President Trump Announces Reciprocal Tariffs From The Oval Office

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M&A flattened in February under the deals-friendly Trump administration

Global trade battles undertaken by President Trump sent North American M&A levels down $50 billion last month from January.

Max Knoblauch

3/14/25 1:34PM

In the aftermath of President Trump’s election, a common Wall Street refrain was that the incoming administration would be great for dealmaking.

Stocks of soon-to-merge companies like Capital One and Discover popped after the election as investors got giddy about the coming mergers and acquisition revival. Goldman Sachs predicted a 20% spike in mergers in Trump’s first year in office. Through softer regulations and a friendlier approach to consolidation, Trump, analysts said, would resuscitate the M&A market that had been put on life support by the Biden administration’s strict antitrust policy led by former FTC Chair Lina Khan.

In January, those predictions appeared prescient. The number of billion-dollar-plus deals in the US surged 29% that month, according to consulting firm EY. Since then, in the face of Trump administration tariffs that have investors and boardrooms spooked, things have turned sour.

According to Bank of America analysts, North American M&A announcement volumes fell to $130 billion last month, the lowest level in two years and down a whopping $50 billion from the month prior. Per S&P Global, four deals valued over $10 billion took place worldwide in January. In February, there were none — the first time since July.

Speaking to Business Insider, Eric Li, the head of competitor analytics at research firm Crisil Coalition Greenwich, said that dealmaking is “frozen” and that the current market is “almost as bad as Covid.”

As noted in the Business Insider report, hiring at investment banks has now slowed and some firms, including Goldman and Bank of America, have recently slashed investment banker head counts (though that trend may have started before Trump’s second term).

Even if the current tariffs, delays, more tariffs monthly cycle dissipates, the Trump admin may not be as easy to predict as past Republican administrations. Last month, current FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said the agency would maintain the stricter merger guidelines from Khan’s FTC. Still, experts expect Ferguson to be largely partisan, picking fights with Trump’s corporate enemies and less likely than Khan to take on legal battles with long-shot victory odds.

In an interview with CNBC this week, Ferguson appeared to slightly rein in the “M&A floodgates are open” theory, saying:

“If we’ve got a merger or conduct that violates the antitrust laws, and I think I can prove it in court, I’m going to take you to court. And if we don’t, I’m going to get the hell out of the way.”

Tom Jones

hut’s off

6/1/26

Yum! Brands might have found a potential buyer for Pizza Hut

Yum! is in exclusive talks with private equity firm LongRange Capital about a sale, per reports.

Hyunsoo Rim

hot dogs & half tanks

6/1/26

Costco’s gas stations are breaking records as drivers seek cheaper fuel

Higher prices have pushed many members to the retailer’s pumps for the first time.

Max Knoblauch5/29/26

The Trump administration is reportedly planning a 50% made-in-America requirement for USMCA tariff relief

Qualifying for USMCA-related lower tariffs may soon require more US-made vehicle components, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to introduce a 50% US content requirement for vehicles covered by the trade pact to receive lower tariffs. The content would be measured by cost, according to the WSJ.

There currently isn’t any US-specific requirement for those lower tariff rates, but in order to receive preferential tariffs, vehicles are must contain at least 75% regional content (components made in North America). Per Reuters reporting, the Trump admin is seeking to raise the regional requirement to 82%.

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Overall, Tesla will likely have the easiest time qualifying for any stricter requirements. The automaker’s vehicles contained the highest amount of US/Canadian content in 2025, according to American University research. Ford, GM, and Stellantis all scored lower.

Notably: the underlying government data that many domestic content measurements rely on intentionally combines US and Canadian components, so it’s difficult to know exactly how much of any given vehicle is specifically US-made.

Exclusive | Trump Administration Wants Autos Under USMCA to Be at Least 50% Made in America

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Tom Jones5/29/26

The $640,000 Luce makes the average Ferrari look like a bargain

Put aside the shape; put aside the smoothing out of Ferrari’s iconic sharp edges; put aside, even, the calls from former Chairman and President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo to “take the Prancing Horse off.” On the grounds of price alone, Luce detractors might have a point.

By now, many of us will have read the criticisms of Ferrari’s first fully electric vehicle, as the Luce — which was unveiled to the world earlier this week and promptly saw the company’s shares crash out in New York and Milan — gets subtly shaded by competitors online and not-so-subtly shaded by basically everyone else.

What makes all of this worse for Ferrari is that, even by the luxury car maker’s notoriously high standards, they’ve slapped a pretty hefty price tag on the Luce, and the company’s CEO, Benedetto Vigna, has already been forced to defend the €550,000 ($640,000) price point, saying yesterday that it’s “fair to pay for innovation,” per Reuters.

While Ferrari’s cars have been getting more expensive of late, as recently as 2022, Ferrari’s average revenue per car sold was around $340,000. At nearly twice that price, this new electric model is obviously proving a little much (visually, conceptually, and financially) for many loyal and long-standing fans of the Prancing Horse to stomach.