Trump's new fortune, Dow Jones slumps, Mega Cap carrying the market, Stellantis' layoffs, and student loans forgiveness

Trump Makes a New Fortune With Public Listing of Truth Social

• Investors approved a plan to take Donald Trump’s struggling social-media company public, putting him one step closer to a roughly $3 billion windfall that could end a financial squeeze that is weighing on his presidential run.

• Truth Social, with few users and little revenue, is expected to start trading on the stock market next week at a staggering valuation around $5 billion. The valuation is the result of frenzied buying by Trump supporters of shares of the shell company that is merging with the former president’s social-media platform.

• Trump’s approximately 60% stake is worth roughly $3 billion, depending on how the stock trades.

Dow Jones Slumps 200 Points As Nike Sell-Off Weighs; FedEx Surges On Earnings, $5 Billion Buyback

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 200 points, losing 0.5% in afternoon trading Friday amid an earnings sell-off for Nike stock. Tesla stock recovered off lows in the stock market today amid more negative headlines out of China.

• Nike plunged nearly 8% even after the company reported a 24% increase in adjusted profit and flat revenue at $12.4 billion. But Nike acknowledged its direct-to-consumer strategy shift is facing challenges. Nike also said it's losing share in the running category. The stock has been on a sharp downtrend since it gapped down on earnings in December.

• Tesla rallied off lows but was still down more than 2% in recent action. The electric-vehicle giant reportedly is cutting production at its Shanghai factory due to waning demand.

Resurgent Megacap Tech Stocks Can Carry the Market Higher

• The index is up 2.3% this week, while the Nasdaq Composite is rising 2.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is advancing 2.3%. Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Tesla, and Amazon.com have collectively outperformed the market, doing much of the legwork to carry the S&P 500 over 5200 thanks to their $11 trillion-plus market value.

• Sure, the Federal Reserve certainly helped. The central bank held rates steady but elected not to change its forecast for three rate cuts in 2024, despite stronger-than-expected inflation readings in January and February. The announcement dragged the 10-year Treasury yield down to 4.22% from a high this week of 4.34%.

Dodge-parent Stellantis laying off hundreds of US workers

• Stellantis, the parent company of several auto brands, including Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler, confirmed on Friday that it will be laying off hundreds more U.S. workers as it continues to trim its workforce amid its transition to electric vehicle production.

• The Wall Street Journal reported that the automaker had instructed several white collar employees working in software, engineering and technology to work from home on Friday morning, and then held meetings where the workers were informed that they were losing their jobs. 

• Around 400 people were let go in the latest layoff round, the Journal reported, citing internal Stellantis documents viewed by the newspaper.

Biden Administration Transfers Nearly $6 Billion in Student Debt Held by Public-Service Employees to Taxpayers

• The Biden administration’s latest student-debt handout will cost nearly $6 billion and benefit 78,000 public-service employees.

• The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program applies to nurses, teachers, firefighters, and social workers, the Biden administration said in a statement on Thursday.

• PSLF is a debt-forgiveness program for government and non-profit employees who work for at least ten years. The Biden administration has used the program to transfer $62.5 billion in student debt to the public since October 2021, when PLSF eligibility was expanded, according to the Department of Education.