“The bedrock of the financial system trembled on Friday, with government bond yields rising sharply as the chaotic rollout of tariffs shook investors’ faith in the pivotal role played by the United States in the financial system,” the New York Times reports.

“U.S. government bonds, known as Treasuries because they are issued by the U.S. Treasury, are backed by the full faith of the American government, and the market for Treasuries has long been deemed one of the safest and most stable in the world.”

“But the Treasury market’s erratic behavior all week has raised fears that investors are turning against U.S. assets as President Trump’s trade war escalates.”

“The U.S. dollar fell against its major peers on Thursday, hitting a 10-year low against the safe-haven Swiss franc, as markets digested President Donald Trump’s dramatic reversal on tariffs,” Reuters reports.

“U.S. stocks tumbled about 4 percent in early afternoon trading on Thursday as investors assessed the worsening trade war with China, and President Trump clarified that he had raised tariffs on Chinese goods by a total of 145 percent since taking office,” the New York Times reports.

“There were other alarming signs on Thursday: In the government bond market, U.S. Treasuries started to sell off again, with the yield on 10-year Treasuries climbing to 4.37 percent, the highest since February.”

“The U.S. stock market, fresh off its third-best day in modern history, is sinking back into reality: Although President Donald Trump paused most of his ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, his other massive import taxes have already inflicted significant damage, and the economy won’t easily recover from the fallout,” CNN reports.

Jonathan Martin: “As markets swooned along with Trump’s approval rating on the economy, the response from many congressional Republicans hasn’t just been deference but detachment, like they’re doing color commentary up in the booth.”

“President Trump began his Wednesday with some advice for those rattled by his steep tariffs,” the New York Times reports.

Said Trump, on social media: “BE COOL. THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”

“Hours after that, Mr. Trump sent the markets soaring when he paused the levies for 90 days. The S&P 500 climbed several percentage points in a matter of minutes and was on its way to its best day since the recovery of the 2008 financial crisis.”

“Soon after Mr. Trump’s pause, Democrats and government ethics experts asked the perhaps obvious question: Did Mr. Trump give the green light to his followers to cash in on a forthcoming rise in stock prices?”

Wall Street Journal: “The stock-market meltdown that accompanied President Trump’s intensifying trade war in recent weeks was unsettling enough. The fall in the dollar and rise in bond yields that went with it have been truly ominous. So ominous, it might be why Trump changed course, at least temporarily, by pausing some of his tariffs Wednesday.”

“Normally when investors are this scared they seek safety, and nothing is safer than the dollar and Treasury debt.”

“But despite mounting fear of recession, the usual flight to safety hasn’t materialized. That is for several reasons, some relatively superficial, such as inflation risks, and one more fundamental.”

“Last week, bank CEOs including JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon, Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan and Wells Fargo’s Charlie Scharf were in Washington for an industry meeting when the matter of communications with the White House came up,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Executives in the room took turns saying when they last spoke to President Trump. The general response: not recently. Many of them said they hadn’t had a substantive discussion with Trump since the pandemic hammered markets in 2020.”

“Global markets convulsed as sweeping new U.S. tariffs went into effect, setting up Wall Street for another tense session,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Taking center stage was the selloff in U.S. Treasurys, a keystone asset in global financial markets. The yield on the 10-year note, the reference point for trillions of dollars in loans and securities, was recently at 4.38%, after rising as high as 4.47% earlier Wednesday.”

“For bond investors, the sharp rise in yields echoes a selloff at the depth of the Covid meltdown, when traders sold whatever they could to raise cash. Further increases in Treasury yields could add to pressure on economies already hit by rising prices and slowing trade due to tariffs.”

Playbook: “The issue really worrying traders now is that U.S. bond yields have soared even as the stock market tumbles, a highly unusual situation which this viral tweet sets out. If sustained, it could mean higher borrowing costs for everyone — from mortgage rates to consumer and business credit.”

“Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is facing an increasingly dreadful task,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Economists, business owners and investors are betting that the uncertainty created by the sudden rollout of President Trump’s large tariff hikes, many of which are set to take effect Wednesday, will push the economy closer to a recession by weakening hiring and spending. That would call for cutting rates to cushion any downturn.”

“At the same time, the magnitude of tariff increases is likely to lead prices to rise substantially for many imported goods, including materials used by domestic manufacturers. That could make central bankers nervous about inflation and argues for keeping rates where they are despite gathering risks to the economy and labor market.”

“After three days of global market turmoil not seen since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, stocks regained a measure of calm on Tuesday despite little letup in the escalating trade tensions caused by President Trump’s tariffs,” the New York Times reports.

“The S&P 500 posted a big gain at the open of trading, but the rally steadily faded and the index wavered between small gains and losses in the afternoon. The moves came after a brutal three-day slide that pulled the benchmark close to a bear market, or a drop of 20 percent or more from its recent high. The index remains nearly 18 percent below its mid-February record, having tumbled more than 10 percent in the days since Mr. Trump announced sweeping tariffs on major U.S. partners last week.”

In his annual letter to shareholders, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon cautioned that the trade wars could threaten the U.S.’s long-term economic alliances.

Wrote Dimon: “The quicker this issue is resolved, the better because some of the negative effects increase cumulatively over time and would be hard to reverse.”

“Stocks swung dramatically Monday after a false report that the White House would pause most of President Trump’s tariffs for 90 days,” Axios reports.

“The report caused a wild 8% swing in about 30 minutes that has little precedent in market history, moving potentially trillions of dollars in assets — a clear sign of how desperate people are for any sign of relief from Trump’s looming tariff regime.”

Playbook: “President Donald Trump’s astonishing, tariff-induced market meltdown is still only headed in one direction — and fears are growing about how big this crash could become. Asian stock markets suffered further spectacular losses overnight, in some cases so large they triggered built-in ‘circuit-breakers’ which temporarily halt trading to prevent a wider collapse.”

“The S&P Futures markets also tumbled further yesterday, giving a pretty clear indication of what traders believe is coming when the New York Stock Exchange reopens at 9.30 a.m. It’s hard to think of any example in modern U.S. history when the actions of a president have directly triggered something like this.”

“If there was one consistent message from Trump administration economic officials Sunday morning, it was this: We’re not worried about the stock market plunging, and the cavalry isn’t coming to save you from tariffs, either,” Axios reports.