In Markets "In a Nutshell"

Markets “In a Nutshell” for May 12, 2025

Investment Week at a Glance

Stocks finished lower for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, the S&P 500 was down 0.5%, and the NASDAQ fell 0.3%. Foreign stocks (MSCI EAFE) were also down, falling 0.8%. Bond prices were down for the week, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury ending the week at 4.38%.  (Data source: Wall Street Journal)

U.S. & China Agree to Trade Agreement for 90 days

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was in Switzerland negotiating with the Chinese for a trade deal this past weekend, and an agreement was reached. Tariffs for both countries will go from 125% down to 10% for 90 days beginning on Wednesday. Both sides have said they will continue discussions on economic and trade policy as they attempt to make a more permanent deal on trade policy. Markets were surprised by this news and moved higher on Monday morning as more details continue to come out.

Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged

The Fed met last week and left rates unchanged as expected; this was the third meeting in a row of rates being left unchanged. With the recent market news of a trade deal with China, markets are now only pricing in 2 rate cuts for the rest of the year. This falls in line with what the Fed’s “dot plot” showed this past meeting, as a healthy labor market and inflation stabilized, the Fed has some flexibility. Markets will continue to look for any indication from the Fed on rate cuts and overall economic conditions.

NRG Energy Soars on $12 Billion Acquisition

NRG Energy stock is up over 22% on Monday morning as they announced a deal to acquire power generation assets from energy infrastructure investment firm LS Power for $12 billion. The deal includes $6.4 billion in cash, $2.8 billion in stock, and NRG will assume $3.2 billion in debt and receive $400 million in tax benefits. NRG was already a strong performer for the year and is now up over 57% for 2025 and 348% over the past 5 years. The company has a market cap of roughly $30 billion, so this is a major acquisition for them. (CNBC)

Quiz:

What was the value of imported goods from China in 2024?  (Scroll Down for Answer)

  1.     $253 billion
  2.     $327 billion
  3.     $391 Billion
  4.     $439 billion

 

 

 

 

 

Answer below.

 

 

Have a Great Week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer:

4.   $439 billion. China accounted for 13.4% of all U.S. imports in 2024. The trade deficit with China was $295.4 billion in 2024.

 

 

 

 

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