UPDATED: Media coverage of Wall Street on Monday morning focused on the quick drop in major indexes, following last week’s bruising losses due to Donald Trump‘s tariff announcements.
Then, around 10:10 a.m. ET, the market skyrocketed into positive territory. “I think we can go with this headline. Apparently [Kevin] Hassett has been saying that Trump will consider a 90-day pause in tariffs on other countries except for China,” CNBC‘s Carl Quintanilla told viewers at 10:14 a.m. ET, as the market pointed upward. He was referring to comments allegedly made by Kevin Hassett, a top White House economic adviser.
Reuters then picked up the CNBC report.
But the report was short-lived.
By 10:33 a.m. ET, CNBC’s Eamon Javers, reporting from the White House, told viewers he talked to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and she said it was “fake news” that the administration was considering such a pause. A White House social media account also confirmed that it was “fake news.”
The market returned to negative territory.
So what gives? The rumor appeared to have spread from an account from Walter Bloomberg, who has a tendency to post breaking news headlines in all caps. But Bloomberg is not affiliated with Bloomberg News, the financial news service. He had posted on X, “HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA.” This morning on Fox News, Hassett was asked about a potential pause, and said, “The president is going to decide what the...
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