E.l.f. on how to warn consumers of price increases

E.l.f. Beauty CEO Tarang Amin told Fortune that customers were “quite positive” about the beauty company’s announcement that they would raise prices due to tariffs. “We’re not trying to pull anything over on anyone. This is exactly what we’re facing, and they understand,” Amin told Fortune.

Kohl’s reports earnings

Kohl’s reported losses per share and a loss in net sales for Q1 on Thursday, though both metrics weren’t as bad as Wall Street’s more pessimistic expectations. This was the retailer’s first earnings report since it fired CEO Ashley Buchanan in early May for violating company policies.

Trump got his tariffs back (for now)

A federal appeals court allowed the Trump administration to continue collecting tariffs under an emergency powers law for now, as his administration appeals a federal court order striking down the bulk of the president's signature set of levies.

U.S.-China trade talks stall

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that negotiations between the United States and China are “a bit stalled” and may need to be resuscitated with a call between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Two weeks ago the countries agreed to back down from tariff rates that constituted an effective trade embargo. 

SEC drops Binance lawsuit

The SEC dropped its lawsuit against Binance and its billionaire founder Changpeng Zhao (aka "CZ"). Under the crypto-friendly Trump administration, it's the agency’s latest move to wind down Biden-era enforcement actions against the industry. CZ is seeking a pardon from Trump after spending four months in prison.

Ryanair CEO's big payday

After shares of the low-cost airline closed above €21 for the 28th consecutive calendar day yesterday, CEO Michael O’Leary became eligible for a €100-million ($114 million) bonus. It will be one of the biggest payouts for European public company executives in recent years.

Wall Street's 'Big, Beautiful' worry

Wall Street read through Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" and now is warning that a provision in the bill that allows the government to raise taxes on foreign investments in the U.S. could upend markets and hurt American industry. "This is a market-spooking event," one investor told the Financial Times.

The markets

• The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Thursday. The index is up 0.5% YTD. 
• S&P futures were trading down 0.1% this morning. 
• The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.6% in early trading. 
• Asia was down: Japan was off 1.2%. Hong Kong also fell 1.2%. Shanghai was down 0.5%, and India’s Nifty 50 was off 0.2%.
• May flowers: Barring a massive collapse today, U.S. markets are set to close May with strong gains. The S&P 500 is up some 6% for the month, while the Nasdaq has jumped 10% in the same period, and the Dow has risen about 4%.
• Bitcoin was sitting up at $105,100 this morning.


From the analysts 

• UBS on tariff uncertainty: "There is yet more uncertainty in the US economy. US President Trump appealed the ruling that their trade taxes were illegal. While this is decided, the taxes stay. There are thus three layers of uncertainty. Will the taxes survive? If they are illegal, will US companies and consumers get refunds? And are trade taxes today actually being collected? There is also uncertainty around how US companies will react to this uncertainty, especially with pricing," per Paul Donovan.
• Deutsche Bank on rate cuts: "Trade wasn't the only game in town yesterday though with data moving markets as much as the trade headlines, and more so in the case of bonds. In particular, there was a notable bond rally after the weekly jobless claims were higher than expected, as that raised hopes that the Fed were still on track to cut rates this year. Initial claims rose to 240k in the week ending May 24 (vs. 230k expected)…  Moreover, the updated Q1 GDP release saw the annualized pace of personal consumption growth revised to its lowest in seven quarters (+1.2% vs +1.7% initial), while pending home sales for April saw their biggest monthly fall since September 2022. So that immediately led investors to price in more rate cuts this year," per Jim Reid.
• Macquarie unintended tariff consequences: "While seeking to abolish the broad-based reciprocal tariffs and the 'retaliatory' tariffs, the ruling by the US's Court of Int'l Trade yesterday may actually accelerate new, more rationalized, sector-based tariffs, and so more tariff 'surprises' may lay around the corner. There's also a judicial appeals process to come, which may overturn the CIT's ruling. Because of this, we caution against excessive displays of 'relief', especially in the USD," per Thierry Wizman et al.