11 stories we are following this am.
1. The big story this AM is that the markets are surging on an initial big thaw in China US relations. Each country has agreed to reduce their tariffs to 10%. The US has also said they would add a 20% amount on to the tariff as a penalty for the fentanyl trade from China.
The parties have agreed to a 90 day trade war truce.
2. Pharmaceutical companies are getting hammered today as the President vows to impose and give the US most favored nation pricing on pharmaceuticals. It’s long been a concern that they pay less in other countries for the same drugs.
3. Companies that rely heavily on imports from China or selling into Chinese markets are up a great deal pre market. Amazon is up 8%. Tesla is also up more than 7%. Apple, Nvidia and Meta Platforms are all also up more than 5%.
4. Pharma companies are largely down. Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck and more are all set to open down 2 to 4%.
5. Major automotive companies Ford, GM, Tesla, Lucid Motors and Rivian are all set to open higher this AM.
6. Compass’ stock dropped nearly 20% Friday after it released earnings.
AI overview.
Compass Inc.’s stock price declined on Friday due to a combination of factors, including investor concerns over the company’s Q1 earnings and the potential impact of a lawsuit on agent commissions. Specifically, while Compass reported revenue growth, investors were disappointed by the company’s loss per share, which missed estimates despite narrowing from the previous year. Additionally, the settlement of a lawsuit related to agent commissions, although Compass wasn’t a defendant, could signal broader legal challenges for the industry.
7. Pakistan and India reach truce. This also comforted global markets.
8. Affirm Holdings dropped more than 14% Friday after reporting soft earnings.
9. Lyft jumped 28% Friday. This happened after it reported terrific first quarter results.
10. Hiring and Talent — 5 Core Thoughts
1. You never truly know what you have until someone starts to work for you.
2. Don’t beat yourself up over bad hires. Learn but don’t get gun shy. You need to build teams.
3. Reliability is foundational.
4. You can have all the talent in the world but if not reliable it doesn’t work.
5. Once you find something is fundamentally wrong with a hire, you likely need to move forward with going different ways.
11. I’m thrilled to interview keynote speaker Anousheh Ansari astronaut and entrepreneur at the McGuireWoods LLP Health Care Private Equity Conf this Thursday in Chicago. I’m also excited to give a keynote talk Wednesday at the Advancement League Young Health Leaders Summit in Atlanta on Wednesday.