🇺🇸 Trump’s Tariff Tantrum

Good morning. It really is giving trade war - hope you all are buckled in. We are covering some key developments in that space. Keep reading!

- Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 📉 Tech stocks face a reality check

• 🇺🇸 Trump’s Tariff Tantrum

• 🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

  • 🦙 Meta and Google playing nice

  • 🇬🇧 Indians in the UK?

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

• 🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

CAPITAL MARKETS

📉 Tech stocks face a reality check

India’s new-age tech darlings have hit a rough patch in 2025. Zomato, Swiggy, Ola Electric, and others are bleeding red on Dalal Street as investors tighten their purse strings amid a global market slump. Rising interest rates, inflation fears, and geopolitical tensions—including Trump’s fresh tariff wave—have triggered a harsh comedown for high-flying startup stocks.

What’s happening?

• Many of these firms are trading well below their IPO prices. Swiggy is down 41%, Ola Electric has lost two-thirds of its value since listing, and FirstCry has halved.

• Even Zomato, once the poster child of India’s tech IPO boom, is down 26% YTD.

Why the dip? Three big reasons:

1. Weak financials: Most firms are still loss-making. Swiggy, for instance, posted ₹799 crore in Q3 losses. Ola is battling quality issues and customer complaints.

2. Intense competition: Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, and others are cannibalizing the quick-commerce pie, squeezing margins.

3. Regulatory heat: From antitrust probes to income tax notices and foreign exchange violations, scrutiny is mounting—hurting both optics and operations.

What does this mean for India?

• This correction is sobering—but not necessarily bad. It signals a maturing market where valuation now demands viability.

• India’s startup ecosystem, the world’s third-largest, may be shifting gears—from glam IPOs to sustainable growth, stronger governance, and real innovation.

• Founders will need to prioritize unit economics, product quality, and long-term credibility over blitz-scaling and hype. Investors, meanwhile, are recalibrating expectations—less FOMO, more fundamentals.

Overall: Resets like these often separate the wheat from the chaff. Companies that adapt, diversify, and focus on core performance will survive—and possibly thrive—in the next cycle. And for India, that might just mean a more grounded, globally competitive tech ecosystem.

Read more: Economic Times

US ECONOMY

🇺🇸 Trump’s Tariff Tantrum

President Trump’s self-declared "Liberation Day" may have launched a tariff war, but it's also igniting panic—inside his own camp.

Here’s what’s happening:

• The former allies and MAGA cheerleaders are now sounding the alarm. Wall Street titans Jamie Dimon and Bill Ackman, both Trump supporters, are warning that the president’s “America First” tariffs could trigger an economic nosedive.

• Dimon cautioned shareholders that inflation and a recession are on the horizon. Ackman went further, calling it an impending “economic nuclear winter.”

Even Republican senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul are publicly rebelling. Cruz warned that a tariff-induced recession could lead to a political bloodbath in 2026. Paul called the tariffs a tax on American consumers, noting they could jack up car prices by as much as $15,000.

Inside the White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is reportedly looking for the exit—potentially headed to the Fed—after being sidelined in Trump’s inner circle.

But perhaps the most surprising twist? Trump’s own support base isn’t buying it anymore. For the first time in his second term, his approval rating has dipped into negative territory—even in Republican-aligned polls. According to a Reuters/Ipsos survey, 70% of Americans, including 62% of Republicans, believe tariffs will raise consumer prices. And a majority think they’ll do more harm than good.

So what does this mean for India?

• India might find itself both challenged and courted. On one hand, a global trade war could disrupt export-driven sectors.

• On the other, multinational businesses seeking tariff-safe production hubs may double down on India—especially in metals, manufacturing, and tech services.

Overall: While Trump gambles with tariffs to project strength, the backlash from boardrooms, Senate floors, and supermarket aisles tells a different story: trade wars may sound tough, but they hit hardest at home.

And in 2025, even Trump’s own allies aren’t sticking around for the crash landing.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

🦙 Meta and Google playing nice - Google CEO Sundar Pichai congratulated Meta on launching its new AI models, Llama 4 Scout and Maverick, calling it an exciting moment for the AI world. These advanced, open-source models are multimodal, meaning they can handle text, images, video, and audio together. They’re now integrated into Meta's AI assistant across apps like WhatsApp and Instagram in 40 countries. Meta is also developing Llama 4 Behemoth, a powerful model still in training, expected to outperform top AI systems like GPT-4.5 and Gemini 2.0 Pro. Meta will share more about Llama’s future at its upcoming event, LlamaCon, on April 29.

🇬🇧 Indians in the UK? - Indian investors are emerging as a major force in the UK property market, especially in London. Factors like a weaker British pound, stable rental yields (4–5.5%), and strong cultural ties are attracting high-net-worth individuals and families. London-based firm Source Property Investments even launched its luxury project “Halo” in India first, with over half its buyers now being Indian. The project overlooks the iconic Kia Oval cricket ground, appealing to cricket-loving Indian families. With more Indian students and professionals moving to the UK, demand for housing is rising. Indian capital is now actively shaping the future of UK real estate.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

What’s happening in India (and around the world 🌍️)

• South Korea's president has been removed from power: What happens now?

• TikTok deal scuttled because of Trump's tariffs on China.

• Is Trump considering a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries? White House clarifies.

• US-China trade war escalates: Trump threatens further 50% tariff on the Dragon from April 9.

CULTURE

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• The Last of Us review: Season 2 of HBO’s hit video game adaptation is thrilling, addicting and incomplete.

• Met Gala 2025: Mom-to-be Kiara Advani to make her red carpet debut.

• Ground Zero trailer: Emraan Hashmi calls for Prahar to save Kashmir.

• IPL news: RCB beat MI by 12 runs. Leaderboard here.