Crypto News: Deep questions

Good morning. Tech stocks look poised for a breather after yesterday's DeepSeek-fueled drop. Donald Trump promises "much bigger" tariffs, including on autos from Canada and Mexico. And cars are getting way more expensive, with or without those levies. Listen to the day's top stories.

Markets Snapshot

S&P 500 Futures

6,070

Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index

Market data as of 06:03 am EST.

View or Create your Watchlist

Market data may be delayed depending on provider agreements.

Wall Street is still nursing its wounds after DeepSeek's sudden prominence hammered stocks and raised the stakes in Silicon Valley's costly AI drive. President Trump said the release of a relatively low-cost AI model from a Chinese startup should be a "wake-up call" for US industries, while OpenAI's Sam Altman vowed to deliver "much better models" in response to its new competitor. Some are cheering the disruption to the sector, including venture capital investors, who're putting a sunny spin on what they said was undue "panicking" by markets.

Nvidia's stock clawed back about 5% in premarket trading, but still has a ways to go to recover from its historic rout. Broader markets are pointing to a far less frenetic day for stocks, but many questions remain about the AI model that left tech equities in the lurch (while leaving the rest of the market historically unscathed). How did DeepSeek do it? Are projections for higher power demand overblown? How big a threat is China to American AI giants really? Bloomberg's latest Odd Lots podcast has answers.

The Big Take

DeepSeek Challenges Everyone's Assumptions About AI Costs

Read the Story

Donald Trump dangled universal tariffs that are "much bigger" than 2.5%—a global starting rate reportedly favored by confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—to reshape US supply chains and "protect our country." The dollar strengthened as his promise for levies on everything from steel and copper to cars from Canada and Mexico capped weeks of back and forth over the scope of potential tariffs.

Microsoft is eyeing TikTok, according to Trump who said it's in talks to buy ByteDance's US arm. Microsoft declined to comment. The president encouraged more bidders to get involved to get the best deal, saying there's "great interest" in snapping up the app before its 75-day reprieve times out. That includes a merger bid by AI startup Perplexity and a formal offer by former LA Dodgers owner Frank McCourt earlier this month.

Israel's prime minister is expected to visit Washington next week to discuss maintaining the ceasefire in Gaza with Trump, who this week ended a Biden-era hold on supplying 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. The potential early sit-down—partly contingent on Benjamin Netanyahu's health—would come as tens of thousands of Palestinians return to devastated neighborhoods, and just weeks before the end of the first phase of the pause in fighting.

What Else is Happening

Nvidia Rout 'Is the Beginning,' Black Swan Author Says

Spitzer Eyes $1 Billion Sale of NYC Fifth Avenue Building

Deep Dive: Hot Water

A coral reef in Key West, Florida, in 2023. Photographer: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty

The world's oceans are warming four times faster than in the 1980s, which helps explain recent unprecedented sea temperatures—and more extreme storms, a study showed.

Sea temperatures hit record highs for 450 straight days between 2023 and early 2024, which helped fuel massive hurricanes. While some of this is caused by El Niño, the research found that 44% of the record warmth was caused by oceans absorbing heat at a faster rate.
Oceans "set the pace" of climate change, adding to the urgency of meaningful steps to cut carbon emissions and wind down fossil fuels, the study's lead author said. That effort is increasingly at odds with US policy under Trump, who's doubling down on fossil fuel extraction.
Cleaner energy can't be stopped though, according to analysts at Citi. They cited a "sense of optimism" that tech innovation and economically viable solutions will continue to propel the energy transition, despite worries that many on Wall Street and further afield are no longer on board to finance the shift.

Opinion

Photographer: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

DeepSeek is no Chat(Xi)PT—for now, Catherine Thorbecke writes. China's most popular AI product is expected to perpetuate Communist Party values, but there are cracks.

More Opinions

Nir Kaissar

Nvidia's Stock Crash Solves a Wall Street Puzzle

Marcus Ashworth

Trump Bluster Alone Won't Budge King Dollar

Before You Go

The 2025 Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan. Source: Mercedes-Benz

$200,000 for a sedan? You're not alone in feeling the sticker shock when you check out prices for a new BMW or Benz, auto reporter Hannah Elliott writes. Cars today are getting way more expensive. The pennies are in the details.

A Couple More