GOP could raise student loan bills to pay for Trump’s tax cuts
Millions of student loan borrowers could be stuck paying more as GOP lawmakers considering ending repayment plans to fund Trump’s tax cuts.
Straight Arrow News
Stocks closed down but off session lows even after President Donald Trump made fresh tariff threats.
Trump said in a social media post Apple would have to pay a 25% tariff if phones sold in the country are not made in the U.S. It’s the first time Trump has mentioned a specific company in levying taxes. Apple shares lost 3%.
Later, he expanded that threat to Samsung and other smartphone makers and suggested this tariff would go into effect in late June.
The president also recommended a 50% tariff on the European Union, beginnng June 1. He said in a social media post the EU “has been very difficult to deal with,” Trump wrote. “Our discussions with them are going nowhere!”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to calm tariff worries, saying he thought Germany could help the U.S. push the EU on negotiations of tariffs. He also said in a Bloomberg interview he expected “over the next couple of weeks we’re going to have several large deals announced.”
Meanwhile, EU officials urged calm and said negotiations are ongoing.
The blue-chip Dow shed about 0.61%, or 256.02 points, to 41,603.07; the broad S&P 500 slid 0.67%, or 39.18 points, to 5,802.83; and tech-laden Nasdaq dropped 1%, or 188.53 points, to 18,737.21. All three indexes posted losses for the week.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.509%.
The indexes are off their session lows as investors try to digest how serious Trump’s new tariff threats are.
“President Trump’s threat of a 50% tariff from 1st June may well turn out to be a negotiating tactic and seems very unlikely to be where tariffs settle over the long run,” said economists at Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics, in a note.
Meanwhile, the Senate’s examining the proposed tax bill after the House narrowly passed by one vote its version of the legislation that Trump has dubbed the “One, Big Beautiful Bill.”
Investors worry that the more than 1,000-page bill will lead to a sharply wider deficit. To pay for the spending, the government would have to issue more debt, which will dampen Treasury prices and push up rates. Debt prices move in the opposite direction of yields.
The 30-year Treasury bond yield touched a high of 5.161%, its highest level since October 2023. The rate on the 10-year Treasury note at one point breached 4.6%. Both yields came off their highs but remain elevated, keeping pressure on stocks.
Corporate news
- Deckers Outdoor issued a lower-than-expected outlook for the current quarter. Shares fell almost 20%.
- Trump greenlighted the Nippon-U.S. Steel merger. U.S. Steel shares jumped more than 21%.
- Nuclear stocks like Constellation Energy, Cameco and NuScale rallied after Trump signed orders to boost nuclear power. Constellation Energy rose 2%, Cameco jumped almost 11% and NuScale added almost 20%.
- Ross Stores withdrew its full-year outlook, saying it expects pressure on its profitability if tariffs remain at elevated levels. The discount retailer’s stock slid almost 10%.
- Intuit cited a more stable outlook and raised its full-year earnings forecast above Street estimates. Its stock rose 8%.
- Autodesk issued a higher-than-expected second-quarter outlook, but its shares dipped.
Cryptocurrency
Major U.S. banks including companies co-owned by JPMorgan Chase,Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and other large commercial banks, are exploring a joint stablecoin to compete with the crypto industry, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing sources.
Separately, Trump held a private event Thursday night for 220 crypto investors who had bought into his meme coin. Demonstrators lined the road to the entrance, protesting the event and calling it part of Trump’s corrupt plan to line his and his family’s pockets.
Bitcoin was last down 2.62% at $108,746.60.
This story was updated with new information.
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.
