China has hit back at Donald Trump, raising tariffs on US goods to 125% from 84% in an escalation of the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. US correspondents Mark Stone and David Blevins have answered your questions as part of the Trump 100 podcast – catch up below now.
Friday 11 April 2025 16:39, UK
Our US correspondents Mark Stone and David Blevins just wrapped up their Q&A for the Trump 100 podcast – and one of topics of discussion was whether the president was engaged in insider trading.
At the top of the show, Blevins noted that Trump posted „GREAT TIME TO BUY“ just hours before announcing his 90-day pause on tariffs for a number of countries.
Blevins said „the mixed messaging“ around the tariffs had „fuelled“ speculation of insider trading „and confusing people“.
„And then we got this video emerging from the White House which appeared to show the president boasting about how much people around him had made,“ he added.
„So that’s why you’ve got senators like Elizabeth Warren… calling for a formal investigation into the suggestion that there has been market manipulation“.
Blevins said: „It’s going to be up to Congress to decide if that investigation takes place.“
You can rewatch the Q&A in the stream at the top of the page – and send in your questions for next week’s edition to trump100@sky.uk.
By Edward Clowes, business reporter
The UK stock market closed out a rollercoaster week in fitting fashion, by climbing, then dropping, before climbing again to finish up 0.6%.
The FTSE 100 started this week coming off the back of a punishing day of trading last Friday that saw steep losses across Britain’s largest companies and a huge market sell-off.
That was a distant memory by Thursday, when news that the US would pause some reciprocal tariffs sent the FTSE 100 soaring by more than 6%.
By this morning, some of that enthusiasm had waned, but the market still opened marginally up in early trading. After China announced new tit-for-tat tariffs on the US around lunchtime, the FTSE 100 proceeded to slump, before regaining some momentum in the afternoon.
Mexican mining giant Fresnillo was the market’s big winner, shooting up 6.5%. The company is a large producer of gold and silver, at a time when investors are piling in to both in search of shelter from market volatility.
But for investors, the ride is likely not over: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told CNBC this afternoon that he believes the US economy may be teetering on the brink of negative growth.
„I think we’re very close, if not in, a recession now,“ Fink said.
Our US correspondents Mark Stone and David Blevins are live in Washington DC answering your questions as part of the Trump 100 podcast.
Hundreds of you sent in questions, with one topic on many minds: Is Donald Trump manipulating the stock market?
Questions were raised after he declared on Wednesday that it was a „great time to buy“ stocks, shortly before announcing he was cutting back on some of his new tariffs – a move that sent markets rallying.
Mark and David will address those accusations and answer other questions on:
It’s been a bumpy ten days for global trade since Donald Trump’s „Liberation Day“ tariffs were revealed last week.
Markets across the world have been yo-yoing by the day as economists and traders alike struggle to predict what the US president will do next.
Here’s a timeline of what’s been going on…
At 4pm, our US correspondents Mark Stone and David Blevins are back to answer your questions in their regular Q&A edition of the Trump 100 podcast.
Submit your question on anything Trump-related in the box at the top of the page to join in – you’ll be able to watch the Q&A live on this page.
Larry Fink, the chief executive of investment firm Blackrock, has warned the US is „very close, if not in a recession now“.
Fink, who is worth an estimated $1.2bn, told our US partner network CNBC he believes „a lot of people are buying in advance of elevated [price] increases, like lines around Apple stores, buying iPhones, all that stuff“.
Criticising Trump’s tariffs, he added: „The United States, post-WWII was a global stabiliser. We are [now] a global destabiliser…
„This is not a pandemic, this is not a financial crisis, this is something that we’ve created.“
Peter Navarro, a senior trade adviser to Donald Trump and the architect of his tariff policy, says the president is aiming for „90 deals in 90 days“ – referring to his 90-day tariff pause.
Appearing on Fox Business, Navarro said: „Americans should trust in Trump, the markets should trust in Trump, and not get these weak knees.“
Navarro, a long-time aide of Trump, was embroiled in a public spat with Elon Musk this week in a sign of divisions at the top of the White House.
Navarro had called Musk a „car assembler“, leading the Tesla boss to call him „dumber than a sack of bricks“.
US correspondent Mark Stone had his own run-in with Navarro over tariffs last month – watch the moment he told him ‚stop that crap’…
Another day of trading on Wall Street has just begun and all three main US stock indexes have opened lower.
The Down Jones fell 0.25%, the S&P 500 fell 0.24% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.18% at the bell as markets assess the latest escalation in the US-China trade war.
These numbers fluctuate minute-by-minute – we’ll stay across any major changes.
Moments before Wall Street starts trading, Donald Trump has said the US is doing „really well on our TARIFF POLICY“…
Here’s his post on Truth Social…
At 2.30pm, the New York Stock Exchange will begin trading for the day after a turbulent week – and China’s latest retaliatory tariffs.
Markets were down when they closed last night – we’ll bring you the opening numbers as soon as they’ve settled.
Watch the moment Wall Street begins Friday trading in our stream at the top of the live page.
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Tariffs latest: China hits US with new 125% levy – as Trump says 'very exciting' – Sky News
