Tag: trade war

Warren Buffett Denies Ever Supporting Trump’s Tariffs As Wall Street Suffers $2.5 Billion Loss

  • Berkshire Hathaway denies Warren Buffett endorsed President Trump’s economic policies, as suggested in a viral video.
  • The false endorsement claims surfaced after Trump’s tariff announcement led to a $2.5 trillion loss on Wall Street.
  • Despite market turmoil, Buffett’s year-to-date profit remains at $23.4 billion.

In a strong rebuttal, American multinational Berkshire Hathaway has categorically refuted the authenticity of comments attributed to its Chairman, Warren Buffett, that have been circulating on various social media platforms.

These comments, allegedly made by Buffett, were in relation to the trade tariffs of the United States. The rumors gained momentum after US President Donald Trump’s account on his social media platform, Truth Social, shared a video suggesting that Buffett endorsed the President’s economic policies.

The video suggested that Buffett, the 94-year-old billionaire, lauded President Trump for making the best economic moves seen in more than 50 years in America. The claims about Buffett’s endorsement first appeared on Instagram on March 13 and went viral after Trump announced a series of tariffs. However, Berkshire Hathaway has firmly stated that all such reports are false.

Buffett has been at the helm of Berkshire since 1965. In October of the previous year, the company had clarified that Buffett would not endorse political candidates or investment products. This clarification was issued in response to numerous fraudulent claims suggesting his support.

Impact of Trump’s Tariff Announcement

The false endorsement claims have come at a time when Trump’s tariff announcement on Liberation Day, April 2, has sent shockwaves across global markets, leading to a loss of $2.5 trillion in wealth on Wall Street. This has affected many billionaires, including SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, who saw their combined wealth plunge.

However, Buffett seems to have weathered the storm. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Buffett lost $2.57 billion but remains in the green. His year-to-date profit still stands at $23.4 billion.

Meanwhile, Trump has reassured Americans on Truth Social that the US economy would emerge “stronger, bigger, better and more resilient than ever before”. In a separate post, he added that “markets will boom”.

The Role of Social Media in Spreading Misinformation

This incident brings to mind similar instances in the past where public figures have been falsely attributed with statements or endorsements. The advent of social media and the ease with which information can be shared and spread has made it easier for such false claims to gain traction. It underscores the importance of verifying information from reliable sources before accepting it as truth.

Economists Warn of Recession as Trump’s Trade Policies Take Hold

April 5, 2025 — Leading global economists and brokerages are warning that the U.S. economy is on the brink of a recession, triggered by the sweeping reciprocal tariffs announced by former President Donald Trump. As the trade war escalates, the economic outlook for the world’s largest economy has darkened considerably.

In a sobering revision, JPMorgan Chase & Co. now forecasts U.S. real GDP to shrink by 0.3% for the year (measured Q4/Q4), slashing its previous projection of 1.3% growth. Michael Feroli, the bank’s chief U.S. economist, said the contraction is expected to weaken hiring and push the unemployment rate to 5.3%, up from its current 4.2%.

“We now expect real GDP to contract under the weight of the tariffs,” Feroli wrote in a note to clients. “If realised, our stagflationary forecast would present a dilemma to Fed policymakers.” Feroli expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to respond by initiating a series of rate cuts starting in June, continuing through each meeting until January 2026.

Other global banks are also slashing their outlooks. Citigroup has trimmed its growth forecast for the year to 0.1%, while UBS reduced its projection to 0.4%.

Jonathan Pingle, UBS’s Chief U.S. Economist, anticipates a steep drop in imports—over 20%—over the next few quarters. “This will push imports as a share of GDP back to pre-1986 levels,” Pingle noted. “The forcefulness of the trade policy action implies substantial macroeconomic adjustment for a $30 trillion economy.”

Markets have already begun to react sharply. In a brutal two-day selloff, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged over 2,000 points, the S&P 500 recorded its worst decline since the pandemic-led crash of March 2020, and the Nasdaq slipped into bear market territory, down more than 20% from its recent highs.

Despite the growing alarm among economists, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell struck a cautious tone Friday, saying “it feels like we don’t need to be in a hurry” regarding rate adjustments. His comments followed March’s jobs report, which showed solid hiring but a slight rise in the unemployment rate to 4.2%.

The Trump administration’s tariff strategy, aimed at mirroring duties imposed by trading partners, is part of a broader effort to reset global trade terms. But critics warn the policy risks backfiring, shrinking U.S. trade volumes and weakening consumer spending just as inflation pressures persist.

With Wall Street reeling, central bankers divided, and recession risks rising, all eyes will now be on the Fed’s June meeting—and how deep the impact of the tariffs will go.

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