Global stock markets went into a tailspin this week after US President Donald Trump used the maths behind Zuma-nomics to calculate that everyone should get a tariff. Despite him triumphantly declaring it “liberation day”, the fallout was quickly dubbed “obliteration day” after the major US tech firms saw $1 trillion wiped off their market valuations.
iPhone it in
The so-called “Magnificent Seven” – including Apple, Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta/Facebook, Nvidia, and Tesla – were all hit by this. The iPhone maker lost 9% of its value, which translates to a whopping $250 billion blown away. Don’t worry, it’s still the most valuable company in the world at over $3 trillion.
Amazon also lost 9% (wiping out $186 billion), while Nvidia dropped 8% ($210 billion).
For the first time, it seems likely that high-end electronics might cost less outside of the United States than in it. But it may be too soon to know.
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Apple, for one, is reeling. After Trump started a trade war with China during his first presidency, Apple moved a lot of its assembly to Vietnam and India. Those countries were slapped with tariffs of 46% and 26%, respectively. China’s tariff rate is 54%, and it responded on Friday with its retaliatory tariffs of 34%.
Get used to this, I’m afraid. The Trump/Musk roller coaster only kicked off three months ago. This weirdness is going to get weirder. And costlier. Economists predict the first impact on South Africa will be even higher inflation. That means things across the board will cost more, they warn.
It really does seem like Zuma is in the White House, and he’s taken his “eleventy” maths with him.
