Summary

Stock markets remain volatile at midday on Friday, as ongoing uncertainty over tariffs continues to roil markets in the U.S. and internationally. China hiked U.S. tariffs to 125%, but said it will not go any higher and dismissed the U.S. trade policy as ‘a joke.’ Meanwhile, U.S. bank earnings are starting to roll in, but the actual results are considered by many to be arguable less important that any forward-looking commentary about the economy and the impact of tariffs. In his comments, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said that the economy faces ‘considerable turbulence.’ Moving from Wall Street to Main Street, consumer-sentiment data was released today, w