“If most traders would learn to sit on their hands 50 percent of the time, they would make a lot more money.” – Bill Lipschutz

1. Trump Doubles Tariffs on Canadian Steel and Aluminum — President Donald Trump said last week that he plans to double the rate of tax on imports of Canadian steel and aluminum after Ontario retaliated against earlier tariffs with higher levies on electricity sent to the U.S. The move comes only days after Trump delayed most of the tariffs on Canada and Mexico until April. Trump also cited Canadian tariffs on dairy products, promised to increase charges on cars, and said Canada relies too much on the U.S. for defense.
2. Ukraine Accepts US-Brokered Ceasefire Plan in Deal for Aid — Ukraine accepted a US proposal for a 30-day truce with Russia as part of a deal with the Trump administration to lift its freeze on military aid and intelligence for Kyiv. The agreement laid out in a joint statement follows eight hours of talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that raised the possibility of a pause of hostilities in Russia’s three-year war that’s ravaged Ukraine. Trump said US officials will speak to their Russian counterparts on Wednesday and that it’s possible he’ll talk to Putin this week.
3. Inflation Cooled to 2.8% in February, Lower Than Expected — Consumer prices were up 2.8% in February from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported last Wednesday, versus a January gain of 3%. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 2.9% gain. Prices excluding food and energy categories—the so-called core measure that economists watch in an effort to better capture inflation’s underlying trend—rose 3.1%. That was the lowest year-over-year reading since 2021. Economists are struggling to keep up with the recent tariff news, but are pushing up their inflation estimates nonetheless. Goldman Sachs economists last week raised their forecast for the Commerce Department’s core inflation gauge to 2.9% in the coming fourth quarter from a year earlier. That compared with a previous estimate of 2.4%.
4. Consumer Sentiment Slides in March as Inflation Expectations Jump — The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to a reading of 57.9 in the first weeks of March, according to preliminary figures released Friday. Economists were expecting the index would fall to a reading of 64 from February’s 64.7. The declines in sentiment were seen consistently across all groups by age, education, income, wealth, geographic regions, and political affiliations, Hsu said. Republicans, who had thus far remained fairly upbeat about the economy, posted a 10% decline in their expectations for the future. For Independents and Democrats, the expectations index declined 12% and 24%, respectively. On a separate note, below is the stat of the SPY performance 1-year after entering correction.

VIX Fear Gauge Statistics
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