TLDR

MARKET RECAP → The S&P 500 (VOO) edged higher Wednesday but remained on track for a third straight monthly decline, as first-quarter economic contraction fueled recession worries amid President Trump’s escalating trade policies.

PRIVATE PAYROLL GROWTH SLOWS SHARPLY → 📉 April’s private payrolls rose just 62,000 — half of what was expected — as tariff uncertainty left employers hesitant, sending the weakest hiring signal since July 2024.

GDP DIPS AS TARIFF FEARS SPIKE → The U.S. economy shrank 0.3% in Q1 as companies rushed to import goods ahead of Trump’s tariffs, slamming GDP and putting the Fed in a tough spot between rate cuts and rising inflation. 📉

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up for free here.

Earn rewards by referring friends. Scroll to the bottom to learn more! 👇️ 

MARKETS

Market Snapshot

Today’s S&P 500 Heatmap

Notable Earnings This Week

TODAY’S TOP NEWS

Hiring Slows As Tariff Jitters Hit

🛑 Private payrolls rose just 62,000 in April, the weakest gain since July 2024 and barely half of what economists expected. Companies hit the brakes on hiring amid growing anxiety around Trump’s tariff policies and their potential fallout.

💼 Leisure and hospitality led job growth with 27,000 additions, followed by trade, transportation and utilities (+21K), and financial activities (+20K). Meanwhile, education and health services shed 23,000 jobs, and information services dropped 8,000.

📉 Wage growth for job stayers dipped slightly to 4.5%, while job changers saw pay rise 6.9%. ADP’s report signals mounting employer caution just ahead of Friday’s more comprehensive nonfarm payroll data from the government.

TODAY’S TOP NEWS

GDP Dips As Tariff Fears Spike

🛬 Growth hit turbulence: U.S. GDP shrank 0.3% in Q1, marking the first contraction in three years, driven largely by a 41.3% surge in imports as businesses rushed to beat Trump’s new tariffs. Imports subtracted over 5 percentage points from growth, while exports saw a modest 1.8% gain.

🛒 Consumers cooled off: Personal spending rose just 1.8%, the slowest pace since mid-2023. Meanwhile, domestic investment jumped nearly 22%, likely front-loaded due to tariff fears. Federal spending declined, further weighing on the GDP print.

🔥 Fed in a bind: Inflation surprised to the upside, with core PCE rising 3.5%, complicating the Fed’s path. While recession fears are rising, markets are still betting on rate cuts by June—even as policymakers walk a tightrope between growth and price stability.

KEEP READING

First Solar stock plunges as CEO says Trump tariffs pose ‘significant economic headwind’ (CNBC)

Snap sinks 15% after withholding guidance, citing ad concerns (CNBC)

Yum Brands revenue misses as Pizza Hut’s same-store sales fall 2% (CNBC)

Waymo, Toyota strike partnership to bring self-driving tech to personal vehicles (CNBC)

Trump Tariffs Explained: Your Complete 2025 Guide (ML)

Why You’ll Love the Money Master Challenge – Your Daily Finance Game! (ML)

BULL VS. BEAR

NOTABLE POSTS

MONEYLION MANAGED INVESTING

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PARTNER

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

OUR FAVORITE TOOLS & RESOURCES

• Polymarket — The world’s largest prediction market

• Unusual Whales — Companion for uncovering unusual market activity

• OpenBB — AI-powered research and analytics workspace

• Earnings Hub — Earnings calendar

• Quiver Quantitative — Quiver allows retail investors to tap into the power of big data with insights into things like congressional trades as they are disclosed

• Perplexity — Perplexity AI is an AI-chatbot-powered research and conversational search engine

• The Market Ear — Live news, analysis and commentary on what moves markets and trading

• Coinmarketcap.com — Crypto market data

• Finviz — Financial visualizations

• Trading Economics — Economic calendar

• CME FedWatch Tool — Market-implied probabilities of future levels of interest rates 

• Dataroma — Track stock picks and portfolios of legendary value investors such as Warren Buffett

• ChatGPT — Large language model-based chatbot powered by generative AI

• Vimcal — Lightning-fast calendar and AI scheduling assistant

REFERRAL PROGRAM

WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

^{_{Investment advisory services provided by ML Wealth LLC. Investment Accounts Are Not FDIC Insured • No Bank Guarantee • Investments May Lose Value. For important information and disclosures relating to the MoneyLion Investment Account, see Investment FAQs, Form ADV Brochure, and moneylion.com/investing. Funded managed investing accounts are subject to a monthly account fee of $1 (for accounts valued up to $5,000), $3 (for accounts valued over $5,000, and up to $25,000), or $5 (for accounts valued over $25,000).}}

<sup><sub>This advertising email was sent to you because you have a MoneyLion account. If you would like to unsubscribe, please do so using this link. We respect your right to privacy. Please do not reply to this email with sensitive information, such as an account number, Social Security number, date of birth, bank account information, PIN, password, or Online ID. The security and confidentiality of your personal information is important to us. If you have any questions or want to read more, please visit our Help Center.

MoneyLion and Pathward do not provide, nor do they guarantee, any third-party product, service, information, or recommendation. The third parties providing these products or services are solely responsible for them, as well as all other content on their websites. MoneyLion is not liable for any third party’s failure with regard to those advertised products, services, and benefits. These advertised products and services may not be FDIC insured or bank-guaranteed, and may be subject to a different privacy policy than MoneyLion’s. You should check individual offers, products, and services to become familiar with any applicable restrictions or conditions that may apply. MoneyLion may receive compensation from third parties for referring you to the third party, their products or to their website.

The influencer, creator and other content provided in the MoneyLion App (“Content”) is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. All Content is intended to be of a general nature, does not address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity, and may not constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed. MoneyLion is not a fiduciary by virtue of any person’s use of or reliance on the Content. You should consult an appropriate professional if you require any legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice. Terms and Conditions for our subscriber referral can be found here.</sub></sup>