The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ, American stock indices, recorded their worst quarters since 2022. The S&P fell by 5.8% in March, its sharpest drop since December 2022. Investors are worried about Donald Trump’s tariffs—he promised that “all countries” would be targeted in the latest round, on April 2nd—and the overall health of America’s economy.
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s hard-right National Rally, was found guilty of misusing European Parliament funds. She was given a prison sentence of four years, two of them suspended and two under a form of house arrest. Judges barred her from office for five years, blocking her presidential bid in 2027. Ms Le Pen denies wrongdoing and said she would appeal against the decision.
Myanmar’s junta continued air strikes on rebel groups across the country, even as the UN and neighbouring countries called for a ceasefire to allow the delivery of aid to victims of Friday’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake. The official death toll rose to more than 2,000 people—almost certainly a big underestimate. Rescuers continued to search for survivors even after the expiry on Monday morning of a critical 72-hour rescue window.
Rocket, one of America’s biggest mortgage lenders, will buy Mr Cooper, which services housing loans, for $9.4bn. The combined company will cover almost 10m mortgageholders, roughly one in six in America. Rocket is one of several non-bank lenders gaining a growing share of the country’s mortgage book. The housing market has sputtered as interest rates have risen sharply from pandemic-era lows.
France’s antitrust watchdog hit Apple with a €150m ($162m) fine. The country’s Competition Authority said that the implementation of Apple’s app tracking feature, which is meant to protect user privacy, had violated competition law. Last year the European Union fined the company €1.8bn for prioritising its own streaming app over those of competitors in its App Store.
The Israel Defence Forces ordered the evacuation of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. Israel earlier this month ended its ceasefire with Hamas, and renewed its ground operation in Gaza. Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said that “cracks” were appearing in Hamas’s negotiating position. On Saturday the militant group said it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal brought by Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Revised estimates from Japan’s government warned that a long feared megaquake in the country could kill up to 298,000 people and force 12.3m more—around 10% of the country’s population—to evacuate. The last time Japan was struck by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake was in 2011; nearly 20,000 people died. Forecasters said another such disaster could cost Japan’s economy $1.8trn.
Figure of the day: 45%, the proportion of Americans who attend church. Read the full story.
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