April 23 2025

Americans' Economic Optimism Falls as Financial Pessimism Hits High in April

Elon Musk to Prioritize Tesla, Scaling Back U.S. Government Role After Profit Slump

Stock Futures Rise as Trump Signals Eased China Tariffs and Fed Chair Stability

RFK Jr. Declares War on Sugar, Pushes Food Industry for Dye Ban by 2026

China Unveils J-36 Fighter Footage, Escalating Sixth-Generation Arms Race with U.S.

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Editor's note: citizen journal will be off for the rest of the week

1. Americans' Economic Optimism Falls as Financial Pessimism Hits High in April

Several measures of Americans’ economic mood, including their perceptions of the U.S. economy and their own finances, have weakened in April compared with their prior readings — in some cases, substantially. Most notably, since January, Americans’ six-month outlooks for economic growth and the stock market have turned from positive to negative, while their forecasts for inflation, interest rates and the job market have dimmed. In line with those changes, Gallup’s yearly reading on Americans’ assessment of their personal finances shows a record-high 53% now believing their situation is getting worse. This marks the first time in the trend dating back to 2001 that a majority have expressed financial pessimism. Despite these changes, Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index has held steady, with April’s -22 score not meaningfully different from March’s -20 and January’s -19

Editors note: views of the economy are extremely partisan

Source: Gallup

2. Elon Musk to Prioritize Tesla, Scaling Back U.S. Government Role After Profit Slump

Elon Musk said he would “significantly” scale back his US government role and refocus his attention on Tesla, after the carmaker’s profits cratered in the first quarter. “Starting next month, I will be allocating far more of my time to Tesla,” Musk said on Tuesday. “The large slug of work necessary to get the [Department of Government Efficiency] team in place and working in the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done.” The Tesla chief emphasised he would not be leaving the Trump administration completely, and he would probably remain Doge’s figurehead until the end orgy,” Musk said on Tuesday. “The large slug of work necessary to get the [Department of Government Efficiency] team in place and working in the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done.” The Tesla chief emphasised he would not be leaving the Trump administration completely, and he would probably remain Doge’s figurehead until the end of the president’s term, “to make sure that the waste and fraud that we stop does not come roaring back”. Tesla shares rose 5 per cent in pre-market trading on Wednesday. Musk’s role as an adviser to the president — whose campaign he backed with more than a quarter of billion dollars — has catapulted the world’s richest man into the heart of government and handed him enormous power to gut key departments and regulatory agencies.
Source: FT

3. Stock Futures Rise as Trump Signals Eased China Tariffs and Fed Chair Stability

Stock futures climbed early Wednesday, bolstered by relief over the Federal Reserve and U.S.-China trade tensions. Late Tuesday, President Trump said he wasn't planning to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, after saying recently that the central banker's "termination cannot come fast enough." The president also said his 145% tariffs on China “will come down substantially.” And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told investors he believes a trade deal with China can be reached. Beijing responded Wednesday by signaling that the door to trade talks was open—but not under duress.
Source: WSJ

4. RFK Jr. Declares War on Sugar, Pushes Food Industry for Dye Ban by 2026

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. escalated his war against the food industry on Tuesday, declaring that “sugar is poison.” Mr. Kennedy’s comment came during a highly publicized news conference where he also asserted that he has “an understanding” with major food manufacturers to remove petroleum-based food colorings from their products by 2026. No one from the food industry attended the event, and none have publicly agreed to Mr. Kennedy’s demands, although the International Dairy Foods Association has pledged to eliminate artificial colors in milk cheese and yogurt sold to schools as part of the federal lunch and breakfast programs by the start of the 2026 school year. However, Mr. Kennedy and his advisers said that every major food manufacturer and some fast-food companies have contacted the agency looking for guidance.
Source: NYT

5. China Unveils J-36 Fighter Footage, Escalating Sixth-Generation Arms Race with U.S.

The race to dominate the future of aerial warfare between China and the United States has been speeding up in recent months as both unveiled plans for sixth-generation fighters. Starting on the highly symbolic date of December 26, Mao Zedong’s birthday, a number of photos and videos that appear to show prototypes of a new Chinese warplane undergoing tests have been circulating online. [There are] broader questions about what role the fighters could play in future wars and how China viewed the evolution of aerial warfare in an age of drones and artificial intelligence. The release of these images and videos may also be an effort to show it is making rapid progress in developing next-generation technology at a time when the United States and others are developing their own fighter programmes. Last month, US President Donald Trump ended speculation that the next-generation US F-47 fighter programme would be scrapped on cost grounds by awarding Boeing the contract to make the planes. The US is also expected to award a contract to develop the US Navy’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) programme within months. Pic
Source: SCMP

April 23, 1985: New Coke debuts, one of the biggest product flops in history

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Sources

1. https://news.gallup.com/poll/659630/americans-economic-financial-expectations-sink-april.aspx
2. https://www.ft.com/content/5128df45-8595-41e5-84f1-695adba053a7
3. https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-trump-tariffs-trade-war-04-23-25?mod=hp_lead_pos1
4. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/us/politics/rfk-jr-food-dye-ban-sugar.html
5. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3307154/china-releases-footage-6th-generation-j-36-fighter-what-clues-does-it-offer?share=XJIxR7ttZU3AZKWs04AE8q1b6xjBFRfJSI7IwmBGbJ9zKyKIrVaW4pgOM2pikt7xhYkNOXGyVDmLAqJ6cmvSPsrMjY8KUwD286W5pUIqqqU%3D&utm_campaign=social_share