Scott Bessent advises countries not to retaliate to Trump's tariffs. (00:22) RH warns of economic challenges, sets FY25 sales guidance below street view. (02:31) Japan's Mitsubishi (MSBHF) unveils growth plans, to invest $27 billion over next 3 years. (03:44)Episode transcripts seekingalpha.com/wsb.Show links: Biggest stock movers Thursday: TSLA, NKE, and moreThe full list of U.S. tariff rates and the countries targetedWW International in talks to restructure debt, handing control to bondholdersMeta's Zuckerberg lobbying President Trump to escape upcoming FTC trial - WSJNewsmax stock loses steam and gives up gains from post-IPO excitementSign up for our daily newsletter here and for full access to analyst ratings, stock quant scores, dividend grades, subscribe to Seeking Alpha Premium at seekingalpha.com/subscriptions.
Chapter 1: What are the key topics discussed in today's episode?
Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning. Thanks for joining us on this Thursday, April 3rd. I'm Julie Morgan. Tariffs take center stage. RH is on the biggest movers list and Mitsubishi is making a $27 billion bet. When you go to Seeking Alpha, you see a host of articles all about tariffs. I'll give you a couple of examples.
Chapter 2: What are the new U.S. tariff rates and how are countries responding?
China firmly opposes new U.S. tariffs and vows retaliation. And the EU indicates strong plans to counter U.S. tariffs if negotiations fail. Nations are responding, but U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is advising all countries... Besant told Fox News that the country should sit back, take it in, and let's see how it goes. Because if you retaliate, there will be escalation.
Chapter 3: Why does Scott Bessent advise against tariff retaliation?
If you don't retaliate, this is the high watermark. Apart from the baseline 10% tariff on all imports... Trump unveiled tariff rates of 34% on China, in addition to the existing 20% levy, and 32% on Taiwan. Tariff rates declared on U.S. allies, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan, and 20% on the European Union. U.S. trading partners Canada and Mexico were excluded from the 10% baseline tariff.
Chapter 4: Which countries are affected by the new U.S. tariffs?
The existing tariffs of up to 25% on imports not compliant with the USMCA deal remain in place. While Ukraine is on the tariff list, Russia and Belarus are not. Besant said this is because the U.S. does not trade with these sanctioned countries. But government data showed that U.S. total goods trade with Russia was an estimated $3.5 billion in 2024. I've linked the complete list of U.S.
tariff rates and the countries targeted. It's in the show notes section of this podcast. A few other notable headlines related to tariffs. Chinese online retailers retreat as Trump ends de minimis exemption. Indian official calls Trump's 26% reciprocal tariff mixed bag, not a setback. And imported canned beers are slapped with a 25% tariff as consumers brace for higher prices.
Chapter 5: What are the economic challenges faced by RH?
Now on to a couple of non-tariff-related stories. Shares of RH are down significantly pre-market. The home furnishings retailer warned that the ongoing economic challenges and sluggish housing market would necessitate a delay to some of its new collections and set Q1 and fiscal year 25 revenue expectations below Wall Street's estimates.
Along with the miss on Q4 profit and sales, the company also noted challenges it will face this year, including the uncertainty surrounding tariffs, market volatility, inflation risk, and the worst housing market in almost 50 years. And because of $2.2 billion in stock repurchases conducted during the year, RH acknowledged that it ended the year with meaningful debt.
In the reported quarter, RH missed on both the top and bottom line, earning an adjusted profit of $1.58 per share, up from $0.72 a year ago, but $0.33 less than anticipated. Total revenue improved by 10% to $812.4 million, but was also below expectations. RH is down 27% in pre-market action. Mitsubishi plans to invest at least 4 trillion yen or 27 billion U.S.
dollars over the next three years, aimed at boosting net profit to 1.2 trillion yen in the 2027-28 financial year. Mitsubishi also said it would maintain its basic policy of progressive dividends and flexible share buybacks, including a plan to buy back up to 1 trillion yen of its own shares from April 4th to March 31st of 2026.
Over the three-year period, Mitsubishi plans to allocate about 1 trillion yen to sustaining capital expenditure and more than 3 trillion to growth investments. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which has a 9.67% stake, is the company's largest shareholder. Now let's take a look at what's trending on Seeking Alpha. WW International is in talks to restructure debt, handing control to bondholders.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Meta Zuckerberg is lobbying President Trump to escape an upcoming FTC trial. And Newsmax loses steam and gives up gains from post-IPO excitement. Now let's take a look at the markets today ahead of the opening bell. Dow S&P and Nasdaq futures are in negative territory. Crude oil is down 4.3% at $68 a barrel. Bitcoin is down 1.5% at $83,000.
Gold is down 1.3% at $3,120. In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is down 1.3% and the DAX is down 1.5%. Diageo is on our list of the biggest movers of the day pre-market. DEO is up 4% as analysts view the U.S. tariff announcement as avoiding the worst-case scenario for the spirits industry.
On today's economic calendar, at 7.30 a.m., the Challenger job cut report, at 8.30 a.m., jobless claims, and at 4.30 p.m., the Fed balance sheet. That's it for today's Wall Street Breakfast. Thanks for listening. To take full advantage of Seeking Alpha with coverage on significant stocks and ETFs, become a premium subscriber. Check out seekingalpha.com slash subscriptions.
I'm your host, Julie Morgan. Go out and make it a great day.
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