*By Alisha Haridasani*
Political uncertainty in Europe and a White House decision to proceed with tariffs against China dragged major U.S. indices down on Tuesday.
“It’s kind of been the one-two punch and the bears are taking advantage,” said Daniel Ives, chief strategy officer and head of technology research at GBH Insights.
The Dow Jones closed down almost 400 points and the S&P 500 slid by more than 1 percent after earlier sell-offs around the world.
European markets faltered as anxiety mounted in Italy, where Reuters reported voters may head back to the polls in [July](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics/italy-banker-warns-on-political-crisis-as-investors-fear-for-euro-idUSKCN1IU18I) after parties failed again to form a governing coalition, and President Sergio Mattarella may dissolve parliament and call for a new vote.
Italy, the bloc’s fourth largest economy and a founding member of the eurozone, hasn’t had a government since national elections in March.
A handful of populist, anti-EU parties won at the polls, but none of them garnered enough seats for an outright majority. The leading Five Star Movement has been unable to cobble together a government with anti-immigrant nationalists.
Investors worried the rising eurosceptic sentiment and political turmoil in Italy could spill over to other European Union countries and further erode the institution that has united most of the continent for more than 60 years.
“There’s hypersensitivity here to what’s happening in Europe,” Ives said.
As Europe fretted over Italy's political future, the Trump administration [announced](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-confronting-chinas-unfair-trade-policies/) Tuesday it will move forward with 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, a move that rattled the markets and surprised China. The White House said the tariffs would apply to goods "containing industrially significant technology,” and a list of specific imports will be released next month.
The administration’s decision to spurn Chinese imports comes more than a week after Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said a trade war between the world’s largest economies was “on hold” while negotiations continued.
“We feel surprised by the tactical statement issued by the White House, and yet it was also unsurprising,” a Chinese official [reportedly](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/business/white-house-moves-ahead-with-tough-trade-measures-on-china.html) said Tuesday in a statement carried by the official Xinhua news agency.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/political-uncertainty-spurs-market-sell-off).
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
