Evening Briefing: Americas
Bloomberg Evening Briefing Americas
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Ford Motor Co. became the latest big name to warn that President Donald Trump’s trade war is about to do significant damage at home. The iconic US company said it suspended its full-year financial guidance, pinning the blame in part on auto tariffs. Ford said it expects Trump’s levies to reduce 2025 adjusted earnings before interest and taxes by about $1.5 billion on a net basis this year. 

Several automakers have warned of the steep costs they expect to pay due to Trump’s chaotic tariff campaign and subsequent retaliation by other nations. Trump has argued that the 25% tariffs he’s imposed on imported vehicles and parts are needed to bring more production and jobs to the US. But most economists predict the opposite will be achieved, while a growing number of lawsuits contend Trump’s entire tariff initiative is illegal under US law.

In the meantime, automakers have said that broad, lasting tariffs will boost costs, jeopardize employment and potentially increase new-car prices that are already nearing $50,000 on average. Ford’s shares fell 2.8% in after-hours trading Monday. The stock had gained about 3.8% this year through Friday’s close, better than the 3.3% decline by the S&P 500 Index. The company said it plans to provide an updated outlook when it reports second-quarter earnings. Natasha Solo-Lyons and David E. Rovella

What You Need to Know Today

Air traffic controllers guiding planes bound for Newark International Airport lost radar and radio communication for more than a minute early last week. The dangerous situation occurred just before flights at the key hub—one of three major airports serving the New York City metropolitan area—became snarled for days due to a lack of staffing, resulting in scores of cancelled flights.

The outage of the key systems occurred on April 28 and lasted nearly 90 seconds. When radar or radio frequencies stop working, there are no fail-safes, meaning controllers must simply wait for the system to come back online, people familiar with the outage said. Left unchecked, some controllers are concerned that issues at the facility could result in catastrophe. Following the incident, multiple employees were placed on trauma leave.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration fired hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration employees as part of its broader termination of federal employees. The FAA firings came just a few weeks after the worst US civil aviation disaster in decades.

The FAA Air Traffic Control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport. Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg

The Internal Revenue Service lost 31% of its auditors from buyouts and firings by the Trump administration, departures that are likely to hamper the agency’s ability to go after tax cheats. More than 3,600 revenue agents—who are responsible for collecting tax payments—have left the IRS, according to an agency watchdog report. In addition, 18% of revenue officers who oversee challenging tax cases and 10% of tax examiners, the front-line employees who review returns, have also left the agency, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a recent report.


The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the latest elite college to borrow money from the bond market as universities contend with Trump’s effort to tighten federal control of American higher education by threatening federal funding. MIT is joining Harvard, Stanford and Princeton in selling taxable bonds in a deal that’s set to price Tuesday, according to a roadshow for investors. Taxable bonds are often quicker to sell compared to tax-exempt bonds, which have restrictions on what the proceeds can be used for.


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Investment firm 3G Capital will acquire footwear maker Skechers for $9.4 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, the company said in a statement on Monday. The deal will be financed through a combination of cash provided by 3G Capital as well as debt financing that has been committed by JPMorgan. The $9.4 billion in equity value reflects a price of $63 per share when accounting for both Class A and Class B shares. 


Rite Aid has told its employees it intends to file bankruptcy less than a year after completing an earlier restructuring that failed to turn around the troubled pharmacy chain. The company was unable to secure additional capital from lenders in order to continue operating the business and now intends to file Chapter 11, CEO Matthew Schroeder said in a letter to employees that was reviewed by Bloomberg News. The drug store chain is also planning to cut jobs at its corporate offices in Pennsylvania, according to the letter.


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For Your Commute

Canada’s boycott of all things American has caused the US measurable pain. Airline bookings from Canada to its southern neighbor have dipped significantly from last year, and the Federal Reserve’s latest snapshot of the US economy noted widespread declines in Canadian spending. But few places in the US are hurting more than the border towns of Washington state, where local economies are almost entirely dependent on the other side.