The European Union is said to be broadening the list of US goods it will target with retaliatory tariffs if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose duties on steel and aluminum exports. Bloomberg reported on Saturday that the US measures, if enacted, could impact as much as $29.3 billion of European exports if derivative products are hit. That would be about four times larger than the last time Trump went after Europe’s metals sector.

Among the various tariffs Trump has threatened against China, Canada, Mexico and others over the past month, he announced a series of duties including 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum exports that he warned could take effect as soon as March 12. The Republican also has threatened “reciprocal tariffs” based on the policies of partners that are seen as obstacles to US trade. 

Of all the threatened levies, only Trump’s China tariff has actually happened. Nevertheless, the EU has said that it would respond swiftly and proportionally to Trump’s tariffs, should they occur, and could reactivate as a first step the lists of products it previously suspended. European officials have been preparing various targets with different sectors and goods selected with the principle of causing more harm to America, including in sensitive constituencies, if a US-Europe tariff war begins. —Natasha Solo-Lyons

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German chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz is said to have opened talks with the Social Democrats to quickly approve as much as €200 billion ($210 billion) in special defense spending. Officials from Merz’s Christian Democrats and the SPD are discussing ways to get around Germany’s tight restrictions on government borrowing in order to free up resources to beef up the country’s military. With Trump cooling to America’s traditional allies in favor of better relations with the Kremlin, as well as his history of antagonism toward NATO, European officials are preparing to accelerate defense spending in contemplation of any future Russian aggression. Germany is considering pushing a vote on the new package, which would be double the amount of one approved three years ago, through the lame duck parliament, as the makeup of the incoming legislature may be less accommodating.

Starbucks is eliminating 1,100 corporate jobs, about 7% of the global employee base working outside of company-owned stores. Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol, who took over in September amid declining sales, had announced the impending dismissals in January. Workers who are being fired will be notified by Tuesday, according to the company (corporate employees were asked to work remotely the whole week). Niccol has undone several leadership changes implemented by his predecessor and doubled down on the company’s return-to-office policy, warning that staff who didn’t come in three days a week could be fired. Yet Niccol’s own work arrangement, which allows him to travel from his home in California to the company’s Seattle headquarters on the company’s corporate jet, garnered backlash from some workers and outside critics. 

Brian Niccol Source: Bloomberg

Health experts have ben focusing on the recent discovery of another bat-borne coronavirus capable of entering cells using human ACE2—the same receptor that played a critical role in the catastrophic Covid-19 scourge. Although there have been no reported human infections, the new threat has raised concerns about the ongoing threat of animal diseases capable of sparking deadly outbreaks. From bubonic plague and smallpox to “Spanish flu” and HIV, history is rife with pandemics. Deforestation, urbanization, intensive agriculture, and climate change are fueling the emergence of new infectious threats at an alarming rate. Here’s what we know so far about the bat-borne HKU5-CoV-2 virus. 

JPMorgan is dramatically ramping up its direct-lending effort, setting aside an additional $50 billion to capture a bigger chunk of the fast-growing market. The bank said it’s making the fresh commitment after deploying more than $10 billion from its balance sheet across over 100 private credit deals since 2021. The firm has teamed up with a group of co-lending partners, which have allocated almost $15 billion more to the effort as well. JPMorgan’s move underscores how banks are increasingly staking their claim in a $1.6 trillion market previously the domain of asset managers and credit shops. As titans such as Blackstone, Ares Management and Apollo Global Management pour money into ever-larger deals, the likes of JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs have sought to defend their traditional lending turf with offerings of their own.

Private equity has long been an exclusive club, a world of opaque funds and high fees where only the wealthiest and most sophisticated investors can gain a foothold. Its allure lies in its promise of blockbuster returns: daring financiers pile up mountains of debt to buy companies, then attempt to revive them—with scant oversight. Now those same firms want a piece of your nest egg. Seeking to tap the trillions of dollars in brokerage accounts held by everyday investors, these companies are cozying up to traditional asset managers. Alternative investment shops, which specialize in asset classes outside public stocks and bonds, have been touring mutual fund houses to gauge their interest in tie-ups that would dramatically extend their reach.

While Pope Francis remains in a Rome hospital after suffering a respiratory crisis during the weekend, the Associated Press reported Monday he has shown some improvement and was doing work from his room. The 88-year-old pontiff has been hospitalized since Feb. 14 with pneumonia in both lungs and, more recently, slight kidney failure. But he has reportedly been sleeping well at night and continuing therapy in good spirits during the day, according to the Vatican and wire services.

Pope Francis at the G-7 leaders summit last summer.   Photographer: Francesca Volpi/Bloomberg

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