Good morning! Here's what you need to know in markets on Friday.1. President Trump on Thursday said the US would soon impose new tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, a move that could trigger significant economic repercussions."We're going to build our steel industry back; we're going to build our aluminum industry back," Trump said.2. Stock markets in Asia extended a selloff on Wall Street as investors were rattled after President Donald Trump's announced the United States would impose hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, raising the specter of a global trade war. Early on Friday, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2% while Japan's Nikkei tumbled 2.4%.3. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday he intended to guide monetary policy with utmost focus on achieving the central bank's 2 percent inflation target. "It has become clear that changing public perceptions on price moves will take time," Kuroda told parliament, stressing the need to maintain the BOJ's massive stimulus program.4. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is reveling in his victory over Pershing Square's Bill Ackman. Five years ago, the two investors publicly butted heads over the future of supplement makerHerbalife. Icahn was long on Herbalife, whereas Ackman was short, predicting the stock would hit zero. But it didn't. In fact, the stock is up more than 120% over the last five years.On Wednesday, Pershing Square gave up, exiting from its $1 billion Herbalife short position.5. Blackstone founder and CEO Steve Schwarzman had a monster year in 2017. Schwarzman drew a salary of $350,000 in 2017, which is a healthy chunk of change to most people (the median household incomeis about $60,000).Once you account for carried interest and dividends for the shares of Blackstone he owns, Schwarzman earned a mammoth $787 million in 2017.6. Special counsel Robert Mueller is building a case against Russians involved in 2016's DNC hack.Mueller is alsoinvestigating President Trump'sattacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions.7. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell just dropped a major, but largely unnoticed, hint that the central bank has far from abandoned a controversial tool it used earnestly in response to the Great Recession and its aftermath. The bond purchases that became known as quantitative easing or QE could return during the next crisis.8. Paul Tudor Jones, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Tudor Investment Corporation, is doubling down on his warnings of an impending financial bubble."With rates so low, you cant trust asset prices today," he said in an interview with Goldman Sachs sent to clients Wednesday. "And if you cant tell by now, I would steer very clear of bonds."9. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday boasted about his country's nuclear mightand seemed to confirm the existence of a long-feared Russian doomsday device.Putin turned toward offensive nuclear-capable systems near the end of his annual, wide-ranging state of the nation address in Moscow, in which he also said Russia needed to spend heavily on improving conditions for average Russians.10. Googlesigned a deal with $9.5 billion gadget manufacturer Flex to fix healthcare systems.Flex has praisedGoogle for its security, privacy, and futuristic technology.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: These are the watches worn by the smartest and most powerful men in the world
Click here to read full news..
