies on Chinese goods — the Orange Man didn’t blink. Instead, he doubled down, announcing on Truth Social Monday that he’d hit China with an additional 50% tariff if they don’t back off by today.

The fallout was immediate and brutal.

Last week alone, the S&P 500 shed 10.5% over two days, wiping out over $5 trillion in value — the worst beating since the 2020 pandemic crash. Tech giants like Taiwan Semiconductor and Foxconn saw double-digit drops, while China’s Alibaba and Tencent weren’t far behind, proving that even the big dogs aren’t safe when trade wars escalate. Auto companies, meanwhile, are slamming on the brakes: Some have paused production and started cutting jobs, bracing for higher costs (due to foreign-made parts) and cranky consumers.

Some investors are clinging to hope that Trump’s promised tax cuts and deregulation might cushion the blow, but experts aren’t so sure. “We remain very cautious,” says Stuart Kaiser, an equity analyst at Citi. But that still sounds like a polite way of saying, “We’re in for a bumpy ride.”

Trump called the moves “necessary medicine” and over the weekend called on Americans to “hang tough” while the situation plays out, saying it ultimately will right itself with an even playing field for all rather than having America take the brunt of tariffs the rest of the world imposes on our goods. But the millions of people watching their savings go down, would probably rather take a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down a little easier.

It’s Kind of a Plan

Over in Europe, the EU’s ministers huddled up in Luxembourg to figure out how to dodge Trump’s tariff tsunami without starting World War Trade. They face a 25% duties tax on steel, aluminum, and cars, plus 20% “reciprocal” tariffs on pretty much everything else. Dutch Trade Minister Reinette Klever summed it up nicely: “We want de-escalation, but talking to Washington is like herding cats.” Translation: Trump won’t budge on these tariffs unless we come to the negotiating table, and we’d rather act like petulant children.

So, what’s the EU’s game plan? Well, they do plan to put on their grown-up suits and begin negotiations to try peeling back Trump’s tariffs, but they’re also quietly prepping countermeasures on up to $28 billion of U.S. imports, like dental floss and diamonds.

Nothing says “take us seriously” like threatening to jack up the price of sparkly rocks and minty string. The really big guns will come out later this month, when the EU plans to retaliate by targeting U.S.-made cars.

Hilariously, Trump fired back, threatening a 200% tariff on European alcohol if the bloc dares to slap a 50% duty on American bourbon, according to Just the News. France and Italy are probably clutching their wine bottles and sobbing into their pasta right now.

The EU exports $532 billion worth of stuff to the U.S. annually — way more than the $366.2 billion it imports, so it’s got fewer goods to hit back with. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck suggested leaning on the bloc’s unity — and maybe Elon Musk’s wild idea of zero tariffs — to exploit U.S. market jitters.

But Ireland’s Taoiseach (prime minister) Simon Harris warned against pulling out the “nuclear option” of targeting U.S. services or procurement access, calling it a last resort. For now, Europe’s playing nice, hoping Trump blinks before their economies start looking like Hong Kong’s Hang Seng chart.

The Federal Reserve and the Cone of Silence

Back in the U.S., the Federal Reserve decided yesterday was the perfect time for a closed-door powwow on “advance and discount rates” amid these tariff tensions. No, they’re not plotting a heist — closed meetings like this are routine — but the White House is taking advantage of the moment nonetheless.

With markets tanking and Trump’s tariffs stoking inflation fears, some are whispering about emergency rate cuts. The Fed’s keeping mum for now, leaving us all to guess whether they’ll swoop in to save the day or just sip coffee while they watch the chaos unfold.

Colorado House Says ‘Be Quiet’

Meanwhile, in Colorado, the state House of Representatives passed a bill on April 6 that’s raising eyebrows and more than a few tempers.

House Bill 25-1312, ironically dubbed “Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals,” sailed through with a 36-20 vote, declaring that “misgendering” a child is now a form of child abuse.

Democrats pulled a sneaky move invoking Rule 16, which nixes debate entirely before a vote. Why let pesky discussion get in the way of the legislative process?

The bill is now headed to the Senate, where it will likely become law after silencing 1.9 million Coloradans who don’t want it. Imagine little Timmy’s teacher saying, “He’s a great kid,” only to get slapped with an abuse charge and potentially fined as much as $5,000 because Timmy and/or his parents now say he’s a “she.” (If Timmy’s parents are the ones to “misgender” him, they could lose custody of him.) It’s the kind of policy that erodes parental rights — but who are we kidding? Deep blue Colorado activists in Denver would love to let the government raise everyone’s children.

It will be interesting to see how the state will enforce this new policy without turning every playground into a pronoun police state, but that’s just the kind of radical lunacy we’ve come to expect from the Centennial State.

Kentucky Fights Back

Over in Kentucky, the Republican-led legislature gave Governor Andy Beshear a big “nope” by overriding his veto of House Bill 495 last Friday. The bill bans using state and federal tax dollars to pay for gender-transition procedures — like surgeries and hormones — through Medicaid.

The override passed 78-20 in the House and 31-6 in the Senate, proving that Kentucky’s GOP isn’t messing around. It also tosses out restrictions on “conversion therapy,” which Beshear tried to nix through an executive order, claiming efforts to help gender-confused individuals are harmful and unscientific. The order defined “conversion therapy” as

any practice, treatment, or intervention that seeks or purports to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender.

The governor seems to think that nobody struggling with an unwanted same-sex attraction should have help because it will someone how change who they are — as if their whole identity is trapped within their gender, or if they are defined only by their struggles.

With the passing of this bill, Kentucky joins nine other states — Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — in barring Medicaid funding for gender-transition procedures, amid broader concerns about the long-term health impacts of hormone blockers and other interventions, including the risks of heart attacks, strokes, and cancers, as noted by the American College of Pediatricians.

Beshear can cry all he wants about the bill “infringing on his executive authority,” but this is a huge win. Liberty Counsel praised the override, calling it a victory for religious liberty, free speech, and the rights of counselors and clients alike.

We join Intercessors for America in giving thanks to God for the bold legislators who stood up against the Kentucky governor and protected innocent children from life-altering, harmful surgeries.

IRS Has a Change of Heart

Finally, some good news from the IRS — yes, you read that right.

They found out they actually have a heart.

The agency dropped its investigation of New Way Church in Florida after a dust-up stemming from 2022, when the congregation prayed over someone who was running for a spot on the local school board. The probe, sparked by the Johnson Amendment’s no-politics-for-churches rule (at least, no politics for predominantly white, conservative, evangelical churches), got shut down after First Liberty Institute and the high-powered Washington, D.C. law firm Jones Day argued such prayer is free speech, not a tax-code violation.

The IRS caved after a pre-examination conference call with local IRS agents, aligning the agency with a directive Trump issued during his first term to ease up on the amendment. Now, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) are pushing the Free Speech Fairness Act to keep the IRS off churches’ backs for good. Who knew praying could be so controversial — or that the IRS could actually change its mind?

Along The Stream…

Did you know there are two tombs in Jerusalem that could be the final resting place of King David? Join Expedition Bible in the second half of a two-part series, “Finding King David’s Tomb,” to find out which one contained the remains of this great biblical king.

Marxist-Leninist ideology is just a bunch of violent gibberish. At least that’s what the award-winning writer and Stream contributor Michael Giere discovered when studying the movement. Come back later today to read his latest article about the anti-intellectual forces that rejects reason and morality in “You Can’t Fix Stupid — Or Evil.”

 

Gayle McQueary is The Stream’s social media coordinator. She has a background in production and is a scary judge of the IRS going after churches instead of its own staff when they break the law.