A customer shops for produce at an H-E-B grocery store on Feb. 12, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
CNBC will be hosting “CONVERGE LIVE,” an inaugural thought leadership event on March 12-13, 2025, in Singapore, where global business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and key decision-makers will discuss what it means to innovate and grow by collaborating and sharing ideas across industries.
Viewers can watch the live stream of the event and hear from speakers including Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Kim Yong Gan, Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai, Bridgewater Associates Founder Ray Dalio, and Salesforce CEO, chair, and co-founder Marc Benioff and others here.
A softer-than-expected U.S. inflation report provided some comfort to investors, who have been thrown into disarray by the constantly changing trade policy announcements from the White House. If inflation continues trending downward, it also gives the U.S. Federal Reserve room to cut interest rates should the economy looks like it’s starting to tip over.
Most analysts are not forecasting a recession for now, though the chances of one happening in the U.S. are higher compared with estimates from last year, as Alec Kersman, managing director and head of Asia-Pacific at Pimco, noted at CNBC’s CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore.
That said, U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., regardless of their country of origin, just kicked in Wednesday. Trade partners have already responded in kind. Such levies could put brakes on the global economy — or reshape it into one where the U.S. no longer occupies the center.
What you need to know today
Inflation in February cools down
The U.S. consumer price index ticked up a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for February, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.8%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Excluding food and energy prices, the core CPI also rose 0.2% on the month and was at 3.1% on a 12-month basis, the lowest reading since April 2021. All figures were 0.1 percentage points less than expected by a Dow Jones survey of economists.
Tariff war heats up
Canada will impose 25% tariffs on more than $20 billion worth of U.S. goods, Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said at a press conference Wednesday. The tariffs will take effect Thursday and are in addition to the 25% counter-tariffs Canada imposed on the U.S. on March 4. Separately, business and political leaders, such as Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio and former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, issued warnings over Trump tariffs at CNBC’s CONVERGE LIVE.
Intel’s new CEO
Intel said on Wednesday that it had appointed Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO. Tan will replace interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and MJ Holthaus, who took over in December when former Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger was ousted. Tan was previously CEO of Cadence Design Systems, which makes software used by all the major chip designers, including Intel. Shares of the chipmaker jumped as much as 12% in extended trading.
Most benchmarks break losing streak
U.S. markets mostly rebounded Wednesday on a benign inflation report. The S&P 500 rose 0.49%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.22%. Meanwhile, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday “a natural, healthy correction” of stocks is not an indication that “the economy’s in trouble,” even as the country’s budget deficit soared to $1 trillion in February. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday. Shares of Seven & i Holdings jumped as much as 3.6%, as investors assess Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard’s press conference on its planned acquisition of the company.
[PRO] Tesla shares might drop 50%, analyst says
JPMorgan forecast an even greater fall for Tesla shares amid rising boycotts and protests of the brand around the world. Analyst Ryan Brinkman cut his price target on the stock to $120 from $135, which implies shares plunging around 52% from Wednesday’s close of $248.09. Here’s why he’s pessimistic about the outlook for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company.
And finally…
The Suncor Energy Refinery is seen during extreme cold weather in Edmonton, AB, Canada, on Feb. 3, 2025.
Artur Widak | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Trump tariff threats are pushing Canada’s largest oil producer to break its dependence on the U.S
The deeply integrated North American oil and gas market stands at crossroads, with Canada’s largest oil producer warning that it will diversify its exports away from the U.S. if President Trump’s tariff threats do not end.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Wednesday presented two possible futures for the continent. In one, Canada and the U.S. reach an agreement to create “Fortress North America,” with new pipeline capacity built to support 2 million barrels per day in additional exports to the U.S. market, Smith said at the CERAWeek energy conference.
In the other future, Trump continues to wage his trade war against Canada and Alberta starts looking for oil and gas customers beyond the U.S., Smith said.
