In just a short time span, the markets have gone from pricing in three 25 basis point interest rate cuts to something significantly less as the recent data has not given the right ammunition for the Fed to pull the trigger on easing. Yields have shot up, the US dollar has exploded up, and the US economy keeps chugging along with its humming growth engines leading the way. 2024 is now at risk of no rate cuts at all as GDP projections see the US economy expanding close to 3% year over year.

Tesla will ask shareholders once again to reinstate the $56 billion pay package for CEO Elon Musk. Also in question is Tesla moving its location of incorporation from Delaware to Texas. Musk has been highly critical of the state of Delaware after his pay package was ruled illegal. The interesting takeaway here would be, what is the value of Tesla without Elon Musk as CEO? Either way, Musk appears hellbent on cashing out of Tesla almost seemingly to fund his losses in social media company X, formerly known as Twitter. The chaos has hit Tesla stock hard as it fights for dear life against Chinese competition. The controversy couldn’t have happened at a worse time for the company.

US President Joe Biden is threatening China again and this time he wants to triple the China tariff rate on steel and aluminum imports. On Wednesday, the president will visit the United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh and has vowed his saber-rattling is not just empty threats. His rhetoric on China could make relations between the US and the Middle Kingdom that much frostier as we enter into the heart of the US election race.

United Airlines cut its aircraft-delivery expectations for the year as its main supplier of airplanes Boeing has signaled a slower production schedule. The unavailability of new aircraft will hit United Airlines growth trajectory for the rest of 2024 and United expects to receive just 61 new narrow-body planes this year, down from 101 it said it had expected at the beginning of the year and contracts for as many as 183 planes in 2024. Boeing has been confronted by quality issues for some time now and it has had a hard time rectifying it.

Dutch chip manufacturer reported weaker-than-expected sales in the first quarter. The stock has been on a tear this year up over 30%, and ASML remains one of the most strategically important tech companies in Europe. ASML is preparing for a scorching hot 2025 as demand for AI and memory chips soars. This chip stock should never be slept on.